"Blame The Democrats" Isn't A Substitute For Understanding Government

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Getting Down To Business

Republican Hypocrisy

Democrats Are The Only Party That's Lowered The Deficit In The Last 50 Years

 

Screenshots of Wisdom

Amendments

Pelosi introduces bill under 25th Amendment for commission to evaluate fitness of future presidents

While the Democrats are introducing new Amendments, how about a few of these:

• Abolish the Electoral College
• Make the number of Senators a state has dependent on the state's population
• Make elections free and fair
• Correct gerrymandered districts, bi-partisanly establish how districts are to be drawn 
• Set term limits for the Supreme Court

Midweek Reading

Bryan Adams apologises after 'bat eating' coronavirus rant

Democrats’ $3 trillion opening bid for the next stimulus package, explained

Rand Paul Tells Dr. Anthony Fauci He Should Have a Little “Humility"
Gov. Tony Evers: GOP Leaders 'Unconcerned' About Patchwork Of COVID-19 Response

Ousted whistleblower warns US facing ‘darkest winter in modern history’

How the Coronavirus is Killing the Middle Class

McConnell admits he was wrong to say Obama administration failed to leave a pandemic playbook

Trump calls coronavirus testing ‘overrated,’ claims U.S. would have ‘very few’ cases if no testing

Oil companies have received $1.9B in tax benefits under coronavirus stimulus

Politicians failed us. So it's up to citizens to protect Wisconsin

The Sears Headquarters Deal Cost Taxpayers $500 Million. 30 Years Later, There’s Little to Show for It.

We could stop the pandemic by July 4 if the government took these steps

WISCONSIN IS NO LONGER AT HOME—AND NO LONGER SAFE

The Great Lakes are higher than they’ve ever been, and we’re not sure what will happen next

We Can Prevent a Great Depression. It’ll Take $10 Trillion.

The 12 deadliest viruses on Earth

Wisconsin's economy is reopening and it's a hot coronavirus mess. Don't do what we did.

See which states still have increasing rates of COVID-19

"Robots Are Taking Over" Isn't Supported By The Data

Democrats, Avoid the Robot Rabbit Hole

What Economists (Including Me) Got Wrong About Globalization

Don’t Blame Robots for Low Wages

Andrew Yang’s Math on the Robot Takeover Doesn’t Check Out

Andrew Yang Is Ross Perot for Millennials

Making Andrew Yang Smarter

Blame the policies, not the robots

Midweek Reading

The Foxconn Road to Ruin
‘Middle Class’ Joe Biden has a corruption problem – it makes him a weak candidate
Trump and the GOP have created a giant mess. Will Democrats have to clean it up again?
Coronavirus Is a Reason to Worry About the Economy—the Stock Market Plunge Is Not
There is hard data that shows "Bernie Bros" are a myth
The Rules of Contagion — a study of how a virus spreads
How the drug industry got its way on the coronavirus

Negotiations 101

Obama says that Americans are seeking “improvement” not “revolutionary” change

In general, this is true.  We don't need to blow everything up and start over.  But, as a good negotiating tactic, you start with everything and the kitchen sink and work your way back from there.  You don't start small because then you usually end up with nothing ... which seems to be the Democrats' plan for the last few decades.

Donald Trump pretended he was going to bring back coal mining jobs.  Republicans keep selling that tax cuts will trickle down.  These were all lies.  But voters believed them and voted for them.

So why shouldn't Democrats forcefully advocate for health care, clean water, a higher minimum wage, green jobs, etc.?  These are policies that will help the majority of citizens and actually create jobs.  These are the policies citizens want.  This isn't revolutionary change, this is the historical platform of the Democratic Party.

Democrats - enough with the baby steps.  Get a spine and fight for policies that will help the American people.  Voters are sick of the double-speak and goose-stepping.  They don't want the calm, practical status quo.  They want someone with principles to get shit done.  Enough of the middle-of-the-road, mealy-mouthed politicking.  Take a stand and get something done.   

