Yup... been a while.
But I feel the need to expound on a few things... plus I know nobody reads this anymore anyway.
Tonight's topic: politics. Big surprise, right? So yes...
The GOP has retaken the House, now controls 39 state legislatures, 29 Governor's Mansions, and has picked up an additional 7 seats in the US Senate, though has failed to take the majority there. Impressive. Particularly for a party that got kicked OUT of power because of the policies they insist we go back to. I write that off to the famously short American memory and attention span. I'm honestly surprised most people even remember 9/11.
So the GOP has a golden opportunity here. Controlling the House gives them control over the purse, since any bill requiring the expenditure of money has to start there. How will they use that? If they're smart, they'll use it to squash earmarks, trim financial fat from otherwise necessary bills, and defund shit we genuinely don't need. If not, (and this is what I feel most likely), they'll forcefully reject anything the Administration wants to do, vote every other week to repeal "Obamacare" and every other bill that's passed since 2006, waste time (and our money) with pointless investigations into his birth certificate, religion, etc, bitch and moan about how the Senate won't pass the bills and/or the President won't sign them, and then wonder why they don't get re-elected in 2012.
SO... for the main purpose of tonight's diatribe: the so-called "Pledge to America." Reminds you a bit of the old "Contract with America," just add more bible. Remember that giant list of things from 1994 that never happened? so, here we go, I'll just make points as they jump at me....
Point 1, after 13 pages of pointless rambling and sappy pictures... we get to mentioning the so-called Bush Tax Cuts. Almost an entire page is devoted to explaining that letting them expire for the top 2 tax brackets will result in taxing more than half of small-business income. Technically they're correct, in that half of all income dollars claimed by business owners will be affected. They've been on this track all year, how all small business would be harmed, etc etc. Bullshit. First these taxes affect income, NOT revenue. 98.1% of business owners, not just small business, ALL business, make less than the $250,000 threshold. That remaining 1.9% account for that "half of small business income" they refer to.
Point 2. On this same page they go on a diatribe about how harmed the average family will be by letting the cuts expire. They DON'T mention that it's the GOP that is causing this by refusing to extend the cuts for them, unless their rich buddies get theirs too. How philanthropic of them...
Point 3. "Obamacare." They want to repeal it, obviously. Easy to do since they took over Congr- oh wait. They only have one chamber. And not even the 2/3 veto-override majority there. So much for that plan. They'll still try and repeal it every nine days anyway, just so they can say they tried... Oh and here we go again, medical liability and tort reform. Sure, decent idea in theory. Analysis has concluded that it MIGHT reduce the average American's health care costs by 0.2%. Oh and how about this... no money for abortion or abortion-related services. Gotta keep the -thumpers happy. The GOP includes in their definition of "abortion related services" (not in this document, of course, but previous releases) things like the pill (which many I know take more for hormone therapy than for contraception), condoms, hell any form of contraception, contraception education, access to family planning services, etc. They want to make it illegal for any entity receiving ANY federal tax dollars to fund, promote, or allow any of this. Oh, and they also want to pass what they call "medical conscience laws" so that the bible-thumping ER doctor you end up with after a car accident out-of-state can decide that his religious beliefs preclude your right to decide your care, treatment, or priorities. "Oh I'm sorry, but that life-saving emergency operation you need might endanger the life of your unborn child, and I can't have that on my conscience... you'll have to find another doctor to do that... shame there isnt one in this podunk town." "Oh how nice, your doctor wrote you a prescription for the pill. But my preacher says that's bad, so even tho I'm the only licensed pharmacist for 45 miles, and I have no idea why you were prescribed that, I'm going to refuse to perform my defined job function, even though I knew going in that this was part of the career field I chose." etc. etc. Yes you have freedom of religion. You can believe or worship whatever you want. NOWHERE in the Constitution does that translate to the right to dictate anyone else's legal behavior. The pill is legal, so if you are a pharmacist and a patient provides you the valid prescription from a doctor, what they are taking and why is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! Fill the prescription, do your job, keep your religious judgments to yourself, or find a new career. I don't stick my agnostic nose into your church, so you don't get to let your church stick itself into my life, my decisions, or anyone's medical care. Sorry about the rant... that one always hits a raw nerve. The fact that I'm constantly having a bible rammed down my throat at home isn't helping.
