Friday Stuff

God, I wish our beloved commonwealth could make national news for something positive for a change (here)...

 

...and by the way, Happy Earth Day (and this is completely predictable, of course).

Thursday Stuff

One way to honor Tim Hetherington is to get the word out about the movie he co-directed (here - vid should play OK)...



...and I thought this was a nice little tutorial on how we end up getting screwed into paying a higher price for gas (hint: it has nothing to do with our Kenyan Marxist pre-zee-dint, who is actually trying to do something about it here...or at least not until Obama appoints someone to the CFTC)...



...and I've been hot and cold on Bill Maher this year, but even though this is a few news cycles old, I think it still bears repeating (bad word alert)...



...and I don't know if I'm going to post tomorrow or not, but I don't want to forget to extend 75th birthday wishes to Glen Campbell (here - had a bit of a tough road, but he seems OK now fortunately).

Thursday Mashup (4/21/11)

(Posting is questionable for tomorrow, by the way.)

To commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf yesterday, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a typical Obama-bashing column on energy by former Repug U.S. House Rep John Peterson (here)…

On this first anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, America's energy policy is as adrift as it was a year ago. The Obama administration has set the commendable goal of cutting oil imports by a third within a decade, but its pattern of obstruction on domestic drilling will move us in the opposite direction, toward an energy freeze of our own making.

Oh brother – as noted here, U.S. oil production last year was the highest since 2003.

Continuing…

While it's encouraging that the administration lifted a deepwater drilling moratorium last fall and has issued a handful of permits for drilling in the gulf since, scores more are languishing at the Interior Department. At least seven rigs that operated in the gulf have relocated overseas while waiting.

I believe that claim is actually true, though, as noted here, one of the seven rigs that left returned in March, and another is due to return later this year (and somehow I think that has more to do with contractual arrangements between Big Oil and its subcontractors than any moves by the Obama Administration).

Continuing…

The Energy Information Administration projects that domestic oil production will fall 240,000 barrels a day through 2012 as a result of current policies, which isn't surprising given that we get more oil from the Gulf of Mexico than from all the Persian Gulf nations combined. Even a one-year delay in development means potential losses to government revenue of about $5.5 billion, squeezing local, state, and federal budgets.

As noted here, lower crude oil production for this year was projected last October by the Institute for Energy Research. And as noted here, this country obtains oil from diverse sources all over the world (news to me too a bit, I must say; basically, if we couldn’t “drill, baby, drill” in the Gulf tomorrow for some reason, there are still other countries who will help us feed our oil addiction...and by the way, I call this trying to get to the root of the problem by President Obama).

I realize this is a column about oil and not the environmental impact of producing it, but I think it should be noted that, while in office, Peterson “received the lowest possible rating from the League of Conservation Voters in 2006,” as noted here.

Interesting that the Inky chose Peterson to write a column timed for the one-year anniversary of one of the worst oil spills in our country’s history (would have been nice to include even some passing observations about the environment). What’s next, a column about good government from “Duke” Cunningham?

Next, this story from The Hill tells us the following…

Republicans are attacking a group of Democrats who didn’t vote for any of the five budget proposals on the House floor last week, saying they “failed the most basic responsibility of governing.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sent out missives with images of a blank check to the districts of 21 Democrats, many of them Blue Dogs in competitive districts.

“Mike Ross has failed the most basic responsibility of governing by failing to even vote for a budget over the last two years, let alone see one passed,” the NRCC said in one statement targeting Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), the co-chairman of the conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition.

…

A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Jesse Ferguson, responded: “House Republicans are the last people who should be lecturing about budgets after they voted to end Medicare and raise health care costs for seniors, rather than choosing to end taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies making record profits or tax breaks for the ultra rich.”

I find myself in a bit of an uncomfortable position here, given that I’m defending the “deficit peacock” Bush Dogs. However, it should also be noted here that, when they lost their congressional majority in 2006, the Repugs basically left 9 of 11 appropriations bills on the table for the incoming Democratic congressional majority.

The Repugs don’t care about the deficit. They never have, and they never will.

Further, I give you last week’s Area Votes in Congress from the Philadelphia Inquirer (here)…

Preventive-care fund. Voting 236-183, the House passed a bill (HR 1217) to repeal the health-care law's Prevention and Public Health Fund, which will grant nearly $18 billion over eight years to states and communities for preventive health care, or wellness, programs. Backers said that by promoting healthier lifestyles, the fund would reduce treatment costs. The bill awaits Senate action.

Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.) said that Congress should terminate "a slush fund from which the secretary [of Health and Human Services] can spend without any congressional oversight or approval."

A yes vote was to repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

Voting yes: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Pat Meehan (R., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Jon Runyan (R., N.J.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), John Carney (D., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), and Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.).

Read this to learn how utterly pathetic the charge is that the Prevention and Public Health Fund is a “slush fund” from Pancake Joe Pitts (and a good comeback by Henry Waxman is here).

Seniors' wellness fund. Voting 189-234, the House defeated a Democratic motion to HR 1217 (above) that sought to keep the new health law's Prevention and Public Health Fund in operation for the benefit of senior citizens. Pitts said the Democratic motion "guts the underlying bill and continues the runaway spending that the American people have rejected."

A yes bill was to continue the fund for seniors.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, and Runyan.

Not voting: Smith.

Oh, and by the way, to get an idea of how serious Pitts actually is about job creation, get a load of this from his congressional web site (might be a good idea for PA-16’s waste of space to “get on the stick” here and provide a news update more current than last August…stop showing us a picture of a horse and buggy in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and show us instead some people getting hired and going back to work).

Final 2011 budget. Voting 260-167, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 1473) to fund the government for the remaining five-plus months of fiscal 2011 at an annualized level of $1.365 trillion. The figure applies to discretionary spending but not to entitlement programs or interest payments on the national debt, which account for the remainder of the $3.7 trillion federal budget for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The bill reflects $38 billion in cuts in domestic programs agreed upon April 8 by President Obama and congressional leaders to stave off a government closure.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Andrews, Carney, Dent, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

Voting no: Brady.

I admire Bob Brady standing on principle here, but I suppose a yes vote is merely acknowledging what is bound to come to pass anyway.

Planned Parenthood. The House passed, 241-185, a measure (H Con Res 36) to remove funding for Planned Parenthood from the fiscal 2011 budget. This private organization provides mostly preventive health care for women at 800 clinics nationwide, with abortions accounting for 3 percent of its services.

The abortions are not federally funded, in keeping with the 1976 Hyde Amendment's ban on using taxpayer money to pay for abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.

A yes vote was to defund Planned Parenthood.

Voting yes: Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Voting no: Brady, Carney, Dent, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Not voting: Andrews.

