The dangerous and neglected United States of America: Only about 10 percent of the homes in the City of Moore, Oklahoma have "below-ground storm shelters" - and the City's program to receive federal grants for storm shelters has been stuck for years

By Patrick

It does not take a rocket scientist to see what is going wrong these days in the United States of America.

This was the City of Moore in 1999, after a terrible tornado hit the City, with 44 people dead and about 500 people injured (click on photos to enlarge):

Find more pictures from 1999 at this website.

These are photos of the City of Moore right now:

More shocking pictures can be found at "The Atlantic."

Well, the the fact that so many buildings have been destroyed again was probably unavoidable in this case, as a category F4 or F5 tornado destroys virtually any house in its path.

But how can the citizens survive these monster tornadoes? They need a below-ground storm shelter, like these ones (from a google picture search):

So how many of these below-ground storm shelters are there in the City of Moore?

The website of the City of Moore knows the answer:

"Unfortunately, few homes in Moore have basements, and only about 10% or less have below-ground storm shelters."

Screenshot:

This is especially unfortunate, as the City of Moore also explains on its website:

Unless you are in a mobile home or a portable building, normally the best place to take shelter is "in-place", right where you are. The best place to take shelter is in a basement or a below-ground location. (...) The City of Moore has no community (or "public") tornado shelters. This is due to two factors: Overall, people face less risk by taking shelter in a reasonably-well constructed residence! There is no public building in Moore which has a suitable location for a shelter. Yes, there is less overall risk by sheltering-in-place than by going to a community shelter. The average tornado warning time is generally only 10-15 minutes. That's just not enough time for a person to receive the warning, make a conscious decision to leave their home, gather the few things needed (family, keys, etc.), lock the house, get into the car, drive to a shelter (including possibly experiencing a traffic jam of others trying to get to the same shelter!), get out of the car, and make the way into the community shelter. In this scenario, there's a far greater likelihood of getting caught in your car when the tornado strikes!

Yes, that is understandable. The warning time is too short, and this means that people need their own shelters, if they do not want to put their life in the hands of God!

So then why do only about 10 percent of the homes in Moore have "below-ground storm shelters?" Anyone who looks at the pictures from 1999 knows that their lurks a deadly menace over the City which could return easily - as it did yesterday!

I really would like to go on a longer rant here, but you are all aware of the facts, so I can make it short:

A country which...

...spends for example an insane amount of money on the military each year (currently more than one trillion dollar in total)...

...and which for example spends - in my opinion - also a pretty insane amount of money for (at least!) 16 intelligence services (roughly 80 billion dollars in 2010, sharply rising each year)...

...but forgets that its own citizens need support, a good infrastructure and solid protection by the authorities...

...should change its course immediately!

It is not that the City of Moore has not tried to change the situation.

On the website of the City of Moore, the current status of the "Safe Room Rebate Program" is being explained. The situation looks like this: The problem is that this program apparently has been stuck for years - up until today.

Quote from the website:

Safe Room Rebate Program - Update Feb. 2013

UPDATE - February 2013

The City's safe room rebate program is still "on hold", with not a lot changed from our update of last May.

Our county-wide Hazard Mitigation Plan still has not been approved by the State and FEMA. There were changes to the Federal requirements for this plan that occurred while our contractor was writing the document; he has had to rewrite it. We've found that the FEMA requirements and their interpretations seem to be a constantly moving target, more so with the new wrinkles. We're still working out various wording changes with the State reviewers and hope to submit the final document in March.

However, the Plan is not our main obstacle. The Federal grant program which funds local initiatives such as ours is funded by monies set aside during Presidential major disaster declarations. Oklahoma has had few of these declarations in the past couple of years, so there is not a lot of grant money available.

Once our Plan is approved and grant funds become available, we will certainly proceed with our rebate program application.

Safe Room Rebate Program Status – May 1st, 2012

In October 2011, the City of Moore solicited names and addresses of Moore residents interested in receiving federal grant monies toward the installation of a Safe Room or Storm Shelter. We were required to collect the data prior to submission of the City’s application to FEMA.

