I Can Live With That...

We liberals have been under fire from some folks for the last few days, because we have misinterpreted Mitt Romney's comments about forgetting the 47% of American voters.

Well, first of all, in that 47% that don't pay taxes, are many veterans, retired people, rich people, and people who are working at jobs that keep them and their families below the level required to pay Federal income taxes- but many do pay State income taxes, payroll taxes, etc.  Many are also residents of Red States.  So, the Mittster is a fool for even thinking such a stupid thought, let alone uttering the words aloud.

Secondly, and lastly, Joe Scarborough and William Crystal and many other conservatives, have joined the choir in questioning the Romney's sanity and abilities.

I can live with being wrong with those two.

Racism?

Today they called Obama a "wimp".  When was the last time they called a white president a "wimp"?  As I recall, it was always treason in a time of war.  Until the brother go there...

When did the leadership of one of the major political parties state publicly that their number one goal was to make the President.  Never.  Until the Brother got there...

Birth Certificate, Terrorist, Muslim, Food Stamp President- all subtle, or not, racist messages.

Look It Up!

Look it up. Three simple words, yet words you will never hear a Republican politician utter after s/he gives a speech, or makes a television appearance.

Do Democrats lie? I am sure some of them do, but not to the extent that it should be listed on their resume’ as a full-time job.

I fact check everything I write on these pages, and if I made a mistake, I would own it and apologize — but it hasn’t happened yet.

In doing my fact-checking, the Democrats vs. Republican lies are not as bad as the lopsided 49ers score against the Chargers (35-3), but it has been damned close. Beyond the lies, there also the convenient claims they make that cannot be proven one way or the other.

Mitt Romney says that the President has allowed millions of workers off the work-for-welfare rolls. The number of workers Obama has actually allowed off the rolls? Zero. What POTUS has done is given Governors, including many Republicans, at their request, more flexibility in dealing with their individual welfare programs. Look it up…

The Mittster also claims that we are not better off than we were four years ago. While technically correct, shave off the first few months of the Obama administration, and there has been a steady, albeit smaller than we had hoped for, increase in jobs and the economy. Look it up…

While you are at it, look up the eight years of job decline under Bush II- after Clinton left the country in great shape.

In 2009, the stock market hovered around 6500. It is now hovering around 12,500. Look it up…

The Republicans are blaming Obama for the “failed” bailout plan. Uh, the bank bailout took place under Bush II. Look it up. Granted, TARP, which DID occur under Obama, has not been as successful as we would have liked, but the results have been positive even so- and it would have been even more successful if the Republicans had not insisted on making a full 1/3 of it be tax cuts. Look it up…

The GM plant that Paul Ryan says closed because of Obama? It was shut down before Obama was even sworn in, and was slated for closure in June of 2008. Look it up…

Mitt Romney says he created 100,000 jobs at Bain Capital. Unprovable. And does that include subtracting the jobs lost breaking up, selling, and closing some of the companies he dealt with? Can’t look it up…

Ann Romney says their first desk was a door on two sawhorses. Unprovable, but I don’t believe it for a second. Can’t look it up…

Paul Ryan says we should not pay attention to his positions on things, because Mitt Romney is at the head of the ticket, and will set policy. Unprovable. However, we can pretty safely guess what will happen when one of the Tea Partiers in the Senate filibusters some of his grand, mostly-unknown-to-us plans- the Mittster will move further to the right to get his 60 votes.

I am tired of hearing about abortion. It’s the law of the land, under Roe vs. Wade, and that’s not likely to change, short of a Constitutional Amendment — but look for that to be put forth in a Romney Administration. Yes, various State governments are placing outrageous restrictions on women seeking abortions, but I am hopeful that the Federal court system will resolve those issues, and put those morons in their places. That being said, there must be a compromise in their somewhere, around three to four months for elective abortions.

As I have said before, one of the most devout Christians I have ever met told me that he did not believe “human life” began at conception, because most pregnancies self-terminate, and his God would not take more than half of all human beings away before they even got out of the hangar.

