Why Aren’t Neo-Cons Calling for the Invasion of N. Korea?
Posted by Lance Haley in Conservatives, Dick Cheney, Fox News, Media & Communication, National Security, Republicans, Sarah Palin, War on Terror on July 28th, 2010
KIM JUNG IL
First they claimed Saddam Hussein was insane? And in the last year or so they were clamoring about how mad Ahmadinejad of Iran is, what with all of his Holocaust-denial crap (sounds like the “birther” movement, eh?).
But Kim Jung IL of North Korea is in a category all his own – this guy is simply crazier than a rat in a tin shithouse.
Weapons of Mass Destruction? Check.
Threat to U.S. National Security and World Peace? Check.
State sponsor of terrorism? Check.
Has all the trappings of another “Operation Iraqi Freedom” – you know, “Mission Accomplished“?
So where are those “drum beats for war“, and WTF is Dick Cheney, Sarah Palin, Fox News, and the rest of those sabre-rattling Neo-Cons doing sitting on their hands? They were wrong on Iraq. They keep talking about Iran. But in this case – we can call it “Operation N. Korea Freedom” – they even have a damn good chance at being right for a change! Or are they too scared to let Obama wag the dog ?
We’re waiting . . . . . . . . . . ?
Man, this silence is deafening.
Republican Mitch McConnell’s Twisted Logic on Taxes, Economics and Deficits
Posted by Lance Haley in 2010 Election, Budget, Budget & Deficit, Budget Deficit, Conservatives, Economics, Financial Crisis, Government, How and Why We Get Screwed, Logic & Reasoning, Politics, Republicans, Senate, economy on July 24th, 2010
PARALLEL UNIVERSE by Steve Hester
Remember how “vibrant” the economy was at the end of the Bush Era?
Recall that when Bush left office in January of 2009, the U.S. budget deficit was at an historical all-time high, roughly $1.3 Trillion .
So now Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claims that the Bush Tax Cuts “increased revenue, because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy.”
What an inexplicable disconnect between his statement and the foregoing facts regarding the economic collapse brought on by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, and the deficits a majority of Americans agree that Bush hung around Obama’s neck; deficits that were unprecedented in relation to previous Administrations. It’s patently obvious that McConnell operates from a parallel universe where the laws of basic math and logic don’t apply.
As Ezra Klein of the Washington Post so kindly put it, “it’s enough to make you very, very sad.”
What’s even more unbelievable is how McConnell and the Republicans attempt to blister Obama and the Democrats on taxes, spending and deficits, all while ignoring the most blatant evidence of what the Republicans did after inheriting Clinton’s budget surplus. To describe this behavior in terms of an hypocrisy is an understatement.
So now the country seems inclined to put these guys back in power?
That is utterly terrifying.
NOTE: the sublime painting by Steve Hester is an original watercolor for sale at this link.
Republicans’ Are Skimming Off Political Froth
Posted by Lance Haley in BP oil spill, Conservatives, Energy, Environment, Politics, Pollution, Republicans on July 20th, 2010
OIL SKIMMING BOAT
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow cohorts now claim President Obama did not act quickly enough in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. McConnell appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” this past Sunday, and based his assertions on the premise that a Republican President would have brought a multitude of oil skimmers into the Gulf much sooner.
As is typical with many Republicans, this Palin-like “common sense” retort to complex problems is far too simplistic when set against the facts.
Besides, you don’t just move hundreds of oil-skimmers away from other critical areas – like harbors and ports – where ships and oil depot facilities routinely spill untold amounts of oil into the waters, having the potential to create smaller-scale environmental disasters. Furthermore, how do they think – well actually, they obviously don’t – they could transfer hundreds of the smaller skimmers from, for instance, California to the Gulf of Mexico? Would they sail in the treacherous waters down the Pacific coast of Central America and through the Panama Canal in such small watercraft?
Not if their asses were on the line.
Are Republicans really interested in fixing this country’s problems?
Then first start by skimming all the political B.S. off your claims.
BP Takes Integrity Test: Grade = F
Posted by Lance Haley in BP oil spill, Energy, Environment, Oil, Pollution on July 15th, 2010
So BP is going to commence with a procedure to test the integrity of a new system installed on that broken well that they have promised numerous times to fix over the past 80+ days now.
Talk about testing integrity? Look at this long list of their previous blunders.
Think about it. An Integrity Test and BP. Is this engineering lingo or a public relations gambit? Who inside BP would even consider putting the words “Integrity” and “Test” and “BP” all in one sentence. After all, it’s a classic oxymoron - a contradiction in terms.
BP’s integrity has already been tested numerous times. They flunked.
Meanwhile, the United States is being executed by its own energy policy.
AND WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELVES.
Tin Man Had Heart Surgery?
Posted by Lance Haley in Conservatives, Dick Cheney, Humor on July 14th, 2010
“IF I ONLY HAD A HEART . . . “
Native Americans Cannot Return to America?
Posted by Lance Haley in Cultural Issues on July 13th, 2010
“All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced [back] to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.”
- Pat Paulsen (comedian, satirist and Presidential candidate 1968-1996)
So most White Americans oppose illegal immigration?
