Someone needs to explain to Greg Abbott where babies come from

Posted by: Helen Philpot | October 14, 2014

Someone needs to explain to Greg Abbott where babies come from

Margaret, I hear the fall colors up there in Maine rival the beauty of my spring wild flowers down here in Texas. Well, I find that hard to believe ’cause our wild flowers are mighty pretty. Maybe we’ll have to agree to disagree. But do you know what else I find hard to believe? That Texas could have a Governor more stupid than Rick Perry or even George Bush.

I shudder to think that Tweedle Dee followed Tweedle Dumb in our State Capitol, but this confederacy of dunces is only going to get worse if we elect Greg Abbott this fall. (For those of you who don’t live here, he’s our esteemed Attorney General who is running for Governor against Wendy Davis.)

Yesterday, Abbott argued that the state’s ban on same sex marriage would reduce the number of babies born out of wedlock. Evidently, heterosexuals won’t have unprotected sex as long as Ellen and Portia can’t file jointly in Texas on the off chance they move here. Thank goodness because I had given up on the idea that heterosexuals would ever get on the condom band wagon. Bless his heart. Abbott can’t help being stupid, but he could have stayed home.

You know, my generation remained pretty quiet on the subject of homosexuality – mainly because we didn’t talk about such things. But, if truth be known, most of us probably were fine with the idea. What a shame we remained quiet as I am sure there were a lot of heterosexual marriages that would have been a great deal happier if they had not included a closeted homosexual in the union.

So why am I speaking up now? Well, I found out a few years ago that Margaret has a gay nephew and more recently that I have a gay grandson. So maybe it’s time I stopped letting social etiquette stand in the way of civil rights.

Mr. Abbott, you are a hate filled idiot who is about as useful as a milk bucket under a bull. The only thing that will reduce the number of babies born out of wedlock is comprehensive sex education in our schools. Clearly whatever you were taught is for shit if you think there is any correlation between same sex marriage and unplanned pregnancies. And for the record, if you have an issue with gay marriage, don’t get married to a gay person.

And if you don’t want another idiot as Governor of Texas, don’t vote for Greg Abbott. Vote for Wendy Davis. She knows where babies come from. I mean it. Really.

Posted in Texas | Tags: George Bush, Greg Abbott, marriage equality, Rick Perry, Wendy Davis

Responses

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By: site on February 2, 2015
at 4:00 AM
Happy Thanksgiving Helen and Margaret and all who visit here!
It is too cold for Pi on the porch here but pie in the parlor sounds wonderful!
Best wishes to all

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By: alaskapi on November 23, 2014
at 9:09 PM
Hi, Whirled – Love that one… And it’s getting around. Seems like the Prez’s standing up is giving the GOP some time to shoot themselves in their foots…

And they are SO READY to do that. Nice! (Not sure what else they’ve got.)

As Terri says, “Happy Thanksgiving to all,” whether you’re a beefeater, a vegan, gluten-free, Paleo, whatever. Share with friends and strangers, and let’s all keep doing what we do.

PIE ON THE PORCH! (Thanks, Margaret and Helen, whoever you are; if you’re real, or not… Doesn’t matter.)

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 22, 2014
at 7:36 PM
Out of the mouths of cartoons…

Sustainable Keystone XL

Peace ~ Δ

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By: Whirled Peas Δ on November 22, 2014
at 1:17 AM
Keystone covered by Jon Stewart:

Pipe Fiction

and continue thru with:

Little Seizers

Peace ~ Δ

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By: Whirled Peas Δ on November 22, 2014
at 1:14 AM
I totally agree with you Gato. Every blue collar worker I have come across works extremely hard and they are the best people around. And UAW, you might not remember, but one of Obama’s big education aims was to promote exactly what you are talking about–training qualified and skilled tradespeople. He has always supported and promoted community colleges to a huge extent, recognizing that not everyone needs to have a four-year degree.

And to wrap things up, I hope everyone enjoys a Happy Thanksgiving.

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By: Terri in NY on November 21, 2014
at 3:01 PM
Hi, UAW – I’m gonna reply, because I feel this was kind of directed at me. (Maybe not, but what the heck…)

My only “problem” with the 9,000 jobs for two years thing is that it’s being touted as something that is going to change the future for working people in this country. I don’t think it is.

I’ve had eight additions put on my tiny house – and it’s still not big. We have a wonderful GC who has been hands on and/or has supervised seven of them. He knows this house better than we do. I’ve worked with front loader drivers, electricians, masons, electricians, carpenters, tile guys, roofers, plumbers… You name it. Trust me on this: No one has no more respect for “worker guys” (of both sexes) than I do.

Our GC now runs a fairly big company in our New England area, and what I’ve learned from him is that the WORST thing he has to confront, as a business owner, and as far as keeping his crews working, is, as he puts it, “going from job to job.” Yeah; a small job here and there will keep him, and his crews, going, and he’ll fill in with snow plowing, excavating, septic installation and pumping, whatever he can get. He cares about keeping his crews employed and paid, and they respect him for that. He’s invested in a lot of heavy equipment to be able to do all these things.

He’ll TAKE the short-term s**t because he has to, but that’s not really what he wants. He wants long-term projects – projects he knows will keep his crews employed and paid for more than three months, or two years. (And, no, of course I don’t want a construction crew – much as I like them –hanging around here after the job is done. But that’s EXACTLY WHAT WE WILL HAVE WITH THE KXL!)

As for “well-trained,” everybody who’s ever worked around here speaks at least two languages, works his tail off, and is superb at his particular job. They show up at 8:00 am; take one hour for lunch; and leave at 4:00. When they’re on the job, that’s all they’re doing. They’re professionals. They have my greatest respect.

Doing some major infrastructure work right here at home seems more promising to me than selling out some of our most valuable land so a Canadian company can get its junk to the world market…

I think you and I agree on something, believe it or not: People who do the hard jobs in this country do not get the respect they deserve. I have benefitted, for more than twenty years, from the knowledge and services of people who have skills that are WAAY beyond what I can do in a lot of areas – men and women who can dig holes, run big machinery, remind me I need a GFI on every outlet in my kitchen, and tell me that I really should have a curtain drain on the south side of my foundation, because that’s where the water’s coming from. I ALWAYS LISTEN TO THEM, because they are right.

I’ll be honest here: I doubt if many of those Congresspeople, who are so busy telling us that 9,000 jobs for two years, so the shareholders in a foreign company can make more money, is a “good deal,” have EVER said “Thank you” to the people who mow their lawns, who clean their houses, or who make sure their septic systems are up to code.

BTW, I have a number of Canadian friends, and I love ’em. They can’t believe we’re even considering allowing this thing to come through our country. They think the whole idea sucks; it’s already trashed quite a lot of their own territory…

Thanks for your thoughts; I know they are hard-won.

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 20, 2014
at 5:58 PM
And I don’t know why a UAW hat was so important…There were John Deere hats, Stiel chainsaw hats, and blaze orange hunting hats. I was singled out.(and wooped on).Lost friends that day.refused to work with some because some places were more hazardous and I didn’t feel that I could trust my life to them anymore. Not that I really thought they would kill me but you want to trust someone if your 50-100 ft in the air or working on a broken heat treat furnace that’s at 1700 degrees and full of gas(hydrogen carbon atmosphere)

So you’ve got a problem with 9,000 jobs for 2 years??????? If you were to build a new house should the carpenters stay there for 30 years working on it!!!!!!
You also seem to have a problem with well trained workers…yes ….workers that can read, write, communicate, and have an attention span longer than 30 seconds. You seem to think things just miraculously appear, and that a college education is more important than the skills needed to build something. To bad some of those collage grads didn’t learn how to be a carpenter, welder,electrician,millwright,pipefitter,brick layer, fork truck driver, rigger,etc. All good paying jobs.
I know…..hire 9,000 illegal immigrants and work will start tomorrow paid for with Obamabucks.

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By: uawtradesman on November 20, 2014
at 4:17 PM
Thanks for sharing the good news, Mageen! ‘Bout time for some, dontcha think…? Have a lovely rest of the evening.

The honey and I are going to lose ourselves for an hour or so in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” I could use me some good roaring Aslan these days!

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 18, 2014
at 8:30 PM
Keystone just got voted down in the Senate. It might come up again in January when the new session begins but if its been vetoed once by the President, its resurrected self had better be really spiffed up and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Current thinking is that even a Republican Senate will not be able to over-ride a Presidential veto. Well, shucks! It was the Republicans who insisted on that 60 vote thing! Now they’ve got to live with it.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 18, 2014
at 8:18 PM
Hi Gato,
Ugh, the more you read about the pipeline, the more you realize it just isn’t going to make any significant difference to the economy. According to the State Dept. report, it will add 50 permanent jobs and $2 billion in other benefits. And that’s ignoring the environmental impact which is still a big negative. Compare that to the $24 billion the Republicans cost us with the government shutdown. How do they have the chutzpah to claim the high ground on this issue? Beats the hell outta me.

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By: Terri in NY on November 18, 2014
at 4:08 PM
Hi, Terri – Even TransCanada’s OWN WEB SITE says the pipeline will “create” about 9,000 jobs for “highly skilled American workers,” with MAYBE about 33,000 additional “peripheral” positions for who knows how long. And they boast about having the damned thing done in two years. So that’s 9,000 two-year jobs for extremely well-trained and experienced workers – many of whom will probably have to be lured away from the well-paying jobs they already have, some way or another. Doesn’t do much for our vast numbers of uneducated urban kids, or our thousands of unemployed college grads with IT degrees, does it?

Oh, and their hydraulic geologist says that there’s really no significant risk to the Agalalla Aquifer since the water in it runs from West to East, and the pipe is going to go through the Eastern part, tens of feet above the aquifer itself… So if an “incident” should happen, only about ten percent or so of the aquifer “might” be affected. Where does that water go after it leaves the aquifer, one wonders…? Certainly nobody would need to USE that ten percent, would they? And what about all the rest of the water that is moving languidly “from West to East,” while they spend months to figure out if their shareholders can really tolerate spending the money to “fix” the “incident”…?

