The original story.
Democrats took today to push a partisan budget through the Senate Budget Committee. The budget went through with a 13 to 10 vote directly along party lines. The Republicans continued to say that the budget increases spending and government too much but have thus far failed to offer an alternative. So, let's get this straight, "your ideas are poopy and I don't like them", "What would you propose?", "Not your poopy ideas". Thanks Republicans! We appreciate that you have really attempted to cross party lines and reach out by offering exactly ZERO FUCKING IDEAS. It's really easy to criticize something that's going to cost billions of dollar regardless (it's a national fucking budget), when you're only alternative is a zero dollar a year budget!
But wait, republicans promised to have an alternative by next week! Great, show up a fucking day late and dollar short and then wonder why you couldn't get a pony ride at the carnival. This isn't a surprise. You've been criticizing Obama's budget since before he took office. I'll even go so far to admit I'm not a huge fan of the original Obama budget. The reworked version has some pro's but it isn't perfect. Republicans should have come armed to the teeth with suggestions and oppositional proposals. Not because it would have changed the democrat led committee, but because that way when they talk to the press they can say, "This is what's wrong, here's what we'd do". As it is, your criticizing what may be a bad idea, with no idea. And coming in a week late just looks like you got called on your bullshit and had to take time to come up with an idea you should have had weeks ago. Remember that kid in class, who would never have an assignment done on time? When it came around to the term paper (which was assigned weeks ago) he would have some glorious excuse about why he didn't have it. That's the republicans right now and they deserve what that kid deserved, an "F" and a firm talking to about how that shit doesn't hack it in real life.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
I'll tell you what resembles the Special Olympics...
So apparently, President Obama has gone from doing too much for America, to being too distracted from the issues, all in about a two day period. Last week Republicans said Obama was taking on too much with his hope to withdraw troops, close Guantanamo Bay, pass a budget, reform health care and fix the economy. People said he should focus on the economy and not worry about the rest now.
Oh what a difference a week makes! Now, the president is being criticized for being out of Washington and not focusing enough on all of the issues (including the $165million joke bonuses at AIG). Critics say that visiting California was a way to avoid handling the issues and that appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was a waste of time when America needed it's leader most. Meanwhile, Obama is doing a time honored tradition among presidents with high approval, he's appealing to the people. He knows the Republicans don't like him and will likely never work with him on their own accord, so he's going to the people to get support for his budget and policies. He's hoping this measure will work, and once the people support him, politicians will too, or risk losing their constituency. It doesn't make President Obama's policies any more correct, but it does mean he's working and if you miss that you're missing the whole reason he crushed McCain in the 2008 Election. Appealing to the people is a technique that was long forgotten in the Bush administration but it has worked and Obama is betting it will again.
The other side of this is the criticism being drawn up about Obama's comparison that his bowling is like the Special Olympics. This is the most ridiculous non-issue I've ever seen. Anyone from the right who would like to criticize should just remember when their Candidate called a reporter a "major league asshole" on mic. It was a stupid gaffe on Obama's part, for sure. His a the most public figure in the history of an incredibly public office, he should know better than to make a comment like that on a major television show. But what he did was a joke at his own expense. he didn't say, "how 'bout them fucking retards eh? They sure are funny with their wheelchairs and retarded brains. Why don't we all just kill them like the do in Texas". The truth is 99% of people wouldn't flinch if their friends said that in closed company. Most would laugh. But when you need something, anything, to cling to, just to hate one person you can manufacture rage about anything. Even if your party supported the execution of a mentally disabled person...the very people you know feel outrage for.
Oh what a difference a week makes! Now, the president is being criticized for being out of Washington and not focusing enough on all of the issues (including the $165million joke bonuses at AIG). Critics say that visiting California was a way to avoid handling the issues and that appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was a waste of time when America needed it's leader most. Meanwhile, Obama is doing a time honored tradition among presidents with high approval, he's appealing to the people. He knows the Republicans don't like him and will likely never work with him on their own accord, so he's going to the people to get support for his budget and policies. He's hoping this measure will work, and once the people support him, politicians will too, or risk losing their constituency. It doesn't make President Obama's policies any more correct, but it does mean he's working and if you miss that you're missing the whole reason he crushed McCain in the 2008 Election. Appealing to the people is a technique that was long forgotten in the Bush administration but it has worked and Obama is betting it will again.
