The President's Weekly Address: Senators Opposing New START "Want to Trust But Not Verify"

From the White House blog:

In this week’s address, President Obama called ratifying New START this year “fundamental” to America’s national security. Failure to ratify the treaty this year not only would mean losing our nuclear inspectors in Russia, but also it would undermine the international coalition pressuring Iran, put to risk the transit routes used to equip our troops in Afghanistan, and undo decades of American leadership and bipartisanship on nuclear security. After six months, 18 hearings, and nearly one thousand questions answered and with the support of several Republicans including Colin Powell, George Schultz, Jim Baker, and Henry Kissinger, it is time for the Senate to act.

This is just another example of the Rethugs blocking anything this President wants done. There is no reason for anything but a straight vote on this.

Don't we have a lot to look forward to for the next 2 years?

The President's Weekly Address: President Obama Calls on GOP Leadership to Put Aside Partisan Politics and Focus on Strengthening the Economy

From the White House blog:

In his weekly address, President Obama called the recent comments by the GOP leadership, which put scoring political points over solving the problems facing the country, “troubling,” and asked Democrats and Republicans to work together to move the country forward. Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s elections, leaders on both sides of the aisle owe it to the American people to put aside politics and work together on a number of issues that have traditionally had bipartisan support, like tax breaks for middle-class families and investing in infrastructure.

The President:

That’s why I found the recent comments by the top two Republican in Congress so troubling. The Republican leader of the House actually said that “this is not the time for compromise.” And the Republican leader of the Senate said his main goal after this election is simply to win the next one.

I know that we’re in the final days of a campaign. So it’s not surprising that we’re seeing this heated rhetoric. That’s politics. But when the ballots are cast and the voting is done, we need to put this kind of partisanship aside – win, lose, or draw.

I only hope more people realize what the GOPers are promising. Endless investigations, constant filibusters, and the possibility of a complete shutdown of the Government.

Remind your friends and neighbors, especially if they are thinking of putting the GOPers back in power, what a shutdown would mean. No checks, no help for anything, If you live on disability or Social Security, no money coming in. All services from the VA, USDA, and every other department will stop.

Is this what they want? It's what we could potentially get, and with the idiots who are running, who knows how bad it will be.

I Am A Teapartier

This comes from Broadway Carl's Blog-O-Mania, check him out and give him some love. He is another great blogger.

The only problem I have with this is I think the Tea Partier is too calm....lol But it is wonderful and describes them to a fault. Watch...enjoy and share with everyone you know.

The President's Weekly Address: Letting Wall Street Run Wild Again

From the White House blog:

Pointing to the foreclosure crisis and the economy, the President cites passage of Wall Street Reform over the ferocious lobbying of Wall Street banks as a pivotal achievement -- and condemns Republicans in Congress for vowing to repeal it.

The President is correct, if the GOPers take control, this is what we can expect. They will work for repeal and overturning the laws we have all worked so hard to pass. Financial Reform, Health Care Reform. All of them.

This is just another reason we have to GOTV and keep the Dems in charge. No they are not perfect, but they are most certainly better than the alternative.

The President's Weekly Address: Strengthening Education, Not Cutting It

From the White House blog:

The President explains that even as we focus on creating jobs immediately, we must also ensure the economy is better for our children by investing in education – not cutting it by 20% as Congressional Republicans propose.

If you would like to read the transcript you can do so by going HERE.

When I hear people say "this President just doesn't get it" I have to wonder if they really listen to him or if they really see him as you and I do.

It is a proven fact, GOPers hate education. I think this is because they feel if they keep the electorate uneducated, they will always have voters. I firmly believe this to be true. Why else is it that Children's issues and education are the first things they cut?

Just look around, the Tea Baggers and their spelling errors in the signs... Even an ad the other day targeting the wrong person. Granted it was his brother, but how do you confuse Ken with John? One has never been a Congressman, and is the Secretary of the Interior, the other is the Congressman they were supposed to be targeting. Yet they used Ken's name 5 times in a spot, with no later retraction, apology or even an explanation.

All part of the "dumbing down of America" which has been talked about since Reagan.. Yeah good old St Ronnie was the one who started this mess, and it continues to this day.

This is just another reason we have to get out and vote Democratic on Nov. 2nd. Please encourage others and don't forget to vote.

A Message From the Republican Party.

I got this from a friend on FaceBook and thought it was so good I just had to share it with everyone.

Please listen carefully and to the end... I swear you will enjoy it.

Report by CBO Shows The Recovery Act Reduced the Deficit

I found the link to this report on BobCesca.com and had to share the report and some of the information with you.

This report was written by Economists Alan Blinder and Mark Zandi and published by the CBO. This chart shows what the deficit would be without the Recovery Act and how it is WITH the Recovery Act.

From the Wonk Room at Think Progress comes this:

Their conclusion is that had the combined financial and fiscal policies not been enacted, “GDP in 2010 would be about 6.5 percent lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8.5 million jobs, and the nation would be experiencing deflation.”

Blinder and Zandi break out their estimates separately for the financial policies and the fiscal policies. They estimate that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other fiscal policies have saved or created 2.7 million jobs and without them, unemployment would stand at 11 percent and job losses would have totaled 10 million. On top of this, they estimate that if nothing had been done to address the financial crisis — no Troubled Asset Relief Program, no bailout of American International Group Inc, and no investment in the auto industry — our economy would have 5 million fewer jobs than we do today and unemployment would be sharply higher, at 12.5 percent.

