Still Not Okay

Stronger than the storm? Maybe Chris Christie is. He will surely win the upcoming election, however I don't know anyone who would vote for him.

In my town here on the Jersey shore many are still waiting for help and funds that will probably never come, funds Chris Christie had access to and used to plaster his face in an expensive public relations advertising scheme using over  $2 million that could have gone to families in need. There are somewhere around 26,000 families still displaced.
Our community center flooded during the storm it will be re-opened today providing a photo-op for Governor Christie, he is finally getting around to coming to my town. We didn't have a boardwalk or amusement

rides where I live, guess Christie had better things to do, like rebuilding a boardwalk that later sustained millions of dollars in damage as a result of a fire.


Christie has blamed a majority of the problems in getting relief to the people who have lost their homes on the red tape the government established after Hurricane Katrina. Applications have been lost, people have been fired, mistakes made that resulted in errors that denied people funding and another committee has been set up to figure out why these things occurred.
As much as I dislike Christie I can't blame the whole Sandy mess on him,
the fact is that that there are multiple reasons why this catastrophe has hit people so hard. One big reason no one talks about is the state of the economy. I know where I live, what once was cottages only meant for summer use became year round residences for people. As the economy melted down people began to double up with their parents and grandparents.

This is a good example of a lot of the houses that were flooded during the storm.

Some people inherited these places from family and when times got hard they moved in and stayed, living on a coastline year round where housing should never have been built, not unless you expect to be flooded out at anytime. Some of these people are retirees who bought these places years ago, paid cash and had no flood insurance. How these people will be able to rebuild  remains to be seen. Add to that the burden of what is already known as the highest property tax rate in the country and you have a recipe for what will be another disaster. This month I went to the township to pay my taxes and asked the workers there how many people were coming back after being flooded out, their answer? "Not many". Taxes will be going up here in order to make up for lost revenue, but you can't get more out of a populace that's overtaxed and underemployed.
Many people owned second homes here, I personally know a guy who had FEMA come out to his parents vacation home, that's right, a second home, this guy wanted the government to pay for. If he did it, I can't imagine how many others did, wasting FEMA's time and money that could have been used for those truly in need.
 I am wondering if I should bother leaving the house today since traffic will be a nightmare with Christie in town. There are a lot of  people who are very excited about Christie's visit, he is just doing what a politician does before an election, that's all that this fanfare is. I fail to see how it's going to help any of the people who are still suffering here.
First we get a hurricane and now we get a huge windbag. 

The $24 Billion Dollar Temper Tantrum

Usually after a crises there is time for reflection. In order to avoid a mistake again. Unfortunately, it's going to be made, again and again. On January 15th, it will be Tea Party nutjobs time to score again in their game of chicken. You would think after gaining absolutely nothing, the nonsense would stop, but I doubt it because these people are crazy.

Yeah, they did. Not one ounce of shame, no sense of how completely wrong this act was. This is America. Isn't it great?
One good thing to come out of this, maybe Mitch McConnell will lose his seat in DC because he's not conservative enough.
John Boehner, is trying to run the asylum and failing miserably. No wonder he breaks down and cries at the drop of a hat. The Koch Brothers and billionaires who fund the Tea Party want to privatise the government, enriching them even more, the Tea Party is so ignorant or they just don't care that they are being used
I guess maybe I should be grateful that these fools didn't show up at the White House in hoods and robes, but their neo Confederate, right wing fantasy of "Christian Values" is dangerous.
So what's going to happen next?

A conference committee, that's right, after all the "Supercomittee" was so successful. Paul Ryan will be the lead negotiator in this group, he did not vote for the compromise to open the government. Get ready to hear about all of us entitled people who will be entitled to hear about cuts to entitlements, oh and tax cuts. The result of the last Supercommittee was Sequestration because they couldn't come to an agreement. Sequestration was supposed to be so terrible that no one would let it happen, but it did. I don't have any hope of any committee solving any problems. The only thing I can see coming down the road where they 
kicked the can are... that's right, spending cuts! They couldn't defund the ACA so the punishment will be cuts to whatever social programs that make this country humane. Back in the good old days I was always told I lived in the "richest country in the world," now we are so poor we can't even take care of our own people, supposedly.
 So here we are, a waste of billions of dollars and a bunch of crying about the deficit. Then we can sit back and watch the show in January. I can hardly wait to see another showdown of Congresscritters who get "caught up in emotion"  and berate innocent National Park Service employees and yes, that jackass still has a job. There's not going to be any real action to stop these idiotic shutdowns from continuing while every other civilized country provides healthcare to their people. Don't believe me? Look at this map.

See all that green? Those countries provide healthcare. Wasn't that what this shutdown was all about? Even gay-hatin Russia provides healthcare to it's people. Oh yeah, isn't that what all those Teabaggers are afraid we'll turn into? Because look at how great capitalism is and the wonderful things that it's done for us. Because our economy is amazing and we live in the richest, most exceptional country in the world. Right?

*Pic of Confederate flag wavin'Teanutjob from Washington Post
*Map from Wikimedia
* There's been a lot of speculation about Ted Cruz running for President, which is sprinkling extra stupid all over the Tea Party. He was born in Canada. Does that mean anything? Status as a natural-born citizen of the United States is one of the eligibility requirements. There ya go birthers.

