A Short Love Story

From an email:

A man and a woman who had never met before, but who were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a trans-continental train.

Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly, he in the upper berth and she in the lower.

At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold.'

'I have a better idea,' she replied 'Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married.'

'Wow! That's a great idea!', he exclaimed.

'Good,' she replied. 'Get your own damn blanket.'

After a moment of silence, he farted.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

Local Business Shout-Out: TBD.


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: don't be duped by the Birthers, and why do Republi-CONs lie?, it explains our Friday sycophants, but why do they still do the Devil's Work and Supporting Middle East Dictators;


Local and regional: TBD;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, and let's admit the obvious, the Republi-CONs are not serious about deficits, and remember, we went from surplus to debt, Republi-CON style,

Damn middle class jobs, Republi-CON Polly wants a tax cut

Call the Republi-CON bluff on the debt and the deficit,

Pining for laissez-faire land, move to China, where, "[o]ver the past two and a half years, thousands of workers, villagers and children have been found to be suffering from toxic levels of lead exposure",

Still seeking "a country with low taxes, little regulation and traditional family values, I have the perfect place for them. Body armor suggested",

After the CNN candidate special, who is your favorite 2012 GOP candidate, or do you have a favorite not-yet-a-candidate?,

Republi-CONs and their fantasy economic plans,

Is the real Weiner story really about narcissism, or men in politics? (Female politicians rarely get caught up in sex scandals. Women in elective office have not, for instance, blubbered about Argentine soulmates (see: Sanford, Mark); been captured on federal wiretaps arranging to meet high-priced call girls (Spitzer, Eliot); resigned in disgrace after their parents paid $96,000 to a paramour’s spouse (Ensign, John); or, as in the case of Mr. Weiner, blasted lewd self-portraits into cyberspace.)

Colbert explains how "Weiner's sadly delicious sordid saga proves that Democrats don't share Republican values . . . at least Republican Chris Lee was trying to get some action. Republican politician are man enough to hit that thing Ensign, Vitter, even when it is a gay scandal, they're not tweeting love letters, they're tearing up an airport bath rooms until someone calls the cops",

And Sarah's family vacation, where you can also watch Palin strings together "random string of words" to explain history and Colbert helps prove "that Paul Revere could have ridden a horse while ringing a bell and firing multiple warning shots from a front-loading musket",

My virtual strip search, the terrorist is dead, but will he still win thanks to the Republi-CONs?

Just 127 days til the new and improved judgment day, again,

Racial and gender desegregation, equal opportunity for working-class families, single-payer universal health care, excellent child care and educational opportunity, and salaries that limit income inequality. Name that belove American socialist organization,

The Middle East mess and the hope for democracy, and Christians and Muslims clashing in Egypt, Syria attempting to crush its democracy rebellion and Palestinians climbing over fences into Israel — the best we can do now is manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable, time for a serious peace policy combined with a serious energy policy, and he may be dead, but will he still win thanks to the Republi-CONs?,

So you don't believe in global warming, then explain what happens to 35 gigatons of CO2 each year,

The health care industry bottom-line, the reason Republi-con want to repeal the new health care law, the nation’s bloated annual health-care tab would swell by more than $4 billion" after a company raised the price of a medicine from $20 to $1,500 per dose, and bad news for health care law opponents,

and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fun stuff: the liquid nitrogen burger, paraprosdokians, the Y Generation, Husband Day Care, and cute little cats in 'It Could Be Worse';

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Paraprosdokian

From an email: The term means a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation. For example: "Where there's a will, I want to be in it," is a type of paraprosdokian.

Ok, so now enjoy:

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.

28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

Why Do Republi-CONs Lie?

Because, "bias, lack of logic and other [irrational] flaws that pollute the stream of reason are . . . social adaptations that enable one group to persuade (and defeat) another. Certitude works, however sharply it may depart from the truth. . . Truth and accuracy [are] beside the point." Read The New york Times, Reason Seen More as Weapon Than Path to Truth.

This explains why it is a complete waste of time to argue with a Republi-con.

Republi-CONs and Their Fantasy Economic Plans

Pawlenty’s economic "plan isn’t optimistic. It isn’t a bit vague. It’s a joke. And I don’t know which is worse: The thought that Pawlenty knows that and went forward with this pandering, fantasy-based proposal anyway, or the thought that he doesn’t know it, and he really thinks this could work." Read the Washington Post, Tim Pawlenty’s fantasy economic plan.