For the City of Moore to be eligible for the federal funds, we are required to have a FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) on file. The City collaborated with other communities in Cleveland County on the HMP and it was approved in September 2006 and expired in September 2011. The communities of Cleveland County began the revision process of the new Hazard Mitigation Plan during the summer of 2011.

(...)

It is the desire of the City to assist persons who are in Moore to have a place to seek refuge from severe weather. To this end, the City is gathering interest forms as the first step in applying for a hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We intend to apply for 2 million dollars in FEMA funding which will assist approximately 800 Moore homeowners.

This particular rebate program is for residential homes. Rental and/or commercial properties are not eligible. If a homeowner is chosen for the program and the City is successful in securing FEMA funding, the homeowner will be eligible to receive up to $2500 in rebate upon installation and verification of final paperwork.

Come on, Americans! This situation is ridiculous, and there are probably many more "City's of Moore" within the USA! Supporting the citizens is not socialism! Giving the people a good infrastructure and good public services is not Marxism! However, spending billions and billions for overblown prestige institutions is just a waste! The citizens have to come first!

Also, making the rich pay their fair share of taxes is also not socialism. It is part of bearing shared responsibility for the well-being of the society.

If all parts of the society work together for the common good and use common sense, the battered United States of America can get back on track again. But at the moment, the American patient still appears to be suffering badly.

The GOP's Funeral Will Be Held When They Finish Digging Their Own Grave

by Sunnyjane

The GOP has been on life support since 2008 or so, but it has finally succumbed to its self-inflicted case of Wingnuttery Inclusionus Nervosa.  And it isn't just the legislators who brought on this condition; their followers, Big Money supporters, and the far-right media have aided and abetted them the whole way.

There are so many instances of the GOP's determination to thwart anything the Obama administration tries to accomplish that it's difficult to know where to begin when discussing the latest hoohahs.  However, with Benghazi, the IRS, and the AP stories a'sizzling on the grill in the last two weeks, the Republican Tea Party seems to have finally found themselves red meat on which to chew, and they're snarling and yelping like a bunch of savage wolves.

So let's just jump right in, shall we?

Louie Gohmert's Latest Nutso Rant   

Did you hear Gohmert say I was casting aspersions on his asparagus?

It all began during another House hearing; this is all they do, you see, hold hearings, and it's especially fun when the victim is Eric Holder.  Anyhow, Louie Gohmert (R-Texas Idiot) decided he had not had enough irate spew time on the TV machine lately, so he took the opportunity on May 15 to rage against the Attorney General on everything from the IRS going after Christian organizations like Billy Graham to the handling of information from Russia on Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev to PETA insulting his pet rock.  (OK, I made that up about the pet rock; the truth is that Gohmert's pet rock left home some time ago after being yelled at for pooping pebbles in Louie's favorite pair of bedroom slippers.)

Whatever.  Louie accused the FBI of failing to question the now-dead-and-buried-in-Virginia Tsarnaev brother thoroughly enough, even after Russia had said the Boston bomber had been radicalized.  Then there ensued some crosstalk with the Chairman about Gohmert's having run out of questioning (questioning?) time, but he insisted that the AG respond.  So Holder said, The only observation I was going to make is that you state as a matter of fact what the FBI did and did not do. Unless somebody has done something inappropriate, you don't have access to the FBI files.  I know what the FBI did. You cannot know what I know. That's all.

Louie then entered red-faced stroke-zone territory and said, I cannot have a witness challenge my character … The attorney general will not cast aspersions on my asparagus.  Oh, yes, he really said that.  Check it out.  (No word on whether or not his Hollandaise sauce was likewise insulted.)
 
You Say Benghazi and I Say Bullshit

Sarah Palin demands that the lamestream media interview Mr. Ben Ghazi immediately and find out what he knows about the attack.

