Tag Archives: Chris Christie

Nov 2 2012

Awards of the Day – Politics as Usual

It has been quite a week for many on the East coast including many of us not exactly on the coast.  To a great extent, we in the Poconos were pretty lucky.  As Hurricane Sandy made her way to landfall, we managed to pretty much be in the path of the eye of the storm – not that there wasn’t damage and impact.  For many in our area, they remain without power.  We lost power Monday evening and did not get it back until Wednesday afternoon around 3pm.  Inconvenient yes, but not the disaster that unfolded across much of the tri-state area.  I at least had a generator so within an hour of the loss of power, we were sitting in a lit house and our refrigerators and sump pumps were all functional.  The real inconvenience was we quickly ran out of water as there are relatively few areas with public utilities so when the volume of water in our captive air tank was exhausted, that was about it.  Luckily, we have learned to plan and were well stocked with water and other things we needed.   Again, this was an opportunity to realize how lucky we were which wasn’t clear until we got our cable and internet back and we could see what many had and will continue to have to deal with.

That brings me to probably to me what was so different from what has been front center almost every day for the past, I don’t know, 6 months or so – the presidential election.  I can’t say I thought too much about it and it was actually refreshing to get a break from the explosion of ads and political rhetoric with which we have all been inundated.  It also meant I got a break from blog material – less that incensed me and less to somehow find catharsis for.  But wait, it didn’t take too long.  So today I’m going to actually recognize some positive and give some kudos as well as cite some of the usual bullshit that I continue to be astonished that so many believe and embrace.

Let me start with the positive.  In the past I have not always been kind to Chris Christie, NJ Governor.  There is much of him that exemplifies everything I despise in Republican Party.  However, I need to give him credit for two things this week.  One, it is obvious the man says what he believes and feels – I have to respect that quality whether I agree with the content or not.  Secondly, Christie quickly put politics to the side and was unabashed in his praise of President Obama in light of the support and attention he got for NJ when it was most needed.  And I expect he knew he would take shit for it from his fellow Republicans.  Again, kudos for having some balls.  So today, I want to award Chris Christie the “Hero of the Day” award for being real.  I don’t labor under any illusion that when things calm down he will quickly move back into the fold but that’s okay – he at least showed he is not the imbalanced jerk that most of his Republican peers are.

BFFs

 

My other award today is actually related to the “Hero of the Day” award.  Let me say that the recipient demonstrated behavior that was not a surprise and is consistent with being probably one of the most vile people on the planet – so I guess there is something to be said for consistency.  But he does lose points for lack of creativity.  In any case, the immediate condemnation of Chris Christie by our recipient is indicative of his general lack of compassion, empathy and most other generally positive human emotions and feelings.  Yes, I expect many will have already guessed it – it is no other than that shit hole of a human being – Rush Limbaugh.  He again takes lowlife to a new level – as hard as that is in his case.  I might also suggest that his loyal followers get to share in this award given their general inability to deal with life in general – demonstrated by their blind allegiance to someone of Rush’s calibre and character.  Rush, take a bow – oops, you dropped one of your pills – is that a Viagra or a oxycodone?

A Triple Crown Winner! Take your pick – Head up the Butt, Horse’s Ass or Bag of Shit or any combination of the above!

 

I think it is also fitting to also recognize the runner-up for jerk of the day – a man who isn’t used to being 2nd in much of anything – Donny Trump – for a myriad of stupid ass things that come out of his mouth – he again provides some pretty interesting support that man did evolve from apes – some less than others!

 

Don’t feel bad – you are only runner-up today. You still are one of the biggest shit bags I see out there today!

 

Aug 31 2012

Christie and A bit of Rick Perry

Do as I say, Not as I do…

Now, if he just moved over a bit to the left we could take Mitt entirely out of the picture!

In his speech Tuesday night at the RNC, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke to the lack of civility and cooperation in American politics. “We are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down, and work together to take action on the big things facing America,” Christie said.  Of course, he immediately began the negative attacks on Obama and almost every other speaker followed suit.  Now, being realistic, we know that is what happens at these conventions – whether they be Republican or Democratic.  It is to be expected.  But there is something here that I see as a good deal of the problem with the Republican leadership today (and over the past three years).  Say one thing and do another.  Talk cooperation and then take a contrarian action.  Speak of embracing diversity and then pushing agendas and legislation that further divides.  Again, not saying it doesn’t happen on both sides of the aisle, it is just not so obvious on the other side.  I’d bet, say $10,000, that the likes of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell can’t  actually put aside their own agenda’s set to make that happen.

Is there some way to give Texas back to Mexico?

The USA – in better times

Texas Gov. Rick Perry released a statement today about the Voter ID court ruling.

