Proof Positive that the Republican “War on Terror” was all Bulls***:

Remember 9/11? And how the Bushistas said we really needed the Patriot Act? And the repeal of habeas corpus? And warrantless wiretaps? And secret agencies and laws (and tons of oh-so-secret funding)? And a couple of land wars that killed lots of soldiers and civilians?

And a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them? Ohmygoodnessgracious, the DHS was ESSENTIAL to winning the Global War on Terror (GWOT) (Teapubbies totally suck out loud at acronyms, have you ever noticed?). We simply HAD to have it, and to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on it. And right away, too. Remember?

Of course you remember. So do we all. Which makes things seem puzzling today, when the Teapublicans are willing to kneecap that ever-so-very important agency, just to stick a thumb in Obama’s eye. How could they take such a risk to such an all-important entity over such a trivial matter of prosecutorial discretion of alleged illegal immigrants?

The answer is obvious: DHS isn’t really important.

DHS, GWOT, and the entirety of the “Republican agenda” of the day was, is, and will always be neither more nor less than  a right-wing wet dream come true; an enormous, extra-constitutional seizure of power and money, designed solely to enrich and empower a privileged few while impoverishing disempowering the masses.

Now that we know this to be the case, it’s time to do away with DHS and every other Bush-era “Republican” piece of policy or law that has anything at all to do with national security: because it was bulls*** when it was proposed, bulls*** when enacted, bulls*** when expanded, and is still bulls*** today.

Away with Gitmo, torture, wiretaps,  secrecy, imperialist wars of choice,  the Patriot Act, all of it. Throw it all onto the dungheap of history (as one should always do with bulls***) and return our stolen funds and freedoms to us.

And prosecute the conniving mammy-jammers responsible for the scam as well. Let them stand under the crap they created as we pitchfork it onto their compost pile.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Two More Strong Arguments for the Separation of Church and State:

Michigan, a Blue state that stupidly elected a Red government, is learning just how stupid its voting choices were. The Michigan House of “Representatives” has passed a religious oppression “freedom” bill that pretty much gives the finger to our Constitutional rights as guaranteed by the Establishment Clause:

The Michigan House of Representatives, led by Speaker Jase Bolger (photo, above, left, with Gov. Rick Snyder,) just passed a bill that would allow discrimination to become sanctioned by the state. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, akin to one that made nationwide headlines in Arizona but was vetoed, appears to merely force the government to step aside if a person’s “deeply-held religious beliefs” mandate they act, or not act, in a certain manner.

Supporters of these bills claim they allow people of faith to exercise their religion without government interference, but in reality, they are trojan horses, allowing rampant discrimination under the guise of religious observance.

For example, under the Religious Freedom law, a pharmacist could refuse to fill a doctor’s prescription for birth control, or HIV medication. An emergency room physician or EMT could refuse service to a gay person in need of immediate treatment. A school teacher could refuse to mentor the children of a same-sex couple, and a DMV clerk could refuse to give a driver’s license to a person who is divorced. 

Fundagelicals who support such “religious freedom” laws claim that the Founders were all about having a theocracy, but that argument would wash a lot of hogs. The author of the First Amendment himself (Thomas Jefferson) said it himself, time and again:

Be it enacted by General Assembly that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of Religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge or affect their civil capacities.

And, of course, he was not alone:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; 

That bit being written by one Mr. Ames, wih help from James Madison and others. Add in the Supremacy Clause, and you can see that what Michigan’s Teapublican government is attempting to do is not just unconstitutional, it’s extraconstitutional. Perhaps you could say “treasonous and seditious” instead. Or, how about “un-American and illegal as all Hell”?

This writer has occasional need to travel to the Thumb State, and would prefer not to be left to die by, say, a Nazarene physician from Michigan who doesn’t like Presbyterians and refused to work on me based on his religious objection. That would be allowed if the law in question were to be enacted.

People, here we have two reasons for the Separation of Church and State: the law itself, and what would happen if we did not have that law to protect us. It is time to run these Teapubbies out of office on an elctoral rail. And that soon.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Two years ago today, America’s Profit-Driven Health Care system killed my only son (Warning – profanity)

You see, he died because health insurers refused to pay for the care he needed: had they paid for it, they wouldn’t have made as much profit. He died so that millionaires can get even richer, and that’s the ONLY God-damned reason he died.

