Let's Get It Straight!

It's amazing how convoluted and twisted the repubs can write their talking points, either not understanding or more likely intentionally distorting statements by Democrats. When Harry Reid commented about repubs not having the right to "pick and choose" which departments get funded it was in reference to the panic repubs went into, after they shut down the government, when some of their base discovered what they had done (for instance closing the federal park system) and the TP's wanted none of that. So the repubs wanted to start opening select departments that their base was ticked off about to placate them. Of course congress can select what bills to debate and pass, but not just the ones to make only the teapartiers happy! And our local nameless editors in the local rag jumped right on it, using the same distorted talking points!

The Liberalator  

More Promises

Greg Abbott in town yesterday bragging about keeping Texas  number one in job creation. The only problem is that Texas leads the country in the number of minimum-wage jobs, and most of them don't offer health care! (Texas, by the way, shares this honor with Mississippi.) Come on down for a minimum wage job, rankings at the bottom in education, health care, poverty, and the list goes on and on.

We would certainly like to see continued increase in employment, but in jobs that offer a good standard of living.

The Liberalator

Free Tickets!

Isn't it nice that our congress critter 4 price sees nothing wrong with accepting free football tickets to Texas University football games? He said he took them so  he could get to "know the school." After all he said it is a "common practice" amongst Texas legislators." I wonder if he sat down in the bleachers where he would come in contact and "get to know"  the student body or in a glass enclosed $1000 suite with buffet, beverages, and wait service?

I worked for a state agency for twenty years and a basic rule was that the staff was to accept nothing, even as inconsequential as a stick of gum from a constituent. Obviously our upstanding legislators have a different standard. I wonder how many other "gifts" (aside from cash) are accepted without a blink of an eye.

Could old 4-P not afford to buy his own ticket? HAH!

The Liberalator

Will He Ever Sober Up?

Ole Teddy the Cruiser is still shouting at the world that "Obamacare is hurting millions", Obamacare will triple your healthcare premiums, blah,blah, blah, etc.

Teddy boy, the Affordable Care Act won't go into effect until January 1, 2014, and NO-ONE has paid a cent or been hurt by the plan - just who is getting hurt?

GET A GRIP!

The Liberalator

How To Begin fixing the Budget

What kind of military does the U.S. need now? Do we need huge armies of foot soldiers armed to the teeth, massive aircraft carriers plowing the seas, monstrous armored tanks by the thousands (by the way all presently parked in storage!), planes the air force don't even want and a HUGE arsenal of atomic bombs, enough to annihilate continents?

Or would extremely mobile and well equipped response teams, available at a moment's notice anywhere in the world, and only the size needed for the situation solve the problem? Personnel trained in counter-espionage, with the ability to search out difficult to find terrorists world-wide and with a support team of tech savvy computer knowledgeable staff working 24/7?

Who is our enemy? Are we confronted with invading hoards of armies overrunning our country? Aircraft unable to be detected and destroyed threatening our cities? Giant sea craft threatening our shores?

Of course not! Terrorists, single and in groups constantly plotting to harm our citizens and country are the principle threat.

The military budget must be cut drastically, not by giving to the massive military, command, support and infrastructure, to bases not needed around the world, to costly and unworkable weapons systems and a to huge uniformed military personnel all over the world, but to fund the type of military we need - small, smart, quickly available, top shelf equipped and supported unequivocally and totally by our U.S. citizens.

The Liberalator

Do you think it will work?

I read in the paper yesterday that our congress critter ole Mac the Thorn voted against paying our country's outstanding credit bill and it gave me an idea. I've always been under the impression that our monetary system is based on trust and faith that we'll pay what we owe on our bills on time, but I'm going to write Visa and tell them that I have been spending too much money and charging it on my card, so I'm not going to pay them until I can figure a way to cut back on my spending and then I'll send them my payment. Do you think it will work? Mac the Thorn does!

