Tag Archives: GOP

August 2, 2011 · 10:25 pm

Don’t Have Sex—You Will Get Pregnant and Die

This is truly sad…

Someone needs to introduce the “Bristol Palin Sex Education Bill” in Congress to bring the U.S. into at least the 20th Century in sex education.  It will take a while longer to get to the 21st…

I don’t know how many times it has to be proven that abstinence only sex education does not work….

I don’t think the Religious Right needs to worry about schools teaching kids how to have sex.  They can figure that part out.  It’s the part about avoiding pregnancy and STD’s that they need to learn.  God knows, s0me parents won’t tell them….

Need we look farther than Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol?

From The Nation:

There is no significant difference in the rates of teenage sexuality in the United States compared to other similar, developed western countries. American teens are simply far less likely to use contraception. It is no surprise that the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy and STI rates in the developed world.

Sexuality education in the United States has evolved to teach everything besides sex itself. Although teenagers in more progressive schools may learn how to slide a condom onto a banana, they rarely learn how to access birth control conveniently and affordably. Instead, students in both abstinence only and comprehensive programs are given projects that test and assess their knowledge of how to avoid sex, rather than their knowledge of sexual health. At the end of a typical course, many students know that they can “go to the movies” or “play soccer” instead of having sex, but they do not know what to do in case their alternative activities plan falls through and the condom breaks.

via Don’t Have Sex—You Will Get Pregnant and Die | The Nation.

Leave a comment

Filed under Education

Tagged as , , , ,

August 1, 2011 · 10:30 pm

Robert Reich is none too happy with the President or Dems in Congress

Great article from Robert Reich.

He pretty much nails it…

I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I am in the President and the Democrats for not standing up for our core values and fighting to do the right thing to restore the economy.  They are being bullied by the Tea Party minority and don’t seem to have the nerve to stand up to them….

Here is an excerpt and a link to the full article:

Many months ago, when Republicans first demanded spending cuts and no tax increases as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, the President could have blown their cover. He could have shown the American people why this demand had nothing to do with deficit reduction but everything to do with the GOP’s ideological fixation on shrinking the size of the government — thereby imperiling Medicare, Social Security, education, infrastructure, and everything else Americans depend on. But he did not.

And through it all the President could have explained to Americans that the biggest economic challenge we face is restoring jobs and wages and economic growth, that spending cuts in the next few years will slow the economy even further, and therefore that the Republicans’ demands threaten us all. Again, he did not.

The radical right has now won a huge tactical and strategic victory. Democrats and the White House have proven they have little by way of tactics or strategy.

By putting Medicare and Social Security on the block, they have made it more difficult for Democrats in the upcoming 2012 election cycle to blame Republicans for doing so.

By embracing deficit reduction as their apparent goal – claiming only that they’d seek to do it differently than the GOP – Democrats and the White House now seemingly agree with the GOP that the budget deficit is the biggest obstacle to the nation’s future prosperity.

The budget deficit is not the biggest obstacle to our prosperity. Lack of jobs and growth is. And the largest threat to our democracy is the emergence of a radical right capable of getting most of the ransom it demands.

Robert Reich is none too happy with the President or Dems in Congress.

Leave a comment

Filed under Congress, Elections, Politics, The Economy, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

August 1, 2011 · 6:55 pm

Seeking Arrangement: College Students Using ‘Sugar Daddies’ To Pay Off Loan Debt

I wonder if this is what the GOP has in mind when they talk about small businesses and entrepreneurs?

It’s their policies that are driving this, so I hope they are willing to take ownership…

Or was this just another economic benefit for the Rich that they snuck in?

From TheHuffingtonPost.com:

 

Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills.

The past few years have taken an especially brutal toll on the plans and expectations of 20-somethings. As unemployment rates tick steadily higher, starting salaries have plummeted. Meanwhile, according to Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a professor of psychology at Clark University, about 85 percent of the class of 2011 will likely move back in with their parents during some period of their post-college years, compared with 40 percent a decade ago.

Besides moving back home, many 20-somethings are beginning their adult lives shouldering substantial amounts of student loan debt. According to Mark Kantrowitz, who publishes the financial aid websites Fastweb.com and Finaid.org, while the average 2011 graduate finished school with about $27,200 in debt, many are straining to pay off significantly greater loans.

Enter the sugar daddy, sugar baby phenomenon. This particular dynamic preceded the economic meltdown, of course. Rich guys well past their prime have been plunking down money for thousands of years in search of a tryst or something more with women half their age — and women, willingly or not, have made themselves available. With the whole process going digital, women passing through a system of higher education that fosters indebtedness are using the anonymity of the web to sell their wares and pay down their college loans.

via Seeking Arrangement: College Students Using ‘Sugar Daddies’ To Pay Off Loan Debt.