To truly comprehend the idiocy of this vote, I would recommend this column from Gail Collins in the New York Times today (it’s about Texas, the “breeding ground for bad government,” as The Eternal Molly Ivins once called it, but it might as well be about the whole country…kudos to Charlie Dent for acting like an adult here, which stands him apart from the rest of the fools and frauds in his party including Mikey The Beloved).

2012 Republican budget. Voting 235-193, the House approved a Republican budget (H Con Res 34) for 2012 and later years that, over time, would privatize Medicare and raise the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67; convert Medicaid to a block-grant program run by the states; permanently extend Bush-era tax cuts; reduce discretionary spending for domestic programs by more than 20 percent; increase the basic defense budget by 15 percent; and keep Social Security as it is. Additionally, the plan would simplify the tax code, close unspecified loopholes and end unspecified tax breaks, and use the revenue from those steps to cut the top corporate and individual tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent.

Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.) said: "Medicare is a promise to American seniors that we would not abandon them even as they age, even as they need medical care - until now. The Republican budget will end Medicare as we know it, offering a limited voucher and expecting seniors to find insurance no matter how sick they are or how expensive it is."

A yes vote was to pass the budget.

Voting yes: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

If you remember no other vote from the ones listed here, remember this one. And act accordingly in November 2012 when the time comes to do something about it.

Oh, and here's a little video reminder too.

2012 Democratic budget. Voting 166-259, members defeated a budget (H Con Res 34) drafted by House Democrats for fiscal 2012 and later years. In contrast to the GOP blueprint (above), the measure would preserve Medicare and Medicaid in their existing forms; fully fund the new health law; end tax breaks for oil firms; end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans; spend more on domestic programs and infrastructure projects; provide less defense spending, and reduce deficit-spending at slower pace. The plan would spend $3.69 trillion in fiscal 2012 and generate a deficit of $1.09 trillion.

A yes vote backed the Democratic budget.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Voting no: Carney, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Interesting “No” vote from “Democrat” John Carney, I must say.

Republican Study Group. Voting 119-136, members defeated the most conservative of five budget plans before the House, a measure that would prevent tax increases but reduce spending sufficiently to balance the federal budget in 10 years. In part, the plan (H Con Res 34) would cut nondefense discretionary spending nearly in half over 10 years, privatize Medicare, gradually raise Social Security's full-retirement age for people now 59 or younger; convert Medicaid to a block-grant program, and repeal the new health law.

A yes vote backed the Republican Study Group budget.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Not voting: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

This was the cute little move engineered by Steny Hoyer that had the Repugs scrambling to change their “Yes” votes to “No” lest the true face of their hostility towards everyone but the “pay no price, bear no burden” bunch be revealed for all to see in passing this particularly Dickensian budget.

Once more, every numbskull who voted to return this bunch to power in the House should be smacking themselves with an open palm in the middle of their foreheads at this moment.

Progressive Caucus. Voting 77-347, members defeated a budget proposed by the Progressive Caucus, which is made up of the House's most liberal members. This plan (H Con Res 34) would bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan and use the savings to balance the federal budget in 10 years. Additionally, it would add a public option to the new health law, raise the gasoline tax, and increase taxes on energy firms, crack down on corporate-tax loopholes, increase spending for education and other domestic programs, and invest in infrastructure projects such as road-building to create jobs and stimulate economic growth.

A yes vote backed the Progressive Caucus budget.

Voting yes: Brady and Fattah.

Voting no: Andrews, Carney, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

So at least we know we can count on Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah. We know what Tim Holden is, and it’s becoming more and more obvious what John Carney is also. However, Allyson Schwartz and Rob Andrews truly should know better.

And by the way, in case anyone is inclined to think “oh, there go those nutty libs again,” remember this (Update 4/22/11: And "The Economist" likes the Dem budget alternative, as noted here? They're "serious," wouldn't you say?)

Senate

Final 2011 budget. Voting 81-19, the Senate sent President Obama a bill (HR 1473, above) to fund the government through Sept. 30 at a yearly level of $1.365 trillion in discretionary spending. This bipartisan fiscal 2011 budget cuts spending by $38 billion below 2010 levels. There was no debate on the measure.

A yes vote was to give final approval to the 2011 budget.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Voting no: Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

God, Pat Toomey is turning into the Senate’s version of Joe Pitts. And if that isn’t an insult, I don’t know what is.

Health-law funding. Voting 47-53, the Senate defeated a measure (H Con Res 35) to deny funding for implementing the new health law. Although most of the law's major provisions are delayed until 2014, funding began this year for initiatives such as closing the donut hole in the Medicare prescription-drug plan; allowing youths up to 26 to enroll in their parents' health plans; restructuring Medicare Advantage; establishing a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation; subsidizing preventive services such as colorectal-cancer screening; reimbursing doctors and hospitals for Medicare treatments, and providing grants for community health networks that reach out to low-income people.

A yes vote was to defund the new health law.

Voting yes: Toomey.

Voting no: Carper, Casey, Coons, Lautenberg, and Menendez.

Given this vote, I dedicate the following video to “No Corporate Tax” Pat (might have to crank the volume a bit – maybe, if others could sponsor Nicole Lamoreaux once more, she might even be able to come to PA).



This week, Congress is in Easter-Passover recess until the week of May 2.

Finally, it seems that those life forms at The Heritage Foundation are mad at Tina Dupuy of The Atlantic for criticizing GOP “financial expert” Paul Ryan and the supposed Heritage guru behind Ryan’s flim-flam act, William Beach (here).

Here is a portion of the criticism from Heritage…

When an activity is rewarded, people engage in more of that activity. When an activity is penalized, people engage in less of it. The greater the reward or penalty, the greater will be the response. If anything in the social sciences can be universally regarded as fact, it is those preceding statements.

Uh, I would consider the rise in the price of gas to be a “penalty.” However, if I choose to “engage in less” buying of gas…well then, I don’t get to work (and neither does Mrs. Doomsy), we don’t go to the grocery store or run other errands, we don’t drive the young one to his activities, etc. Basically, when it comes to some of the items or activities we need to simply live our lives, we just have to deal with it regardless of what happens, like anyone else.

That said, I’ll allow the following argument from Heritage…

This absurd logic decimated the high-end boat-building industry in the early 1990s. In 1991 a 10 percent tax on luxury boats went into effect. Compared to 1990, the 1991 sales dropped 70 percent. The original tax projection (like those done by Citizens for Tax Justice) assumed sales would be unaffected by the tax. After a decade of losing sales to foreign producers the tax was dropped with bi-partisan support.

In response, I give you the following from about 20 years ago (here - page three)…

"The excise tax (on luxury boats) is terrible for the future of the industry, but our business was more directly affected by the war in the gulf and the recession," said Stephen Palma, owner of the New York Sailing School. "Our bookings came in late this year; the war stopped people from thinking about such things as sailing lessons.

