Sunday, October 13, 2013

Because...Politics

I was going to make a (lame) joke about the Dept. of Nance being closed as part of the Government Shutdown as a way of explaining this gap between postings, but the longer this crap has dragged on, the more my outrage has grown.  I'm always unreasonably  incredibly outraged by republicans in general, as you know, but this time, I am so angry and so incredulous that I find myself unable to write about anything else until I get this out and sorted.

If there were more time, each and every one of these idiot House members should be forced to go to their district, rent at their own expense a commodious enough hall, and have an open meeting with constituents who can grill them with Reality Questions, such as, "Do you know how much a pound of hamburger costs here?" and "Do you know how much it costs to fill up the average family car with gasoline?" and "What the goddam hell is it that I am paying you to do in Washington and why in the holy hell are you doing something else?" and "What are you, a big fucking idiot?"  And that moron should have to stand--oh, yes, by heaven--STAND there and answer every single question, no matter if he/she is there until noon the next day.  Or the next.

But, of course, there is no time.  Because we are Governing By Panic Button.  And, by "We", of course I mean the republicans.  Please do not sprinkle rose petals on my path and Pollyanna at me by saying, "Oh, now.  It's both parties' fault.  Everyone is to blame.  Both sides need to come together and yadda yadda blah blah blah."  If you do that, be prepared for me to smack the everloving shit right out of you.  Because you are also a big idiot.  It is not both parties' fault.  Do the Democrats want to go back in time like a science fiction character and change a four-year-old law that has already been declared constitutionally sound by The United States Supreme Court?  That's really the only example that is germane here.  Which party is known as The Party Of No?  Which party touted itself as having an agenda as Jobs Jobs Jobs, yet held more than thirty-five meaningless votes--that they knew would go nowhere--to abolish the Affordable Care Act?  Where are the Jobs Jobs Jobs?

Some people with Jobs Jobs Jobs lost them because of the Sequester, brought to you, ultimately, by the republicans, who are happy because it contains their favorite thing, spending cuts.  It was another game of chicken before another debt ceiling fight, and they begrudgingly cut defense spending as long as a bunch of other cuts were made.  Oh well, they said.  At least we tightened America's Belt.

Now, thanks to the republicans and their inbred cousins, the teapartiers, we are in the kind of position that makes me aghast and ashamed.  It's the same way I felt when I watched with ever-increasing horror the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Every moment of news coverage, every day, I stared at footage and reports with wide eyes and gaping mouth.  I kept repeating the same questions over and over again, "How is this my country?  How is this happening in America?"

I'm saying the same thing now.  It was with complete and utter disbelief that I listened to the report that America, The United States of America, had to accept charity in order to pay the death benefits to the surviving families of fallen troops.  And then the reporter said, "This will ease the pressure on both sides, giving them a little more time to work towards an agreement now that this has been taken care of."  Ease the pressure?  I would think it would increase the pressure, knowing that this country cannot even take care of the people who "gave the last full measure of devotion" in service to their country.  It's appalling. The United States of America goes begging like a street urchin.

What on earth has happened to my country?  Who are these people sitting in Washington D.C.?  Have they no conscience?  Have they no loyalty to anything but themselves and their screwed-up ideologies?  Have they no responsibility to those of us who live here and work here and care about what it means to be an American? Have they no sense of history?  No love of this country and the men and women who have fought and still fight for it? 

I think all of them--but most especially the republicans--need to read something.  It's something that will remind them why they are there.  It's not to advance their own stature or to get a plum committee assignment so that they can puff up their resumes to run for something else.  It's not to advance their personal biases and prejudices to a national platform.  And it's not to create chaos and headlines to stroke their ego.  It's about how government and democracy are hard-won.  It reminds them that people other than them do the dirty work of freedom.  It reminds them that democracy is somehow always fledgling, and it needs care to grow and flourish.  It won't take long;  it's less than 275 words.  Send it to your representative and remind him/her that it's your America, too.  Go, read.


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17 comments:

  1. You know, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And people are getting hurt. Assholes. It makes me mad at how no one cares about the people who are still suffering from the sequester, how maybe it looks like "Oh, good, we saved some money". The people saying it are not the ones with no way to eat because Meals on Wheels has been cut, or who cannot go to work because they cannot afford child care and their head start program has been cancelled. We (the press) act as though it's all political posturing, and will all be solved. But the consequences are real and harsh.

