Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Some Things I Just Don't Get

One would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the struggles going on in Washington, SC, over the debt ceiling and the budget. Jay Leno used the following video to sum up the bickering on Capitol Hill:



Uh, yeah. That sounds about right.

Here's something I don't get. President Obama is trying to paint the Republicans as the ones who are trying to kick the can down the road. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't they just come to power THIS YEAR? Wasn't it under Nancy Pelosi's rule that they decided to not even make a budget because of the soaring debt?? Wasn't it the Democrats solely in power for a while there, and over the entire Congress even before Obama's ascension? So, how is this all the Republicans' fault? That doesn't make sense to me.

As reported in the Washington Post (and mentioned here), First Lady Betty Ford lamented the days gone by when Republicans and Democrats were friends, when, even if they didn't see eye to eye, they were able to look past those differences.

Just this morning, I saw Governor John Kasich of Ohio, and he said much the same thing. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives back in the '90's. Gov. Kasich offered some advice to his former colleagues about how to deal with this whole budget/debt issue, and had something to say about civility near the end:



I think that sums it up nicely, on both fronts.

What I don't get is, when did this polarization happen? WHY did it happen? How can we change it back to a more civil discourse, not just in Congress, but among us all? Is it just a lack of impulse control? Sense of entitlement that we can say or do whatever the hell we please? I just don't get how our discourse has so deteriorated. Something's gotta give. Maybe a national Miss Manners class is in order...

There's something else I don't get about how we treat one another. How is it, in the 21st century, we still have 2 million women battered by their partners each year, and 10 million children at risk because of domestic violence? How is it that we have not dealt with this issue, worked to change attitudes about women to the extent that their partner would never even DREAM of hitting them (or psychologically abuse them)? Or that, at least, these numbers would be greatly decreased?

I raise this because Dr. Phil, at the invitation of Senator Patrick Leahy, will be testifying on Capitol Hill today to request that an Act passed in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act, providing funds for prosecution, requiring restitution, and other issues, be re-authorized (which it was in 2000). Isn't it sad that in this day and age, the following holds true:
[snip] # According to the U.S. Surgeon General, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States.
# The American Medical Association estimates that their male partners assault 2 million American women each year.
# The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women.
# A woman is beaten every 15 seconds in the United States. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the nation on Crime and Justice. The Data. Washington DC Office of Justice Program, US Dept. of Justice. Oct 1983)
# 35% of all emergency room calls are a result of domestic violence.
# Of those who abuse their partner, well over 65% also physically and/or sexually abuse the children.
# Each day .....4 women die as a result of abuse.
# Each day .....3 children die as a result of abuse.
# The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that 32% of female homicide victims are killed by their intimate partners. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States 1999.2000)
# Anywhere from 1-3 million women are battered each year by their intimate partner. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence. Washington DC, 2000.)
# In the United States, a woman is more likely to be assaulted, raped, or killed by an intimate partner than by any other type of assailant. (ibid.) [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)

Here's the truly tragic aspect of the list above - that is less than a THIRD of all of the issues of violence facing women in this country. Holy shit.

And one more thing I don't get. How is it that Quinnipiac Poll finds that Obama still holds 50% over Republican challengers? How can that possibly be? After the Stimulus that wasn't anywhere close to one, the Obamacare Debacle that will cost us big time, Unemployment going up, housing values going down while foreclosures are going up, the number of golf trips of Obamas going up, along with the number of Executive Orders to circumvent that pesky Congress(about which we screamed bloody murder when Bush did it), and the number of lies he tells daily, including about his own mother's insurance coverage while he was campaigning in 2008 (that one was a DOOZY - using his dying mother for political gain, and lying about it - wow, that speaks VOLUMES about the kind of person he is), and I could go on, and on, and on.

I just don't get it. Do you? Copyright © 2011 by Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

6 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

What a great post, Amy!

IMO, our society and public discourse took a downturn when the Internet became so popular. I know, that sounds like an old person deriding technical innovation, but all you have to do is read comments on some of the large sites and the things that are being said just make me sick. Once people became comfortable with the anonymity, they became bolder and more openly voiced their vile remarks. This gave the MSM the idea that this is what the public likes so their news opinion shows took on the same rude behavior (i.e. shouting over their guests, deriding their guests who don't agree with them, and telling outright lies and slandering political figures).