So anxious to bring an impeachment resolution (we can be sure it's already been drafted) against President Obama, the Hill obsesses daily on the September 11, 2012 attack on the embassy outpost in Benghazi where four staff were killed by Islamist militants.

House Speaker John Boehner is, according to insider sources, totally fixated with the issue.  See, it takes away all the pressure on him to actually be a leader, and he can earn much-needed creds with the far-right crowd.   And, of course, he doesn't have to focus on those distasteful Obama-agenda issues like gun reform, immigration, and jobs -- those icky  thingies that would actually benefit Americans. Boehner has told Darrell Issa (well known car thief and illegal possessor of guns) how to run the show, and the salivating Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has done the job with a passion, concluding that the White House has been involved in a cover-up!  Why?  Well, because the President of the United States committed the grievous offense of calling the attack an act of terror!

Here's what the Benghazi cover-up consists of, according to Issa himself: The words that are being used carefully — an ‘act of terror’ is different than a ‘terrorist attack.’   

And what, dear readers, did George W. Bush (you remember him, don't you?) call the September 11, 2001 violence against America that killed more than three thousand people?  An unbelievable act of terror.  See, it's not what's done that counts, it's who does it:  Bush = That's Cool!  Obama = Grounds for Impeachment!

Reports have been made that suggest the Republicans did a tad of, shall we call it, wordsmithing with the talking-points emails they're so adamant about seeing.  On Thursday, May 16, Major Garrett on CBS Evening News pretty much called the Republicans liars:  Republicans told us these were the quotes; that wasn’t true.  Copies of the emails the GOP leadership gave CBS appear to have been, um, altered. 

And ABC admitted that in their haste to smear the Obama administration, they didn't actually read the Benghazi emails.  These are journalists?  Perhaps they attended the Sarah Palin School of Journalism and/or Communications -- take your pick. 

Investigations?  You Really Wanna Talk Investigations?

Would you care for a little arson on the side, Mr. Issa?

In 2010, an investigation was conducted on Darrell Issa's background and it revealed that a fire that burned his Ohio manufacturing plant was, according to inspectors,  most likely the work of an arsonist.  Because the fire insurance policy had been raised from $100,000 to $462,000 just a few weeks prior to the fire, and evidence arose that Issa had removed computers and papers from the building, led inspectors to suspect Issa himself.  Neither he, nor anyone else, has ever been charged, however.

Ari Melber and Martin Bashir discussed this issue on Thursday, May 16.

Curiouser and curiouser.    

The Scourge of Sexual Assault in the Military

 Not only is it a crime, not only is it shameful and disgraceful...  President Obama, May 16, 2013

The President is pissed, and rightly so.  He hauled Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey to the White House on Thursday to read them the riot act.  Attending were also the chiefs of each military service, the civilian heads of each service, and enlisted advisers.

The issue received needed attention when the Air Force official in charge of its sexual-assault prevention program was recently arrested for groping the breasts and buttocks of a female.

And just this week,  the Sexual Assault Program Manager at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was arrested in a domestic dispute with his former wife.  

It's rather like what happens when the fox is guarding the hen house, isn't it?  Where's the GOP outrage?  When's the hearing on this issue going to be scheduled?  Oh, sorry...since it's only assaults against women, that doesn't count.

Obamacare: Let's Vote to Repeal it for the 37th Time!
 

And they did.  And it passed.  Yawn.

The Speaker of the House decided, once again, to spoil the children and let the seventy newbies in Congress vote to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act.  I did think it was very considerate that they waited until the lying adulterer Mark Sanford was sworn in on Wednesday, don't you?

Mr. Speaker, please let me introduce my mistress.  I found her while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

And Darrell Issa was having such a good week that he took the opportunity to start a little rumble on Obamacare, tweeting: 
 

Darrell Issa        ✔ @DarrellIssa

Hey folks, #ObamaCareInThreeWords -- go!

The White House lost no time in responding:

  The White House        ✔ @whitehouse

It's. The. Law. #ObamaCareInThreeWords, pic.twitter.com/yCHSmuxkKj

 
Curses!  Obama Ruined Our IRS Scandal!