However, one tidbit in the report that has received little notice is that by acting, Congress actually reduced our potential deficit problem. Given the policy steps taken, Blinder and Zandi estimate that by the end of the 2010 fiscal year, the federal budget deficit will be $1.4 trillion and it will fall to $1.15 trillion in fiscal year 2011 and $900 billion in fiscal year 2012.

The bolding is mine... because I wanted to make sure you saw it. For some reason all these so called Deficit Hawks are ignoring this in their reports and talking. Here is more:

However, had Congress done nothing, the deficit would have ballooned even higher, hitting over $2 trillion by the end of the 2010 fiscal year, $2.6 trillion in fiscal year 2011, and $2.25 trillion in fiscal year 2012. That’s right, doing nothing would have meant that the 2012 federal budget deficit would likely be over 2.5 times as large as taking the steps we took.

Once again bolding is mine. This is something we should be shouting from the rooftops and lording over the GOPers who are claiming now to want to reduce the deficit. A deficit that is largely due to their policies and the spending that went on during the years of 2001 and 2006 especially and to a smaller extent from 2006 to 2008.

Here is a nifty little chart that shows all the spending and how it is divided by category

As is shown by this chart the Bush Tax Cuts and the downturn of the economy added much more to the deficit than anything President Obama and the current Congress has done.

If you want to read the entire article from the Wonk Room, just give it a click.

We need to get this out and let people know the TRUTH about what is going on with the Finances of our Country. I have not seen this on any media outlet and I know it will never get much play if any on Faux Noise, because it tells the truth.

I hope you read the report and post these charts so everyone can see them... Please feel free to take anything you want... Linky love if you can, but is not necessary. I just want everyone, including some of the RWNJ's out there to see these and try to explain how the GOPers are going to fix this.
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The President's Weekly Address: Medicare Officially Safer After Health Reform

From the White House blog:

The President discusses a new Medicare Trustees report showing Medicare to be on much stronger footing as a result of the reforms in the Affordable Care Act. In addition, seniors are also already getting help with prescription drug costs when they fall into the infamous “donut hole.”

The President lays out the reforms in Medicare and shows how much the new Health Care Reform has helped already.

For me personally, this is all good news. Helping us with the Donut Hole is wonderful. This is a terrible problem for seniors who are on high cost meds. I have one I take that costs almost $2,000 a month. Yes it is crazy, but that's what we all face. Anyone who takes medicine on a daily basis faces these costs.

The saving grace in all this is our prescription drug coverage, however when Medicare D was enacted instead of trying to get lower priced drugs, the provision put in this Donut Hole. Once an individual reaches $2700 in prescription costs, until they pay out of their pocket $6,154 they are responsible for the entire cost of their meds. As you can see it doesn't take long to get there.

After the $6,154 the Medicare D coverage starts again and pays 95% of the costs. Now some supplemental plans or Medicare Advantage plans do help out with this. But even with that, I reach the Hole every year and have to pay more for my meds for several months.

I am glad this is one of the steps that was taken in the Health Care Reform. These are the little things some people think was not needed, but trust me, if you are on Medicare and you hit that hole, this is huge.

Just the fact that so far the reforms has helped Medicare's solvency is wonderful. Wonder how the GOBP will spin this.... Since according to them it was going to harm the plan so much. Of course if they do what they usually do, they will just ignore it. They never talk about the things they predict which never happen. Those are ignored and hopefully forgotten.

We should point this out over and over again, how wrong they were and if given the chance, ask them about it. If we don't start challenging some of their outlandish claims and reminding them of the lies they told, they are going to get away with it again and again, but if we start holding them accountable, maybe someone will take notice.

Those are my thoughts anyway... What are yours?

The President's Weekly Address: Good News on Autos, Obstruction on Small Business

From the White House blog:

President Obama praises the successes of the auto industry restructuring as good news for our economy, and calls on Republican leaders in the Senate to “stop holding America’s small businesses hostage to politics” by blocking a vote to help them create jobs.

Once again, the President explains his actions and calls out the "Party of NO". I had mixed feelings on the loans for the Auto Companies. I supported it, yet was afraid we would lose money.

Again, as I said the President calls out the Rethugs on their obstructionism. The Small Business Act is the latest.

I am loving the President calling them out and letting everyone who will listen where he stands and where they stand. This is something that is very needed. If people will just open their eyes and ears and see and listen....lol I know, asking for a lot, aren't I?

Maybe, just maybe if enough of us do this... and people can see it, they will realize how much the Rethugs are hurting this country. One can only hope.

The President's Weekly Address: Filibustering Recovery & Obstructing Progress

From the White House blog:

The President blasts Republicans in the Senate who are blocking unemployment insurance and small business tax breaks to create jobs -- even as they push for permanent, massive tax cuts for the richest Americans.

Once again the President is calling out the "Party of NO" on their obstruction of everything, but especially the Unemployment Benefits that are so very needed right now. Never before has one party in Congress ever stopped UI benefits... but with the "Party of NO" they don't care..... all they are concerned in is trying to win.

