I’m beginning to think that democrats hate being in power.  I’ve come to this conclusion because every time they have power, they end up shooting themselves in the face.  It’s as if they are on a quail hunting trip with our former vice president. Honestly it’s getting to the point where the only explanation is that democrats secretly fear the responsibility required of being in charge and in control and purposely sabotage themselves in order to go back to being the people that talk tough but don’t follow through.  Case in point, House of Representatives member Charlie Rangel.  Charlie Rangel is the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.  The Ways and Means Committee, among other things, writes tax codes and laws.  Rangel currently faces allegations of failure to pay taxes, neglecting to report assets and certain income and a few other things.  In one claim, he reportedly “forgot” that he had $500,000 sitting in a checking account.  Now I don’t know about you, but when I find an extra $50 laying around…I’m aware of that.  No one….NO ONE forgets they have half a million dollars laying around.  Anyway…

Common sense tells me that if Rangel can’t get his own taxes, income and assets squared away, maybe he shouldn’t be Chairman of the committee that writes legistlation on taxes.  I’m just saying.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  And I’m not alone.  Richard Cohen wrote this in the Washington Post:

There is something wrong with Charlie Rangel. Either he did not notice that he was worth about twice as much as he said he was — which is downright worrisome in a congressional leader — or he thinks that he’s above the law, which is downright worrisome in a congressional leader.

I think we can all agree with that.  Whether this was all a mistake or a malicious attempt by Rangel to avoid the laws he himself created, enough questions exist to say “Hey Charlie, maybe you should step down.”

So that makes it all the more confusing that house democrats voted against a measure that would have removed Rangel from his chairman position while he was undergoing this ethics violation.  *sigh*.  Okay, first things first.  Yes I’m aware that republicans are casting stones when they themselves are just as dirty as Rangel.  That’s beside the point.  The “But they do it too” excuse doesn’t work with me for republicans so it doesn’t work with me for democrats.  Secondly, this undermines the democrats position on being in charge and “cleaning up” the corruption.  You’re allowing a guy who is chairmen of a committee that WRITES the tax laws to stay chairman even though he has clearly cheated on his taxes.  Come on.  I know that the Congressional Black Caucus wants to support their own because not too many black congressmen chair committees, but I would rather not have an African American committee chairmen or chairwoman than have one who is under ethic investigation.  You can’t spend the last 8 years complaining about how republicans are corrupt and take advantage of the situation and then when you are in power, do the same ‘turning a blind eye’ policy that they did.  That makes you a hypocrite.

I can’t be the only one that sees this has a problem for Democrats down the line.  Pelosi is basically undercutting her own position, which was to root out corruption, by allowing Rangel to stay.  It’s not like they were trying to kick him out of the committee, or kick him out of Congress (both I think should be appropriate though), they just wanted him to not be chairmen.  That makes sense.  Yes, I know there is all kinds of corruption and backhanded deals going on in Congress.  But I’m sorry, when you are the chairmen of the committee, you have to be held accountable.  Again, this is why we need to change the law on term limits for Congress.  Senators and House of Representative members in “safe” districts are in essence elected for a life time position.  Charlie Rangel’s been in office for well over 30 years.  There’s a reason why the President can only serve 2 consecutive terms.  Putting someone in a position of power for that long opens them up to corruption or even just getting too comfortable and not really keeping up with the times.  Seriously, how ridiculous is it that these old men can amass all this power through back door deals over 30 years and still have the audacity to claim they are for the people.  In that respect the system is broken. You have people who are 70 – 80 years old trying to regulate the Internet.  They don’t even know how to turn their own computers on but they are going to write legislation for it?  Come on.  Until we make changes to that, the Charlie Rangel’s of Congress will continue to get over on us, the American people.  Its part arrogance on Rangel’s part and part idiocy on behalf of each democrat that voted “No” on forcing him to step down.  This man is either incompetent or unethical that much is certain.  Either way, he shouldn’t be heading the chair of a committee writing tax laws when he doesn’t even know how to read his own bank statements.  Just more absurdities brought to us by the United States Congress.

