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By O.Hank!, March 19, 2013 8:31 pm

March 19, 2013 — I found this blog over the weekend.  It points out how Republicans created the debt and deficits that they now say are immoral and want you and me to pay for, while they protect their moneyed pimps and the defense industry.  The article further details how Wall Street and Big Banks tanked the economy, received a bailout, gave out millions of dollars in bonuses and now join Republicans in trying to close the debt on the backs of the middle class, kids, the elderly and the poor.

As the article notes, after having created the mess, Republicans suddenly had their Debt Baptism and were born again the very same month that Barack Obama was sworn in as President:

“Republicans became debt and deficit sensitive in January 2009 just as President Obama was being inaugurated, and they embroiled the entire country, including Democrats, in their single-minded reduce the deficit mission. However, Republicans exempted those who benefited from the debt of any repayment, and are attempting to rob Americans’ health and retirement accounts, domestic programs, and government services to repay the debt and give more “free stuff” to the debt creators. It is important to note that the people who caused Great Recession were bailed out by taxpayers, and are reaping 93% of the recovery and if Republicans have their way they will give more to those responsible for the Recession.”

But, wait!  Now, Republicans are once again debating themselves….

On the Sunday news shows, Republican Speaker John Boehner and self-professed Republican Budget Boy Wonder Rep. Paul Ryan said that the debt was not an immediate threat.  Huh?  After four years of blaming President Obama for the debt they created and then becoming born again Debt Baptists who’ve been preaching from street corners about the evils of debt, now we hear from Republican leaders that what they’ve been preaching about the debt is not true.

This should offend everyone with an ounce of common sense and intelligence.  But, more offensive than Republican lies – they’ve been doing that for years! – is how the media just continue to let them get away with their bold-face lies and glaring hypocrisies.

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By O.Hank!, March 4, 2013 7:04 pm

March 4, 2013 – Once again, because Republicans in Congress would rather play politics and avoid potential primary challenges instead of doing what’s right for America, we are facing yet another crisis of their own making.  Of course, like Pavlov’s dog when that alarm bell rings, they foam at the mouth and blame the President.

They say that this was President Obama’s idea.  They are partly right, because THEY agreed to it during the 2011 Budget Control Act, which incorporated the sequester in case Congress and the President couldn’t agree on a compromise plan to develop a budget while tackling long-term debt.  The thinking of the Administration in suggesting the sequester was that no one in Congress would be so stupid as to let the sequester happen.  They’d HAVE to compromise.

Well, the Administration was wrong.  Evidently, there ARE enough stupid people in Congress to let it happen.  We have a Congress now that is sabotaging the economy because Republican Speaker John Boehner can’t control his unruly House and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell still wants the President to fail.

Just so folks know, in addition to slowing economic recovery and increasing unemployment, this is what we face if the Republicans allow the sequester to happen (White House document):

Impact of March 1st Cuts on Middle Class Families, Jobs and Economic Security: Virginia

Unless Congress acts by March 1st, a series of automatic cuts—called the sequester—will take effect that threaten hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs, and cut vital services for children, seniors, people with mental illness and our men and women in uniform.

There is no question that we need to cut the deficit, but the President believes it should be done in a balanced way that protects investments that the middle class relies on. Already, the President has worked with Congress to reduce the deficit by more than $2.5 trillion, but there’s more to do.

The President has put forward a balanced plan to not only avoid the harmful effects of the sequester but also to reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion in total. The President’s plan meets Republicans more than halfway and includes twice as many spending cuts as it does tax revenue from the wealthy.

Unfortunately, many Republicans in Congress refuse to ask the wealthy to pay a little more by closing tax loopholes so that we can protect investments that are helping grow our economy and keep our country safe. By not asking the wealthy to pay a little more, Republicans are forcing our children, seniors, troops, military families and the entire middle class to bear the burden of deficit reduction. The President is determined to cut spending and reduce the deficit in a balanced way, but he won’t stick the middle class with the bill. The President is willing to compromise, but on behalf the middle class he cannot accept a deal that undercuts their economic security.

