THOU SHALT NOT LIE – Unless You’re Mitt Romney and Company

by Ruth A. Sheets

People on the Christian Right want everyone to live their idea of the Christian life.  They cry out that God is not enough in our country and our actions.  They want the Ten Commandments (the Protestant traditional list) on every courthouse in America.  One might think these are people holier than most.

It seems to me that one would be wrong.  What the Christian Right wants is to be comfortable and to feel righteous, or rather self-righteous.  They pick and choose from the Bible what they will espouse.  They select the Commandments they like and discard the rest.  They claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, yet find most of His teachings unacceptable and put into His mouth things He did not preach.

Some examples might help to put this into perspective.  Jesus said nothing about homosexuality even though it was a common practice in the Greek and Roman world, yet the Christian Right is so sure that it is against God’s law, they would condemn people for it.

The 5^th Commandment is “Thou shalt not kill."  It works for them when related to abortion and human fetuses, but not when it comes to war, famine, capital punishment, over accessibility to guns.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery” is not a problem because one can simply ask forgiveness and go on with life.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” though, does not even seem to cross their radar.  Their candidate, Mitt Romney, bears false witness on a daily basis, as does his team and PACs, yet the Right does not call him on it.  Why is that?  Lying doesn’t count if it will get you what you want and if it will make America a “more godly place?”

As for Obama’s agreement with the states to make more flexibility in their welfare to work programs--Romney calls this “welfare with no work requirement.”  He knows this is a lie, but who cares?

Mitt said “Nobody ever asked me for my birth certificate 'cause they know where I’m from.”  When called on it, he said he was just using humor.  He knew this was a lie, but oh well.

Romney and Ryan continue to claim that Obamacare will take 716 billion dollars from Medicare recipients.  They know that is not true, but scaring older Americans is worth the lie.

Any true Christians would have trouble with the repeated lying of the Romney campaign, but what can the Right do?  He's all they have. The racism that sits at the core of Christian Right beliefs, and their illusion of having achieved everything in their lives on their own, make it impossible for them to rethink their position.  They have to pretend Romney is everything they want, so to avoid the dissonance, they just don’t hear what they don’t want to hear.  Hypocrisy is better than a Black president for one more term.

The Christian Right can’t help themselves, so the rest of us had better get to the polls  to protect all of us from their fear and deliberate hypocrisy.

Privatization, Why?

by Ruth A. Sheets

Day after day, the media reports on some kind of attempt to privatize a public service.  This includes education, the military and prisons, among other things.

Like so many other plans put out there, primarily by Republicans and other conservatives, there is no evidence that “private” companies or individuals do a better job than public agencies do, but we are being sold on the myth that public workers get too many benefits and private companies will make those who are sucking public resources really work for all that money they get.

In the military, the private contractors are paid as much as twice or three times the amount our military personnel are being paid for doing essentially the same job. Outrageous!  That is not generally true for the other services currently being privatized, however.  It seems the guys who run the private companies make lots of money while everyone else gets what’s left over. 

When workers are employed by taxpayers, they usually receive some kind of medical benefits subsidized by the taxpayers and they are in some kind of retirement plan.  Private companies have no mandate to make such benefits available to their workers, so even when the actual paycheck is equal, workers take a loss because they have to pay their premiums, if they can afford the added cost.  Unemployment will increase because those public workers will be laid off and replaced by “cheaper workers."  That will really help to stabilize a community, right?

There are efforts abroad to privatize Social Security, Medicare, and other Federal and State programs.  I have seen no evidence that using private companies to do what has been done publicly saves anyone anything.  Once the move is made, there is no evaluation to determine whether or not the move made sense.  Then, it is nearly impossible to go back.

To add to this insanity, often, private for-profit groups are given the contracts for the public services.  That means that someone is going to make money off the process, translation, making money off the taxpayers. That merely adds one more layer of folks feeding at the trough.  And, it is not enough to just make the money back that one has expended, one needs to have a profit to pay investors, which of course, taxpayers pay for.

How are so many people so bamboozled by privatization?  Why are we so anxious to give over our common responsibility for our community to folks who have no stake in the value or quality of the services or the people being served.  These private for-profit companies legally suck directly from the government and can pay workers as little as they can get away with.

VFL Seeks VFP

by Ruth A. Sheets

Voter Fraud Law is seeking a Voter Fraud Problem.  The law is specially designed to limit the voting of non-Republicans:  poor, women, minorities, elderly, young people, who do not have approved photo I.D.s.  Unfortunately, there is no evidence of voter fraud, so liberal, left-wing groups are fighting the law, saying it's unnecessary, costly,  and discriminatory. 

If you know of any voter fraud situations in the past 30, 40 or so years, please come forward.  Voting fraud is also acceptable since the purveyors of the law know that Republican legislators and judges don’t know the difference.  When asked, they will refer to misused absentee ballots and padding voter rolls by politicians (a photo I.D. will do nothing for these, but whatever).