Point 3 b. Why is gay marriage such a big thing to them? I seriously don't get it. Especially the "defend traditional marriage" fuckstorm. Which tradition? Cause not too many centuries ago it was little more than a business contract negotiating the sale of a daughter by her father to her future husband. In the same time period it was the church-given justification for raping the wife you obtained from that transaction. Or shall we go back farther when marriages were arranged during childhood, again allowing the husband the right to do with his new bride whatever he chooses, since she was legally only property. Gotta love those good old-fashioned church values. Always a good rule of thumb to go by... (yes. intentional reference.)
Point 4. They go on about returning the House to its roots as a deliberative body. No. Not at all. Not even a little bit. The SENATE is the deliberative body, that is why it has no time-limits on debate. The House is the ADMINISTRATIVE one. Time limits are placed on all debate to keep things moving. The House constructs and passes the laws, the Senate debates and refines, then both go back and re-approve. That's how it's meant to work. Read the Federalist papers (you know, those documents written BY the Founders which EXPLICITLY LAY OUT the Original Intent you so unendingly, and usually incorrectly, blather about), you fucking morons.
Point 5: Oh look, they promise to let us read bills for 3 days before they vote. This sounds familiar... Reminds me of 2008, and 2006, and EVERY FUCKING CONGRESS SINCE THE INTERNET BECAME A POPULAR TOOL!!!! You've all promised, you've all lied, I'm not gonna fall for it again. Didn't you people learn from this last Congress that people right now don't have patience for politicians that make all kinds of promises and then don't keep them? Oh wait.. I think one or two (OR EVERY FUCKING ONE) of you campaigned on this very issue. Be warned.
Point 6: requiring every bill to cite its Constitutional authority... so basically they'll just add to the end of every bill passed... "Authorized via US Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 18." That's 95% of them anyway.
Point 7: Ending the practice of packaging bills on "must-pass" legislation... riiiight. Believe that when I see it. PATRIOT Act anyone?
Point 8: I may vomit. "no more troop funding bills held up by unrelated policy changes, or extraneous domestic spending and pork-barrel projects." So you don't want the government to do anymore what you've been doing THE ENTIRE TIME SINCE FUCKING 9/11!!!!
Point 9: OK... are terrorists criminals or enemy combatants? You seriously need to pick one. If they are criminals, they have rights we must honor.. both domestically and internationally. If they are enemy combatants... they still have rights we must respect both domestically and internationally. I find it funny... until 9/11 terrorism against the US was a crime. It was considered a crime, prosecuted like a crime, and the perpetrators (like Timothy McVeigh) were imprisoned or executed like criminals. Read the US Code... any act of terrorism on US soil or against US citizens that results in serious injury, destruction of property, or loss of life is a Federal Capital Crime.
Point 10: Iran shit... Jesus titty-fucking Christ. Why is Iran such a pain in the ass? Why are they terrified of us? BECAUSE WE WON'T STOP TRYING TO FUCK WITH THEIR COUNTRY!!!!!! Why would they want nukes? Gee.. I dunno... maybe because Israel has stated many times that they would not hesitate to use nukes themselves, either in retaliation or as pre-emption, against any perceived aggressive action committed by any Islamic state. If I had a nearby nation with that attitude, I'd want them too. Maybe we should worry more about making them not want to use anything they develop against us, and less about giving them MORE reasons to feel threatened.
Point 11: Oh great, MORE Iran shit... Translation: We want to go to war with Iran because... um... they're mooslim and brown!!! (oh, and because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and we need the new war to justify not only refusing to cut the defense budget, but likely explosively expanding it like Republicans love to do.)
Point 12: Aliens. No, not green ones, brown ones. Do we have a problem? Yes. Do we need to do more? Yes. Has the current President deported more illegal aliens than the previous 2? Yes... wait what?! But... But... He's a muslim, marxist, fascist (yes, apparently it IS possible to be both), homo-loving, america-hating twat that was born in Kenya!!!! or something... I don't know.
Point 13: Oh now they propose to magically make every American an informed and intelligent voter. Right. "Every American must ask: what has Congress done to ensure opportunity and to safeguard my liberty and the freedoms guaranteed to me in the Constitution?" No... every American is going to continue to ask "What have you done for me lately? What laws have you passed/projects have you funded that directly benefit ME?" Anyone who believes anything else is either retarded, deliberately stupid, or on some kind of hallucinogenic drug,
Point 14: *yawn* heard this before... transparency, right. small government, right. And the GOP has NEVER used a national crisis for political gain... get over yourselves...
