Usually Right: Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., September 8 & 9, 2012

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., September 8 & 9, 2012

Did you folks know that Fredericksburg is the official polka capital of Texas...?!

20 comments:

William R. Barker said...: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/248213-white-house-will-miss-fiscal-cliff-deadline

The White House on Friday said it will miss the legal deadline for delivering a report to Congress on the spending cuts from sequestration that are scheduled to take effect in 2013.

* SERIOUSLY...?

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* FOLKS... THIS GUY AIN'T QUALIFIED TO BE A MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT - LET ALONE POTUS!

Under the terms of the Sequestration Transparency Act signed in August, President Obama was to tell Congress by Friday how the administration plans to implement the $109 billion in automatic cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act.

* GLANCING AT MY WATCH... (*PAUSE*)... YEP... IT'S SATURDAY...

(*SHRUG*)

The Office of Management and Budget has repeatedly failed to make legal deadlines. It delivered its presidential budget proposals and mid-session updates late both this year and last year.

* FOLKS... I'M SERIOUS. PATTERNS LIKE THIS DO DEMONSTRATE UNFITNESS FOR OFFICE. IMAGINE IF YOU RAN YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR HOUSEHOLD, OR EVEN YOUR PERSONAL FINANCES THIS WAY.

Republicans have tried to tie the tardiness to the failure of the Senate to pass a budget resolution for the last three years.

* UMM... MIGHT THAT BE BECAUSE THE SENATE - CONTROLLED BY HARRY REID AND THE DEMOCRATS SINCE 2007 - HAS INDEED FAILED TO PASS A BUDGET RESOLUTION FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS...?!?! (RHETORICAL QUESTION - THE ANSWER IS "YES!")

"Like the [Sen. Harry] Reid majority, the White House has shown astonishingly little regard for budget law in this time of crisis," said Stephen Miller, a spokesman for Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), who co-authored the transparency law.

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... IT'S NOT JUST "POLITICS." BROWSE THROUGH BACK ISSUES OF "NEWSBITES" AT RANDOM. DISRESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW IS A COMMON THREAD.

* AGAIN... IT'S NOT AS IF BUSH NEVER PLAYED FAST AND LOOSE... OR CLINTON... BUT OBAMA, PELOSI, AND REID HAVE BROUGHT IT TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL!

Speaker of the House John Boehner highlighted that House Republicans have passed a replacement for the sequester. That bill relies heavily on social program cuts and does not contain tax increases, which Democrats say are needed for a fair deal.

* HEY... LIKE IT OR NOT (AND I DON'T LIKE IT, FOR WHAT THAT'S WORTH)... AT LEAST THE REPUBLICAN DIRTBAGS HAVE FULFILLED THEIR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES!

The White House declined to provide further comment on the delay of the report.; September 8, 2012 at 9:55 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.infowars.com/tsa-kicks-woman-off-flight-for-bad-attitude/

A TSA screener admitted to a woman traveling through Houston Airport that she was prevented from boarding her flight for retaliatory reasons as punishment for a "bad attitude" rather than any genuine security threat, after the woman refused to allow TSA agents to test her drink for explosives.

* AMERIKA 2012, FOLKS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEii7dQUpy8&feature=player_embedded

The audio and video in the clip above is scratchy, but the woman is heard saying, “Let me get this straight, this is retaliatory for my attitude, this is not making the airways safer it’s retaliatory.”

“It pretty much definitely is,” the TSA screener responds.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

The incident began when the woman refused to allow TSA agents to carry out a controversial policy where they test drinks for explosives that are purchased by passengers after they have already passed through security.

* YEP! YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY - "AFTER!"

The new policy, which as we highlighted is completely pointless and unnecessary, was back in the headlines earlier this week after the Drudge Report posted an Infowars story featuring a video which showed TSA screeners testing drinks in the departure lounge at Columbus Ohio Airport.

After the story went viral, the TSA responded on its official Twitter feed by re-posting a TSA blog response from July which claimed the procedure was “business as usual.”

As we documented, the response was a glib attempt to brush aside the story and completely failed to justify the reasoning behind the policy.

(*SIGH*)

* AS I TOLD MY FRIEND ROB AT THE TIME... CREATING TSA IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.

(*SHRUG*)

* SO... WHAT IS IT THIS WOMAN WITH THE "BAD ATTITUDE" ACTUALLY DID...? READ ON!

“This was inside the terminal at the Houston airport,” the woman writes on her You Tube channel. “I was not allowed to board a plane (even though I had already been through airport security) because I drank my water instead of letting the TSA “test” it. The TSA agent finally admitted that it wasn’t because they thought I was a security risk – it was because they were mad at me!”

* WILL ANYONE BE FIRED? THE TSA AGENT? HIS (HER?) IMMEDIATE SUPERIOR? THE HEAD OF HOUSTON AIRPORT TSA? I WOULDN'T BET ON IT!

The fact that the TSA screener admits the woman is being punished for her attitude confirms the premise that many of the TSA’s security procedures actually have nothing to do with safety and are more a form of obedience training for the general public.

(*PURSED LIPS*); September 8, 2012 at 10:10 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/09/08/vicious-mob-trashes-motorists-car-in-greenwich-village/

It was an absolute mob scene late on Thursday night in Greenwich Village.

“Fashion’s Night Out” turned ugly and spiraled into chaos at the corner of Broadway and Bleecker Street...

* FOLKS... WATCH THE VIDEO... WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qhIDvOVtspQ

* NO DOUBT THE CAR WAS DAMAGED... BUT THANKFULLY THE "INCIDENT" DIDN'T "ESCALATE" INTO VIOLENCE THAT LED TO PHYSICAL INJURY OR WORSE. BUT IT EASILY COULD HAVE. THE DRIVER COULD HAVE PANICKED. AND THEN WHAT? WOULD HE HAVE BEEN CHARGED, CONVICTED AND THROWN IN JAIL HAD HE PANICKED, HIT THE GAS, TRIED TO ESCAPE... HURT OF KILLED SOMEONE?

