Tag Archives: economy

New Republican Strategy – Only pay SOME Of our bills

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Terry| Leave a comment

Can this be true?  Can Republicans seriously be considering this “strategy” for dealing with the “difficult problem” of the debt ceiling?

Washington Post – House Republicans New Strategy

The component of the story I’m referring to isn’t the part about passing a very short-term extension to the debt ceiling, delay the inevitable until March instead of February.  The part of the story I’m referring to is this:

But he (Paul Ryan) seemed open to an idea advanced by a number of conservatives in case there is no agreement to raise the limit — he said he believes the White House would have the authority to prioritize spending in case the borrowing limit is not raised.

The “thinking” (I’m being generous) behind the brilliant GOP idea is that they DO force us past the debt ceiling date without an agreement.  Their “thinking” is that the enough tax revenue could flow in to meet SOME of our spending obligations, and that Obama and the Treasury Department could decide what priorities to pay for, and which ones to not pay for. 

Brilliant.  THAT will calm the markets.  THAT will calm Fitch and others who are threatening to downgrade the US credit rating.  Instead of defaulting on ALL our bills, Paul Ryan and other GOP Congressmen (yes, Congress “men”, because I doubt anyone other than lilly-white, GOP men are behind this) are advocating a strategy that allows Obama and the Treasury department to pay for SOME of our bills. 

Paul Ryan, you are a dangerous, dangerous man.  I for one am damned glad Romney chose you as a running mate and your team spectacularly crashed and burned on election day.  It’s not easy for a presidential election loser to come back in subsequent elections, and I can’t imagine what a disaster it would be for the U.S. if a Paul Ryan presidency ever occurred.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe ALL THE ECONOMISTS IN THE WORLD are wrong.  I do take some issue with the writer of the Post article too, in their choice of terminology, calling the debt ceiling a “difficult issue”.  It’s an artificial issue, something that used to be a formality, now being used as an incredibly dangerous political ploy. 

Ideology over country.  Gotta love the GOP.  Shrink the government, even if we have to sink the whole damned economy to do it.

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Folly indeed – Our Non-representative House of Representatives

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Terry| 1 Comment
GOP Cliff Diving

The House of Representatives is anything but representative. Democratic House candidates received more votes than Republicans in this past election, yet thanks to gerrymandered districts, Republicans somehow maintain House control. The non-representative House of Representatives is about to drive the economy to ruin, defying what Americans want from these negotiations.

And over the cliff we go…

Early on Monday, it appeared that a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff was within sight.  President Obama agreed to spending cuts, including cuts in entitlement spending.  Many Democrats weren’t happy that Obama evidently agreed to a change in the way inflation is calculated for adjusting federal benefits.  Obama also moved on his prior insistence that tax rates go up for all earners over $250,000, raising that number to $400,000.  John Boehner finally gave in and agreed that tax rates would have to rise for high earners.  With the moves from Obama and Boehner, on Monday, a deal appeared imminent.

Then, within the course of a few hours, John Boehner caved to the conservative nutjobs that control the Republican Party.  Suddenly Boehner’s “Plan B” appeared, where Republicans would unilaterally pass legislation in the House that extended tax cuts for everyone making less than $1 million a year.  It was purely a political ploy, as passage of such a bill in the House would only serve as a political tool Republicans could wield in trying to convince the public they were being reasonable on fiscal cliff negotiations.

Yesterday, Boehner pulled “Plan B” in the House and adjourned for the holidays.  They couldn’t even get enough votes within their own party to pass the legislation.  One and a half months after a disaster of an election for Republicans, and they still haven’t seemed to have gotten the message that the political winds have changed.  Republicans are still allowing the radical conservative wing of the party to dictate the party’s direction.

Why are we in this mess?  Why, with months to find a solution to this mess, are we about to merrily tumble over the fiscal cliff, even when politicians know the severe harm it will cause to our economy?  Look no further than our non-representative House of Representatives.

