Post by Chris Van Hollen.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Democracy Suspended in the U.S. House
Something just happened on the House Floor that you should know about. Very late last night House Republicans quietly changed the standing rules of the House so that only the Majority Leader or his designee could bring up the bill in question for a vote. Sound familiar? The same tactic was used by the same people last October to shut down the government and keep it shut down. In other words, democracy has once again been suspended in the House of Representatives. SHARE this video if you're sick of the sneaky, dead-of-night rule changes that have helped define this Republican Congress as the most-closed, least-transparent Congress on record.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
The good old boys network is alive and well
Is it any wonder someone recently joked that when the CENTRA board announced they will be seeking a new general manager "will a criminal record be a requierment?"
A Clarksburg city councilman and the Mayor of Bridgeport are only what I believe are the tips of the iceberg of nepotism and corruption that runs deep in Harrison County, West Virginia.
A Pillar Crumbles
A Clarksburg city councilman and the Mayor of Bridgeport are only what I believe are the tips of the iceberg of nepotism and corruption that runs deep in Harrison County, West Virginia.
A Pillar Crumbles
Monday, April 28, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Archie Bunker is a Liberal compared to this guy
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
- Thomas Jefferson
I hope the good people of Enid and the entire State of Oklahoma refuse to remain silent and make a ton of noise about this guy.
Change.org has started a petition to the powers that be there.
Please sign it!
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
The Baptist Inquisition or Excuse me Miss your ankle is showing.
Virginia pastor: Women are sinners if clothes ‘outline’ body ‘to make it noticed’ (via Raw Story )A Southern Baptist pastor in Virginia has warned women in his congregation that they are sinning if their clothes allow others to see the “outline” of their bodies. The Christian Post pointed out on Tuesday that HeartCry Missionary Society founder…
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Corporate Perfection
West Virginia Polluter Freedom Industries Files For Bankruptcy To Halt Lawsuits (via Desmogblog)Freedom Industries, the company that recently leaked thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into the Elk River in West Virginia, quietly filed for bankruptcy this past Friday to shield themselves from the onslaught of lawsuits filed against the company…
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Let the debunking begin - 18 Crazy Right-Wing Myths About Obama
1) Obama takes too many vacations.
FACT: As of August 16th of 2013, Obama had taken 92 days of vacation vs 367 for George W. Bush.
2) Obama has divided the nation.
FACT: Obama has done more to unite this nation than any president since Lincoln. But he’s up against a phalanx of 21st Century separatists, racists and neo-fascists, some of whom have openly proposed seceding. Here… let me hold that door for you. Besides; who’s dividing the Republican party into right wing and ultra-far right wings? Is Obama doing that too? Nope. Look in a mirror Teabigots.
3) Obama’s policies are bankrupting America.
FACT: Reagan added $1.9 trillion to the debt. Bush Sr. added an additional $1.5. Clinton added $1.4. Dubbya added $6.1. Obama has added less than $3.0, the bulk of which was to offset the effects of the Bush recession. Who holds that debt? China; $1.2 trillion. Japan; $900 billion. The Fed; $1.6 trillion. The public; $3.6 trillion. Government trusts; $1.9 trillion. Social Security; $2.7 trillion. So nice try, but no Kewpie doll for you
4) Obama’s a socialist.
FACT: Hardly. Obama’s economic and social policies are to the right of Kennedy’s, Eisenhower’s, Nixon’s, and even some of Reagan’s. If Obama’s a socialist, then Eisenhower, who had a 91% top tax rate, was a Republican Marxist.
5) Obama lied about keeping your present healthcare insurance.
FACT: Lying and being wrong are two different things. Obama turned out to be wrong, but he didn’t lie. He appeared before the cameras 28 times, repeating the exact same words — “If you like your present policy, you can keep it,” knowing full well he was being recorded each time. If you believe any president would deliberately set himself up like that, then Fox News is indeed the place for you.
6) Obama’s weak on foreign policy.
FACT: Osama bin Laden, the man who murdered 3,000+ Americans on 9/11 is dead. Muammar Khaddafi, the man who blew 300+ Americans out of the sky is dead. More al Qaeda terrorists were taken out under just Obama’s first three years than during the entire 8 years of Bush’s “War on Terrorism,” where we somehow managed to wind up in Iraq; a country that offered asylum to zero terrorists. ‘Nuff said.
7) Obama has taken sides with the Arabs against Israel.
