Friday, February 18, 2011

The Public Workers in Wiscons should not be asked to 'sacrifice' any of their benefits and should never give up collective bargaining rights.

Governor Walker and his Republican majority is corrupt to the core. 

A recall election needs to begin.

...Furthermore, (click title to entry - thank you) this broadside comes less than a month after the state's fiscal bureau -- the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office -- concluded that Wisconsin isn't even in need of austerity measures, and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus. In fact, they say that the current budget shortfall is a direct result of tax cut policies Walker enacted in his first days in office....


Walker is cutting taxes to benefit the wealthy while shrinking the fiscal stability of the Middle Class that will ultimately lead to increased economic shrinking and personal tragedy.

It is corruption, plain and simple.

Empower the Middle Class, remove the corruption from the governments at all levels.

The Middle Class needs to ask itself what the Supreme Court of the USA has done to benefit them lately.

The 'next layer' of fiscal stability for the Middle Class is being taken from them without taxes to the wealthiest Americans.

Since the year 2000, I have witnessed the 'fiscal coffers' of the USA Treasury and the Middle Class siphoned off to faciliate wealth for the Upper Class.  They have 'tapped' into 'the nation's fiscal reserves' to benefit themselves.

In 2000, we received a President placed in office by three people on the Supreme Court.  I know that is a 'turn off' to many people to even begin to think about it as a significant occurrence in the history of the USA, but, when one looks at what occurred afterward it raises all kinds of objections to 'Court Ordered Executive Branches.'

The first act of the Bush / Cheney Administration was to assault the energy sector for deregulation and drain the USA BUDGET SURPLUS.

That was the beginning of 'draining the reserves' of the government and the people to benefit the wealthy.

What followed was war due to ignored intelligence and PR campaigns to bring about a resolve to invade Iraq, even though UN Inspectors were finding little to nothing in the way of WMD under Saddam.

With war as a means to scoffing up monies from the USA treasuries, the Wall Street profiteers were well underway and the Investment Banks were turned loose to 'play in international markets' as if they SHOULD BE allowed to.

That is all history, but, it leads up to an ever more interesting reality today.

During the Bush/Cheney years the USA was not only at war, but, running record high DEFICITS that was leading to an every growing USA Debt.  While justifying such measures, 'as a nation at war,' the legislative agenda of the Republicans from 2000 to 2006 resulted in nothing short of a government funded economy where every bill was a jobs bill.  In fact, the USA has not have a 'free standing economy' for some time now.  That reality was faciliated by mergers, bankrupcies and corporate reorganizations funded by 'government reserves' to the point where those reserves were drained dry.

The largest fiscal assault and what most average citizens recognize as an assault against the people of the USA came in 2008 when the Investment Bank bailout and the insolvency of AIG took over the focus of global economies.  The USA had been completed depleted of its fiscal reserves and was not funding private institutions to support an imploding economic status that would completely destroy global stability and financial markets.

All during these years, the fiscal reserves of nations were not only under assault but laced with corruption no different and in many ways similar to what is being witnessed on the House floor with the Republicans.  The private sector was out of control and corruption became 'the means' of making money. 

Today, in Wisconsin, under the extremist Republican Governor, is the next wave of assault against fiscal reserves left in 'personal holdings' of the Middle Class.

The wealthy are UNTOUCHED, even today, by the financial collapse of 2008 under the 'ruse' of creating jobs.

If I may, what I heard yesterday in testimony by a couple in Wisconsin, both teachers PROVES my statements.

A Middle Class couple whom teaches in the Wisconsin school systems stated, they knew they would have to pay higher costs to their health care and pensions, but, they could not in good conscience allow their collective bargaining rights be destroyed for hopes of 'a better day' in Wisconsin, which seems to be promised to them by an encouraging economic picture under President Obama.

What they stated they would have to do to personally maintain a 'stable' fiscal picture was to concenttrate their remaining income to paying their mortgage, but, was uncertain as to how they would then structure their personal budgets to pay bills and still have some disposable income if at all possible.

THAT, 'IS' destroying 'the next layer' of 'fiscal reserves' in the USA.

The obvious government layer is already gone and stretched to breaking.  The next layer was destroyed during the Bush / Cheney years, the next layer occurred when 2008 rolled in and Hank Paulson pulled off the greatest deception of all time and NOW today, the next layer of 'fiscal reserve' in the USA is being exploited that 'in the personal value' of citizens in the Middle Class.

