Category Archives: Political Ideology

Squandering the American Dream with Wasteful Spending

  By Blake Fleetwood | June 19, 2013 - 5:29 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Do we really need 234 military golf courses around the world, an $80 million military ski resort in the Bavarian Alps and a parade of unnecessary weapons, ships, and planes?It is increasingly obvious that our enormous untouchable “military” budget is not always being used for our national defense.Likewise, our massive health care budget, both public and private, is not making us any healthier. Much of the spending is squandered by inflated payments to a bloated medical establishment. Why does a simple colonoscopy cost Americans nearly $7,000 when the same procedure costs $700 in the rest of the advanced nations? Healthcare and military costs are the elephants in the American economy. All other spending is minor compared to spending on healthcare … Continue reading →

A Father’s Day BBQ–Washington, DC, Style

  By Walter Brasch | June 16, 2013 - 5:52 am | , ,
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By Walter Brasch   It’s Father’s Day, and that means the Great White Republican Hierarchy in Washington smells burnt charcoal and is ready to barbeque some Democrats. Because Father’s Day is special, the Republican-proposed Sequester is waived, and there is no budget limit for the day’s food and frivolity. It’s warm this Father’s Day, but the Republicans aren’t complaining about all the fracking heat from their propane grill or the sweat they’re putting into making a nice dinner. They’re sure that it’ll be ice-age cool next year because the destruction of the ozone layer and Climate Change don’t exist. First onto their searing grill is a slice of prime Benghazi. The meat has been marinating for nine months and is … Continue reading →

Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates on Benghazi

  By Pamela Leavey | May 12, 2013 - 7:59 pm | , , , , , , , ,
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The Benghazi Kabuki theater continues as House Republicans push on with “hearing” that some are calling a witch hunt. An apt description… Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told CBS’ Face the Nation that ”some critics of the administration have a “cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces.”” Gates, a Republican who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush in 2006 and agreed to stay through more than two years of President Obama’s first term, repeatedly declined to criticize the policymakers who devised a response to the September 2012 attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. “Frankly, had I been in the job at the … Continue reading →

Jeanne Shaheen Trounces Scott Brown in Dem Poll

  By Pamela Leavey | April 23, 2013 - 5:48 pm | , , , , , , , , ,
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Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown has been contemplating jumping the MA/NH border to challenge Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Not such a good idea perhaps for Brown. Politico reports that Brown “trails his could-be opponent by double digits in a new poll conducted for the League of Conservation Voters.” Brown’s personal favorability numbers are tepid: 37 percent of Granite Staters said they have a favorable view of him, while 42 percent said they have an unfavorable view. Asked whether Brown should run for Senate in New Hampshire or not, 54 percent answered in the negative. Scott Brown should heed the poll, lest every Democratic activist in Massachusetts crosses the border to help Jeanne Shaheen trounce him on election day, should he … Continue reading →

Boston Marathon Bomb Suspect Is Charged, To Be Tried In Federal Court

  By Pamela Leavey | April 22, 2013 - 8:18 pm | , , , , , , , ,
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One week after unleashing hell on the city of Boston, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with “using a weapon of mass destruction.” The Boston Marathon bombings resulted in three deaths and wounded more than 200 people with injuries that included amputations. In a criminal complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Tsarnaev is specifically charged with one count of using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (namely, an improvised explosive device or IED) against persons and property within the United States resulting in death, and one count of malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive device resulting in death. The statutory charges authorize a penalty, upon conviction, … Continue reading →

NRA Liars and Congressional Cowards

  By Walter Brasch | April 18, 2013 - 8:07 am | , , , , ,
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    by Walter Brasch   President Obama cast off his “No Drama Obama” garb, and became the fiery leader of hope and change that Americans first elected in 2008. At a speech in Hartford, Conn., the President, frustrated by Republican obstructionism, demanded of his audience, “If you believe that the families of Newtown and Aurora and Tucson and Virginia Tech and the thousands of Americans who have been gunned down in the last four months deserve a vote, we all have to stand up.” He demand, “If you want the people you send to Washington to have just an iota of the courage that the educators at Sandy Hook showed when danger arrived on their doorstep, then we’re all … Continue reading →

The Politics behind the Killing of Americans

  By Walter Brasch | April 5, 2013 - 7:56 am | , , , , ,
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Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and vows to block the expansion of Medicaid in his state. At a news conference this past week, Perry, flanked by conservative senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, declared “Texas will not be held hostage by the Obama administration’s attempt to force us into the fool’s errand of adding more than a million Texans to a broken system.” About one-fourth of all Texans do not have health care coverage. According to an analysis by the Dallas Morning News, if Texas budgeted $15.6 billion over the next decade, it would receive more than $100 billion in federal Medicaid funds, allowing the state to cover about 1.5 million more residents, … Continue reading →

The Paul Ryan Magical Mystery Chop, Dice, and Slice Budget

  By Walter Brasch | March 22, 2013 - 6:34 am | , , , , , ,
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  By Walter Brasch   In 2011, before he was the Republican nominee for vice-president, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) proposed a federal budget. He called it, “The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America’s Promise.” Two years later, now in his second year as chair of the House budget committee, he dusted off and polished his old proposal. He calls this one: “The Path to Prosperity: A Responsible Balanced Budget.” His plan is to cut the federal deficit by $4.6 trillion in four years, reducing the deficit to about $12.1 trillion. While the Republicans blame President Obama and the Democrats for wild tax-and-spend policies that led to the huge deficit, they conveniently overlook the reality that Bill Clinton left George W. Bush … Continue reading →