March 31, 2014

Paul Ryan Will RELEASE His New Budget On Tuesday

Ayn Rand's disciple Paul Ryan is releasing his updated turd budget once again.........

Preparing yourselves for Munster's blueprint enlightenment..........

March 30, 2014

LOL!! - Former George W. Bush Aide RIPS JEB BUSH For ‘KISSING THE RING’ Of Billionaires

Hey Jebster,....if you want their cash, kiss their ass!.....






Matthew Dowd, who was chief strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign, on Sunday ripped Republican presidential hopefuls for lowering themselves to “kiss the ring” of billionaires like Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson. During a Sunday panel segment on ABC’s This Week, host George Stephanopolous noted that many potential 2016 candidates like former Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Scott Walker, Gov. John Kasich and Gov. Chris Christie had already met with Adelson.







http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/30/former-george-w-bush-aide-rips-jeb-bush-for-kissing-the-ring-of-billionaires/

March 30, 2014

Chris Christie CHANGES HIS STORY On Those 'Dedicated Lanes'

In a column in February, I likened our governor's approach to Bridgegate to the Jimmy Buffett song, "That's My Story and I'm Sticking to It." Not so fast. It turns out Chris Christie's views have changed on just when he first learned that there are three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge "dedicated" to Fort Lee. First check out what he said in that infamous "I worked the cones" press conference on Dec. 2:





Note the punitive tone toward Fort Lee and the suggestion that its residents are getting some sort of special privilege. Those lanes represent 25 percent of the total access lanes but they carry 26 percent of the traffic. Most of it consists of Jersey drivers from the towns along the Hudson River seeking the shortest route to the bridge. Why would the governor of New Jersey be "sauced" that these Jersey drivers had access to the bridge equivalent to the access granted to the out-of-state drivers on the Interstate highway? I'll take a guess. At this point, Christie was still trying to sell the cover story put forth by his Port Authority appointees David Wildstein and Bill Baroni. That was the contention that this was a legitimate traffic study.



That story fell apart a week later when Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye testified under oath before a legislative committee that the study was faked. Shortly thereafter Baroni and Wildstein resigned. And then on Jan. 8, the infamous "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" e-mails surfaced and the whole thing was blown wide open. But consider the fact that as of Dec. 2 Christie claimed to be unaware there were three lanes "dedicated" to Fort Lee. Now consider what Christie said during a Feb. 3 appearance with Eric Scott on NJ-101.5 (go to the 7:20 mark of segment three here.) In answer to a question from a listener, he said "these were three toll booths that are dedicated just to Fort Lee." Does that mean the people of Fort Lee got some special privilege? Anyone who ever drove through that town would have to realize that's not true. Because of those three lanes, Fort Lee residents get stuck with a traffic jam every rush hour as out-of-towners seek short cuts to the bridge. But how could the governor have known that? After all, he told us on Dec. 2 that he didn't know those three lanes existed. All he knew was what he saw while encountering traffic jams when he drove along the main access roads to the bridge.




cont'

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/chris_christie_bridgegate_bridget_kelly.html

March 29, 2014

REPUBLICANS WRONG AGAIN: Sanctions Force Putin To CALL Obama and PROPOSE Settlement

BAM!!!................



After seeing Obama’s sanctions take a bite out of the Russian economy, Putin blinked and called the president today with a settlement proposal to end the crisis in Ukraine. According to a readout of the call provided by the White House:






Bloomberg reported that the sanctions are pushing Russia’s economy towards a recession and that current sanctions will already hurt Russia’s economic growth for two quarters. Experts also suggest that the energy sector of the Russian economy could take a big hit if the sanctions are expanded. All of the Republicans who suggested that sanctions have been a pointless failure are wrong. The sanctions are doing what they are supposed to do. Putin is coming to the table, and he suggesting that he is ready to solve this crisis diplomatically. President Obama hasn’t needed troops or to threaten militarily. His administration has clearly targeted Putin and the oligarchs that control the Russian economy. Republicans have been like fanboys with their praise of Putin’s strength, but it turns out their new hero has been being brought to his knees by the intelligent and determined foreign policy of Barack Obama.






http://www.politicususa.com/2014/03/28/republicans-wrong-again-sanctions-force-putin-call-obama-propose-settlement.html

March 28, 2014

Elizabeth Warren Steps Up for POPULIST POLITICS

~snip~

Democratic insiders have been slow to embrace the populist campaign of South Dakota Senate candidate Rick Weiland. As we noted this week on TheNation.com Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has dismissed the Democratic candidate for South Dakota's open US Senate seat as "not my choice." Washington observers point out that "the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee routinely leaves off its competitive list, the seat of retiring Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD." And there will not be a lot of corporate cash flowing to Weiland, who says his first act as a senator will be to propose a constitutional amendment declaring “that the votes of all, rather than the wealth of a few, shall direct the course of the Republic, Congress shall have the power to limit the raising and spending of money with respect to federal elections.”



