Very interesting comrad

Just checked the stats for yesterday on this blog.

We had 389 hits from the U.S. and 353 from Russia.  FROM RUSSIA?  WHAT THE HECK?

Dear Bennie:

It is time to start impeachment proceedings for 45.  He has continued to lie to the American people.  When is it enough to rid us of this person?

Further, I cannot find an answer to the following:. If it is proven that Russia interfered with our election and 45 knew about it, does pence become president?  That doesn't seem right.  Does​ this go to the Supreme Court?  Does the Supreme Court nullify this election?

Please stand-up and start the ball rolling on impeachment.  45 is tearing our Country apart.

Blogger's note: email sent to Rep. Bennie G. Thompson

Dear Senators Wicker and Cochran:

It is past time for both of you to stand up for our Country.  It is clear that 45 fired James Comey because he is conducting an FBI investigation into Russia's interference in our last Presidential Election.

We need an Independent investigation and we need it now!

How long are you going to wait before you stand-up for what is right?  It is time to impeach this administration.  You cannot believe that you can remain silent while our Country goes down in flames and retain your seats in Congress.

And WHEN this investigation proves that Russia helped to elect 45, his replacement is not Pence or Ryan or Hatch.

HIS REPLACEMENT IS HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON!

So Roger....

It's about the Senate Healthcare Working Group.

Where is the bipartisanship and where are the women?

If you are not raising a stink about this all male/all Republican Committee, then you are contributing to the problem.

To be clear, I prefer that Congress fix what is not working with the ACA.  Additionally, I believe the insurance companies are the biggest problem with the ACA.  When they are compensating their CEOs to the tune of many millions of dollars and raising rates on Americans, they are not playing fair.  Your continued support for these tactics makes me question who you are really working for.

Email sent to Senator Roger Wicker who is up for re-election in 2018.

Blogger's note: The following statement is copied from Senator Wicker's website.  Is Wicker helping to move MS forward or is he voting the party line?  To my way of thinking, if Wicker isn't speaking out now about this working group, he is not standing up for health care or women.  

Health Care

I have a solid understanding of healthcare issues and how they affect Mississippians. I sat on the subcommittee that develops the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services for twelve of my thirteen years in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the Chairman of Public Health Committee during my time in the State Senate. As a member of Congress, I voted to create the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the Medicare prescription drug benefit, ensuring our state's children have health insurance coverage and our seniors do not have to choose between buying groceries and paying for their prescriptions.

A Profile in Courage

Bob and I just watched President Barack Obama receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award.

President Obama reminded us what makes America such a success. Congratulations Mr. President and thank you for the example the Obama family set for our Country.

From the Opposition Report

"Of the 11 states in which 30% or more of the under-65 population has some sort of pre-existing condition, all 11 were won by Trump in 2016.

That’s right: The states who are most likely to suffer from the GOP-led effort to kill the Affordable Care Act are all of the shiny, crimson, Trump-voting variety. 

In fact, all of the states you were already thinking of when you read there were 11 that would face catastrophe are on the list. Alabama will cough up six votes for this bill. All four Representatives from Arkansas will choke down the fury of their constituents. Along with those three, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia will combine for a likely 49 votes. They’ll take those votes with them when they head back to their home districts.

Most of those states are so reliably Republican at election time, the representatives needn’t worry. Their voters are used to lodging their will against their own best interests. But for states whose voters are engaged enough to have bipartisan balance representing them in D.C., Congress may end up in the burn ward.

Blogger's note:. Wake-up Mississippi.  We deserve better than this.  We are NOT a plantation!  Let's change our flag and start voting like we matter!  It's time for Mississippi to turn BLUE!"

So Roger,

 At our last Indivisible meeting, it was reported that you didn't attend the Town Hall in Oxford.

Instead you attended a country club luncheon in the same town.  The same person who reported on your luncheon said that during your remarks, you stated that you had no intention of meeting with these Indivisible people.