Will they win in November... I hope not... but they might gain a few... If so NOTHING will get done next year or the year after...

I can only hope this will backfire on them and they will lose again. That's what I am thinking, with all their obstructing they will actually lose seats. Get out the vote... and hope this will work.

The President's Weekly Address: A Solar Recovery

From the White House blog:

As part of the explosion of Recovery Act projects this summer and as a move towards a clean energy future, the President announces nearly $2 billion in conditional commitments to key solar companies. Learn more from the White House fact sheet.

This address has everything....lol He calls out the GOPers, he talks about new jobs in the Solar and Wind Energy field. Then at the last he reminds us of our greatness as a country and he mentions the troops around the world.

I love how he is taking on the GOPers... all I can say to that is MORE...lol People need to realize how much they are blocking and what they are blocking. The benefits to veterans, the unemployment extensions and a new jobs bill to help this economy continue to recover.

All this deficit talk is nonsense. Don't people realize once the jobs start coming back and revenues go up the deficit will go down? How can they not see that? I am not talking about the GOPers... they have decided if they can obstruct and keep this recovery from happening they will regain power... That's all this is, an attempt at a power grab.

I have to wonder how many people who are struggling and out of work are worrying about the deficit in this country. I don't think it is that many.... but the GOPers with the media helping as always is trying to push this. Please help educate people about this. If you find someone who is expressing concern... explain it to them. But remember you may have to use small words...........LOL

The President's Weekly Address: The Fight Against Al Qaeda

From the White House Blog:

The President discusses the recent attempted act of terrorism on the Christmas day flight to Detroit, and his broader strategy to fight Al Qaeda.

We have to stand up and help the President in this. We need to be loud and long in our support of him against the attacks made as he tries to fix this problem.

The attacks on him are coming because he didn't wear a tie, he waited until he had all the facts before he spoke.. a whole 3 days, and because he was in "exotic Hawaii" which you know is barely even a state, and he should have come back to Washington immediately.

Never mind that all of those things pertain to Bush after Richard Reid, the so called Shoe Bomber tried to blow up an airplane. Well except Hawaii, and Bush, not only did not come back to Washington, he left Washington and went to Texas, after it happened. He also didn't speak for 6 days after the attack.. yes, that's right SIX days.. not 3, not 72 hours.. but 6, count them SIX days after the attack.

Sam Stein has a great write up of the entire set of events surrounding the Bush Shoe Bombing Debacle in the Huffington Post. He lays out the time line and talks about the lack of criticism from people then. And all of this was less than 4 months after September 11th.

But, I guess it is like the acronym we have all seen.. IOKIYAR, I think we all know what that means.. and if you don't.. just ask.. I will tell you..

So with Cheney coming out from his hiding place, and speaking out again, different Senators and Congress people trying to raise money off this, we have to stand firm and speak out against this.

Let people know they are wrong to criticize this President for his strong stand against the extremists who are trying to harm us all. This doesn't have anything to do with the war, this is against the people who are still determined to blow up airplanes, or do something else to harm Americans, right here on our soil. They are there, and we have to support our President as he does all he can to protect us.

More Pictures From Wing Nut Land.. 09-12-09

Since some of the earlier pictures prompted a response of wingnuts saying they were wrong and the misspellings were on purpose and I was being dishonest in my reporting of them here are some more I found.











This one is one of the most offensive ones to me, and probably to many of us...



And my response to all of those who were protesting and to all of you who come here and to other progressive and liberal sites and feign outrage at our disgust at your stupidity and ignorance. This is what I have to tell you now.

The Newest Republican Jerk

Rep. Joseph Wilson, (R, SC) who is the idiot who yelled at the President tonight during the speech, Liar or You Lie, is the latest jerk.

When the POTUS was calling out the lies in the Health Care debate we have had over the last few months and he mentioned Illegal immigrants not being covered, which has been debunked numerous times, Mr. Wilson yelled out either liar or you lie, it is really hard to say...

There were several other times, republicans in the Hall booed the President and showed disrespect, never seen before that I can remember. I asked my uncle, who is 84 and watched with me and he said he didn't remember ever seeing it before either.

Watch this clip and see what you think... I am not sure what procedure needs to be done, but from what I heard Keith say, McCain has told him he needs to apologize to the President. We will see.

Pat Boone Wants to be Waterboarded, or something like that

As I was perusing the web this morning I stumbled across a story at Alternet and then followed it back to the source at WorldNetDaily. And no I won't link you to it...That is a punishment I won't wish on anyone.. If you really want to find it..you can either search for it or you already have the address.

But it was a piece written by none other than Pat Boone..remember him..



Here is a tribute to him I found on the YouTubes:



Anyway...to go on with my point.. This piece by him is about "The Waterboarding of America" as he titles it. This is what he has to say:

It's a harmless-sounding word in itself. Until a couple of years ago, "waterboarding" sounded like some kind of fun at the beach.

But after 9/11, after American and allied forces invaded Iraq and made incursions into Afghanistan hunting for Osama bin Laden, and after our homeland intelligence apprehended and arrested known and suspected jihadist terrorists bent on killing more Americans, the word took on a more ominous meaning. Thanks to much media exploitation, politically motivated accusations, certain criminally leaked classified information and of course some actual facts, the word "waterboarding" became synonymous with heinous, barbaric torture.

