Ten years ago today the U. S. invaded Iraq. Our government borrowed to pay for this unfunded Bush war of choice. President Obama ended the war and is slowly paying down the debt. More was learned recently about the waste and corruption of that war, read the report here. Because the U. S. government borrowed to pay for that war, interest payments through the year 2053 mean the total cost will be approximately $4 trillion just in riches. You can’t put a price tag on the human loses — according to the report the war has killed at least 190,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors, and civilians.
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
I listened yesterday to a few of the things the Republican Party is planning to change. Ever since the big GOP wave election in 2010, state legislatures across the country have been racing to pass offensive, unconstitutional, and just outright bizarre laws. Until they stop doing what they’re doing women, gays, minorities and smart people know they’re just talking about change. Like all the promises about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS they made before being elected in 2010 their words are empty and meaningless.
Do they imagine anyone but their party faithful is dumb enough to believe their words?
There is certainly a grand hope that they will, it worked so well peeing on the faithfuls leg and shouting it is raining. The use of emotional issues to hide the hidden agenda so they are not looking behind the curtain and seeing the little man pulling switches.
Most people are smarter than the ones they’re fooling!
Not in Kansas!
Charts, facts, figures, TRUTH
Charts: Bush Lowballed Us on Iraq by $6 Trillion
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/03/charts-cost-iraq-war
When you hear republicans talk about the changes they plan to make in their party, pause, check out a few of the bills they’ve introduced all across the country (not that we need look any farther than our own state):
NORTH DAKOTA: The state is getting in on the latest anti-abortion fad sweeping the nation: so-called “heartbeat bills” that ban abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected. North Dakota is set to pass a law that bans abortions (at its single remaining abortion clinic) after just six weeks. The law, the most stringent in the nation, is clearly unconstitutional.
TEXAS: An “avid proponent of tort reform” in the state legislature has proposed a law that will allow people to be served notice of a lawsuit through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
OKLAHOMA: The Sooner State is still fighting Obamacare and just this week the Oklahoma House passed an unconstitutional Obamacare “nullification” law.
INDIANA: Newly elected Gov. Mike Pence (R) is pushing for a 10 percent cut in the state’s income tax, something which could gut investments in education and infrastructure. Even Republican legislators are wary, but the Koch Brothers front group, Americans for Prosperity is pushing the proposal.
MISSISSIPPI: The Magnolia state, which has the highest obesity rate in the nation, passed a so-called “anti-Bloomberg” bill to prevent localities from “enacting rules that require calorie counts to be posted, that cap portion sizes, or that keep toys out of kids’ meals.”
OHIO: Ohio’s radical anti-union law was overturned by a statewide referendum and its anti-voting law was headed for the same fate until the legislature preemptively repealed it on their own. Now Ohio legislators are trying to make it harder for voters to initiate referenda to overturn the radical laws passed by the GOP-controlled legislature.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: You might think that the 13th amendment to the Constitution is the one that banned slavery, but some Republican legislators in New Hampshire would like to tell you otherwise. They claim the “original 13th amendment” is one that banned people with titles of nobility from holding office and that it was deleted by some sort of conspiracy. They aren’t taking this lying down and have introduced a bill to restore the “original” version, in order “to end the infiltration of the Bar Association and the judicial branch into the executive and legislative branches of government and the unlawful usurpation of the people’s right.”
IOWA: An Iowa Republican wanted to ban no-fault divorces for couples with children, out of fears that easier divorces may make teenage girls “more promiscuous.” Fortunately, legislative leaders shut that whole thing down.
It almost isn’t safe to be a rapist nowadays! WARNING bad language and all that… 🙂
A Man’s Guide to Defending Yourself from a Rape Conviction
http://thomas-galvin.com/blog/?p=7141
Ryan’s tax reforms cost more than all his spending cuts combined
Posted by Ezra Klein
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/18/ryans-tax-reforms-cost-more-than-all-his-spending-cuts-combined/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein&wpisrc=nl_wonk
The sad fact – those same folks who did not seem to care George W. Bush wasted $6 trillion of borrowed money on his Iraq War are also the same folks who sat and applauded MItt Romney when the proposed $4 trillion in additional taxpayer money for building warships we don’t need.
You just cannot fix S-T-U-P-I-D
NOW this makes me M-A-D as Hell. I had loved ones that were killed in that damn war – and Nixon used it as a prop to get elected?
I pray there is a special Hell somewhere..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21768668
Nixon lied to keep a war going, Bush2 lied to take us into his war of choice. See a pattern here? Those republicans don’t mind sending other people’s kids to war, and using those kids to advance their own personal agendas. Deaths? Injuries? Lives ruined?
It’s a serious subject, one Americans need to be very vocal about!
Is this another one of those changes republicans plan to talk about?
I’d like to make a change – every one of those folks who vote to go to war should be mandated to pack their own bag for one year of combat service – or send their kids and/or grandkids.
Maybe then – these folks would stop beating those damn war drums 24/7.
My ex-friend who is the devout Catholic, Fox News regurgitator and Republican Robot has a son-in-law and a son – both in the military.
This woman contantly talked about how we need to go bomb Iraq and then Iran and – show these countries that America will not be shoved around – and I stopped her cold once in mid-rant against the evil government and Obama with one question.
I asked her – when will your son and son-in-law be deployed to do the actual fighting?
