Mid-Term Elections: Banks And Wall Street Win, You Lose….

 

…and this time I think that the American voter deserves what he has coming to him. that will be less regulation of the banks and even less regulation of Wall Street once the lobbyist have convinced the Republicans that such things as derivatives need not be traded on exchanges, as his been suggested. you can pretty much kiss the current reform legislation good by so far as Wall Street and the banks are concerned.

    It has been suggested that to many regulations would cost the American people jobs.  Remember that derivatives had been  traded previously without any oversight and that that was part of the reason for our current financial problems.

    The Republicans also don’t much care for the Consumer Protection Agency either, so you can expect an attempt at de-funding this Republican pain in the side. This is in regards to financial products,and other issues.

   We lose people! I guess that the voters in this country are somewhat short on memory when it comes to who has screwed them the most. Remember former resident George Bush? This will be worse for you this time around. Once again, it is all about business getting the key to the kingdom, and you getting the shaft! Please enjoy what you have earned.

Watching America

Likewise, Republicans have long considered Obama’s Consumer Protection Agency for financial products a thorn in the side. It is intended to protect consumers from financial damage due to predatory credit card and mortgage practices. But Republicans fear that it might lead to stricter controls on financial institutions. Experts assume the agency will be under-funded by a Republican controlled House and thus find it impossible to carry out its mission.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama,Party of No,Wall Street,Repulbicans,Financial News,Current Events,Consumer Protection Agency

Republican Obstructionism…

 

…has worked for the past two years,and we can damned sure expect more of the same over the next two years. Senator Bitch Mitch McConnell even said so.

While extending a hand of bipartisanship to Obama, McConnell issued a stark warning that Republicans have no plans to compromise with the president. The GOP leader also wouldn’t back down from his recent assertion that his party’s No. 1 goal over the next two years will be to deny Obama a second term.

"Over the past week, some have said it was indelicate of me to suggest that our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office," McConnell said. "But the fact is, if our primary legislative goals are to repeal and replace the health spending bill; to end the bailouts; cut spending; and shrink the size and scope of government, the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won’t veto any of these things.”

     So folks, it looks as if we can expect more of the same stalling/blocking efforts from the Republicans that  we have seen over the past 2 years only now the Repugnicans have the will of the people behind them.

   While you are here, go check out some of the ideas that Governor-Elect Rick Scott has in mind for turning the state of Florida around. This is just to much! Florida has been getting fucked by the Republicans for decades and that trend will continue under Mr. Scott. The man seems to think that he can fix the problems brought down from Tallahassee, which isn't going to happen as long as Florida residents continue to stay stuck on stupid at election times.

Technorati Tags: Senator Mitch McConnell,Republicans,Barack Obama.Party of No,Florida,Rick Scott,Governor Elect,The House,The Senate

The Super Rich’s Get Out The Ignorant Vote

 

    I have stated on more than one occasion that a vote for a Republican is akin to taking a knife and then cutting your own throat with it. This happened with former President George Bush in 2004 and just this week with the mid-term elections.

   The ignorant,uninformed voter bought into the falsehoods about Obama’s health care plan and death panels, as well as the lie that the stimulus bill created no jobs. To much FoxNews and the brain wittles away into nothingness.

DailKos

The Ignorant, Financed by the Super Rich, Cutting Their Own Throats.

by jdecock

Wed Nov 03, 2010

When unions fought for safe and fair working conditions, the bosses brought in entire police forces and hired thugs to physically intimidate, injure and kill the workers. This continues to be possible because of two dominant and pervasive themes in American life: The wealthy will protect their profit and power at any cost and there will always be people willing to do their dirty work for short term personal gain.

It's a classic American narrative -- the wealthy are threatened with fairness, they lose a tiny sliver of their upper hand, and out come the thugs and goons. In the face of even the most mild policy initiatives to bring balance and fairness to health care and the regulation of the financial industry, the hammer has come down.

When unions fought for safe and fair working conditions, the bosses brought in entire police forces and hired thugs to physically intimidate, injure and kill the workers. This continues to be possible because of two dominant and pervasive themes in American life: The wealthy will protect their profit and power at any cost and there will always be people willing to do their dirty work for short term personal gain.

