The Deal Sweetener by Aziz Anis

It is really getting old and mean to criticize the president about every single decision and action he takes. No one no matter how inept they are can possibly be wrong one hundred percent of the time. It is just not practically possible. When they are taking hundreds of decisions every day, they are bound to at least be right a couple of times. You lose every credibility when you accuse anyone of being wrong one hundred percent of the time. Even when he traded five worthless Taliban for one American soldier and brought him home to his parents, republicans had to fault him. They did not fault Bush or Cheney for sending our children in harm’s way so readily to unnecessary wars. I only wish Obama traded this soldier for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove and the five Taliban just as a deal sweetener. 

Super Tuesday Primary Races by Laurel Davila

The Daily Kos has done an excellent job at setting us up with all the news we need regarding tomorrow's Primary races. This will be a big help tomorrow evening to be able to see how we did in one place, as all the results for each race will be posted on their liveblog starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.

"Tuesday brings us the biggest primary night of 2014 (though far from the last) with eight states going to the polls. On tap we have Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. Below is our guide to each state arranged by poll closing times. We'll be liveblogging the results at Daily Kos Elections starting at 8 PM ET Tuesday, when polls start to close." - Darth Jeff, Daily Kos

Special thanks go tohttps://www.facebook.com/gettingaclue1 for the photo meme (which we altered a bit to change 'Blue' to 'Democrat' at the bottom) so please head their way and give them a 'like' and tell them we sent you? Thanks!

http://www.dailykos.com/blog/elections#

https://www.facebook.com/ProgressiveDemocratsMovingForwardNotBack 

Liberalism, Conservatism and the Progressive Movement by Michael Hoyt

I am a progressive. I rarely call myself a liberal anymore. Many  liberals on the far left are nearly as bad as conservatives on the far right. Those liberals were so disappointed with the president they helped elect that they didn’t bother to note the record wall of obstruction he ran into. They only knew that they didn’t get what they wanted right away. I don’t know, maybe they thought he was a king or a czar. They thought he could wave a magic wand and everything would get better. They were so disappointed that they didn’t even bother to come out and vote in 2010, allowing republicans to take control of the House of Representatives and many governorships, thus being able to maintain control of the house through gerrymandering. No, I’m not that kind of a liberal.

Liberalism is defined as a political philosophy founded on the idea of liberty and equality. While being true, this definition doesn’t even begin to describe what a liberal is. Basically, liberals believe that those with the most should help those with the least and that wars should be used as a last resort and only for national security and never for corporate interests. The liberal believes the government is responsible for the welfare and safety of its people and should pass laws to that end. The government should support its elderly, its veterans and it’s mentally ill. Liberals believe in education and that everyone should have equal opportunities regardless of race, ethnicity, sex or sexual orientation. The biggest problem with liberalism is that the further left it gets, the more rigid it is. Far left liberals leave no room for compromise and when they don’t get what they want, they tend to blame the president rather than the obstructionists.

Conservatives believe in nothing more than power and profit and will use any means at their disposal to get it including rewriting their own bible and the constitution of the United States. Old conservatives, [pre-Reagan] at least gave some semblance of caring about the people and used compromise to further their agenda. Today’s conservative makes no pretense. They claim to support veterans, women, gays, blacks and every other group of people while constantly blocking legislation that supports these groups and passing their own laws that would undermine them. The conservative movement is for sale to the highest bidder, who at present, happen to be Charles and David Koch, who have managed to purchase every single Republican law maker and the majority on the Supreme Court. Conservatives have taken control of the media and through that media have propagandized the American people and convinced millions to vote against their own interest. Their idea of compromise is to do it their way.They have called liberals and progressives Nazis, Communists, Marxist and worse while carrying out their own fascist agenda.

The conservative agenda has, where it has been followed, served to move the United States backward in time. Here is a list of what the Republican agenda has brought us:

According to,

http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/america-ranks-among-indutrialized-countries.html

• 1st in gross domestic product
• 1st in number of billionaires in the world
• 1st in health expenditures
• 1st in military technology
• 1st in defense expenditures
• 1st in military weapons exports
• 16th in maternal mortality rates
• 21st in 15-year-olds’ science scores
• 22nd in low birth weight rates
• 23rd in neonatal mortality rates
• 25th in 15-year-olds’ math scores
• 27th in infant mortality rates
• Last in relative child poverty
• Last in the gap between the rich and the poor
• Last in adolescent (age 15 to 19) birth rates
• Last in protecting our children against gun violence
• Worst in the number of persons incarcerated
• The United States and Somalia (which has no legally constituted government) are the only two United Nations members that have failed to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• The United States is the only major industrialized country that does not guarantee prenatal care to pregnant women. We used to be near first in the last 12 items on this list.

