June 7, 2015

Mitch McConnell the Perpetual Asshole

Don't tell me U.S. Senators deserve respect when they are the low life of Congress. If there was a barrel, the downside would have to be bottomless to accommodate Mitch McConnell. He doesn't represent the state of Kentucky--actually they should be ashamed of him--he represents the legions of hate. This misanthropy started the day after Barack Obama was elected President as McConnell said, “When I first came into office my number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president." How can you hate someone like this so quick, and after he had just won a landslide election against Republican favorite John McCain?

I have heard similar responses from other conservatives across the country who have commented on my posts. I've said it before and I'll say it again...it sounds downright racist. Obama put forth an agenda that, although not as ambitious, was not too dissimilar to that of Bill Clinton but the latter wasn't vilified by the conservative right nor by Congress, at least in the manner McConnell has Obama.

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said last Thursday that he doesn’t expect to confirm any of Obama’s circuit court nominees for the remainder of his time in office." Why? Is it because the Dems did the same thing to Geo. W. Bush at the end of his second term? Hell no! Here is the contrast as reported by Steve Benen of MSNBC:

At this point in 2007, in the seventh year of the Bush/Cheney presidency, soon after Democrats took the Senate majority for the first time in several years, the Democratic majority had already confirmed 18 of Bush’s court nominees. Senate Democrats confirmed 68 of Bush’s judicial nominees in the final two years of the Republican administration.

I would be happy to revise this post if Mitch McConnell would go public and explain his hatred for Obama.

Nasty Jack

June 6, 2015

Republican Voters Want to Keep Grabbing the Wealth

Economic inequality, which includes income inequality, has been growing at a rapid pace in the last few years making the middle class and the poor the losers. The only ones to reap rewards are the wealthy...that despised 1%. But a new Pew Research study says the Republicans/conservatives like that just fine and want to leave it that way. In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll this question was asked:

“Do you think the federal government should or should not pursue policies that try to reduce the gap between wealthy and less well-off Americans?”

The results shouldn't surprise Progressives but it should shame conservatives. Republicans don't want to do anything about it and white evangelical Protestants are evenly split on the issue. In reverse, Democrats and Independents support efforts to address the wealth gap and 62% of all American adults believe the government should try to reduce the huge chasm. With only 31% believing otherwise, that’s a 2-to-1 advantage.

Add to this the fact that a majority of Americans regardless of race support actions to reduce the wealth gap, as well as by age, gender, level of education, household income and geographic region. What we have is a broad consensus that this is an issue worthy of national action.

This 62% figure, which includes Progressives and Independents, leads me to the conclusion that a recent post of mine, "Hail-Hail...Conservatism is Declining," predicts the future of American politics.

June 6, 2015

Arizona Stupid Laws Just Get Stupider-Doctors Have to Sue

The Arizona legislature is capable of passing the most brainless laws of any state in the country, evidenced by the loose gun laws this state has. All it takes is a warm body to buy a handgun and then walk right in a bar and buy a drink. But Cathi Herrod, pictured, is responsible for some of the worst on the books, like the latest, a law that requires abortion providers to tell patients that it is possible to reverse a medication abortion. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, argue there is no "credible, medically accepted evidence" that a medication abortion can be reversed. But this dumb bunch of wingnuts in the Arizona legislature let this radical fruitcake, Herrod, convince them to pass the bill.

Scottsdale physician Julie Kwatra, the legislative chairwoman for the Arizona section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the law violates doctors' ethics and is harmful to the doctor-patient relationship. Arizona Republic Opinions states:

"The law at question requires doctors to tell patients they can reverse a medical abortion by quickly taking high doses of progesterone. There are no studies supporting this view, just anecdotes and the belief of anti-abortion advocates. Other doctors say they've seen the abortion pill fail when a woman doesn't take the second dose."

And...

"This is a case where the state's response should be:Yeah, you're right, the Legislature was wrong. It won't be, of course, because lawyers are paid to make the best argument possible, even when they have nothing."

When will the people of Arizona who vote for these blockheads wake up and realize they are ruining our state?

June 6, 2015

Fox News is Light on Substance but Heavy on Legs

Female news anchors from the "real" network stations like ABC, CBS and NBC are usually positioned conventionally behind a desk, not to necessarily hide their legs but to prevent anything like a potential crotch shot. That's what we called it when I worked in TV in the 50s and 60s. As I told someone recently, there were no female news people in those days and once when I tried to audition a gal at the station where I worked in Memphis they almost rode me out of the studio on the rails. But that has all changed as you can see in the featured picture. Fox News has taken the art of dress and leg manipulation to a new high. Brian Kilmeade of the Faux News network said:

"To be a female anchor on Fox News, the only qualifications is to look like you’re coming from the Victoria’s Secret catalog, and be able to speak."

