Tag Archives: Congress

April 11, 2011 · 10:10 pm

4 ways we’re still fighting the Civil War – CNN.com

This article gave me a lot to think about.  Since Americans don’t know, don’t care about and don’t learn from their history, it’s also rather scary.

Some amazing parallels here in this article.

I encourage you to click the link and read the entire thing on CNN.com:

But you don’t have to tour a battlefield to understand the Civil War. Look at today’s headlines. As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of its deadliest war this week, some historians say we’re still fighting over some of the same issues that fueled the Civil War.

“There are all of these weird parallels,” says Stephanie McCurry, author of “Confederate Reckoning,” a new book that examines why Southerners seceded and its effect on Southern women and slaves.

“When you hear charges today that the federal government is overreaching, and the idea that the Constitution recognized us as a league of sovereign states — these were all part of the secessionist charges in 1860,” she says.

“Living history” on Civil War battlefields

These “weird parallels” go beyond the familiar debates over what caused the war, slavery or states’ rights. They extend to issues that seem to have nothing to do with the Civil War.

The shutdown of the federal government, war in Libya, the furor over the new health care law and Guantanamo Bay — all have tentacles that reach back to the Civil War, historians say.

They point to four parallels:

via 4 ways we’re still fighting the Civil War – CNN.com.

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April 8, 2011 · 3:27 pm

Brain structure differs in liberals, conservatives: study | The Raw Story

Well, I always knew I never really thought like a Conservative and now I know why…

I’ve always analyzed and dissected complex issues instead of going for the easy solutions….

I question everything.  I always have…

Fear isn’t something I consciously use in my decision but it’s clear the GOP uses it to drive and fire up their Conservative base…

Fascinating article from Raw Story:

 

WASHINGTON — Everyone knows that liberals and conservatives butt heads when it comes to world views, but scientists have now shown that their brains are actually built differently.

Liberals have more gray matter in a part of the brain associated with understanding complexity, while the conservative brain is bigger in the section related to processing fear, said the study on Thursday in Current Biology.

“We found that greater liberalism was associated with increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas greater conservatism was associated with increased volume of the right amygdala,” the study said.

Other research has shown greater brain activity in those areas, according to which political views a person holds, but this is the first study to show a physical difference in size in the same regions.

“Previously, some psychological traits were known to be predictive of an individual’s political orientation,” said Ryota Kanai of the University College London, where the research took place.

“Our study now links such personality traits with specific brain structure.”

The study was based on 90 “healthy young adults” who reported their political views on a scale of one to five from very liberal to very conservative, then agreed to have their brains scanned.

People with a large amygdala are “more sensitive to disgust” and tend to “respond to threatening situations with more aggression than do liberals and are more sensitive to threatening facial expressions,” the study said.

Liberals are linked to larger anterior cingulate cortexes, a region that “monitor(s) uncertainty and conflicts,” it said.

“Thus, it is conceivable that individuals with a larger ACC have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty and conflicts, allowing them to accept more liberal views.”

It remains unclear whether the structural differences cause the divergence in political views, or are the effect of them.

But the central issue in determining political views appears to revolve around fear and how it affects a person.

“Our findings are consistent with the proposal that political orientation is associated with psychological processes for managing fear and uncertainty,” the study said.

via Brain structure differs in liberals, conservatives: study | The Raw Story.

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April 6, 2011 · 7:30 pm

10 of the Biggest Corporate Tax Cheats In America | AlterNet

I really don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes, but I find it hard to believe it’s fair that I pay more than these Corporations….

If you or I were running a small business and we kept one set of books showing how much money we were making and a second set for the IRS that painted a picture of an enterprise on the brink of bankruptcy, we’d end up behind bars.

But that’s standard operating procedure for corporate America. In fact, public corporations have to do it — the law requires that they keep one set of books for their shareholders, and another for the IRS. As tax journalist David Cay Johnston explained, “Many corporations routinely tell investors they incur millions in corporate income taxes, while the financial records they give the IRS show they owe nothing or are due refunds.”

