Day: July 7, 2011
New Jersey’s Lofty Political Dialogue
He’s a rotten prick.
— New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), quoted by the Newark Star Ledger, on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).
Rep. Paul Broun Thinks God Is Our President
Father, there are many who want to destroy us from outside this nation. Folks like al-Qaeda and the radical Islamists. But there are folks that want to destroy us from inside, the progressives and the socialists, who want to make this nation a nation that’s no longer under you, under God, but a nation that’s ruled by man.
— Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), quoted by the Marietta Daily Journal, comparing progressives to al-Qaeda during the invocation at the Cobb GOP Independence Day Celebration.
Most Want No Change in Entitlement Programs
60%
Of Americans say “it is more important to keep Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are; only about half as many (32%) say it is more important to take steps to reduce the budget deficit,” according to a new Pew Research poll.
Iranian Prez Says Nuclear Bombs are for ‘Retarded People’
Bombs are for retarded people.
— Iranian President (and, for all purposes, dictator) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a speech today maintaining to the global community that Iran’s nuclear program has been strictly one of peace and asserting why his people don’t need nuclear weapons — ’cause they’re not retarded, duh.
Bush Raised Debt Ceiling Five Times – With Votes from GOP Leaders Boehner, Cantor and McConnell Every Time
As you listen to Republican rhetoric on raising the debt ceiling, keep these facts in mind about their record as stewards of the economy during the Bush years when they controlled the White House, Congress and the courts: They gave billions in tax breaks to wealthy Americans (which, the record shows, did not spur job growth), put two wars on the national credit card (it’s a pleasure doing business with you, Chinese commies!) and rammed through an unfunded Medicare benefit. Remember all that? Now read this excerpt from a report from Think Progress in April:
Bush increased the debt to $9.815 trillion by the end of his term, with plenty of help from the four Republicans currently holding Congressional leadership positions.
At the beginning of the Bush presidency, the United States debt limit was $5.95 trillion. Despite promises that he would pay off the debt in 10 years, Bush increased the debt to $9.815 trillion by the end of his term, with plenty of help from the four Republicans currently holding Congressional leadership positions: Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl. ThinkProgress compiled a breakdown of the five debt limit increases that took place during the Bush presidency and how the four Republican leaders voted:
June 2002: [Republican-controlled] Congress approves a $450 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $6.4 trillion. McConnell, Boehner, and Cantor vote “yea”, Kyl votes “nay.”
May 2003: [Republican-controlled] Congress approves a $900 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $7.384 trillion. All four approve.
November 2004: [Republican-controlled] Congress approves an $800 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.1 trillion. All four approve.
March 2006: [Republican-controlled] Congress approves a $781 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $8.965 trillion. All four approve.
September 2007: [Democratic-controlled] Congress approves an $850 billion increase, raising the debt limit to $9.815 trillion. All four approve.
Gulag Wisconsin: GOP Anti-Union Law Replaces Union Workers with Prisoners
Prison inmates have replaced union workers in Racine County, Wisconsin, thanks to the changes to the states collective bargaining laws that went into effect at the end of June.
The Journal Times reported prison inmates will now be able to do tasks such as landscaping, painting, and shoveling sidewalks in the winter that were previously performed by unionized employees.
Inmates are not required to do any work for the county, but can receive time off their sentence if they do. Racine County Executive Jim Ladwig said the use of prison labor would not result in any public works staff reductions.
“We’re gonna have them do landscaping at county buildings, have them pick up trash on the roads,” he told local Fox News 6. “So we can use some of the county personnel to do difficult tasks, such as putting in a parking lot at the park.”
Next up: Arrest people for joining unions and send them to prison where they will work for free.