This coming from an insider who said "be able to speak," but did not add 'be able to think.' It's bad enough that the network's news is mostly inaccurate but when they lower themselves to relying on legs and boobs to get the viewer's attention, it just shows what a pathetic organization they are.

And then we have Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Ann Curry, Jane Pauley, Joan Lunden, Erin Burnett, Connie Chung and Jessica Savitch, just to show there are legitimate female anchors out there.

I can truthfully say that I have never watched a Fox News presentation and after writing this piece I never will.

Nasty Jack

June 5, 2015

Money Should be Drummed Out of Politics

"We have all seen how the influx of big money distorts our agenda, limits competition, and undermines democracy. With Fair Elections, the power rests with voters, not special interests.” This was said by former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley who now chairs Americans for Campaign Reform. One only needs to mention the Koch Bros. to confirm how money is buying GOP elections today. Their budget for 2016 is $889 million. But Democrats are doing the same thing and in a Politico piece they were accusing Republicans in 2014 when in fact they actually finished ahead among the biggest donors. George Soros is a billionaire liberal but OpenSecrets.org says:

"When it comes to the combination of institutional lobbying, 527 group donations and PAC expenditures, Koch Industries far out-spends Soros’ hedge fund and think tank, $57.4 million to $12.8 million. Most of this money is attributable to lobbying expenditures."

Enter Bernie Sanders who calls big money a wholesale purchase of political power. In May he called for “a political revolution” against “the billionaire class.” He has vowed never to accept PAC money and The Guardian reports:

“For the last 30 years I’ve been standing up for the working families of this country,” he said, “and I think I’m the only candidate who’s prepared to take on the billionaire class which now controls our economy and increasingly controls the political life of this country."

MSNBC says the "2016 presidential election will be defined by big money more than any other in recent history." Won't it be dramatic when this little-known candidate who has these radical views on giving the country back to the people, snubbing his nose all along at the mega bucks is elected? Everyone will know who Bernie Sanders is then.

Nasty Jack

June 5, 2015

Did the Duggars Play the Statute of Limitations Game?

Did the statute of limitations in Arkansas naturally expire on Josh Duggar's molestations or were they negligently misinterpreted for the sake of the Duggar family? It's bad enough this guy molested four of his sisters, one age 5, and a friend, but it is something else if the Duggar family intentionally delayed reporting the acts and law enforcement incompetence created further delays. One attorney, Marci A. Hamilton, a professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law says, she interprets Arkansas law as being seven years from time of the incident when the molestation affects a minor, rather than the normal three. She continued, that was even allowed to expire by the Duggars and Arkansas law enforcement, meaning “it’s over.” No one can explain why charges were not pursued following the forwarding of the police report to the juvenile prosecutor.

The Duggars are very politically connected, as I pointed out in an earlier post. Politico reported on this at about the same time the end of May. GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee leads the pack in supporting the Duggars with his wife, Janet, very close behind, as do many other Republicans in the running. Arkansas police destroyed the records of Josh Duggar's nearly decade-old molestation case on the order of Judge Stacey Zimmerman; the judge refused to comment on these actions. Media outlets that knew about this at the time included the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the then on the air, "Oprah Winfrey Show." Still, nothing was done.

The family, law enforcement and the media remained silent while these children were being traumatized by a depraved Josh Duggar.

Nasy Jack

June 5, 2015

Here Are the Facts on Pot-You Decide

CNN asks whether marijuana is as safe or safer than alcohol. One of the headlines surrounding this headline is "High Profits" an indication of the exceptional revenue for states that have legalized it, particularly for recreational use. But this article is all about the medical benefits or disadvantages and there are a lot. As an opening, Pres. Obama said, "I don't think it is more dangerous than alcohol." That might do it for the Progressives but not for the conservative right. Anyway, here are the facts:

Alcohol is the most commonly used addictive substance in the United States.
Pot use is limited due to its designation as a Schedule 1 substance, the same category as heroin, LSD and Ecstasy, and also due to its illegal nature in most states.
The addiction of alcohol is proven with approximately 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults suffering from abuse.
Marijuana's addictive qualities are not yet fully understood, but estimates say 9% of people who use marijuana will become addicted to it.
Drunk drivers kill one person and injure 20 every hour.
The pot smoker effects while driving results--a slight impact on the psychomotor skills--are still questionable since most of the studies are lab tests.

