Pants on Fire? You betcha!

Taken a look at the playing field of Republican Candidates jarring for the chance to run against Barack Obama?  If you answer yes, then you must be concerned about the path this country is taking.  And before you say it can't happen, remember we almost elected George W. Bush to his first term and really did it for his second term.  That being said, I am terrified.

So the line up is - Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Andy Martin, Jimmy McMillan, Tom Miller, Ron Paul, Buddy Roemer, Rick Santorum and Vern Wuensche.

Haven't heard of a few names here? Don't feel bad, most haven't, and to be honest, most of them don't stand a chance.  You've got one guy that runs in every election he can qualify for from "The Rent is Too Damn High" Party, another that is a career flight attendant and yet another running as a Republican from a Gay Rights Activist standpoint.  None of these are going to catch the eye of the Republican stage in a good way.

So for the rest, the actual contenders, we'll say the top three, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann (even though she comes in behind the "undecided" vote).

Mitt Romney ran for the GOP nod in 2008 but lost.  Somehow coming back as the new and improved Mitt means changing all of your views, maybe because his old ones didn't get him elected, but if you ask me, those kind of major views don't change over night and this man is hiding something.  He even said at one of the debates, "There are a lot of reasons not to vote for me"!  One of my favorite websites is politifact.org and out of the 65 statements that he has made and have been checked, 23 fall into the "false" category with 7 of those being "pants on fire" meaning blatant lies.

Rick Perry, the governor of Texas (like we need another one of those), came in to the running a little late but has done well in the polls, very well in fact.  Out of his 86 statements rated by Politifact, 34 have fallen in the "false" area and 10 were "pants on fire".

Michele Bachmann.  Well, what is there to say about this lady? (I use that term loosely)  Pandering just as much to the Tea Party as any of the rest, there is something we Palin-ish about her.  Out of her 36 rated statements, 29 have rated false, 9 are "pants on fire" and ONLY 2 are actually the full truth.

How is it that these folks can continue to lie to us, yet we continue to buy what their selling?  I know that all politicians lie, and that is very unfortunate.  We are forced to take the lesser of evils in our political system.  So with that in mind, I thought it would only be fair to include the Presidents stats in this blog.  Out of 320 statements rated, 94 fall into that false category but only 4 in the pants on fire and 226 fall into some category of "truth".

So lets compare a little simpler.  Mitt Romney - 10.76% pants on fire, Rick Perry - 11.63% pants on fire, Michele Bachmann - 25% pants on fire and Barack Obama - 1.25% pants on fire.

Why is there still any question about the next Presidential race?  It's one thing to point out the things your opponent is doing or has done, but not if they are straight out lies.  Not if your entire campaign is based on some fairy tale Karl Rove dreamt up for you.

GOP, you need to find some actual candidates to run.  This is just sad.

Oil is more important than education......... evidently.

While Republicans work tirelessly to slash the budget with cuts to government programs such as the EPA, NOAA, Education, Endowment for the Arts and Amtrak, they simultaneously opt to extend/renew tax breaks for Big Oil.  Yes, I'll say it again, they want to bolster Big Oil and cripple the EPA.  If that doesn't send a clear signal to BP and the like, I'm not sure what does.

I know we're all heard it, maybe even said it, what's wrong with kids these day and what is this world coming to?  I think I've found the answer.  When you decide to invest in Big Oil, the same ones that supply fuel that pollutes our air, water and marshes and spend less and less on education, what do you expect?

I for one agree that we need to cut spending.  We need to spend less than we tax, that is smart economics in its simplest form.  But we need smart cuts.  With profits in the 10's of billions for Big Oil companies, I'm sure they have no problem paying their taxes.  Tax money that our education system, among other programs, desperately need.

So my question is when we elected these Republicans to office with the expectation that they would get government spending under control, are these the programs we thought they would cut?

Jobfair, not Warfare!

So how many of you have been seeing these slogans posted all around?  I hadn't paid much mind to them to be honest, I know what they mean and I agree, but for the most part they are just as useless as the bumper stickers the other side uses, so I don't make much time for them.

That was until I read the headlines yesterday, McCain and the rest of the GOP want to send troops to Lybia.  Now, as far as GOP goes, I like McCain.  I liked Obama better, but that's not to say I disliked McCain at all.  I think he is an upstanding gentleman, one that has paid the price for America on several occasions.  That being said, the reason most people I know refused to vote for him was because he wasn't being himself when he was running for President, well, that the the whole Sarah Pain fiasco.  Anyway, here he goes again.  You can't possibly agree with sending more troops out of this country, away from their families, to spend more money we don't have, to fight for someone else.  If for no other reason, the GOP has been screaming to spend less, spend less, yet they want to send us into yet another battle?

