Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Who Is To Blame For The Elementary School Shooting?

Saturday, December 15th, 2012

Who Is To Blame For The Elementary School Shooting?
by
Captain Jack

Reading today’s news makes me feel I no longer recognize America. This is not the country we grew up in. This is not the country our parents left for us. This is a strange and hostile land.

The only way we can fix this problem is if we come to grips with what and who has caused it. No one really believes this is just a single lone disaster, but is becoming the way of the new America. Sure, the shooter pulled the trigger but who put those guns and ammunition in his hands?

How long have you known we had a problem with gun violence? Years? Decades? When is the last time you did anything about it?

The guilt, the blood of all those school children is on our hands, yours and mine. We could have done something about this before it happened and we didn’t care enough to do anything about it.

Think of the last time you were with others, work, perhaps, or maybe church. Think of the people around you, the person to your left and the person to your right. Of the three of you, it would only have take one, just one, to make a big enough fuss to fix this. If only one of every three of us did something about this, it would have been fixed. That one person should have been you, it should have been me.

That would have been 100,000,000 people calling the president or calling our representatives. They would have heard us and would have done something about it.

Imagine if it wasn’t just one of the three, but two of the three. Two hundred million people in America expecting our representatives to fix this, it would be fixed overnight.

Sure, we can try to blame the one million people who believe the Conservative media like Fox news, but that’s just a drop in the bucket. What is one million gun nuts compared to hundreds of millions of the sane among us?

It’s hard to recognize this country when we find people getting elected who are foolish enough to think that more guns would have made this problem better. They’re just stupid. Sorry, there’s no other way to say it. And these fools get front booking on our media outlets. We even had a religious fanatic in the front of our televisions telling how it’s God’s will to murder those children because we don’t pray right or because we don’t stone our women who don’t cover their heads with scarves. Is this really America? What are these idiots doing on our news?

The idiots are there spewing their foolishness because it only takes one in three of us to put an end to it and we are just too damned lazy to do anything about it.

Sure, the shooter is the cause, sure, the gun nuts are responsible, the NRA makes money on these deaths, but more than anything, we are to blame because we’re too lazy to get involved.

Call your senators today, call the president. Tell them we’ve had enough and we’re not going to put up with this anymore. And call them again every week of the year.

Did you know it is easier to buy assault weapons than it is to get mental health care? When is the last time you read the second amendment? Does it say every kook out there is guaranteed a weapon? Of course not, but you won’t know unless you get involved.

 

Nevada and The Right To Work For Less Law

Wednesday, December 12th, 2012

Nevada and The Right To Work For Less Law

Matthew K.

From David’s recent post regarding Nevada making the right decisions, I wanted to bring up a most obvious point that it seems most Nevadans miss: Right to Work means Right To Work For Less.

It is really just that simple.

Nevada is dead last in anything that matters like job safety, average income, happiness. And they’re first in all the things that are awful like poverty, childhood hunger, disease, workplace injuries.

What do these have to do with Right To Work laws? Everything! They have everything to do with a law that is intended to prevent workers from improving their working conditions. With no say in the workplace, workers get shafted more and more until there’s nothing left to steal from them.

And, that, Nevada, is where you find yourself today.

Repeal your Right to Work laws. Start today to organize petitions and get the vote on your next ballot. Repeal the law that is hurting Nevada the most.

Oh, and while I’m at it, let me congratulate you on waking up about the need to vote for a Democratic president.

Want to know the real facts about how much Right to Work is hurting Nevada? Check out these links:

Right to Work [AFLCIO]
Workers Have the Right [Informed Comment]
What’s Behind Right to Work [Daily Kos]
Sneak Attack [Think Progress]
Right to Work For Less [Google]

 

Yeah Nevada, Way To Go

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Yeah Nevada, Way To Go
by
David Schlecht

Congratulations Nevada, you just might have a chance of pulling yourselves out of the quagmire you find yourselves in. You voted against the Austerity presidential candidate.