Revelations that the IRS had been targeting conservative groups that had applied for tax exempt status hit the news on Monday, May 13, when ABC obtained the Inspector General's [IG] draft report.  Naturally, the GOP leadership began salivating at the prospect of another Obama Scandal!  YIPPEE!  Surely they had him by the short hairs this time, dontcha think?  Well...no.  They prepared all their talking points for when the President went on  defense.  That scenario didn't come to pass, however, because President Obama said on Wednesday that the actions that were outlined in the IG's report were unacceptable.  He further said that his administration would accept all of the recommendations in the report and would work with the Congress in their investigation.   Please proceed, Mr. Speaker.  

Naturally, there was no outrage when, under George W. Bush, the IRS targeted liberal organizations, including the NAACP, Greenpeace, and an Episcopal Church in California. 
   
Deaths by Idiots With Guns Continue Unabated

My Bonnie looked into the gun barrel, the contents she wanted to see. She fired the gun to assist her, oh bring back my Bonnie to me.

No post on the GOP would be complete without a mention of gun violence.  

According to Slate, which is (thankfully) keeping track of gun violence since Sandy Hook, 4,127 people have died since that awful day in Newtown.  At least seventy-one victims of that horrid statistic are children, many of whom had been killed by, um, accident.  This is not only unacceptable, it's a sin. 

Logic, Republican Tea Party style:  Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortion doctor who has recently been found guilty of murder in the deaths of three babies, is representative of all abortion doctors.  But gun-wielding mass murderers, children's deaths by their own hand or by accident, and all other gun injuries and deaths are not representative of the NRA-backed House and Senate...or, by responsible, law-abiding gun owners.

End Note

O Sole Mio - Open Post

By Kathleen

I'm dealing with sad news at the moment so this will be another open thread. My sister, who has been battling ovarian cancer for more than two years now, was admitted to hospital this week because of built up fluid in the lungs. Tests have revealed that after a year of remission the cancer has spread to her lungs and a new intensive treatment plan is on the cards. 

It's hard keeping abreast of politics when there are so many other considerations clouding my view. So instead of concentrating on Benghazi and the IRS faux scandals, and the even more faux poutrage emanating from the GOP, I have been looking at much more human stories on the internet. Stories to warm the heart rather than outrage it. I just watched one which was posted at an on-line Bridal magazine Gent & Beauty which I was introduced to by my eldest daughter. It definitely made me smile and as the ballad featured in the video is an actual favourite of mine I wanted to share it with our readers here at Politicalgates. It's heart warming to see real people singing and the joy of a whole community pulling together to help Danial surprise Gerda is even more meaningful. 

Here are the lyrics of O Sole Mio in Italian, followed by the English translation:

Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole,
N'aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe' ll'aria fresca pare già na festa...
Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole.

Ma n'atu sole
Cchiù bello, oje ne'.
O sole mio
Sta 'nfronte a te!
O sole
O sole mio
Sta 'nfronte a te!
Sta 'nfronte a te!

Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne,
Me vene quase 'na malincunia;
Sotto 'a fenesta toia restarria
Quanno fa notte e 'o sole se ne scenne.

Ma n'atu sole
Cchiù bello, oje ne'.
O sole mio
Sta 'nfronte a te!
O sole, Ohhh sole mio
Sta 'nfronte a te!
Sta 'nfronte a te!

What a wonderful thing a sunny day
The serene air after a thunderstorm
The fresh air, and a party is already going on…
What a wonderful thing a sunny day.

But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!

When night comes and the sun has gone down,
I start feeling blue;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun has gone down.

But another sun,
that’s brighter still
It’s my own sun
that’s in your face!
The sun, my own sun
It’s in your face!
It’s in your face!