Sigh…

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 18, 2014
at 3:16 PM
Just read on Politifact that most jobs created by the Keystone pipeline will be temporary construction jobs. Estimates are that there will only be fifty, that’s 5-0 folks, permanent jobs; 35 full-time, 15 part-time. Just sayin’

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By: Terri in NY on November 18, 2014
at 2:04 PM
Hi, Mageen & Terri –

As far as I can tell, the pipeline is, pretty simply, an abomination that will make some people plenty rich(er), and subject vast and irreplaceable parts of this country at great risk. And, as far as I know, it is tar sand, not actual crude.

And what will be the incentive for TransCanada to hire American workers, rather than Canadians? (You’d think Canadian workers might have some objection to that, wouldn’t you?) The answer will most likely be that desperate Americans will be willing to work for third-world wages, minimal benefits (if any), and working conditions as low as the law will allow. And we now have a Congress for the next few years who will most likely not let any pesky “regulations” on any of that stand in the way of the “job creators” – even if they’re not Americans! (Who cares? “Oildom” is a Kingdom greater and more powerful than all!)

And if the American workers balk at any of that, I am equally confident that the same Congress will quickly act to grant special “dispensation” to TransCanada that would allow them to bring workers in from anywhere, because you know, “free market,” and all that…

Oh, and any leaks, pipeline breaks, or anything like that…? Probably just an “act of nature.” How could THAT be anybody’s fault?

Just as a lion knows how to spot the infirm and limping gazelle with unerring accuracy, “successful” corporations know precisely how to spot the most vulnerable prey. More and more often these days, this country is that limping gazelle. And creating that image of infirmity has been ABSOLUTELY DELIBERATE, and done – pure and simply – to enhance the making of obscene profits by a very few.

Our people are frightened, angry, divided, almost universally armed, hungry, uneducated, and under-employed. We have been told, again and again, that our neighbors are our enemies, that there’s not enough for all, and that our President is a “foreigner” and a Muslim tool of the anti-Christ. Women are incapable of managing their own reproductive health; young black and brown men in hoodies are thugs; same sex couples are threatening the institute of marriage; hard-working people who’ve come here for a better life are “stealing our jobs,” and probably carrying the Ebola they’ve been given by ISIS…

So long as it’s all wrapped in the ol’ Red, White, and Blue, no problem!

Keep up the good fight, ladies…!

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 17, 2014
at 4:02 PM
When I first heard about the pipeline, I also heard that what would be sluicing through it was not crude oil but oil sand, a tarry substance that was incredibly hot, as in hot enough to kill you if some spilled on you. I have not heard anything else as to the nature of this substance, so I guess it is still tar sand. Given the way the Alaskan pipeline has “functioned”, I am neither expecting nor anticipating anything better. No wonder people in various states that would be directly experiencing this pipeline are screaming.

Further, the company behind the pipeline is a question for me. Isn’t this the same company that had an accidental dump in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan? That stuff ran all the way into one of the Great Lakes and that company still hasn’t done due diligence in cleaning it up

What $$ this country gets out of this will be peanuts plus a lot of heartburn and heartache.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 17, 2014
at 3:16 PM
If the Republicans were really interested in creating jobs, we have hundreds of bridges, roads and schools that need repair. They don’t seem to give a damn about those needs. Or maybe they just don’t want to create jobs that President Obama might get credit for? The Keystone pipeline will move Canadian oil from Canada, through the U.S. to refineries where it will be sold overseas. What is the benefit to the U.S.?
Regarding the ACA, it’s working, people like it, and we have a lot fewer uninsured people. There are no “death panels”, it hasn’t killed jobs, and every lie the GOP has told about it hasn’t stuck. Does the GOP really want to go back to things the way they were??? And we all know why they are jumping all over Gruber’s ridiculous comments–they will stop at nothing to badmouth the ACA.
As for UAW’s comment that the Republicans want to put people back to work, I’d love to see one example of them doing that. It seems to me the last time they were in power, we lost millions of jobs, the economy was going over a cliff, and the stock market was in the toilet. And we should take advice from the people who gave us that? No thanks!

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By: Terri in NY on November 17, 2014
at 1:31 PM
Hey, UAW –

I’m not sure what “statement” you felt you needed to make for your fellow union members by wearing an NRA hat, and not a UAW hat – especially if you were there as a UAW “representative.” And not sure quite how that got translated into your idea that your union bosses didn’t give a damn about you. Maybe I missed something? Seems kind of like showing up at a political rally ostensibly “representing” the Tea Party, and wearing a “PETA” cap…

Doesn’t it seem reasonable to you that the group you were supposedly representing would you like to wear regalia that reflected that, instead of another group, even if there is some overlap between the two…?

Doesn’t look to me exactly like the Keystone XL has been “trashed,” (unfortunately, IMHO, but never mind). It’s ALREADY been under construction for quite a while, and the House approved it – for the ninth time – in about five minutes. And now it looks like the Senate is going to “approve” it, as well, in a pitiful attempt to “save” Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, who is going to lose anyway. I have to say that the Dems doing that makes me absolutely furious.

As far as I can tell, finishing the damned thing will only generate about 42,000 jobs which will probably last about three years; will do nothing to lower our “energy dependence” (since the “product” is owned by a Canadian company, and will be offered to the highest bidders, anywhere, just like ALL oil); and offers potentially devastating threats to some of the country’s finest agricultural land…

BTW, my husband thinks it’s the greatest idea since the Interstate Highway System, so I’ve heard all the arguments about how “wonderful” it will be for all of us. I’m not convinced. We may get some tax revenue, but that will all probably be used to justify not raising taxes on the wealthy.

And, lastly, Gruber… First of all, he was NOT an “architect” of the ACA; it’s my understanding that he’s a statistician who was hired to project what monetary effects might be expected with various changes. I have no idea why he’s gotten on this particular rant. Ironically, even if a lot of Americans say they “hate Obamacare,” by far the majority – around 70% – really LIKE the key provisions, like those about pre-existing conditions, keeping your kids on your policy until they’re 26, and so on. AND the very fact that several million formerly uninsured have signed up, and paid their premiums, should not be overlooked.

And, as for generalization about the general quality, intelligence, and moral fiber of the American electorate, we must remember Mittens’ famous pronouncement about “the 47%”… And he was a Presidential candidate, not just some guy trying to pick up a few bucks making controversial remarks about political issues…

Hang in there!

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 17, 2014
at 12:20 PM
OK Gato…What Republican policies were trashed…..like the Keystone pipeline…..
speaking about Johnathon Gruber
“You want to see how stupid our fellow citizens are? Take a look at last Tuesday night,” Gowdy said, referring to the sweeping GOP victories in the midterm elections. “Because they rejected you, this bill and this administration.”
and don’t leave Gowdy off that list for 2016

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By: uawtradesman on November 17, 2014
at 11:30 AM
sorry Mageen but I was offered a UAW hat to replace my NRA one. Nothing to do with politeness or manners. YES, I was making a statement. and the complex (appx 10,000 employees at the time)looked like a ghost town the first day of hunting; so I was making a statement for about 7000 people.
And that just reinforced the feeling that the upper levels of MY union didn’t give a shit about me, my coworkers, or anyone but them. Some even ran for office.
The Dem party used the unions just like their using the blacks now; to get them elected not help them. I think the Repubs want to put the US back to work… And I’ve done the work that Americans don’t want to do whether I was in the barn at 6 yrs old, driving tractor at 8, driving truck at 13,hoeing, shoveling, baling hay, or yes…bending over in the garden picking peppers even now. And if I was younger I could probably make $15-$20 dollars/hr doing that.

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By: uawtradesman on November 17, 2014
at 11:21 AM
Roz and Mageen,
I agree with both of you, but truly we need to get all the money out of politics. Citizens United needs to be overturned, and I am hoping President Hillary Clinton will appoint judges who will take up that cause. It is true also that midterm elections tend to bring out older, whiter voters who tend to be Republican. It will be different in 2016. The Dems will probably take over the Senate again, and I don’t foresee a President Rubio or Christie or (god forbid) Bush.
One aside: I find Mitt Romney’s unrelenting carping about President Obama and his policies to be tasteless, graceless and useless. I can’t remember another losing candidate displaying such sour grapes, although John McCain comes close. Show some class, Mitt. He beat you good. Get over it!

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By: Terri in NY on November 17, 2014
at 10:02 AM
Roz, the seats the Dems lost were in the first place in redder than red areas that Romney held. The Dems in those seats were actually anomalies. Considering the hysterical fear mongering (ebola, ISIS etc.) the Repubs did, there was no way it could be overcome with facts. Also, remember that midterms always bring out a faction different from a presidential election. The Repubs are in real trouble right now. There are at least a few of them who realize that if they move forward with the lawsuit and/or even impeachment they face an unprecedented backlash from a contingent with an historically huge showing at the polls in 08 and 12. Add to that the backlash they will be getting from the Hispanic population who are waiting on Executive Orders on immigration. The Repubs simply cannot blow either of these contingents off if they still think they can get elected anywhere in this country. Further, wherever Dem incumbents and candidates failed, the ballot issues trended Democratic. This also alarms the Repubs. Right now all they have going for them is the Aquabuddha boy Rand Paul and possibly Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney. Rick Perry and Chris Christie and several other Repub governors have been the subject of not so hot press. And Arnold S. can’t run for prez because he wasn’t born here and besides he has some bad behavior of his own to cope with.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 17, 2014
at 8:43 AM
It’s great to see some discussion (vs. entrenched opinion) happening on this blog! Along with you I’m frustrated by the 2014 election results and by so many of the Dem’s actions..and lack thereof… But, as Terri NY shared, it was/will be so much worse for the middle class/poor with the Rethugs in power.
As Bernie Sanders made very clear on his appearances in these past weeks on All In with Chris Hayes and Real Time with Bill Maher, both the parties are beholden to monied interests…it’s just a matter of degree. This creates politicians who will not speak or act in the interests of all those they represent. This explains why too many Democrats in this past election didn’t proudly represent the record of Obama and their party over these past six years.
Bernie is one of the few voices speaking up for public campaign finance reform. Repealing Citizens United is, unfortunately, just a piece of the puzzle/problem. Unless we find ways to regulate all the money spent in all our elections, our democracy will become increasingly hollow…
I know I’m preaching to the choir…it’s just so tough being a mother/grandmother (and it is grand!) and thinking about what’s ahead if we continue on this dark road that the Rethugs are merrily building and on which the Dems haven’t posted sufficient warning signs.
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!