FACT: “I think that from my point of view as defense minister they (American/Israeli relations) are extremely good, extremely deep and profound. I can see long years, um, administrations of both sides of political aisle deeply supporting the state of Israel and I believe that reflects a profound feeling among the American people. But I should tell you honestly that this administration under President Obama is doing in regard to our security more than anything that I can remember in the past. In terms of the support for our security, the cooperation of our intelligence, the sharing of sorts in a very open way even when there are differences which are not simple sometimes, I’ve found their support for our defense very stable.” ~ Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel
But what would he know?
8) America is less safe under Obama than ever before.FACT:
3,000 Americans killed by al Qaeda on 9/11, when George W. Bush was president. Zero successful al Qaeda attacks on America under Obama. Do the math.
9) Benghazi is Obama’s 9/11.
FACT: There were 13 attacks on American embassies during the Bush years, resulting in some 100 deaths. But Fox News and their reich-wing cohorts has never mentioned them. Benghazi is something that happened to us, not something the administration did. I’m sorry you haven’t gotten the memo, but Benghazi is just another Fox non-story. Same with the IRS “scandal.”
10) ObamaCare is Obama’s 9/11.
See #9.
11) Sandy Hook was Obama’s 9/11.
See a shrink.
12) Solyndra!
FACT: Solyndra was a $500 million loan that didn’t pay off. How much is $500 million? That’s how much the Bush administration spent every 18 hours on the Iraq War for five years – an expense no Republican ever complains about. And what was our reward? 4,500 Americans killed, at least 100,000 Iraqis killed, another 2 million Iraqis driven from their homes, the emergence of the Shia awakening, and our reputation in a shambles. Thanks Republicans. And you’re upset about half a billion spent on Solyndra.
13) Iraq is falling to al Qaeda due to Obama’s policies.
FACT: Had we not invaded Iraq in the first place, a war Obama opposed 12 years ago, we wouldn’t be seeing Falluja falling to al Qaeda. And who was it that wrote the timetable for our Iraq exit two years ago? Oh, yeah; the Bush administration. You might just as well blame Obama for Bush’s recession. Oh, wait — you do that too!
14) Obama’s policies are anti-business.
FACT: The Dow Jones when Clinton entered office in January 1993 was at 3,300. When he left office in January 2001: 10,662. Dow Jones when Bush left office in January 2009: 9,034. Dow Jones today: 16,437. The Dow has more than doubled in just the first five years of the Obama administration. Yes…. Businessmen just hate that.
15) Obama’s policies have resulted in massive unemployment.
FACT: When George W. Bush stumbled into office in January 2001, he inherited a 4.3% unemployment rate from Bill Clinton. When he left office 8 years later, the unemployment rate was 9.7% and rising fast. As of today, that number is 6.7%, no thanks to the Republicans in Congress who’ve done everything within their power to sabotage the recovery.
During the eight years under George W. Bush, his policies created just 1 million jobs (with another 2 million in the military). Since Barack Obama was sworn in five years ago, 7.6 million jobs have been created, and there are still three years left in his term. So, nice try.
16) Fast & Furious.
FACT: Another poorly conceived program left over from the Bush administration that the GOP is trying to pin on Obama. Move along.
17) Liberals always try to deflect from Obama’s record by bringing up Bush.
FACT: Wrong-o, Bozo. We just like to rub your noses in your hypocrisy. By intentionally ignoring, or even lying about Bush’s record and focusing instead on the above Fox News lies, you’ve liberated yourselves once again from those pesky facts. So it’s become incumbent upon us to set the record straight. To the contrary, conservatives are always trying to deflect from the failures of the Bush years by telling the aforementioned lies.
18) The deficit has skyrocketed under Obama.
FACT: The budget was balanced when Clinton left office in 2001 (in fact, he left Dubbya with a $300,000,000,000 surplus).
Eight years later, Bush left Obama with a $1,413,000,000,000 deficit and a 9.8% deficit/GDP ratio. Most of which was due to Bush’s deficit-spending on the Iraq War, Medicare Part D and the two tax cuts that largely went to the wealthy.
“Remember what Reagan taught us. Deficits don’t matter.” ~ Dick Cheney.
Since Obama’s election:
2010 — $1,294,000,000,000 8.7% deficit/GDP
2011 — $1,300,000,000,000 8.4% deficit/GDP
2012 — $1,087,000,000,000 6.8% deficit/GDP
2013 — $680,000,000,000 4.1% deficit/GDP
2014 — $560,000,000,000 3.3% deficit/GDP
See a pattern developing? Furthermore, the United States is now producing more oil than we import. Our overall trade deficit is at a four year low, as imported oil continues to decline. GM, Ford and Chrysler are all chugging along nicely, no thanks to a unified Republican/Teabigot party, who were eager to sacrifice 2 million American jobs on their altar of Obama Derangement Syndrome.