It is important that these problems are brought to the front soon, since citizens are complaining about the cost of obtaining I.D.s which might be equated with poll taxes and found illegal, although this is doubtful in today’s political climate.  Anecdotes will also work, particularly if heavily sprinkled with emotion and just the right amount of tears.

When VFP’s are found, send them to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed, “Republican Justices.”

Ryan: Premeditated Crowd Control

by muon

I admit, I'm a huge fan of The Rachel Maddow Show. They present the sources for their reporting, so I trust their facts more. And because they give me the sources, I can go do some of my own online fact-checking. If even half of America checked the news stories they hear for accuracy, what a great informed electorate we'd have.

But today I'm going to take exception to one of Ms. Maddow's reports on Monday night. She was showing a video of Paul Ryan speaking at the Iowa State Fair. There he was, being heckled by a few women who were yelling things such as "Are you going to cut Medicare?" Ms. Maddow stated that Ryan wasn't using to heckling, that he was taken aback and stumbled to recover from the incident.

I disagree. If you listen to his reaction, he said that Iowans and Wisconsinites like himself were similar in that they were polite and respectful. Therefore, he concluded, there women couldn't be from Iowa or Wisconsin.

Translation: "Paul Ryan is one of you. These women are outsiders."

I can't believe that was an off-the-cuff response. I think he planned ahead of time to play this us-against-them card should anyone heckle. Paul Ryan isn't a stupid newbie. He got into Congress, even made a name for himself (albeit a notorious name). I wouldn't be surprised if he'd employed this stump strategy in the past.

Even if he hadn't, he was likely coached by the GOP's master spin doctors before being let loose on the campaign trail. "Divide and Conquer" is, after all, their main battle cry.

Yet none of the Iowans or Wisconsinites I've known would fall for this ploy. If nothing else, they're stubbornly independent. They don't want people telling them what to believe, and sure don't like some stranger saying, "I'm like you. Let me tell you what side we're on."

So, nice try, Mr. Ryan, but you're not like me. I have more in common with those women. I want answers to questions: Are you going to cut Medicare and Social Security? As you going to force your national contraceptive ban down our throats? Are you going to deregulate the fossil fuel industry so they can poison our land?

Oh, and one more question: When do we get to see the last seven years of Romney's tax returns? And, while we at it, yours?

The Clone Team

by Ruth A. Sheets

Well, Mitt has done it.  He chose a running mate who is just like him.  Paul Ryan is “attractive.” (They're saying  he looks like Romney’s own son.  How much more alike can you get?) 

The two of them will try to out compete each other to see who is more conservative and who can slam the middle class most thoroughly.  And, their speech writers will help them to couch this middle class assault in terms that will make many of the less thoughtful and careful voters believe it is a good thing.

I have heard that both men are pretty smart.  It seems that their intelligence is directed toward making them money and fame with as little pain as possible. 

Both men believe they are crusaders for the American way, yet both are so unaware of what ordinary Americans need and want, that their idea of the American way is only addressing the desires of the wealthiest few, those whom they wish to court.

Both Romney and Ryan are PWGs-- Priviledged White Guys--who, of course, completely understand what will work best for women, minorities, disabled persons, the poor, and everyone else in the United States (not).  They become very angry when voters suggest that they are not in touch with anyone outside their sphere.

Paul Ryan had a lawyer father which put him in the upper middle class while Romney started out in the upper class and stayed there.  Both were born on third base and truly believe in their hearts that they actually hit triples.  What is more, they believe they “earned” everything they got.  Anyone who did not attain their heights has simply failed to work hard enough.  Their arrogance and self-righteousness ring out in every speech.

Paul Ryan is only 42 years old, with little experience beyond the budget.  He is seen as some kind of shining star in the Republican Party.  When one looks at the rest of the field, it is not hard to see that Romney’s selection was limited.  Picking a polarizer may arouse the very conservative, the one-issue crew who are so sure of their own righteousness that they will drag themselves to the polls for their new guy, the one who will take care of those freeloading poor folks who are draining the resources of everyone else.  .

In a nation where the first amendment to the Constitution clearly calls for freedom of religion, Ryan has the gall to claim that any law we have is from God.  It makes me wonder what his god is like.  His budget is not an appropriate response to the Christian gospel which calls for us to care for the poor, the widows and orphans, those in prison, the hungry--you get the picture.  Where are those people’s needs in his tax and spending cuts?  Oh, wait, private organizations and companies are supposed to do that caring thing.

Commentators have been remarking that Romney and Ryan are very close to and comfortable with each other.  Of course they are comfortable.  They are just alike.  There is no new learning that has to take place.  There is no real culture divide.  Romney is Mormon and Ryan, conservative Roman Catholic, but their positions on social and “religious” issues are nearly identical.  They both wield fear with great skill despite their claimed deep faith.

So, Mitt chose his clone for the ticket.  The clone has a bit more personality, but is that enough?  I suspect that for a lot of PWGs and their supporters it will be plenty.