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By: roz on November 16, 2014
at 6:08 PM
Dear Margaret and Helen, I just discovered your blog and it makes me so happy to know you two live in the world. Would you please adopt me as your honorary granddaughter? I mean it. Really. ❤ Suzannah in RI

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By: Anonymous on November 15, 2014
at 3:35 PM
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the most useful blogs on the web.

I am going to highly recommend this website!

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By: link.mx on November 15, 2014
at 2:42 AM
Hey, UAW – That was a very heart-felt and courageous reply on your part, and I appreciate it. (I can even handle the “F&CK YOU” part…)

You are right: Being a union member does not necessarily equal voting Democratic, although I think we could agree that, IN GENERAL, there’s been a historic connection there. I also think your last question, about when the Dems stopped being the party of the worker, is a damned good one.

If you were still a worker dude, how would you “protect” yourself? If you worked for Walmart, for example, and your wages kept you and your family in poverty and on food stamps, how would you try to change things? Where would you look for support?

Even though Republican candidates trashed the Dems (mostly) this election, Republican POLICIES were rejected again and again. That’s something to keep in mind. It’s a total mystery to me why people reject some proposal, and then vote for the very people who support it. Humans! (Also, as usual, only about 37% of the populace actually voted in these midterms, so to call grabbing a “majority” of just over a third of the country can’t really be considered a “mandate,” at least not IMHO. You didn’t say that, but Mitch and Boehner do…)

Anyway, thanks for your response.

As I said to Mageen, now we get to see if the Dems are such craven cowards – and so short-sighted – that they will sell out the entire mid-section of the country, and urge approval of the accursed (IMO) Keystone XL, in a foolhardy attempt to get Landrieu elected, who has the chance of a snowball in hell, or in Louisiana, frankly, whatever they do…

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 14, 2014
at 4:26 PM
Hi, Mageen, and Terri, and other porch dwellers –

I was actually moved by UAW’s reply, and I’m about to tell him that. I also REALLY appreciate the support of my “rant” by so many, and for your thoughtful supplies.

I probably do have a rather innocent belief in the overall wonderfulness of unions, having grown up in the sixties.. You know, Cesar Chavez and all that. And, as the untrammeled power of the corporate “persons” continues to annihilate anything that stands in its way (aided by all the Congresscritters they’re able to purchase), it does seem to me that American workers have nowhere else to turn…

And, dammit, UAW’s last question is something we really need to consider: When DID the Dems stop being the party of the American worker…? My guess is that it started to happen when money started its inexorable move upward, more and more exclusively into the coffers of the oligarchy. There is nothing “accidental” going on here, that’s for sure!

Good for Elizabeth Warren for saying she objects to anyone with Wall Street connections dealing with anything having to do with consumer protection. Sure, it sounds “extreme” to some, but I think she’s right. And she’s got some principles!

Now, let’s see what happens with the Keystone XL… If the Dems try to ram that through, in a guaranteed-to-fail effort to get Landrieu elected, I am going to be SERIOUSLY pissed off…

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 14, 2014
at 4:05 PM
Gato, it sounds more like UAW worked in a bad company. Have discovered over the years that unions have better luck being good because they have a home in a good company. My dad was lucky like that. As for being told to remove his hat when presented to the guv (Jennie Granholm), that was just a reminder of manners that somehow got morphed into a political statement. For instance, men remove their hats when in a variety of places. I taught my son to do likewise. My mother in law did the same with her 3 boys. The count on time since the passing of Mrs. UAW is very telling and compelling. My husband passed away two years ago the start of this month from cancer. All such experiences are different. I would think thats a given. My husband devised a plan when he got the diagnosis and he lived up to it without once cursing the Maker or anyone else. He went with dignity after deciding that it was useless to undergo more treatment. He was too old and too sick. My job now is to honor the promise I made him, to make sure the kids (all adults) are OK. In other words, continue to be a mother. By putting one foot in front of the other through thick and thin since his passing, we are all making it. An end note: my husband also served as a shop steward in a union for federal employees. He found the experience to be very educational and valued it. His work did get him transferred around in his executive department a lot so the shop steward part of his life wasn’t all that lengthy. He did have to use tact, gentle humor, etc.(he had a natural supply of that) as a shop steward and it always provided a good conclusion.

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By: Mageen in Old Virginny on November 14, 2014
at 3:48 PM
sorry Gato,Terri, and Mageen….
I am still a member of a union…UAW (retired),in other places of employment I was also a Steelworker and a Teamster…..AND DRANK THE KOOLAID for a while ….and as you know my insurance paid for most of my wife’s cancer treatment….She died 5 years-3 days – 2 hours and 7 min ago…so F&CK YOU
After Carter I started questioning the union reps about the picks for different offices.One thing I questioned was about gun control and why not this Dem over that Dem…..Told to shut up and be a good little union worker……..Won’t happen when you have to think for yourself whether your fixing,fabricating, or voting. Hell…for awhile I was being groomed to be a steward.
I am proud of the millwrights that I worked with and what I and others had to put up with.I wrote more grievances than most because others were scared to complain…..They might get a dirty job!!!!! Joining a union and voting Dem are two different things….
Was once asked if I wanted to see Jennifer granholm(gov)…said sure….take that NRA hat off…said NO….hustled out by 4 fellow union brothers…most of the blood was mine but not all.
Still wonder how the party of the “war on women, and racist” could elect Mia Love , Tim Scott, Elsie Stefanik, Saria Blair, got the goverership in Illinois , Massachuttets, and Maryland.
And I’m wondering when the Dems quit being the party of the American worker.

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By: uawtradesman on November 14, 2014
at 2:38 PM
Go, Gato, go! People like UAW, and most Republicans, cannot give President Obama credit for anything. In fact, they always feel obliged to shit all over any of his accomplishments (how patriotic). I’d like to hear UAW address all the problems created by the Bush Administration and their policies, but it will never happen. It’s much easier to sit on the sidelines and throw stones. Facts bother these people. 47 million on food stamps?–millions of them are children. It’s the Dems who want to raise the minimum wage so people can get off food stamps. It’s the GOP who doesn’t mind subsidizing WalMart’s profits by having the government pay for their employees food stamps. Stagnant wages? Because the corporations that the GOP loves so much and caters to nonstop have decided their CEO salaries and corporate profits are more important than the lives of their workers or the economic health of their country. It’s the GOP who has made it a mission to destroy labor unions. And speaking of unions, I suspect UAW was on of those people who declined to join the union, but instead sat on the sidelines and enjoyed the benefits fought for by the UAW.

And one more thing, Republicans spend way too much time wetting their pants while fretting about fake “crises” created by the right-wing media. Ebola? Where’s the U.S. outbreak? ISIS? President Obama has a coalition of Arab countries dropping bombs on them. I, for one, am tired of their hysteria over everything.

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By: Terri in NY on November 14, 2014
at 12:58 PM
Gato, what thou sayest!! My father was a UAW member and there is no way Tradesman is any part of that. Ten to one he hates unions. My dad’s union membership also provided him with first class health insurance which paid for his bypass operation and then paid for my mother’s. This gave them more years wherein I could let them know how much I loved them. It must tick him off no end that the VW plant in Tennessee has invited the union IN. Yes, IN. Look for something similar from Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. All the European car companies now in this country come from a tradition of Guilds, the forerunner of unions.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 14, 2014
at 8:29 AM
Yo… “Tradesman,” if that’s what you are… (If you were, in fact, a “tradesman,” you could not possibly hold the positions you say you do. So man the F up, and say what you are.)

And, BTW, your plan is… uh… What? Do you have anything constructive to say about anything…? So far, NOT. You just parrot all the fear-mongering (OMG, the Muslims/Ebola/brown people/commies/Africans are coming to kill us, rape our women, take our guns, and kill our children) you’re fed, and you suck it up like a bowl of lukewarm oatmeal.

You got a problem with the deficit falling? A problem with unemployment going down? A problem with several million formerly-uninsured Americans now having health care?

Oooohhhh… And boo hoo… China and the US are actually TALKING to each other about that global warming thing, and maybe even agreeing that it’s real, and a problem, and maybe we should work together to do something about it … And (oh, BTW) we ladies don’t want prods stuck into our vaginas to tell us whether or not we’re pregnant, and tell us what we ought to do about that fact. Trust me on this: We effing know when we are, and what we want to do about it.

And PLEASE don’t give us any more of your lame ass Breitbart or American Heritage “links” to tell us what some right wing shill thinks we don’t know. Trust me, honey, we know plenty.

(But listen… You keep posting here, and so do I. I have my rants, and so do you. Why do you think we do this? I’m interested in hearing about that from you. You first, or, if not, I’ll go for it. Promise I’ll be nice… Kind of.)

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 13, 2014
at 8:48 PM
Here is what you rejected by voting out the Democrats:

labor force dropping from 66+% to 63%
47 million Americans, one-sixth of the country, now receive food stamps
The deficit, which stood at $680 billion a year ago, has been falling dramatically since a run of four consecutive $1 trillion-plus deficits between 2009 and 2012. In 2008, the deficit was $459 billion.
ISIS calling for attacks in US (3-6-14 A Muslim man shoots his lesbian daughter and her lover to death and leaves a copy of the Quran open to a page condemning homosexuality)
stagnant wages
77% dept as % of GDP

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By: uawtradesman on November 13, 2014
at 6:47 PM
Saw this recently and thought it was worth sharing:

Here is what you rejected by voting out the Democrats:
– 65 straight months of economic growth
– A record 56 months of private sector job growth
– Unemployment fall from 10.1% to 5.9%
– the budget deficit reduced by two-thirds
– fewer Americans in harm’s way in war zones
– zero attacks by al Qaeda on US soil
– record stock market growth

Here’s what Republicans gave us last time they were in charge.
– two economic recessions
– the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression
– the worst terrorist attach in US history
– the worst record of job creation since Herbert Hoover
– a complete collapse of the stock market
– a budget surplus turned into a trillion dollar deficit

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By: Terri in NY on November 13, 2014
at 3:37 PM
Unlimited money buys a lot of lies. Lies breed hate and fear. Hate and fear create ignorance and ignorance leads to terrible decisions. Now we have to live with their terrible decisions.

