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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!, January 29, 2013 4:39 am

January 29, 2013 — This past week, we witnessed a Republican Party that is becoming increasingly out of touch – and desperate to hold on to power and the past!

On the state level in Virginia, GOP leaders continued their attempts to change the rules on voting and how Presidential elections are tallied.  They are still simmering over the President’s SECOND victory in Virginia, which propelled him to a second term. This happened even after GOP leaders spent last year passing legislation to disenfranchise minorities, college students and the poor.  So, this year, the GOP ramped up their efforts to make it even HARDER for these voters to exercise their Constitutional rights.

As if that weren’t bad enough, GOP leaders in the state Senate, split evenly between 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats, snuck in a redistricting bill on Monday, January 21, Inauguration Day, when Sen. Henry Marsh (D-Richmond), a noted civil rights leader in Virginia, went to D.C. to attend the Inaugural ceremonies.  With the Senate now divided 20-19, the GOP had the advantage and rammed through this bill.  Even Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, Republican, was ashamed.  Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell distanced himself from the Senate action, but whether or not he will veto the bill remains to be seen.

And as if THAT weren’t bad enough, Virginia GOP Sen. Bill Carrico led the fight to change the electoral rules of Presidential elections from winner-take-all to proportional allotments by Congressional Districts, which the Tea Party/GOP Congress gerrymandered in 2011 and which would give the GOP the advantage.  This paralleled action in other states controlled by the GOP that were won by Obama.

With these actions, the GOP motto has become: If you can’t beat ‘em, cheat ‘em.  Remember, this is the “values” Party….

Let’s face it, Republican leaders are mad!  They HATE the fact that Obama is President – and won again!  They will do anything to gain and keep power, including lying, cheating and stealing.  They and their shrinking base of old white guys HATE the fact that the face of America and Virginia is changing, so they fuel the flames of fear and use lies to divide people, and pass laws that keep people from voting and change the rules so they can win.  They continue to call the President names, and on and on and on….

Sadly for the country, it’s SOS from the GOP – a bunch of Grumpy Old Pfarts.

The day after the Inauguration, GOP Speaker John Boehner accused the President of trying to “annihilate” the GOP.   At the rate they are going, Boehner and his GOP/Tea Party right-wingers will accomplish this feat all on their own.  Here’s to their success!

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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 9, 2010 8:24 pm

Two weeks ago, four million small business owners and organizations found a postcard in their mailbox informing them that they could be eligible for a health care tax cut this year – a tax cut potentially worth tens of thousands of dollars; a tax cut that will help millions provide coverage to their employees.

Starting in June, businesses will get even more relief for providing coverage to retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.  And a little over a month from now, on June 15th, senior citizens who fall into the prescription drug coverage gap known as the “donut hole” will start receiving a $250 rebate to help them afford their medication.

You can view the full transcript here.

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By Marc, May 1, 2010 7:41 am

Over the past few weeks, as we’ve debated reforms to hold Wall Street accountable and protect consumers and small businesses in our financial system, we’ve come face-to-face with the great power of special interests in the workings of our democracy.  Of course, this isn’t a surprise.  Every time a major issue arises, we’ve come to expect that an army of lobbyists will descend on Capitol Hill in the hopes of tilting the laws in their favor.

That’s one of the reasons I ran for President: because I believe so strongly that the voices of ordinary Americans were being drowned out by the clamor of a privileged few in Washington.  And that’s why, since the day I took office, my administration has been taking steps to reform the system.  Recently, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision that overturned decades of law and precedent – dealing a huge blow to our efforts to rein in this undue influence.  In short, this decision gives corporations and other special interests the power to spend unlimited amounts of money – literally millions of dollars – to affect elections throughout our country.  This, in turn, will multiply their influence over decision-making in our government.

[...]

In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling, we face a similar challenge.  That’s why it’s so important that Congress consider new reforms to prevent corporations and other special interests from gaining even more clout in Washington.  And almost all of these reforms are designed to bring new transparency to campaign spending. They are based on the principle espoused by former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis – that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

You can read the full transcript here.