But Weiland, a veteran congressional aide and advocate who formerly headed the South Dakota branch of the American Association of Retired People, has mounted a high-energy campaign that has already seen the candidate visit more than 300 of the state's 311 towns with an old-school populist message. “I was born here. I grew up on this land. It was ours because our democracy kept it that way," he says. "Today our democracy is being bought by big money and turned against us. To feed their profits we lose our jobs, our homes and our farms, our kids’ education, even our health, and the Congress they have bought looks the other way, or worse." Democrats who "get" that their party must embrace a people-centered grassroots politics if it is to be viable in 2014 and beyond are starting to take notice.



~snip~

While Braley (who is taking hits this week for referring to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school&quot has received substantial support from national Democrats, Weiland has in the words of Washington's The Hill newspaper been "getting [the] cold shoulder." Warren's endorsement rejects the narrow calculus of DC Democratic insiders, arguing that both Braley and Weiland deserve strong support—and that, with such support, both can be contenders in November.



"I know we can count on Bruce and Rick to be strong voices in our fight to level the playing field for working families—whether it’s protecting Social Security for our seniors, making college more affordable for our kids, or holding powerful interests accountable," explains Warren. "That’s precisely why the right-wing Super PACs are already lining up to stop Bruce and Rick from going to the Senate. With two new Senate pickups on the line, they’ll say whatever they need to say and spend whatever they need to spend to win." The message is clear. Victories for Braley and Weiland could certainly help in the effort to preserve a Democratic majority in the Senate. But they would, as well, add members to the Senate caucus of what PCCC activists proudly refer to as "The Elizabeth Warren Wing of the Democratic Party."




cont'

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/03/28-3

March 28, 2014

Parents Say Governor Dayton Told Them To BUY POT Off The Street

......Democrats should be championing the Medical Marijuana access issue.....





ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO/AP) — Parents in support of legalizing medical marijuana say Gov. Mark Dayton urged them to buy pot illegally on Minnesota streets to help their severely sick children. At an extremely emotional press conference Wednesday, the parents called Dayton’s suggestion offensive. Struggling to hold back tears, the parents accused the governor of using them as political cover, so that he might to look good while opposing the medical marijuana bill they sought.


“Please…can you please help us now,” cried mother Maria Botker of Clinton, Minn. These parents had picketed outside the governor’s residence two weeks ago, and were unexpectedly invited inside. There, they told the governor their stories. They say they were shocked when the governor suggested they can buy pot illegally on the street, or in another state, to treat their children.


“That’s absurd,” said Jessica Hauser of Woodbury, whose her 2-year-old son has intractable epilepsy. “And to have the top official in Minnesota suggest that to my face when I am looking for compassion and a thoughtful solution. It’s just completely offensive.” The marijuana controversy is bubbling just below the surface at the Capitol, where supporters say there are enough votes in the House and Senate to pass it. But frustrated lawmakers carrying the bill believe it faces a veto from Dayton.


The governor does not deny he told at least one of the parents to buy illegal pot off the street. However, he said in a statement Wednesday that he does not advocate breaking the law. “But as a father, I understand parents who would do anything possible to help their children,” the statement said. Despite his previous opposition to the bill, the governor is proposing a $2 million study on the medical benefits of marijuana, using children and pills only.




cont'

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/03/26/mother-says-dayton-told-her-to-buy-pot-illegally/

March 28, 2014

Condi Rice Can BITE ME

Shouldn't this clown be in jail?.......




Yes, Condi. Bite me. We're not stupid. We know you're snuffling around the edges to see if you can worm your way back into the White House. That will happen over my cold, dead body. You are an unpatriotic, sniveling political hack who should be thrown on the scrap heap of American Moments We Want To Forget, But Cannot and I will work tirelessly to make sure you go back there.

