Tag Archives: John McCain

Dec 5 2012

Welcome Back Ricky!

It has been a bit difficult to figure out what I want to blog about as of recent given much of the political landscape and turmoil is almost laughable.  If I didn’t know better, I would almost assume the Republicans had actually won this last election cycle and that they increased whatever political collateral they had last time we went around on the debt ceiling and how to best handle the issues of deficit reduction.  Their continuing stance of protecting the upper 2% of taxpayers while refusing to acknowledge the problems of the middle class will no doubt be discussed in future political science classes as they ponder what appears to be a death march celebrating the ongoing decline of the Republican Party.  But that is not where I want to spend my time today.

For anyone who has paid any attention to my blogs for going back into the beginning of the last election, one of my favorite targets has been Ricky Santorum.  Hasn’t taken much skill on my part as here we have a man who essentially put the proverbial “Kick Me” sign on his own back as he continually and consistently demonstrated his anachronistic stance in terms of moral, ethical, cultural and almost every form of bias and short-sighted bigotry of everything that didn’t fit cleanly in the mold he has established around his world.  I don’t have time nor interest in repeating all my reasons and all my conclusions about this asshole of a human being but, again, he has made it easy as he works to stay in the limelight – really more around bad attention is better than no attention at all.  So where does he climb out of his hole in the ground?  He’s taken a job as a columnist for the birther bible WorldNetDaily.  I’ll admit I hadn’t been aware of the site or organization prior to Ricky’s announcement of his new job but this is a site and organization that makes News Corporation and Rupert Murdock look almost like a real new agency.  Aside from maintaining that Obama is not a US citizen and all the like, WorldNetDaily has maintained what I think is one of the most shattering headlines that most of the world has undoubtedly overlooked – that Obama hid gay life in order to become President.  I knew Obama was pretty smart – who would have thought.

 

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So here we have Ricky stepping down a notch (hard to believe that was possible) and signing on with an organization that maintains credibility with only those who aren’t really sure what year it is and where they left their car keys.  But wait, it gets a bit better because what is his first column about?  He basically shits all over the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, which he feels “crushes U.S. sovereignty.” What is this convention all about? It is intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Those parties that sign and support the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that they enjoy full equality under the law. Sounds pretty bad to me – oh wait – didn’t we in the US pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to essentially get to the same place?

I’ll admit I haven’t reviewed all the nuances of the UN Convention but it would seem that we in the US should be ready and willing to fully support the UN effort.  Well, sorry folks but here we go again with this new Republican mindset of somehow being entirely out of step with most everyone else in the US if not the world.  Just yesterday on December 4, 2012, the Senate rejected the U.N. Convention on the Rights  of Persons With Disabilities by 61 to 38.  The 38 Republicans voting against the agreement prevented it from receiving a two-thirds majority, necessary in the ratification of treaties.  This was despite strong support from John McCain, John Kerry, Bob Dole and others who approached this in a non-partisan manner.  What was the rationale of voting against the convention? They took the stand that to vote for the U.N. treaty would mean that the U.N. committee overseeing the ban on discrimination against the disabled,  including children, could violate the rights of American parents who decide to home school their disabled children.   Visions of Big Brother at it’s finest – you do have to wonder what all these Republicans are really doing behind closed doors that they are that concerned about infringements on their personal freedom.  Again, lead by a Tea Party Senator, Mike Lee from Utah, the use of fear and confusion remains a key weapon by those who don’t seem intelligent enough to be making decisions for the citizens of this country.  And how embarrassing for the United States – this is not a position to be taken by the greatest country in the world.

So here we continue down a path that is astounding in its lack of civility and compassion for those who probably need help the most.  Boy, the elections in 2014 can’t get here soon enough.

I guess for Ricky Santorum he thinks this is somehow going to enhance his bid for the Presidency in 2016.  If nothing else, he is consistent – once a fool, always a fool.

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Nov 15 2012

If You’re a Republican, Politics Trumps America Every Time

McCain caught doing his best Rodney “I don’t get no respect” Dangerfield imitation

There is no doubt the killing of four Americans in Benghazi is a tragedy and there should be the required reviews and assessment of the situation to learn what we can, understand what was not done that maybe should have been and to work to reduce the likelihood this will happen again.  I say reduce as I expect to take any position that implies there is anything we can do that will prevent these sort of incidents in the future would be stupid and illogical – especially given the temperament of the world today.  I would doubt that any ambassador or any staff member in a US embassy in most of the rest of the world recognizes they take the position with some element of risk being evident.   Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do everything we can to protect them but we are not dealing with people or situations where we can anticipate every move and action.   There are actions to be taken but to turn this political is unacceptable.  This brings me to today’s “Head in the Butt” award.

The Dynamic Duo of 2008 – Two halfwits not adding up to a whole

There was a time where I had a lot of respect and time for John McCain.  He was a man who had served his country and a man who appeared to obviously have some standards for which he stood – and he actually seemed to be a pretty nice guy  – at least from afar.  My naiveté.  As he took the national and global stage in his run for President, it quickly became clear that behind the public persona I had seen was someone who was pretty much a jerk, someone who was pretty angry and basically a man who was pretty much a bastard.  With his pick of Palin for VP he further showed his inability to understand what was important and the degree of his shortsightedness.  To think he could have foisted that half-wit of a governor on this country is unconscionable and the fact he would allow the Republican Party to push that on him puts his leadership ability seriously in question.  His recent attacks on Obama and Susan Rice continue to show this is a man who has an ax to grind and again reminds us of the Peter Principle in practice.  I can only imagine where this country would be four years later and with the challenges we have faced.  But I digress.  These most recent McCain political attacks show that he is no different from the rest of his party and he will put politics before country.   His grandstanding and his obvious lack of civility brings only one good thing to the forefront – we get to see the newly enthused Barack Obama start to show the muscle and attitude many of us have figured was there and were waiting to see.  So on that note, thanks, John.  You’re still an asshole but every cloud has a silver lining.

So today, please take a bow and accept the most recent “Head in the Butt” award.  In reality, I think it is long overdue.

There was a close runner up but not this time Lindsey.   Lindsey Graham, by joining the same chorus with McCain, definitely put himself in contention for the “Head in the Butt” award.  Unfortunately, this time around you weren’t quite up to the same level of cluelessness but I have to give you some slack given your area of study in college – one I expect leaves you entirely out of step with many of us but probably more in line (or at least a little ahead) with many of your Republican peers.  Your B.A. in Pseudoscience actually implies you have some inkling that science might have some bearing in our lives.  I, for one, didn’t know this even existed as a major in any college.  It seems somewhat contrary to most of what I would expect from any college curriculum but that could be my shortcoming.  For others in my same stead, Pseudoscience is often characterized by the use of vague, exaggerated or unprovable claims, an over-reliance on confirmation rather than rigorous attempts at refutation, a lack of openness to evaluation by other experts, and a general absence of systematic processes to rationally develop theories (Wikipedia).  I expect this helps when you want to basically ignore fact and make it up as it meets your need.  So, Lindsey, I’m not of the mindset you should get the “Head up the Butt” award but have no issue giving you a runner up prize of the other award of notice – the “Bag of Shit” award seems appropriate given I can’t expect you to look at anything beyond the use of vague and unprovable claims.

Yes Lindsey, that is pretty rank – on par with your recent attack on Susan Rice.