Conservatives Still Against Women

As a 62 year old female, I remember the women's rights movements of the 60's and 70's. Although I believe that women have made great progress in equal rights, I am aware of the fact that some people, mostly conservative men, are against women having the same rights as men.

Raw Story:

The Bible makes it clear that men were designed to go out and work while women stay home, according to conservative Christian radio host Bryan Fischer.
Reacting to news that mothers were now the primary source of income in 40 percent of U.S. households, Fischer claimed Wednesday that men were “designed to be breadwinners for their families.”
“That’s the way God set it up, that’s the way he designed it,” he continued. “Husbands are to use their stamina and their strength and their brainpower — not that they’re smarter than women, I’m not saying that — but God has given them a brain and the purpose for using their mental ability is to provide for their families.”

Really? Bryan Fischer is a jerk. Does he realize that many women are the breadwinners?  Where does Bryan Fischer live/work that he has no experience seeing and working with women? Has he met real people who must work to feed and clothe their families? Does he think that only men should be working? 

Even though he claims he is not saying that men are smarter than women, we know what he means and how he regards women. Bryan Fischer and his ilk are examples of the backward thinking conservative men that are stuck in the Dark Ages.

Springboro Schools

* People are talking about the Springboro School Board in Warren County, Ohio.  Check out the bizarre plan that one of the school board members has proposed. Raw Story has the details.

If your son/daughter has plans to go to college, having the science curriculum based on creationism and wild, right wing fabrications, could disqualify your son/daughter from getting into a good college. Students taught a cockamamie course of study instead of legitimate science also might have lower scores on college entrance exams. It is time for the good people of Springboro to stop this right wing takeover of their schools.

>>>> Virginia Republican candidate for governor, Ken Cuccinelli, is as far to the right that a person could go. According to KeepKenOut,-----

• Defunding PP

  Cuccinelli made defunding Planned Parenthood in Virginia a top priority, twice introducing amendments to strip funding.

• Safe & Legal

  Cuccinelli is against abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.

• Birth Control

  Cuccinelli would let bosses decide whether women get access to affordable birth control.

I hope Virginians choose wisely.

Republican Job Creation Score= 0

No matter how hard the Republicans try, they just can't get a scandal investigation going that would impeach President Obama. The public is clearly becoming upset with the Boehner-Cantor-McConnell-Paul Ryan GOP leadership and their conservative enablers.

DailyKos:

...as the latest ABC/Washington Post survey shows ... the GOP isn't enjoying the fruits of its scandal-exposing labors (RVs, 5/16-19, ±3.5 percent):

If the election for the U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for (the Democratic candidate) or (the Republican candidate) in your congressional district? Democratic candidate: 48
Republican candidate: 40

Democrats enjoy a whopping 56-33 edge among moderates, and while they get just 20 percent of the conservative vote, that's more than double the 8 percent of the liberal vote obtained by Republicans.....
Where are the jobs the Republicans promised to create? Why are the Republicans more interested in tax cuts for the wealthy than fixing our country's infrastructure with thousands of jobs?  Can you find one thing that the Republican Party has done that has improved the lives of your family?

Meanwhile, despite all the right wing rhetoric, President Obama's approval rating remains high.  According to Gallup, President Obama has an approval rating of 50%.

The Republicans promised jobs but delivered nothing.

Not Just Tea Party Groups

>>> The truth comes out. Many groups were questioned by the IRS.

RawStory:


...At the hearing, outgoing acting IRS commissioner Steve Miller repeatedly objected to the use of the word “targeting.” He said the so-called “be on the lookout” (BOLO) list was an “inappropriate” organizational tool or “shortcut” that IRS staff used to find potential political cases. Miller claimed the tea party groups would have be subjected to extra scrutiny regardless of the BOLO list....

.....“Organizations of all walks and all persuasions were pulled in. That’s shown by the fact that only 70 of the 300 organizations were tea party organizations, of the ones that were looked at by TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration].”

....Of the 298 groups subjected to additional review, 72 were “tea party” groups, 11 were “9/12″ groups and 13 were “patriots” groups, according to the inspector general’s report.


Less than 25% of groups inspected by the IRS were tea party groups. What is all the fuss?

Tea Party

The Republicans are going crazy holding hearings and investigating everything that has hit the news. It appears that immigration reform and other pending legislation will not get the attention that Americans want because the Republicans want to continue to smear President Obama, Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, and anyone that is not a member of the GOP.

