(Self-Banished @ Sep. 22 2013,7:47 am)

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Obama calling congress drama queens??? That's a laugh, he is the drama queen.

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White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer used three vivid analogies to attack House Republicans' laundry list of demands for raising the debt ceiling, comparing Republicans to arsonists, hostage-takers and suicide bombers.

"What we're not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest," Pfeiffer said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Thursday afternoon. "We're not going to do that."

(Self-Banished @ Sep. 28 2013,10:32 am)

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Why would the Teabag folks give anything to the Dems?

(nedkelly @ Sep. 29 2013,7:17 am)

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Teabaggers think any govt is bad.. they want to have us be just like Somalia...who has no govt at all.. those with the most guns win!!!!!!! We will get the government we deserve if this bullheaded bickering continues...ned

(Liberal @ Sep. 28 2013,8:05 am)

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You seem to think talking and negotiating are the same thing.

Why would the Dems give the teabaggers any concessions?

(nedkelly @ Sep. 29 2013,7:17 am)

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Teabaggers think any govt is bad.. they want to have us be just like Somalia...who has no govt at all.. those with the most guns win!!!!!!! We will get the government we deserve if this bullheaded bickering continues...ned

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The Tea Party is a grassroots movement that calls awareness to any issue which challenges the security, sovereignty, or domestic tranquility of our beloved nation, the United States of America. From our founding, the Tea Party represents the voice of the true owners of the United States: WE THE PEOPLE.

TeaParty.org was created on: September 2nd, 2004. Many claim to be the founders of this movement; however, it was the brave souls of the men and women in 1773, known today as the Boston Tea Party, who dared to defy the greatest military might on earth. We are the beneficiaries of their courage.

The Tea Party includes those who possess a strong belief in the foundational Judeo-Christian values embedded in our great founding documents. We believe the responsibility of our beloved nation is etched upon the hearts of true American Patriots from every race, religion, national origin, and walk of life sharing a common belief in the values which made and keep our beloved nation great. This belief led to the creation of the modern-day Tea Party.

Many Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents identify with the premises set forth by the Tea Party Movement, which is striking a chord and ringing true with the American Spirit.

We stand by the Constitution as inherently conservative. We serve as a beacon to the masses that have lost their way, a light illuminating the path to the original intentions of our Founding Fathers. We must raise a choir of voices declaring America must stand on the values which made us great. Only then will the politically blind see and deaf hear!

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1. Illegal aliens are here illegally.
2. Pro-domestic employment is indispensable.
3. A strong military is essential.
4. Special interests must be eliminated.
5. Gun ownership is sacred.
6. Government must be downsized.
7. The national budget must be balanced.
8. Deficit spending must end.
9. Bailout and stimulus plans are illegal.
10. Reducing personal income taxes is a must.
11. Reducing business income taxes is mandatory.
12. Political offices must be available to average citizens.
13. Intrusive government must be stopped.
14. English as our core language is required.
15. Traditional family values are encouraged.

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You seem to enjoy using the term teabagger.  Why do you use it?  Is it your fantasy?

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WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) - One week after their first national convention, the self-styled Teabaggers are facing an identity crisis after one of their members finally Googled the slang term "teabag.""I was wondering why every time I told people I was a Teabagger they kind of started giggling in an embarrassed way," said Tracy Klugian, a Teabagger from Elyria, Ohio. "I was like, what the heck? Maybe I should use the Google and see what this is all about."After Mr. Klugian Googled the word "teabag," he was shocked by what he discovered and shared his information with the Teabaggers' leadership, who are now actively looking for a new name for the group."We want a name that suggests we're out to give the Democrats a good fight," he said. "So far what we've come up with is the Donkey Punchers." 

< http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/460769 >

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< The evolution of the word 'tea bagger' >

Tea Party activists are outraged by the revelation that Obama once used the term "tea baggers" to describe them. But the coinage wasn't always considered an insult.

(alcitizens @ Oct. 02 2013,5:54 am)

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Why the shutdown looks so bad for the GOP

< http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-25...the-gop >

Florida Republican Senator Jeff Flake said, Republicans have found the one gambit less popular than Obamacare.