The other side of this is the criticism being drawn up about Obama's comparison that his bowling is like the Special Olympics. This is the most ridiculous non-issue I've ever seen. Anyone from the right who would like to criticize should just remember when their Candidate called a reporter a "major league asshole" on mic. It was a stupid gaffe on Obama's part, for sure. His a the most public figure in the history of an incredibly public office, he should know better than to make a comment like that on a major television show. But what he did was a joke at his own expense. he didn't say, "how 'bout them fucking retards eh? They sure are funny with their wheelchairs and retarded brains. Why don't we all just kill them like the do in Texas". The truth is 99% of people wouldn't flinch if their friends said that in closed company. Most would laugh. But when you need something, anything, to cling to, just to hate one person you can manufacture rage about anything. Even if your party supported the execution of a mentally disabled person...the very people you know feel outrage for.
Can you feel the rAIG?
In case you haven't missed it, the entirety of America is in an uproar over AIG paying some $165million dollars in bonuses to some of its employees. Apparently, people threw a hissy about this because AIG had just received billions of dollars in government bailout and now they're paying bonuses to "the very unit that had nearly destroyed the company" (or so sayth the New York Times).
How angry was America? So angry that the President Obama said he was furious over it. So angry that Republican Connie Mack has asked that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner resign over the issue. So angry that AIG CEO, Edward Liddy, had to sit at a hearing on Capitol Hill to explain the bonuses and his company. So angry that the House of Representatives passed a measure taxing 90% of all bonuses issued by companies receiving TARP funds. So angry that the New York Attorney General has subpoenaed the names and information of those receiving the bonus. (despite the fact that many of these people [ and their families] have been threatened with violence).
So angry, that for the last week all government has come to a screeching halt to deal with $165 million dollars. That sounds like an enormous amount of money to your average individual and it's easy to understand how your everyday person can balk at the sound of AIG giving away that much money to people from the department who caused the crash. But, if you're in Washington and you're dealing with a $400 billion (not million) dollar budget and a multi-trillion (with a "T") dollar deficit why are you wasting all your time with $165 million dollars?
These bonuses represent about 1/1,000 of the money given for bailouts. That's 0.1%. We have clogged up our tv's, newspapers and websites expressing outrage at 1/10 of a precent of the bail out money. This money won't make the difference in the economy, it won't mean the difference between success and failure at AIG and it isn't going to kill any taxpayer. So why have we put all levels of government, and news in a gridlock for what is, essentially, less money that Bill Gates spends on toilet paper? Here's an idea, in the 2008 election Republican candidate John McCain lost a lot of ground by appearing to not get the common man. His wife wore thousand dollar outfits and McCain couldn't even recall how many houses he had. So now, everyone is striving to connect to the common man. And what does the common man hate? "These wall street fat cats, taking million dollar bonuses, when they're companies should be belly up". So who's mad about it? Republicans! But the Democrats can't be one upped. So they're not just mad, they're furious! Never one to give up a fight republicans want accountability and want the Treasury Secretary to resign and want the names and addresses of the bonus recipients....AND WE'LL TAX THE FUCKERS!
And on and on and on it goes. Who's the most outraged? Who cares? This is such a small matter that it shouldn't have even popped up on anyone's radar and now it's officially brought our government to a grinding halt for an entire week. This is 1/1,000 of the overall bailout and is being paid not for performance but retention, while the employees of this department in AIG "wind down" the books and essentailly put themselves out of work. It's hard to keep people who know they'll be unemployeed so that's why they're getting bonuses. Oh, also, these aren't the people who caused the crash, they're all long gone (at least that's what Liddy claims). But for some reason this has become the bee in everyone's ass, and in the process we've seen that both political parties can act like completely irrational douchebags when they want to appeal to the American public. Really good to know that's what they think we're all like.
