Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #6--The 47% (And my Mom)

I was in no way surprised when Mother Jones released the video with Willard's comments concerning the 47%.  It was a the sky is blue, water is wet, and republicans are assholes moment.  To be honest, I don't think Romney even minds the video coming out--it was red meat for the troops, and God knows republicans love their red meat.  He can disown  the comments and republicans will just wink and nod.

No, what really pissed me off is that he was talking about my Mom.

My Mom didn't go to any Ivy League Schools.  She didn't get to spend a couple of years overseas for her religion, though I'd guarantee she's every bit as religious as Mitt Romney.  She was never the Governor of a state, and the last job she'd ever want is President of the United States.

But she did raise three kids.  All children have mothers who give them life, but not many have one who gave them life twice, which my mother did for me.  She beat breast cancer.  She survived a horrendous auto accident which left her wheelchair bound for six months.  She survived losing her husband, my father, to cancer much earlier than she should have.  She volunteers at her church to babysit children so her unemployed fellow parishioners can look for work.  She went once a week to make sack lunches to distribute to the homeless for years until her health prevented her from continuing.  Hell, she was still cutting her lawn once a week into her mid-seventies.
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She's my Mom, so she's special to me, but I know there are millions of others like her.

She pays no federal income taxes because she lives on my late father's small pension and Social Security.  She has Medicare.  She in no way expects the government to take care of her, and neither of these programs are "entitlements."  My father worked his fucking ass off for over forty years and paid money out of each and every paycheck to help run them (as do most Americans who have a paying job).  Like all of us, my mother still pays state taxes and sales taxes.  She pays property taxes.  She does her part.

The world, in many tiny ways, is a much better place because my mother is in it.

Amazingly enough, when my mother casts her ballot next week, she will cast it for Mitt Romney (my mother will freely admit that if it weren't for the abortion issue she'd vote Democratic, and while I vehemently disagree with her on this issue she has been a wonderful mother and after 78 years on this planet she has earned the right to base her vote on any issue she damn well pleases).

I won't.  I'll cast my vote for Barack Obama because he doesn't believe that my mother is a leech on our country.  He's not a soul sucking zombie who thinks only the wealthy matter.

And when I cast that ballot, I will be voting for my Mom and the millions of others like her.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #7--Look for the Union Label

There is now a battle going on that makes David vs. Goliath look like a powder puff football game--workers are striking at the most anti-employee corporation in the history of America:  Wal-Mart.  I have my doubts that they will ultimately succeed, but I do know that every journey begins with a single step and anyone who thinks this could have happened with a republican at the helm of our nation is living a fantasy that existed only in the head of LSD-addled Timothy Leary.

Like many labor union supporters, I am disappointed that the President didn't put the full force of his office behind the Employee Free Choice Act.  Had he, though, it is doubtful it would have ever gotten past a republican filibuster in the Senate.

It is a fact that since the start of the Great Recession, 60% of the job losses have come in mid-level wage jobs; only 22% of the jobs created since have been the same.  Twenty-one percent of the job losses were in low-level wage jobs--58% of the jobs created have been low paying jobs.  It is a fact that as labor union membership has declined, so have wages.  It is a fact that 83% of union members have health care and pensions versus only 62% of those who do not belong to a union.

The poor and the middle class are under siege right now, and it's not from too many regulations or Obamacare.  It's not because the President is a Socialist or that the budget deficit is reaching unprecedented heights.  It's because greedy U.S. corporations, who are reaping the largest profit margins in history, are unwilling to share the wealth.  They'd like nothing more than to return to the ways exposed in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle where people slaved for next to nothing, lived in poverty, and shopped at the company store.

Unions--which are responsible for better wages for everyone, better benefits for everyone, and better job security for everyone--are our best hope.  President Obama cannot single-handedly resurrect unions, but four more years will give the labor movement more time to continue recruiting new members and pushing the agenda that has membership moving in a positive direction again.