When, after eight years of the most mean-spirited, dangerous and incompetent leadership in our history, an election brought in a wave of people eager to restore sanity to government, the long knives came out. The vigilantism, racism, hatred and greed evoked by the Tea Party "movement" is a shameful, continuing chapter in our history, but it is by no means new. What is new is that there is a powerful media conglomerate, Rupert Murdoch's NewCorp, and it's flagship Fox News, which creates a willfully dishonest narrative about our country and our values every minute of every day. They feed into the basic human tendency to identify "others" who are responsible for all of our problems. No jobs? It's the damn illegals. Economy tanking? It's free spending liberals. Not a shred of truth is necessary. No reference to the cataclysmic policies of the Bush Administration that destroyed the strongest economic engine in history. Nope, it's just as simple as Obamacare is ruining the country. That's all you need to know.

We might have been able to overcome even the most mendacious and petty instincts of the wealthy and our fellow citizens had it not been for the ironically named "Citizens United" decision of the Supreme Court. The advent of superpacs spending unlimited amounts of anonymous money through front groups was the final nail in the coffin for democracy this time around.

The only thing that can beat Citizens United is united citizens. It is our sacred obligation to spend the next two years working harder, being smarter and educating our communities about what has been lost and what is coming in the New American Thugocracy. The super rich, the small minded, the greedy and the hateful have carried the day. The corporate masters have been served and they will not give up their advantage easily. Our best hope is to expose them for what they are and keep bad things from happening. The President must use every administrative action in his power to keep a positive agenda moving forward in the face of blustering and sputtering by the right.

We need to deliver the goods in 2012 against the dangerous and destructive forces that have weaseled their way back into power. That means no time for grieving. Still, take a moment to reflect on life in 2001-2008. Now think about the damage John Boehner and Eric Cantor can do. Get the picture? Work harder starting now or prepare for a rude awakening in 2012.

      Not that I have approved of all that the Democrats have done,but, they have done more than they have been given credit for.

Technorati Tags: Democrats,Barack Obama,George Bush,Current EventsCitizens United,Tea Party

Tampa Residents Kill High Speed Rail Tax..

 

….and though I do support the concept of high-speed rail for the area and then some, I can understand why the people in the Hillsborough/Tampa area voted against a one-cent sales tax increase to fund the project.

   The local Wednesday morning papers wrote about how the residents here did not want any more taxes to pay because of the tough economic times in the region. That may be partly true,but I suspect that no one wanted to fund a project that hadn’t been completely laid out before the public. I know that I would not spend money on a something ahead of time without knowing what it was that I am getting.

   That being said, it is a bit disappointing that this measure failed because the Tampa area has a high rate of unemployment. Those rail jobs would more than likely have boosted the economy a little bit on top of giving quite a few people some much needed work. That hope is once again just a dream for the area. This area has been working on a way to get a rail system in place for three decades and there has always been some really stupid reason for the deal not coming together.

    I guess that this area wishes to remain in a third-world status for a few more decades.

 

Technorati Tags: High Speed Rail,Hillsborough County,Tampa,Florida

Rick Scott New Florida Governor

 

    This man is proof positive that you can buy an election and I’m sure that Mr.Scott is very happy with his win after spending some $70 MILLION of his own money to get into the governors mansion. Of course, Scott is promising less regulation for business as well as less taxes for the same.  He’s also promising less taxes for Florida residence, who pay no personal income tax in the first place! Of course,while Scott is cutting taxes and shrinking down the state government, the citizens will be paying more fees than they do at this time,which are plenty. You are almost paying a fee in this state just to breathe. This is how tax breaks are made up.

    You elected an alleged scam artist so you will get what he paid for.

Technorati Tags: Rick Scott,Florida Governor,Mid-Term,ElectionsFlorida

A Few Election Results…

 

…and to no ones surprise, Tea Party darling Marco Rubio has won the race for the Senate seat in Florida over his Republican Independent opponent Charlie Christ and Democratic Rep. Kendrick Meek who no one thought had a chance in the first place. All that I can say to the people of Florida is be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID. the only good thing out of this is that  Governor Christ will soon be a former governor with no job in politics. Not in an elected manner, at least. Guess that he to will become a highly paid lobbyist for someone.

   Tea Party sweetie Rand Paul has won his race up in Kentucky but over in the state of Delaware,Christine O'Donnell  (R)) lost to Democrat Chris Coons. I guess that Christine’s potion wasn’t working today.

YahooNews

In New Hampshire, Republican Kelly Ayotte kept her party in control of the seat being vacated by Judd Gregg. The former state attorney general defeated Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes.

Easily winning re-election as expected were Sens. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.

  In the Florida race for governor, Republican newbie Rick Scott has a slight lead over Democrat Alex Sink by a 50.89% to 45.53%lead.

