Still All Heart!

Well, our congressional repubs are still at it! Not only did they refuse to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (that made no changes in American law and is almost a rubber stamp of our American With Disabilities Act) but now these same kind, warmhearted, sympathetic folks decided to not renew the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and evidently approve of violence against gay men and lesbians, violence against immigrants and violence against American Indians living on reservations. Too, because the repubs chose not to renew, I guess they're okay with violence toward all women! What can I say?!

The Liberalator

Get Out of Jail Free

Actually, you don't need a "Get out of jail free" card, you just need to be a wealthy  banker! I'm infuriated about the HSBC "fine" of $1.9 Billion - It's profit in 2011 was $16.8 Billion and it's net worth in 2011 was $2.6 Trillion! (HSBC Holdings plc is a multinational bank doing business in many countries all over the world including the U.S.) It was fined for money laundering and violating sanction law by doing business with Iran, Libya, and Cuba.

And the most infuriating thing is that no bank, board of directors or bank executive has been indicted! This is the third time in the last ten years that HSBC has been penalized! The argument is that HSBC is a "systemically dangerous institution" (SDI) or as politicians like to say "to big to fail."

BULL! These SDIs ruined us one time already (the last recession) and we're on track to let them do it again.

If  they are so big, chop them into little pieces that ARE NOT to big to fail and let the chips fall. Today I'm disgusted with our administration, our Democratic Attorney General and Department of Justice (and Britain and their FSA, Financial Services Authority) that tolerates the criminals that run our "to big to fail" financial institutions, letting the big wigs off Scot free to loot and steal another day with complete impunity! And it feels like there is nothing we can do!

The Liberalator

Our Guv at Work

Well, Gov Goodhair is at it again! He always prefers giving Texas money to his cronies before he'll take good ole "guvment handouts." He just refused $66 Billion dollars to let Texas set up it's own insurance exchange (those exchanges are web sites where citizens will go to find the private insurance company insurance plan they want with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - ACA or what we proudly call "Obamacare"). Instead he wants the federal government to set up Texas' exchange for us. Is this the guy that talked Texas secession? Sounds like he's just hat and boots!

Of course we know that Texas proudly ranks Number One in all these 50 United States that has the most uninsured citizens with 26% of us with no insurance (that's 6.2 million folks, including 1.2 million children). And most of these (83%) are low wage workers, working 2 or 3 jobs just to put food on the table and pay rent. The U.S. Government will cover 100% of the costs for the first 3 years and 93% in the years that follow.

At the same time the guv wants to refuse an expansion of Medicaid where it would cost the state $5.8 Billion and Texas would receive $76.3 Billion in federal matching funds.

With our huge budget excess Texas can certainly afford to turn down this cash! Thanks guv!

The Liberalator

The PERFECT Tickets

Here are the perfect presidential tickets for the next four plus election cycles.

2016 - Pres. Hillary Clinton, VP Elizabeth Warren
2020 - Pres. Hillary Clinton, VP Elizabeth Warren
2024 - Pres. Elizabeth Warren, VP Michelle Obama
2028 - Pres. Elizabeth Warren, VP Michelle Obama
2032 - Pres. Michelle Obama, VP to be announced (to please Luke Russert this leaves an opening for a "younger" person!)
2036 - Pres. Michelle Obama, VP, ditto

Not only would these ladies whip our government back in shape, bring us back into international good graces, and serve every citizen, they would bring gentility and good humor back to our country.

Go, Ladies!

The Liberalator

Compassionate Conservatives?

Well, the repubs are all heart! 38 of them voted NO in support of people with disabilities all over the world. Took 2/3 of the senate to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and 38 repubs voted it down.

The law was basically symbolic as it just codifies in international law most of the rights in our country's Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990.

It requires absolutely no changes in the American law - man, that republican party is all heart!

The Liberalator

What a Guy!

Got to thinking about Grover Norquist (the hero of the republicans, teapartiers, right wing and everyone conservative) and thought I would look just a little deeper.

Come to find out this guy, the founder of Americans for Tax Reform  (ATR) and who said "When I became 21 I decided that nobody learned anything about politics after the age of 21" so you know at what age his intellect and maturity stopped.

Among his credentials are: worked with Oliver North and his efforts with the Nicaraguan contras, worked with Newt Gingrich on the contract with America, was an associate of Jack Abramoff and associated with his Indian lobbying scandal, and has been on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and American conservative Union. Also he has close connections to THE Tom Delay!

He's the guy that said " I'm not in favor of abolishing government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

He's been asked to reveal his financial contributors, but refuses to do so, but it has been reported that the biggest proportion of his budget comes from just two multimillionaires. 

This is the guy that the right wing has followed and signed pledges to for the past thirty or so years.

Makes you want to jump right in line, don't it?

The Liberalator