The Wayback Machine

Anybody remember "the Wayback Machine"? In the good old days there was a cartoon show called Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was on TV from 1959 to 1964 and ever after thanks to reruns. Today, in 2013, I've been reading some interesting things about Republicans and their crushing on "The Founding Fathers", comparing the government shut down to the American Revolution. Sigh.
Not all of our genius founding fathers were slave  owners, but most of them were. It took another century to rid this country of that evil, because they didn't have the guts to really create a more perfect union. I would really like it if we did have a revolution in this country and become more civilized when it comes to healthcare. Instead, unlike Senators and Congresscritters, millions of Americans are told they can live free and die because they don't have access to healthcare.
"I will remind you that this group of renegades that decided that they wanted to break from the crown in 1776 did great damage to the economy of the colonies. They created the greatest nation and the best form of government, but they did damage to the economy in the short run.” Morgan Griffith (R-Va) Yeah, ok.
Because the best form of government means you can own a human being and women have no rights. So let's imagine ourselves as a band of renegades who keep women from having access to birth control. It's 2013 and every civilized country has a single payer healthcare system and I'm supposed to believe that America is the greatest country. It's Patriotism and apple pie for all, however, no healthcare.
Maybe we should go back and learn about the East India Company.  That's right, it was a corporation. Surprise, surprise, it had a lobby in the English Parliament. It was a monopoly. Interesting fact, Britain had a huge trade deficit with China (sound familiar?).....so the company decided to create a monopoly in the opium trade. They shipped the opium by way of India to China. The East India Company had a devastating influence on India that lasts to this day.
The East India Company had a monopoly on tea in the American colonies, it also had a huge surplus of tea it needed to unload. We didn't want the to be taxed on tea in our country by way of the East India Company, so we rebelled because of the whole "taxation without representation"  Tea Act.
We were taxed without having any true representative in Parliament and now the only representatives we have in American government are a subsidiary of corporations by way of lobbies. Today's Tea Party is funded by corporations.
Morgan Griffith got it wrong. It's more like the Civil War than the American Revolution and he's a closet Confederate. While he should be rebelling because corporate concerns are more important that the average American's concerns, the reason being is that corporate money is what is being represented in the United States. He doesn't care about that, but he should. If shutting down the government does cause another economic recession-depression I don't think our pals in China who own a buttload of our debt are going to be real happy.
 People's food stamp debit cards aren't working in the grocery stores, because of "glitches". We have seen what happens when the elite tell people they can go ahead and eat cake.
 There's going to be a revolution all right if things get worse, but it's not going to be the kind Mr. Griffith (R-Va) imagines.

Back in the "good old days" they had this too.

Power To The Have-Nots

I am pretty disgusted with how complicated things are. How barbaric people act. Nothing seems to be easy anymore. Our government is shut down over a healthcare law. A law that in my state will still keep many working poor from getting any help since Governor Christie refuses to expand Medicaid. I know Republicans are going to ask for some chained CPI for Social Security next. They want to strip away any social programs they can. Whether it's in an underhanded way, in some shady behind closed doors deal or in plain daylight, the terrorists in the US are getting away with murder, everyday that people have to go without healthcare.
I saw this on the internet. A girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban. Ya know, for talking too much. She was talking about education for women. She took a bullet for it.
 She has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Her name is Malala.

When I see someone as eloquent as this 16 year old girl who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out, I see some hope. Not for this country, however, because we have our own Taliban.
The Tea Taliban and the Republican party, have been busy gutting our public education system for years. Women getting birth control with the ACA is another no-no here in the land of the free. There's no end to the list of demands the terrorists in our government want. The person who is supposed to be in charge of these Tearanists (yeah, I made a word up.) is the biggest coward of them all. He is afraid he will lose his job if the Tea Particles don't get their way.

Nominated For The Booby Prize

        Everything this man is doing,  is nothing more than trying to save his own skin, to save face.
A 16 year old girl has more guts than this jackass.

Nominated For A Nobel Peace Prize

I hope I am looking at the future, when I look at the picture of this amazing young woman. She has more balls than Boehner will ever have.
Good Luck Malala, I hope you get that prize.
                                              I hope John Boehner gets what he deserves. He has been called the worst Speaker of the House since the Civil War and his closet Confederates act like that is exactly what they want.
When people don't have the dignity to accept change, to acknowledge the will of the people, you have situations like what happened to Malala, with a terrorist holding a gun to your head.