"And those people who formerly were our best customers -- Wall Street types who wanted to learn how to sail before buying a boat -- have pretty much disappeared." A four-day learn-to-sail program in 23-foot Sonar boats costs $395.

But at the Offshore Sailing School, Tyler Pierce, director of operations, said the number of students was about the same as last year. "We did especially well selling learning-to-sail courses at discount to people who signed up for it at the Boat Show this year," Mr. Pierce said. His two-week sailing class, in Soling boats, costs $425.

And with fewer people buying boats, he said, he is offering rentals.

So when it comes to the economy, Heritage understands luxury boats. Everybody got that?

The poor? The unemployed? Women and family issues? Not so much.

Wednesday Stuff

Hopefully back to posting tomorrow, by the way...

Great news about Patrick Murphy running for PA Attorney General here; somehow, I think that will be a pretty important job given what probably will be the cascading misery from thoroughly unregulated drilling in the Marcellus Shale...all the best of course - it also generates some interesting possibilities in the matter of who will run against Mikey The Beloved next year (wonder if Andy Warren will try to become a Democrat again - hey, if it's the third week of a month with an "R" in it, which is fitting...)...



...and it looks like the budget guru of the Repugs got a taste of what people really think when his facade of moderation is ripped off here ("oh, but Paul Ryan is SERIOUS! He's a "game changer"! Yeah, go get some tea and sympathy from John Harwood or some other corporate media shill...as a commenter noted, when confronted, the GOP always falls back on the "it will hurt small business" garbage - of course, a "small business" to them is Koch Industries because of that "S-Corp" stuff - one more thing: where is Ryan getting that number about Obama wanting the top tax rate at 44 percent?)...



...and don't look now, but those zany French have more guts standing up to art that is judged to be "controversial" than we do...



...and when it comes to our corporate media infatuation with Ryan and the Repugs, I can't help but think of a song like this.

Tuesday Stuff

Here's a video dedicated to our PA-08 rep, who voted for "RyanCare" in lieu of actual Medicare for real last week along with his pals...



...and with Washington's preoccupation with deficit reduction and raiding Social Security (and a good question in that vein is posed here), I think it's important for our politicians and our media to be reminded that people are still unemployed, as noted here (and that's a bipartisan criticism, by the way - and this played no small part also)...



...of course, as far as PA governor Tom "Space Cadet" Corbett is concerned, "the jobs are there" (And isn't this charming also? Kind of goes along with the mentality of someone who refused to comply with PA’s Right to Know Law. Then, he has remained cloistered from public view, meeting only with his contributors and their friends, before imposing pretty much one-man rule over Marcellus Shale drilling matters)...



...and given the Springsteen criticism from Bucks County's big mouth earlier today, I think a number from The Boss is called for here (had it in mind for this post from awhile back).

Tuesday Mashup (4/19/11)

The next time Gary Weckselblatt or someone else from the Bucks County Courier Times decides to fluff “Mikey The Beloved” Fitzpatrick over his opposition to “Obama care,” I’d appreciate it if they’d mention this story to him. It has to do with recovering U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her plea for our soldiers who have suffered a traumatic brain injury on the battlefield to receive something approximating the care she has received while recovering from her gunshot wound to the head (it speaks volumes to me, by the way, that someone dealing with the difficulties faced by Congresswoman Giffords can find a way to advocate for others facing struggles similar to what she is facing).

As the Daily Beast story by Peter J. Boyer tells us…

Most military personnel, however, are covered by an insurance plan called TRICARE, which does not cover key elements of cognitive rehabilitation therapy. As revealed in a series of investigative reports by the non-profit news enterprise, ProPublica, TRICARE claims that the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation therapy are not well enough established to warrant providing it to troops. TRICARE bases this assertion on the findings of a study commissioned by TRICARE itself, and which ProPublica’s reporting has found to be “deeply flawed.”

…

Coverage of treatment for brain-injured patients has inevitably become a political issue. On the military side, money is an ongoing worry for the Pentagon, which is being “eaten alive,” as Defense Secretary Robert Gates put it, by health-care costs.

The case for civilians was made earlier this month by the office of (Congresswoman) Giffords, which joined in a plea to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, to include brain trauma rehabilitation among the essential benefits mandated by the health-care reform law. Immediate action seems unlikely.

“We greatly appreciate the thoughtful ideas provided by Congresswoman Giffords’ staff and will certainly take them into account as we work to develop rules describing an essential benefits package,” says Richard Sorian, HHS assistant secretary for Public Affairs. “HHS will be engaging in a public process later this year to get broad input for the process of establishing essential benefits.”

So, in the event that cognitive rehabilitation therapy was to be covered for our military, it would be provided by TRICARE. And seeking that our PA-08 rep voted against expanding TRICARE access on behalf of thousands of Reservist and National Guard members, even though 20 percent of all reservists do not have health insurance, and 40 percent of reservists aged 19 to 35 lack health coverage, as noted here...well, let’s just say that I’m not optimistic.

And by the way, I would consider the fact that the Pentagon is being “eaten alive” by health care costs as another good reason to end the damn wars and bring everybody home, wouldn’t you say?

Next, it seems that Ramesh Ponnuru of Irrational Spew Online haz a sad over those nasty Dems targeting GOP House members and their votes for “RyanCare” (here).

Well, at least the Dems would be pointing out the truth, unlike what the Repugs and their pals did in the last election, targeting Democrats for supposedly cutting Medicare, a tactic used by the thoroughly odious Ron Johnson, among others (here).

Finally, if it’s one of three days of the week, then that means that it’s time for more local pundit sludge from J.D. Mullane of the Courier Times (here – today’s subject is the abuse of New Jersey’s 1964 Farmland Assessment Act by one of Long Branch, New Jersey’s most famous sons)…

The story about "fake farmers" using the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 to decrease their property taxes was laid out in the Asbury Park newspaper in December. In February, a TV news station in New York City revealed how Springsteen is among the fake farmers and pays a fraction of taxes on prime real estate in one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the Garden State.

Fox 5 New York found that while (Bruce) Springsteen pays $138,000 in taxes on his house on three acres, the surrounding 200 acres of buffer, owned by Springsteen through a trust, paid just $4,638.67.

That's less tax than working stiffs in blue collar Willingboro pay on their quarter-acre estates along Levitt Parkway.

Springsteen gets the tax break by having a farmer grow organic vegetables on part of the land, according to the news report.

Who knew organic arugula could taste so sweet?

Springsteen's other working class neighbor, Jon Bon Jovi, has a similar deal, Fox 5 found.

Bon Jovi pays $296,000 in taxes on his house and some of the land it's on. But he pays a mere $104 on an additional seven surrounding acres. Bon Jovi pays someone to raise honeybees on his property, triggering the lower assessment.

