I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Friday's Leftovers

Someone sent me the recipes from the recent 'Hot Dish' bake off that many of Minnesota's national representatives from both sides of the isle participated in. As I don't cook (really I don't!) I replied back (and yes i was being sort of jackass like) that "it would be much more useful to me to receive from them some hot dished legislation meeting some of our current needs rather than a cookbook"...

To which they emailed the following reply: "To be honest, it was more than I thought I would get from any of them"....

Zing, now I know why politics leave such a bitter taste in my mouth.

When is a tax, not a tax?
If it's for rich people or corporations it's a tax and bad and the MN GOP will remove, waive, lower, and legislate it away.

"If it's for the middle class it's called balancing the budget but not a tax and the MN GOP will enact it, charge us, and legislate it into law. Four weeks into the GOP controlled MN House session and they put together HF130.

According to State DFL Chair Brian Melendez:
"This reckless Republican ‘Phase 1’ budget is a high-tax, high-tuition, high-risk bill that asks working Minnesotans to unfairly shoulder most of the budget burden. It is a piecemeal approach that will not responsibly address Minnesota’s budget problems in the long term and will simply pass the buck onto local government and local taxpayers."


As Paul Thissen laments, "We were not elected to play budget whack-a-mole - swinging cuts around willy-nilly, without thought or prioritization, simply whacking at whatever that happens to pop up."

In case you missed the finer points from above...we (the middle class average folks) are the moles. Guess it's better than being ants...keep warm, enjoy the weekend.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The State I'm In

About this time of the year Minnesota crazy hits...it's cold, it's dirty, and just plain white ugly outside...very similar to the inside of Congress (with a very few exceptions). And we're weary to our bones from hiding out from the elements....

Last nights SOTU address, the GOP rebuttal address, and the ever odd Michele Bachmann's batshit whatever address are all examples of pretty words with no actions. If they really want to impress Americans, then earn their wages and fix it, mend it, and make it better. Instead we get more words and promises with beautiful photo op moments, but still no actions and solutions.

The only winners from last night ritual was those that participated in the 'SOTU drinking game'. Lot's of buzz words that work on focus groups, but collectively Americans are sick of this crap... Our elected officials won't give up their ideology and dependency to big money and corporations long enough to resolve the issues dividing and crippling our country and driving Americans into the ranks of the working poor.

Words aside, enact the changes you talk about...DO IT! Until such time, all Americans will live in the cold and dirty darkness of January in Minnesota. Don't make us stay in the cold darkness indefinitely, even Minnesotans have to believe in a spring and summer to come or we wouldn't continue to live here. Perhaps they could give a listen to Governor Dayton and learn from his example of doing:

"Taxpayers expect government to be responsible with their money, investing in essential government services like education and infrastructure and that is what we must do to get Minnesota working again. State government will be held accountable for how we balance the budget, and not to file for bankruptcy to avoid our financial obligations."
"US? But we're crazy!"

"WELL, THEN YOU BETTER GET SANE PRETTY @$#% FAST!"

Friday, January 21, 2011

Minnesota's Ridiculously Funny

Michele Bachmann is 'Ridiculously' False - (The joke is on us!)
" ...independent fact checkers find that the information she [Bachmann] relies on is often exaggerated, misleading or wrong."

"We have checked her 13 times, and seven of her claims to be false and six have been found to be ridiculously false," - Editor from PolitiFact

Minnesota 'Of and By the Corporations' - (I'd laugh but it hurts!)
"28 Minnesota corporations contributed over $3 million incorporate profits to four independent expenditure groups [during the last election](MinnesotaFuture, Minnesota Forward, Republican Governors Association and Democratic Governors Association). The numbers are much higher because corporations and other groups can avoid disclosure by funneling money through trade associations, like the MN Chamber of Commerce and sham corporations."

LOL at Minnesota's Middle Class Taxpayers! - (Doesn't get any funnier than this!)
At the same time the MN GOP is cutting $200 million in taxes on out of state corporations, they are asking for $200 million from state agencies to offset the cost. So the plan is to maintaining un-allotment levels of government aid and higher education spending, while looking for more cuts to give to the corporations? Guess Grandma will have to forego nursing help, little susy will skip kindergarden, and uncle mike will lose his state job...but what the hey... Corporations will have even higher profits.

