Look Ma, the Republicans are vaporizing! Awesome!

*GOP Votes Against Biggest Middle-Class Tax Cut In History
by thereisnospoon
Excerpt:
Every single member of the House GOP, and all but three members of the Senate GOP, voted not only against Obama's jobs creation program, but against the biggest tax cut in history. We already knew that 2010 would be a battle royale: Democrats would stress all the wonderful programs Republicans voted against, while Republicans would find the most objectionable pieces of spending promoted by Democrats and stoke as much outrage as possible over them. This kabuki theater is guaranteed to provide fodder for over-the-top political advertising; it's also guaranteed to make any efforts at bipartisan good feeling in Washington deteriorate even faster than we've already seen it do given GOP intransigence to date.

I can hear the Um-pah-pah of the band and see diarist thereisnospoon dancing his heart out!

Now is the time I wish, oh how I wish, I owned a public relations firm in Washington, D.C. on “K” Street, no less. Come Monday morning, I would guarantee a line around the corner with nothing but Republicans who would pay me anything, anything you hear, to sign them on as clients and all but a few being excessively vocal with their requests. Who says there was no “Stimulus money” in the Stimulus Package? The “Magic Negro” strikes again! How does he do it?

I would consider it magnanimous advice to tell the Republicans to start getting their personal finances in order as soon as possible. Spending more time at home with the family is eminent. A done deal, so to speak! Could America conduct business with a mostly Democratic congress and a handful of, say, six or seven Republicans and that would include “Scooter“, Dick Cheney, Boehner and Sarah Palin? We’ll see. (Smile)
Here is what I did before my retirement that may help: I got enough money out of my savings, it was not called a 401 in those days, but it was like one and paid down on my mortgage payments to the level one of my retirement checks would cover it. I never believed in using all the money from one pay check and half the other to pay either rent or make a mortgage payment. Also I tell all of my younger relatives to never move in a place with a person that would prevent them from paying the entire rent with their own single income if the other person moved out for whatever reason. Never! That’s the kind of guy I am. Things happen in relationships. And if the other person gets a dog, you get one too. If they get a cat, you get one of them too. There could be a real bone of contention especially if you do not have children and “things” start happening. If you truly love animals, having two of them you have gotten attached to is much better than having nothing. You‘ll manage.

Now if some of the good Republicans have non-working spouses, now maybe a good time to have a heart to heart kitchen table talk. They just may be lucky enough to land a job due to some money from the Stimulus Bill.
As always,
BB
*GOP Votes Against Biggest Middle-Class Tax Cut In History
by thereisnospoon
Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 08:44:23 PM PST
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/13/23198/8129/293/697371

Did Republicans receive blessings at birth?

A question could be raised as to why all members of our Republican Congress save three decided not to vote for the Economic Recovery Stimulus Bill. There is a total of 219 Republicans in the congress: 178 in the House and 41 in the Senate.

From my understanding and from a Google search, a blessing is a ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection. So it is if a blessing were invoked at birth, it would be akin to welcoming an infant into the world of humans. Welcoming them into a socialized society. Welcoming them into an environment a cut above the lower animal kingdom. The Republican’s lack of compassion for other humans in stunning to say the least and in my opinion, their recent conduct meets all the criteria of being mean spirited, callous and out of touch. Cu-ku readily comes to mind.

While searching to the bitter end for a justification for their behavior, the big jolt came to me last evening with them forcing Sen. Sherrod Brown D-Ohio to leave his eighty eight year old dead mother’s wake to fly to Washington to cast a vote for the Stimulus Bill. Can one’s conduct get any more inhuman?

That situation was something you would think Dick Cheney had a hand in manipulating. I can imagine him getting his jollies at the way the situation went down; covert smiles and all and the Senate Republicans response to setting it up and enforcing it with anticipated “Groupthink” obedience and glee. This is not normal behavior. I wonder if any of them sent to Sen. Brown and his family a sympathy card? If not, why not? I wish the family would openly publish the sympathy cards received from members of congress.

It is impossible for that many people “of sound body and mind” to turn their backs on a human endeavor as important as the Stimulus Bill. I do not say “impossible” due to the fact I do not understand it, rather I say “impossible” because it is that’s what it is. It is “Impossible” for 175 humans to be so callous and respond that way to crises! If one could take a look under the outer garments of said Republicans one may see strange things and discover even stranger things if certain psychological test could be administered to them. A few months back I wrote a post about a different genre of humans with behaviors not unlike what has been recently demonstrated by the Republicans.