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In the first hours of the shutdown, the terrain looks very bad for Republicans. It's amazing how consistent the polls have been about linking a confrontation over the Affordable Care Act to funding of the government. While polls show the public disapproves of the law, it has consistently told pollsters it is not in favor of tying government operations to defunding the health care plan. In addition to the Quinnipiac poll, the polls from CBS News, CNN, CNBC, National Journal, and Kaiser show this. As GOP Sen. Jeff Flake said, Republicans have found the one gambit less popular than Obamacare.

Conservatives would interrupt the conversation here. They didn't shut the government down over Obamacare--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shut the government down because he refused to negotiate. This is true; Reid refused to negotiate. But the American public would have to view this confrontation differently for that fact to give the Republicans any leverage. Right now, the public agrees with Democrats: Funding the government and taking apart Obamacare should not be part of the same conversation. How do Republicans change that dynamic? Asserting that Obamacare is not popular hasn't made a whit of difference.

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Several calls to the White House got no response from the administration to allow Honor Flight veterans access to the WWII memorial.  Several true-blood representatives like Steve King, Michelle Bachman and Steven Palazzo, all republicans were on hand to assist the veterans, mostly octarians, commit an act of civil disobedience against the Park Service by tearing down the barricades intentionally put up by Bambino's Department of Interior to keep them out.

You can tell the disdain even from the article in Stars and Stripes on the treatment of the vets.

(Navy_Gary @ Oct. 02 2013,6:11 pm)

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Wait, wait, wait... So the whiny Republicans force the government shutdown because of a law that was LEGALLY passed 3 years ago and upheld by the supreme court as constitutional, and then pretend they are the saviors for these veterans?!? I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Bachman lifted a few of the geezer's wallets while she was at it!

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I heard all this yesterday on MSNBC then CBS when I got home from work. Think for yourself

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I'll go with you to an extent.  I'd be interested in knowing who in Congress have chosen during the shutdown to change their pay.  Which party does what.  Both are to blame for this.  

During the shutdown, who will:

A. Not accept their pay

B. donate their pay

C. Keep their pay as the Constitution reads.

Navy_Gary, which party do you think will have the most denying their pay?

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When the President refused to buckle to their extortion, they threw their tantrum. Like the die-hards of the racist South a century and a half ago, who would destroy the Union before giving up their slaves, so would these people burn the place down, sink the ship of state, and sow economic chaos to get their way. This says it all, they even shuttered the Statue of Liberty.

- Bill Moyers

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Before you begin your rant about how terrible everyone in Washington is, make sure you get the facts straight.

This is NOT about the President, who is asking Congress to pay for expenses they've already approved, including the Affordable Care Act, which was approved by two houses of Congress, signed into law, upheld by the Supreme Court, and, when made into a central issue of the 2012 election, was not overturned by the voters.

This is NOT about the refusal of Democrats to compromise. Obamacare IS the compromise. It was the Republican counterproposal to the nationalized health care plan from the Clinton administration. That's why Mitt Romney pushed it through in Massachusetts (yes, the economist who wrote the Massachusetts plan said Romneycare is the same as Obamacare). It's a mandate for people to buy PRIVATE health insurance. Nothing could be more Republican. Many Democrats hate/d the Affordable Care Act because it didn't nationalize health care, but they . . . compromised . . . so 40 million more Americans, including people with pre-existing illnesses, could get health care. There's been no Republican counter-proposal because OBAMACARE IS THEIR PLAN. Obama adopted it because he thought they'd support their own plan. How crazy was that?

This is NOT about "Congress." The Senate -- which has brought the House resolution to the floor multiple times, and amended and approved the amended bill by majority vote -- has approved a "clean" funding resolution, but the Speaker of the House WILL NOT ALLOW THAT RESOLUTION TO COME TO THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE FOR A VOTE. Were it to be voted on in the House, there's a reasonable probability it would pass with support of Democratic members and a significant number of moderate Republicans.