So here’s a big “Fuck You” to anyone and everyone who opposes Health Care Reform. It could have saved his life.

Here’s another one to anyone who opposes the Affordable Care Act (flawed though it is, it at least kept my boy alive a bit longer).

Here’s a big “Fuck YOU, Motherfucker” to all the legislators and pundits who are still trying to block further improvements in accountability, care, coverage and quality in our national health care system.

Simply put, if you are in favor of a health care system that is purely based on greed and profit (as America’s is and has been), then you are in favor of people dying so millionaires can get even richer. And yes, Fuck You for that.

Fuck You, John Boehner. Fuck You, Mitch McConnell. Fuck You, Aetna. Fuck You, Sam Brownback. Fuck everyone who is like you, too.

You want objectivity when my kid got killed, motherfucker? Yeah, right. If it was your kid, you’d be saying the same thing I’m saying right now. So, no, I’m not objective on this topic.

And fuck it, I don’t care. Aetna banked big bucks, their people got bonuses, and where did that money come from? It came from denying care and saving money thereby: and by so doing, killing people like my son. So fuck objectivity. Sometimes, objectivity is just a bunch of rationalized, sophist bullshit.

In closing, here’s one more “FUCK YOU, MOTHERFUCKER” FOR ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTS THE POLICIES THAT KILLED MY KID.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

P.S. Here’s a big shout-out to the President for still standing by the ACA when so many evil, greedy motherfuckers have been buying congresscritters to try and kill more people with bad insurance. And a big boot up the asses of those bought politicos.

The government is not, repeat NOT scared of your guns. Here’s proof.

The arms industry makes a pretty penny by scaring us into thinking that the Eeeeeevil Government is gonna take away our firearms. Indeed, they and their pet politicos would have us believe that our guns are the only thing stopping said evil gummint from imposing some sort of Satanic tyranny. This is fertilizer of the finest, and here is how we know it’s bulls***:

Go look for active legislative, judicial, or executive actions that seek to take away our right to keep and bear arms (RKBA for short). No rumors, no CT, no crap you heard at the bar or barbershop, we are talking actual government actions to violate our Second Amendment rights. You found nothing, right? Neither did I.

Now look for government actions to limit or take away your right to VOTE. You found a helluva lot, right? Yeah, me too.

It’s not your bullets that the government fears, Gentle Reader: it’s your BALLOTS. Were they scared of our guns, they’d be trying to take them away, and they aren’t. Pretty clear, isn’t it?

Want to scare your elected “representatives”? Get on out and vote, and show them who’s boss.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky (proud gun owner AND voter)

Teapublicans force hospitals to close and cause infants to die, because they hate Obama.

Deny it all you want, but that is what’s happening. In Red states that have refused to take free Federal money for Medicaid expansion, hospitals are closing and babies are dying. Each and every state that is refusing Medicaid Expansion is run by Teabagging “Republicans” who hates them some Obama. Click the links if you don’t believe it. So it’s clear: these slimy creeps are willing to see you and your kids die, so just so they can go “nanny-nanny-boo-boo” to the President of the United States.

You have to wonder why an allegedly “pro-life” party would deliberately ensure the deaths of thousands of people, including infants. One also wonders why a party that loves state-level governance is passing on billions of dollars in free money. The reason is plain and simple: they hate our President and anything that has his name anywhere near it.

Today as this is being written, hospitals are preparing to close. People whose lives could have been saved are dying. And it is for petty political payback, by a bunch of vindictive “Republicans” who are willing to see innocent blood shed in order to inflict harm on our President. That’s a lot of blood on the paws of those scumbag Red politicians.

And if you vote “Republican”, Gentle Reader, there is blood on your hands, too. If you don’t love dead babies, then don’t vote for Repubs. If you don’t like dead senior citizens, don’t vote for Repubs.

If you DO vote for a GOP candidate, you express your support for deliberately causing the death of thousands of your fellow citizens. By your choice we will know you.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

ObamaCare Helps California Small Businesses Get 36 Million $$ in Refunds from Insurance Companies. Repubs Still Hate It.

Today’s LA Times has the story: because of ObamaCare, health insurers who get caught gouging their customers have to pay back the money they tried to steal. In this case, millions of dollars are going back to small businesses in California.

