So there is a deal

of sorts in the "debt crisis".  More or less, the Right caved. They did keep from raising taxes, it seems, and yet they got cuts that take effect AFTER the elections (or so reports at this stage are saying).

Fuck 'em. They negotiated everything away to the socialist Statist leftist Won "One".

Yeah, they've slowed the increase in the deficit spending. So what?

Think of it this way.....You are falling from the Empire state building....you WERE falling at the rate of 20 floors per second.....Then you feel a uplififting wind..... Now your rate of descent is only 10 floors per second....Has your situation improved?

That is the state of our economy with this new "deal".We re gonna end up like Greece, writ large.

I would never say that the legislators of this country should be stood up against a wall and shot....I don't want to become the focus of an investigation by the Secret Service....So I won't say it.

Y'know....

I had this long winded diatribe against our political leaders worked up and then NEWBIUS goes and cut the long winded part out and cuts to the chase.....

Yeah, what he said. In spades.

Fair share

The Prez want us to pay our "fair share"....

How much is fair? How much is fair for those of us who DO pay taxes....20% of our income? 30%? 50%? How much is "fair"....Those of us who do pay taxes get up and work generally at least 40 hours per week. (many times well in excess of that number).

How much is fair for the currently 43+% that pay no taxes whatsoever? How much is fair for those who actually take from the government (and therefore the rest of us) without giving anything in return?
I fully realize that the actual dollar amount that those with low incomes would pay under our current tax rates would be miniscule, but still, where should we draw the line?

Those who make in excess of $100K actually work......and generally, make good decisions in order to live well. They generally work hard, and do the right things in order to keep that job (or own their own business which likely entails even more sacrifice on their part to earn a living). Yes, they don't have as much trouble meeting their bills, BUT THEY WORK FOR THE LIFESTYLE THEY HAVE and THEY DON"T MAKE STUPID DECISIONS that would end up losing them that comfortable existence. Few just sit there. They already pay taxes. They already share their income (and therefore their hard work) with the other 43% of our society who, for one reason or another, don't work.

Most of our "Poor" and "Starvin" and "underprivileged" have made decisions which put them in the position that they exist in. Few who get government housing, or welfare, or other largess from the taxpayers actually do anything to take advantage of the handouts in order to get ahead in their place in society. Few actually learn a trade, or get an education which would lead to a decent job. Most just receive their income from the taxpayers and live...never improving themselves. To a large extent, "poverty" is a cultural issue.

So really. How much is a fair share? How many hours of your life are you willing to take from your and your loved ones and give to others who don't work? Who don't contribute? Who are not productive? How many more hours are you willing to let them steal from you in order to let someone else slack? It's not like they are willing (or required) to perform even a few hours of community service in order to get those handouts from you and I. It's not like they must even (except for IIRC, Florida) even prove that they are drug free like the productive members of our society must do in order to get our paychecks....

Again, since a significant portion of our citizenry fails to in any way contribute to the wealth and productivity of our society, and in fact consumes while getting special treatment with absolutely no effort to contribute.... How much is a "fair share"?

I am sure that that meme sells well in the inner cities of "blue" states, but all it does is piss off those of us who already contribute our time and effort, voluntarily or not.

Word

Read

He's right.

Busy

I tried to call my senators today. (calling my congressman is a waste of time, as he is a party hack and will vote the party line no matter what his constituents might think)..

One had a "Please hold, we'll get to you as soon as we feel like it" message, but did eventually come on line and ask what I wanted. If you've been reading this blog for long, you know what my comments were regarding the "budget debate".

The other senators number just goes to voice mail. "we are experiencing heavy calls today....please, leave us a message to ignore as soon as we have time to do so". And I tried twice an hour apart.

At least we constituents are having our say. Now if our comments could only be heard......

let us compromise

Here's the deal:

You have money. I don't.We need to come to some accommodation
You give me all your money.

No?

Ok, Lets compromise....I'll meet you halfway. I'll only take half. And one of your cars too....

Yeah, it's like that.

Start out with an outrageous position, then work towards a "compromise".

Right

You should read this too.

The fact is that those of us who are for non government interference in the marketplace have a better track record that the socialists statists progressives.

HT: Scotty

If I only had

$350K to spare, I'd think long and hard about buying this

"30 years....

of jacking us off"

You really should read THIS.

HEH

Congress Continues Debate Over Whether Or Not Nation Should Be Economically Ruined

Sadly, even the Onion can't make this funny. 

Y'know....

I sorta actually hope that the Fed fails to make a monthly Social Security payment.....This will then be a default of the Social Security system. Which would allow me (and no doubt many others) to be able to stop paying into Social Security.....And demand what we have put in to the system back...in cash. We'd likely never get interest on the amount already stolen deducted, but we could likely get the actual contribution back.... At least then I could invest it into something which I could control and which could generate a decent rate of return....

