Dan Gross Busts Conservative Myth More Spending Will Make Economy Worse. Uses Historic Proof

Right now, Barack Obama is acquiescing to Republican demands in a way that yanks the teeth out of plan to stimulate the economy. Compromise has been the Democratic downfall for years. Having said that, the spending and public works aspect to Obama's plan has history stamp of approval, but you wouldn't know that listening to conservative ideologues determined to protect the parties turf, despite its massive failure. MSNBC's David Shuster busts the myth with Newsweeks senior editor Dan Gross.

Colbert Nails the Insanity of Supreme Court Activist Decision in Ledbetter Case

Thank you Stephen Colbert. His mention of the Noll Garcia judgment was an eye opener. To start, let’s go back to the beginning. According to the Hawaii Reporter:

“Last year our conservative activist Supreme Court ruled that companies that discriminate against their employees are allowed to do so as long as they manage to hide the discrimination long enough for the statute of limitations to expire.”

In a case so bizarre Stephen Colbert got a stunned laugh out of his audience when he mentioned it, the Noll Garcia case is right out of the Twilight Zone. From the N.Y. Times:

The Idaho plaintiff, Noll Garcia, uses a wheelchair. He said his apartment violated federal standards because it was not readily accessible. Under the law, he had two years to challenge a “discriminatory housing practice” in court. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, writing for the majority, said this two-year period began when construction of the building was complete. Mr. Garcia lost out because he filed suit in 2003 — within two years of renting the apartment, but 10 years after it was built.

Here’s Colbert’s biting commentary:



Apparently, Garcia should have known a decade ago that he was destined to rent the offending apartment.

In the clip, Colbert plays a clip of John McCain calling the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act a “trial lawyers dream.” That is the bottom line for Republicans. To hell with years of discrimination and back pay for American’s, you’ve got to stop those damn trial lawyers. Ideology over doing the people business. I have a question for McCain: Do companies have trail lawyers? If they do, so should the citizens of this country.

Then there is this:

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reached a similar conclusion in a lawsuit by blacks who had applied unsuccessfully for jobs as firefighters in Chicago. Judge Richard A. Posner cited the Ledbetter case in rejecting their contention that they were victims of a “continuing violation” of the civil rights law.

Violating the civil rights act is okay because it the violation is simply continued from years before. What?

Obama Double Exposed By Spider-Man

I was a silver age comic reader when Marvel Comics broke new ground with Spider-man and the Fantastic Four. In those days, most people looked at you as if you were an idiot introvert, a loser hiding away in a darkened bedroom dreaming of the day a science lab experiment would go wrong and turn you into America's first super hero. It never happened of course, but since then comics have become a legitimate art form. So legit, our next president has made the comic pages:

(AP) - Spider-Man has a new sidekick: The president-elect.

Barack Obama collected Spider-Man comics as a child, so Marvel Comics wanted to give him a "shout-out back" by featuring him in a bonus story, said Joe Quesada, Marvel's editor-in-chief. Quesada said, "It was really, really cool to see that we had a geek in the White House. We're all thrilled with that."

The comic starts with Spider-Man's alter-ego Peter Parker taking photographs at the inauguration, before spotting two identical Obamas.

Parker decides "the future president's gonna need Spider-Man," and springs into action, using basketball to determine the real Obama and punching out the impostor. Obama thanks him with a fist-bump.

Vibrating Touch gets My Monthly Middle Finger Award

I have featured strange TV ads here before, but this is one of the weirdest. The subject matter, Trojan's Vibrating Touch "that everyones talking about," is outrageous enough, but the cheesy porn film acting puts it over the top. Enjoy.

Bush's Petty Blair House Obama Snub. Not a Peep from From Conservative Bloggers

I was so glad to see Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow cover what I thought to be an incredibly nasty parting gift from President Bush to Barack Obama. The Blair House snub. In the last eight years, the word JERK wasn't used nearly enough for this silver spoon elitist incompetent.

Thom Hartmann Bounced at Madison 92.1 the Mic for Financial Talker From Fox Business Network.