Our economy is continuing to strengthen but we cannot afford a self-inflicted wound from Washington. Republicans should compromise and meet the President in the middle. We cannot simply cut our way to prosperity, and if Republicans continue to insist on an unreasonable, cuts-only approach, Virginia risks paying the price.

VIRGINIA IMPACTS

 If sequestration were to take effect, some examples of the impacts on Virginia this year alone are:

Teachers and Schools: Virginia will lose approximately $14 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 190 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 14,000 fewer students would be served and approximately 40 fewer schools would receive funding.

•  Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, Virginia will lose approximately $13.9 million in funds for about 170 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.

 Work-Study Jobs: Around 2,120 fewer low income students in Virginia would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 840 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.

 Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 1,000 children in Virginia, reducing access to critical early education.

Protections for Clean Air and Clean Water: Virginia would lose about $2,997,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Virginia could lose another $826,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.

Military Readiness: In Virginia, approximately 90,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $648.4 million in total.

o Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $146 million in Virginia.

o Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Virginia would be cut by about $8 million.

o Navy: Cancel the maintenance of 11 ships in Norfolk, defer four projects at Dahlgren, Oceana, and Norfolk, and delay other modernization and demolition projects.

 Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: Virginia will lose about $276,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

 Job Search Assistance to Help those in Virginia find Employment and Training: Virginia will lose about $348,000 in funding for job search assistance, referral, and placement, meaning around 18,390 fewer people will get the help and skills they need to find employment.

Child Care: Up to 400 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care, which is also essential for working parents to hold down a job.

 Vaccines for Children: In Virginia around 3,530 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $241,000.

Public Health: Virginia will lose approximately $764,000 in funds to help upgrade its ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, Virginia will lose about $2,140,000 in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 1,700 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. And the Virginia State Department of Health will lose about $337,000 resulting in around 8,400 fewer HIV tests.

STOP Violence Against Women Program: Virginia could lose up to $172,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 700 fewer victims being served.

 Nutrition Assistance for Seniors: Virginia would lose approximately $1,215,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.

I would close by urging you to contact our Congressman, Republican Rob Wittman, who is a smart man.  But, it’s no use.  Sadly, it seems that he has put those smarts and commonsense in a blind trust in order to tow the Party line dictated by Republican Leader Eric Can’t-or and to avoid a primary challenge.  Profiles in courage?  Doing what’s right for America?  Not here in the 1^st and 7^th Congressional Districts.

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By Marc, May 23, 2010 6:23 pm

But even as we continue to hold BP accountable, we also need to hold Washington accountable. Now, this catastrophe is unprecedented in its nature, and it presents a host of new challenges we are working to address. But the question is what lessons we can learn from this disaster to make sure it never happens again.

If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent such an oil spill, or if we didn’t enforce those laws – I want to know it. I want to know what worked and what didn’t work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down. We know, for example, that a cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them has long been a source of concern.

[...]

In recent weeks, we’ve taken a number of immediate measures to prevent another spill. We’ve ordered inspections of all deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve announced that no permits for drilling new wells will go forward until the 30-day safety and environmental review I requested is complete. And I’ve called on Congress to pass a bill that would provide critical funds and tools to respond to this spill and better prepare us to confront any future spills.

But we also need to take a comprehensive look at how the oil and gas industry operates and how we regulate them. That is why, on Friday, I signed an executive order establishing the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.

You can read the full address here.

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By Marc, May 16, 2010 12:19 pm

So, I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about why every American has a stake in Wall Street reform.

First and foremost, you have a stake in it if you’ve ever been treated unfairly by a credit card company, misled by pages and pages of fine print, or ended up paying fees and penalties you’d never heard of before. And you have a stake in it if you’ve ever tried to take out a home loan, a car loan, or a student loan, and been targeted by the predatory practices of unscrupulous lenders.