Why won't the President and the Senate accept the Republican proposal to delay a year? Because it's already been delayed. The Republicans are trying to stall until after the 2014 elections, hoping to win both House and Senate so they can overturn the law. They also are terrified that once people sign up and get healthcare and like it, they'll think -- as they did with Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security -- that it's a pretty good thing. THAT, Senator Cruz, is the real message of "Green Eggs and Ham," which you completely misunderstood.

This IS about a small group of about 30 legislative terrorists who would rather blow up the government than permit legislation they don't like, even when approved by majority vote, to be enacted. It's also about a Speaker of the House who will not permit a bill to come to the floor for a vote unless the terrorists approve.

This is really about whether we believe in democracy -- in majority rule -- or not. You don't get to wreck the country every time you don't get your way.

If all the Border Patrol officers -- who as of this morning are working without pay -- would go home, I wonder how long it would take the Senators from Texas to get the message?

- M. Ruschak

(Botto 82 @ Oct. 06 2013,9:59 pm)

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Well, at least you cleared that up. When the well-off are called upon to pay their fair share, it's equated with misery and (good God) socialism, yet when families are struggling with burgeoning costs to the point that they can't withstand another rate hike or copay, it's simply dismissed as the cost of doing business.

That is one seriously F***ed-up philosophy.  

(alcitizens @ Oct. 08 2013,2:44 am)

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4 US soldiers killed by Afghanistan bomb

< http://www.foxnews.com/world...an-bomb >

First time in U.S. history that the government has been shutdown during a time of war..

(alcitizens @ Oct. 08 2013,6:54 am)

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TED CRUZ: DESTROYING ENTIRE PLANET BEST WAY TO STOP OBAMACARE

< http://www.newyorker.com/online...acebook >

(Self-Banished @ Oct. 08 2013,10:03 am)

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Alky's getting ore shrill, kinda like all the other libby loons as more people realize that Obama's more to blame for the shutdown.

(Expatriate @ Oct. 08 2013,11:40 am)

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The Republican’s don’t have the votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, this law was passed by both
houses of congress signed into law by the President and it’s Constitutionality verified by the Supreme Court and
now the Republicans want to negotiate, a little late I’d say!

The Republicans have wasted enough time trying to repeal Obama Care, the party of NO spends all their
time and energy on disruptive activity, that’s not why they’re in Washington or is it? These idiots are taking US
into default with their blackmail gambit!

(Self-Banished @ Oct. 09 2013,6:14 pm)

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This is probably Alky's religion.

(Self-Banished @ Oct. 09 2013,8:07 pm)

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^ Obama should resign

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According to a report in the Newburyport Daily News, tourists at Yellowstone National Park were actually detained under armed guard and locked in their hotels when the government shutdown started on October 1st. The paper explained that foreign tourists with poor English skills actually thought they were under arrest because of their harsh treatment.

When the tourists were allowed to leave by bus, they were forbidden to stop anywhere during the 2.5 hour drive out of the park, not even at public restrooms along the way.

In other places, park rangers have issued tickets to people who have ignored signs and barricades and threatened others with arrest.

It what looks like a spiteful move, the NPS even removed handles from water spigots along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal where bikers and joggers exercise as well as along the Great Allegheny Passage, just to ensure people don't get any water from them.

Instead of saving money, the NPS is expending additional resources to go out of its way to close such locations and to make people miserable.

< Catholic.org >

QUOTE

We don't like government, but government parks and memorials should stay open during a government shutdown.  The same goes for government benefits to veterans, why should the government shutting down be impacted by the government funding these benefits as usual?  But we don't need the government, bring on the shutdown and default!

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nuff said...

(Grinning_Dragon @ Oct. 06 2013,9:20 pm)

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I find it odd, in that the United States founded as a Constitutional Republic based on INDIVIDUAL responsibility and setup to function mostly at a State level

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people find the time to introduce guilt shaming religious dogma

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Socialism is nothing more than theft and amounts to everyone sharing in misery equally.

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How do you plan to fund "common defense and general welfare" if you guys don't want to pay taxes?