Rather than dragging America down to your level, you’ve elected to put the country on a different path than yours.

Now, if you can just make those same decisions on your local elections and get the failed policies out of office.

This is not a political issue, this is an economic issue. You didn’t get were you are by following the mistaken policies of just one party.

But, it looks like Nevada is waking up.

We need to stop letting the elites, the leeches, ride free on our backs. It’s time the rich started paying their fair share. Did you know Microsoft is incorporated in Nevada rather than Washington so they don’t have to pay taxes? So who pays for the infrastructure that they use? You and I do, and the people of Washington. Does Microsoft? No.

This, Nevada, is the reason our state is in such sad shape. The rich get a free ride and the expenses fall on the backs of the true small businesses and on the rest of us tax payers.

We give tax breaks to the mines and other multinational corporations and expect the Nevada taxpayer to pick up the tab.

No more!

It’s time we started expecting the billionaires to pay for the 90% of our state’s expenses that they incur. It’s time their taxes paid for the roads their employees travel, and the roads their trucks use to deliver goods and provide them a profit. It’s time they paid for the court systems and all the other infrastructure they are using and expecting us to cover.

Yeah Nevada, it looks like you’re starting to wake up.

Hostess, Twinkies, and Romney’s Bain Practices

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Hostess, Twinkies, and Romney’s Bain Practices
Matthew K.

No matter what the corporate media tells you about why Hostess is going broke, it’s not what you think.

Just like Romney’s Bain Capital, Hostess has been bought out by a Pirate Equity pump and dump company that makes money squeezing the life out of companies. Just like Bain, the Pirate Equity company makes money no matter what happens.

Hostess was closing down and they kept coming to the workers for one bail out after another, just so the millionaire pirates could get more money. The workers saw the writing on the wall and knew that there is no end to the sacrifices they would have to provide for the greedy who are never satisfied. Sound like Romney, anyone?

America, wake up! This is what happens when these parasitic companies pump and dump an otherwise profitable company.

The workers did the right thing and said enough is enough. If a company can’t pay a living wage (because they’ve been devoured by a Private Equity [Pirate Equity] company) then they shouldn’t be in business.

And, yes, hello Papa John’s, I’m talking to you too.

Fiscal Cliff and Spending Cuts

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

Fiscal Cliff and Spending Cuts

Matthew K.

What does it mean, fiscal cliff?

It sounds pretty scary, like the end of the world or something. But, in reality, it is nothing so drastic or scary. The term is just a marketing term to fool you into thinking emergency measures are needed. So what’s the worst that will happen when we reach the cliff. Nothing. Got that? Nothing.

But, if we all get scared by the hype and think that drastic cuts are necessary, then, yes indeed, bad things will happen, and the effects will be felt for years to come.

Don’t get me wrong, we can’t just sit on our hands. We have to address the mess this country is in and this is the time to do it.

So, what spending cuts should we do?

To start with, no country has ever, EVER cut its way to prosperity. You might want to ponder that for a moment.

So if the solution isn’t to cut, then what do we do?

We do the same thing we did before when we were in debt to the tune of 125% of GDP, which is much worse than we are today. What we did then was we created jobs programs, we invested in infrastructure, we created the GI Bill that sent people to college for free.

That’s what we need to do this time. We need to do what has been proven to work.

But we still need to look at trimming our budget as well. We need to trim the things that aren’t investments in our country and our economy. We need to stop giving money and tax breaks to the rich and the multinational corporations.

This brings us to the real question. What is spending and what is an investment?

You already know the answer to that. If you go out and treat yourself to a nice hundred-dollar steak dinner, that’s spending that is gone the moment you pay for it. But, an investment, like money in the bank, is there for all time, bringing in more money every day.

Spending for a country is the same. If it’s not bringing in a return on investment, it’s spending. The biggest spending we do as a country is spend on our military. We spend more than the rest of the world combined.

And what sort of return do we get on all those bombs dropped? All those missiles fired? Nothing. We are spending, like a short term steak dinner, on almost every dollar we spend on the military.

