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And Jesus Said Unto Paul of Ryan ...

A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came up behind Jesus and touched his clothes in hope of a cure. Jesus turned to her and said: “Fear not. Because of your faith, you are now healed.”

Then spoke Pious Paul of Ryan: “But teacher, is that wise? When you cure her, she learns dependency. Then the poor won’t take care of themselves, knowing that you’ll always bail them out! You must teach them personal responsibility!”

They were interrupted by 10 lepers who stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, have pity on us.”

“NO!” shouted Pious Paul. “Jesus! You don’t have time. We have a cocktail party fund-raiser in the temple. And don’t worry about them — they’ve already got health care access.”

Jesus turned to Pious Paul, puzzled.

“Why, they can pray for a cure,” Pious Paul explained. “I call that universal health care access.”

Jesus turned to the 10 lepers. “Rise and go,” he told them. “Your faith has made you well.” Then he turned back to Pious Paul, saying, “Let me tell you the story of the good Samaritan.

“A man was attacked by robbers who stripped him of clothes, beat him and left him half dead. A minister passed down this same road, and when he saw the injured man, he crossed to the other side and hurried on. So did a rich man who claimed to serve God. But then a despised Samaritan came by and took pity on the injured man. He bandaged his wounds and put the man on his own donkey and paid an innkeeper to nurse him to health. So which of these three should we follow?”

“Those who had mercy on him,” Pious Paul said promptly.

Jesus nodded. “So go ——”

“I mean the first two,” Pious Paul interjected. “For the Samaritan’s work is unsustainable and sends the wrong message. It teaches travelers to take dangerous roads, knowing that others will rescue them from self-destructive behaviors. This Samaritan also seems to think it right to redistribute money from those who are successful and give it to losers. That’s socialism! Meanwhile, if the rich man keeps his money, he can invest it and create jobs. So it’s an act of mercy for the rich man to hurry on and ignore the robbery victim.”

“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus mused to himself. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter heaven.”

“Let me teach you about love, Jesus — tough love!” Pious Paul explained. “You need a sustainable pro-business model. And you need to give people freedom, Jesus, the freedom to suffer misery and poverty.”

“The Lord God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor,” Jesus replied, emphasizing the last two words. Then he turned to a paralyzed beggar at his feet. “Stand up!” Jesus told the man. “Pick up your mat and go home.” As the man danced about joyfully, Pious Paul rolled his eyes dismissively.

“Look, Jesus, you have rare talent, and it should be rewarded,” Pious Paul said. “I have a partner, The Donald, who would like to work with you: He’d set up a lovely hospital, and the rich would come and pay for you to heal them. You’d get a percentage, and it’d be a real money-spinner. Overhead would be minimal because every morning you could multiply some loaves and fishes. You could strike it rich!”

“Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God,” Jesus said. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received comfort.”

“Oh, come on, Jesus,” Pious Paul protested. “Don’t go socialist on me again. Please don’t encourage class warfare. The best way to help the needy is to give public money to the rich. That then inspires the poor to work harder, galvanizes the sick to become healthy, forces the lepers to solve their own problems rather than kick back and depend on others. That’s why any realistic health plan has to focus on providing less coverage for the poor, and big tax benefits for the rich. When millions of people lose health care, that’s when a country is great again!”

“From everyone who has been given much,” Jesus told him, “much will be required.”

“Well, sure, this hospital would have a foundation to do some charity work. Maybe commissioning portraits of The Donald to hang in the entrance. But let’s drop this bleeding heart nonsense about health care as a human right, and see it as a financial opportunity to reward investors. In this partnership, 62 percent of the benefits would go to the top 0.6 percent — perfect for a health care plan.”

Jesus turned to Pious Paul on his left and said: “Be gone! For I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; and I was sick, and you did not help me.”

“But, Lord,” protested Pious Paul of Ryan, “when did I see you hungry or thirsty or sick and refuse to help you? I drop your name everywhere. And I’m pro-life!”

“Truly, I say to you,” Jesus responded, “as you did not help the homeless, the sick — as you did not help the least of these, you did not help me.”