Music transcends language - it has a particular beauty of its very own. Whether the song is about pain or joy it has a deeper meaning which touches us all in different ways. For the young couple in the video their particular joy appears to be that Danial finds warmth in the eyes of his loved one and that is why he chose that particular song. I'm sure that Gerda feels the same and I think that it is a sentiment that we can all relate to. I know that I do and so O Sole Mio is also dedicated from me to my sister. Here is one of my favourite versions of the ballad.

Take time with your loved ones. We will be back with a political post soon. 

Open Thread - Frankfurt am Main, Germany, May 2013 - PLUS: Comedy Bonus and Blue Sheep!

By Patrick

Hi everyone, at the last post we have more than 1.000 comments already. Therefore I thought that it is a good idea to put up an open thread, so that the comments will be easier to access, and hopefully we can get more than 1.000 comments here as well (just joking)!

Anyway, as many of you will know, I am an enthusiastic hobby photographer, and once the weather is fine, our city, Frankfurt am Main in Germany, provides great opportunities for taking pictures.

There is no shortage of objects, as Frankfurt am Main has become a "paradise" for modern architecture, and is one of Germany's biggest boom towns.

So hope you enjoy some of the pictures which I have taken this week, and please continue to talk about anything and everything.

Click on the pictures to enlarge, naturally!

+++

BONUS:

OK, if we have an open thread, we ought to have some comedy as well. Unless of course there is absolutely nothing to laugh about any more!

I love Hollywood-people, they sometimes seem to live on a different planet, with less worries, more sun and fun, and quite often also with more money, the lucky ones! We have a number of very dear friends around LA and in CA, and who knows, maybe we will visit there one day, after we have purchased bulletproof vests and have studied all about the rules in order not to be thrown in same privatized US dungeon from which we would probably never escape again.

So let's share some laughs with some of the "stars" - first, Steve Carell, who clearly is a master in the art of improvised expressions, on Conan:

Also hilarious - Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig at the Golden Globes:

+++

BONUS 2:

Some historically interesting photos which I took at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. The vaults of the castle served as a prison for prisoners of war in the 18th century and early 19th century, and prisoners from many countries were imprisoned there, including Americans, and they often had to live there for several years before they were released.

The prisoners sometimes made carvings in the doors which had political messages, and some of these carvings remained. I took a picture of two of the carvings which relate to America, and the explanations (when I saw them, I actually immediately thought to put them on the blog at some point).

Here is an explanation about the rations which the prisoners received -
note the last sentence about Americans:

One man's pirate is another man's freedom fighter! :-)

+++

BONUS 3:

Look at this! You wouldn't believe what I just found - the creators of the blue sheep also create for example blue rabbits and blue little piggies!

As the blue sheep were such a smashing success, here are the contact details of their creators, in case you seriously consider to buy some (I already included the German country code):

Mrs. Bertamaria Reetz
Mr. Rainer Bonk
Lohmuhler Weg 6
47495 Rheinberg
Germany
Landline: 0049 2844 900290
Fax: 0049 2844 903935
Mobile: 0049 160 8026260
Email: bertamaria.reetz@gmx.de
OR
kontakt@blauschaeferei.de

They actually say that it would be better to call them.

They even had an exhibition in a church in Germany:

Give Us This Day Our Daily Gun Tragedy Statistics

by Sunnyjane

Father and three-year-old daughter at Day of Resistance rally, February 2013, defending her right to be color-coordinated, perhaps. 

When Children Play with Guns, Somebody Dies
  
We tend to keep our progeny out of harm's way; it's instinctive.  How many parents allow their children to amuse themselves with matches or play soccer in busy streets?   Damn few, I wager, because those activities are dangerous, of course.  Amusement parks all over America are regulated by standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials to the degree that children must adhere to non-negotiable height restrictions for even the tamest rides.  This is not messing with our freedoms; it's saving our children's lives.

The number of federal or state laws and regulations addressing children and guns?  ZERO.  Oh, there are plenty of tips for having weapons in the house; just typing in How to keep children safe with guns in the home yielded two hundred and thirty-four million hits. 