There's more in this comprehensive article, such as how alcohol and marijuana affect your appetite and weight gain, how it can help or hinder the sexual drive and lower your inhibitions to the point you neglect safe sex, and what the long-term health risks are for each. The absolute downside is some 88,000 Americans die each year because of excessive alcohol use. Again the marijuana facts are limited on deaths but one study found pot users have a 4.8-fold increase in risk of a heart attack during the first hour after smoking because of the drug's effect on your heart rate.

But what do you want to bet it eventually comes down to the increased state income on the sale of pot. Legal marijuana state revenue (medicinal/recreational) in Colorado generated $63 million in 2014 tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees on $700 million in sales. Sales are expected to be $1 billion by 2016.

Nasty Jack

June 5, 2015

Fox News Decides to Help Duggar Family Sugar Coat Son's Molestation

I watched part of the Fox News interview on CNN with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. It was hard for Anderson Cooper and his two guests to keep from hurling all over the set. The headline on PoliticusUSA last Saturday was, "Fox Hits A Deplorable Low By Giving The Duggars A Platform To Explain Away Child Molestation." When you combine this degenerate family with Fox News, you know you won't get the true story but you don't expect to get the unbridled presentation of an obviously guilty family trying to say they aren't. Michelle Duggar said they were worried they had failed as parents with a straight face. Continuing:

"Here we've tried to raise our kids to do what's right, to know what's right, and yet one of our children made some really bad choices and I think, as a parent, we were just, we were devastated," she told Megyn Kelly.

This woman is living in a delusional, fanatical, religious dream world if she thinks Josh Duggar just made "bad choices." Even "really" bad choices. A bad choice is when you put spiders in your sister's bed, not get in that bed with her and fondle her breasts and vagina. He even did this to his five-year-old sister. There is also some alignment of this family with Republicans running for President between both Jim Bob and Josh.

It is known that Josh was doing this for years, which included a family friend as well as his four sisters, reported it to his father at least three times, with the results that no action was taken and the statute of limitations was allowed to run out. An attorney on CNN indicated there might be some later episodes that still could be charged against Josh, perhaps including the father and mother.

The Duggar's TLC hit show "19 Kids and Counting" has been pulled from the air until further notice. There should be some way to get these culprits out of the normal population.

Later news.

Nasty Jack

June 5, 2015

Where will Elizabeth Warren's Support Go?

The groups behind the six months effort to draft Elizabeth Warren for President have folded their tent. The “Run Warren Run” campaign backed by Democracy for America (DFA) and MoveOn.org have decided to suspend efforts. The question arises, since Warren is definitely a Progressive, will these two organizations shift their support to Bernie Sanders? DFA endorsed him for the Senate in Vermont in 2006. MoveOn.org is being urged to back him after exiting Warren. However, DFA Executive Director Charles Chamberlain said, “We still think there’s plenty of time for Sen. Warren to change her mind,” and indicated they would stick with Warren for now. MoveOn has been looking at petitions to back Sen. Sanders for some time. Here's a map reflecting primary schedules for 2016, with seven months to go in 2015. It would seem that if Warren secretly harbors any plans to run, she would want to make that decision by the end of the month but stranger things have happened in politics. DFA and MoveOn may be reluctant to back a dark horse like Bernie Sanders but before they decide not they should look at some of the crowds he is attracting at speaking engagements around the country.

Nasty Jack

June 4, 2015

Latest Update from Bernie Sanders: Iowa

Bernie Sanders is in Iowa and, although he hasn't gotten the national coverage he should, his team passes on road successes with his followers. Here they are:

Kensett, IA: "A mere 240 people live in the rural northeast Iowa town of Kensett, so when more than 300 crowded into the community center on Saturday night to hear Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, many driving 50 miles, the cellphones of Democratic leaders statewide began to buzz."

Ames, IA: "Mr. Sanders's stop at a brewery in Ames on Saturday was so mobbed that more than 100 people who could not fit inside peered through the [brewery] windows."

Muscatine, IA: "The next day, in Muscatine, Iowa, after a rally at a community college drew twice the expected audience of 50…"

Standing before a huge crowd in an unidentified location, the candidate said, “Be amazed at what you saw here. I want to win this.”

Nasty Jack