Tag Archives: Congress

topical Tuesday &some News


just another rant …

The change that 53% of us voted for is again at risk. For three years the change and progress needed to get America/Americans back on track has suffered and though folks in the Media fail to convey it sufficiently, we can blame our lack of progress stopped, blocked, stalled, scaled back and slowed down by the Teapublican Political Party. Obvious statement right yet, folks still seem to be oblivious.

You can turn it to just about any channel and hear how the Independent vote is up for grabs. Most pundit’s strategists and politicians say it is about the economy and the terrible jobs numbers but fail to tell the viewer in detail what the party of NO have done to stand in the way of progress. I do believe if you are going to call yourself a reporter then do your job and give viewers both sides of the story otherwise you are a partisan hack. I find it hard to believe anyone has to stop think or wonder which Teapublican candidate running for President should even get a 2nd look much less bat around the possibility of giving up women’s , voter, worker, gay or our children’s right to an education to them. I am not that naïve but it really is simple; we need a better Congress that will work with the President. It is up to those who do lean left of center to reach out to our fellow independents to keep them informed. It is important to challenge the crap coming out that clearly are lies, on the edge or overtly reflect a nasty rhetoric often spewing fear hate and discrimination. It is a call to action of all those who believe in our Constitution in every way; welcomes everyone that believe in that saying We the People, the 14th Amendment and equality for All people regardless of the race, creed, religious or gender preference. It is at a moment like this that begs us all to let those who practice exclusion hears from those who believe in helping our fellow man. The fight against income inequality is on.

I don’t know about you but I tend to have a stash of sayings, proverbs, and or clichés in the back of my mind when patience calmness and reflection is needed when disagreeable rhetoric is flying my way. I give President Obama some major props for being calm cool collected as always. I appreciate and love those traits and if you are paying attention not one Teapublican running for President has yet to behave or display an even-tempered manner. I won’t be voting right of center period but if you are looking for things to compare and contrast the stark differences in tone verbiage and representation you can vision a moment when a country wanting to provoke war is pushing it. I know who I would trust how about you.

I believe … Sometimes, the needs of the many do outweigh the needs of the few. Yes, the current ugly rhetoric coming from those leaning right is meant to hurt conquer & divide us. It is also clear that in this election year when life amongst Americans is changing and not in a good way only to have gotten worse since the 2010 midterm elections though President Obama has moved us forward despite conservatives almost all by himself, Teapublican Governors, and their members of Congress keep doing their best to undermine it all. At first, Teapublican Governors were throwing coded language at those mostly in protected classes. Thus, the need to recite the saying “When the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” is an important statement for me right about now. The Fact that some on Wall Street made big bets against or in spite of an under regulated inefficient supposedly “free enterprise” system seemingly set up against the consumer proved to me that they believe themselves to be above the call and refuse to, consider the needs of the many and continue to fight for the few.

If you were unfortunate enough to have been a victim of the 2008 financial collapse, invested in it directly maybe your 401k, or are a part of the housing debacle, you probably suffered tremendously. Yes, the government had to step in and up to help All Americans because unfortunately it was clear “the market” was not going to correct itself- the bets – the casino shut itself down. The economic collapse was an opportunity to see to “the needs of the many” change the failed ways that the house of Bush apparently was handling things and move All Americans into the 21st Century. Yet, McConnell and his comrades decided to put their heads down and fight for the rights of the 1% oh those job creators need our help repeatedly. I don’t know about you but I am getting tired of this nonsense.

What Wall Street did was take tax payer money and then shit on us on so many levels

I admit it; I am biased so any negative comments about President Obama get a second or third scan. I gotta say listening, reading and hearing comments coming from the likes of a matt damon, harry belafonte or groups the msm calls special interest though President Obama, having taken great first steps toward change state, I guess, that he has not gone far enough. It is my contention that we vote for a President not a puppet, dictator or king so the notion that he had a mandate or needs to sedate or fulfill the promises he made to some special interest groups during his campaign is beyond ridiculous let alone that stupid comment about President Obama being morally corrupt. First, just as many special interest groups are very happy, supportive and plan to express that by voting for Barack Obama for a second term. Second, all you have to do is compare and contrast the facts and President Obama is definitely putting “the needs of the many before the needs of the few; thankfully so. While Independents seem to be holding out they should decide what side of history do they want to be remembered taking.

I think the negative comments are becoming bold, louder and more frequent but they are coming from the right, the more extreme side of our society certainly special in their own way… have chosen to go extreme go right of center and in some cases sound very dangerous but hey that is just my take. The whole class warfare the 99% V 1% the poor V the Rich. I say the battle is about how and not allowing a Black man govern in the White House again let alone the other awful code words being used to induce fear into Americans. I say the Black Man as President Thing who btw has gotten more things done then previous Presidents cannot and should not be forced back into that genie bottle though some Teapublicans in Congress and their constituents seem to want to. FYI, governing for the greater good has nothing to do with colour if the mind and heart are for ALL Americans not a select few. Though the house of Bush created 3million jobs, the fact is that shameful number took him 8yrs to accomplish. I have to wonder WTH are people beating up/down President Obama when the last guy obviously skated. We can also blame the Media for the selective and misinformation they all seem to provide viewers what with ratings seemingly more important than giving all angles of a story or giving a guest an opportunity to rebut the opinions of the host or commentator.

