Powerful words from Alan Grayson on extension of unemployment benefits

Well, we did it. We got some help for Americans who are living in their cars, and Americans who are eating cat food out of a can. Americans who have been out of work for almost two years, and then saw the right wing block their unemployment insurance payments for months.

We didn't get sidetracked by Dan Gainor's assault threat on Tuesday, or Mr. Anonymous' assassination threat on Wednesday. 

Call them out.
Make them squirm.
Don't let them bully us.
Don't back down. 

That's how we do it. 

And it's working. Because in the House vote, 30 of the 179 Republicans peeled off from the all-powerful No Caucus, and voted to release the unemployment insurance funds. For the first time, they got that funny feeling that you get when you exercise a muscle that you didn't even know you had. That funny feeling the Republicans experienced was . . . a pang of conscience. 

Evidently, 30 out of 179 Republicans in the House now have a functioning conscience. It's a start. 

Truth, 

Rep. Alan Grayson

It is beyond NAACP vs Tea Party, it is really NAACP vs GOP

NAACP asks Tea Party to remove Racists elements and their spokesman Mark Williams denies the Tea Party is Racists by posting a Racist statement on its blog. Now Mark Williams removed the racists blog post and the Tea Party fires Mark Williams to save face.

So does this mean the KKK won't be present anymore in Tea Party events or planning meetings?

It is naive to believe that Racists will just pack their bags and rot and die into a corner. Tea Party gave them a platform to express their hate against the first black president and they will continue to be a big constituency of the Tea Party (if not most).

Many may have forgotten the craziness after Obama was elected. The insults, the death threats, spit at black lawmakers, he vandalism, the signs, the effigies, etc. The Tea Party and the GOP are more than happy that people forget. A recent poll showing an almost perfect match between the Tea Party and the Republican Base gives you an idea of the Real GOP.

Make no mistake. Tea Party racism is GOP racism

Real questions for the Chamber Commerce's 'Jobs Summit'

Taken from Campaign For America's Future's Progressive Breakfast

James Parks has some real questions for the Chamber Commerce's 'Jobs Summit': "Here are three questions the AFL-CIO and working people would like to ask the Chamber: 1. Big corporations and Wall Street had their way for eight years under the Bush administration and we’re just beginning to undo the damage. Which corporation is the model to show there is too much government regulation? The Wall Street firms that tanked the economy? Massey Energy mining, whose long record of safety violations led to miners being killed? BP, whose long record of violations led to workers being killed and is still destroying the Gulf of Mexico? 2. Why are there no unemployed workers at your event? Millions of Americans are out of work and have lost their benefits. But according to the agenda, there is not a single one of them represented at this event. This shows the real purpose of their event. Not to create jobs for people, but to keep the status quo for Big Business and their profits. 3. If you think there’s too much government regulation, can we continue to expect statements from Chamber President Tom Donohue that taxpayers should be responsible for corporate bad actions like he said about BP?"

If deficit is important there can't be sacred cows anymore

So the heartless Republicans and corporate Democrats "don't mind helping the unemployed and the states, as long as the measures are paid for" and I am sure that for the "paid for" part they meant cutting social programs to screw even more people.

What about the bloted, outdated cold war era defense budget? We spend more on "defense" that the rest of the world combined and a good chunk goes to defense contractors that keep running up the cost of the projects and we just keep paying because they are "sacred cows".

Well, if the deficit is so important that the nation can't even help its own people because of it, then there can't be sacred cows anymore.

Everything must be on the table, starting with the DoD budget. Let's see what the "fiscal conservatives" have to say about that.