When Roger West first launched the progressive political blog "News From The Other Side" in May 2010, he could hardly have predicted the impact that his venture would have on the media and political debate. As the New Media emerged as a counterbalance to established media sources, Roger wrote his copious blogs about national politics, the tea party movement, mid-term elections, and the failings of the radical right to the vanguard of the New Media movement. Roger West's efforts as a leading blogger have tremendous reach. NFTOS has led the effort to bring accountability to mainstream media sources such as FOX NEWS, Breitbart's "Big Journalism.
Roger's breadth of experience, engaging style, and cultivation of loyal readership - over 92 million visitors - give him unique insight into the past, present, and future of the New Media and political rhetoric that exists in our society today.
What we are against:
Radical Right Wing Agendas
Incompetent Establishment
Donald J. Trump
Corporate Malfeasence
We are for:
Global and Econmoic Security
Social and Economic Justice
Media Accountability
THE RESISTANCE
POLL SHOWS GOP MOST UNPOPULAR SINCE THE GROUP BEGAN POLLING
The American Teahadists mission, suicide by politics, is not going so well - as the radical group has sunk to an all time low - with just a 28 percent favorable impression of them.
According to the latest monthly Gallup tracking poll. The number ” is the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking this question in 1992,” the polling company stated.
At this very moment, root canals, cockroaches, and genital herpes are more popular than the conservatives.
Rachel Maddow opened her show Wednesday night highlighting the GOP’s record low poll numbers in the midst of the government shutdown. And, as Maddow put it, things aren't going to get better anytime soon for them, because, as she put it, today their strategy “just collapsed.”
Maddow brought up the new spate of “denialism that the debt ceiling matters at all” and how Wall Street is now “freaking out” because they’re realizing some Republicans being okay with default means the U.S. could actually default. And that’s not good for anyone.
Alan Grayson the other day sought to bring a resolution declaring that the government shutdown had been a blight upon the dignity of the legislature, citing multiple polls that showed public opinions of Congress worse than toenail fungus, hemorrhoids, and zombies.
YOU ARE LESS POPULAR THAN DOG POOP
In yet another poll - The Public Policy Polling survey found that Americans prefer witches and hemorrhoids to Congress as a whole, according to USA Today.
Toenail fungus is 41 percent more popular than Congress. Dog shit beats legislators by 47 percent and jury duty is widely preferred by 73 percent. Forty seven percent of people polled would prefer a zombie apocalypse over the GOP lead House of Representatives.
Considering the number of polls of late, and the general disgust of conservatives - with the overwhelming numbers showing "very unfavorable" - how many more does it take before a critical mass of revolt occurs towards the conservative?
Maybe if this country had a modicum of tenability, this polling trend, this downward spiral, would lead the to the American Taliban tanking completely.
One would think that these polls would cause the Right Wing Nut Job to turn apoplectic.
As we have seen of late, voting has consequences, severe consequences.
What's the best way to prevent us from being held hostage every six weeks? Vote these RWNJ's who put us in this mess out of office. Democrats currently have a lead over Teahadists in 17 swing districts, and it just so happens that 17 seats is all the Democrats need to take back the house.
Has Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ever won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court?
Another attempted over reach by the Virginia American Taliban ended in failure - after the Supreme Court rejected Cuccinelli’s plea to overturn a lower court ruling finding the law unconstitutional.
Virginia’s state legislature tried to amend the law following the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling finding anti-sodomy laws unconstitutional. As a state senator, Cuccinelli opposed the state’s efforts, having said previously that ”homosexual acts” as “intrinsically wrong” and that “in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that.” The law barred “crimes against nature,” which included oral sex between consenting adults of any sexual orientation. The law carried a penalty of between one and five years in prison for sexual acts that the National Center on Health Statistics estimates nine out of ten Americans between the age of 25 and 44 engage in.
Cuccinelli was seeking to use the law to prosecute William McDonald, a middle-aged man, for soliciting oral sex from two young women who were 16 and 17 at the time. Because both teenagers were above Virginia’s age of consent when the incident occurred, McDonald could only be convicted of a misdemeanor. Had Cuccinelli supported changes to the law so that it wouldn't turn a majority of American adults into unprosecuted felons, it might have been able to use it to seek a harsher punishment for McDonald.
Still, getting shut down by the Supreme Court is the least of Cuccinelli’s current political problems. His bid to become Virginia’s governor has been hampered by Republicans shutting down the government, his association with current Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, who is under investigation over gifts received from a campaign donor, and by an ad campaign hammering Cuccinelli over his socially conservative views.According to recent polls, Cuccinelli now trails Democratic rival Terry McAuliffe, a man who once took rum shots on live television, by five points or more.
To this day, Cuccinelli has never stated whether he or any of his staff have committed “crimes against nature” under the now-defunct Virginia law.
That awkward moment when the 21st Century finally catches up with you, and you no longer have the right to play bedroom police.
So inflexible are the right wing extremists, constantly and rigidly refusing common sense updates to the law in favor of an all or nothing radical approach - which often reflects their personal obsessions with troglodyte like mentalities - where they always end up bearing the stink of a loser.
What is this preoccupation, this neuroses form pasty white republicans and their will to control grown adults personal and legal choices?
One can only wonder what other behaviors, practices and policies the Virginia's Attorney General - and for that fact other national right wing nut jobs might find unnatural. Perhaps interracial marriage or relationships, freed slaves, morality not based on religious doctrine, birth control, atheism, not carrying a concealed weapon in public? Who really knows what goes inside of the mind of these outdated vandals.
Jon Stewart took on the Obamacare fight Monday night, and while he did go after the “fucking nuts” conservatives, Stewart did have some choice words for the White House for all the bugs on the Obamacare website, even after three years of working on it.