It must be swell to be Bruce Springsteen, living an idly rich life in horsey country, knocking around your mansion, strumming your guitar, pondering the poor.

But where do economic geniuses like The Boss think New Jersey is going to get the money to pay for social programs? Honeybees?

New Jersey has an $11 billion budget deficit - the largest of any state.

Shockingly, J.D. has stumbled into the truth regarding New Jersey’s deficit. However, as noted here, Governor Bully and his pals allowed a surcharge to expire on those making $400 grand or more anyway (more “do as I say, not as I do” Repug self-entitlement...and when it comes to Christie-related hagiography, let's not forget this).

And yes, the situation with the Farmland Assessment Act is a legitimate issue. That’s why New Jersey State Senators Stephen Sweeney (Dem) and Jennifer Beck (Repug) have promised to do something about it.

And as noted here, many others have taken advantage of the Farmland Assessment Act, including “Steve” Forbes, magnate Vernon Hill formerly of Commerce Bank, and the husband of former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.

Oh, and do you know who else takes advantage of the Farmland Assessment Act? Why, none other than Ol’ Jon Runyan, that’s who. As noted here…

(Runyan) was the owner of a 25 acre estate which legally qualified for reduced property taxes under farmland assessment. Runyan's qualification for farmland assessment amounted to four mules, and about $800 in profit selling firewood. Four mules and $800 in annual profit may sound like a poor excuse for a farm, but according to the current law it does qualify for assessment as a farm.

I have a lot less of a problem with a rock star taking advantage of a bogus law than I do with a sitting member of the U.S. Congress.

Just chalk this up to more failed punditry by J.D. (recalling Springsteen songs, I have a hard time considering which is more appropriate for Mullane, “Brilliant Disguise,” “You’re Missing,” or “I’m Goin’ Down,” but after careful consideration, I settled on “Part Man, Part Monkey”).

Monday Stuff

Actually, Representative "Puppy Dog Eyes" from Wisconsin is right, but not in the way he imagines (here)...



...and no, I don't really have a lot to say in response to this either...



...except to wonder if The Sainted Ronnie R would be good enough for his own party if he were still with us (here)...



...though I suppose, when you get down to it, this is all that matters to the former "party of Lincoln" (the name of this song, I mean...and many Dems too, I know).

More Money-Mad Monday Mikey Musings

Our PA-08 U.S. House rep doled out some king-sized helpings of “conventional wisdom” yesterday in the Bucks County Courier Times (here...glad to see the push-back Mikey is getting in the comments, by the way)…

Since Congress convened in January, no issue has dominated the national discussion and congressional debate more than spending and the deficit.

This actually might be a record of sorts for Mikey – he’s wrong from his very first sentence; I don’t know about “congressional debate,” but when it comes to “national discussion,” as noted here, jobs are the number one concern on a list of five issues (and on that list, the deficit came in last).

Continuing…

From tea party patriots to President Obama, there is now nearly unanimous agreement that government spending is out of control. The time and attention finally being paid to this issue is long overdue.

As is usually the case with Mikey, there is a substantial amount of gall in his umbrage about reducing deficits when, as a member of the dreaded 109th Congress, he helped to make the deficit substantially worse, as noted here.

Over the past three years, the United States has added $5 trillion to our national debt, bringing the total to $14.3 trillion. With nearly 42 cents of every dollar spent by the federal government being financed, we are borrowing trillions each year to feed our spending addiction. Perhaps the most sobering fact is that after July 27, every cent the government spends through the rest of the year will be borrowed.

While the debate in Washington on the size and types of cuts has been vigorous and at times tense, it has failed to focus on the harm out-of-control deficit spending has caused and will continue to cause among private sector job creators.

Get ready for the return of “the confidence fairy” (a good response to that from Professor Krugman is here)…

In order for new companies to start-up or existing companies to grow, certain elements are essential. Three of the most important are availability of capital, economic confidence and predictability of future costs. Deficit spending at the levels we have seen over the last three years has undermined all three.

I wonder if it has occurred to Mikey that cutting government spending can actually increase the deficit? Ezra Klein tells us how here…

Every dollar the Internal Revenue Service spends for audits, liens and seizing property from tax cheats brings in more than $10, a rate of return so good the Obama administration wants to boost the agency's budget.

House Republicans, seeing the heavy hand of a too-big government, beg to differ. They've already voted to cut the IRS budget by $600 million this year and want bigger cuts in 2012...IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman told the committee Tuesday that the $600 million cut in this year's budget would result in the IRS collecting $4 billion less through tax enforcement programs.

And as noted here (about halfway down the page) H.R. 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 passed in February…(included) drastic spending cuts throughout, including to the Treasury Department and IRS (and as noted here, Mikey voted Yes..."Aye" actually).

(Oh, and speaking of the IRS, get a load of this bill Mikey is sponsoring with “Moon Unit” Bachmann, the “Innocent Spouse Relief Act”; Fitzpatrick and Bachmann claim that two years isn’t enough time for an “innocent spouse” to file a return when “an abusive or manipulative spouse does not tell the other person about collection proceedings.”

Now far be it for me to oppose the rights of “innocent” spouses (determined so by a court of law, I would assume), but if two years is not enough time for such a person to file a return, then what would be an appropriate period? Five years? How much projected revenue would be lost if this bill were to be signed into law, I wonder?)

Continuing with Mikey…

Of all the elements, access to capital is the most essential. Like a car loan or student loan, when the government borrows money, it has to make regular payments or risk default. The difference is that government has someone else to pick up the tab - taxpayers.

Last year, interest payments on the national debt totaled $414 billion. This constitutes nearly 3 percent of GDP, the entire economic output of the United States.

As noted here, though, 3 percent is actually pretty low; it was actually around 14 percent in 1980, for example.

Continuing…

Massive debt also reduces the available capital because as our national debt explodes, lenders lose confidence in our ability to make interest payments on time. As Greece and Portugal learned last year, this leads to lower credit ratings, which makes loans even more expensive for U.S. taxpayers. The deficit-driven spending cycle continues.

As noted here, a big part of Greece and Portugal’s problems had to do with the fact that they both traded in their country’s currency so they could be denominated on the Euro; as a result, “to regain competitiveness, (Greece needs) massive deflation; but that deflation, in addition to involving an extended period of very high unemployment, worsens the real burden of their outstanding debt” (and more on Portugal, which faces a similar problem, is here).

Continuing…

Lenders are not the only ones losing confidence in America's fiscal health. A key economic barometer is consumer confidence. When you and I feel that our nation is on firm financial footing, we are more likely to buy a car, replace an old refrigerator or try out the newest smart phone. The same is true for employers. If we expect businesses to buy new equipment, open a new office, or most importantly hire a new employee, they must have confidence in the economy and the government's fiscal stability.

