weary Wednesday &some News you might not know about


Today, we are in a  We the People moment from now on … choice needs to be made by us; do we let Republicans continue saying No to the things that will help fix what brought us to a near depression … or

Who would you vote for most -a Political Party who has outed themselves as Corporatist or one with the Democratic ideology and belief of the Constitution. The choice is an easy one if you just remind yourself of the events prior to the 2008 Presidential Elections and the choices we had, an old  guy who definitely served his country in a great way but seemed out of touch, a little creepy and when our economy was tanking he said,” our system was fundamentally sound” top that off with his VP choice who most sane people on both side of the aisle agree was completely unqualified to be considered our next President if anything happened to the old guy let alone the Vice President.

My take  -Republicans are now completely responsible for all negative effects our economy incurs from here on. People may want to ask why? it is because after repeated efforts to pass any jobs bill for homeless Vets, ui benefits, home buyer tax extensions, Republicans have voted them down, now 1.2 or more people will be out on the street. It is my opinion that any jobs numbers announced by Cable heads, The Media, Radio or Newspapers are solely because of the inaction of Republicans to continue to stimulate the economy and help people who are under employed or unemployed due to the financial crash of 2008.

Today, The President will be in Wisconsin for another town meeting, talk about our economic recovery as well as answering questions about recover and hopefully good questions about what he intends to do about Republicans who continue to just say No.

I resent every Republican who has made negative comments about the people out of work people on Social Security, our Homeless Vets as well and their willingness to outsource jobs is just offensive. We need to update, reform and move forward into the 21st Century not go backward, as Republicans obviously want.  If the public is listening and or watching now know where Republicans stand and or maybe remind them what has gone on with Republicans, what with all the stalling, blocking and just say no to any and everything needed to put America back on track.

In addition,  General Patreus is being confirmed and  taking over the military effort in Afghanistan, while Elena Kagan is getting abused, I mean questioned for the third day, the Supreme Court confirmation and hearing process has been an eye opener given the things Republicans have said about Thurgood Marshall, the activist Judge label they gave her and Judge Marshall has been offensive and was meant as a bad thing. I would have to say my response would be to ask Senator Sessions tell everyone who Citizens United is and what exactly they do for your party.

More recently, sadly after Senator Byrd died the reform bill was pulled because a Republican named Scott Brown put up a fuss so Democrats agreed to pull it and hopefully adjust it adequately enough to be voted into law and major financial reform finally happening for Americans today.

My 2nd rant today is this…

Pundits, the Media the GOP will say the President numbers are due to not being able to get the employment numbers down the GOP thinks people will blame our Democratic Party and or our President. It is a time to stop being fooled, any and all negative numbers coming in from now can be attributed to Republicans just say no attitude though Congress leaders are required to do the peoples business. It is clear Republicans are not doing the peoples business but trying to make this President fail but are Republicans just unable to understand that if this President fails all of America fails, our economy goes back to how it was before January 20, 2008. As Americans, we voted them into office but apparently, the GOP decided after the 2008 elections that the only way to move Democrats out of office is to crucify, target and ruin the President whenever possible. In my opinion, this President has accomplished much more than the last guy did and it was for the rich or We the People not for a select few. The Democratic Party with the exception of a couple of Conservadems has tried and is still trying to move Americans into the 21st Century. The constant votes of no regarding any and all legislation that should help all Americans including Health care reform, Climate and Clean Energy and now the Jobs Bill, which according to many in Congress has let other important legislation stack up. Unfortunately, even our own Democratic Party seemed to have felt it is time to move on,  we all know they are tired, have done what they can to get the extensions needed to keep stimulating our economy but it is obvious that is what Republicans want, it’s a great move because they have made our Democrats in the Senate tired. Again, I ask the public to not be fooled if the extensions are voted down again and the people that need to be held accountable is Republicans please do not allow media heads, other politicians, fox news, msnbc anyone make you believe this is the President’s fault.

The day Congress announced they had to move on was the day Republicans became the sole group responsible for any and all negative effects their No Votes will have on homeless Vets, Outsourcing jobs away from America. In addition, there will be 1.2 million people who will no longer be stimulating the economy because they have nothing coming in from anywhere because there are no jobs out there. I ask everyone to think about the domino effect that is coming if the UI benefits extensions continue to be voted down by Republicans. I feel what will happen is the creation of the new poor consisting of not just the real poor but also the middle class, those of us that work all their lives who have a certain amount taken out of their checks in order to live on at the end of their work lives. These are the people Jon Boehner, Bachmann and mostly all Republicans talk about, those who receive entitlements should be slashed and used to pay for wars, raise the retirement age to 70 and those that are wealthy should not get benefits at all as reported in a Pittsburgh Newspaper interview, though Boehner people deny the statements, there is a video. In response to Boehner, House Democratic Whip James Clyburn stated, “Boehner and the GOP want to raise the retirement age to pay for Bush’s war and their failed policies of the past.” Fortunately, for us Mr. Clyburn said, “Democrats will not stand for this.” Moreover, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi has a fact sheet to go to for information.

