Russian Aircraft Buzzes USS Cook in Black Sea 12 Times

"The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s," Colonel Warren

That statement is probably the understatement of the year.  Does President Putin think this saber rattling is going to influence the US into giving in?  If he does, then he must be watching Fox News and listening to the Republicans in Congress who keep dissing President Obama over Ukraine and siding with the Russians time and time again which makes no sense.   What do the Koch Bros have to gain with the GOP siding in many cases with the Russians?  Becoming more obvious by the day that the Koch Bros are pulling the puppet strings of the GOP who are doing their bidding.

Then you have former AR Governor Mike Huckabee talking about North Korea is more free then US which is mind boggling.  Offered today to set up a PAC to help him move, willing to help pack him up, and even throw in some boxes from previous moves.  The man is a lunatic.  From the Daily Mail United Kingdom:

Fox News personality and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee stunned a New Hampshire crowd on Saturday by likening the federal government's treatment of airport passengers to the totalitarian regime of Kim Jong-un. 

'My gosh, I'm beginning to think that there's more freedom in North Korea sometimes than there is in the United States,' he told a partisan crowd at the inaugural New Hampshire Freedom Summit. 

'When I go to the airport, I have to get into the surrender position, people put hands all over me, and I have to provide photo ID in a couple of different forms to prove that I'm not going to terrorize the airplane,' he deadpanned. 

In a speech filled with jokes, Huckabee seemed deadly serious.

Would  Huckabee rather have no security and let terrorists fly on our planes.  Guess he figures N. Korea has no security for their flights.  Is the man even sane to make the comparison?  Yet he is running for the Presidential nomination as a Republican.

When I received this email from American Forces News Service which covers the Pentagon, I wasn't really shocked.  Been waiting for something like this to happen.  Does Putin know how stupid Russia looks buzzing a guided missile destroyer of the US.  Bet the Russians are the butt of some jokes on the destroyer.  Has Putin totally lost it because it is hard to see what Russia can gain from this:

Russian Aircraft Flies Near U.S. Navy Ship in Black Sea

04/14/2014 01:03 PM CDT
By Jim Garamone 

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2014 - A Russian attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the USS Donald Cook in international waters in the Black Sea on April 12, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

USS 

Donald Cook is the first of four Arleigh Burke-class

 guided-missile destroyers to be stationed in Rota.

The USS Cook was patrolling in the western Black Sea when an unarmed Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft repeatedly flew near the Navy ship, Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters.

"The aircraft did not respond to multiple queries and warnings from Donald Cook, and the event ended without incident after approximately 90 minutes," Warren said. "This provocative and unprofessional Russian action is inconsistent with international protocols and previous agreements on the professional interaction between our militaries."

Two Russian aircraft were present, but only one took part in the provocative actions, Warren said. The aircraft flew from near sea level to a couple of thousand feet, he added, but never overflew the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer." 

The Russian plane made a total of 12 passes," he said. 

The wingman stayed at a considerably higher altitude, Warren said. 

Officials later said the aircraft approached within about 1,000 yards of the ship. The USS Cook was never in danger, Warren said. 

"The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s," the colonel said. 

Warren said he does not think this is an example of a young pilot joyriding. "I would have difficulty believing that two Russian pilots, on their own, would chose to take such an action," he said. "We've seen the Russians conduct themselves unprofessionally and in violation of international norms in Ukraine for several months, and these continued acts of provocation and unprofessionalism do nothing to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, which we called on the Russians to do." 

The Cook arrived in the Black Sea on April 10. The ship is now making a port call in Constanta, Romania.

We have all this going on and our illustrious Congress is not in town -- time for another vacation when they just came back from a week off.  Yet Rep Moran (D-VA) thinks they are underpaid in comparison to CEO's. Think they are overpaid for time worked.   

Monday, Apr 28, 2014 2:00 p.m.: Convene and begin a period of morning business.
5:30 p.m.: Proceed to executive session to consider nominations.

Previous Meeting Friday, Apr 11, 2014 The Senate convened at 4:00 p.m. and adjourned at 4:14 p.m. No record votes were taken.

We have the Russians who invaded Crimea in the Ukraine, hold a phony referendum, take back Crimea, and Republicans are either siding with the Russians or calling the President weak in his policy. Here are some headlines:

GOP skewers Obama’s ‘weak’ response in Ukraine 

"feckless" Foreign Policy for Ukraine Crises by none other then Sen McCain who still has a lot to answer for over the years but now he is the expert.  Seems he has never gotten over his loss in 2008 to President Obama.

Ukraine Crisis:  Republicans say Weak Obama Policy Caused Russians to Invade (CBS)

The GOP Just Screwed Ukraine Out of Billions to Hurt Obama (Michael Tomasky) (excerpts)

Agreeing to IMF reforms would have helped him. So now Republicans’ mission to weaken the president is spilling over into foreign policy, too.You know those people who carry on all the time about how the United States looks weak to the world, and how we have to do everything we possibly can to help poor Ukraine stand up to the evil Vladimir Putin? Well, guess what they just did? They just made the United States look weak to the world—and they actually just reduced (yes, reduced) the amount of global aid that can flow to Ukraine to help it stand up to the evil Vladimir Putin.

And so it happens that the people who caterwaul about America being weak in the world become the very people who make it weaker. What does the world think as it watches this? Maybe some think merely that Obama is weak. But I’d wager most don’t. I’d wager most Europeans and others reach the right and reasonable conclusion: That American partisan dysfunction, driven far more by Republicans than by Democrats, now weakens not just our ability to carry out domestic politics but our foreign-policy aims as well. 

The more the Republicans ran to the microphones and Sunday shows, you realized that they had the same narrative -- some went as far as to defend what Putin had done and side with Russia which they had been doing since last fall.

Therefore, when Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote an op-ed for the New York Times, many on the right rallied around the former KGB agent and asked that Obama follow Putin’s lead. In his column, Putin asked that the United States respect the United Nations and follow the advice of the Security Council (which Russia is a part of) and practice caution on any action related to Syria. Putin also stated that peaceful dialogue and diplomacy should be utilized first and foremost and that military action should only occur with a consensus of other nations. 

At that time, you had members of the right-wing in this country go ga-ga over Putin. Pundits like Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Erick Erickson and Sean Hannity were praising the Russian President for his stance. Other Republicans like Pat Buchanan and Ralph Peters claimed that Putin was providing the type of leadership that the US apparently lacked at that moment. Basically, if you tuned into Fox News or talk radio during that time, you got a whole lot of Putin hero-worshiping.

What we have is a Republican Party who would rather weaken President Obama then do the right thing not only domestically but in our foreign policy but yet want re-elected.  Time to tell the Republican candidates for the most part to take it and shove.  Let them find out what the unemployment line is like except they probably will become lobbyist and make more money.   What the Republican Party has done by selling out this Country to wealthy donors like the Kochs and Adelson should be  crime especially now that it has gone over into foreign policy.