How angry was America? So angry that the President Obama said he was furious over it. So angry that Republican Connie Mack has asked that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner resign over the issue. So angry that AIG CEO, Edward Liddy, had to sit at a hearing on Capitol Hill to explain the bonuses and his company. So angry that the House of Representatives passed a measure taxing 90% of all bonuses issued by companies receiving TARP funds. So angry that the New York Attorney General has subpoenaed the names and information of those receiving the bonus. (despite the fact that many of these people [ and their families] have been threatened with violence).
So angry, that for the last week all government has come to a screeching halt to deal with $165 million dollars. That sounds like an enormous amount of money to your average individual and it's easy to understand how your everyday person can balk at the sound of AIG giving away that much money to people from the department who caused the crash. But, if you're in Washington and you're dealing with a $400 billion (not million) dollar budget and a multi-trillion (with a "T") dollar deficit why are you wasting all your time with $165 million dollars?
These bonuses represent about 1/1,000 of the money given for bailouts. That's 0.1%. We have clogged up our tv's, newspapers and websites expressing outrage at 1/10 of a precent of the bail out money. This money won't make the difference in the economy, it won't mean the difference between success and failure at AIG and it isn't going to kill any taxpayer. So why have we put all levels of government, and news in a gridlock for what is, essentially, less money that Bill Gates spends on toilet paper? Here's an idea, in the 2008 election Republican candidate John McCain lost a lot of ground by appearing to not get the common man. His wife wore thousand dollar outfits and McCain couldn't even recall how many houses he had. So now, everyone is striving to connect to the common man. And what does the common man hate? "These wall street fat cats, taking million dollar bonuses, when they're companies should be belly up". So who's mad about it? Republicans! But the Democrats can't be one upped. So they're not just mad, they're furious! Never one to give up a fight republicans want accountability and want the Treasury Secretary to resign and want the names and addresses of the bonus recipients....AND WE'LL TAX THE FUCKERS!
And on and on and on it goes. Who's the most outraged? Who cares? This is such a small matter that it shouldn't have even popped up on anyone's radar and now it's officially brought our government to a grinding halt for an entire week. This is 1/1,000 of the overall bailout and is being paid not for performance but retention, while the employees of this department in AIG "wind down" the books and essentailly put themselves out of work. It's hard to keep people who know they'll be unemployeed so that's why they're getting bonuses. Oh, also, these aren't the people who caused the crash, they're all long gone (at least that's what Liddy claims). But for some reason this has become the bee in everyone's ass, and in the process we've seen that both political parties can act like completely irrational douchebags when they want to appeal to the American public. Really good to know that's what they think we're all like.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
WTF Fox News?!
It's a rarity that I agree with Fox News but this story probably has more that I agree with than anything they've done in the last 4 years. It's about the Omnibus (you know that $400 billion spending bill that is in addition to the $800billion stimulus plan) and how the Republican supporters are actually the ones with the most earmarks. They even went so far as to note that the Senator with the most earmarks (by number) is Republican Senator Arlen Specter.
There is still a fair bit of their "fair and unbalanced" viewpoint however. Fox mentions that McCain tried to veto the earmarks but negates to note that 9 republicans and 2 independent senators voted against him. They also mention that there are $5 billion dollars in earmarks but fail to note that that's less than 2% of the total Omnibus. They also paint the cross over republicans poorly (they're not applauding them for bipartisan lawmaking or anything).
Still I love to see Republicans bicker and in terms of actually being fair and balanced, I'd say this gets a B- (which is better than 99% of their work).
There is still a fair bit of their "fair and unbalanced" viewpoint however. Fox mentions that McCain tried to veto the earmarks but negates to note that 9 republicans and 2 independent senators voted against him. They also mention that there are $5 billion dollars in earmarks but fail to note that that's less than 2% of the total Omnibus. They also paint the cross over republicans poorly (they're not applauding them for bipartisan lawmaking or anything).