Genealogical Inertia: Does It Make You Royalty?

by muon

Paul Ryan: Master of Disguise

The first line of Paul Ryan's bio on his congressional webpage (paid for by your taxes) states "Born and raised in the community of Janesville, Paul Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin native." In fact, everything I've read about him or heard from GOP pundits for the last 24 hours have mentioned the "generation" thing. Well, actually, his Wikipedia page, sourced from Ancestry.com, says he's only 4th generation, but I'm not here to quibble. 4th or 5th, what does it prove about his character except that he was born?

I'm a 2nd and 3rd generation American, and I have to admit, I have nowhere near the strength of character and sheer guts of my original immigrant ancestors. Two of my great-grandmothers came to this country with children in tow, but no man at their side. Imagine leaving your home in the late 19th century, a lone mother with a couple kids, packed into steerage on a slow steamer, for a 2 month voyage with all kinds of strangers, some probably not honorable. Then you arrive, not knowing if someone will meet your ship, or how far you'll have to travel to be reunited with your husband or other family?

Would I have the chutzpah to make that trip? No way. I don't even walk around my neighborhood after dark. The courage of my ancestors boggles my mind. Two generations later, because of the better life those kin made for me, I don't need to be courageous. I've evolved into a marshmallow, whining about things like rush hour traffic.

So what kind of asset is it to be 4th or 5th generation like Paul Ryan? He's pretty far removed from the journey his ancestors made to Wisconsin. I'm not knocking his forebears; they were no doubt as brave as my own ancestors. Yet character is something forged by trial, not inherited like blue eyes. By my own experience, if your family's been in one place longer than other families, it usually means you've had more security and comforts handed down to you.

The Ryans have certainly inherited their share of America's wealth. Not that being rich is a bad thing in itself. But money doesn't bring courage and character. Often the opposite.

I heard this morning that Ryan snuck off for his meeting with Romney "in disguise"--wearing "a T-shirt, blue jeans, sunglasses and a baseball cap." He flew to Hartford and got into a rented SUV. By the next night, he was "eating Applebee's takeout at a nondescript chain hotel..."

So...he was "disguised" as a typical middle-class tourist on summer vacation? (Or, at least, typical until Bush killed the economy in 2008. Now many more people can't take a vacation. They can't afford a plane halfway across the country, and even if they could, they rent economy cars instead of SUVs. They eat off fast food value menus instead of Applebees. They go for cheap mom and pop motels or stay with relatives.)

Yet somehow, we're supposed to be amazed at this trip, as if, for a brief moment, royalty had walked amongst us poor common folk and we missed it. Shucks.

I'm not impressed by Mr. Ryan's claim of being a 5th generation Wisconsonian. Give me an honest immigrant any day over people like Romney and Ryan who act like they think they're born to the throne. We need more courage and character right now than they can muster.

The Spoiled Brats in Congress

by muon

The US House of Representatives went home this week on what they probably think is a well-deserved break--the way a teenager thinks he deserves to go to a party after being closed up in his room doing homework all afternoon. Not that he actually DID his homework. Oh, he had the textbook propped open, or his computer screen showing a website on quantum physics, in case you checked on him, but really, he was texting his buddies and playing games on his phone.

The House was like that this session.

The homework? They were supposed to pass a farm bill, you know so the folks who grow our food can grow our food. The House also failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act--completely bipartisan and nothing to argue about, but it didn't get done. They had promised to pass a Trade Bill with Russia and renew the Bush tax cuts. They're due to make spending decisions before the October 1 deadline but haven't scratched the surface. And they absolutely should have passed a bill to head off the financial default of the Postal Service (the equivalent of a term paper due yesterday), but left for their recess without doing that either. They swore, when they headed into the session that jobs were their biggest priority. We're still waiting.

What DID they do?

They passed over 60 bills renaming Post Office and US Courthouse buildings.
They wasted time trying to repeal or defund the Affordable Healthcare Act. How many times? 33? 34? I've lost count.
At least once a month, they introduced new abortion bills, the latest targeting the District of Columbia.
The other day, just before recessing, instead of dealing with all their unfinished and overdo homework, they decided to hold a hearing on a proposed English-only bill which essentially would have denied help to anyone who can't communicate well in English, even if they're, say, calling the IRS to ask questions about filing taxes for work they legally did in the US. (Author's note: I received income from a Japanese company once, and they took out taxes. They sent me instructions in English and didn't expect me to speak Japanese.)

The House also passed 612 resolutions, mostly stuff like "H.Con.Res. 105: Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for an event to celebrate the birthday of King Kamehameha." It's amazing to me that the House is in charge of saying what room is used for what. In any corporation, you'd have an admin assistant handle those details.

And let's not forget all the posturing. Every week some congressman got his knickers in a twist about some "hot button" issue. Or at least hot button to them, if not anyone else. Just last Wednesday, Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania drew a parallel between the AHCA's benefit of free birth control, and the attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9/11. The day, he said, "would live in infamy." Talk about your teenage drama and temper tantrums.

My message to Congress? Grow up.

But they can't hear me. They've gone off to their party for the next month, leaving their work unfinished. And the sad thing is, some of them will be voted back in, when they should be grounded for life. Their constituents are like bad parents, not involved enough in their kids' lives to realize what's going on, thinking their children can do no harm.