More than half of the states do not have laws preventing rapists from getting parental rights to their child. Look it up — I think the actual number is 33.

I am also tired of hearing about the life/potential life as being the “victim.” What about all those young victims of rape or incest who are dreaming of college, a career, waiting for Prince or Princess Charming to come along and sweep them off their feet, and wanted to wait until their late 20s to have kids, adopt, or have in vitro done? And we all know that Republicans are not pro-life, they are pro-birth, as they always vote against the social programs that would provide for some care and health for poorer, newborn, unwanted children — and wanted ones as well.

And let’s not forget that, 600 years after Christ, Constantine convened a conference to decide which gospels were going to be included in the Bible, omitting many, including ones by Mary and Mary Magdalene. WTF? You left out a gospel penned by Christ’s mother? Look it up…

Paul Ryan told an interviewer that his best marathon time was “Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.” Turns out it was four minutes and one second. That sounds like the difference between what he says his budget would do, and what it would ACTUALLY do. Look it up…

I am also getting tired of the Ghost of Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt in eight years. Look it up…

If you want to make comparisons, compare Obama with Bush II, Clinton with Bush I or Bush II, or Reagan with Carter. I will take those comparisons any day. Look them up…

Lastly is Medicare, that Obama “stole” $700 billion from seniors. Wrong. He took $700 billion from doctors and insurance companies — cuts that both the medical and insurance communities agreed to. Why? Because they realized that applying those monies to people when they were younger would keep them from having more serious problems, and escalated claims, when they got older. The Affordable Healthcare act extends the life of Medicare by almost a decade. Those are the facts. Look them up…

How? Use snopes.com or factcheck.org.  You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to the country.

Mitt Romney's (Lack of) Integrity

Ann Romney says that the Romney campaign will not be releasing any more tax returns because, the more they release, the more they get criticized. Really? If there is nothing wrong with them, nothing to hide, what is there to criticize?

The American people have a right to know what impact the Romney/Ryan tax plans will have on their own personal wealth. Even if they put all their funds in blind trusts, as usually happens, they both are very wealthy men, and a blind trust will not change that.

Are they going to look out for themselves, or the American people, as they claim?

The Obama campaign has challenged the Romney campaign, to release five years’ of income tax returns, which basically cover the period in which Mitt has been running for President, and that they will request no more after that. The Romney campaign has refused.

The Mittster says he has never paid less than 13 percent in “taxes”. Have you noticed that? He never says “income taxes”, it is always just “taxes”. Does that include sales tax? State tax? Taxes/fees on his money in the Cayman Islands? Hmmm…
Unfortunately, we have been here before with Mr. Romney.

When he decided to run for governor of Massachusetts, where there is a seven-year residency requirement to do so, he had just returned from a long stay in Utah, where he was running the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

People immediately questioned his residency, and there was an outcry to release his tax returns to prove that he had filed as a Massachusetts resident for seven straight years. He refused, and steadily maintained that he had filed in Massachusetts all those years. The Boston Globe even asked him to release his tax returns with all the monetary figures redacted, just showing his personal information, to confirm his residency claims.

He refused, again steadily claiming that he had filed in Massachusetts all those years.

Well, guess what? He was lying through his teeth, and had, in fact, filed as a Utah resident when he was living there, and his filing to run for Governor was done so in fraud. It finally all came out, and he was forced to go back and amend those returns to be in conformity with Massachusetts laws.

I am glad that the people of Massachusetts elected him, though, because they now have the best medical coverage in the nation under the very, very effective and solvent Romney Care, which, in turn, inspired the national Affordable Healthcare Act, also known as Obama Care.

But the fact is he was lying.

Just like he is lying now about Obama trying to limit the rights of military personnel to vote, when, in fact, he is trying to expand their opportunity.

Just like he is lying about Obama weakening Medicare, when, in fact, he has added almost a decade to Medicare’s solvency.

Just like he is lying about Obama reducing Medicare’s benefits, when, in fact, he has strengthened them, and even added to them.

