"The Naughty List", 2010 Edition

Hi!

Remember me?

I'm the guy who used to post new entries to this blog everyday......and then a funny thing happened. It's called "Christmas". From Thanksgiving until about 9PM last night (Happy Belated "Festivus", BTW) I've been running a 30 day sprint, trying to get things done before The Big Day. And finally, when I got up this morning, I looked around....and EVERYTHING IS FINALLY DONE!

Free at last! Now I know many of my fellow bloggers have been keeping up with current events, politics, and pop culture while I was making myself hysterical for the past three weeks. So why go through a rehash of everything that's been said already? Those guys know what they're talking about....I'm just a wise guy from Jersey.....no, not THAT kind of "wise guy".....maybe I should say "smart ass" instead.


But I will touch upon some of the people who deserve coal in they're stocking this Christmas.....there is a list, you know. Trust me. It does exist. I found this video on the internet that proves it.

Elf - Naughty List | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Walter Hobbs is not alone, Buddy.....and as for New York, we'll I'll talk about that later.

But first.....here's a list of those who've made Santa's Naughty List. Some should remain on it for years.

(1). Senator Mitch McConnell- The Republican minority leader from Kentucky has earned this description from MSNBC's Chris Matthews; ".....a character from Charles Dickens.". It's hard to tell what he's for, and much easier to talk about those things he's against, like the START treaty, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", The Dream Act, the bill for medical aid for the 9/11 first responders.....oh yeah, he is FOR the giving of billions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaires when the money could be used to aid municipalities around the nation on the brink of default.

(2). Senator John McCain- probably the biggest political sellout of the early 21st century. The Republican who ran for the presidency on the motto "Country First" opposes START, was a leading voice to kill the repeal of DADT, has swung way right on immigration issues, and called the Zadroga 9/11 First Responder's bill "fooling around" in a speech on the floor of the US Senate. The once proud maverick has morphed into The Angry Old Man of the Senate

3). Governor Chris Christie- the guy blows a $400 million government grant to education, then tries to blame the Obama Administration for the New Jersey delegation's error, and when that doesn't work he throws his education chief under the bus. His personal war on the teacher's union has led to referring to New Jersey students as "drug mules", carrying information from teacher union leadership home with them, and his allying himself with conservative gonzo filmmaker James O'Keefe. There's a lot more to say about this guy, but time is limited. The governor, who's personal style reminds me of Billy Martin at his worst, is finally starting to have some veneer wear off of his once somewhat (by GOP standards in New Jersey) lofty status. Recent polls have shown his job approval dropping 5% in the past month, while disapproval in New Jersey shot up to 48%.

4). Sarah Palin- much can be said why she belongs on the naughty list. But this year it's because Santa is afraid the former half term governor of Alaska will shoot one of his reindeer.

5). BP- It's not cool to pollute our waters....and even worse when some of our political leaders, like Texas Congressman Joe Barton apologized to BP's CEO when President Obama took the company to task for the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010.

6). Oh yeah....Joe Barton. You're on the list, too.

7). The New York Giants. You guys were beating the Eagles by 21 points (31-10) with less than eight minutes to play.....and lost 38-31! C'mon, man! All of you belong on the list after that one.

8). The NCAA- the governing body of college sports has decided to punish five Ohio State football players for selling personal items, trophies, and awards by suspending them for the first five games of the 2011 season. OK, the "student athletes" bypassed the rules laid down by the NCAA. But all five players remain eligible to play in next week's Sugar Bowl game. So when is a suspension not a suspension? When it impacts the showcase of a BCS bowl, and the big bucks a BCS game generates. Shame on you, NCAA.

9). LeBron James- to paraphrase Michael in GODFATHER II, "You broke our hearts, Fredo......I mean, LeBron". So speaketh the hurting sports fans of the city of Cleveland. But this video says it better than I ever could.


And finally.....

10). Rex and Michelle Ryan- the head coach of the New York Jets and his wife have been making some news lately......is it naughty?


Actually...it's not THAT naughty. Maybe even kind of nice.

That is, if you're into that kind of stuff.

I wonder if they exchange argle socks for Christmas?

If The Republicans Take The House- JOE BARTON WILL CHAIR COMMITTEE TO REPEAL HEALTHCARE REFORM

Hey kids!

Do you remember long, long ago, when there was this hole in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, caused when an oil platform owned by BP....(wasn't it called the "Deepwater Horizon?).....burned down and which resulted in millions of barrels of crude oil spilling into the Gulf from April 22 to July 15, 2010? And do you remember the hundreds of millions of dollars lost by the tourist industry, and by the shrimpers, the fishermen, and hotels and restaurants the five state Gulf region? And how about the severe damage done to the fragile ecosystem of the Gulf, the extent of which is still not known nor will it be for years to come.

There was greed, thee was negligence, there was inaction, there was recklessness....there was BP, primarily responsible for the greatest ecological disaster in American history.

And then there was the sight of Rep. Joe Barton (TX- 6th District, R) apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward in a Congressional hearing in June, saying that the President of the United States was trying to shakedown BP.




Shortly after this apology to Tony Hayward, Joe Barton was forced to to apologize for his apology by the Republican leadership. You'd think after this completely mindless display by Barton that he'd become a pariah, and forced to take a "timeout", or get to the end of the line....no way.

Joe Barton remains the ranking minority member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and all indications are that if the Republicans gain control of the House it's Barton who would become chairman of the committee.

That's right, the man who defended BP after the Gulf Oil spill will be chairing a committee that is responsible for overseeing oil regulations and sale, and other commerce in the United States.

And in his role as chairman of this committee, one of the things at the top of his (and the Republican's) agenda would be to repeal the Health Care Bill of 2010., the law that is derisively called "Obamacare" by the Right Wing and their minions. The repeal of the Health Care Bill is a cornerstone of the GOP's new gimmick, it's Pledge To America....and Joe Barton, will be leading the fight to undue reforms that have been needed in this country since the end of the Second World War.



We've already seen that Barton would (and does) carry water for Big Oil, and his uncompromising opposition to healthcare reform further paints a picture of man who claims to be of the people, but really isn't.

More of Joe Barton's Greatest Hits......

On the repeal of energy efficiency standards (passed during the Bush Administration).

Barton among conservative congressmen who threatened to withhold funding to PBS when international versions SESAME STREET introduced an HIV positive character. They didn't want any such characters on the American version.

Barton on his opposition to the "speculative" Climate Change Bill.


You want a rerun of the Bush years?

Stay home on election day, and you could get it.