Still I love to see Republicans bicker and in terms of actually being fair and balanced, I'd say this gets a B- (which is better than 99% of their work).
Friday, March 6, 2009
Would you like a little soft shoe with that?
This is admittedly too late. This story broke and will likely end soon but here's a take on it. As we've all heard/seen/been told there was a brief and pointless scuffle between the chair of the RNC, Michael Steele, and comedian/jokebag/drug addict, Rush Limbaugh. Google that shit...I'll wait.
Anyhow, long story short, Limbaugh called the Republican party spineless and said he doesn't understand why no one will say they want Obama's stimulus plan to fail (if you're curious, Rush doesn't just hope it fails, he prays to his silly, green, drug induced god that it does). Someone asked Steele about this. Steele said rush is an entertainer and some other bullshit. Rush came back all bitter and angry (as his old white ass does) and Steele tucked his dick between his legs and prostrated himself in front of Limbaugh so fast you swear that he was the living, breathing son of god.
I don't support Steele. I've said his plans and false swagger are foolish and embarassing. All that being said, I felt deeply embarrassed watching a full grown man act like a scolded child when he offered up his apology. Steele covered his tracks with some line about, "I'm sorry this incident has taken attention away from Democrat spending and earmarks" but it was clear that he was really sorry about offending the fat, white deity known as Limbaugh.
So here are two things that need to be done to make the best of this situation:
1) Democrats, stop fucking talking about this. If the news talks to you about it, say, "It's an incident between two individuals and with the stimulus package in action and our attempts to pass the Omnibus in congress, we have more important things to talk about". Sure, it's fun to watch Republicans bicker amongst themselves (especially because you could see it just under the surface when they all stood arm and arm behind the Alaskan Senator who couldn't tell you what a vice president does), but focusing on it will backfire. There are so many better things to focus on. Right now, you've just intercepted the ball and are running it in for a touch down. The republican defense has tripped up and is falling behind. DO NOT take this as an opportunity to look back and mock the defense, because they will come up and sack the shit out of you and take the ball. It happened during the Clinton presidency and lead to 6 years of Republican control of the House, Senate and Executive branch. It can happen again. Use this as a chance to put distance between you. The better you do, the worse they'll look and the better chance you have of keeping ahead.
2) For Michael Steele, you want to prove you're a leader and that you're hip and urban? Now's your chance. Take you initial comments and bank on them. Limbaugh is an entertainer. Is he elected? Does he make policies? Does he run a campaign? NO! He's a political voice who makes his living entertaining the masses. That doesn't make him a bad guy, or even make his opinion invalid but it does allow for a certain amount of leeway and Limbaugh knows it. He's made racially motivated remarks that, while perhaps not intentionally or overtly racist, would have forced most public officials to resign or at least lose reelection.
Limbaugh is a smart guy and is more likely to play ball with the current Republican party than risk losing more voters in a silly public debacle. So stand your ground Steele, explain that you meant what you said, but didn't mean for it to be offense. Limbaugh makes his money entertaining and knows that he can say outrageous things and not have to answer to a constituency. It's not insulting, it's true.
What Steele won't say (though he should) is why Republican's won't say they want the Obama Stimulus to fail. Here's a guess, love it or hate it the stimulus passed and America is now $800billion into it. It's our best (and currently only) hope for dragging our ass out of this horrible economic disaster that Republicans helped create. If it fails, America fails. If we don't pull ourselves out of this recession it's only going to get worse for Republicans and Democrats alike. More job loss, more unemployment, less health care, more poverty. Why in the name of God would you want that for America?
Everyone knows Limbaugh dislikes Obama and his policies but this is the one that was voted on and selected by Congress and the White House. Bipartisan or not this was what was selected and to hope it fails is hoping the Titanic crashes and everyone on it dies because you think that luxury cruise ships are a silly idea.