Finally, the big tip-off with the Republicans came with their excuses. My ears flapped up! One has to be very concerned regarding the quality of the excuses the Republicans gave for not signing the Stimulus Bill. You ask yourself, “Did that remark come out of the mouth of a human? Someone born of Woman?” I guess I have to live with it just as I have to live with other species on this earth. You get use to it.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB

Other post to see:
The New GOP Slogan
by Devilstower
Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 10:15:23 AM PST
Having ruled the nation utterly for many years, the Republican Party now finds itself cast into the role of the minority. In this position it has taken on a gracious new slogan that sums up their feelings about the nation.
The party that huffed and puffed over every statement perceived as less than full-throated approval of Bush now openly and proudly cheers for the failure of the president. The party that makes a pretense of fiscal knowledge not only opts out of participating in the solution to the problems they created, but salivates over the thought of financial ruin.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/13/95633/4228/665/697007

And
Rahm: President Obama Lost Control of Message by Focusing on Bipartisanship
by TomP
Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 08:37:25 AM PST


Excerpt in reference to Republicans:
“They are like arsonists who burned the house down and then stay to block the firefighters from putting the fire out.”
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/13/111858/472/624/697032

Three peas in a pod and a PR malfunction

The three peas in a genetically engineered pod are *Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Arlen Specter. All losers!

Seeing their hustle with strong and calculated struggles to become relevant is a top-drawer embarrassment. In my opinion, seeing the three of them exploding on our television screens could only be the work of a public relations (PR) agency. The three of them must have gotten a good deal from the PR firm. I hope they think the fees were worth the exposure. Seem PR firms are not discrimination, bless their hearts.

If that is indeed the case, the fallacy is the public has a short memory and they jumped out here too soon. The blatant lie we have short memories has been perpetuated for eons by our mainstream media. Not so with bloggers. We have loooong memories as proven time and time again and we will continue to give mainstream media a run for its (dwindling) money for free. Pelosi, Reid and Specter are losers and they have got to go in the nearest primary that could not come soon enough for me.

Ms. Pelosi has to grow accustomed to the fact she missed her calling to reach heroine status to which she apparently strives. With sober and calculated considerations, “Impeachment is off the table” she so arrogantly pronounced. Those hero and heroine moments rarely come more than once in a politician’s life time. Ms. Pelosi herself drove the first nail in her own coffin which is indeed a rarity amongst thinking people in her position! (Don’t you get started, Blood Pressure. Down, boy!)
As always,
BB

*Excerpt:
Pelosi's maneuver has been to be the president's loyalist, or, as seems more and more accurate, his lap-dog. She's the most goo-goo eyed Democrat in Washington, or at least playing that role. The Senate, and its leader Harry Reid, seem to be positioning themselves more critically, or churlishly.
Michael Wolff
Author of Newser.com's Off the Grid blog
Posted February 12, 2009 | 11:00 AM (EST) BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index
Can Nancy Pelosi Be Tom DeLay?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-wolff/can-nancy-pelosi-be-tom-d_b_166361.html

Toxic assets: “I can see clearly now!” (Update)

Thanks to Analysis *Kevin Drawbaugh who, in my opinion, “did his English Teacher proud” with his expository writing of this article. After reading the article, I thought of Gov. Wallace and what he would have said: “Greed today, greed tomorrow and greed forever!”

If you look back only a few weeks ago and see how America allowed people to be brutally murdered on the Gaza strip, you will only get a tiny spectrum of the determination for power as demonstrated by some segments of our society. Fasten your seat belts! There’s more to come.

There was a reason no Republicans supported the Stimulus Bill and TARP #2 with no caps on the pay of CEO’s. There are fair amount of Democrats who are also willing to see our country turned over to the nefarious and greedy beast of the world. It is my understanding real estate is the bed-rock of many of America’s wealthiest people. The foundation of their wealth. Their “Holy Grail!” Their “Mojo!” That being the case, the word F…..ed comes to mind and I don’t know if the “Magic Negro” can help us much with this one. I do not know if he truly can come to our rescue on this one, so to speak and I remain optimistic. I wonder as I wander.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
*Vague U.S. toxic asset plan aggravates credit crunch
By Kevin Drawbaugh - Analysis
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE51B27A20090212?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
Excerpt:
"People are afraid to buy and afraid to sell because they're afraid the government is going to sweeten the deal," he told Reuters in an interview. "The markets are just waiting to see when we're going to be done."
Uncertainty about the government's strategy for toxic assets props up their value above what private investors might pay for them and delays potential resolution of the problems they pose, said California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman.
"As long as there's the prospect the federal government will overpay for the toxic assets ..(Author: Home foreclosures?) . these banks would be insane to sell" in the private market, Sherman told Reuters.