 

Technorati Tags: Mid-Term,Elections,Marc Rubio,Charlie Christ,Alex Sink,Rick ScottTea Party

Today Is The Day

 

by Michael Moore                        Source

Tue Nov 02, 2010

This letter contains (almost) no criticisms of how the Democrats have brought this day of reckoning upon themselves. That -- and where to go from here -- will be the subject of tomorrow's letter.

Today, we have one job and one job only: Stop the return of the bigger criminal class, the Party of War, the people who (with a few Democratic enablers) manufactured the very mess we are in.

There is good news this morning: The final ABC/Washington Post poll shows that, among registered voters, people still say they prefer the Democrats over the Republicans by 5 percentage points. It's only when the pollsters ask "likely voters" who they want that the Republicans come out ahead by a few points.

So it's clear the majority of voters want the Dems, but the prediction is the Republicans will win because Dem voters are going to stay home.

So, our mission is simple: MAKE SURE NO ONE WE KNOW STAYS HOME TODAY. Here's what I am going to do right now and what I'm asking the millions of you reading this to join me in doing:

1. Email, call and/or text every non-Republican in your personal address book and remind them to vote Democratic today. If they (rightfully) complain that the Dems have been disappointing, tell them they're right, then ask them to watch this editorial by Rachel Maddow last night where she correctly lists the dozen or so things this Democratic congress did right -- the types of things we'll never see from the Republicans if they take over (equal pay for women act, taking student loans out of the greedy hands of the banks, funding for our first bullet trains, boosting veterans benefits after Bush refused to for 8 years, etc.).

1. Post a general reminder to vote (and who to vote for) on your facebook page and tweet it to your Twitter followers.

1. If you have the time, go down to a local candidate's HQ or the local Democratic Party office and offer to make calls or give people rides to the polls.

1. Think local. No matter where you are in America, there’s someone on the ballot today in your town who deserves your vote. Guaranteed. If you're in Wisconsin and you're pissed at Harry Reid for letting Joe Lieberman derail the  public option on health care, don’t let that stop you from getting everyone you know to go vote for Russ Feingold. In Florida and furious at the way the Obama administration coddled Wall Street? All the more reason to call every single person you know in the Orlando area to go vote for Alan Grayson. In California and mad about the total Democratic failure on global warming? You can still change the world for the better by showing up with all your friends to vote for Prop 19 to legalize personal use of marijuana (and stop the record numbers of people we put in prison who don't belong there).

1. Explain to anyone who's given up and doesn't want to vote today that Obama was handed a terrible mess that he didn't create. He may now understand he's moved too slow and compromised too much on the big stuff that needed to get done (after all, Goldman Sachs was his #1 private contributor in the 2008 election). But in the last couple months he's made some good moves -- booting some generals, dumping economic advisor/wrecker Larry Summers, and hiring new people like consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren. Things are very bad right now. But they can get MUCH worse. War with Iran? A genuine worldwide Second Great Depression? A Republican Congress will spend every second trying to make it happen.

1. Finally, we must let the Democratic politicians know that our vote comes with one big condition: If they do not straighten up, get a spine and do what we expect of them, we will find alternate candidates to run against them in 2012. And we mean it. Go vote today, but also sign this petition that I'll deliver to every elected Democrat -- the "I'm Voting Democratic But I Will Work to Defeat You Next Time if You Don't Do Your Job" petition, aka "The Democrats on Probation" petition.  Let's publicly put them on notice that we'll give them just two more years to start doing the things we elected them to do. If they move one more inch to the "center" or to the right, they will never get our vote again. And we mean business.

Bill Maher said, "We have a center-right party and a crazy party. Over the last 30 years, the Democrats have moved to the right, and the Republicans have moved into a mental hospital." That about sums it up. But he also said, "Sure, I'm mad at the Democrats. I'm also mad at my cell phone compnay. But I don't throw away my cell phone cause I'm mad and then rub dog shit on my teeth." We all know this isn't the best situation to be in. So consider this one last reason to get out and vote:

There are good people the country has never heard of who are running today all across America, most of them for the first time. Somewhere in this great land right now, the woman who will cast the deciding vote in the Senate for single payer in 2016 is running for mayor of your city in her first big race. Somewhere else, the person who will become the first female president of the United States in 2020 is running for the state house for the first time. Their careers will be over and that future will never be if you don’t show up today. Go to theballot.org, find out who’s great and running where you live, and then show up to vote for them. You may help light the spark that will save our sorry ass somewhere down the road. Don't just hold your nose today as you go in the booth -- go ignite a future revolution. The only thing that makes the corporate honchos happier than paying no taxes is making sure as few people vote as possible. They think they've bought this election.