First of all, I'd like to know if your luncheon was at noon, why didn't you attend the Town Hall at 6p?

Second, is what was reported true?  Did you say you have no intention of meeting with those Indivisible people?

In closing, let me say this:  There is much talk about both you and Thad not being accessible to the people at a Town Hall event.

We are closely monitoring the healthcare legislation. So far, as we see it, only Bennie Thompson needs to be re-elect.  How the Republican Party is handling healthcare is unAmerican. This is not who we are as a people.  We take care of each other. I'm not asking you to be a Democrat when it comes to healthcare. I'm asking you to be an American and to do your job.

Sent to Senator Roger Wicker.

It really makes me mad...

I don't really know if I am more mad about that outrageous healthcare bill or mad at Tunica County.  There's a good chance it's a bit of both.  Let's take the later first.

Full disclosure: I am not a fan of the current Director of Tunica County Parks and Recreation.  And that is an understatement.

I recently learned the Director of the Tunica County Parks and Recreation (P&R) is going to be the new Alderman from Ward #5 in the Town of Tunica.  To be clear the Director job is full-time, pays $96,000 plus benefits and P&R is the second largest department in our County government.

It is my opinion, backed up with many hours of research, that P&R does not meet the needs of all of the citizens of our County.  There is much work to be done at P&R and we don't need our Director's attention to be elsewhere.

A study conducted by and paid for by the County (Sennis 2012) found that the director position at P&R is being over paid by approximately $23,000.

More than a few times, I have written reports and presented to the Tunica County Board of Supervisors ideas and requests for a more robust Senior Citizen's program that would include activities that would be of interest to white Seniors in our County.  I have written about male/female discrimination; pay inequities; safe  drains and programs.  To name just a few. These reports date all the way back to 5 May 2005. That's 12 years ago today. I've been at it a long time.

So, when I heard the news that the P&R Director was taking a part-time job, it really made me mad on so many levels.

1. The Tunica County Employee Handbook contains a Moonlighting clause.  The clause requires pre-approval by the Board of Supervisors before employees take an outside job. Did the BOS pre-approve this outside job for the Director of P&R?  If they did, they have set a terrible president.

2. Who in P&R is going to be taking up the slack while the Director is away working his part-time job?  How can that possibly be fair to employees at P&R?

3. Amid all of the congratulations on FB for the Director of P&R, I raised my concern.  Of course there was push back. There is always push back.  Push back doesn't bother me.  If it did, why would I bother writing this blog?  What bothers me is the lack of critical thinking about how this situation would work.

Among those pushing back was the Supervisor from Beat 4. Now, correct me if I am mis-characterizing what you said Sonny, but you said you hoped the new Ward #5 Alderman would help you resolve some of your personal issues with the Town.  I said you are wrong.  Why are you wrong?  Because it would mean that an employee of the Tunica County Board of Supervisors would be using a County Employee for his own personal benefit.  I really hate it when I have to stand-up against you Sonny but there it is.  What are you going to do if he doesn't accomplish your goals?  Fire him?

4. Has the suit between the Town and the County been resolved?  If not, this is a huge problem.  Or as 45 would say, "A YUGE PROBLEM".  45 is such an embarrassment to our nation.  Anyway...

As I see it, the biggest problem in Tunica County is ego.  Isn't the reason we have so many facilities with bonds on their backs because of ego?  The Supervisors who were responsible thought they were too smart to do any feasibility studies. To me that's ego.  What about those three manufacturing plants? It was a good thing for one of their friends to sell some land but was it a good idea to forgive taxes for people and companies who have no loyalty to us?  Ego.  And what about that airport?  BIG EGO!!

So, what's this part-time job about anyway?  I say it's all about ego.  It isn't about people. It's about ego.

Wouldn't it be better to find an up and coming young person to fill the Ward #5 Alderman position?  Shouldn't​ we be about growing people rather than consolidating power?  Will Tunica ever learn from their past mistakes?