Two-year-old Caroline

All too often, where guns are a way of life, they are also a way of death -- strictly because there are no gun laws governing the age children should attain or the training they should have before being allowed to use weapons.  When an accidental gun tragedy occurs, the legal response pretty much amounts to nothing more than Shit Happens.  This shrug-of-the-shoulders attitude was brought to our attention just recently when a five-year-old with his very first My First Rifle shot and killed his two-year-old sister.  One  link to this adorable weapons manufacturer's marketing website says the website doesn't exist; another says it's down for maintenance.  

Eight-year-old Christopher

It's all legal & fun — No permits or licenses required!!!!  read an ad on the Westfield Sportsman's Club's website for their upcoming Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo back in 2008.   

Charles Bizilj, a Connecticut emergency room doctor and father of eleven-year-old Colin and eight-year-old Christopher, decided that running up to Massachusetts  to this event would provide his boys with a spot of jolly good entertainment.  It did not turn out that way.  

[Full disclosure: There is so much appalling about this story that it's difficult for me to write.] 

Dr. Bizilj gave his signed permission for his younger son to shoot an Uzi, a submachine gun that fires 20 rounds a second.  The fifteen-year-old line officer, who was not licensed to possess machine guns or act as an instructor, actually advised the father twice that the gun was probably not a suitable weapon for his son because of its violent recoil.  Even though it was obvious that Christopher was having difficulty handling the gun, his father insisted that he be allowed to shoot the Uzi.  Ultimately, the child lost control of the weapon, shot himself in the head, and died.  Police determined his death was a self-inflicted accidental shooting.

Charges and Verdicts 

Involuntary manslaughter charges were brought against Edward B. Fleury, the former police chief who organized the gun expo.  Verdict: Not Guilty.
   
Involuntary manslaughter charge were also brought against Carl Giuffre and Domenico Spano, who supplied the guns for the show.  The prosecutor dropped the charges after the Not Guilty verdict for Fleury.

Michael Spano, son of Domenico Spano and the line officer who advised Dr. Bizilj that his son should not be shooting the Uzi, was not charged, even though Massachusetts law states that it is legal for children to shoot a gun only if they have a parent's permission and are supervised by a properly certified and licensed instructor. 

Because there are no laws against parental stupidity in Massachusetts (nor in any other state where guns are concerned), Dr. Charles Bizilj was not charged in his son's death.  In fact, he and his wife sued the Westfield Sportsman's Club and settled out of court for $700,000.  In addition, Dr. Bizilj wrote an eighty-two-page book that sells for $23.  Was it about a parent's responsibility to make good decisions when it comes to guns?  No.  Did it advocate for new gun laws to protect the very young?  No.  Amazon.com described it in two sentences:  A clear and defined approach to managing the profound grief after the loss of a loved one. Written for those who have the desire and courage to return to meaningful life after such a loss.  (The customer reviews are brutal.) 

UPDATE:  In what can only be considered one of the most offensive statements a person who is morally responsible for the death of another can make, Dr. Bizilj said at his son’s funeral that they had experienced many adventures, of which the machine gun expo was just another.  Then he added:  Christopher lived a lifetime in his short eight years.  Susie and I have no regrets. 

End Note

It seems that some senators are  finding themselves between a rock and a hard place due to their voting against the expanded background checks bill that failed recently, and have signaled their willingness to take a second look at it.

I have a suggestion for Senate Majority Leader Reid that will put some teeth in the next gun reform proposal:

Introduce a bill that completely repeals the Second Amendment, and start the negotiations from there.  You've got very little to lose, Harry. 

Don't retreat; repeal! 

(H/T: JCos)

Remember When the GOP Thought Sequestration Was a Great Idea?

by Sunnyjane

If there's one lesson President Obama failed to learn during his first term in office, it's Never trust Republicans to do what's right for the American people. 

The Backstory: How In The Hell Did This Sequester Happen?

John (Boehner) 1:1 -- In the beginning there was The Word, and The Word was... NO!

