The Party of No and Obstruction, at least where sending any kind of economic lifelines to the American people are concerned, sure had no problem with turning over our national treasury to the fat cats on Wall St. And the GOP's blind faith in a unfettered free market economy did nothing other than make a handful of wealthy folks much richer while the majority of us grew much poorer. The Reagan/Bush/W. Bush's legacies of failure brought this once great nation to its knees.
At least when W. ran his companies into the ground Daddy's friends would step up and bail junior out. But Daddy's buddies are nowhere to be found now that W. and his GOP drove the country straight to hell. Tragically for the American taxpayers, we, our children, our grandchildren and great grandchildren will have to clean up the squalor. It will take generations to undo the GOP's financial carnage.
A recent article published in the Washington Post reveals that the American worker lost big time during the past decade.
This news should come as no surprise to any hard working middle class American. We have been living the pain for 10 long years.
The past decade was the worst for the U.S. economy in modern times, a sharp reversal from a long period of prosperity that is leading economists and policymakers to fundamentally rethink the underpinnings of the nation's growth.
It was, according to a wide range of data, a lost decade for American workers. The decade began in a moment of triumphalism -- there was a current of thought among economists in 1999 that recessions were a thing of the past. By the end, there were two, bookends to a debt-driven expansion that was neither robust nor sustainable.
The Washington Post also reveals that there has been zero net job creation since December 1999. Conditions have not been this grim for decades. Essentially, the American worker has not had a raise in a very long time.
This morning I received the following electronic newsletter from Senator John Cornyn on the Senate Health Care Reform Bill.
Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released his 2,074-page health care bill, which Senate Budget Committee analysis shows will cost American taxpayers $2.5 trillion when fully implemented over ten years. (My bold.)
Until we have had a chance to read the full 2,074 page Reid Bill, it's impossible for Americans to fully grasp what the Majority Leader has cooked up behind closed doors. It is my hope that Sen. Reid will afford all Americans the same courtesy that he had: ample time to study the legislation and deliberate the best way to proceed.
Over the second 10 years, CBO projects even greater cost savings--up to $650 billion, with the caveat that after 10 years, their analyses become highly uncertain.
Do you have a problem with saving lives and money, Senator?
House Republicans presented a four-page outline of their health care reform plan Wednesday but said they didn't know yet how much it would cost, how they would pay for it and how many of the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance would be covered by it.
Well, I guess if you don't plan on doing shit about the problem it doesn't take that long to outline a plan with no financing and no sick people in it.
Just read a CNN headline story where the Republcans are complaing the Democrats are holding this new SCHIP bill vote whle they are out of town following Bush around the California fires.
The article quotes Gohmert; "taking advantage of a disaster to loot the American treasury."
This is an odd if not hypoctical statement since the Republican Congress and Bush were the biggest raiders of the treasurey since LBJ.
The Texas GOP is just as crazy as we have always known they were.
linkFormer state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, a Houston Republican who served two decades before losing a re-election bid three years ago, was hired Monday as executive director of the Texas GOP.
"Talmadge Heflin has over 25 years of conservative leadership and experience as both a leader in the Texas Legislature and a businessman," Republican Party Chairman Tina Benkiser said.
Heflin succeeds Jeff Fisher, a former Van Zandt County judge who will continue as an adviser to the party, Benkiser said.
Heflin was a state lawmaker from 1983 to 2004, including a stint as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
In November 2004, he lost by 16 votes to political newcomer Hubert Vo, a Democrat who became the first Vietnamese to serve in the Texas House. An election recount showed Vo's victory margin over Heflin was 33 votes and Heflin challenged the results before the House. While Heflin gained 17 votes in the investigation, he withdrew his challenge in February 2005 to avoid the possibility of a bitter partisan fight.
He then lost once again to Rep. Vo in 2006 but not before applying for a job to head the Texas Lottery even though he had taken lots of money from gambling interest to help pay for his failed 2004 campaign.
. . . To precisely identify your elected official(s), please enter your full address or nine-digit ZIP code."
This is the 78705 rant. I am in central Austin, a mere mile, MILE, north of campus, EFFIN CENTRAL, and I get the message quoted above when I type in my zip to locate and then e-mail my representative.