And now, we are seeing political figures being voted in by the same juvenile delinquents who make ignorant comments about Sarah Palin's son. The politicians want to please their "base" and act just like them. I think we are just seeing a total breakdown of society.

And the breakdown in society leads to more domestic and child abuse. And don't even get me started on the flawed family court system, judges who ignore the law and kow-tow to the abusers, social workers who are underpaid and understaffed and just don't give a damn anymore...all the while our politicians are moaning about not having enough money as they are stuffing their pocketbooks and taking their families on expensive vacations on our dime.

Women are abused because, IMO, because they no longer have representation. Hell, think of how many women supported and jumped for joy when O.J. Simpson was acquitted of killing his ex-wife! Look at how many women's groups turned on Sarah Palin and chimed in on the mysogynistic insults and called her son a "retard" who should have been aborted. It's sick.

Our society is sick. And to be honest, I don't see a healing for a very long time.

We don't have a leader in the White House, we have an instigator. He wants to be King, not President...and the Democrats as well as the Republicans are giving him the crown. Just look at Senator Mitch McConnel's idea to hand over the decision on raising the debt ceiling to Obama, with no Congressional oversight. How is that Constitutional????

Sorry for the long rant...sheesh, I need a drink now! LOL!

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

I swear, ME - I need an icon of me standing and clapping. That is what I would put in now for your rant. And you can feel free to do so anytime. You are SPOT ON.

I agree that as great as technology and the internet is, it has led to a breakdown of how we communicate. I think it is a huge problem.

I think entitlement is, too, and young people thinking they deserve whatever they want without having to work for it. They are being taught that they are better than anyone else. Rather than being taught humility, they are taught haughtiness. I could go on abt that...

You are SO right abt domestic violence and how the courts are assisting in that. It is just remarkable how little women are valued in this society, isn't it?

Yep - it's a sad state of affairs. Thank you for the outstanding comment!

Alessandro Machi said...

When MSNBC went for Obama over Clinton rather than let the american public decide the democratic nominee, the polarization went into over ride.

Hillary Clinton was feared by the elite because of her ability to be a moderate while still having liberal beliefs because those two Clinton trademarks produce the best result for the public while possibly reducing the amount of wealth at the trough for the rich.

We need a third cable news channel that is exactly in the middle of Fox and MSNBC. Until that happens, nothing will "change".

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Good points, Alessandro. I think you are right.

And honestly, I know Fox is more conservative, but I have seen many high ranking Dems on there, and they allow them to speak without belittling or demeaning them. I have not seen that on MSNBC in I cannot remember when. That is to say, while Fox may be more conservative, they are a better news outlet than MSNBC could ever hope to be. Then again, I think MSNBC is plenty happy being MSNBO...

It is so shamefuk what the DNC did to the country, and to the party. I never dreamed I would become an Independent, but I saw a side of the DNC that was appalling. I think you are spot on - that helped to widen the divide.

And the misogyny - wow. Unfortunately, that has only seemed to increase with the attacks on Palin and Bachmann (again, one doesn't have to agree with their politics - that's fine - but to attack them as women is NOT).

Thanks for the comment!

Alessandro Machi said...

I agree about Fox. Back in 2008 when Olbermann went on his nightly rants about how insane his counterpart at Fox was, I checked out Fox and found O'Reilly to be quite polite the whole time I was watching.

That was when I realized the democrats were screwed. Fox was covering the democratic race in more fair and balanced way than MSNBC was!

And yet, it was not Fox's job to just hand over their station to dem issues, either.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

AM, I hear you. I watched Greta van Susteran interview Hillary Clinton, and it was the best interview I saw during the entire campaign season bar none.

I am not an O'Reilly fan, but yeah, compared to Olbermann, he looks downright staid, doesn't he? Wow.

I realized when I watched some of the news shows, like Special Report, that I had been had by the anti-Fox propaganda. I just believed everything I was told abt Fox without ever watching it. Amazing what one can learn when one stops listening to DNC BS.