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By: CO BLU on November 13, 2014
at 11:26 AM
I couldn’t agree more with Gato. The disrespect heaped on President Obama is unprecedented. Here’s an interesting take on the situation some might be interested in reading:

http://kstreet607.com/2013/06/21/a-canadians-view-on-our-disrespect-of-president-obamas-presidency/

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By: Terri in NY on November 13, 2014
at 10:32 AM
そもそも歌もダンスもプロのレベルに達してる奴なんにんいるよ？
あと1000人で60万枚とかどっから出てきた数字だよｗ
最近までアキバ大田力でドラマに出ていたのは握手力

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By: 本田翼足 on November 12, 2014
at 10:25 PM
Each room features a galley kitchen, two queen beds in an outside room, and a living room area having a sleeper
sofa. Given that there are a lot of varieties, you are able to get
the sofas for your needs. Take a peek online today and
you will be able to find a great variety of high quality futon sofa beds for sale.

All the pet hair will develop the tape leaving a
hair-free sofa. Obviously, you need to obtain a sleeper sofa that is certainly made in the best materials to ensure that it will last providing possible.

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By: www.worldlingo.com on November 12, 2014
at 12:28 PM
well Gato …I’d like to know about all this RACIST bull your spreading….
Do you mean the Cleveland state lawmaker(D) that is suing the Ohio Democratic Party for racism?
Are you talking about all the tweets about Tim Scott and Mia Love…I suppose calling someone an Uncle Tom is term of endearment!!!!!

and as far as Obamacare; google Jonathan Gruber. an Obamacare architect and the stupidity of the american voter….Trey Gowdy got it right, “If you want to see how stupid our fellow citizens are, take a look at last Tuesday night, because they rejected you, this bill and this administration.”

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By: uawtradesman on November 12, 2014
at 12:15 PM
Gato – You go girl!!! I so absolutely and totally agree with you! Why can’t people see that?? I am so dumbfounded by last week’s election.

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By: jmatt on November 11, 2014
at 7:04 PM
Yeah, but Obama’s “uppity,” so he shouldn’t be “allowed” to issue any…

BTW, that’s PRESIDENT Obama, which a whole lot of people seem to have forgotten. Get it? “PRESIDENT.” Elected twice. Those elections were no accidents.

The fact that this one human being has had to endure the endless (RACIST; let’s admit it) crap that’s been thrown at him, and has managed to continue to govern, and make us look better than we ever have around the world, should, alone, be enough to make him monumental. And it will.

Not only has he “governed,” he has managed to make health insurance (not perfect, but damned better than nothing) available to millions, reduce the deficit monumentally, reduce unemployment, and more, much more.

As somebody, somewhere, said, “If he were white, he’d already be on Mt. Rushmore.”

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 11, 2014
at 6:15 PM
got my new gravatar from the Daily Show…

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By: uawtradesman on November 11, 2014
at 5:23 PM
For a little recent history on Executive orders:
Saint Ronald Reagan 381
Bush 43 291
Obama 193

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By: Anonymous on November 11, 2014
at 2:46 PM
Gato, Alaskapi et al. Buenas dias! Thought you just gotta hear this. Found it in my researching on immigration Executive Orders. Topic for this one is not immigration but it is too good to pass up. George Washington issued Executive Orders. Not that many because the country was so young, but his reason was — drum roll please — because Congress met for so short a time! In other words, they did damn little and somebody had to keep the country running and get things done! I wonder if they met as little as 97 days, like the present Congress?

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 11, 2014
at 7:27 AM
It is so nice to see some of the old time porch people back! Glad to here Jean is still kicking..how about jsri? The D’s needed a good kick in the butt before 2016.

Peace.

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By: Cynthia on November 10, 2014
at 3:51 PM
Well, I live here….in Texas that is. Family been here since 1839. This state has always been tea-party Republicans, even back when it was Democratic. Ever hear of Yellow Dog Democrats? They were more conservative than a Repub ever thought of being! So how did me and two of my sibs turn out to be liberals- old hippie liberals? Two things- our Daddy’s love for Ronald Reagan (even when he had Alzheimer’s and slept through every meeting and Nancy and her Astrologist were running the country. Long as she could prop him up, she was good!). Second, all the fighting and marching we did for the ERA and safe abortions. ERA never passed completely, the old white guys said we didn’t need it. And in Texas you see how the baggers have chipped and chipped away at abortion rights so that now it’s almost impossible to get one. The church ladies won that one. For them it’s about all this irresponsible sex going on, plus sometimes enjoying it! They don’t give a damn about the fetus, just that the mother be punished for having sex by having a household full of children they can’t feed and don’t want. Them damn women must be punished for having sex. The church ladies don’t get to with anyone but their old white headed husbands. The other 90% of us must be stopped from this immoral existence!!!
I drifted off my subject. Even a week later I am still so upset about the democrats losing every race, just about. I can’t even discuss how bad it will be in Texas under Greg Abbott. The way they did it? They all spouted the same lines, brainwashed by the Kochs. Didn’t run against their actual opponent, but ran against Obama!!! I think he has been a fine President, but I don’t believe the lies told about his record and him. In Texas I believe it is simply racist. I even had one person say to me “how dare that n-word come and think he can be the leader of our country?”.
A funny….my sibs and I recently found a long lost cousin on FB. We were all so excited to talk to her and her now grown up kids. Before the election, my brother and I were encouraging others in the family to vote for Wendy. One of cousins kids answered -“oh my God, y’all are democrats?”. I answered that three of us are but one sib has gone so baggerish, she now just calls herself an anarchist!!! My brother sent a message this kid had unfriended and blocked us all! Hilarious… She might get democratic cooties, I guess, maybe even Ebola!!! It’s rough to be a liberal citizen in this state, people here would rather have some idiot like Abbott who continually defunded public schools when he was attorney general. Who shut down Planned Parenthood and keeps trying to close all of the abortion clinics. Then there’s Dan Patrick, the new Republican Attorney General. That is not even his real name, he changed it after he filed bankruptcy several years ago and screwed so many of his debtors he felt his birth name reputation was ruined. That was an easy fix, change your name legally and people will invest in your schemes all over again.

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By: Joanm on November 10, 2014
at 1:42 PM
Oh, that’s so… YOU…

(Now, if you just turn the donkey figure around, facing the other way, and replaced it with a symbol of the American people, the middle class, civil rights, equal pay for women, gender and racial equality, a decent minimum wage, and some campaign spending regulations, you’d have it just about right!)

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By: gatodicima on November 8, 2014
at 5:16 PM
Amen ! Mageen!!
Very well said.
Should folks be wary of abuse of EOs? Of course.
But the idea this President is abusing the authority of his office , especially at the level espoused far too many frothing-at-the-mouth Americans? Oh horsepunky and Pffffttt!!!

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By: alaskapi on November 8, 2014
at 4:39 PM
Gato, considering all the EO’s that have been done in the past, I had to stick with those that dealt with immigration and also considering what the President is planning. Many of the immigration EOs I discovered were “bulked” up by a succeeding President. None of the EOs I ran into were listed as “vacated at a later date.” The majority of these EOs concentrated on a reprieve type of situation regarding deportation and in some cases were dubbed “parole”. None of these actions ever got the sheer psychotic reaction that is being blown the President’s way by various people who swear his office does not have any such power despite history. The office of the President is legally imbued with immense power. In no way should the word “immense” be translated by anyone as ultimate power. Even Lincoln knew that.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 8, 2014
at 3:58 PM
yeah well.
AK is over 7.6 times the area of MI , with .16 the number of registered voters MI has strung across that vast, vast area.
Most of the state has no roads, Most areas are accessible only by water and/or air. Rural Alaska gives new meaning to “rural”. I live 600 miles from anywhere folks Outside would recognize the name of.
Early and absentee voting is huge here if for no other reason than it is next to impossible to set up one day voting booth dealies in rural Alaska.
And ya know- here where we actually know each other, when you get away from the sucking wound which is Anchorage and the valley, we use effing ID to get to vote too.
Thing is we can use our hunting or fishing licenses for ID . You better believe there is a terrible cost if you lie to get one of those We have hundreds of communities with no DMVs ( no roads, who needs em?) or governmental offices capable of making state IDs.
And sorry, UAW- I wouldn’t sniff the crotch of an/the R’s for doodly squat.
I may be an ass but I’m not a dumb ass 😉

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By: alaskapi on November 8, 2014
at 3:02 PM
like my new gravater Gato?

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By: uawtradesman on November 8, 2014
at 2:19 PM
early voting in MI. ….. OH WAIT….. voting lasts ONE day. ID required. Only problem reported on michiganreport.com/ was no I VOTED stickers

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By: uawtradesman on November 8, 2014
at 2:16 PM
UAW- EO’s are a recognized tool for the Executive branch to do its job and have been since the beginning.The checks and balances of Congress and the Supreme Court have been used to deal with what might be considered outside-the-bounds of power EOs- JUST LIKE we expect the 3 legged stool of our form of government to operate.
Ennumerate the recent EOs you think exceed Presidential power to make the laws of the land work and stray into actual legislating? Please.
This crap about how EOs MUST be seen as legislating without a right to do so are just that. Crap.
The devil is in the actual frickin details .
And yes, Presidents have vacated, over turned, and/or replaced earlier EOs. The EO which established FEMA replaced one JFK made to establish an Office of Emergency Management to handle large scale troubles. There are plenty more.
So- here we wait for early, absentee, and questioned ballots to be counted before we know who our next Governor and US Senator will be. Should have a good idea by end of this next Tuesday.
Is a good reminder of how big and far flung we are here…
Sorry about TX, sorry about a lot of the races, but we’ll survive and we’ll be watching and pushing back at the worst crap the latest bunch o doofs try.
Best wishes to Helen and Margaret. Miss you.

