The Looney Tunes American Congress is still at it, but they say compromise is coming. I sure hope so because I don't know about you, but I am sick of this debt ceiling thing.
Here's a Sunday video to make you smile, in spite of the fact that the world is going to hell in a handcart. Enjoy the day and live in the moment. It's all we have
I had an email tonight from Congressman Rush Holt. I'm one of his constituents and he wanted to let me know the latest on the debt ceiling gridlock in Congress. Like many others I've been calling and emailing his office and making my voice heard. Rush Holt is one hard-working, smart, honest guy who takes his job seriously. Here is some of what he had to say in his email: to constituents tonight.
"This is an unnecessary, artificial crisis. It is not the result of a
natural disaster or terrorist attack. It is solely the result of
Republicans in Congress holding America hostage. They are threatening a
crisis unless Congress enacts their extreme, ideological agenda – an
agenda that demands hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare
and Social Security, all while protecting tax loopholes for oil
companies, corporate jet owners, and billionaires.
What is especially troubling is Congress has now
wasted weeks in these hostage negotiations instead of doing the real,
difficult work required in this economy: putting people back to work.
Solving the jobs crisis would do far more to reduce our nation’s deficit
than any plan now pending in Congress. In fact, the long-term deficit
would improve dramatically if we simply ended the Bush tax cuts for the
very wealthy and Big Oil. Removing the Bush tax cuts would do more to
reduce the deficit than Speaker Boehner’s bill.
To those who insist that, by refusing to allow
America to pay its bills, they can teach the nation a lesson, I ask this
question: would you teach yourself a lesson by refusing to pay your
credit card bill?
The moment has long since passed to end this
self-induced crisis. Let’s raise the debt limit and move on to the real
work of rebuilding the American economy."
How sane. How sensible. And what a contrast to the political circus that is going on in Washington this week-end. . For more sane commentary on the debt ceiling crisis check out the video below. Aren't I lucky to have such a great guy representing me in Congress?
According to the person who posted this in a group I belong to, it's a golden oldie from the turn of the 21st century. If so, it just goes to show you that some things never change. To wit: Corporations and the old appearance/reality syndrome.
Appearances are everything and reality is a moveable feast. Isn't that funny? hahahahaha NOT!!!
Keep cool everybody and while you're at it, you might as well have a laugh. Found this and some other great heatwave theme political cartoons on The Political Carnival. Go have a look .
Friday was a busy day for both Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. My hunch is that Murdoch finally realized just how much trouble he was in and changed course from " how dare you" to " I'm sorry", taking out full page ads in newspapers all over the UK to issue a formal mea culpa. The ad said in part:
"I realise that simply apologising is not enough. Our business was founded on the idea that a free and open press should be a positive force in society. We need to live up to this.
Oh, how the mighty are fallen. It is nice to see Rupert writhe, but I am not buying it. Edelman does good work, but the last thing Murdoch is, is "sorry"
Follow the Money
News Corp is an American corporation, registered in Delaware. It can be prosecuted under United States law. Furthermore, Murdoch is the owner of Fox News,Twentieth Century Fox, Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post among many other things here in the USA. The extent of his political and financial power is only beginning to be seen.
News Corp. is “well into the upper echelon of entities” trying to influence the federal government, says Dave Levinthal, editor of OpenSecrets.org, a Web site that catalogues special interest spending. Its biggest weapon? Lobbying, by far. The company has dispensed more than $42 million since 2001 ..."
and some details from the same source
The vast majority of Murdoch's money, however, goes to Republican candidates and causes. In 2010, as the GOP was trying to retake the House, Senate and several state houses, News. Corp. donated an eye-popping $1.25 million to the Republican Governors Association and $1 million to the Chamber of Commerce.
The move angered some shareholders, who demanded more transparency from the company. As the News of the World imbroglio grows, more attention is being paid to that second seven-figure gift because the chamber has been advocating for reforming Foreign Corrupt Practices Act—the very law the Justice Department could use to pursue News Corp. executives for the phone hacking scandal.
No forgiveness for Rupert in sight.. He is going down. He's sacrificing the people closest to him as well as a couple of profitable businesses in a last ditch effort to save his image., but now he has NewsCorp shareholders, Scotland Yard, and the FBI on his case. I'm betting his next sacrifice will be his son-- hmmmm maybe he really does think he's God after all.
Mea culpa, my foot. Rupert Murdoch is as full of hubris as ever and THAT, as the ancient Greeks knew, will be his downfall.
I'm not much on apocalyptic visions, the Book of Revelations or even the prophecies of Nostradamus. And maybe calling Rupert Murdoch the Anti-Christ is a bit much, but his downfall has been a long time coming and nobody could be happier than I to see the House of Murdoch begin to fall. I'm thinking that this is just the beginning and I am definitely licking my chops. I've watched the shameful shenanigans of Fox News for years and I was sick when Murdoch acquired The Wall Street Journal after what I watched him to to The New York Post. You would be amazed at what that man owns and the media power he wields world-wide.
Shutting down The News of the World and jettisoning the Skye TV deal in the UK are Murdoch;s attempts to stave off the inevitable, but I have a feeling that as Scotland Yard's full scale investigation proceeds and the real scope of Murdoch's power becomes obvious, outrage is going to grow around the world.