Sacrifice is something Americans are good at, especially when the sovereignty of their State and Country are in the balance.  But, sacrifice by the Middle Class is becoming not only detrimental to the country's economy in their 'buying power' but a national security issue.

The destructuve paths of the Extremist Governors now in seat in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan and Florida (Some with known corrupt and criminal pasts.) will lead the country into further personal bankruptcies and foreclosures taking more and more of the personal fiscal reserves to the country from the citizens and placing it the hands of the wealthy and Wall Street.

The current extremist agenda of these Governors are huge follies to the USA and the sincere answer to balancing any budget and paying down the debt at all levels of government lies in taking the wealthy. 

Those are the facts.  It is not myth, it is not fiction.  If these Governors can't modify their attack on the Middle Class then their elections need go be recalled and unfortunately the only organized entities in the country capable of doing that are the unions and their organizing efforts through their memberships.

If the Middle Class continues to be contracted in their buying power and stability, the fiscal well being of the county and its sovereignty begins to wane.

There is corruption, conspiracy and a coup occuring on the floor of the US House of Representatives regarding the Budget and the irresponsible amendment process.

POINTS OF ORDER are being overruled by the Chair of the House on (as stated today on the record) 'persuasive argument' and not facts.

The Chair of the House wielding the gavel is breaking the law and disregading the USA Constitution while House Budget Committee memebers have abdicated their responsibilities to a 'dictator' House Budget Chair. 

I demand these members of the House be investigated for treason and malfeasance for impeachment of their authority to seat in their elected seats.

There is every indication Speaker Boehner has been removed from his responsiblities and religated to 'a figure head' for the 'conspiracy of the minority' within the majority.  Golfing, under a warming planet, must be good these days.  He should be overseeing the proceeding in the House and he is ABSENT.

It is currently up to the Senate and the Executive Branch to bring ORDER and INTEGRITY back to the USA Constitution.  The US House of Representatives have incompetents and conspirators governing its processes.

There is NO legislatively discernable language being conducted 'in argument' on the US House floor.  There is 'street jargon' being substituted for US House processes by Republicans with complete disregard for legislative and legal identification of any measure being discussed.  The USA House is being used for chronic politicking as noted in the proceedings today.  They are in complete disregard of the purpose of their PAYCHECKS and are not conducting the business of the people.

Keeping them in sight...

Obama names court after Judge John Roll who died in Arizona massacre  (click title to entry - thank you)


Last updated at 12:01 PM on 17th February 2011

President Barack Obama was signing a bill in the Oval Office today naming a new federal courthouse after  Arizona federal Judge John M Roll who was gunned down last month
The 63-year-old judge was among six people who died in a shooting spree last month at an event in Tucson hosted by his friend U.S. Republican Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in the attack. She is undergoing rehabilitation in Houston, Texas....

It is just as well she doesn't remember.  She is making remarkable progress. 

Aide: Gabrielle Giffords doesn't know details of shootings  (click here)

The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 16, 2011; 11:01 AM
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has not yet been given details of the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that wounded her and 12 others and killed six people, including a staff member, according to her chief of staff.
Pia Carusone said Wednesday on CBS's "The Early Show" that the Arizona congresswoman, who can carry on simple conversations, knows there was a traumatic event but has not been told about the severity of the wounds to others. That will happen in time when she's "at a higher level of communication," Carusone said....

Does Governor Brewer have First Response to ALL emergencies under control or are the people of Arizona allowed to 'decide' which 'political' emergencies they respond to including those of ethnic differences?  Like, what the heck is going on in Arizona?

Firefighter refused call to Tucson shooting spree scene  (click here)

Fernanda Echavarri and Rob O'Dell Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
Posted: Thursday, February 17, 2011 12:45 pm

A veteran city firefighter's refusal to respond to the Jan. 8 shooting spree, citing "political bantering," may have slowed his Tucson Fire Department unit's response to the incident that left six dead and 13 wounded, city memos show.
The firefighter, Mark Ekstrum, retired from his 28-year career two days later, while his supervisors were still considering how to discipline him, internal memos obtained by the Arizona Daily Star in a public-records request show.
In a Jan. 9 report on Ekstrum's actions, fire Capt. Ben Williams wrote that when Ekstrum first told him he would not go out on the call, "he mentioned something about 'political bantering' and he did not want to be part of it." He said he was acting "for the good of the crew."
Williams said he told Ekstrum he could not refuse a call for that reason, and then talked to the firefighter privately in his office. He said Ekstrum "started to say something about how he had a much different political viewpoint than the rest of the crew and he was concerned." Despite being told that was not acceptable, Williams said Ekstrum informed him he was going home "sick," so they answered the call without him....


