GOP attacks middle class with union busting move in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Protests: Union busting GOP attacks middle class

Crowds of protesters in Wisconsin are growing as the Republican takeover of America turns into a union-busting attack on the middle class.

Minnesota Governor Scott Walker has proposed pay cuts for teachers and local government workers of up to 9%. Additionally, Walker wants to strip unions of their collective bargaining power, which would effectively bust the unions.

“Unionized workers in Minnesota are opposing a measure that would strip most Wisconsin public employees of their collective bargaining rights,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

Walker says the cuts are necessary to balance the Minnesota budget, but opponents claim the move is a ruse aimed at breaking unions.

If the measure passes the Minnesota legislature in a vote planned for Thursday, businesses already hit by the worst recession since the Great Depression in the 1930’s will suffer from the decreased spending power of workers with smaller paychecks. 

The result could be more layoffs, particularly for small and mid-size businesses.

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Boehner wants to cut jobs to reduce deficit

Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner said that losing more jobs in the U.S. is just fine with him. “When asked about the risk of losing federal jobs as a result of the Fiscal Year 2011 funding bill currently being debated on the House floor, the Republican said, “so be it,” According to MSNBC.

Boehner’s statement goes against the republican pledge made before the 2010 elections that the number one priority of the GOP would be to create, not cut jobs.

The GOP budgets cuts would result in the combined loss of one million jobs. According to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, cutting the job s of federal employees would trickle down to the local economy, taking out more jobs in a domino effect.

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Obama faces off with Bill O’Reilly

Television and radio talk show host Bill O’Reilly interviewed President Obama before the Super Bowl on Sunday. One day later, the big O’Reilly question appears to be, "Does it disturb you that so many people hate you?" he asked Obama.

The president’s first response was to laugh, as if to say, are you kidding?  Then replied, “You know, the truth is that the people—and I’m sure previous presidents would say the same thing, whether it was Bush or Clinton or Reagan or anybody—the people who dislike you don’t know you.”

But O’Reilly persisted. “But they hate you.”

O’Reilly sounded like the was speaking for every living human on the planet, when in fact, Obama’s approval ratings are higher now than they have been in almost a year.

Still, President Obama came back with a diplomatic reply. "What they hate is whatever funhouse mirror image of you that's out there. They don't know you. And so, you don't take it personally."

The word ‘funhouse’ can be interpreted in many ways, but short of saying the Tea Party rhetoric about him was so off base it was not worth taking seriously, the answer got the message across.

Anti- Obama conservatives and tried to give the president a variety of labels from socialist to foreigner. One has to wonder if the conservative pundits tried to convince people that Obama was an alien invader from Mars wearing a human disguise if the same people who listen to them now would believe that one, too.

Case in point: PolitiFact reported that Michele Bachmann claimed that President Obama’s November trip to India was costing taxpayers $200 million a day. In fact, Bachmann never bothered to confirm the words she was spewing, which turned out to be false.

How does the saying go? If you repeat a lie often enough people actually start to believe it?

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Obama wants bi-partisan roll back on tax cuts for the rich

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama called for an end to the high income tax breaks the republican leadership insisted on in the Lame Duck session of the 111th Congress. The reason is simple; the United States cannot afford to give money to the wealthiest Americans while the country is running on borrowed funds. But does the current Republican Congress have the ability to apply fiscal policy that raises revenue through taxes on the wealthy?

Republicans and the Tea Party have made no secret of the fact that they are pro-big business, and believe that trickle-down economics is an effective tool for growing the economy.

Contrary to the rhetoric, there is little evidence to support the benefits of Trickle-down economics for anyone but the rich. In fact, the gap between the rich and poor has grown steadily since the 1980’s, when President Regan began redistributing wealth in the form of tax cuts for Americans with the most income.