Yeah, I know, pipe dreams.

I have come to the conclusion

That the issue in Washington regarding the budget and our current rate of increasing the debts is not going to be resolved:

1. The folks doing the negotiating are apparently insane on one side and stupid on the other. Neither side appears to be rational, nor do they accept that the issue is one of spending too much money. They apparently don't realize the disaster that they are driving us towards...Or perhaps they don't care. Either way, we as a country crash and burn.

2. This will not end well. The issue seems to be not if the free money machine explodes, but rather when. These folks seem to believe that they can kick the can down the road, and keep their jobs in the meantime. The only issue is that they will be wealthy enough to weather the shitsorm that ensues, but the rest of us will not. And they really don't care.

3. It would appear that neither side really cares for much more than theatrics. Political theater.

4. The best thing that could happen to the country would be for a Tom Clancy like disaster to happen during a joint session of congress presided over by Mr. Obama and attended by Joe Biden. With the resulting wholesale change of leadership.

So I just

Got my first political call of the election season.....Disguised as a "survey", When the push to tell me all about the incumbent's virtues fell on deaf ears, the tried to go with "perhaps he'll be able to convince you about his conservatism in the next few moths leading up to the election" gambit......Whereupon I pointed out that his voting record for the previous years was obviously NOT conservative....

I then suggested we get back to the next of the 20 questions....She asked the big one..."For whom would I vote in the republican primary"? My reply: "Anyone but your guy...Quite possibly, I'd vote for the South End of a northbound horse rather than vote for your guy...not that there is much difference"...

Seems that when push came to shove, there were only three questions in the survey, not 20. If I wouldn't play the game by their rules, and let them preach the virtues of their candidate, they didn't really want to hear my opinion on the rest....Maybe it'll keep 'em from calling me back?

And why did we let the politicians exempt themselves from honoring the Do Not Call list? 

Let it shut down

No, seriously.

Shut it down.

Why wait? I mean, if we are gonna have to save money, then lets start NOW. If yer gonna stop sending out old people's Social Security checks, then start right now. Let the screaming begin.

And BTW, I thought that the Social Security money was all tied up in the "lockbox"...where it would be safe from plundering by evil Democrats and such...Or is that "lockbox" really just full of Hot Air? Empty promises? Unredeemable IOU's? If that money is gone,  then you've lied to us all those years.....and I'm gonna quit sending you money from my checks from this point forward, 'cause you've reneged on you contract. So I think I'll take my money and put it in another retirement fund. 'cause you'll have proven that my money is not safe, and is not covered by the "full faith and credit of the United States"....Which is worth exactly NOTHING. forget about any of us 40 somethings, or 30 somethings, or even 20 somethings ever trusting you with all that money from our paychecks ever again.

Or were you folks lying when you said you'd have to cut off the check that is the only thing that keeps grandma and Old Mrs. Oleary from being tossed in the street and forced to eat dog food to survive or whatever.

As far as the rest of the government, shut it down. We'll soon find out what portions are really needed to keep the country operating, and then we'll know which parts we don't need....so we can cut the rest down to size and get rid of all the waste that apparently takes place and save all that money.

Look: I fully expect the conservatives republicans Stupid Party to cave in at the last minute. But I hope that they won't.

Lets find out which parts of our government are really needed....then trash the rest.

I think I see the issue in the debt ceiling talks:

on the one hand, we have the socialists. Their issue is that we aren't spending enough, and to cut any programs or agencies would be bad because many people are dependent on the money put into the economy by the government. The issue is that the government must give money to the "people", be they "productive" or not. Those who are "disadvantaged" still need their handouts. Most of the other government employees need to have a government job because otherwise their standard of living would decrease. Most (not all) government workers couldn't hack it in a real, private sector, productive, results oriented type of work environment. In other words, depend on the government....

And, BTW, your hard earned dollars really belong to the government and "professional politicians". We don't have a spending issue, we have a lack of proper tax levels.

On the other hand, we have the conservatives: We are spending too much. We don't really need this many government programs, most of which are of dubious value anyway. They do keep people employed, but at a great cost per worker. We need to let people in the private sector keep more of their money. Those who live off of the largesse of the productive portion of our citizens should be happy with what they get, and if they don't like it, should get their own source of income...
And, BTW, your hard earned dollars are yours, and you shouldn't have to give so many to the government to spend wastefully The issue isn't a lack of taxes, but rather a lack of restraint when spending other peoples money.They only support raising the debt limit when it is for military or infrastructure spending under a Republican president..

Have I got it right?

From comments:

North said...