Since America became a nation, torture has never been identified with our policy or procedure. Investigative techniques and interrogation, yes, but always within humane limits – never the torture racks, lashings, beatings, burnings, nail-pullings, starvation, or sadistic mutilation practiced by so many other cultures and adversaries. We've expected our military to extract and obtain essential information through intelligent, often covert, sometimes even psychological means.

What happened? Something almost unprecedented. We were completely blindsided, attacked on our own soil, in our own airplanes and towers, and even in the Pentagon, in broad daylight. It was devastating, and after the first shock, it was obvious that if we did not act quickly and with almost no thought of normal restraint, it would happen again, and even more violently, and with even more catastrophic results.

Tell Congress to stop spending America into the ground! Sign the WND petition demanding lawmakers stop the bailouts, stimulus bills and march toward socialism and national destruction.

We were at war, against an enemy with absolutely no moral compunction and with a demonic bloodlust to destroy us, our homes and families and way of life – and with even a religious desire to die while destroying us! It was a relentless waking nightmare, and it was real.

Those charged with the responsibility to protect this country – the president, the administration, the military, our intelligence agencies – quickly mobilized to do anything and everything possible to avert the next attacks. As captives were taken, they were subjected to every method of interrogation we'd ever tried, and because of the extreme urgency and unimaginable danger, when captives wouldn't divulge information that would save American lives, in some instances some interrogators went further than they had before.

They didn't kill, they didn't maim, they didn't inflict permanent injury, but they sure made the captive feel as if he were about to drown. They tied him down inclined, head a bit lower than feet, covered his face with towels, poured water on and through the towels and into his face, sometimes in his nostrils, and let him know this frightening and extremely uncomfortable experience could end if he would tell what he knew about the plans to wreak more devastation and kill more Americans. This procedure, unsettling as it is, came to be known worldwide as "waterboarding."

It came to be known worldwide because liberal media, abetted by a few political and military figures who didn't seem to grasp the urgency of stopping the maniacal plots against innocent civilians, revealed classified information and screamed "TORTURE!" Having no clue about how to get to the essential information some other way, but perhaps imagining themselves in the position of the captive, they just condemned those who were actually getting the job done at least in part.

Almost ignored in all the anti-American clamor was the fact that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, confessed mastermind of the World Trade Center carnage, as a result of being "waterboarded" 130 times – with no lasting damage at all – finally divulged information that thwarted the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge and saved an estimated 10,000 innocent lives! So the technique, harsh as it is, proved effective.

And now, whether expressly intended or not, America is being waterboarded!

The nation – its economy and political body – has been strapped down, blindfolded and hosed. A new administration, empowered by control of both houses of Congress and the most liberal president in history, is immersing us all in a torrent of debt. While we gasp for breath and try to cry "Time out!" we continue to be flooded with staggering commitments neither we nor our children have approved or will be able to fulfill.

New thousand-page bills and proposed expenditures are rushed together and dumped on beleaguered senators and representatives, proposing trillions of dollars of new taxpayer debt – and Pelosi, Reed, Waxman and the president's team demand approval overnight, without time to even read the bills!

And menacingly, chief of staff waterboarder Rahm Emanuel actually says "… we can't afford to waste a crisis; it gives us a chance to push through initiatives we couldn't get otherwise." How blatant can you get?

The American people have long opposed abortion, same sex "marriage," universal, socialistic health care and a host of other ultraliberal causes; current polls confirm we still do. But the waterboarding began, literally, within the first three days of this new administration. With no instigation from Congress, the freshman president picked up his new hose of authority and, by executive order, overturned the long-standing Reagan-era regulations prohibiting foreign aid going to organizations that finance overseas abortions – and handed international Planned Parenthood, chief provider of abortions worldwide, 200 million taxpayer dollars!

And now, while we're strapped down by the Democrat-controlled Congress, gasping and gulping beneath a flood of strong-arm tactics, the "health reform" bill taking shape outlines a "minimum-benefits package" that will be universal – that is, required of every American's insurance plan, whether provided by a private firm or by the government.

Cunningly, abortion isn't specifically mentioned, but will be decided by a "Health Benefits Advisory Committee," handpicked by the president and his HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, who already has a record while governor of Kansas supporting late-term abortions! See how this "taking advantage of a crisis" thing works?

But we're not helpless yet, folks. We're drenched and near-drowned and gasping for breath, but there's a growing coalition of staunch Republican and "blue dog" Democrats in both houses of Congress digging in their heels and saying, "Wait! This is all too much, too fast! We need time to read and digest and consider this torrent of legislation. Mr. President, hold off!"

And that gives us debt-soaked citizens a chance to rise up and gasp and spit and shout: "MR. PRESIDENT, AND YOU, TOO, CONGRESS! YOU WORK FOR US! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! WE VOTED YOU IN! AND WE CAN TAKE YOU OUT! STOP THIS WATERBOARDING!!"

The link in the middle is to a petition they want people to sign. Of course it is on WND's site.. and the emphasis is mine. I love how we WERE at war.. like they are over now.

I have seen this before lately.. this phrasing of the wars being over and in the past. They use this to justify torture, the spending during the 8 years of the Bush misadministration and anytime they want to put down Pres. Obama.