Never could figure out the love affair that some conservatives had with Putin except he is white and Obama is black.  These people supported a former? KGB agent like he was a hero which shocked me at the time.  Frankly it still does and Huckabee is carrying on tradition bragging about North Korea and yet some of these people want to be President -- give me a break.

JUST NO TO Republicans running for Congress!

Republicans in US Congress are "USELESS!"

After the 50th vote to repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the worthless Republicans in the US House of Representatives, I started searching for a word that described what I thought of Republicans in Congress and their spokespeople that was fit for a website.  I immediately settled on the word USELESS and decided to look it up in the Oxford-American dictionary -- it was a fit for these do-nothing Republicans in the Congress:

USELESS Syllabification: use·less
Pronunciation: /ˈyo͞osləs   /ADJECTIVE 

1.  Not fulfilling or not expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome: a piece of useless knowledge

SYNONYMS:

futile, to no avail, (in) vain, pointless, to no purpose, unavailing, hopeless, ineffectual, ineffective, to no effect, fruitless, unprofitable, profitless, unproductive • archaic bootless

1.1  informal Having no ability or skill in a specified activity or area: he was useless at football  

SYNONYMS:

incompetent, inept, ineffective, incapable, unemployable, inadequate, hopeless, no-account, bad • informal pathetic

How would you like to be so USELESS yet be paid $223,000 to be Speaker of the House, $193,000 to be Majority/Minority Leaders of the House and Senate, and a paltry $174,000 to be a regular member?  Republicans planned the obstructionism of President Obama on the night of his inauguration in January 2009 and they are still at it with their dumb ideas and continual threats of shut-down of Government unless they get their way.

Came to a boiling point this week on Ukraine and the comments coming from some of the Senate Republicans and some House Members calling this President weak and wanting him to start a war with Russia.  Stupidity needs added to USELESS.

This week in addition to Ukraine, there was Cong Issa with the integrity of a gnat who heads the House Investigative Committee  in the Committee Room for a hearing turning off Ranking Minority Member Rep Cumming's microphone on the IRS scandal when he was correcting Issa's lies.  No decorum and probably the worst person to have lead the House Investigations Committee ever is Issa. Republicans don't seem to see any problem in Issa being unethical and a liar, not to mention a car thief and a crook from the past who is suspected of hiring someone to torch his building for pay.  Yesterday took the cake for obnoxious out of Issa for his USELESS hearing:

So this happened.On Wednesday, after former IRS official Lois Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination, Issa quickly moved to adjourn the session, saying he could “see no point in going further.” But as Cummings began to ask a procedural question about the issue, the Chairman tried to cut his mic, leaving Cummings to shout from his seat. 

“I am a member of the Congress of the United States of America! I am tired of this,” he said, adding that after spending at least $14 million, the Committee has uncovered “no evidence to support allegations of a political conspiracy against conservative groups.” 

Issa tried to abort the meeting after Lerner invoked her 5th Amendment right, and Cummings attempted to ask a question, prompting Rep. Issa (R-National Enquirer) to pull an O’reilly: cutting Rep. Cummings’s mic, and since he can’t cut to commercial, literally running from the room.

Bonus Video from Little Green Footballs:

Read more at LittleGreenFootballs

This IRS Investigation is a total sham and perfect for the word USELESS as Issa has wasted $14 million of taxpayer dollars as it has been proved almost immediately IRS targeted both sides which Issa refuses to admit. He is only one of some of the most arrogant, unethical Republicans in the House who the word 'decorum' is foreign.

In the House we have the Issa IRS scandal that Republicans keep going after and in the Senate we have Benghazi which Senators especially Graham (R-SC) will not let go.  That is $358,000 wasted on their two salaries not including benefits to go after worthless investigations that have already been finished but neither Issa or Graham will let go.  Maybe they should be looking in the mirror and asking themselves what is driving them because the the two words 'common sense' are completely missing as they make fools of themselves.

The list of Republicans making fools of themselves who are USELESS in the Congress is quite lengthy starting with the Speaker who has said nothing will get done before the election.

Taxpayers pay Speaker Boehner a base pay of $223,000 to tell us nothing major will be voted on before the election.  Guess that puts ACA into the minor category as anyone with a brain knows that ACA is the law of the land no matter how much Republicans hate the Affordable Care Act which is something they touted in the early 90's but now since Obama and Democrats came up with the idea, it is no good.  

Then there is Majority Leader Cantor who determines the House Calendar:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is rewarding the least popular House in history by cutting their number of scheduled work days from 126 in 2013 to 113 in 2014. 

The 2014 House calendar reveals where the Republican majority’s priorities really are. House Republicans are scheduled to be in session for only 12 days in each of the first three months of the year. The “busy month” for House Republicans will come during the usually slow July political season. 

This schedule is all about giving House Republicans the time to campaign in their districts and fundraise. They will be on vacation for the entire month of August, in session for 10 days in September, and will only be working for a laughable two days during the month before the 2014 election.

The idea that they can spend more time in their district meeting with constituents is laughable unless you count donors.  Town Halls are almost non-existent by Republicans which means Oklahoma has very few if any since our whole delegation is Republican.

One of the dumbest statements I have heard recently (there are plenty) for just being dumb is Rep Joe Barton, R-TX, who is a big supporter of oil and gas and against wind power:

"Wind is God's way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it's hotter to areas where it's cooler. That's what wind is. Wouldn't it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I'm not saying that's going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some sense. You stop something, you can't transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It's just something to think about."

Lest we forget the shutdown we had comments from these two brainiacs last year who voted to shut down the Government:

“I need my paycheck. That’s the bottom line. I understand that there may be some other members who are deferring their paychecks and I think that is admirable. I’m not in that position.” (Rep Rene Ellmers, R-NC) (later gave it up when constituents got mad) 

“I’ve got a nice house and a kid in college, and I’ll tell you we cannot handle it. Giving our paycheck away when you still worked and earned it? That’s just not going to fly.” (Rep Terry, R-KS)

Then there is this one from Rep Steve Pierce, (R-NM):

A Republican member of Congress says in a recently released book that a wife is to "voluntarily submit" to her husband, but that it doesn't make her inferior to him. 

Rep. Steve Pearce's (R-N.M.) memoir, "Just Fly the Plane, Stupid!" was released last month. Its publication -- and his acknowledgment in the book of the controversial nature of the submission debate -- come as the Republican Party reevaluates how it talks to and about women.

Less then a month into the year we had this from Long Island's Rep Grimm when he didn't want to answer a question:

Rep. Michael Grimm (R—N.Y.) physically threatened a local news reporter during a heated exchange following an interview after Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, telling the reporter, “I’ll throw you off this f—–g balcony.”