Money spent on free education is an investment that returns money to our coffers for the entire lifetime of the student. How about social programs like social security? It has been shown that every dollar invested in the people of a country through social programs like Social Security and Medicare are returned at a rate of $1.27 for every dollar invested. That, my friends, is what’s called an investment.

We need to face this fiscal cliff as an opportunity to stop the big dinner spending spree of the military and move that money into investing in our people and in our roads and bridges and our future as a country.

 

United We Stand

Tuesday, November 13th, 2012

United We Stand
Matthew K

What gives with the patriots crying about seceding  from the union since their loser lost?

The American way is to stick together, to resolve our differences, to find common ground.

The loser states tried to tuck tail and run once before, causing the civil war, and many good Americans died. Now some sore losers who are ignorant of their history are saying the same foolish things again. Wah, I didn’t get my way. I’m gonna take my toys and go home.

That’s not the American way, that’s the loser way.

Hate blacks? Too bad. Get over it. Hate the liberal foundations upon which this nation was founded? Get over it.

Want to tuck tail and run away again, rather than making our country stronger?

Real patriotic!

 

Surprising Election Results

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

Surprising Election Results
Captain Jack

Were you surprised by the election results? Were you expecting Romney to win? Were you expecting big wins for the Republicans?

Most Republicans were.

Why was the actual results so opposite what the Republicans expected?

The reason is simply enough that the Republicans are listening to and watching the conservative/Republican propaganda and the propaganda has gotten so bad the it’s downright false.

There’s no reason Fox news should have been celebrating the election of Romney weeks before the election. There were plenty of facts out there to, at the very least, give them pause. But, instead, they elected to lie to their viewers.

I’m sorry to break it to the Fox viewers, but you’ve been taken for a fool and the longer you watch Fox and conservative news and opinion, the more misinformed you will become.

Note the use of the term “misinformed.”

Fox viewers aren’t just ignorant of the facts, but are actually believing facts that just aren’t true. They’re being lied to.

And, the election is the most obvious example. Fox has been lying to you. They’ve been making fools of their viewers.

Did you make the mistake of believing them? Turn off Fox.

Obama Won, Now What?

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Obama Won, Now What?
by
David Schlecht

So, Obama won so what’s next? The battle has just begun. It is time for every person who voted for Obama or Romney or anyone else to get involved in governing our country. After all, our democracy is supposed to be government BY THE PEOPLE.

Nowhere in the constitution will you find the word, leader. Why? Because we don’t elect leaders. We the people are the leaders and our representatives are supposed to follow our lead.

When we’re not there leading our representatives, the billionaires and the lobbyists are, all day long, every day, 24-7 poisoning the ears of our representatives. What are our representatives to think when they hear the lobbyists all day long but never hear from us until next election?

It should be obvious, it tells our representatives that we don’t give a darned what they do until right before next election.

There are a whole lot of important issues that all of us, all of We The People need fixing. Start by calling and writing your representatives at least weekly. Write letters to your newspaper. And get out there on the Internet and post comments on blogs or start a blog of your own.

So, what things would you like to see fixed? Make a list and check it off as you make a phone call or write a letter once each week. Get your family and neighbors to do the same. Find issues that affect all of America, not just the gun dealers’  lobby or just the billionaires, or just the church. Pick issues that will have the largest impact on America.

Here is a good list to get you started. Copy down the issues that you think we can fix together and start working on them. It’s easy and it’s fun to know you’re actually doing something that has a chance of helping.

  • Overturn Citizens United
  • Get money out of politics
  • Publicly funded elections
  • Stop the gridlock in the Senate
  • Retire the Electoral College
  • Get a broader range of political parties by fighting for Instant Runoff Voting
  • Open up our media to more diverse and unbiased programming
  • Stop voter suppression. Voting is a right.

This list is just a beginning. Take your favorites or throw them all away and start your own list. Leave a comment and tell us your list. And, start getting involved. Start directing your representatives to take care of OUR business, not the lobbyists’.

