The Republicans to the Rescue, Again

[BT]

Plane, sorry about that. Sometimes I loose my temper. Not very often though.

As for you BT, you always were a stubborn bastard.


BSB

My stubbornness has zip to do with whether my position is correct or not.

The first argument out of the gate was that we needed to sign the treaty so that we would appear to be leading on this issue.

But 20 years earlier we passed a landmark act, that actually has teeth, that this treaty is based upon. We don't need to appear to be leading , we led.

The second argument was that we should ratify this treaty so that our injured returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan would receive equal treatment in foreign lands but in order to do that they would have to sue the offending government in their own courts. Helpful!!!!

The third argument was that Sen. McCain and Former Sen. Dole are in favor of ratification, and since they are not only wounded veterans but they have legislative experience and know better so shut up and eat your peas.

Still no sale.

[sirs]

I think the 1st and the 3rd arguments are the cornerstone to most liberal-minded legislation.  That it feel good even if it doesn't accomplish anything outside of symbolism (or as it relates to taxing "the rich", that it feels good to stick it to the rich guy, even if it does next to nothing on bringing down the debt and sends us into an even worse depression than we already had),

....and if you disagree, to shut up, since they just know better 

All the supposed man made global warming crap is also consistent with those 2 arguments, as is Obamination Care.  Remember those famous words?...we have to pass it, to see what's in it garbage?

[BSB]

You're opinion on this, BT, means absolutely nothing. You don't know anymore about it than I do or Joe the barber does. However two disabled veterans who do know something about it think it should signed. I'll go with them since I have a dog in the fight.

BSB

[Plane]

Plane, sorry about that. Sometimes I loose my temper. Not very often though.

As for you BT, you always were a stubborn bastard.


BSB

BsB

   I feel fortunate to have the chance to correspond with you , you ARE interesting, and what elese could I want from you?

    Everyone has a temper , everyone.
    Some on a shorter leash , that is all.

     I apologise to you for awakening your ire , I don't mean to , what I really want to do is engender thought and harvest the wisdom that I can't think up myself.
     You should spar with me if you enjoy sparring .
      If I am bad for you in any way whatsoever , please let me know what I can change , or avoid me , either way I would rather not do you any harm.

       About my ego, am I fortunate to have someone that can hold a yardstick against it?

[BT]

You're opinion on this, BT, means absolutely nothing. You don't know anymore about it than I do or Joe the barber does. However two disabled veterans who do know something about it think it should signed. I'll go with them since I have a dog in the fight.

BSB

My opinion means as much as yours. Your dog does not provide a logical reason for ratifying this treaty. All it does is add emotion to the appeal.

And if Dole or McCain feel like perhaps they can provide a logical explanation of how this treaty makes one disabled persons (veteran or not) life tangibly better, i am more than happy to listen.

But until then i cast my symbolic vote against.

[BSB]

Hey, BT, may you have another heart attack, and may it be long and deeply painful, and may you after days of suffering drop dead, and may 3DHS then celebrate the passing of one of the worlds biggest assholes.

Yours Truly, BSB

[Plane]

Sometimes ....  I think that BsB is undiplomatic.

[sirs]

*snicker*.........perhaps

[BT]

Hey, BT, may you have another heart attack, and may it be long and deeply painful, and may you after days of suffering drop dead, and may 3DHS then celebrate the passing of one of the worlds biggest assholes.

Yours Truly, BSB

Well that was certainly persuasive.




not.

[sirs]

Bt, if its any consolation, and I do mean this with as much sincerity, as you'll accept, I wish you the greatest of Christmas seasons, and many more years of health and happieness.  As much as we may disagree, the saloon isn't what it is, without you, a dynamic location for folks to debate, vent, discuss, and rant when the mood suits them....or their anger is out of control     

[Plane]

  Yes .

   Bt deserves credit for having a lot of patience with 3DHS.

     I think this is a great site , but it is experimental. There is a lot of unrealised potential in useing the internet for communication ,  tecnology is no obsticle anymore , but human behavior is the same obsticle to communication that it ever was.

      What we do , we do as pioneers , what are we discovering?

[BSB]

Arguing that such a treaty would interfere with United States sovereignty, republicans in the Senate on Tuesday voted down what has been a bipartisan United Nations treaty which protects the rights of the disabled.

The vote for ratification of The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty tallied at 61 yeas and 38 nays with one Senator, Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois, not voting. In the case of treaties, a two-thirds majority or more is required for Senate ratification.

Joining all of the Democrats and Independents in favor of the treaty was Republican Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Susan Collins of Maine (Maine), Dick Lugar of Indiana, John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Including having the support of these republicans, the treaty also had strong vocal support from former GOP Senator Bob Dole and former GOP President George H.W. Bush.