Just like he is lying about Obama removing the work requirement from the Welfare laws.

Just like, in effect, he is lying about “Obama’s failed policies”, when he neglects to mention the record-setting number of filibusters that have occurred in the Senate over the last two years.

He was a liar then, and he is a liar now.

I guess the rules that God gave, by sending an angel to help “find” them, to Joseph Smith on those gold plates in Upstate NY in 1823 are different than those he gave to Moses on the stone tablets on Mount Sinai.

The 2^nd Amendment

The National Rifle Association is arguably the most powerful lobby in the nation.  They believe that the 2^nd Amendment is inviolable and absolute.

I often wonder where they get their self-righteous arrogance.

Any time they call me, I just start laughing.  The person on the other end pauses I explain to them that “Boy, did you call the WRONG house!”  They are actually pretty pleased with my reaction because, apparently, many of us on the Left yell at them.  

C’mon folks, that’s no way to win the argument.

I must say, though, that the next time my daughter’s boyfriend, Dylan, leaves his NRA hat on my kitchen table I am going to give it to Max as a chew toy, whether it was his grandfather’s hat or not.

This is exactly what the 2^nd Amendment says:

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

It says “…well regulated…”  Doesn’t that mean there can be rules and restrictions?  It doesn’t say “the right to bear cannons”.

It also says “militia” and “State”, which is capitalized.  Can’t the argument be made that all the people who want to have the 2^nd Amendment applied to them be in each State’s respective National Guard?  Of course, we all know that’s not the case, and that any training they get takes place about as often as George Bush II’s Texas Air National Guard participation took place.

Then we have those idiots who claim that the 2^nd Amendment is designed to allow people to protect themselves from the Government.  Those are the same people who will look dumbfounded when you ask them who is buried in Grant’s tomb.

I used the term “self-righteous arrogance” for a reason.  They act like no other amendments have any restrictions on them.

The 1^st Amendment is first because it is the most important one.  What would that look like 

if we applied the NRA absolutism to the 1^st?

Here’s what is says: 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It would be ok to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater, there would be no slander or libel laws, and God only knows what the anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-contraception people would do if they had no restrictions placed upon them.  Even some of the “mainstream” religions could not be trusted with unfettered religious freedom. 

I still think it’s an outrage that they cut the tip of a boy’s dick off before he’s old enough to make the decision for himself.  I am reminded that mine is missing every time I hear a golfer yell “Fore!”, although if my wife has any complaints, she hasn’t mentioned them to me.

Of course, other Amendments have had restrictions placed upon them as well.

Guns are dangerous, and I don’t care how many flags you wrap yourself in, some regulations and restrictions are needed.  Just ask the people in Colorado or the Sikh Temple.

Nobody needs an AK-47, especially something that is so easily converted to fully-automatic.

Trivia Question:  In the modern era, which state has had more people killed by handguns than vehicle accidents: a) Texas, b) Texas, c) Texas, d) Texas.  Unfortunately, other states have joined the cowpokes since then.

Recently, the NRA had their 15 minutes of fame in front of the Supreme Court and, of course, the five Stepford Justices agreed with them.  It’s very sad, because innocent people are going to die because of that decision.

I am not against guns, and I have a few guns myself- all registered, and all middle-of-the-road.  I had peace officer powers for 25 years, and both times we upgraded weapons, I bought the old one.  I also have a couple of shotguns and a rifle.  The good news is that, when the revolution comes, nobody is going to be able to say “Stupid Liberal, he brought a knife to a gunfight!”

Oh, Dick.

    American Lefty has learned that one of the people that phoned Maryland legislators last week, and presumably those in New Jersey as well, to lobby in favor of Gay Marriage, was former Vice President Dick Cheney.  That's right.  Dick Cheney.  Confirmed.  The truth.  Absolute.  

    Wow.  I am speechless.

    The question, of course, has his opinion changed, or did he place his Party and his career before family during his eight years in the White House?