“Chalk up another victory for fraud,” he said. “Today, federal judges subverted the will of the people of Texas and undermined our effort to ensure fair and accurate elections. The Obama Administration’s claim that it’s a burden to present a photo ID to vote simply defies common sense.

As my wife so aptly put it this morning as she read this in the paper (and I paraphrase) “he doesn’t get it – if we left it up to the will of the people, blacks would still be sitting in the back of the bus”.
I think we all saw the level of intelligence resident in Perry during his laughable run for the Republican nomination.  I expect the only reason he can run a state is because the state itself  is generally one that seems to be living in a different universe – kind of a world where logic never prevails and priorities are never for the good of the whole – wait a minute – maybe not – sounds a lot like the Republican Party platform.
Let’s take a look at Texas under Perry as Governor (with some help from Wikipedia)-
  • With Perry in the lead, Texas rose from second to first among states with the highest proportion of uninsured residents and had the lowest level of access to prenatal care in the U.S. Perry and the Republican-led state legislature have cut Medicaid spending and made it more difficult to enroll in the program, which now covers one-third of Texas children. The cost of caring for uninsured Texans has been borne by those with insurance, leading to substantial rises in insurance premiums and leading Texas to rank next-to-last among states in terms of affordability of health insurance. The Los Angeles Times wrote that under Perry, “working Texans increasingly have been priced out of private healthcare while the state’s safety net has withered.”
  • In 2010 Perry signed into law a bill requiring that a sonogram be performed prior to every abortion, and that the practitioner discuss the sonogram images with the patient except in limited cases where the patient may waive the explanation.
  • In 2011, Perry had an epiphany and now opposed all abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. He did come back a little and said he would allow an exception for abortions that would save a mother’s life.
  • In February 2007, Perry issued an executive order requiring all girls in Texas receive the HPV vaccine, a positive (in some aspect) step given the vaccine protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a contributing factor to some forms of cervical cancer.  Unfortunately, it did not seem that his decision was necessarily based on looking out for the welfare of his citizens.  Shortly after the edict, news outlets reported various apparent financial connections between Perry and the vaccine’s manufacturer, Merck and Merck’s PAC has contributed $28,500 since 2001 to Perry’s campaigns.  What a guy.
  • Perry supported the Texas 2005 ballot proposition which amended the Texas constitution by defining marriage as “only a union between a man and a woman” and prohibiting the state from creating or recognizing “any legal status identical or similar to marriage”.
  • In 2008 in his book On My Honor, Perry offered his view that there was a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism, writing that he is “no expert on the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate”, but that gays should simply choose abstinence. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he criticized the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.
  • During his run for the 2012 Republican nomination for President, the Washington Post reported that Perry’s family leases a hunting camp once called “Niggerhead” (apologies – I even hate to write it).  According to local residents interviewed by the Post, the Perrys had used the camp for years before painting over a large rock with that name on it, which stands at an entrance to the area, and during this time Perry hosted many friends and supporters at the camp.  Perry’s campaign disputed the claims, stating that the Perrys painted over the rock almost immediately after acquiring a lease on the property in 1983.  Of course, being the broad-minded thinker he obviously is.
  • Perry again showed his open-minded when, in a presidential campaign video he stated “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but your kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas.”

Given this recent proclamation about Voter ID as well as Rick’s long-standing role as a big thinker leading to a better America, I have no other option other to award Rick the latest “Head in the Butt” Award.  Congratulations Rick – you can hang this one on your belt right above the concealed weapon you carry!

We have a 2-for-1 special today as I think it is only right to further recognize the great state of Texas which again shows continued evidence of excess, imbalance of the “haves and have-nots” given the news today of the opening of a new football stadium. Normally not news but this stadium cost a mere $60 million for a Texas High School stadium with free Wi-Fi, and a high-definition video screen.  It is a sunken design and “has a more intimate feeling than the old one” according to some locals.  While it would seem that the old stadium was in need of replacement, given the struggles in meeting educational and student needs across the country (and I would expect equally if not more so in Texas), this outright in your face move by the people of Allen, Texas deserves a bit of attention.  While probably more deserved by the city of Allen, given that this is not the largest stadium in Texas, as I’m feeling a bit magnanimous (being it is Friday and a long weekend), I also want to award the state of Texas their own “Head in the Butt” award.  Maybe they can hang it in one of the many corporate boxes in the new stadium!

I leave today with one more thought – especially given the level of rhetoric we are currently experiencing in our country with the great divides we see.  Our real challenge is focusing on what we are leaving those who follow us.  A little too much hate going around at the moment.  The quote is by Golda Meir and is specific to the Israeli/Arab relationship at the time but I think the sentiment (just take out “with the Arabs”) is one that can be applied universally –

“We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us”- Golda Meir