More Hypocrisy, Blah, Blah, Blah

Good to be back.

Used to be, people would make politicians pay for their hypocrisy. Today, not so much. Partisans have become so extreme that they will turn blind eyes to the most hypocritical of happenings. Both sides are guilty, but it especially seems to be a Republican thing these days. You know, the "small government" folks conducting the largest expansion in government in a good 30 or more years, wanting government in our home, etc. The examples keep coming. Like yesterday. To whit:

1) Despite all the real problems that exist in the country today, every year at this time it seems the Republicans think the biggest worry we face is . . . flag burning. Every year, they bring up another bill for a Constitutional amendment against flag burning/desecration. And their flag-wrapping always blinds them to their own hypocrisy, like the wearing of the flag as clothing, which I always learned in the boy scouts was inappropriate. But it gets better. In 2003, George W. Bush was actually witnessed signing his autograph on American flags in Vienna. Picture proof above. That is not only what I would call flag desecration, the U.S. Code on flag burning already on the books explicitly forbids it. Of course, you never hear the pro-amendment folks talk about this. Hypocrisy.

2) Yesterday, the Senate voted down an amendment to raise the minimum wage. Forget the fact that its been nine years since the last time the minimum wage was raised. Forget the fact that as gas prices have skyrocketed, and other prices have climbed and climbed during that period so that people like my sister can't make any kind of self-sustaining living on their salaries. Forget the fact that the real value of the minimum wage continues to decline. Forget the fact that Congress continues to approve, every year, a mandatory cost-of-living increase in their own wages. Here's what burns me: what did the Republicans offer as an alternative to the raise in the minimum wage? The repeal of the estate tax, which only affects folks who make a shitload of money. Message given: if you're rich, you need more money; if you're poor, make due with what you've got. Jesus.