Go prove them wrong.

Yours,
Michael Moore

 

Technorati Tags: Michael Moore,Democrats,Mid-Term,Elections,Get Out The Vote,Current Events

Go vote…

 

…even though you probably do not have any real choices to pick from. this has been a lousy campaign season for the voters of this country because some of our selections I am sure that we would rather do without.

    In Nevada, Harry Reid does need to be put out to pasture but his opponent would be a real bad move for the state if she wins his Senate seat. Nevada has enough problems as it is, as I am sure that the state in which you reside does also.

   If you are one of those Tea Party candidate supporters, I hope that you can live with yourself if that group makes any inroads today. Nothing but disaster awaits us if that happens.

   Anyway,go vote even if it is for “none of the above.”

Technorati Tags: Mid-Term,Elections,2010 Elections,Tea Party,Republicans,Democrats,Current Events

Rick Scott or Alex Sink For Governor Of Florida?

 

    This is another one of those “lesser evils” pick so far as I am concerned. Both of them claim that they will bring more jobs to Florida but between the two of them, they are responsible for nearly 6.000 lost jobs in the state.

    Rick Scott ® was the CEO of Hospital giant Columbia/HCA back in the 90’s and Alex Sink  (D) was the head honcho of Bank of America’s Florida Division, also in the 90’s.

   They are both talking up job creation in the state as a way to jump-start the Florida economy and,surprisingly, neither is speaking about the others job cuts while running their respective organizations. To much dirt to be flinging at each other I guess.

   Rick Scott was told to leave Columbia after the F.B.I. started an investigation into the company’s Medicare billing practices. Though Scott never admitted to anything (plead 5th amendment rights 75 times) he was forced out and the company paid a $1.75 BILLION Medicare fraud fine.

   Alex Sink:

As president of Florida operations for NationsBank as it gobbled up state banking giant Barnett Bank, Sink presided over the postmerger bank, which was expected to eliminate 6,000 posts to streamline operations, closing 200 branches in Florida.                     Source

    The thing which the Republican Party fails to mention in their television ads is the fact that Alex Sink was told what to do by her higher ups, this was not something that she just went ahead and did on her own.

   Rick Scott, on the other hand, was the frog at the top and the Columbia layoffs were by his doing.

    Alex Sink made no profit from the layoffs at BofA,but, Scott did from his ousters.

When Sink left the company, she had earned $8.8 million in the last three years, a combination of her salary and cashing in 26 years of accumulated stock options, pension and deferred compensation, but it was not a bonus or tied to the job losses.

Scott, though, benefitted financially from the Columbia/HCA job cuts because it helped boost the company's stock, which was a darling on Wall Street until the federal government launched a FBI probe….

   Once again, I have to vote for “none of the above” even though I think that Sink is the lesser of the two evils. Scott still will not discuss his testimony over Columbia’s Medicare dealings, and if you plead the 5th 75 times,voters have the right to know why.

Technorati Tags: Alex Sink,Rick Scott,Governor,Florida,Mid-Term,Elections,Clumbia/HCA.Bank of America,Republicans,Democrat,Politics,News,Current Events,Unemployment

Mid-Term Election Lies Part 2

 

   We all know that this election season has brought out the worst television attack ads as far back as many of us can remember. One would think that this is just something that is going on in our respective states in which we live but that is not the case. It is as though everyone on the Republican side of the aisle have all been reading from the same playbook as have the Democrats who have come up with a few of their own truth exaggerations.  Difference is that the Republicans are in lock-step with each other (as always) while the Democrats have only mixed pages of their playbook and they do not know what to do next. This has always been a problem for this party. No one wants to cooperate with the other and they end up in the mess in which they now find themselves in. Republicans lie in their attack ads and the Democrats have not enough brains in their heads to bring up the untruths so they eat the dust come election time.

   Republican lie: Democrats are cutting Medicare.

   While this is not an entirely untrue statement, the GOP just flat out forgets to tell viewers the whole story.

   PolitiFact

We lost count of the Republican ads telling seniors to worry because Democrats had slashed $500 billion from Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for seniors. But each time, we've rated it a significant exaggeration. Democrats did vote to reduce spending as part of the health care reform law, and it does sound like a humongous amount -- until you learn that the cuts are spread out over the next decade and aimed at parts of Medicare that are considered wasteful or ineffective.

