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Kansas House Speaker calls First Lady Michelle Obama ‘Mrs. YoMama’

06 Jan

According to the Huffington Post, Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal apologized Thursday for forwarding an email referring to First Lady Michelle Obama as “Mrs. YoMama” and comparing her to the Grinch, and yes, he’s a republican.

In his “holiday” e-mail, O’Neal’s subject line read, “Twins separated at birth?” including side-by-side pictures of Michelle Obama and the Grinch with similarly windswept hair;the forwarded part of the email reads, “I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Mrs. YoMama a wonderful, long Hawaii Christmas vacation — at our expense, of course.”

But wait, O’Neal didn’t just stop there, he forwarded the email to House Republicans and added the text, “Sorry, just had to forward the latest holiday message! I’ve had worse hair days but this is pretty funny.”

Well, isn’t that so seventh grade of the “Speaker”; he has since said he was sorry to those he offended.

OK, when are one of these people going to simply say, “I apologize, I was wrong, there’s no excuse,” instead of “I’m sorry to anyone I might have offended”? The “Speaker” screwed up and he needs to be man enough to admit that and sincerely apologize, not issue a generic apology.

In his “apology” he said the picture “made me laugh.” Earlier his communications director defended him, saying that political cartoons are a “part of American culture.”

Yeah, that’s true, political cartoons are “part of American culture”, but so is racism, and this smacks of pictures of the President with a bone through his nose, and watermelons in front of the White House; a funny picture of hair being blown everywhere is one thing, adding the phrase “YoMama” to it makes it a racist caricature and “Speaker” O’Neal should step down. Perhaps that’s the kind of humor the “Speaker” is used to down at the local pub, but adult people – especially leaders – in polite society don’t think its funny; time to grow up Mr. “Speaker.

 
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Posted by on January 6, 2012 in Racism

 

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Mittens’ tax plan, steal from the poor and give to the rich

05 Jan

According to the Associated Press (AP) Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential hopeful Mittens Romney’s so-called “tax plan” would increase taxes on low-income families while (wait for it) cutting taxes for the middle-class and the rich.

It appears Mittens plan would increase taxes on households making less than $20,000 by more than 60 percent, while households making between $50,000 and $75,000 would get small tax cuts, averaging 2.2 percent, or about $250, and anyone making more than $1 million would get tax cuts averaging 15 percent, or about $146,000.

So, just to recap, those making $1 million or more get a 15% tax cut, those making $50 to $70K would get a 2.2% tax cut and everyone else will get screwed with a 60% tax increase?!

On top of sticking it to the poor, Romney’s plan would reduce tax revenues by $180 billion in 2015, adding to the federal budget deficit. Of course Mittens campaign disputes those numbers claiming tax breaks to the wealthy will create jobs and spur the economy, blaah, blaah, blaah …

Romney’s plan would cut the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%, eliminate investment taxes for the middle class and make permanent a massive package of tax cuts first enacted under President George W. Bush. He said he’d also repeal tax increases on the wealthy enacted as part of President Barack Obama’s health care package.

But wait, that’s not all, Mitten’s plan would allow tax cuts enacted under President Obama as part of the massive economic stimulus package passed in 2009 to expire; and here’s the kicker, those tax cuts targeted low-income families with children, including many people who don’t make enough money to pay any federal income taxes. They included an expanded tax credit for college students, a more generous Earned Income Tax Credit for families with three or more children, and a more generous child tax credit for low-income families.

Romney isn’t interested in helping anyone who isn’t wealthy, he isn’t interested in spurring the economy, he’s interested in using the office of the President of the United States to help improve only one part of the nation’s population, the top 1% – his own. There’s only one group that benefits from his “tax plan”, and that’s the wealthy, I guess it’s immaterial the President is supposed to represent all the people, but to Mittens it’s only the wealthiest of We the People. Of course there’ll be great groups of naïve conservatives, with their FOX addled minds who will rush to vote for Romney because they want to protect their interests for when they too become millionaires. WAKE UP! You’ve a better chance of being abducted by space aliens than of ever belonging to the top 1%.