In the records kept by the IRS, corporations cook the books “by using tax shelters, offsetting income with losses from years ago, and employing countless other devices that make them look like paupers to the IRS but money machines to investors.”We got a peek into this process last week, when the New York Times revealed that multinational giant GE is not only avoiding corporate income taxes this year, but is taking a “tax benefit” of $3 billion. According to the Times, the company’s “extraordinary success is based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore.”

But of course, GE is not alone. Here are 10 other big corporate tax evaders (with an assist from an MSNBC analysis of leading corporate tax-dodgers). Keep in mind that neither political party ever actually cuts spending significantly, so every dollar these companies avoid paying is one that will come out of the paychecks of working America.

via 10 of the Biggest Corporate Tax Cheats In America | AlterNet.

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April 5, 2011 · 8:59 pm

VA Congressman Proposes Officially Changing Title Of Anti-EPA Bill To ‘Koch Brothers Appreciation Act’

Love this….

From ThinkProgress.org…

Weeks ago, Koch-funded climate change denying Republicans on the House Energy Committee voted unanimously in favor of the Upton-Inhofe bill to eliminate the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The Republican-controlled House is expected to pass the bill later this week and Rep. Gerry Connollly (D-VA) wants to call a spade a spade and officially change the name of the bill to a more appropriate title:

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) wants to change the title of a bill that would permanently block Environmental Protection Agency climate regulations to the “Koch Brothers Appreciation Act,” a reference to the billionaire brothers who are active in Republican politics.

via ThinkProgress » Rep. Gerry Connolly Proposes Officially Changing Title Of Anti-EPA Bill To ‘Koch Brothers Appreciation Act’.

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April 4, 2011 · 7:27 pm

Republicans to Call for Ending Medicare

It’s rare for me to be stunned by anything in Politics, but this one is a stunner…

The GOP is actually going to proposed doing away with Medicare- one of the most successful and beloved programs ever created- and replacing it with private insurance.

If this one doesn’t kill them off, they have more lives than the average cat…

How can they even think about doing away with a program that benefits so many elderly Americans- who generally vote more dependably than another group and tend to vote Republican?

I hope the Democrats finally find their voice and stand up to this….

If saving Medicare isn’t a winning political issue, I don’t know what is…

House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is set to outline a budget plan on Tuesday that is expected to propose phasing out traditional pay-for-service Medicare and instead provide government subsidies for the elderly to obtain healthcare through private insurers.The change would be for future retirees. Anyone currently over 55 would be enrolled in the current system.The proposal represents significant political risk for Republicans who made big gains in last years congressional elections running against Obamas healthcare overhaul, which they said would cut benefits for Medicare recipients.”The Ryan plan is likely to become a lightning rod for Democrats in the 2012 elections,” said Chris Krueger, political strategy analyst at MF Globals Washington Research Group.

via Republican to call for sweeping Medicare changes | Reuters.

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April 2, 2011 · 5:21 pm

The End of Compassionate Conservatism

The House Republicans have done the almost impossible:  Made George W Bush look good compared to themselves…

Most Progressives, like me, always thought the concept of Compassionate Conservatives was Public Relations BS.  And it was…

But we obviously had not anticipated this heartless bunch of new GOP House members…

And of course the Democrats don’t now how to fight this- either in Congress or with a coherent message strategy.

The good news is I think the GOP over reach will eventually be their undoing.  At least for a while…

We will just have to hope they don’t kill too many people in the meantime….

From the New Republic:

House Republicans want to cut funding for health programs abroad and for community clinics here at home. And although the projected savings are small, at least relative to the size of the federal budget, the philosophical shift they signal is big. This is the end of compassionate conservatism.

You remember compassionate conservatism, don’t you? It was George W. Bush’s slogan, going back to the late 1990s, when, as a candidate, he told audiences that “Prosperity without purpose is just materialism” and vowed to “rally the armies of compassion in our communities to fight a very different war against poverty.”

Cynics saw it as empty rhetoric or, worse, a deliberate distraction from policies that were actually quite harsh to the nation’s least fortunate. The cynics had a pretty good point. Bush raided the treasury, in order to give wealthy people huge tax cuts, and the resulting budget crunch has forced all sorts of cuts to vital programs over the years.