Dean Heller

Sunday, November 4th, 2012

Dean Heller
by
David Schlecht

If anyone looked at Dean Heller’s voting record, he would never get elected. But, it’s too bad that Nevadans don’t have time to really research their candidates so people like this get elected. Hey, Nevada, wake up. Check this guy out. He’s the last person you want to vote for.

Dean Heller has millions of dollars of money secretly funded by the billionaires and multinational corporations who want America to give up our hard earned taxes and services. And, Dean Heller is the worst kind of shill.

Vote out Dean Heller.

Both Candidates Suck, Why Bother Voting?

Monday, October 29th, 2012

Both Candidates Suck, Why Bother Voting?
Matthew K.

I’ve heard this line a few times and always chuckle at it. This is a marketing approach intended to discourage people from voting. Take a moment and reflect on exactly what this means.

If both presidential candidates sucked, we would still be losing 700,000 jobs each and every month like we were the last time the Republicans were in charge. You know it’s not that bad now so where are you getting the idea that it is? I suspect that you need to turn off your TV for a couple days and spend a moment or two doing your homework.

You want a quick list of the things that Obama has done? Check it out. Want a quick list of the jobs that Romney has shipped over seas?

Remember, if you do nothing, we just could go back to losing 700,000 jobs a month. Is that really just as bad as having Obama as president?

Don’t believe the marketing. They aren’t even close to being the same.

Where’s Your Taxes Romney?

Saturday, October 27th, 2012

Where’s Your Taxes Romney?
by
David Schlecht

Come on, already, Romney. Show us your taxes! You’re the only presidential candidate to refuse showing your taxes. What are you lying, cheating, hiding?

GOP Color Chart

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Check out the Republican color chart for rape. For all the idiotic comments and classification and excuses for rape, here is a color chart to help the Republicans keep track of all the different excuses for rape. It’s priceless. What kind of woman would vote for this party? Only a sick one.

If you haven’t voted yet, get out there and stop this Republican insanity.

Be an American Hero

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Be an American Hero
by
David Schlecht

Want to be a hero? Want to help your country? Early voting has started in most states. Get out there and vote. Go after work. Go on the weekend. Vote.

But, when you’re done, get all your family and friends to vote.

And then there’s one last thing you can do. Get your neighbors to vote. Offer to drive an elderly neighbor, see if anyone needs help. Get at least three more people to vote.

America needs a hero. America needs you. Get out the vote!

Still Not Enough Jobs and Legitimate Rape

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

Still Not Enough Jobs and Legitimate Rape

Captain Jack

Paul Ryan supports legislation and has even submitted bills that would prevent women victims of rape from seeking abortions. But it’s not just rape, but Ryan wants to know it’s “legitimate rape”. In other words, he wants to know all the sordid details so he can decide if it was, say, deserved or maybe encouraged.

And if he can’t hear all the details, maybe it’ll be okay if the church elders decide if it’s legitimate rape or if the girl should be stoned to death for being an agent of Satin. Yes, Ryan wants to bring Shira law to America, dressed up with a cross.

Sure, he’s not running for president, but holy cow, he’s running for vice president and fools are considering voting for him.

But some people will say, meeh, let the women take care of themselves, I only care about the economy and it’s not good enough fast enough.

During the last depression, the country didn’t get back on track until the voters kicked out all the Republicans. We have’t done that yet and the Republican party is doing everything in their power to prevent the country from recovering from the last Republican administration.

The republicans have filibustered and obstructed more than any other Senate in the history of America.  At a time when we need them to work on solutions, they have been breaking all records of getting in the way. A record number of filibusters at a time like this.

Why would they do this?

Because they want to gain power and they can only do that by preventing the Democrats from succeeding in fixing this mess. And they have done a wonderful job of preventing any progress.

But, wouldn’t they worry that the voters would find out what they have been up to? No, my friends, they don’t worry about that at all because they know the stupid will believe what the conservative media has been telling them and Fox says it’s all Obama’s fault.