I had read the other day that Pat was also one of the "Birthers" now.. so this just makes perfect sense for him to publish his screed on WND. This is where all the wing nuts go to rant. He cites several off the wall claims to back up his "proof" that he needs to "see" the president's birth certificate so he will know he was born in the US.

-snip-

has been circulating for months, since before he won the election last November. He, or somebody in his confidence, posted a supposed copy of a Hawaiian "Certification of Live Birth," or COLB, on his presidential campaign Web site — even though a COLB, under Hawaiian rules, does not necessarily prove in-state birth. Some found the document, which does not list the hospital of birth or attending physician, to be fake.

Since then, a widely known and experienced investigator, Dr. Jerome Corsi, flew to Kenya in search of a certificate of birth he had reason to believe existed there. But he was detained and stonewalled by Kenyan officials. He couldn’t obtain confirmation — but received no denial. He was just ordered to leave the country.

During that same time, some reported seeing a videotaped proclamation by his paternal step-grandmother that she was in the delivery room and saw Barack H. Obama born in Mombasa, in what is now Kenya!

Because of the furor and allegations, and because candidate Obama wouldn’t or couldn’t produce a valid U.S. birth certificate, an official or two were dispatched from Washington to see if one existed in Hawaii. After a brief huddled conference with a local data and statistic keeper, from which no press statements were released, there was a brief and quiet announcement that the matter was “resolved.” What does that mean?

Many, who know more than I do about what actually happened, notably the United States Justice Foundation, have surmised that baby Obama’s mother, about to have her child in Kenya, had booked a flight to Hawaii but was prohibited from flying because delivery was so imminent. But soon after baby Barack was born, USJF theorizes she flew with him to Oahu and obtained some kind of "record of birth" as if he'd been born there.

This was from a piece I found at Newsmax.com dated June 29,2009 named "Mr. Obama, Show Us Your Birth Certificate" again written by Mr. Boone..If you want to read the rest of it.. there it is.. but most of it is just the same discredited garbage we have seen before.

Pat Boone is just the latest in a line of idiots that are coming out of the woodwork who are one of the so called religious right who can't stand the fact there is a black man in the White House and his policies and his popularity is greater than theirs.

That is the entire thing in a nut shell. It ties in with the rants of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others we have heard. It even fits with the majority of the rethuglicans in Congress.

We have to stand up to these idiots and start really calling them out and not letting them get by with this. Bill Maher said it best this week when he wrote this week in the LA Times and on his New Rules about letting them get by with it. He compared them to the Whitewater of the Clinton years and the Swiftboaters of Kerry. We can't just ignore them and expect them to go away.. they aren't.

The Op-Ed is great and should be read. I don't always agree with everything Bill says but he is spot on with this one.

Think about it.. and sorry for this being so long. There is just a lot of stuff I had to get in here.. Hope you will pass this along and help get this message out there. We have to stop these people. They are more prevalent than you think. Way more.

The GOP Health Care Plan

First let me introduce you to Roy Blunt. This is just in case you don't remember who he is or don't know him.

From Wikipedia we have this:

Blunt has been married twice. He married Roseann Ray in May 1967, and with her had three children: Matt (the former governor of Missouri), Amy Blunt Mosby, and Andrew Blunt. Amy and Andrew are lawyers and lobbyists. They divorced after 35 years of marriage. Afterward, he married Abigail Perlman, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods,on October 18, 2003.

That's a little about his personal life... As you see he is a fine example of the GOP, first as a Christian Conservative, he had an affair with, then divorced his wife and married his favorite Lobbyist. I removed the names of the grandchildren and the adopted son of Roy and his 2nd wife because I don't believe minor children should be involved in this.

Next we get into his political life.. and again I go back to Wikipedia, yes I know this can sometimes be unreliable, but in this instance, they are very accurate in their depiction of Mr. Blunt. So, back to the telling:

Blunt entered politics in 1972, when he was elected county clerk and chief election official of Greene County, Missouri (whereSpringfield is located). Blunt was the Republican nominee for Missouri lieutenant governor in 1980, but lost to Democrat Ken Rothman. He served as Greene County clerk until 1984, when he was elected Missouri secretary of state — the first Republican to hold that post in 50 years.
He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Missouri in 1992, losing the Republican primary to Missouri Attorney General William L. Webster.
From 1993 to 1996, Blunt was president of Southwest Baptist University, his alma mater.
Blunt was first elected to Congress in 1996, when incumbent Representative Mel Hancock honored his pledge to serve only four terms. Blunt's district, one of the most Republican districts in the country, is located in the Ozark Mountains of southwestern Missouri, a district that includes Springfield and Joplin.
Upon entering the House, Blunt served on the International Relations Committee, the Committee on Agriculture and the Transportation Committee. In 1999, he gave up seats on the latter two committees and joined the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce. He has also served on the Republican Conference Steering Committee since his election to the House. That committee determines to which committees Republican Members are assigned and elevates members to positions of ranking member or chairman.
After only one term, Blunt was appointed as chief deputy whip, the highest appointed position in the House Republican Caucus. In that capacity, he served as the Republicans' chief vote-counter. When Dick Armey retired and fellow Texan DeLay was elected to succeed him, Blunt was elected to succeed DeLay as majority whip.
On January 8, 2006, one day after DeLay announced that he would not seek to regain his position, Blunt announced he would run to permanently replace DeLay. On January 14, 2006, he issued a release claiming that the majority of the Republican caucus had endorsed him as DeLay's successor.However, when the election was held by secret ballot on February 2, 2006, Boehner won on the second ballot, with 122 votes to 109 for Blunt. In November 2006 he was elected by the House Republicans to their second highest position for the 110th Congress, the Republican whip, defeating Representative Shadegg of Arizona handily.
Since he was first elected in 1996, Blunt has been reelected five times without significant opposition. In the 2004 House election, he received 70.4 percent of the vote.Blunt's political action committee is the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund.