Wisconsin Reading

What A New Governor Means For Wisconsin's Controversial Foxconn Factory
As Soon As Scott Walker Lost, His Pet Legislators Started Stripping The Governor's Powers
GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos Threatens To Take Power Away From Tony Evers Before January
Will Republicans Steal Power From New Democratic Governors?
The States That Elected Trump Have Turned Against Him
How Labor Helped Bring Down Scott Walker And Bruce Rauner
Racism And The Wisconsin Idea
Court Strips Workers Of $10 Million Award
Did Scott Walker & Donald Trump Deal Away The Wisconsin Governor's Race To Foxconn?

Weekend Reading

Federal Judge Blasts Fish & Wildlife Service, Says Endangered Wolves Cannot Be Shot
Trump Suffered The Worst Midterm Loss In A Century, Says JP Morgan
Thousand Oaks Makes 307 Mass Shootings In 311 Days
Trump's Appointment Of The Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional
Blame Fox, Not Facebook, For Fake News
America's Problem Isn't Tribalism - It's Racism
Republicans Lost The Suburbs
Why Democrats' Gain Was More Impressive Than It Appears
In Superstar Cities, The Rich Get Richer, And They Get Amazon
When Economists Took Socialism Seriously
The Wall Street Math Hustle
Laws And Disorder
Working-Class People Are Underrepresented In Politics. The Problem Isn't Voters.

Good Riddance, Scott Walker

It was a good night for Democrats. Not a great night, but a good one.

Sad so many in Wisconsin (and around the country) are still voting Republican after all we know and at this point in time. Those of you clinging to your sexism, racism, parochialism, or whatever other pet cause makes you still vote Republican, you truly are the worst of us.

For those of you (that normally vote Republican) that put country before party to help elect Democrats, kudos to you. Well done.

Remember, though, this is just the start. Keep talking, keep campaigning, keep pushing Democratic policies. We need to carry this momentum into the 2020 election.

Even though this was a record-breaking turnout for Wisconsin, it was still only 60 percent of the voting-age population. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Based on state population estimates from earlier this year, turnout was equal to almost 60 percent of the voting-age population, though that number is likely to change when the official count is complete."

It's just ridiculous to think that 40 percent of the voting-age population is just sitting on the sidelines. If Democrats could get these people to the polls, Republicans would never win another election.

Good riddance, Scott Walker. Now you can lick the boots of your paymasters full-time. Burn in hell, you selfish and corrupt tool.

Midweek Reading

Nobel Committee Honors The Economics Of Failure
Democrats Pounce On Mitch McConnell For Blaming Debt On Social Security, Medicare
Another Big Democratic Loss. And Yet More Complaints About A 'Rigged' System
The Republican Tax Cut Is A Big, Fat Failure
Are The Danes Melancholy? Are The Swedes Sad?
Major League Baseball Teams Lost $93 Million This Season Because No One Is Going To Games
Trump's New Opportunity Zones Look Great For Investors
Old People Are Worse Than Young People At Telling Fact From Opinion

There Really Is No Escape From Conservative Duplicity

There Christian Schneider goes again.

Another classic from the Republican playbook - Blame the Democrats for outcomes of Republican actions.

It's well known, for Republicans, that everything wrong with the world is the Democrats' fault.

In his latest blaming the Democrats for Republican measures, Schneider proclaims There Really Is No Escape From America's Liberal Politics.

Yes, those damn liberals have politicized everything!

Put aside the Southern Strategy, Republican commingling of church and state, perpetual obstructionism, shutting down the government, the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the Tea Party, and the denial of a Merrick Garland hearing, to name a few.

As Schneider declares:

There is now no segment of American society to which one may retreat without being subjected to politics. Every corner of our lives is illuminated with talk of filibusters, health care strategy and minor cabinet appointees. It is as if the American economy now runs on demagoguery.

The cognitive dissonance is great in Schneider and the Republicans.

Is there any policy during Clinton or Obama that the Republicans didn't filibuster?

Republicans have been fighting against good health care for Americans since forever. They stonewalled Clinton's attempt and threw up every roadblock they could in attempting to stymie Obama.

Schneider's article then goes off on an odd tangent claiming that even sports are just liberal politics in disguise. Never mind all the jingoistic and militaristic events, language and imagery associated with sports. And, he uses the well-worn (paraphrased) Republican talking point of "Athletes and actors should just shut up. They don't know anything." Unless of course they're conservative, then they're glad to have them on their shows, write op-eds and appear at their events.