Madison Clear Channel station 92.1 the Mic bounced Thom Hartmann out after a short time shifted run in the afternoon, for another one of those financial expert shows, this one hosted by Dave Ramsey. Hartmann is one of the best talkers out there right now, offering up historical perspectives and debates with some of the most zealot right wingers. There isn't a day that goes by when the other liberal talkers don't mention Thom as the guy who knows it all. The operations manager's reason for pulling Hartmann; as a station, they're "more than just political talk." That may sound reasonable to some, but in the radio business, that's a FORMAT CHANGE. I worked on the conservative talk AM side for over five years, and never once did anyone suggest taking a break from politics. When listeners tune in, they expect political talk, because that's the format.

But instead, we're treated to another financial advisor. You know, someone that gives the same advice as a dozen others. There is little concern about getting the advice accurate. That’s why these programs exist. A lot of advice with little or no accountability.

A look at Dave Ramsey’s web site, and you might notice this guy has every angle covered: insurance, workplace training, church programs, an on line store, school curriculum, military programs, counselor training, a column and a foundation. He calls it: Life. Money. Hope.

But most of all, you can't help wonder why someone wanted to break up the Air America format with a guy who hosts a show on the Fox Business Network. It's not exactly the talk of the nation. The insertion of happy talk, aw shucks advice on relationships and zero political content, on a political talk station for gods sake is radio suicide.

Not that I have anything against teaching people how to manage their money, but this is vacuous showbiz at its slickest, from someone conservative enough to have his own Fox show on the laughable, failed business network. Take his biblical technique of money management. Yes, the Bible:

Financial Peace University is a Biblically-based accountability curriculum that teaches you how to make the right decisions with your money. More than 10,000 churches nationwide have hosted the program—bring Financial Peace University to your church today!

eLearning Feature: This supplement, called “Drive Free,” teaches students how to drive free cars for life.
In this Ramsey talks about a mutual fund that earns on average 12 percent interest. In what decade is he basing that figure? He also assumes 20 something’s have about $475 to put away a month, instead of a car payment, for 6 years. Now that’s good advice. You’re driving free is the claim. Give me a break. Here’s a sample:



According to FM Operations Manager Mike Ferris, in a form email poised and ready for an anticipated avalanche of protests:

I believe Dave's show offers expert advice and counsel on subjects that affect everyone, our personal finances. Indeed, this has been the goal of this station over the past four years, to provide exceptional programming not available anywhere else on the FM dial (note: that’s why there is weekend programming), and one that offers more than just political talk. Consider the fact that even the progressive Capital Times has a financial/business section, sports and comics.

Newspapers are not like radio stations. Again I have to ask, if this were such a good idea, why didn’t Clear Channel take an important conservative daytime talk show off the air on 1310 WIBA and replace it with a “financial expert?” At the least, they could have gotten someone local who advertises and knows the market? You know where I’m going with this. After awhile, the ratings will sink even lower, and that’s that. Air America just couldn’t cut it in one of the most liberal cities in the country.

Taking a look at the bigger picture, along with 24 years in radio, I’m not encouraged by what I’m seeing. Radio is filled with so many syndicated shows, there isn’t a time slot open or money to spend on the growing number of unemployed talkers, to fill those important future talk radio slots. The trend seems to be employing former Congress people.

Radio used to nurture new talent, once upon a time, now it syndicates old talent. And when they’re gone…what? Where’s the up and comers? The good mid-day talker isn’t there to move into the morning show. But then, who needs a morning show when you can beam one in from a near by affiliate station.

Having said all that, the Air America format of liberal talk, is in the beginning stages. Syndication is the most economical way to introduce and grow a format. Bring back Thom Hartmann, the smartest guy in radio. Heaven knows we it.

NOTE: Thanks to all who pushed Clear Channel hard enough to convince them to bring Hartmann back to the afternoon slot. -Jan 15, 2009

In the Year 2000....or sometime Down the Road.

When I discovered this car picture for the previous story, I couldn't resist reading it's promotional material. WOW. I thought mood rings were cool once. From finalsense.com:

Designers have lofty goals for their concepts, and the Toyota RiN is no different. With a massive greenhouse, seats that keep your spine in its proper position, an oxygen-level conditioner and humidifier, plus a meter that gauges your mood through the steering wheel and then displays a color based on your psychological state, Toyota thinks it can make better, happier motorists, that are more aware of nature and the society that infuses it. Hyperbolize much?Other interesting features include the leaf-shaped gas and brake, glass that makes the world outside seem brighter and sliding doors with glass that wraps underneath the floor providing a view of the road below. Plus, you can motor along (supposedly) knowing that when your headlights are on, you won't blind any pedestrians or oncoming motorists because the light is thoughtfully being distributed to avoid such stresses.

