3.1 million jobs gained since President O took office.

The GOP’s reckless angry, in your face, hollering and bickering — whether amongst the presidential nominee hopefuls or the disgraceful, disrespectful attacks by Republicans against the President — has been so annoying. I took a break from all the noise and turned off the news for a few days.

I find it amazing to witness an entire political party so thoroughly entrenched in the darkest elements of life. Perhaps that is their mission in life. Perhaps we need the GOP to be as dark, as untruthful, as hateful and miserable as they carry themselves in order to appreciate the best of what we as humans have to offer.

Listening to the President over the past couple of days reminded me of what we really are about.

Its snowing. Sign a petition in your bunny slippers.

John Friso says that every day he went to work at defense contractor DynCorp, he was berated with homophobic slurs. He was called “a f*ggot, a queer” and worse. According to John, his managers watched this happen time and again — and yet they did nothing.

John eventually left DynCorp and sued the company, which settled with him. Yet to this day, DynCorp lacks a non-discrimination policy protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees.

But since the massive private defense contractor relies on U.S. government contracts (also known as your tax dollars) for as much as 96% of its income — billions of dollars – you have the power to help change the culture of homophobia and unchecked harassment at DynCorp.

Romney Pays light bill for unemployed campaign “volunteer.”

Ruth Williams, Romney "Volunteer" | Photo ABC News

Like everybody else watching events unfold in South Carolina, I’ve seen and heard Ruth Williams explain her plight about being unemployed and having no money to pay her light bill. What I found unsettling about her story was not that she lost her job, rather, it was her choice of words she used to tell her story, her use of divine intervention that lacked sincerity, and where and how she got the money to pay her bill.

Williams’ story was that she prayed for a way to pay her bill and God told her to find Mitt Romney who, after hearing her story, reaches into his pocket and gives her “about” $50. She said, “He was kind to me and he made Gov. Haley come see about me … He stopped doing everything.” When asked why she decided to support Romney, Williams said, “God didn’t tell me to go to nobody else, he told me to pray for Romney … I listened to the Lord.”

The whole thing reeks, and both Williams and Romney smell bad.

Besides being steeped in racist stereo types coupled with the Squire of the Manorism, what caused me to do a double take is when I read that Williams received $150 from Romney’s state treasurer, Curtis Loftis, possibly before she got the $50 from Romney.  I question whether the whole thing is nothing more than a poor choice of a hoax.

Romney’s answer to the 99 percent: Ryanomics delivered with a Squire approach.

With all the negative ad attacks being leveled against Mitt Romney about Bain Capital and just how many jobs did he really create, it seems he’s decided to spruce up his reputation a bit. In South Carolina yesterday, Romney said, “I’m concerned about the poor in this country. We have to make sure the safety net is strong and able to help those who can’t help themselves.” [....] (Really.)

In December, however, Romney publicly stated with just as much sincerity he mustered up yesterday his support for the stark plans and budget proposals of Rep. Paul Ryan (chair of the House budget committee) that would decimate those poor now and shrink the middle class from a majority to a minority. When Ryan introduced a plan in December 2011 that would radically change the Medicare Program and replace it with a voucher rumored to be worth about $8,000, Romney praised it. Ryan also talked about converting Medicaid from an entitlement to a block grant. If Ryan’s plan is adopted, ”most of the risk of future health-care cost increases would be shifted onto the shoulders of Medicare beneficiaries.”

During a presidential debate in December, Romney stated his support of Ryan’s budget proposal and said, “Actually I spent a good deal of time with Congressman Ryan. When he [his] plan came out I applauded it as a very important step. I said my plan would be a little different or would be different in some respects but that we were on the same page.” Romney also said he would sign the Republican budget plan as is, and he fully supports Ryan’s health care plan.

Then there’s Romney’s stance on the Bush-era tax cuts, capital gains tax and more.

CT elementary school uses solitary confinement to address disciplinary problems. Really.

Where’s the Department of Child and Family Services when you need them? Hearing and reading various reports on a decision by the Farm Hill School in Middletown CT to place students with disciplinary problems into rooms that are no larger than a closet, that have no windows, that have nothing in them, for long periods of time should be deeply troubling to us all. According to one article, school officials say the rooms are “time-out rooms designed to calm troubled students down.” These are eight-year-old students and younger. How is this scenario that is nothing more than solitary confinement supposed to “calm them down?”

These are elementary students who are seven, eight years old; clearly, they are terrified. Their terror at being placed into solitary confinement is what probably has given these rooms the nick name of “scream rooms.” That terror is emphasized by Middletown’s school superintendent’s comments when he acknowledged that, “some students have banged their heads, urinated or had to be restrained in the room … but they never needed medical treatment.” Is this superintendent side-lining as a trained physician, capable of diagnosing a child who has spent some time in solitary confinement banging their head against the wall as having no injury — inside? Really.