Stewart brought up the “galaxy-destroying force known as Obamacare” and how despite the supposed tech-savviness of the Obama administration, the website isn't exactly working well.
Obamacare 'Incompetence,'Fucking Nuts
Regarding website errors - One might suggest - that even with our small media group, that certain topics generate high volume hits to out website, which has rendered it to not function at times, but to continue with this pathological diabolical scheme, to not know the facts, to skew facts, and to then attempt to crash not only our country, but the global market as well, for ideological outdated failed measures of the GOTP- is a group who finds themselves "un-tethered from reality".
The GOTP has long been un-tethered from the anchor of reality - ever flowing on a tide of bile. These domestic terrorists are prepared to swallow anything that echoes their prejudices, no matter how bloviated with ignorance their ideals are. They are the Fifth Column emitting ignorance of gloom and doom at every corner.
Many conservatives seem to live in an alternative universe, consuming content from only bullshit mountain, [Fox News] the news outlet that tells them only what they want to hear, ir-regaurdless of facts or truth. This meets the classic definition of tinfoil hat society, where everything not of their kind is slanted in their world view. Facts don't matter, data and science are rendered irrelevant and fear mongering is a daily activity for these "special patriots".
The American Taliban needs to accept the fact that America has changed in both the mix of its citizenry and the values of those citizens, and it is not changing back. Every generation brings a different perspective to the table and the beliefs of modern Americans are vastly different from those of Americans two generations ago, yet that is the era that the tinfoil hat society is still mired in.
Species become extinct when they are unable to adapt to an ever changing environment, and that is pretty much what is happening with the GOTP. If this radical party continues to stubbornly refuse to adapt to these changing times, especially as it relates to upholding the most basic principles of democracy - equality, then their days are numbered, and their prospects are dim.
Government shutdown. A GOTP timeline:
Oct 2008: "You'll never get elected and pass healthcare." Nov 2008: "We'll never let you pass healthcare." Jan 2009: "We're gonna shut you down every time you try to pass healthcare." July 2009: "We'll fight to death every attempt you make to pass healthcare." Dec 2009: "We will destroy you if you even consider passing healthcare." March 2010: "We can't believe you just passed healthcare." April 2010: "We are going to overturn healthcare." Sept 2010: "We are going to repeal healthcare." Jan 2011: "We are going to destroy healthcare." Feb 2012: "We're gonna elect a candidate who'll revoke healthcare NOW." June 2012: "We'll go to the Supreme Court, and they will overturn healthcare." June 2012: "We can't believe the Supreme Court just upheld healthcare." Aug 2012: "American people will never re-elect you-they don't want healthcare." Oct 2012: "We can't wait to win the election and explode healthcare." Nov 2012: "We can't believe you got re-elected & we can't repeal healthcare." Feb 2013: "We're still going to vote to obliterate healthcare." July 2013: "We're going to vote like 35 more times to erase healthcare." Sept 2013: "We are going to leverage a government shutdown into defunding, destroying, obliterating, overturning, repealing, dismantling, erasing and ripping apart healthcare." Oct 2013: "WHY AREN'T YOU NEGOTIATING???"
Breaking the debt limit may cost millions of Americans to lose their jobs and cause economic disaster world wide, but we can't say for sure because no one has ever been dumb enough to attempt it.
Dear SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force Units,
I'm being held hostage by radical GOP extremist and fundamentalists who are trying to destroy my Government and Economy. Send help!
This is because, in his view, “we need to have that moment where we realize we're going broke.” He firmly told the paper, “I’m not going to raise the debt ceiling.” He also characterized the current government shutdown as “the tremor before the tsunami.”
Few agree with Yoho that a failure to raise the debt ceiling, which would mean the United States government would not have adequate funds to pay for all of the debts it owes and would likely default on at least some, would be beneficial. Last week, the Treasury Department released a report that warned that a default could create “a recession more severe than any seen since the Great Depression.”
It came to this conclusion by looking at the consequences of the near default in 2011, which led to a sharp decline in consumer and business confidence, a hit to the financial markets, and a slow down in job growth. The impact on the financial markets from nearly defaulting on the debt and getting a first-ever downgrade on the debt from Standard & Poor’s “persisted for months.” The brinkmanship that time around also meant a $2.4 trillion drop in household wealth, an $800 billion drop in retirement assets, and a hit to mortgages. It increased the government’s borrowing costs by $1.3 billion.
This all happened even though the U.S. didn't actually default in 2011. If that were to happen, investors could become unwilling to lend to the country, leaving it with an immediate cash shortfall and creating unknowable (yet clearly devastating) ripple effects throughout the markets and the global economy.
Threatening to not raise the debt ceiling unless Republican demands are met is a relatively new tactic. Historically, the limit was routinely raised, including seven times under President George W. Bush, and even House Speaker John Boehner used to warn against using it as leverage.
Where does the tinfoil hat society come up this stuff? All this manufactured bullshit by these pseudo patriotic, these so-called Christian conservatives, whose real job is to spread dishonestly without integrity - full of lies and misinformation.
The long history of American anti-intellectualism is now complete. This idea to allow the country to default on its bills, would be just like getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick - and that somehow this sharp jab in the eye will improve your vision.
Yoho is definitely reaching for the lofty levels of stupid routinely attained by Steve King, Louie Gohmert, and Michele Bachmann. Why is it that stupid is the only thing that the universe provides us an infinite amount of?
For his final “New Rule” of the night Friday, Bill Maher
took a break from the gridlock of Washington to take a look at a larger problem
facing the rest of America. “It’s one thing to be a country that doesn't pay
it’s bills,” Maher explained. “It’s another thing to dress like one.
