Drink a cup of kindness

The Beautiful Boy and I discovered this one a few days back and had a rollicking good time dancing to it.  A distinctly American (we're talking banjos!) version of "Auld Lang Syne" by the Lonesome Travelers:

Enjoy!

Have a bitchin' New Year,
emaycee

Heaven's not for sale

"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."  Matthew 19:24

This is one of those passages in the Bible that conservatives, who take most of the Bible quite literally, will say Jesus didn't mean quite literally, that it's one of the few passages in the Bible that has nuances.

Yeah, good luck with that at the Pearly Gates.

Anyway, Ken Langone, the billionaire founder of Home Depot, has had his little feelings hurt by the Pope's (spot on) comments on capitalism.  Seems Mr. Langone is trying to raise $180 million for the restoration of St. Patrick's Church in New York City, and one of his potential donors is having second throughts because Pope Francis has criticized the abject failure of our economic system.

Do you suppose God, the supposed father of us all, is more concerned with the restoration of a church or the fact that, in the richest nation on earth, one in six Americans (Including 22% of our children) lives in poverty?  Do you suppose he's more concerned with spending $180 million on a building or the fact that one in five Americans has been food insecure in the past year?

The rich don't need God--for them, he's just another commodity to be bought.  To the poor, He represents hope.

Unfortunately for Mr. Langone, there aren't any camels for sale in this world skinny enough to squeeze through the eye of the needle.  

Peace,
emaycee

Word of Warning

Contrary to the thoughts of our foes on the right, the Duck Dynasty kerfuffle over Phil Robertson's opinions on gays has absolutely nothing to do with the right to free speech (read The Constitution bozos--it only notes the right is protected from abridgement by the Congress/U.S. Government and no other entity).

So it's important to remember that if you're a millionaire pinhead from Podunkville, USA on a highly rated TV show, you can pretty much say what you want and keep your job.  But if you're a regular working class American and you start sending e-mails claiming your boss is a Nazi child molester (no matter how much you believe it to be true), your ass is going to get fired.

Class warfare, indeed.

Peace,
emaycee

Schei Chreschtdeeg

For those who may be curious, the title is Luxembourgish for "Merry Christmas"--Luxembourg being the land my father's ancestors immigrated to America from in the 1860s.

Perusing other blogs today, I've come across a great recipe (too much work for me, but it sounds good) and perhaps the best new Christmas song I've heard in a while.  There was also a nice excerpt from a Christmas speech by FDR in 1939, and an excerpt from Dickens' A Christmas Carol.   Also heard Johnny Cash's version of "Blue Christmas" which, frankly, I thought blew Elvis' version out of the water.

Still--and I'm not a religious man or a "Peanuts" fan (though I have a soft spot for Mr. Schultz for being a lifetime S.F. Giants fan)--I don't have anything special for this day, other than this:

LINUS SPEECH ON THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

Charlie Brown: Isn’t there anyone, who knows what Christmas is all about?!

Linus: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please?

And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Peace on earth and goodwill toward men?  Sounds like a Commie Liberal plot....

Merry Christmas,

emaycee

White Christmas rant

It's that time of year...

"Do you think we'll have a White Christmas?"  (As if it's as rare as a diamond the size of my fist.)

"Gee, wouldn't it be nice to have a White Christmas?"  (As if it's on par with say, winning the lottery.)

"Next up on our weather forecast, will we have a White Christmas?" (No sarcasm needed--weatherpersons get paid to be wrong at least half the time.)

I'll be the first to admit that after a big snowstorm the weekend before last, an ice storm this past weekend, and plenty of snow falling in between, I've already had it with winter ( and we're a whopping two days into this season).  But this whole White Christmas watch every fucking Christmas (and it's been forty years since my family first moved to the Snow Belt) has reached the point that I'd like to bop anybody who uses the term with one of those rubber chickens that comedians used when Stegosaurus still roamed the earth.

You know what would make for a really great Christmas (especially for those of us who a) work in retail--good luck getting time off this time of year!, or b) can't afford to jet to warmer climes over the holiday--and we are legion!)?  If some freak warm front were to traverse the Snow Belt and we awoke on Christmas Day to eighty degrees and a sky blue sky with the sun shining like a tanning lamp.  Yessir, I'd be on my back porch wearing cutoffs and a t-shirt, barbecuing burgers and hot dogs while I'm playing catch with the Beautiful Boy, with the Beautiful Girl sitting in her camp chair wearing shorts and a tank top while drinking a raspberry lemonade.

Hey, we could still see the Christmas tree blinking through the back window....with The Pretenders version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" blaring on the stereo.

That, my friends, would be a Very Special Christmas...and not the usual humdrumWhite Christmas claptrap.

Peace,
emaycee

1.3 million

That's the number of Americans whose unemployment benefits are set to end a week from tomorrow, because Congress failed to grant them an unemployment benefit extension.

While Democrats can be faulted for valuing a budget deal more than the needs of the unemployed (remember that unemployment is still at 7%, with a UE over 13%--and that there are three job seekers for every job opening), Senate Dems have at least invoked cloture setting up a vote for a retroactive extension for early January (House Dems never had a chance--working half the month proved too much for House republicans and they left town long ago).

Let's face it--this is a big part of the republican agenda to continuously fuck over those in need.  And Democrats need to make republicans own the failure to extend the unemployment benefits.

There's a great scene in It's a Wonderful Life where George Bailey's guardian angel Clarence asks him how he can help.  Bailey asks if he happens to have the $8000 he needs, and Clarence responds that they don't need money in heaven.  To which Bailey replies, "Well, it comes in pretty handy down here, Bub."

It's high time republicans were knocked off their lofty perches and had the common wants and common cares of the working folks of America shoved in their faces.  If nothing else, it will show many Americans it's actually the Democrats, for all their faults, who have their backs.

And that when American families are hurting financially, the money received from unemployment compensation comes in pretty handy.

Peace,
emaycee

Misanthropy 101, Part II

Apparently hating on the poor kids is a big meme of conservatives this week.  Michael Bloomberg, outgoing (thank God) Mayor of New York City (calling yourself an Independent because you disagree with republicans on gays and guns while marching lockstep with them on everything else doesn't make you a Liberal) said this week when asked about 11-year-old Dasani, the subject of a New York Times series on the poor:

"The kid was dealt a bad hand.  I don't know why.  That's just the way God works.  Sometimes some of us are lucky and some of us are not."

You know, it takes a special breed of chickenshit to blame God for the harm your policies (see at the first link) have caused your fellow human beings.

Peace,
emaycee

Misanthropy 101, Part I

Republican Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston thinks that poor kids should be forced to either pay a nickel or a dime, or perhaps sweep the cafeteria floor for their government provided lunches, in order that they might learn that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Au contraire, Rep. Kingston--there are plenty of free lunches in America.  You just have to be rich or be born rich to get them.  You should know--your party spends most of its time fellating the rich.