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By: alaskapi on November 8, 2014
at 10:19 AM
self inflicted wound

One last tidbit: Davis’s former Texas senate seat, which she gave up to run for governor? It now belongs to Republican Konni Burton.

She is a tea-partier, and pro-life.

http://www.youngcons.com/wendy-davis-had-to-give-up-her-state-senate-seat-to-run-its-now-held-by-a-woman-who-is-pro-life-and-a-tea-partier/

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By: uawtradesman on November 8, 2014
at 7:05 AM
Not that hard to find Mageen……

“In 1988, President Reagan banned abortions at military hospital except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life is threatened. President Clinton rescinded it with another executive order. A Republican Congress then codified this restriction in an appropriations bill. Welcome to the Washington, D.C. merry-go-round.”

“President Gerald Ford issued Executive Order 11821, which required agencies to issue inflation impact statements for proposed regulations.48
• President Jimmy Carter altered this practice with Executive Order 12044, which required agencies to consider the potential economic impact of certain rules and identify potential alternatives.49
• President Ronald Reagan revoked President Carter’s order and implemented a scheme that arguably asserted much more extensive control over the rulemaking process. He issued Executive Order 12291, which directed agencies to implement rules only if the “potential benefits to society for the regulation outweigh the potential costs to society.” 50 This required agencies to prepare a cost-benefit analysis for any proposed rule that could have a significant economic impact.”

try google….. there’s lots more

damm…I shouldn’t have stopped reading…even Obama has revoked other’s executive orders

Click to access EO_13497.pdf

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By: uawtradesman on November 8, 2014
at 6:58 AM
Thanks for inquiring about Auntie Jean for me Delurker! Appreciate it. Happy to hear she is doing well.

Lori, if you are out there, we hope you are doing okay too. Sorry about Wendy, but well, you know Texas.

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By: Easier on November 7, 2014
at 11:11 PM
Hey, Lurker – Absolutely LOVE your last paragraph, about the oompah loompah, and don’t color me orange. You are one kick** woman!

(WHEN, oh when, will I grow up enough to stop using those stupid asterisks?!)

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 7, 2014
at 10:42 PM
Hi, Mageen! Here you are – how great!

UAW is apparently still off in his own universe. He’s probably busy looking for a more recent photo of Monica Lewinsky to replace his now-incredibly-dated-and-irrelevant icon… Maybe we can look forward to some old rehash from the Breitbart archives next.

Wonderful to hear from you, and all the rest who seem to be kicking our rockers into action once again!

Now, a word from Auntie Jean herself would be good, and who else…?

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 7, 2014
at 10:39 PM
UAW, in all my digging into Executive Orders, especially on immigration issues, could not find one instance of a succeeding President vacating the EO of his predecessor. For that matter all of the most recent Presidents seemed to build on the previous EO. The word “precedent” comes to mind.

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 7, 2014
at 10:26 PM
Geez Mageen…I did some checking also….
It’s nice to see that your happy with the Japanese internment during WWII that the Dems did through executive order….are you saying sh&t(abuse of power) like that should happen again…..

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By: uawtradesman on November 7, 2014
at 7:33 PM
bipartisan bunk….
http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2014/07/31/harry-reid-real-obstructionist/13439407/

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By: uawtradesman on November 7, 2014
at 7:26 PM
nice to know that the supreme court can cancel executive orders….as can future presidents…

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By: uawtradesman on November 7, 2014
at 7:21 PM
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By: uawtradesman on November 7, 2014
at 7:09 PM
Easier, Auntie Jean says hello and thank you for thinking of her. She’s doing just fine. 🙂

Boehner’s ‘Bipartisan’ Bunk
http://www.factcheck.org/2014/11/boehners-bipartisan-bunk/
Hmmm… Harry Reid’s not the obstructionist that drunk oompah loompah would like us to think he is. Color me shocked, but please don’t color me orange.

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By: delurkergurl on November 7, 2014
at 6:53 PM
Helen, my condolences on the way Texas abused itself on Election Day. Can’t figure out why Texas is so keen on shock therapy.

UAW, I did some historical research and just starting with Lincoln, just about every President all along the line exercised Executive Order and the Supremes never broke a sweat. The Presidents who most often issued Executive Orders were Republicans! And these EO’s were concentrated on immigration issues!!!

We all know why Boehner and McConnell and their ilk are so up in arms about anything the President does including setting his own watch. Its just plain damn racism. I mean it! Really!

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By: mageen in old virginny on November 7, 2014
at 6:06 PM
sorry Gato but Obama doesn’t have the power to legislate…..congress does….Obama is supposed to uphold the laws….not make his own…
and how did the “racists’ thing and the “war on women” go…look who got elected….even an 18 years old female republican…..
I believe the American people said “HORSESHIT”
John Stewert said it best…A titanic skullf&cking

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By: uawtradesman on November 7, 2014
at 11:54 AM
Oh, for heaven’s sake, James …

I’m sorry your daughter isn’t happy with the ACA, but there are apparently nine-plus million or so other Americans who are.

And you can’t POSSIBLY “blame” the Administration for the so-called “Ebola Panic”! You can lay that right at the feet of the 24/7 “news cycle” – and plenty of Republican candidates. The ONLY people who WEREN’T yelling “the sky is falling” were government officials, and – interestingly enough – one Fox news reporter, in one commentary, who said if you want to do something to take care of yourself, get a flu shot.

And all the “polishing” and “tweaking” of Republican candidates, getting them to visit Hispanic communities who’d never seen a Republican before (and what does THAT say, hmmm…?), being taught to be “disciplined,” and so on… Sounds more like grooming a contestant in the Miss America pageant, or the host for a game show: All packaging; empty package.

But, as I said, it worked. Let’s see how good Mitch McConnell John Boehner are at getting their herds to be “disciplined,” now that it’s all up to them.

Already the “threats” are flying around, “warning” the President not to “poison the well,” and to watch out that he doesn’t get “burned.” (That’s how Massa talks to the house slave, not how “leaders” talk to each other.)

And, yes, Obama does not hesitate to say that he plans to go ahead and use his rightful powers to do what he can to move his ideas forward, so do’t even bother going there. But he does NOT “warn” his opponents about the danger of “getting burned” should they dare oppose him.

They might just as well put the damned flaming cross on the White House lawn and get it over with…

And I mean it. Really.

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 7, 2014
at 11:29 AM
I don’t have time for this now, because we are still juggling our lives at home while caring for our now sixteen month old grand daughter four to five days a week. We have to sneak our stuff out when we prepare to leave because she gets too sad.

The song I posted fits your situation almost exactly and gives good advice.
“Baby, are you tough enough?”

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By: James on November 7, 2014
at 11:03 AM
Hubris is the right word, Gato.

Obama and his supporters were certain they could defeat the opposition with lies and half truths. For example, ObamaCare has some good features but when Obama lied about its lower cost and people’s being able to keep their own doctors he made percentage of voters angry that they lost their doctors or suffered higher rates. Our daughter was among the unfortunate. The disaster of an expensive web site was also an attention getter.

I think something like 26 Democratic office holders who voted for the Affordable Care act lost their jobs.

Each issue you mentioned reeked of mendacity and incompetence. The Benghazi affair, ISIS and the Ebola panic made the administration look bad, but the obfuscation and incompetence made matters worse.. Any one of those scandals would not have defeated the Democrats, but their cumulative effect was overwhelming as we saw.

Republicans did not defeat Democrats so much as they defeated themselves, Democrats didn’t want Obama helping them because they unlike Obama and his supporters were living in the real world and without the benefit of a cloistered existence. They knew how voters felt, and they were desperate to survive. How many campaigns featured candidates refusing to say whether or not they had voted for their party’s flag bearer? They were afraid to defend what they had voted for.

Had you read Betsy’s page as I suggested, you would have read how the Republicans pulled it off. For one thing, they forced flame throwers to withdraw, and they trained candidates like Iowa’s Joni Ernst to be more polished and disciplined. It wasn’t hard for her because she is an Army Reserve commander who served in Iraq and Kuwait.

Kansas’ Pat Roberts was destined to lose until the head National operatives took over. Other Republicans also heard from the national level. Like the Democrats they had suffered from Hubris, but they were forced to face reality while there was still time.

Another realty check was the Hispanic population. The new Nebraska Senator learned Spanish and he visited places which had never seen a Republican.

The Democrats are forced to compromise, and if Obama refuses, he will be signing a lot of vetoes. Republicans have two years to make their victories stick,. Otherwise, the Democrats will be much happier after the next election,.

A good question is “Why do so many people apparently believe things that aren’t true?” Some of you believe fantasy as do many in the Obama administration and many of the news media. . Why do they?

Democrats sold a poor product with bad advertising. Republicans learned from the last election and adapted. People were voting against Obama, not for Republicans.

The word is Hubris.

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By: James on November 7, 2014
at 10:51 AM
Hi ladies. Easier, I dropped AJ a note letting her know we’d love her to check in.

By and large, I don’t think most people pay any attention at all to politics. They don’t know what each branch is responsible for, or which party is in control of each branch. If life gets hard,they blame the president. How else can you explain all those new R seats in the House when the R-led House has what – a 9% approval rating? The President’s approval rating is more than 4 times that, and giving more control to the R’s is a referendum on the President? SMH… Then when things get better, people are not looking for someone to give credit to. Example: when gas prices go up the president gets the blame by lots of people. When gas prices drop, those people aren’t thanking the president. All they know is what they learn from all those ads and flyers. If they vote, it’s to vote against something. The corporate owned media doesn’t help people learn what’s going on. They just bleat headlines and talking points, challenge/explore nothing, and move on to what the Kardashians are up to.