Elizabeth Warren Sets Paul Ryan Straight About Poor and Unemployed Americans

Without a doubt, Democrats need more senators like Elizabeth Warren. She’s one of the few politicians who I feel is actually genuine when she speaks. Not only that, her message is that of someone who seems to have the primary goal of fighting for the middle class. Needless to say, I’m definitely an Elizabeth Warren fan.

I especially loved her recent comments she directed at Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who’s become infamous for his public disdain for the poor.

Warren said, “Paul Ryan looks around, sees three unemployed workers for every job opening in America, and blames the people who can’t find a job. In 2008, this economy crashed, wiping out millions of jobs.”

She continued, “Paul Ryan says don’t blame Wall Street: the guys who made billions of dollars cheating American families; don’t blame decades of deregulation that took the cops off the beat while the big banks looted the American economy. Don’t blame the Republican Secretary of the Treasury, and the Republican president who set in motion a no-strings-attached bailout for the biggest banks. Nope. Paul Ryan says keep the monies flowing to the powerful corporations, keep their huge tax breaks, keep the special deals for the too-big-to-fail banks and put the blame on hardworking, play-by-the-rules Americans who lost their jobs.”

And she’s exactly right.

Republicans love to propose budgets that seek to balance the budget on the backs of the poor while continuing to reward the very people who caused our economic crash in the first place. The rich keep getting richer while the rest of us fall further and further behind. Millions of people desperately searching for jobs that don’t exist because those “job creators” are too busy lining their own pockets.

The poor in this country aren’t responsible for our 2008 economic crash or our massive national debt. Nope. The people that Republicans like Paul Ryan continue to protect are the ones responsible for most of that.

I’m just glad Elizabeth Warren called out Paul Ryan for exactly who he is. Nothing more than a shill for the rich, Wall Street, big oil and corporate interests.

Why Republicans Should Pray The Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage

One of the most widely discussed issues on the political right is the danger supposedly posed by judicial “activism,” when judges are said to substitute their personal preferences for the clear intent of the law and the Constitution. The Supreme Court in particular has been a target of those who oppose judicial overreach.

Overlooked by these critics, however, is the fact that many of the Supreme Court decisions the right loves to hate (from Roe v Wade to Lawrence v Texas) have actually expanded individual rights and limited government power, making them entirely consistent with the presumption of liberty found in the Constitution.

The latest issue to spark outrage on the right is gay marriage. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, for example, railed against it at a rally for traditional marriage this past spring in Washington, D.C. “Judicial supremacy is a curse upon this great Republic,” he screamed, calling last year’s Supreme Court rulings in the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 cases the “greatest heresy of our time.” In the DOMA case, the court overturned that part of DOMA that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman for the purpose of awarding federal benefits and legal privileges.

At the time, few realized the scope of that decision, but its legal reasoning has sparked an avalanche of state and federal court decisions over the past few months overturning state bans on same-sex marriage around the country. In 26 consecutive court cases, in states like Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, and even Texas, judges have ruled that same-sex marriage bans violate both the due process and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. There is little doubt that same-sex marriage will again come before the Supreme Court, and soon. In one fell swoop, the Supreme Court could legalize gay marriage in every state of the Union.

Such a decision by SCOTUS would be breathtaking and deeply unsettling to the anti-marriage equality movement. But it would also be a godsend to the Republican Party. Here’s why.

Like it or not, opponents of gay marriage are losing the battle, faster than even supporters imagined. A substantial majority of voters now support it, 59 percent in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll. Only a third opposes it, and that number shrinks every year.

And it’s not just a partisan issue anymore. Forty percent of Republicans support marriage equality, including half of Republican Millennials (29 and younger). Even evangelicals, the heart of the opposition to gay marriage, are changing. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, a quarter of evangelicals support gay marriage. Another quarter personally opposes it but no longer wants to prohibit it. Among evangelical Millennials, 44 percent support it. In short, all but the true believers realize the war has been lost.