The Dirty Thirty

There's a lot of speculation about how the Democrats refuse to compromise and Republican's are just trying to carry out the will of the American people. Even though for the last 2 elections they have voted for Obama and Obamacare. The GOTEAer's are willing to hijack democracy and tank the US economy to try to stop women having birth control state-funded like the rest of the Western world. That's pretty much it.
There are no consequences for shutting down the government, neither side loses. Low approval ratings or polls have no impact on Congresspeople, it's irrelevant.  All you have to do is get elected, then you get a career as a lobbyist, consultant or a speaker for corporations. Unemployment is never a problem for politicians which is why they don't have any sympathy for the unemployed.
Lets just hypothesize that the Speaker of the House does not agree with the government shut down. He may act like he's got a lot to lose, but if he does lose the Speakership, he will just be recycled into a lobbyist or corporate spokesperson. Then try again for another election if he gets bored. It's a win-win!
Ted Cruz, Michelle Bachman, Rand Paul and 27 others willing to commit treason to get their way and  Republicans are willing to go right along with them. They know that the ACA is the first step to universal healthcare. As the younger generation takes over, former red states are going to turn blue. Its going to happen and that's why this travesty is going on. Medicare for all WILL eventually happen.
 There's a whole new generation of Americans who are tired of the selfishness, cruelty and lack of foresight the Fright Wing is responsible for. The worst among them are these Tea Particles, all 30 of them.
Fact is that our healthcare system is complicated, burdensome and cruel. It is a job killer and having a system like this based on employment has failed.
These Tea people are responsible for the slogan of  "keep your hands off my medicare."
With the almost 40 million people uninsured and almost that many living in poverty, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what a drag on the economy people without healthcare cost us. Many of the states run by Republican governors won't expand Medicaid leaving the working poor to fend for themselves. The next logical step is going to be Medicaid for all. When people get that it's going to be "keep your hands off my Medicaid."
 I just hope that the next "compromise" is not going to be some "Grand Bargain" of handing over Social Security to be privatized. Because thats' the next thing these Teatards want to get rid of. President Obama never thought the Radical Right would go for the Sequester, but they did. I hope he knows better than to compromise after 2011.

Today's Senate prayer: "Have mercy upon us, oh God, and save us from the madness."

Welcome back, Mr. President. The guy who ran for President in 2008 has shown up and called out John Boehner. Something I've been doing for years. While Tea Particles continue to insure that people without insurance, don't get insured, Boehner continues to back them. 
Some woman tried to breach Capitol security with her Lexus and kid inside, went on a wild chase and ended up getting shot and killed. Hope it was worth it.
I am not sure how much crazier it can get. But I am sure it will get crazier.
The Treasury says a U.S default could be catastrophic, but not as catastrophic as Boehner losing his Speakership.  His whole "Legacy is on the line".
I am sure something good can be said for this guy. But I won't be the one saying it.
However, someone's been saying that Congress members "reeked of alcohol", after shutting down the government. Party on, Tea Particles!
This madness should be found in a Shakespeare play. Unfortunately it is right here in the good old USA, home of the uncivilized. While almost every civilized country considers healthcare a basic human right, our first step to getting a public option is a no-go for Republicans.  
This is what they are fighting about? Really?  (Because your corporate lobby overlords told you to.)
So shut the mother down Tea Toadies. Go for it, you're all Gerrymandered in your ivory seats in Congress. 

Mr. Speaker has a problem on his hands however, how to save his own hide.

Enjoy your Merlot, while ordinary Americans can barely afford Coors Light.

Let alone health insurance. You tell those job creators how great the economy is.

 Why else would you risk another economic catastrophe?

Unless of course that's exactly what those Teatards want.

Who's going to save them from themselves?

The Opera And The House

I guess if the New York City Opera can shut down, why not the government?
 Americans either can't afford to go to the opera or aren't really interested and even after the sold out performances of "Anna Nicole" the opera's contemporary tale about the tragic life of Anne Nicole Smith, it failed to make enough to stay open.
 Maybe it's me, but I know I wouldn't pay money to see that. Which begs the question, how out of touch are people who stage opera's about dead pseudo celebrities and people who engineer government shut downs?
I never really "got" Anna Nicole Smith or the Kardashians, I don't get Ted Cruz or John Boehner or Mitch McConnell. Why are these people famous? What did they ever do to improve the lives of anyone? They are part of the American landscape. Politically and culturally, or what's left of our culture. 
The NYC Opera was waiting for an 11th hour donor to come through, like President Obama was waiting for some sane Republicans to stop shutting down our government at the last minute.
I can't help but feel that this government shut down is a bunch of theater, like the opera. The next thing you know there may be a "Grand Bargain," a giveaway of some social program that the American people want and need, but the 1% think we can do without in exchange for the government being open for business. 
What exactly will the 99% have to give up?
 Who exactly is working in the wings, behind the scenes, writing the dialog that ordinary Americans have to parse every day in order to figure out what is REALLY going on? Everyday Americans are pretty paranoid about their meager existence being pulled out from under them in this brittle "recovery" that is barely visible.
Supposedly this shutdown is about the ACA. Well it's online today, I already went there to check it out.  
The Health Insurance Marketplace is Open! | HealthCare.gov
It's cumbersome and complicated but at least it's something. There are 30-40 million uninsured in this country that can just go pound salt according to the Tea Particles. That's really what this is about. Those that have don't worry about their health insurance since Ted Cruz is insured by Goldman Sachs.
I've never been to the opera, but I have been through a few government shut downs. I guess this  one won't be over till the fat lady sings.The question is does she have health insurance? I guess not, now that she's unemployed.
                               
 Oh look, a voice of reason!

I can't wait to vote for her for President!