Because the "fiscal cliff" has now been averted owing to a last minute (well, about a day or so past the last minute) deal which essentially gives Barack Obama everything he wanted, and in return gives Republicans the label formerly reserved for Carlsbad Caverns: "America's Biggest Cave."
The Senate passed the first draft of the plan, patched together by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and VP Joe "Hysterical Laughter" Biden, which called for raising taxes on the evil, scumsucking rich, and lowering deficits by making broad spending cuts to...uh...
Oh wait! The spending cuts are negligible, and the Senate plan actually adds over $300 billion in brand new spending!
This plan then moved to the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, where Tea Party conservatives looked at it like a turd in a punchbowl. Because a plan which raises taxes (thereby injuring the economy) and raises spending (thereby injuring future generations) is no compromise at all: it's simply the economy-destroying nightmare that Obama has been demanding.
And while a majority of Republicans voted "no" on the plan - it still passed the House by getting the votes of some alleged Republicans, virtually all of the Democrats, and useless Speaker of the House John "Crybaby" Boehner.
SOoooo, income taxes go up for those earning $400k or more, their capital gains taxes go up, government spending goes up, and no real cuts are made. And remember the sequestration cuts which were supposed to go into effect to finally, finally force politicians to make spending cuts? The morons in Washington have decided to postpone it for a couple of months, at which point additional postponements will be enacted so often that everyone will get distracted by the impending birth of Kim Kardashian's bastard child and forget politics and economics altogether.
But that's not all! As a bonus, the bill grants an extra year of unemployment benefits to thank all of the folks who voted for Barry! Hey, money is no object when it comes to thanking the little people - especially when it's someone else's money.
So just how much "deficit reduction" did this "deficit reduction emergency bill" achieve? According to the CBO, it actually adds another $4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. D'oh!!!
Some Republican pinheads, who may or may not be named Lindsey Graham, have said that it was important for the GOP to grab their ankles, sell out the American people, and give up any semblance of principle this time around so they could "save the fight for the debt ceiling."
In all due respect, we strongly disagree with Senator Graham and the horse he rode in on. We shouldn't save our strength for "a" fight - we should fight every fight tooth and nail. We should fight about taxes, about deficit reduction, about the debt ceiling, about immigration policy, about the 2nd Amendment, about Obamacare, and about everything else that is destroying our country.
But by "saving their strength," the moderates and RINOs in the GOP simply showed Barack Obama that they collectively have no strength - and so the fight over the debt ceiling is lost before it begins, as will be the case with the fight after that, and after that, ad nauseum.
Hope n' Change knows that at New Year's it's tradition to drop the ball...we just wish it had been restricted to Times Square instead of the House of Representatives.
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| Joe Biden, co-author of the "Compromise" Plan, asks people to guess which finger smells like Mitch McConnell and which smells like John Boehner. |
Oh but this time the media will like them, wanna be their buddies, and say really nice things about them. This time charlie brown you can trust lucy not to pull the football away. Yeah that's the ticket.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Democratic Republic of America comrades!
ReplyDeleteI go back to my original premise of "Throw all the B******s Out" in 2014, but with the media destroying the people and families of any who would dare oppose the liberal progressive mantra, what sane person would run? But I pray that there are enough just insane enough to want to try. People laughed when Kinky Friedman ran for Governor, but I swear he probably would have made a better elected official than 99% of the ones in office.
ReplyDeleteI have some more thoughts at Grumpy Curmudgeon.
I have saved my RNC 2013 Membership Statement for this day. I only registered Republican in the last election cycle because it seemed like the default for someone with a libertarian/fiscal conservative philosophy. So much for that. I have a few choice comments for the form requesting $275, and luckily I haven't run out of toilet paper.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, what a wonderful way to go back to work after almost 2 weeks off. I don't even ride light rail, so I can't hope for someone to push me in front of a train.
