Eye of Newt

Newt is a good nickname for a guy who acts like a slimy misogynist.

Announcing his run for president will bring a spotlight to his behavior with the ladies, so here is a quick rundown on Mr. Gingrich's three wives and dates they were married to The Newt...

1. Jackie Battley (1962–1981)

Newt's High School Geometry teacher, he started dating her when he was 16, then infamously divorced her while she was battling cancer. Words cannot describe how wrong that was.

2. Marianne Ginther (1981–2000)

He cheated on her and then dumped her right after she found out she had multiple sclerosis. I sense a pattern here.


3. Callista Bisek (2000-present)

She was a House Staffer and is 23 years younger than Newt. Let's hope for her sake she stays healthy.


I have a sense that Mr. Gingrich does not really like women all that much, given his history of not treating them very well. He has attempted to address the issue by stating: "There's no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

I'm not sure that it was passion for his country that was driving Mr. Gingrich, but let's leave it at that.


His mother has some insight into his feelings about women, as posted in EZ Kool's excellent blog:

Mr. Gingrich also seems to think that he does not have to practice what he preaches. In a conversation with his second wife, who asked him how he can talk about family values but not actually seem to have value for his families, he stated:

“It doesn’t matter what I do,” he answered. “People need to hear what I have to say. There’s no one else who can say what I can say. It doesn’t matter what I live.”

Mr. Gingrich, I disagree, and I have a feeling that many voters feel the same way. Good luck with your campaign...

Looks are Deceiving

Well, Paul Ryan looks like a nice young man...oh wait..wrong picture...(my apologies to Eddie Munster/Butch Patrick)

That's better.

Yes, he does look nice, but his budget is just plain wrong. And mean.

He wants to end Medicare and give more tax breaks to millionaires. As if they need more money. This quick video explains it well:

Like the nice lady says at the end, what is he thinking? He claims he is trying to balance the budget and reduce the deficit, but his math does not add up, as outlined in the always outstanding work of Ezra Klein: "the single largest policy contributor to projected deficits is the extension of the Bush tax cuts."

I do not understand how a person can sleep at night when they propose ending Medicare as we know it, in addition to giving more tax cuts to the wealthy. Is he delusional? Did he fail math? Does he hate the middle class?

It is encouraging to know that the majority of Americans do not support this proposal, and he had senior citizens angry at him, shouting at him during a town hall meeting to tax the rich and leave Medicare alone:

A recent poll by The Washington Post/ABC news shows the majority of American oppose cutting Medicare:

All I can say about this entire ugly Republican fiasco is this:

Mr. Ryan should be ashamed of himself. What do you think?

UPDATE: Tweet from friend:

BrnEyeSuss BrnEyeSuss 

Some Dems believe Paul Ryans Medicare killing bill will cost the GOP the house , - Ya think? #p2 #tcot

My response: yeah, I think. Hooray! Mr. Munster Ryan, actions have consequences

Smells Like Desperation

I got a robo-call from Dick Morris and FOX news (man, did they have the wrong number). This is the second time I received such a call, the first time was over a year ago and I just hung up. 

This time I listened with amusement, as Morris was ranting about Obama's secret liberal agenda and how he is ruining America, yada yada yada... here is what was going through my mind - wow, the Republicans are frantic, they have no real viable candidate for 2012 and people are really starting to hate them for their policies and tax cuts for the rich, and, well, you know.

So I actually waited until the prerecorded message was over so I could talk to Morris' "assistant" - he actually said, "Please stay on the line for my assistant," (yeah, it's some woman working for minimum wage in a call center) and the woman comes on, you can tell she's reading from a script, so before she gets too far into her pitch to get me to donate to the RNC, I say, "I just want to let you know something...(and I love the fact that she waited politely...I was also very polite, no need to take it out on her, she's just trying to make a few bucks) ...

...and then I said in a very cheerful tone of voice: "I think Dick Morris is a toad, and I fully support President Obama. In addition, I am on the National Do Not Call registry, so please make a note of this and make sure I do not receive any more of these calls."

I LOVED her reply, "Ma'am, I completely understand, and I will make sure you are not contacted again." I knew that she was just trying to do an unpleasant job, and the way she replied told me that she also supports our president, but a gal has to make ends meet one way or another in this economy.

Since President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, his approval rating has jumped to 60% and the Republicans still do not have a viable contender for the 2012 election.

And as reported on The Rachel Maddow Show a group of freshmen Republicans held a press conference to ask President Obama to stop the political rhetoric they are enduring after voting for the Ryan Budget, which caused their constituents to voice their very unhappy responses at a number of townhall meetings.

As Rachel said, they are crying "Uncle" after being hammered for voting to essentially end Medicare as we know it. Turns out that is not such a popular idea with the majority of the American people.

I am not sure what the Republicans can do to turn public opinion around at this point, they are fighting an uphill battle against a popular president with ideas that are unpopular with the majority of voters. I am sure it will be something silly, like creating a false controversy over inviting a rapper to an evening of poetry at the White House, or mentioning that he is the one who got bin Laden.

There are people who get upset over the right wingers and their hypocrisy, their false controversies and manufactured outrage, but having realized that these are acts of desperation, I just find it amusing.

I'm Grateful (and Proud)

I’m Grateful For the room-lighting smile: For the mind that always thinks:   For preventing a second Great Depression caused by Bush:

For the humor:

For bringing the number of women in the Supreme Court to 3...

For making the White House the peoples house:

For 1.1 million jobs created in 2010 alone, more than the entire 8 years of George Bush:

For the love of people:

*

And family:

*

For the First Lady:

*

For Health Care reform:

*

For leaving the past behind:

*

For the world loving America again...

For quietly and calmly dealing with crisis after crisis, even if not being responsible for any of them...

For being so cool:

And fierce:

And curious:

And imperfect.

And not giving a damn...

And compassionate:

And an inspiration:

For saving the auto industry and at least 1.4 million jobs:

For loving the troops:

And understanding the horrible price:

And bringing 100,000 men and women back from Iraq.

For facing the most difficult and loneliest job in the world with grace, dignity,

honesty and guts:

And despite all the hate, pettiness, racism, corruption and immaturity around,

for still being the most progressive, for-the-people president in decades.

And also for this:  He promised to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." 

Thank you, Mr. President.

 

"It’s up to all of us to defend that most basic American principle of a government of, by, and for the people.  What’s at stake is not just an election. It’s our democracy itself. "

President Obama's weekly address, Sept. 18 2010

This was orginally sent to me as an email, I liked it so much, I thought it deserved to be posted, I view it often to remind me to Be Positive as well as Progressive...izzyCAL