The trade gap has fallen 12.9% to $34.3 billion as Obama’s policies have made American products and services more available abroad, while Americans are increasingly buying more domestic products. The trade imbalance is now lower than at any time since the beginning of the recession, and the offshoring of American jobs has (finally) slowed to a trickle.
Our trade gap with China is down 6.7% (largely based on their taste for American cars — see above), our trade gap with Japan is down 8.4% and our trade gap with the European Union has dropped a whopping 29.4%.
Are things perfect? No. There’s still much to be done. But the rumors of Barack Obama’s “failures” have been greatly exaggerated, and it’s time to call these talking points what they are… lies. This president will go down in history as a man who achieved some amazing accomplishments, especially considering the unified opposition he’s had to endure since Day One.
So there you have it Fox News “patriots,” all your talking points shot to hell in one FACT-based document. How do you like them apples?
FACT: As of August 16th of 2013, Obama had taken 92 days of vacation vs 367 for George W. Bush.
2) Obama has divided the nation.
FACT: Obama has done more to unite this nation than any president since Lincoln. But he’s up against a phalanx of 21st Century separatists, racists and neo-fascists, some of whom have openly proposed seceding. Here… let me hold that door for you. Besides; who’s dividing the Republican party into right wing and ultra-far right wings? Is Obama doing that too? Nope. Look in a mirror Teabigots.
3) Obama’s policies are bankrupting America.
FACT: Reagan added $1.9 trillion to the debt. Bush Sr. added an additional $1.5. Clinton added $1.4. Dubbya added $6.1. Obama has added less than $3.0, the bulk of which was to offset the effects of the Bush recession. Who holds that debt? China; $1.2 trillion. Japan; $900 billion. The Fed; $1.6 trillion. The public; $3.6 trillion. Government trusts; $1.9 trillion. Social Security; $2.7 trillion. So nice try, but no Kewpie doll for you
4) Obama’s a socialist.
FACT: Hardly. Obama’s economic and social policies are to the right of Kennedy’s, Eisenhower’s, Nixon’s, and even some of Reagan’s. If Obama’s a socialist, then Eisenhower, who had a 91% top tax rate, was a Republican Marxist.
5) Obama lied about keeping your present healthcare insurance.
FACT: Lying and being wrong are two different things. Obama turned out to be wrong, but he didn’t lie. He appeared before the cameras 28 times, repeating the exact same words — “If you like your present policy, you can keep it,” knowing full well he was being recorded each time. If you believe any president would deliberately set himself up like that, then Fox News is indeed the place for you.
6) Obama’s weak on foreign policy.
FACT: Osama bin Laden, the man who murdered 3,000+ Americans on 9/11 is dead. Muammar Khaddafi, the man who blew 300+ Americans out of the sky is dead. More al Qaeda terrorists were taken out under just Obama’s first three years than during the entire 8 years of Bush’s “War on Terrorism,” where we somehow managed to wind up in Iraq; a country that offered asylum to zero terrorists. ‘Nuff said.
7) Obama has taken sides with the Arabs against Israel.
FACT: “I think that from my point of view as defense minister they (American/Israeli relations) are extremely good, extremely deep and profound. I can see long years, um, administrations of both sides of political aisle deeply supporting the state of Israel and I believe that reflects a profound feeling among the American people. But I should tell you honestly that this administration under President Obama is doing in regard to our security more than anything that I can remember in the past. In terms of the support for our security, the cooperation of our intelligence, the sharing of sorts in a very open way even when there are differences which are not simple sometimes, I’ve found their support for our defense very stable.” ~ Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel
But what would he know?
8) America is less safe under Obama than ever before.FACT:
3,000 Americans killed by al Qaeda on 9/11, when George W. Bush was president. Zero successful al Qaeda attacks on America under Obama. Do the math.
9) Benghazi is Obama’s 9/11.
FACT: There were 13 attacks on American embassies during the Bush years, resulting in some 100 deaths. But Fox News and their reich-wing cohorts has never mentioned them. Benghazi is something that happened to us, not something the administration did. I’m sorry you haven’t gotten the memo, but Benghazi is just another Fox non-story. Same with the IRS “scandal.”
10) ObamaCare is Obama’s 9/11.
See #9.
11) Sandy Hook was Obama’s 9/11.