Look for the union label, indeed.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #8--Social Security

There is some consternation among those on the left that as part of the fiscal cliff equation, President Obama will make some sort of "grand bargain" on Social Security--raising the retirement age or cutting benefits or allowing some sort of privitization of our retirement funds.  While I cannot guarantee that President Obama will not, he has said nothing thus far that would lend itself to such belief.  In fact, his surrogate, Vice-President Biden has guaranteed there will be no changes to Social Security in President Obama's second term.  My gut feeling is that the Democrats, as noted by Harry Reid, realize there is no crisis in Social Security despite the conventional wisdom and will let it ride, especially if they continue to control the Senate.  Further, President Obama has said he is open to raising the cap from $108,000 on Social Security taxes, which is the most popular choice among Americans for keeping Social Security financially solvent.

What I can guarantee is that under Mitt Romney, there will definitely be changes and none of them for the better.  Romney's plan calls for cutting benefits, gradually raising the retirement age, and something called price indexing which means (other than a much better deal for Romney's peers, the wealthy) "Good luck, you're on your own mother fuckers!"  Because what elderly Americans really need is to eat more catfood and be a fucking Wal-Mart greeter until they're in their nineties.

Social Security is the most successful government program this nation has ever had.  It has kept countless seniors out of poverty, is among the best run programs we have, and is the envy of the rest of the world.  There is no crisis in Social Security.  It can pay full benefits for the next twenty years and three-quarters for the next seventy-five years.  The crisis is a bullshit lie by those who would like to further enrich Wall Street and privatize what the government can do much better than private enterprise--take care of people.

Anyone who thinks not can just look back to the Stock Market collapse in the fall of 2008, and how most people lost better than 50% of their 401k funds.  And we really want to turn our safety net over to those same morons?

Methinks not.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #9--Medicare

Ever since its inception in 1965, republicans have been hell bent on ending Medicare.  God only knows why--it's a program that has helped to keep people over the age of 65 healthier and is one of the best run programs the U.S. government has ever had.  It has kept costs lower and has played a major part in Americans living longer.  Yes, it will sink into deficit spending soon, but that's not a reason to end it; it's a reason to tweak it.

To the republicans, though, this is their chance to turn our healthcare over to the markets (because it's worked out so well thus far--both in terms of cost and results).  I don't know if President Obama will make a "grand bargain" on Medicare, but I am positive Daddy Warbucks and Jughead are determined to turn it into a voucher plan and wreak further havoc on our collective health and the economy.  Despite their "just trust us" mantra as to their plan, republicans are not to be trusted on this one--especially after their riddled with errors "claims" on Obama's cuttting $700 million from Medicare when it does nothing of the sort.

This is probably one of the most personal issues for me.  I am twelve years (for you republicans who suffer from artihmetic problems, that makes me fifty-three), from being eligible for Medicare and with the nightmare that is our current health system (very expensive, yearly exorbitant increases, dealing with the layers of bureaucracy, a basic right being controlled by corporations more concerned with profit than care) I am literally counting the minutes until I am eligible.

And don't let anyone call it an "entitlement"--that is a bullshit misnomer.  There are none of us who do not pay into Medicare with every check you earn.  Medicare is as much an entitlement as a 401k plan.

And equally as important to all of our retirement years.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #10--SCOTUS

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 79 years old.  Justices Antonin Scalia and William Kennedy are 76.  Stephen Breyer is 74. Though it isn't unheard of that Supreme Court Justices remain on the court into their eighties, there is a good  chance that whoever is elected President in 2012 will be nominating at least two Justices for the Supreme Court.  While I would be surprised, should Obama win, that either Scalia or Kennedy would retire, it would be comforting to know that the President could put two young Justices on the Supreme Court to replace Justices Ginsburg and Breyer should they decide to retire.

Point is, we're already down 5-4, and were Ginsburg's well known health problems to force her from the bench, it is hard to see how being in the minority at 6-3 would be good for the causes we support:  Roe v. Wade and abortion, gay rights and gay marriage, the continuation, a la the Citizen's United decision of the Roberts' Court acquiesence to corporate America and its whims (is it only me who finds it somewhat hypocritical that corporate America bemoans lawsuits while buying/bullying their way upon the rest of us through the courts, see also the chamber of commerce?).

Frankly, for all the republicans bitching about "activist judges," they seem awfully hunky dory with asking the courts to impose their philsophies on the rest of us.  For all their talk about individual rights, they'd be more than happy to have the courts outlaw abortion, gay marriage (for those states which already have it), our right to birth control, and have it allow prayer in our schools.  And in a nation where the middle class and the poor are already fighting to keep their heads above water, the republican appointees to the Supreme Court seem to have little problem giving more power to corporations and taking it away from workers.