As noted here, consumer confidence is down not because of the debt, but because of “inflation creep” and climbing food and gas prices (and I don’t have a clue as to when, or if, I’ll even consider buying a “smart phone,” Mikey, regardless of the economy).

Employer confidence is linked closely with the final factor: predictability of future costs. Chief among costs are labor, taxes and regulation. Having a clear understanding of what these costs will be tomorrow allows employers to expand and hire new employees today. Rather than begin hiring, many companies are still waiting on the sidelines because of continued uncertainty about future tax rates and related costs.

Unbelievable – as noted here, tax receipts to the government are at their lowest level in 60 years (and if a business isn’t smart enough to shield itself from tax liability to the maximum extent possible with all of the myriad loopholes in our tax code big enough to drive a Cadillac Escalade through, then they don’t deserve to be in business…also, here are more depressing numbers on how the richest 400 individuals in this country have seen their income quadruple because of the disparity in our tax rates).

And speaking of business, I found this link at Fitzpatrick’s web site where he encourages anyone who views it to “share your job creating solutions.” I would be highly interested to see what kind of feedback he has received, if any.

I think it is ridiculous anyway for Fitzpatrick to act as if he is some fiscal savings guru when he has supported tax cuts for the rich, which, as noted here, have done more to explode the deficit than any of the proposed cost-cutting measures between Obama and the congressional Repugs.

What the Repugs in Congress are doing has nothing to do with trying to pay down the deficit. It is all about pursuing a course that will forever enshrine a new Gilded Age of profligate wealth for the very few and ever-more-wrenching poverty and desperation (to say nothing of ever-bleaker job prospects) for the very many.

The trick isn’t to keep this in mind now, though that is important. The trick is to remember it in November 2012 when Mikey runs for re-election, enjoying typically full-throated support from the Bucks County Courier Times and “nod-and-a-wink” approval from the Catholic Church, with their campaign placards for “pro-life” Mikey that will appear near their parishes (but not close enough to church grounds to legitimately endanger their tax-exempt status…I sometimes wonder if one of the oldest institutions on earth has the slightest idea of what it is that’s happening with our economy).

Where are the jobs, congressman?

Saturday Stuff

Just remember, when you see these people making idiots out of themselves this summer in town halls across the country, you'll know where their fellow teabaggers found them...




...and even though the clip above is a joke, it still made me think of this song.

Friday Stuff

Yes, this most definitely needs to be repeated over and over and over until November 2012, and even beyond that point (and for the record, 6,000 times 33 is 198,000 - close enough for government work :-)...



...and how much is our adventure in Afghanistan costing you? Well, now you can find out...



...and continuing with my money theme, I hope all of those Garden State life forms who voted for Governor Bully are proud of themselves (please read this to find out why the situations with Loretta Weinberg and "Joe D." are very different)...



...and I hope everyone remembered to file their returns by today (good luck trying to get a refund).

Friday Mashup (4/15/11)

Linked to this post is the roll call vote to the measure just passed by the Repug-dominated U.S. House to try to enact Paul Ryan’s Medicare voucher atrocity and also pass more tax cuts for millionaires (oblivious to this fact, of course).

And “Mikey The Beloved” Fitzpatrick voted with Ryan.

I hope our current PA-08 rep enjoys life as a private citizen once more after November 2012.

Next, corporatist Republican (redundant?) David Gergen said here that Obama, after his speech on Wednesday in which he drew a pretty clear line between himself and the Repugs (which needed to be said after his deficit giveaway a week ago), was a “timid” leader.

Oh, but see, Gergen, having started out in the Nixon White House, usually does a better job of hiding his right-wing conceits and subservience to the “pay no price, bear no burden” investor class than betraying his true intentions with the phrasing that is on display here.

And Gergen also joins the hallelujah chorus of pundits claiming that the Republicans were “unafraid” to “(go) first” in submitting their budget. I realize that this is one of the hot new Beltway narratives, but the fact of the matter, as noted here by Steve Benen (pointing this out once more) is that Obama submitted a budget in February.

This is typical for Gergen, though; in July 2009, he said here that support for health care reform was beginning to “crumble” (we just celebrated its one-year anniversary last March 23rd).

In addition, I’d been avoiding Christine Flowers for the last couple of weeks, but I suppose it’s really not possible to do that any more (here).

In today’s idiocy, she criticized the federal judge in Easton, PA for “allowing middle-school kids to wear ‘booby’ bracelets in support of breast-cancer awareness” (and she also took a whack at the Supreme Court of Justice Earl Warren…just use that Google thingie or ask your parents, or grandparents). Her reasoning, such as it is, is that “Putting the word’ boobies’ on your wrist is guaranteed to get a newly hormonal boy's attention, and not in a scholarly way.”

Sooo…wouldn’t it be up to that “newly hormonal boy” to learn how to act like an adult instead?

And in that spirit, get a load of this from Flowers…

The thing that really irks me is the attempt to make it seem as if these middle-school girls are really engaging in some admirable campaign to raise breast-cancer awareness.

They're raising something all right, but it's not awareness.

When I read that, I recalled the scene in the movie “This is Spinal Tap” where the band is told that they’re not allowed to show on an album cover "a greased, naked woman on all fours with a dog collar around her neck and a leash, and a man's arm extended out...holding on to the leash and pushing a black glove in her face to sniff it" (the name of the album, aptly enough, was to be called “Smell The Glove”). Basically, as far as I’m concerned, that’s about the level of stupidity that matches Flowers’ reference above in response to the Easton students who are trying to do something that is actually constructive.

This is more or less consistent for Flowers, who apparently wrote an October 2007 article criticizing breastfeeding (saw the article referenced at Brendan Calling and other blogs, but I can’t find an actual link), though I was able to find a Letter to the Editor here from an English teacher who was fired for supposedly attacking a student on a blog posting for her political views, a charge the teacher denied (and the teacher criticized Flowers for, as per usual, not letting the facts get in the way of one of Flowers’ typical attacks...to me, this is a bit of a connection to the Breast Cancer Awareness story in that it shows Flowers' overall hostility to free speech).

I don’t know how much of Flowers’ usual hackery here is merely projection or another example of her Philistine pig ignorance. All the same, I’d love to see her read this column in front of a gathering of breast cancer survivors to see her get the treatment she deserves.

Finally, I give you last week’s Area Votes in Congress writeup (here)…

House

Republican budget plan. Voting 247-181, the House sent the Senate a GOP bill (HR 1363) to fund the military through Sept. 30 while funding the rest of the government through April 15 with $12 billion in spending cuts. The bill also barred the District of Columbia from using its own revenue to fund abortions.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Pat Meehan (R., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Jon Runyan (R., N.J.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), John Carney (D., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), and Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.).