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Sept 21, 2013

Even in a U.S. government shutdown, Obamacare exchanges could function

< http://www.reuters.com/article...0130921 >

Like I've said before, Republicans have completely lost their frikin minds..

Next they'll threaten not to pay U.S. bills and we'll have our credit downgraded again..

Not even Bin Laden succeeded at doing the damage the Right-Wing has done to our country..

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WASHINGTON — A week after World War II veterans struggled to gain access to a memorial on the National Mall due to the government's partial shutdown, thousands of people pushing for a new immigration law have been cleared by the government to proceed with a concert and rally Tuesday on the Mall.

< USA Today >

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Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’

“He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”

Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

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I'm guessing you either don't care or have never had the opportunity to enjoy the "Christian Faith" you speak.

Of course some people can get along fine avoiding "going to church on Sunday."  Can a Christian survive apart from a church?  But it's not nearly as easy doing it on your own.  There is strength in numbers even when it comes to Christianity.  Some have no choice, but as Christians, we are drawn to join together with others of our faith.  Can you go to heaven even though you don't attend church?  It's technically possible to live the Christian life in isolation, but it's certainly not the norm.

When you become a Christian, you are drawn into a relationship with God.  That relationship is re-enforced by gathering with others of faith.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."  

Bottom line is we Christians desire the fellowship of other Christians.  Just as you desire to be with others you have common qualities with.  And when we gather, our leadership usually comes from pastors, priests, or ministers.

(MADDOG @ Oct. 14 2013,1:41 pm)

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Not sure where you interpreted your conclusion?

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Op/Eds in newspapers are explaining that the First Amendment guarantees the "free exercise" of faith, and because military personnel are considered a "captive audience," the laws requires the government to provide access to their faith.

(alcitizens @ Oct. 14 2013,4:46 pm)

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Your post #103

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After less than a week of furloughs, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel determined a special bill (Pay Our Military Act) to passed by Congress pay active duty servicemembers would also apply to the vast majority of 350,000 civilian employees that had been forced off the job by the shutdown.  Yet he's bound and determined that it doesn't cover dead servicemen or their families.    

Out of 800,000 civilian military employees, only 40,000 were deemed nonessential.  Of those are Catholic priests not only forlough, but threatened with arrest if they voluntarily administer to church members.  The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Saturday 400 to 1 which would have allowed GS and contract priests to return to work once passed by the Senate.  Op/Eds in newspapers are explaining that the First Amendment guarantees the "free exercise" of faith, and because military personnel are considered a "captive audience," the laws requires the government to provide access to their faith.

We'll see if Harry Ried allow a vote on this one.  

E-Verify is also shutdown to businesses.  Illegals can stream in right now for jobs.

Park Service employees actually placing cone along the roadway to keep visitors from being able to pull over to view Mt. Rushmore.  In fact Democrat South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson defended the practice saying, "Closing Mount Rushmore hurts visitors, businesses and furloughed park rangers."

“The best way to restore access to all national parks, including Mount Rushmore, is for Speaker Boehner and the House to pass a clean continuing resolution and end the government shutdow.”

Gov. Dugaard ordered them taken down.

QUOTE

So I believe I said that op/eds in newspapers explained that First Amendment right laws requires the government to provide access to their faith.

huffpo

QUOTE

< Park Service losing $76 million a day in shutdown >

WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Every day that America’s national parks remain shut down, $76 million is lost at the “Barrycades.”

Last year, the country’s 410 parks and monuments hosted 715,000 visitors a day. Turned away by padlocked gates and officious orange cones, the flow of tourists has dwindled to a trickle – and so has the revenue.

In addition to the $76 million in lost daily visitor spending, $450,000 in daily campground fees and boat rentals has also dried up, according to data compiled by a Park Service organization.