Conservatives constantly point to the Constitution and our founding fathers on issues such as gun rights and other issues.  I wonder what the founding fathers would think of today’s political system that allows for a House of Representatives to be composed of a NON-representative suite of politicians.  Even with the political and economic headwinds against him, Obama decisively beat Romney. Even with Democrats defending many more seats than Republicans, Democrats managed to GAIN seats in the Senate.  In the House?  DEMOCRATIC HOUSE CANDIDATES RECEIVED MORE VOTES IN THE HOUSE THAN DID REPUBLICAN HOUSE CANDIDATES!!! Yet thanks to a system that allows state legislatures to gerrymander House districts, Republican-controlled states managed to game the system and send more Republican House members to Washington than the vote of the American people would imply.

In short, our House of Representatives is anything BUT representative.  The American people are strongly siding with Obama’s positions in the fiscal cliff negotiations.  But thanks to gerrymandered House districts that allowed Republicans to control the House, despite receiving a minority of the votes, fiscal cliff negotiations are going nowhere.  Gun control legislation will go nowhere, despite the tragedy in Newtown.  ANY significant legislation is likely to go nowhere over the next 2 years, thanks to a Republican-controlled House who continues to insist on defying the voice of the American people, and instead focus on the path set forward by the hyper-radical conservative wing of their party.

Given what happened in the November election, given that the American people are behind him on the fiscal cliff issue, and given all the political clout Obama SHOULD have on the fiscal cliff issue, Obama has gone much further to meet Republicans in these negotiations than many think he needed to go.  But here we are 10 days away from tumbling over the cliff, and our non-representative House of Representatives have walked out on the Obama/Boehner negotiations, and have adjourned for the holidays.  Boehner even had the gall to say that it’s “now up to Obama and Harry Reid” to pass legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff.  WHAT THE HELL??  Republicans close up shop and leave Washington, and then have the guts to say it’s up to Obama and Harry Reid to solve this?

I hope the American people are paying attention.  In general, in mid-term elections, the president’s party losing seats in Congress.  I hope the American people say enough is enough in 2014, and, despite the gerrymandered districts, move us towards a more representative House of Representatives.  As it stands now, a handful of right-wing nutjobs are about to send the entire American economy over the cliff.

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The “Real” Obama – Repubs, you have nothing to fear

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Terry| Leave a comment
Barack Obama

Barack Obama - Moderate Republican. At least that's a label that's been placed on him by multiple pundits. Republicans, you have nothing to fear. Obama isn't driving America over some "liberal cliff". As his comments on climate change today have shown, the man is a moderate in every sense of the word.

Over the last four years, there has been a lot of Republican speculation about the “real” Obama, this monster of a man who would soon emerge and lead the U.S. down the path of socialism.

Uh…no.  You have absolutely nothing to fear, Republicans.  Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Beast said as much when he went on the Colbert Report on the night of the election.  The Daily Beast runs towards the liberal side, but Sullivan is a self-professed conservative, albeit a conservative who was extremely unhappy where Republicans have taken the party.  As Sullivan stated, Republicans should be happy about the election…a “Moderate Republican” won.  He’s not the only one to say so.  William Saletan at Slate.com also ran a story the day after the election, saying Republicans should cheer up because they have a moderate Republican in office for the next four years…Barack Obama.

Democrats have certainly been disappointed in Obama on a number of issues.  Yes, he kept his first campaign promises on health care and on ending the wars.  But Obama also has failed to close Guantanamo, hasn’t addressed immigration reform, and has caved on a number of environmental issues.  During the campaign, the issue of climate change was notable…notably absent, that is, from any discussion during the campaign or during the debates.  During Obama’s victory speech on the night of the election, he gave a passing nod to the issue of climate change, noting the dangers of a warming planet.  That line got him a very loud ovation…but…climate change simply wasn’t much of an issue this election, even for Obama.

Yesterday during his press conference, Obama came out and said that climate change is NOT a priority for him, that it will take a back seat to the economy.   In the press conference, he stated that it’s important, that it’s a tough issue, but that it would take “tough political choices” for it to be addressed.

In other words…Obama is punting on climate change.  At this stage, I honestly don’t think it matters.  There’s no going back.  We’ve already set the wheels in motion for severe climate change.  Even if by some miracle there was a global epiphany and humanity decided to immediately cut back carbon emissions, climate change is going to march merrily ahead for the nest few centuries.