Ball field named for young shooting victim (click here)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
...Nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green will have a baseball field named after her where she played second base for her Little League team.
Her family is expected to throw out the first pitch when the season begins April 1.
Pima County, where Tucson is located, will also name a county park after Christina....


And the beat goes on.  The political aspirations of US House Representative Gifford is intact !

 

Friends of Giffords plan fund-raiser for ’12  (click here)

February 17, 2011
WASHINGTON — Congressional friends of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman shot in January, are holding a fund-raiser next month for her 2012 election campaign.
Three Democrats — Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Representative Adam Smith of Washington, and Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida — are chairs of the March 15 reception being held in Washington for the congresswoman.
“We are so proud of her as she continues to make incredible strides in her recovery,’’ the lawmakers wrote in a letter included with the invitation. “We look forward to seeing her again soon and to the day that she will rejoin us in the halls of Congress.’’
The lawmakers wrote that they were seeking support for the event so that Giffords could focus on the “important work of her recovery.’’...

Concealed weapon laws in the USA do not work.  They simply DO NOT meld into the 'fabric of life' in the USA in a way that can be beneficial.  Sometimes people find out this mess the hard way.  I wish the people of the USA stopped opting to find out what is best for the country through 'trial and error.' 

Truly. 

It is getting increasingly difficult to keep police alive to do their jobs. 

Enough already.  Between the political monkey shines of the House and the lack of response in Arizona, the political theater is as out of control as the 'guns on the street.'  Literally.

...South Carolina (click here) created a concealed weapons permit in 1995. Since then, the law has been amended several times, but on Thursday, some lawmakers said it's still a wildly inconsistent patchwork that needs to be scrapped.

A month after the shooting of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in which six people were killed, the issue of gun control has again taken center stage.

A month earlier, an armed man walked into a school board meeting in Florida and opened fire.

Some South Carolina lawmakers told Eyewitness News that the best way to respond to those crimes is to allow law-abiding citizens to better protect themselves. Republican Rep. Gary Simrill of Rock Hill pointed to several flaws in the current weapons law.

"If you were a concealed weapons permit holder and you were in your car and pulled onto school property to drop off your child off in the morning, you were in violation of the law," Simrill said.

Simrill said a bill to end permits for concealed weapons has more than 30 co-sponsors and has a good chance of passing the state House of Representatives this year....


Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily Star Patricia Maisch, who helped keep accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner from reloading during a Jan. 8 shooting spree in which six people were slain and 13 were wounded, reunites with shooting victim Ron Barber. He is a staffer for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot to her head.

Tucson shooting spree survivors honored at Red Cross event  (click here)

Fernanda Echavarri, Arizona Daily Star
Arizona Daily Star
Posted: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:27 pm

A dozen victims of Tucson's shooting spree were honored today at a ceremony.
The 2011 A Hero In All of Us ceremony cited their bravery and selfless acts.
More than 500 people the luncheon at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, to honor the heroes who attempted to save lives in the minutes after a gunman's attack outside a grocery store during a community event being hosted by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is in a Houston hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to the head....


Civility is a wonderful word.  Civility is exactly what the GOP is lacking in huge measure.  The GOP consents to the incivility of their media and openly thanks them for it at every turn.  Amazing.

Feb 16, 2011 12:39 ET


All-Star Line-Up Comes Together for March 10 Concert to Benefit the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona's Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding  (click here)
 
The Fund Was Established by the Family of Ron Barber, District Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
 

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Jackson Browne and Alice Cooper, in partnership with Danny Zelisko have put together an all-star line-up of musicians for a benefit concert to take place at the Tucson Convention Center, (who have donated the building), on Thursday, March 10, 6 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the non-profit Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, benefiting the newly established Fund for Civility, Respect, and Understanding. The Fund will support individuals and families affected by the January 8th shooting in Tucson, and will promote civility and respect in public discourse, schools, and the community. The fund will also work to increase awareness of mental health symptoms, prevention and treatment services....