The rich are getting richer BECAUSE the poor are getting poorer

As we munch popcorn and watch the Republicans in their death match with President Obama over the fiscal speed bump and whether or not our economy will tumble to the ground if we raise taxes on the super-rich by 3.9%, a big part of the rhetoric we hear from the GOP is that this is a tax on business owners. Besides the fact that this is largely untrue and that in the small percentage of businesses affected, it only raises taxes on their income OVER $250,000 year, the fact is that our country’s economy is largely driven by large corporations and the contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by small businesses is shrinking.

Big businesses, as it turns out, are doing just fine. Workers’ wages, on the other hand? Not so much.

Dorquist-(n) someone who would never cheat on Grover Norquist Here’s the problem: The GOP knows they lost the White House along with seats in the House and Senate. And they don’t really care. Sure, they recognize that if they lose the state of Texas the way they have California, they’re basically on a free-fall path to extinction. But the Republicans […]

This guest post is the epilogue to a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) The first part is HERE, the second is HERE, and the third part is HERE.

The story that Lynn shares in today’s final segment puts the claim of being “pro life” in sharp perspective. You’ll find it after the jump.

Fundamentalist doctors vs. science-based medicine

This guest post is the third in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) The first part is HERE and the second is HERE. She’ll be posting an epilogue here at Eclectablog tomorrow.

In this final part of Lynn’s series, she talks about the role of fundamentalist doctors, what should be but is not an oxymoron, and their role in the death of Savita as well as who knows how many other women around the world.

Part III after the jump.

They love you until you’re born

It’s getting pretty tough for Michigan Republicans to surprise me anymore but, dammit, they went ahead and did it anyway. This week, they introduced legislation that establishes a tax credit for unborn fetuses.

I’m not kidding.

Government policy set by anti-Choice ideologues — it could happen HERE

< i>This guest post is the second in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) The first part is HERE. She’ll be posting the final part here at Eclectablog tomorrow.

The heartbreaking story of Savita Halappanavar has serious connections to the U.S. government, our federal policies on women’s reproductive freedom and health care and who gets to determine those policies. As Lynn shows in her piece, the same type of 18th Century thinking that resulted in the death of Savita is in public display here in our own country by U.S. lawmakers and doctors today.

Part 2 of this important series after the jump.

Lethal ideology

This guest post is the first in a three-part series by Lynn Miller (aka VeloVixen from Daily Kos.) She’ll be posting all three parts here at Eclectablog over the next few days.

The story of Savita Halappanavar is both heartbreaking and, sadly, preventable. It was literally the triumph of small-minded Catholic ideology, misapplied in this particular instance, over the life of a healthy woman.

Part 1 of this story after the jump.

Yes, Ronald Reagan Socialized Medicine In The United States There are two dirty secrets in American politics. The first is that the GOP is the real “food stamp party”. The second is that we already pay for each other’s health care in the dumbest possible way, thanks to Ronald Reagan. Every time an uninsured person waits to the last possible […]

We’ve seen this type of thing before..

Reader Greg S. sent me a link to this astonishingly creepy video from a group that calls themselves “im2moro” (“I’m tomorrow”, get it?) It has a bunch of teenagers imploring adult voters to vote to preserve conservative values by electing conservative politicians. But it goes way beyond that. It’s so over the top that it reminds me of the type of propaganda you’d expect from the Third Reich Nazis, brainwashing children into a passionate and unquestioning nationalism.

The video and commentary after the jump.

Wait. You thought they’d let you vote?

Since the turn of the century, Republicans in power have recognized two things: hardcore religious and socially super-conservative white people could be a major voting bloc for them and they could NEVER let these people have any power of their own. So, each election cycle, they would trot out the “guns, God, and gays” fear machine to stoke up fear and anger and resentment and then channel that into heavy turnout at the polls for their candidate. This is, largely, how George W. Bush got elected. The issues of abortion, gun control, affirmative action, and gay marriage were useful tools for making this group of people useful tools.

Over time, that demographic has shifted into what’s now called the tea party and their patron saint is Ron Paul. More organized than before, this group is even more powerful (as we saw from the 2010 election) and the Republican Party machine knows this. That’s why they have gone to extraordinary lengths to strip Paul supporters of any significant role at the RNC Convention this week and have sent his remaining delegates to the nosebleed seats in the convention center.

Much more after the jump.

So, Governor, where were YOU on Friday???

This past weekend, former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist endorsed President Obama and was announced as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention next week. Here in Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder seems to be keeping out of the limelight with the Romney campaign, as well. At the last two Michigan stops by the Romney campaign, including one last Friday in Commerce, Michigan, our Republican governor was notably absent from the public view. He skipped a rally in June, as well, attending a meeting of business owners only.

Why is that? Heck, even disgraced Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger spoke at the Commerce event.

Is it because the Romney campaign has become too extreme for even our conservative governor?

More after the jump.