In the end, it comes down to whether or not you want a Supreme Court that's interpreting the Constitution as a living document or one that is being used to further the agenda of religious freaks and Wall Street.  We just cannot afford more decisions like Citizen's United that is doing unlimited damage and may take a generation to overturn.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #11--The First Debate

Going into this year's first debate, President Obama seemed poised to run away with this year's Presidential election.  After the President's debacle, the race moved slightly to Willard, then back to a close/tied race, and now shows a small lead for the President.

What the fuck?  Because of a debate?  One that most people thought Willard won on style more so than substance?  Are we really that shallow?  I mean for fuck's sake, people were willing to throw out a well-run campaign, a successful Presidency, and ignore Willard's badly run campaign, a bad republican convention, the fact that he's never really shown any kind of empathy for ordinary Americans because for one night, Romney looked like he might have Presidential stature? (And truthfully, it seemed to fade considerably after the last two debates.)

There's something inherently wrong as well about a man standing on a stage and flat out lying about his record, about his party, about his future decisions as President, and flip-flopping on what direction he is going to take the country in, about what his backers are going to let their lapdog do, knowing that more people are going to hear the lie than are going to hear the truth--and then rewarding that man for his dishonesty and intransigence by electing him President.

Being There was a cute novel/movie about a man who had no business being President accidentally becoming President.  There would be absolutely nothing cute about Willard Romney, a man who has no business being President, being elected President based on a performance that presented a false face, a lot of chutzpah, and showed an utter disdain for the intelligence of the American people.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #12--Public Sector Employees

Over 600,000 public sector jobs have been lost since Barack Obama became President.  I have no illusions that should he win re-election those jobs are coming back.  But I am also certain that should Daddy Warbucks and Jughead win on November 6th, that number is going to seem like a grain of salt in the sea.  Nothing either of them has said would lead one to believe that they have any respect or feel any need for public sector employees--you know, those thankless but monumental jobs involving teachers, policemen, firefighters, and countless others who make our world a lot better place by taking care of us all.

It is also not a secret--see also, Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin--that republicans are hell bent on destroying the last remaining strong unions (not counting professional athletes and actors).  There is nothing Willard would like more than to be Scott Walker on a national level, and we just cannot afford any more union-busting.  The middle class has been squeezed enough and the public sector is one of the few chances we have left for good paying jobs that aren't at the whim of corporate greed.

President Obama's American Jobs Act--defeated thanks to those job creators, the House republicans--specifically calls for actions to save and grow jobs for teachers, policemen, and firefighters.  There is nothing in the republican platform that calls for the same.  President Obama will not have an agenda designed to destroy public sector jobs and take away more vital services for ordinary Americans.

Only republicans think teachers, policemen, and firefighters are overpaid and pampered with too rich benefit packages.  Nothing could be further from the truth--these people are the backbone of America, and a vote for President Obama is a guarantee of their continued strength and vibrancy.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #13--The auto bailout

Contrary to the fantasy world that occupies Willard Romney's head, had we followed his lead on the auto bailout, my home state would be a wasteland right now, comparable to the Dakotas or Montana.  There was no private equity funding available, and one can rest assured that had he been leading the charge, the "Detroit car guy" would have destroyed the UAW, and with it, any hope those of us not fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family had for decent wages.  And heaven forbid any of those at the top paying for their mistakes like the rest of us would have with a pink slip.

Contrast the Romney "plan" (i.e., "Let Detroit go bankrupt" regardless of any claims he makes in retrospect), with the precision with which the Obama administration handled the auto industry bailout. They had a plan and they worked that plan--moving in quickly, setting people in place, seeing that GM's Rick Wagoner got the boot (as well he should have), making the auto leaders put forth a viable plan for going forward profitably, and making sure that the workers were taken care of. 

The results speak for themselves--the Big 3 are profiitable, selling more cars, and most important, hiring.  Millions--fucking millions--of jobs have been saved, not just in the auto industry proper, but in all the peripheral industries as well. 