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By: delurkergurl on November 7, 2014
at 10:44 AM
UNLIMITED MONEY BUYS A LOT OF LIES,
LIES BREED IRRATIONAL HATE AND FEAR,
HATE AND FEAR LEADS TO IGNORANCE,
IGNORANCE CREATES TERRIBLE DECISIONS,
NOW WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH THOSE TERRIBLE DECISIONS.

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By: CO BLU on November 7, 2014
at 10:38 AM
Haven’t been to Jim’s blog in a while. A couple of recent good posts! (Alert… very long… language…)

Ted Nugent Is Just Fine and So Are You (Not really about the pedophile poopy pants draft dodger, so don’t let the title turn you away)
http://www.stonekettle.com/2014/11/ted-nugent-is-just-fine-and-so-are-you.html

The Balance of Power
http://www.stonekettle.com/2014/11/the-balance-of-power.html

I don’t agree with everything in either post, but I agree with a whole lot!

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By: delurkergurl on November 7, 2014
at 10:21 AM
Morning, Terri !

Well, yes, that’s a good question: Why do so many people apparently believe things that aren’t true? Here’s all I can think of: Humans tend to believe what we’re TOLD, not what we see or conclude ourselves. And the more times we’re told something, the more we tend to believe it. If we’re told twenty times that the ACA “isn’t working” (and only once that it IS), we begin to believe that it isn’t. (“Well, gee… If so many people think that, it must be true…”) The GOP knows this; the Dems, apparently, haven’t quite gotten it, and – frankly – historically never have…

We, rather naively, think that if you point out something, and show appropriate charts and statistics, that you shouldn’t have to do it more than once. Wrong! (This is also the logic behind the incredibly annoying practice of showing the same commercial on TV twice in a row, or during every single break in a given program. Drives me nuts! But “they” wouldn’t keep doing it if it didn’t WORK.)

I have seen no reason whatsoever to believe that the GOP intends to do anything other than continue with what’s always been their agenda: More tax breaks for the wealthy; no restrictions on anonymous campaign spending; doing everything possible to keep “certain people” from voting; give medical care back to Big Pharma and Big Insurance; bust unions; control ladyparts; and so on. Why on earth would they change direction, now that they have even MORE leverage?

BUT, since the majority of Americans are opposed to each and every one of those things, they certainly couldn’t use that as the basis for their campaigns, could they? So, they did what any smart political operative would do: Say nothing about THEIR plans, pick something that nobody likes (the “dysfunction in government”), blame THAT on the Democrats, and – wherever possible without displaying TOO MUCH racism – on the uppity Kenyan socialist in the White House. (Citizens United and “redistricting” and the “battle against voter fraud” didn’t hurt, either. Oh… And EBOLA!!!)

It worked.

The only thing I can possibly anticipate with some pleasure, other than Jon Stewart’s hysterical imitations of Mitch McConnell, is watching how they deal with their own Tea Partiers, and how they handle the inevitable outrage that will crop up when they DON’T get anything done, or actually push forward on their unpopular agenda, despite their promises to the contrary. Since they’re now so gleefully “in charge” of everything, who will they now be able to blame…?

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 7, 2014
at 10:11 AM
Hi all,
I agree the Dems blew it big time this election by not running on Obama’s good record. But I still don’t get how that translates into voting for the GOP. Already we are hearing they want to repeal Obamacare, again. WTF? Ten million people have healthcare that didn’t before. Healthcare costs are rising slower than in previous years. All the dire predictions haven’t come true, yet they still want to tell ten million that they are taking their healthcare away. Economic growth is taking off, the deficit is being cut–all this happened without any help from the GOP. So why vote for them–they are the ones who ruined the economy. I don’t get it. How can so many people believe things that are just not factually true. I’m stumped.

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By: Terri in NY on November 7, 2014
at 9:06 AM
Hi Delurker! I was just thinking about the old gang the other day, especially about Auntie Jean when the news came out about the volcano acting up again in Hawaii. I wanted to send you an email to ask if you knew anything about her whereabouts. Do you know if she is doing okay?

About the election, yes, let’s hope the democrats learned their lesson here and stop taking people for granted. There is big money being spent and made out there and the media has been bought. The election was called before it even began. So why bother to vote, many people with shaky convictions anyway, probably were asking themselves. I know my two sons did not vote. My oldest does not think his vote would ever make a difference and the youngest away at college did not bother either. There you have it, and these are the people more likely to vote for the democrats. Co BLU captured this perfectly in her October 27th post. We are now owned by the Koch brothers.

And Gato, if people don’t have the cahonnes (however that word is spelled) to call ***shit when they see it, then they should not be in politics. Republicans don’t play nice and the gullible American public can’t seem to see through their games. Fear rules and people have short memory. We all did get what we deserve.

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By: Easier on November 7, 2014
at 2:51 AM
Thanks, Lurker – Good piece!

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By: gatodicima on November 6, 2014
at 3:53 PM
I so love Margaret and Helen and love the responses. Thank you, the person who pointed out that the Democratics aren’t so lazy as they have been gerrymandered from winning among other things the GOP has managed to shoehorn anyone out of voting. Ta, ta, ya’ll.

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By: Mickey on November 6, 2014
at 2:06 PM
Hi WhirledPeas. Good to see you and a few others after a long rest.

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By: delurkergurl on November 6, 2014
at 1:24 PM
Dems didn’t give people a reason to vote for democrats. (Lots of good points in here, and gets past the excuses/whining and looks forward)
http://www.eclectablog.com/2014/11/democrats-didnt-give-people-a-reason-to-vote-for-democrats.html

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By: delurkergurl on November 6, 2014
at 1:21 PM
Obama finally delivers…

…Hope and Change!

Peace ~ Δ

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By: Whirled Peas Δ on November 6, 2014
at 1:08 PM
Whoever you are; it doesn’t matter to me – What you call “hubris,” et cetera, could just as accurately be called the inability to be as ruthless as the opponent. As for “lies,” the GOP was able to convince people (and they worked on doing this relentlessly) that they should be terrified at things that do not/did not, in fact, exist: An Ebola “Outbreak On Our Shores;” the idea that Central American refugees/immigrants were bringing deadly diseases into the country; the “fact” that the economy is stagnant, and that the deficit has increased (both statistically untrue); that corporations “create jobs,” even as they outsource as much labor as possible; that the ACA “isn’t working;” that we will somehow benefit from the XL pipeline; and that “voter fraud” is a serious problem… Just to name a few.

And if you think that Ted Cruz and his like are now suddenly going to join forces with McConnell’s promised efforts to “get Congress back to work,” I have a bridge I’d like to sell you…

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 6, 2014
at 1:04 PM
Anon is James.

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By: James on November 6, 2014
at 12:40 PM
The Democratic loss has a simple explanation–hubris, incompetance, lies and a poor product with bad marketing. The Kock brothers, war against women, and other shiboleths were a load of manure meant to take ignorant voters minds off bilge the administration was trying to sell.

Gato was right. The Democrats deserved to lose. Republicans have a mandate, and if they fail to provide the results voters sent them to office for, they will deserve to lose also.

My credibility is better than many. I predicted some of this to Honolulul Sal shortly after I arrived here. Later discussions have proven me right. Obama,the Tea Party, and Abortion Barbie were no surprises to people paying attention,

Read Betsy’s page today if you want enlightenment on how this happened.

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By: Anonymous on November 6, 2014
at 12:39 PM
Hi, back, Lurker – and Easier and Terri –

Sadly, Easier, I have to agree with your point that the Dems got what we “deserved”… One of the ironies of believing (that’s ACTUALLY “believing” enough so it is a basis for your actions, as opposed to nothing more than a nice slogan about the size of some mythical “tent”) in “inclusiveness” and “cooperation,” and so on, is that sometimes you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having try to “cooperate” with those whose intentions are truly harmful…

And the hard right knows excruciatingly well how to play on this, as Tuesday shows. No liberal can hardly get the words, “You’re absolutely full of s**t” out of his or her mouth, even when it’s true. And, any time we even get CLOSE to that, the “conservative” immediately counters with, “OBSTRUCTION!”

I’m confident we can count on two more years of this… Somehow my dear Republican husband seems to feel that, now that the GOP is even more “in charge” of everything, they are suddenly going to reverse every policy and position they have so vigorously defended for the last six years. (Try to imagine Ted Cruz saying, “Oh, good; now that we have control of the entire Congress, we’re not going to bother with investigating Obama’s abuses of power, and we think ‘Obamacare’ is just hunky-dory”…)

The wonderful Charlie Pierce said something in his blog that I think gets right to the core of the problem – the REAL reason this country is going the way it is… He wrote, “Once you’ve divorced the act of voting from the conviction that voting will have any connection to what the government actually does, voters do not vote their desires, they vote their anger and their fear.”

And that, in essence, is exactly what the GOP has been able to accomplish. And it’s been deliberate, and calculated, and it has worked.

Turning that belief around has to be our first priority. It won’t be easy.

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 6, 2014
at 10:33 AM
Actually, Eaiser, I want to amend my response. I still agree with what you said, but also think that the corporations-people and the corporatists were a rabidly emboldened force with plenty of money, and many of the specific states in play were largely red, and the gerrymandering for the house and state races, and who knows what all else are factors. We still failed. I just think there are a lot of reasons for the failure and the time to work on solutions to them is now.

My husband is on the red team, and he was so disgusted with their candidates that he didn’t vote, so at least his didn’t cancel mine this year. I yelled at him but secretly also smiled a little. (Hi Gato! A house divided makes interesting dinner conversations!)

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By: delurkergurl on November 6, 2014
at 9:49 AM
True that, Easier… Not only did they fail to campaign on all those things, we now get to watch the Republicans take credit for it as the momentum continues.

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By: delurkergurl on November 6, 2014
at 6:34 AM
Democrats got their due. If they can’t campaign on the rebounding economy, the stock market at record highs, the deficit reducing, and even the Affordable Care Act working, then they don’t deserve to win. The democratic leadership appears quite inept to me. Not only that, people don’t care to go out there and vote. Well, the republicans of course capitalized on the democrats running away from Obama and piled it on. Why and what has he done when the republicans were the obstructionists? People can’t seem to really assess the dynamics at work here and know to cast blame where it is due. In my red state, we had to show IDs and mostly democratic areas ran out of ballot. Not that most of the democrats running stood a chance anyway. Now, the coast is clear, let us start some wars and sink a few billions destroying some country and then spend a few more under the pretense of rebuilding it and line up some contractors pockets while we are doing it. Then let us blame the next democratic president on increasing the deficit.