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Chad R. Regelin

04 Jan

Word was received today that U.S. Navy Petty Officer Chad R. Regelin, 24, of Anderson was fatally injured about 11:15 a.m. PST Monday, Jan. 2, while serving as a bomb disposal expert in southern Afghanistan.

Parents Shirene and Scott Regelin of Anderson were visited with the sad news of their son’s death shortly after 2 p.m. Monday when four uniformed representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces showed up on their doorstep.

“My heart is absolutely breaking at this time!! I wish someone could tell me it is not true!!! I don’t think I will ever get the picture out of my mind of the four men standing at the door to give me the news. I just want him to come home and let me hug him. I honestly do not know how I am going to get through this!!” Shirene Regelin posted on Facebook at 8:18 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3.

Within minutes, family and close family friends were responding with condolences and offers of assistance.

According to Justin Regelin, 31, also of Anderson, his youngest brother Chad Regelin had called the family from Afghanistan just an hour before the roadside bomb detonated.

“He called us while he was on watch. He was really upbeat because he had just gotten his orders to come back stateside on Feb. 15. He told us that he had about a week to go (in Kandahar) before they could helicopter in the replacement team,” Justin Regelin said today.

Shortly after the phone call ended, Chad Regelin and the rest of his team split into squads to do their routine patrols. A bomb explosion drew their attention to a spot beside a road just outside of the military base. While Chad Regelin and his teammates were sifting through the debris and bomb crater for any kind of forensic evidence that would link the bomb to the person or people who had made it, a secondary explosion from a “direct switch” device exploded, fatally injuring Chad Regelin, his brother recounted from a briefing the family received earlier today.

“He suffered some broken bones, but they believe he died from head injuries. They were able to airlift him out of there and he was conscious for about a half-hour before he died in a military hospital,” Justin Regelin said.

Chad Regelin’s body was flown to Germany and then to Dover Air Force Base outside of Washington, D.C., where military-trained personnel will prepare the body in a dress uniform before flying it home to Anderson. The process will take between four and five days, Justin Regelin said.

“Yesterday was pretty tough for the family,” Justin Regelin said today. “I’ve been through a time of sadness. It’s tough to lose your littlest brother. But he said he was at peace with what he was doing (as a bomb disposal expert.) That is what he loved to do.”

Arrangements are pending for a memorial service and burial at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo, Justin Regelin said.

“It is just hard to know that someone was waiting to pull the trigger that killed him,” Justin Regelin said of his brother.

Recognized by the USO in October as its 2011 Sailor of the Year, Chad Regelin was serving as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician with Mobile Unit Three in southern Afghanistan.

The USO recognized him for heroic actions during his first tour, from August 2010 through March 2011, when he “personally located and destroyed 24 IEDs (improvised exploding devices or roadside bombs), trained 13 commando engineers in counter-IED tactics and fought in more than 20 direct fire engagements,” according to the USO’s 70th anniversary banquet program given to guests at the Oct. 6 event in Washington, D.C.

Chad Regelin was unable to attend the awards ceremony as he was serving a second tour of duty in Afghanistan as a replacement for another bomb disposal expert who had been injured. It was during that second tour in Afghanistan that Regelin was killed.

However, his parents, sister and one of two older brothers made the trip back east to tour the White House, Pentagon and U.S. Capitol buildings prior to the banquet held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Chad Regelin was stationed at the San Diego Naval Base.

A 2005 graduate of Anderson Union High School, Regelin enlisted in the Navy in 2006. While in high school, Regelin helped launch the school’s Surf Club and was named Outstanding Senior for the Anderson Cubs varsity football squad.

Petty Officer Regelin is the 1,865th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in War on Terror

 

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Founding Fathers would have cracked down on pot?