The move was not popular (except in states like here in Michigan) and, again, took a political courage that Willard Romney just flat out lacks.  Barack Obama handled what could have been a disaster for the American economy with grace, poise, and confidence.

One kinds of doubts the head of Bain Capital would have done the same:  it would have been a big going out of business sale as our economy collapsed, with Willard leading the marching band.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #14--42 Million Jobs

Since 1960, republicans have held the White House for 28 years.  The Democrats have controlled the White House for 24 years.  During the republicans time at the helm, 24 million jobs were created.  While the Democrats were in power, 42 million jobs were created.

There is a reason for this--think to yourself how many times you've heard Daddy Warbucks and Jughead mention the American worker.  The answer is zero.  They don't and they won't.  They'll talk about the "job creators" and how we should pander to Wall Street and the financial community and eliminate "regulations" but they'll never talk about people who actually work--autoworkers and cashiers and steelworkers and janitors and construction workers and teachers--because they don't give a fuck about them.  They're just effluvia--as Paul Krugman noted, it is with utter disdain that they view those of us working our asses off to keep this country running.

Jobs will be created over the next four years, and it's just a matter of whether you want more and better paying (President Obama) or less and worse paying (McJobs Mitt).

Not much of a decision if you ask me.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #15--Obamacare

Yup, Obamacare.

It gave impetus to the rise of the Antoinettes and cost the Democrats the House in an historic rout by the republicans.  The only reason it didn't cost us the Senate was because of the aforesaid Antoinettes (thanks to republicans in Delaware, Nevada, and Colorado for their help) running in blue/purple states.  It also drives much of the utter hatred of President Obama that continues to this day by the numbnuts on the right.

But still....

For many of us on the left, it didn't go far enough, especially in terms of our desire to have at best, single-payer, and at worst, a public option.  When viewed as a whole, though, it brought us an end to refusing coverage due to a pre-existing condition (biggie here in the emaycee household), coverage for children on their parents policy until age 26, covered well-visits for women, covered well-visits for children, and, after 2014, it will provide insurance to another 40 million Americans.

But the main reason I think it's a reason to vote for President Obama?  A major traditional media fail on the passage of the Affordable Care Act was that the President succeeded where Presidents since Harry Truman have failed and passed a health care act at a time when the economics of healthcare are undoubtedly driving down our economy.  Could it have been better (and by better I don't mean more bipartisan, which is Beltway bullshit)?  Undoubtedly.  But it's a major step forward, historic for having been done, and most important it took political courage and Presidential leadership.

The traditional media and the Antoinettes can piss off; as Joe Biden said, this was a big fucking deal and a major accomplishment for President Obama.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #16--George W. Bush

Anybody remember what happened the last time we elected a man who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, had most of his success because of a) being born wealthy, and b) his father's success, and had a spotty record in the previous governmental leadership position he had held?

Let me remind you:

• In 2001 his administration fell asleep at the wheel and the tragedy of 9/11--and 3000 American deaths were upon us.
• They proceeded to get us into the first war America has fought since WWII that was actually necessary and proceeded to run it as badly as a blind man drives a car.  Over 1000 American troop deaths and still counting.
• As if one war wasn't enough, on the basis of faulty and completely erroneous information, they got us into a second war which went even worse than the first.  Combined, the two wars put a huge drain on the country's finances and we're still paying the debt (and will be for some time) for funds that could have been put to much better use.  Over 4000 American troops killed in this one.
• Proving that being asleep was the one thing they were good at, his administration blew the run up and the response to one of the strongest hurricanes in our nation's history--Hurricane Katrina--resulting in the deaths of over 1000 Americans.
• As if all of that wasn't bad enough, thanks to deregulation, a false housing bubble, and once again, falling asleep as they guided the mothership, the economy collapsed resulting in the loss of over five million jobs, nearly a fifty percent decline in the stock market, and a recession the likes of which this nation hasn't seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Of course, I'm talking about George W. Bush, POTUS 2001-2009.

And we really want to hand the keys over to his blood brother, Willard Romney?

Thanks, but no fucking thanks.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #17--Abortion

Seventy percent of the abortions in America are performed on women who live below the poverty level.  It is a proven fact, despite what the numbnuts who run the Catholic Church proclaim, that making birth control accessible and educating people about it will reduce unwanted pregnancies.