The Terrorist is Dead, But Will He Still Win Thanks to the Republi-CONs?

UPDATE III: "Ten years after the terrorist attacks downriver made security checks commonplace, a tea party of sorts is brewing on the Hudson, as boaters and marine businesses complain bitterly about being stopped too often and questioned too closely by officers wearing flak jackets and holstered pistols — many of them on the lookout for terrorists." Read The New York Times, Security Checks on Boaters Disrupt Idyllic Life on the Hudson, which reports on the experience of one boater who said "One time I got stopped four times in one day. It feels like every agency and municipality on the Hudson has a boat, and they’re all out there trying to justify themselves by finding someone doing something wrong. It’s just gotten out of control."


UPDATE II: "Bin Laden really did a number on all of us. . . the Arab states, America and Israel — all of whom have deeper holes than ever to dig out of thanks to the Bin Laden decade, 2001 to 2011, and all of whom have less political authority than ever to make the hard decisions needed to get out of the holes." Read The New York Times, The Bin Laden Decade


UPDATE: Republi-cons continue the big lie theory regarding the usefulness of torture, but don't believe it. Read the Washington Post, John McCain to Bush apologists: Stop lying about Bin Laden and torture.

OBL "had a strategy that we never bothered to understand, and thus that we never bothered to defend against. What he really wanted to do — and, more to the point, what he thought he could do — was bankrupt the United States." Read the Washington Post, Bin Laden’s war against the U.S. economy.

And all because Republi-cons exaggerated the threat posed by OBL. Read the Washington Post, How we get risk wrong.

NAIVE-ocrat and Republi-CON Family Values Hypocrisy, Cont.

UPDATE V: Colbert explains how "Weiner's sadly delicious sordid saga proves that Democrats don't share Republican values":

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

UPDATE IV: Colbert "admires the fiscal discipline it takes to resist launching a federal investigation of Anthony Weiner's groin":

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Anthony Weiner Addresses Twitter Scandal
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

UPDATE III: "The young woman who was sent a lewd photo from the Twitter account of Rep. Anthony Weiner says she doesn’t think the New York Democrat was hacked, but that he may have been trying to send it to a porn star with a similar name." Politico, Seattle student: Weiner photo meant for porn star.

I'm sure his wife is happy to hear that.


UPDATE II: For more on Weiner's pickle, read the Washington Post, 'Weinergate' theory: private photo, public embarrassment.

Maybe his staff should consider "'congressional control software.' Motto: 'Know with certitude what your member’s up to.'" Read the Washington Post, Track your teen lawmaker.


UPDATE: There must be something in the water fountains in Congress. Read The Daily Caller, #Weinergate: Married congressman’s Twitter account shares lewd photo.

Gingrich, Sanford, Souder, Ensign, Craig, Foley, Vitter -- now Chris Lee. Read the Washington Post, Rep. Chris Lee (R-Craigslist).

Sub Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Usually on Thursdays you can listen to me, the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- no political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

But I can't make it today. I'll be back next week to deprogram you.

Damn Middle Class Jobs, Republi-CON Polly Wants a Tax Cut

UPDATE: "Who benefits from economic stagnation?" Read The New York Times, Rule by Rentier, which notes that "[c]onsciously or not, policy makers are catering almost exclusively to the interests of . . . those who . . . lent large sums of money in the past, often unwisely, but are now being protected from loss at everyone else’s expense."

As I said in February 2009, tax cuts are not the answer, this downturn won't be over 'til the fat lady gets a job.

And today's jobs report and other recent dismal economic data shows the results of a pivot away from jobs to other concerns." Read The New York Times, The Mistake of 2010, which points out that:

"[T]he original 2009 Obama stimulus was enacted, some of us warned that it was both too small and too short-lived. In particular, the effects of the stimulus would start fading out in 2010 - and given the fact that financial crises are usually followed by prolonged slumps, it was unlikely that the economy would have a vigorous self-sustaining recovery under way by then.