* THIS IS BLEECKER AND BROADWAY, FOLKS. NOT THE GHETTO. IT COULD HAVE BEEN A WOMAN DRIVING WITH HER SMALL CHILDREN... AN ELDERLY PERSON... A CAR FULL OF TOURISTS... IMAGINE ANY SCENARIO WHERE YOU'D BE TERRIFIED NOT JUST FOR YOURSELF BUT FOR THOSE WITH YOU IN THE CAR.; September 9, 2012 at 10:09 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/nyregion/two-men-fatally-stabbed-as-violence-again-follows-west-indian-day-parade.html

The day had been mostly quiet, except for the thunder of police helicopters and the boom of reggae music coming from the colorful floats of the annual West Indian American Day Parade.

* MOSTLY QUIET... UH-HUH... (READ ON!)

But not long after the official festivities ended, sirens started sounding and violence descended on pockets of Crown Heights, on and around the route off Eastern Parkway. By early evening, the police said, two men had been fatally stabbed and at least two people had been wounded in gun violence, breaking the tenuous calm in Brooklyn.

* FUCKING... ANIMALS...

* IT REALLY IS A SHAME THAT THE REPORTER OF THIS STORY WASN'T A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE. I SAY THIS BECAUSE OF THE SPIN OF THE ARTICLE. IT'S DISGUSTING. BUT... I WANTED TO USE THE NYT TO MAKE THE POINT THAT WHILE THE "TONE" OF COVERAGE MAY DIFFER BETWEEN WHAT ONE READS IN THIS ARTICLE AND WHAT WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN IN THE NY POST, THE BOTTOM LINE REMAINS THE SAME: FUCKING... ANIMALS.

* HERE... LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE NYT SPIN:

In a parade marred by several fatal shootings in the previous nine years, the police had made their presence known — and not always in a positive manner.

(*SNORT*)

* FOLKS... YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP! THE TIMES FEELS THE NEED TO MAKE THE COPS THE BAD GUYS!

In recent years, most of the violence had taken place after the parade ended.

The police said on Monday evening that around 6:30 p.m., a dispute broke out between two men on St. Johns Place, two blocks from Eastern Parkway. One man, 26, died of stab wounds, and the other, 20, was arrested. Another man, 27, was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital after being stabbed on Eastern Parkway, around 6 p.m., the police said. And a woman, 24, and a man, 32, were shot about 5:15 p.m. on Eastern Parkway, the authorities said.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

* FOLKS... REALLY... READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE. I WANT YOU TO BE EXPOSED - FULL BORE - TO THE "SITUATION" AS COVERED BY THE NYT. NINE YEARS IN A ROW FATAL SHOOTINGS AT A "PARTICULAR" PARADE (PLUS PLENTY OF OTHER VIOLENCE!) AND HALF THE FOCUS OF THE ARTICLE IS ON... HOW CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL POLICE OFFICERS PUT POLITICALLY INCORRECT POSTS ON FACEBOOK?

* IT'S SICK, FOLKS; SICK AND GETTING SICKER.; September 9, 2012 at 10:23 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.pcworld.com/article/262044/how_the_feds_are_tracking_us.html

* THIS STORY IS BEING HIGHLIGHTED BY RT (RUSSIA TODAY) VIA DRUDGE... BUT I FIGURE THAT TO AVOID "THE MESSENGER" TAINTING "THE MESSAGE" I'D GOOGLE TO FIND A MORE "MAINSTREAM" AUTHORITATIVE SOURCE. PC WORLD IS PRETTY MAINSTREAM... RIGHT?

Evidence continues to mount that the U.S. government is keen on tracking its citizens.

The FBI has started rolling out its $1 billion biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) system, a nationwide database of mug shots, iris scans, DNA samples, voice recordings, palm prints, and other biometrics collected from more than 100 million Americans and intended to help identify and catch criminals.

The FBI has been piloting the program with several states and by the time it’s fully deployed in 2014 will have at its fingertips a facial recognition database that includes at least 12 million photos of people’s faces.

* BUT OF COURSE IN THE "NEW AMERICA" WE'RE ALL BEING "CAUGHT ON CAMERA" PRETTY MUCH EVERY TIME WE SET FOOT OUTSIDE OUR HOMES. AND... SINCE THE CONSTITUTION NO LONGER APPLIES THE WAY IT USED TO... (YEAH... SOME SARCASM THERE... BUT LOTS OF SERIOUSNESS AS WELL)... IT'S NOT A STRETCH TO SAY THAT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, IF THE FBI, HOMELAND SECURITY, ATF, OR ANY OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY WANTS TO ADD YOU TO THEIR DATA BASE THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT - EVEN IF YOU HAVE NO CRIMINAL RECORD.

Privacy watchdog groups have some concerns. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the NGI system will allow photo submissions independent of arrests.

* AS I WAS SAYING... (*SHRUG*) (*SIGH*)

* FOLKS... I'M SURE THIS STARTED UNDER BUSH - PERHAPS EVEN PRIOR TO BUSH! I'M NOT LOOKING AT THIS AS A PARTISAN! I'M LOOKING AT THIS AS "HEY... IS THIS THE AMERICA I WANT?"