Maybe I'll get to the outrageous Republican healthcare bill later.  Talk about ego!!!  YUGE EGO!!!  Right now it's time to drink some coffee and do a little knitting.

Anybody want to buy a house?

Turning MS BLUE

It's time for MS to vote for our best interests and that means repealing and replacing all Republicans with Democrats.  It's a tall order but together we can do it.

Who represents MS in Congress:

2nd District

Bennie Thompson

Democrat

Since Apr 13, 1993

Next election 2018

Re-elect Bennie

Senior Senator

Thad Cochran

Republican

Since Jan 15, 1979

Next Election in 2020

Must be replaced

Junior Senator

Roger Wicker

Republican

Since Dec 31, 2007

Next Election in 2018

Must be replaced

1st District

Trent Kelly

Republican

Since Jun 9, 2015

Next election 2018

Must be replaced

2nd District

Bennie Thompson

Democrat

Since Apr 13, 1993

Next election 2018

Re-elect Bennie

3rd District

Gregg Harper

Republican

Since Jan 6, 2009

Next election 2018

Must be replaced

4th District

Steven Palazzo

Republican

Since Jan 5, 2011

Next election 2018

Must be replaced

Sweetheart deals hurt state's economy.....

Below is an article from Wyatt Emmerich.  I've read some of Emmerich's work on MS's attempts to attract business to our State.  I agree with Emmerich but I would go a step further by asking: Why is MS a Red State?  Why do we keep voting against ourselves?  Why do we vote Republican?

"Wouldn't you love to sell something for $50 million and only be required to pay back $5 million if you failed to deliver? What a deal!

That's the deal Yokohama Tire negotiated with the state of Mississippi.  It's the standard 'clawback' provision in Mississippi mega-deal industrial recruitment packages.

The clawback formula from the Yokohama Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by our governor is as follows: a - (1 - b/450) x .1.

Most people just ignore math formulas.  Perhaps the experts at the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) ignored this one.  I wonder if our governor understands the formula.

But the .1 is very crucial.  It means, if Yokohama fails to meet their employment goals, they only have to give 10 percent of the state money back.

State grants for the Starkville Yokohama plant totaled about $50 million.  As it stands now, the Yokohama plant has 411 employees, 18 percent short of their promised 500.

When the deal was announced, the promoters touted 2,000 jobs after "Phase Two" but don't count on it.  The company loses none of it's grants or subsidies by failing to implement Phase Two.  The software industry calls such promises 'vaporware'.  Yokohama Phase Two is a vapor plant.

One would imagine a clawback provision would be dollar for dollar.  That is, if they missed their employment goal by 18 percent, Yokohama would have to return 18 percent of the state grant money.  That would be $9 million returned to the state of Mississippi.

That's where the '.1' cones in.  Using the clawback formula, the amount of money that has to be returned is multiplied by .1, which means the clawback money is $430,000 rather than $4.3 million, shorting the state $4 million dollars.

That's a great deal for Yokohama but a terrible deal for Mississippi taxpayers.

The question to ask: What is the point of adding the .1 multiplier to the clawback equation?

That's not a real clawback.  That's a 10 percent clawback.

You would never in a million years see a bank or private financing entity agree to such a clawback provision.  Only a governmental entity could negotiate such an absurd provision.

The introductory 'Recital' portion of the Yokohama MOU, states: 'The initial phase is expected to result in the employment of at least 500 new full-time jobs and is expected to require an initial capital investment by the company and its affiliates of at least three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000.)'

I call this the PR portion of the agreement.  This is what the MDA and (the) governor use in their press conferences touting the plant.

But when you look at the actual formula, it's 450 jobs used in the formula, not 500 claimed in the recital.  Not a big difference, but the question is why?  It's just one more way of weakening the clawback provision and reducing accountability.