LikeLike
By: Easier on November 5, 2014
at 10:50 PM
A plumbing distributor also can be useful when you are providing most in the essential parts to stop the leakages.
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By: jigsaw.w3.org on November 5, 2014
at 6:25 PM
Hey Gato,
Glad you’re doing well. You and your husband sound like a fun couple to discuss politics with.
I’m very disappointed with the midterm results, and I feel I truly don’t understand why people vote for the GOP. Don’t they remember those are the people who created the whole godawful mess we were in in 2008? Don’t they want the minimum wage raised, and folks to have access to healthcare? I feel that no matter what good intentions some of the Republican senators might have, they are going to start an un-ending string of investigations and we are going to be subjected to countless sound bites from Ted Cruz and now Joni Ernst (who is potentially another Ted Cruz). Ugh.

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By: Terri in NY on November 5, 2014
at 1:42 PM
Tough day in the news cycles today. Congratulations to all the winner$$$. Many expected results, and some disappointing ones. We are headed for interesting times. Sure hope Ginsberg stays healthy for a long time. 🙂

Interesting perspective from outside the US:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/04/republicans-win-big-election-midterms

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By: delurkergurl on November 5, 2014
at 10:00 AM
LikeLike
By: James on November 5, 2014
at 8:11 AM
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By: James on November 5, 2014
at 8:01 AM
Down goes Abortion Barbie! 🙂 Turn Texas Blue Sucks Ass Again!

LikeLike
By: Pink Tennis Shoes is For Low Lifes on November 4, 2014
at 9:08 PM
yep…I’m voting

LikeLike
By: uawtradesman on November 3, 2014
at 8:42 PM
The history of infrared camera hence dates returning
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LikeLike
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at 8:12 PM
Getting led lights installed is the most effective way
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By: http://Www.Thesixtyone.com/bongosave6/ on November 3, 2014
at 8:02 PM
Hi, Terri – How ya doin’? Nice to hear from you again…

Yes, yes, yes, I’m voting tomorrow… But so is my husband, and we usually cancel out each other, although occasionally he has voted for a local Democrat. I’m tellin’ ya, we are the Mary Matalin and James Carville of our neighborhood – one staunch Republican; one aggressive liberal progressive Democrat. How we’ve survived for more than twenty years is beyond me. But we have!

Love Joe Biden’s statement that he thinks the Dems will buck the polls. (Actually, I love Fightin’ Joe in his entirety… He manages to do it without being an insufferable bully, like some Governor of one of your neighboring states I might mention…)

So… Fingers crossed. As Fightin’ Joe pointed out, even if the GOP wins the Senate, they’re still going to have their hands full with Cruz, Rand, and Rubio, all sucking up to the TeaPeople as they try to position themselves for 2016. They STILL won’t get anything done! And it will be even harder to blame everything on Obama, although I’m sure they’ll try…

Hang tough!

Gato

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By: gatodicima on November 3, 2014
at 4:58 PM
I hope everyone intends to go out tomorrow and vote. Even though the media has already declared the election a winner for the GOP, we need to vote. Fingers crossed Wendy Davis pulls it off! I must admit, I have no idea who would vote Republican. Exactly what are they planning to do for the country? And my party, the Dems, have been stupidly running away from Obama and his policies and record. What is wrong with them? The country is SO much better off in so many ways since he took office.

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By: Terri in NY on November 3, 2014
at 11:39 AM
Good one Helen. Keep ’em comin’.

Wendy Davis on The Daily Show

Peace ~ Δ ~ I mean it. Really.

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By: Whirled Peas Δ on October 31, 2014
at 12:38 PM
Just wondering how many Texans won’t vote for Greg Abbott because he married a Latina…..Any racists out there.

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By: uawtradesman on October 28, 2014
at 7:34 AM
You go, Co Blu –

I’ll definitely be out there, at least canceling out my husband’s inevitable Republican votes. What can I say…? Twenty years together, and no political cohesion whatsoever… But we live in CT, traditionally a blue state, so I have an advantage here. He endures it. Gotta love him for that.

Thanks for posting. Maybe the porch ain’t quite dead yet!

Gato

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By: gatodicima on October 27, 2014
at 5:35 PM
You ladies are a goddamn national treasure. One of these days Imma put a tribute up to you on http://www.thewomeniread.com. Of all the women I read, I just might like you best!

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By: amycwallace on October 27, 2014
at 5:05 PM
If you don’t vote, you will give this country and our freedoms to The Koch Brothers who are ready to see their dream of being the Puppet Masters come to fruition. Who do you think has financed the ignorant campaigns of Republican politicians in every state in this country? The Koch brothers own the Repub party. If you throw away your ballot or don’t go to the polls, you are throwing away this country and any rights you now enjoy. The Koch brothers want you poor, ignorant and afraid. Don’t let that happen. Vote Democratic. Offer a neighbor or friend a ride to the polls, encourage your neighbors and friends to mark their mail in ballots and send them in . Is saving the cost of a stamp by not voting or not wanting to deal with lines at the polls worth more than losing everything we have fought for in this country to two billionaires whose heritage is steeped in hate for anyone “beneath” them ??
Vote early.

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By: CO BLU on October 27, 2014
at 12:41 PM
[…] Helen Philpot would like for someone to explain to Greg Abbott where babies come from. […]

LikeLike
By: Texas blog roundup for the week of October 20 – Off the Kuff on October 23, 2014
at 4:45 AM
@Sonia and others. There is a “Donate” button. The money goes to Matthew, her grandson, so he can maintain, manage and grow the site. Look at the “Support M&H” tab. Writing like this deserves to be supported.

LikeLike
By: musingandrambling on October 21, 2014
at 8:29 AM
Thought it might appear to be time-consuming or wastage in the beginning but later on, you will realize that you made the right decision in comparing health plans
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LikeLike
By: bmw 3 series on October 21, 2014
at 2:36 AM
Margaret and Helen – as a straight heterosexual man, I LOVE you!

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By: Les Roberts on October 20, 2014
at 3:46 PM
Excellent column, as usual. You know, I’ve never met a Texan – in person – who I didn’t like, but I must just be meeting the sane ones. I live in New Mexico, where we say, “Poor New Mexico; so far from heaven, so close to Texas”.

But states get the politicians they deserve by voting against their own interests, which is what will happen in Texas when they vote Greg Abbott into office. Which they will, because Democrats will stay home in sufficient numbers to give the governorship to a nutty Republican, once again. I really despair when I look at who votes in midterms…and who doesn’t.

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By: phoebes in Santa Fe on October 20, 2014
at 9:05 AM
[…] Helen Philpot would like for someone to explain to Greg Abbott where babies come from. […]

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By: Eye on Williamson » TPA Blog Round Up (October 20, 2014) on October 20, 2014
at 8:51 AM
I agree, it is harder to imagine someone more stupid than Rick Perry but apparently he’s out there. Thank you for speaking up with wit and wisdom.

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By: holly@yakkityyaktalkingback.com on October 19, 2014
at 8:50 AM
So agree with you!

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By: Cher on October 18, 2014
at 11:14 PM
Love this! So very true, very true. Hope Wendy wins.

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By: Anonymous on October 18, 2014
at 11:13 PM
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday.

It will always be exciting to read content from other writers and use a little something from their
web sites.

LikeLike
By: cartier love bracelet on October 18, 2014
at 6:48 PM
Thanks as always Helen! Enjoyed the post. Wishing the best for Wendy in Texas. I know in my red State, only the rare democratic candidate stands any chance to being elevated to elective office. It is baffling but true.

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By: Easier on October 18, 2014
at 5:25 PM
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a
doubt donate to this brilliant blog! I guess for
now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to
my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this site with my
Facebook group. Chat soon!

LikeLike
By: Sonia on October 18, 2014
at 1:13 AM
Gingko Biloba has been used by the Chinese for centuries to treat
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LikeLike
By: ena.vu on October 17, 2014
at 6:38 PM
You are a whisper of fresh air, keep it up!

LikeLike
By: Pat on October 17, 2014
at 1:06 PM
subpoenaing—–oops

LikeLike
By: uawtradesman on October 17, 2014
at 7:42 AM
What’s next for Texas??????? Subpoeing pastors sermons!!!!! OH!!!! That’s already happened…….Damn Liberals

LikeLike
By: uawtradesman on October 17, 2014
at 7:41 AM
“Laura Ingraham

Question to “hero” St. Sen. Wendy Davis: Which kids that you see on the playground shouldn’t be there?”

LikeLike
By: uawtradesman on October 17, 2014
at 7:29 AM
Did you see this one?

LikeLike
By: Kay Brewer on October 16, 2014
at 5:01 PM
‘Splaining it to him will do no good.

LikeLike
By: georgiecat on October 16, 2014
at 7:12 AM
Oh, Valentine. I love your photo! So stylish! Thank you for your comments. An enjoyable read.

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By: Mickey on October 15, 2014
at 12:55 PM
Thank you, Helen. Good to hear from you! Go Wendy and GO VOTE!

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By: jmatt on October 15, 2014
at 11:29 AM
As a third generation Texan I am continually hanging my head and mumbling apologies for all the stupid coming out of this state.

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By: Valentine Logar on October 15, 2014
at 7:58 AM
Hi, Gayle – Hang on to your snark!

Absurd, ridiculous, untrue, and totally unfounded “statements” and “facts” MUST be called out as the trash they are. We must not let ourselves be persuaded (even by supposedly well-meaning “friends”) that everyone is allowed to have his/her “opinion” stand unchallenged, ESPECIALLY when that person plans to use that “opinion” as the basis for making LAWS.