Now, you’d think that “Republicans”, who are always rattling on about the glories of small business, would be supportive of the ACA when it does something good for those small businesses. You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.

No, the Elephants are still trying to trample the health care law, with all of its savings and benefits. Because, Gentle Reader, they don’t really support small business, or the free market, or much of anybody except their paymasters campaign contributors . And, you guessed ‘er Chester, those greedy motherfu**ing health insurers have been giving lots and lots of bribes campaign contributions to Repubs.

As is so often the case in politics, it’s all about the money. The Affordable Care Act, remember, was a “Republican” idea in the first place, and indeed was first implemented in Massachusetts by a Repub Governor. So if it were truly about the policy, the ‘Phants would love it. But, of course, they don’t.

The only thing our “representatives” care about is lining their own pockets. They don’t give a damn how much we pay for what, or what happens to us if we can’t pay. Don’t believe it? Look at the proven benefits of ObamaCare, then look at how the Repubs are still trying to kill it, and provide another explanation. We won’t hold our breath waiting on you.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

We Told You So (How Obamacare Is Cleaning Up Health Care Financing)

In April of 2012, Mr. Blunt and Cranky wrote this post:https://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/you-are-already-paying-for-the-uninsured-but-the-costs-are-hidden/, in which he pointed out that hospitals inflate the prices charged to the uninsured in order to cook their books. The uninsured get charged far more than the actual cost + profit; they get sued and their credit is destroyed when they can’t pay the bill; and the hospital writes off the artificially high loss as charity care, or as an unpaid debt. This shell game allows providers to scam patients, governments, insurers, and taxpayers. And for years, it’s been in the shadows.

Recently the New York Timed came out with a story that said pretty much the same thing as this blog said last year (nice of them to finally catch up). Short version: ObamaCare requires these medical con artists to clean up their acts and stop fleecing the rest of us, and shines a bright light into the shadows where the ripoffs have hitherto occurred. Specifically, ObamaCare requires health care providers to charge the uninsured the same as they charge the insured. That, people, is a big deal, because it makes their cost-shifting scams illegal.

You can learn a lot about what something is for by seeing who is against it: almost everybody is in favor of this part of the ACA; almost everyone, that is, except for health care providers. They hate this law, because they can’t rip us off as easily as they used to. So they have bought Congresscritters and Senators aplenty, and spent money on lying TV and radio ads to make us believe that ObamaCare is badbadbadohyessoverybadindeed. They didn’t do that because Obamacare is bad for US, they did it because Obamacare is bad for THEM, and their borderline-criminal activities.

And what does it say about the state of our news media that one cantankerous old blogger scooped the NYT by 13 months? After all, it’s not like the information wasn’t out there, or that this writer is some kind of frickin’ genius. No, the media sat on this story for years before they put it out. That is almost as contemptible as the actions of the health care industry.

Mr. Blunt and Cranky

Lying Sack of S*** of The Week: Antonin Scalia

This week’s Crown O’ Polished Turds shall adorn the misshapen dome of a Supreme Court “Justice”. Antonin Scalia (an Italian name meaning “scaly like a snake”) this week declared from the bench that providing everyone equal access to the polls was “racial entitlement”. Yes, he really said that.

Fat Tony is saying that providing those who have been discriminated against when trying to vote with protection against further discrimination is somehow giving these crime victims some sort of special goodies. Never mind that the poor, elderly, the young and people of color are still being victimized.

Let us imagine for a moment what Mister rude gesture is thinking, in the darkness of his bigoted, slimy head: probably something along the order of “those damned jigaboos need to learn their place”. No doubt he also feels that the nips Japanese should still be confined to internment camps, and bitches women should not be allowed to vote, along with the micks Irish, wetbacks Hispanics, terrorists Moslems and pretty much everyone but bead-squeezers Catholic honkies white men. Had he been around in Pharaoh’s day, he’d have been putting more chains on the kikes Israelites, no doubt.

You may find the previous paragraph to be offensive, and you’re right: it is. Why, it’s nearly as offensive as a Supreme Court reinstating slavery invalidating the Voting Rights Act and claiming that they are promoting “equality”.

Mr. Scalia, you may wear your COPTs, but you’d be better off to eat it, so as to harmonize better with the rest of your body chemistry.

Mr. B & C