I think Stewart does a great job of explain most of our frustrations with democrats.

I can’t stand Nancy Pelosi.  Not only is she an idiot, but she gives the Wicked Witch of the West a run for her money in how to best scare little children.  She’s just as much as a nutcase as some of the idiot Republican congressmen and women I talk about.  Hell, I put her up there with Michelle Bachman.  This is why I commend President Obama.  Not only is he putting up with morons on the Right, but now he has to deal with incompetent fuckers like Nancy Pelosi.  The main reason the President didn’t want to pursue legal action against Bush Administration officials in this whole torture fiasco is because he knew that what’s happening now would occur.  Nancy Pelosi, like a typical politician, doesn’t want to accept any blame or responsibility for her complacency with what the Bush Administration did.  She claims that she and the rest of the Democrats were lied to by the CIA is ridiculous.  While I have no doubt that they CIA does do some shady stuff, I remember the climate back in 2001 – 2003.  Democrats basically rolled over for whatever the President wanted because they didn’t want to appear “soft on terrorist”.  I have no doubt that Pelosi knew about waterboarding back then.  Her claim that they talked about it but didn’t admit to using it is bullshit.  Why would they tell you about it if they weren’t using it?

What we’re seeing here right now is Nancy Pelosi dancing around trying to avoid responsibility for her actions…or in this case, inaction.  I was hard on now Secretary of State Hilary Clinton when she tried to blame her voting for the War on the Bush Administration.  This is the same thing.  You voted for something or allowed something to happen because you didn’t have the balls to stand up and hold your ground.  You caved in like a California sinkhole.  Nancy Pelosi should have listened to the President and shut the fuck up about prosecuting Bush officials.  How you going to call for someone else’s head when you were right there cosigning them?  That’s like calling the cops on a bank robber while you’re sitting in the driver’s seat of the getaway car.  As much as I don’t want to see a members of the equally(if not slightly more) fucked up Republican party gain power again, part of me wishes there was some way to replace this fool.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) is becoming a Democrat.

“I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary,” said Specter in a statement. “I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election.”

“Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans.” (Source)

Forget the Swine Flu, Beyonce’s latest attempt at showing why she’s a horrible actress, the NBA playoffs or anything else.  This right here is pretty big news.  Spector has been a Republican since 1980 and NOW he’s switching to Democrat? Will Al Franken all be assured as being the next Senator in Minnisota, Spector will give Democrats and President Obama a 60 seat majority in the Senate.  That’s Fillabuster proof.  You think Republicans are feeling shut out now…if Democrats get 60 seats…they’ll be able to do whatever they want.  While part of me is happy that President Obama will have a real opportunity to bring the change he promised, I’m always weary when one party has that much control.  We saw the damages that Republicans did with that much control and even though I’m a Democrat, I’m not too thrilled about Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid having that much control (Manly because Reid has no balls and Pelosi has too many).  Anyway, this will make 2010 very interesting.  Granted, Spector voted with Democrats on a lot of issues already, but still… pretty huge news.  I tell you…right now the GOP is losing like the 90’s Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl.