Okay, I think we are up to snuff on Mr Blunt.. oh, except for one thing.. He stepped down from the Whip position earlier this year... and let his 2nd in command step up.. you know who that is.. that fresh faced young man who likes Brittney Spears.. Eric Cantor.

So, now, we are all up to date, and you know who Mr. Blunt is and how important he thinks he is.

Now, lets tell a story.

Earlier this year, the president said he wanted to have a meeting in the White House and start a forum to get people together, Doctors, Hospitals, Nurses, the AMA, and every other interested party including Democrats and Republicans to sit down and discuss Health Care Reform. The first meeting was had and it kicked off the final result we see now working it's way through Congress now. We call it making sausage and although it is messy and nasty it is a process and it has to be done.

Well, the Republicans have said all along they didn't like the plan that the president and the democrats in Congress had put forward, even though there are 160 amendments that are from the republicans. So, starting on February 4th Roy Blunt, stated this:

"Through this working group, Republicans will develop real solutions to improve our health care system.."

That was the first promise made.. notice that date.. February 4th, 2009. Now, from Fired Up! Missouri comes this listing of the Timeline of Roy Blunt's broken promises of real Health Care Reform from the Republicans and the GOP. And this is just a partial list. But, now, they want to say, wait, what is the rush, why are we in such a hurry, we need to slow down. Not just Roy Blunt, but all the Republicans.

So, here is the list, and the links to back up each claim of a promise made. You can check them out and see what promises they made. How can anyone still trust these people? They lied us into a war in Iraq, they have ruined our economy and finally we are starting to see some come back with it, but only through the efforts of our president, and now they want to derail Health Care.. We can't let them.. You have to help push back on this.. Call your Senator or Representative this week and let them know how you feel, even if they are a Republican, call them and tell them. Yes, it may not help but it will make you feel better and it will still get your point across.

Here is the list..Don't forget the one I listed above, just look at the broken promises from the Republicans:

 

Broken Promise, March 8: "Republicans will lead the effort to make health care work for Americans. We'll also lead the fight against any proposals that undermine your ability to get the treatment the doctor you choose recommends."

Broken Promise, March 12: "The group is crafting policy proposals to increase Americans’ access to quality, affordable health care..."
 
Broken Promise, May 11: "We’re looking forward to crafting bipartisan legislation to improve health care for all Americans.”
 
Broken Promise, May 11: "Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.), who is helming the House GOP’s healthcare task force, said Monday that he wants to provide his colleagues with an alternative reform proposal before Congress recesses for Memorial Day."
 
Audacious Statement, June 2: "No report or headline can take the place of a comprehensive plan - and that is what we have yet to see from the White House..."
 
Broken Promise, June 8: "House Republicans plan to unveil their own alternative healthcare legislation in the coming weeks and Blunt pledged that it will cost substantially less than the Democratic proposals."
 
Broken Promise, June 11: "GOP offers constructive options to improve access to health care"
 
Broken Promise, June 16: "House Republicans will unveil their version of healthcare legislation on Wednesday, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday, timing the release to coincide with the start of the Senate markup...The lead architect of the bill is former Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)."
 
Broken Promise, June 17: "When the details are drafted in the coming weeks,they would present a plan that 'costs far less than the Democrats’ [plan] and provides better results for the American people.'"
 
Broken Promise, June 17: "We believe we can come up with a plan where every person in the uninsured has access to insurance."
 
Broken Promise, June 25: "We'll continue that outreach [to Democrats] whiledrafting our own legislation..."
 
False Statement, July 5: "As for Blunt, he said he's focusing on policy changes he believes in, regardless of the political consequences."
 
Broken Promise, July 8: "As we approach this debate on health care, there are Republican principles that have been out there a long time that are going tofollowed this week by legislation..."
 
False Statement, July 10: My plan is "actually much more detailed than their [Democratic] plan has been." 
 
False Statement, July 14: "This week we outlined a thoughtful reform proposal that expands access to quality care at a cost our nation can afford.”
Blunt has unambiguously committed himself to producing a plan that is "actually much more detailed" than other pieces of legislation.

How is he going to talk his way out of this one? Well, let me show you... Here is his statement from the other day....This was on July 10th. We are still waiting on something, anything.

Republicans who had promised last month to offer a healthcare reform alternative are now suggesting no such bill will be introduced.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said, “Our bill is never going to get to the floor, so why confuse the focus? We clearly have principles; we could have language, but why start diverting attention from this really bad piece of work they’ve got to whatever we’re offering right now?”

Blunt, who is running for Senate, is chairman of the House GOP Health Care Solutions Group. Cantor made similar comments to The Hill in June, saying Republicans would eventually offer legislative language on healthcare reform.