“This is a problem because the FBI has stated it wants to use its facial recognition system to ‘identify subjects in public datasets’ and ‘conduct automated surveillance at lookout locations,’” the EFF writes in a blog post. “This suggests the FBI wants to be able to search and identify people in photos of crowds and in pictures posted on social media sites—even if the people in those photos haven’t been arrested for or even suspected of a crime. The FBI may also want to incorporate those crowd or social media photos into its face recognition database.”

(*SHRUG*)

* BOTTOM LINE... "BIG BROTHER" (OR "BIG SISTER" AS THE CASE IS TODAY) KEEPS GROWING... AND GROWING... AND GROWING...; September 9, 2012 at 11:10 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AFGHAN_WAR_NUMBED_BY_NUMBERS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-08-10-37-09

It was another week at war in Afghanistan, another string of American casualties, and another collective shrug by a nation weary of a faraway conflict whose hallmark is its grinding inconclusiveness.

* ASSHOLES. MOST AMERICANS ARE ASSHOLES. THAT'S WHY THE NATION IS DOOMED. THE TIPPING POINT HAS BEEN REACHED. THERE'S MORE OF "THEM" THAN THERE ARE OF "US."

After nearly 11 years, many by now have grown numb to the sting of losing soldiers like Pfc. Shane W. Cantu of Corunna, Mich.

Shane died of shrapnel wounds in the remoteness of eastern Afghanistan, not far from the getaway route that Osama bin Laden took when U.S. forces invaded after Sept. 11, 2001, and began America's longest war.

* AND DOES ANYONE FEEL SAFER BECAUSE SHANE CANTU SACRIFICED HIS LIFE? ANYONE...? ANYONE AT ALL...?

Nearly every day the Pentagon posts another formulaic death notice, each one brief and unadorned, revealing the barest of facts - name, age and military unit - but no words that might capture the meaning of the loss.

* THE PENTAGON IS A BUILDING. BUT IT'S ALSO APPARENTLY A MINDSET. HOW CORPORATIZED IS TODAY'S AMERICAN MILITARY? HOW POLITICAL ARE THE TOP BRASS - POLITICAL IN A PARTISAN, IDEOLOGICAL MANNER AS OPPOSED TO JUST IN TERMS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SKILLS NECESSARY TO CLIMB THE GREASY POLE TO THE TOP?

* FOLKS... OBAMA AND THE ADMINISTRATION - AND THE PENTAGON - LIED TO US ABOUT HOW OSAMI BIN LADIN WAS KILLED. WHAT ELSE HAVE THEY LIED TO US ABOUT?

Cantu, who joined the Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade on Sept. 11 last year and went to Afghanistan last month, was among five U.S. deaths announced this past week, as the Democrats and Republicans wrapped up back-to-back presidential nominating conventions.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

American troops are still dying in Afghanistan at a pace that doesn't often register beyond their hometowns. So far this year, it's 31 a month on average, or one per day.

* HEY... LET'S TALK ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE... MAYBE CHAT ABOUT THE MERITS OF "FREE" BIRTH CONTROL...

(*SPITTING ON THE GROUND*)

National attention is drawn, briefly, to grim and arbitrary milestones such as the 1,000th and 2,000th war deaths. But days, weeks and months pass with little focus by the general public or its political leaders on the individuals behind the statistics.

* FUCK 'EM! OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND... RIGHT?! HEY... YOU PUT A BUMPER MAGNAT ON YOUR SUV's BUMPER - YOU'VE DONE YOUR SHARE! HECK... JUST LAST WEEK YOU DONATED $1 TO A VETERAN'S CHARITY AT THE REGISTER AT YOUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET! YEP... YOU'VE DONE MORE THAN YOUR SHARE. (HEY... THEY'RE VOLUNTEERS, RIGHT?)

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD IN DISGUST*)

Shane Cantu would have turned 21 next month.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

As the war drags on, it remains a faraway puzzle for many Americans. Max Boot, a military historian and defense analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, has called Afghanistan the "Who Cares?" war. "Few, it seems, do, except for service personnel and their families," he wrote recently. "It is almost as if the war isn't happening at all."

One measure of how far the war has receded into the background in America is the fact that it was not even mentioned by Mitt Romney in his speech last week accepting the Republican presidential nomination.

* DISGUSTING.

President Barack Obama has pledged to end the main U.S. combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but current plans call for some thousands of U.S. troops to remain long after that to train Afghans and hunt terrorists.

(*JUST THROWING MY HANDS UP*)

* READ THE FULL ARTICLE FOLKS. IT GIVES DETAILS ON THE OTHER KIA's.; September 9, 2012 at 11:52 AM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/241/3026867/White-House-draft-cyber-order-lays-out-critical-infrastructure-protections

The White House so far has failed to get a bill passed by both houses of Congress to improve the cybersecurity of the nation's critical infrastructure, so they want to take an "alternative approach."

* YES. RULE BY DECREE. FUCK THE CONSTITUTION. FUCK SEPARATION OF POWERS.

* SERIOUSLY, FOLKS... IMAGINE... JUST IMAGINE... IF THIS WERE BUSH. YOU WOULDN'T BE READING ABOUT IT VIA FEDERAL NEWS RADIO. IT WOULD BE FRONT PAGE NEWS EVERYWHERE. IT WOULD BE ALL OVER THE AIRWAVES.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

* "ALTERNATE APPROACH." IT'S NOT FUNNY, FOLKS. IT'S REALLY NOT. THE RULE OF LAW IS WHAT OBAMA SAYS IT IS. THAT’S NOW OFFICIAL U.S. POLICY IN TRUTH IF NOT IN NAME.

The administration has created a draft executive order detailing how, within its authority...

* STOP! STOP RIGHT THERE! A PRESIDENT HAS NO "AUTHORITY" TO SIMPLY CREATE NEW LAW! THERE'S A BILL BEFORE CONGRESS! CONGRESS HASN'T PASSED THE BILL! THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE WAY OUR SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED!

* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... READ THE ARTICLE FOR YOURSELVES. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE BILL BEFORE CONGRESS SHOULD BE PASSED AS IS OR WHETHER NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD CONTINUE SO AS TO GET A BETTER BILL... BUT IN THE LARGEST SENSE POSSIBLE THIS IS BESIDES THE POINT! THE PRESIDENCY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A VIRTUAL DICTATORSHIP WITH CARTE BLANCHE POWERS BASED UPON "NATIONAL SECURITY."

* YES... BUSH DID X-Y-Z. AND REGULAR READERS AND FRIENDS WILL RECALL I SLAMMED HIM EACH TIME HE WENT TOO FAR. BUT AS WITH SO MANY OTHER BUSH MISTAKES... IF ANYTHING... OBAMA HAS DOUBLED DOWN! HE'S "OUT-BUSHED" BUSH!; September 9, 2012 at 12:03 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120908/NEWS01/309080018/Rochester-red-light-camera-citations?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home&nclick_check=1

Over the past 18 months, city of Rochester employees have committed at least 119 red light violations while driving city vehicles, records show.

* AND YET... (READ ON!)

But while employees can be disciplined for the violation, "payment of the related fine will not be required," according to a newly adopted city procedure for handling the violations.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

* AMERICA 2012, FOLKS; THERE'S "THEM" AND THERE'S "US." ALL ANIMALS ARE CREATED EQUAL; SOME ARE JUST MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

(*SMIRK*)

One-third of the infractions were by police department vehicles...

* MEANING... ACCORDING TO MY MATH AT LEAST... TWO-THIRDS WEREN'T.

(*SMIRK*)

...including one driven by Police Chief James Sheppard.

(*MORE SARCASTIC CLAPPING*)

These are not instances where squad cars are going through intersections with lights and sirens blaring. But Sheppard said most do involve emergency responses, and typically are rolling stops on right turns.

* HEY... IF IT WERE YOU... YOU'D HAVE TO TELL IT TO THE JUDGE. RIGHT?

(*PURSED LIPS*)

There also were violations by solid waste, building services, cemetery and library vehicles, according to data the Democrat and Chronicle obtained through an open records request.

(*SNORT*)

* HEY, FOLKS... YOU KNOW WHAT THE EVENTUAL "SOLUTION" WILL BE, RIGHT? THEY'LL SIMPLY SET UP THE SYSTEM TO IMMEDIATELY DELETE ALL PHOTOS/CITATIONS LINKED TO CITY OFFICIAL PLATES. (*SHRUG*) THEN THERE WON'T EVEN BE A RECORD! (HEY... THAT'S WHAT I'D DO IF I WERE A GOVERNMENT SCUMBAG...); September 9, 2012 at 12:27 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2008:how-long-will-the-dollar-remain-the-worlds-reserve-currency&catid=64:2012-texas-straight-talk&Itemid=69

* BY THE ALWAYS HONORABLE RON PAUL (R-TX)

We frequently hear the financial press refer to the U.S. dollar as the “world’s reserve currency,” implying that our dollar will always retain its value in an ever shifting world economy.

(*SNORT*)

Since August 15, 1971, when President Nixon closed the gold window and refused to pay out any of our remaining 280 million ounces of gold, the U.S. dollar has operated as a pure fiat currency. This means the dollar became an article of faith in the continued stability and might of the U.S. government.

In essence, we declared our insolvency in 1971.

(*NOD*)

Amazingly, a new system was devised which allowed the U.S. to operate the printing presses for the world reserve currency with no restraints placed on it - not even a pretense of gold convertibility!

Realizing the world was embarking on something new and mind-boggling, elite money managers - with especially strong support from U.S. authorities - struck an agreement with OPEC in the 1970s to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions. This gave the dollar a special place among world currencies and in essence backed the dollar with oil.

* ONLY... UNLIKE THE GOLD IN FORT KNOX... WHICH WE OWNED... THE OIL WAS OVERSEAS... AND WE DIDN'T OWN IT.

In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. This arrangement helped ignite radical Islamic movements among those who resented our influence in the region. The arrangement also gave the dollar artificial strength with tremendous financial benefits for the United States.

It allowed us to export our monetary inflation by buying oil and other goods at a great discount as the dollar flourished.

* TO BE CONTINUED...; September 9, 2012 at 12:39 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

In 2003, however, Iran began pricing its oil exports in Euro for Asian and European buyers.

The Iranian government also opened an oil bourse in 2008 on the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf for the express purpose of trading oil in Euro and other currencies.

In 2009 Iran completely ceased any oil transactions in U.S. dollars.

These actions by the second largest OPEC oil producer pose a direct threat to the continued status of our dollar as the world’s reserve currency, a threat which partially explains our ongoing hostility toward Tehran.

(*NOD*)

* FOLKS... ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY!

While the erosion of our petrodollar agreement with OPEC certainly threatens the dollar’s status in the Middle East, an even larger threat resides in the Far East.

Our greatest benefactors for the last twenty years - Asian central banks - have lost their appetite for holding U.S. dollars.

China, Japan, and Asia in general have been happy to hold U.S. debt instruments in recent decades, but they will not prop up our spending habits forever. Foreign central banks understand that American leaders do not have the discipline to maintain a stable currency.

* ACTUALLY IT'S WORSE THAN THAT. AMERICA'S LEADERS WANT INFLATION... WANT A WEAK DOLLAR. A WEAK DOLLAR AND INFLATION BENEFIT THE RICH AND TO AN EXTENT THE POOR (WHO SEE THEIR BENEFITS RISE WITH INFLATION) WHILE SCREWING THE MIDDLE CLASS.