You see, these two were getting all the benefits of the military – but were NEVER deployed oveseas – not even to a base considered to be in a safe country – let alone Iraq or Afghanistan.
I asked her point blank one day (once I had my fill of her and I knew I was choosing to end our friendship) – how is it that both of your kids have been in the military since Baby Bush started his Iraq War and they have NEVER had their butts overseas??
She got furious with me…….
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want anybody to be sent overseas to fight some damn war – BUT, if you’re going to sit there and demonize the evil government for daring to ask you to pay taxes – THEN maybe you need to have personal skin in the game?
Is that what is missing in our apapthy towards wars?
I heard on an NPR show last week – less than 1% of Americans have someone in their family currently serving in the military. Since we have a volunteer military – is this why Americans seem content to let our feckless leaders get away with what they get away with?
America’s Senator Bernie Sanders says: “At a time when we have a 16.6 % trillion dollar national debt, and a time when largely one quarter of the largest corporations in America are paying no federal income taxes, and at a time when corporate profits are at an all time high—it is high time for corporate America to contribute significantly to deficit reductions. It is immoral to balance the budget on the backs of the poor!”
If we were truly a country that had morals – there would not be as many mega corporate churches on every corner – taking up prime real estate and paying NO TAXES..
Giving thought to all the crazy and insane, damaging and outright mean things Reagan did to America – the worst thing – IMHO – was when this buffoon invited Jerry Falwell and his BFFs into the inner cicle of the GOP.
We all knew Reagan was for the wealthy in this country – but he needed the blessing of God – to make his agenda appeal to the average Americans.
Reagan was a true Hollywood-trained actor – he had the gift of the silver tongue. It’s too bad the damn thing was forked.
In addition to this funding, I was reading this morning about earnings from state parks going toward tax cuts for the wealthy. Can hardly wait until they privatize all the roads in Kansas, charge to cross at a crosswalk…
House bill creates $10M aid program for private schools
(from the link): THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
The House’s education committee gathered conflicting testimony Monday on a bill granting $10 million annually in state tax breaks to finance a new scholarship program for students attending K-12 private schools.
http://cjonline.com/news/2013-03-18/house-bill-creates-10m-aid-program-private-schools
If these private schools cannot make it in the free market – then shouldn’t they just be allowed to go belly-up?
After all – that is what the free market means – doesn’t it?
The demand for their product in the market place will determine their fate?
If you have a chance to go east on 21st North past the K-96 bypass – check out the number of mega churches on that short stretch of 21st.
Then check out Trinity Academy’s new builidng project – I’ve read where it is their new sports field – but DAMN, look at all that prime real estate being used up and no taxes to show for it?
It’s not just Trinity Acadamy – there are several mega churches (ie corporations)in this tax-free business.
This male blogger ‘gets it.’ He totally understands why women must have equality. He doesn’t just comment on the Steubenville rape, but the culture of rape. It isn’t long, read it if your time allows.
(from the link): “I think to a great degree, we humans still divide ourselves into two species, even though we are monotypic. There are males and females. We see them as different and not equal. Things get better when women get more equality. That is a bit obvious but I think it leads to better results up the road. If it’s a man’s world as they say, then men, your world is a poorly run carnage fest.
It is obvious that the two offenders saw the victim as some one that could be treated as a thing. This is not about sex, it is about power and control.”
http://www.underthegunreview.net/2013/03/18/henry-rollins-comments-on-steubenville-rape-verdict/
Another good read. It’s from December of 2008 but the info is very timely. The republicans are still trying to get rid of unions which as the article points out are a perfect example of the ‘free market.’ More proof republicans aren’t for ‘free markets,’ they’re FOR. THE. RICH. PERIOD.
(from the link): “At its most fundamental, a union is nothing more or less than a group of people who have figured out that if they act together to place limits on the supply of their own labor, the businesses that have a demand for that labor will need to pay more. Unions are basically employee-owned businesses that sell labor. Like any good business, they try to both encourage demand and control the supply.”
http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2008/12/10/unions-are-a-freemarket-soluti/
IIRC – St. Ronnie Raygun was a union president that used collective bargaining to get health care for his fellow actors.
Does this mean Ronnie was a Flaming Socialist/Communist (pick one) Liberal that hates God, America, the American Flag and Apple Pie?
Like I said above – Ronnie had the gift of the silver tongue.
It’s too bad the damn thing was forked – because the country got f__ked.
You fill in the blanks (see how changing just two little letters changes the entire view of Reagan’s presidency)
“I’m A Bill” had to be updated to reflect changes in Congress.
The Last Letter
A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/the_last_letter_20130318/
Man I agree every time we go that direction I am surprised at the number of churches and size of them around 21st street East. It seem what ever flavor of belief you are there is a church there. And yes they are Mega
Well it would seem all those big fancy mega churches could feed the poor throughout the county if they put their efforts together. Of course, none of the republican members of those churches would want to make people dependent on handouts. Guess they prefer starving people to dependent ones.
The only dependent people these mega churches want are those who are dependent on the dog and pony shows put on regularly….
Dog and pony shows are much more exciting and glamorous than doing what Jesus actually taught his true Christian followers to do….such as feed the poor..
Have you heard about this…….this is so A-W-E-S-O-M-E…. Job well done.
http://news.msn.com/us/rainbow-flag-painted-on-house-across-from-westboro-baptist-church