Names to Remember

* When I shop, I always consider the political leanings of the stores/businesses. If I've read about unfair practices in the way a company treats employees, or some odd behavior on the part of the owners, that particular store is not where I'll spend my money. For example, I do not shop at Walmart or stores that want to deny their employees certain parts of the Affordable Care Act.  Here is news you can use.....

Raw Story:

An attorney representing the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores said that the company intends to defy a court order that it comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s provisions regarding contraceptives, the so-called “morning after pill” and employee health coverage. According to Associated Press, the company says that it is willing to face the up to $1.3 million in fines it will accrue per day by not providing coverage for the medications.

The arch conservative Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby and the religious bookstore chain Mardel, maintains that allowing anti-conception medications like the “morning after” and “week after” pills is tantamount to supporting abortion. The family is being represented in court by Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Christian legal group dedicated to fighting issues of this kind of the nation’s courts......

.....Emergency Contraception (EC) drugs do not induce abortions, but rather prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.  An abortion terminates a pregnancy, whereas with EC medications, if used properly, pregnancy never began......

I guess a lot of us will be avoiding Hobby Lobby.  Some people are avoiding other businesses, according to ThinkProgress:

Ever since Darden Restaurants — the owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains — first announced its anti-Obamacare campaign, the company has had a tough couple of months. Darden admitted as much when it revised its predictions for latest quarterly earnings down in December, attributing the drop to “recent negative media coverage on Darden [...] and how we might accommodate healthcare reform.” The negative press led the company to reverse course on its threat to shift employees to part-time status to avoid covering them under Obamacare. The latest report on Darden’s earnings prove that was a good move, since the restaurants did take a turn for the worse as a result of their bad publicity. Its net income fell 37 percent.....

*****

>>>  The Republican-loving Columbus Dispatch has come out against an Ohio elected official--- State Senator Chris Widener, a Republican. 



Columbus Dispatch:

Sen. Chris Widener wields great power at the Statehouse, where he is supposed to use his position to better the interests of his constituents — not, as appears to be the case, to bail out his associates. Or himself.

The Springfield Republican, set to be the Senate's No. 2 leader, says he did nothing wrong in 2009 when he sponsored a bill that authorized a financially troubled livestock-exposition center to levy a special tax to bail itself out of financial difficulties.....

Never mind that he helped found the nonprofit association that built the center.....

....Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he's discussing the situation with the state legislative inspector general.....

Uh-oh.  You know there is real trouble when the Dispatch goes after an Ohio Republican!

****** 

*****  If milk prices go up, you can blame it on John Boehner and the Republicans!

Dayton Daily News:


For Ohio farmers, it is not the fiscal cliff that’s made them nervous, but the farm bill held hostage to fiscal cliff wrangling, said Adam Sharp, vice president of public policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based think-tank, estimates Ohio could lose more than $18.5 million in aid.

The farm bill has serious implications for a giant share of the economy since there’s funding for farm conservation, research, price safety nets and insurance.

If Congress does not pass a farm bill to replace one that expired in September, analysts also predict price hikes for grocery store items, including losing the 1949 milk law that could lead to doubling the price of a gallon of milk to $7.....

Boehner and his pals probably don't care if milk goes to $7/gallon.  They probably put champagne on their morning cereal!

Extreme

* Americans are looking at Republicans in a different way.

PolitickerblogCNN:

Just over half the public says that the GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country's problems, according to a new national survey. 

And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that a slight majority of Americans sees the Republican party's policies and views as too extreme, a first for the GOP, and fewer than a third say they trust congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama to deal with the major issues facing the nation.....

.....According to the survey, 53% say the GOP should compromise more, with 41% saying the Democratic Party should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.....


This poll also gave President Obama and approval rating of 52%. The Republicans are more worried about protecting the rich than providing security for our elderly, disabled, and school children. The GOP's arrogance is absolutely disgusting.

The Good News vs. The Bad

* This is good news---

HuffingtonPost:

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is set to become the first woman to chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, a position left open this week by the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.

A Democrat, Mikulski was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after serving 10 years in the House. Last year, she became the longest-serving woman in Senate history.

With her ascendancy to the chairmanship of Appropriations, she enters a male-dominated realm that in the past has had sweeping power in deciding how federal dollars will be dispersed around the country....

Congratulations, Sen. Mikulski, on your new assignment!