Minnesotans Have Silly Drinking Water! - (Something to laugh about around the work water fountain!)
MN Republicans are looking to gut the MRCA which was created in 1976 by DFL Gov. Wendell Anderson, continued by Republican Gov. Al Quie, and made permanent by the Metropolitan Council and the Legislature in 1991. The program has five purposes: to protect a valuable state resource, prevent damage to the river, enhance its public use, protect it was a transportation system and preserve the biology and ecology of the river.

Unfortunately it's missing the 6th purpose of the GOP, which is to profit at any expense. Wonder how much longer we can drink water, eat the fish we catch or enjoy the scenery from the river...Perhaps we can soon watch it catch on fire like Ohio's Cuyahoga River did in 1969.

Minnesota Weather (My smile is frozen in place!)
Minus 24...sigh, keep warm, keep smiling, have a nice weekend.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

MN GOP Propose Taking Control Away From Local School Boards

The MN GOP are proposing to take control away from local school boards by freezing the pay level of all Minnesota teachers. Sure the GOP made campaign promises not to grow government and talked about the importance of handling issues locally, but their actions in introducing more government oversight and legislation speak louder than their broken promises made just weeks prior...

I guess at the end of the day, you really can't depend on the locals to do what's right for their community, so big brother GOP Sen. Dave Thompson, a freshman Republican from Lakeville, along with the rest, will step in to call the shots over locally elected school board members...

BTW Dave Thompson (SD36) says at his website:
"Education policy should be set at the local level. Parents, family members, friends and neighbors are in the best position to determine what is best for their children..."
KUDOS to Dave Thompson and the rest of the GOP on doing the exact opposite of what they said and micro-managing locally elected entities while growing State control (almost a trifecta of broken promises).

Thier proposal is just one more step in taking our local rights at self governance away from us bit by bit and turning it over to the State. At least with local control we had accountability, who will be responsible now? More power to the Government is like slop to a pig and as Ronald Reagan observed, it is dangerous to get between the hog and the trough.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Stop Interpreting Our Dream!

I so wish Martin Luther King was here giving voice against the war...and to call out the lying war bastard Jeh C. Johnson...Why does this right wingnuts have to co-opt Martin who spoke so clearly against their war by saying King didn't mean it or wouldn't do so now?

Bullcrap mythologist Mr. Johnson...

King was absolutely committed to nonviolence as both a philosophy and a tactic! Claims that Martin would support the current US wars is so obvious deliberately ignorant and devoided of reality, it's nothing more than fantasy. There should be a disclaimer about suspending reality whenever it's repeated or reprinted...sigh...sadly it reflects the principles that the right has of denying the obvious.


“…..Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak of the — for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours…..”









Tim Pawlenty, What A Maroon!

Every time Minnesota Ex-Governor Tim Pawlenty is called a moron, I just nod my head sympathetically and hope to high heaven everyone else in America understands why.

Naturally I'm breaking Pawlenty's oft-quoted Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment, "Thou shall not speak bad of Republicans", but even Reagan would have made funny faces at Pawlenty's attempt to back seat pilot the federal debt ceiling with zero facts and apparently no knowledge or understanding of history.

Personally his comments boarders on a creepy disassociation of reality from facts, but then Pawlenty reminds me of that uncle you have that's a little off balanced so you never really make eye contact let alone invite him over for Sunday dinner.

"And the children call him famous,
what the old men call insane,
And sometimes he's so nameless,
That he hardly knows which game to play...
Which words to say..."


Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Abridged Palin

The abridged version of Sarah Palin...very factual except for missing the American flag...did I mention that I am a jew? I find Palin dangerous, deranged and offensive...oh, did I mention racist, bigoted, hateful and stupid?...yeah that too.

Gates Proposes Military UnCuts

Since 911, Americans have been asked to do a number of things, like shop more, save more, and tighten our belts in these tough times. We have also witness local, state and federal spending get slashed in lieu of deficits but through it all, one federal department has maintained and exceeded it's spending. I'm pointing a finger at the defense department... the total for defense spending in 2010 was between $1.01 and $1.35 TRILLION!

So imagine my shock and when I read that Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon will seek $78 billion in cuts to the defense budget over the next five years . Naturally the media is calling it a surprise move and quoting Gates that it will reduce the size of the Army and Marine Corps.