Still, Bush never gave up the rhetoric of compassion. And on at least a few occasions he lived up to it. Community clinics were one example: As president, he doubled their funding. According to an account by Kevin Sack in the New York Times, that led to the creation or expansion of more than 1,200 clinics around the country. “This is a really good use of the taxpayers’ money,” Bush said at the time, noting that good primary care helps keep people out of the emergency room

AND

Today, by contrast, Republican leaders are perfectly content to walk away from these programs and many others without so much as acknowledging the consequences, let alone addressing them. Poor people in the U.S. might not be able to get basic medical care? Victims of HIV abroad might lose their life-sustaining drugs? If Republicans have paused even a moment to think about these things, they sure haven’t shown it.

 

via House Republicans Turn Out The Lights On President Bush’s Compassionate Conservatism | The New Republic.

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April 2, 2011 · 9:38 am

What Does John Boehner Do for a Living? Less Than Half in Poll Know

This is actually better than I thought it would be…

I’m convinced if Democracy ultimately fails in America, it will be because of ignorance and inattention…

That thought was re-enforced by last year’s election of so many Republicans so soon after they nearly destroyed the world economic system…

From Poll Watch:

Most Americans know that “No Child Left Behind” has something to do with education, that Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State and that Moammar Gadhafy is the leader of Libya, but when it comes to Congress, less than half of the public knows that John Boehner is the Speaker of the House or that the Republicans now have a majority in that chamber, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 17-20.

In its regular News IQ quick, Pew found that 80 percent correctly identified “No Child Left Behind,” 73 percent knew what Hillary Clinton did for a living and 71 percent could name the country where Gadhafi has ruled for more than 40 years.

But only 43 percent knew that Boehner was the top House Republican and just 38 percent were aware that the GOP had a majority in the House. Republicans in the survey were predictably the most aware of their good political fortune with 50 percent knowing Boehner was Speaker and 49 percent knowing their party was a majority. Forty-two percent of Democrats knew who Boehner was and 33 percent knew the GOP controlled the House. Forty-one percent of independents correctly identified Boehner’s job and 39 percent knew the Republicans had a House majority.

Nineteen percent thought that Democrat Nancy Pelosi was still the Speaker.

However, Boehner is slowly but surely getting better known. In November, Pew said 38 percent correctly identified Boehner as the speaker-in-waiting. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll conducted in February said 37 percent did not know his name or were not sure of their opinion of him, which was an improvement over the 44 percent in that category last November right after the elections, and 52 percent in October 2010, just before Election Day.

via What Does John Boehner Do for a Living? Less Than Half in Poll Know « Poll Watch Daily.

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April 1, 2011 · 6:14 pm

The Next America

Some very good news from the National Journal…

Not just for President Obama’s re-election, but for all of us…

I’m tired of rich white GOP men and crazy white GOP women- with an outrageous sense of entitlement -thinking they should run everything…

It’s time for more diversity in Government – and we sure won’t get that from the GOP.

The faster our government representation becomes multi-cultural, like our society is, the better.

The next America is arriving ahead of schedule. And it could rattle assumptions about the coming presidential election.

Last week’s release of national totals from the 2010 census showed that the minority share of the population increased over the past decade in every state, reaching levels higher than demographers anticipated almost everywhere, and in the nation as a whole. If President Obama and Democrats can convert that growth into new voters in 2012, they can get a critical boost in many of the most hotly contested states and also seriously compete for some highly diverse states such as Arizona and Georgia that until now have been reliably red.

“One of the strengths of our candidacy in 2008 is, we had a broader battlefield; what these numbers suggest is that those same opportunities are there [for 2012], and there are new ones to consider,” David Axelrod, who is expected to be Obama’s senior campaign strategist, told National Journal.

via NationalJournal.com – The Next America – Friday, April 1, 2011.

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March 30, 2011 · 7:05 pm

Freshman GOP Congressman Duffy Complains About His Congressional Salary…

Poor guy…

Just can’t scrape by on $174,000 a year…

Like I’ve repeatedly said, these guys in Washington live in a different world…

Duffy was asked about his pay by a constituent who said he had taken a job as a bus driver when his work as a builder dried up, and that his wife – a schoolteacher – would be taking a pay cut under the state’s new budget plan.

