Here We Go Again

The rise and fall of the spineless Democrats

An AP article reports that Congressional Democrats are wrestling "over whether to abandon President Barack Obama's tax cut plan" and that some House moderates are joining Republicans "in calling for an extension of Bush-era breaks for the wealthy as well as middle-income earners."  Say what??!!

Although "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remained solidly behind Obama's proposal to allow tax cuts for upper-income people to expire as scheduled at the end of the year",  leaders met behind closed doors today with "members concerned that voters would punish Democrats on Election Day if tax cuts are extended for some Americans, but not all." WTF?!

Please!!  This is why the Democrats got very little done during their first year and a half reigning over the House and Senate with a Democratic president. They are scared of their own shadows. They don't understand that the American people fully support extending the middle class tax cut and believe that the wealthy should pay more. Instead, they believe the Republicans' claim that the majority of Americans want a tax cut for the rich.  Huh?? The Democrats need to take a couple of lessons from the Republicans in party unity and in sticking to their guns. Come on people, do the right thing. Vote for Obama's bill.  Otherwise, you will lose control of Congress not because voters are mad at you for taxing the rich, but because you don't know how to lead like Democrats should lead.

Fair and Balanced to the Tune of $1,000,000

I have Republican relatives. And, they are big fans of FOX "news".   While I have always been baffled by their political views, they have been shaking their heads and saying, "What's wrong with you?"  Thus, I suppose it is not surprising that my warnings about FOX "news" content have gone unheeded. They laugh at my claims of bias and my assertions that FOX just makes up the news as it suits Republican talking points.  They continue to watch FOX and rely on it as their primary source of news. There does not appear to be any critical thinking involved.

With the recent revelation that News Corporation, FOX "News' ''  parent company, recently donated an unprecedented $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, however, one can no longer deny reality: there is nothing fair and balanced about FOX "News" and there never has been.  I don't expect these people to stop watching FOX completely.  After all, it takes people of a certain bent to believe  what FOX shovels in the first place.  Nor do I expect them to suddenly become Facebook fans of Rachel Maddow.  Now that FOX has shown its true color (red), however, I just hope that they will look at FOX coverage with a more critical eye.  Perhaps they will consult with multiple sources for their news so that they can get "just the facts."   It's as easy as going online and reading the stories from the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN, NY Times and the Washington Post.  I built my Google home page with feeds from a number of news organizations so that I can  see how each is treating the story.  Of  course, since FOX "News" made almost no mention of the contribution in their broadcasts, my Republican relatives and other FOX viewers may not even be aware of the contribution, despite the wide dissemination of the information by legitimate news outlets.  Damn!  Nevermind.