Eight days after Barack Obama's 2009 Inauguration, the plot hatched by pissed-off  Republicans to show united and unyielding opposition to the president’s economic policies  began with Eric Cantor making sure that all House Republicans voted NO on the President's economic stimulus plan.  Cantor got what he wanted, but the House was controlled by the Democrats in the 111th Congress, and even though the one hundred and seventy-seven Republicans voted against it, the bill passed at 244-188, with eleven Democrats also voting Nay.  

[And by the way, if you're one of those progressives who is disappointed that the President has not closed the prison at Guantanamo Bay -- a campaign promise he made in 2008 -- I've got a News Flash for you: you can blame the congress.  As The Hill reported in October 2009, Lawmakers are using their authority to direct federal spending to prevent the Obama administration from closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay ... The latest example came on Thursday when the House instructed conferees negotiating with the Senate on a final version of the Homeland Security spending bill to include language prohibiting the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to U.S. soil. The bill already includes a provision prohibiting the detainees from air travel within or to the United States.  And just recently, John Fugelsang told a reporter with Mother Jones: The Republican Party has done an incredibly good job of frightening people with the image of Guantanamo Bay detainees, the most hardened terrorists in the world — supposedly — running through Pleasantville, U.S.A., armed to the teeth and murdering people. But obviously that’s not really what would happen if Gitmo detainees were transferred to the United States. They’d be in the most secure federal institutions basically on the planet.]

Adding insult to injury for Republicans, the Affordable Care Act passed in early 2010.  By hastily and carelessly scraping the mold off the bottom of the Koch Tea Party’s old rotten wooden bucket for the mid-term elections, the GOP then succeeded in putting up the most racist, homophobic, misogynistic, ignorant, gun-loving candidates in the history of this country. Small Government became the mantra they screeched far and wide, they won back the House, and we were blessed with Speaker John Boehner and budget guru Paul Ryan.  By now, The Word was The Two Words:  HELL NO, and the 112th Congress became the most do-nothing obstructionist body of legislators in the history of the United States.

Don't Raise the Debt Ceiling, Just Lower the Floor...or Something Like That

Though it gets somewhat complicated here, it's important to understand the history; but I'll be as succinct and brief as possible.  

It was during the 2011 debt ceiling squabble negotiations that the Republican Tea Party got combative with the Obama administration.  Raising the debt ceiling is historically a formality, one granted so that the government of the United States can pay the debt for legislative spending already approved by the President and the Congress.  However, in 2011 the Republicans decided to hold up approval for raising the debt ceiling by insisting, among other things, that taxes not be raised on the American people (translation: forget the American worker, we're protecting the One Percent) and that entitlement programs be cut.  Much to the dismay of Democrats, President Obama was willing to consider entitlement reform.  Even Bob Woodward, certainly no friend of Democrats and no fan of Barack Obama, said, Obama and the White House were willing to go quite far.  

By July 2011, when time was running out to avert economic disaster -- and sequestration in 2013 --  the President and Speaker Boehner had what they thought was a Grand Bargain.  A day or so later, Boehner stood up and said, basically, Ain't gonna happen!   OK, what he really said was,  Despite good-faith efforts to find common ground, the White House will not pursue a bigger debt reduction agreement without tax hikes, which amounted to the same thing: Ain't gonna happen. 

The President warned that if sequestration came to pass two years later, there would be dramatic consequences.  Automatic tax hikes and spending cuts would go into effect to the tune of $85,000,000,000 (that's eighty-five BILLION dollars) across all government agencies that would affect every American in the nation.  The House of Representatives did...not...care.  The newly installed Tea Party legislators actually grumbled loud and long that the government was not forced to shut down.

And why didn't the House care about the threat of sequestration taking affect in 2013?  Why, because they were going to make President Obama a one-term president.

That didn't work out too well.  May I remind you, dear readers, of the 2012 Election Results:  Obama 332 vs. Romney 206.   

Let the Sequestration Blame Game Begin!
 