Unfortunately, those true believers are still the loudest voices in the Republican Party, the ones who write its platform and set its agenda. With them as the face of the party, 2016 presidential candidates who want to grow the party and expand its reach (think Rand Paul or Paul Ryan) will have a very difficult time doing so. Younger voters, women, and independents simply do not support the Republican Party’s anti-gay (not to mention anti-choice and anti-immigrant) agenda, and they are unlikely to flock to the Republican Party if its platform and leadership still stigmatizes gays and lesbians.

MUST SEE: Paul Ryan Holds ‘Poverty Hearing,’ Gets Obliterated by Black Mother of Three

Well, it happened. Paul Ryan actually allowed a poor person to testify at one of his sham “poverty hearings,” and we’re pretty sure that he’s not ever going to do that again.

On Wednesday, Tiana Gaines-Turner, a childcare provider who supports three children on just $10.80 an hour, was allowed to speak before the House Budget Committee about her experiences. Surprisingly, given his incredibly racist comments in the past, the person he allowed to speak was of darker hue.

When asked how the Affordable Care Act impacted her family, she explained that the ACA has allowed her to receive adequate medical assistance. Her children were covered, of course, but now her family has adequate medical insurance through Obamacare.

She explained that, while she and her husband are both working, they still struggle to adequately provide for their children. “We’re always trying to climb up,” she said. “There’s a constant climb [...] It’s not something that we choose to do.” She explained that her husband wants to go back to school, as does she. They want full-time jobs, but are unable to find them. “Just because you can obtain a job, and you have two people in your household like me that are working. That doesn’t mean that everything is solved. That doesn’t mean that you don’t still need assistance.”

Watch some highlights from the hearing, below. You won’t regret it, but Paul Ryan does.:

Martin O’Malley Brilliantly Rages Against Tea Party Idiots Paul Ryan and Scott Walker

Have you heard of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley? In 2002 he was named by Esquire “The Best Young Mayor in the Country,” and in 2005 one of America’s “Top 5 Big City Mayors” by TIME. Still, even though he’s publicly considering a run for the Democratic nomination in 2016 (if Hillary doesn’t make up her mind soon), he’s not exactly a first-name figure for most. That just changed, at least in Wisconsin.

As the keynote speaker for 2014′s Democratic Founders Day Gala, O’Malley absolutely skewered several prominent Republican figures; most notably, Paul Ryan. He said of Ryan’s budget, which narrowly passed the House Budget Committee chamber this week:

“When Pope Francis urged American Catholics to fight poverty, Congressman Ryan thought he said, ‘Fight the poor.’ ” 

Ryan’s budget, which comes by its supposed “$5 trillion over ten years” in “savings” primarily by cutting everything that might in any way benefit the poor. And, of course, that includes repealing Obamacare. However, Ryan wasn’t afraid to count on the taxes or Medicare cost shifting that is part of Obamacare, but wouldn’t exist under his plan. One Kentucky Republican (who was one of the 12 who voted against it) said of Ryan’s numbers fudging ”I’m not sure that’s honest accounting.”

O’Malley reserved some of his harshest words for hometown boy Wisconson Gov. Scott Walker. Walker has consistently opposed wage increases in Wisconsin, which i was a cause championed by O’Malley in Maryland. He called Walker a “devoted follower of trickle-down economics if ever there was one,” and dropped the K-Bomb with:

“If your goal is to hold down wages and turn Wisconsin into a subsidiary of Koch Industries, then Governor Walker’s your guy.”

You might be wondering why O’Malley chose to target Walker, right on his home soil; or even why he was in Wisconsin in the first place. Lots of Wisconsonites have probably asked themselves the same question. But O’Malley wasn’t there for the beer and cheese: He was there for Walker. Walker has expressed some intent to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016…he already has some name recognition, after all.

Unfortunately, that recognition came from a series of massively racist emails circulated around his office, which were uncovered during a previous criminal probe. And he’s still under investigation for a second criminal charge. He’s also not only refused $11 billion from the Fed to expand Medicaid, he actually CUT $500 million from the state’s Medicaid budget.