However, once again, Obama has disappointed liberals.  Once again, Obama is showing that Republican pundits’ comments that Obama is “the most liberal president in America’s history” are complete BS.   You have nothing to fear, Republicans.  Obama isn’t going to take the country down some radical liberal path.  He’s an obvious moderate…and even for a hard-core liberal like myself, I think that’s just what we need right now, someone who can straddle the fence and try to bridge the gap between the two “sides” the nation has seemingly split into.

Now…Republicans just have to join the real world, and see Obama for the true moderate that he is.

Posted in Climate Change, Politics

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Romney Tells Governors to Lie About Recovery

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Romney and Obama

More deception, more lying from Romney. Is this what happens to a GOP candidate? Is the GOP SO corrupt, that any GOP presidential candidate turns to a lying POS? Before the last election...I LIKED John McCain. I RESPECTED John McCain. They he runs for president, and everything he ever stood for went out the window. Romney is headed down the same path. I USED to think he wasn't bad, a Republican governor with a moderate, pragmatic streak. Now? He's a lying, deceptive, slick POS...

The economy has been recovering in several swing states.  Uh-oh, says Romney, we can’t have that!  At least, we can’t let the electorate know the truth!  Hence, the story of Romney telling GOP governors to downplay any economic recovery that’s happened in their states.  He’s told GOP governors to cool it, and not talk about improved economic conditions, lowered unemployment rates, etc.

After all, we can’t have voters knowing the truth!  It fits right in line with the overall GOP strategy of SCARING voters into voting for them, by either playing to their inner bigotry, or playing up just how “bad” things are, or will be, under Obama. Even if they’re not!

Romney continues to bash Obama on foreign policy and national defense fronts, stating that under Obama, we’re much less safe.  This, despite the incredible foreign policy and military successes under Obama.  When Obama DARED to try to obtain contraceptive coverage for those individuals who wanted it but couldn’t get it through their insurance…Romney fell all over himself stating that religious freedoms are “under attack” by Obama, and would shrivel if he were given another term.  There’s a lovely new attack ad on Obama by the National Republican Campaign Committee that claims under ObamaCare, there are massive new taxes on ‘heart attacks, sick puppies, and new babies’.

Romney and other Republican attacks on ObamaCare alone probably keeps the entire staff of FactCheck.org working 24 hours a day.  What’s one more lie, on top of all the others?  Romney knows that lying works, since far too often, the electorate believes this kind of crap.

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The “Redneck Vote” – Exploiting Americans’ Own Bigotry and Hatred

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Terry| 2 Comments
Obama

A black president, showing mercy towards illegal immigrants. It's the worst nightmare for the "Redneck Vote". So, they'll vote Republican, and effectively vote to kill their own futures.

Republican politicians are outraged.  Oh, they’re not REALLY “outraged”, they’re “outraged” as only Republicans can be, a completely fake, manufactured form of “outrage.”  It’s the same kind of fake “outrage” they express every time Obama or any other Democrat opens their mouth.  So what has Republican politicians “outraged” this time?  Obama’s statements this week that the administration’s policy will be not to pursue deportation of young illegal immigrants.

The policy is basically an executive order with elements of the “Dream Act”.  Illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as children, who haven’t run into any legal trouble, won’t actively be pursued and deported. Republicans of course are screaming “AMNESTY!!!” at the top of their lungs, as if it’s somehow EVIL to treat young people who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. as, well…people…as AMERICANS, with the same hopes, dreams, and ambitions as the rest of us.

Republicans don’t screw around.  They don’t worry about facts, figures, or trying to get Americans up to speed on policy issues.  No, they seemingly have one, and only one, strategy…to pander to the basic primeval emotions and instincts of people.  Bigotry…Fear…Hatred…THESE are the foundations of the Republican party platform.  The economy?  The environment?  Foreign policy?  Irrelevant!!  They hear Obama showing COMPASSION to a group of AMERICANS (for all intents and purposes, other than legal standing)…and immediately they see an opening.  They see a way to, once again, ignore all the issues that REALLY should matter to Americans, and instead capitalize on and exploit the bigotry and hatred that is present in far too many Americans.

I’m amazed at how clouded peoples’ vision is, with regard to what truly benefits them, and how they behave.  Republicans have mastered the art of convincing Americans to vote AGAINST their own best interests.  GREED, corruption, and inadequate oversight of Wall Street and corporate America have played a huge role in where our economy is today…yet just a few short years after Republicans and their Wall Street friends drove the economy off a cliff, they’ve managed to convince the ignorant electorate that Wall Street and Corporate America aren’t the problem, that it’s government that’s the problem.   For those people who AREN’T stupid enough to buy that…they fall back on their strategy of tapping into the internal bigotry and hatred of people.

