Cutting Lives

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) today introduced a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current rates for three weeks –until April 8 – while cutting $6 billion in spending including:

-$99 million – NOAA – Operations, Research, and Facilities
-$18 million – NOAA – Procurement Acquisition and Construction

NOAA is the agency responsible for Tsunami monitoring and warnings. Yesterday a tsunami killed thousands of people in Japan. Republicans are doing all they can to ensure America is even less prepared than Japan was. The ways in which the Republican party can and eventually will get you killed continue to mount.

Sellouts

Think Progress: The Republican-led Iowa state House is considering a bill that would allow Iowans to carry a weapon openly or concealed in public without a license, permission from a sheriff, background check, or any training. The bill is known as “Alaska carry,” or the “Alaska bill,” because Alaska was one of the first states in the country to implement it. Arizona and Wyoming have similar laws.

In a “snafu” on the House floor yesterday, House Speaker Pro Tem Jeff Kaugmann (R) was caught privately acknowledging the danger of the bill while speaking near a microphone he thought was off, but was in fact turned on:

REP. STEVE LUKAN (R): The Alaska bill – what’s the Alaska bill? [...]

KAUFMAN: The crazy, give-a-handgun-to-a-schizophrenic bill.

AIDE OFF CAMERA: His microphone is on.

[Microphone goes dead]

Apparently it's a "snafu" when a Republican is caught telling the truth.

This is absolute, irrefutable proof Republicans will knowingly get you killed for money and power. More Jared Loughner's are on the way and we should be very clear who's to blame.

Stuck On The Wrong Side Of History

Bypassing Senate Democrats who fled the state, Republican senators in Wisconsin managed to pass legislation Wednesday to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

Since it was Liberals that fought for the organizing rights and worker protections that created the great American middle class, it's no surprise it's the conservatives trying to get rid of them. This clearly illustrates Republicans are not out for best interest of the country and as with civil rights, puts them yet again on the wrong side of the great moral issues of our time.

No Comparison

TPM: Wisconsin Republicans are now running into a rough sight in the battle over Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill and its anti-public employee union provisions, a sight that might be familiar to Democrats from the 2009-2010 health care debates: Loud, raucous town halls. And when U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R) ran into that ruckus last night in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, Sensenbrenner declared the meeting over -- after 27 minutes.

It's wrong to compare this to the intimidation fests that targeted Dems in 2009. These are citizens making valid points on their own. What the Dems were subjected to was Koch Industry funded front groups sending people to shout down valid points. Totally different.

Wrong Target

Peter King: I'll Hold Hearings On Radical Islam

If he's looking for home grown terror threats he should be holding hearings on Glenn Beck fans.

Sock Puppet Radio

Raw Story: The company responsible for syndicating big conservative radio names like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity has been using paid actors to call in to their radio shows.

While there are legions of idiots just dying to call up and talk to these guys they obviously don't trust them to stick to the script. Such is life in the great right-wing bullshit machine.

We Can't Afford REPUBLICANS

Letter to the editor: We can't afford public employee unions

No asshole Republican should be allowed to say we can't afford this or that. They've spent the last 30 years deliberately destroying the tax base though tax cuts and outsourcing and now they're crying crocodile tears. It's like pouring out the pitcher and then saying we'll have to go thirsty because there's just not enough water to go around. The only way to restore this country is the restore the tax base and restore the middle class. The only way to do that is to get Republicans out of government.