Leave a comment

Filed under Education, Politics, The Economy, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 29, 2011 · 7:30 pm

Reagan Aid: Chunk of GOP Either Stupid, Crazy, Ignorant or Craven Cowards

It’s been a long time since I agreed with a Republican about anything, but this certainly sounds right to me….

From RawStory.com:

Historian Bruce Bartlett, a former domestic policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, sat down with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews on Wednesday to discuss the national debt.

Bartlett said it was a myth that tax cuts are the key to prosperity, noting that Reagan raised the capital gains rate. He was also skeptical that Congress would be able to solve the current budget crisis.

“I think at this point, there’s nothing that can pass the House of Representatives,” he said.

“I think a good chunk of the Republican caucus is either stupid, crazy, ignorant or craven cowards, who are desperately afraid of the tea party people, and rightly so.”

via Bruce Bartlett: Chunk of GOP either stupid, crazy, ignorant or craven cowards | Raw Replay.

Leave a comment

Filed under Elections, Polls

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 29, 2011 · 5:03 pm

Apple now has more cash than the U.S. government – CNN.com

Good for Apple-one of my favorite companies that makes many of my favorite products.

Bad for the U.S Government.  And kind of embarrassing….

From CNN:

Maybe the cash-strapped U.S. government should start selling iPads.

According to the latest statement from the U.S. Treasury, the government had an operating cash balance Wednesday of $73.8 billion. That’s still a lot of money, but it’s less than what Steve Jobs has lying around.

Tech juggernaut Apple had a whopping $76.2 billion in cash and marketable securities at the end of June, according to its last earnings report. Unlike the U.S. government, which is scrambling to avoid defaulting on its debt, Apple takes in more money than it spends.

This symbolic feat — the world’s most highly valued tech company surpassing the fiscal strength of the world’s most powerful nation — is just the latest pinnacle for Apple, which has been on an unprecedented roll.

U.S. debt: How did we get here?

Its Macs, iPhones and iPads remain hot sellers, its stock has surged past $400 a share and Apple just became the world’s largest smartphone vendor by volume.

There’s been a lot of speculation about what Apple might buy with its piles of cash — Facebook and Sony being two of the more high-profile examples — but the company doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to make a move.

“We don’t let the cash burn a hole in the pocket or make stupid acquisitions,” CEO Jobs said last fall. “We’d like to continue to keep our powder dry because we think there are one or more strategic opportunities in the future.”

Offering Uncle Sam a short-term loan is probably not one of them.

via Apple now has more cash than the U.S. government – CNN.com.

Leave a comment

Filed under Politics, The Economy

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 28, 2011 · 10:37 pm

My Thoughts: How to Solve the So-Called Debt Crisis: Sell Texas

I’m so tired of hearing all the foolishness in Washington about this manufactured debt crisis the Republicans came up with as an excuse to drive their agenda.  It’s gotten all out of their control now and is threatening all kinds of dire consequences if they force us into default on the national debt.

Well, I have figured out my own solution.  Except for Austin and a couple of other nice cities, lets just sell off Texas.  I’ve been there.  Believe me, we won’t miss it.

Their Governor, Rick Perry, and the Republicans there keep threatening to secede anyway, so lets just sell them off to the highest bidder and make everyone happy.  Surely we would get enough from Mexico or China or someone to greatly reduce the national debt and they would be free of the Washington government they seem to hate so much…

That’s not too much of a sacrifice for them to make, is it?  If they are as patriotic as they claim to be, surely they will be glad to do this for the greater good of the country  They keep saying we have to do something NOW and sacrifices are necessary.  So, let’s sacrifice by selling Texas.  I would much rather do that than cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security.  I hope Ann Richards and Molly Ivins would approve…

And we would get rid of a lot of the fools Texas sends to Washington to cause all this trouble…

Makes as much sense as most of the “real” solutions coming out of Washington.

Leave a comment

Filed under Politics, Scott's Commentary

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 25, 2011 · 10:43 am

Palin’s ‘Undefeated’ is Defeated at Box Office and Already on Pay-Per-View–The Raw Story

Sounds like her 15 Minutes of Fame may finally be over….

God knows, I’m tired of her and hopefully everyone else is too…

They’ve moved on to Michele Bachmann, who’s even crazier and much more amusing….

Hopefully this is on the Pay Per View Channels next to the Pay Per View porn channels.  That’s where it belongs….

Further evidence Sarah Palin has lost her crowd appeal.

The Undefeated, the documentary (propaganda film) Palin commissioned about herself ahead of a possible 2012 run, has already bottomed out at theaters.

The movie received wide release back in June but failed to catch on with the masses, pulling in a measly $24,000 despite opening in 14 Tea Party friendly venues, reports The Wrap.  An Atlantic writer witnessed the empty theater phenomenon firsthand.

In the hopes of making up some of that lost revenue the film’s distributor Arc Entertainment is going the pay-per-view route and making the film available  through satellite companies such as DIRECTV, DISH Network and Time Warner Cable.