If we act now to replace the fiat system with a stable dollar backed by precious metals or commodities, the dollar can regain its status as the safest store of value among all government currencies. If not, the rest of the world will abandon the dollar as the global reserve currency.

* I TEND TO AGREE.

Both Congress and American consumers will then find borrowing a dramatically more expensive proposition.

(*NOD*)

* AND SINCE THE OUTSTANDING DEBT IS CONSTANTLY BEING REFINANCED... HIGHER RATES MEAN A DOMINO EFFECT.

Remember, our entire consumption economy is based on the willingness of foreigners to hold U.S. debt. We face a reordering of the entire world economy if the federal government cannot print, borrow, and spend money at a rate that satisfies its endless appetite for deficit spending.

* WE... ARE... SO... FUCKED.; September 9, 2012 at 12:40 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2004:qmilitary-cutsq-dont-believe-the-hype&catid=64:2012-texas-straight-talk&Itemid=69

* AGAIN... BY THE EVER HONORABLE RON PAUL (R-TX)

Grover Norquist, the influential conservative activist, recently made some very frank and sobering remarks about the U.S. military budget.

Unlike many conservatives, Mr. Norquist understands that American national security interests are not served by the interventionist foreign policy mindset that has dominated both political parties in recent decades.

He also understands that there is nothing “conservative” about incurring trillions of dollars in debt to engage in hopeless nation building exercises overseas.

(*NOD*) (*THUMBS UP TO BOTH SENTIMENTS*)

Speaking at the Center for the National interest last week, Norquist stated that “We can afford to have an adequate national defense which keeps us free and safe and keeps everybody afraid to throw a punch at us, as long as we don't make some of the decisions that previous administrations have, which is to over extend ourselves overseas and think we can run foreign governments."

He continued: “Bush decided to be the mayor of Baghdad rather than the president of the United States. He decided to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan rather than reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That had tremendous consequences…

(Richard Nixon said that America's national defense needs are set in Moscow, meaning that we wouldn't have to spend so much if they weren't shooting at us. The guys who followed didn't notice that the Soviet Union disappeared.")

(*NOD*)

When a prominent DC conservative like Grover Norquist makes such bold statements, it shows that public support for a truly conservative foreign policy is growing. The American people simply cannot stomach more wars and more debt, especially with our domestic economy in tatters.

* ACTUALLY... THEY CAN. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE MORE APTLY CALLED NOWADAYS THE AMERICAN SHEEPLE.

(*SIGH*)

The American people should reject the hype about so called defense “cuts” from both side of the political spectrum.

When the Obama administration calls for an 18% increase in 2013 military spending, those who propose a 20% increase portray this as a reduction! Even the supposedly "draconian" cuts called for in the “sequestration” budget bill would keep military spending at 2006 levels when adjusted for inflation, which is about as high in terms of GDP as during World War II.

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

It’s also more than the top 13 foreign countries spend on defense combined.

(*BITING MY LIPS*)

Furthermore, sequestration only cuts military spending for one year after taking effect. In future years Congress is free to reinstate higher military spending levels - so under "sequestration" the most drastic case would mean spending $5.2 trillion instead of $5.7 trillion over the next decade.

* JEEZUS...

Is there any amount of money that would satisfy the Pentagon hawks?

* NOPE.

Even if we were to slash our military budget in half, America easily would remain the world’s dominant military power.

* YEP.

Our problems don’t result from a lack of spending. They result from a lack of vision and a profound misunderstanding of the single biggest threat to every American man, woman, and child: the federal debt.

* GOD BLESS RON PAUL!; September 9, 2012 at 12:47 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://www.rollcall.com/news/Lawmakers-Rack-Up-Hefty-Bills-Wining-and-Dining-Donors-216917-1.html?ET=rollcall:e14006:60164a:&st=email&pos=eam

From established Capitol Hill haunts such as Charlie Palmer Steak, Johnny's Half Shell and Bistro Bis to newer locales including Chinatown's Hill Country Barbecue and Cava Mezze at Barracks Row, House Members are injecting hefty sums into Washington, D.C.'s restaurant industry as they wine and dine donors.

A Roll Call review of campaign disbursements filed with the Federal Election Commission shows that Johnny's Half Shell is lawmakers' venue of choice, pocketing $323,811 in Member campaign funds since the beginning of last year. Charlie Palmer's is a distant second, raking in $296,912, and Bobby Van's comes in third with $258,766.

Feeding donors in low-lit, wood-paneled settings is nothing new for Washington's power set. ... It's also perfectly legal to use campaign cash to court donors over an upscale lunch, or to treat campaign staff to a nice meal to discuss strategy, said Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University.

* IT SHOULDN'T BE.

The FEC filings show that some Members appear to have embraced some of the trappings they derided on the stump.

Freshman Rep. Billy Long (R-MO), who earned his seat by declaring he was "fed up" with Washington and its career politicos, spent more than $6,500 on a handful of fundraisers at venues such as Charlie Palmer Steak and Hill Country Barbecue.

Fellow freshman Republican Rep. Dan Benishek (Mich.) - who said he was tired of the wasteful spending of Washington and went as far as hanging a banner over his Capitol Hill office's door reading, "If you are here to ask for more money, you're in the wrong office!" - has spent $7,943 at BLT Steak and Charlie Palmer Steak for campaign events during the current cycle.

* HMM... TWO REPUBLICANS... (NOT TO PLAY "GOTCHYA," BUT...???) (OH... AND WHAT ABOUT SENATORS...???)

Big fundraisers are the norm for party leaders such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). Cantor's disclosures include more than $117,000 at Bobby Van's steakhouse, $96,000 at BLT Steak and $9,000 at Hill Country Barbecue.

