Wolraich: Obama at the Gates of... Gates
Dr. C: In Praise of Writing Binges
Maiello: Gatsby Doesn't Grate
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Wolraich: Obama at the Gates of... Gates Dr. C: In Praise of Writing Binges Maiello: Gatsby Doesn't Grate |
Blowing |
Am I the only one becoming nauseous over the Republican Party’s claim that they’re the party of fiscal responsibility? And what about their claim that they're the only ones qualified to save the American middle class, they’re the nation’s job creators, and that they have a plan to rebuild our economy? Well, since we don’t want to go back and forth with a lot of partisan bickering over this issue, let’s just take a brief look at the Republican resume. A cursory look at the facts will tell the true story.
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Due to the freewheeling fiscal policies of conservative Republicans, between 1986 and 1989, spanning the presidencies of Reagan and Bush Sr., the FSLIC had to pay off all the depositors of 296 institutions with assets of over $125 billion.
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Then in 1988 Silverado Savings and Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $1.3 billion. It was headed by Neil Bush, brother of George W. The investigation indicated that Bush was guilty of "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." The issue was eventually settled out of court with Bush paying a mere $50,000 settlement.
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Then there was the Lincoln Savings and loan scandal in 1987, involving John McCain. The scandal was very similar to the one that is currently playing out on Wall Street. He was one of a group of senators dubbed "The Keating Five" involved in a scandal by the same name.
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In 1976 Charles Keating moved to Arizona to run the American Continental Corporation. In 1984, shortly after the Reagan era push to deregulate the savings and loan community, Keating bought Lincoln Savings and Loan and began to engage in highly risky investments with the depositors' savings. In 1989 the parent company, which Keating headed, went bankrupt, and it resulted in over 21,000 investors losing their life savings. Most of the investors were elderly, and the loss amounted to about 285 million dollars.
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After having received over a million dollars from Keating in illegal campaign contributions, gifts, free trips, and other gratuities, the Keating Five--Senators John Glenn, Don Riegle, Dennis DeConini, Alan Cranston, and Sen. John McCain--attempted to intervene in the investigation into Keating's activities by the regulators. Later, they were admonished to varying degrees by the senate for attempting to influence regulators on Keating's behalf. Charles Keating ended up being convicted for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, for which he received 10 years by the state court, and a 12 year sentence in federal court. After spending four and a half years in prison, his convictions were overturned. But prior to being retried, he pled guilty to a number of felonies in return for a sentence of time served.
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So we mustn’t allow ourselves to be blinded by the GOP’s incendiary political rhetoric. Just take a moment to ask yourself, Who was the last Republican president who DIDN’T drag America under a bus? If you answer that question truthfully, objectively, and honestly, it will become immediately clear that entrusting this government and economy to the Republican Party would be like entrusting our children to convicted child molesters.
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The Republican congress ran in the 2010 election on the claim that their number one priority was bringing economic relief, and creating jobs for the American people. As of June of 2012, here is a list of what they’ve done to meet that Goal:
Eric L. Wattree
Http:// wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.
Prompted by Peggy Noonan's claim in The Wall Street Journal that "we are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate," Andrew Sullivan steps forward to defend Pres. Obama's honor. "Can she actually believe this?," he asks incredulously.
By Julian Pecquet, The Hill, May 18, 2013
Congress is ramping up a new round of sanctions against Iran, ignoring the Obama administration's request to let diplomacy run its course.
In back-to-back hearings this week, lawmakers on key House and Senate panels put the State and Treasury departments on notice that their patience is wearing thin after the latest round of talks last month failed to produce a deal. Both chambers have legislative efforts in the works – the House foreign affairs panel will vote next week – but the administration is warning against any moves that could undermine international support for the existing sanctions against Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program [....]
By Carl Zimmer, New York Times/Science, May 16/17, 2013
An article that summarizes the recent work of Ya-Ping Zhang, a geneticist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who has led an international network of scientists who have compared pieces of DNA from different canines which is pointing to the theory that dogs domesticated themselves.
But the article's message is not just what it first appears to be. When you get to the concluding paragraphs there are some real though provokers:
[....] SLC6A4 may have played a crucial part in this change, because serotonin influences aggression.
To test these ideas,...
By Neha Paliwal, Passport @ ForeignPolicy.com, May 17, 2013
On Friday, chaotic clashes broke out in Georgia as an angry mob -- comprised mainly of young men but also including robed priests and some women -- descended on a gay rights rally commemorating International Day Against Homophobia. A day earlier, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church had demanded that authorities stop the rally, calling it a "violation of the majority's right."
According to EurasiaNet, the mob, which numbered...
By Miriam Elder in Moscow, The Guardian, May 17, 2013
Federal Security Service spokesman breaches protocol as he accuses US agency of crossing 'red line' in its recruitment efforts
Republicans have their views reinforced by Conservative media. The rank and file are therefore secure in the belief that any opposing viewpoint is a lie. If you ask many Republicans whether the deficit increased under Ronald Reagan, they will say No. If you ask if Reagan increased taxes, again they will say No. Ask if WMD were found in Iraq, Republicans will answer Yes. Republicans live in their own fantasy world.
The fantasy is reinforced by a meek US media. Issa can openly pose as a question whether the Obama WH sent guns into Mexico to increase violence so that American voters would vote for restrictive gun laws. Issa can also admit there is no evidence that the WH had any part in "Fast and Furious". No one in the news media will call Issa a nut job.
Scalia can have a public politically biased meltdown in delivering an opposing opinion at the Supreme Court and not be called biased by the news media. Thomas can refuse to remove himself from cases where his wife is supporting one side of the litigants in the case.
Polling indicates that people like the individual parts of Obamacare, but vote against the total package. While you can argue that the WH muffed the message, I think the stronger argument is that the media failed in their role to inform the public.
If you look at the media confusion yesterday suggesting that the Supreme Court had upheld "Papers Please" (the Mexican version of "Stop and Frisk"), you realize that realize that media is overwhelmed. The Supreme merely said that they neede a case specifically addressing "Papers Please".
Republicans can get away with what they do because they are aided and abetted by the media.
Rm,
You're right on the money. You said, "Republicans can get away with what they do because they are aided and abetted by the media." I would add one more thing - stupidity.
After reading the above piece, a conservative said the following:
"You haven't mentioned one fact . . . strangely enough, neither has your blog"
I responded by telling him,
"George, You've just substantiated my suspicion about you. You're completely blind to any fact that doesn't coincide with what you want to believe. So trying to get you to put your preconceived ideas to the side just long enough to view reality with anything close to objectivity is literally hopeless - it's like trying to convince the Sears Tower to scoot over a couple of inches. Thus, just taking the time to debate a person like you is not only a gross wasted of time, but it places my stability into question. Therefore, and as I told you yesterday, I'm done with you, George. So you have a great day."