Then along comes these two from the House Republicans:

Republican Congressman Randy Forbes (VA) led a crusade to convince members of the National Republican Campaign Committee not to support openly gay Republican candidates running for Congress.  

Gays have bad plumbing. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) stated earlier this month that judges who rule in favor of same-sex marriage, “need some basic plumbing lessons.”  No list for dumb comments would be complete without Gohmert.

Republicans as a whole today have a real problem with the people speaking for them to the stage there are days you want to hit your head on the wall for stupid comments out of Republicans. Not only is it Congress but the RNC is trying to figure out why women are deserting them in droves after the 2012 comments on rape by their candidates?  Add those comments to these from Mike Huckabee who is thinking of running for President as a Republican:

Mike Huckabee and the giant libido. At last week’s RNC meeting, Mike Huckabee stated that Democrats want women to believe that they are helpless, without “Uncle Sugar” providing them birth control since “they cannot control their libido … without the help of the government.”

When you thought people speaking for Republicans couldn't get any dumber, think again as this time it is against gays and minorities.  Don't think the rebranding of the GOP by the RNC is working out very well, e.g.,

Demonizing gays is “common sense.” RNC committeeman Dave Agema astoundingly stated a few weeks ago that Russia’s anti-gays laws are “common sense.”  (ask to resign)

Iowa GOP’s “fun with racism” quiz. On Friday, Iowa’s Republican Party posted a flowchart “quiz” on its Facebook page that jokingly asked people to determine, “Is Someone a Racist?” The chart concluded, “If you think this flowchart isn’t funny, then this flowchart is racist.”  

Sarah Palin misplays the race card. To commemorate last week’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Sarah Palin commented on Facebook, “Mr. President, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and all who commit to ending any racial divide, no more playing the race card.” 

My next question is why are people voting for Republicans today who can think because it is obvious the hard right has not only forgotten how to think and reason but they have no common sense.  Boggles my mind that any woman or a minority could keep supporting Republican candidates who think they are less then equal.  Makes no sense to me -- it is like the hard right is so into Fox News and their pundits along with talk radio,  they have lost the capability to think for themselves.  Little did I know when the Democrats were talking about Rush Limbaugh's mind numbed robots that were right in a lot of instances as I have met some of them over the years and just shake my head.

Hope you enjoyed this article on the obstructionists Republicans and why I consider them USELESS as members of Congress and Spokespeople for the GOP!  Wish I could say it was satire because that is how it reads but the comments are sourced.  That's how far the Republican Party has sunk when you think their comments could be satire.

Please open up your eyes with your brains and look very closely at who you are voting for in 2014 -- we need to get this Country moving forward at a faster pace for all Americans not just the wealthy. That requires ousting Republicans in Congress who put the wealthy over the average America like Cong Paul Ryan (R-WI) is doing with his new budget which is an insult to anyone who thinks as he is doing Tax Cuts for the Rich on the Backs of the Middle Class. 

Welcome to the world of today Republican candidates who are mostly bought and paid for by wealthy donors starting with the Koch Bros and Karl Rove who pull the strings to get what they want.  Do us all a favor and think hard before you vote, remember this, and vote accordingly:

Koch Bros, Chamber of Commerces, and Republicans are Enemies of the American Worker

From the Oklahoma Supreme Court hearing on the new Workers Compensation Law should be tossed to the Republican dominated legislatures and to the halls of Congress, the Koch Bros, ALEC, and The Chamber of Commerces work for big business against the American workers.

Note who was behind the passage of the Workers Comp Law in Oklahoma -- Chamber of Commerces throughout the state along with ALEC.  When our Republican Legislature and Governor are not bought by ALEC aka Koch Bros, they are bought by the Chamber.  With few exceptions like Senator Harry Coates, the Republicans do what they are told to pass bills in the legislature.  Oklahoma switched a heavily Democrat legislature for a heavy Republican legislature and the citizens got taken to the cleaners both times.

Today's younger Oklahoma Democrats like Rep Emily Virgin, D-Norman are more in turn with what the people want and are quick to stand up and fight for the citizens of Oklahoma.  Her Grandfather, long time County Commissioner George Skinner who retired in January, was probably the best County Commissioner I have had living around the Country.  Rep Virgin takes after her Grandfather which is good for the State of Oklahoma:

Workers comp law should be tossed, Oklahoma Supreme Court justices told 

Two lawmakers and the state firefighters union say it's unconstitutional. 

OKLAHOMA CITY —- A highly touted workers compensation reform bill should be tossed out for a number of reasons, an Oklahoma Supreme Court referee was told Thursday. 

Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman, and the Professional Firefighters of Oklahoma filed suit in September seeking to overturn Senate Bill 1062.
Passed last legislative session, the measure replaced a court-based workers compensation system with an administrative process and decreased benefits to injured workers.

Oklahoma City attorney John C. McMurry represents the plaintiffs. He said the measure should be invalidated because it is an impermissible special law in that a section of it allows some employers to opt out of the system. 

It is also a violation of the state constitution because it contains more than one subject, he said. 

In addition, it restricts workers' access to the courts, McMurry said. 

The state constitution requires courts to be open to everyone and to provide a speedy remedy, he said. 

In addition, the measure puts restrictions on attorneys fees, McMurry said, adding, "You can't do that." 

Patrick R. Wyrick, the solicitor general for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, said the measure does not violate the single-subject rule because all sections of the law deal with workers compensation. 

Likewise, the measure did not contain a special law, he said. 

Oklahoma City attorney Robert McCampbell represents parties that have intervened in the case: the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma State Chamber and the Tulsa Regional Chamber. The State Chamber was one of the more vocal groups supporting the measure. 

Excerpt:  Read More at the Tulsa World

This Attorney General and his staff are trying to take Oklahomans back in time on so many issues that keep getting overturned by the Courts.  As Attorney General you are supposed to abide by the law not force your own agenda on the State which is what we see happen over and over again in Republican dominated states.  Cannot imagine the grief that Senator Coates is receiving as a Republican -- they can get really nasty here when a Republican sides with a Democrat against the legislature.

This is just so wrong -- workman's compensation needed some tweaks but the Republicans went so far overboard that if someone is injured on the job, you are out of luck if you get one of those companies that opts out or even meeting a board in lieu of the court system.  Might as well go back to the days when there were no rules about safety in the workplace, do away with minimum wage, pensions, number of hours worked, and no child labor laws.  Why not?  That's what is being advocated by the Koch Bros and their stooges.

Republicans want to eliminate your overtime pay.  A new $20,000 ad campaign targets working women, telling them to support the deceptively named “Working Families Flexibility Act.”  Originally a Paul Ryan brain child, this legislation would remove the requirement to pay someone time-and-a-half when they work over 40 hours per week, in exchange for so-called “compensatory time off.”  The major catch – when and how that time off can be used would be determined by your employer.   