As if it's not bad enough that the richest nation on the face of the earth is second only to Romania in the number of children living in poverty, this chickenshit from Georgia thinks going hungry isn't enough punishment for these children, but that the kids should be humiliated as well.

I once heard a particularly loathesome person described as being "a wet fart of a human turd."  Frankly, that sentiment describes Rep. Kingston to a tee.

Peace,
emaycee

My nose

Laura Clawson wrote a piece where she points out that the republican states' refusal of Obamacare's Medicaid provisions is not only a healthcare issue, but it is also a political issue.

It's also a health issue.

From seasonal flu outbreaks to potential pandemics, people who don't have healthcare don't take preventive medical measures because they can't afford them.  As everything continues to go more and more global, that means from business travellers to tourists, from truckers to those just passing through, as time goes by when one enters a state that has refused the Medicaid provision one stands a better chance to get sick.  And bring that sickness to a cross spectrum of Americans.  It's cruel for republicans to show such callous disregard for their own citizen's well-being, but's it's utterly despicable when it's shown for the rest of us.

There's an old saying that says you're free to swing your first anywhere you want--until it hits my nose.  Republicans are free to excoriate Obamacare all they want to their base...until it impacts the health of the rest of us.

Peace,
emaycee

Another reason to stay the hell away from Michigan

As if we don't have enough trouble a) attracting businesses here, and b) keeping our talented young people, republicans in the Michigan Legislature today, based on the feelings of 4% of Michiganders, passed a law  that will basically require women in our state to buy rape insurance.

No shit--the republicans passed a ban on abortion riders (given Roe v. Wade is this constitutional?) which in short will force Michigan women to buy rape insurance or else pay thousands of dollars not to carry their rapists' children to term.

I mean, for fuck's sake, if you're going to live with the whims with batshit insane republicans anyway, might as well at least live in the south where you don't freeze your fucking ass off  for six months out of the year.

Peace,
emaycee

Uh-oh...

Well this is a fine kettle of fish...

A report has surfaced that Hillary Clinton, our best hope in 2016 Hillary Clinton, recently spent some time at Goldman-Sachs headquarters kissing banker ass and saying that lambasting Wall Street wasn't doing anyone any good (Digby notes the report is second hand and since it's coming from a Wall Street psychopath that caution in reaction is warranted).

Funny this should come out just as I was beginning (as I did before the 2008 Democratic primaries and decided to go with Obama instead) to have my doubts about Hillary Clinton.  Frankly, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Ms. Clinton did utter the remarks--her husband wasn't exactly an economic populist and I've never seen any reason to believe she was either.  No only that, but after watching Elizabeth Warren be an actual Democrat and stand up for the working class (and isn't it a hoot to watch?) I keep thinking how nice it would be to have Warren's heartfelt economic populism (she's not running) in the Presidency and not another half-hearted economic populist like Obama.

Might be a good time to take a good long look at Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who's rumored to be considering a run and has actually governed (successfully, too) like a Liberal Democrat.

Peace,
emaycee

What becomes of the bare necessities

A recent study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University shows that 50% of renters are what is known as cost-burdened in their rent, that is they pay better than 30% of their income for housing (20.6 million people).  Twenty-seven percent pay more than 50% of their income (11.3 million people).

One supposes our foes on the right will point to this as being the fault of those uppity poor folks trying to have more than they can afford.  But the plain truth of the matter is that it's a combination of wage stagnation, high unemployment, a minimum wage that hasn't come close to keeping up with inflation, and rent just being too damn high (did you know that almost half of America's homeless have a job?).

Combined with a study from the Alliance for a Just Society which shows that for every $15.00 an hour job ($31,200 a year, full time, for our republican friends who struggle with math) there are currently 7 job seekers, and that we've lost 4 million $15.00 an hour jobs since 2009 (and that's not to mention that $31,200 a year isn't exactly going to make anyone rich), one has to wonder if the the bare necessities are being priced out of the reach of ordinary Americans what becomes of the American dream?

Judging from these numbers, it isn't going to be long before we're gathering scrapwood to build our very own 21st Century Hoovervilles, from where we can watch the wealthy with awe while our children go hungry.

Either that or we can be like the French and tear the mother fuckers down.

Peace,
emaycee

Our very own old white guys

Seems Ed Rendell (former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, a fact about three ordinary Americans that live outside Pennsylvania know) went out of his way to fellate the Third Way this week, saying our party had economic populists like Elizabeth Warren and Bill de Blasio, and economic realists like himself who are more than happy to watch our party go down to defeat as long as they get to keep kissing the asses of Corporate America and Wall Street (and one assumes, accept their checks).

Alas, Mr. Rendell did not think so much of we economic populists, claiming di Blasio would soon fall back to earth and Warren couldn't even get 20% in a Democratic Presidential primary.

Really?  Because with the Liberal bent of our overwhelming youth vote, I'm pretty sure that tired old farts like Ed Rendell are a lot more likely to go the way of the Dodo Bird than is Elizabeth Warren or Bill de Blasio.

Shouldn't this tiresome fucker be a republican?  He sure sounds like one.

Peace,
emaycee

Happy fucking holidays, asshats

One in six Americans living below the federal poverty line.  One in five Americans not having enough money to buy food.  Unemployment is still at 7%, with the U6 at 13.2%. Our bridges and roads are crumbling.

And what is the Republican National Congressional Committee concerned about?




I'm a Liberal.

I work in retail, where it's traditional to give a seasonal greeting at the end of each sale.

Want to guess what mine will be?

Happy Holidays!
emaycee

On Nelson Mandela

Don't really need to add much to that.

Peace,
emaycee

The next Joe Lieberman?

Seems the Third Way, a "democratic" group whose sole function is to fellate Wall Street, had an editorial in The Wall Street Journal this week that denounced the agenda of economic populism championed by the likes of Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio. In their genius, they have decided that looking out for 99% of Americans will be a disastrous political strategy and that we should do as they do and fellate those on Wall Street in the hopes that we can win in 2014.  Sen. Chuck Schumer, himself a long- time fellator of Wall Street, chimed in that left-wing blogs were the mirror image of the Tea Party, only they had less credibility and clout.

Are you fucking serious?  As the number three Democrat in the Senate (and boy, that doesn't fill me with much confidence going into 2014), someone ought to boot Schumer in the ass and see if they knock his brain back up into his head.

Though it would surely be a tall order, one can only hope that somewhere in the great state of  New York there's a true progressive salivating at the thought of winning Schumer's seat.

With enough pressure, we eventually sent Joe Lieberman packing, and we can do the same to Chuck Schumer.

Peace,
emaycee

Clueless

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."  Matthew 6:24

What's funny watching the kerfuffle over Pope Francis' remarks on income inequality is the reaction of Catholics.  No surprise the maggots of unfettered capitalism have declared the Pope wrong (Jon Stewart last night on Stuart Varney's reaction is classic), but it is stunning how little the more conservative Catholics know about their own religion.  The only change Pope Francis has made from Popes John Paul II and Bendict XVI is to remind Catholics that serving the poor is equally as important to the tenets of their faith as are hating on the gays and their war on women.