By the beginning of 2010, it was already obvious that these concerns had been justified. Yet somehow an overwhelming consensus emerged among policy makers and pundits that nothing more should be done to create jobs, that, on the contrary, there should be a turn toward fiscal austerity.

This consensus was fed by scare stories about an imminent loss of market confidence in U.S. debt. Every uptick in interest rates was interpreted as a sign that the 'bond vigilantes' were on the attack, and this interpretation was often reported as a fact, not as a dubious hypothesis.

For example, in March 2010, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled 'Debt Fears Send Rates Up,' reporting that long-term U.S. interest rates had risen and asserting - without offering any evidence - that this rise, to about 3.9 percent, reflected concerns about the budget deficit. In reality, it probably reflected several months of decent jobs numbers, which temporarily raised optimism about recovery.

But never mind. Somehow it became conventional wisdom that the deficit, not unemployment, was Public Enemy No. 1 - a conventional wisdom both reflected in and reinforced by a dramatic shift in news coverage away from unemployment and toward deficit concerns. Job creation effectively dropped off the agenda.

So, here we are, in the middle of 2011. How are things going?"

More proof of the Republi-con double-dip recession.

Too Many Old People?

UPDATE: To control health care costs, should we limit health care for those over 80? Read the Washington Post, A new approach to dying.

Are there too many old people? For the Soylent Green solution, read ThinkProgress.org, How To Run America Like a Business: Get Rid Of All The Old People.

But consider "a less-modest proposal. The opposite of 'fewer old people' is 'more young people.' There's a straightforward way to make more young people, of course, but it's best that the federal government doesn't involve itself in it. Slightly less straightforward, but more proper for policymakers to consider, is allowing more young immigrants to come to America." Read The Washington Post, How to run America like a business.

Too Good Not to Share

From an email:

Sarah's Family Vacation

UPDATE II: Watch Palin string together "random string of words" to explain history and Colbert helps prove "that Paul Revere could have ridden a horse while ringing a bell and firing multiple warning shots from a front-loading musket":

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

UPDATE: "Sarah Palin joins Donald Trump at one of New York's historic monuments, the Times Square Applebee's":

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin Visits the Times Square Applebee's
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Will she save us?

Who knows, right now, Sarah is taking the family on a for-profit vacation, and giving the country a little Republi-con history lesson:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin's Bus Tour
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

The Liquid Nitrogen Burger

"To produce the best burger, one needs advanced scientific cooking techniques, a former Microsoft executive says." Read The New York Times, Could Liquid Nitrogen Help Build Tasty Burgers?

Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party

UPDATE IV: Republi-cons con the Tea Party "while reassuring Wall Street that it's political theater":

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Dancing on the Ceiling
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

As he notes, raising the debt ceiling is so "2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and twice in 2008."


UPDATE III: Republi-cons promised $100 billion in budget cuts this year, then they reduced the cuts "to perhaps $50 billion to $60 billion." In the end, they were only able to propose cuts of $32 billion.

The Tea Party has been conned, and Rand Paul knows it. Read ABC News, Rand Paul Says Republicans 'Aren't Maybe Brave Enough' to Tackle Deficit.


UPDATE II: A Pledge to America, "the manifesto House Republicans published last September, included the promise, “We will roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone. . . [But on Tuesday Republi-cons reduced "their goal to perhaps $50 billion to $60 billion." Read The New York Times, Republicans Lower Goal for Cuts to Budget.

No more blamin Obama!


UPDATE: "At the moment when it seemed as if Bachmann [and the Tea Party] fringe would have to be welcomed into the fold, establishment Republicans pushed her back." Read Slate, The GOP's Michele Bachmann Problem.

The civil war continues: Republi-CON establishment v. Republi-CON rage.

Don't let them tell you otherwise, "[i]n Washington, it's business as usual." Read the Washington Post, Forget Tea Party rhetoric - pork barrel politics is back.

The Republi-CON "Not Intended to be a Factual Statement" and "Misinformation" Propaganda Industry

UPDATE III: Palin joins the Republi-con "not intended to be a factual statement" campaign. "She spent half an hour the other day chatting with Fox News’s Greta van Susteren. . .

Much of the interview consisted of fluffy stuff, but every so often van Susteren diverted into asking about policy issues. Palin responded with her trademark style of making broad assertions with only a shaky command of the facts. Read the Washington Post, Sarah Palin collects a bushel of Pinocchios on her bus tour.


