WEASELS ON PARADE, SOME REDUX, SOME NOT

I am getting tired of all the weasels that I’ve been seeing lately. (SIGH) so many, MANY weasels, so little time – and the weasels are getting a lot nastier. You’d think that an intelligence test would be something that could be taken for granted with people that are elected to serve in Congress and the Senate, or people that are running for President, but I’m sure not seeing any such thing lately. I’m actually thinking that maybe an UNintelligence test is something that the Republicans and the Tea Partiers take before they run, judging from what I’m reading now.

So, without further ado: WEASELS ON PARADE

WEASEL OF THE WEEK, #1: Lt. Col. Allen West, who has a real problem with both reality and the truth. The two of them started a war of words on this stupid, pointless Ryan-Budget-Plan-on-Steroids also known as “Cut, Cap and Balance”. Rep. Wasserman Schultz (along with a lot of her Democratic colleagues) characterized the plan as "duck, dodge and dismantle." She further pointed out in the comment aimed at West: "Incredulously, the gentleman from Florida, who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Unbelievable for a member from South Florida." WELL! Obviously, Rep. Wasserman Schultz was being a green meanie! Lt. Col. West fired back with this response: an e-mail to Wasserman Schultz, along with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with the subject line: "Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz." So, who’s the adult here? (read more here: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-allen-west-debbie-wasserman-schultz-link,0,5743536.story?track=rss) Interesting, that he chose to resign after 20 years over an investigation into his conduct during the “rigorous” interrogation of a detainee in Iraq. Once a bully, always a bully. Too bad he decided to pick on a woman that is both intelligent and a fighter. GO, DEBBIE!

WEASEL OF THE WEEK, #2: Herman Caine. You’d think that a businessman with his depth and breath of experience would at least have his head screwed on straight, and would also have the good sense to keep his mouth shut regarding his prejudices and his religious intolerance, but, NO. Not Herman Caine! He’s a declared Tea Party darling, just like Allen West – and, like Allen West, he’s loud and proud about his opinions. I’ve said I don’t know how many times that the Tea Party is a racist organization, with a few token African-Americans and Hispanics for show; I didn’t realize until this past weekend that the Tea Party tokens were also chosen, deliberately, for their outrageous and egregious opinions regarding religion and “family values”. Mr. Caine doesn’t like Mormons, and he very much does not like Muslims. He has stated that he was "uncomfortable" when he found that the surgeon operating on his liver and colon cancer was Muslim, later explaining "based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them". Wonder how he’d feel if he had a Muslim dentist.

WEASEL OF THE MONTH (so far) – a tie: John “MR. I-CRY-AT-THE-DROP-OF-WHATEVER” Boehner and Eric “IWANNABEKING” Cantor. These two are sharing the honours for a couple of reasons. First, John Boehner is supposed to be the leader of his party and his caucus. He isn’t. He’s stated that he’s on board with Senator McConnell’s plan, then he’s stated that he isn’t, then he’s said, well, maybe I should be, and so on ad nauseum. The one thing that he is NOT, is a leader. Eric Cantor is a slimy little toad who is gleefully undermining everything that Mr. Boehner does, in the hopes that he’ll be able to so discredit both the President and the Speaker that he’ll be the ONLY person that will be seen as a voice of “reason” (Tea Party “reason”, that is) and that he’ll be able to run Mr. Boehner off as Speaker and take his place. To wit, both of them are willing to allow the United States to go into default to accomplish their aims. I wish that there was some way that this could all be stopped, and before we as a country prove to the rest of the world that we’ve not better than, and a lot worse than, the 2nd tier countries that have already defaulted and are being bailed out in Europe. O'course, *THEY* don't have to care what happens to the rest of us, do they?

WEASEL OF THE MONTH, #3: Ron Paul. He’s always been a Libertarian, and now he’s being open about it. Libertarianism, as I’m sure that everybody in the world knows by now, is based upon and informed by the “philosophies” schlock novelist Ayn Rand. Miss Rand was not just a schlock novelist; she was also the progenitor of a sweeping “moral philosophy” that justified the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only what she personally considered the lazy, undeserving poor but also the do-very-little (and only when forced) middle-classes as well. Basically, that means that if you’re rich, you deserve everything that you have regardless of how you got it and who you crushed getting there, and, if you’re not, well, tough shit. It’s ironic that Ms. Rand finally had to cave in and TAKE Social Security and Medicare when she got cancer.

WEASEL OF THE MONTH, #4: Paul Ryan. The Ryan Budget Plan. Any questions? Cut, Cap & Balance. Again, any questions?

WEASELS OF THE CENTURY: Anybody that belongs to the Tea Party. Anybody that espouses Tea Party rhetoric. ANYBODY that thinks that plunging the entire world into a depression that would last a minimum of 30 years and incidentally kill a good 2/3rds of the world’s population is a good thing. I’m talking now of the weasels that I’ve already identified, and I am condemning all the rest of their followers as being exactly what they are: blood-drinkers. The degree to which Ayn Rand has become a touchstone for the modern conservative movement is striking. She was a sexual libertine, and, according to writer Mark Ames, she modeled her heroic characters on one of the most despicable sociopaths of her time. Ames’ conclusion is important for understanding today’s political economy. “Whenever you hear politicians or Tea Partiers dividing up the world between ‘producers’ and ‘collectivism,’” he wrote, “just know that those ideas and words more likely than not are derived from the deranged mind of a serial-killer groupie....And when you see them taking their razor blades to the last remaining programs protecting the middle class from total abject destitution—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—and bragging about how they are slashing these programs for ‘moral’ reasons, just remember Rand’s morality and who inspired her.”