Palin has never fully recovered from her ‘blood libel’ response to the Gabby Giffords shooting.  She saw a brief resurgence in popularity last month when she lead the press on a wild goose chase after her bus tour but has since passed (presumably unwillingly) the rogue baton to Michele Bachmann.

One imagines if you can’t get more than 24,000 people to pay for your movie it’s unlikely you can get the majority of the country to vote for you.

via Palin’s ‘Undefeated’ is defeated at box office, already on pay-per-view | The Raw Story.

1 Comment

Filed under Broadway, Elections, Politics

Tagged as , , , ,

July 24, 2011 · 2:00 pm

Are Republicans Committing Treason?

Very interesting article from AlterNet.com.

I’ll post an excerpt, without comment, and a link to the full article.

Then you may discuss among yourselves….

Once upon a time, in a land that now seems to have been populated by tooth fairies and unicorns, there was a political party that had a set of core beliefs to which they actually adhered.

Among them was that actually balancing the budget, as opposed to just talking about it, was sacrosanct. Slow change, while necessary, had to be balanced against the traditions of the United States, ones that had mostly served us well over two centuries.

Foreign military adventures should be limited to our national security interests. And one of the single most important components of diplomacy was protecting the economic interests not only of an elite few, but of the great many Americans who toiled in our factories and fields.

This party was known as the Republican Party, and while one might have disagreed with them on their policy prescriptions to cure any particular US ill, one could at least see some logic in their beliefs and understand that they – with some obvious exceptions from time to time (ahem, Joseph McCarthy, ahem) – were doing what they thought was right for the United States of America.

Today, this once respectable organization has turned into nothing so much as a collective id the size of a David Vitter Pampers shopping spree. When facing changes to this nation that make them uncomfortable, they choose national hate. When facing ideological worship versus the greatness of the US, the former always wins the day. When facing a choice of what is good for the US or their personal bank accounts, they inevitably go with the latter.

Every. Single. Time.

via Are Republicans Committing Treason? | | AlterNet.

Leave a comment

Filed under Congress, Elections

Tagged as , , ,

July 24, 2011 · 11:32 am

‘Super Congress’: Debt Ceiling Negotiators Aim To Create New Legislative Body

Now this is downright scary….

It complete removes the majority of our elected officials from the deliberative process.

Congress isn’t working today, but this is not the way to go…

This is how to start a Banana Republic- which is probably what Boehner has in mind….

It also sounds like the goal is to further protect the Rich and screw the Middle Class.  Using this process they are already targeting ending the Mortage Interest Deduction and the deductions for Retirement Savings.

Could destroying Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid be far behind?

This doesn’t sound like a Super Congress;  it sounds like a Coup d’etat.

From the Huffington Post:

Debt ceiling negotiators think they’ve hit on a solution to address the debt ceiling impasse and the public’s unwillingness to let go of benefits such as Medicare and Social Security that have been earned over a lifetime of work: Create a new Congress.

This “Super Congress,” composed of members of both chambers and both parties, isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, but would be granted extraordinary new powers. Under a plan put forth by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his counterpart Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), legislation to lift the debt ceiling would be accompanied by the creation of a 12-member panel made up of 12 lawmakers — six from each chamber and six from each party.

Legislation approved by the Super Congress — which some on Capitol Hill are calling the “super committee” — would then be fast-tracked through both chambers, where it couldn’t be amended by simple, regular lawmakers, who’d have the ability only to cast an up or down vote. With the weight of both leaderships behind it, a product originated by the Super Congress would have a strong chance of moving through the little Congress and quickly becoming law. A Super Congress would be less accountable than the system that exists today, and would find it easier to strip the public of popular benefits. Negotiators are currently considering cutting the mortgage deduction and tax credits for retirement savings, for instance, extremely popular policies that would be difficult to slice up using the traditional legislative process.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has made a Super Congress a central part of his last-minute proposal, multiple news reports and people familiar with his plan say

via ‘Super Congress’: Debt Ceiling Negotiators Aim To Create New Legislative Body.

Leave a comment

Filed under Congress, Politics

Tagged as , , , , ,

July 20, 2011 · 11:03 pm

Rush Limbaugh: The Heat Wave Sweeping America Is A Government Conspiracy

You would think it would be impossible to be surprised by this guy’s ignorance, gall and paranoia by now, but this is kind of stunning….

From PoliticsUSA

According to Limbaugh, the heat wave is all part of giant government conspiracy to make people think that it is hotter than what it is in order to get them to believe that climate change is real. Limbaugh thinks this kind of heat wave happens every year, but it doesn’t. According to the National Weather Service 1,000 heat records have been broken across the United States in the past month.

MORE:   Rush Limbaugh: The Heat Wave Sweeping America Is A Government Conspiracy.

Leave a comment

Filed under Media

Tagged as , , , , ,