Guess what? Millions are impacted by this economic recession. People have lost their homes, their jobs, their lives. For you (or anyone else) to say you hope any plan to improve their plight fails (especially for bullshit political motives), is spitting in the face of those millions of Americans. It's saying, "Hey, I know it sucks for you right now BUT, if it gets worse, maybe we can get this current President out of office". Not everyone goes to bed on a pile of money and oxycotton, Rush. For you to wish more ill on the average American so you can do little more than say, "I was right", is selfish, pretty, short sighted and bad politics. That's why no one (republican or otherwise) is rushing to say it.
P.S. I forgot to mention, this post is too late, because there have already been Republicans calling on Steele to resign amidst his public folly. Guess we know who runs the Republican party.
Anyhow, long story short, Limbaugh called the Republican party spineless and said he doesn't understand why no one will say they want Obama's stimulus plan to fail (if you're curious, Rush doesn't just hope it fails, he prays to his silly, green, drug induced god that it does). Someone asked Steele about this. Steele said rush is an entertainer and some other bullshit. Rush came back all bitter and angry (as his old white ass does) and Steele tucked his dick between his legs and prostrated himself in front of Limbaugh so fast you swear that he was the living, breathing son of god.
I don't support Steele. I've said his plans and false swagger are foolish and embarassing. All that being said, I felt deeply embarrassed watching a full grown man act like a scolded child when he offered up his apology. Steele covered his tracks with some line about, "I'm sorry this incident has taken attention away from Democrat spending and earmarks" but it was clear that he was really sorry about offending the fat, white deity known as Limbaugh.
So here are two things that need to be done to make the best of this situation:
1) Democrats, stop fucking talking about this. If the news talks to you about it, say, "It's an incident between two individuals and with the stimulus package in action and our attempts to pass the Omnibus in congress, we have more important things to talk about". Sure, it's fun to watch Republicans bicker amongst themselves (especially because you could see it just under the surface when they all stood arm and arm behind the Alaskan Senator who couldn't tell you what a vice president does), but focusing on it will backfire. There are so many better things to focus on. Right now, you've just intercepted the ball and are running it in for a touch down. The republican defense has tripped up and is falling behind. DO NOT take this as an opportunity to look back and mock the defense, because they will come up and sack the shit out of you and take the ball. It happened during the Clinton presidency and lead to 6 years of Republican control of the House, Senate and Executive branch. It can happen again. Use this as a chance to put distance between you. The better you do, the worse they'll look and the better chance you have of keeping ahead.
2) For Michael Steele, you want to prove you're a leader and that you're hip and urban? Now's your chance. Take you initial comments and bank on them. Limbaugh is an entertainer. Is he elected? Does he make policies? Does he run a campaign? NO! He's a political voice who makes his living entertaining the masses. That doesn't make him a bad guy, or even make his opinion invalid but it does allow for a certain amount of leeway and Limbaugh knows it. He's made racially motivated remarks that, while perhaps not intentionally or overtly racist, would have forced most public officials to resign or at least lose reelection.
Limbaugh is a smart guy and is more likely to play ball with the current Republican party than risk losing more voters in a silly public debacle. So stand your ground Steele, explain that you meant what you said, but didn't mean for it to be offense. Limbaugh makes his money entertaining and knows that he can say outrageous things and not have to answer to a constituency. It's not insulting, it's true.
What Steele won't say (though he should) is why Republican's won't say they want the Obama Stimulus to fail. Here's a guess, love it or hate it the stimulus passed and America is now $800billion into it. It's our best (and currently only) hope for dragging our ass out of this horrible economic disaster that Republicans helped create. If it fails, America fails. If we don't pull ourselves out of this recession it's only going to get worse for Republicans and Democrats alike. More job loss, more unemployment, less health care, more poverty. Why in the name of God would you want that for America?