I have long believed that if the anti-abortion forces truly cared about the unborn, they would make every effort to reduce poverty in America and spend untold millions on educating Americans on birth control as well as making it available en masse.  I mean, if a million people were dying every year, and someone told me I could reduce that number to five hundred thousand  by following a few simple steps, I'd be right on it.  Doesn't mean I wouldn't keep fighting to make it zero, but a half million deaths is a lot better than a million.

You'll note that republicans, the religious right, and anti-choice zealots nationwide have done nothing of the sort.  The plain truth of the matter is that they don't give a rat's ass about the thousands of fetuses being aborted each year.  What they do care about is shoving their sexual mores down everyone's throat.

The same folks who are aghast because Government would presume to regulate greedy and haphazardly overseen corporations think it's just fine and dandy that the Government should abolish your right to choose, your right to birth control, and your right to enjoy the partner of your particular desire.  It's not just about abortion--there's a host of sexual issues that they hope to crush in the process.

So if you think sex is fun and was given to us by God to enjoy--vote for President Obama.  If you think it's dirty and for reproductive purposes only, vote for the prude at the head of the republican party.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #18--Iraq and Afghanistan

When Barack Obama was running for President in 2008, two of his campaign promises were that he would bring home the troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ahem:  Mission Accomplished.

The drawdown in Iraq has been completed.  Afghanistan begins in 2014.  Both have been completed with a modicum of fanfare.  Both have been done safely and securely.  While there are no guarantees, both countries have a viable chance to stand on their own.  Our standing in the world has been greatly enhanced.

There is absolutely no question that Presdent Obama's foreign policy actions have been successful.  For all the talk about Democrats being soft on defense, the President has shown we are anything but.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #19--Osama bin Laden

Despite all the tough talk from the Bush the Lesser administration ("Dead or alive!") they never came close to capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden.

For all Willard's campaign whining about whether or not the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Libya was called an act of terrorism (and for the life of me I wonder why anyone other than numbnut republicans desperate for an issue to lift up their weak ass candidate would give a fuck what it was called), President Obama has a much better reputation for actually taking out terrorists than anyone connected to the republican party.

They whined about President Obama's victory lap--for fuck's sake, it should have been like the touchdown dance Cuba Gooding, Jr. did in "Jerry Maguire."  The President's team took out the man responsible for over 3000 American deaths.  The President gave the order to carry out a mission that was never a guaranteed success.

The President showed political courage.  And as we witnessed in the debate on Tuesday, Willard Romney wouldn't know political courage if it came up and kicked him square in his privileged white ass.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #20--Lily Ledbetter

The very first bill President Obama signed was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which basically overturned a rather bad Supreme Court decision, and allowed women to sue for pay discrimination within a realistic period of time (the Supreme Court had ruled that women had 180 days from the first discriminatory paycheck before the statute of limitations ran out, which meant, in effect, that if a woman found out about pay discrimination for the first time five years after the fact she couldn't sue).  The Democratic Congress decided women had 180 days from each paycheck to bring suit.  Sounds like a simple and fair enough law, right?

Nope.  Willard has yet to go on record in support of the act, even when given an opportunity to lie through his teeth like at last night's debate.  In a nutshell, what this means is that Willard thinks it's perfectly fine for corporations to pay women less than men for doing the same job.  And that it's perfectly fine to discriminate against women in equal pay as long as it doesn't happen in the first six months of her start date in her position.

What the fuck?  Romney's position is just another sop to corporate America, and we need more of them like we need more lima beans.

What we do need is to insure that women are paid equal to men fpr the same work, and the President's signing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was a damn good start.

Peace,
emaycee

Fucking Kayo

Na, na, na, hey, hey, goodbye....

I've waited for four fucking years to see President Obama flare his nostrils and take it to the mother fuckers, and when he so eloquently told Willard Romney that his assertion that the Obama administration was playing politics with the Libya terrorist attack was offensive--my God, it was so fucking cathartic.  I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight,.  I couldn't yell because the Beautiful Boy was sleeping, but I shook my arms in triumph so hard that I ended up out of breath.