While I salute Pope Francis for prioritizing the economic needs of the poor and the middle class, Catholic Church doctrine is still exactly the same as it was before the puff of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel declared the election of this new Pope last March.

Of course, considering that the more conservative Catholics are wont to scream like wounded warriors over abortion and not bat an eye when some poor bastard is executed (in Church doctrine all life is sacred, and that means the death penalty is no more acceptable than abortion), it probably shouldn't be that surprising.

Peace,
emaycee

Sometimes I get it right

Nearly two years ago, on December 14, 2011, I wrote a post called "The Big Payback" in which I advocated attacking Citizen's United by turning it around on corporations through lawsuits by forcing them to not only have free speech rights individual citizens have but every right we as citizens have.

Ahem.

In today's Daily Kos, Meteor Blades makes virtually the same argument.

What the fuck--as the old saying goes, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again.

Peace,
emaycee

The bare minimum

The New York Times has run an infographic on what today's minimum wage would be if it had kept up with the pace of the increase in earnings of the top 1% of earners.

It would be $22.72.

Given the pschopathic tendency of a lack of empathy which envelops many of our corporate leaders and Wall Street moguls, that the minimum wage hasn't kept up with their earnings isn't particularly surprising.

What is surprising is the notation from Think Progress (same link above) that since 1968 worker productivity  in America has more than doubled, and that if wages had kept up with the increases in worker productivity, last year the minimum wage would have been $21.72.

What are the chances Wal-Mart and McDonald's would be watching their employees walk out if they were getting paid over twenty dollars an hour?

On his first comedy CD, Chris Rock did a bit about working for minimum wage, and in it he notes that minimum wage means "if I could pay you less I would."

If your wages don't share at all in the gains your productivity made, one supposes Mr. Rock absolutely nailed it.

Peace,
emaycee

1 in 10 Americans are stupid

Retail analysts were expecting 33 million Americans to shop on Black Friday, which, due to all of the store openings on Thanksgiving Day, is now really Black Thursday.

Many claimed their early shopping was for the savings, like the gentlemen in this article  who supposedly bought a 60 inch LED TV for $400 and "saved" $800 from its regular price of $1200.  Actually, anyway you look at it, he saved nothing--zip, zero, nada, zilch.  He stood in line for hours, gave up a holdiday meal with his family, and now has $400 less to his name for a TV that will be outdated in less than five years.

Let's see that scoreboard:  Store:  +$400; Customer:  -$400.

Nowhere in the calculation do you see a +$800 for the Customer.  It's a mirage.

But it sure does wonders for the retailers of America's bottom lines.

Peace,
emaycee

David vs. Wal-mart

According to the Bible, a young man named David who believed he had righteousness on his side tossed a stone and slayed the great Philistine warrior Goliath.

Yesterday, a group called Our Wal-Mart which is fighting for better wages for the poor souls who do the actual work for Wal-Mart staged 1500--that's right, 1500--protests across the United States to call attention to poverty wages and continue their fight for a decent standard of living.

I don't know if they can win in the end, but I do know that, like David, they have righteousness on their side. And if we are to have any hope for a resurgence in the middle class their fight is vital.

These are the jobs of the future for many, many working class Americans, and unless we want to end up like many a third world country, we need these jobs to provide for a respectable standard of living and not just provide wages that don't even meet the poverty level.

It's either that or hello, Somalia.

Peace,
emaycee

Onward "Christian" nation

Conservative hero Sheriff Joe Arpaio today fed the inmates under his charge a Thanksgiving meal (including a yummy vegetarian turkey soy casserole) for only .56 cents each.  You'd think that feeding them only two meals a day the other 364 days of the year, he might splurge a bit on this day of thanksgiving.

Nope.

You know, if God really does judge a nation based on how it treats the least among its citizens, we are in some seriously deep shit.

Peace,
emaycee

Wow, the Pope is Catholic!

From the apostolic exhortation:

"How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality."

This is Pope Francis.  The leader of the Catholic Church.  He's not screaming about gays or abortion.  He's talking about something Jesus Christ actually talked about, the idea that we should help the poor.  This is the Church I remember from when I was but a wee lad, a church that actually cared about human beings and not just social issues.

While the Church has still a long way to go when it comes to who we love and the role of women in our society (and I certainly don't see myself rejoining the Church anytime soon), it's important when the leader of over one billion people speaks strongly about an issue as monumental as income inequality and actually stands up for the least among us.

If nothing else, the Pope made Rush Limbaugh shit his pants and that's always worth the price of admission.

Peace,
emaycee

Please, sir, I want some more

And the answer for America's hungry is "no."

On the first of November, benefit cuts to food stamps took effect leaving a family of four  with an average cut of about $36 dollars a month.  Benefits will now be less than $1.40 per person per meal.

In a word--actually it's not a word but an amalgamation of a word--un-fucking-believable.

Have you ever really given thought to how much $1.40 per person, per meal, is?  For my family (three of us, three meals a day) that comes to $88.20 a week.  Our current grocery bills consistently run better than $150 a week--and believe me, we do not eat like millionaires.  We cut coupons, use lots of store brands, take part in store loyalty programs, and eat lots of leftovers.  We also don't eat fancy meals--meat, side dish, vegetable, or along the lines of spaghetti or tacos.  Could we cut from our grocery bill?  Sure--my gut could definitely use with a few less sweets and we spoil the Beautiful Boy with a few treats, but cutting better than 40% from our food budget?  There's no way we could eat three decent square meals a day on $88.20 a week.

Sadly, though trying as valiantly as they can, food banks (despite republican groupthink) cannot keep up with the demand (also here).  This means that these cuts have resulted in more Americans going hungry, hardly  an optimal outcome (not to mention it's bad economics for all of us).

While Democrats do shoulder some of the blame (deals with the devil rarely pay off) and Michigan's own Debbie Stabenow has been a colossal disappointment (despite two different appeals from me--imagine that, a poor motherfucker with no influence) for spouting the usual fraud bullshit (less than 1%) it's important to remember that this is a republican initiative.  Republicans are happy to watch their fellow Americans go hungry so long as the wealthy have to pay less in taxes (and Democrats like Kirsten Gillibrand and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are certainly fighting the good fight).

Let's just hope that--as the leader of America's largest food bank noted--when America's poor begin rioting because they can't afford to eat that their first target are the congressional offices of heartless republicans.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Peace,
emaycee

Sweet dreams aren't made of this

Bishop Shirley Holloway, the leader of an anti-poverty group that Rep. Paul Ryan (he of the Randian groupthink on the hungry, "let them starve") supports recently had this to say:

“Paul wants people to dream again,” Holloway said of Ryan. “You don’t dream when you’ve got food stamps."