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  2. It's making me sick all the way over here, too. And trying to explain why it's happening to my German colleagues (who all think we're crazy gun-toting, SUV-driving, Big-Gulp drinking wackos anyway, so I don't know why I bother) is impossible since I don't understand it either. But,as J says, the people who are getting hurt the most have no voices and no money anyway. I'm more thankful than ever that I am a Canadian citizen via my mother so I'll have somewhere to go after the US turns into Zombieland.

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  3. Amen & amen! All of this business has practically driven me into a vegetative state (oh noes - do I have to worry about a Death Panel?). It just is beyond my ability to articulate. And why should I when you do the articulating for me? Thank you!

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  4. And let's not forget Texas Republican Randy Neugebauer who told a national park employee she should be ashamed for turning people away. When HE and his pandilla de pendejos (bunch of assholes) are the ones RESPONSIBLE! I was so gob-smacked when I saw that news clip— Un-effing-believable.

    My thought for the day:

    Obama Care.
    Boehner Don't Care.

    Boehner needs to grow a pair and tell the Tea Party, which only got into power by severe gerrymandering, where to bag it.
    He could could have avoided the whole shutdown by calling a simple vote and letting the democratic system do its job. Instead, he got into bed with Ted Cruz, and may they both burn in hell for how they are wrecking this country.

    Thanks for that link. I'm off to write my local representative. I would write to my state senators, but one of them is Teddy-Boy. I'll settle for a bumper sticker that says "You Cruz, you lose." Meantime, the only hope around these parts is Wendy Davis. She went to Harvard, too, and actually knows what a filibuster is for. Maybe there is hope for this state... and the country.

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  5. Yes! Yes! Yes! Everything you just said! A thousand times, yes!

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  6. The republican party makes me so angry I want to spit.

    From what I understand, the entire goal of the tea party is to undermine the government of the United States. They are cackling like Mr. Burns over this whole thing.

    Ugh.

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  7. Gina--Not that I want to make you any angrier, but your theory is probably correct. Watch this:
    http://tinyurl.com/secretrule-gop

    No one can tell me that the republicans didn't want this whole damn thing to happen.

    DiBoF--Thank you for the enthusiastic endorsement. But I wish I wasn't right, don't you?

    Ortizzle--LOL. That was one of the cuss words that Esther taught me. My Spanish accent on pendejo is formidable.

    I don't blame you for Cruz. Boehner is from Ohio, and is an astonishment to all of us. Of course, he is a downstater, and we NEOs find all of them curious.

    Your feelings about Neugebauer are a scintilla of my own when I heard about Cruz and (heaven help us)Palin at the WWII memorial. I actually got sickened by that. My father was a veteran of that war, and he waited and waited for a memorial to be built to his and all of their service in DC. He was very encouraged when plans were finally in the works. He died before it even got started. We suggested donations in his memory, and we were able to send a sizeable check to that foundation. To see those two hypocrites there felt very personal to me, like they were defiling my father's memory.

    I very much admire Wendy Davis. I watched her filibuster efforts, and several interviews with her. She does women proud.

    Bug--You're welcome. You don't have to articulate much by sending President Lincoln's words and my last paragraph to your representatives in DC. Do it. Hold them accountable. Plus, you have The Professor. He can help!

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  8. MsC--We are going up North shortly, and I'm sure we will hear plenty about "What are you people playing at down there?!" It was bad enough, trying to explain the re-election of GWB. Now this. Thankfully, the Canadians are such a cordial and polite and patient culture.

    J@jj--Exactly. People fight for this country every single day. They struggle to make the democracy work. It's dangerous when the politicians lose touch so dramatically with the people and worry only about themselves and their ideologies. To them, their job has become abstract. It's about themes and ideas only. They have all forgotten.

    I don't think they should even go to Washington except for a vote. They can telecommute. These people need to live in their districts, go out every day and live in their communities, visit workplaces and people, and see what the policies of government are doing and can do.

    Out of sight, out of mind. They are all working with blinders on.

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  9. Just saw this. God, I love you, Nance! Thank you for putting the exact words to my feelings.

    The thought that continues to rattle through my brain is that those ignorant bastards forget that the reason we are so far in debt is because of the republican jackass GWB and the TWO wars he got us into. NOT because of Meals on Wheels or ObamaCare, but because he-who-shall-not-be-named wanted his self-aggrandizing ride in a Navy jet and land on a carrier with a big banner declaring "Mission Accomplished."