The ad campaign will be featured on more than 100 websites that are typically frequented by woman, and the ads focus on the bogus benefit of not having “to choose between work and family.”  The fact is, employers can already offer flex-time scheduling, and many already do.  A worker shouldn't have to give up a federally protected employment right to get that benefit.  

They have a friend in the effort from Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor:

Meanwhile, Eric Cantor wants to pass a Federal Law to eliminate overtime pay but not overtime labor. Meaning, naturally, that the law Eric Cantor wants to propose will mean that millions of hourly workers in America would a) not be able to afford their family vacation, and b) might have to work overtime during a scheduled family vacation all without extra pay.

I have personal experience working for the Air Force at Wright-Patterson of working mandatory overtime for comp time but we were undermanned due to personnel cuts and could not take the comp time. Finally Personnel ruled we had to be paid.  This was the Federal Government wanting us to work for Comp Time we couldn't take.  The 4-star Commander got his hand slapped by Personnel because someone in Payroll saw all the hours that were being worked without pay.  

What gets me are the Koch Bros/ALEC/GOP campaign to do away with Child Labor Laws:

When Ryan admitted that Republicans’ goal was “destroying the health care system for the American people,” he was only hitting the tip of the iceberg. Republicans have proposed: abolishing child labor laws, eliminating the federal minimum wage, ending voting rights, slashing Social Security, abolishing public education, and eliminating regulatory agencies for the Koch brothers. Those objectives are discussed regularly at the Kochs’ secret policy meetings with the nation’s richest corporate leaders, two Supreme Court justices, and the Koch’s legislative arm ALEC. In fact, ALEC regularly writes template legislation for the Kochs that are routinely enacted in Republican states that have restricted voting rights, funneled public school funds to private religious schools and have also eroded environmental protections,  chipped away at programs that assist seniors, women, and the poor. Such as the Medicaid that is under attack nationwide.

As a lifelong Republican, I hate to say it but the Democrats and a few Republicans are all that are standing between the American worker and going back to the 20's with no laws to speak of.  It is sad that this group of Republicans have been so corrupted by money from donors at all levels that they have lot total common sense on what is right and wrong -- it is all about money and power today and screw the American worker.

We are seeing the same thing out of Republicans at the National level we see at the state level which ties it all into the Koch Bros who want to do away with the minimum wage,  have no regulations, and have people beg for jobs.

On Tuesday, billionaire libertarian Charles Koch joined Republicans pushing to eliminate the nation’s minimum wage he implied was the ultimate secret to lift Americans out of poverty as well as the major obstacle to economic growth. In fact, Koch said “we need to analyze all these government subsidies, all these things that are creating a culture of dependency, and we’ve got to clear out what reduces the mobility of labor.” A Koch-funded ad in Kansas insinuated minimum wage Americans earning $34,000 annually should consider themselves fortunate, but an American working full-time making minimum wage only earns $15,080 annually, if they can find full-time work. As it is, the poverty level for a family of four is $22,283 annual income, and even in the poorest state in the nation a worker earning minimum wage has to work 67 hours per week to afford the most meager apartment if they are fortunate enough to find a full-time job; food, utilities, and clothing are luxuries out of the realm of a poverty-level worker’s budget. Most medium to large businesses prevent full-time employment to avoid giving lunch breaks or benefits, and those working-poor Americans make up a large share of food stamp recipients Republicans just drove into hunger by eliminating SNAP funding from their Draconian farm bill.

Koch funded ALEC is behind writing these bills that hurt the American worker in the States.  After all these years I have to admit my Dad was right about Right to Work.  I have gone from being against the unions over the years to realizing what an important role they play for the American workers.  My experience was based on seeing GM go on strike in Dayton over money during hunting season -- those workers like my Uncle and others did a disservice to the people who need unions because of companies like the Koch Industries.

Here is what Sen Sanders (I-VT) had to say about the minimum wage the Koch Bros want to see killed:

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Let me take it a step further and this will shock you and your viewers.This is the truth. The fact of the matter is that there are many many Republicans in Congress right now, perhaps a majority, who not only are opposed to raising the minimum wage. They want to abolish the minimum wage. That’s the truth. In a city like Detroit, remember, 40% of the black kids in this country are facing unemployment. 20% of the young people in this country facing unemployment. 14% of the American people unemployed. They believe that if they can hire, if an employer can hire a worker at $3 and $4 an hour that’s fine. That’s freedom. Get government out of the business of regulating a minimum wage. What I happen to believe is very, very different. 

SANDERS:It’s just that if we’re going to grow the middle class, we have to create decent paying jobs. One way to do that is to raise the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour which is what the American people want.Bernie Sanders was speaking from experience.

You could say it is just the Koch Bros, but it is also the Republicans in the Congress as Senator Sanders learned from Sen Alexander (R-TN):

In June, during a committee hearing, he got Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN) to admit that he supports abolishing the minimum wage. This isn’t some theoretical Republican fantasy discussion centered around the great what if of abolishing the minimum wage. Republicans in power want to abolish the minimum wage. It is part of their goals and agenda. Earlier this year, Forbes ran an article from the Ayn Rand Center titled, To Protect The Defenseless, We Must Abolish The Minimum Wage. 

The basic Republican argument against the minimum wage is the same as their argument against unemployment benefits. The minimum wage creates an entitled class of freeloaders that want to be paid more than what they are really worth. It is the standard makers and takers argument that Republicans use to defend their positions on everything from cutting food stamps to denying children healthcare. 

The problem is that the Republican argument is based on ideology. Studies have repeatedly found that raising the minimum wage doesn’t negatively impact job growth. In June, President Obama called for the minimum wage to be increased to a living wage.
While Republicans are plotting to abolish it, seventy one percent of Americans support raising the minimum wage. Republicans want an America where workers will have no healthcare, privatized retirement benefits, no workplace safety regulations, no overtime pay, and will take whatever few pennies employers are willing to offer as compensation. 

There is something I do not understand at all levels of the GOP and that is their fixation on Ayn Rand, an atheist, when they profess to be Christians.  It boggles the mind they attacks on the poor by cutting food stamps while at the same time some of the Republicans in Congress get huge subsidies for their farms -- one over $3M.

Over the past week, Republicans who know there are over 47-million Americans living in poverty and dependent of the Agriculture Department’s SNAP (food stamp) program passed a farm bill providing $195 billion in subsidies to agricultural corporations and eliminating food stamp and nutritional programs they considered extraneous, or irrelevant. Half of those affected are children, and over 10% are senior citizens living in poverty. It was not even an assault on minorities because more white Americans receive food stamps than African Americans or Hispanics proving that the GOP’s goal is withholding food from all Americans living in poverty and they have enlisted a powerful ally to send more Americans deeper into poverty.