What do bonuses paid to executives at AIG in a division that helped bring the company to financial ruin have to do with a lawsuit involving a woman who got her face ripped off by a manic chimpanzee?   Easy:  Responsibility.  Its that simple folks.  Everyone wants to focus on and be outraged by the decision by AIG to pay out these million dollar bonuses, but I’m fairly certain this is just a Pavlov’s dog reaction in these financial times.  Someone needs to be the bad guy in this and because the public is too dimwitted to shift through the multiple plotlines and figure out who is bad and who is good (Kinda like the problem most had with the movie Watchmen), AIG will be the whipping boy.  Of course AIG is wrong for giving these people, many whom no longer work for the company, bonuses for doing a job that in essence sank the company and forced us, the taxpayer, to bail them out.  However, let’s not forget that the same republicans and democrats giving us amusing sound bites about how these executives need to pay back their bonuses or commit seppuku, were the same ones that voted to bailout AIG to begin with.  Democrats, Republicans, our current President, his republican rival during the election…all of them have a hand in this.  To be honest, I’m not as outraged by the bonus pay as everyone else is.  Unbelievably, I’m actually in agreement with Rick Santelli about something.  These bonuses are an incredibly small fraction of the money that the government gave to AIG.  Again, I’m not saying these bonuses are right.  I’m just not a fan of the faux outrage by people who allowed this to happen.  You have a company that was on the brink of failure for making bad decisions and you give them $170 billion with no strings attached.  What made these political idiots think they are going to do the right thing with our money?  What needs to happen is that all these politicians need to stop giving soundbites about how angry they are and take the microphone and apologize to the American people for letting us down.  Then, instead of focusing on the bonuses, find a way to get our money back (the billions, not the millions being used in bonuses).  Dylan wrote a good suggestion about what can happen once we get our money back.  Simply, AIG broke the golden rule of business and pissed off/alienated the people who are their customers.  You better believe that if you left it up to the people, AIG would be dealt with swiftly.

But that won’t happen.  Our public officials won’t take responsibility for their roles in this.  You already see it now with the White House blaming the previous administration (Rightfully so in some cases, but come on Mr. President…you were a Senator and voted for this bailout too) and republicans trying to shift blame to an Administration that’s only be in power for 2 months.  It’s a problem with our society.  This is where the story with the monkey comes in.  You all remember that vicious chimp attack in New York a month ago right?  Well now the family of the injured woman is suing the elderly woman who owned the chimp.  While that does sound about right, let’s refresh our memories on how this whole thing went down.  Sandra Herold owned Travis the chimp who one day said “Fuck this, I’m 200  lbs and I’m wearing a gotdamn diaper, I can take this bitch”.  Travis literally goes ape shit and Herold called her friend Charla Nash to say that she needed help with her crazed chimp.  Now lets pause this story right here.  If my friend, hell, if my mother called me and told me that she needed help luring her pet chimpanzee back into his cage, I wouldn’t hop in my car and say “I’ll be right over.”  I’m not qualifed for chimpanzee recovery.  I’d call animal control and let the professionals do their job.  It’s not like Herold didn’t tell Nash that there was a chimp on the loose.  Nash didn’t unknowingly step out of her car and get blindsided by a chimp.  No, she went to the house with a stuffed animal and tried to lure the chimp out like it was some kind of frightened child.  “Travis” said “Fuck that” and gave her the Chris Brown treatment.  Her family might not want to hear this but Charla Nash was an idiot.  Plain and simple.  If I tell you I’m thinking about making homemade dynamite and your response is “I’ll be right over with the matches”, you’re partly responsible when the house ends up going up in smoke and your arms get blown off.  Everyone is so focused on the horrific injuries suffered by Nash that they don’t want to admit that she’s just as responsible for putting herself in the situation as Herold is.  And that’s why this story is related to the AIG story.  People want to be focused on the results of a problem and assign blame that way, instead of assessing the responsibility of those who caused it.  Just like no one wants to admit that the woman in the hospital is there because of her own stupidity, none of these politicians want to admit that they were responsible for giving a fiscally irresponsible company $170 billion.

I can’t take much more of this.

When President Obama gave his address to Congress, one of the guests he brought with him was Ty’Sheoma Bethea, a JV Martin Junior High School student who had written a letter to the President and Congress asking them to help her school.  It was a touching story that highlighted a very real issue that many seem to overlook.  All the talk about how much money is being given to schools and how it’s being spent usually overshadows the fact that there are students stuck in the crossfire suffering.  I’ve mentored kids.  They couldn’t take there books home because their weren’t enough for everyone.  And that was a good school.  Imagine a poor, inner city or rural school that doesn’t even have enough books to share in the class room.  Now you would think after such a touching story, in which young Bethea apparently asked her Principal for money for a stamp, that no one in their right mind, especially on the conservative side would criticize such a story.  Well, Conservatives are turning out to not be so bright.

