Politics Plus

John Boehner tore himself away from his mistress, the tanning parlors, the golf course, and the bars long enough to talk about the new Republican contract on America.  If you are not as insulted by what he had to say as I am, may I respectfully suggest that you visit your local poison control center for an insaniTEA screening.

Since its release last week, House Republicans have been touting their “Pledge To America” as a bold policy vision to solve the nation’s problems, which they would enact if they gain a majority after the November elections. However, revealing the pledge to be nothing more than regurgitated rhetoric that ignores critical issues, even conservative critics have [wing-nuts delinked] slammed it as “meaningless stuff” that fails on “advocacy of long term sound public policy.”

Today on Fox News Sunday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) seemed to concede this point. When host Chris Wallace noted that the Pledge does not even address entitlement spending such as Social Security and Medicare, Boehner countered by saying that its purpose is only to “lay out the size of the problem,” rather than “to get to potential solutions.” This, of course, flies in the face of GOP branding of the proposal, but Boehner explained that he doesn’t think the American people can handle his ideas right now, saying, “Once Americans understand how big the problem is, then we can begin to talk about potential solutions”…

…Watch it:

 

Indeed, Boehner was more than a little off message in saying “let’s not get to the potential solutions.” As his own Pledge states, surveying the proposals laid out in its pages, “We recognize that these solutions are ambitious [GOP delinked].” It concludes by affirming that Republicans will fight to “promote and advance solutions.”… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

People, what Agent Orange is telling us is that we all need to be good little sheeple and trust Big Brother Boner to take care of us, because we’re not smart enough to handle the solutions.  Well I know plenty about Republican solutions.  I went through eight years of Republican solutions and I’m still trying to find O rings on sale to repair the damage that Republicans’ tender mercies did to my nether orifice.

What this lying son of a bitch is really saying is that he lacks the courage to tell us what Republican plans are.  He does not want to talk about tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for criminal corporations, dismantling the safety net for which we have all paid with our taxes and social security contributions, and cutting back services, except for the rich.  America opposes his real plan and rightly so.  With all their faults, most Democrats try to represent everyone.  Republicans govern exclusively for the benefit of criminal corporations and the richest 1%.  Your vote matters!

Eight days ago, I posted an article about The Alberta Tar Sands and how Republicans seemed to love the devastation of nature that project engenders.  At the time, I wondered why they were interested.  Now I know what they, with help from a particularly slimy DINO, are up to.

…you would think plans to expand pipelines carrying this toxic crude [from the Alberta Tar Sands] into the United States would come under a little more scrutiny from U.S. leaders –- especially the ones living in states where pipelines threaten drinking water supplies.

That’s why it was so surprising to hear Montana Senator Max Baucus pushing for hasty approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would carry this toxic oil right into his state, traversing major sources of fresh water like the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, posing a constant threat of ruptures, spills, and contamination. In addition to Montana, the pipeline would run through South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, crossing dangerously close to drinking water supplies and agricultural aquifers.

We know the oil industry’s influence on our representatives in Washington is out of hand. And when companies like BP spend nearly as much money on public relations after a major environmental disaster like the oil spill in the Gulf as they do on clean up, it’s clear that we’ve got our work cut out for us.

But here’s what we’ve got on our side: the truth.

We know the Keystone XL pipeline would put American health at risk. In addition to threatening drinking water, processing tar sands oil releases pollutants directly linked to asthma, emphysema and birth defects. Refining tar sands crude from the pipeline would create far more air pollution in American communities that are already burdened with cancer and poor air quality as a result of the oil industry.

We also know the pipeline would cross the most important source of agricultural water in the United States, the Ogallala aquifer.

And we know pipeline disasters happen… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

Anytime BARF Baucus teams up with Republicans, you know it’s bad for America.  Don’t we already have enough oil company pollution of our own without importing more?  Say No!  Contact your Representative and Senators here.

There is a crisis approaching in the Middle East peace talks that could derail the entire process.  On the surface, it’s the refusal of Israel to stop building settlements in territory both sides agreed would be Palestinian in the Oslo Accords, but it’s much more complex than that.

American, Israeli and Palestinian officials were engaged in "intensive" efforts on Saturday to find a compromise on a settlement moratorium whose impending expiration could doom nascent peace talks, officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an envoy visiting the U.S. to extend his stay "specifically to deal with this issue," an Israeli official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israeli media reports said Defense Minister Ehud Barak was also in the United States to help efforts to prevent the peace negotiations from collapsing just a month after they started.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said he will quit the talks if the Israelis refuse to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement building in the occupied West Bank that expires at midnight on Sunday. Israel has rejected the demand.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York on Saturday, Abbas did not specifically refer to the imminent expiry of the freeze, but made clear that Israel would have to cease its settlement building if the negotiations were to succeed.

Piling pressure on Netanyahu, President Barack Obama called publicly on him to extend the partial building moratorium in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.

Netanyahu’s pro-settler dominated governing coalition objects to extending the freeze and the prime minister has ruled out any extension, arguing that no other Israeli leader has been forced to halt building work during previous peace talks.

But he will not want to be blamed by Washington if the talks fail so soon after their launch and must also satisfy Israeli public support for further peace negotiations…

Inserted from <Reuters>

It’s easy to blame the whole thing on Israel, but there is blame to shared here.  First, Abbas has no right to represent himself as the leader of the Palestinians.  His Fatah party lost the election to Hamas.  There has been no election since that included all the Palestinian people.  Hamas, could recognize Israel’s existence, but refuses because, if they do, Iran will stop funneling them aid through Hezbollah.  Iran wants the conflict to continue, because it keeps the US from concentrating their attention on Iran.  And the US refuses to recognize Hamas even though Bush sponsored the elections Hamas won.  Returning to Israel, they do not want to honor the Oslo accords.  They would prefer to build their way to a one-state solution.  Palestinians do not want to live as an Israeli minority.

Can you blame them?

To achieve peace in the Middle East, two things mist happen.  First, there must be peace talks that include all three parties: Fatah, Hamas and Israel.  Second, the US must make it clear to Israel that US military aid will cease unless they negotiate in good faith following the Oslo Accords.