So basically they've written down all the promises we can get pissed about them not honoring 2 years from now.
Tonight's topic: politics. Big surprise, right? So yes...
The GOP has retaken the House, now controls 39 state legislatures, 29 Governor's Mansions, and has picked up an additional 7 seats in the US Senate, though has failed to take the majority there. Impressive. Particularly for a party that got kicked OUT of power because of the policies they insist we go back to. I write that off to the famously short American memory and attention span. I'm honestly surprised most people even remember 9/11.
So the GOP has a golden opportunity here. Controlling the House gives them control over the purse, since any bill requiring the expenditure of money has to start there. How will they use that? If they're smart, they'll use it to squash earmarks, trim financial fat from otherwise necessary bills, and defund shit we genuinely don't need. If not, (and this is what I feel most likely), they'll forcefully reject anything the Administration wants to do, vote every other week to repeal "Obamacare" and every other bill that's passed since 2006, waste time (and our money) with pointless investigations into his birth certificate, religion, etc, bitch and moan about how the Senate won't pass the bills and/or the President won't sign them, and then wonder why they don't get re-elected in 2012.
SO... for the main purpose of tonight's diatribe: the so-called "Pledge to America." Reminds you a bit of the old "Contract with America," just add more bible. Remember that giant list of things from 1994 that never happened? so, here we go, I'll just make points as they jump at me....
Point 1, after 13 pages of pointless rambling and sappy pictures... we get to mentioning the so-called Bush Tax Cuts. Almost an entire page is devoted to explaining that letting them expire for the top 2 tax brackets will result in taxing more than half of small-business income. Technically they're correct, in that half of all income dollars claimed by business owners will be affected. They've been on this track all year, how all small business would be harmed, etc etc. Bullshit. First these taxes affect income, NOT revenue. 98.1% of business owners, not just small business, ALL business, make less than the $250,000 threshold. That remaining 1.9% account for that "half of small business income" they refer to.
Point 2. On this same page they go on a diatribe about how harmed the average family will be by letting the cuts expire. They DON'T mention that it's the GOP that is causing this by refusing to extend the cuts for them, unless their rich buddies get theirs too. How philanthropic of them...
Point 3. "Obamacare." They want to repeal it, obviously. Easy to do since they took over Congr- oh wait. They only have one chamber. And not even the 2/3 veto-override majority there. So much for that plan. They'll still try and repeal it every nine days anyway, just so they can say they tried... Oh and here we go again, medical liability and tort reform. Sure, decent idea in theory. Analysis has concluded that it MIGHT reduce the average American's health care costs by 0.2%. Oh and how about this... no money for abortion or abortion-related services. Gotta keep the -thumpers happy. The GOP includes in their definition of "abortion related services" (not in this document, of course, but previous releases) things like the pill (which many I know take more for hormone therapy than for contraception), condoms, hell any form of contraception, contraception education, access to family planning services, etc. They want to make it illegal for any entity receiving ANY federal tax dollars to fund, promote, or allow any of this. Oh, and they also want to pass what they call "medical conscience laws" so that the bible-thumping ER doctor you end up with after a car accident out-of-state can decide that his religious beliefs preclude your right to decide your care, treatment, or priorities. "Oh I'm sorry, but that life-saving emergency operation you need might endanger the life of your unborn child, and I can't have that on my conscience... you'll have to find another doctor to do that... shame there isnt one in this podunk town." "Oh how nice, your doctor wrote you a prescription for the pill. But my preacher says that's bad, so even tho I'm the only licensed pharmacist for 45 miles, and I have no idea why you were prescribed that, I'm going to refuse to perform my defined job function, even though I knew going in that this was part of the career field I chose." etc. etc. Yes you have freedom of religion. You can believe or worship whatever you want. NOWHERE in the Constitution does that translate to the right to dictate anyone else's legal behavior. The pill is legal, so if you are a pharmacist and a patient provides you the valid prescription from a doctor, what they are taking and why is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! Fill the prescription, do your job, keep your religious judgments to yourself, or find a new career. I don't stick my agnostic nose into your church, so you don't get to let your church stick itself into my life, my decisions, or anyone's medical care. Sorry about the rant... that one always hits a raw nerve. The fact that I'm constantly having a bible rammed down my throat at home isn't helping.