The Washington Times has an editorial in which they dismiss Bethea’s story as just political posturing and theater by the President.  I guess they seem to have forgotten all the special guests with “touching and compelling stories” that our last President used to bring with him to his State of the Union Addresses.  I guess they forgot about Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder that were trotted around to campaign stops as puppets for John McCain and Sarah Palin’s failed political marionette show.   Hell, Republicans are still using Joe the Plumber (which to me is another sign that they are retarded).  They have this fool giving advice to Young Conservatives at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  Yes, you read that right.  Joe the Plumber is giving young Conservatives advice.  I couldn’t make this crap up if I wanted to.  One thing is certain, if this is who is teaching the young Conservatives, Jon Stewart and the Daily Show crew will be getting huge contract extensions in the near future.

Anyway, back to the Washington Times.  So even if we excuse them forgetting about Bush (and every other politician ever born) using compelling people and stories to push their agendas as a journalistic brain fart, it still seems to strike me as odd that they would want to in essence attack a young, minority girl whose dream seems to be to grow up and become a successful member of society.  Didn’t Republicans get their asses handed to them in the Fall because they didn’t gain support from minorities and they lost support among the working class?  This is just like the Republican Governors (Oh Bobby Jindal…where are you???) who are claiming they will take the Stimulus money but not the part that extends unemployment benefits.  Yup, that should go over real well with the people you serve and those that put you into office.  Unemployment is going up and people are having a hard time finding new jobs and you’re going to actually fight against unemployment benefits?  Brilliant.  Republicans not only see the hole they are continually digging themselves in but they are calling for reinforcements and a backhoe.

Right now Republicans are reminding me of that sheriff from the old Western movies that was a buffoon.  You know, the one that when he went to take his pistol out of his holster his pants would fall down.  And when he finally got the pistol out of the holster he shot himself in the foot.  That’s what Republicans are right now.  Everything from sending out “Barack the Magic Negro”, an email with a White House lawn full of watermelons, criticizing a young girl who just wants the people in Washington figure out how to provide her and her classmates some adequate education, refusing to extend unemployment benefits when unemployment is up and last but not least, listening to anything that comes out of Joe the Plumber’s month and not following it up with immediate laughter.  Geez, someone needs to wake these fools up from the dream world they are in.  Folks, you lost the elections and you lost BADLY.  Sure, stick to your principals but you need to start being a little bit more realistic as well.  It’s hard to get your party back on the right foot when your foot is constantly stuck in your mouth.

Read it. Learn it.  Love it (or hate it).  I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of bitching about President Obama’s 2010 budget but honestly, I don’t think anyone who hasn’t read it should be allowed to speak.  Also, any Republican that has been in office and voted for any of George W. Bush’s budgets should also have their vote taken away because honestly, whether this budget is good or bad, they voted for the crap G W. shoved down the throats of the American people and hearing them talk about “fiscal responsibility” gives me a hypocrisy headache.

I don’t expect this budget to be the solution to all our problems and I’m sure there will be some things in it I don’t like.  However, President Obama seems to so far be keeping all of his campaign promises so I’m don’t think there will be anything in it that is too egregious to me.  That said…I will be reading it.

Albert Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  If we are to stick to that definition then I’m trying to figure out why it seems Congress and the media want to be diagnosed as clinically insane. The American people spoke on November 4^th stating that they wanted change and so far, less than a month into his administration, President Obama seems to be attempting to keep that promise.  However he is meeting resistance in the form of “Business as usual” politics.

