The Paul Ryan Effect.

My first impulse after writing the title to this post, was to leave it blank. As Romney’s running mate, Ryan contributed little to nothing to his campaign. At first glance, one would think he was a non-factor. However, after some further examination, I think he was a huge factor, a ginormous negative effect on a campaign that had a razor thin margin for error.

At the very least, a VP candidate is expected deliver his home region. Ryan couldn’t even deliver his home state. While he did manage to hold on to his congressional seat in Wisconsin (talk about hedging your bet), his Midwestern background meant little there. Romney lost Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio: All states that Ryan should have appealed to. What he and Romney got instead was an Obama sweep. Indiana came through for team Romney, but I can’t even remember the last time Indiana went blue in a Presidential election.

As the campaign trudged forward this year, Ryan’s presence grew smaller by the day. Sure, he did stop and wash some already clean pots and pans at a St. Vincent De Paul, and he did take some time to get schooled by Joe Biden on national TV, oh yeah, there was also the children of rape is God’s gift ( or some disgusting view point of the like) comment, and the ridiculous photo shoot with the dumbbells (which one was the dumbbells?), and the – you know? Never mind. The GOP, pretty much tried to hide him, rather than let him promote Romney.

He was making a fool out of himself and Romney from the outset, and Willard sure as hell didn’t need any help with that.

Willard my man, you should have went with Christie as your running mate: you have my heart felt gratitude for picking Ryan instead.

Dumb ass.

Santorum’s Wisconsin primary campaigning stops short of donning the cheesehead | The Ticket – Yahoo! News

Dickhead refuses to wear a cheesehead? What an asshat.

Santorum’s Wisconsin primary campaigning stops short of donning the cheesehead | The Ticket – Yahoo! News.

Scott Walker Is Busted By Dennis Kucinich!

Image by SEIU International via Flickr

Check out this article on ThinkProgress. During a congressional hearing, Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich asks Walker if his union busting tactics had anything to do with the Wisconsin spending deficit. Walker flat out admits his lies by acknowledging that his tactics had nothing to do with spending.

Of course the prick who chairs the committee that Kucinich sits on refused to put Kucinich’s damning evidence into public record.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/14/walker-admits-union-money/

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Ryan’s Hope: More Tax Cuts For The Insanely Wealthy.

Image via Wikipedia

Wisconsin is the home of the Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers. Their fan base, which is anyone who is a football fan in Wisconsin, are affectionately nicknamed cheese heads, for the foam rubber cheese hats that they wear while watching the Packers play. In 2011, Wisconsin has become the home of another cheesy nickname: The cheese dick.

How does a Wisconsinite become a cheese dick? It’s simple: become a Republican politician. Governor Scott Walker has earned himself a lifetime pass to the cheese dick club. Walker now has company in this exclusive club; his name is Paul Ryan.

Congressman Ryan is chairman of the house budget and finance committee. On Tuesday, Ryan submitted a federal budget proposal that would cut close to $6 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, which is good; over the last ten years, the national debt has climbed immensely, while our economy has spiraled further down the toilet. There’s a problem though; over 2 thirds of Ryan’s proposed cuts affect programs that benefit the poor, the disabled and the elderly, while giving massive tax cuts to the massively wealthy. If this plan goes into effect next year, it will create the biggest gap between social classes in this country’s history.

Among those programs that Ryan is going after are Medicaid and Medicare. Ryan proposes that Medicaid should go on a voucher system, essentially putting the financial responsibility on the states to foot medical bills for those who can’t afford healthcare. The cost of the vouchers will not only hit financially strapped states even harder, the vouchers won’t even come close to covering the rising medical costs of the poor and disabled who may need it.

Ryan is also attacking Medicare for the elderly; under his proposal, Medicare would come under the control of private insurance that the elderly would have to purchase. Of course this is extremely problematic, as most of the elderly are on fixed incomes and can’t afford much of anything, let alone paying for their own health care.

The bill does benefit some though; under Ryan’s proposal, the Bush tax cuts would be made permanent, and estate taxes for the extremely wealthy would be eliminated all together. That’s great news for anyone with an income over a million dollars a year; they would be entitled to additional tax cuts to the tune of at least $125.000 a year.