Well, that was a disappointment, and now we have another victory lap to Aloha-landistan. I did see a Rep from LA on Fox this morning who had an interesting POV. He may be an outgoing; however, his focus was not on the tax hike outrage and criticizing Boner & company, but rather on the spending and it's inevitable result of destruction. Message seemed to be: keep the focus on the spending only in the coming days - it's an indefensible position to add trillions more in the next 16, er, 4 years.
ReplyDelete@REM1875- Some in the MSM will give fleeting approval to the RINOs, though the clinically insane Huffington Post is already complaining that the Dems caved by not demanding more. Then again, that may just be the HuffPo's way of giving cover to the RINOs.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous- Our great socialist leader is so magnificent, he can execute a "five year plan" in only four!
@SeaDog52- I agree that we should throw all the actual bums out (surely "b******s" means bums, right?) but need to point out that roughly 2/3 of the GOP housemembers told Boehner to shove this bill where the sun don't shine. Those guys we should not only keep, but send them a nice fruit basket.
@TrickyRicky- Now more than ever, I have no love for (nor affiliation with) the Republican party. I'm a Tea Party Conservative, although I'm happy to vote for Republicans who are in line with my beliefs.
And hey, at least you're going back to work. Some folks aren't that lucky and will have to spend yet another year watching their mailboxes to see when the Obama Money arrives.
@Grafton Cheddar- It's an indefensible position to add trillions more to the deficit, but there's no need to defend it. The MSM doesn't even ask those on the Left to justify this insanity- that's the sole province of Right-wing racists who can do math.
And as for B. Hussein immediately flying back to Hawaii, it's just another slap in the face to America. But on the bright side, their are mosquitoes in Hawaii which carry dengue fever. Stay thirsty, my little friends.
A pox on both their houses.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to seriously work on creating a third party that stands for old-fashioned ideas like liberty fiscal responsibility, and personal accountability.
And I'm rooting like hell for the mosquitoes. Even Joe Biden would be an improvement over that SCOAMF currently wasting oxygen in the White House, or Hawaii, or wherever...
Just wondering how much more O has cost the taxpayers by flying back & forth to Hawaii in order to "save the day". I heard a woman who lost everything say that even O, immediately after his re-election, said to give the people who suffered consequences of Hurricane Sandy $$ immediately. He always is credited by the masses with being the savior. It gets me so angry to hear how the masses believe his lies.
ReplyDeleteI also heard that the $$ scheduled for NJ, NY, & CT is on hold until the new Congress convenes. I wonder if the House did that because there is so much pork included in the Bill. That would be sensible even if the work cannot start until after it is finally approved.
Also - the addition to unemployment benefits - does this mean a person can collect for three years now?
This is just the beginning of his new term. To say I'm upset is an understatement.
Thanks, SJ, for the commentary. You are always so timely & ever so right.
As I predicted, the "fiscal cliff" was all theater. The real "cliff" I've mentioned before remains in the future, and although created by fiat, it will not be fixable by fiat. You are right @Stilton, this "deal" is a near-total fraud. It's reminiscent of the mistake the GOP made with the Democrats in 1981; tax cuts today for speculative spending cuts in the future that will never, ever happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's also a fine demonstration of how Orwellian the media has become. Here's a simple question that I'd like to see any talking head ask or answer with a straight face:
If the Bush tax cuts were so "immoral" and to be so decimating to the economy and deficit as the Democrats (Including Obama) told us a decade ago, then now with an umpteem-trillion-dollar deficit why are the Democrats now universally in favor in making them permanent? (albeit for only for 89% of Americans)
Every "real" issue affecting the long-term health of our country was kicked down the road. No entitlements left behind.
The only upside I see is that the fraudulently named "payroll tax cut" that actually short-changed your contribution to Social Security is gone.
Just heard some media talking head say that as far as real budget reform was concerned, "the country can't take right now".
If not now, then when? After it won't matter anymore?
Not sure which of Bonehead Bidens fingers smell like whom, but I'm pretty sure I know who his nose smells like.
ReplyDeleteI would bet that after this fiasco 'The One' will in a not so subtle way attempt to set himself up as ruler for life. He has already shown a complete disdain and disregard for the real America.