Now, who are the others in this Health Care Solutions Group.. well let me show you..

Other members of the task force include: Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Charles Boustany (R-La.), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Wally Herger (R-Calif.), Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.), Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.).

I think most of those names are familiar to everyone. Some of those names really stand out. Big talkers all.. That's all it is too, big talk. I guess you could say, All Talk, No Action.
But then, we find that often with the GOP... All Talk, No Action.. Or in the words of a great American... All Hat, No Cattle

Jon Stewart Takes on "Teh Birthers" Calls it the "Born Identity"

Jon Stewart weighs in on the craziness that is teh Birthers... and calls his segment "The Born Identity". It is great, it is funny, and at the same time it shows how ignorant and stupid they are all at once.

No wonder he was just given the new "Most trusted news man in America" mantle, in a Time Magazine Poll.

I won't repeat some of the same videos and links that Jon shows in his piece but here in my state of Missouri, we also have had a bill, that has gathered some signatures and one name is pretty well known.

Cynthia Davis, yes, that Cynthia, who wants children to go to work so they won't be hungry, says elderly and disabled people 55 and older will get a job if God wants them to so there is no need for the training money in the Recovery Package, now is a "Birther". Give the little lady a hand.

FiredUpMissouri gives us this:

In 2009, Davis signed on to a lawsuit alleging that President Barack Obama is actually an Indonesian man named Barry Soetoro who has illegally usurped the American presidency.

Now that is just one of many things they say about the esteemed Ms Davis... but that's for another day. This lady is really trying to give Michelle Bachmann a run for her money, trust me on this one. Anything you want to know about her.. just click that link and there is lots of info right there on her, like her child wandering the highways, fathers are not natural nurturers, and several other stupid things she has said or done..but since she is only a local legislator, she doesn't get the play that Bachmann does.

Now, Cynthia is not the only one who is on this bill here in Missouri. On her barely-coherent website, Orly Taitz lists legislators Mike McGhee (R-Odessa), Reps. Tim Jones (R-Eureka), Casey Guernsey (R-Bethany) and Cynthia Davis (R-Pluto). Yes, Orly Taitz, Dentist, Lawyer, and Real Estate agent.

A recently posted biography of Taitz gave a very detailed look inside her mind and inside the obsession of her so called "exposure of a usurper". Where she comes up with it I have no clue. I think it is all about money, and the fact they are preying on the fears of the few who can't stand the thought of a black man in the White House.

Here is what she says is her mission to destroy and expose Barack Obama:

She calls Obama a “usurper” and an “arrogant jerk from Africa and Indonesia.” She called a judge an “idiot.” And she calls anyone who stands in her way an “Obama thug.” Taitz has built a sizable following on her blog; in the comments for each post at orlytaitzesq.com, you can read a few more names for people whom Taitz doesn’t like: “traitors,” “Muslims,” “terrorists.”

In the past eight months, Taitz’s face has become one of the most recognizable of what its adherents prefer to call the “eligibility” movement, and her actions have been some of the most controversial. Her end goal is simple—to remove Obama from office—but her methods have sometimes put her at odds with other anti-Obama activists. And that’s not to mention the legion of Obama supporters who have assembled evidence claiming that Taitz is, at best, a liar and, at worst, treasonous...

Aside from World Net Daily, more traditional conservative media sources—not to mention politicians—have condemned the birth-certificate question as a waste of time. In January, talk-show host Michael Medved classified Taitz and the other eligibility attorneys as “crazy, nutburger, demagogue, money-hungry, exploitive, irresponsible, filthy conservative imposters.”

Here is an update from OCBlogs about Orly Taitz that I just found.

Even if you read every one of the 4,000-n'-something words of this week's cover story about Dr. Orly Taitz, Esq., our local dentist crusading to have Barack Obama removed from office, you still won't have gotten the full Orly story. She's a busy woman with many pots cooking. So here are a few more Taitz tidbits:

-snip-

More Obama crimes: Taitz spends a lot of time talking about a few perceived presidential transgressions that didn't make it into my article. Her seeming favorite piece of evidence against Obama: According to online database Lexis Nexis, there are 25 different "Barack Obamas" in America, each with a different social security number. What's that mean? In Taitz's mind, it's evidence of forgery, identity theft and duplicity on the part of Mr. Obama. In someone else's mind, though, it might not be that interesting. After all, eight people ran as "Barack Obama" in Brazil's election last year, and there's been a boom of Barack-named babies recently. Plus, there's a good chance that at least 24 people nationwide have pulled a Santos E. Halper and jokingly filled out some of their docs with the president's name.

Taitz also has major suspicions about the fact that when the Illinois Bar application asked if the applicant had ever used an alias, Obama didn't fess up and put down his childhood moniker, "Barry Soetoro," (though there's little evidence that Barry was a legal alias for him, nor that that was what the application was asking for). She think his selective service registration information is forged, even though there's no doubt they he is registered for selective service. And as for that infamous Certificate of Live Birth: Taitz's objections range from the fact that the certificate's file number was redacted in the original scan posted by the campaign, to the "fact" (details) that FactCheck.org, who verified the veracity and physical existence of the COLB, is affiliated with Obama.

