President Barack Obama Versus The Hate Mongers

Frank Schaeffer: Obama Is Now and Will Be a Great President: "If you think that president Obama played the Republicans in the last lame duck congress like a violin just wait until after 2012 when the rotten Tea Party will be about as relevant as 1930s hate monger radio priest: Charles Coughlin (the 'father' of hate radio), is today."

Sure there are things I feel President Obama needs to do that he has not done. Like pardon Bradley Manning.

But over all I am thankful every day that we are watching the right compound its own false premises and the left and center begin to coalesce around the man who took the all Americans meme and ran with it.

Why Willard Mitt Romney Will Finally Lose

UPDATE July 17, 2012 PM

Since this was written many months ago, the noose has tightened. Romney is guilty of terrible doings to build his fortune - including investments which did conscious and tangible harm. He will be forced either to put up or stagger forward, losing ignominiously.

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1. Despite all his flip flops, he would aid and abet the Roberts Court, further damaging our democracy and making women prey to the reversal of Rove v Wade.

2. Despite his probable rejection of the worst of the Ryan One Percent Budget, he would steer the nation on the same W course that, with the Clinton complicity in repealing Glass-Steagall, precipitated the W meltdown.

3. The emptiness of his suit suggests that he would simply not be up to the reasoned consideration that has characterized the Obama stewardship of both our economy and our national security.

All of these reasons combine with the biggest reason of all - a Romney win would likely signal a Republican advance with all of the depredations that have characterized the governance of the states and the inaction and criminality of the GOP in the congress. This is banal, shabby, deleterious and otherwise not advisable. If the Koch PACS do not overwhelm us, and if we adopt the mantra one vote for every dollar the GOP throws at the President, we will defeat Romney and maybe jolt the sick GOP back to some approximation of sanity.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Obama Experience Just To Get Up to Speed

Barack Obama's career timeline compares favorably with JFKs in terms of experience prior to making a time-consuming bid for the Presidency. I remember watching JFK in the Senate when he was newly elected in 1952. JFK's six years of service in the House of Representatives was not so interesting to him that he applied himself rigorously. But even by 1952 he had shown a capacity to write and speak with conviction and effect.

Barack Obama became a State Senator for the Hyde Park area of Chicago in 1996 and has been a US Senator only since 2004.

Abraham Lincoln was for many years a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. He then served in the US Congress for a single term -- two years. His efforts during the 1850s to win election to the US Senate failed.

Hillary Clinton's total legislative service wss less than that of Obama. She was elected in 2000 and reelected in 2006. That adds up to seven years.

Why rich celebrity support is not hypocritical

Elizabeth Warren’s Star Support Criticized - NYTimes.com: "The black-and-white video, called “The Elitist,” labels Ms. Warren the “biggest hypocrite in a political campaign” for raising money from wealthy celebrities while supporting populist causes. Ms. Warren, a Harvard law professor, built a national reputation in recent years as a dogged consumer advocate, testifying before Congress on economic issues and setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau."

'via Blog this'

I was brought up among celebrities who supported liberal causes. The notion that such support is hypocritical is specious. When you have wealth you can do one of two things. Reject it or use it as you wish. One of my childhood adult buddies won an Academy Award. She also  fought the McCarthy virus. Her brother was a prominent liberal journalist who likewise fought McCarthy.Were they alive today, they would be supporting Elizabeth Warren. Was William Buckley a hypocrite for using his wealth to defend privilege? Of course not. Which is why Scott Brown is tilting at windmills. How someone with wealth spends money is a matter of choice and inclination. Wealthy people with good inclination will naturally work against injustice, convinced that the common good is not inimical to individual goods. That is not hypocrisy. That is the result of embracing tolerance, democracy, helpfulness and non-idolatry. Those values are universal. They drive human progress.



Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Blackwater Is A Stain on America

NYT: Web of Blackwater companies revealed - World news - The New York Times - msnbc.com: "The Senate Armed Services Committee this week released a chart that identified 31 affiliates of Blackwater, now known as Xe Services. The network was disclosed as part of a committee's investigation into government contracting. The investigation revealed the lengths to which Blackwater went to continue winning contracts after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September 2007. That episode and other reports of abuses led to criminal and Congressional investigations, and cost the company its lucrative security contract with the State Department in Iraq."

Here's a timely warning no one took seriously

Bill Clinton's Warning to Democrats at CGI - The Daily Beast: "Disgruntled Obama supporters planning to sit out the midterms are making "a horrible mistake," he said. "Like everything else you do when you're mad, there's an 80 percent change you're making a mistake. You'll get the exact result you don't want.""

Bill Clinton's advice above was right on. He also included the following in his warning.

1. The media have been absolutely criminal in their failure to fact check the GOP's false facts and figures as they seek to nail the Democrats unfairly and dishonestly.

2. The evil plan of the GOP if they regain control of Congress is to shut down the government entirely. They can do it by occupying time with frivolous investigations.