 

 

Nevada’s Dean Heller Voting Record and Positions

Monday, October 22nd, 2012

Nevada’s Dean Heller Voting Record and Positions

Dave Speck

You’re probably doing some last minute research and trying to decided what Nevadan candidate to vote for. If you’re looking for information on senator Dean Heller, you’ve come to the right place. Dean Heller is running for the Nevada State Senate seat.

Here are some of the issues which represent his proven track record. Remember, when deciding on who to vote for, you have to ignore the ads, forget the promises, and turn off the marketing. Look at his records to know what kind of representative he will be.

  1. Dean Heller not only opposes equal rights for all Americans, but he is funded by some of the most immoral anti LGBT fanatics buying our political process.
  2. Dean Heller, Romney, and other conservatives have received over a million dollars in secret money from organizations of religious fanatics. It’s an investment. What do they expect in return from Dean Heller?
  3. Dean Heller opposes Romney’s abandoning 47% of Americans and Romney’s calling us all names. But when it comes to his voting record, he never votes for the 47% but rather obstructs our votes. Read below.
  4. Dean Heller is sponsored by the those organizations that won’t want us to protect ourselves with responsible gun regulations. Dean heller is bought and paid for by those who would be glad to make a buck even if it means people in movie theaters get shot.
  5. Dean Heller is part of the organized attack on women’s rights. Heller votes against Paycheck Fairness legislation. No reason for second-class citizens (women) to be paid as much as men.
  6. Dean Heller is indebted to billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Who will he represent? Well certainly not the 47% who he has forgotten long ago.
  7. Dean Heller has done more than most other Republican to obstruct any efforts Americans have put forward to fix this country. Heller’s primary objective seems to be to thwart any progress at any cost to you and me. This is why our government doesn’t work. Do we need more of this?
  8. Dean Heller gets big donations from the big oil companies so he is opposed to the billion dollar multinational corporations having to pay their fair share of taxes. That means that you and I have to pay more in taxes to make up for the oil companies paying nothing and that’s just fine with Dean Heller

 

You Don’t Own Me

Monday, October 22nd, 2012

You Don’t Own Me
Matthew K

Check out this great short video on Youtube. You Don’t Own Me.

You should forward this link to every woman and girl you know and to ever other person who knows a woman and have them forward this to everyone they know.

Women in America are under attack like they have never been before and if we don’t stop this attack now, it will take us generations to get back here again.

Don’t let us slip backward. Send this link on to everyone you know.

Are Both Parties Lying?

Friday, October 19th, 2012

Are Both Parties Lying?
by
David Schlecht

In a recent post, Mr. Speck wrote regarding how this seems to be the new meme in the news. And, you know what? There are lots of people out there who will fall for the trick. Are both parties lying?

Ask yourself, if you were being called out on countless lies and you wanted to redirect the attention away from your lack of morals, what would you do? Well, if you were the Romney campaign, you would start saying the other guy is lying. That way Romney’s lies don’t seem so terrible.

Don’t believe the meme that both parties are lying.

Of course, I’m not saying that Romney couldn’t find a Democrat somewhere who lies. But it’s not a fundamental part of the Democratic party like lying is rooted in the Republican party.

This is not just a biased perspective. It is documented repeatedly.

The Republican argument they use to defend their lies is that it’s all just a matter of opinion. No, it’s not a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of facts. There is only one set of facts. You can have a difference of opinion, but when you try to change the facts, it’s a lie. When it’s been pointed out to be a lie and Romney keeps repeating it, it can’t even be disguised as a mistake anymore.

Spend five minutes. Google “Romney lies” and then Google “Obama lies” and compare the differences.

When you hear that Obama took $700 billion dollars from Medicare, do the Republicans say it’s because he saved that much and that there is zero loss of Medicare coverage? It’s a plain and simple lie what the Republicans are saying.

The Republican party is so steeped in lies that they stink of it. But the “value voters” will vote for the enemy of America if they have to. They will vote for the party of lies.