Democrats remind me of that bullied kid in high school. Fed up with how they were treated, they start training to be a UFC fighter to take out their frustrations. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are those bullied kids turned UFC warriors, except they are a lot less glamorous and they have a glass chin. Eight years of George W. Bush and Republicans treating them like the nerdy kid in class with the 2-inch thick glasses have left Democrats itching for revenge.  They are reading from the same bullying playbook that the Republicans used on them, but we, the American, people are tired of politicians treating politics as if it’s some kind of game to be won.  If Democrats force their policies down the Republican’s throats, then all we have is a role reversal. Democrats will spend the next 4 – 8 years happy while Republicans will be completely disenfranchised.  I might not agree with those politically to the right of me, but I at least want us to be comfortable enough with the way the country is going that we can be cordial.  Putting $246 million for Hollywood studios and money for contraceptives in the stimulus package was a clear poke in the eye to Republicans and only served as a way for them to rally against the President.  A pretty stupid thing to do at such an urgent time. But as stated before, these are the glass chinned Democrats, so of course they backed down from really forcing their will on Republicans. All it took was one well placed shot to shut them up.

Republicans on the other hand are being just as resistance to change.  The American people voted overwhelmingly for Obama’s policies, particularly his plans for the economy.  Republicans arguing that the stimulus package should be almost exclusively tax cuts for corporations and individuals blessed with high incomes is like asking for a bigger shovel when you find yourself in a hole.  For the last eight years we gave tax cuts to big corporations and the rich and you see what we have to show for it.  Republicans will say that we need to stop crying over spilled milk but when you consider that the glass of milk has caused well over a trillion dollars in debt, I don’t see the complaints stopping any time soon.

And finally there’s the media that everyone, myself included, likes to blame.  Some of that blame is warranted some is not.  In this particular situation, I would like to call out the media for not doing its job.  When I turn on the television or open up a newspaper, I’m inundated with a bunch of opinions on the stimulus.  “It’s too big”, “It’s not going to work”, “I hate it”, “I love it”, etc., etc., etc.  What happened to the cold hard facts?  Why can’t the media go through the proposed stimulus line by line and explain to us what is in it?  Republicans claim the package is laden with pork. Democrats say only a small 1% has unnecessary programs. Where is the media to cut through the politics and provide us, the American people, with the truth?  How about the media take the text of the bill, give it to one of their interns who are probably busy getting coffee or diving through dumpsters for A-Rod’s used steroids needles and have them create a graphic that breaks down each part of the bill so that the American people themselves can understand where this money is going.  The job of the media is to keep Government honest. Opinions can be swayed and bought, reality and facts though are concrete.

President Obama and his plans should be held to the scrutiny that President Bush should have been held to but wasn’t. Politics will be politics. But that doesn’t mean Democrats should pull out their wish lists. Blinding supporting all of the President’s programs is lunacy. At the same time, Republicans should not oppose him out of spite or out of some childish need to stand out. And finally the media should definitely refrain from pouring gasoline on the partisan fires sparked up by the two parties because in the end, we will all burn.

Let’s all work together to usher in change.

So it’s official, the Korean is half black. Carrying a big ass bottle of hot sauce to work for some catfish sealed the deal. The Super Bowl was great and those that try to say otherwise are just hating. Democrats are as stupid as Republicans and can someone please explain how you don’t pay $130k in taxes? The Korean then shared her legendary story about the great “Frosted Flakes Conspiracy of 1986″ and she stands by her pre-school logic!!!

We’re looking for writers for TheInsanityReport.com and guests for the Insanity Check Podcast. If you are interested, email us at KrissandTheKorean@theInsanityReport.com. Also hit us up if you’re good with graphic designs or music production (we’re looking for a new opening for the podcast). Join the Facebook Fan page or follow us on Twitter.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock during President Obama’s first 9 days in office, then you’ve undoubtedly heard the media and right wing nutcases (and a few liberal loonies) going crazy over the perceived war of words between President Obama and right wing radio God Rush Limbaugh.  Honestly, it’s not even really a war.  The President laid a trap and Rush and his buddies fell for it.  The way this is getting covered in the media and the way Limbaugh seems to have taken it to heart, you would think that the President went into a 25 minute diatribe about the right wing radio host.  But he didn’t.  All President Obama said to a group of GOP leaders was “You can’t listen to Rush Limbaugh and expect to solve the country’s problems.”  That’s it.  There’s nothing else to it.  From that one little statement though, the President has caused the Republican party to look extremely foolish during his first week in office.