"I also heard that the $$ scheduled for NJ, NY, & CT is on hold until the new Congress convenes. I wonder if the House did that because there is so much pork included in the Bill."
ReplyDeleteThe curmudgeon in me says it's because there's NOT ENOUGH pork in it yet. New session, new congresscritters, new paybacks to throw in.
@CenTexTim- I frankly don't think a third party can get anything done either, if the majority of the country wants things that will be destructive in the long range (as is clearly the current case). Which is why I think we need the equivalent of a third party that operates outside of the political arena, and is instead an organizing entity for us to take economic action to exert pressure.
ReplyDelete@Irene Peduto- I read that B.Hussein's return to Hawaii is costing taxpayers an additional $7 million. All I can say is golf must be a helluva game to be worth that much.
I also read that despite his promise to cut through the red tape for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, Obama has done no such thing. Because he was lying.
Regarding unemployment benefits, I'm not sure if the term has now been extended to three years, or if the prezzie simply got congress to keep funding it at the current exhorbitant levels for another year. Either way, it's sad.
@John the Econ- You're right, of course. Kabuki theater and bull manure. And in answer to the question "if not now, when?" Washington resoundingly answers "never."
@American Cowboy- Obama, understandably buoyed by his total victory, has announced that he won't even talk to the GOP about the debt ceiling - let alone fight about it. And I don't know that Barry will even need to set himself up as lifetime leader by the end of his second term: the country may be changed enough that any team of bureaucrats can continue running it into the ground in his Holy image.
@rickn8or- Your sense of cynical skepticism strikes me as being entirely realistic.
Dr. Jarlsberg, Fellow Posters, a brief moment of your time if you can spare it,
ReplyDeleteMoney, taxes, fiscal cliff...?
All this downward spiral of America's financial situation was already a 'done deal' back in 2008 when that socialist turd was installed in the whitehouse. The 2012 re-election was just more of the same fecal trend in irresponsibility and destructiveness.
Money comes and goes. Life is all about feast or famine for those of us with 'boots on the ground' and as far as politicians taking the workers cash? That's what they do. And is a small matter when you consider
The real fight for our continued semblance of FREEDOM is stopping Frankenfinestein, 0, the rest of the libtard UN globalist agenda gang and their totalitarian scheme to destroy the 2ND AMENDMENT!!!
I can't stress this enough. The time where all this 'talk' of doing something to protect our RIGHTS is almost at an end, and the time of actually having to get our hands dirty, sacrifice all, and do for ourselves as "WE THE PEOPLE" what our elected officials can't be bothered with ie. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, LIBERTY, & FREEDOM, is here.
This is not a drill. This is not wild conspiracy theory. This is not crazy talk...
This is REAL. This is HAPPENING. This is the TREAT "WE THE PEOPLE" FACE.
This is not toothless old Slick Willie bucking a Conservative Congress with the Brady bill. No, Fellow Americans... This is a dangerous, ruthless, determined cabal of power hungry fiends who will stop at nothing, sink to any low, and force through whatever they want to secure their positions of Autocracy. Who hear believes that once they start legislation to ban guns and strip us of our 2nd Amendment Rights that they will stop at that?
This is a slippery slope that only leads to slavery... Both economic and the physically real forms of bondage.
We have seem our so-called representatives cave on the other important issues and libtard's god-king just push through everything else. And now that he has "more flexibility", what make anyone think that the attack on our ability to protect ourselves with fire arms will be any different?
Our Founding Fathers had the for sight to include these 27 necessary words as an amendment to the Constitution for just such a threat to our very Freedom... Whether from foreign invasion or more importantly... Our Own Rulers. Pay attention class;
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
I know this baffles the libtards, but as we know, their ability to handle Common Sense, Logic, and Reality has always been dubious at best.
I hope you all will give this matter a little thought amidst the agonizing over lost money we are all suffering.