"But 2012 IS coming up." Everyone keeps saying Obama is Kenyan. I say he is Mayan and his calendar is running out.

Updte on the Para

Got it back a few weeks ago, approximately in the time frame which was promised.

Paperwork says that it got a new extractor and assorted other parts. Claims that they shot 50 rounds with no issues.

Might even be true.

The pistol was DIRTY when I got it. Very. I think they put a new barrel on it too.

Anyway, time has been short here recently, and I have only put about 37 rounds through it. So far, no issues. The extractor appears to be fine.

We shall see.

Hey, congress!

And, of course, Mr. Obama:

Folks: we really don't care how you do it. Cut the cost of government.

I understand that making drastic changes will be a Bad Thing if done too quickly...Bad for the economy, and bad for the country.....But you gotta start somewhere, so make some cuts and then make a few more every year until things get better.....

Start by cutting all of the social programs Midnight Basketball and Cowboy Poetry are nice things, if you can afford them....But we can't.  Not cuts that take place in 2014, (or 2075!) Do IT Now. Immediate cuts. Cut "entitlements". Drastically. Cut each department paid by federal money by 10%. It is a start. Show you are serious. No paper cuts. Immediate cuts

Now for the hard part....In the near future (like starting 2012) cut unneeded departments say, starting 2012 and for the next five years, cut the budgets of the Department of ED, the Department of Energy, BATF(E), USDA, HHS and HUD by 10% per year for the next 5 years. Then find out where you can combine or eliminate these departments. While they may actually do good things, most of their mission is merely providing jobs for people. We actually get little or no value for the dollars we spend on these departments.Cut such things as FDA and EPA to their basic needs to fulfill their original charter, and get them back to what their original mission statement was....and no more. Think seriously about shutting down NASA and NOAA. Same with the Army Corps of Engineers projects. Few of those work out well anyway, do they? If floods happen, then people will move.  End agricultural subsidies and such. Eliminate things like Ethanol subsidies and "green energy" grants and such. If a project is valid and viable, it'll happen without subsidies. AND WE CAN'T AFFORD this sort of bullshit.

Immediately suspend and eliminate all foreign aid. ALL. Every last cent. Stop it immediately. Cut back on the military personnel at all those bases. Why are we still in Korea? Germany? Japan? Spain? ....Cut the staffing at those bases by a significant amount and put many of those bases into caretaker/mothball status. If NATO nations want our defense, then they can pay for it. They have lived under the umbrella of security provided by the US (under the guise of NATO) for nearly 50 years, and spent their money building a more socialized state (which is currently collapsing) instead of paying for their own defense. Time to pay the piper...

Reign in spending. Set limits for spending. Make them law. Law that cannot be easily changed.

If all of that takes place, then begin to talk about tax increases. But only if EVERY citizen begins to pay taxes.

Until you do these things, it is all just words.

And We Citizens are getting tired of the bullshit. And the lies.

Interesting

I cannot find anything to refute THIS.

It's like the real life incarnation of all those emails that get forwarded over and over and over and over...

Scary

I figger

That Obama just walked out of the budget talks to show that HE can do it too...

and, of course, he OBVIOUSLY doesn't play poker.

I'm losing ever increasing respect for him daily.

Yeah...

He's right. (follow the link)


But the thing is, the GOP lacks testicles. And intestinal fortitude.

And I expect them to cave (again). 

But 2012 IS coming up. We'll remember.

Maybe we can do something about it then.

Whoah!

You should READ THIS.

Srsly.

Kyle....Yer doing it wrong

I know you want to join the Mile-High club and all...

But:


Seriously...Dude. Yer doing it wrong.

True today, in spades

"We don't have a trillion dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion dollar debt because we spend too much.

Ronald Reagan, March, 1982

If it wasn't so cold there....

I'd move to Iceland.

I cannot believe

That the ONE said that we citizens should just shut up and "let the professional politicians handle this" budget crisis.

Actually, I can believe that he said it, I am just surprised that he would let his elitist feelings show in a press conference....

Look, you arrogant bastard: We mere citizens can figure the ins and outs of the budget issues as well as you. We see how well your policies have worked, we see the effect that the deficit is having on our dollar. We understand what the issues are. We see the effects every time we fill up our cars with fuel or go to the grocery store. You are insulated from that. You've never worked a day in your life for your own money, and you've apparently never had to worry about making a mortgage or car payment, or how you are gonna make the choice between food for your family and paying rent. You've never seen the buying power of your hard work evaporate daily.

Shut the fuck up and deal with the issues. It isn't a revenue issue, but rather a spending issue. You'd like "more programs". You'd like to target some portions of the citizenry for special treatment. You'd like to have everyone pay their "fair share" (whatever that really means). First stop spending to much.