See a shrink.
12) Solyndra!
FACT: Solyndra was a $500 million loan that didn’t pay off. How much is $500 million? That’s how much the Bush administration spent every 18 hours on the Iraq War for five years – an expense no Republican ever complains about. And what was our reward? 4,500 Americans killed, at least 100,000 Iraqis killed, another 2 million Iraqis driven from their homes, the emergence of the Shia awakening, and our reputation in a shambles. Thanks Republicans. And you’re upset about half a billion spent on Solyndra.
13) Iraq is falling to al Qaeda due to Obama’s policies.
FACT: Had we not invaded Iraq in the first place, a war Obama opposed 12 years ago, we wouldn’t be seeing Falluja falling to al Qaeda. And who was it that wrote the timetable for our Iraq exit two years ago? Oh, yeah; the Bush administration. You might just as well blame Obama for Bush’s recession. Oh, wait — you do that too!
14) Obama’s policies are anti-business.
FACT: The Dow Jones when Clinton entered office in January 1993 was at 3,300. When he left office in January 2001: 10,662. Dow Jones when Bush left office in January 2009: 9,034. Dow Jones today: 16,437. The Dow has more than doubled in just the first five years of the Obama administration. Yes…. Businessmen just hate that.
15) Obama’s policies have resulted in massive unemployment.
FACT: When George W. Bush stumbled into office in January 2001, he inherited a 4.3% unemployment rate from Bill Clinton. When he left office 8 years later, the unemployment rate was 9.7% and rising fast. As of today, that number is 6.7%, no thanks to the Republicans in Congress who’ve done everything within their power to sabotage the recovery.
During the eight years under George W. Bush, his policies created just 1 million jobs (with another 2 million in the military). Since Barack Obama was sworn in five years ago, 7.6 million jobs have been created, and there are still three years left in his term. So, nice try.
16) Fast & Furious.
FACT: Another poorly conceived program left over from the Bush administration that the GOP is trying to pin on Obama. Move along.
17) Liberals always try to deflect from Obama’s record by bringing up Bush.
FACT: Wrong-o, Bozo. We just like to rub your noses in your hypocrisy. By intentionally ignoring, or even lying about Bush’s record and focusing instead on the above Fox News lies, you’ve liberated yourselves once again from those pesky facts. So it’s become incumbent upon us to set the record straight. To the contrary, conservatives are always trying to deflect from the failures of the Bush years by telling the aforementioned lies.
18) The deficit has skyrocketed under Obama.
FACT: The budget was balanced when Clinton left office in 2001 (in fact, he left Dubbya with a $300,000,000,000 surplus).
Eight years later, Bush left Obama with a $1,413,000,000,000 deficit and a 9.8% deficit/GDP ratio. Most of which was due to Bush’s deficit-spending on the Iraq War, Medicare Part D and the two tax cuts that largely went to the wealthy.
“Remember what Reagan taught us. Deficits don’t matter.” ~ Dick Cheney.
Since Obama’s election:
2010 — $1,294,000,000,000 8.7% deficit/GDP
2011 — $1,300,000,000,000 8.4% deficit/GDP
2012 — $1,087,000,000,000 6.8% deficit/GDP
2013 — $680,000,000,000 4.1% deficit/GDP
2014 — $560,000,000,000 3.3% deficit/GDP
See a pattern developing? Furthermore, the United States is now producing more oil than we import. Our overall trade deficit is at a four year low, as imported oil continues to decline. GM, Ford and Chrysler are all chugging along nicely, no thanks to a unified Republican/Teabigot party, who were eager to sacrifice 2 million American jobs on their altar of Obama Derangement Syndrome.
The trade gap has fallen 12.9% to $34.3 billion as Obama’s policies have made American products and services more available abroad, while Americans are increasingly buying more domestic products. The trade imbalance is now lower than at any time since the beginning of the recession, and the offshoring of American jobs has (finally) slowed to a trickle.
Our trade gap with China is down 6.7% (largely based on their taste for American cars — see above), our trade gap with Japan is down 8.4% and our trade gap with the European Union has dropped a whopping 29.4%.
Are things perfect? No. There’s still much to be done. But the rumors of Barack Obama’s “failures” have been greatly exaggerated, and it’s time to call these talking points what they are… lies. This president will go down in history as a man who achieved some amazing accomplishments, especially considering the unified opposition he’s had to endure since Day One.
So there you have it Fox News “patriots,” all your talking points shot to hell in one FACT-based document. How do you like them apples?
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