It is absolutely mind boggling today.  It is happening from the halls of the Congress to the state legislatures across the Country and even to a 20,000 person town in Iowa the Koch Bros tried to buy the election.  Their excuse they don't control Americans for Prosperity where they pour millions every year is a bad joke.  They are pushing the agenda of AfP but want to disavow them -- doesn't work that way.  ALEC is following the Koch agenda and Republican legislatures and Governors like Oklahoma are falling right in line. 

Guess you can put me in the category of a bleeding heart liberal today who cares about the workers in factories who need protection from the lack of ethics of some owners like the Koch Bros, to first responders, to teachers, seniors, veterans, young people, immigrants and regular Americans who want to provide for their families.  There is an uprising in this Country starting to happen as former Republicans join with Independents and Democrats to returning America to a country that cares about its people not just the wealthy.  You see it on Twitter and am proud to be adding my voice for those that cannot speak out.

One more time, I am doing a mea culpa -- my Dad was right all those years ago about Right to Work laws and I was dead wrong.  He was also right about the place for unions in the American workplace to protect the American worker when you have greedy people like the Koch Bros who run Koch Industries.  Time to strengthen the unions with honest leaders with integrity.  We need to take the Country back from the wealthy who only care about getting more wealthy.

Welcome to #1 Red State Oklahoma which Ranks #3 in Women Murdered by Men

“Nine women each week are shot to death by their husband or intimate partner,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Oklahoma and other Red States are not faring well in all of the data that is coming out recently.  The latest on gun violence again women along with other issues affecting women is not something Oklahoma should be proud.  Oklahoma already scored #1 in the amount of money cut from the public schools.  That's one ranking you don't want.  Then they come in at 49th in teacher pay and even with an election year pay raise suggested by Superintendent Barrasi who is up for reelection, they still rank 49th.  Now we are running 3rd in women murdered by men and 48th as the worst state for women to live from pay to healthcare.  Someone tell me how this State can be sold to businesses with these rankings?

Instead of social issues highlighting the agenda of the Legislature, time to get pro-active and start taking care of real issues facing our State.  You would think these rankings would wake up elected officials but they will just come back with the "Oklahoma standard" mantra which is not something I would brag about when you are at or near he bottom on so many issues that are really important.

They keep bragging about the rainy day fund but how about spending that money to improve our education which eventually would show up in how women fare in the workplace instead of being #48. Past time to lose the concentration on social issues and tell the hard right to sit down and shut up on abortion, gays, creationism, bible being taught in schools, and other religious/social issues they push to the front in every session.  Since Republicans don't seem to be able to say no to these groups maybe it is time for more Democrats to be elected.  What I have seen out of Senator John Sparks and Representative Emily Virgin Democrats from Norman, shows they have a ton more common sense then most of the elected Republicans.

These ratings along with the others should get every statewide office holder thrown out of office but will the people of Oklahoma wake up?  I have serious doubts they will.

From Channel 4 News:

Oklahoma ranks 3rd in Women Murdered by Men 

OKLAHOMA CITY – A national study released Wednesday focused on a sad reality of our country and had shocking results for the Sooner State. 

According to the new Violence Policy Center report, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men. 

The study covered homicides across the country involving one female murder victim and one male offender in 2011. 

“Nine women each week are shot to death by their husband or intimate partner,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “That’s nearly 500 domestic gun violence deaths each year, more than twice the number of servicewomen killed in military conflicts since the Korean War. We urgently need better policies that protect women and their families from this senseless violence. No American, adult or child, should live in a perpetual state of fear. It’s inhumane.”

For more information on the study, visit the VPC’s website. 

South Carolina and Alaska are 1 and 2 respectively in the murder rate of women by men.  Once again top states are Red States where the NRA is very pro-active and believes the more guns the better.  Tell that to women in abusive relationships.  So sick and tired of the gun culture today and the hard right won't even agree to background checks required by all people purchasing guns at gun shows.  If I am a private seller, I don't have to take down any information and can get paid in cash which should be against the law.  As far as I am concerned the hard right gun lobby supported by the NRA are responsible for all the guns in the hands of violent people and those prone to anger issues.

Oklahoma ranks #48 in Worst States for Women

Women in the United States earn an average of 77 cents for every dollar that men make, face many barriers to reproductive health care and are significantly underrepresented in leadership roles. But the worst state for women by far is Louisiana, according to a state-by-state examination of these issues released Wednesday by the Center for American Progress. 

In terms of economic security, health and leadership representation, the analysis rates Louisiana the lowest. Full-time working women in Louisiana earn only 67 percent of what men earn, on average, and more than one in five women and girls in Louisiana are currently living in poverty. 

Only 12 percent of Louisiana's congressional seats are held by women, and the state has one of the top 10 worst maternal mortality rates in the country. There is only one OB-GYN for every 13,136 women in Louisiana, and nearly 20 percent of non-elderly women in the state are uninsured. Louisiana also requires an ultrasound, waiting period and counseling session before a woman can have an abortion. 

The report also considered in its ratings the state's minimum wage, family leave policies, percentage of 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, the gender management gap and publicly funded contraceptive services.  

Other states that earned an "F" overall in these categories are Utah, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota, Indiana and Georgia. 

Check out the map at Huffington Post to see where your state fares on women's issues. 

Excerpt:  Read More at Huffington Post

Where are our elected officials in Oklahoma when it comes to women?  Voting for more tough abortion laws that will get overturned and wanting to tell women how to think.  Kind of reminds me of the Mormon Church philosophy where men are to be honored and women do their bidding.  That same mentality must permeate a lot of the legislature thinking or they wouldn't be concentrating so much on women's issues that are none of their business.  Many in our legislature are so against Planned Parenthood that all they think they do is provide abortions which is far from the truth but truth and Republicans today are not on the same page.  Say anything lie or not that advances their agenda and that is okay.

Now for the ranking that shows the Republican Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doke and other Republicans are going to hate since they have been touting Affordable Care Act (ACA) was going to send prices through the roof.  Imagine that -- they lied just like other Republicans have been doing about ACA and its impact on prices of healthcare.

Tulsa has the details where in this instance Oklahoma fares very well:

Oklahoma health insurance rates will be 20 to 30 percent below U.S. average under ACA 

Monthly rates for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act in Oklahoma will be below the national average, and residents can choose from 53 health plans on average, according to new federal data. Monthly premiums in Oklahoma will range from $266 for the second-lowest-cost silver plan to $174 for the lowest-cost bronze plan before subsidies are applied, according to the report released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report shows that rates in Oklahoma will be about 20 percent to 30 percent below the national average for the three plans listed. 

Excerpt:  Read more from the Tulsa World. 