So…the poor working class stiffs who CONTINUE to lose their opportunity to achieve the American dream, who CONTINUE to see their “share of the pie” go to an ever-increasingly rich 1%…ALSO are the same complete idiots who continue to vote Republican.  They hear Republican politicians bitch and moan about illegal immigrants, and they are manipulated into blaming illegal immigrants for the economy, for their own crappy lives, for…well…everything.  Republicans continue to tap into the inner BIGOTRY of Americans, and that same ignorant group of Americans continually give their vote away to Republicans, in return for…in return for what?

What the HELL do Republicans do to help the working class American?  Oh yes, that’s right…tax cuts for the rich and policies tilted completely towards benefiting those who need the least amount of help.  But yet they’ve completely locked down the “redneck vote”…those who vote based on their own bigotry and hatred, despite the implications for how their vote really affects their own lives.

I guess if it didn’t impact the rest of us, it would actually be some kind of sweet justice, where those who live their lives based on HATRED end up being punished in the end for their own ignorance and biases.  But it’s hard to laugh at how the redneck-voter ends up screwing themselves, when in the end, they end up screwing all of us.

Posted in Culture Wars, Politics

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Perusin’ and Musin’

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Terry| 4 Comments

Some random thoughts from perusin’ the web…

Jobs Report Doesn’t Bode Well for Obama – Not a good jobs report today.  Unemployment inched down, but only because so many people have left the work force.  It’s a damned tough environment for a sitting president to win re-election.  Frankly though, there’s just not much Obama can do to get things going on the economic front.  This is a global downturn, and U.S. government economic policy isn’t the key to our economy.   Romney says he’ll create 500,000 jobs a months and drop unemployment to 4%.  That’s about as likely as Gingrich’s promises to lower gas prices to below $2.00 a gallon.   However, it’s pretty obvious Republicans SHOULD have the edge given 1) the down economy, and 2) an American public who is stupid enough to actually BELIEVE some of the crap Republicans shovel down their throats.   The only thing working against them is 1) their OWN ineptitude and 2) a complete lack of any strong candidates.

Redneck Massachusetts Man Attacks Hawk - No South Dakota, we do NOT have a monopoly on redneck losers.  In Massachusetts, a man was arrested when he attacked a Red-tailed Hawk who had captured a pigeon…presumably to “protect” the pigeons in the park?  The story also notes other memorable Massachusetts losers, such as a fish hatchery operator who shot herons, Osprey, and even Eagles that hung around his hatchery. Never underestimate just how incredibly cruel, selfish, and evil people can be.

Sioux Falls Man found Guilty of Raping 7-year Old – See the story above, multiply the horror and disgust by a factor of, oh, around 1,000, and you have this story of a Sioux Falls man raping a 7-year old.  About 99% of the time, I’m against capital punishment….but BOY do stories like this make me at least pause and consider it for a second. 

First Hummingbird of the Year - Like clockwork since we’ve moved into our current house, the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the year arrives sometime during the first week of May.  Today was the day for 2012, when I saw a beautiful male hummingbird flitting around the yard much of the day.  The link at the top of the paragraph shows the migratory progress of the Hummingbirds for this spring.  I will GREATLY enjoy having them around my yard for the next 4 1/2 months, until they depart by mid- to late-September.

Read more »

Posted in Birds, Politics, Sports

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Perusin’ and Musin’

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment

Perusing and MusingSome random thoughts from perusin’ the web…

Obama’s accomplishments – I saw an article today comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter, with the point being that both are supposedly incredibly ineffective presidents.  Pardon my language, but bullshit.  And pardon the language here, but check out whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com.   As a card-carryin’, tree-huggin’, liberal wacko, I recognize some disappointments in the Obama administration, but I also recognize 1) the cards he’s been dealt, including an impossible to work with Congress, and 2) the remarkable accomplishments he HAS achieved that seem to get little press.  Even Bin Laden’s capture is hardly ever mentioned (and is also why Republicans seem scared to touch Obama much on foreign policy any more, except in a really shallow and meaningless way). 