Here's how the press release promoted the RiN: The RiN focuses on "increased comfort" and "serene, healthy living". Through their relationship to the vehicle, drivers are encouraged to reevaluate themselves and, furthermore, to turn their attention to society and nature, producing a healthy rhythm for both mind and body.

* Promotes a healthier well-being thanks to features such as seats that help maintain good back posture and image displays aligned with the driver's psychological state that are conveyed within the meter cluster of the "mood-training" steering control.
* In addition to featuring comfortable, heated seats, an oxygen-level conditioner and pinpoint humidifier, uses green glass that reduces infiltration of ultraviolet and infrared light and makes the surroundings seem brighter and clearer to increase cabin comfort.
* Creates a feeling of harmony with the surrounding environment by using sliding doors with a low window that lets you view nature at ground level, as well as headlights with light distribution control that take into consideration pedestrians and vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
* Uses the motif of the deep-rooted and tall-growing Yakusugi tree (a variety of Japanese cypress) for its exterior and interior design to express both "harmony with nature" and "healthy mind and body".
* Contrasts deep green with beige in its interior color scheme to richen the complexions of those onboard and evoke a healthy mental and physical feeling.

Toyota Republicans Mum on Toyota’s Plummeting Sales Numbers. They Can’t Blame Unions!!!

The title above just about says it all, as reported by AP:

Ford Motor Co.’s U.S. sales plummeted 32 percent in December and Toyota MotorCorp.'s fell 37 percent as car and truck buyers continued to steer clear of showrooms due to the dismal economy. Aaron Bragman, automotive marketing research analyst for IHS Global Insight in Troy, Mich., said the sales drops are not unique to the U.S.-based automakers. "This is a domestic market problem because we see the same kinds of declines at Toyota and Honda as we see at GM and Ford," he said. "It's not a matter of getting financing. It's a matter of getting shoppers."

Bottom up economists have warned us about lower incomes and diminishing shopper numbers do to the supply side, top down, policies of the Republican Party. How can companies expand, hire and produce more when they don’t have customers? It’s that simple. It’s not union jobs and benefits is it? Maybe the southern Republicans who so blatantly wanted to break up the unions will turn to their states Japanese auto makers and ask them to reduce salaries and benefits so they can compete and sell more cars. Don’t bet on it.

Things are so bad that this unbelievably sad, jaw dropping promotional idea from Hyundai may be the harbinger of things to come:

Hyundai Motor America is trying to woo skittish buyers by promising to let them return cars free for up to a year if they lose their jobs and can't make the payments. The "Hyundai Assurance Program" applies to customers stricken by misfortune outside of their control, such as losing their job, becoming disabled or losing their drivers license for medical reasons. It covers depreciation up to $7,500.

Having worked with advertising agencies producing radio and TV ads, it’s easy to see Hyundai has tapped into who they’re selling cars to: the collapsing middle class.

Vouchers for K-12 and College? A few Good Arguments Against

In “Private schools not inherently better,” by Maureen Downey in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a few important issues are brought forward that haven’t been mentioned often enough the voucher debate:

My husband went to an elementary school that boasted a full orchestra for third-graders. He had kilns in art class, boa constrictors in science and trampolines in PE.

My school was a little different. The nearest we came to making music was ringing the bell at recess, and unless you counted doodling on our desks, we never had art class. Our most elaborate pieces of gym equipment were a jump rope and a basketball.

So which one of us went to a private school, and which attended a public school? Yup, he went to the swank public school with a swimming pool and a strings program; I went to the no-frills, no-chorus, no-band Catholic school … Many people aren’t looking for a way to escape their local schools. Conversely, many private schools are shoestring operations. Neither their facilities nor their course selections can match those of well-funded public schools, a fact that voucher advocates just can’t accept. They believe —- and they believe everyone else believes —- that private schools are superior and offer more qualified teachers, more art and music, more everything.