“Banning same sex marriage will help reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies” does NOT have the same validity as “Sex education in schools will help reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies.” “Climate change is a hoax because it’s snowing today” is NOT the same as “Climate change is a serious problem because the polar ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate.” “Ebola is a threat because Obama messes up everything” is NOT the same as “The cuts in funding for the CDC and the NIH have seriously hampered our ability to respond to the outbreak as well as we could have without those cuts.”

IMO, there is just no moral place for “being nice” when presented with absolute, and dangerous, BULL DOODY! And every time we treat that doody as something other than what it is – and let it stand unchallenged – we allow ourselves to be brought closer and closer to living under national “policy” based on it.

When the emperor actually has no “new clothes,” and is standing there stark naked like an idiot, we’d better emulate that five-year-old who called it out… Lest NONE of us have any clothes. And that’s what we would deserve.

“I mean it. Really.”

Gato

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By: gatodicima on October 15, 2014
at 7:47 AM
Another terrific post. My sympathies — do all the dopes in Texas run for office?

We have some jacki here in New England, but they become “famous” by picketing women’s clinics. Everyone knows they are jerks, and volunteers escort patients when the picketers come out.

I’m one of the fortunate ones; I just got married and had my babies. I spent their early years with the kids and returned to my career. A detour, not a block.

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By: l'empress on October 15, 2014
at 6:23 AM
Just when I ALMOST convince myself that I’ll try to change my ways because some of my “friends” accuse me of being “snarky” about serious matters, along comes Helen to remind me that sometimes there is NO other path to reach the point without being snarky. Ah … it’s as liberating as burning my bra to be allowed to swing it (or them) whichever way I please.

LikeLike
By: Gayle Gardner Lin on October 15, 2014
at 2:41 AM
Thanks for sharing such a fastidious idea, article is nice, thats why
i have rerad it entirely

LikeLike
By: Kit on October 15, 2014
at 1:08 AM
Excellent blog! Do you have any recommendations forr aspiring writers?

I’m hoping to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost oon everything.

Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or
go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed ..
Any tips? Thanks!

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By: http://kuleama.wordpress.com/ on October 14, 2014
at 7:19 PM
Helen, you make my heart sing.

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By: oldgrumpysteve on October 14, 2014
at 6:48 PM
[…] wagon. Bless his heart. Abbott can’t help being stupid, but he could have stayed home. More at https://margaretandhelen.com/2014/10/14/someone-needs-to-tell-greg-abbott-where-babies-come-from/ 0 Replies GA_googleFillSlot("a2kTopicLeaderboardEnd"); […]

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By: Ebola in The USA - Page 20 on October 14, 2014
at 6:43 PM
Helen you are a blessing to the State of Texas! And as for the politicians we’ve been blessed with for the last few years, why Abbott has such a king complex I’m amazed he doesn’t ride around on a golden throne. Those people he has surrounding him in his commercials must have recently been sanitized for his protection (just like the wrapped silverware we get at Chuy’s!). And as for his position on gay marriage, equal pay for women, and a woman’s right to choose, well now just don’t even get me started because those little bitty things aren’t important to him! And he’s still trying to make sure that minorities have a harder time voting with his silly voter ID law. Helen, I hope I’m not mad on election day, I really do.

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By: Hopeful in Houston on October 14, 2014
at 6:24 PM
Helen, I love you.

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By: Arthur Curtis on October 14, 2014
at 5:59 PM
Oh, Helen….I just love you. I get all kinds of excited when I see mail from you in my in box. And I can vouch for Margaret’s amazing autumn color, having just returned from two stupendously lazy weeks sitting on a rock called Deer Isle in Downeast Maine. It was spectacularly beautiful this year. Anyway, I adore how you write. It reminds me of Molly Ivins, rest her liberal Texan soul. And Ann “stick a fork in him–he’s done” Richards. Nice company to be in, Helen.

Just wanted to tell you what a day brightener you are. Thank you for writing…..Jan Knox

DON’T POSTPONE JOY

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By: Janice Knox on October 14, 2014
at 5:03 PM
Ladies, you are right on! Abbott is a useless wad of DNA!

Go Wendy!

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By: mageen in old virginny on October 14, 2014
at 3:18 PM
they are great, very worried about the over all election…

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By: Marian Kurz on October 14, 2014
at 3:09 PM
OH, you are the ONE!! ‘They’ are totally amazing, as in I am amazed they can say those things with a straight face!! OK, what I would like to say can’t’ be printed in a nice blog like yours 🙂

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By: Susan on October 14, 2014
at 12:47 PM
Both of you should be eventually put in the smithsonian institute. You are priceless.

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By: Skeets FRIEDKIN on October 14, 2014
at 12:42 PM
Well said, for sure.

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By: phyllisronyoshida . on October 14, 2014
at 12:31 PM
Amen

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By: Andrew Gault on October 14, 2014
at 11:28 AM
Helen, wonderful as usual. I truly hope that the sane Texans get out and vote for Wendy, else your string of stupid mental midget, but sticky fingered, male governors will continue! Not sure Texas will survive Abbott after Perry.

GO WENDY! Love you Helen.

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By: 1smartcanerican™ on October 14, 2014
at 11:08 AM
Oh Helen, how you always manage to hit the nail on the head. Don’t stop, write more often.

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By: Linda Sanders on October 14, 2014
at 10:42 AM
Oh Helen, how I love your blogs. You always seem to nail it, and so subtly! Please, write more often!

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By: Linda Sanders on October 14, 2014
at 10:41 AM
Oh, pshaw. I see from someone who left a comment, Helen, you meant ‘comprehensive’, and I loved her saying that compressive sex ed sounds painful. Thank you both!

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By: Mickey on October 14, 2014
at 10:35 AM
Oh, rats. Another typo! I meant ‘retire’ and wrote ‘retired’ which is stuck in my brain because I am retired!

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By: Mickey on October 14, 2014
at 10:32 AM
Whoops, Helen. You wrote ‘compressive’ sex education (??!!). I think you might have meant ‘compulsory’? That’s okay. I understood what you meant. And right on about Mr. Abbott. I live in Arizona which with McCain as a U.S. Senator is definitely no brag. Sigh. Why won’t that man just retired and shut the hell up?! Thank you for your lovely blog. Be safe.

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By: Mickey on October 14, 2014
at 10:30 AM
Reblogged this on risquédivorcée and commented:
I know that I usually write about sex & dating more than politics, but this is about love, sex, dating, marriage, sex education, safe sex, responsibility, acceptance and civil rights – all really important and current stuff!

Be educated. Be kind. Vote.

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By: risquedivorcee on October 14, 2014
at 10:22 AM
Well said! I don’t live in Texas, but…WENDY DAVIS FOR GOVERNOR!

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By: CJ on October 14, 2014
at 9:55 AM
Ditto on “comprehensive,” but that doesn’t negate the message!!!!

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By: mimi on October 14, 2014
at 9:50 AM
Well. Greg knows where the MONEY come from. And that’s important for Texas conservatives.Say the word “money” where he can hear it, and he gets that goofy grin on his face. He’s limited mentally. But he’s focused on money.

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By: Anonymous on October 14, 2014
at 9:47 AM
You are wonderful, a joy to read both for your smarts, your tolerance of others (not just on the topic of gay marriage) and the wonderful biting humor you bring to serious social issues.
Abbott makes me cringe because if TX elects him, it speaks poorly for the collective intellect of Texas voters. Imagine how stupid they will vote at the federal level.

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By: Anonymous on October 14, 2014
at 9:47 AM
On the good side, Austin City Limits just had its 40th anniversary and Texas leads the nation in wind energy (not the politician produced) with almost 10% of its energy provided by that renewable source. But, don’t tell anyone as the Governor would hate for that story to get out. As an outsider, I like Wendy Davis’s chutzpah wearing her running shoes to filibuster. Yet, the other big filibuster guy who shut down the US government talked for 21 hours against Obamacare and did not once mention Texas was dead last by having the highest percentage of uninsureds (and still is, even worse than Puerto Rico). Expanding Medicaid would help so many of the Lone Star folks without. BTG

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By: btg5885 on October 14, 2014
at 9:45 AM
The Republican’s “understanding” of where babies come from and who homosexual people are (“We’re not against gays, just they’re behavior.” – GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK!!!) is akin to the understanding Sarah Palin has for brain surgery or how close Russia is to her house. How and why people vote for them is beyond my comprehension. Thanks for always telling it like it is. I mean it, really.

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By: Debra Lynn Shelton on October 14, 2014
at 9:13 AM
Girl its really hard to love Texas in my old age when its been taken over like The Goon Squad. Keep writing as I love your rants.

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By: Jo Ann Nicholas on October 14, 2014
at 8:44 AM
Helen, I hear ya, but I’m pretty sure you mean to advocate comprehensive sex ed, not compressive sex ed, which sounds like it would be very painful.

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By: Donna on October 14, 2014
at 8:22 AM
BRAVO!

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By: Teacher on October 14, 2014
at 8:19 AM
It’s always wonderful to hear your distinctive, smart voice! And I feel for you, having a moron like Abbott running for Gov!

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By: Rebecca Mashaw on October 14, 2014
at 8:15 AM
Don’t feel too bad, Helen. Here in Virginia, we had an Attorney General who thought that a woman seeking an abortion needed to have a periscope shoved up her uterus because clearly she didn’t realize that the procedure had anything to do with a fetus. Luckily when this shit for brains ran for Governor, we didn’t elect him, but it was close. Hopefully, the good people of Texas will turn out and elect Wendy. Praying for you.

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By: Deb on October 14, 2014
at 8:12 AM
Hahaha! The Republican party thinks they’ve gotten rid of the wing nuts for this election cycle…WRONG!

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By: dawnbmoore on October 14, 2014
at 8:09 AM
I love Helen and if I were homosexual, I’d ask her to marry me:)

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By: Anonymous on October 14, 2014
at 7:52 AM
So good to hear from you. Wondering why Texans are so concerned about babies being born out of wedlock, and what homosexuality has to do with it. I wish Texas would remember it’s 2014, not 1914! They have already given us Ted Cruz, haven’t we suffered enough?

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By: Terri in NY on October 14, 2014
at 7:51 AM

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Margaret and Helen