We should be real proud of ourselves. The United States has generated more billionaires than anybody else in the world while having the most children in poverty—THANKS CONSERVATIVES.

Many in the progressive movement refer to themselves as liberals. The agenda of liberals and progressives, which is to move the country forward, is essentially the same. The main difference is that progressives know who to blame. They recognize the obstruction of conservatives. Progressives know that in order for our country to function there must be a certain amount of compromise. Even the constitution was referred to as a bundle of compromises.

The problem is that with those on the far left blaming the wrong people and refusing compromise and those on the right forcing their agenda through by any means necessary and refusing any attempt at compromise the country comes to a standstill. The only cure is to put more progressives and liberals in office.  

http://mhhoyt.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/208/ 

Bourbon and Bullets by Richard Schatten

This is why America is today, the greatest reality show on Worldwide TV...we have an ongoing Class War, Race War, and a Culture War...simultaneously, all conflicting with each other, while having our greatest War of all...Blatant Ignorance versus Common Sense, Logic, and Critical Thinking.

There's so much Horseshit being spewed in Politics, today...that it just flows out into their endearing fan base. Gun Perversion?? There are those who sleep with an gun under their pillow, not of fear...but, because it's 'their' gun...a perverse pleasure?? It's how deeply you feel about your gun, I presume.

You got those, who want nothing more in life than to become a Cop, and catch the "Bad Boys"...and use their authority, for their own self-gratification where Laws...swing towards that Grayish area. And then you got those...who want nothing more in life, than to live out their perverted fantasies of violence. Now days, mass shootings 'are' what gets their imagination, rolling. Cynically I can say; let these two fight it out, and let them neutralize each other...neither, have the right moral reasons to carry firearms. But seriously, is there any real solutions to get all this lunacy today, with guns...stopped??

Now, you have those who seriously want to stop, and end all this violence...but, political perversion has played its hand, on how some states reflect on Gun Violence. Jeb Bush signed the "Stand Your Ground" Law in Florida...and you can see how wonderful that works!! In Georgia, you can take a gun inside Schools, Stores, Churches, Restaurants...and if your thirsty? Bars!! What's a better mix, than Bourbon and Bullets on a thirsty dog day afternoon?? And in Texas?? well?? Texas is Texas...and with all due respect, to the good fine people of Texas... it's the home of insane Batshit Political Buckaroos, need I say more?? All, Red States...by the way.

Nothing is ever going to stop, until some common sense prevails, and a serious national discourse is started. Yeah!! we're talking about it now...but, how many more kids have to die?? how many more people have to die??...before any action is taken?? Not while this Political Circus Atmosphere, is still around!! 

Once Again, Politics Won The Day by Darwin B. Phillips

Once again, politics won the day. Shinseki is a disabled combat veteran that deserved better.  I don't believe that anyone could have performed better in the gigantic VA bureaucracy. The VA is a God send to American Veterans, and most of them here in Massachusetts are great. I hear that they are even better in Florida. It is difficult to see your primary doctor more than a few times a year, unless there's an emergency, but your medication is always available. The online HealtheVets.com makes everything much easier, appointments, medications, therapist, etc., the ability to track your health. The problems are a lack of doctors, and bureaucracy. Shinseki was scapegoated just like Van Jones, and Sebelius, and many other decent Americans due to Washington Politics. 

'Gynophobic' Urgency for the GOP by Richard Schatten

The greatest "Populist Champion" in my lifetime, was Bobby Kennedy...and he was filthy rich!!...yet, it never complicated his image!! The notion that a wealthy person cannot relate towards the common man, is simply aristocratic arrogance. And the problem with rich Conservatives is; their bitter jealousy with the Kennedy's, the Clinton's, and all other rich people...who have been embraced by the population. They cannot understand, in their sheer ignorance...why others with $$$...are willing to help those less fortunate??
"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively" ~~ Bob Marley

There's a 'gynophobic' urgency for the GOP to rid themselves of Hillary...when you lose the Benghazi argument, you move on to Monica...when you lose the Monica sound byte, you move to her Age...and when nobody gives a shit...attack her for conspiring to become a Grandmother before the elections. When nothing works?? try the old 1-2 punch of desperation ...first Health, and now Wealth.

Why all of this BS about her Wealth, now?? When FOX fails in their mission...get the Washington Times to throw some shit around...a last act of desperation, when everything else ends up in the crapper. So, why can't their promos "go over" with the general populace?? You can't attack someone on any specific campaign issues, while having absolutely no viable alternative plan, to counter any of your opponents' plank.
When all is said and done, Hillary will still be leading all her Republican wannabees...and the Dumbo's will still be asking her about Benghazi!! 