He’s passed the usual battery of voter ID laws, and more recently, broadened Wisconson’s gun laws, two days later shelling out $175,000 to pay for a new “ShotSpotter” system for the police. ShotSpotter is an acoustic system that helps military and police personnel to pinpoint the location of gunfire and calculate the trajectory of bullets…which is probably a little more important after you throw open the door to residents purchasing out-of-state rifles.

So, pretty standard Republican.

Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Make Republicans Look Ridiculous by Completely Contradicting Each Other

While most Republicans won’t admit it, liberals – and generally most people with common sense – can tell there’s a lot of internal friction currently going on within the Republican party.  It’s been that way since the tea party gained influence and began pushing the Republican party so far right that even conservative icon Ronald Reagan wouldn’t stand a chance at winning an election today.

You’ve had Boehner calling out tea party tactics and even tea party groups openly targeting Republicans who dare work with Democrats on anything.

It’s basically tea party Republicans who consider themselves “real conservatives” (whatever the hell that means) vs. the slightly less radical Republicans who understand that you can’t be the party that opposes everything mainstream while embracing ideas that only appeal to the most extreme conservatives in the country.

Yet tea party Republicans honestly believe that the reason why Republicans have struggled in national election is because they haven’t been conservative enough.  Which makes no sense when you consider that these candidates run in primaries within their own party to be chosen for the general election.  If even Republican voters don’t want these more conservative candidates, why would lesser conservative voters?

Well, two men offered completely contradicting viewpoints this weekend on the current state of the GOP.

Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan claimed that there’s no internal “civil war” going on, saying, ”I don’t think there’s really this vast civil war in the Republican Party like many in the left like to suggest there is.”

Except, let’s take a look at what Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell had to say from 24 hours earlier when speaking about tea party Republicans - ”I think we are going to crush them everywhere.  I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.”

So, within 24 hours, we have two leading Republicans offering completely different views of the current state of the GOP.

Ryan says there’s no “civil war” going on, just after McConnell professes his belief that incumbent Republicans will “crush” tea party Republican challengers.

And let’s not act like either of these two men are “moderate.”  Liberals generally loathe both.

These are two mainstream Republicans offering completely contradicting viewpoints on the current state of their party.  Which, when you think about it, shows the current state of dysfunction within the Republican party.

Paul Ryan’s ‘unfortunate’ poverty report

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has been pretty aggressive in recent months about leaking word of his recent policy focus on poverty. The far-right congressman has periodically let major news outlets know he now hopes to “help” those who would suffer most under his own budget plan: low-income families.

 

And so, as Ned Resnikoff reported, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when Ryan yesterday issued a 204-page report, called “The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later,” condemning a variety of federal efforts to reduce poverty in the United States. It’s apparently intended to serve as a precursor to the congressman’s next budget blueprint, which, predictably, will seek more cuts to Medicaid, Head Start, and food stamps.

 

Ryan will justify his efforts, working from the assumption that many federal programs, aimed at helping those struggling, unintentionally make matters “worse.”

 

The editorial board of the New York Times did a nice job summarizing the degree to which Ryan’s ideas are “small and tired.”

It’s easy to find flaws or waste in any government program, but the proper response is to fix those flaws, not throw entire programs away as Mr. Ryan and his party have repeatedly proposed. It might be possible, for example, to consolidate some of the 20 different low-income housing programs identified in the report, but Congressional Democrats have no reason to negotiate with a party that fundamentally doesn’t believe government should play a significant role in reducing poverty. (Similarly, Republicans complain endlessly about flaws in health care reform, but their sole solution is to repeal the entire program, not improve it.)

 

The report notes that some programs, including the earned-income tax credit, have been effective, but it fails to draw the proper lessons from those examples. The most successful programs, including the tax credit, Medicaid and food stamps, have been those that are carefully designed, properly managed and well-financed. For all their glossy reports, Republicans have shown no interest in making these or any other social programs work better.

It’s a fair critique, but digging in a little closer, even more glaring issues arise.

Ryan, Cantor 'secretly spoke' at Koch brothers' event - A.K.A. Ryan, Cantor suck Koch

Charles and David Koch made considerable investments in the 2012 elections, and as the dust settled, they didn't have much to show for their investments.

