If It's Politics It Must Be SSDD

Ugh

USA Today 

WHAAAATT?
USA Today

Oh goody.
USA Today 

But there IS good news!

Great News for Great Pitchers

USA Today 

SSDD Translation:  Same Shit Different Day

John Boehner: Naked and Gelded

Bob Schieffer is the most astute interviewer in television news today. He's been around a long time. His show, "Face the Nation" is punctuated by his wisdom, experience and keen observations gleaned during fifty years in the business of reporting. This is our Speaker of the House, John Boehner. He's being interviewed by Bob Schieffer and he doesn't want to commit to any plans or ideas that involve immigration, the economy etc. He claims not to know of the President's agenda. He just wants to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act aka "Obamacare". Who's in charge here? Certainly not John Boehner. Boehner's pedantic and dismissive remarks, unwillingness to answer specific questions, annoyance with Schieffer's dogged persistence, are the stuff of an eye opening interview. The interview lasts 16 minutes, the first 7 are must see tee vee.




Aside from Boehner's insufferable attitude, what is most obvious here is his reluctance to commit to any plan of action resulting from his fear of retaining the position of Speaker of the House. He kowtows to the extreme elements in the GOP. He is a man being pulled in many directions by many demanding factions, including the President. He is resentful, he is ineffective, he is, in effect, a gelding.



As always, Schieffer puts things in perspective by reminding us, once upon a time, the country was working to accomplish great things. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3460_162-57594758/face-the-nation-transcripts-july-21-2013-boehner-and-snyder/

What If You Gave A Party and Nobody Came and Other Interesting Tidbits

 

Some Republicans have repeatedly declined to spend time with Obama.  Boehner chose not to be photographed with the president at last year’s White House Christmas party and has refused invitations to five state dinners in a row. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has also turned down multiple state dinners. Many new Republican House members chose not to come to a reception Obama held for the incoming freshmen in 2011. . .Boehner and McConnell also both turned down an invitation to watch “Lincoln” at the White House, along with three Republican senators — Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Olympia Snowe of Maine.   Washington Post 

I cannot imagine turning down an invitation from a sitting or retired President.  It's inconceivable.  In my work in broadcast sales, I've spent plenty of time with people I didn't like or agree with.  It's my job.  I've worked for people I didn't like.  It wasn't easy but it was my job.  John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Tom Coburn missed the memo.  IT'S THEIR JOB.  No wonder nothing ever gets done.

Olympia?  She doesn't count.  Her term is up.

                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New York lawmakers agreed to pass the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a stricter assault weapons ban and provisions to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats. . .The measure also calls for restrictions on ammunition and the sale of guns. It is expected to pass Tuesday.     Huffington Post

It's a start.  Kudos to Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg for spearheading the passage of strict new gun laws in New York state.  Now, if our other 49 states will belly up to the bar...

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And then there's THIS guy:

Recently reelected Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) has barely had a chance to get his feet wet in Congress again, after serving one term from 1995-1997. But already he's making bold threats to file articles of impeachment against President Barack Obama over gun control measures being sought in the wake of December's mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.   Huffington Post

                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Dept "Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen and Can't Get Up"

While he can’t save his career or his fortune, an admission of doping might rehabilitate Lance Armstrong’s charity and, ultimately, his legacy. . .The disgraced cyclist, who denied doping for more than a decade, admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. . . “Lance knows he’s poison as is, and my guess is he believes if he apologizes... and cries big crocodile tears it won’t solve his problems immediately, but it will at least start the process,” said Richard Burton, David Falk professor of sports management at Syracuse University. . .“His brand value during his yellow jersey days was almost immeasurable,” said Mark Serrano, CEO of ProActive Communications. “I think there were probably few brands in the world that were worth in excess of $20 million a year, and he was one of them.”...

“Today we’re looking at a brand value of near zero,” Serrano said.

                                                      

Friday Funny(s)

Back to the Future

Yesterday's  blog post by Jayne Martin struck a chord.  She reprised a 2 year old post about the  continuing dominance of "tired old white men" in our political system and the not-so-hidden prejudices of the political and emotional landscape.   

I watched PBS' airing of the two part "Clinton" series last week.  It was interesting to go back in time and realize how similarly their presidencies began and the hatred directed towards President Clinton and, worse, towards Hillary.  In most respects, she turned out to be the more politically prescient of the two.  But the nation wanted her head.  They obviously overcame some of the derision only to become mired in the Whitewater and Monica-gate scandals.  Clinton was his own worst enemy as those who worked for and admired him note in the program.  But even he has come out on the other side.