Did you know that with ACA there will be no lifetime caps allowed or that your child can be on your insurance until they are 26?  First children with pre-existing conditions will be added and then adults with pre-existing conditions so they can get insurance without having to pay huge premiums.  If you want facts and the truth, please visit Healthcare.com to read the about the benefits of ACA and how it will affect Americans.  Time to go to the source instead of believing the crap Republicans and their big donors are pushing with their scary ads meant to keep people from getting the facts.

Because of Oklahoma's ALEC led Legislature and Governor, Oklahoma Republicans turned down running the exchanges so the federal government has taken over which is probably why the rates are so low.  In the process over 150,000 people are going to be denied healthcare because our Governor turned down the expansion of Medicaid and dollars to go with it because they cannot stand IMHO the thought of implementing a healthcare plan written and passed by the Democrats.

When Tom Cole said “It's awfully hard to repeal Obamacare when a guy named Obama is President says it all.  Then he goes on to talk about how unpopular the program is throughout America.  If ACA was that unpopular like the lies/spin of the GOP, Obama would not have been re-elected by a large margin.

Welcome to the #1 Red State Oklahoma that has been bought and paid for by the Koch Brothers, ALEC, and the Chamber.  What does that give you?  Last or near last in education and women's issues for starters. Time for common sense Oklahomans to start to take the state back starting with the Superintendent and Insurance Commissioner.   Going to take work but the truth has to get out instead of the lies from the Republicans and their office holders.

TGIF - Time for Some Humor about the Anti-Science Republican Propoganda

Stupid Party aka Republicans strikes again this time on dumb things they think and say about Science

It is TGIF so I thought I would have a little fun with Alternet's article on 7 Jaw-Droppingly Dumb Things Republicans Think About Science.  They didn't even include the unborn boys masturbating from this week as one of the seven.  That stupidity was covered at the beginning of the article.  Anyone with a brain  knows that a new born cannot hold a bottle but Texas Representative Michael Burgess wants us to think a boy boy masturbates for pleasure as a fetus so they must feel pain.  That is sick!  Where did the GOP find these people to run as they are so far out of the mainstream I cannot believe.

Enjoy reading about the lunacy of the hard right followed by my experiences with these people.  Used to think they were only in Oklahoma but there seem to be popping up everywhere although we have more than our fair share:

1. Abortion Leads To Cancer, Birth Defects, And Everything Else 

Burgess’ absurdity actually masked a very serious GOP belief. The “fetus pain” theory, which holds that fetuses begin to feel pain around 20 weeks, has been the primary logic behind a slew of recent abortion bills in state legislatures. As no reputable science backs the theory up, the GOP has been forced to find anything wearing a lab coat to make stuff up. 

Abortions are rare after 21 weeks, and usually occur when a woman develops serious complications with her pregnancy. But some Republicans go so far as to think the health exemption is a cover for the abortion industry. “There’s no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing,” Joe Walsh said in 2012 on his way to losing his House seat. “With advances in science and technology, health of the mother has become a tool for abortions for any time under any reason.” (Republicans have no problem invoking science when it suits their needs.) 

Burgess is hardly alone in digging up scientific-sounding nonsense to back up his abortion views. Rick Santorum was the most recent peddler of the long-discounted theory that abortions lead to breast cancer, while out in Virginia, which has a nasty strain of abortion-based delusion, a state delegate advanced the notion that abortions lead to handicaps. “The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps have increased dramatically,” Bob Marshall said. “Why? Because when you abort the firstborn of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.”

Note:  I would have dropped the GOP a long time ago if I knew that the anti-abortion crowd that doesn't think the life of the mother counts as an exception was going to someday take over.  Anyone who has had a c-section could have a lot of complications if something goes wrong so don't tell me that the life of the mother cannot be impacted to the point a pregnancy has to be terminated to save the mother.  A patient of my OB/GYN doctor in CA lost a patient due to rupture of stitches at a little over five months - lost the mother and the baby because her husband was adamant about her having her tubes tied after her third c-section.  Ended up costing her three children their Mother.  

2. Everything They Say About Rape 

Burgess’ comment was notable for not featuring the word “rape,” the hook on which many right-wing legislators hang their crazy coats, to the point that Stephen Colbert has instituted a “Days Without a Rape Reference” segment. 

This started with Todd Akin’s famous “legitimate rape” comment last fall, though the theory is still being repeated. Akin’s comment was so bad that even lawmakers who didn’t entirely agree with it were caught in its net: Richard Mourdock blew a gimme election in Indiana when he tripped himself trying to get away from Akin’s remark. 

Like Burgess, Akin’s comment was important not because it was an aberration, but because it reflected a real belief on the right, one that’s beginning to infect policy. Arguing against a rape exemption in his anti-abortion bill last week, Trent Franks stated that the incidences of pregnancy from rape are “very low.” Some see daylight between Franks’ iteration of the rape/pregnancy connection and Akin’s, but it’s minor. And while Akin’s view was rooted in medieval medicine, Franks’ theory traces its lineage right back to Nazi experiments. Whether dealing with centuries-old pseudo-science or its bleak modern mutations, the GOP’s rape/pregnancy link is bad science at its most savage.

Note:  First time I heard a hard right candidate say that if you are being raped, just lay back and enjoy it because you cannot get pregnant  I was appalled and furious.  Told the candidate what I thought and he said I didn't know anything about science as it is almost impossible to get pregnant from a rape.  I told him that is one of the dumbest things I had ever heard.  Then he told me most rapes are not rapes because women want rough sex.  I told him I wouldn't vote for him if he was the last person standing and left the room.  You cannot have a discussion with a moron.  He didn't get the nomination but that was before the hard right nutcases took over and the anti-abortion crowd became the face of the Republican Party.  Men have been dominating the discussion in many states about abortion and now in Congress.  

3. Climate Change Doesn’t Exist, and If It Does It’s Caused By Trees 

Not all Republican science denial involves evil lady parts. Their resistance to the very idea of climate change is so staunch that it bred an entire theory of GOP-specific ignorance. 

The least crazy of the party acknowledge climate change is occurring but refuse to link it to human behavior, instead seeing the rise in temperatures as part of a natural cycle. After all, it’s not like Hurricane Sandy was the first extreme weather event in history. “I would point out that if you’re a believer in the Bible, one would have to say the Great Flood is an example of climate change and that certainly wasn’t because mankind had overdeveloped hydrocarbon energy,” Texas congressman Joe Barton said during a House hearing on the Keystone Pipeline. (You will remember Barton from his apology to BP over the company’s oil spill.) 

There’s one problem with this: refusing to link global warming to human behavior greatly reduces your options for curtailing it. See Dana Rohrabacher, a far-right California congressman, who found a natural solution to a natural problem. "Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rainforests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases?” Rohrabacher asked during a House hearing on U.N. climate policies. 