Along with Reagan’s economic policies came lower wages for the middle-class and a lower standard of living for millions. Furthermore, Trickle-down economics has failed to create promised jobs. While the Bush tax cuts were in place, America suffered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

In December 2010, republican leadership refused to agree to any extension of the Bush era tax cut package, unless it included an extension of the tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

“Former IMF chief economist, Simon Johnson said, the “financial industry has effectively captured our government and is blocking essential reform”.

In what the Obama Administration called a ‘compromise,’ the deal was made with GOP lawmakers in exchange for their votes on the legislation. The portion of the tax cut package that benefits only the wealthy is costing America some $450 billion dollars, all of it borrowed money.

Decades of conservative political pandering to Corporate America has lead to budget deficit chaos, and the Republican controlled Congress may not have the ability to stop giving away money to those who need it the least.

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Why are republicans against healthcare reform for Americans?

After President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 25, 2011, republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann responded with remarks on behalf of the Tea Party. The main threads of Bachmann’s comments were against the new healthcare reform laws passed by the last Congress.

With the benefits of healthcare reform now beginning to take effect, polls show that the majority of Americans favor the new advantages. This raises questions as to why republicans like Michelle Bachmann are making claims that the laws should be repealed.

The Congressional Budget Office study on healthcare reform concluded that the legislation would reduce the federal deficit. It also offers people with pre-existing conditions an opportunity to obtain health insurance that would have been denied prior to the reform package.

Referring to healthcare reform, Bachmann said, “We must work hard to dismantle the massive government expansion that has happened over the past two years.” However, Bachmann never explained how cracking down on insurance company abuse is bad for the American public. Nor did she elaborate on why she is against something that the majority now favors.

The basis of the GOP spin against healthcare reform has been rooted in scare tactics without facts. On that level, Bachmann held true to form on Tuesday night. She exaggerated claims that had no basis in an effort to frighten the public about a non-existent monster hidden inside ‘Obamacare.’

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Healthcare repeal will cost American lives

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Healthcare repeal will kill Americans

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas, was very candid rebuking republican attempts to repeal healthcare reform.

Jackson Lee said, "Frankly, I would just say to you, this is about saving lives…..this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill,” according to The Hill.

Some of the benefits of ‘Obamacare’ include insurability for people with pre-existing conditions, additional money for seniors on Medicare to pay for drugs and tax credit for employers who provide health insurance to their workers.

Approximately 46,000 Americans die each year due to lack of health insurance. President Obama’s healthcare reform was designed to reduce those numbers by making healthcare more accessible and affordable for an additional 32 million Americans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2tJOSXi-fQ&feature=player_embedded

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Is Sarah Palin sinking her presidential hopes with ‘blood libel’ remark?

How a public figure handles themselves in a crisis is often an indication of what kind of leader they will make. Sarah Palin, with her eyes on the White House in 2012, may be taking the ultimate test in the aftermath of the Arizona shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

On January 8, 2011, Jared Loughner, 22, opened fired in a Safeway parking lot in Tucson, Arizona. He killed six people and wounded 14, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a democrat.

In the days following the shooting, Sarah Palin was criticized for having a map of democratic candidates on her website with a gun targets on specific states. Individual candidates were listed as targets. Gabrielle Giffords was one of them.

The map was taken down after the shooting.

On Wednesday, Palin wrote on her Facebook page, “…After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.”

A Palin staff member told Alaska radio Sunday that there was "nothing irresponsible" about the images of crosshairs used in a map of the 20 congressional districts targeted by Palin's PAC,” according to the Washington Post.

Palin went on to defend herself against media attacks, calling them, "blood libel," which is an anti-Semitic term that refers to Jewish rituals that involve killing, according to MSNBC.

Political pundits claim George W. Bush used his popularity during the September 11 World Trade Center attacks to will re-election. His widely criticized handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster contributed to his  extraordinary unfavorable ratings when he left office.

The Palin controversy over the Arizona shootings may leave a scar on the Palin political machine that the former Alaska governor may not recover from.