The most tenacious of … myths is that private schools attract and keep the very best teachers. In reality, teachers flee small private schools —- those with fewer than 300 students —- in numbers greater than even urban public schools experience. More than 80 percent of private schools are small … small private schools are controlled, cohesive universes that are less tolerant of a rebellious spirit or a dissident view. A larger public school, he says, may be more forgiving and more flexible.

According to Richard Ingersoll, a leading researcher on teacher turnover, “For teachers who disagree with school policies, large public schools may be more likely to provide options, other than either conformity to existing policies or exit from the job.”

…parents don’t see any value to vouchers and regard them as a threat to their schools. Without that middle-class support, vouchers will fail here as they have in every other state where they’ve been put to a vote.

Too Many Opting for College? What?

Diane Ravitch’s commentary at Forbes.com, “Claiborne Pell's Legacy,” expands on the idea of vouchers, but argues that taxpayer money should go to the schools instead of qualifited students. This supports the latest conservative argument, no ones buying the old ones, that too many students are deciding to go to college. That’s right, too many young adults want to further their education, believing the conventional wisdom of that they can make more money throughout their adult life if they learn more. Crazy kids. Notice how Ravitch subtly slips in this insane argument:

1972, Former Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island left quite a legacy when he died on Jan. 1 at the age of 90. A six-term Democratic senator from Rhode Island, he was responsible for creating a federal program of scholarships for low- and middle-income students in 1972, now known as Pell Grants in his honor.

….when the Higher Education Act was being reauthorized, the organizations representing colleges and universities sought additional federal support for their institutions. Their champion in Congress was Representative Edith Green of Oregon, a feisty Democrat. Pell, however, opposed Green, insisting that aid should go to students, not to institutions. Something of a backlash has developed in opposition to the pressure to send ever-increasing numbers of young people to college. Recently Charles Murray has argued that too many high school graduates are pushed to go to college, as has the anonymous Professor X in The Atlantic Monthly, who wrote about the woeful lack of preparation of many of his students, who know little, have read little, and cannot write a coherent sentence.

Would colleges and universities have maintained academic standards if the federal money had flowed to them, instead of to their students? Was higher education cheapened by turning it into a marketplace in which institutions compete to attract students and the dollars they bring with them? We will never know.

We wouldn’t want the colleges competing for the best students in the country would we? Colleges would be less accessable than many are today.

This, by the way, is the very reason why vouchers wouldn’t work for K—12. A public education is open to everyone, not just the best students. While colleges can be selective, our public schools must try to help everyone.

The other difference rarely mentioned by voucher advocates is that attending college is voluntary. Private K-12 schools have a guaranteed stream of taxpayer money once they fill their classrooms. Accountability will be manufactured by special interest testing organizations, and the results will be well advertised to unsuspecting neighborhood parents.

Hey voucher advocates, don’t act like that couldn’t happen.

The Unfair Right Wing Caricature of Itself is Only Fair

For the last year I have been pointing out the self destructive characteristics of conservative orthodoxy. Along the way I feel I may have portrayed Republicans as a stereotypical parody of itself.

So in defense of my many unkind words and honest analysis, I'm happy to pass along proof that I have not been "victimizing" these poor neanderthals. This is a real letter to the editor at southernheadlines.com, out of North Carolina:

YOUR VIEW: Who believes Democrats will keep us safe from terrorists?

According to the Democratic Party and the news media (owned and ruled by Democrats) President Bush is one powerful man, sending hurricanes where he wanted to and responsible for global warming. Now, he is to blame for foreign countries hating us. News flash - foreign countries have always hated us and always will. He sure made his share of mistakes, but he has kept the terrorists away for eight years. Does anyone think a government run by the Clintons, Kennedys, Nancy Pelosi and a White House run by their puppet - Obama - will keep us safe?

When the terrorist attack comes (I hope not, but it will), I guess Hillary, Obama and crowd will sit with the terrorists who kill innocent Americans and beg them to be good. Maybe offer a formal apology (for what, who knows), and I'm sure come up with a couple of billion of dollars for a better relationship. (NOTE: Exactly what Bush did with Iraqi insurgents)

I find it hard to trust a party that is trying to take the U.S., a once proud and powerful country, and make it into a cowardly and weak one. But I guess that is to be expected from a crowd that wants to make all laws and new programs to favor criminals, dope offenders, terrorists, atheists, illegal immigrants and all these homosexuals (I'm not politically correct, but I don't need votes).