Ryan’s “Path to Prosperity” would be more aptly named “The Road to Ruin.” This plan is just another attack by the Republican base in their war on the impoverished. Our political leaders have learned nothing from world history. As empires demand more from those who do not have, only to turn around to give to those that do, class war becomes inevitable and empires crumble. Just ask the classical Roman and Persian emperors, or the French kings of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Republicans are so afraid of socialism that they are blind to this fact: Their policies of taking from the majority of the people, which are poor and middle class, and in turn giving to the minority which are the insanely wealthy, is indeed, socialism. Let’s just call it elitist socialism and leave it at that, shall we? Cheese dicks indeed.

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We Don’t Need no Stinkin Right to Privacy!

The Wisconsin Republican Party is pissed at University of Wisconsin History professor William Cronon. In fact, they’re so angry at Professor Cronon, they have demanded access to all of his e-mails that are associated with his university account. In particular, they are looking for all of his e-mail that includes the term Republican, or names of any Republican politician. 

Why is the Wisconsin Fascist Party demanding copies of his e-mails? It’s simple; Professor Cronon started a blog, “Scholar as Citizen.” His first post gave an accounting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) plays an important role in defining and introducing hard right conservative legislature on state and national levels. 

According to the Daily Kos, ALEC is a hush hush non-profit organization that uses tax and lobbying loopholes to push its nefarious agendas, which include turning big business interest’s think tank policies into state legislative law drafts, bribing  Republican state legislators with travel, entertainment, and other “amenities,” and giving memberships to conservative politicians, as well as any corporation that can pony up at least $50 thousand to sit on their many task forces, in order to turn think tank ideas into legislation. 

ALEC’s corporate membership includes heavy hitters such as Enron, Exxon, Pfizer, Nationwide, and you guessed it, the Koch Brothers, who contributed $408 thousand dollars to their cause last year. In turn, ALEC has “persuaded” politicians to introduce over 1000 bills, 18% of which actually became law, including the Arizona anti-immigrant bill. 

I have no doubt that ALEC and the Koch brothers are behind the movement to crush the middle and lower classes on a state level. These classes are generally pro-labor and Democrat, which are four letter words on the corporate level. I’m sure Professor Cronon’s blog post included these notions, and in turn, the Wisconsin ReKochlicans are trying to find any correspondence with Cronon’s name on it that will besmirch his name and reputation. 

That’s how the Republicans roll; first they intimidate, then they infiltrate. Then last but not least, they insinuate. The hard line Republican stance now is to attack, attack, and attack. There is no debate, no negotiation, and no compromise. It’s either their way, or you’re a no good, socialist, god hating, patriotism undermining, pinko commie. There is no middle ground anymore in their eyes. 

Is this our idea of an open, democratic society now? The corporate sponsored Republicans are trying every method at their disposal to eliminate the opposition; including investigating those who would dare refute their policies. This country has become a nation ruled by fear and suspicion, in addition to open discrimination and class warfare. Be careful what you say, or you may be the next target. Do I hear goose- steppers behind me? Uh-oh…

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I Turn My Back For One Minute! More Republican Chicanery.

I get distracted by the prospect of our house being washed away by the Ohio, and I come back to this. Scott Walker further strengthens his lead over Moammar Kaddafi in the crazy dictator of the year contest by removing all wording related to spending measures, and force feeding  his bill to prohibit state employees from collective bargaining through the Wisconsin State Senate. By doing this, he has exposed himself to the fact that collective bargaining being about the budget is a bold faced lie. You haven’t heard the last of this you lying, law breaking prick. I hope the Wisconsin voters recall your greedy ass when its time, and wreck your career. 

There was some good news on a federal level. The proposed bill to cut funding for Planned Parenthood did not make it through the Senate, meaning that Title X is safe for now. However, you can bet that the fight to protect women’s right to choose is not over by any means. As long as there are conservatives who mix religion into their politics, the woman’s right to choose will forever remain under attack. Again, this is not about budgets; it’s about the Republican’s never ending thirst for more control of our civil liberties. 

One last thing that is really pissing me off: John Boehner announced that he will lead the charge to allow the House of Representatives to fight any lawsuits against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court. So let me work this out in my little liberal mind; the Republicans bitched and moaned all during the 2010 election about the budget and unemployment levels. So far they have managed to wage war on state employee’s unions, a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body, and same sex marriage. How the fuck is that bringing jobs? Where in the hell does that come anywhere near cutting spending and balancing the budget? 