My two takes:  1) Not surprised that Romney had several gaffes tonight.  He's prone to them and without four months to prepare for the debate he was bound to have some. The Libya one, though, where he claimed that President Obama didn't call it an act of terror in his Rose Garden statement will most certainly go down in Presidential campaign history as one of the worst ever.  2)  I figured before the debate even started that that no matter how well the President did--and trust me he hit a mother fucking grand slam--there was no way his numbers would look as good as Willard's after the first debate because republicans would never have the balls to admit their guy got crushed.

Man, I love winning--it's better than, like, losing.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #21--LGBT Issues

Keep it simple stupid....

President Obama overturned "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The Obama administration stopped the Solicitor General from defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

President Obama is the first sitting President to come out in favor of marriage equality.

For the first time in our history, a majority of the American people are in favor of marriage equality.  Do we really want to hand the Presidency to a man who will be beholden to a party that thinks the word "faggot" is an acceptable way to describe Gay and Lesbian Americans? 

Fuck no, we don't.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #22--Racism

Is there really anything I need to add to this photo from a Romney rally?

Peace,
emaycee

The third world is just around the corner

Digby had another piece today about the disconnect between the 1% and the rest of us--she suggests (to me) that it's only a matter of time before their downfall if they continue to leave the rest of us behind.  I tend to see it in starker terms:  as more and more people (espedially those who have been taught since birth of their right to have a decent economic lifestyle) are unable to feed their kids, pay heating bills, have a place to live, and watch those on the other end of the economic spectrum light cigars with hundred dollar bills, a whole hell of a lot of wealthy people are going to find their property taken from them at best, and their lives end up a morality play the rest of us teach our children ("See the rich man hanging from his chandelier kids?  That's what we do to people who are too greedy!") at worst.

One thing I will say for a Romney victory in November--it will put us just that much closer to the start of the revolution.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #23--Clint Eastwood

After the debacle that was Clint Eastwood's performance at the republican National Convention this year, republicans were wont to complain that Democrats were using a double standard:  it was perfectly okay for Democrats to cheer on Bill Maher, Barbra Streisand, or Jon Stewart, but not for the republicans to react in kind to Clint Eastwood?

Um...the big difference is that we weren't fucking stupid enough to put our celebrities on two spots before our party's nominee and even if we had, we certainly wouldn't have let him have free reign with his script, and we most assuredly wouldn't have put someone up there who was anti-choice and an opponent of LGBT rights.  Which is exactly what the republicans, and by extension, Willard's campaign chose to do.

Do we really want an administration that would fuck up one of the most important moments of its campaign so badly?  I mean these conventions are scripted down to when it's appropriate to fart and they put an addled old coot out there with completely free reign to talk to a fucking chair? 

Give me a fucking break--I wouldn't have these idiots cut my lawn, let alone run the most powerful country in the world.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #24--Iran

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is itching for a fight with Iran to stop their so-called nuclear program.  A close personal friend of Mr. Netanyahu is one Willard Romney.  Willard has installed noted hawk John Bolton, former Bush the Lesser U.N. Ambassador, as the head of his foreign policy team.  Radical right and religious right republicans have a major boner for Israel...because, well, Israel's in the Bible, and they're God's chosen people, well except for the U.S., and Jesus did some shit in that area, and...well,  you get my drift.

Mark these words:  Romney is itching for a fight with Iran, too, and if elected, it is only a mater of time before we are drawn into another war, for more than likely specious reasons, where thousands of American boys and girls will die (there will be no "Mission Accomplished" moment in Iran--there's a lot more of them, and unlike the Iraqis, who can't fight, and the Afghans, who are too divided to put up much of a fight, the Iranis will definitely exact their pound of flesh before the end game).  Another war where billions of much needed dollars for education, for health care, for taking care of the least among us, for our rapidly declining infrastructure will be diverted to help make rich men even richer and the rest of the country even poorer, just like Bush the Lesser and his two unnecessary wars.

President Obama is much more interested in diplomacy, and as has been recently reported, the sanctions are beginning to have the desired effect.  Obama has been a rock on foreign policy and after Willard's half-assed and factless premature ejaculation response to the embassy bombing in Libya, it's obvious he's not ready, nor will he ever be, for the "three a.m. call."

Do we really want thousands of American men and women to die, to waste billions and billions of dollars in another rich man's war?