Democrats countered the republican sovereignty argument with the fact that the treaty does not actually change any federal, state, or local laws; the guidelines are merely recommendations, thus leaving U.S. sovereignty completely intact. However, adoption of the treaty is important as it would allow the United States the ability to sit on an international board supporting the rights of U.S. citizens with disabilities outside the United States in order to protect them from discrimination.

In a press release after the vote, Foreign Relations Committee Chairperson John Kerry stated,

“This is one of the saddest days I’ve seen in almost 28 years in the Senate and it needs to be a wakeup call about a broken institution that's letting down the American people. We need to fix this place because what happens and doesn’t happen here affects millions of lives. Today the dysfunction hurt veterans and the disabled and that’s unacceptable. This treaty was supported by every veterans group in America and Bob Dole made an inspiring and courageous personal journey back to the Senate to fight for it. It had bipartisan support, and it had the facts on its side, and yet for one ugly vote, none of that seemed to matter. We won’t give up on this and the Disabilities Treaty will pass because it’s the right thing to do, but today I understand better than ever before why Americans have such disdain for Congress and just how much must happen to fix the Senate so we can act on the real interests of our country."

http://www.skweezer.com/s.aspx?q=http://www.examiner.com/article/senate-republicans-kill-un-disability-rights-treaty

[BSB]

>>McCain and Senate Democrats have been urging Republicans to vote for passage of the treaty, which requires two-thirds approval, with the help of former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.). Dole, a veteran with a disability, has argued for passage because it would benefit U.S. citizens and veterans with disabilities, who travel, study, do business or reside abroad.

“There’s no reason that we cannot say that we lived up to our obligations,” McCain said. “We need to step up and do the right thing for Bob Dole and the rest of our U.S. veterans.”

The treaty ensures that countries ratifying it work toward equality for persons with disabilities in accessibility, health, education and employment, among other areas.

http://www.skweezer.com/s.aspx?q=http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/270747-mccain-calls-abortion-argument-against-the-disability-treaty-bad-politics

[sirs]

Actually, the saddest day was when Obamacare was passed on a pure party-line vote, with not 1 Republican providing any sort of "bipartisan support"

I believe messers McCain & Dole were highly critical of that piece of legislation that actually DOES impact this country.  Yet, I bet that got your approval

Again, a treaty that means nothing to anyone if it has no teeth for enforcement.  Purely symbolic, in which Bt has accurately referenced that we have already "led the way", with the ADA

[BSB]

From Republicans, a Parting Slap at Bob Dole and Disabled Americans
By LAWRENCE DOWNES

Former Senator Bob Dole, 89 years old and in a wheelchair, went onto to the floor of the Senate today to urge his former colleagues to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. Mr. Dole, a disabled veteran, has been one of the leading voices urging ratification of the treaty, which seeks to bring the world closer to the high standard set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark civil-rights law enacted under President George H.W. Bush.

One by one, according to Roll Call, the senators approached Mr. Dole to pat his shoulder or clasp his hand, making gestures of respect for the man who was for many years the Republican majority leader.

Then he was wheeled away, and all but a handful of the Republicans bailed out on him. The treaty failed. It needed a two-thirds vote to pass, or 67 votes, and fell six short.

So much for America’s support of a global agreement “to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities.”

The vote was a triumph for Glenn Beck, Rick Santorum and others on the hard-right loon fringe, who have been feverishly denouncing the treaty as a United Nations world-government conspiracy to kill disabled children (you can look it up).

Only eight Republicans voted yes: Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John McCain of Arizona.

Several Republicans who might have made a difference but voted “no,” as Roll Call pointed out, are up for re-election in 2014 and are facing possible primary challenges from the right: Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, and Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who changed his “yes” to a “no” after it was obvious the treaty would fail.

Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement after the vote: “This is one of the saddest days I’ve seen in almost 28 years in the Senate, and it needs to be a wake-up call about a broken institution that’s letting down the American people.”

He added: “Today the dysfunction hurt veterans and the disabled, and that’s unacceptable. This treaty was supported by every veterans group in America and Bob Dole made an inspiring and courageous personal journey back to the Senate to fight for it. It had bipartisan support, and it had the facts on its side, and yet for one ugly vote, none of that seemed to matter. We won’t give up on this and the Disabilities Treaty will pass because it’s the right thing to do, but today I understand better than ever before why Americans have such disdain for Congress and just how much must happen to fix the Senate so we can act on the real interests of our country.”

http://www.skweezer.com/s.aspx?q=http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/from-republicans-a-parting-slap-at-bob-dole-and-disabled-americans/