Considering our system provides for about $1.40 per meal per person for food stamp recipients, you don't suppose it has anything to do with it being awfully hard to dream when you're fucking starving, do you?

Peace,
emaycee

600,000

That's the number of Americans who are homeless every day in America (one quarter of which are children).  600,000 homeless Americans every goddamned day in the (and I hate to sound like a broken record) wealthiest country in the history of mankind.

While this may just be fine to the heartless (and lying) bastards on Faux News, it sure doesn't sound very "exceptional" to me.

Peace,
emaycee

Boom goes the dynamite, BOOM!

The funniest thing about today's use of the nuclear option to end republican filibusters of the President's judicial and executive nominees (and wasn't it wonderful to watch Democrats go badass on republican obstructionism) was the republicans' claims that eventually Democrats would regret it.

Regret what?  Democracy working the way it's supposed to?  If the republicans win back the White House in 2016 (and, boy, what are the odds I take up drinking and smoking again should that happen), they should be able to nominate and have an up or down vote on who they want for the nation's courts.  Frankly, we have hearings on the nominees--if a republican nominee turns out to be a member of the Klan (not as unlikely as you might think), Democrats can vote against him, republicans can vote for him and try to explain to the American people why they think a member of the Klan belongs on the bench of one of our courts or in the President's inner circle.

What the republicans are really bemoaning is that this was another colossal fuck-up on their part--they pushed too far and the Democrats had finally had enough.  And now there are 93 judicial vacancies that President Obama can fill if he so chooses which would give the Democrats a commanding majority in America's courts.

Peace,
emaycee

No medals from the Wizard for them

Rep. Fred Upton from some shithole right here in Michigan put forth a bill this past week that unlike Obamacare, manages to ensure that Americans either have no healthcare or have shit healthcare.  It also does nothing for those with pre-existing conditions and reinstates lifetime caps.  Although the bill was the health insurance industry's wet dream (with no chance of passing the Senate or not being vetoed by President Obama), 39 "Democrats" voted for it.  Thereisnospoon says it is just politics--the "Democrats" were those in tough districts who were freed from an issue that could be used against them in their re-election campaigns.

He is wrong.

There is a reason that Elizabeth Warren is much beloved in Democratic circles and that same reason is why she will cruise to re-election as long as she so desires to be a Senator from the state of Massachusetts.  She has political courage and it is something the 39 "Democrats" noted above are sorely lacking.  Senator Warren cares much more about her constituents that she does about her poltical fortunes.

As Digby notes, of the 34 "Democrats" who voted against Obamacare in 2010, only five are still in Congress.  Here's hoping the same fate befalls the gutless 39 of 2013, but that they be replaced by real Liberals who put the people who elected them before their career ambitions.

Peace,
emaycee

Cue "Taps"

Fresh on the heels of McDonald's McResources telling its employees to apply for SNAP benefits and Medicaid in lieu of actually paying them a living wage, we have Wal-Mart, which is owned by the Walton family with a net worth just north of $150 billion, encouraging its employees to donate food to help out their fellow workers in need this Thanksgiving.

Sweet fucking Jesus.

Folks, the American dream is officially dead.  These are the jobs of the future (and why the recent strikes against fast food chains and Wal-Mart are so significant) and if the powers that be are more than happy to let their workers depend on taxpayer largesse and their employees' families being fed by their co-workers there is no limit to how low it can go.

Shit--we're even more fucked than I thought.

Peace,
emaycee

Playing offense (for a change)

Well lookee here--seems the Democrats are actually playing some offense in preparation for next year's elections (and after the disaster that is the Obamacare rollout, they probably should be):

• Pro-choice Democrats in the Senate are going to put forth a bill tomorrow aimed at state laws that have been chipping away at abortion rights.  It has no chance of passing, but it's a signal to pro-choice women that we're not only going to defend them, we're going to fight for them as well.
• Since 76% of Americans favor raising the mimimum wage, Democrats are fighting in 2014 battleground states to get minimum wage increases on the ballot.  Good policy and good politics.

I'm still not holding out a lot of hope for 2014 (even though we won the Governor's race in Virginia, our base didn't turnout any better in Virginia than they usually do for non-Presidential election years) but at least by being true to our party's ideals we're giving ourselves a shot at controlling the damage.

Peace,
emaycee

WTF #1245

While watching commentators on Fox, ESPN, and CBS (with the notable exception of Shannon Sharpe) fall all over themselves trying to be fair to all parties while preaching the old boys will be boys nonsense concerning the rather embarrassing (for the NFL) Miami Dolphins' fiasco involving guard Richie Incognito calling teammate Jonathan Martin the n-word (as well as telling him he'd wanted to take a shit in his mouth), I had but one thought.

Is there any business--any one fucking business--in the entire United States of America where one employee could call another employee the n-word and tell him or her that he wanted to shit in his or her mouth and at the very least, the very fucking least, not ended up in counseling/sensitivity training?  And probably be on a very short leash for the rest of his time with said business?

For fuck's sake, do the Dolphins even have a Human Resources department?

There's nothing to defend here.  If it's not acceptable in any other business, it's not acceptable in the NFL.

Peace,
emaycee

Ain't that (corporate) America?

A Department of Labor study shows that in 2008-2009 wage theft accounted for losses in pay of over $185 billion (to show some perspective, bank, gas station, and convenience store robberies accounted for losses of $56 million during the same time period).

To break it down even further,  64% of low wage workers in American have their pay stolen every week, to an average per worker of $2634 per year.

I don't mean this to sound callous, but how many Union Members do you suppose are the victims of wage theft?

This isn't to blame low wage workers for not joining Unions.  It's just another reason why corporate America, the chamber of commerce, right-wing think tanks, et al, do all that they can to keep workers from joining Unions.

As if it isn't bad enough to put up with the shit work conditions and incompetent leadership, they want to fuck workers out of their pay, too.

Peace,
emaycee

Cowards of the country

Yesterday in, of all places, Texas (where everything is big, even the idiocy) a group of nearly forty men stood  with their weapons drawn outside a restaurant where, four, count 'em four, women members of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America were meeting to discuss, um, gun sense in America.  Oh, the irony!

Man, what a pair of cojones each of these men had, standing there defending the right to bear arms, outnumbering defenseless women ten to one!  Regular fucking America heroes!

Wonder if the gutless bastards are members of the tea party?

Nevermind--stupid question.

Peace,
emaycee

Another day, another psychopath

I've never been a fan of electing successful businessmen to political office--frankly, it's always seemed to me to be like hiring an auto mechanic to be the head of neurosurgery.  Yes, he's good with his hands, but car repair and brain surgery are not one and the same.

Recent studies showing a link between psychopathy and corporate CEOs make me even less supportive.