It seems the news media, with the Democratic Party, is going out of its way to make fun of people who believe in God and some common decency, and have too many believing they are entitled to fine homes, health insurance and a great education without the responsibility of paying. Bailouts galore.

But now we have hope. Obama is going to throw a big ol' inauguration party that will probably turn into another Katrina without a hurricane to blame. ROGER M. High Point, NC

I rest my case.

Republican Candidate Nancy Mistele's speech Really Someone Else’s? Not if You Believe the Denials

Chalk up another one for Madison Isthmus’s Bill Lueders. Because of a botched 911 call, the current Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk is being challenged by Republican elitist Nancy Mistele, who promises to save the day with her conservative common sense approach to government. Or is it someone else’s approach and agenda? Mistele’s puppet master “strings” were exposed for the world to see, and should haunt her run for office right into the losers circle.

Candidates beware: The electronic documents you share may reveal more than you'd care to. Nancy Mistele's 1,000-word speech announcing her candidacy for Dane County executive … sent the text of her speech to media and others, as a word document, from her personal email. If you save this word file to desktop and check "Properties," then "Summary," an interesting thing happens: The listed title of the document comes up as "PUGH." Pugh who? Jim Pugh, the spokesman for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the "nonpartisan" big-business lobby that backs mainly Republican candidates? That's the fact, Jack … explains Mistele campaign manager Jon Horne. "When Nancy was drafting her announcement, she considered input from Jim Pugh, who is a personal friend of Nancy's and has no position in our campaign. Nancy writes her own speeches, and her announcement was no exception."

Whew! At first I thought maybe the state’s conservative business lobby might have influenced Mistele’s talking point run for office. There’s more…

Another peculiarity occurs in the two-sentence press release that Mistele sent out as a word document the day before her talk, giving the when and where of her announcement. If you save and examine it, the listed author of this very brief and perfunctory document is "Rick." Could that be Rick Berg, noted local conservative and valued Isthmus columnist? You betcha! The day before the speech, Berg says he spoke to Mistele and asked whether she had put out a media advisory. She hadn't, so he sent her a template; thus his first name ended up in the DNA for this document. "I just did it as a favor for a friend," says Berg, who has written favorably about Mistele's campaign, as is his right, as a conservative commentator. "I've talked to Nancy and others about issues I think they need to raise," he says, adding that he considered a bid for county exec in 1988, "so I have my own personal views on what needs to be done to make Dane County an even better place to live and do business. It's my impression that Nancy likes to do her own thing," he says.

Whew! I’m glad Berg didn’t contribute anything to her press release or political agenda. After all, she “likes to do her own thing.” I guess there’s nothing to see here. Move along now.

AP's Bushisms

AP-President George W. Bush will leave behind a legacy of Bushisms, the label stamped on the commander in chief's original speaking style. Some of the president's more notable malaprops and mangled statements:

- "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." - September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

- "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" - January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

- "They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too." - Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

- "There's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail." - Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.

- "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." - April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.

- "I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves." - April 18, 2002, at the White House.

- "There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." - Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.

- "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

- "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." - Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

MORE HERE...

Wisconsin’s State Assembly Minority Leader Collects Taxpayer Check and Benefits for Doing Nothing. “I don’t have to solve the problem’

Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald is a freeloading waste of taxpayer money. He fills the air with empty words and never ending contradictions. The following clip is a shining example:

Our state budget is about $3 billion in deficit without requested budget increases. Gov. James Doyle would only have to freeze budgets now, if he had been allowed the $3 billion in tax increases in his last budget request. The Republicans blocked that. Thus, the shortfall. Will they avoid bringing up subject? Not at all, Rep. Fitzgerald actually frames the blocked $3 billion as a victory, and never makes the obvious connection.

Watch his blissfull ignorance:



It doesn’t end there.

