Mad_Machine76
Mad_Machine76's JournalWe elect people to lead our country
not give everybody exactly everything that they may want. If that's the standard by which we hold our leaders, then nobody will ever be good enough. And if people like Cassidy are dissatisfied now, well, she should just wait and see how another 4-8 years of Republican (mis-)rule will make her feel.
Helpful
NOT!
Being "pro-life" has come to be exclusively associated with being anti-choice when it comes to abortion but if we're going to talk about being "pro-life", we should IMHO be also talking about other issues such as ensuring that people have health care, food, and shelter so that they can survive, the death penalty (which sometimes is WRONGLY imposed on some people) and war, particularly the morality of starting "elective wars" based on lies.
The discussion about what it means to be "pro-life" IMHO needs to be broadened beyond abortion.
1980, 1984, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2010 seem to be at the root of most of our current problems.
Can you guess the common denominator?
It may be presented as a solution to a tough problem
but it certainly is not fair for most people. Basically, Ryan's "Ayn Rand Budget 2" expects the 99% to do with less services, less efficient and more expensive medical coverage in their old age, and subsidize the 1% but, hey, if they want to hold that plan up as an example of what they want to do if given total power, then who am I to discourage them.
They're still staring blankly at that blank piece of paper
they insisted that President Obama and the Dems start over with prior to its final passage. They have no ideas for health care reform (or anything else). Now, whether or not people end up caring about that or not is anybody's guess but I imagine that once people realize that they'll be losing some of those new provisions, they might get a bit cranky. Whether that will be enough to get the Republicans to get off their butts and actually constructively work with Dems to come up with a new, better comprehensive reform plan is also anybody's guess. I guess we would just need to wait and see what happens. Of course, the corporate media has gotten away with helping the Republican Tea Party lie, distort, smear ACA this long, so, frankly, I'm not too confident that Republicans will be actually forced to confront the problem anytime soon.
P.S. I hate feeling cynical. I try to be more of an optimistic person generally.
Voting for Republican candidates
is pointless IMHO.
Anybody genuinely upset that President Obama didn't "do enough" really hasn't been paying attention and, to the extent that he's failed to get one thing or another done, they might want to check out exactly what has been going on in the Senate (and since 2011 the House).
Excellent question
There doesn't seem to be any reasonable restrictions when it comes to buying guns that aren't immediately denounced as profoundly dangerous to the 2nd Amendment RKBA but the same group of people don't have any problems with disrespecting the other Amendments to our Constitution and see nothing dangerous about big government forcing themselves into womens vaginas and people's bedrooms in general. And their concern about "big government" getting in between patients and their doctors hits the hypocrisy jackpot, particularly when they pass laws telling doctors what to do and what they can/can't tell their female patients about their pregnancies. Where is the AMA and other medical organizations when it comes to these kind of laws? Some of them loudly denounced ACA but seem noticeably silent about these other kinds of REAL intrusions on their practice of medicine.
I'd also like to know why Republicans think it's an abomination that the government can require people to purchase health insurance but then turn around and force women seeking a LEGAL abortion to have purchase a separate and totally UNNECESSARY medical procedure (i.e. ultrasound). I know that they probably have some convoluted logic to explain it but it just seems more than a tad hypocritical to me. The Republican Party and its supporters and allies are nothing if not a plethora of contradictions IMHO.
Good Question
My first thought would be fear of more gun control (i.e. repealing SYG laws) though the sequence of events seem to suggest that Zimmerman may not have acted in accordance with SYG. Whatever else comes out of an investigation of this matter, it seems that Zimmerman was intent on pursuing Martin for some reason and acted contrary to the advice provided by 911. I suspect that what right-wingers are really afraid of is that President Obama (and African-Americans in general) are looking for "payback" against whites and now, since President Obama was elected in 2008, they have the authority to exact it, whether that's in terms of repressing whites (using "government" to take away their "freedoms"
and/or demanding reparations (i.e. taking their money and giving it to undeserving minorities). I think that, ultimately, defending Zimmerman and smearing Martin and trying to eliminate any sympathy for him is more tribal- defending whites against minorities whom they believe are out to "get them". 
Thanks for the timely reminder
People on the left cheering for the demise of ACA better be careful about what they wish for. However well we might do in November, we will NOT get a progressive supermajority in Congress to pass single-payer. If the public opinion is really there for single-payer, then the public will have to get worked up enough about it to elect a progressive supermajority in Congress and a supportive POTUS. Otherwise, it just ain't happening anytime soon. Preserving and building on ACA is the way to go, particularly since the law will enable states to create their own systems as long as they meet or exceed the standards laid down by ACA. Being allowed to implement single payer systems at the state level first might be the best thing for creating momentum for single payer at the national level eventually.
Oopsie
They either thought that they could control the teabaggers or that they believed the teabaggers weren't as suicidal as they have shown themselves to be. Hopefully, what happened with the debt ceiling debacle (which undoubtedly harmed our economy/credit rating/deficit) should lay to rest any doubts about their destructive and idiosyncratic nature. They don't play well with others and are not lapdogs for the GOP "establishment" either, not that I have any sympathy for them because, after all, they pandered to them and helped advance them in order to achieve what now looks like a Pyrrhic victory.
Profile Information
Name: Mara Alis ButlerGender: Female
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Home country: USA
Current location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Member since: Sat Feb 28, 2004, 12:13 AM
Number of posts: 24,802