Maher invoked New York City’s famous “broken windows
theory,” which put an emphasis on fixing the little things to affect the bigger
problems, to explain why Americans dressing a bit more professionally and
appropriately could actually make us more successful and respected around the
world. He said for Americans to regain some semblance of “pride and common
purpose” they may have to “stop going to Target in pajama bottoms.”
“Maybe no one’s bothered to bring this to your attention,
people of America, so let me say it plainly here and now,” he said. “When you
leave your house, we can see you!” He rejected the idea that this problem “is
about poverty not fashion,” by showing that you can get a pair of jeans on
Walmart’s website for even less than you can buy “lounge wear” with the Duck
Dynasty logo emblazoned all over them.
Maher’s rant had echoes of controversial comments made by
CNN’s Don Lemon this summer about the African-American community, who he said
would earn more respect if they pull their pants up and dress less like
“thugs.” But unlike Lemon’s commentary, Maher’s focus was placed squarely on
white America.
Hey GOPer, which one of the photos in "people of Walmart" is you?
It really is a sad commentary on the state of the media and this country when "comedy" shows are the ones that do the real reporting.
The conservative party, its brand is dying, and they are happier than pigs in fecal matter because if they can't rule America, the next best thing to do is to ruin it.
These domestic terrorists have absolutely no idea what they are doing. This is just like the them - a pathetic pathological state of ignorance - like when the RNC exited Clint Eastwood off the stage after talking to an empty chair - and the GOP's initial reaction was "He totally nailed it!"
If the teahadists want to radicalize the country, then win the White House!
There's always something special about hot-mic incidents. Most political figures, by the time they've risen to a certain level of prominence, tend to be guarded, scripted, and careful to stay on-message. When there's a live microphone picking up their unvarnished comments, it offers the rest of us a peek behind the curtain.
A local Kentucky TV news station caught Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul Wednesday morning discussing some congressional Republican messaging strategy regarding the showdown with Democrats over the government shutdown.
Senator McConnell and Senator Paul show how the teahadists are playing a game with the American people, their lives, and the economy. To them it is just a matter of poll testing phrases, not governing honestly.
LOOSE LIPS SINKS SHIPS
"I just did CNN and I just go over and over again 'We're willing to compromise. We're willing to negotiate," Paul is seen on-camera telling McConnell, who is standing by for his own interview remote from D.C. "I don't think they (Democrats) poll tested 'we won't negotiate.' I think it's awful for them to say that over and over again."
"Yeah, I do too and I — and I just came back from that two hour meeting with them and that, and that was basically the same view privately as it was publicly," McConnell said back.
Paul continued, saying he believed Republicans are in a good position. "I think if we keep saying, 'We wanted to defund it (Obamacare), we fought for that' and that we're willing to compromise on this, I think... We're gonna win this, I think."
For their part, Democrats and President Barack Obama have maintained that any deal to end the current federal government shutdown cannot include any defunding or delaying of the implementation of "Obamacare."
The American Taliban is saying something publicly that they don’t believe privately. Publicly, the domestic terrorists are talking tough. Privately, they are desperate for a way out of the shutdown that allows them to claim some little symbolic or token victory.
Take the quote from [asshat] Congressman Marlin Stutzman, R-IN who said, “We’re not going to be disrespected… We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”
Rand Paul is delusional if he thinks that the domestic terrorists are going to win this. They've already lost. The only things left to be determined are the size of the loss, and whether or not this will cost them control of the House in 2014.
Rand Paul basically admitted that the teahadists tough talk is empty. This open mic faux pas is the smoking gun needed to - to put the last nail in the coffin of these terrorists.
This is a figment of American politics circa 2013. It is incredibly convoluted beyond redemption. Facts don't seem to impress these domestic terrorists. Beliefs become so ingrained they turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teahadists want to perpetuate this because it serves their purpose to control and dominate the ignorant that is their base and their districts. [See yesterdays blog on gerrymandering]
When you think about this, it all makes perfect sense, when you realize that the billionaire financiers that fund the tin foil hat society - that they aren't really interested in defunding the ACA. It's really just a straw man exercise.
Their goal is to render the federal government impotent - unable to prevent them from enacting their own radical agenda, which is the complete privatization of all functions of government.
This current government shutdown, the debt ceiling from last year, the sequester this, and the upcoming debt ceiling fight are all designed to cast government as dysfunctional, and detrimental to the country as a whole. Their hope is to get the citizenry so exasperated with bullshit of dysfunctional government, that most people would welcome the right wing nut jobs paradigm shift, even if it means turning control of basic government function over to the faction that is the teahadists/American Taliban/US Domestic Terrorists.
Congratulations US GOP Domestic Terrorists: The Osama Bin Laden Foundation has announced that you've been chosen as winner of this year's Destroy America Award.
One of the most prominent US domestic terror developers of our time, the creator of the plan to shut down the government is a little-known [asshat] congressman who has been in office only eight months.
This newly elected tin foil hat society member downplays his deviant scheme and position, saying he has relatively little influence. But in reality, his efforts have pushed Washington to the brink - Au Contraire, Mon Frère, lets give credit where credit is due, step up and take a bow - your fifteen minutes of fame are here, use them to your full advantage!
Unbeknownst to most Americans, on August 21, 2013, 80 Republican members of the Teahadists group named The American Taliban signed and issued a shameless letteraddressed to House Speaker John Boehner which practically begged for the government shutdown of The People’s Government.
In this scathing and informative segment, Rachel Maddow displays a photo of each and every single one of the 80 Representatives who signed this reckless letter while getting an insightful breakdown of the consequences of corrupt gerrymandering which empowers and enables these [nearly all pasty-white-male] radical right wing nut jobs to get away with governing on behalf of a very small and extreme minority - against the interests of the American people at large.