This morning before I walked out of the house, I turned to the  Fox & Friends idiots who were talking to Limbaugh on the phone and watched as they nodded in agreement with some of the most ass backwards logic and reasoning I’ve ever heard.  Rush was claiming that the President “called him out” in order to drive a wedge between him, a true conservative, and the republicans on Capital Hill.  He then questioned why the President was trying so hard for bi-partisan support when he had enough votes from Democrats to pass the house.  Rush’s answer to that question?  President Obama was only seeking Republican support so that when his economic plans fail, he can also lay blame on Republicans during the election year.  It was at that moment, watching as the Fox & Friends morning crew nodded their heads in agreement…not once even questions the stupidity of this logic, that I asked myself why anyone would listen to an idiot like Rush Limbaugh.  George W. Bush rammed things down the throat of Congress and the American people with less support and we see how “united” the country became.  President Obama has a control of the House, Senate and for right now, the hearts and minds of the American people.  Yet he is still reaching out to Republicans (the same Republicans that were bitching that they weren’t being courted).  Could it possibly be that maybe, just maybe the President is keeping a promise to be the President of the UNITED States of America and not just the President of the party that won?   Okay, I get it, you aren’t thrilled with the President’s stimulus package…stop bitching about it and start working on a compromise.  The President already had the contraceptives portion of the package removed, I’m sure he’s willing to listen.  But hopping on the microphone to bitch about it isn’t going to help this country.

*Sidebar*

I just want to say that I find some of the Republican complaints and alternatives to this bill absolutely mind boggling.  First off, hearing Republicans bitch about increases in spending after the last 8 years when they were “making it rain” with taxpayer money is really starting to piss me off.  It’s like these fools only remember their conservative values when a Democrat is in the White House.  Secondly, I’m tired of Republicans talking about tax cuts.  Sure, I would love one, but when you delve into what they are talking about…they are focused on cutting taxes for corporations.  The idea is, give companies tax breaks and they’ll earn more money, hire more people and spend more money.  Sounds great.  The problem is, the last time we trusted corporations with financial incentives (around $700 billion) they instead spent it on private getaways, corporate jets, expensive rugs and other ridiculous items.  No complete dependence on the government isn’t the answer.  But giving tax breaks to big corporations and HOPING they do the right thing (when they’ve already proven that they won’t) isn’t the answer either.

*End Sidebar*

Part of me hopes this continues.  Hell, Obama seems like a smart guy and he’s keeping his promises so far, so I wouldn’t mind him in the office for two terms…and that’s exactly what he will get if Republicans keep being this stupid.  What I believe we are seeing is the beginning of the self implosion of the Republican Party of the last two decades.  What the Republican Party needs is their own version of Barack Obama.  No, Sarah Palin isn’t it.  I’m thinking someone more like the 2000 version of John McCain…just much younger.  Until that happens, I predict 2010 might be just as ugly for Republicans as 2008 was.  You think Norm Coleman losing to Al Franken was bad, just wait.  As long as the Republicans continue to put out people like Rush Limbaugh who says he hopes the President fails or have an RNC Chair candidate in Chip Saltsman who sent out the “Barack the Magic Negro” song or Michelle Bachmann who thinks the President along with some members of Congress might be “Anti-American” or Michelle Malkin who thinks the President should apologize for rap music or Ann Coulter who blames everything on liberals even though conservatives and Republicans have been running this country for the last few decades (Bill Clinton had a Republican congress to deal with)…the Republican party will continue to put itself in a bad light.  At least they seem to be having fun doing it.  It’s like hearing the band play as the Titanic sunk.