Because once our right to defend ourselves is gone, all other will follow... And who really needs money in a government sponsored interment camp anyway?
And you don't have to hold degrees in history or philosophy (like myself) to know all this.
Thank you for you time.
What a way to start the new year. What a cast of characters (including Fiscal Cliff). The Keystone Kops are running the country (apologies to the Keystone Kops for the slam)!
ReplyDeleteSorry, but can someone please tell me what we are trying to save … and for whom?
ReplyDeleteAre we trying to save a republic that is forsaken liberty for a little security? And who are we saving it for? Is it for the 53% who voted for socialism and government largess? Or is it for the 40%+ of registered voters who opted to sit out the election rather than hold their noses and voting for the lesser of two evils? Or maybe it’s for the countless eligible but unregistered voters who choose to stay that way because, where they live, registering to vote gets you added to the Jury duty roster (heaven forbid they might get called for that civic duty)?
Let it go. It’s past time to face the sad truth that the first Republic is dead. As it finally crumbles, there will be some massively hard times ahead, and the majority will probably not survive it (including me). Those who do survive will be of a hardier stock, comparable to the pioneers and founders who were not afraid to work and were, however imperfectly, able to build a nation without handouts and hand-holding. It will take years, but the second Republic will rise and hopefully learn from the lessons of the past. We need smaller government; lawmakers don’t have to make laws that discriminate (and we need both fewer lawmakers and laws); the Constitution must be defended and any politician who is found to have violate any portion of it must be exiled or executed (if oaths have no consequences, what’s the point of the oath?).
Oh, and voters need to have skin in the game. Moochers and leaches need not apply to vote. Life’s hard … get over it, get on with it or lay it down.
In light of everything going on, my new year's resolution is to buy a handgun and learn how to use it. When I went to my local Sherriff's Department to apply for a gun permit, I was told that they had already accepted all the applications they would take for the day (this was at 10:00 am, and they start at 8:30 am) and I would have to come back another day. They are only accepting 30 applications a day, and have recently discontinued their afternoon hours.
ReplyDeleteSo, I will have to take time off work, go back downtown, wait for the office to open and pray that there are not 30 people waiting ahead of me.
Looks like they are already trying to effect gun control in my county.
@Gloomy Gus - the Constitution is under attack & has been under attack - no one is called to task because the document is always subject to interpretation & we all know how a "good" attorney can find a way to justify anything. Look what the Supreme Court did for Obamacare - just call it a tax. Ok, then!!!
ReplyDelete@Necron99 - you always make so much sense - I, too, majored in Philosophy prior to obtaining my Teacher's Certification. I so enjoy reading your words because they are the essence of philosophical discourse. And, of course, your points are well-positioned; but what can be done? Don't you know that there are many who are preparing for a revolution so they can counter-revolt? The Tea Party was formed for that purpose - look at how it was maligned by the MSM - nothing can be done short of a real revolution, I'm afraid. This team of bandits & power-hungry zealots have many supporters. We have few with a microphone large enough to reach the greater masses. And even if we did, the message by the MSM is constant & consistent. The next four years will prove to be more difficult than the first four - when he was still hiding his real agenda - now all of his ideology can be in full demonstration.
@Stilton,
ReplyDeleteI must admit, when I saw the pic with Slo-Jo holding up two fingers, I figured he was bragging about his I.Q. or his number of black friends.
I feel like Bill Murray on Groundhog Day. SOS-DD. BUT, there is a really small patch of silver in the ugly black cloud. The Bush tax cuts are now permanent for us peons, so at least we won't have to travel that well rutted road every dang year. I wish I could say the same for my employer who just got butt f**ked without as much as the offer of a cigarette.
Hats off to the few like Marco Rubio and Darrell Issa who had the cajones to vote no facing the tidal wave of nutless wonders.
Now... I need to go find Mrs. Colby's single malt hiding place...
@Necron99- I'm genuinely worried about the new talk of disarming citizens, because I believe the very heart of the 2nd Amendment is defense against tyranny- not hunting, not skeet shooting, and not shooting up people in Chicago for fun and profit.