Washington loves that always popular anyone-can-participate sport of Which Party is to Blame, and the current tag-you're-it! game is Sequestration.  While secretly gleeful that the spending cuts they've been hawking for all these years were actually going to take effect on January 2, 2013, the GOP went on a public rampage against the Obama administration. 

Scathingly calling it Obamaquester, or Obama's Sequester, the GOP took part in their typical charade.  Boehner lied when he said the disastrous defense cuts were President Obama's fault; he actually thought up those cuts in 2011.  FactCheck.org called out some other GOP liars on the same issue.

But who is really responsible for the sequester?  Take a guess.  OK, it's the tag-team Tea Party darlings Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan!  Who'd a'thunk it, eh?  In late February, Paul Ryan was running around yammering that the Senate wasn't doing anything and President Obama was touring the country campaigning instead of governing.  What he failed to say (heh) was that in order to replace the sequester, the House would have to pass a new bill.  Problem?  Yes, because Boehner would not allow any sequestration replacement bills to come to the floor of the House for a vote.

At the same time, Eric Cantor was confirming to a Politicususa reporter that, in 2011, he and Paul Ryan were responsible for talking Boehner out of agreeing to the Grand Bargain!

But never mind.  Even though John Boehner admitted that he had no clue what effect the sequester was going to have,  he was pretty sure it wouldn't be felt by most Americans.  Paul Ryan was adamant that the Republicans were fine with the sequester taking effect.  Republicans generally were unafraid of the consequences of the looming cuts, and some even decided that the President was exaggerating the impact of the sequester.

But then... 

The Old Feces Hit the Flying Machines

         

When the automatic cuts began in March, Boehner further lied (is this at all surprising?) by saying that there's no plan from Senate Democrats or the White House to replace the sequester.

There was universal outrage by Republican lawmakers when the Administration announced cancellation of White House tours due to sequestration cuts.  John Boehner chuffed, The President is trying to make it tough on members of Congress. It's just sick. I want to know who is being laid off at the White House, and Louie Gohmert demanded that the President's golf trips be cancelled until the White House tours resume.  No mention of Americans who will suffer far more from these cuts than tourists who come to Washington for a little sightseeing.

The gnashing and spitting subsided after that little GOP tantrum, and the merry lawmakers went back to their normal entertainments of doing absolutely nothing that would benefit their constituents.  Rand Paul decided to demonstrate further proof that he's an idiot by filibustering gun reform, with senators Mike Lee and Ted Cruz providing harmony.  Gun reform failed on April 24.

So it came as something of a shock to their systems when air traffic controllers were furloughed on Sunday, April 21.  Even though FAA administrator Michael Huerta had warned of furloughs and flight delays as recently as Thursday, April 18, Republicans attempted to skewer him.  Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers said, This imperial attitude … on the part of the administration is disgusting. Then to turn around and try to blame the difficulties of flying on Congress is unacceptable.  He further blubbered that they had heard not a whisper, not a word about controllers being furloughed.

Poor Hal.  I guess he was absent when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said back in February that the country should get ready for controller furloughs.

The only Meals on Wheels issue the congress cares about is the drinks and food cart coming down the airplane aisle.  (H/T Jon Stewart)

But all is well now.  They took care of that little issue post haste by finding some money to get the controllers back in those towers, by damned!  After all, it's much more important that our esteemed legislators get back home to their home districts by the cocktail hour than it is to ensure that Head Start programs, cancer treatment centers, and Meals on Wheels are funded.

They have their priorities, you understand.

 

Oh, and on the Medicare-provided cancer treatment centers?  Suddenly lawmakers are losing control of their sphincter ani externus muscles and pleading with the President to exercise his discretion, to the degree permissible, to administer the cuts in a manner which protects beneficiary access to critical oncology services.

End Note

You seem to suggest that somehow, these folks over there have no responsibilities and that my job is to get them to behave. That’s their job. They are elected; members of Congress are elected in order to do what’s right for their constituencies and for the American people. 

 

President Obama's press conference, April 30, 2013