Point 3 b. Why is gay marriage such a big thing to them? I seriously don't get it. Especially the "defend traditional marriage" fuckstorm. Which tradition? Cause not too many centuries ago it was little more than a business contract negotiating the sale of a daughter by her father to her future husband. In the same time period it was the church-given justification for raping the wife you obtained from that transaction. Or shall we go back farther when marriages were arranged during childhood, again allowing the husband the right to do with his new bride whatever he chooses, since she was legally only property. Gotta love those good old-fashioned church values. Always a good rule of thumb to go by... (yes. intentional reference.)
Point 4. They go on about returning the House to its roots as a deliberative body. No. Not at all. Not even a little bit. The SENATE is the deliberative body, that is why it has no time-limits on debate. The House is the ADMINISTRATIVE one. Time limits are placed on all debate to keep things moving. The House constructs and passes the laws, the Senate debates and refines, then both go back and re-approve. That's how it's meant to work. Read the Federalist papers (you know, those documents written BY the Founders which EXPLICITLY LAY OUT the Original Intent you so unendingly, and usually incorrectly, blather about), you fucking morons.
Point 5: Oh look, they promise to let us read bills for 3 days before they vote. This sounds familiar... Reminds me of 2008, and 2006, and EVERY FUCKING CONGRESS SINCE THE INTERNET BECAME A POPULAR TOOL!!!! You've all promised, you've all lied, I'm not gonna fall for it again. Didn't you people learn from this last Congress that people right now don't have patience for politicians that make all kinds of promises and then don't keep them? Oh wait.. I think one or two (OR EVERY FUCKING ONE) of you campaigned on this very issue. Be warned.
Point 6: requiring every bill to cite its Constitutional authority... so basically they'll just add to the end of every bill passed... "Authorized via US Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clause 18." That's 95% of them anyway.
Point 7: Ending the practice of packaging bills on "must-pass" legislation... riiiight. Believe that when I see it. PATRIOT Act anyone?
Point 8: I may vomit. "no more troop funding bills held up by unrelated policy changes, or extraneous domestic spending and pork-barrel projects." So you don't want the government to do anymore what you've been doing THE ENTIRE TIME SINCE FUCKING 9/11!!!!
Point 9: OK... are terrorists criminals or enemy combatants? You seriously need to pick one. If they are criminals, they have rights we must honor.. both domestically and internationally. If they are enemy combatants... they still have rights we must respect both domestically and internationally. I find it funny... until 9/11 terrorism against the US was a crime. It was considered a crime, prosecuted like a crime, and the perpetrators (like Timothy McVeigh) were imprisoned or executed like criminals. Read the US Code... any act of terrorism on US soil or against US citizens that results in serious injury, destruction of property, or loss of life is a Federal Capital Crime.
Point 10: Iran shit... Jesus titty-fucking Christ. Why is Iran such a pain in the ass? Why are they terrified of us? BECAUSE WE WON'T STOP TRYING TO FUCK WITH THEIR COUNTRY!!!!!! Why would they want nukes? Gee.. I dunno... maybe because Israel has stated many times that they would not hesitate to use nukes themselves, either in retaliation or as pre-emption, against any perceived aggressive action committed by any Islamic state. If I had a nearby nation with that attitude, I'd want them too. Maybe we should worry more about making them not want to use anything they develop against us, and less about giving them MORE reasons to feel threatened.
Point 11: Oh great, MORE Iran shit... Translation: We want to go to war with Iran because... um... they're mooslim and brown!!! (oh, and because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down and we need the new war to justify not only refusing to cut the defense budget, but likely explosively expanding it like Republicans love to do.)
Point 12: Aliens. No, not green ones, brown ones. Do we have a problem? Yes. Do we need to do more? Yes. Has the current President deported more illegal aliens than the previous 2? Yes... wait what?! But... But... He's a muslim, marxist, fascist (yes, apparently it IS possible to be both), homo-loving, america-hating twat that was born in Kenya!!!! or something... I don't know.
Point 13: Oh now they propose to magically make every American an informed and intelligent voter. Right. "Every American must ask: what has Congress done to ensure opportunity and to safeguard my liberty and the freedoms guaranteed to me in the Constitution?" No... every American is going to continue to ask "What have you done for me lately? What laws have you passed/projects have you funded that directly benefit ME?" Anyone who believes anything else is either retarded, deliberately stupid, or on some kind of hallucinogenic drug,
Point 14: *yawn* heard this before... transparency, right. small government, right. And the GOP has NEVER used a national crisis for political gain... get over yourselves...
So basically they've written down all the promises we can get pissed about them not honoring 2 years from now.