Courtesy of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, here’s a breakdown of the effect of the shutdown at some leading national parks across the U.S.:
■Acadia National Park (Maine) – 68,493 lost visitors in first 10 days, $5,263,013 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 3331 total jobs at stake, including 3147 local/non-NPS jobs
■Badlands National Park (South Dakota) – 26,767 lost visitors in first 10 days, $656,986 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 475 total jobs at stake, including 375 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Boston National Historic Park (Massachusetts) – 54,794 lost visitors in first 10 days, $2,032,876 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 1019 total jobs at stake, including 904 non-NPS jobs.
■Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio) – 68,219 lost visitors in first 10 days, $1,545,205 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 819 total jobs at stake, including 599 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Everglades National Park (Florida) – 25,083 lost visitors in first 10 days, $3,857,534 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 2364 total jobs at stake, including 1951 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania) – 27,397 lost visitors in first 10 days, $1,796,712 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 1141 total jobs at stake, including 1051 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Glacier National Park (Montana) – 60,273 lost visitors in first 10 days, $3,076,712 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 1994 total jobs at stake, including 1632 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona) – 120,000 lost visitors in first 10 days, $11,750,684 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 6825 total jobs at stake, including 6167 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee) – 257,534 lost visitors in first 10 days, $23,123,287 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 11,766 total jobs at stake, including 11,367 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Olympic National Park (Washington) – 77,808 lost visitors in first 10 days, $2,912,328 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 1673 total jobs at stake, including 1395 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado) – 80,821 lost visitors in first 10 days, $4,821,917 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 3033 total jobs at stake, including 2641 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) – 98,630 lost visitors in first 10 days, $9,452,054 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 5572 total jobs at stake, including 4481 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Yosemite National Park (California) – 106,849 lost visitors in first 10 days, $10,021,917 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 5607 total jobs at stake, including 4602 local/non-NPS jobs.
■Zion National Park (Utah) – 72,876 lost visitors in first 10 days, $3,495,890 lost visitor dollars in first 10 days, and 2401 total jobs at stake, including 2136 local/non-NPS jobs.

QUOTE

< Federal tourist blockades called ‘vindictive’ in Virginia >
MCLEAN — The federal officers have retreated from Mount Vernon, but the government shutdown continues to lock down other popular Virginia tourist sites — even those operated by the state.

The NPS realized it blundered when rangers blocked access to George Washington’s Mount Vernon home. Though the feds own the parking lots, they backed off after realizing the homestead is owned by the private Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

National Review reports that the state-operated Claude Moore Colonial Farm in McLean remains closed.

“In all the years I have worked with the National Park Service, I have never worked with a more arrogant, arbitrary and vindictive group representing the NPS,” said Anna Eberly, who manages the facility.

Out at the Eastern Shore, the annual roundup of wild ponies on Assateague Island is being canceled by the feds this weekend, even though local volunteers do all the work.

The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company manages a herd of roughly 130 ponies on the island’s national wildlife refuge, which has been closed to the public since the shutdown began last week, the Associated Press reported.

“Fall Round Up has been canceled due to the childish, idiotic actions of our government,” says a post on the fire company’s Facebook page.

(Santorini @ Oct. 16 2013,11:07 am)

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That's right...freedom OF not freedom FROM...remember that!

(Common Citizen @ Oct. 11 2013,10:33 am)

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I don't think the problem is that "you guys" don't want to pay taxes.  The problem lies in how much and for what.  The term "fair share" is defined differently depending on which end of the income spectrum you're on.

We like to define "fair" as treating people in a way that does not favor some over others.  For instance, our tax code is progressive.  The more you make the higher percentages you will pay barring deductions.  Nearly 50% of the population does not pay any income tax.  That favors some over others.  Right?  This is where my beef is.  

The majority of the people at the higher end of the income spectrum got there with their hard work and the choices they've made.  Why should they receive less favorable income tax treatment than those making less?  Are they lesser citizens because they make more?  Why is their freedom to earn what ever income they receive penalized?

The liberals like to throw around "fair share" when defending a progressive income tax code.  News flash...there's nothing fair about it.  If you would tell me that everyone who has earned income pays the same flat percentage and is afforded the same deductions regardless of income...then you could argue that it is fair.  No one group is favored over the other.  Until then, you're just redefining the word "fair" to suit your beliefs.

nuff said...

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For instance, our tax code is progressive.