* NICE... (*VOICE DRIPPING WITH SARCASM*)

* HEY... FOLKS... BROWSE THROUGH THE ARCHIVES HERE. I'VE MADE IT QUITE CLEAR HOW I FEEL ABOUT ERIC SCUMBAG CANTOR. (WHO IS A GOOD FRIEND OF NAN HYPOCRITE HAYWORTH BY THE WAY!)

Congressional veterans in safe seats, such as California Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman and Linda Sanchez, are also tasked with raising funds to help members of their caucuses. Financial disclosures show Waxman, the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has spent $14,353 of his campaign funds at Charlie Palmer Steak for campaign events. Sanchez, ranking member of the House Ethics Committee, spent $13,281 at Cava Mezze.

* WOW... FUNNY HOW THE REPORTER/EDITOR MANAGED TO SAVE THE DEMS FOR LAST... I MEAN... YOU MIGHT ALMOST MISS COMPARING THE ACTUAL EXPENDITURES AND NOTING WAXMAN AND SANCHEZ ARE APPARENTLY EVEN BIGGER SPENDERS THAN CANTOR AND THE OTHER REPUBLICANS MENTIONED! (NOT THAT IT MATTERS... EXCEPT TO POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS PARTISANSHIP OF THE REPORTER/EDITOR.); September 9, 2012 at 1:01 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/08/21/morning-bell-bringing-medicaid-into-the-debate/?roi=echo3-12904835520-9479078-fb09818a7f94b3deed717f837dd72147&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Medicaid covers America’s poor and disabled...

Nearly one-third of America’s doctors are already opting out of treating Medicaid patients because their costs often outweigh what the program pays for care.

States — which already have budget crises of their own — share the cost of Medicaid with the federal government. They can’t afford to simply add more people to Medicaid, which is one of ObamaCare's main ways to insure more people.

(The Supreme Court’s ObamaCare decision gave states some breathing room when it ruled that ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion must be optional for states.)

The program already covers 62.5 million people — about 20% of America’s population...

* JEEZUS... JUST... JEEZUS...

...and federal spending on Medicaid has no limit.

(That’s right — there are no limits on federal spending for Medicaid.)

But there are limits on American taxpayers’ wallets.

Simply adding people to Medicaid should not be the goal.

* BUT IT IS! THAT'S THE HEART OF OBAMACARE!

Instead, like other welfare reforms, the goal should be helping people while they’re down — and helping them get back up.

For those who are on Medicaid because of low incomes, the program should be reformed to empower them. Medicaid dollars should follow the individual, so that beneficiaries can choose the coverage they want and participate in the private market like the rest of their fellow citizens.

* BUT AT A LOWER LEVEL! YEAH... I SAID IT! AT A LESSER LEVEL THAN THOSE WHO PAY THEIR OWN WAY!

They deserve to have more control over their health care and more personalized options. The Heritage Foundation has outlined such a reform in its Saving the American Dream plan.

* OK... I'M LISTENING...

* TO BE CONTINUED...; September 9, 2012 at 1:19 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

The Saving the American Dream plan starts by transitioning non-disabled individuals out of government-run Medicaid and into premium support, where they would have the same private health care options as others.

* YA KNOW WHAT... THAT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. INTUITIVELY... IT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. GIVE THEM CLINICS. I'M SPITBALLING HERE, BUT MY POINT IS, WHY SHOULD ANYONE ON PUBLIC ASSISTANCE GET THE SAME BENEFITS AS SOMEONE WORKING HIS OR HER ASS OFF TO AFFORD THE LOWEST-PRICED PRIVATE POLICY OUT THERE? IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT.

“Premium support” simply means that the health care payment goes with the individual to the plan of his or her choice. For a low-income individual trying to get ahead, the premium support amount could be used to pay the employee’s share of an employer plan or to purchase individual coverage.

* BY THE WAY... WHERE'RE ALL THESE "PREMIUM SUPPORT" DOLLARS COMING FROM WHEN ALREADY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BORROWS 43-CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR IT SPENDS ALREADY...?!?!

For the low-income elderly, who are caught in a complex, bureaucratic combination of Medicare and Medicaid, the Saving the American Dream plan would provide a coordinated care model like Medicare Advantage, while allowing Medicaid to provide additional assistance as necessary.

* ...THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BORROWS 43-CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR IT SPENDS ALREADY... (HAVE I MENTIONED THIS YET?)

(*SMIRK*)

Heritage’s Nina Owcharenko outlines three crucial steps to Medicaid reform:

Repeal ObamaCare. As noted, one of the health care law’s goals was significantly expanding Medicaid without offering any solid reforms to address its sustainability. Without repeal, the problems facing Medicaid and the rest of the health care system are extraordinary.

Put Medicaid on a budget. Although states must balance their budgets, federal Medicaid spending has no limit. The more a state spends, the more federal taxpayers must pay out. Therefore, it is critical that federal Medicaid spending is put on a dependable and sustainable path. Block grants to the states, which would give them more flexibility in helping their populations, could be used for taking care of the disabled and elderly.

Set core policy objectives. The policy objectives of Medicaid reform must be clear. It should establish patient-centered, market-based solutions that reduce dependence on government health care and improve care for the most vulnerable.
Medicaid needs reforms that will give America’s poor and disabled the health coverage they need, without bankrupting taxpayers.; September 9, 2012 at 1:19 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://www.taxpayer.net/search_by_category.php?action=view&proj_id=5464&category=Wastebasket&type=Project

Racing toward an election and the end of the fiscal year, this month should be a flurry of legislative action.

* YEAH... RIGHT... (*SNORT*)

Instead, Congress will probably just kick a number of cans down the road, passing a bill to keep the government running after September 30th and probably a farm bill extension as well.