• The bad news comes just after the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

USAToday:

Residents of this eastern Hamilton County, Ohio, community are in an uproar over plans to open an indoor gun range just 100 yards away from more than 1,000 students in two Loveland, Ohio, elementary schools, an issue especially controversial in light of last week's massacre at a Connecticut school.

The proposed range is across the block from Loveland Primary School, which educates about 500 students in grades 1 and 2, and the attached Loveland Elementary School with about 700 third and fourth graders.....

City leaders should listen to citizens and look for an alternate location.

There You Have It...

• It appears that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's approval rating is in the toilet.

HuffingtonPost:

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's (R) popularity has dropped precipitously since he signed right-to-work legislation, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Snyder's approval rating has sunk to 38 percent, down a net 28 points since November, PPP found....

Wow! I guess Snyder's honeymoon is over with his state's voters. Of course, it doesn't help that he broke his promises to the workers.

>>>> Well, well, well. It appears that the right wing, holier than thou, religious, family-first group has a problem.

HuffingtonPost:

The former director of women’s and reproductive health at the Family Research Council, a prominent Christian conservative advocacy group, is suing the organization, claiming it retaliated against her and fired her after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss. 

According to court documents first obtained and reported by journalist Evan Gahr, former FRC employee Moira Gaul, 42, filed a complaint in 2009 with the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission in which she accused her supervisor of gender discrimination. She claimed that her boss, the director of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics at the time, referred to the use of birth control pills as "whoring around," addressed emails to her with the words "hi cutie," pressured her to attend parties, and referred to her as a "young, attractive woman."

....Gahr identified Gaul's former supervisor as prominent anti-abortion lawyer William Saunders, who now works at the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. Saunders and his attorney, William J. Hickey, did not respond to requests for comment on the case....

Very interesting.

*** Sometimes, when Republicans do or say things, the words come back to haunt them. When Mitt Romney said that he didn't care about 47% of the American people when he spoke at a private fundraiser, voters kept that in mind throughout the election. In Texas, the lack of thoughtful deliberations about the consequences of their actions has resulted in major problems.

NYTimes:

When state lawmakers passed a two-year budget in 2011 that moved $73 million from family planning services to other programs, the goal was largely political: halt the flow of taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood clinics....

....The latest Health and Human Services Commission projections being circulated among Texas lawmakers indicate that during the 2014-15 biennium, poor women will deliver an estimated 23,760 more babies than they would have, as a result of their reduced access to state-subsidized birth control. The additional cost to taxpayers is expected to be as much as $273 million — $103 million to $108 million to the state’s general revenue budget alone — and the bulk of it is the cost of caring for those infants under Medicaid.....

....The health agency’s numbers, while alarming to some state lawmakers, are not unexpected. Last legislative session, while lawmakers debated the cuts, the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board estimated that they would lead 284,000 women to lose family planning services, resulting in 20,000 additional unplanned births at a cost to taxpayers of $231 million. The cuts passed anyway, a price that socially conservative legislators were willing to pay in their referendum on Planned Parenthood....

What did these Republican lawmakers think would happen when they ended this area of women's health care? How many poor women have had to go without cancer screenings because of the decisions of Texas lawmakers?  Have any women died because of their lack of medical treatment?

Tragedy in Connecticut

America weeps tonight.  We are all shocked about shootings of the children and adults at the school in Connecticut.  There are no words to adequately convey our profound sorrow at this event other than to offer our prayers for all.

What do you think?

Which U.S. Senator has some polling problems? Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky!

NationalMemo:

According to Public Policy Polling’s latest Kentucky survey, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is now the least popular senator in America.

The poll finds that only 37 percent of Kentucky voters approve of McConnell, while 55 percent disapprove. His negative 18 percent net approval puts him below outgoing Nebraska senator Ben Nelson, who had been the Senate’s least popular member.

Perhaps due to his extremely public role as the face of congressional dysfunction, both Democrats and independents strongly disapprove of McConnell — 23 percent of Democrats approve of him, with 73 percent disapproving, and just 33 percent of independents approve, compared to 58 percent who disapprove....

PPP then explains that he could easily get re-elected. OMG! Sen. McConnell is the main person stopping legislation. He even filibustered his own bill!  What are McConnell's accomplishments? Has he improved your life and those of your children? No.

••••• Gov. John Kasich said he wouldn't lease the Ohio Turnpike, but perhaps there were no interested parties following the massive money bomb Kasich gave to KPMG for a "study" on a possible lease. Those of us that live in Ohio are worried about the cockamamie deal that Gov. John Kasich has hatched concerning the Ohio Turnpike. 

