I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

crazy4carrots

Nope -- You can't fix STUPID!  Looks like Ryan and his colleagues are living in fantasyland.  Oh, and what's that definition of stupidity?  Doing something the same way over and over again (30 times?) and expecting a different outcome.  <Headsmack>

from Mediaite:

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace grilled former vice-presidential candidate and Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) on his positon on Obamacare and its relation to Medicaid. Ryan told Wallace that he still hopes to see Obamacare repealed due to its impact on other medical entitlements.

Ryan told Wallace that Obamacare has led to all kind of problems for states by impacting Medicaid and that states need to be allowed to tailor the program more appropriately on a case-by-case basis. Wallace challenged Ryan on his proposed cut of $770 billion dollars and its potential impact on delivery of the program. Ryan said they can do it because it hasn’t been implemented yet.

“These are increases that have not come yet. By repealing Obamacare and the Medicaid expansions that haven’t occurred yet, we’re basically preventing an explosion of a program that is already failing. So we’re saying don’t grow this program through Obamacare because it doesn’t work,” he said.

Ryan explained various state programs that have been impacted by Obamacare prompting Wallace to challenge him on the possiblity of repeal.

“Are you saying that as part of your budget you assume the repeal of Obamacare?” asked Wallace.

“Yes,” answered Ryan.

“Well that’s not gonna happen,” said Wallace.

“Well, we believe it should. That’s the point. This is what budgeting is all about. It’s about making tough choices to solve our country’s problems,” said Ryan.

Ryan then explained that he thinks Obamacare puts Medicare under the control of a “rationing board.”

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Rationing board...death panels....scary stuff....Wouldn't repeal of Obamacare mean a rationing board saying "It sucks to be you, too bad" to about 30 million Americans without insurance?  Just asking...

1Athena1

The sad part is that stupidity is practically mandatory in the republican party apparatus. Had Ryan said something reasonable, he would have been ostracized just like Christie. The GOP doesn't seem to afford its politicos much in the way of First Amendment rights (unless it's hate speech...). I think the cutoff must be speech that shows an IQ of 70 or under, and views that are deeply shared by about 10 percent of Americans or fewer. Anything more accommodating and you get booted from their invitation lists or your nomination as defense secretary gets filibustered.

pupmom

Wonderful orituary! You MIL looks a lot like of my mom did in her WWII Army uniform! My daughter has that picture on her bedroom dresser. And yes, what an incredible generation. 

pupmom

For the big dog lovers out there!

1Athena1

The nitwit who wrote this caption says it's a lioness trying to eat the baby. If that were true she would go for its spine. IMO, this is a lioness trying to pick a baby up by the scruff, just as she does her cubs ("my story, and I'm a-stickin' to it!" :-) YVMV - Your Version May Vary)

Yorkie, LOVE the big dog pictures!

1Athena1

crazy4carrots

Yes, but with those black and white stripes, maybe the lioness thinks it's a baby zebra!

QuinnCat

Athena - chiming in on speaking reasonably or speaking at all, their internal squabbles continue and I particularly find this one poignant given all of their consternation over Sharia Law:

Pamela Geller: CPAC is “enforcing the Shariah”

Right Wing Watch reports that Geller was speaking on “The Janet Mefferd Show” about her recent snub from this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, at which she usually holds an unofficial panel. “This year I could not get an event, I was banned,” she said, though also noted that in the past, “I wasn’t warmly welcomed because of the influence of what can only be described as Muslim Brotherhood facilitators or operatives like [ex-Bush staffer and Muslim] Suhail Khan and [anti-tax conservative ] Grover Norquist.”

Robert Spencer, the Anti-Islam blogger behind Jihad Watch and a Geller cohort, also says that he was closed out of the conference, and claims it was because he wouldn’t agree not to trash Norquist and Khan. According to Spencer, Jihad Watch won CPAC’s People’s Choice Award, which is sponsored by Right Wing News and TheTeaParty.net. But, he writes, when no announcement was made that he had won, he contacted the organizer:

He told me that there was a slight problem: the Tea Party group, which co-sponsored this People’s Choice Blog Award, didn’t want to allow me to receive it at CPAC next week unless I promised not to criticize Grover Norquist and Suhail Khan as I accepted the award.

I told the organizer that I couldn’t agree to that. He asked me if I had planned to talk about Grover and Suhail. I said no, I hadn’t, but I had to now.

 

 

1Athena1

The true story of a lioness who befriended and protected a baby antelope that had been abandoned by its mother. This lioness had just lost her own cubs. The antelope was not yet weaned so it died of starvation a few days later, but the lioness cuddled and remained with it until the end. She also refused to eat until the antelope died:

1Athena1

Lindasa - hadn't thought of that!

pupmom

Athena, there are so many stories of predators adopting and befriending animals that would normally be their prey. I think if that lion was well fed and happy it's protective instincts could easily kick in towards the baby. Maybe she's missing having some cubs around and needs a little maternal cuddling! 

1Athena1

Yes, the lioness was clearly in mourning. After that calf died, she attempted to adopt another one.

1Athena1

1Athena1

Wow, Kam - that is interesting.

pupmom

Awwww, more big dog love!

1Athena1

This puppy lab makes my heart melt:

1Athena1

Had my darling Camilla had pups, this would have been the picture (golden lab above is a splitting image of my Athena, except that she, unlike Athena, was faithful to her chosen suitor, so her pups are also labs - Athena's were half doberman):

QuinnCat

Probably a good amount of hormones that hang around after giving birth, too.  Love the story, though.

1Athena1

I still say nothing beats this (sorry about size):

1Athena1

Yes, Kam, that is likely. In fact, lionesses can be forced into estress when their cubs are killed - the same happens with other species (including baboons) when new males take over a pride/congress.