Not only Democrats but Independents and sensible Republicans should be very worried.

Questions About A G.O.P. Fund-Raiser

G.O.P. Fund-Raiser Faces Inquiries Into His Races - NYTimes.com:

"Federal inquiries surrounding Mr. Buchanan appear to be widening, as investigators examine allegations that his companies improperly reimbursed contributors to his campaigns and claimed improper tax deductions and that he failed to include all his varied financial interests in his Congressional disclosure reports.

The Federal Election Commission has already completed one investigation that produced a settlement this week with a former partner of Mr. Buchanan’s who used their car dealership to reimburse employees for contributing to the congressman’s campaigns, in violation of federal law.

The commission dropped its case against Mr. Buchanan himself over the reimbursements, despite testimony that he took part in the scheme. But agents for the F.B.I. and the Internal Revenue Service recently contacted former employees alleging financial improprieties by Mr. Buchanan, who owns a number of auto dealerships thoughout Florida and elsewhere and is one of the richest members of Congress."

'via Blog this'

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Obama will swap no loopholes for a lower corporate rate

Obama Offers to Cut Corporate Tax Rate to 28% - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — President Obama will ask Congress to scrub the corporate tax code of dozens of loopholes and subsidies to reduce the top rate to 28 percent, down from 35 percent, while giving preferences to manufacturers that would set their maximum effective rate at 25 percent, a senior administration official said on Tuesday."

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Let the GOP put that in their pipe and smoke it. What's a poor Mitt to do?


Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Reform Congress before it does us in

Oil Spill Outrage: How Congress Deprived Cash From Prevention and Clean-Up Program - The Daily Beast: "a law enacted after the Exxon Valdez to avoid future oil spills was deprived of cash by lawmakers.

Reform Congress before it does us in
Both parties share in egregious sin
Now their infighting nothing will win
Let a huge national chorus begin

Still out of the Market because it's a bubble

Below my account of getting out of the market. I have little doubt that Cantor and Company did manage to stall the market for the intervening months. Now as it creeps up, I am still cautious because I believe it is a bubble and that the greed wolves are at it as harmfully as ever. We are not at the bottom yet and will not be until we drill down to the problems of our society which are not the subject of today's political discourse.

Eric Cantor: S&P Rating Hit A "Wake Up Call" For Debt Ceiling Vote | TPMDC: "Update: Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) released a joint demand from 114 House Democrats that the House hold a 'clean' debt limit vote and claimed the S&P rating bolstered their argument.

'America pays its bills,' Welch said in a statement. 'I hope Majority Leader Cantor and those in Congress seizing upon debt ceiling pressure as a 'leverage opportunity' are listening to the markets today and thinking twice about their risky strategy."

I must confess that so certain was I that Cantor and Company would cause the market to flutter

That I took protective action with my trifling investment

And now it appears that Cantor has risen to the bait and sealed his claim on Idiot of the Day before anyone else had a chance to apply.

Excitement comes with disaster's fell swoop

Excitement comes with disaster's fell swoop

But then we are hit with the brute reality

We're being to led to death by billionaires

Our silence is their gold and few can see

Read The Full Article Referenced Below if You Want To Get Involved in A War With the Chamber and the Koch Brothers

Those of us who work on climate change have spent years trying to figure out why Congress pays no attention to what's clearly the most dangerous issue facing the planet. For years we thought we simply needed to explain the crisis more skillfully. But over the last year, the truth has become more clear: Hidden in the shadows are the guys with money who pull the strings. We need to illuminate those shadows, with the Kochs and even more with the U.S. Chamber.

via Why doesn't Congress give a damn about climate? Hint: it's not the messaging | Grist.

Santorum The Slasher Save for The Rich

Santorum’s and Romney’s plans to help the wealthy over the middle class — AttackWatch: " Santorum’s plan would cut tax rates for some families with children. But as the Tax Policy Center notes, it would simultaneously slash funding for programs that assist these very same households. Not only would he freeze spending for social programs like Medicaid, housing subsidies, food stamps, education, and job training, but Santorum also commended congressional Republicans for passing their “cut, cap, and balance” legislation that would necessitate deep cuts in Social Security and Medicare without allowing for any tax increases."

'via Blog this'

Beware the slasher is abroad. Actually Romney just just as bad.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Boehner looks like he's walking the plank

Congress Votes to Extend Payroll Tax Cuts and Jobless Benefits - NYTimes.com:

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Look at this picture of John Boehner. Priceless. It looks as though he is stepping off a plank or a cliff. Sick transit politicks.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Every call you make will save the middle class money

Congress Will Auction Public Airwaves to Pay for Benefits - NYTimes.com:

"If a compromise bill completed Thursday by Congress is approved as expected by this weekend, the result will eventually be faster connections for smartphones, iPads and other data-hungry mobile devices. Their explosive popularity has overwhelmed the ability, particularly in big cities, for systems to quickly download maps, video games and movies.

