Friday, February 18, 2011

Apathetic Americans: Please Take A Lesson From The Inspiring People Of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's Republican Governor Walker and Republican State Legislators are in the midst of a Modern Day Witch-hunt... A Union-Busting, Democratic Campaign Donation-Eradicating Witch-hunt.


It appears that they thought that if they:
A.)Lied about the reasons for their actions. and if they

B.) Steam-rolled and strong-armed their anti-middle class legislation through like greased lightning...

Well, no one would figure out what they were doing... at least not in time to stop them.

Their Goal: To Destroy Labor Unions*. (*Except for the 3 who backed Walker's election campaign.)
Yep, No more organizing.  No more collective bargaining for workers.  And, workplace safety?  Well, it's safe... enough... It looks safe...

Their (Publicly stated) Reasoning/Justification:  To Fix Wisconsin's $100+ Million budget deficit.

That sounds "Reasonable", except...

The Elephant(s) in the Room: 1.) Wisconsin is expecting to have a budget surplus this year.  2.) Governor Walker just gave away $140 Million (Dollars) in tax breaks to businesses. And 3.) Nowhere in all of the fiscally-influential and utterly fiscally inert items in the legislation are Wisconsin's top 2%-ers  being forced to give anything up.

This union-busting crusade is specifically targeting state workers and the middle class. (Ugh.)

*And. similar anti-labor legislation is being (far too quietly) proposed and passed in other states as well.

This is Not a Good Thing, America.  (Sigh.)

But, wait... Hold on... All is not lost.  Not by a long shot...

The Good News:  The Wisconsin Legislature's Democrats have collectively went AWOL - they left the state of Wisconsin - in order to stall the bill/prevent a quorum (Since neither Walker nor the GOP legislators were willing to talk/discuss/negotiate/reconsider/etc.... Anything... Leaving was the only strategy left. The Dems wanted to give time to the people of Wisconsin to hear about what's Really Going On and to understand how - if passed - it will affect them.

And, In Even Better News:  The Great People of Wisconsin aren't simply rolling over and letting this happen.
They aren't saying, "Oh well. What can I do about it?  I'm only one person.", and giving in and surrendering.

Nope.

Apathetic Americans: Please Take A Lesson From The Inspiring People Of Wisconsin.

And, why don't you get in the ring, Governor Walker...
And face the 25,000+ Wisconsin citizens who figured out what was about to be done to them - without even being asked for their input... who got angry and active and who've organized and gathered and are protesting at Wisconsin's state capital (and several other cities).

I Salute You, Wisconsin

(From last night's TRMS: The Details) Enjoy!


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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Bane Of The GOP And Of Congress: House Majority Speaker John Boehner

Post Mid-Term Elections: Republicans snookered enough voters to take a majority of seats in The House Of Representatives.

The reigning GOP leadership - individually and collectively - made a point to declare before the press and for-the-record that: The Republican Party is "... all about Jobs. Jobs. And Jobs.".

O.K., so be it.  Make it so, Mr. Speaker. Create more jobs for Americans. Like you promised you would.

So... What have they/has he accomplished?

Well... one and one-half months into the GOP-controlled House's legislative activities (Drum Roll, please)...

There hasn't been even a single Jobs-Creating Bill proposed.

But, hey, the House Republicans have managed to propose a total of Three (3) sweeping anti-abortion bills.
 (Yippee? Sigh. Nah.)

And, most recently, at a press conference that Mr. Boehner, himself, called together...
Referring to his GOP-controlled House's blatant inability to pass urgently-needed budget legislation (required before March if we are to keep our government up and running - despite the fact that the legislation has been rendered virtually immobile from the 400 Amendments members have tacked onto it - of which only 4 have been discussed)...

John Boehner flatly stated that, "If this (the GOP's current inability to pass the budget) causes people to lose jobs - well, then, so be it."

Yes, Mr. "Jobs. Jobs. Jobs" actually said that if his and his fellow GOP House members' incompetence at their jobs happens to result in other hard-working Americans losing their jobs... "Well, Then, So Be It".

Before the press, on-camera and on-the-record.

Well, I suppose that we can/should - at the least - be thankful that he didn't simply start blubbering and bawling, as he has often done before cameras in the recent past.

Nope... This time the Republican Party's Number 1 Guy came across as "The Iceman": Cold and utterly unencumbered by a little thing human beings refer to as "Compassion".

Hey, at least he's consistent: Mr. Boehner consistently declares that he'll do one thing and, then, he doesn't... again and again and again.

Keep showing America your True Colors, John!

Here's a brief clip from TRMS with the facts/details... Enjoy!


Friday, February 11, 2011

"There's Something In The Soul That Cries Out For Freedom (MLK) ~ Egypt Is Free! (Victorious Egyptians)



Breaking News From Egypt:

It's been 18 days since the beginning of spontaneous and growing non-violent protests and demands for Real Change - For Democracy - which have rocked Egypt and left 300 people dead...

And now... after having, apparently, finally accepted what was - for him - the most difficult-to-swallow fact that the people of Egypt would not be denied their Freedom... President Hosni Mubarak (who has been in office for 30 years - since the assassination of Anwar Sadat) Has Stepped Down.

We Are Witnessing History...

As President Obama remarked, "There's Something In The Soul That Cries Out For Freedom." (Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

As I understand it, the word "Tahrir" Means "Liberation" and I'm Happily Celebrating (despite tears filling my eyes) - not only with the beautiful and  brave men and women of Egypt (both in Tahrir Square and across their nation) - but also with every Freedom-Loving person who declared/showed their support from around the entire world - The Liberation of the Egyptian People from tyranny and the Inspirational and Undeniable Success of their Non-Violent Revolution.

Hearing the official announcement of Mubarak's imminent departure, joyous and victorious protesters were heard to cry out: "Egypt Is Free!"  "Egypt Is Free!"

Egypt Is Free.

Power To The People.