UPDATE II: "Gingrich's epic press release that has D.C. buzzing":

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

BTW, Designer Jon White turned the press release into an illustrated poem:




UPDATE: Newt joins the Republi-con "not intended to be a factual statement" campaign. From the Washington Post:

After a Republi-con lied in a Senate budget debate, his office "explained that it was 'not intended to be a factual statement.'" Read CNN, Colbert vs. Kyl and spread of 'misinformation'.

And "WorldNetDaily's [editor-in-chief] Joseph Farah explains the journalistic standards at his Birther news website." Read Salon, Right-wing publisher: We run "some misinformation".

All part of the Republi-con fear, anger and hatred political campaign.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

Local Business Shout-Out: Bodacious Pies & Bakery, 5237 Willing St Milton, FL, (850) 450-9398, bread, pastries, pies, sweets, and more.


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: don't be duped by the Birthers, Friday sycophants and their fear of debating;


Local and regional: a Blues error and what yahoo picked Blue Wahoos?;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, and let's admit the obvious, the Republi-CONs are not serious about deficits, and remember, we went from surplus to debt, Republi-CON style,

call the Republi-CON bluff on the debt and the deficit,

the "Not Intended to be a Factual Statement" and "Misinformation" Propaganda Industry continues, otherwise known as the 2012 Republi-CON Campaign,

who is your favorite 2012 candidate, and she's back, but will she save us, who knows, right now, Sarah is taking the family on a for-profit vacation, and giving the country a little Republi-con history lesson,

and speaking of narcissistic politicians (opportunists playing to outrage while taking care of themselves. . . [with] nothing to offer but honeyed words, the syrup for suckers), there is the 'Love Child Father' who could have been President, and Congressional Family Values Hypocrisy, Cont.

whoops, math error, not it's 141 days til the end of the world, again,

who needs sympathetic human emotion. . . reason is everything, religion is a fraud, selfishness is a virtue, altruism is a crime against human excellence, self-sacrifice is weakness, weakness is contemptible?, or does survival depend as much on cooperation as it does on a competition between self-interests?,

great wealth and unhappiness,

the Middle East mess and the hope for democracy, and Christians and Muslims clashing in Egypt, Syria attempting to crush its democracy rebellion and Palestinians climbing over fences into Israel — the best we can do now is manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable, time for a serious peace policy combined with a serious energy policy, and he may be dead, but will he still win thanks to the Republi-CONs?,

so you don't believe in global warming, then explain what happens to 35 gigatons of CO2 each year,

the health care industry bottom-line, the reason Republi-con want to repeal the new health care law, the nation’s bloated annual health-care tab would swell by more than $4 billion" after a company raised the price of a medicine from $20 to $1,500 per dose, and bad news for health care law opponents,

you're so wonderful, not,

and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fun stuff: the Y Generation, Husband Day Care, cute little cats in 'It Could Be Worse', Mission Impossible, Squirrel Edition, and Escapa, and posting tomorrow, The Y Generation, don't miss it;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Bad News for Health Care Law Opponents

UPDATE II: More hearings on the health care law. Read The New York Times, Second Appellate Panel Hears Arguments on Health Care Law.


UPDATE: Two-headed Mitt explains the Republi-con position regarding health-care, first you support it, then you don't. Read the Washington Post, The medical mystery of Mitt Romney.

"A flurry of hearings on the constitutionality of the Obama health care law kicks off in Richmond, Va. Tuesday, with litigants eager to strike down the president’s achievement." Read The New York Times, Battle Over Health Care Law Shifts to Federal Appellate Courts.

"There are 14 judges on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but only three will sit on the panel that hears today’s arguments over the health-care law. Those three are chosen by way of 'a computer program designed to achieve total random selection.' And today [May 10], that computer program chose two Clinton nominees and an Obama nominee. Game over, says conservative policy reporter Phillip Klein. 'ObamaCare is likely to be upheld by 4th circuit.' Read the Washington Post, Health-care reform’s attack on the courts, which notes:

"Klein says in a longer post at the Washington Examiner, 'Democratic judges have upheld the law while Republican judges have declared it unconstitutional.' Which just goes to show that the legal channel here has become little more than politics by another name. Republicans know it and Democrats know it. Everybody knows it."