    Let me say it again: Everything wrong with this country can be traced back to one idiot republican president who was not elected. That opened a Pandora's box for every "inbred cousin" (LOVE that term!)to think they have a legitimate platform that deserves to become the law of the land.

    It makes me want to drive through the neighborhoods that elected some of these idiots and give them an education on a few things...in a manner they will clearly understand.

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  10. Karen--Oh, thank you. I agree with what you say as well. I might add that a large faction of these halfwit teapartiers seriously want to destroy the government. They really and truly do. They hide behind some form of archaic and primitive idea of patriotism, some type of primeval colonial fervor, and truly think that going back in time to an era of skeletal governance by charter and gunfire is a true constitutional democracy. What they really want is to be left to their white supremacy, their guns, and their tax evasion. Now it's at the point where they're not funny and sad anymore; they are dangerous.

    If this sort of uprising and hostage situation had taken place in any other country, it would be called a coup. The people would be marching and massing at the leader's house and at the government's place of business. The army would have to hold them back. It's pathetic that here, in the United States of America, we have become inured to this now and simply sigh and hope that something will bring them to their senses. I could not be more angry and disappointed.

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  11. Hi Nance,

    Here is one take on the situation in our Nation's Capital.

    The Washington Redskins are changing their name because of all the negativity, shame, humiliation, dissent, polarity, adversity, defiance, hatred, animosity, contempt, discrimination, division, violence, counter-productivity, ill-spirit, un-Godliness, and hostility associated with their name.



    From now on they will be known simply as the Redskins.



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  12. Nancy--Good one! Excellent! And so very timely on both fronts.

    You know, I'll bet that things would have been a whole lot more civil if everyone had a kitten or a bunny with them in chambers. Imagine trying to be nasty and vindictive when you're holding a nice bunny or kitten. Cannot be done.

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  13. You go, girl! I couldn't have said it better. I used to merely disagree with Republican politicians. Now I hate them.

    What bugs me the most is that they act all moral and holier-than-thou and quote the Bible and brag about what good Christians they are, and then do nothing to create jobs, but spend their time figuring out how to cut food stamps, deprive seniors of their earned SS benefits (not "entitlements" but earned benefits), cut head start and want to eliminate universal health care. (We end up paying medical costs for those who don't have health care anyway, don't we?) But, cut military spending? They love sending the military to kill anyone who disagrees with them. If the Republicans had their way, all of us Liberals would be dead, too.

    The best idea I've heard lately is that all members of Congress should be obliged to wear bright orange jump suits anytime they are in public, and like Nazcar drivers' gear, they would be emblazoned with the logos and names of everyone who "sponsors" them. Each logo would be directly proportional in size based on the amount of money each paid. Most of the Republicans would have to wear huge Koch Bros. logos on their fat asses.

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  14. I keep thinking about writing to the republicans and telling them what a bunch of crapsters they are. And then? I remember that none of them can read.

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  15. RM--Send it anyway. They all have a staff.

    CJ--Hi! Thanks for stopping by and adding to the discussion.
    I like any idea that requires congressmen/women to be immediately identifiable in public so that they can be held responsible for their role in "government." Especially THIS congress. I also like any idea that holds them accountable for publicly acknowledging the PEOPLE who have been their highest donors, now that "corporations are people, my friends"(--Mitt Romney). What a good idea.

    I never used to be so much of a Liberal until the Angel of Death. I guess that makes me a Reactionary Liberal. Rick is a Blue Dog, and things get tough here sometimes, but I think he's coming around, thanks to this congress.

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  16. I wish my fellow Canadians were less polite about the stuffed shirt we have leading our gov't. Trade you for your guy any time. You have Republicans; we have Conservatives.

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  17. Mary G--I was just up in Canada this past weekend. One citizen said, "Yeah, so I heard your government was on strike down there? That was odd, eh?" He was the only one to say anything. Either all of you are too polite to comment, or you are far too used to the Americans screwing around like this.

    We have conservative republicans, Mary! It's just as horrific as you can imagine. And, if you really feel like getting the grues before Halloween, go ahead and look up our so-called tea party on Wikipedia. Sadly, we have that,too.

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Oh, thank you for joining the fray!

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