I thought Michael Tomasky’s comments here on that ridiculous DC vote were spot-on (and if Tim Holden really had any integrity, he would just make it official and change his party affiliation once and for all).

Democrats' budget plan. On a vote of 236-187, the House blocked a bid by Democrats to bring an alternative to HR 1363 (above) to a vote. Their measure was a "clean" continuing resolution that would keep the government fully in operation for another week but contain none of the spending cuts or policy riders in the underlying GOP bill.

Because HR 1363 was debated under a closed rule that barred amendments, Democrats used this procedural route to seek a record vote on their competing plan for averting a government shutdown at midnight April 8.

A yes vote opposed the Democratic alternative.

Voting yes: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

This was probably another reason why Boehner, Cantor and company eventually went along with the last-minute vote to avert the shutdown last Friday. They would have looked stupider than usual if our troops had foregone payment, in addition to other myriad hardships across the board, if there had been both a shutdown and a failure to pass this “clean” resolution.

Paying U.S. troops. Voting 191-236, the House defeated a bid by Democrats to ensure no loss of military pay during a government shutdown. The motion was offered to a Republican bill (HR 1363, above) that contains the same guarantee. Depending on the duration of a shutdown, service personnel could have one or more paychecks delayed until after the government resumes full operation. Though U.S. troops ultimately would receive full pay, the chance of civil servants recouping missed paychecks would depend on later congressional decisions.

A yes vote backed the Democratic motion.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

As I’ve previously noted on other votes, remember this one when the Repugs wrap themselves around the flag on Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veterans Day.

Greenhouse gases, climate change. Voting 255-172, the House passed a bill (HR 910) denying the Environmental Protection Agency authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions associated with climate change and challenging the science upon which those regulations are based. The Senate (below) defeated a similar measure.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, and Schwartz.

Another disgusting vote by Holden in the Repugs ongoing non-jobs agenda (with climate change denialist Mikey The Beloved doing his duty on behalf of his puppet masters).

Climate-change science. Voting 184-240, the House defeated an amendment to HR 910 (above) stating that Congress accepts the EPA's "scientific findings that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare."

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Fattah, Holden, and Schwartz.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, and Smith.

So Holden votes to not allow the EPA the ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions…but then votes in favor of an amendment stating that climate change is occurring? Geez, at least be consistent in your wingnuttery, willya?

Seventh stopgap budget. Voting 348-70, the House sent President Obama a bill (HR 1363) to keep the government in full operation for the next several days. Congress then will take up a bipartisan funding bill for the remaining five-plus months of fiscal 2011, a measure cutting spending by nearly $39 billion and containing several Republican-backed policy changes. Because Obama and congressional leaders negotiated the latter bill, it is expected to become law by midweek, ending a marathon dispute during which Congress passed seven stopgap 2011 budgets, including HR 1363. The Senate passed HR 1363 on a nonrecord vote.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Carney, Dent, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

Maybe this is really the secret Repug plan to lower the deficit – just hold votes every two weeks to decide whether they want the government to continue operation or not. Brilliant!

Senate

Presidential war powers. Voting 90-10, the Senate tabled (killed) a challenge by Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) to President Obama's authority to involve the U.S. military in Libya's civil war without congressional approval. The nonbinding amendment to S 493 said Obama lacks constitutional authority "to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." Under the 1973 War Powers Act, the president can deploy troops for up to 60 days without congressional approval in response to "imminent" national-security concerns. The multination military action against the Libyan regime began March 19 under authority of the United Nations.

A yes vote was to portray the March 19 presidential troop deployment as constitutional.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Voting no: Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

As noted here, “No Corporate Tax” Pat voted in favor of the Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq and voted No to disallowing the invasion of Kosovo during the Clinton presidency. But I suppose it’s a different story for our Kenyan Marxist pre-see-dint as far as Toomey is concerned.

Greenhouse gases, climate change. On a tie vote of 50-50, the Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to pass a Republican measure to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate carbon emissions associated with greenhouse gases and climate change. The amendment was offered to a small-business bill (S 493) that remained in debate.

Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) said: "The tea party Republicans say you can't restrict polluters with regulations. By their logic, we ought to get rid of traffic signals" and "maybe we ought to get rid of the air-traffic-control system, too, because why should pilots of these big aircraft have to wait for some government bureaucrat to tell them where and when they can land or take off?"

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Toomey.

Voting no: Carper, Casey, Coons, Lautenberg, and Menendez.

This is totally consistent for Toomey and his fealty to Big Oil, as noted here (and I wish more members of “the world’s greatest deliberative body” had a fraction of Lautenberg’s guts).

Health-law paperwork. Voting 87-12, the Senate sent President Obama a bill (HR 4) to strip the new health law of its rule that businesses issue an IRS Form 1099 to any vendor to whom they pay at least $600 annually. Scheduled to take effect next year, the rule is intended to raise money for preventive-care measures while helping the IRS catch tax cheats. But it has come under bipartisan assault as a paperwork burden on small businesses.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Coons, Menendez, and Toomey.

Voting no: Lautenberg.

I suppose this was inevitable, and I admit that I don’t have a “dog in this fight,” as they say. However, I’d like to know how Congress intends to replace the revenue that will be missing if this is signed into law. Wonder if anyone has thought of that?

This week, the House took up the budget for the next fiscal year, and the Senate continued to debate the award of federal technology contracts to small businesses.

Wednesday Stuff

And keep in mind, as you hear Ryan and Cantor whining about Obama supposedly engaging in "class warfare" by crafting a fairly responsible budget reduction plan, that those two asshats belong to the political party that once gave us this (sorry for the questionable video quality, but it's good enough)...



Update 4/14/11: Uh, yep.

...and happy 65th birthday to Al Green (couldn't find that "Pulp Fiction" clip with a good enough audio, bad words and all).

Wednesday Mashup (4/13/11)

(No posting tomorrow, by the way – can’t see how at the moment…)

I give you Fix Noise “Democrat” Doug Schoen here; basically, he complimented President Obama on his speech today about the deficit (shocking for me to be somewhat in agreement with Schoen, but I am a bit – in fact, I was halfway through a post ripping Number 44, but I put it on hold for now because I think he said the right things, and I’ll give him the chance I wasn’t prepared to give after that disgrace of a performance last Friday…if it turns out that this whole thing is just another sap to folks such as yours truly with no follow-up, rest assured that I will tear his bloody head off, and I'm not talking about Schoen).

However, this wouldn’t be a typical Schoen column/blog post unless he peddled some truly ripe dookey, and he does so here, saying that “the president trails the GOP by twenty points in terms of managing the economy, and particularly in managing the deficit.”