I think not.

Peace,
emaycee

Twenty-five reasons to vote for Obama: #25--Joe Biden

For those counting and fearing, there's twenty-five more days until D-Day:  the 2012 election of our next President on November 6th.  In that spirit, I'm presenting the top 25 reasons (hopefully one each day through  November 5th) to re-elect President  Barack Obama.  And number twenty-five is...

...Joe Biden.  After his spectacular drubbing of Jughead in the Vice-Presidential debate last night, Joe Biden made it perfectly clear he is the vastly superior candidate for the job of the second most important individual in the world.  He stands for the working people of America and is a warrior both for the President and the Democratic agenda--little things like healthcare for all, retirement security, fair taxation, and the better paying jobs that the security of unions leads to.  Paul Ryan is nothing more than what we have been saying all along--an intellectual lightweight, long on vapidness and short on substance.  He doesn't care one whit for the average American and lives only to fellate Wall Street, corporations, and the wealthy.

Besides, on the entertainment scale, Biden is the Super Bowl and Ryan a quaint game of tic, tac, toe.

Peace,
emaycee

Stupid commentary of the night.

The post debate comment from Steve Schmidt on MSNBC, republican strategist for John McCain in 2008, was that the "big" story of tonight's debate over the next two or three days would be Biden's laughter and smiling, and how it would be perceived.  And you can easily see why McCain got trounced in 2008.

Because the big story from tonight's debate is not going to be some wild-eyed republican talking point but that Joe Biden kicked Paul Ryan's ass and reinvigorated the Democratic base in the process.

Peace,
emaycee

Biden Vs. Jughead

So much for the boy wonder, Paul Ryan--he got his ass bitch slapped by a man old enough to remember when republicans were honorable opponents, and not the lying chickenshits they've become.

Well done, Vice President Biden, well done, sir.

Peace,
emaycee

The day's biggest surprise

...had to be the way the Liberal blogs have rallied around the President today.  I mean the folks on MSNBC, with the exception of the Reverend Al Sharpton, absolutely crucified him last night, and I was pretty much expecting the same from everyone today (especially with President Obama's comments on Social Security) except for Markos Moulitsas (Obama could go streaking buck ass naked down Pennsylvania Avenue and Markos would find a reason why it shows the President's brilliance--and I love him for it).  Even fucking Digby, who usually treats Obama like an ugly stepchild, was pretty darn tame and fought back against Romney's lies.  And the Detroit Free Press' Stephen Henderson only acknowledged Romney's victory as one heavy on style but light on substance.

Good to see that we just might be seeing the utter catastrophe of a Romney victory on November 6th.

Peace,
emaycee

Oops

Um...got an e-mail from President Obama about a half hour after the debate last night which hoped I was proud of his performance and would I be willing to donate $15.

Talk about your shitty timing--don't you think some senior staffer should have nixed that one after the President's dismal performance?

On the bright side, they've only sent one e-mail today--and I usually get five or six at the very least.  One supposes, like a repentant husband, they've learned their lesson and are slowly easing their way back into our good graces.

Peace,
emaycee

Let's just all take a giant chill pill

Yes, President Obama got his clocked cleaned last night and his performance was a disappointment (though it probably shouldn't have been--he isn't called "No Drama Obama" for nothing, and he has always been very cognizant of the fact that the role of angry black man probably won't play well in middle white America).  But really, folks, it isn't the end of the dream.  To wit:

• The Romney campaign has been one of the most inept in modern history.  Anyone think one debate victory is going to change that?  See also, John Sununu, on TV today taking a "victory lap" and destroying whatever Independent voter support they gained last night.  Thanks, John!
• We have an unemployment rate over 8%, a solid majority of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction, and gas prices are near $4 a gallon...yet President Obama enjoyed a commanding lead going into last night's debate.  In fact, the only states he's losing that he carried in his utter rout of John McCain are Indiana (lost cause) and North Carolina (within the margin of error).  He beat shoo-in Hilary Clinton and crushed "Maverick" McCain.  Can we realize that the Obama campaign is pretty fucking well run?
• Booooorrrrrrriiiinnngggg.  I'm a political junkie and I lasted ten minutes before I figured I had better things to do with my time.  The Beautiful Girl is an Independent and she didn't even last ten minutes before she turned it off.  It's not scientific, but I really wonder how many people tuned out.  The one unanimous opinion I noted today is that the debate was a snoozefest.
• The worst poll I saw was the CNN poll which showed that registered voters thought Romney won the debate by a 67-25 margin.  Doesn't mean they're voting for him--from everything I've read, I think Romney probably did win the debate, at least on style, last night.  I'm still not voting for the mother fucker.
• Lies have consequences--the Obama campaign is already hitting back and the rest of the press is piling on  If you known for your silent but deadly farts, when the stink wafts through the air, everyone is going to be pointing their fingers at you.
• The biggest takeaway of the night?  Mitt Romney wants to fire Big Bird.  Anybody think that's a winning slogan?