The Democratic Legislature and governor are now stuck with a huge budget shortfall. Will the Republicans help solve the deficit with compromise? Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, a Republican from the busy swamplands of Horicon, had this AP response:

"I don't have to solve that problem. Obviously that's the Democrats' problem. When it comes to the core principles of the Republicans in the Assembly, we've always tried to solve things without raising taxes. That has been our No. 1 priority and I think it should be."

"That’s the Democrats’ problem?" It would appear to be everyones problem, regardless of political affiliation. Strangely, many would argue that their number 1 priority should be to make nesseccary tax increases and budget cuts, not protect their failed ideology. Go figure.

As the rhetoric goes: Republicans are willing to support Democrats, kind of, but as Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, brother of Jeff, said, “Raising taxes must not be part of that.”

Despite the Republican acknowledgement that the state can’t just cut it’s way out of the deficit, the only other option-tax increases and closing loopholes-is off the table. Got that? Amazingly, the news media never seems to bring that little fact up in interviews or editorials.

For example: Gov. Doyle wants to balance the budget with a targeted tax increase on hospitals. According to a sarcastic press release from our freeloading Representative:

The Democrats’ first order of business will be to raise taxes on hospital patients to supposedly increase payments for medical assistance. Never mind that President-elect Obama has promised to increase payments for medical assistance with a new state bailout plan. The problem with the Obama plan is that there is not a built-in raid on the money for the state’s general fund; the money would actually go to those who need it. For Gov. Doyle, what good is a pile of freshly-printed federal bailout money if you can’t skim from it to balance another one his irresponsible budgets?”

Fitzgerald is a typically short sighted conservative; he’s oblivious to the fact that the state bailout money in a short term, one time shot, while the hospital tax is LONG TERM and sustainable. But the sound bite driven Minority Leader has elections to win and an ideology to protect.

Doing the job of the people isn’t even a party priority anymore.

The Unemployed Can't Find "Emergency Jobs" to Hold Them Over Untill They Find Permanent Work

It was supposed to turn out just fine. Forget being the worlds manufacturing leader, others can do it cheaper, let's turn our country into a service industry giant. There's nothing to worry about...or is there?

Steve Jagler of Biztimes Milwaukee, appearing on "Upfront with Mike Gousha," may have surprised and shocked free marketers with this sad reality for the jobless:



Jagler: "People aren't finding as many stop gap emergency jobs to fill in the situation while they wait for the next permanent job to open up. And that's a troubling thing for 2009."

Moyers, the Onion Headlines and Our Sad Reality

It's seems so strange to hear Bill Moyers talk about the Onion's twisted news stories and the similar but real twisted stories that fill our newspapers and cable news shows. Strange but appropriate.

2012 Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. Say it ain't So Joe

Here are a few clips from MSNBC of Sarah Palin and John McCain, that don't seem real anymore, but never-the-less really happened. As scary as Palin might be returning in 2012, McCain's flubbed joke at the end of this clip should break the tension. For whatever reason, I have a fit of uncontrollable laughter everytime I see McCain trying to recover from his mistaken delivery. I'm laughing now just thinking about it.

New Republicans Call Bush a "Socialist" in House Resolution?

Instead of the Republican Party getting the voter message and sentiment over the last two elections, they have moved to the zealot right, but only when it won't lose them votes in the immediate future.

Take anti-union/anti-American auto industry Governor Mark Sanford, who just agreed to apply for a $146 million federal loan (can you say "bailout?") to shore it up the unemployment benefits fund, after weeks of refusing to do so. More on that conservative contradiction following the video clip story of the RNC proposing a Congressional resolution calling Bush a "socialist." You can't make this stuff up folks.

RNC vice chairman James Bopp wants the House to pass a resolution opposing bailouts and ear marks, "to correct party mistakes and return to its principles." I guess it's okay to have had the majority and spent like "drunken sailors," with no threat of a presidential veto, then bailout Wall Street with no strings in one breath, but oppose them in the next without anyone noticing. This "pin the tail" on Bush story is entertaining and unrelentingly surreal. The "you just hate Bush" crowd has their work cut out for them.