If the IRS gave special attention to the tea party Republican groups, I see nothing wrong with that.  Many tea party Republicans have talked of secession, armed insurrection, eliminating various agencies, and other despicable acts.

Here is a collection of things pushed by various tea party groups---


Washington Times: Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Sharon Angle want to eliminate the Department of Education.

Huffington Post:
A Tea Party leader acknowledged she supports abolishing Social Security in an appearance this week on "Larry King Live."
St. Louis Tea Party co-founder Dana Loesch said she would "absolutely" eliminate the program, which has existed since 1935....

The Fiscal Times:
...The Manhattan Institute’s Josh Barro, writing for National Review Online, reports those Tea Party organizers took over Maine’s Republican convention in May and adopted a conservative platform that included abolishing the Federal Reserve. The New York Times cited Tea Party candidates Ken Buck in Colorado and Mike Lee in Utah focusing on the Fed, with Lee accusing the Fed of trying to “monetize the debt”.....



Some of the rhetoric that comes out of these tea party rallies is frightening. I find it odd that the tea party advocates smaller government, and eliminating various government departments but now they say the IRS should hire more people to work within the agency.

By the way, the IRS under the Bush administration went after the NAACP.

Voting Against Wishes of Constituents

Why am I not surprised about this latest controversy surrounding Sen. Kelly Ayotte?

Sen. Ayotte recently voted against background checks for gun purchases, even though people in her state support those kinds of checks. There is a new ad that defends Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

Think Progress:

As Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) battles public outcry over her vote to kill a bipartisan amendment expanding background checks for gun purchases, a national conservative group based in Iowa is running television ads featuring seemingly ordinary New Hampshire moms and law enforcement officials defending the one-term senator from out-of-state “partisan” attacks. 

But the American Future Fund appeared unable to find voters who agree with Ayotte’s position, as a cursory search of individuals in the advertisement reveals that the supposedly typical New Hampshirites are actually long-time Republican party activists and officials. Polls show that 91 percent of New Hampshire adults support expanded screenings.....

Think Progress has identified all those in the ad as people with strong ties to the Republican party machine in New Hampshire. What? No ordinary citizens support Ayotte's pro-NRA stance? Senators Ayotte, Rob Portman, and the rest (see Mother Jones link) should be ashamed of going against the wishes of their constituents, while they support the NRA.

News

>>>>  Looks like Gov. John Kasich continues to be a big supporter of fracking, despite various communities trying to ban it. (See Vindicator.) Would Kasich support fracking in his neighborhood?

* As the story unfolds in Cleveland surrounding the discovery of three missing women, lots of people are asking questions about how neighbors missed the evidence. If your neighbor covered their windows with black plastic, would you approach them on it? Sometimes it is good to be a busybody or a Gladys Kravitz (from Bewitched).

Ethics Problems in Ohio? Again?

Ethics questions are surrounding the hiring of Robert Cupp to work with David Yost, Ohio Auditor. The Akron Beacon Journal has the story that involves Jobs Ohio, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the office of the Auditor.

>>> Republican leader Eric Cantor is pushing for change in the way workers are compensated for their overtime work. The Town Talk has more on Cantor's plan.

Unfortunately, Cantor's plan comes at a time when typical American workers are not seeing much growth in their own paychecks, while Wall Streeter and CEO's are increasing their profits and bonus pay.

Do boycotts work?

Here is some good news---
DailyKos has the details:

Clear Channel, the parent company of nationally boycotted radio host, Rush Limbaugh, is feeling the Bain – I mean the pain. Yesterday after the stock market closed, the media giant released its 1st quarter earnings report, showing a tremendous loss.

Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2012: CC Clear Channel …reported a loss of $203 million, versus a year-ago loss of $143.6 million. (The Limbaugh boycotts began last year in the first quarter)  Revenue fell 1.3% to $1.34 billion. Revenue from media and entertainment, the company's largest segment, was down 2.2%, Operating expenses dropped 3.5%.
Clear Channel Media, is the vehicle used by private-equity firms Bain Capital LLC. *To see full Wall Street Report: http://www.google.com/... and scroll down to: News for Clear Channel: CC Media, Clear Channel Outdoor See 1st-Quarter Losses Widen Sharply

What? Does this mean that racism, sexism, and arrogance are being boycotted? I certainly hope so.