The Wall Street reform bill in Congress represents the strongest consumer financial protections in history. You’ll be empowered with the clear and concise information you need to make the choices that are best for you. We’ll help stop predatory practices, and curb unscrupulous lenders, helping secure your family’s financial future.

[...]

With reform, we’ll make our financial system more transparent by bringing the kinds of complex, backroom deals that helped trigger this crisis into the light of day. We’ll prevent banks from taking on so much risk that they could collapse and threaten our whole economy. And we’ll give shareholders more of a say on pay to help change the perverse incentives that encouraged reckless risk-taking in the first place. Put simply, Wall Street reform will bring greater security to folks on Main Street.

You can view the full remarks here.

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By Marc, May 11, 2010 8:25 pm

Democrats helped Krystal Ball (D-Fredericksburg) shed the presumptive nominee label by selecting her to be the official democratic nominee from Virginia’s 1^st Congressional District at a convention this past Saturday.

Ball wasted little time in drawing a sharp contrast between her and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-Montross).

When we passed Social Security they threatened to repeal it, when we passed Medicare they threatened to repeal it and now, now that we have passed health care reform they are threatening to repeal it. Well I have one message for Eric Cantor and John Boehner and to Rob Wittman. Let me say this clearly. I don’t care what your buddies in the health insurance lobby want we are not going backwards!

So what are Wittman’s legislative priorities? You’ll have to ask Eric Cantor (R-VA-7^th).

As long as we have politicians like Rob Wittman, nothing is going to change. You know Rob Wittman. He has been our Congressman for three years now. And in that three years he’s basically learned one thing, which is how to vote the way Eric Cantor tells him to.

You see Wittman is nothing more than a lap dog for Cantor. As I’ve previously written, Wittman has done Cantor’s bidding 1657 times or 93 percent of time. Folks in Virginia’s 1^st district deserve some real representation and not a lap dog!

Ball also notes that while folks in the 1^st district are being left behind, Wittman is taking good care of his friends on Wall Street.  While Wittman votes against extending unemployment insurance, he fights to preserve Wall Street executive bonuses. It’s called “No Banker Left Behind!”

Worse yet, while Wittman fights for Wall Street over Main Street, he also continues to pay lip service to our veterans and the environment. Priorities Rob, priorities!

Rob Wittman is the worst kind of politician. He is the kind of politician who talks about veterans and then votes against Sen. Webb’s 21st century GI bill. He is the type of politician, who talks about the [Chesapeake] Bay, and how important it is and how we have to clean it up, and then he turns around and votes against the Clean Estuaries Act. Rob Wittman takes his orders from credit cards companies, health insurance companies and banks. But you know what, those guys already have enough members of congress fighting for them. We need a fighter for the 1^st district of Virginia!

Ball concluded things best by saying that voters have a clear choice come November.

They can choose between tax cuts for the few and balancing the budget for everyone, between preserving the middle class and preserving Wall Street executive bonuses, between leaders who are willing to stand up for what’s right and those who only stand for their own re-election.

It’s time to fire wrong way Rob and hire a full-time representative who stands up for Main Street over Wall Street, who does more than provide lip service to our veterans and environment and who doesn’t take orders from credit card companies, health insurance companies or banks, but the American people. That person is clearly Krystal Ball!

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By Marc, May 10, 2010 10:25 pm

This past Friday, the male prostitute who was hired by George Rekers spoke to Anderson Cooper 360. Oh yeah, Rekers still maintains that he didn’t know who he had hired until halfway through his trip. Again, I wouldn’t have any clue what I was ordering from RentBoy.com either?! The male escort talks about carrying Rekers bags and performing erotic massages on him.

In the AC360 segment, they also interviewed Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. He laid quite the zinger on Rekers:

Rekers doesn’t think gay people should raise boys, they think that he [sic] should rent boys.

You can read more about Rekers’ efforts to stop gay couples from adopting children here. You can also read my last post on the subject here.