So, that means that you and I have to make sure that every person we know is out there voting to counteract the party of lies and their value voters.

Paying Higher Taxes Saves You Money

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Paying Higher Taxes Saves You Money
by
David Schlecht

This subject used to be taught in elementary and middle schools back in the days when America taught history and civics. What an awful thing to lose.

But, here’s the long and the short of it.

Paying more in taxes typically translates to paying less for other things. In the simple case, say everyone in America bought a $10 widget every month. If we all buy our widgets individually, we are at the mercy of the greedy free market. Eventually one widget maker will buy another who will buy another until there is only one widget maker left and he can charge what he wants.

If we all pooled our money and bought our widgets in bulk, we would not only have a substantial volume discount, but the widget maker would be able to make widgets for less because of the large volume, bringing the price of our widgets down even more.

Now, if we decide to unite as in “We The People” and pay $10 in taxes to pool our purchases, we now have tremendous bargaining power and if we want, we can even start creating our own widgets and getting them at cost.

So, in the end, we’re paying $6 in taxes and saving $10 on a widget, saving $4. That’s not just $4 but a whopping 40%.

But, of course, we don’t want our government making our widgets. But we sure don’t want a greedy insurance company deciding if we get the cancer treatment we need or not. This is a simple example of saving a whole lot of money by paying our tax dollars for our medical and taking the greed out of it entirely. In this case, we save a whole lot more than 40% but have better health care. You know? More Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

The only people who don’t make out better when we pay higher taxes are the billionaires because they have their own police forces and their own fire services and they can put in a new sewer system whenever they need one. So paying taxes for everyone services costs them more. So, they hate the idea of higher taxes.

Oh, and yes, the widget makers don’t much like making less profit, either. :-)

 

Saving Money on Medicare to Help Fund Obamacare

Monday, September 10th, 2012

Saving Money on Medicare to Help Fund Obamacare
by
David Schlecht

You have probably already seen countless negative political ads informing the voters that one candidate or another voted to take money away from Medicare, some ads even say they stole money from Medicare.

And, where did this stolen money go? According to the ads, it went to pay for Obamacare which no one wants.

You were all warned that this was coming. The lies are coming so fast and furious that they can’t even be debunked fast enough.

No one voted to take money out of Medicare to pay for Obamacare. In fact, if you still have a few brain cells left, you will remember that we all wanted to fix our broken health care system. Well, now it’s on the path to being fixed and the ads are all telling us that no one wanted this.

Say what? Are they really expecting all of us to be so gosh-darned ignorant that we won’t remember what a mess Obamacare is cleaning up? Do they really believe that we want the old broken health care system back? They’re flat out wrong. We remember and we’re glad for the benefits that Obamacare brings and we’re not stupid.

So, where does this lie come from?

Obama did, in fact, save seven hundred billion dollars in Medicare by cutting the middle man, for profit corporations, out of the system. Obama also cut deals with the health care providers to help reduce costs.

So, there is no loss incurred by Medicare, only a savings. And that savings is being used to help cover other people who wouldn’t otherwise have insurance.

In other words, we’re getting more in return for our investment.

Got that? We’re saving money and the Republicans are lying trying to make it look like someone voted to take money away from Medicare services.

The Republican Lie Machine is just getting geared up. Get ready.

And, when you’re sick and tired of these ads expecting you to be stupid enough to believe them, then consider donating a couple bucks to the candidate that is being lied about.

Why Presidents Missing From RNC?

Friday, September 7th, 2012

Why Presidents Missing From RNC?

Dave Speck

Alright, I admit, by now, everyone is probably painfully aware that the RNC didn’t have a single former Republican president speak. Does anyone wonder why?

It seems pretty obvious. Bringing out the former Republican presidents just reminds America what a mess the Republican leave behind when they get in power. There’s no point in shedding light on your weak suit, right? So, let’s hide anyone that might remind the people what we Republicans are really about.

This infographic from ThinkProgress just about tells it all.

Clinton Arithmetic, DNC