Folks... I'm tryin'... I really am... tryin' to cheer up!
My life is pretty good. As far as I know I'm healthy... Mary's healthy... Kim's healthy...
We all have roofs over our heads, food in the fridge, freezer, and cupboards...
We all have plenty of clothing...
I drive a friggin' Inferno Red Dodge Charger with the HEMI... moon roof... spoiler... custom rims...
Mary's car is nothing to be ashamed of either...
We go on great vacations... regularly dine out...
(*PAUSE*)
Seriously, folks... my life is pretty damn good! I've never denied it! And as to what I don't have... well... when you my friends consider the whole "Barker Package"... is that big house really worth it...??? Is it really all about "the house?"
(*SHRUG*)
No, folks... my blogging isn't about being "disgruntled." Not personally. Not in the sense that I'm "angry" about how life has treated me. No... I'm certainly not angry! I'm grateful as hell!
So why focus on "the bad?"
Two words: "I care."
It really is that simple, folks.
Yeah... it would be easier and less stressful and depressing to ignore "the bad" and focus on "the good," but since I'm never gonna be a "mover and shaker" - let alone a guy whose name will go down in history and be recognized by men, women, and children for centuries to come - I might as well do what I'm intellectually and personality-wise suited to do... namely... chronicle and comment upon the ongoing decline of the United States of America and the American People.
(Hey... it could be worse... I could be an undertaker... or a grave digger... or a North Korean peasant...)
Anyway... Christmas is coming... that always cheers me up!
Oh... and speaking about "cheering up"... it's time that I returned to posting daily newsbite theme videos!
Here ya go, folks!
6 comments:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/30/us-usa-fiscal-offer-idUSBRE8AT02C20121130
The Obama administration's opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the U.S. borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said.
* YEP. THIS IS REAL NEWS. REUTERS. NOPE... NOT THE ONION. NOT A SNL SKIT.
(*SHRUG*)
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattkibbe/2012/11/29/the-fiscal-cliff-how-to-call-the-big-spenders-bluff/
In Washington, “shared sacrifice” means everyone must sacrifice except the government.
* SIMPLISTIC... BUT CLOSE ENOUGH.
History has shown that in these bipartisan “deficit-reduction deals,” the tax hikes are immediate while the spending cuts are promised – yet never materialize.
* YEP.
In the last such “deal” in 2011, taxpayers were cornered into raising the debt ceiling by $2 trillion while a so-called super committee was created to find $1.2 trillion in cuts over ten years. If the super committee failed to agree on where the cuts would be made, across-the-board cuts would kick in.
* YEP! REMEMBER, FOLKS... WHAT'S NOW BEING REFERRED TO BY THE MEDIA AND LEADERSHIPS OF BOTH PARTIES AS "THE FISCAL CLIFF" WAS IN 2011 HAILED BY THE MEDIA AND LEADERSHIPS OF BOTH PARTIES AS "SUCCESSFUL BIPARTISAN GOVERNANCE!"
* FOLKS... REMEMBER... THE DEAL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE... er... "GOOD!" SOMETHING TO CHEER ABOUT!
These promised “cuts,” by the way, are not actual budget cuts but rather projected reductions in a constantly growing baseline of federal spending.
(*NOD*)
Even so, the super committee failed. Now the automatic “cuts” are at hand.
This is no time to get cold feet.
Congress made a promise to the American people to produce those savings. Now, some members of Congress are concerned the sequester’s defense savings are too deep. But that’s not a good reason to “call the whole sequester off.” Rather, it’s a reason to come up with a new mix of defense and non-defense savings by Jan. 1. The overall level of savings is a promise to taxpayers that must be kept.
* YEP! (BUT I DOUBT IT WILL BE...)
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)
Fiscal conservatives must draw a line in the sand. The nation’s most senior military officer, Adm. Mike Mulligan, has identified our nation’s biggest threat as … our national debt. The only thing worse than cutting national defense is not cutting spending at all.
* FRANKLY... I'D GIVE THE SCUM IN WASHINGTON TWO YEARS (THE LENGTH OF A SINGLE CONGRESSIONAL SESSION) TO GET OUR HOUSE IN ORDER. FOR THE COMING YEAR I'D DAMAND THE DEFICIT BE NOR MORE THAN HALF AS LARGE AS IT WAS IN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR... AND NEXT FISCAL YEAR THAT "LEEWAY" WOULD VANISH AND THE BASTARDS WOULD HAVE TO PASS A BALANCED BUDGET.