“The members of the suicide caucus live in a different America from the one that most political commentators describe when talking about how the country is transforming. The average suicide-caucus district is 75 percent white, while the average House district is 63 percent white. Latinos make up an average of 9 percent of suicide-district residents, while the over-all average is 17 percent. The districts also have slightly lower levels of education (25 percent of the population in suicide districts have college degrees, while that number is 29 percent for the average district).
The members themselves represent this lack of diversity. Seventy-six of the members who signed the Meadows letter are male. Seventy-nine of them are white.
As with Meadows, the other suicide-caucus members live in places where the national election results seem like an anomaly. Obama defeated Romney by four points nationally. But in the 80 suicide-caucus districts, Obama lost to Romney by an average of 23 points. The Republican members themselves did even better. In these 80 districts, the average margin of victory for the Republican candidate was 34 points.
GERRYMANDERING ALLOWS THIS HOSTAGE TAKING OPERATION TO TAKE FRUITION
In short, these 80 members represent an America where the population is getting whiter, getting dumber, where there are few major cities, where Obama took the biggest hit in voting during the last election cycle, and where the tin foil hat society is becoming more dominant and less popular [via gerrymandering, see map above].
So, just who are the members of this terrorist “suicide caucus”?
Members of Congress that signed Mark Meadows letter to House Speaker John Boehner are:
1. Amash, Justin MI-03
2. Bachmann, Michele MN-06
3. Barr, Andy KY-06
4. Barton, Joe TX-06
5. Benishek, Dan MI-01
6. Bentivolio, Kerry MI-11
7. Bilirakis, Gus FL-12
8. Bishop, Rob UT-01
9. Black, Diane TN-06
10. Bridenstine, Jim OK-01
11. Broun, Paul GA-10
12. Cassidy, Bill LA-06
13. Chabot, Steve OH-01
14. Coble, Howard NC-06
15. Collins, Doug GA-09
16. Conaway, Michael TX-11
17. Cook, Paul CA-08
18. Crawford, Rick AR-01
19. Daines, Steve MT
20. Davis, Rodney IL-13
21. DeSantis, Ron FL-06
22. Duncan, Jeff SC-03
23. Duncan, John TN-02
24. Farenthold, Blake TX-27
25. Fleischmann, Chuck TN-03
26. Fleming, John LA-04
27. Flores, Bill TX-17
28. Franks, Trent AZ-08
29. Gingrey, Phil GA-11
30. Gohmert, Louie TX-01
31. Gosar, Paul AZ-04
32. Graves, Sam MO-06
33. Graves, Tom GA-14
34. Griffin, Tim AR-02
35. Hall, Ralph TX-04
36. Holding, George NC-13
37. Hudson, Richard NC-08
38. Huelskamp, Tim KS-01
39. Huizenga, Bill MI-02
40. Hultgren, Randy IL-14
41. Jones, Walter NC-03
42. Jordan, Jim OH-04
43. King, Steve IA-04
44. Kingston, Jack GA-01
45. Labrador, Raul ID-01
46. LaMalfa, Doug CA-01
47. Lamborn, Doug CO-05
48. Lummis, Cynthia WY
49. Marchant, Kenny TX-24
50. Marino, Tom PA-10
51. Massie, Thomas KY-04
52. McClintock, Tom CA-04
53. Meadows, Mark NC-11
54. Messer, Luke IN-06
55. Mulvaney, Mick SC-05
56. Neugebauer, Randy TX-19
57. Palazzo, Steven MS-04
58. Pearce, Steve NM-02
59. Perry, Scott PA-04
60. Pitts, Joe PA-16
61. Poe, Ted TX-02
62. Pompeo, Mike KS-04
63. Posey, Bill FL-08
64. Roe, Phil TN-01
65. Rokita, Todd IN-04
66. Rothfus, Keith PA-12
67. Salmon, Matt AZ-05
68. Scalise, Steve LA-01
69. Schock, Aaron IL-18
70. Schweikert, David AZ-06
71. Sensenbrenner, WI-05
72. Smith, Jason MO-08
73. Stockman, Steve TX-36
74. Stutzman, Marlin IN-03
75. Walberg, Tim MI-07
76. Walorski, Jackie IN-02
77. Weber, Randy TX-14
78. Wenstrup, Brad OH-02
79. Wilson, Joe SC-02
80. Yoho, Ted FL-03
Now there is also a list of part time domestic terrorists who have back away from radical hostage taking concepts. We have provided why they have retracted their stance and why they say they're done with trying to force through provisions to delay or defund Obamacare in order to keep the government running.
Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.): “At this point, I believe it’s time for the House to vote for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to the table and negotiate a responsible compromise.” [Press Release, 10/1/13]
Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.): “Time for a clean [continuing resolution].” [Official Twitter,10/1/13]
Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.): “Enough is enough. Put a clean [continuing resolution] on the floor and let’s get on with the business we were sent to do." [Burlington County Times, 10/1/13]
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.): A Fitzpatrick aide tells the Philadelphia Inquirer the congressman would support a clean funding bill if it came up for a vote. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/1/13]
Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.): Barletta said he would "absolutely" vote for a clean bill in order to avert a shut down of the government. [Bethlehem Morning Call, 10/1/13]
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.): King thinks House Republicans would prefer to avoid a shutdown and said he will only vote for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government, according to the National Review Online. [NRO, 9/30/13]
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.): The California Republican told The Huffington Post he would ultimately support a clean continuing resolution. [Tweet by The Huffington Post's Sabrina Siddiqui, 9/30/13]
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.): “I'm prepared to vote for a clean [continuing resolution].” [The Huffington Post, 9/29/13]
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.): A Wolf aide told The Hill that he agrees with fellow Virginia Rep. Scott Rigell (R) that it's time for a clean continuing resolution. [The Hill,10/1/13]
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.): A Grimm aide told The Huffington Post that the congressman supports a clean continuing resolution. [10/1/13].
Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.): A local news anchor in Minnesota tweeted that Paulsen told him he would vote for a clean resolution if given the chance. [Blake McCoy Tweet, 10/1/13]
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.): A constituent of Wittman's sent The Huffington Post an email she got from the congressman indicating he would vote for a clean funding bill but hasn't had "an opportunity to do so at this point." [10/1/13]
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.): LoBiondo told The Press of Atlantic City he'll support "whatever gets a successful conclusion" to the shutdown and a clean funding bill "is one of those options." [The Press of Atlantic City, 10/1/13]
Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.): Forbes told The Virginian-Pilot that he supports the six-week clean funding bill that passed in the Senate. [The Virginian-Pilot, 10/2/13]
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.): The congressman issued a statement saying he would "vote in favor of a so-called clean budget bill." [Office of Rep. Jim Gerlach, 10/2/13].
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.): Lance's chief of staff confirmed to The Huffington Post that he told a constituent on Wednesday that Lance has voted for clean government funding bills in the past "and would not oppose doing so again should one be brought to the floor." [10/2/13]
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho): Simpson told a Roll Call reporter Tuesday night, "I'd vote for a clean CR because I don't think this is a strategy that works." [Daniel Newhauser Tweet, 10/1/13]
Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.): Young told Tampa Bay Times reporter Alex Leary that he's ready to vote for a clean funding bill. "The politics should be over," he said. "It's time to legislate." [Alex Leary Tweet, 10/2/13]
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.): The congressman told Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo that he would vote for a clean funding bill, provided it has the same funding levels contained in the Senate-passed bill. [The Miami Herald, 10/2/13]
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.): "I would take a clean (continuing resolution)." [Observer-Dispatch, 10/2/13]
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.): A Davis constituent tells The Huffington Post that a Davis aide told him Wednesday, "Congressman Davis is prepared to vote 'yes' on a clean CR." Asked for comment, Davis spokesman Andrew Flach told HuffPost that Davis isn't "going to speculate" on what bills may come up in the House and "will continue to vote for proposals brought to the floor that will fund the federal government." [10/2/2013]
I applaud the latter list of GOPers, the true domestic terrorists, the ones in the Meadows letter, may a thousand sand fleas infest your pubic region!
How much longer will the American people have to endure - at every debt ceiling crises , this gun to our heads - do what we say mentality? Indeed the worst threat to our land is -The GOP’s Domestic Right Wing Extremists.
Hitler was Germany's worst enemy, similarly, the American Taliban is our worst enemy, were the plan or modus operandi is to use the government and its citizens to further a fucked up ideology and agenda. Not on my watch! Stand your ground Mr. President!
For those who signed the Meadows letter, congratulations, you 80 are this weeks worst people in the world.
We did a blog just a few short days ago regarding the ignorance of Americans with regards to the difference between the Affordable Healthcare Act and Obamacare.
The below video is courtesy of ABC. Jimmy Kimmel did a short survey, take a look for yourself. We will let the video speak for itself.
This would be hilariously funny if this was not so critical to government shutdowns and peoples health.
So as I see it, four out of ten tin foil hat society members, those who take pride in ignorance, fail to understand that Obamacare is a nickname for ACA.
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you know absolutely nothing of - may God keep blessing us this with these tin foil hat society members.
Remember in American history when Jefferson and Adams couldn't agree so they shutdown the government? Yeah, me neither.
After insisting that they did not want to shutdown the government, a prominent Republican congresswoman told Fox News Tuesday morning that closing down the federal government could actually help the American people.
Appearing on Fox & Friends just hours after Republicans in the House failed to pass a “clean” continuing resolution to keep the government open for 6 more weeks, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (American Talibaner) — a prominent party messenger — joked that keeping the government closed will probably help the public realize that they didn't need it in the first place.
“You know, I think you may see a partial shutdown for several days. But [Fox and Friend co-host] Steve [Doocy], people are probably going to realize they can live with a lot less government than what they thought they needed,” she said, prompting host Brian Kilmeade to add, “it’s like the sequester all over.”
In reality, aside from the 800,000 federal employees who will not get paid during the shutdown, almost every aspect of government that does not serve to protect human life or property will be affected.
For instance, Small Business Administration will stop making loans, federal home loan guarantees will likely go on hold, and students applying for financial aid could also see delays and backlogs in applications. The people who need government services most will also feel the brunt of the shutdown. If the shutdown lasts more than a few days, for instance, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program could see their assistance dry up, leaving them food-insecure.
Blackburn indicated that she was in no rush to re-open the government and instead hinted at the budget fight ahead. “That is where the focus turns for the debt ceiling,” she said. “And we’re looking at that and beginning to work toward, what would it take for us to get them to the negotiation table on the debt ceiling?”
Maybe the Democrats should hold the country hostage over in-depth background checks for guns, why stop there, maybe demand that they [GOP] stop Gerrymandering, even further, stop the country because the right wing-nut job is conducting voter suppression! When does ideological BS end?
Some random comments taken from Twitter last night:
IRONY ALERT: The teaparty was so worried about Ambassador Stevens safety in Benghazi - just furloughed security for foreign diplomats.
GOD: "America is now closed. Christ and I apologize for the inconvenience." "The Republican Party has just thrown out the nation's utility bill in a display of fiscal responsibility."
"Two years ago, Will McAvoy [HBO Newsroom] went on television and called the Tea Party the American Taliban. Today the Taliban has asked McAvoy to issue a retraction."