Several months later, however, the Koch brothers aren't exactly scaling back their political efforts.

Rep. Paul Ryan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez secretly spoke to wealthy donors at the Koch brothers' recently concluded summer gathering on the outskirts of Albuquerque.
The 2012 vice presidential candidate and No. 2 House Republican are return participants to the twice-annual seminar.... A spokesman for Cantor's office declined to comment, while Ryan's office did not immediately respond to questions.

As the Politico report explained, Koch Industries periodically hosts these "invitation-only seminars" under "extremely tight security." The brothers' powerful allies attend so they can hear from "Republican elected officials, conservative dignitaries and leaders of right-leaning groups backed by the Kochs' network," which Republican players attend to connect with donors and make the Kochs happy.

Ryan, Cantor, and Martinez are hardly unique -- previous attendees include governors (Christie, Perry, McDonnell), senators (Cornyn, DeMint), notable Republican media personalities (Limbaugh, Beck), and even sitting Supreme Court justices (Scalia, Thomas).

And while conservatives are certainly free to get together like this, I can't help but wonder why all the secrecy is necessary. Neither Ryan nor Cantor were willing to talk about the appearance, before or after attending, and when a reporter from the NBC affiliate in Albuquerque tried to cover the event where the New Mexico governor was speaking, he was turned away at a checkpoint -- a mile from the resort.

If the Koch brothers want to give the public the impression that something untoward is going behind closed doors with leading Republican policymakers, this is certainly the way to do it.

Paul Ryan Wants to Throw 1.8 Million People Off Of Food Stamps for Having a Car

One of the most outrageous components of the Farm Bill is that millionaire Rep. Paul Ryan wants to deny people food stamps if they own adequate transportation.

Beyond the $20 billion in cuts that will throw an estimated two million children, elderly, and disabled Americans off food stamps, millionaire Rep. Paul Ryan is pushing an amendment that would close the door to assistance for the vast majority of Americans. Ryan and Rep. Frank Lucas are proposing that categorical eligibility be eliminated and replaced with an asset limit. If an individual has $2,000 in savings, or a car worth more than $5,000, they will not be eligible for food stamps.

The CBO found that the impact of the move to an asset limit would throw 1.8 million people off of the program. The Hill reported that, “In 2011, only 2 percent of all SNAP households had gross monthly incomes above the poverty line. Most of those were low-income single mothers whose disposable income was actually below the poverty level when childcare expenses were factored in. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that 1.8 million people would lose food assistance if categorical eligibility is eliminated. Most of these would be low-income seniors and working families with children. These families typically live paycheck to paycheck. Denying them the ability to save for emergencies, such as fixing a car, or unexpected expenses, such as buying a uniform for a new job, only makes them more dependent on government resources, not less.”

What Reps. Ryan and Lucas are really looking for are criteria that will allow them to throw as many poor people off of the program as possible. Essentially, Ryan and Lucas are trying to deny poor people food because they have a car. The $5,000 limit for automotive value is ridiculous. A car that is worth less than $5,000 is unlikely to be a reliable vehicle. For elderly, disabled, or working poor people, a car is often their only way to look for a job, get to work, or get to the doctor.

It is the ultimate hypocrisy for millionaires like Paul Ryan to be telling a poor person that they have no right to own reliable transportation.

Transportation is often the key to a poor person finding work. Without reliable transportation, you can’t get a job. The majority of Americans on food stamps are children and the disabled. Those children will now be thrown off the program if their family owns a used car worth more than a junkyard clunker.

Ryan is proud of the fact that his legislation would condemn millions of vulnerable Americans to a life of hunger. For Paul Ryan, everything is an Ayn Rand fantasy. Ryan is using poverty as a weapon, because in his view there can only be one winner in the battle of makers versus takers.
Where the rest of us see a grandmother or a child, Paul Ryan sees a leech who is sucking the system dry.

In his warped mind Paul Ryan thinks that starving millions of Americans is a good thing, and he will use any means necessary to make sure that his “makers” emerge victorious.