The Brits have a thing about fair play ( all that stuff about the Battle of Waterloo being won on the playing fields of Eton dontchaknow) and they are on a roll now. We yanks are less about " how you play the game". We think winning is the only thing and we don't like losers. On the other hand, we don't like cheaters either so now that Several U.S. Senators, including New Jersey's Menendez are howling for an investigation into Murdoch's States-side activities, particularly those relating to bereaved 9/11 families, things are going to get interesting in the USA too. The FBI is nosing around this one too.,
The Tea Party types who worship at the Fox News shrine are already making excuses for Murdoch. But even they are going to be shocked at how they have been duped. Like they used to say on the streets of , Brooklyn " Fish stinks from the head" and Rupert Murdoch has instituted a corporate culture of secrets and lies along with a total disregard for the rights of the little guy that I think will insure his downfall....and who knows, maybe he really is the Anti-Christ after all. That will definitely surprise the worshippers at the Fox News shrine.
Lets take a closer look at MIchelle Bachmann's professional and educational credentials, shall we? Personally, I was wondering how an educated woman with a law degree and experience as a self described " tax litigation attorney" could have such a tenuous grasp on American history that she confuses Concord, New Hampshire with Concord, Massachusetts and tells New Hampshire residents in a speech she is proud to be where " the shot heard round the world" was heard.
Wonder where she thinks the original Bostion Tea Party took place? We know that she has trouble telling movie star, John Wayne, and mass murderer, John Wayne Gacy, apart as well. Oh those pesky historical details just get in the way when you are building your brand, don't they?
So, let's take a closer look at that education she is so proud of. Bachmann received her B.A. degree from small but respectable Winona State University in Wisconsin-- a decent school but not a place where she was apt to encounter anyone with opinions and experiences different from her own.
She got her law degree from Oral Roberts University, which is a horse of a different color. ORU is a Christian University with iffy accreditation founded in 1963 by Televangelist Oral Roberts. Just in case you are not familiar with Oral Roberts University, here is a quote from Wikipedia's history of the place to give you an idea of the academic tone.
"According to the university it was founded by Oral Roberts in 1963 "as a result of the evangelist Oral Roberts’ obeying God’s mandate to build a university on God’s authority and the Holy Spirit.
God’s commission to Oral Roberts was to 'Raise up your students to hear
My voice, to go where My light is dim, where My voice is heard small,
and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the
earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well pleased'."[12] The first students enrolled in 1965.
The school was accredited in 1971 by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.[13] It is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada.[14] Oral Roberts' son Richard Roberts
was named president in 1993. In October 2007 Roberts took a leave of
absence, citing a lawsuit filed by former ORU professors. Tulsa
evangelist Billy Joe Daugherty and Oral Roberts
were named executive regent and interim president of the university
amid a widely publicized scandal and Richard Roberts resigned the
following month.In October 2007 the school was reportedly "struggling financially" with over $50 million in debt.[15]
ORU's operating budget for 2007-2008 was more than $82 million.
However, in the second quarter of 2009, the university's debt was
reduced to $720,000 as of result of a number of simultaneous efforts
including a $70 million gift from the Green family of Oklahoma City and the $25 Million Dollar Matching Campaign, a part of the university's Renewing the Vision effort.[16]
On September 23, 2009, it was announced at the end of the university's
chapel service that all of the university's long-term debt obligations
had been met and the school was debt-free.[17]In January 2009, the university's presidential search committee
recommended Dr. Mark Rutland, President of Southeastern University in
Florida, to succeed Richard Roberts"
No wonder MIchelle Backmann thinks the Founding Fathers were all Evangelical Christians who were against slavery. I'm not surprised she can't tell New Hampshire from Massachusetts or a mass murderer from a movie star. She never studied real history. Her abilities to think critically and search for truth wherever it leads weree stunted by Oral Roberts University where creationism, faith and all that Christian Charisma trump reality every time.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson must be turning in their graves at the thought of La Bachmann being taken seriously as a presidential candidate. Both were children of the 18th Century Enlightenment and called themselves " Deists" rather than Christians-- believing in a higher power, but not in the divinity of Christ. Both men also owned slaves which they bequeathed as property to their descendants.
But never mind. Bachmann's mind is made up. Do not confuse her with the facts. Can the Republican Party REALLY be taking her seriously?
Whatever you think of Wikileaks, this video is marvelous, and a very clever fundraising appeal. It will give you a laugh, and if you believe in the cause, it will point you to where you can donate to help WikiLeaks fight the good fight. It seems that Julian Assange is not only Robin Hood and The Scarlet Pimpernel wrapped up on one, he is also an advertising genius, or else he knows who to hire.
Personally, though I applaud truth and transparency in principle, I am not always sure the revelations of WikiLeaks are useful in the long run. Yes, yes, I know that WikiLeaks contributed to the anger that sparked the Arab Spring. But it did not create that anger, it merely fanned the flames of a fire that was already burning. Many of the leaked documents that constitute " cablegate" amount to not much more than diplomatic gossip around the international water cooler.
Then, there is the fact that truth-telling can lead to a lot of collateral damage Brutal honesty is not always the best course of action and innocent people get caught in the cross-fire. Think of all those outed CIA agents. There is a time and a place for prevarication as well as transparency.
Plus there is something I can't put my finger on about Julian Assange that kind of creeps me out-- just a gut reaction. Call it women's intuition.
On the other hand, he is brilliant and ,on principle, I feel good about gadflys and rebellious geeks who bring down the pompous and powerful.
A Donation to WikiLeaks? not from me... but the WikiLeaks Mastercard spoof is definitely priceless.
Let's try to agree on how to slice up the birthday cake shall we? If we keep on bickering this way we are going to lose everything . As our President once said, " we are not red states or blue states, we are the United States of America"
We are all Americans. After the picnic and parade we need to sit down and talk to each other and try to find a way out of this mess. Pass the potato salad and have a grand and glorious fourth of July.