Hmm, let's do the math here...that's roughly 1.56 million a year or....wow! that is a surprise! NOT...

In comparison to my yearly budget it would be like me reducing my yearly spending by a dollar...not too painful or significant. But wait it gets worse...there won't be any CUTS as they are actually talking virtual future dollars or as reported by the pentagon:

"Because the Pentagon originally projected budget increases for these years, the cuts won't mean that the Pentagon's budget will shrink in total dollar terms -- only that the rate of growth will slow. The fiscal year beginning this year will see a base Pentagon budget of $553 billion, up from $549 billion last year."

Sigh...The real surprise is that the American people haven't risen up in revolt at Gates announcement of un-cuts. Will the defence budget be less?...NO; Will there be real cuts?...NO; Is Gates playing a shell game with Americans?

BTW, The USA is responsible for 46.5 per cent of the world total defence spending, distantly followed by the China (6.6% of world share), France (4.2%), UK (3.8%), and Russia (3.5%).

Including non-DOD expenditures, defense spending was approximately 28–38% of budgeted expenditures and 42–57% of estimated tax revenues. Isn't it time we stop the out of control defence budget before their spending destroys us all.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Minnesota GOP Let The Good Times Roll!

Showing leadership for the wealthy, the Minnesota GOP announced their program to cut corporate taxes in Minnesota...which will mean even less money for the already cash strapped Minnesota. Just how will this $200 million gift to the corporations be paid? Probably on the backs of taxpayers in higher taxes, fees or more cut in necessary services. (maybe that is what they mean by trickle down?!)

The GOP reasoning is corporations will have more money so they will employ more people. Naturally this trickle down theory has been in existence since Reagan was in office and it works just as well since then...it has zero ability to make corporations responsible or more likely to employ people but it does give them higher profit at our expense.

So let's recap the second week the GOP have control:
1. More welfare for corporations that taxpayers can expect to pay for...
2. Less regulations for corporations that taxpayers can expect to suffer for...
3. Add more $$$ to Minnesota's existing $6.2 deficit...

With no budget plans, the GOP make giving aid to corporations a priority without even securing so much as a promise to hire one additional person for their $200 million in cuts...sigh...laissez les bons temps rouler...

"Don't sit there mumblin', talkin' trash, if you want to have a ball,
you gotta go out and spend some cash, let the good times roll..."

Friday, January 07, 2011

This Is The End

Blackbirds fall from the sky on New Year's Eve,
Fish flood up dead from the river the next day,
Turtle Doves dive to their deaths on the streets of Italy the day following that,
Thousands of dead crabs wash ashore in England by the end of the week,
Jackdaws fall dead on cobble roads in Sweden...

Sure these are frightening things but I knew the end was near when I read this...
Global spam e-email levels suddenly fall...

The GOP have the power now, prepare for the end! On a similar note, remember all those newly elected Minnesota representatives who promised to make their number one priority when elected to balance the budget without raising your taxes....well they changed their minds...They much rather address who you sleep with, who you can marry, what medical procedures you can get, who gets to be a citizen and require you to carry ID at all times..rather then take care of the looming budget crisis....fun times for all.

'Ah what do we care' - The Lizard King

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

New Year Omens

First, Minnesotans elect a GOP legislature (House and Senate)... Then the USA elects a GOP House...

So it's not surprising that there's a bizarre massive fish and bird kill. No, it's not impossible, in fact, my theory is better than the loud noise being offered!

This will only be the start of coming signs...look for the MN GOP to repeal the ban on coal and nuclear plants, then a gaggle of laws to be introduced that they say will protect us from...gays, terrorist, the 'godless', and ourselves. Finally somewhere along the line, the $6.2 billion dollar Minnesota deficit may be addressed by terminating more social services and putting more folks out of work...fun times for all...

I don't suppose there will be a mass kill off of mosquitoes...but maybe some frog mutations from more nuclear plant storage. Really the only thing standing between the end of timers and us is Moses..er...Governor Mark Dayton...Judgement has begun...save yourselves and next time vote Democratic!

"Take a whiff on me, that ain't no rose!
Roll up yer window and hold yer nose
You don't have to look and you don't have to see
'Cause you can feel it in your olfactory "....