Spending reduction is just one aspect of this debate. Genuine tax and entitlement reforms are also imperative, if we’re to avoid another economically damaging downgrade in Uncle Sam’s credit. Taxpayers deserve better than hurried Washington insiders behind closed doors tweaking the minutiae of our tangled labyrinth of a tax code.
Raising marginal tax rates, as Democrats want to do, will slow economic growth and kill jobs. Instead, we should close the existing loopholes in the tax system that give special deals to connected Washington insiders and move towards a flatter, fairer tax code that treats all Americans equally.
* YEP!
Reforming the tax code and big entitlements can’t be done in a couple of weeks. With these kinds of programs, the details are everything. Only specific changes to the law can actually drive the numbers to produce genuine savings — not vague promises of future “reforms.” Such changes take time.
* TWO YEARS IS PLENTY OF TIME.
Congress should do as it did after the 2010 elections, and pass an extension of all current tax rates, not just those on people making less than a certain amount. This would afford all parties — and the American people — time to develop the fundamental tax and entitlement reforms we need.
* I'D CONSIDER THIS... AS LONG AS THEY LET THE SEQUESTER GO INTO EFFECT AND FOLLOW MY CONCEPT OF CUTTING THE DEFICIT IN HALF OVER THE NEXT YEAR AND ELIMINATING DEFICIT SPENDING ALL TOGETHER BY THE END OF THIS CONGRESSIONAL TERM!
This is why FreedomWorks has activated its grassroots members to call Congress with a two-part message. 1) Keep your promise on the sequester savings. 2) Pass a one-year extension of all current tax rates, so America has time to pass serious tax and entitlement reforms.
* I COULD LIVE WITH THAT... BUT I'D MUCH RATHER IMMEDIATELY CUT DEFICIT SPENDING BY 50% - A REAL 50%... NOT 50% OF THE BASELINE INCREASE...
By the way, there is some good news hiding in all the dust of the “fiscal cliff” fracas. The coalition of committed fiscal conservatives in Congress has grown in the past two elections. Constitutional conservatives in the House held on to the historic gains of 2010, while the Senate just picked up three principled fiscal conservatives in Ted Cruz, Jeff Flake, and Deb Fischer to replace GOP establishment types Kay Bailey Hutchison, Jon Kyl, and Olympia Snowe.
* OK... FAIR ENOUGH... SOME GOOD NEWS...
This new generation of legislative entrepreneurs is re-populating Washington with innovative energy. Expect these principled leaders to put real specifics on the table, craft thoughtful budget solutions, and carve pathways to needed tax and entitlement reforms next year – all things Senate Democrats haven’t seen fit to do for the past 3 years.
* IF BOEHNER IS RE-ELECTED SPEAKER... AND MCCONNELL IS RE-ELECTED MINORITY LEADER... THAT WILL CONFIRM EVERYTHING I SAY REGARDING THE GOP.
Fiscal conservatives are once again at the table, but we won’t bargain with ourselves against an arbitrary deadline. Your move, Harry Reid.
* THE PROBLEM IS... "WE" AREN'T THE GOP. "THEY" ARE THE GOP. JUST AS "THEY" ARE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY - ONLY EVEN FURTHER TO THE LEFT.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/30/staten-island-residents-vent-frustration-at-fema-other-agencies-during-town/
* WATCH... THE... VIDEO...
Storm-ravaged New Yorkers say President Obama’s promise to cut red tape and get them aid in the aftermath of Sandy has proven to be hot air.
* I'M SURE THEY'RE MOSTLY DISGRUNTLED RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS FROM... er... NYC...
(*SNORT*)
Angry citizens vented at FEMA officials at a town hall meeting held by the disaster relief agency Thursday, with tempers boiling over. Some 1,000 people, many left homeless by the Oct. 29 storm, attended the meeting at Staten Island’s New Dorp High School. They were initially scheduled to submit written questions that would be picked and answered at random, but the session turned into an angry shouting match where residents booed FEMA officials and accused them of lying.
* FOLKS... I'LL THROW THIS OUT AGAIN... (*PAUSE*)... REMEMBER THE TARRING BUSH GOT OVER KATRINA - EVEN WHILE ALL THE PROBLEMS SEEMED TO BE IN NEW ORLEANS AND NEIGHBORING STATES (MISSISSIPPI) WHICH GOT HIT JUST AS HARD (BUT HAD A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR) SEEMED TO "WEATHER" THE STORM (SO TO SPEAK) MUCH BETTER?