* SCUMBAGS.

* THE BARKER SOLUTION: BOEHNER... PELOSI... REID... MCCONNELL... UP AGAINST A WALL AND SHOT. THEN THE REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC CAUCUSES CAN PICK NEW LEADERS AND IF THINGS DON'T CHANGE WITHIN A MONTH... (REPEAT AS NECESSARY!)

Amidst all the inaction, we will certainly be treated to political speeches and symbolic votes unlikely to lead to actual change. Perhaps the best example is the “No More Solyndras Act,” which we expect the House to take up this month. This bill claims to save taxpayers from more losses like the now infamous Solyndra, but like most political rhetoric, it over promises and under delivers.

As a long time critic of the Department of Energy loan guarantee program, we wish Congress had noticed its problems before this costly default, but that aside, we wholeheartedly agree that something must be done to stop future costly defaults.

Unfortunately, the “No More Solyndras Act” isn’t a real solution.

As the bill stands, all current applicants remain eligible to receive federal backing.

(*SNORT*)

The bill simply prevents companies from requesting any new loan guarantees, meaning taxpayers could still be on the hook for billions of dollars worth of loan guarantee applications already in the pipeline.

* UNFUCKIN'BELIEVABLE!

* TO BE CONTINUED...; September 9, 2012 at 1:52 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)

Recent hearings revealed that approximately 50 applications are considered “active” at the Department of Energy.

(*SARCASTIC CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

The potential projects include an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for a nuclear reactor project in Georgia, a nearly $2 billion loan guarantee for a liquid coal facility in Wyoming, and another $1.7 billion loan guarantee for a coal gasification plant in Indiana. There are also more than 15 solar projects in the pipeline!

Some of these applicants are obvious duds.

Under this bill a $2 billion loan guarantee for a uranium enrichment project that has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange is in the on deck circle ready to receive a loan guarantee.

* JEEZUS...

Talk about taxpayers striking out, the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) is currently in line to receive a loan guarantee for its enrichment facility in Piketon, OH. But its stock prices have been trading at less than $1 per share for months, and with a junk-bond credit rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s under their belt, it is shocking that this project would move forward.

In spite of these fatal flaws, the "No More Solyndras Act" breezed through the Energy and Commerce Committee just before the Congressional summer recess and its prospects on the floor look equally bright. But we shouldn’t be too surprised — it is much more popular on Capitol Hill to give lip service to our fiscal woes than actually do something about them.

* WHICH IS WHY... IN ALL SERIOUSNESS... KILLING THE BASTARDS IS THE ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION I CAN COME UP WITH. (NOT A THREAT! JUST AN OBSERVATION! A THEORY IF YOU WILL!)

To be fair, the bill does do a few good things. It eliminates DOE’s ability to make taxpayers last in line when it comes to reclaiming lost assets in the event of default, and it brings the Department of Treasury into the evaluation process. But these actions are far too little to be presented as a solution.

The reality is the entire energy loan guarantee program needs to go. It’s structurally flawed and the secretive process for picking recipients has shown itself highly susceptible to abuse. Already several other companies have defaulted or are headed down that road. A few tweaks to business as usual just won’t protect taxpayers.

At the end of the day, if Congress doesn’t strengthen this legislation and stop the loan guarantee program, the bill could be more aptly named the “Even More Solyndras Act.”; September 9, 2012 at 1:52 PM
William R. Barker said...: * TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/09/03/morning-bell-union-money-in-elections/?roi=echo3-13016093511-9595458-b373765adcfe33da21a58146219e89ae&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

This election year, millions of Americans will donate to the political candidates and initiatives of their choice at the local, state, and federal levels. But for unionized workers, union dues come out of their paychecks and go to political causes — and they aren’t consulted on where that money will go.

* AND UNLIKE MINORITY STOCKHOLDERS IN CORPORATIONS WHO CAN SIMPLY OPT-OUT BY SELLING THEIR STOCK... UNION WORKERS ARE OFTEN LOCKED IN TO THEIR UNIONS IF THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO WORK.

In the 27 states without right-to-work laws, many unions are able to put clauses in their contracts that allow them to fire workers who do not pay union dues. If a worker wants to work for a unionized firm, he or she is forced to join the union and pay the dues, which can run from several hundred to several thousand dollars a year.

(*SHRUG*)

* NOW DOES THAT SEEM FAIR...? IT DOESN'T TO ME.

In July, The Wall Street Journal’s Tom McGinty and Brody Mullins published an eye-opening report that “Organized labor spends about four times as much on politics and lobbying as generally thought.” They broke down the unions’ political spending from 2005 to 2011:

$1.1 billion “supporting federal candidates through their political-action committees, which are funded with voluntary contributions...

* WAIT FOR IT... WAIT FOR IT... (*DRUM ROLL*)

...and lobbying Washington, which is a cost borne by the unions’ own coffers.”

(*PURSED LIPS*)

But that was only the beginning.

* TO BE CONTINUED...; September 9, 2012 at 2:16 PM
William R. Barker said...: * CONTINUING... (Part 2 of 2)

Add to that another $3.3 billion for political activity from “polling fees, to money spent persuading union members to vote a certain way, to bratwursts to feed Wisconsin workers protesting at the state capitol last year.”

Who pays for this? The workers, McGinty and Mullins report: “Much of this kind of spending comes not from members’ contributions to a PAC but directly from unions’ dues-funded coffers.”

* AND HERE'S THE RUB, FOLKS... (READ ON...)

Despite findings that 60% of union members object to their dues being spent on political causes, this practice continues. Why?

* BECAUSE... THEY... CAN...! (THE "THEY" BEING THE UNION BOSSES.)