He goes on to complain of a cloud of inescapable "progressive condescension." He implies liberals are continually berating poor conservatives in all aspects of life. Is Schneider not familiar with Jesse Watters? Republicans have no other journalism other than gotcha journalism.

Republicans have been doing nothing but using fear and ignorance to politicize anything and everything they feel could possibly win extra votes.

Schneider then goes on to knock Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers - what do they know and no one cares what they have to say anyway. He's upset because even comedians are being political. Schneider must be new to comedy because politics has been a topic of humor for centuries.

Republicans have done all they can to dumb-down politics whilst politicizing everything in sight and now that their sledge-hammer approach has resulted in Trumpland ... it's the Democrats fault!

Keep on drinking that Kool-Aid and peddling your misinformation and hate, Mr. Schneider. And then keep on pretending you can't believe how things got the way they are or why they are that way.

If I wasn't living through all this I wouldn't believe it.

Stolen Seat

Hey Christian Schneider, ever hear of Merrick Garland?

Schneider: Democrats' Supreme Court filibuster of Gorsuch is a petty charade

Republicans steal the selection from the Democrats, then bitch because Democrats aren't letting them get away with it.

Unbelievable.

For Further Reading:
A short history of right-wing lies in Supreme Court confirmation hearings

Sunday Reading

North Woods For Sale?
Democrats Won The Most Votes In The Election. They Should Act Like It.
Wisconsin's GOP-Drawn Legislative Districts Unconstitutional
13 Most Amazing Findings In The 2016 Exit Poll
GOP's Attack On Voting Right Was The Most Under-covered Story Of 2016
Stop Perpetuating The Myth Of Voter Fraud To Distract From The Reality Of Massive Voter Suppression

Weekend Reading

For Democrats, Cleaning House Means Pelosi and Schumer Too
Surviving The Age of Trump
Did Trump Steal Wisconsin?
Why Oklahoma Can't Turn Off Its Earthquakes
Fracking Isn't Causing Oklahoma's Earthquakes - This Is
Do Markets Really Hate Uncertainty? Not At All
Why Are These Clowns Winning? Secrets of The Right-Wing Brain
Treat Start-Up Companies Like The Bucks
Walker's Lead Poisoned Politics
David Clarke The Demagogue
John Doe, Open Records Proves Harsdorf, Olsen Crooked, Unfit for Office
Wisconsin Corporations Won't Step Up To Improve State's Economy
Almost Two-Thirds of People In The Labor Force Do Not Have A College Degree
10 Facts About American Workers
How America Grew -- and Grew Unequal
Who Really Runs Your City?
Why I Left The Republican Party To Become A Democrat
Democratic Presidents are Better at Making Us Rich. Eight Reasons Why
Art of the Steal: This Is How Trump Lost $916M and Avoided Tax
Paying For Job Reductions: The Unreported Story of a Ballooning Tax Credit
The Deficit is Too Small, Not Too Big

Barack Obama's and The Democrats' Accomplishments

THE LIST OF 371 OBAMA ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR, WITH CITATIONS

Barack Obama is officially one of the most consequential presidents in American history

Obama Accomplishments

Republican States Are More Dependent On Government

Republican States Are More Dependent On Government

That's according to a recent analysis from the personal finance site WalletHub, which ranked states based on how much they rely on Uncle Sam to support their state finances. 

To calculate states' dependence, WalletHub analyzed three metrics: how much a state gets in federal funding per every dollar it pays in federal income taxes, the percentage of state funding that comes from the federal government and the number of federal employees per capita, both military and civilian...

New Mexico is the most-dependent state in the U.S., according to WalletHub's data. The state gets $2.19 in federal funding for every dollar paid in federal income taxes. In contrast, New Jersey, which is the least-dependent state, gets only about 50 cents in federal funding for every dollar paid in taxes, WalletHub calculated. 

The analysis found that red states, or those that voted Republican in the 2012 presidential election, were much more likely to depend on the government than blue states. 

That's somewhat ironic, considering the Republican Party's general reluctance to support federally funded initiatives like Medicaid expansion, and its long-term dedication to across-the-board budget cuts to slash the federal deficit.