ReplyDeleteI am not in any way suggesting I support armed insurrection; I do, however, damn well support armed resistance if the feces hits the fan - and this Administration makes me very nervous about that possibility. Those of us who live in Texas remember Waco a little too clearly, and what happens when the Attorney General decides to pit tanks against guns.
@Velcro- The Keystone Kops were funny because they didn't know what they were doing. The politicians in Washington aren't funny because, God help us all, I think they do know what they're doing.
@Gloomy Gus (who is very well named)- I basically agree with everything you say. BUT, you ask who we're trying to save the Republic for? The answer for me is simple: my daughter. My nieces and nephews. The kids who are so young that they don't even know that they've been betrayed and sold into slavery.
And it's not a fight that I feel confident about winning. But it's not a fight that I can turn away from in good conscience.
Maybe America has to fall all the way down before something - anything - good can arise from the ashes. But I will not stand by and watch it happen, even if it makes me a Quixotic fool.
@SusieBee- It sounds like gun sales and training are at all time highs, and I say "three cheers!" I hope with all my heart that our political differences never turn into actual armed conflict - but I hope even more that this country is never defeated, from without or within, without putting up one hell of a fight.
@Irene Peduto- I'd like to see our side put together an "economic revolution" of an Ayn Randian type. Deny the government and the takers the fruits of our labors; spend not a penny on those companies which support the Left. We need a movement which is big enough and stable enough to be economically threatening. I keep hoping that someone will bring such a force together - because it may be the only way to effect change in a peaceful manner.
@Colby- But are the Bush tax cuts now permanent? President Soetoro has already announced that there won't be one single cent in spending cuts in the future without commensurate raises in taxes- and the simple truth is, there's no way to tax the $400k+ crowd enough to pay the freight: the middle-class is still right in the crosshairs.
But again, as you point out, let's not forget that there were quite a few Republicans who said "no" to this crap. That's a long way from victory - but it also means we'd be wrong to give up hope.
"...I believe the very heart of the 2nd Amendment is defense against tyranny- not hunting, not skeet shooting, and not shooting up people in Chicago for fun and profit.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Even a cursory understanding of our country's founding reveals that.
The anti-gun naysayers will argue that the "insurrection" argument is now a non-sequitur since if the government wants to get you, they're going to get you no matter how well you are armed because they've got the black helicopters, tanks, nukes, etc.
True enough. But the 2nd amendment goes much deeper that that.
What an armed citizenry ultimately does is make the citizens less dependent upon government. Conversely, unarmed citizens are completely dependent upon and at mercy of the government for their very personal safety. And what happens under that scenario? Look no further than at our cousins in formerly-Great Britain, where the law actually now protects the well-being criminals over the interests of citizens! Citizens are powerless against crime; both criminals and the citizens are completely dependent upon the state. How about that?
I believe a few months ago, I laid out the scenario here of what would happen if the police were to go "on strike" as Governor Bloomberg hypothetically suggested. Who would have suffered the most under that scenario? The criminals, who would all of a sudden be fair game for a paranoid, gun-wielding citizenry with a shoot-first, ask questions later mentality.
In an unarmed country, a police strike would be catastrophic for the citizens, as the criminals would then have free reign. Therefore, the needs of the government (employees) must always be placated to avoid such a calamity.
In any other scenario, this would be called a "protection racket".
The left already has their foot in the door with "health care". A people who find themselves completely dependent upon any single entity for food, health care, and their personal security by any other name would be called "slaves".
@John the Econ, Thanks for having crystallized my thoughts and summing up the threat to our 2nd Amendment Rights situation so concisely. Yes, look to England, or the history of the Soviet 'Republics', or any other nation who's government demanded their citizens to disarm themselves. The various scenarios all end the same way; crime rampant, governmental power unchecked, and the common citizenry paying the price... More often than not with the most dearest of prices... Their dignity and lives.