Notice the recital says 'full-time jobs'.  But the MOU defines a full-time job as 35 hours a week, not the customary 40 hours. Yet another deception in favor of Yokohama.

Yokohama is required by the agreement to spend $300 million, but enforcement section only requires Yokohama to spend $70 million on the 'Project' including 'land, buildings and depreciable fixed assets'. Confusing, to say the least.

And if there is any dispute, Yokohama only has to pay one percent interest on the disputed money until it is resolved.

Even worse, there is no mandatory audit of Yokohama to ensure they are meeting their required investment and job creation.  Instead, any audit of Yokohama is optional.

The MOU states: 'Within thirty days following written request of the State, Office of State Auditor, the City or County (but not more than once a year), the Company will provide reasonable verification of it's compliance with the Initial Jobs Maintenance Commitment and the Initial Investment Commitment'.

This is the state equivalent of 'don't ask, don't tell'.  Yokohama is not required to submit a performance audit, rather it is up to various governmental entities to 'request' the information. That's fraught with political overtones.  A few well-placed political contributions could make sure no such request was ever made.

The contract language seems to favor the company over taxpayers every step of the way.

The meat of the favoritism comes in tax exemption section.  In a nutshell, Yokohama gets a free pass on just about every local and state tax imaginable: income taxes, franchise taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, withholding taxes, property taxes, inventory taxes, accelerated depreciation ... you name it!

My back-to-back envelope estimates of the tax savings per year is $2.1 million in property tax savings, $750,000 in franchise tax savings, $600,000 in state income tax savings and probably another million a year in a variety of other tax savings.  That amounts to $269 million in tax breaks over 20 years plus the $50 million in state grants for a grand total of a $319 million dollar subsidy of the Yokohama Tire plant in West Point.

Three years after the deal was signed, the plant has 411 employees.  If you divide the $319 million in subsidies by 411, that's $776,155 per job.  On an annual basis, the state of Mississippi is losing $38,807 in tax revenue each year per Yokohama job.

If this is our state government's plan to boost our state economy, it would be more efficient to just hold a free lottery, randomly choose 411 lucky winners and then pay them $38,807 a year for 20 years.

The problem here is politicians spending other people's money.  Gov. Bryant would never have signed this deal if it was his personal money.  No bank or private company would have agreed to this deal with Yokohama.

This type of corporate welfare makes the governor and the MDA look like they are doing a great service to our State when in fact they are damaging our economy.  The subsidized companies are able to outbid taxpaying companies for a limited supply of skilled labor.

After a decade of these mega-deal giveaways, Mississippi is suffering its lowest growth in 50 years.  Giving a handful of companies $750,000 per job is not only unfair to all the other employees in the state, it's a failure as a jobs growth policy.

Each year like clockwork a mega-deal such as Yokohama goes down for about $300 million a pop.  Is it any wonder our state is running out of money and cannot maintain our schools and roads?

Instead of these unfair sweetheart mega-deal, we need a pro business state tax code that favors all job growth equally for companies both big and small, foreign and homegrown".

Thanks again to Wyatt Emmerich for this article.

In Tunica County, we have 3 of these "sweetheart deals".  One of the three is already defunct.  How many of these revenue draining companies does your County have?

Wake-up Mississippi.  It is time to vote every Republican out.  

And yet....

On Senator Roger Wicker's website, he has this to say about education:

"I am the father of three children who graduated from the Tupelo public school system and went on to public universities, and my wife works for the University of Mississippi. I understand the important role education plays in our children’s futures and in our state’s economic development, and I believe education should be a top priority for any elected official."

And yet, Wicker voted to confirm Betsy DeVos.

And let's not forget, our hypocrite of a Vice President, Pence, broke the tie.  Don't tell me you are pro-life when you vote against children.  You may be anti-abortion but you are not pro-life.

Enough already...