If any of the Rethuglicans or Tea Bag Terrorists manages to pull their heads out of the Koch brother’s asses long enough, they may notice that the country is turning on them like a dog that is fed up with regular beatings from its owner. Their bullying tactics are coming back to bite them in the ass, and if they persist, they’re going to find out just how powerful our bite can be. Revolution is coming my friends, and it ain’t going to be pretty.  End of rant.

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My Response to Republicans Over SB5? F*ck You!

The bill SB5 passed in Ohio by a 17-16 vote yesterday, and all I can think is fuck you Republicans. Fuck you for going against popular opinion. Fuck you for trying to sneak in wording that would eliminate benefits for same sex partners on this bill. Fuck you for trying to make this about the budget, instead of your own nefarious agendas to accumulate more wealth and power. Fuck you for not caring about the poor and middle class, the backbone of this country. Fuck you for not giving a shit about women, and trying to control their bodies. Fuck you for claiming that abortion is murder, yet secretly cheer when another abortion doctor is killed. Fuck you for demanding that every child be born regardless of the price the mother may have to pay, and then ignore the child when it’s born.

Fuck you for not allowing same sex partners all the rights and privilege that heterosexual couples enjoy on a federal level. Fuck you for attempting to eliminate Planned Parenthood, Wic, the EPA, and other vital agencies while giving yet more tax breaks to billion dollar corporations. Fuck you for taking up permanent residence in the Koch Brothers back pockets. Fuck you for inflicting Nixon, Reagan, and Bush upon us. Fuck you for bitching about high taxes, huge government, and an unmanageable national debt, than turning around and raising all three. Fuck you for claiming it’s about jobs, then ignoring the unemployed when you’re elected. Fuck you for doing everything you can to make our country a fascist, one party nation. Fuck you for the lies that you spread about Barack Obama. Fuck you for giving birth to the Tea Party. Fuck you for enabling Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. Fuck you for Faux News. Fuck you for not putting a muzzle on Fred Phelps and the other crazy fuckers who preach hate and intolerance. Fuck you for Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Scott Walker, John Kasich, etc, etc, etc. Fuck you John Boehner for being the uncaring prick that you are. Fuck you for every other transgression that I left out. Fuck you, Fuck you, and Fuck you.

I’m sorry that this post isn’t as eloquent as what you’re used to. It’s hard to be a wordsmith when all I feel right now is rage.

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Wisconsin Democrat Threatens Republican With “You’re F*cking Dead!”

As the few readers of this blog may know something that I hate more than fanatical christian conservatives and greedy fat cat republicans is violence in any way, shape, or form. Among all the peaceful, heroic protesting in Wisconsin comes some deeply disturbing news: Democratic state Rep. Gordon Hintz egregiously threatened Republican colleague Michelle Litjens after the budget vote by telling her “You are fucking dead.” I have issues with this on many levels. 

 I detest violence; to wage an assault on anyone either verbally or physically is abhorrent behavior, and should not be tolerated. Hintz’ words are as reprehensible as the right to lifer’s words and actions against abortion doctors or their patients. His words are as culpable as Sarah Palin’s posting of gun sights on the districts of Democratic lawmakers across the country. While his words are not on the level as crazed political Jared Loughner, who was responsible for the January shootings in Tucson, they are every bit as disturbing to me. To me, his threats are as violent as the hate rhetoric that froths from the mouths of tea party terrorists, who bring threats to our president along with their automatic weapons to political rallies. His words are as detestable as those that come from fringe groups, who threaten the safety of people based on their skin color, political and religious ideology, gender, and sexual orientation.   

Gordon Hintz words, along with being severely objectionable, are also illegal. What he said to his Republican peer fits the legal definition of assault, pure and simple. I wouldn’t blame, in fact I would encourage Rep Litjens to prosecute Rep Hintz to the fullest extent of the law. It’s not only her right, it’s her duty. If she were to remain silent on this, like the countless women who are beaten by their husbands, or raped by power hungry psychopaths, she is doing nothing but encouraging her abuser to come further unhinged. I don’t care how this is spun; Hintz broke the law and should be punished. 

Another issue that I have with this is that while over 100,000 people are peacefully protesting in Madison, inside the capital building walls Hintz is undermining what everyone is trying to accomplish; the dismissal of an unjust bill taking away state worker’s rights to collectively bargain. His threat also undermines a national effort to eliminate the hate rhetoric that has become so pervasive in the radical right’s ideology. I can assure you that every right wing pundit will eagerly crow about Gordon Hintz for months to come. As liberals, it is our responsibility to set the example of civility, not give conservatives more ammunition against us! 