Which reaffirms my position from the beginning of the debate regarding the constitutionality of the health care law -- it was and remains a political question that the court should refuse to consider.

The article also recommends for further reading, the Yale Law Journal, The obvious constitutionality of health-care reform, in which:

"Andrew Koppleman analyzes Judge Vinson’s opinion in Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (striking down the Affordable Care Act). Judge Vinson said that individual mandate was not a 'Necessary and Proper' extension of the Act’s insurance industry reforms; instead, 'the individual mandate is actually being used as the means to avoid the adverse consequences of the Act itself.' Koppelman shows why that reasoning amounts to a fallacy: 'If . . . Congress has no power to address negative consequences that follow from its own statutory scheme, then Marshall was wrong about mail robbery after all. Mail robbery is an adverse consequence of Congress’s decision to establish a post office: had it not done that, all those valuable documents would not be gathered together in one place. But, you might say, That sounds crazy; of course Congress can decide that it’s worth having a post office, even if establishing one creates negative side effects, which then must be addressed. But if—as Vinson admitted—Congress can also decide that people with preexisting conditions can be protected, then how can the cases be distinguished?"

Moreover, even if the individual mandate "is not authorized by the Commerce Clause, or by some combination of the commerce power and the Necessary and Proper Clause, it would still fall squarely within Congress’s authority to set the terms on which it will collect revenues" Read the Yale Law Journal, Conditional Taxation and the Constitutionality of Health Care Reform.

From Surplus to Debt, Republi-CON Style

UPDATE II: "Contrary to many [Republi-con] assertions, tax rates in the United States are low, both historically and in comparison with other developed nations." Read The New York Times, Are Taxes in the U.S. High or Low?, which notes that:

The many adjustments to income permitted by the tax code, plus alternative tax rates on the largest sources of income of the wealthy, explain why the average federal income tax rate on the 400 richest people in America was 18.11 percent in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service, down from 26.38 percent when these data were first calculated in 1992. . .

The truth of the matter is that federal taxes in the United States are very low. There is no reason to believe that reducing them further will do anything to raise growth or reduce unemployment."

UPDATE: Another graphic reality check regarding Republi-con fiscal irresponsibility, from Pew Trusts, Fiscal Facts: The Great Debt Shift:



The report concludes that "new legislation enacted since January 2001 has been responsible for two-thirds of the debt growth. In the new legislation, roughly three dollars of new spending has been enacted for every two dollars in tax cuts between 2001 and 2011. No single policy or piece of legislation, however, is overwhelmingly responsible for the $12.7 trillion shift in CBO’s debt projections for 2011 that occurred between January 2001 and March 2011."

"The nation’s unnerving descent into debt began a decade ago with a choice, not a crisis." Read the Washington Post, Running in the red: How the U.S., on the road to surplus, detoured to massive debt, which includes the following graph and this note: "In 2000, the United States had $3.4 trillion in debt held by the public. Based on policies in place at the time, the Congressional Budget Office projected in 2001 that the country could pay off its debt by the year 2008 and by 2011 have a $2.3 trillion surplus."

The Republi-CON's Next Celebrity Candidate

UPDATE IV: Will it be Palin/Trump in 2012? Read NY1.com, Palin, Trump Have NYC Rendezvous.

Would it be a dream or nightmare ticket?


UPDATE III: "Having Donald Trump in the presidential race gave it the feel of a carnival . . . [and] showed us how truly scary our political system has become." Read the Washington Post, Donald Trump and the House of Horrors.

Save Us, Sarah, Save Us! (She has the unbending, hard-charging character to do it. Read The Atlantic, The Tragedy of Sarah Palin.)


UPDATE II: After milking it for all the publicity he could, he's quit. Read the Washington Post, Trump the clown exits stage right.


UPDATE: More on America's celebrity obsession. Read The Atlantic, In 2012, Celebrity Trumps Substance.

In politics, doesn't form always Trump substance. (Pun intended.)

Republi-con qualifications for president -- charisma, significant personal wealth and near-universal name identification. But is it enough? Read the Washington Post, The Donald, debunked.