The following is a guest column that appeared in the Clarion-Ledger.  Malone answers what has been rolling around in my head for a good bit of time.  Why is MS the poorest state in the nation?  Why do we keep voting for people who are not progressive to our needs?  Why do we have such a poor national reputation?  Why are we putting up with this kind of behavior from those we elect?  When will will say enough is enough?

Duvalier Malone | Guest Columnist12:43 p.m. CT April 24, 2017

I love Mississippi. It's where I was born, raised, and educated. It's where I lived for most of my life. I beam with pride when I think about the wonderful people in my home state.

Mississippi boasts some of the friendliest people you will ever meet anywhere in America: people who would give you the coat off of their backs in your most dire time of need.

I love this state. This is why I fight so hard to see progress in Mississippi. It's because I know our potential for greatness, and how we can and should aspire to be the best of what America has to offer.

In my personal journey in the fight for fairness, equality and progress, I've come to a stark conclusion. It hurts me to say this, but our governor is hurting our state. Governor Phil Bryant is single-handedly preventing our state from progressing and moving forward.

Those of us who have lived in Mississippi know the magnitude of what our state has to offer. We know about the culture, the food, the music and the unforgettable life experiences that have molded and shaped us into who we are; and we could not have had those experiences anywhere but here.

But people outside our state don't know our story.

It's the governor's job to tell the story of Mississippi, while leading the state forward to create progress and opportunity for Mississippians. It's his job to present the narrative of Mississippi in the best light possible, putting our collective best foot forward in order to attract companies and corporations to come do business with Mississippi and bring jobs to our state.

To do this, it's important that our state has a positive aura, a confident and constructive outlook and a polished image that says to the rest of the country and the world that Mississippi is open and we are ready to work with you.

Bryant has utterly failed to represent Mississippi at our best. Instead, he has almost become the walking stereotype of every negative stigma associated with our state.

In 2015, after Dylann Roof posed with Confederate flags and then proceeded to murder innocent people inside a black church in South Carolina, then-Governor Nikki Haley used that instance as a teachable moment to tell the residents of her state that it was time to let go of the racism of the past and move forward.

Former Governor Haley led at the forefront of the movement for change. That change was a shining example to the rest of the world that yes, America has dark spots in our history; but we are willing to shine the light and erase the darkness of our past in exchange for the bright future of tomorrow.

This was an epic period in American history, and no matter what Haley does for the rest of her life, she will forever be remembered for her sterling leadership that helped to bring healing to our nation.

Because they welcomed positive change, South Carolina has been rewarded many times over. Corporations that previously refused to do business in the state have now dropped their embargo and have moved into South Carolina, providing jobs for many.

But even though Bryant has seen the positive outcome that came to South Carolina when they lowered the Confederate symbol, he has stubbornly remained steadfast as a blockade in Mississippi's road to progress.

Mississippi has the unfortunate distinction of being the poorest state in America. We cannot afford to drive business away. We must make our state as hospitable as possible for corporations and companies to bring jobs here.

In a state that has such a torrid history when it comes to slavery, why would Governor Bryant seek to use every possible moment for progress to instead brandish his stubborn refusal to let go of a mantle that was worn by those who endeavored to prolong suffering and racism and hatred towards American citizens?

One would think that our governor would be eager to run away from such a dark history; but it's just the opposite. It seems that he fully embraces it.

Bryant has yet again declared April to be Confederate Heritage Month, even though it has been well documented that the Confederate symbol has been used as a banner for bigots, racists and murderers.

We learned this month that the governor is a card-carrying member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group that does not realize that they are quickly becoming relics of the past.

It's almost as if Bryant wants to be seen as a caricature of Mississippi: It seems that he goes out of his way to present himself as the down south, “good ol boy” that's most happy in a racist culture, regardless of the criticism of his fellow Americans.

If he were a private citizen, then he would have the right to proudly display the Confederate symbol. As an American, he would be entitled to his personal opinion. But he's not a private citizen. He's the governor of an entire state. He's the governor of a diverse population, at least 37 percent of which is the African American community that has suffered under the banner of the Confederate flag.