Moreover, if a parent or guardian locked their child in such a room in their home, DCF would be called in and the parent most likely arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor. The child would be removed from the home and interviewed by a trained specialist to determine if any emotional damage was sustained, and examined by a licensed doctor to determine if any physical injury occurred.

Romney’s NH victory speech big on rhetoric and untruths, small on vision and facts.

My take of Mitt Romney’s win in New Hampshire last night: 39 percent of the voters held their noses and voted for him while the other 61 percent voted for someone else. That’s no win. That’s a real clear message that voters are not happy with their choices. If Romney wins his party’s nomination, it will be by default and not because he has anything to offer as a national leader. Moreover, the notion that he’s the guy with the most money and “appears” to be presidential and, therefore, that makes him the only candidate able to defeat President Obama, is outdated. We’ve seen this kind of thing happen in the general elections that got us two terms of George W. Bush. That notion landed this country in the worse economic downfall since the Great Depression — twice.

The mistake Republicans continue to make is that this election is about who can defeat President Obama when it’s really about who can do better than what the President and his administration is doing now. And that message requires substantive plans and innovative solutions, the likes we have yet to see.

While Romney basks in the glow of his first real victory (Iowa was a draw), he ignores what’s happening around him and uses the tired old tactics of the 1960s and 1970s by attacking the proven strengths and successes of his opponent (the President) to win.

Romney’s 8-vote win: Every vote counts.

At 2:36 am this morning, Matthew Strawn, Iowa GOP chair, announced Mitt Romney as the winner of the Iowa caucus, having won by eight votes. Really.

MyTake: First and foremost, every vote counts. This is important for all those folks who sit at home thinking someone else will show up at the polls and do the right thing and pull the right lever for the right person to lead this country. Every vote counts.

Clearly, if those eight individuals did not cast their vote for Mitt Romney — better yet, if nine people in Iowa decided not to cast their vote for Mitt Romney, he would not have won. What this also says, in large part, is that after all the millions of dollars poured into radio and television ads, sleek door knockers and more, one vote counts. The people count.

Romney’s win may have put a faltering feather in his GOP cap but it has done nothing for him as the real candidate facing President Obama. His 8-vote lead says it all; Republicans have no faith or trust in Romney as the person to lead this country. Perhaps that’s because Americans want someone to focus on the economy and not someone who’ll spend millions of dollars on misleading advertisements filled with misrepresentations to win a race. Americans want someone who stands for something based on creating value in our collective lives and not someone who parrots the phrase of the moment to appease whomever is on stage.

Whole Foods and Religious Persecution bad recipe.

Here’s a message I got from my friends at Change.org:

Everything changed for Glenn Mack Jr. when his supervisor at Whole Foods found out he’s Muslim.

Glenn had been a rising star at Whole Foods, recruited to work in a prestigious Philadelphia store and even winning a special meeting with the company’s CEO. But when his supervisor found out Glenn would be spending his vacation making pilgrimage to Mecca — for which vacation time was approved months in advance without any questions — his boss suddenly had a change of heart.

“You can choose. It’s either your job or your religion,” Glenn was told. He was subsequently demoted, harassed and wrongfully terminated in November.

Glenn’s not bitter, though — he honestly just wants his job back. So Moein Khawaja, who is working with Glenn to get Whole Foods to do right by him, started a petition on Change.org calling on Whole Foods to reinstate Glenn and create sensitivity training for all staff. Will you sign Moein’s petition calling on Whole Foods to reinstate Glenn Mack, who was harassed and fired for being Muslim, and end religious discrimination in the company?

It’s time for House Speaker Boehner to get Control of a run-away base.

President Obama sets the record straight about the real issues surrounding the payroll tax cut extension and rightfully calls on House Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans to stop playing politics with our pocketbooks.

What’s clear is House Speaker Boehner has no control whatsoever of his own party. He’s following them instead of leading. Boehner and House Republican leadership need to get serious and reign in an out of control Republican base.

In June, Sen. John McCain, while speaking primarily about the U.S.’s commitment overseas, repeatedly warned his party’s presidential candidates about becoming a party of isolation. In November, McCain expressed his disappointment over GOP presidential candidates’ stance on water boarding: “Very disappointed by statements at SC GOP debate supporting waterboarding,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tweeted. “Waterboarding is torture.” Most recently in response to the House Republican debacle over extending payroll tax cuts, McCain said:

It is harming the Republican Party. It is harming the view, if it’s possible anymore, of the American people about Congress. And we’ve got to get this thing resolved and with the realization that the payroll tax cut must remain in effect. [....]

Republicans need to stop playing with the economy and start listening to Sen. McCain. The Republican Party earned the title the Party of No last year. This year, they are fast earning the title, the Party Of Isolation and Despair. What happened this past weekend over the tax payroll extension is sinister. I can’t wait to get to the polls in 2012!