This is for the Republicans who actually admit climate change exists. Many don’t, and they made sure we knew about it last year when they rejected an amendment that would have simply acknowledged the occurrence of global warming. The amendment didn’t garner a single GOP vote.  

It gets worse. In 2012, North Carolina’s legislature went the full-ostrich route. Not only did they refuse to admit that global warming was happening, they actually banned scientists from researching it, passing a bill prohibiting the measurement of sea-levels so nobody could notice they were rising. (The ocean rudely rose anyway.)

Note:  The 1984 Olympics is the best example of how climate is affected by humans.  First of all they planted numerous trees and ask residents to do the same throughout SoCal to help air quality because they understood the science of using trees:

Trees Improve Our Air Quality

Urban forests help to improve our air quality. Heat from the earth is trapped in the atmosphere due to high levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other heat-trapping gases that prohibit it from releasing the heat into space. This creates a phenomenon known today as the “greenhouse effect.” Therefore, trees help by removing (sequestering) CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis to form carbohydrates that are used in plant structure/function and return oxygen back into the atmosphere as a byproduct. Roughly half of the greenhouse effect is caused by CO2. Therefore, trees act as carbon sinks, alleviating the greenhouse effect. 

On average, one acre of new forest can sequester about 2.5 tons of carbon annually. Young trees absorb CO2 at a rate of 13 pounds per tree each year. Trees reach their most productive stage of carbon storage at about 10 years at which point they are estimated to absorb 48 pounds of CO2 per year. At that rate, they release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings. Planting 100 million trees could reduce an estimated 18 million tons of carbon per year and consequently save American consumers $4 billion each year on utility bills.

Then for two weeks, trucks were forbidden from being on the freeways except at night which should have been the standard because there was no smog.  Where we lived, we could actually look down and see parts of the valley that normally had smog hanging over it.  We were above the smog area then.  If you looked east from our home, it was beautiful but if you looked west on a hot afternoon you just so gunk hanging in the air.

4. Breast Implants, On The Other Hand, are a Fine Use Of Science 

Okay, most of their science denial involves lady parts, but not all of it’s negative! Tom Coburn proves the GOP would be scientists’ best friend if those nerds would stick to expanding things men want to look at. 

"I thought I would just share with you what science says today about silicone breast implants,” Coburn said during a hearing on class action lawsuits, a nagging problem for plastic surgeons. “If you have them, you're healthier than if you don't. That is what the ultimate science shows. . . . In fact, there's no science that shows that silicone breast implants are detrimental and, in fact, they make you healthier." (They don’t.)

Note:  I am sitting here drinking a Coke while I do my blog today -- almost lost it when I read #4.  Abject stupidity is all I can say.  Guess the lawsuits were phony on breast implants.  What is it with Republican males and their focus on a woman's body to the stage that it is creepy?  Guess the GOP is the party in favor of bigger breast even if phony.

5. No Dead Fetuses In Your Soft Drinks' 

But the GOP’s science permissiveness begins and ends with breasts; anything that might help with, say, medical research is off the table. Stem cells in particular give Republicans the bends. 

Where most see the frontier of medical research, Republican candidates for senate see islands of Dr. Moreaus. 

“American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains,” Christine O’Donnell told Bill O’Reilly in 2007. Talking Points Memo guessed O’Donnell was referencing an experiment in which doctors grew human brain cells within mice—“not the same as an actual functioning human brain, but a demonstration that human brain cells can be made from stem cells”—but they didn’t sound too confident speculating on her inspiration. 

At least O’Donnell wasn’t actually a lawmaker. Last year, Oklahoma State Senator Ralph Shortley got wound up over a zany Internet theory claiming stem cells were being used in the production of artificial sweeteners, and proposed a bill prohibiting companies in Oklahoma from using aborted fetuses to make food.

Note:  The 'I am not a witch' O'Donnell strikes again.  Funniest part of her video saying she wasn't a witch was she was wearing a black outfit.  The word that comes to mind is dumb.  Why am I not surprised that another Oklahoman would make this list.  Speaking of dumb OK State Sen Shortley gets the prize.  Cannot even believe he submitted a bill prohibiting companies in OK from using aborted fetuses to make food.  That is one sick individual.  You could probably sell him anything if he believed that.

6. Evolution Is (Still) Out To Get Jesus 

“I’m not a scientist, man,” Marco Rubio recently told GQ. “I can tell you what recorded history says. I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians. 

Whether the Earth was created in seven days, or seven actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that.” 

But Rubio’s fellow Republicans think they have answered it, as evidenced by the fact that they want schools to teach that humans and dinosaurs used to read GQ together. Republican-controlled state legislatures have been busy trying to pass bills forcing public schools from elementary to college to teach that the world was created 6,000-9,000 years ago. 

Their cover for this is the necessity of "teaching both sides” of the debate—though only one has scientific backing—but Georgia Representative Paul Broun recently showed the right’s hand. 

“All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and Big Bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of hell,” he said during his (unopposed) run for reelection last year. “And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior.”

Note:   Another Oklahoma one where most evangelical churches here teach the earth is around 7,000 years old and refuse to allow their children to take trips to the Sam Noble Museum of History on the OU Campus because they might actually learn about the real word through the exhibits and how the earth evolved.  I thought people spouting that theory were kidding so I put foot in mouth asking if they were sure you haven't been watching too much of the Flintstones where there Dino the dinosaur acts like a dog.  Received a whole lecture.  Then my son told me that is what they actually believe - dinosaurs and man roamed the earth together.  Now these people run the Party in my State and others and wonder why a lot of us are telling them and the GOP to take a hike.  Would never give one red cent to a party who refuses to acknowledge the scientific evidence of how the earth has evolved along with plants and animals.

7. It’s Only Science If Republicans Agree With It 

In perhaps the most unintentionally revealing law ever written by a Republican on science, Texas Representative Lamar Smith recently proposed that all scientific knowledge get his okay first. Called the “High Quality Research Act,” Smith’s bill would require any research receiving federal funds to go through Smith’s Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology, all in the name of “accountability.” Accountability in this case means agreeing with Smith, a climate change denier who has no problem going after projects he, or his donors, disapprove of. 

If the GOP had its way, this is how all science would work: no rising sea levels to worry about, and all the breast implants Congress can afford.

Note:  Cong Smith (R-TX) was my Congressman before we moved to Norman, OK.  I could not get over when GOP Leadership made Smith the head of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology when he has been living in the dark ages when we were in Texas refusing to acknowledge the role of science in so many endeavors unless some donor wanted it and then he jumped on board.  

If someone had told me in the 90's that Smith would be heading a Science Committee for the GOP, I would have burst out laughing.  Trust me the only thing I am laughing about now is how stupid the GOP Leadership headed by Boehner and Cantor really are - word incompetent comes to mind.  As I was sitting here going over these dumb GOP beliefs, it is such a relief to know that's not my party.