Businessweek:

The Ohio Turnpike Commission would issue as much as $1.5 billion in new debt backed by toll revenue to help pay for state road and bridge projects under a proposal Governor John Kasich will announce today. 

The plan, which requires legislative approval, calls for the Turnpike Commission to issue about $1 billion in bonds as soon as next year, and about an additional $500 million in the coming years, according to an administration official, who asked not to be named ahead of Kasich’s announcement. The proceeds would be used to increase available funding for highway projects in northern Ohio and elsewhere in the state, as well as refurbish the turnpike, the official said.....


Ohioans have to ask ourselves the following questions:

1.  Why does Kasich want to get the state in further debt?
2.  Does this involve a plan to get rid of the unionized Turnpike employees?
3.  Is this "plan" related to similar plans Kasich allegedly "offered" to retirement funds when he was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers?
4.  Which of Kasich's cronies will benefit from this?
5.  How will farmers, small and large Ohio manufacturers, and citizens suffer with higher tolls?
6.  When Kasich runs for re-election, he will claim he reduced taxes. Will he admit that he is hitting us with increased fees, toll, and other charges?

It is time to stand in opposition to this stupid idea.  It is also time to look for a solid Democratic opponent to run against Kasich.

More Baloney from Boehner

Are Boehner and the Republicans serious or just repeating their propaganda?

HuffingtonPost:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama still has not gotten serious about dealing with the impending "fiscal cliff," saying the White House has yet to offer anything that can pass muster with the GOP.....

"If the president doesn't agree with our approach, he's got an obligation to put forward a plan that can pass both chambers of Congress," said Boehner. "Right now, the American people have to be scratching their heads and wondering when is the president going to get serious."

President Obama has put through a plan, but John Boehner refuses to acknowledge it because it raises taxes on all those making more than $250,000/year. Is Boehner being dismissive because he doesn't like what the President has offered? That is the only conclusion the American people can have.

Big Money Still Trying

Do you remember when Karl Rove, Americans for (their own) Prosperity, FreedomWorks, the Chamber of Commerce, and Sheldon Adelson tried to buy the election for the Mitt Romney and failed? They haven't given up yet.

When the Republican governors went to Las Vegas for their big meeting, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio went on a pilgrimage to the man with all the money, Sheldon Adelson. Kasich went to pay respects and bow at the feet of Adelson, while he laid the groundwork for some possible campaign money for his future. Kasich plans to run for re-election, but many would agree that he'd like to run for President again.  Adelson, apparently, hasn't given up on trying to influence politics.

ReviewJournal:

After contributing as much as $150 million to Republican campaigns and causes to become the top GOP political donor this year, Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson isn't putting away his checkbook.

Instead, the billionaire casino magnate has vowed to double his contributions during the 2016 wide-open White House contest, becoming an unparalleled political power broker courted by Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and presidential hopefuls alike....

.....At a post-election Republican Governors Association convention in November, state leaders paid their respects to Adelson while meeting at The Venetian, his hotel-casino on the Strip. Governors who visited Adelson included Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, John Kasich of Ohio, and outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia....


These Republican governors have paid more respect to some rich guy in Vegas than to their own people in their states. Shame.  While they beg, and kiss the hand of Adelson, they beg for money for their far right, ideological-driven campaigns, that strips rights away from middle class workers, teachers, women, and others.  Wouldn't we all like to have seen these Republicans kowtow at the feet of Adelson? Those pictures would be priceless.

Will Americans dismiss the money behind the Republican Party and vote for their own good-----better public education, the rights and safety of workers, fair pay, health care for women, equal rights, the safety net, etc.? We will see.

His Surrender?

Three years ago a member of the Senate said this about President Obama and the Affordable Care Act ---

Politico:

"If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him," he said....

Tea Party Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said that in 2009. Senator DeMint who has been a staunch conservative, and a thorn in the side of all Progressives, is bailing out, running away, giving up his fight. I guess DeMint has met his 'Waterloo' in the fact that President Obama won re-election (yippeee!) and the Affordable Care Act was declared constitutional (Yeah). 

See ya!!!!!

******

John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the Republicans in the House would rather go off the 'fiscal cliff' than help the middle class.  They are definitely a bunch of clowns.