By refusing to let go of racist symbols and images, Bryant is alienating an entire segment of Mississippi's population.

When the governor provides a supportive prop for racists in Mississippi, he hurts all Mississippians.

Companies and corporations do not want to be associated with racism. They understand a simple concept that our governor doesn't seem to get:

Racism hurts the bottom line. You can't be a good racist (openly) and make good money.

Duvalier Malone, a native of Fayette, lives in Washington, D.C. He is CEO and founder of Duvalier Malone Enterprises.

From Senator Jeff Merkley

“Today, for the first time in history, the theft of a Supreme Court seat has been completed, profoundly damaging the integrity of the Court. From today forward, every 5-4 decision with Neil Gorsuch in the majority will lack the same legitimacy it would have held before. Now, the Court is just one more political entity to be rigged in political parties’ favor, with dismal consequences for the American people. 

“Gorsuch’s extreme views on worker protections, women’s rights, corporate power, campaign cash and more will have very real and damaging repercussions for the American people for decades to come. Today is a very dark day for America.”

And what did MS Senators Wicker and Cockran contribute to this farce?  Both MS Senators helped to obstruct Judge Merrick Garland and today they voted for Neil Gorsuch.

Wicker and Cochran have hurt our Country, our Supreme Court and MS.  Both MS Senators need to be REPEALED AND REPLACED.

What will you do if...

MS Senators Wicker and Cochran have indicated they will vote to confirm Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court of the United States.

For the moment let's put aside Gorsuch's record on the bench and let's focus on the state of our government and our Senators' participation in getting us to this point.

There is no doubt that both Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran participated in not giving Judge Merrick Garland a hearing or a vote.  Why did they do this?  Judge Garland is certainly qualified.  The American people voted for President Obama and President Obama was the President when Justice Scalia passed away.  In the 2012 election, the American people had spoken to the tune of 5 million more votes over Governor Romney.  Why wasn't this enough for our two MS Senators?

Here's my answer: Both Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran care more about their Party than they care about our Country.

There is no doubt that Russia interfered with our Presidential Election.  Further, there is no doubt that 45's campaign is under FBI investigation.  Both MS Senators are aware of these facts.  Didn't these facts cause Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran to a least pause and wonder about their votes under these circumstances?

Here's my answer: Both Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran care more about their Party than they care about our Country.

And why can't this vote to fill Justice Scalia's seat be postponed until after the FBI investigation is concluded? What if the result of this investigation reveals collusion with the Russians by a sitting President?  Then what?  What will Senator Wicker or Senator Cochran do then?  

Here's my answer: Both Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran will do nothing.  Why?  Because, short of impeachment, there will be nothing they can do.  And the Supreme Court of the United States will be tainted with a Justice who was nominated by an illegitimate President.

So why didn't our Senators wait for the conclusion of the FBI investigation?  Because both Senator Wicker and Senator Cochran put Party before Country.  Because Senators Wicker and Cochran do exactly what Mitch McConnell tells them to do. And that is not acceptable.

Action: 6 Apr 2017

Last blast:

Giving our Senators one last chance to put Country over Party.

Senator Roger Wicker: 202-224-6253

Senator Thad Cochran: 202-224-5054

Script:

This is ______.  I live in _____, MS.

I'm calling today to voice my objection to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.  There should not be any vote until the FBI investigation is completed.

Action: 4 Apr 2017

Call to Action: Reach out! Big Push!

Call or email or text your friends, family, or relatives in states with Republican senators:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Ask them to call their senators to urge them to oppose “the nuclear option” for Gorsuch, maintaining the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominations. The vote for Gorsuch is on Friday (4/7).

Sample script: 

My name is _________ and I am constituent, zip code __________.

I am calling to urge Senator ____________ to oppose “the nuclear option” for Gorsuch and maintaining the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominations. 

The nuclear option will permanently alter the nature of the Senate and Supreme Court nominations and it is too important to change. 