She's Back

UPDATE II: Just announced, "the formation of: 'Comedians for Sarah Palin.' [Their] slogan is: 'Comedians putting aside their differences and the good of America for comedic material.'" Read CNN, Support Palin! Put a comedian to work!


UPDATE: In the latest Gallup poll, "Mitt Romney (17%) and Sarah Palin (15%) now lead a smaller field of potential Republican presidential candidates in rank-and-file Republicans' preferences for the party's 2012 nominee. Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Herman Cain essentially tie for third, with Cain registering 8% support in his initial inclusion in Gallup "trial heat" polling. Notably, 22% of Republicans do not have a preference at this point." Read Gallup, Romney, Palin Lead Reduced GOP Field for 2012.

In addition, Palin is "fortifying her small staff of advisers, buying a house in Arizona — where associates have said she could base a national campaign — and reviving her schedule of public appearances. The moves are the most concrete signals yet that Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, is seriously weighing a Republican presidential bid." Read The New York Times, Signs Grow That Palin May Run.

[A told ya so:

You may remember, that in July 2009 I predicted that Palin would "build her network for 2012 by campaigning and fund raising for other candidates" and "cash in with a book and some speeches, maybe a little paid commentary on not-the-FoxNews."

I reaffirm my predictiojn that she loses the 2012 Republi-con primary.]

And just in time, a "new film commissioned by Palin, the former governor of Alaska, will present her as a Joan of Arc-like figure beset at every turn by vicious leftwing enemies seeking to thwart her ambition of reviving the conservative legacy of Ronald Reagan." Read The Guardian, Sarah Palin likened to Joan of Arc in two-hour documentary film.

Typical Republi-con, trying to advance their political careers on the the Reagan myth.

With Mitt, Mike, Donald, and Newt flopping or quitting, "a whiny drama queen" gets a second chance. Read FITSNews, Sarah Palin Is Back.

Call the Republi-CON Bluff

UPDATE II: It is your choice, "Government can keep its current promises, undertake the complicated and often frustrating work of bringing health costs under control, and work for the day when everyone has health insurance. Or it can ask individuals to carry an ever-heavier load, expect invisible hands to perform miracles and leave Americans to take their chances with the insurance companies." Read the Washington Post, Why Paul Ryan is losing the Medicare argument.


UPDATE: For more on the public reaction to the Republi-con 'every man for himself' governing philosophy, read the Washington Post, Republicans continue to be their own worst enemy.

As I stated before, the Naive-ocrats have been too stupid to call the bluff -- give the public what it claims it wants until they don't want it anymore.

Because they really don't want what the Republi-cons propose.

Just ask Jane Corwin.

Read the Washington Post, Democrat Hochul wins N.Y. special House election and The New York Times, G.O.P. on the Defensive as Voters Resist Medicare Plan, which noted: "voters like the idea of budget cuts, but that they often recoil when those cuts threaten the programs that touch their lives."

A Blues Error

UPDATE: "The commanding officer of the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron was relieved of command by chief of naval air training May 27. " Read the press release.

"The Blue Angels [canceled] a practice and show this week at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., days after announcing a safety standown after four of the six jets flew below a specified altitude at" an airshow in Lynchburg, VA.

Watch the four plane diamond formation loop filmed on Saturday, and compare it to Sunday's performance:

The Y Generation

From and email:

You don't know how true this is:

- People born before 1946 were called The Silent generation.
- People born between 1946 and 1964 are called The Baby Boomers.
- People born between 1965 and 1979 are called Generation X.
- And people born between 1980 and 2010 are called Generation Y.

Why do we call the last group Generation Y?

Y should I get a job?
Y should I leave home and find my own place?
Y should I get a car when I can borrow yours?
Y should I clean my room?
Y should I wash and iron my own clothes?
Y should I buy any food?

But a cartoonist explained it very eloquently below...

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

Local Business Shout-Out: Polka-dots Retro Toys & Gifts, with stores in Milton (5227 Willing Street) and Panama City Beach (Pier Park), FL, classic toys of the 60s and earlier... cap guns, tiddlywinks, troll dolls, jacks, die cast metal cars, wooden tops, Chinese jump ropes and so much more, they have my Five Star recommendation!