No, it wasn't a good night for the good guys, but we're going to be just fine anyway.

Peace,
emaycee

An open letter to a man who will never read it

"So, yes, if you read DWT you know with which utter contempt I hold Republicans and conservatives and corporate whores and you know I agree with all that horrifying stuff Nick Kristof claimed about the Republican war against women in his NY Times column yesterday. Would it be catastrophic if Obama were to lose and Romney win in November? Yes. And if I lived in Ohio or Florida or Colorado or Wisconsin or any other swing state, I might even hold my nose and vote for Obama. But I live in California and I care barely wait to go to the polls and not vote for him."

Dear Mr. Epstein,

It was with much disgust that I read the post from which the above quote originated.  To be perfectly honest, with "Liberals"--oh, excuse, me you're probably one of those gutless wonders who won't stand up to republican bullshit and prefers the\ term "Progressives"--like you, we don't even need republicans.

For all your bullshit about helping the "common people" your voting decision shows that deep down inside you really couldn't give a shit less about people like me.  It must be really nice to live in your little cocoon of a world where you can make conjecture about what President Obama "might" do in his second term and base your precious vote--or rather gutless decision not to vote--on that.

We common people don't have that luxury.  Let me share a bit with you about what our world is like.  My wife lost her job five years ago thanks to the idiotic policies of the Bush the Lesser administration.  She was in the mortgage industry and you can guess what happened when the bubble popped.  Because our son has a chronic illness (not to be overly dramatic, it isn't life threatening), it has been impossible for her to find a job, and even if she had, she'd have lost it by now due to having to call in sick for all the school days he's missed.  Myself, I lost my job earlier this year.  Most of me losing my job can still be blamed on the W. Bush administration, but people like you who stood by based on your "principles" in 2010 share at least some of the blame.  By the grace of God I was able to find a job in ten weeks, but I took a 20% paycut. 

We common people spend nights tossing and turning in bed worrying if our savings can make up the deficit in our pay until the economy gets stronger, if we're going to be able to feed our families, if we're going to be able to continue to make the mortgage payment on our small homes.  I know you're probably thinking that if we had elected "Progressives" my family might not have these worries.  You may be right, but we can't afford to live in La-La Land.  We have to play the hand we're dealt, and President Obama is that hand.

No, I'm not thrilled with eveything President Obama has done, either.  And though I live in a relatively safe state for the President (Michigan) I can guarantee you he's getting my vote.  Part of it is the auto bailout--us common people here in the greater Detroit area would be living through an economic depression if not for his leadership on the issue.  Part of it is Obamacare--even though I lost my job this year we will be able to get health insurance for our son through my current employer thanks to the wisdom of not allowing insurers to deny care to children because of pre-existing conditions.  But the main reason I will be voting for President Obama is because that tossing and turning I do every night worrying about whether I'll be able to continue feeding my family will more than likely (I'm old enough to know there are no guarantees) remain just a worry.  Under a Romney Presidency, the reality of my family going hungry (and the often stated republican lack of compassion for those living in poverty) is just a little too close for comfort.

Digby and Noam Chomsky may respect your right not to vote, but I don't.  To me, you're no different than those rich people who donate to homeless shelters and food banks and then vote for republicans who do their best to see that as many Americans as possible end up in poverty.  Frankly, you're nothing more than a poser and you can blow your "principles" right out your ass.  You don't give a fuck about common people.

And in case I didn't get my point thoroughly across:  fuck you.

Peace,
emaycee