The bottom line is this … our population is getting older but living longer and learning to say healthier. The idea of raising the retirement age appears to be something no one can avoid and it is a bipartisan issue, which led to a bipartisan commission appointed by President Obama to find ways to reduce the debt and deficit are considering raising the age to 70. Currently, you have options to retire and receive partial payback or stay in the workforce until your reach full retirement age, which btw is different for everyone or continue until age 70 and get even more money. It is something that might be inevitable and in these times of, we just might have to accept the changes but the suggestion to slash it or end Social Security is not an option that should be considered. I think if the options to stay in at three different levels as they have now people will accept and go on with life. The problems we are having with our economy is because the last guy did nothing to update adjust or change our system with reforms, now most people do need to work longer to recoup money lost from bets made with worker investments in stocks that seemed to be meant to fail. I can accept raising the retirement age but I do not agree with anything that is even close to privatizing it; who can trust Republican ideas -they believe in Corporations not providing for the people who pay their salaries.

Other News …

The recession has directly hit more than half of the nation’s working adults, pushing them into unemployment, pay cuts, reduced hours at work or part-time jobs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.” Nearly half of the survey’s respondents said “they are in worse financial shape as a result of the downturn, which destroyed 20 percent of Americans’ wealth.”TP

House Democrats have attached $10 billion to the long-stalled war funding bill “to help local school districts avoid teacher layoffs when schools reopen.” The $70 billion bill “is anchored by President Barack Obama’s $30 billion request for the troop surge in Afghanistan and contains money for disaster aid accounts, foreign aid and disability benefits for Vietnam veterans.”TP

Foreclosed homes accounted for nearly a third of all home sales in the first three months of 2010, according to new data from foreclosed property marketer RealtyTrac, Inc. During 2009 alone, 1.2 million property sales dealt with foreclosures. “That number boggled my mind,” said RealtyTrac spokesman Rick Sharga, referring to the jump in foreclosures. “A 2,500% increase over a four-year period surprised even us.”TP

Although nearly every GOP lawmaker has vowed to repeal health care reform, only 30 House Republicans have “actually signed the discharge petition calling for such a repeal.” The petition, if signed by 218 members, would force a vote on repeal. But so far, the measure introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and pushed by the Heritage Foundation’s new political group has fallen very short.TP

C-SPAN …

watch Hearing on Arlington Cemetery

watch Senate Confirmation Hearing: Part One watch Senate Confirmation Hearing: Part Two

watch Conference Committee


Kagan: People Need to trust the Court as Non-Political

The confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan continues today with more questions from Senate Judiciary Committee members. Beginning with a line of questioning by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ms. Kagan defined the relationship of politics to the Supreme Court. She stated, “the people need to trust the court as a non-political body.” Read More »

The nominee then answered questions from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on legal judgment at the Supreme Court level as “not a robotic quality with no judgment in the process.”

Outside witness testimony was scheduled for Thursday, but due to events surrounding the death of Sen. Robert Byrd, the committee schedule is uncertain. The committee hopes to vote out her nomination in July with a Senate floor vote in late July. If confirmed, she would replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens who served his last day on the Supreme Court yesterday.

Commission Questions the Extent of AIG and Goldman Sachs Contribution to the Financial Crisis

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has begun a two-day hearing on “The Role of Derivatives in the Financial Crisis,”. They will hear testimony from current and former executives from AIG and Goldman Sachs including former AIG executive Joseph Cassano and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn.

The congressionally appointed panel is looking into the ties between the two companies and how their derivatives transactions may have contributed to the financial crisis.

CBO Presents Budget Outlook to President’s Debt Commission

The Presidential Commission charged with finding bipartisan solutions to lowering the nation’s trillion-dollar budget deficit met for the third time since April.

The group heard from Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Doug Elmendorf who presented CBO’s 2010 long term budget outlook which was released earlier today. In remarks, Dir. Elmendorf said that if no changes took place, federal spending on health related programs will grow from 5% of GDP today to 10% of GDP in 2035 which at current rates is an increase of spending of $700B dollars.

The commission is co-chaired by former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY) and former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. Its non-binding recommendations are due in December.