ReplyDelete@John the Econ- The scenario you describe sounds entirely too plausible. There are so many ways for the government to mess with peoples' heads in order to achieve their goal of putting us all in complete dependency - and I wouldn't be surprised to see any of them put into play at this point.
ReplyDelete@Necron99- History shows how this sort of thing always plays out. Which means that those advancing the anti-gun rhetoric are either ignorant, or actively desirous of the predictably awful outcome.
@John the Econ,
ReplyDeleteYou have summed it up quite well, but I would argue that the left has a bit more than a foot in the door. There is also a hand stuck through wildly groping for our wallets, guns and anything else that represents our freedom.
As far as gun rights, has anybody else seen the video of all the Hollywoodish types whining about guns, and is intertwined with bloody gun scenes from their movies? I especially enjoyed the Conan O'Brien bit with him shooting fully automatic rifles. You know; the ones you have to have a Federal permit to own.
@Necron99, GloomyGus, Irene and others....great observations, may sound too dire for a lot of folks, and I would love to think it is not true, but I too have felt that way for a long time now. Gives one a feeling of helplessness, such as a Jewish person had in Berlin, or an innocent citizen of Syria, or any other place where the government in charge is out to do its thing. With your guns at least you can go down shootin'. God help us all.
ReplyDelete@Necron99 and others, The sad thing is that this Right - like so many others - has already been heavily infringed upon while we're asleep at the wheel. It's only fairly recently that we've even been allowed to get CHL permits (in some states) to carry our weapons again. Even then there are still plenty of nonsensical restrictions - besides the most obvious one of having to purchase a license in order to exercise a "Right."
ReplyDeleteThe tenth amendment's utility is a farce. The fourth is on life support at best. The first is under constant attack. Once the second is gone, the rest are a fait accompli.
Yes, and the sad truth is, there are multitudes of people out there that don't necessarily endorse active draconian gun control, but are not concerned in the least about opposing it to preserve their Rights. They are the idiots who will say, "I don't see what the big deal is, the police and military will still be there to protect us." Or the ever popular, "I don't own any guns, so this doesn't affect me." Or the even more naive, "So what if they repeal the Second Amendment? We don't really need it anymore. Besides, they would never take away any of our other Rights."
ReplyDeleteI know morons that are actually saying those things. For the most part, they're not bad people. They're not even liberal... They're just complacent and politically ignorant.
That's why its up to us to defend ourselves, our Constitution, and our Rights. Because if we don't, no one else will.
When I was in process of getting my CPL (as it's known here) Mom was all "well, WHY?" and my reply was that as a legal citizen, it was my right, duty, and sacred honor to be able and ready to defend myself and my country against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
ReplyDeleteJust because I didn't take an oath does not mean it's not still my job...
At Thanksgiving Dinner, some years back, my (high school aged) Neph starts in w/ "well regulated militia" crap. And I'm all "the reason the founders made sure that was #2 on the list was that they had just had to round up teh representatives of the previous administration, and shoot a good number of them. In their wisdom, they saw it might be necessary again, at some point in the future."
I took him shooting, for the first time today.
He LIKED it...
The question needs to be asked again: Who is John Galt?
ReplyDeleteThe "Punchbowl" is actually the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific. It is a memorial to and the final resting place of 25,000the brave men and women who served in the US Armed Forces. It was built after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and it would be sacrilegious to even think of putting Barry there! I wouldn't want his presence to desecrate the memory of real heroes like my two uncles who actually fought in the Pacific during WWII.
ReplyDeleteColby said: As far as gun rights, has anybody else seen the video of all the Hollywoodish types whining about guns, and is intertwined with bloody gun scenes from their movies? I especially enjoyed the Conan O'Brien bit with him shooting fully automatic rifles. You know; the ones you have to have a Federal permit to own.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about that very thing for a couple of days and have come up with a "plan" for those Hollyweird folks that might actually do some good.
They could take the following pledge: "In memory of the children of Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech and others, I will never again take part in any production that requires me or any other cast member to handle any kind of firearm."