   So what about the lies from the Democrats? The GOP wants to privatize Social Security!

PolitiFact

Social Security is basically a pension program paid for with payroll taxes from today's workers. But some lawmakers, primarily Republicans, would like to reduce the future burden on the government by letting younger workers set aside part of their payroll taxes into individual retirement accounts. The attack ads leave out that Republicans who support such a plan -- which they call "personal" accounts -- don't want to change benefits for current retirees or those who are near retirement.

• We fact-checked an attack ad from Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Wisc., that his Republican opponent Reid Ribble "wants to phase out Social Security, forcing Wisconsin seniors to fend for themselves." We rated that Pants on Fire.
• We looked at a statement by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., that her Republican opponent Rep. John Boozman wants to privatize Social Security. We rated that Barely True.
• And in Colorado, we looked at Sen. Michael Bennet's charge that Republican Ken Buck wants to privatize Social Security. That got a Half True.

 

  Tough election year for the politicians and it is even tougher this time around for the voters. Do you thing people and get out to the polls on Tuesday. If you do not like your choices then vote “none of the above.”  You cannot do any worse.

Technorati Tags: Mid-Term,Elections,Republicans,Democrats,Tea Party,Senate,TV Ads,PolitiFact,News,Current Events

Mid-Term Election Falsehoods…

 

…are at an all-time high this mid-term election season with flat out lies and half-truths coming from both sides of the political spectrum. It has been really interesting to watch the attack ads that run on television down here in the state of Florida,but we have all seen this kind of crap in just about all of the states. So what’s new?  The main problem here in Florida is that we really do not have anyone on either side of the equation that is worth voting for.

    The race for the Senate is pretty much a given that it will be either Charlie Christ who has changed his clothing from the Republican rack and who is now claiming to be an Independent while railing against GOP issues that he has supported for all of his life. He is/was a staunch George Bush Supporter and he has always been a Republican and he will continue to be a Republican. He is counting on the stupidity of the Florida voter in order to stay in political office.

  Charlie Christ has been on television talking about reducing taxes for business in order to garner more jobs for Florida and he’s been saying the GOP thing about less government, but wait, what’s this?

Crist Ad Statement: “And the best ideas from Republicans, like cutting waste, so we can hold down taxes.” (Crist TV Ad, “Line In The Sand,” 9/13/10)

FACT: In 2009, Charlie Crist Broke His Pledge Against Raising Taxes By Signing A Budget That “Includes $2.2 Billion In New Fees And Taxes.” “Breaking a pledge against raising taxes, Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida’s $66.5 billion budget into law Wednesday and barely used his veto pen. … Also, the budget includes $2.2 billion in new fees and taxes. … By not vetoing the new taxes, Crist violated a no-new-taxes pledge he made on the campaign trail in 2006.” (Marc Caputo, “Gov. Crist Signs $66.5 Billion Budget, Breaks Tax Pledge,” St. Petersburg Times, 5/28/09)

FACT: Crist Increased The State Workforce For the First Time Since Lawton Chiles, a Liberal Democrat, Was Governor. “The annual report indicates that Crist has presided over the first growth in total state government employment since the late Gov. Lawton Chiles started the decline in his last year – a reduction that Bush accelerated with privatization and computerization.” (Bill Cotterell, “State Jobs On Rise Again,” The News-Press, 12/30/07)

FACT: Under Crist, The Number Of State Government Employees Has Grown Nearly 13%. (The People’s Budget Website, http://www.thepeoplesbudget.state.fl.us/bdagencies.aspx?full=1, Accessed 3/27/10)

FACT: Under Crist, “Florida’s State Government Is Cresting On Its Biggest Tide Of Red Ink In History.” “Even as talk of deficits and debt seem focused largely on Washington, Florida’s state government is cresting on its biggest tide of red ink in history. Now, the $26.4 billion owed by state taxpayers may threaten several environmental, transportation and classroom spending commitments in the upcoming legislative session.” (John Kennedy, “State Debt Could Threaten Fla. Government Programs,” The Ledger, 2/7/10)                      Source

    I should note that the source for this info comes from his maim opponent, Republican Mark Rubio, who I’ll be posting on next.

   Christ is just one of the many Republicans in Independent clothing trying to keep his scam going against the people of Florida. There is no real choice when having to pick between Christ,Rubio,or Democrat Meeks.

Technorati Tags: Florida,Senate,Mid-Term,Elections,Charlie Christ,Mark Rubio,Republicans,Independent,FactCheck,News,Current Events,An American Gothic