"House Republicans have just done what Al-Qaeda could only dream of. Everyone, let me introduce you to the Christian Brotherhood!"
"In other news, House Republicans have finally accomplished their plan from January 20, 2009 and will shut down the government."
BREAKING: "In a surprise, "US Government" is the first cancellation of the new Fall season, reports TV Guide."
"This government shutdown is brought to you by the GOP, a domestic terrorist organization that drove millions of Americans to financial ruin or suicide during the Bush years."
"BREAKING: In last minute negotiations House GOP agrees to avoid shutdown as long as Obamacare rollout is only limited to fetuses."
"BREAKING: Due to the government shutdown men will temporarily be forced to grab their own balls at the airport."
"That awkward moment when the GOP shuts down the government keeping people from getting paychecks and services, because it wants to keep people from getting health insurance."
"The Senate has a special "LOL" stamp from the Colonial Congress it uses for bills like the House is sending over tonight."
"If you judge John Boehner by all the laws he's repealed rather than the laws he's passed, he's even worse." "BREAKING: The House also has passed amendments to eliminate puppies, put Chuck Norris on our $2 Bill, and to make diarrhea our national poo."
"The party that says global warming doesn't exist and ACORN does tells us that Obamacare will be a train wreck."
"REMINDER: If you have a conservative boss you have to call in tomorrow and say you've been called to serve on a death panel."
"Never ever underestimate Speaker John Boehner's willingness to risk your job to save his."
We as a society have entered the ignorant zone - when we can conscientiously say that "we don't want to have your cheaper healthcare" - when this becomes your mantra as a political platform - its maybe time for you to consider giving up using and wasting oxygen.
AMERICAN TALIBAN SET TO SCREW THE COUNTRY YET AGAIN
If Congress fails to pass a continuing resolution by Monday, the federal government will come to a standstill, shuttering “non-essential” services and operations that are deemed unnecessary for the safety of human life and national security. So while air traffic controllers will keep the planes in the sky, seniors will receive their Medicare and Social Security checks and the unemployed will continue to see benefits, other services will begin to dry up the longer the shutdown continues. Services that are not subject to yearly appropriations — so-called mandatory spending — will continue functioning and self-funding agencies like the Postal Services could still deliver mail.
But close to a million federal workers performing tasks that are deemed non-essential could be furloughed, leading to delays and shutdowns in the following services:
FINANCIAL SERVICES. The Small Business Administration will stop making loans, federal home loan guarantees will likely go on hold, and students applying for financial aid could also see delays and backlogs in applications.
ARMED FORCES. U.S. troops serving at home and abroad could stop receiving paychecks if the shutdown continues for an extended period and changes of station would also be delayed and facility and weapons maintenance would be suspended. Families back home would also be impacted.
HEALTH CARE. The National Institutes of Health will stop accepting new patients and delay or stop clinical trials. Medicare and the Veterans administration will continue paying out benefits, but new filers could face delays and doctors and hospitals may also have to wait for reimbursements.
PUBLIC SAFETY. The Environmental Protection Agency would stop reviewing environmental impact statements and food inspectors would stop conducting workplace inspections unless there is an imminent danger. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms could stop processing applications for permits.
SECURITY AND TRAVEL. The Department of Homeland Security would suspend the E-Verify program, which helps businesses determine the eligibility of employees, creating hiring delays. The State Department will also likely halt new passport and visa applications.
PARKS AND RECREATION. The National Park Service sites and the Smithsonian Institution will be shutdown. During the 1990s, 368 sites closed down and approximately 7 million visitors denied entry.
DISASTER RELIEF. In preparation for a potential shutdown, the Utah National Guard is holding off on sending a team to help rebuild areas in Colorado devastated by massive floods last week. More National Guard engineers are desperately needed to repair major roads and bridges in Colorado. Roughly 240 Colorado National Guardsmen currently working on flood missions are also in danger of losing funding.
NUTRITION FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN. Though food stamps will still be available in the event of a shutdown, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, a service meant to help new and expecting mothers and their young children get nutritious foods, will not. If a shutdown lasts for more than a few days, the roughly 9 million Americans who rely on WIC could see their assistance dry up, leaving them food-insecure.
All this will come at a price. The last two shutdowns during the Clinton era — one lasted six days in 1995 and another stretched 21 days at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 — cost the country 0.5 percentage points of gross domestic product (GDP) growth and more than $2 billion (in today’s dollars) in unnecessary expenses — as government employees abandoned their jobs to prepare for the shutdown. Economists estimate that were a short-term shutdown to occur next month, it “would do significant economic damage, reducing real GDP by 1.4 percentage points.” A two-month shutdown could “precipitate another recession.”
Under the United States Constitution and congressional practice, Members of Congress may have their services ended prior to the normal expiration of their constitutionally established terms of office by their resignation or death, or by action of the house of Congress in which they are a Member by way of an "expulsion," or by a finding that in accepting a subsequent "incompatible" public office, the Member would be deemed to have vacated his congressional seat.
Under Article I, Section 5, clause 2, of the Constitution, a Member of Congress may be removed from office before the normal expiration of his or her constitutional term by an "expulsion" from the Senate (if a Senator) or from the House of Representatives (if a Representative) upon a formal vote on a resolution agreed to by two-thirds of the Members of that body present and voting. While there are no specific grounds for an expulsion expressed in the Constitution, expulsion actions in both the House and the Senate have generally concerned cases of perceived disloyalty to the United States, or the conviction of a criminal statutory offense which involved abuse of one's official position. Each house has broad authority as to the grounds, nature, timing, and procedure for an expulsion of a Member. However, policy considerations, as opposed to questions of authority, have appeared to restrain the Senate and House in the exercise of expulsion when it might be considered as infringing on the electoral process, such as when the electorate knew of the past misconduct under consideration and still elected or re-elected the Member.