Change takes time… It will take a Congress with courage to create and pass laws that should be for the greater good that covers all Americans.

Sometimes, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Other news …

President’s Council on Jobs to Meet at White House

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Talks with Politico

U.S. – Jordan Talks Focus on Middle East Peace, Unrest in Syria

Nation’s Mayors Talk Job Creation

Homeland Security Officials Discuss International Cooperation

“C-SPAN letter to Chief Justice Roberts on TV camera coverage of health care case”

[censored]


Change.org
Ask gaming company Electronic Arts to oppose the Internet censorship bill.
Sign the Petition

 

Congress has a plan to change the Internet forever. A bill they’re debating right now would give the government power to shut down whole websites, and even let corporations say which websites should be shut down.

That means a huge corporation could have any website even suspected of violating a copyright shut down — no questions asked. The government could then completely block all access to sites as big as Facebook or YouTube if one person posts one thing on those websites that corporations don’t want online.

Most major entertainment companies have come out in support of the bill, but despite swirling rumors, the huge video-gaming company Electronic Arts (EA) has yet to take an official stance. However, EA is part of the Entertainment Software Association, one of the big corporate lobbyists for the bill to censor the Internet — meaning that if EA came out against the bill, that would be a serious blow to the people trying to get it passed.

Shashank Kasturirangan is a student at NYU who’s a huge fan of gaming — including EA’s games — but he can’t believe that EA would want to mess with the Internet. Shashank started a petition on Change.org calling on Electronic Arts to stop lobbying for Congress’s plan to censor the Internet and come out against the bill. Click here to add your name to his petition.

The Internet censorship bill is particularly dangerous, according to advocates, because it would enable the government to set up the same type of tools to block online content that are used in repressive regimes around the world, like China, Iran, and Syria. For the first time, corporations and the government would be able to say what’s acceptable to put on the Internet.

While some companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have come out against the bill, big movie studios, record companies, and their corporate lobbyists like the Entertainment Software Association are pushing Congress hard to pass Internet censorship.

Electronic Arts has millions of customers around the world playing video games like Madden 2012, The Sims, and Scrabble, and they care deeply about what the public thinks about their company. If enough people call on EA to oppose the plan to censor the Internet, they will be forced to come out against the bill. And if EA backs off, other companies that haven’t yet taken a position will certainly think twice before supporting Congress’s plan to censor the Internet.

Sign Shashank’s petition to Electronic Arts to stop lobbying for Internet censorship and oppose the bill in Congress. Click here to sign.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Jess and the Change.org team

towrah Tuesday &some News


just another rant … revived

Failed Promises

Like what we are experiencing under the Republican controlled House of Representatives versus change to or a redirection of promises that President Obama has had to make on numerous occasions. It is obvious the two situations are quite different. The first two years of the Obama Admin the Republican Tea Party spent most of their time on the floor of Congress saying no, blocking, making the Democratic Party scale back or run away from legitimate bills that party of NO attached felonious amendments to that no member of Congress could in good conscious vote for. In the weeks and months following these just say no votes,  Americans in Public Service began losing jobs and the unemployment rate increased and will continue; Republicans without remorse started calling the unemployed lazy, unmotivated and if all else failed they should ask for charity. We have 2012 candidates running for President that are even less compassionate for those who are unemployed underemployed or in that 99%. Corporations are people too and if you are not rich? Well, that is on you.

 The ultimate show of privileged behavior is when Republicans decided to hold the middle class hostage while demanding the bush bonus dollars be made permanent, under the guise of that top 2% being the job creators.  The campaign for the midterm elections considered an off year usually gets few voters out to vote though in what definitely is a first of many firsts in the Obama’s Presidency, the midterms were important to all Americans looking back. Yet, folks did the same ole same, some opted out on purpose and even more voted right of center on purpose. That is beyond my understanding but the whole notion of teaching a President a lesson is the one of the worse reasons to vote against your best interest. While most know the outcome of the midterm elections, I think that many people do not understand what truly happened. President Obama said he got shellacked and would try to make a move to be more bipartisan, though senator McConnell said if he wants us to consider compromise he would have to do, say and act like we want him to and on conservative airwaves McConnell said his job was to make Obama a one term President. The midterm elections were bad for everyone and as the months moved along buyer’s remorse set in though it took way too long for me. For the last three years, Americans have been hearing Republicans say that we need to create jobs. Mr. Boehner and his comrades definitely used the jobs, jobs, jobs slogan to win the House of Representatives in 2010. Sadly, these carpetbaggers have been waving one hand in the air while using the other to attack, slash, cut, and burn every effort to get our economy back on track.