Everyone knows Limbaugh dislikes Obama and his policies but this is the one that was voted on and selected by Congress and the White House. Bipartisan or not this was what was selected and to hope it fails is hoping the Titanic crashes and everyone on it dies because you think that luxury cruise ships are a silly idea.
Guess what? Millions are impacted by this economic recession. People have lost their homes, their jobs, their lives. For you (or anyone else) to say you hope any plan to improve their plight fails (especially for bullshit political motives), is spitting in the face of those millions of Americans. It's saying, "Hey, I know it sucks for you right now BUT, if it gets worse, maybe we can get this current President out of office". Not everyone goes to bed on a pile of money and oxycotton, Rush. For you to wish more ill on the average American so you can do little more than say, "I was right", is selfish, pretty, short sighted and bad politics. That's why no one (republican or otherwise) is rushing to say it.
P.S. I forgot to mention, this post is too late, because there have already been Republicans calling on Steele to resign amidst his public folly. Guess we know who runs the Republican party.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Economic Crisis=Legalizing Marijuana?
Original Story (sort of...I waited so long that most California stories are out of date, thanks Chicago)
Apparently, the extreme economic meltdown in Califronia (you know, general de...er...Recession paired with 8 months of no state budget and a huge deficit) has inspired some "out of the box" thinking by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano. Ammiano is apparently suggesting the legalization and regulation of marijuana for California. Ammiano claims puting a $50 per ounce tax on the drug would bring in around $1.3biillion a year.
This isn't the first time somehting like this has been mentioned or considered, but it's the first time it's getting some actual movement. With the state being balls deep and upside down in debt and Republicans not wanting to raise taxes but offering no alternative to close the state budget gap, $1.3billion in pot sounds pretty good. Of course there are a ton of better reasons to do this.
Mexico experiences much more violence in marijuana related sales than America. Drug lords in Mexico have made millions off of marijuana and are more than willing to kill for it. Lagalized weed would sell for roughly half the current street price (due to the ability to mass produce it, ship it and avoid the overhead of police avoidence) and would basically kill the demand for illegal marijuana. This would put these guys out of a job and effectively lower a ton of crime in Mexico. Too often American politicians talk about being "tough on drugs" and "cracking down" and it's easy to sweep the Mexican statistics under the rug because they're no US citizens but they do occur and they are very real.
There's no doubt that marijuana has harmful side effects (though many are quite similar to any recreational smoking) but no more than alcohol or tabaco. Perhaps the legalization of marijuana will save Californias economy, at the very least it should save us the millions of dollars a year that are put into law enforcment of marijuana laws.
Apparently, the extreme economic meltdown in Califronia (you know, general de...er...Recession paired with 8 months of no state budget and a huge deficit) has inspired some "out of the box" thinking by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano. Ammiano is apparently suggesting the legalization and regulation of marijuana for California. Ammiano claims puting a $50 per ounce tax on the drug would bring in around $1.3biillion a year.
This isn't the first time somehting like this has been mentioned or considered, but it's the first time it's getting some actual movement. With the state being balls deep and upside down in debt and Republicans not wanting to raise taxes but offering no alternative to close the state budget gap, $1.3billion in pot sounds pretty good. Of course there are a ton of better reasons to do this.
Mexico experiences much more violence in marijuana related sales than America. Drug lords in Mexico have made millions off of marijuana and are more than willing to kill for it. Lagalized weed would sell for roughly half the current street price (due to the ability to mass produce it, ship it and avoid the overhead of police avoidence) and would basically kill the demand for illegal marijuana. This would put these guys out of a job and effectively lower a ton of crime in Mexico. Too often American politicians talk about being "tough on drugs" and "cracking down" and it's easy to sweep the Mexican statistics under the rug because they're no US citizens but they do occur and they are very real.
There's no doubt that marijuana has harmful side effects (though many are quite similar to any recreational smoking) but no more than alcohol or tabaco. Perhaps the legalization of marijuana will save Californias economy, at the very least it should save us the millions of dollars a year that are put into law enforcment of marijuana laws.
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