Slovakia’s Parliament Rejects Euro Bailout – GOD DAMN IT OBAMA!!  Yet another indication of the bumbling Obama administration’s poor handling of the economy!!  Well, OK, Obama can’t control the Slovakian parliament, but that’s my point.  Obama, and government in general, get WAY too much credit or blame for economic issues.  Look at U.S. markets over the past several months.  They react almost daily to the latest news regarding a Greek bailout, austerity measures in Spain or Italy, etc.   In a globally integrated economy, there’s only so much one government can do to try and improve economic conditions.  And that’s in a BEST case scenario, where the government isn’t so hopelessly partisan and unproductive as ours.

Rick Perry Refuses to Condemn Anti-Morman Rant – Rick Perry said he will not repudiate a Texas pastor who last week called Mormonism “a cult”, something which voters should take into account when considering Mitt Romney.   Perry says he won’t repudiate it because it’s just “a distraction” that Romney is trying to capitalize on.  My thought…Perry will make up every excuse he can not to repudiate it, because he knows that the “Christian Right” (aka, bible-thumpin’, hate-mongerin’ wackos) agree with the Texas pastor, and he can score political points with them if Romney’s faith stays in the headlines.

Kim Kardashian Wedding draws 10.5 million on E! – Over 10 million viewers watched part one of the Kim Kardashian wedding on E!.  I honestly don’t know a single thing that Kim Kardashian has ever done in her life.  But yet, I wonder how many people in America know more about her than they do about the Republicans debating tonight?  As I noted in a post a few days ago, 46% of Americans can’t even name ONE of the Republican candidates.  I wonder if a higher percentage of Americans know about this “star’s” wedding, even though there’s not a single real accomplisment of any importance that I think you could attribute to Kardashian.

Ice Loss in Greenland Continues to Accelerate – The Greenland ice sheet is rapidly losing mass, and the rate of decline has been accelerating.  If you are a climate change idiot skeptic, PLEASE take the time to check out SkepticalScience.com and educate yourself.  Be it there or elsewhere, I could literally post a story like this just about every day.  But of course, climate change is all one very well-executed conspiracy by we scientists, right?

Senate Republicans Block Jobs Bill – Thanks to the mechanics of the Senate and the wonderful filibuster, 46 Republicans voted against continuing debate on Obama’s jobs bill, effectively tabling it.  I LOVE this last line of the article…”Republicans opposed the measure over its spending to stimulate the economy and its tax surcharge on millionaires“.  That pretty much sums up the Republican stance right now…keep the economy as weak as possible before next year’s election, and protect their sugar-daddies deep financial pockets.

Posted in Climate Change, Perusin' & Musin', Politics

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Romney's Economic Plan – Hire Bush Cast-offs

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Terry| Leave a comment
George Bush and Mitt Romney

George W. Bush giving Mitt Romney advice on how to destroy the economy of the world's only remaining superpower.

In a blatant attempt to beat Obama to the punch, Mitt Romney today provided a 59-point jobs plan for America.  Bully for him!!  The man who led Massachusetts to the wonderful ranking of 47th of all states in job creation during his time in office has a plan to pull America out of our unemployment rut!

Even better are the masterminds helping him with the plan.  Two of the four geniuses are former chairmen of Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors…Glenn Hubbard from Columbia University and Greg Mankiw from Harvard.   Brilliant!  Just what we need…a return to the Bush economic policies that worked SO well in turning around a budget surplus, and dragging the country into economic ruin. Another member of the four, Vin Weber, is a former lobbyist for Freddie Mac, the WILDLY successful housing giant that also has, well, helped plunge us into economic ruin.  The fourth is former Senator from Missouri, Jim Talent.  Talent has been working with a lobbying firm in Missouri…but he himself hasn’t registered himself as a lobbyist, which conveniently allows him to avoid divulging his clients or his economic interests.  Sounds above-board to me!!

THIS is the group Romney plans on using to turn our economic problems around?  The sad thing is…by most accounts, Romney’s economic plans are the LEAST right-wing of all the GOP candidates.

God help us all.  Especially since it appears increasingly likely that Obama, or as I now like to refer to him, Obama-the-wimp or Obama-the-turncoat, now seems to be an underdog to win a 2nd term.

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