Seems today there was an interesting development in the court proceeding brought forth by Detroit city pensioners against the desires of Rick Snyder and his bumbling band of toadies to put the city of Detroit into bankruptcy and thus freely take away their pensions.  Andy Dillon, the state treasurer, while believing that the course of bankruptcy was the correct one, felt that Snyder and his bumbling band had not sufficiently made the case that they had tried to bargain in good faith with the pensioners and, in fact, that the bankruptcy move looked "premeditated."  Dillon also noted that the deal that emergency manager Kevyn Orr offered to the retirees was so bad that no lawyer could possibly have accepted it.

Who would ever have believed?  A fucking republican former CEO governor trying an end run to fuck over retirees so that the maggots of Wall Street can benefit.

I've always thought the bankruptcy move was a precursor to destroying Detroit and its largely African-American population, thus giving republicans a better chance at winning non-gerrymandered elections (republicans have been stomped in Presidential elections since 1992, and Sens. Levin and Stabenow have been each re-elected by crushing majorities since the early 2000s)--I guess making elderly people who devoted their careers to the city starve is just icing on the cake.

Peace,
emaycee

A couple of thoughts on King Christie's coronation

I'll probably live to regret this post (and I'll freely admit that Chris Christie is the only republican I fear in 2016), but while everyone on MSNBC was falling all over themselves with the implications of,  and Christie's increased chances to be President in 2016 because of, his huge re-election victory for the New Jersey governorship tonight, I couldn't help but wonder...

• Exactly how is Christie's humongous victory in New Jersey going to garner the women's vote, the African-American vote, the Asian vote, and the Latino vote for republicans in the 2016 Presidential race?
• Do you believe there's any way Christie's massive victory tonight will keep the republican's core base, old white people, from dying for the next three years?
• In the republican waves of 2009 and 2010, republicans won governorships in New Jersey, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.  Why is it, do you suppose, that Mitt Romney won zip, zero, nada of these states in the 2012 Presidential election?

Just sayin'.

Peace,
emaycee

Crazier than a shithouse rat

Here's a handy list of possible GOP healthcare reforms:

• Repeating the phrase “you can keep your current doctor” over and over until something happens
• Loosening regulations to allow Americans to ship ill and injured family members to cheaper doctors overseas
• Whatever the opposite of tyranny is
• Allowing sick Americans to choose how they exhaust their life savings on a single medical bill, even if it’s out of plan
• A true market-based solution—perhaps a convenient website—where uninsured people would pay for their own health insurance from private providers
• $2,500 cash incentive to the first person who cures cancer
• A health care law that won’t allow the disgrace of another Benghazi
• Unsettling language and several ominous-looking graphs labeled “Obamacare” followed by a breezy smile and soothing, unspecific words

Keeping in mind that while I'm not in a league with say a Rachel Maddow or a Chris Hayes in how much time I spend studying politics, I'm not exactly a novice, either.  I spend a good 30-40 hours a week reading about politics, if not more.  So when I saw the above, especially the part about the $2500 cash incentive for finding a cure for cancer, I thought, "Can you believe how fucking stupid these republicans are?  $2500?  Shit, that's worth millions!"

Ahem.  Turns out as I read farther in Digby's post these reforms were actually from The Onion.

Though it does say an awful lot about the current state of the g.o.p. that I thought these "reforms" were the real deal.

Peace,
emaycee

Those socialist goblins

Seems children all over America have been out and about this past evening begging for candy.  The little deadbeats think dressing up in satanic costumes and saying "trick or treat!' entitles them to free goodies.

The little bastards ought to get jobs and buy their own goddamn candy.

Pretty sure that fucking Socialist Nazi Communist Kenyan Obama is to blame for it.

Peace,
emaycee

Whither our white knight?

Last Saturday, I received a multitude of e-mails--probably 20 to 25 by noon alone--asking me to sign the same petition demanding that there be no cuts to Social Security and Medicare.  This much appreciated effort was led by Bernie Sanders (who else?).

Earlier this week, White House toadie Gene Sperling stated that entitlement cuts may be necessary to get some much needed stimulus for the economy.  One assumes, since he's an advisor to President Obama, that this is the President's opinion as well.  Surprisingly, outside of Liberal blogs, there didn't seem to be a lot of blowback from Democratic politicians concerning this statement.

Perhaps this was because Harry Reid has already stated that entitlement cuts are not on the table in the current budget negotiations, but still it worries me that outside of Bernie Sanders (hello? Elizabeth Warren?) there does not seem to be much of anyone making a commotion about any mention, either by the White House or republicans, of entitlement cuts.  Frankly, I want someone to stand up and threaten every legal remedy possible to make sure these cuts never happen, up to and including telling the President to go fuck himself (implied with republicans).

Just because President Obama has been a complete disappointment in taking care of the best interests of the working men and women of this country doesn't mean any other Democratic politician has to be as well.

Peace,
emaycee

How far we've fallen, Part 2

A couple of days ago, Wal-Mart crowed that half of its workers made $25,000 a year.  There was much teeth gnashing by the good guys because Wal-Mart's figures were a little off--it's more like a third of its workforce makes $25,000 a year.

You know what really should have caused teeth gnashing?  $25,000 a years is a pretty shitty wage.  In fact, even when I started work back in the Jurassic period (1980) it was a pretty shitty wage.  It's hard to imagine the American Dream returning to so many people surviving on at best paycheck to paycheck wages.

Have to admit, though, considering their leadership's tone deafness on what constitutes a decent wage, it isn't hard to understand why so may Wal-Mart employees are staging walk outs and trying to form unions.

Peace,
emaycee

How far we've fallen, Part 1

Seems The Wall Street Journal has an "experts" page, and recently they featured Suzanne Somers discussing why Obamacare is a socialist ponzi scheme.

Ahem.

Near as I can tell, Somers is qualified to discuss Obamacare because a) she once starred as an idiot in the sitcom Three's Company (which wasn't funny and was dated after its first episode); b) she's written 24 books on beauty care and healthy living (judging from the fact that most of us don't look like supermodels and obesity is an epidemic, her talent doesn't appear to have had much of an effect on anything other than her pocketbook); and c) she once read an article about how bad the Canadian healthcare system was (never mind the fact that--unfortunately--Obamacare shares nothing in common with Canada's single payer system) which was probably written by some numbnuts conservative dunderhead.

Here's where I'm supposed to have some clever ending point, but frankly, I'm just too fucking flabbergasted that The Wall Street Journal, which at one time had at least a modicum of conservative gravitas, would have Suzanne Somers discuss anything, let alone a thousand some odd page bill which has many words that are larger than "the" and "it."

I guess next we can expect Britney Spears to discuss Benghazi.

Peace,
emaycee

A Legendary Heart

"And you've got to fight to make what's right...."  Lou Reed, "Legendary Hearts"

I titled my second novel (unpublished, and deservedly so--suffered the same fate as my first, also unpublished, that of its being overwrought horseshit) from a lyric in the above noted song.  There are probably millions of people today--most of whom can wax much more poetically than I can about his career--writing about him and like them I mourn Reed's passing.  While I've read today of people who started bands because of him (mostly because of the Velvet Underground), learned how to to be a rebel from him, or took art to heretofore never done before heights because of him, I myself took from his music that a sort of happiness comes to you as you get older and that's okay.  It's a lesson I've learned over and over again as I've aged.