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: don't be duped by the Birthers, HEK 293 and rumor-mongering by Steve, ask him if he has renounced all 'commonplace scientific experiments in universities, hospitals, and commercial labs', Friday sycophants and their fear of debating (he who can not be mentioned listens and complains all the time);


Local and regional: Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer vacation season, but where's the rain, BP filed a motion to dismiss many spill claims saying that "they are pre-empted by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990", and what yahoo picked Blue Wahoos?;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, and let's admit the obvious, the Republi-CONs are not serious about deficits, and now they are juggling the books,

call the Republi-CON bluff,

and then there were ??, and she's back, the party of Richard Nixon,

is the Hedgehog News investment worthless?,

and speaking of narcissistic politicians (opportunists playing to outrage while taking care of themselves. . . [with] nothing to offer but honeyed words, the syrup for suckers), there is the 'Love Child Father' who could have been President,

who needs sympathetic human emotion. . . reason is everything, religion is a fraud, selfishness is a virtue, altruism is a crime against human excellence, self-sacrifice is weakness, weakness is contemptible?, or does survival depend as much on cooperation as it does on a competition between self-interests?,

MEN, you can't live with them, and you can't kill them,

whoops, math error, not it's 148 days til the end of the world, again,

great wealth and unhappiness,

Republi-cons continue the big lie theory regarding the usefulness of torture, McCain says don't believe it,

part of the Republi-CON "Not Intended to be a Factual Statement" and "Misinformation" Propaganda Industry,

the Middle East mess and the hope for democracy, and Christians and Muslims clashing in Egypt, Syria attempting to crush its democracy rebellion and Palestinians climbing over fences into Israel — the best we can do now is manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable, time for a serious peace policy combined with a serious energy policy, and why are Republi-CONs undermining U.S. military and foreign policy objectives, after year of incessant moral blackmail regarding Iraq, when the U.S. has the power to do something constructive, and Gaddafi is good reason to try it, he reaffirms my support for an openly debated and conducted assassination policy for rogue dictators,

so you don't believe in global warming, then explain what happens to 35 gigatons of CO2 each year,

the health care industry bottom-line, the reason Republi-con want to repeal the new health care law, the nation’s bloated annual health-care tab would swell by more than $4 billion" after a company raised the price of a medicine from $20 to $1,500 per dose, and bad news for health care law opponents,

the benefits of a modern secular legal system, don't read your spouse's email, or record her conversations, you can kill a rat, but not a hamster, is it a crime to have a false persona,

you're so wonderful, not,

and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fun stuff: Husband Day Care, cute little cats in 'It Could Be Worse', Mission Impossible, Squirrel Edition, and Escapa, and posting tomorrow, The Y Generation, don't miss it;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

Great Wealth and Unhappiness

For much of her life, she lived in "a world of unlimited wealth [and isolation] . . . a recluse for more than 75 years, rarely seen even by the people who worked for her.' Read the Washington Post, Huguette Clark, copper heiress and recluse, dies at 104.

Husband Day Care

From and email:

Is the Hedgehog News Investment Worthless?

As noted before, Hedgehog News owns the Republi-con party.

But, while "[t]he circus Roger Ailes created at [Hedgehog News] made his network $900 million last year . . . it may have lost him something more important: the next election." Read New York Magazine, The Elephant in the Green Room, which notes:

"[W]ith an actual presidential election on the horizon, the Fox candidates’ poll numbers remain dismally low (Sarah Palin is polling 12 percent; Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, 10 percent and 2 percent, respectively). Ailes’s candidates-in-waiting were coming up small. And, for all his programming genius, he was more interested in a real narrative than a television narrative—he wanted to elect a president. All he had to do was watch Fox’s May 5 debate in South Carolina to see what a mess the field was—a mess partly created by the loudmouths he’d given airtime to and a tea party he’d nurtured."

It Could Be Worse

From an email, as told by cats:

Your day could be worse . . .

First you could have had trouble getting out of bed:




Or, you could have had a stiff neck:




Your new diet really might not be working out:




You could have pulled a muscle when you tried to exercise:




Your new hat could have looked better on you at the store:




You could keep losing things:




You could have got caught in the rain at lunchtime:




Then the lunch you had, might not have agreed with you:




You could feel trapped:




You could have uninvited guests at dinnertime:



(Yes, those are skunks!)