The Native American Indians really screwed up when they let the White Man set foot on their continent – and the rest, as they say, is history. Revisionist history, if you read the tidily scrubbed Anglo-Saxon school books. You know, Manifest Destiny, The White Man’s Burden, and all of those other inane Christian rationalizations for why it was God’s divine plan for the White Man to conquer North America, and take the continent away from Native Americans.
Gives a whole new meaning to the term “white washed”.
Now the Iroquois Indian Lacrosse Team – ranked fourth in the world – cannot even leave their own continent in order to compete in the sports World Championship tournament beginning this week. Why? Because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will not officially recognize the Iroquois Nation as a sovereign entity for purposes of carrying their own passports. When the U.S. State Department offered to secure expedited U.S. passports for these “foreigners”, they respectfully declined; as one spokesperson for the tribe said so poignantly:
“It would be like saying the Canadians are having travel difficulties and the U.S. says we’ll make you U.S. passports and you can go over.”
For now, the team is stuck in a bureaucratic limbo in New York City, while awaiting a decision on whether they will be “allowed back into the United States” – you know, that land we stole from their ancestors - upon their return from playing in the lacrosse tournament scheduled to commence tomorrow in England.
Can you imagine the outrage if Mexico started telling U.S. citizens that they would not officially recognize a U.S. passport when trying to leave Cancun? But they will give you a Mexican passport so you can continue on your way.
“This land is your land. This land is my land” . . .
Someone needs to strike one of those lines from Woody Gutherie’s lyrics.
Wellpoint Health Insurance is in Danger of Not Being Competitive?
Posted by Lance Haley in Business and Money, Economics, Health Insurance Industry, Healthcare Reform on June 30th, 2010
Could have fooled me.
According to a business website sponsored by the state of Indiana - the home state of Wellpoint Health - the company is going to suffer an 11% decline in revenue this year as a result of widespread unemployment in the U.S., which causes the company to lose enrollment in it’s health insurance programs. As a result, Wellpoint has no choice but to increase health insurance rates since there are less people participating in it’s risk pools.
So what’s a company to do? For starters, raise medical insurance rates by 20% in California. That should bring things back in line.
After all, compensation in 2009 for Chief Executive Angela F. Braly rose to $13.1million, a 51% increase from the previous year, according to a company filing.
Ever consider the correlation between her 50% rise in annual salary and the $150,000 the company had to spend in 2009 for her personal security? Did the fact that this is public information even occur to the company lackeys before they claimed that Wellpoint needs substantial rate increases in order to stay competitive? And stay competitive in what? Corporate America CEO salaries?
$6.5 Million would have bought a lot of health care for your customers, Angela. You best be paying your security guards a competitive wage to stay on their toes, and watch out for those crazy unemployed, skin cancer-ridden bald guys you stopped treating because they failed to report they had a pre-existing acne condition years ago. Now they are all cranked up on painkillers, with nothing left to lose, and probably driving around your neighborhood tonight. And they are some pissed-off, mean looking dudes.
Hope you sleep well tonight Angela.
Sweet Dreams!
When Human Laws Trump “God’s” Laws
Posted by Lance Haley in Catholic Church, Cultural Issues, Ethics, Legal & Justice, Morality, Pedophilia, Religion, Religion & Spirituality, Sex & Sexuality, Sexual Deviancy, The Pope on June 30th, 2010
GRIM REAPER TAKES VATICAN TO COURT
How in God’s name did The Vatican ever get sovereign status?
Oh, that’s right, they got it in God’s name.
Then on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court was silent on The Vatican claim that is was entitled to hide behind the shield of immunity, allowing a Federal Appellate Court’s ruling against the Church to stand. Finally, their day of legal reckoning is near at hand.
As we like to say here in America, “See you in court, Pope.”
Oh, and Hell is not too far behind.
Remember: Bring your own ice.
Come On In, the Water’s Nice and . . .
Posted by Lance Haley in 2010 Election, BP oil spill, Conservatives, Energy, Environment, Government, Oil, Pollution, Sarah Palin on June 29th, 2010
WTF?!?
For all you people who supported Sarah Palin’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” policy, and are now living on ocean-front property along the Gulf Coast or the Atlantic Seaboard – what’s that old saying regarding the three things that determine the value of real estate?
“Location, Location and Location.”
Damn that nasty little Law of Unintended Consequences!?!
NOTE: the above graphic simulation (and it is graphic) projects where the Gulf Stream current will carry the oil slick over time based on an experimental placement of dye in the Gulf waters, measured over a two month period. [graphic courtesy of NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]
Bernie Madoff: “Fu@K My Victims”
Posted by Lance Haley in Business and Money, Capitalism, Cultural Issues, Ethics, Morality, Wealth Disparity & the Ultra Rich, financial industry on June 21st, 2010
”FUCK MY VICTIMS”
So after leaving thousands of trusting clients broke and devastated, Madoff adds insult to injury by telling a fellow inmate while incarcerated at the MCC [the New York city jail] that this crime was not all of his own making, and that he felt unfairly caught up in it.
He even went so far as to tell a prison consultant which he had hired that ”People kept throwing money at me. Some guy wanted to invest, and if I said no, the guy said, ‘What, I’m not good enough’?” Poor Bernie did not want to insult the guy – so he “Made Off” with his money.
But his final comment speaks volumes:
“ FUCK my victims. I carried them for 20 years, and now I’m doing 150 years.”