This makes no sense to me.  Then again, maybe it does.  I mean, it is in the best interest of the oil companies for us to restore order there, under a dictator or not.  And we all know that the GOP is the first in line to do what's best for Big Oil.

So let's tally up the GOP's progress since they took over the House.

1. Voted to repeal the health-care bill. (Waste of time and money, it went nowhere after that.)
2. Placed bills on the floor to redefine the definition of rape. (Do you just hate women?)
3. Placed bill on the floor to remove funding from PBS. (Are you kidding me?)
4. Spent way too much time trying to tear apart marriage equality.

My question is, what progress have you made in creating jobs?  Why are the above bullet points somehow more important than our economy?  I know some will say that a couple of the above statements are geared towards reducing the budget, but really, how much?  Or is it all just lip-service?

Those of you that voted "Red" in the past election, I understand why.  I really do.  Spending is out of control and that is the main reason that those polled said they voted Republican/TeaBagger in the last election.  Something has to be done about the insane spending in our government.

But I ask you this, what have they done?  How has anything that the GOP has done since gaining control of the House helped in your daily life?

I know that many folks are/were against the Affordable Health Care Act and I understand that it is not flawless.  But the Democrats did make progress with that bill, however flawed you may think it is, it is progress.  Whether you agree with it or not, they made something happen, something they were elected to do. (Everybody likes to say that the American people didn't want it, but that statement is simply not true.)  What progress has the GOP made in anything, good, bad or indifferent?  How different are they then any lame-duck official? 

It seems to me they will continue to spin their wheels until the next election.

Once again, America is in a stall.  Let's hope we don't crash and burn before the next election when we can fix this debacle.

What have you done lately?

Republicans:

Since you were elected, you've voted to repeal healthcare, which was a big waste of time since it won't make it past the Senate, and certainly would not make it past the POTUS.

Oh, and now you're pushing a bill that would define which kinds of rape would qualify for an abortion.  So only violent rape can get an abortion, those that are drugged, statutory raped, or most other types of date rape don't qualify?

So my question is, what are you doing to create jobs?  What are you doing to help the economy?  What are you doing for clean energy?  Or maybe I should just ask, what are you doing?

Republicans in Congress want to repeal the Health Care Bill

While simultaneously signing all the paperwork for their government funded health care, newly elected Republicans already have plans to deny their constituents that same (or close) privilege.

Now, whether you support the Health Care Bill, or not, you should watch very closely at what these folks are doing.  You may not see the benefit that the Health Care Bill affords you, your family or maybe just your neighbor, but these Republicans do.  That's why they are busy signing up for their own version of it.

The bottom line, you are expected to pay for their health care, but you are not entitled to any for yourself.  Keep in mind, these folks you elected, you decided they warrant government funded health care coverage more than you do.  These men and women are already well off, most of them lawyers, big business types, etc.  Most of them have health care coverage on their own, or through their pensions.  Yet millions of regular citizens, have nothing.

So lets keep giving more and more to the rich, and take more and more from the poor, seems to be the American way.

Obamas Million Dollar Vacation? Big Deal

So the POTUS took a vacation, it's Christmas.  So it cost over $1 million, he's the President, it's expensive for him to go to the bathroom. (Consider the escort by Secret Service, etc.)  Is he not entitled to a vacation?  Because Air Force One, Secret Service, etc are expensive, should he sit at home for the holidays?  I for one would rather send the Obamas on a million dollar vacation, than spend BILLIONS on a war I don't support.  Those same folks that are okay with the high cost of "spreading democracy" are the same ones that have issues with the Obama family taking a vacation.

You cannot compare the cost of your vacation with is.  You do not have a Secret Service detail.  You do not have White House Aides. You most likely did not have to work while on your vacation.  Our President works everyday, he is the POTUS everyday, Christmas or not.

Now for the perspective....

George Bush, the Second Mistake, took a total of 977 vacation days during his presidency, that's 122 days per year, 33% of his entire presidency.  Still want to compare your vacation to the POTUS?

Many of his 977 vacation days were to his ranch in Crawford, TX.  Do you think he took a cab?  No, he took Air Force One, and so did his dog, Barney.

Now, I could do the research and add up all the costs for you, but considering Mr. Obama has taken 26 days of vacation in his first year compared to Bush taking 69, I think you all are smart enough to figure it out.

Face the facts.  The POTUS flies on Air Force One.  He also has a Secret Service (and sometimes Navy Seals) as an escort.  His family goes on vacation with him.  His aides go as well.  And he takes reporters, which may sound stupid, but if he didn't you'd say he was hiding something.  Get over your self.