On top of that, you could be coming down with the flu:




And finally, you could be alone in the house at night when you think you hear a noise in the basement:




Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will broadcast today from 4:05 to 6:00 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line.

Topics:

Local Business Shout-Out: H & H Power Sports & Lawn Equipment, 7 W Nine One Half Mile Rd, Pensacola, FL, (850) 479-2872, they have my Five Star recommendation!


Follow-up to fact-free fantasies: don't be duped by the Birthers;


Local and regional: Evers just helpin kin folk, and is a local top employer is taking the 525 jobs overseas, after years of government subsidies;


National and international: I'm waiting, where's the balanced budget, don't hold you breath because the Republi-CONs Con the Tea Party, there'll be no $100 billion budget cut, and let's admit the obvious, the Republi-CONs are not serious about deficits, and now they are juggling the books

3 days til the end of the world, again,

MEN, you can't live with them, and you can't kill them,

and then there were ??, and she's back, the party of Richard Nixon,

who needs sympathetic human emotion. . . reason is everything, religion is a fraud, selfishness is a virtue, altruism is a crime against human excellence, self-sacrifice is weakness, weakness is contemptible?, or does survival depend as much on cooperation as it does on a competition between self-interests?

Republi-cons continue the big lie theory regarding the usefulness of torture, McCain says don't believe it,

part of the Republi-CON "Not Intended to be a Factual Statement" and "Misinformation" Propaganda Industry,

the Middle East mess and the hope for democracy, and Christians and Muslims clashing in Egypt, Syria attempting to crush its democracy rebellion and Palestinians climbing over fences into Israel — the best we can do now is manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable, time for a serious peace policy combined with a serious energy policy, and why are Republi-CONs undermining U.S. military and foreign policy objectives, after year of incessant moral blackmail regarding Iraq, when the U.S. has the power to do something constructive, and Gaddafi is good reason to try it, he reaffirms my support for an openly debated and conducted assassination policy for rogue dictators,

after the devastation in Japan, you should support better, not just less, government,

so you don't believe in global warming, then explain what happens to 35 gigatons of CO2 each year,

the health care industry bottomline, the reason Republi-con want to repeal the new health care law, the nation’s bloated annual health-care tab would swell by more than $4 billion" after a company raised the price of a medicine from $20 to $1,500 per dose, and bad news for health care law opponents,

and who pushing a health care policy his family stands to profit from immensely, and did you know, the Republi-CONs secretly support Obamacare,

the benefits of a modern secular legal system, don't read your spouse's email, or record her conversations, you can kill a rat, but not a hamster, is it a crime to have a false persona,

you're so wonderful, not,

and 'The Great Stagnation' and our broken political system;


Fun stuff: why men are just happier people, read the witticisms!, Mission Impossible, Squirrel Edition, and Escapa;

and

Donate to a good cause: help the friends of a former instructor at the Naval EOD school at Eglin Air Force Base, Gunnery Sgt. John Hayes, who was detachment company gunnery sergeant from June 2007 to June 2010 and taught several courses and was recently wounded in Afghanistan.

I'll discuss anything, but expect a no mercy take down if you are a shrieking hatemonger of right-wing rhetoric and partisan hackery, pandering to fear, anger and hatred, because the truth sure makes it hard out there for the party pimps.

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth and some ass kickin' discussion of politics and current events.

The Party of Richard Nixon

"There is more than a little Richard Nixon in Gingrich — the same lack of place, the same keen intellect, the same petty fights and imaginary enemies, the same hallucinatory grievances, the same willingness to lie, exaggerate and smear. On a given day, Newt Gingrich could be a brilliant president. On any night, he could be a monster." Read the Washington Post, Newt Gingrich, the Pinocchio candidate.

Just in Time for Easter, a Movie About the Gospel of Rand

UPDATE: Au contraire you heartless Republi-cons. "Developments in the study of evolution suggest that the survival of the fittest depends as much on cooperation as it does on a competition between self-interests." Read The New York Times, Nice Guys Finish First.

Who needs "sympathetic human emotion. . . Reason is everything. Religion is a fraud. Selfishness is a virtue. Altruism is a crime against human excellence. Self-sacrifice is weakness. Weakness is contemptible." Read the Washington Post, Ayn Rand’s adult-onset adolescence.