My husband and I are convinced people hate Obama because of his color more than his policies.  In the spirit of bi-partisanship, he's attempted to appease those who do not deserve to be appeased, i.e. McConnell, Ryan, Cantor, Boehner.  They've done all but spit on him.    

 ttaken from the The Schiller Institute newsletter of Lyndon LaRouche  Note remark re: Constitution

We have journalists like Mark Halperin calling him a "dick".  This is our president!  I may have thought G.W. was all those things & more but I don't believe I put it in print, let alone say such a thing on national television.

We can only hope President Obama, if re-elected, has the opportunity to achieve his goals in the second term, unencumbered by the need to seek re-election and please an old white bread male dominated Congress of politicos indebted to PACS, lobbyists and corporate America.

Class Warfare???

I don't understand this "class warfare" sound bite coming from the mouths of members of the GOP.  It's a catchy phrase, to be sure, but in the context it's used, it seems oxymoronic.

The term expression now used by many politicos on the Right is a refutation of  the tax proposals put forth by the President last Monday.  President Obama wants to tax anyone making a million dollars plus to pay at least the same effective tax rate as many of those who work for them.  Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

There was a hue and cry from the GOP with (R) Rep. Paul Ryan leading the charge with his own tax program "which would slash taxes for the rich as well as funding for food stamps and other low-income assistance programs".  Huh?  When asked if he was engaging in his own "class warfare", his said

“...the president is using rhetoric that divides people, that preys on people’s sense of anxiety, fear, envy.” He said: “what we’re trying to do is appeal to people’s sense of hope, aspiration. We want an equal- opportunity society. We want a society of upward mobility, and that is what we’re striving for.”

Wait.  Whose hopes and aspirations is he talking about?   Upward mobility?  Right now, many of us would be happy with a job, food on the table and a permanent place to sleep.

Speaker of the House Boehner was not to be denied his moment in the sun; of course, he always looks like he's been in the sun.  

“I don’t think I would describe class warfare as leadership. The government has a spending problem and I don’t believe it makes any sense to tax the people we expect to invest in our economy.”

Uh, that would be a shitload of GOP supporters and opposition to environment protection, social welfare and less government oversight like the billionaire Koch brothers.

They couldn't possibly mean these people.  The ones the US Census Bureau say are now 46,000,000  strong in what is still considered by many the "richest country in the world":

The pain was not evenly distributed, however. Black households suffered the greatest decline, losing 10.1% of household income since 2007. Those over the age of 65 saw household income increase by 5.5% since 2007.

Roughly 9.4 million individuals have lost their full-time jobs since 2007. There are roughly 6.6 million fewer men in the full-time workforce and 2.8 million fewer women.

The national poverty rate has hit 15.1% of the population now lives in poverty — up from 14.3% in 2009 and from 12.5% in 2007. 

The Census reports that 46.2 million individuals now live in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009. This is the highest number of people living in poverty since statistics were first kept in 1959 — a 52-year highRead more: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/saving-money/blog/devil-details/census-report-income-down-poverty-up/5140/#ixzz1YobLjsa6

You get the idea.  And the idea is we, the people of the United States of America, are circling the downward economic drain while the country burns and the GOP, lobbyists, bankers, corporations and Wall Street fiddle.

Obama and the Oompa Loompas

Did you watch the President's Jobs Speech last night?  He had some good things to say and I really should comment on them but I'm still thinking about the faces of his political foes and the captions running through my head as the cameras caught them in close up during the speech.

Boehner never cracked a smile.  Oh, there was a glimmer of one but I think he was contemplating how to shave another point off his handicap.

My older son thinks he looks like an Oompa Loompa.  You know, he's right! 

McConnell had his classic Tooter the Turtle look on.  Not a pretty sight.

McCain looked like he has a real big hemorrhoid.  But then, he always looks like that.

As for Rand Paul, he looked like he wanted to have a throwdown with the Prez.  I'd love to see Obama knock that hairpiece off his head.  

Oh Please, Let It Be True

House Minority Leader John Boehner was asked by a liberal blogger Thursday to answer questions about an affair with a lobbyist, an allegation that will reportedly be the focus of an upcoming New York Times expose. Boehner ignored the question outright.

The New York Post sees a journalistic plot to drop a bombshell on the upcoming midterm elections by smearing a high-profile GOP leader.  Huff Post

And who owns the NY Post?  Rupert Murdoch. 

"Is it funny?  Is it fair?"  I don't think they are asking those questions this time.  The guy asking the questions is Mike Stark, "an activist and blogger" per Huff Post. .

Wait for it...



Feet of clay, anyone?