Anti-socialist? Steadfast and strong? Resolute? If you’re a Republican with fiercely libertarian tendencies like Gov. Mark Sanford, these are only words to market yourself, not attributes to live by, as you’ll see in the following story of the game of “chicken” played with peoples unemployment benefits. As reported by the N.Y. Times:

Just hours before the unemployment benefits fund was to run out in South Carolina, the state with the nation’s third-highest jobless rate, Gov. Mark Sanford relented Wednesday and agreed to apply for a $146 million federal loan to shore it up, after weeks of refusing to do so.

The governor’s position had drawn rebukes even from fellow Republicans in the Legislature, one of whom denounced Mr. Sanford as “heartless,” and from newspaper editorial pages. On Wednesday, The State, the daily newspaper here in Columbia, accused the governor of playing “chicken with the lives of the 77,000” who are unemployed in South Carolina.

“It’s absolutely unheard of, it’s insane, for a governor of any state not to request those funds,” State Senator Hugh K. Leatherman, a Republican who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said last week. “I can’t believe anybody would be this heartless, and create such a heartless act on these people.”

There's even more insanity connected with this story you just won't believe, so check out the rest if you dare. Sanford actually makes the Republican state legislature look like flaming liberals as he attempts to carry out his very libertarian "Ron Paul" agenda, forgetting he's a servant of the people and not their dictator and disciplinarian.

Republicans Blame Middle Class for "Over Extending Themselves" for Current Economic Crisis

If you have the chance, check out PBS's "Too the Contrary," a news show centered around womens issues and with commentary from the left and right. I know I get a little nuanced sometimes, typically liberal, but it's the unintentional slips in conversation that sometimes reveals more than the guest will ever know. This is such a time.

Genevieve Wood from the Heritage Foundation uses the same conservative reason for our current economic crisis and jobless numbers; she blames the hard working middle class family.



Wood: "...Our life styles. Are we going to be okay with maybe having smaller houses and maybe having 2 cars instead of 3? Many Americans, including those in the middle class, have way over extended themselves. That's why when they go out of work, they have no savings and they've got credit card bills...we have not as a society been saving...?

Gee, tell that to the majority of families living pay check to paycheck, worried sick they might lose their jobs in this suffocating economy. Is it unusual to have a mortgage, car loan or credit cards establishing a credit history and rating so we can live a normal life and raise a family? According to Wood, it just might be. I especially like D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton's response:

Norton: "1 in 10 Americans are on food stamps. End of debate."

True to form, the Republicans on the show deny they had anything to do with the current crisis, but Ilana Goldman, Pres. of the Women's Campaign Forum had to step in and remind them about the Republican response early on when it started to effect homeowners first:

Goldman: "Let's not help the individual, that's not how we play here in America...unwillingness of conservatives to dip into the pocketbook to help the average American...(instead) we're doing it on the corporate level instead of saving American families."

We again, rest our case.

In 2008, Republicans in Wisconsin Tried to Silence the Will of its Citizens

It's time to look back again to the beginning of 2008, when Wisconsin's Republican Assembly majority passed a bill banning state residents from including resolutions that dealt with national issues. After all, what do "we the people" know about such things? Why should we be able to send a message locally or statewide to our national politicians showing them where we stand on U.S. policy?

You will love this audio from state Representative "snarlin'" Marlin Schneider, lambasting the conservative authoritarian majority for their unabashed elitism.

Republican Support of Small Businesses with Tax Cuts Biggest Lie Exposed!

As we start the new year, it's time to take a look around, and admit the obvious: The state and national GOP ideological agenda collapsed under the weight of so many lies and contradictions. Like N.Y. Times columnist Bob Herbert wrote recently:

Mr. Bush traveled the country in the early days of his presidency, promoting his tax cut plans as hugely beneficial to small-business people and families of modest means. This was more deceit. The tax cuts would go overwhelmingly to the very
rich.

Sound familiar? Of course, and you're hearing it more now, as the Republican Party attempts to preserve what most people know has failed. It's not easy coming up with a whole "new" party with the repugnant philosophical leanings as your opponent, while going against your own self destructive social vision of a capitalistic nation.

The simple test: Take a look around you at the ever mounting vacant store fronts, those small businesses that can't wait out the economic depression.

So this is what the free market does to America's main streets, and its effects on the many independent entrepreneurs taking the economic risks that has been the backbone of middle class growth.