This is the poll Schoen is talking about. If you manage to find any point where Obama is measured head-to-head against the Repugs on the economy, please let me know, OK (yes, the numbers are sliced and diced against Dems, Repugs and independents, but not directly against “Orange Man” or Senator Mr. Elaine Chao, who of course are thoroughly unmoved and, at the moment, are prepared to hold the debt ceiling hostage…can’t imagine the stupidity of the individuals who actually vote for these characters, and hopefully I never will).

Next, I really don’t have much to add, but I just had to note that Howard Rich of The Daily Tucker heaped praise here on fellow Tucker-ite Matt Boyle for the latter’s supposed expose of the Obama “slush fund” (and that would be the more than a half-billion dollars in health benefits paid out to a temporary early retiree insurance program included in the healthcare reform law, spread out to 5,500 employers covering 61,000 people announced by the administration in March…as noted here – first bullet – your first hint that there’s no “there” there is the fact that it was announced by the administration a full month before Boyle “broke” the “story”).

Of course, as noted here, it’s a stretch at best to consider Rich any type of a journalist either.

In addition, David Zurawik recently took the opportunity of Glenn Beck’s exit from Fix Noise to engage in more false equivalency between Beck and Keith Olbermann (here). However, to his credit for a change, Howard Kurtz really took Zurawik to task for it (here).

Continuing, it looks like “The Golden Arches” wants to hire 50,000 workers by April 19th (here). That’s good I suppose (baby steps if nothing else); as a response (sort of), I give you the following here.

Finally, I give you some spirituality news here…

Throughout much of the English-speaking world, the Roman Catholic Church is preparing its priests and parishes for the most significant changes to the Mass in the more than 40 years since the church permitted English in place of the Latin.

The changes are included in a new English-language translation of the Roman Missal, a translation produced after almost 30 years of labor, intrigue and infighting. The new missal, the book of texts and prayers used in the Mass, is intended to be closer to the liturgical Latin that was used for centuries than the current version. The church officials promoting it say it will bring an elevated reverence and authenticity to the Mass. Many Catholics who prefer a more traditional liturgy are eagerly anticipating the change.

But after getting a glimpse of the texts in recent months, thousands of priests in the United States, Ireland and Australia have publicly objected that the translation is awkward, archaic and inaccessible. Although most are resigned to adopting the new missal, some have mounted campaigns to prevent it from being introduced.

“What we are asking of the bishops is to scrap this text,” said the Rev. Sean McDonagh, a leader of an Irish group, the Association of Catholic Priests, which represents 450 priests — about 1 out of 10 — in that country. “I know people are not going to use it. I wouldn’t use it, because everything I know in terms of theology and anthropology and linguistics, it breaches every one of those.”

…

One of the most noticeable changes is in the Nicene Creed, the statement of faith that Catholics learn to recite as children. Currently, Catholics say that Jesus is “one in being with the Father,” but in the future they will say that Jesus is “consubstantial with the Father.” This is one of several changes that include unfamiliar vocabulary.

This is completely unsurprising when you consider the following (here)…

In the years before his election, Cardinal Ratzinger's comments about the legacy of Vatican II drew keen attention, especially when he spoke about the liturgy. In 1997, he said the drastic manner in which Pope Paul VI reformed the Mass had caused "enormous harm" to the church. It was not that changes were not needed, Cardinal Ratzinger said; in fact, he said, in many respects the new Roman Missal was an improvement.

The problem in his view was that the old missal was suppressed. Instead of continuity, he said, the old liturgy was demolished and the new Mass constructed from its pieces.

"I am convinced that the crisis in the church that we are experiencing today is to a large extent due to the disintegration of the liturgy," he said.

If Pope Benny thinks that the decline in attendance at Sunday Mass is due to the “disintegration” of the liturgy (as opposed to this, and to a lesser degree I guess, this), then he’s more out of touch than I could have ever imagined.

Tuesday Stuff

50 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space (and I also know that "the war between the states" started 150 years ago...sorry, but with all due respect to Ken Burns, I don't feel like commemorating something some of our "red state" brethren continue to refight on a daily basis - and in other space news, the shuttle Columbia took its first test flight on this day in 1981)...



...so I thought this was an appropriate tune for the occasion (tempted to use "Rocket Man," but I may save that for another day).

Tuesday Mashup (4/12/11)

Is it just me, or has Ken Blackwell had a lot of time on his hands since he rigged the Ohio 2004 presidential election, which no doubt was a contributing factor to his 23-point loss to Ted Strickland in 2006? Blackwell propagandized as follows at The Daily Tucker here…

President Obama made a point of going to al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt to deliver his overture to what he calls “the Muslim world.” Strange, he never talks about a Christian world.

Funny – in response, I give you the following (here)…

"My Christian faith has been sustaining for me over the last couple of years and even more so when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time," the president said Thursday, referring to his wife. "We are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us but that we are true to our conscience and true to our God."

And speaking of Strickland, I thought this was a highly interesting development concerning the person he lost to so narrowly last year.

Next, I give you more hilarity from the Murdoch Street Journal (here)…

The best advice we've heard is from former Senator Phil Gramm, who says Republicans should agree that families and nations should always honor their debts.

Of course Gramm would say that, seeing as how, as one of the architects behind the subprime meltdown, he helped create the debt to begin with (here).

And as much as I’d like to take issue with the Murdoch Street Journal headline of “The Tea Party’s First Victory” in response to the budget deal reached last Friday, I suppose, when push comes to shove, I really can’t (leave it to the racist-sign-and-funny-hat bunch, though, not to know when they’ve actually won, as noted here).

In addition, I give you Chuck Norris, of all people, opining as follows on guns here…”low hanging fruit,” to be sure, but I believe this stuff should be addressed…

Obama finally is showing his true colors on this important issue. Let's not forget that this is the same candidate who once espoused a total ban on handguns and more recently supported a nationwide ban on right-to-carry laws.

I know this will come as a shock, but Norris is actually partly right; as noted here, Obama once supported a nationwide ban on right-to-carry laws, which of course poses no issue as far as I’m concerned (see “nut,” “blind squirrel,” concerning Norris I mean). However, at no time has Obama ever called for a total ban on handguns; indeed, the inaction of Number 44 in response to the atrocity in Tucson may unfortunately be his most enduring legacy on this issue.

But as a commenter noted here, perhaps Chuck has taken one too many kicks to the head (maybe the reason why he left his hat on when talking to His World’s Neil Cavuto).

Further, I give you the latest from Mikey The Beloved here…

PENNDEL, Pa.—Congressman Fitzpatrick today joined with local municipal and county officials to announce the renewal of the state Enterprise Zone status for a segment of former industrial sites along the Delaware River in Bensalem Township, Bristol Township, Bristol Borough, Falls Township, Morrisville Borough and Tullytown Borough. Today’s announcement also added Penndel Borough to the Enterprise Zone. The designation will assist these local governments in the formation of public-private partnerships within the Enterprise Zone that will encourage increased manufacturing facilities and job creation.