The Liberalator

Too Gracious

Why do you think the prez felt he needed to thank speaker boner and the turtle for passing the budget and debt ceiling bills? After all the lies, distortions, fudging, side-stepping and down right meanness they did to make sure they didn't pass them until their backs were against the wall, the least they deserve is a snub and really ought to get a tongue lashing for what they did to the country and our fellow citizens. He's got to have a bigger heart than I have!

The Liberalator

A Long Absence

How hard it is to sit down and write on a blog! I make notes of what I could write about, clip articles, LTEs and columns, all kinds of ideas, but I never make it to the computer - willpower is a short commodity with me. I am going to make every effort to write something, no matter how short every day, hopefully something of more value than this note! We'll see.

Liberalator

The Amarillo Independent is changing

To my friends and those following the Panhandle Truth Squad, effective Sept. 1, The Amarillo Independent ceased publication in its previous form as a news website. My farewell column is here, but we’ll be taking the main Indy site down soon.

However, I have set up a politically oriented blog HERE and I am experimenting with two “for fun” blogs, here and here.

Please come over and take a look.

You can still email me at my Amarillo Independent address.

George Schwarz

What Courage

Thank you Newtown parents. I can't imagine how these wonderful people summon the strength and fortitude to keep presenting our case for Weapons Safety/Gun Control after what they have suffered.

Thank you for being on 60 Minutes Sunday, April, 7th. Thank you for confronting the Connecticut legislature with pictures of your beautiful children that were murdered with assault weapons and clips.

Thank you for going to the United States Congress with pictures and stories of your children.

Sadly, it appears that state legislatures are unmovable until another tragedy happens in their state. Do you think a massacre like Newtown would affect Ted Cruz and John Cornyn? I'm not sure.

Thank You Newtown parents.

The Liberalator

Almost a truism

Just heard Buddy Roemer (former repub LA guv and turn-coat Democrat) make an excellent statement, but needs a little fixin'.

He said Washington is not broken - it's bought."

Almost correct. It is bought, but it's absolutely broken because of it!

The Liberalator

Oh the conservative Hubris!

Jonah Goldberg (one of the Amarillo Glub News right wing columnists) I think unwittingly expressed the unspoken feeling of superiority of all his conservative pals in his column Friday, February 22nd. He wrote "The popular BBC series 'Downton Abbey' is shockingly conservative in many respects. The aristocrats are decent, compassionate people, and the staff is, if anything more happily class conscious than the blue bloods. And yet,as far as I can tell, liberals love it."

Obviously Mr. G. feels decent and compassionate as a member of the right wing aristocracy. But his obvious inability to see that the servant class ("the staff") are not happy and are trapped in their role for life, forced to accept the fact that they are to be at the beck and call of their employers or will suffer the consequences.

We liberals can clearly see the relationship between the serving and the served in the show, and feel empathy for the folks that will never break out of their servitude, and we are always hoping a chance will arise for them to move on and up.

The Liberalator

Will Their Brain Explode?!

First a black, Muslim, socialist is re-elected. What happens now if the College of Cardinals in the Vatican select Peter Turkson, Ghanaian Cardinal as the new Pope? Will heads explode?

The Liberalator

We Libs are looking out for you, Ladies!

Well, our two wonderfully gracious, women loving, supportive Texas repub senators joined with 22 other repubs to vote against the Violence Against Women Act (all Dems voted for the act) - John "I'm for everything that will make me look more Teapartyish" Cornyn and Ted "I hate everything" Cruz. The bill passed 78 to 22.

The Liberalator

Don't Worry. They're Looking Out for You!

One more rant (maybe) about how our congresscritters are looking out for us regler folks. Worried about your job and your income? Well, there are 250 millionaires in congress (about 67% of congress), and their total wealth increase since 2009 is 11%! How about yours? I don't think they are worried about their income - probably worried about their job/re-election, but they work on that several hours a day calling donors - not doing the people's work!

They probably didn't get rich from their paltry yearly salary of $174,000 (speaker boner has to struggle by on $223,000), plus perks like retirement and health benefits, travel allowance, office expenses ranging from $121,000 to $454,000, plus more. And many of them didn't become wealthy until after they were in congress!

