Crooks In The News

Regular readers understand that one of the big reasons I bill myself as a "Realist" over other labels like "Liberal", "Conservative", etc is that truth is what is important. The truth is that no party lives up to its' hype. For me, I learned about leadership and how it ties in to ethics and character as a Marine. To this day it amazes me that those who protect u are held to a higher standard than those who govern us.

If you are a new reader, I would truly appreciate your input on this issue. Other blog posts that explore Ethics in our Government can be found here. Some will have a gap in them. If you click the "read more" link it will be worth your time.

And in recent news, here is yet another reason to permanently distrust those we elect. The problem with the ethics committee is the crooks sitting on the parole board.

House ethics panel ends inquiry into Visclosky - washingtonpost.com

By Carol Leonnig

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 26, 2010; 3:21 PM
A team of congressional investigators believed they had probable cause that Rep. Pete Visclosky sought campaign contributions in exchange for steering federal contracts to corporate donors, but a House ethics panel decided not to inquire further into the matter

FTFGIMAD
Technorati Tags: ethics, corruption, visclosky

Tea Parties Compared to Street Gangs

I like to investigate political sites that call for grassroots action in America. So, right now I am reading and commenting on change.org.

Right away I need to state that change.org is a worthwhile site because it works to get people involved. But as we will see in this excerpt one of the bloggers may not be as open to getting involved as I am.


Essentially the author compares the Tea Party movement with street gangs. And, it really doesn't matter how it gets spun, the quote by Dr. King following her "And we have..." comment pretty much says it all.

And we have the Tea Party...

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Of course the blog post made me want to figure out who these sincerely ignorant Tea Party folks were. I got this description from one site I visited.

They'll likely include advocates for smaller government, tax reform, personal liberty and other causes.
The Tea Party Movement might appear disorganized, but that's by design, said Bonnie Alba, an Aiken writer and blogger on conservative issues.
"It's a grass-roots movement. The power doesn't lie in being organized," said Alba, a retired Department of Defense employee.

I guess we need to watch who we hang out with a little more closely.

FTFGIMAD
Technorati Tags: tea party, blog, activism

CREDO says "It's Time to shame Sen. Shelby"

I got me a CREDO Gram today. I like these because they often demonstrate the clear lack of critical thinking skills. Check out the following excerpts from the email.

Dear Phillip,

A Republican Senator from Alabama has put what is by all accounts an extraordinary 'blanket hold' on almost every single nomination that President Obama has sent to the Senate.

This is what happens when the Democratic leadership plays nice with bullies. The country loses. And if Sen. Richard Shelby is successful, this kind of extortion will only get worse.

Bullies? Extortion? Pretty strong words. But is it any different than the Democratic minority just a couple of years ago? Listen to some old Hannity/Rush reruns. History always repeats itself.

It's time for Democratic leadership to stand up to Republicans, starting with Sen. Shelby. Senate Majority Leader Reid should refuse to honor Shelby's 'blanket hold' on more than 70 nominees. If Republicans want to block every single Obama appointee, they must filibuster them one-by-one and deal with the very public consequences of their obstructionism. Sen. Shelby should be ashamed — but he is not.....

Becky Bond, Political Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets"

Actually I agree with the sentiment. I'd love to see a catfight in the senate. But the ultimate would be a change to the rules. The Senate should have a ten day limit and then an up or down vote. Failure to act would equate to the adage of "silence is consent" and the nominee is installed.

I heartily recommend that everyone sign up for these "action" emails. It won't be long before they run together and you'll see that both sides are essentially crooks whose only goal is personal enrichment.

FTFGIMAD
Technorati Tags: CREDO, Richard Shelby, democrat, republican, politics, realist

Corporate Money and the Superbowl Abortion Ad

There's a riot brewing in Washington DC as a result of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. People are up in arms, they're shouting from the rooftops, and they're screaming that corporate money is the ultimate evil and democracy is at risk.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates for corporate dollars to flow into federal election campaigns. The 5-4 ruling strikes down decades-old laws and legal precedents restricting corporate spending on political campaigns. What does this mean? If unchallenged, it means the world's largest corporations will intensify their influence over our political system. It means there will be ever less accountability for corporations that abuse the public's health and our environment. It means we will forfeit personal freedoms, and the integrity of our democracy, so that a handful of corporations can prosper. Source that

Well folks let's be realists , the corporate influences have always been there . Corporate money has always bought and paid for elections either directly or indirectly and no law written has been able to change that. What this does is allow corporations to openly contribute money to a cause . They still cannot give money to individual candidates or a political party. The worst that will happen is that we may see more political ads on television now that the corporations can pay for them directly. That leaves it up to you and me to do some critical thinking about the things we see and do our homework. In other words, don't be brain dead. Use your rational mind to make your decisions.

Hard on the heels of this decision is a football star named Tim Tebow. He's an "abortion survivor". The anti-abortion ad was paid for by a conservative christian group and is slated to appear during the super bowl. Believe you me, people are up in arms over that. The outcry is due to CBS's refusal to air other politically charged ads during other super bowls. Folks, the abortion debate is so emotionally focused that even the labeling can be deemed as libelous. Pro choice means "anti-life". Pro-life implies that you are an enslaver of women. The abortion issue cannot be solved until people on both sides approach the issue from a position of rational thought. And so, Realists; don't hold your breath.

Finally, the iconic seat in Massachusetts that belonged to the Kennedy family for so long has now gone to a republican. This breaks the supermajority in the senate. This sets health care reform back. And of course it makes for great entertainment. See you next time.

FTFGIMAD
abortion tim tebow corporate money citizens united v. FEC massachusets senator