“I have six children and I’ve gone for roughly seven months with six kids and no paycheck,” Duffy replied, referring to the period when he left his job as Ashland County district attorney during the 2010 election campaign. “It was worth it for me to do that. I believed in what I was doing.”

Duffy told listeners he had cut his congressional office budget and didn’t vote on his own salary — “I got there on Jan. 5” — and that his federal health care and pension benefits are not nearly as good as they were when he worked for the state of Wisconsin. He described state benefits as “gold-plated.”

“The benefits that were offered to me as a congressman don’t even compare to the benefits that you get as a state employee. I just experienced that myself. They’re not nearly as good,” said Duffy.

“But $174,000 — that’s … three times what I make,” said the constituent. Someone else at the listening session asked if Duffy would vote to cut his salary, according to a recording of the event.

“I have no problem (with that). Let’s have a movement afoot. I walked into the job six weeks ago … And I can guarantee you, or most of you — I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With six kids. I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I generally use a minivan … I’ve got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I’m not living high on the hog,” said Duffy. “Can everyone do more with less? Absolutely.”

Democrats accused Duffy of griping about his salary. State Democratic chair Mike Tate said in a statement, “Poor Hollywood Sean Duffy. He only makes four times the median family income in Wisconsin.”

via House freshman Duffy tells constituents “he’s not living high on the hog” on congressional pay – JSOnline.

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March 29, 2011 · 8:09 pm

My Thoughts: Life’s Great Mysteries

Just some random wonderings….

  1. Why does Jennifer Anniston still have a career?  Or does she?  Why is she in the news constantly?  Has she ever had a hit movie?  Has she really done anything since that TV series went off the air years ago and Angelina stole her husband?
  2. Is Katherine Heigl the next Jennifer Anniston?
  3. Does anyone really think Tom Cruise and John Travolta are straight?  And who cares besides the Church of Scientology…
  4. Speaking of John Travolta, why do so many movie stars wear such obvious toupees?  Do they really think they are fooling anyone?
  5. Is Meryl Streep getting all those great roles for older women not just because she is a great actress, but because she is the only actress in Hollywood, over 30, who hasn’t had a facelift or been botoxed to death?
  6. Has anyone really ever heard  Britney Spears sing or is she just a mentally unstable dancing lip-stinker?
  7. Is there anything Anne Hathaway can’t do-besides host the Oscars?
  8. How did “Crash” beat “Brokeback Mountain” for the Best Picture Oscar?  Does anyone remember “Crash” besides the entire city of LA who was in it?  Oh, that’s how it won…
  9. Are there any young female “stars” today equal in style and mystique to Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly? Or in talent to Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Meryl Streep?  Why not?
  10. Who really cares about Lindsey Lohan?
  11. Does anyone really think Social Security is bad?
  12. Why don’t Democrats fight for their core beliefs and Republicans not have any?
  13. How come the Religious Right still supports Republican candidates who have had two or three marriages and cheated on their wives and husbands?
  14. Does anyone really think Corporations and the Rich should not pay taxes in proportion to their incomes?
  15. What ever happened to the social contract theory?
  16. Why do people wear flip-flops in New York City?
  17. How does Michelle Bachmann keep getting re-elected?
  18. Is watching Fox News a sign of or a cause of Alzheimer’s Disease?
  19. Why does anyone think their life is so important or interesting that they have to text their friends during a live theatrical performance?
  20. Do people really think lighted cell phones are invisible when texting in theatres and really don’t bother anyone?
  21. What makes anyone without a uterus think they have a voice in the abortion debate?
  22. Are commercials dumber and more crass now due to societal change or only because the smart people don’t watch TV anymore?
  23. Will television really be relevant in 10 years or will it be replaced by the internet.
  24. Will people give up the Internet because it has as many commercials as television?
  25. Why are pharmaceutical companies allowed to advertise controlled substances on TV?
  26. Does anyone really think, after all these years, we are winning the “war on drugs” by simply locking everyone up?
  27. Why aren’t there more white people in prison for financial crimes that wrecked the economy?
  28. If the Supreme Court thinks Corporations are people, then why aren’t they taxed at the individual tax rates and rules?
  29. Why does anyone believe anything any politician says anymore?
  30. Is Debbie Reynolds ever going to retire?

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