The last few years have not been kind to many of those I've admired and whose work I've enjoyed.  John Updike.  Kurt Vonnegut.  George Carlin.  Levon Helm.  And now Lou Reed.

All of whom have left me with one irrefutable fact.

I'm getting old.

Peace,
emaycee

The tea party's bitch

Earlier this week, our own Governor Gutless, Rick Snyder, was asked if he thought it was okay for people to be fired for being gay.  As a very successful businessman, Snyder knows damn good and well that it's not--it's bad for business and even worse for attracting businesses to our state.  Nonetheless, Snyder tried to dance a two-step around it.  Unfortunately for Snyder, he dances about as well as most older white men.

Have you ever wondered how good a job being a politician is?  It must be an awfully good one--sure seems like there are lots of republicans who are more than happy to get bitch slapped by the tea party for a couple more years in office.

Peace,
emaycee

Psychopaths 'r' us

The town of Seatac in Washington state has a ballot initiative next month that would require most (though not all--smaller ones are exempt) retail businesses and hotels at its busy airport (again, businesses outside its busy airport would be exempt) to pay their employees a living wage of $15.  For those of you who may be republicans, that comes to $600 a week if (and that's a big if) you can get 40 hours a week, or just a little over $31,000 a year.

For some odd ass reason, this has drawn the ire of the Koch Brothers, and one of their front groups, Donors Trust, has donated big dollars to help defeat the initiative.  The big question is:  why?

I mean really--it's not like the projected 6000 people who will see this raise are going to suddenly find themselves in the rarefied air of the Koch brothers world.  People making $31,000 a year don't run around lighting cigars with $100 bills or staying in $10,000 a night hotel suites.  Christ, even if you have a spouse making the same amount yearly, the best you could hope for would be to maybe own a small home, a new car every seven or eight years, and take the kids to DisneyWorld once before they get too old for the Magic Kingdom.

It's also not as if the Koch brothers are going to pay for it all by their lonesome.  Chances are they don't spend that much time in Seatac, and even if their Big Mac (and I'm sure the Koch brothers eat at McDonald's regularly) went from $4 to $4.50 on their next visit it's going to lessen their billions about as much as removing a single grain of sand lessens the Sahara Desert.

In the end, it's probably little more than a complete lack of empathy for anybody who isn't them.  They don't give a shit as long as they continue accumulating more and more money.

King Midas' greed caused him to starve to death as his touch turned all his food into gold.  Wonder what the fate of the Koch brothers will be?

Peace,
emaycee

Fools and our money

Over the past two weeks, the republicans led a government shutdown that cost the American economy $24 billion dollars.

A recent poll showed that two-thirds of republicans and 93% of Tea Partiers believe the federal deficit is growing.  It's projected to fall this year from $1.1 trillion to $624 billion.

On a recent Sean Hannity show, several everyday Americans who just happened to be Obamacare haters related the evils of Obamacare and how horribly it was affecting their lives.  A smart reporter went back and talked to each of them and found that of the three people/couples on the show, two would save better than sixty percent of what they were currently paying under Obamacare, but hadn't even fucking bothered to check out healthcare.gov.  Sixty percent savings--man, that Obamacare is just awful, isn't it?

From the republican leadership on down to its rank and file, these people know about as much about economics as an amoeba knows about string theory.  That anyone take them seriously when it comes to anything that has to do with the economic well-being of Americans is utterly fucking ridiculous.

Peace,
emaycee

Future shock

Like many Democrats, I greatly appreciated the solidarity our party showed in the face of republican intransigence on both the government shutdown and the raising of the debt ceiling--which culminated in the greatest victory our party has had since the passage of Obamacare.

But--and mark these words--if future negotiations (considering the insanity of the tea party caucus they still might not happen regardless of the ass kicking they took in popularity this time around) result in any cuts to Social Security, any cuts to Medicare, or any raising of the age limits for either, it will all have been for naught.

Social Security and Medicare are as important to the core social fabric of our party's philosophy as legs are important to running.  To cut them would be akin to republicans asking for the tax rates to be raised on the wealthy and corporations back to 1950s levels (roughly 91% and 50%, though not many actually paid those rates).

Today the AFL-CIO made it perfectly clear that any Democrat voting for any cuts to either program could essentially go fuck themselves--they would receive no support from the union (another reason to love unions).

The rest of us should do the same.

Peace,
emaycee

Anarchy in the U.S.A.

Were my daughter not a political reporter in Iowa, I probably wouldn't be as familiar with Sen. Tom Harkin as I am.  Over the past couple of years I've become quite an admirer, especially since Sen. Harkin remains an unabashed Liberal despite not residing in somewhat safer territory like the Northeast or the West Coast.  After today's votes saving the country from economic calamity, I was reminded of something Sen. Harkin said a couple of weeks back:  "Chaos. Confusion.  Tear the system down and that's the way minorities tend to take over."

For all President Obama's faults, for all the Democratic Party's faults, I think we can all be thankful for their stand in favor of democracy over the past couple of weeks, and for not giving in to the Tea Party and the 20% of Americans who live in a bizarroworld where because you believe it, everybody else should have to suffer the consequences regardless of its worth or danger or existence in reality.

The republican party got exactly what it should have got for holding a gun to the heads of the American people and trying to hold our economic well-being hostage:  fucking nothing.

Peace,
emaycee

Burn, motherfucker, burn

Amidst their government shutdown and threats to destroy the American economy by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, the republicans are having a circle jerk (also known as the Values Voters Summit) this week where they are being exhorted by Ted Cruz for their believing in free market values, the Constitution, and freedom.  Apparently their disaster capitalism which has destroyed the poor and middle class is just hunky dory with people who have their "values."

Meanwhile in Bangladesh this week, another garment factory fire took the lives of ten people who make clothing for the likes of Wal-Mart and The Gap.  This follows the fire last spring that killed over 1100 people.

It's important to remember that for all its faults, the Democratic Party is the only thing today standing between working class Americans and living with jobs where everyday we stand a chance of being burned to death to save corporate America a few pennies.

Because as far as the republican party is concerned, it would be your own damn fault for needing a job to feed yourself and your family in the first place.

Peace,
emaycee

Pretty good, eh?

It's not often that I use this space for items that aren't political, but every now and again something strikes my fancy....

When I was still a young man, I harbored illusions held by many a youth--that of writing the great American novel (and what an illusion it was--at this stage of my life I'd settle for writing the mediocre American novel). As those who dream such dreams are wont to do, I was enamored of what is commonly referred to as literature (and everyone else calls shit that only eggheads read).  Over the course of the last dozen years or so, after the republican trifecta of the Clinton impeachment, the unmitigated disaster that was 9/11, and their subservience to the gods of income inequality, fiction seemed to become more and more...superfluous.  Even  "literature" seemed to become tiresome, corporatized, let's have a meeting and write that great American novel.  And it definitely didn't seem to give two shits about the human condition.

