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Boehner, budget, Christian nation, cutgo, economy, foreign policy, founding fathers, GOP, History, Independents, Military, paygo, War
Yesterday was a day of being oot and aboot getting some things done. More on that perhaps in a future giggle post. But today, I was eager to (ready for a new metaphor?) get back in the saddle. So here we go!
Oh those sneaky snakes! Yeah, the GOP. ‘Member how those Bushites managed to turn a surplus into a HUGE deficit? Yeah, I knew you remembered. Well they did it by reversing a Democratic policy called “paygo”. Paygo required than any new program or tax cut be offset by cuts or tax increases in other programs that offset the new costs.
Well the Rethugs don’t like it. During the Bush years they went to cutgo, which means you can’t pass new legislation without cutting somewhere, BUT it ignores tax cuts. That’s why the Bush tax cuts blew out the deficit to unprecedented proportions.
When Obama took over, we went back to Paygo. Well guess what Boehner plans to do after the apparent takeover of the House? Yep. Read it all at Crooks and Liars. They will try to force through the Bush tax cuts without offset and grow the deficit even more. Nice huh?
How will this sit with the new teabugger caucus in Congress? My guess is that most of them are slightly too stupid to ever get it. So much for ranting about the deficit.
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Just saw numbers in Nevada and Kentucky. I’m afraid that unreal idiot Angle is going to win. Well the GOP deserves such idiots I guess. Same for Rand Paul. It’s getting too late for much change now, and Reed is actually losing ground.
Speaking of which, we don’t intend to watch the returns. I figure we are going to lose badly and figure I’d just as soon get hit hard in the face on Wednesday morning rather than bleeding to death slowly over the night. I think we may Star Wars our way through, just popping in now and again just in case the Universe tilts wildly and we actually do much better than expected.
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Don’t know about you, but my food bill is getting out of hand. I decided to make some changes. First I’m going to go to a month menu plan. Harder is some respects and easier in others. First I can eliminate all Sundays, but then I have to account for leftovers. I realized the dogs were getting a lot of leftovers, which means I’m cooking too much, not preserving it or using up the rest in new creations. That will be the difficult thing–accounting for leftovers. Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you posted. A strict monitoring of food spending will tell if I’m doing any better.
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It comes as no surprise I assume those who declare war have very often never been to one. Only about 30% of Congress has been in the service. There are a couple of new books out on our “war strategy” and how we seem in a perpetual state of war these days, and have for decades now. The Chronicle has a fine review and, well it’s an important article that you shouldn’t miss. It explains why the religious right is also so damned gung-ho when it comes to war. Sick as that is. Forty percent of the ranks are filled with Southerners for instance. Best line comes from a comment:
The society that separates its scholars from warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools. ~~Thucydides
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I saw an interesting poll. It suggested that Independents are going Republican this year. No surprise there. What is of interest is that something like 47% of them, don’t trust the GOP. So this is mostly a protest against the Obama administration not doing enough, and fast enough to suit them. The Rethugs won’t do anything they like, and they will swing back the next cycle. We are a bunch of lemmings.
And while I’m at it, let me say this, again, if I haven’t already. Some few independents are philosophically motivated to be such. They think deeply, study, and vote probably mostly for one party but occasionally for superior “other” candidates. Most independents are know-nothings who simply blow with the wind. Today it’s blowing against the Democrats, and so they vote that way. They have picked up a few odd phrases which they mumble if asked, but truly they have no clue. (end of rant)
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A poll of chimpanzees and gorillas and orangutans finds that only one percent think Obama is a Muslim. The other 99% just think him uncommonly homely for a bipedal hominid. When asked, they uniformly thought the “hairlessness” of his type most unbecoming and immodest.
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It never gets old it seems. The religious wackodoodles are constantly trying to “inform” us that the Founding Fathers (FF’s) set up a Christian nation, governed by a Christian Constitution. The religionists, led by David Barton, pseudo-“historian”, leads the way. Well, how about a reasoned and learned response from law professor, Steven K. Green, writing in Cardoza Law Review—Understanding the “Christian Nation” Myth.
And by the by, just so we are clear. What David Barton does is called “proof-texting.” What that is is simply mining letters and writings for quotable quotes that appear to support your pet theory. They are out of context and show no actual understanding of the actual beliefs and arguments present. Often the quotes are asides, having little to do with the main subject of the writing. It is not legitimate historical research.
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Later Dude
Related Articles
- Get to know ‘Cutgo’ (washingtonmonthly.com)
- David Barton: Con Law Expert? [Dispatches from the Culture Wars] (scienceblogs.com)
- Will The GOP Reduce The Deficit? (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)