The measure would be a rare instance of the government compensating private companies with the proceeds from an auction of public property — broadcast licenses — once given free."

'via Blog this'

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

The Best Reason To Elect Romney He Is a Cipher

Well, check this out: At last week's Conservative Political Action Conference, GOP ringleader Grover Norquist talked about who he wants in the White House:

"All we have to do is replace Obama. ... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Paul Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff."

They're not looking for a leader -- they're looking for someone to rubber stamp the Tea Party agenda coming out of Congress.

And Romney's their man.

We don't just have the presidency at stake. We have the Senate to keep, and the House to gain.
From an email.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

GOP is cat-calling its way to the biggest defeat since 1964

A Responsible 2013 Budget - NYTimes.com: "President Obama’s 2013 budget was greeted on Monday with Republican catcalls that it is simply a campaign document, but election-year budgets are supposed to explain priorities to voters. This one offers a clear and welcome contrast to the slashing austerity — and protect-the-wealthy priorities — favored by Republican Congressional leaders and the party’s presidential candidates."

'via Blog this'

The GOP will choose either an empty suit, an invasive condom opponent, a grandiosity doll, a whining Dickensian or a desperate alternative named Bush. The party is too ruined to be credible regardless. If the Democrats have the grace to support our President, not run from him, we should have four years of reasonable progress and the prospect of another eight with similar moderation ascendant. It will take a dozen years to cleanse the GOP from the effects of its current illness.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

As long as Democrats are decent, we should retake Congress

California Congressional Delegation Braces for Change - NYTimes.com: "While the full impact of redistricting is beginning to clarify in California, to the benefit of Democrats, the national battle over the process — done every decade in all the states, based on the most recent census — continues to churn. There are several court battles over it, particularly in Texas, which at 32 members has the next biggest delegation and where elections have been put on hold as the courts rule on various conflicting maps.

The main focus of campaign strategists has not been whether the final national map will benefit one party over another — there has been little doubt that Republicans, by virtue of having gained control of many statehouses in 2010, would have the edge — but rather, how much of an advantage the Republicans would have."

'via Blog this'

The notion that Republicans will benefit from redistricting ignores the perfidy and mindlessness of the GOP - a noxious blend of hate politics, empty proposals and abject service to the one percent. That is merely the context. The active causes of coming GOP defeat are the fear women will feel in the event of Republican victory, the confidence a majority have in President Obama's sensible spend now and save long term now to empower our future and the continuing growth of a Democratic-tending electorate that thinks in 21st century terms. So the conclusion of the NYT above is typical but erroneous. All that is needed is for stellar Democrats to file in all districts and run campaigns based on simple logic and a rejection of jingo fear politics. And for Democrats, as they abjectly failed to do in 2010, to actually support our President instead of running from him.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Two Dinosaurs Whose Time Has Come

Obama to Offer ‘Accommodation’ on Birth Control Rule, Officials Say - NYTimes.com: "But administration officials also acknowledged that it would likely not mollify the Catholic bishops who have waged war against the rule or, for that matter, Congressional Republicans and candidates on the presidential campaign trail who have joined the fight. At most, the compromise could potentially help President Obama shore up support among wavering Democrats, who have also expressed doubt about the rule, along with more liberal religious organizations and charities, who oppose the rule but not as vehemently as the Catholic leadership."

'via Blog this'

Hypothesis - Both the Catholic Bishops and the House Republicans are dinosaurs on the verge of extinction

Blunt truth - Society remains poised between accepting and going with continuity (reality) and fearfully heeding the cries of fading dinosaurs

Soul of the sign - Make some allowances but go with the forces of tolerance, helpfulness, democracy and non-idolatry

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Mitt Romney and Washington are joined at the hip

Romney Campaign Still Faces Challenges - NYTimes.com: "The contours of the next fight started coming into view, with Mr. Romney portraying Mr. Santorum as an agent of Washington who should be held responsible for the budget deficit from his time in Congress. Mr. Romney sought to lump Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum into the same group who “spent too much, borrowed too much and earmarked too much.”"

'via Blog this'

Washington and Wall Street are joined at the hip

Mitt Romney is the quintessential Wall Street insider, beloved, revered, lionized

Mitt Romney and Washington are joined at the hip

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes

Good Grief, Senator Grassley Speaks Truth!

House Republicans Cut an Ethics Bill Provision - NYTimes.com: "Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who wrote the provision on political intelligence, said: “It’s astonishing and extremely disappointing that the House would fulfill Wall Street’s wishes by killing this provision. If Congress delays action, the political intelligence industry will stay in the shadows, just the way Wall Street likes it.”"

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And Eric Cantor is transparently a blathering hypocrite whose place in history will hopefully be as a mendacious Republicans who facilitated the worst defeat ever suffered by that party in a national election.

Charles Sanders Peirce - Thinking in Threes