04 Jan

Self proclaimed historian and Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential wannabe Newton Leroy Gingrich, said during a town hall-style appearance in Concord, that if elected (which is an ever expanding really big IF) he had no interest in exploring drug decriminalization, arguing such efforts haven’t worked in Europe, and of course as a conservative he’d base success rates of things off of Europe – which to conservatives has never succeeded in anything.

According to the Huffington Post, when a member of an audience later in the day argued the founding fathers had been far more lenient about marijuana than the current political class, Newton responded, “I think Jefferson or George Washington would have rather strongly discouraged you from growing marijuana and their techniques with dealing with it would have been rather more violent than our current government.” A comment which has no (as in zero) basis of fact to back it up, other than Newton being a conservative, and all conservative are born with an inherent understanding of what the Founding Fathers thought or would’ve thought on any subject from drug laws to potty training.

Of course the fact many of the Founding Fathers grew hemp (George Washington especially and Thomas Jefferson also included) was lost on Professor Gingrich, which today would’ve landed the grower in jail. Yeah, it’s easy to see how the Founding Fathers would’ve been harder than today’s authorities.  This is once again nothing but right-wing FOX style hyper-bole based on utter and complete nonsense. As a presidential candidate Newt’s a joke, and as a historian he’s an ignoramus.

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Big Bird to get the boot under Romney?

04 Jan

Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential hopeful Mittens Romney mewed this week while campaigning in Iowa that under his administration spending for public television would be cut saying Big Bird should be supported by advertisements and that the arts will need to get more private donations to stay afloat.

“We’re not going to kill Big Bird,” Romney said during a campaign stop in Clinton, Iowa. Mittens made the promise while touting his plans to drastically cut federal spending, under which he would slash $500 billion dollars a year from the budget by the end of his first term.

Romney stressed the need to cut even popular programs and singled out the National Endowment for the Arts and the Public Broadcasting Corporation as entities that would have to seek private funding in a Romney administration.

“Big Bird is going to have advertisements, all right?” said Romney. “And we’re going to have endowments for the arts and humanities, but they’re going to be paid for by private charity, not by taxpayers.”

“But don’t you worry about those obsolete weapons systems,” Romney’s Brain Captain continued. “There’ll be no cutting of defense spending under a Romney presidency; we’ve got to prepare for war with the Persian Empire!”

Romney said he has a litmus test for determining what would stay and what would go under his budgets, “My test is, is a program so critical that it’s worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?”

So, protecting the top 1% against tax increases is OK, and barrowing to spend for continuing escalation of hostilities between us and anyone Mittens decides is right is OK, but poor kids being able to watch Sesame Street is not OK.

According to the Huffington Post, the public broadcasting funds represent a minuscule portion of the federal budget. The Congressional Budget Office said this year that eliminating NPR’s $5 million in federal funds from the budget would have “no effect.”

So, Mittens is banging his chest about how he’ll cut programs that won’t affect the budget or the deficit – typical GOTP tactics of class and culture warfare; “There’s no money for bullets because those poor kids are sponging off of tax payers to watch Thomas the Tank Engine,” Mitten’s Brain Captain screamed. “The madness has got to stop”!

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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And then there were six

04 Jan

Republican Tea Party (GOTP) never had a snow ball’s chance presidential hopeful Michele “Krazy” Bachman has ended her Quixotic bid for the White House; during a press conference Krazy said her last-place Iowa caucus was essentially the nail in her political coffin. Of course anyone with half a grain of common sense understood from the beginning that Bachmann never stood any chance whatsoever of winning the nomination much less the White House, she’s certifiable, and that finally caught up with her; the longer the race dragged on the more opportunities she had to let her Krazy shine through.