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Arizona shooting: There is no such thing as an ordinary American

When Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in an Arizona parking lot, it wasn’t the CEO of a corporation who immediately came to her aid. When the Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed by Timothy McVeigh, and when the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists on September 11^th, the first responders were not high-ranking government officials. They were not part of an elite group of highly trained professionals. They were what our lawmakers often refer to as ordinary Americans. Yet there is nothing ordinary about them.

On January 8, 2011, Daniel Hernandez said, "When I heard gunshots, my first instinct was to head toward the congresswoman to make sure that she was okay." He added, "Once I saw that she was down, and there were more than one victim, I went ahead and started doing the limited triage that I could with what I had…. It was probably not the best idea to run toward the gunshots," he told the Arizona Republic, "But people needed help."

The 20 year old Junior at Arizona University had only limited medical training, but is still being credited with saving Congresswoman Giffords life.

Six people were killed by Jared Loughner, 22, when he sprayed the Safeway parking lot with bullets at Congresswoman Giffords Saturday morning rally. Their names are: Judge John Roll, 63; Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; Christina Greene, 9; Phyllis Scheck, 79; and Gabriel Zimmerman, 30. Sixteen others were wounded.

Over time, we sometimes forget the names of the victims and heroes of tragedies. But as it has been proven time and again, there is no such thing as an ordinary American.

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BP oil spill report: Expect more oil spill disasters with deregulation

President Obama’s oil spill commission has concluded that BP and Halliburton were both guilty of contributing to the cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster which resulted in the worst oil spill in US history.

A 48 page final report released Wednesday found that BP failed to test the cement plug Halliburton used to seal the exploratory Macondo well.  The flawed cement mix failed, caused the rig to explode on April 20, 2010, and kill eleven crew members, dump nearly 5 million barrels of oil, and 2 million gallons of chemical dispersant into the Gulf of Mexico.

The commission concluded that short-cuts are an industry-wide practice that will result in continuing oil spill disasters, unless new, stiffer regulations are put in place.

The problem with preventing further oil spill disasters lies in the plans of the new republican congress.

Incoming chairman of the government Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrel Issa of California, has stated that he plans to roll back and remove as many government regulations as he can, including those that regulate the oil industry.

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Alec Baldwin for Congress?

Millions of women would probably vote for Hollywood hunk Alec Baldwin no matter what office he decided to run for, but at the moment, the most famous of the Baldwin brothers is eyeballing a congressional seat, perhaps in his hometown, New York.

Last July, Baldwin told the Times UK that he was considering a bid for public office. Then just after the 2010 elections, Baldwin again mentioned taking a stab at a congressional bid.

In a recent interview, Baldwin said, "I do believe that people want to believe that someone who deeply cares about the middle class, for whatever reason... would like to seek public office." He added, "We've had men who are Ivy League-groomed running this country since 1988… and the problems aren't getting solved."

In addition to a successful film and television career in multiple appearances on Saturday Night Live and the popular 30 Rock, the admitted ultra-liberal Baldwin is also known for his temper and public verbal indiscretions surrounding his former wife, Actress Kim Bassinger.

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Looking beyond the political revolution of 2010

If ever there was a year of political upheaval it was 2010. The Tea Party steamed into Washington with newly elected Kentucky Senator Rand Paul at the helm. The arch conservative is a political rogue who seems ready to rattle the foundation of the GOP, and he just may give Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a few lessons on how far right the Republican Party can be pushed.

However, changes in the political environment go farther than Rand Paul. In the battle of ideologies, President Obama has been as much a victim of the GOP filibuster as the American public. But it doesn’t have to be that way and when America got a taste of what a productive Congress looks like, they liked what they saw.

In the last weeks of the Lame Duck Congress, years worth of legislative hopefuls were pushed through the republican blockade with blazing speed. In just one day, America saw the repeal of DADT, the START treaty and a bill that would provide health care for the heroes of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Clearly, people are happy when something gets done in Washington, even if it is not an exact fit with their party’s platform.

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