Except for three writers I could have given up fiction forever and not missed it much.  Cormac McCarthy, Ian McEwan, and Alice Munro wrote novels and stories that over the course of that time kept me at least slightly interested and believing that there were still those who could write tales that touched the heart without being Marley and Me.

For whatever it's worth, Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature today, and was cited for being a master of the short story (she is).  She writes stories about ordinary Canadians, people that you often wonder if should even care about, but she structures their lives as such that you cannot help but.

Alice Munro never wrote the great Canadian novel (in fact, she never wrote a novel period), but she has brought much joy into my life with her work.  I can't think of a better choice.

Peace,
emaycee

An abomination #2

The republican mindset--hatred of the working men and women who every day make this country the great nation it is--courtesy of Fox Business News host Stuart Varney:

HOWELL: Do you think that federal workers, when this ends, are deserving of their back pay or not?

VARNEY: That is a loaded question isn't it? You want my opinion? This is President Obama's shutdown. He is responsible for shutting this thing down; he's taken an entirely political decision here. No, I don't think they should get their back pay, frankly, I really don't. I'm sick and tired of a massive, bloated federal bureaucracy living on our backs, and taking money out of us, a lot more money than most of us earn in the private sector, then getting a furlough, and then getting their money back at the end of it. Sorry, I'm not for that. I want to punish these people. Sorry to say that, but that's what I want to do.

JACOBSON: But it's not their fault. It's not the federal employees' fault. I mean, that's what I'm sick of, I hate and it makes me anxious, to see people who are victimized because of a political fight.

VARNEY: I take your point Amy, it is not directly their fault, but I'm looking at the big picture here. I'm getting screwed. Here I am, a private citizen, paying an inordinate amount of money in tax. I've got a slow economy because it's all government, all the time. And these people are living on our backs, regulating us, telling us what to do, taxing us, taking our money, and living large. This is my chance to say "hey, I'm fed up with this and I don't miss you when you're on furlough." Sorry if that's a harsh tone, but that's the way I feel.

Man, when this mother fucker breathes his last breath the world will immediately become a much better place.

Peace,
emaycee

An abomination #1

Apparently, the republicans are trying to see if they can give the Democrats even more than the 55% share of the women's vote that Barack Obama received in 2012:

Fucking really?

Peace,

emaycee

My idiot congressman

Over the course of the last several years, I've sent my republican Congressman here in Michigan, Mike Rogers, numerous letters--all of which are diametrically opposed to Rep. Rogers worldview.  For whatever reason, this always triggers the sending of one of Rep. Rogers newsletters, which I always immediately unsubscribe to.  You would think, after a number of years of receiving letters from me opposed to his political views, and numerous times of unsubscribing, Rep. Rogers would get the hint that I couldn't give a fuck less what he thinks.  Not so.  (Though in fairness, I know the odds of one of my letters changing Rep. Rogers' opinion is zero, and I only send the letters to -a-  let my opinion be known, and -b- be a pain in the ass--both of which are my rights as an American citizen.)

All of which makes it especially galling to hear Rep. Rogers and his fellow republicans in Congress blather on and on about how they're standing up for what the American people want.  Rep. Rogers doesn't care any more for what the American people want than he does for their well-being.  He's a trained monkey, spouting republican talking points--most of which, like that the President won't negotiate (Negotiate over what, you fucking moron?  The President and his fellow Democrats are asking for nothing.) are lies.

It's endemic to Rep. Rogers whole party--as my zip code splits two congressional districts, I occasionally have letters sent to Kerry Bentivolio (only elected because he's in a gerrymandered district--this mother fucker is so batshit insane he couldn't get a fucking job as a cashier at any legitimate business, but fucking republicans elected him) and each of the last two times I have elected not to have a response sent because a)  I don't give a shit what his reasoning for fucking over the American people is, and b) figuring I'd save his staffers from doing even more pointless work than they already do, and yet, both times I've received a response.  What, his people think I'm going to have a "bonk! should have had a V8!" moment based on responses riddled with inaccuracies (I'm being kind--they're out and out lies)?

Frankly, I've had it--these republicans are not only liars, they're flat out incompetent.

And I can sum up my response to their return letters in three words:  Fuck you, fellas.

Peace,
emaycee

Amen

Not much more I can add to that....

Peace,
emaycee

Obamacare(s) for me

Last night while the republicans were digging their graves even deeper, I was on the Affordable Care Act's web site doing some preliminary research for signing the Beautiful Girl up for Obamacare.  Apparently I wasn't alone--the national web site reported over 2.8 million people had visited by late afternoon; California's site was experiencing 10,000 hits per second.  Keep in mind this is only the first day--the enrollment period lasts for the next six months.  A bonus:  I found the site tremendously easy to navigate and I'm usually about as adept at navigating through sites as I am at hitting ninety mile an hour fastballs.  Double bonus:  looks like it's going to cost less than $100 a month (much better than my employer healthcare).

Oh, and by the way republican haters, after today's successful rollout for Obamacare, you can say hello to my little friend:

Peace,
emaycee

No shit Sherlock #1952

You know, I've been in retail for thirty years now, and though I haven't risen past the rank of store manager, I think I can safely say that even a newbie with just a couple of months service realizes that if you don't keep your shelves full, your sales are going to suffer.

Apparently this was beyond the brain(dead)trust that runs the Wal-Mart stores, who decided to hire all kinds of temp workers instead of retaining their staff in the hope that fucking Oompa-Loompas were going to drop down from the stores' ceilings and stock everything from toilet paper to jock straps.  In what must have come as a great surprise to Wal-Mart's leadership, the Oompa-Loompas were a no-show and now Wal-Mart's shelves are empty, sales have dropped, and they're having to play catch up to get full-time workers hired to complete what is retail 101 at its most basic:  stocking the shelves.

I'm beginning to wonder if the reason I never advanced beyond the store level and into executive leadership is becaused I'm just not fucking stupid enough....

Peace,
emaycee

Open up that golden gate

Watching the republicans this week show yet again how little of a shit they give about the American people as they do everything in their power to shut the government down, and feeling the frustration that so many Americans feel with republicans complete and total inability to lead or to govern, it was nice to see this piece by Digby showing that when you elect sane people as they did in California over the last couple of election cycles, government can get good things done for the American people.

From immigration reform to sensible gun control, from balancing their budget to leading America in jobs created, from allowing gay marriage to protecting a woman's right to choose, California is leading the way for the rest of America.

And with demographics being what they are (lots of old white people dying, lots of Latinos turning 18), it's only a matter of time before more and more of America is seeing the same results as those in California.

California I'm coming home indeed.