An Open Letter to Joe Scarborough by Eric Smith

An Open Letter to Joe Scarborough
Morning Joe
MSNBC

Dear Mr. Scarborough:

My name is Eric Smith; a proud member of a group, ‪#‎Uniteblue‬ you have just nationally demeaned as being compromised of extremists and hatemongers. Now I should be surprised by your comments directed at us but I am not because by you being a proud member of the Republican Party who knows more about extremists and hatemongers than you do. After all hate is your base as the picture included in this clearly illustrates.

You and your fellow Republicans defend individuals like this who wave the Confederate flag in front of a White House that houses the first African President of the United States as being a simple expression of free speech yet you smear my group #Uniteblue as being composed of hatemongers and extremists even though our sole reason is to support President Obama and his agenda and by that I mean support equal pay for equal work for women, an end to voter suppression based on as now being solely practiced by your Republican Party, a raising of the minimum wage so hard working Americans should not have to continue to suffer the trauma and indignity of remaining in poverty even though they work several jobs and play by the rules.

We in #Uniteblue support extending unemployment benefits for the long term unemployed so they can continue to support themselves and their families while they continue to seek regain the ranks of the gainfully employed; ranks (jobs) they lost due to your beloved GOP's destructive economic policies that sent this country into a Great Recession and would have led to a second Great Depression but for this current president and the sane economic policies of sharing the wealth as the responsibilities that both he and #Uniteblue so heartily support.

We support the Affordable Health Care Act because we believe that affordable health care is a matter of life and death for millions. We in #Uniteblue support common sense gun laws for the same reason which is funny when you think about it because you belong to the so called Right to Life Party but support policies that end lives whereas the policies we in #Uniteblue support in the form of affordable health care and common sense gun laws both sustain and save lives.

Yet according to you and your ilk it is we who are the extremists and the hatemongers. Again it is funny considering how your party has had no problem giving voice to the crazies who say that President Obama was not born in the United States and is thus not eligible to be president. It is your party which has not called out those haters who have substituted the word ROPE for HOPE in images of President Obama with a noose around his neck while an effigy of the President of the United States is hanging from a tree.

I find it very amusing that you recently celebrated the life and legacy if Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, while commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field. I find it interesting because if your party, your Republican Party, has its way, then people who look like Mr. Cub will lose their right to vote. People who look like Mr. Cub will again have to drink at separate water fountains and use separate restrooms. Why, because that is what your party's base believes in; that's what they are about and you being a Republican these days can no more separate yourself from that than one can separate the stink from manure.

So if you want to call we in #Uniteblue extremists then go right ahead because to people like you and your party who clearly believe in the exact opposite of what we do, then we in #Uniteblue are extremists; we are extremists in the sense that we not only believe in but believe in fighting tooth and nail for equal pay for equal equal work, for an end to voter suppression based on race, for women's reproductive rights, and a raising of the minimum wage. We are extremists in the sense that we fight for what we believe in and we are hatemongers in the sense that we call out the hatred; be that hatred grounded on racism, sexism, or homophobia, of those who oppose us.

Yet more to the point, when we speak we speak from the heart and we speak for free. We have created our own bully pulpit and by calling us out you have given us a national forum. Unlike you Mr. Scarborough our voices will not be muted once we stop making money for those who provide us a forum for your forum is limited to a network; our forum is America and our audience is the American people and the American people; being ultimately about full equality & fair play will continue to listen to and learn from us in #Uniteblue long after they have tuned you and your beloved party out.

We in #Uniteblue stand on the right side of history and we stand on the right side of history because we stand united with the people. We in #Uniteblue stand for freedom for all rather than freedom for the few for we know that whenever freedom is limited to the few there is no real freedom for anybody. So in the final analysis Mr. Scarborough if we in #Uniteblue are extremists then so too is justice, full equality, and fair play. If we are as you say hatemongers, then so too is love; love for our fellow citizens who are less fortunate and those noble ideals of Equal Opportunity and Equal Justice for All that makes America so great.

Unlike you and your fellow Republicans Mr. Scarborough who repeatedly pay mere lip service to your love of Liberty and who have long since mastered the art of preaching what you don't practice in regards to it; we in #Uniteblue do practice what we preach when it comes to Liberty for again we believe in and fight for freedom for all; we fight to secure it for those for whom it is still too often wrongly denied; people of color, women, gays, the middle class, and the poor. That's who we are and nothing said will ever take away our pride or prevent us from proudly proclaiming who we are and what we stand for; for who we are and what we stand for is something good, it is something decent, and it is something great for who we stand for and who we stand with is each other; other of course being America and from where I sit Sir that is neither the mark of an extemist or a hatemonger. It is the proud emblem of a patriot.

Sincerely,

Eric Smith

Proud member of #Uniteblue