* FOLKS... IMAGINE... JUST IMAGINE... GEORGE W. BUSH IS PRESIDENT... SAY A PRE-9/11 GIULIANI IS MAYOR...
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
Obama addressed the nation from FEMA headquarters in Washington on Nov. 3, promising to cut red tape and bring the full force of FEMA to hard-hit residents.
On Nov. 15, Obama came to Staten Island, where he repeated his pledge.
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... I'M JUST SAYIN'...
* TWO-PARTER... (Part 1 of 2)
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/11/30/white_house_opposed_new_iran_sanctions
The White House announced its opposition to a new round of Iran sanctions that the Senate unanimously approved Friday, in the latest instance of Congress pushing for more aggressive punitive measures on Iran than the administration deems prudent.
* THAT THE SENATE APPROVED... UNANIMOUSLY...
* U*N*A*N*I*M*O*U*S*L*Y
* TALK ABOUT "BIPARTISANSHIP..."
* FOLKS... LET ME ASK YOU... DOES THIS SOUND LIKE THE OBAMA OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES...??? (IT SOUNDS LIKE THE OBAMA ROMNEY ACCUSED HIM OF BEING... BUT IT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE OBAMA'S SCHTICK - DOES IT?
The new legislative language would blacklist Iran's energy, port, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors, while also placing new restrictions on Iran's ability to get insurance for all these industries. The legislation would also vastly expand U.S. support for human rights inside Iran and impose new sanctions on Iranians who divert humanitarian assistance from its intended purpose.
* FOLKS... I REMEMBER YEARS AGO... LITERALLY YEARS AGO... WHEN MY BUDDY ("HE WHOSE NAME DARE NOT BE MENTIONED") AND I WERE DISCUSSING OBAMA'S IRAN POLICY AND THIS BUDDY WAS CAUTIONING ME TO WAIT AND SEE UNDER THE HOPE THAT OBAMA WOULD STRONGLY BACK THE STUDENT PROTESTERS WHO BACK THEN WERE CHALLENGING THE MULLAHS. WELL, FOLKS... OBAMA STOOD PAT. THIS IS BUT A CONTINUATION OF HIS POLICIES ALL ALONG.
[T]he White House told several Senate offices Thursday evening that the administration was opposed to the [unanimously passed bipartisan] amendment. National Security Spokesman Tommy Vietor sent The Cable the administration's official position, explaining the White House's view the sanctions aren't needed and aren't helpful at this time.
(*SHRUG*)
* AGAIN... FUNNY... THIS DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THE OBAMA I HEARD DESCRIBING HIS OWN IRAN POLICIES DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES...
* TO BE CONTINUED...
* CONCLUDING... (Part 2 of 2)
An e-mail from the NSC's legislative affairs office to some Senate Democrats late Thursday evening, obtained by The Cable, went into extensive detail about the administration's concerns about the new sanctions legislation, including that it might get in the way of the administration's efforts to implement the last round of Iran sanctions, the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act (TRA), to which it flatly objected at the time.
* IN ENGLISH: THE ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN TALKING OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF ITS MOUTH - CLAIMING TO HOLD ONE POSITION IN PRIVATE AND THEN WHEN FORCED TO GO ON THE RECORD TAKING THE OPPOSITE POSITION. INDEED, IT WAS SO BLATANT THAT ACCORDING TO THE CABLE (FP MAGAZINE) DEM SENATORS WERE FURIOUS AT THE BACKSTABBING!
The Obama administration often touts the Iran sanctions it once opposed. In the final presidential debate Oct. 22, President Barack Obama said his administration had "organized the strongest coalition and the strongest sanctions against Iran in history, and it is crippling their economy."
* FOLKS... (*SIGH*)... AGAIN... (*PAUSE*)... THIS IS THE CABLE (FP MAGAZINE) - THE FOREIGN POLICY JOURNAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT.
(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)
The new Iran sanctions still must survive a House-Senate conference over the defense authorization bill, during which conferees may try to change certain portions of the new sanctions regime. Hill aides predict the White House will try to alter the new sanctions during that process, in what they would likely see as an effort to water them down.
"The truth is that the U.S. Congress continues to lead a comprehensive and unrelenting international sanctions program against the Iranian regime despite a comprehensive and unrelenting campaign by this administration to block or water down those sanctions at every move," a senior GOP Senate aide told The Cable. "We beat them 100-0 last year and while they tried to kill this amendment more quietly this time, we beat them again 94-0. Hopefully House and Senate negotiators will stay strong and resist the administration's strategy to dilute these sanctions in conference."
Post a Comment