Yesterday I received a survey from the RNC for the 4th District for me to fill out.  As one of my last forms I fill out while still a registered Republican, I am going to enjoy this one.  Then when I am done going to scan into my computer and let everyone see my answers to some really dumb, slanted questions.  Shocked I even received one as last year I wrote comments against Romney and the GOP all over my survey last year along with going after the Tea Party and religious right.  All I got back was a letter thanking me for my participation.  I would have taken me off the list so fast after those comments last year that I would have been on no mailing lists but that didn't happen.

Let's vote out the anti-science party in November 2014 and replace them with common sense.  Republicans have showed they cannot lead as witnessed yesterday by the Farm Bill failing and then blaming Democrats which I am still laughing about.

Hope this gave you a laugh for your Friday afternoon as much as it did me!  Have a terrific weekend!

 

Benghazi is Not This Huge Cover Up - More like a Turf War Between State and CIA

Twenty changed words in a turf war between State and CIA does not rise to high crimes and misdemeanors required for an Impeachment of the President.  

What part of the President is not Secretary of State or Director of the CIA do the Republicans not understand?  When I first heard that Inhofe had gone after Obama again, I just shook my head and thought 'here we go again,' but then learned he brought up the "I" word for impeachment and declared Benghazi cover-up was worse then Watergate since he used it was the worst ever.  What kind of convoluted thinking would lead a sitting Senator to make such an insane remark.  The Republican took away millions for funding security at the consulates and embassies in budget negotiations since they didn't see the necessity for upgrades to security but that doesn't count as Republicans are always right and Obama is always wrong.

In this case, the GOP and some of the media are so far overstepping that I cannot believe what I am seeing.  Inhofe has just proved that he shouldn't be reelected and should retire.  He has been in Congress (House and Senate) too long IMHO.  Twenty changed words in a turf war between State and CIA does not rise to high crimes and misdemeanors an impeachment requires.  Inhofe knows full well he is blowing smoke to keep hard right from coming after him in the primary would be my guess.  If he really believes this crap, then it is time for him to resign as he has failed his oath - started with the lies about Hagel and then Benghazi and now has thrown in IRS who Obama has no control over.  See the details of the IRS picking on the poor Tea Party groups founded by the Koch Bros at The Pink Flamingo Blog. Obama is furious that IRS targeted anyone as he stated in his press conference.  That doesn't count either as Republicans are brainwashed to not believe a word President Obama has to say.

On Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) accused President Barack Obama of overseeing "the most egregious cover-up in American history." He added that "people may be starting to use the 'I word'" before long. 

Former Arksansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) also said on his radio show this week, "I believe that before it’s all over, this president will not fill out his full term. As bad as Watergate was because it broke the trust between the president and the people, no one died. This is more serious because four Americans did in fact die. And President Obama has yet to explain why did they die.”

As for my opinion of Huckabee, I could fill up a book of why I have zero respect for the man as he governed to the left of Clinton as Arkansas Governor, increased taxes and fees more than Clinton, and was against home schooling as Governor before running for President when he pushed home schooling for starters.  The former televangelist has the credibility of a gnat IMHO.

Today President Obama in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Cameron had this to say about Benghazi:

He (Obama) angrily dismissed continued questions over September's insurgent attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

"There's no there there," Obama said. "The fact that this keeps on getting churned up, frankly, has a whole lot to do with political motivations." 

Obama continued, "We dishonor [the attack's victims] when we turn things like this into a political circus,"

This video from the Face the Nation interview with former Bush and Obama Secretary of Defense Gates on Raw Story says it all about the Republican witch hunt on Benghazi as they obviously lack knowledge of how the military is used around the world:


Found it interesting that SecDef Gates said exactly what I would have expected him to say that he would have done the same thing.  The military is not a robots you can send anywhere you want at will.  There are plans for contingencies but you cannot snap your fingers and move any military from place to place like Republicans seem to think.  Shame on Inhofe who understands full well how the military works to be part of this circus against Obama.  Gates nailed the Republican witch hunt:.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told CBS News that Republican lawmakers who are blasting President Barack Obama’s administration for failing to take military action during last September’s surprise attacks in Benghazi have a “cartoonish” view of the military. 

“I listened to the testimony of [Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta] and [Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey],” Gates explained to CBS host Bob Schieffer in an interview that aired on Sunday. “And, frankly, had I been in the job at the time, I think my decisions would have been just as theirs were.” 

“We don’t have a ready force standing by in the Middle East — despite all the turmoil that’s going on — with planes on strip alert, troops ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. And so, getting somebody there in a timely way would have been very difficult, if not impossible.” 

He continued: “And, frankly, I’ve heard, ‘Why didn’t you just fly a fighter jet over and try and scare them with the noise or something?’ Well, given the number of surface to air missiles that have disappeared from [former Libya dictator Muammar] Gaddafi’s arsenals, I would not have approved sending an aircraft, a single aircraft, over Benghazi under those circumstances.” 

Gates pointed out that others had suggested that the military could have sent in Special Forces or some other small group. 

“Based on everything I’ve read, people really didn’t know what was going on in Benghazi contemporaneously, and to send some small number of Special Forces or other troops in without knowing what the environment is, without knowing what the threat is, without having any intelligence in terms of what is actually going on on the ground, I think, would have been very dangerous,” the former defense secretary observed. “And personally, I would not have approved that.” 

“It’s sort of a cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces. The one thing that our forces are noted for is planning and preparation before we send people in harm’s way. And there just wasn’t time to do that.”

Republicans wanted then SecDef Panetta to authorize troops to be immediately sent to Benghazi when there was no plan and possibly put more troops in harm's way?  That is what it looks like they are saying which shows they wouldn't think twice of sending young men and women into combat like in Iran or Syria if they had the chance.  Thank God that we have a President who is much more level headed then the Republican GI Joe wanna be's in the Senate and House.  There is no common sense or integrity about telling the truth left with the Republicans in Congress except for a few people.  Figure there must be a few Republicans in Congress scratching their heads to what they are seeing as well.

Inhofe, Cruz, Paul, Graham, and others are an insult to anyone's intelligence who understands how the military works.  Shame on them for their overcharged rhetoric which is getting people all worked up over nothing.  Media loves to tout any scandal on both sides which is why I have turned off cable news from both the right and left.  I am for McCain's a la carte cable menu bill - can pick what channels to watch on my cable.  With the internet so handy to find out what is happening maybe the cable news channels have outlived their usefulness.  Breaking News on a weekend -- forget cable news as they are into their canned stories for the weekend.

One question that seems to keep coming up:  "Is Benghazi all about taking out Hillary Clinton before she decides to run and Obama is collateral damage which makes the GOP happy?"  Only thing that makes any sense to this whole circus deal with Benghazi.