Speaking of the COLB, it's worth noting that Obama's short-form certificate -- the one eligibility-questioners say is inadequate -- is the only certificate now issued by the State of Hawaii.

She's a traveler. It can't be understated how often Dr. Taitz is on the road. Off the top of my head, I know that she has visited Washington D.C., Washington state, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. She says she has gotten more than 10 state representatives to sign on to her cause, but the one I talked to -- Mike Ritze of Oklahoma -- was very complimentary of Orly but was still mulling whether to become a plaintiff.

About that "service" thing: There's a quote from the cover story saying Taitz "doesn't file anything... she drops stuff off." That's largely a reference to Keyes v. Obama, the case Taitz has pending in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. In order to sue a person, you have to serve them the papers from the suit in person. Taitz tried to have one of her volunteers serve Barack Obama, but she ran into some difficulty when secret service and the White House fences wouldn't let her get close enough. Still, she dropped off the materials with a mail clerk (didn't get his name, though). Now, the court has notified Taitz that she hasn't properly served the defendant as pursuant to federal rules governing how to sue a government official. In response, on Sunday Taitz submitted up a motion asking the court to reconsider, accept her previous service and render a default judgment against Obama. "It seems to the Plaintiffs unfair and unjust that a Judge could merely set aside a party's default on a whim..." Taitz wrote in her motion. "..the Court has "merely" ordered the Plaintiff to start litigation all over again, as if the past six months had never happened or were no more important than six grains of tidal sand in the surfs at Malibu."

She's a fan of Israel. That's where she met her husband, after all. Taitz has served as a delegate for AIPAC, the most influential pro-Israel lobby in America. Taitz sees AIPAC as "apolitical," but doesn't deny that she has great concerns about Obama's policies towards Israel. There's been speculation in the "anti-birther" blogosphere that Israel is the core reason for her Obama antipathy, but it's probably not so simple to boil her motivations down to one cause. It should be noted, though, that the "eligibility" movement contains both Jewish activists like Taitz and people like famed anti-semite Andy Martin and James W. Von Brunn, the white supremacist who shot up the Holocaust Museum.

She has a black belt in Taekwondo. And if you don't believe her, she published the certificate.

Like I said, they are all nuts, over the top, crazy. The birth certificate has been shown on line for over a year. It has been examined, touched, felt, certified, even by the Republican Governor of Hawaii, and it is still not enough. That is why I say it is about money and race. No other reason makes sense, when everything else that could be done has been done and it is not enough for these people.

But, Jon Stewart shows how ignorant they really are. Of course the ones who need to see this won't watch it.. but that's okay...I love it and so will the ones who do see it.

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The Born Identity
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The Party of No and The Way They Work

This is bipartisanship in action, but it is also the way the GOPers are obstructing at every turn.

Monday when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee were meeting to try to get their bill together to present Sen. Dodd was presenting the amendments for acceptance and vote, and he stated the Democrats were willing to accept 64 amendments from the Republicans without a vote, and turned to Sen. Enzi from Wyoming, the ranking Republican to see if that was okay with him.

Watch this video for the shock and disbelief of Chris Dodd:



The entire purpose of the Republicans is to obstruct, delay and deny Pres. Obama's agenda, and the will of the people. The only thing they want is back in power. They believe by doing everything they can to stop this Health Care reform from going forward it will cause the President's agenda to fail and therefore the rest of us to suffer.

By causing this it just shows me how little they care about us, the people of the United States. They only care about themselves and what they see as getting their way, getting back in the majority and getting back into power.

We, have to stop this from happening. Keep track of these things, remember these things, and next year, or next election, when you are getting ready to vote, remind yourself and others, exactly what happened.

Oh, and you could pick up the phone and call some of these people and tell them what you think too. It may not change their vote.. if they are republican it probably won't... but it might make you feel better... I know every time I tell Kit Bond what I think it does me.

h/t video cafe

Andy Cobb Gives his Take on Mark Sanford, Too Funny

Here is the best take on Mark Sanford yet, from the great Andy Cobb. He really lays it out there and makes the points very well. It is funny and great at the same time. Not only does he say everything that needs to be said but he points out the hypocrisy of it all.

Just watch and enjoy the mastery of Andy Cobb as Mark Sanford.



Thanks to Phil Munger for finding this one.

Jon Stewart Weighs In On Mark Sanford and King David

Jon Stewart gave his take on Mark Sanford's idea of using King David as his excuse for staying in office. He doesn't quite think Sanford is qualified to use this argument.

This is a great short piece that Jon does, and it works quite well. One thing I think we have to remind ourselves of and Sanford needs to remember, is get religion out of government. We have a separation of church of state for a reason.

Yet Republicans mostly, some Democrats seem to want to constantly insert their beliefs into government. To use this analogy as a reason to stay in office is just ignorant. Sanford and the people of South Carolina need to look at what he has done.

Has he been effective as governor? Did he break the trust of the people of his state when he left them for 5 days with no one in charge and no way of getting in touch with him? His religion and his faith have nothing to do with his governing. Keep it in church and out of the office.

That's my advice to the people of South Carolina and to the Republican Party who are involved in this mess. It would be the same advice I would give to any Democratic individual in the same circumstances.

But here is Jon Stewart's take.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mark Sanford Consults the Old Testament
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