Eye Recommend --- The Shallow End of the Campaign

THE SHALLOW END OF THE CAMPAIGN, New York Times editorial -- "On issue after issue raised in the first weekend of interviews after the conventions, Romney and Ryan actively tried to obscure their positions, as if a clear understanding of their beliefs about taxes, health care or spending would scare away anyone who was listening."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/the-shallow-end-of-the-campaign.html?_r=1

Eye Recommend --- Letter to the Editor

A LETTER TO THE EDITOR, NYTimes -- I'm reproducing this in its entirety.  It is a succinct and well written letter.  Wish I'd written it myself: 

     I am a member of President Obama’s base of supporters. I am disappointed in him because of his failure to sell his achievements to the American people. He inherited two wars and the worst recession since the Great Depression. He also inherited a Congress that was more interested in getting re-elected than in working in the best interests of the American people.

     We have a Supreme Court that feels money is the equivalent of free speech, and so more money is being spent in this election than in any previous election. This money is being spent by both parties to spread lies and half-truths.

     I do not like the America envisioned by Mitt Romney and Paul D. Ryan, in which taxes are cut and there is no safety net for the poor, weak and disabled except for private charities — and in which the primary motive for Americans is to accumulate wealth with no regard for our climate, for the health and education of our children or for the rest of the world.

SUSAN STERN
Newton, Mass., Aug. 31, 2012

Eye Recommend --- The GOP Fact Vacuum

THE GOP FACT VACUUM, by Charles M. Blow -- "Sally Kohn, a contributor to Fox News, said:

'Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech'."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/opinion/blow-the-gop-fact-vacuum.html

The Businessman and the Blind Ideologue -- This is No Fairytale and There is No Happy Ending

The Republicans have made a crusade out of wanting to overturn the ACA and Romney has promised to make that a first-day-in-office priority. Add to that the fact that Romney and Ryan both favor a new Medicare model where senior citizens would be given vouchers to purchase private insurance.

what eye thynk:   The Republicans want us to believe that putting them in charge and allowing them to make major changes to our entitlement programs will make our national deficit disappear and we’ll all be doing the Disney dance of happiness under a sun-filled sky; but for the average senior citizen in this country, the dissolution of Medicare as we know it will not have a happy ending.

First, the ACA, which prohibits private insurance companies from denying insurance for a pre-existing condition, will be gone.

Next, when this Republican tag team gets their new Medicare voucher program set up and senior citizens start shopping with their new vouchers, how many will be turned away because of a pre-existing condition? Think about it--how many people get to retirement age without a pre-existing condition? If the Democrats tried this, Republicans would be screaming themselves hoarse about “death panels”.

Romney went out and got himself an ideologue to join his campaign to appeal to the far right and bolster his conservative creds; but blindly following the doctrine of your ideology is not the sign of a leader, it is the sign of a despot.

Apparently God Changed His Mind...and the Clergy's Not Too Happy Either

Michelle Bachman, Herman Cain, Rick Perry and finally Rick Santorum all claimed that God told them to run for President. Now Rep. Ryan is claiming that his budget was shaped by his Catholic faith.

what eye thynk:  Four Republican candidates, each trying to become his/her party's nominee for President of the United States, each claimed his/her campaign was the result of divine guidance.  Each of them tried to claim the crown of "top Christian conservative" and each of them failed.  Of course, when you become so vainglorious that you mistake the voice of your own ego for the voice of God, failure is pretty much guaranteed.

I don't like anything about Romney, and personally, the more I read about Mormonism, the more it sounds like nothing but a well-organized cult; but at least he isn't claiming that God called him to run.

As for Rep. Ryan's assertion that his budget is molded by the teachings of his Catholic faith, it seems that the Catholic clergy assert differently.  Last Friday almost sixty Catholic priests, nuns and theologians spoke out against Rep. Ryan's claim.  John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life issued this statement:  "If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and health care away from millions of vulnerable people upholds Catholic values, then he also probably believes Jesus was a Tea Partier who lectured the poor to stop being so lazy and work harder.  This budget turns centuries of Catholic social teaching on its head.  These Catholic leaders and many Catholics in the pews are tired of faith being misused to bless an immoral agenda".  Amen!

God doesn't care about politics.  You can claim that He chose you to lead your political party, you can claim that He spoke to you and told you how to apportion your country's monetary assets; but, really, God is too busy to worry about your personal career goals or whether the national checkbook balances.

Instead of claiming to be on God's speed dial, these so-called "Christian" conservatives, would be better served, (as would the rest of us), if they were to spend some time re-acquainting themselves with a few Bible verses that explain how Christ really expected Christians to act.  Luke 10: 30-37, The Parable of the Good Samaritan, might be a good place to start.

April 9 - Monday Quote

This week's quote is dedicated to Rep. Paul D. Ryan and the House Budget Committee.

Monday Quote: Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle. (Franklin D. Roosevelt,  1882-1945)

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy - Sure Glad They Cleared That Up

Last week the House of Representatives passed the new Ryan budget and tax plan. Romney has called it "marvelous".  President Obama said that the new tax plan will reduce taxes for those making $1M by $150,000 a year.  The House Budget Committee says this is not true.  The new tax plan will reduce a millionaire's taxes by only $46,000--the additional $105,000 comes from another extension of the Bush tax cuts.

what eye thynk:  This is supposed to make me feel better?