Unbelievable

So, you're a Congressman. You get the unemployment numbers often and you know how many people are still unemployed and looking for work. You look at the calendar and it says November 30th. You realize that when the clock strikes midnight and December begins, unemployment benefits expire for nearly a million people. What do you do?

You would think they would get their act together and hold a vote which would immediately extend those benefits. It makes sense -- not just because millions are still looking for jobs, but because Christmas is a little over three weeks away. If anything, do it because it's the season of generosity.

It came up today in the Senate and the Republicans blocked debate on it.

Their reasoning? Well there's two reasons:

1. They don't want it to add to the deficit.

2. They want to push through tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans before anything else.

The Republicans blocked discussion on this issue because they don't want it to add to the deficit but they won't do anything else until they get tax cuts for the top 2% of income earners which will end up adding $700 billion to the deficit.

Make sense to you?

If it doesn't, you're not alone. If it does, you need to see a doctor.

I know Republicans get off railing against anything resembling a welfare check or an unemployment check.

The President sometimes discusses it as follows (I'm paraphrasing):

They tell you its the ownership society, but basically it's "You're on your own." If you lose your job, you're on your own. If your child doesn't have health care, you're on your own. If you can't afford to send your kids to college, you're on your own. If you lose your home, tough luck, you're on your own. In other words, pull yourself up from your own boot straps -- even if you don't have boots. You are on your own.

This is what it's all about. There are two lines of thoughts here. Look at the two priorities of the respective political parties. Who are the Republicans fighting for when they reject unemployment benefits for the millions out there without jobs but fight tooth and nail for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires?

According to the Congressional Budget Office, extending these benefits to the unemployed is one of the quickest ways of stimulating the economy. Why? Because unemployed are likely to pump the money back into the economy right away by spending money on groceries and necessities. What are the top 2% of income earners going to do with the money they get back from their tax breaks the Republicans are fighting for? Chances are (and this is according to most economists), they're not going to invest it back into the economy but instead save it.

As the benefits of nearly a million Americans run out tonight, the Republican Party continues to show that it isn't just the party of no but the party of no conscience -- straight from the pages of Ayn Rand.

Good night, and good luck.

Gays in the Military and Senator McCain

Can you tell which of these dead soldiers is the gay one? Neither can I. I wonder if Senator McCain goes to all soldiers' funerals or just the soldiers who are straight.

It's about time we end the policy that says a gay person can't serve his or her country.

And, Senator McCain will go down in history on the same page as those who said African Americans couldn't vote or eat in the same restaurants or go to the same schools as white Americans. In 50 years, after we have broken this barrier, Senator McCain will fall into the scrap heap of American history and be on the page of other old and out-of-touch Conservatives who stood against anyone and anything that wasn't like them.

He's a sell out.

Jobs

Here are some numbers showing the continuing improvement of our employment situation here in the United States. We've had ten months (11 if you count this month) of private sector job creation. In fact more jobs have been created under the Obama administration in 2010 than under all 8 years (2001-2009) of the Bush administration.

If you didn't notice, the red bars represent the job growth (or loss) under the Bush administration and the blue bars represent job numbers under the Obama administration.