As to removal by recall, the United States Constitution does not provide for nor authorize the recall of United States officers such as Senators, Representatives, or the President or Vice President, and thus no Member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States. The recall of Members was considered during the time of the drafting of the federal Constitution in 1787, but no such provisions were included in the final version sent to the states for ratification, and the specific drafting and ratifying debates indicate an express understanding of the framers and ratifiers that no right or power to recall a Senator or Representative in Congress exists under the Constitution. Although the Supreme Court has not needed to directly address the subject of recall of Members of Congress, other Supreme Court decisions, as well as the weight of other judicial and administrative decisions, rulings, and opinions, indicate that (1) the right to remove a Member of Congress before the expiration of his or her constitutionally established term of office is one which resides exclusively in each house of Congress as expressly delegated in the expulsion clause of the United States Constitution, and (2) the length and number of the terms of office for federal officials, established and agreed upon by the states in the Constitution creating that federal government, may not be unilaterally changed by an individual state, such as through the enactment of a recall provision or a term limitation for a United States Senator or Representative. Under Supreme Court constitutional interpretation, since individual states never had the original sovereign authority to unilaterally change the terms and conditions of service of federal officials agreed to and established in the Constitution, such a power could not be "reserved" under the Tenth Amendment. Even the dissenters in the Supreme Court decision on the Tenth Amendment and term limits, who would have found a "reserved" authority in the states regarding "qualifications" of Members of Congress, conceded that the exclusive authority to remove a sitting Member is delegated to each house in the expulsion clause of the Constitution, and that with respect to "a power of recall ... the Framers denied to the States [such power] when they specified the terms of Members of Congress."
Bill Maher ended Friday nights show with a proud boast that California is creating the kind of “moderate liberal nation” the country as a whole really needs to be, and it’s doing so thanks to the lack of a Republican “legislative cock-block.”
Maher boasted, “We’re not just gluten-free and peanut-free and soy-free, we’re tea party-free! Yes, we can live in reality!” He tore into the “caboose part of America” that isn’t embracing the kind of change California is, saying that conservatives may love the free market and states rights, but those two things will ultimately “bend the country in California’s image as a socialist fagtopia.”
In California, Maher said, NRA stands for “nuts, racists, and assholes,” and while other states are “working with Jesus to make abortion more miserable,” California is making it easier, not to mention being more welcoming to illegal immigrants.
Maher concluded, “We can’t be worrying about the nonsense that keeps Fox News up at night.”
Video courtesy of HBO:
Imagine how grand this land would be, if it was truly American Taliban free!
What's in a name? When it comes to the debate over health care, apparently a lot.
“Obamacare” is (from the GOP terrorists perspective) a socialist abomination, the government takeover of health care, a budget-buster that involves hiring thousands of IRS agents to force people to eat broccoli until death panels put them out of their misery.
Unfortunately for the American Taliban, facts get in the way of the benighted groups plan to derail affordable healthcare. A CNBC's third-quarter All-America Economic Survey, they asked half of the 812 poll respondents if they support Obamacare and the other half if they support the Affordable Care Act.
People's opinions are shaped by how pollsters refer to the law - calling it the "Affordable Care Act" leads to less intense feelings — than calling it "Obamacare."
The study shows that forty-six percent oppose Obamacare and 37 percent oppose ACA. So putting Obama in the name raises the negatives significantly - and no surprise here that men and the tea party "patriots" are more negative on Obamacare than ACA.
Fox News hyped a poll showing that a majority of people think the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would increase the deficit and raise their taxes and insurance premiums, claiming that these polls debunked what President Obama has said about the law. But nonpartisan estimates have consistently shown that the ACA lowers the deficit, IRS rules show that the law's payroll tax increases only affect high-income Americans, and reports show the law is already saving many Americans money. The CBO has reaffirmed that the deficit will be reduced by 109 billion over the next ten years.
The GOP doesn't understand much, let alone insurance or Obamacare. In 1785 Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” and it is as true today as it was 228 years ago - as the Heritage Action, the extreme activist wing of the radical Heritage Foundation [Koch Whores] is finding out - that "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive". The plethora of bullshit submitted by both Faux News and the Koch whores daily is unrelenting, but when you fail to understand that ACA and Obamacare are one in the same, you truly are the bottom of the barrel stupid!
It is interesting that the American Taliban lays claim that “most Americans” hate the health law and want it eliminated when it has not been fully implemented. Once Obamacare kicks in and people learn the great advantages to 'Socialized medicine", it will indeed begin to sink into the minds of the nation's poorest that theses terrorist, these Teahadists (and Fox News) have been lying to them.
When it comes to paying the nation’s debts on time, Rep. John Fleming (Teahadist) prefers to trust his gut rather than heed the unanimous warnings of professional economists. “Economists, what have they been doing?” the three-term congressman said in the New York Times on Friday. “They make all sorts of predictions.”
“Many times they’re wrong, so I don’t think we should run government based on economists’ predictions,” Fleming added.
If enough American Talibaner's share in Fleming’s denial of the blunt economic reality that a first-ever failure to fulfill spending commitments Congress has already made would be catastrophic for America’s finances and economic growth, they could induce a new recession. Several of the most prominent anti-spending extremists in Fleming’s party have acknowledged that fact in the past, including Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Rep. Paul Ryan (Ayn Rand Groupie), and leadership officials like Speaker John Boehner (Lead Teahadist) and his deputy Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Jr Teahadist).
