NRA Failing Grade? **F**ABULOUS!

The NRA will grade politicians on EVERY vote for gun control. BRING IT ON! I would wear the "F" as a badge of honor when it comes from a radical organization which is out of touch with 90% of the American Persons.

A Conservative's View of Life

Conservatives have an odd view of life. They will, in extreme cases, even kill to defend the unborn. Yet, once a child is born, they will abandon it in some sort of "survival of the fittest" mentality. (For "fittest" you can substitute "richest".) They fight tooth-and-nail against the very programs which are necessary to help the child grow to their full potential in the mystical belief that the free market will provide for those who are "worthy".

Take a look at this blog from Rachael Maddow. It shows just how far the conservatives are willing to go in this effort.

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law three years ago this week, and while a great deal has changed for American consumers and the nation's health care system, the politics of health care remains largely stuck.

Yesterday, for example, congressional Republicans voted for the 36th time to repeal "Obamacare," as part of a vote on the budget process, and today, they'll cast their 37th repeal vote. Apparently, old habits die hard.

I don't support abortion. I don't think it should be legislated, but remain a decision between a woman and her physician. But if you are going to make abortion illegal, you MUST support programs which assist the children and their parents once they are born. I'm not speaking here of a welfare state -- far from it. I'm talking about programs which  provide healthcare for the child and support parents as they work to provide for the child. These include the Affordable Care Act and programs which provide daycare so parents can work. Conservatives would axe those programs because they don't care about "those people".

Washington grade school behavior

Washington is exhibiting middle school behavior and each American person will suffer for it. An article in AP tells some opinions of non-politicos at http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BUDGET_BATTLE_TOO_HUMAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.

Here's a quote:

"Coloroso, author of "The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander," sees too many politicians acting like the mean girl who taunts unpopular classmates in the cafeteria.

"Bullying is about contempt for the other person," Coloroso said. "Do you see how that fits with some of the people in Congress? Utter contempt, bullying, wanting to bring somebody down. You cannot resolve a major issue like a budget with name-calling, with disdain for the person you're supposed to be working with."

The article goes on to talk about procrastination:

Human brains are wired to put off the unpleasant, says "The Procrastination Equation" author Steel.

We postpone starting a diet, put off going to the gym, keep meaning to write those thank-you notes. Congress members are masters of this.

"They're pretty much the worst, hands down, of any group we ever investigated," said Steel, who has researched procrastination for more than a decade. "They're worse than college students."

Seems to me they're in their "terrible twos" and unwilling to give in. It's like a continuous "am...am not...am...am not" session between kindergartners.

Of course with the sequester, there are elements of the Republican party who don't care if it occurs and most of the country suffers. It makes you wonder which of their supporters will BENEFIT from it. Find out who is making money from something and you can understand the actions of political factions like the Tea Party.

Tea Party planned by big business?

http://t.co/YRkqboSN

A new academic study confirms that front groups with longstanding ties to the tobacco industry and the billionaire Koch brothers planned the formation of the Tea Party movement more than a decade before it exploded onto the U.S. political scene.

You know, it figures. Hide ulterior motives behind a grass roots (astroturf ?) Facade and hide your real motives.

More junk mail on weekdays?

From the Sacramento Bee:

"The U.S. Postal Service will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to deliver packages six days a week under a plan aimed at saving about $2 billion annually, the financially struggling agency says."

So we won't get all that junk mail on Saturday. It will be saved until Monday, presumably, so you can get twice as much then.

I'm all for this. I really don't have any problem with this as we really get very few actually important pieces of mail--none of which is time critical. So, go for it. Save that money and reduce the number of days that I get junk mail.

(Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/06/5169161/postal-service-to-cut-saturday.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#mi_rss=Latest%20News#storylink=cpy)

Now here's a boost for global warming

Hybrid car owners protest McDonnell's proposed fee - WTOP Mobile

RICHMOND, Va. - Hybrid and electric car owners circled the Virginia Capitol to protest a $100yearly fee that would be placed on their vehicles if Gov. Bob McDonnell's transportation plan passes.

On Thursday, aSenate committee reviewed the $3.1 billion transportation package that would eliminate the state's gas tax and impose the $100 fee.

McDonnell called the fee on alternative fuel vehicles asubstitute for losses in the federal gas tax when he appeared on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" show this week.

"It's meant to compensate for the federal gas tax that those vehicles do not pay," he said.

Yeah, that makes sense. Here we are trying to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce global warming, and we're sending this message? Own a fuel efficient  vehicle and pay more taxes. Sure, gas taxes pay for road repair and such, but give me a break! What other money can be saved by driving more efficient cars? Can't the state find more creative financing options than this?

Cliff getting closer

Obama on Meet the Press: Targets GOP inaction on cliff - POLITICO.com

President Obama went on Meet the Press and said this about the Republicans:

"They say that their biggest priority is making sure that we deal with the deficit in a serious way, but the way they’re behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected,” Obama said. “That seems to be their only overriding, unifying them."

He seems to have it right from my point of view. The radical Tea Party element seems to have the GOP tied up in knots favoring the rich over good sense. They are willing to sacrifice the majority for the benefit of the few. Politics gone haywire.