Jackie Mason’s slam on Pres O over Hanukkah: Bad joke, wrong punchline.

Comedian Jackie Mason’s slam on President Obama for honoring Hanukkah at the White House has no basis in fact or history. It’s just an emotional, public outburst by a public figure who, quite frankly, hasn’t seen much public interest of late. Looking for factual proof of my claim? Go to Mason’s website (the only one I could find) and instead of finding content, a bio, some event dates, a tour or a show, you get this response:

Site Suspended – This site has stepped out for a bit.

Mason’s comedy material is all about Jews and Gentiles. That’s why he’s considered the King of Jewish Comedy.  Getting serious on this issue should have caused him to be a little more thoughtful. Had Mason done a little studying before blurting out his rant, he would have found that honoring Hanukkah by U.S. presidents began long before President Obama took office.

• 1979: President Jimmy Carter was the first president to officially recognize Hanukkah. Carter “walked from the White House to Lafayette Park to deliver brief remarks as he lit the new “National Menorah” erected by the Jewish group, Chabad-Lubavitch.”
• 1983: President Ronald Reagan visited the Rockville, Maryland Jewish Community Center and offered remarks after the Hanukkah menorah was lit.

Voter Suppression in the Blue State of Connecticut. Really.

This story needs no lead in other than the fact that it is happening in a state that elected a Democratic governor for the first time in over 20 years, along with all of its Congressional and state officers. This story appears in the New Haven Register, Dec. 19, 2011.

‘Voter suppression’ charged at redistricting meeting Monday | Published: Monday, December 19, 2011; Last Updated: Monday, December 19, 2011 5:04 PM EST | By Jordan Fenster, New Haven Register

HARTFORD — After having gathered almost 2,000 signatures for a petition intended to convince lawmakers that Bridgeport should remain in the 4th Congressional district, a group activists presented those signatures to members of the reapportionment commission Monday, calling the proposal “an attempt at voter suppression.”

Republican members of the reapportionment commission, charged with redrawing Congressional district lines, had presented a proposal that would have done just that — moved Bridgeport into the 3rd district with New Haven and, among other changes, moved Danbury from the 5th district to the 4th.

Mitt Romney’s version of free enterprise: job creation or annihilation?

MSNBC’s Morning Joe first had Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) on the show this monring. The man gives arrogance a new meaning. Hence, I will not waste time and ink on him. Following his endorser, Mitt Romney takes a seat at the table with Mika, Joe and the rest of the crew and talks about his campaign.

Romney’s comments confirms why we cannot afford to have him running this country. First, he talks at length about how he’s the only Republican candidate who can oust President Obama. The American people are suffering because Republicans are stuck on getting rid of the president instead of working to solve problems. That’s not what we want.

Then the question of Bain Capital comes up and Romney is questioned about the jobs that were lost under his tutelage of head of that company. Romney’s answer is nothing more than pure political rhetoric that starts and ends with delusion. He focuses on free enterprise saying not all companies are successful. Sounds like a truism but it’s not.

Boehner held hostage by the Tea Party. Payroll tax cut extension falls apart.

House Speaker John Boehner just held a press conference on the debacle over the payroll tax cuts. The deal struck by Republicans and Democrats in both houses has clearly fallen apart due to the Tea Party. My advice to speaker Boehner and other Republicans, careful what you wish for. You brought the Tea Party to the table and not you’re stuck with them.

This is why Republicans can’t be trusted. Suddenly, once there is a joint agreement across both sides of the aisle, the Tea Party kills the agreement. Ironically, this is a bill that the Tea Party should be for in a big way. Instead, they’re forcing Republicans to take a stand that will be a dark stain on the Party and none in the Party, including the speaker, can control them.

No doubt, whatever new bill comes out of the house will be filled with more items that shouldn’t be in it. The Keystone pipeline project should not be tied to a payroll tax extension that is critical for so many. That’s not governing, that’s hostage taking.

There’s an old saying that while the lion is the king of beasts, it is the parasite in his bowels that will kill him. If Republicans don’t stand up to the Tea Party base, they will lose in 2012 — as they should.

It’s not Romney’s success, it’s how he got there that makes him untrustworthy.

Mitt Romney, Bain Capital Partners celebrate raising 1st fund

When someone at Americans United for Change found this photo and posted it on the Internet, Mitt Romney was quick to say that Democrats would use it against him. Most likely, Romney sees the wisdom in the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In this photo, it was worth $37 million.

The photo shows a young Mitt Romney surrounded by six of his fellow partners at Bain Capital celebrating their achievement of raising $37 million for their first fund in the 1980s.

Romney’s counter to any negative portrayal of this photo is to claim that Democrats and the President Obama as those who don’t like people who are successful. Here’s where arrogance slips a veil of conceit and illusion over the eyes of Romney and those who support him.