Peace,
emaycee

I do not like Ted Cruz, Sam-I-Am

While wasting the nation's precious time with a 21 hour filibuster of which the aim was to stop poor and working class Americans from having affordable healthcare (and what a worthy goal that is), Ted Cruz decided he would read his children a bedtime story.  The story he chose was a veritable American classic, one I have read to my children again and again:  Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.

Am I the only one who's bothered by the fact that as a (so-called) man was doing everything in his power to make sure that many children do not have adequate healthcare he invoked the name of a man who has brought so much joy to more children than Ted Cruz has dead brain cells?

Even worse--Theodore Geisel was a die hard Liberal.  Chances are he would have approved of Obamacare--at the very least thought it was a good start.

Maybe during future pointless filibusters Cruz can read other childhood classics like Horton's Deaf Because He Lacked Adequate Healthcare and To Think I Let Them All Starve on Mulberry Street!

Peace,
emaycee

Sheep to slaughter

AIG CEO Bob Benmosche told The Wall Street Journal this week that the anger and outrage over bonuses bestowed upon AIG executives after receiving a bailout with our tax dollars was just as bad as the lynch mobs and lynchings that once occurred in the deep South.

Leaving aside how heinous it is to compare people being angry about your greed to people getting murdered because of the color of their skin, and leaving aside the chutzpah it takes to whine in the face of people still struggling financially after said people bailed your incompetent ass out...

...you have to wonder how bright it is for a guy making seven figures for basically being an asshole to mention lynch mobs to the millions of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, to the millions who fell into poverty because of his idiocy, and the even more millions who believe bank executives are the moral equivalent of cousin Kevin from The Who's Tommy.

Peace,
emaycee

Republican math

Two hundred twenty-eight republicans and two "Democrats" voted to defund Obamacare today, prompting Harvard graduate and Senator from Texas Ted Cruz to congratulate House republicans for passing the bill with "strong bipartisan support."

If anyone happens to know who taught Ted Cruz basic math, could you please let me know?  Because if Mr. Cruz thinks that 2 out of 195 Democrats (less than 2%) constitutes healthy bipartisanship, I don't want the mother fucker who taught him math anywhere near my kid.

I'd rather my son not grow up to be an idiot.

Peace,
emaycee

Cursed are the unmerciful

As expected, House republicans passed $40 billion worth of cuts to SNAP benefits yesterday on a vote of 217-210.  I missed the amount of republicans voting against the bill by five--fifteen of them put their careers above their politics.  The republicans tried to tie work requirements and/or job training to the receiving of benefits.  Since they've done nothing the last three years to encourage job growth and the bill provided no funding for job training their efforts are comparable to trying to go swimming in a sandbox.

Their other big accomplishments for the week are their continuing efforts to sabotage, slow down, or defund Obamacare.  Three years after Obamacare was enacted, republicans have yet to hold a vote on a plan of their own to tackle the healthcare crisis.

Is it any wonder how fucked up America is when one of the only two parties to control our political process answer to those going hungry is to starve, and whose answer for those without healthcare is to die?

Peace,
emaycee

Isn't it ironic?

Actually, it might not be--I've never been able to tell the difference between irony and coincidence....

It seems two drivers here in my home state, near Grand Rapids, got into an altercation involving tailgating as they raced down the highway, and as they confronted each other outside their cars managed to fire shots that killed each other.

Both drivers had concealed carry permits.

This is not schadenfreude--two deaths are not anything that should be celebrated.  But it sure does seem the old saying is true:  live by the sword, die by the sword.

So to speak.

Peace,
emaycee

Hunger games

At the non-profit thrift store where I work, we play a DVD of our yearly telethon (local, small scale, though it does worlds of good for many in poverty) and there's a segment on it where a young girl, probably twelve or thirteen years old, talks about what it's like to be hungry, what it's like to go to school hungry, and at the end she breaks down crying because she's so grateful for the help our organization provides. 

I note this not to give myself or the non-profit I work for a pat on the back--I note it because in the richest nation in the history of civilization I'm not really sure how American "exceptionalism" is reinforced by 20% of our children living in poverty, and by 50 million Americans not having enough money for food.

Between the Washington Navy Yard shootings, the debt ceiling showdown, the situation in Syria, and the fight over funding the government after September 30th, it will probably escape most Americans that the republicans in the House will be holding a vote tomorrow to cut food stamp benfits by $40 billion dollars, despite the numbers noted above, despite the lingering employment crisis, and leave 4 to 6 million Americans without any food assistance.  For all those who clamor there is no difference between Democrats and republicans, this is the point that blows your argument to shit:  for all the problems the Democrats may have, there will be zero--that's right, fucking zero--Democratic votes for this bill tomorrow.  I will be amazed if any republicans buck their party and do the right thing--if any do, it will be less than ten.

Republicans claim this needs to be done to stop all the fraud--despite the fact that a recent Department of Agriculture report which showed virtually zero problems with SNAP benefits (but $17 million worth in the republicans giveaway to the agriculture industry).  Dimwit Rand Paul says it's being done because food stamps are like slavery--fortunately for Mr. Paul's there are no living American slaves to school his dumb ass in how foods stamps are absolutely nothing like fucking slavery.  Republicans will vote for it despite the fact that of the 250 counties in America with the highest amount of food stamp recipients, 227 of them fall solely in one Congressional district, and of those 227, 160 are represented by republicans (thanks for the votes, suckers!).  Their followers are convinced these republicans are right because food stamp beneficiaries are scamming the system in downtown Detroit not knowing that over 50% of food stamp recipients live in the suburbs--they're basically their friends and neighbors.  And House republicans will vote for it despite the fact that the cuts will cost the American taxpayer more money than will be saved because of the increase in healthcare expenditures.

Republicans are quick to wear their Christianity on their sleeves when it suits their purposes--not so much when it doesn't.  To wit, Matthew 25:45:  "...Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

One can only surmise that republicans are more than happy--as they are for their fellow Americans--to let Jesus starve.

Peace,
emaycee

Isn't it rich?

With all due respect to the twelve people  killed today in the Washington Navy Yard, as I watched the Mayor of Washington, D. C., Vincent Gray, speak about the shootings this evening, I couldn't help but think that his concern rang just a little bit hollow.

I mean, this is the man who a week ago vetoed the Large Retail Accountability Act, which would have forced large retailers in Washington, D.C. to pay a living wage of $12.50 an hour (that's a whopping $26,000 a year, if you work 40 hours a week--and good luck with that) to basically make the Walton family, the handful of billionaires who run Wal-Mart, happy.

How many people in Washington, D.C. will die early as a result of living their lives in poverty because Mayor Gray had not the courage to stand up to Wal-Mart and say "Fuck you, pay the citizens of my town a living wage."?  How many residents will die because of the crime that poverty causes, an effect that could have at least been blunted with a living wage?  How many kids will go without food?  How many kids will have their education stunted so billionaires can have even more money?

Frankly, it appears that if you're a resident of Washington, D.C. and want Mayor Gray to give a shit about your life, you need to get shot to death.

Peace,
emaycee