And yes, I understand that you think that I am stupid, me and my fellow citizens...the great unwashed. Those of us in flyover country who cling bitterly to our guns and religion. But we aren't as uninformed as you give us credit for. If you can only get 24% of the people to poll in favor of your policies, then it ISN'T a communication issue. We understand what you wish to do. And we reject it.

While I understand that you think that a majority of the taxpayers and voters (not always the same group, but with a lot of overlap) have intelligence and judgement issues  (You fooled enough with your "Hope and Change" bullshit after all) to have voted you into office, but really, we aren't all entirely stupid, and we can(and have) balanced a budget enough to get by in our own lives.....And we can understand the bigger picture enough to know that you are, quite honestly, full of shit in your plan to somehow fix the issues with our economy. And we repudiate you 65-24%.

Update:
Althouse has the text that I couldn't find earlier...

Poorly sourced....

And for that, I apologize. But internet rumor has it that the ORIGINAL typewritten birth certificate  for the ONE has been subpoenaed...by the US District Court in Honolulu....

Interesting, to say the least....


We shall see.

Why they'll never get ahead...

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition.

And he is an idiot.  

Don't believe me? Read this.

It's not the black culture (such as it is)...It's not the lack of fathers....It's not the fact that a significant percentage of black men have felony records (yeah, all the fault of the white man's justice system....). It's not the fault of the welfare mentality which leads to all of the above....

Nah. It is the fault of the white man. Every other race succeeds...every other minority group  is able to become a part of the system and succeed. Except the one that everyone makes excuses for. 

There are many successful black men and women. I used to work for one. He taught me a lot. In fact, he was an inspiration for me....He accepted NO excuses from anyone. Do the job or get out. If you need help or don't understand, ask..... But race, gender, orientation, etc had no bearing on how or if you were expected to complete your job...And he felt that those who make excuses because of race or gender or other reasons demeaned that race or gender. Capability and motivation led to success....or failure. Following the rules and not getting arrested helped too.

And he was one of the most capable men I knew. Every person of color I have ever known who was willing to work and not make excuses for his failure to succeed every time, and who has not taken the easy way out has found a significant measure of success.

Dr. Boyce, on the other hand, makes excuses for the failures of his races culture to succeed in the US. Blames it on everyone except those who fail. 

And thereby adds to the problem for the next generation. 

Guess that this post makes me a racist...

"if you can keep it"

“Well Doctor, what do we have, a republic or a monarchy?” asked Mrs. Powell of Benjamin Franklin.  “A Republic,” replied Doctor Franklin, “if you can keep it.”.


I think we have failed to keep it. 


If you don't know where the quote is from, then I feel sorry for you. If you don't, then you are a part of the problem. 


Google it to find the whole story. Or not. Up to you. 

Principles

Something to think about.

Worth the (short) read.

No free ice cream (bumped)

I apparently have overdosed on Fucktiall and I got nothing to say about anything.....

Hope you have a good Fourth weekend......But please, remember the reason for the celebration.

It ain't all about burgers and beer, and pretty lights on the sky after dusk accompanied by loud booms. It's not about a three day weekend....

It's about Freedom...and that which makes this country great...A statement on parchment and sent to the king of England.... that began the greatest nation on earth:



"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."
If you haven't, (or haven't recently) then I urge you...Read the whole thing.

Now think what those 56 men risked when they affixed their signatures to that letter to the King.

And think about what they would do were they here today. What would they think of us, sitting passively and letting that great future slip away?

Now you can go enjoy your burgers and beer and such.

Anyone have Wayne LaPierre's home number?

'cause I'd like to call the SOB and give him a piece of my mind.  In fact, I'd like to interrupt his peaceful enjoyment of life on a Saturday...Actually, I'd like to punch him in the nose.

I already am a member (have to be because It Is Required for membership in my local range)....I already donate (for me) significant money to the PAC part of the NRA.

But these stupid fuckers are calling me at home wanting more money. They had my telephone number and my name.... Being a member, they had all the information to give to someone who called me. On a Saturday.

Thereby damaging my serenity and my peaceful enjoyment of life.... I don't EVER donate money to people who call me on weekends. Ever. I will continue to be a member because I have to.....But the NRA will never see another dime beyond my membership fee. Not one single thin devalued by Obama dime.

Jesus H. Gunwalking Christ....at what point don't they think that we have donated enough? They are like liberals. Always with their hand out. Always wanting Someone Else's money....If they need money that badly then they can forgo their nearly daily mailings to my address. That should save about $100 per year in postage and paper....But it'll make it harder to keep the woodstove lit....

Free at last

Cory Maye is finally getting released.

Another victim of the war on drugs and no knock raids.