Mediaite chronicles your latest hypocrisy:




F*ck you, Condi. Get on your broom and fly back to whatever cave you live in. You helped facilitate the deaths of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis when you colluded with Rumsfeld and Bush to invade Iraq for no reason other than oil, when you condoned torture, and when you lied through your teeth to every American forced to trust your "leadership" because to do otherwise was unpatriotic. If anyone led from behind, it was you. From behind a blindfold and a water pitcher, you used torture and lies to pursue your neocon battle strategy. Listen to Ta-Nahesi Coates, who wrote this analysis in response to your warmongering editorial two weeks ago:




Since you have such a short memory of history, let's get in my time travel machine and look at what you wrote in your own book about Georgia, shall we? To Georgian president Saakashvili, you said this:



And then you said this about the National Security Council meeting concerning events in Georgia:



Leading from behind, Condi? Weary? Is THAT what you described there?




cont'


http://crooksandliars.com/2014/03/condi-rice-can-bite-me

March 27, 2014

KOCH-Funded Jennifer Stefano YELLS At Chris Hayes Over Obamacare

Blah, blah, blah, blah....how dare you,...blah, blah, blah.......





MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” is one of the smartest political talk shows on television. Hayes, a former writer at the Nation, is an unapologetic lefty, but his show often tries to dig beyond the top-level partisan bickering and get to the ideological, demographic and economic divides that are the real motivating factors within American politics. If your idea of good political TV is watching two pundits blast one another with material from their respective grab bags of talking points, “All In” is probably not the show for you. Unless you were watching it on Wednesday night, that is. In a chaotic, weird and ultimately exhausting segment of “All In” on Wednesday night — a segment that was presumably supposed to be devoted to discussing Obamacare’s oft-delayed deadlines — Hayes got into a lengthy argument (“debate” would be too kind) with Jennifer Stefano, a Pennsylvania-based employee of the Koch-funded and Tea Party-aligned American for Prosperity group.



Introducing Stefano as a person who “genuinely wakes up every day and thinks about how to destroy Obamacare,” Hayes led off the bit by asking the AFP regional director why anyone should particularly care if the White House pushes back an Obamacare deadline. Stefano didn’t seem to like Hayes’ introduction, saying that she doesn’t wake up thinking about Obamacare but rather her children. Stefano immediately segued into a rant about how Obamacare is depriving people of making their own choices and hurting children. Because this had absolutely nothing to do with Hayes’ question, the host tried to interrupt Stefano and steer her back on-topic. It didn’t go so well.




http://www.salon.com/2014/03/27/conservative_guest_yells_at_chris_hayes_over_obamacare/

March 27, 2014

Kansas Republican Wants To Create Government DATABASE Of WOMEN Who Have Miscarriages

This graphic says it all........make it a billboard!.





A bill meant to provide comfort to grieving families has been turned into a declaration of war against women

House Bill 2613 was an attempt to give grieving families the opportunity to obtain a “certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth” rather than a certificate of death. And that’s all it was supposed to do. GOP Rep. John Doll hoped that the bill wouldn’t become embroiled in his party’s fight over abortion. But one Senate Republican couldn’t let the legislation pass without turning it into a threat against women across the state. Instead of allowing Doll’s bill to pass untainted by anti-abortion fervor, state Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook changed it. She added language that amounts to legalizing persecution of women who have miscarriages. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, the amendment “extended the bill’s reach to pregnancies at any stage and added mandatory reporting requirements for miscarriages that occur at medical facilities or for the physician who sees a woman immediately following a miscarriage.”



This bill is now a tool that would allow Republicans to persecute women

In short, the bill would force doctors to report women who have a miscarriage to the state. They would have their names entered into a database that state officials could use as a tool to go on witch hunts. The privacy of these women would be violated. The nightmare scenario is that women would be investigated by the state and could be arrested and jailed for miscarriages. Such a law would undoubtedly cause many women to not seek medical attention. The GOP seems to think that a miscarriage should be a crime, even though it’s a fact that they occur for any number of reasons. In order to conduct investigations, the government would have to have access to the medical records of thousands of women. This is a significant invasion of privacy that would be costly to taxpayers. Pilcher-Cook’s amendment is a threat to privacy that would certainly lead to persecution of women. The GOP is obsessed with waging a war against the reproductive rights of women. Plus, it has control of the state government. It’s obvious that this part of the bill will be abused as part of an anti-abortion agenda. A simple attempt to give closure to families has become another attempt to regulate women’s bodies.





cont'


http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/03/27/kansas-republican-miscarriage-database/

March 27, 2014

Watch President Obama Meet The Pope