The first time that Fleming’s mindset gained real traction within the GOP was in the summer of 2011. The resulting brinkmanship around the debt ceiling caused real economic harm even without an actual breach of the debt ceiling. Conservatives frequently warn that economic uncertainty is damaging when they argue against higher taxes on top earners or regulations of just about any kind, but Fleming and his fellow debt ceiling deniers seem blind to the spike in uncertainty they caused two summers ago. On top of that paralyzing jump in economic doubts, the 2011 episode produced the first-ever downgrade of U.S. debt by a major credit ratings agency. Standard & Poor’s was unequivocalin blaming its downgrade of America’s credit rating on the unprecedented political paralysis around something that had been routine and nonpartisan throughout the country’s history. The downgrade cost the country roughly a million jobs.
GOP RANSOM REQUEST
Raising the debt ceiling does not raise the national debt, but fighting over it does. The perverse outcome of the GOP’s 2011 fight over the ceiling was a nearly $19 billion increase in costs to taxpayers over the coming years due to increased borrowing costs stemming from the credit downgrade. Over the 50 years prior to 2011, the cap on borrowing had been raised nearly 80 separate times as necessary to allow the government to continue paying its debts. Nineteen of those hikes came with George W. Bush in the White House. Republican leaders broke that trend and deemed the country’s financial credibility and economic health “a hostage worth ransoming.” But while the GOP negotiating position inherently acknowledges that the debt ceiling must rise, the denial of economic fact promoted by Fleming and other ultra-conservatives seems to have boxed Boehner in politically. He reportedly proposes to force a default unless President Obama adopts the Republican position on essentially every issue.
Lest we forget readers, that back in November of 2002 - that then Treasury Sec. Paul O'Neill, a true "deficit hawk", tried to warn then Vice President Dick Cheney that growing budget deficits were expected to top $500 billion that fiscal year alone, posing a great threat to the economy. Cheney cut him off, saying, "You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don't matter." In December, one month later, Cheney had George W. Bush fire O'Neill. This Fleming character must have come from the same Cheney school of thought.
One has to wonder why taking deliberate actions to shut down the US government isn't treason, or an act of undeclared war, or an act of terrorism.
Yet another instance of the bloviated ignorance from the American Taliban. Why are these terrorists so afraid of facts? Would it be so they can continue to pull the puppet strings of their unlettered/low information base?
After listening to part of Ted Cruz‘s 21-hour Nazi-invoking filibuster, Jon Stewart was convinced that whatever Cruz was speaking out against must be nothing less than the zombie apocalypse. So he was more than a little confused at how Cruz was going on about Obamacare, mocking Cruz’s constant tangents and his apparent lack of seriousness about really solving America’s health care crisis.
And, of course, the Dr. Seuss.
Cruz pledged to talk until he could stand no more. Stewart shot back, “Easy for you to take that kind of physical risk, you have government health care.”
Stewart went through all the bizarre pop culture references Cruz made, from Ashton Kutcher and Duck Dynasty to White Castle and Star Wars. But what really killed Stewart was Cruz’s somewhat ironic invocation of Green Eggs and Ham.
“So to express your opposition to Obamacare, you go to the book about a stubborn jerk who decides he hates something before he’s tried it, and when he finally gets a taste, he has to admit after he’s tasted it, ‘This is pretty fucking good.’”
Stewart then went after Cruz on the specifics of his health care objections, and ended the segment with an epic reading of a fake Dr. Seuss book called The Bore-ax, containing phrases like “showboatiest blab” and “hours of mouth masturbation.”
Cruz is both crazy and emotionally stunted? He is much like Ben Shapiro from GhostBreitbart.com, a man-child who was put on the intellectual fast track to nowhere, thereby freezing his emotional maturity at age fifteen. Ted Cruz, "Rain Man" with an attitude - is a selfish pompous prick.
Ted Cruz is an elitist, male-like version of Sarah Palin - hence why Sarahnoya approves so much of the bombastic right wing nut job.
Those rallying to Cruz's support are as tone-deaf as GOP Chairman Reince Preibus was when he tried to deflect the government shutdown as being something the Democrats were choosing. It was a slight of hand, er, word, and it was transparent, and frankly acted badly.
The stupidity is utterly amazing. The American Taliban is all puffed up and past its peak. They are as deflating now as their hare-brained plan to threaten to harm the country unless they get their way - which has now run its course - again.
Ted Cruz is being criticized from within the clown tent that he is actually a liberal who is trying to destroy the party from within?
The GOP, especially many of the tin foil hat society folk, have traveled so far down the liberalism-is-poison metaphor road that they can't even stand for the deepest principles without being called a fraud. Speaking about trees that are producing bad fruit.
The smorgasbord of incompetence and regression that the GOP puts out daily - is everything ludicrous, and to suggest anything to the contrary, is ludicrous. Conservatives nowadays aren't smart though; they're comparing bureaucracy with Nazism, which, at best, is bad comedy.
I do not like government, GOP-I-Am.
Would you like it with clean water? The EPA checks it for ya'
I would not, could not, for clean water. My massive bank account buys me EU-filtered water.
A plague! Influenza! Measles, Mumps, and Rubella! Would you fund the CDC?
Neither diseases of the common folk nor health for all, you see could make me appreciate the CDC.
Roads, bridges, you drive on them too. Would you kill - the DOT?
Soon I'll have not one helicopter, but three, you see. So drown it in a bathtub, would I the DOT.
You are rich and elite, so you have no need, but wouldn't you share a little of your wealth as a moral good deed?
Bah, humbug, you're changing the script. About little people, I just pretend to give a shit.
The future, your father, Canada helped him out. Wouldn't you now like to give a hand back?
You just don't get it, of nothing do I lack, Re: helping others, for that I have no knack, All I can say, is I got mine, Jack! ~Shonagreg