Somehow I don't believe the thing uppermost in their minds is helping the unemployed and underemployed - they want to make sure they don't offend any of their donors that help keep them in office, and they are not getting too many donations from the jobless or minimum wage workers anyway!

The only answer I have is for enough folks to get fed up and start calling, writing and e-mailing their congressfolk constantly, but sadly I can't see that happening, but I keep the faith - I'm the eternal optimist.

The Liberalator

Welcome, Y'all!

All the corporations in California are checking out our state getting ready to move their business to the great state of Texas which leads in so many things:

We're first in states that have the largest percentage of persons over 25 without a diploma; number 1 in the lowest percentage of per capita spending on mental health; tied with Florida with the biggest share of children without health insurance; number one in the number of non-elderly women without health insurance; tied with Alabama as fourth highest in child poverty at 32%; number 1 in the percentage of pregnant women who do not receive health care; number 1 in the number of executions; number one in its' share of population that lacks health insurance; number 1 in five categories of air pollution; and is tied with Mississippi for the greatest number of minimum wage workers (of course, businesses like this!).

So Guv Goodhair says "y'all come own!

The Liberalator

 

They Feel No Pain

They work eight months a year, get cut-rate health insurance, have a basket full of perks, and, and, they had no recession - pay checks on time, 95% of them have job security, annual cost of living increases, free airport parking, dedicated lines to make reservations, free child daycare, free meals at the legislative dining hall, and on and on. Congresscritter Boner's wages are $223,500 a year plus a big pension. Almost half of congress are millionaires.

Are they worried about that poor shumk that's been out of a job for two months, six months, two years? Do they care about the family going bankrupt trying to pay a hospital bill for a family member?

Congress has not been in a recession - they've had theirs' all the time! - and the Dems aren't fighting hard enough.

Remember the repub's motto "I've got mine - I'm not worried about yours!

The Liberalator

Walk and Chew Gum?

What is wrong that our congress and senators can't work on more than one thing at a time? They holler about the debt ceiling . . . or weapons safety laws . . . or immigration . . . or the budget . . . or, well you get the idea.

Back 30 years ago congress worked 48 weeks a year - like all working folks (except those who didn't get 4 weeks a year off for vacation!), and now they are in Washington 32 weeks a year, and even then work only 2 or 3 days a week - Friday travel home, weekend at home, Monday travel back to Washington - and then if they are not called into session or have committee meetings nothing happens. One other thing - the DNC and RNC are asking them to dial for dollars FOUR HOURS A DAY - let's get campaign finance fixed! Begging for campaign money does nothing for the country!

Come on folks - put in an honest week's work and get to the country's business. We're sinking fast and not enough of you are bailing!

The Liberalator

No, really, where ARE their hearts?

Well, congress voted last night to help out the citizens who were absolutely devastated by hurricane Sandy, and guess what?

You guessed it - the vote was 241 to help and 180 against helping. That's 192 Democrats (plus 49 r's) voted yea, and 179 repubs against it! (the one crazy Dem was Jim Cooper).

I can't imagine the heartlessness and callousness of people like those repubs that will place party and office before helping our people that are desperately in need!

The Liberalator

Rates Going Up?

Help me with something. I've always thought that the cost of a product or service that a consumer pays is to either get a better product or get better service. I'm trying to understand why I am asked to pay for transmission lines to other states or other parts of Texas by the electric monopoly that benefits me NONE AT ALL! Isn't everyone glad that we deregulated the utility industries so we have hardly any say at all in the service we get except through a congress paid off by the utilities?

The Liberalator

They (he) Did It Again!

Well, John Boner, the repub with a heart of gold, just kept thousands of East Coasters in the cold and dark by not allowing the Superstorm Sandy relief bill to come to the floor.

What a Guy!

How do you think he and his repub cohorts will handle the automatic gun massacre? Pass a weapons regulation bill?

HA!

The Liberalator