Interesting, given that, as noted here when he was a Bucks County Commissioner, Mikey voted against tax-free status for businesses at the USX Industrial Park (U.S. Steel sought for the site to become a Keystone Opportunity Zone to lure new companies to its park's 1,259 available acres with the promise of 15 years of tax-free status).

Where are the jobs, congressman??

Finally, I give you the following from the Bucks County Courier Times today (here)…

Considering that Pennsylvania makes up only about 4 percent of the nation's population, do our state representatives and senators employ too many people and are we paying those people too much?

The Associated Press, with the help of newspapers throughout the state, set out to dig up the numbers so people can decide the question for themselves. To that end, reporters asked lawmakers to provide staff names, salaries and benefits, and to disclose the budgets to run their offices. They also had a few questions for lawmakers.

This should have been a pretty straightforward process: Reporters ask for the information and lawmakers get it. Unfortunately, it was anything but straightforward. Although the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Act requires lawmakers to divulge those costs, most Lower Bucks legislators engaged in varying degrees of stonewalling.

That said, three made a commendable effort to satisfy our requests. State Rep. Frank Farry, R-142, promptly provided everything requested; Rep. Gene DiGirolamo, R-18, begged off on just one item; and while the chief of staff for Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31, said we'd have to go through the state, Santarsiero's staff filed the request for our reporter and interceded to get the information when the AP deadline approached.

If only other lawmakers were as helpful.

Typically outstanding service from our PA-31 State House representative and his office; to contact Steve, click here.

Monday Stuff

Funny, but I can't tell the difference between this and the real thing...



...and for some grownup commentary on the deal to keep our government running - that is, until the Repugs try to hold the debt ceiling hostage - here is Ezra Klein...

...and by the way, a pox for all time on our corporate media for neglecting these folks at the expense of the racist-sign-and-funny-hat crowd...



...and on this day 80 years ago, Iowa became the first state in the nation to enact a tax on cigarettes; I think this is a fitting tune for the occasion.

Monday Mashup (4/11/11)

(Posting could be iffy for the whole week, by the way…just don’t know at this point.)

J.D. Mullane continued his harangue against President Obama yesterday on the pages of the Bucks County Courier Times (here, concerning Number 44’s trip to the Gamesa wind turbine plant this week)…

Gamesa employee Jerry Holt, who said he drives a large van to carry his big family, asked Obama if anything can be done to lower relentlessly rising gasoline prices. Oh, the president said, we might drill for oil a bit. But lower gas prices? In a word - nope. "(W)e can't just drill our way out of the problem," Obama said. Fuel efficient cars are the way to go, he said, which means Americans must switch to smaller cars. Some in audience applauded. "Now, I notice some folks clapped," the president said, "but I know some of these big guys, they're all still driving their big SUVs. You know, they got their big monster trucks and everything." Speaking directly to Holt, Obama said: "Well, now here's my point. If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting eight miles a gallon, you may have a big family, but it's probably not that big. How many you have? Ten kids, you say? Ten kids. Well, you definitely need a hybrid van then." He continued: "None of this is going to help you this week, though. So, like I said, if you're getting eight miles a gallon, you may want to think about a trade-in." See, working stiff, if paying $4 a gallon is a hardship, that's on you because you haven't traded in for a $40,000 hybrid.

As noted here, there are 2009 Toyota Prius hybrid minivans out there priced at $22,000; granted that’s for a used vehicle and maybe with no options, but you can do the math here as well as I can compared to J.D.’s typical lunacy. And as for blaming Obama when it comes to gas prices generally, I think the following should be noted from here…

Blaming the president for rising gas prices is nothing new, and it’s a bipartisan tactic. In 2004, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) blamed President George W. Bush for higher gas prices and for continuing to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as oil prices climbed. Just one problem: Even if domestic supplies were developed, American presidents couldn’t really control oil prices. The U.S. government has estimated that there are 18 billion barrels of oil in the outer continental shelf of the lower 48 states that are off limits to development. That may sound like a lot, but it is only about 21 / 2 years of supply for the United States, and it would take several years to allocate leases and drill exploratory wells. Even if the estimated 10 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were available for development, today’s policy decisions would have no impact on gasoline supplies for as much as a decade. Obama can’t dictate what you’ll pay for premium tomorrow.

Now I will grant you that if you looked through all of my 5500 or so (yikes!) prior posts at this blog, you probably could find at least one and probably more where I blamed Former President Highest Disapproval Rating In Gallup Poll History for gas prices. However, what I blamed him for primarily was the unrest he ended up causing in perhaps the most volatile region on earth, which (happily for him) is the region that also produces the most oil. And that drove up gas prices by threatening to restrict supply, though I will acknowledge that the human costs of his clueless meddling far outweighed any inconvenience we endured as a nation at the pump.

Next, I give you more Beltway conventional wisdom from The Robertses (here – more faux equivalency between those dastardly libs and those zany teabaggers)…

Some liberals want to emulate (teabagger founder) Judson Phillips and fire President Obama for failing to keep key campaign promises, such as closing the prison at Guantanamo or enacting a “public option” in his health care bill. But like Boehner, Obama could not keep some of his promises because reality prevented him from doing so. He could not close Gitmo because he had nowhere to put its inmates. He could not pass a public option because he didn’t have the votes.

Oh, there were and still are plenty of places to put the GITMO inmates. The problem is that spineless politicians of both parties would water wet themselves apparently than allow the detainees on our shores (which is particularly silly considering this). The reason I’m even bothering to say anything at all about this, though, is because of Steve and Coke Darling’s garbage about the public option. As noted here from September ’09 (while we were in the middle of watching Max Baucus let his fellow Senate Repugs take over the “sausage-making” process and very nearly kill the whole deal), Dr. Dean told us that he had 218 Dem House votes and 51 Senate Dem votes in favor of the public option, which (as noted here) enjoyed a 77 percent approval rating. The Dems had their opportunity for it, and they muffed it (and that includes Number 44). However, they did manage to pass reform of a fashion and sign it into law, which is commendable. But it could have been so much more, despite what the Robertses and their ilk would have you believe.

Finally, “The Pericles of Petticoat Junction” weighed in here on the current difficulties in the Middle East (and I wonder if Obama is going to get any credit for this positive development, by the way, forcing Gaddafi to accept the deal while working in concert with NATO – rest assured that I’m not holding my breath) – basically, V.D. Hanson is doing a country-by-country comparison to argue that Obama should have involved us in war with Iran and Syria instead…

”(Egypt) did not exercise so savage a degree of control as was the norm elsewhere in the Middle East.”

Somehow, I have a feeling that this lady would disagree, Hanson.