Of course with Bachmann gone, that leaves her supporters with only one logical choice in the continuing GOTP contest, and that choice is Ricky Santorum; the very same Ricky who’s trying to establish himself as the one clear conservative heavyweight in the GOTP race, as Mittens is not now, nor ever has been a conservative.

Santorum essentially tied with caucus winner Mitt Romney (the margin was eight votes) thus suddenly becoming the non-Romney contender for the presidential nomination. But will his rise be for real or merely the latest in a long list including Perry, Cain and Gingrich? Look for Santorum to begin to receive increased funding from the evangelical right, and to begin to draw attention to the stark political differences between Mittens and himself. Of course, odds are he’ll quickly implode now that he’ll be receiving the full media attention of a “front runner”.

As for Bachmann’s departure; at least we’ll all be spared her continually petulant whinny voice; but never-the-less we’ll miss her – to use Mitt’s word – zany antics. Good-bye Krazy, adieu, auf wiedersehen, farewell …

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Pat Robertson says God revealed the next president to him, but, shhhhh, it’s a secret

03 Jan

He’s at it again, the man who would be Moses, Pat Robertson, says God has told him who the next president will be — but it’s a secret.

The televangelist has revealed he spent nearly a week in prayer, asking God to “show me something” – yes, he was sign seeking.

“I think He showed me the next president, but I’m not supposed to talk about that,” Robertson explained. “So I’ll leave you in the dark — probably just as well — I think I’ll know who it will be.”

Clearly there’s a disconnect in Robertson’s so-called Christianity; in Matthew 12 we learn what the Lord thinks of sign seekers, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

“But he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign…”

So, not only does Robertson place himself willingly into the camp of “an adulterous and evil generation”, but if he received a “revelation”? Well, if Jesus declared people who were seeking signs were both “evil and adulterous” I think it’s fair to assume God didn’t provide the info. I find it very amusing someone like Robertson, who claims to be a Christian minister, could be so willfully ignorant of the words of Jesus Christ.

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Latest 2012 Presidential Polls – 2 Jan 12 (Iowa Caucus Eve) Edition

02 Jan

Concerning the ongoing GOTP nominating circus (Iowa Caucus Edition), a new Insider Advantage poll of likely voters conducted New Year’s Day has been released:

Romney holds on to a very narrow lead in Iowa as Santorum remains strong as surprising third; Romney 23; Paul 22; Santorum 18; Gingrich 16; Perry 10; Bachmann 6 and Huntsman 2

The interesting thought is, the last poll in Iowa pitting Romney against the President found Mittens the loser by 7 points; NBC News/Marist poll of registered voters conducted 27 – 29 Nov 11: President Obama 46/Romney 39. So, there’s lots of talk in Iowa from Romney and the other six political dwarves about how any of them can beat the President in 2012, but the polling state by state doesn’t come close to bearing out that prediction; in fact current polling on state levels show the President with 338 electoral votes (270 needed to win) and Romney with 200.

Granted a lot can happen in the next 11 months, but if Romney wins the GOTP nomination he’s going to have to run to the center (flip) to win the general election, and the Tea Party portion of the GOTP isn’t going to support that; if he suddenly becomes a moderate again (flop) we may see a third party candidacy from Bachmann, Perry or any number of conservatives.

When Mitt starts trying to be a moderate candidate (flip) look for countless ads demonstrating that he’s a political chameleon – changing colors as needed to win – with no real core values whatsoever; Romney is not electable; he’s not likeable and he flip-flops more than a freshly landed trout; if he’s the candidate – barring a great depression style economic collapse – he loses, and he loses big.

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2012 in 2012 Election

 

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Pernell J. Herrera

02 Jan

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

SPC Pernell J. Herrera, 33, of Espanola, N.M., died 31 Dec 11, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, Santa Fe, N.M.

PFC Whitmire is the 1,864th American to die in Afghanistan … Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2012 in War on Terror

 

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2011 in review

31 Dec

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

 
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Posted by on December 31, 2011 in Uncategorized

 
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