In a new paper, Heritage’s James Sherk gives an example of this rule at work: “The United Auto Workers (UAW), which organized General Motors’ Michigan factories in 1937, is a case in point. Michigan does not have a right-to-work law, so union-represented workers must pay the union’s dues or get fired.”

Notice the year there — 1937. The workers coming on the job in 2012 are bound by a vote taken by their ancestors, essentially. “General Motors’ current employees never had the chance to vote for or against the UAW. UAW representation was a non-negotiable condition of their employment.”

* AND WHILE THE LAW DEMANDS NON-UNION SHOPS ALWAYS ALLOW ORGANIZING EFFORTS AND ONCE THRESHOLDS ARE MET, VOTES... IT DOESN'T WORK THE SAME IN THE REVERSE.

(*SHRUG*)

To give unionized workers the freedom they deserve, Sherk says, this system should end. Congress and state legislatures should at the least require government and private-sector unions to stand for re-election. Re-election votes every two to four years would allow employees to regularly assess their union’s performance as their representative.

* MAKES SENSE TO ME!

An even better reform would be to give workers representative choice — allowing individual employees to choose who represents them, irrespective of who other employees select. This would remove the union’s monopoly over the workplace, allowing employees to negotiate contracts tailored to their needs.

* AGAIN... SOUNDS REASONABLE - AT THE VERY LEAST WORTH DISCUSSING.

(*SHRUG*)

Workers should have the freedom to choose whether they want union representation or not. And if they do want to join a union, they should be able to choose which union they join. This freedom would give them more say over paying union dues in the first place, and how those dues are used. It would also give them the opportunity to negotiate merit-based raises, which unions do not allow.

America’s unionized workers deserve the same freedoms as non-unionized workers — in an election year and every year.; September 9, 2012 at 2:16 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/04/egypt-usa-idINL2E8K41CY20120904

* THIS IS FROM LAST TUESDAY - HAT TIP TO BILL KULLS!

The Obama administration is close to a deal with Egypt's new government for $1 billion in debt relief...

* BUT... BUT... BUT...

...a senior U.S. official said on Monday, as Washington seeks to help Cairo shore up its ailing economy in the aftermath of its pro-democracy uprising.

* THE U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NEEDS TO BORROW 43-CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR IT NOW SQUANDERS JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEAT... AND NOW WE'RE FORGIVING EGYPT's MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD RUN GOVERNMENT OF $1-BILLION IN DEBTS THEY OWE US... THE U.S. TAXPAYERS...?!?!

* HOW ABOUT OUR FUCKING "AILING ECONOMY...?!?!" HOW ABOUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE...?!?!

The United States was a close ally of Egypt under ousted autocratic President Hosni Mubarak and gives $1.3 billion in military aid a year to Egypt plus other assistance.

* REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS... DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS...

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Obama first pledged economic help for Cairo last year.

* THEN LET HIM SIGN OVER HIS PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNTS, INVESTMENTS, SALARY, AND FUTURE PENSION BENEFITS! FUCK OBAMA! FUCK THE DEMOCRATS AND THE REPUBLICANS WHO PISS AWAY OUR MONEY WHILE THEY THEMSELVES AMASS RICHES!

Washington has also signaled its backing for a $4.8 billion loan that Egypt is seeking from the International Monetary Fund and which it hopes to secure by the end of the year to bolster its stricken economy.

* AGAIN, FOLKS... VIOLENCE IS THE ONLY ANSWER I SEE. (*SHRUG*)

Egypt's military-appointed interim government had been negotiating a $3.2 billion package before it handed power to Mursi on June 30. Mursi's government then increased the request.

* YOU... CAN'T... MAKE... THIS... FUCKING... SHIT... UP...!

(*MASSIVE CORONARY*); September 9, 2012 at 2:26 PM
William R. Barker said...: http://judiciary.house.gov/news/082412_Administration%20Cooks%20the%20Books.html

The House Judiciary Committee has obtained internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents, which show that the Obama administration is cooking the books to achieve their so-called ‘record’ deportation numbers for illegal immigrants and that removals are actually significantly down – not up – from 2009.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

Beginning in 2011, the Committee has learned that Obama administration officials at the Department of Homeland Security started to include numbers from the Alien Transfer Exit Program (ATEP) in its year-end removal numbers. The ATEP is a joint effort between ICE and Customs and Border Protection that transfers illegal immigrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border to another point along the Southwest border for removal.

[I]t is illegitimate to count illegal immigrants apprehended by the Border Patrol along the Southwest border as ICE removals. There are no penalties or bars attached when illegal immigrants are sent back via ATEP and they can simply attempt re-entry.

* YEAH... RE-READ THE ABOVE... YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS, RIGHT? THEY FRIGGIN' DAMN WELL ARE COOKING THE BOOKS! (IT WOULD BE LIKE THE POLICE COUNTING TRAFFIC STOPS - WITH WARNINGS GIVEN - AS TRAFFIC TICKETS.)

When ATEP removals are subtracted from ICE’s deportation numbers...ICE removals for this year will be about 14% below 2008 (369,000) and 19% below 2009 (389,000).

* THOSE TRICKY, DISENGENUOUS SONS OF BITCHES!

The internal documents also reveal a discrepancy between arrests and actual removals. Specifically, ICE has reported 221,656 arrests yet report 334,249 removals for 2012 so far – a discrepancy of nearly 112,000 removals.

(*SNORT*)

ATEP accounts for 72,030 removals within this discrepancy, but there are over 40,000 removals that remain unaccounted for.

* JEEZUS FRIGGIN' CHRIST...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*); September 9, 2012 at 2:46 PM

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Saturday, September 8, 2012

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., September 8 & 9, 2012

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