All previous judges have been able to get a 60-vote threshold and the president should nominate someone who will be able to meet that threshold. 

Thank you for your time.

They can call 1-844-USA-0234 (1-844-872-0234) – enter their zip code and they will automatically be connected to their senators (press * to be forwarded to the other representative).

This morning I sent the following emails to Senators Wicker and Cochran:

Will you answer just one question for me?  When are you going to stand-up and put our Country before your party?

45 is under investigation by the FBI and until this Russia question is answered, no one needs to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.  

I am expecting you to stand-up for our Country.  If you can't do that, you need to resign.

No to Gorsuch

Yes! Finally! When have we ever confirmed a Supreme Court Justice when the nomination was made by a President who is under federal investigation? Try NEVER! Comey, get your butt busy and get 45 out of our White House!

‘Far from idle speculation’: Dem. senator says ‘looming’ impeachment is reason to filibuster Gorsuch

RAWSTORY.COM

45 is under investigation by the FBI and until this Russia question is answered, no one needs to be confirmed to the Supreme Court.  

I am expecting you to stand-up for our Country.  If you can't do that, you need to resign.

And this on Social Security:

Remember Al Gore saying Social Security should be in a "locked box"?  Another reason Gore was elected by the people.

Action: 3 Apr 2017

Enough said about this in the script.


Senator Roger Wicker: 202-224-6253

Senator Thad Cochran: 202-224-5054

Script:

This is ______.  I live in _____, MS.

I'm calling today to voice my objection to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.  There should not be any vote until the FBI investigation is completed.

My email to Senators Wicker and Cochran:

I don't know why I even bother writing to you or protesting at your office.  Your voting record is so opposed to what I think is best for our Country, MS and our citizens.

This week you will vote for Neil Gorsuch when you stood by and said nothing when Merrick Garland was ignored.  That was wrong.  I am sick to death of what the Republican Party is doing to this Country.  How you can vote for Neil Gorsuch is beyond me.  I don't like his record.  But, how can you vote for anyone who is nominated by a President who is under an FBI investigation?


Don't insult my intelligence with one of your cut and paste replies.

Fake news websites

As if we don't have enough trouble already.

The chart is too large to post here.  So, copy and paste the link below to read the article and see the sourcing.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fake_news_websites

Action: 30 Mar 2017

Senators Schumer, Whitehouse and Blumenthal held a press conference about Neil Gorsuch and the dark money being spent to get him confirmed.

There are some other interesting facts in the clip that Senator Whitehouse brings up about our Supreme Court and their voting history.

Senator Schumer explains the history and reasoning behind the 60 votes needed to confirm a Supreme Court Justice. Schumer's point being, if you can't get 60 votes, don't change the rules, change the candidate.

So, take a look at the YouTube press conference and then call our Senators.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MmRwmlqv_WI


Senator Roger Wicker: 202-224-6253

Senator Thad Cochran: 202-224-5054

Script:

This is ______.  I live in _____, MS.

I'm calling today to voice my objection to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Action: 27-31 Mar 2017

This was copied from a FB post.  We need an Independent Commission to investigate our last election. This action is in the House.  I will look for info on the Senate Committee and do another post later in the week.

CALL TO ACTION

Tell members of the HOUSE COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE to insist on open hearings. Chairman Nunes should be removed for obstructing his own committee's investigation and sharing information with Trump before bringing it to the committee.

Make your voice heard! IT MATTERS. Our activism helped defeat trumpcare by unrelenting pressure. Now let's continue to hammer them on the investigation. Let them know we are not going away until the truth is revealed.

Leave messages tonight and tomorrow. Tweet any time.
(If DC mailboxes are full, call local offices and leave messages.)