Yes, President Obama did promise change and he has kept over half of them, he also stated that he could not make changes alone … we all would have to participate. That comment is a hard reality given the crap that the Republican Tea Party keeps pulling out of somewhere disguised with them saying they are listening to what Americans want. That claim is a proven falsehood, the promises the Republican Tea Party has made repeatedly has or …could put us at risk.

I certainly feel our country is at risk with failed promises, reckless and or provocative rhetoric but contrary to what we hear in the news …  it is definitely coming from Teapublican members of Congress and Governors.

 I still have the Audacity of hope and change …

Other News …

C-SPAN’s Coverage of Iowa Caucuses Begins at 7pm ET

Rick Perry Ends Campaign Day in Perry, Iowa

Rick Santorum Ends Day Before Caucuses in Altoona, Iowa

Mitt Romney Holds Final Rally on Day Before Caucuses

Ron Paul Tours 5 Cities on Last Day of Iowa Campaign

Newt Gingrich Works for Final Votes in Iowa

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Talks About Military Cuts

DHS Secretary Napolitano Discusses International Partnerships

Mitt Romney Interviewed by Iowa Newspaper

Rick Perry Interviewed by Iowa Newspaper

White House Briefing with Jay Carney

Panel on Obama Is a “Teflon President”

House GOP Discuss Payroll Tax

Rep. Nancy Pelosi News Conference

Washington State: : : Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is ending


unemploymnt

Under federal law, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program shuts off at the end of December. We cannot pay EUC benefits for any weeks after December 23-29, even if you have money remaining in your account.

 

If Congress votes to continue the program, we will automatically notify everyone who claimed EUC for one or more weeks in December.

We have posted some questions and answers on our website with additional information. You also may contact the EUC claims center at 877-558-8509 (toll-free) with questions about your claim.

If you need help finding a job, we strongly encourage you to contact WorkSource for assistance. WorkSource offers free workshops, job counseling, computers, Internet access, phones and other job-search resources aimed at helping you return to work.

If you need help with housing, food, medical care or other essentials, please dial 2-1-1 or visit www.211.org.

Send a clear message now: “No help for the jobless? No vacation for Congress!” AFL-CIO


Chris from South Carolina used to work in an unemployment office. Then he was laid off. Here’s his warning:
You should know that Congress has let the emergency benefits lapse several times in the past few years and always when a break is scheduled for them. It happened last Easter and last Christmas. They don’t care about the unemployed. They take their holiday break and deal with it when they return to Washington.
We can’t assume Congress will renew unemployment in time for the millions who are hanging by a thread before extended benefits expire Dec. 31. That’s why we’re pulling out all the stops. More than 2,000 jobless workers, activists and clergy are on Capitol Hill, right now—demanding a clean and immediate extension of emergency unemployment benefits. Thousands more are in district offices across the country.

As we gather on Capitol Hill and at district offices, activists across the country are flooding Congress with messages.

Add your voice: Help make sure the voices of America’s jobless can’t be ignored by Congress. http://act.aflcio.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=NNlhbPw0buvN0Kq3T7aq%2F2C84X%2BQ3emC

Diane from Michigan worked in the newspaper industry and is now unemployed. Here’s how she describes her situation:

Every job opening has hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants. It is almost impossible to get a job—especially if you also face age discrimination. Retraining is too costly. Meanwhile, we are hanging on by a thread. No health insurance….My current unemployment benefits are the only thing saving me from the street. I have faced food insecurity for the first time.

We must not let people like Diane be forgotten.

Make Congress hear the stories and see the faces of jobless workers. Contact Congress now and demand an immediate, clean extension of emergency unemployment benefits.

Momentum is building—but we can’t take the passage of emergency unemployment aid for granted.

Obstructionists like House Speaker John Boehner—who has nearly absolute control over what comes up for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives—continue to block a clean, immediate extension of emergency jobless aid. There’s no excuse for that. Especially when our economy is so bad and budget cuts in our communities are so dire.

Chris, a now unemployed unemployment office worker, asks a powerful question: “Don’t they realize they work for us?”

Tell Congress: “You work for us. Renew emergency unemployment aid now.”

Will obstructionists like Speaker Boehner really let benefits lapse yet again, take a vacation, come back and play partisan games?

Will the obstructionists let families get thrown out of their homes? Will they force kids to go hungry to extract cuts and concessions that hurt our most vulnerable people?

Send a clear message now: “No help for the jobless? No vacation for Congress!”

Thank you for all the work you do.

In Solidarity,

Richard L. Trumka
President, AFL-CIO

P.S. Our unemployment stories website has been covered by the media in publications lawmakers read while in Washington, D.C., including The Washington Post and The Hill—plus papers they read at home.

 But we need your help to make sure every lawmaker feels the heat and sees these stories. Take action now.