This is 2011, not 1811 when political foes could challenge each other to duels on the white house lawn. I don’t care how he meant his threat, or from what circumstances it came from. The threat was vile, and should be dealt with accordingly.  

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The Fight For Choice: Women’s Liberties Are at Stake!

On Saturday, my partner and I made our 2^nd trip in 5 days to Columbus to join a protest rally. Tuesday we went to support the protesters against SB5, which effectively eliminates state workers rights to collective bargaining. Saturday we marched in protest to the Republicans proposal to de-fund Planned Parenthood. There were approximately 500 people who showed up; there were men and women, young and old, religious and secular. What was  wonderful was the fact that at the same time, there were thousands there who showed up again to protest SB5, as well as show their solidarity for the workers in Wisconsin.

As we marched up the street to the capital building, the workers rally was just ending. They lined the sidewalk on either side of us, voicing their support for our cause. They cheered and gave us high fives as we entered the main courtyard to the state house grounds. Their message was clear to us: women have a right to choose when it comes to their bodies, and their civil liberty is equally as important as any state worker’s right to collectively bargain.

As many of you know, the Republican Party is trying to inflict their moral beliefs upon us under the guise of reducing federal spending. They insist that a major step toward reducing spending is to de-fund Planned Parenthood, as well as other vital social programs that involve women’s health and the care of children born to disadvantaged families. Many state governments are taking their moral agenda a step further; in some conservative states such as Georgia, there is legislation that will make a miscarriage a felony if it isn’t proven that the miscarriage was a natural occurrence. In some instances, a woman who miscarries can even face the death penalty!

The Republicans are sending a clear message; they are going take away a woman’s right to choose even if the woman and unborn child die in the process. They are going to force a woman to have her baby even if she does not have the means to bring the child up by herself. They are going to force women to have back alley abortions again, returning to the disgusting days of shady doctors and wire coat hangers. This is not about budgets. If it were, the Republicans would know that ending funding for programs such as Planned Parenthood would actually put a huge strain on the budget. Health care costs as well as welfare costs would rise exponentially. Of course even though they want to strong arm women into having their babies regardless of the consequences, they have every intention of ignoring the child once it’s born. Not only do they want to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, they also want to eliminate funding for programs such as WIC, a crucial program that helps feed poor single mothers and their children.

The Republican agenda has never been about budgets or jobs. The Christian conservative zealots who are now in charge of making our laws are trying to control our daily lives. They want to eliminate the middle class and keep the poor at their mercy. They want to put women in their “rightful” place, which is barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen. What the Rethuglicans are doing is attempting to return our country to an era that is over a century old. They want to squeeze bi-partisan politics out of the American lexicon. They’re working fervishly to place themselves in a position of control that would ultimately turn our country into a closed society, much like Hitler and Stalin did in the 20^th century. They want to fatten their wallets and increase the bottom line for the huge corporations that they shill for. That is what the Republican Party is all about. If we sit silent, they win. If we exercise our still existing rights to free speech, we may still have a chance to keep our country free.

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Images of Democracy in Action: More Pictures of the Fight Against SB5

As many of you may know, my partner and I rode up to Columbus this past Tuesday to witness and participate in the fight to ban Ohio Senate Bill 5. If passed this bill will effectively eliminate state employees rights to collectively bargain for wages and benefits. While we were there protesting I managed to get several pictures of the demonstration as well as some video. Since I seem to have a penchant to record my own feet in many of the clips, my partner was kind enough to edit them and post the highlights here on You Tube. If anyone is interested in viewing the many still images we captured, the pictures can be viewed here on Flickr.

I don’t claim to be the world’s best photographer, or even a good one. However I think you’ll come across some inspiring pictures of an inspired crowd. These images are Democracy in action. There were over 10,000 people braving 20 degree weather as well as an indifferent tyrant in the form of Governor Kasich, to collectively use their right to free speech. I can not express enough how honored I was to be part of the process. We will be back in Columbus on Saturday to join the march to protest the proposed annihilation of Planned Parenthood by the Rekochlican party. Afterward we plan on trekking back to the state house to join in with the protesters against SB5. Hopefully it will be another wonderful turn out. Our voices do matter people: It has been reported in many media outlets that many Republicans are hedging their bets on their attack against labor. Keep up the good work everyone! This week is one of those moments when I am truly proud to be an American. Those moments have been few and far between over the last decade.

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