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Thanks a lot Little Marco

This article explains how the GOP underfunded the ACA.  I knew it had been underfunded by 2.5 billion but I didn't know how it happened. Thanks to Thom Hartmann for the explanation.Just read the highlighted areas to get to the heart of the matter.
WEDNESDAY, MAR 22, 2017 03:44 AM CDT

How Republicans quietly sabotaged Obamacare long before Trump came into office

Billions that should go to Obamacare are missing, thanks to se

THOM HARTMANN, ALTERNET

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

Donald Trump suggested that the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) was a clever ruse by our first Black president and his Democratic friends to have a successful health-care system in place for his own presidency, but one that was set up to fail in the first year of the next president’s term.

Trump said (on 3/10/2017) that this year “would be a disaster for Obamacare. That’s the year it was meant to explode, because Obama won’t be here. That’s when it was supposed to be, get even worse. As bad as it is now, it’ll get even worse.”

While most people are rolling their eyes – why would Obama do that, particularly when everybody expected the next president to be Hillary? – there’s actually a substantial grain of truth to Trump’s assertion.  He has identified, however, the wrong culprit as the person who poison-pilled Obamacare for 2017.

That distinction would go to Marco Rubio (and his Republican helpers in the Senate).  Let’s step back to 2015 for the entire story, which is bizarre and fascinating.

When the ACA was rolled out, telling insurance companies that they had to insure anybody who signed up, regardless of previous conditions or sickness, everybody realized that the insurance companies would probably lose money in the first decade or so, until previously-uninsured-but-sick people got into the system, got better, and things evened out.

To get the insurance companies to go along with this danger of losing money, the ACA promised to make them whole for any losses in any of the first decade’s years.  At the end of each fiscal year, the insurance companies merely had to document their losses, and the government would reimburse them out of ACA funds provided for by the law.

The possibility of their losing money was referred to as the “risk corridor,” and the ACA explicitly filled those risk corridors with a guarantee of making the insurance companies, at the very least, whole.

And then something happened.  As The New York Times noted on December 9, 2015, “A little-noticed health care provision slipped into a giant spending law last year has tangled up the Obama administration, sent tremors through health insurance markets and rattled confidence in the durability of President Obama’s signature health law.”

Rubio and a number of other Republicans had succeeded in gutting the risk corridors.  The result was that, just in 2015, end-of-fiscal-year risk corridor payments to insurance companies that were supposed to total around $2.9 billion were only reimbursed, according to Rubio himself quoted in the Times, to the tune of around $400 million.  Rubio bragged that he’d “saved taxpayers $2.5 billion.”

And, indeed, he had.  But the insurance companies were thrown into a crisis.  And, with Republicans in Congress absolutely refusing to re-fund the risk corridors, that crisis would get worse as time went on, at least over a period of a few years.

So the insurance companies did the only things they could.  In (mostly red) states with low incomes and thus poorer health, they simply pulled out of the marketplace altogether.  This has left some states with only one single insurer left.  In others, they jacked up their prices to make up their losses.

Robert Pear in the Times noted, Rubio’s “plan limiting how much the government can spend to protect insurance companies against financial losses has shown the effectiveness of quiet legislative sabotage.”

To add to the political psychodrama, the first hack by Rubio  was maintained by Republicans into the 2016 budget, meaning that things got even worse in October, 2016 – the first month of the federal fiscal year when these cuts hit the worse, and, no coincidence, the month before the presidential election.

Rubio’s October Surprise was extraordinarily effective.  October 2016 saw an explosion of stories in the news about how health insurance companies were either pulling out of ACA exchanges, or jacking their prices up wildly.

Time magazine wrote “8 States Where Obamacare Rates Are Rising by at Least 30%” without mentioning Rubio’s role in why. Ditto for NPR’s “22 Percent Hike in Obamacare Rates…” and CNN’s “Obamacare Premiums Soar By 22%.”  If you date-limit just to October of 2016 – the month before the election – you can find hundreds of similar articles.  It was a huge story, but somehow Little Marco’s role in it all – along with his friends in the GOP – never made it into any of the stories.