As you know by now, every week I sit down to post my thoughts on events that have occurred during the previous week, and often times find things that really could fall under a "Say What?" category.   With all the talk about the ACA and rhetoric about faked enrollment numbers and (again) the IRS, can you believe that nothing was done in Congress this week because they were on vacation?  Yep, on break again!
       Did you know that South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham's GOP primary Tea Party opponent, Det Bowers has publicly stated that "...in about 95 percent of broken marriages, though the husband's the one that ran out on his wife, the wife loves her children more than she does her husband."  (see http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/lindsey-graham-det-bowers-south-carolina-senate-2014-elections-106007.html?hp=l17).  So virtually all cases of men cheating in their marriages is because their wives made them do it?  It has nothing to do with men loving themselves more than their wives and/or children? Oh, victimhood!
     I bet you all heard about faux patriot (and Federal Moocher) Clive Bundy actually stating "Negroes...They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton.  And I've often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy?  They didn't get no more freedom.  They got less freedom."   (see http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/04/24/greta-let-me-make-plain-i-condemn-what-cliven-bundy-said-about-african-americans).  Now that the fact Bundy is a racist has been established, some on the Right still defend him when he claims he was just  "wondering out loud" about "Negroes" and somehow to some folks that makes him less racist.  "Say What?" Again Bundy is just a misunderstood "victim."  Can you also believe members of the Right Wing Media have made excuses for the guy, claiming his age has something to do with his attitudes towards African-Americans, as if he is from another era?  Last I checked, Bundy was born in 1946, not 1846!  Clearly, Bundy and his supporters have no idea what slavery was about and how it impacted "family life" for "Negroes." And Supreme Court Justice Scalia opines racism is not a factor in efforts to suppress voting when he publicly states the Voting Rights Act of 1965 instituted an "Entitlement" for minority voting rights?  Say what? (See http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/02/voting-rights-act). 
     I bet you also heard the outcry over movie star Scarlett Johannson's endorsement of  SodaStream, an Israeli-owned carbonation machine manufacturer that maintains a factory in the Judean Hills (aka The West Bank) and how those fixated on destroying Israel demanded a boycott of both Johannson, SodaStream and Israel due to their obvious exploitation of the "Occupied Territories."  Without investigating the facts, folks around the World, led by a charity known as OXFAM, have made it their primary goal in this world to destroy Israel for, well, any reason they can come up with.  But, did anyone notice that the SodaSteam factory actually employs Palestinians?  Did anyone even bother to ask the Arabs working in the SodaStream plant if they would prefer to have the plant closed due to a boycott to "protect" their national interests?  Of course not.  According to a recent article in The International Business Times, someone actually asked the Arabs how they felt being "exploited" by the Israeli's and SodaStream. Their answer?
     Palestinian Nabil Bashrat, 40, from a village near Ramallah, has worked for SodaStream for four years and is now a shift manager.  He supports his wife and six children on an income he says is high by both Palestinian and Israeli standards.  About the Boycott, he said it came down to protecting worker's ability to earn a fair wage. "We understand their (BDS and OXfam's) opinion, but they need to understand what the factory gives the Palestinian workers, and there are a lot of factories in this area doing the same thing."  An unemployed youth near Qalandiya checkpoint, who gave his name as Yasser, said the minimum wage in the Palestinian Authority made it impossible to live. "We need more factories like SodaStream.  It's hard to get a job there."   To be fair to OXFAM, their spokesman, Alun McDonald responded to the article by saying,"the charity does not oppose Israeli-owned factories in the West Bank - once a peace agreement has been reached."  Say What?  Again, victimhood is the easy explanation for misleading rhetoric that requires little to no thinking skills.
       Like the folks supporting Graham's primary opponent, Mr. Bundy and his hypocritical and racist "musings" or the institutionalized irrational hatred of Israel, very few care to actually think about what these folks/"victims" really stand for, making them eligible to fall into the "Say What?" category.  As President Abraham Lincoln once wrote; "Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong."  I guess Mr. Lincoln would agree, we need to always question and oppose simple wrong-headed thinking.  Have a great week.

     Apologies for not posting this week.  Due to travel, holiday and end of the year student examinations, I have been unable to post a new blog.  There is a LOT going on that I can comment on, I am simply unable to dedicate the time necessary to post.  Please accept my apologies.  I sincerely hope and plan to post a new blog this Sunday!  Until then, have a great remainder of the week! See you back here this Sunday!  Be well.

       Anyone notice the comments coming from "Balanced Budget" advocates that the government must balance its budget because American households must do it everyday?  What a crock!  Just this morning, Paul (Budget Man) Ryan again attempted to justify his proposed budget cuts with a tweet that reads, "Every family must balance its budget, Washington should too."  Really?  
        Just more evidence that Paul Ryan and his followers are out of touch with American households.  How can I say this?  Because most Americans carry some form of debt and must make installment payments.  Only the rich have NO debt.  Think about it.  If someone needs an automobile for transportation, they shoulder a considerable burden in the form of car payments.  Rarely can average Americans afford to purchase a car for cash with little to no financing.  Most Americans that own a home, truly own their home in name only - they owe a mortgage that requires a monthly payment (some making payments even while maintaining negative equity in their homes).  Now, most middle class Americans and/or their children are indebted to the government for student loans, so that their children can attain a college or post-graduate education (paying exorbitant interest payments to the government for the privilege of having their children gain an education). 
         So when Ryan and his "followers" demand the government "balance their budget" like American households, you know he is selling "a bridge to nowhere." IF Americans balance their household budgets, it more likely is done by including DEBT payments.  As long as Americans can accomplish the balancing act by covering debt payments with their income, they can afford the necessities of their lives.  To argue the government should balance its budget like households without admitting Americans balance their budgets with debt payments is disingenuous.  Paul Ryan might be able to balance his budget with no debt (he had Social Security pay for his college costs), but most American households can not.  So get real Paul Ryan and stop the nonsense.  The government must reduce spending in certain areas, but they must also raise revenues in order to lower our overall debt.  But to suggest the government must operate like a household in balancing budgets ignores the reality that American Households maintain debt of their own (student loan debt now exceeds a collective $1 Trillion)!  
        As President Franklin Roosevelt once wrote; "I am neither bitter nor cynical, but I wish there was less immaturity in political thinking."  Paul Ryan, immature politico, out of touch and out of real solutions.  As an aside, it was a lot of fun speaking before the history students at the Hostos Lincoln Academy of Science in the South Bronx, New York.  No matter their hardships, students want to learn!  Have a great week!

      Had a terrific evening presenting the Keynote Address at the 2014 Larimer County Democrat's Annual Dinner, which also featured a number of candidates for office, including incumbent Senator Mark Udall.  I was slated to speak for approximately 30 minutes but never got the "high sign" to wrap up, so it went over an hour and no one complained.  Obviously, I had a lot more to say, but the crowd was great and during the book signing after the presentation, they sold out of books with many scrambling to purchase it online.  
       Met some wonderful new friends in Ft. Collins!  Many thanks to Joan Black-Dooley and her husband, Martin for hosting my wife and I for dinner and to Councilman Ross Cunniff and his wife Jill for taking the time to be our tour guides in Ft. Collins.  It was great to meet of the 200 plus in attendance that remain deeply concerned about our country.   I will be traveling into the Rocky Mountains today, so no major blog post today.   Next stop, presenting to students at the Hostos Lincoln Academy of Science in the Bronx, New York.  Have a great week!