IllinoisLady

from Add Info and due to length I did not insert the whole article......more inability to see the forest for the trees.

Ronald Reagan took and built upon mistrust of the government, which set in after the Watergate scandal forced Richard Nixon out of office. He made it OK to ridicule public service. Government workers, after all, were just crooks looking for a way to take money out of your pockets. He envisioned an America where it was OK to have ice cream for dinner. Taking more money out of the tip jar than you put in? That was just setting things right and getting your fair share even if it took away from others. In Reagan’s America, people were homeless or jobless because they wanted to be and deserved no help from their fellow Americans.

But then Reagan took that distrust and aimed it in another direction. It wasn’t just government that was the problem, it was the Democrats. It wasn’t the party of Nixon, but the party which stood inopposition to Nixon which was the problem. He used the power of the bully pulpit to hammer the idea into people’s heads, without ever saying so, that Republicans were the “responsible” party, and Democrats were weaklings, unable to govern effectively. The Democratic party, being the actualparty of responsibility, ignored this and kept working to keep this nation afloat, even as – enter stage right – came the Gingrich Revolution. By assuring people they were the victim and letting them wallow in “woe is me,” Reagan in turn created the foundation upon which Newt Gingrich built, and now we have a Republican party which does not govern, but instead sits in wallowing self-pity. Nothing is their fault; it is the fault of government, lazy people on welfare, or people on an unemployment vacation. The party of “personal responsibility” wants to take no responsibility for their own actions, or results.

So, when they find themselves on the losing side of any debate, they are quick to throw about the blame. You will find them blaming losses on non-existent organizations like ACORN, the demands ofthe slut vote, and the fact that Obama promised “free crap.” At no point do they sit down and say, “what did I do wrong?” It is always someone else who gets the blame. Just recently, Marco Rubio‘s rebuttal to the State of the Union address offers some prime examples:

“In fact, a major cause of our recent downturn was a housing crisis created by reckless government policies.

We don’t have to raise taxes to avoid the President’s devastating cuts to our military.

And tonight, he even criticized us for refusing to raise taxes to delay military cuts – cuts that were his idea in the first place.

“The real cause of our debt is that our government has been spending 1 trillion dollars more than it takes in every year.”

All of these, of course, are Republican ideas now being blamed on the President. The spending cuts, the deregulation push resulting in economic collapse, and most of all, the budget, with all that spending and deficit that Rubio is complaining about, have been created by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. By blaming the President, Republicans are attempting to shift blame which they rightfully deserve. And this is but a single speech given by a single member of the Republican Party. You find other examples in Paul Ryan blaming Obama for Medicare cuts he proposed, how the Democrats are to blame for gun violence, not the NRA, or even how Democrats are buying votes. They call the President a con man, a bully, and far, far worse. They seek to blame the President, when their own policies and programs are the ones at fault.

The problem is that the GOP image was built on the illusion of being “the strong ones.” Recall the attacks against Democratic candidates as being soft on crime/terror/communism/fill-in-the-blank. They presented themselves as tough as nails, the cowboys. Now they are the crybabies, unable to handle not getting their own way. In fact, it comes down to a much more basic concept, something every 3rd grader understands. The Republicans are nothing but a bunch of bullies.

Fact is, they never were tough; they never had workable ideas. They just puffed themselves up and went after what they viewed as a weaker opponent in order to try to mask how fragile they actually were. Ever since Richard Nixon destroyed whatever progress the Republicans had made in this country, they have been puffing themselves up to appear bigger, stronger and more confident. In reality, they had not a clue what they were doing. And now, the bullies got a scratch and are running home to mommy.

They had control of all three branches of government, which they’d claimed would herald in a conservative utopia. Instead, we had two recessions in a single presidential administration. We had the housing market collapse. We had banking institutions relying on government handouts simply to function. Our entire economy ground to a halt. We had a lost decade. Despite their promises, they could not deliver. And what do they do? They blame everyone but themselves, even now.

Right-wing windbag Rush Limbaugh, as ever, can’t grasp what is going on, believing that Obama is some mad genius strategist. But not only that, he’s a mad king, a tyrant with absolute power. Limbaugh fails to grasp that the only thing Obama is doing is acting in the same manner an adult does when a child is throwing a tantrum. He is standing there, and letting the tantrum work itself out, not lifting a finger in any way, shape or form.

The Republican Party is at the point where they either grow up or be relegated to the dustbin of history. Their fairy tale, that they can have their cake and eat it too, is over.

 

Jackie

crazy4carrots

Jackie -- Many of us standing outside the borders of the U.S. have witnessed all that you have posted.  Way back when, the Republicans actually were the party of responsibility and fairness.  My uncle was a very proud Repub and attended every convention up until about 1980.  His son (my favourite cousin) saw for himself how the Party morphed into something (as your article explains so well) he knew his late father would be horrified about.  

The Republican Party is at the point where they either grow up or be relegated to the dustbin of history.  The pendulum has swung so far to the right that it might just be about to fall off the clock......

pupmom

My parents were dedicated Republicans until the religious right took over. Although they liked George H.W. Bush and Dole, they voted for Clinton both times because of what direction they feared the Repubs were taking us. Both of them totally despised Bush Jr. My dad had to leave the room when he was on t.v.

kad2kar

Alexandria---Sincerest Condolences to you and your family. Your MIL was a woman to lookup to and a very real heroine for younger generations to emulate. ------kad2kar

IllinoisLady

Maybe this guy says it best about the Republican party:

bluedahlia

A few more random pics with grandpa, (my dad) older sis, and me almost losing my balance....hahahahaa!  Hadn't even had a drink yet.  Damn PD!

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

bluedahlia

bluedahlia