>> Do you read food labels?

ABC News:

First there were 20,000 dead pigs floating down the Huangpu River, a main source of water for Shanghai. That was followed by thousands of dead ducks in the Nanhe River in the southwest province of Sichuan.
Now the Ministry of Public Safety says today online that it has apprehended meat traders in eastern China who were passing rat off as lamb. The police took in 63 suspects accused in selling more than $1.6 million of rat as lamb....

There is more information here: Food sources.

Facts and Figures

If the federal government manages the presidential archives, how will the federal libraries handle the obvious re-write of history going on at the newly-opened President George W. Bush Library?

RawStory:

...In the newly commissioned George W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a peculiar display has the political world buzzing. 

In this display, called “Decision Points,” participants play a game where they’re forced to make the same decisions President Bush did. On the issue of Iraq, there’s even a wholly new video message from the former president, who comes out when participants choose not to invade the country...

...Video of the exhibit shows what Maddow called “contemporary George W. Bush, recently, still making the case for invading Iraq.” He even cites “the weight of evidence” that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and the “consensus of the world” to depose him — both of which were and still are fabrications....

The Bushies are still pushing their lies.

>> You might be interested in a little problem that has developed for Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell----
WUSA:

Virginia's Governor is on the defensive in the midst of an FBI investigation. 

The agency wants to know more about his relationship with Star-Scientific, after the company's CEO gave $15,000 to help pay for Bob McDonnell's daughter's wedding; it was a gift that the Governor did not report...

For more on Gov. Bob "transvaginal probe" McDonnell from TPM:

...Here are some of the story’s key facts and figures:
$15,000: Amount of money Williams reportedly paid to foot the bill for the food at the June 2011 wedding of Bob and Maureen McDonnell’s daughter Cailin. The wedding was held at Virginia’s Executive Mansion, and the menu featured poached jumbo shrimp, bruschetta, and stuffed chicken breast. McDonnell did not disclose the gift. A McDonnell spokesman told the Post in March that as the money was a gift to the governor’s daughter, and not to the governor, Virginia law did not require him to report it.

158: Miles between Smith Mountain Lake, southeast of Roanoke, Va., and Richmond, Va. In July 2011, the McDonnell family enjoyed a (disclosed) vacation at Williams’ Smith Mountain Lake house. According to the Post, they drove back to Richmond in Williams’ Ferrari. 

$120,000: Publicly disclosed campaign donations given by Williams and Star Scientific to McDonnell and his political action committee....

There is plenty of additional information related to Bob McDonnell at TPM.

We have two daughters and my husband and I paid for both of their weddings. If one of us was the governor of Virginia, we might have saved a lot of money if we had followed Bob McDonnell's example.

Going After the Middle Class-Again

Gov. Kasich and the Ohio GOP are going after the middle class just like they did with
SB 5. With Kasich up for re-election, you wonder why he'd even allow the Republicans to push for "right-to-work" legislation for Ohio.

Dispatch:

House Republicans have given themselves three options to make Ohio the 25th right–to-work state, including placing a proposed constitutional amendment before voters this fall....

...the effort to defeat Senate Bill 5 at the ballot box was led by a coalition of labor groups, perhaps none more vocal than police unions. Jay McDonald, president of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, said right to work is “a big deal” for his members.

“My concern is it’s another attack on the middle class in the state of Ohio,” McDonald said. “I think the statistics prove out that they don’t create jobs – six of the 10 states with the highest unemployment are right-to-work states. What is indisputable is wages are lower, considerably lower. It’s another attempt to remove the voice of the worker from the workplace.”

A DetroitFreePress article has some facts:

“Right to work is not high on employers’ things to consider when they move to a state,” Dale Belman, a professor at Michigan State University’s School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, said Thursday. “For existing employers it doesn’t provide a benefit and may be a detriment,” he said, because of worsening labor relations in right-to-work states...

....Of the bottom 10 states with the lowest per capital income, seven were right to work states. 

“There is a lot of evidence that wages and benefits are lower in right-to-work states. There’s a redistribution of wages and benefits toward owners’ capital,” Belman said Thursday....

Ohioans should note those words from Professor Bellman...."wages and benefits are lower in right-to-work states. There’s a redistribution of wages and benefits toward owners’ capital..."

In right-to-work states, workers are on the losing end, and owners will gain larger profits. I guess that is what you get from the anti-middle class Republican Party.