One more thing......Eric Cantor has scheduled 126 work days in 2013 for the House of Representatives, according to the AuburnPub.  126 days!!!! That is half the number of days that an employed person works each year. Cantor's schedule is pathetic and proves once again that the Republicans in the House want something for nothing---their paycheck for hardly any work.

Send a Message!!!!

Back to work, people! The election might be over but some Republicans need to be sent a message!

DailyKos:

John Boehner's worse nightmare.  The phones, faxes and e-mails of Republican representatives being flooded with contacts from voters in their Districts demanding that the Representatives sign the discharge petition filed by Nancy Pelosi.

You can make it happen by contacting your Representative and demanding that he or she sign the discharge petition (if he or she has not already done so).  Then you should send an an e-mail to everyone in your address book asking them to contact their Representative as well.   And you should also post it on your Facebook page, send tweets, and use other social media to get the word out.  

To find out if your Representative has signed the discharge petition
http://clerk.house.gov/112/lrc/pd/petitions/DisPet0006.xml......

Here is a list of Representatives and their contact information:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Let them know we expect them to sign the discharge petition now. You might also let them know that you are tired of being ignored by the Republican Party while they focus their attention on millionaires and billionaires.

Contact page for Republican Rep. Steve Stivers: http://stivers.house.gov/contact/
Contact page for Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi: http://tiberi.house.gov/contact/

---------------

>>>>>>  Why would he do this?  What future plans does John Kasich have for himself?

Dispatch:

While in Las Vegas last month for a meeting of the Republican Governors Association, Gov. John Kasich stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino for a private meeting with its owner, Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire whose family donated a record of at least $84 million to Republican groups in the 2012 presidential campaign cycle.

"He's a big Republican activist so I went over to talk with him," Kasich acknowledged Monday....

Yeah. Sure. Is this Kasich's pilgrimage to lay the groundwork for future money requests for a campaign for the White House, a Senate run, or just cash for his re-election campaign?

Get the Picture, Republicans?

* Republicans refuse to take responsibility for the fact that their behavior created the financial disaster our country faces.  When you start two wars, and give tax breaks to people, the money goes out, but nothing comes into the treasury.

Sen. Rob Portman (OH-R) ran into a little turbulence at a recent speech.

HuffPost:

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was shouted down by a large group of demonstrators Tuesday, temporarily preventing him from delivering an address at a "Campaign to Fix the Debt" roundtable in Washington, D.C.

BuzzFeed reports that Portman had prepared a speech about the importance of following Republican-backed plans to reform the tax code in order to bring about a longer-term solution to prevent deficit reduction measures, such as the fiscal cliff, from becoming commonplace. As he stood before the crowd however, four protesters took turns touting the importance of Medicare and Social Security and arguing against steps to slash the programs......

.....The event's host, "The Campaign to Fix the Debt," is a coalition of influential CEOs, politicians and policy makers who are seeking to muster public support for reducing the debt, which they're attempting to do while simultaneously putting Social Security and Medicare cuts at the forefront of deficit reduction negotiations.....

Rob Portman, a multi-millionaire, is no friend of the middle class, women's rights, or  average Americans. Portman was also the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the administration of George W. Bush. We know what happened under his guidance.


>>>>  Some people might wonder how Dick Armey gets $8 million as he leaves the FreedomWorks, a group that is part of the Tea Party.  Read the Washington Post for some information on Armey's haul.

Republicans Haven't Learned Anything!

It might be hard to believe, but Republicans just are not good learners. With the American people demanding higher taxes for the wealthy, John Boehner and his Republican elected members of the House apparently have not gotten the message.

President Obama made an offer to the Republican on how to avoid the fiscal cliff, and Republicans, after quite a delay, have presented their offer.

The Washington Post has the important facts about the GOP offer:

...That framework aims to raise new revenue through an overhaul of the tax code. It also calls for slicing $600 billion from federal health programs, in part by increasing the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67, and saving $200 billion by applying a less-generous measure of inflation to all federal programs, including Social Security benefits, according to GOP aides....

...Republicans say they are willing to extract all the new tax money from households earning more than $250,000 a year, the same group Obama wants to target with higher tax rates. But the GOP plan raises the money by wiping out deductions instead of raising rates...

.....But Democrats said that the proposed cuts to social safety-net programs would outweigh higher taxes. And they said Republicans had yet to make clear how they would raise the additional tax revenue without imposing new burdens on the middle class.....

Republicans just don't give a s*** about the American middle class. It is very disgusting that Republicans are more interested in protecting the rich over the elderly and the middle class.