(Update)
Yet another well written article helping me to understand the “Toxic Assets” situation. Much appreciated.

“If they (Author: The banks?) had to sell these securities today, the losses would be far beyond their capital at this point,” he said. “But if the prices of these assets will recover over the next year or so, if they don’t have to sell at distress prices, the banks could have a new lease on life by giving them some time.”
That sort of breathing room is known as regulatory forbearance, essentially a bet by regulators that time will help heal banking troubles. It has worked before.

And
In the current crisis, experts warn, banks need to get rid of bad assets quickly. The Treasury’s public-private investment fund is an effort to do that.
Ailing Banks May Require More Aid to Keep Solvent
By STEVE LOHR Published: February 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/business/economy/13insolvent.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp


Word of the day: insolvent
Definition
Unable to meet debt obligations. opposite of solvent.

Hillary becomes America’s official “Figurehead”.

THANK YOU JESUS! And Hillary has to re-apply for her Senate seat if she is not satisfied with what has happened to her or quit her job as Secretary of State to spend more time at home with her family and let Bill take care of her. Pay-back is a B----!

It was just un-nerving thinking Ms. Clinton has to talk to heads of state while registering complaints how those leaders are treating the women in their countries. How could leaders of those countries be comfortable in talks with her knowing she is passionately eyeing the women in their cabinets and perhaps their wives as to their role and function? Wherein lie would be her concentration? Her concerns as Secretary of State for the treatment of women in other countries was just a dumb thing for her to publicly advocate. The “Magic Negro” has struck again! Hallelujah!

Hillary’s incredible, shrinking role
By Dick Morris
Posted 02/09/09 06:31 PM (ET)
Excerpt:
Hillary’s essential problem is that she is an outsider in the current mix. She was the adversary in the campaign, and Rice and Powers — at the very least — know it well, having helped to run the campaign that dethroned her.

And
The power of the secretary of State flows directly from the president. But Hillary does not have the inside track with Obama. Rice and Powers, close advisers in the campaign, and Gen. Jones — whose office is in the White House — all may have superior access. Holbrooke and Mitchell will have more immediate information about the world’s trouble spots.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB

*Stock markets to America: “Go to hell!”

I understand the markets tumbled after the gracious speech of Sec. Of Treasury Tim Geithner outlining his plans for “Bank bailout #2” or TARP #2, if you will.

When the local grocer is robbed, he knows he may not get his money back but for sure his biggest satisfaction is seeing the crook going to jail. We have not seen the crooks who robbed our American treasury going to jail or apologizing. Adding insult to injury there is the judge in New York City presiding over the Bernard Madoff case refusing to send him to jail for charming his clients out of a reported fifty billion dollars.

Today, the good Mr. Geithner so eloquently resurrected the old tried and true “Trust me!” pitch and the world said, “No, no, no not by my chinny chin chin.” Fool me once for over 350 billion dollars and I’ll (literally) kick your MF ass!

How about them apples for getting signals from the people from whom you are seeking infusions into your monetary system? If the Obama administration is looking forward more than looking in the past, they should clearly see the pending catastrophe. I do.
As always,
BB

*Stocks Tumble As Bailout Plan is Unveiled
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29119665
Excerpt:
US stocks fell sharply Tuesday in a broad-based decline as the government announced details of its latest bailout plan.

It’s ain’t over ‘til the President sings

-Mr. President, I’m from Maryland and I have a few procedural questions. Our *Governor O’Malley sent a letter to our Congressman Chris Van Hollen requesting federal stimulus aid and Rep. Van Hollen has requested four billion dollars from the stimulus fund. Is that the first step in the procedure requesting money from the Stimulus Recovery Fund?

- Yes.

- As a follow up, Mr. President. Exactly who first gets the allotted money? Does the governor get the money and distributes it to the mayors? Just how does that work?

- The governors get the money and gives the requested amounts to the mayors after they have submitted to him the appropriate forms.

- And the jobs for contractors, how does that work?

-For jobs on the municipal lever, contractors have to submit U.S. Form ABC to the mayor and for the state level jobs like repairing bridges and repairing interstate highways, they have to submit U.S. Form DEF to the governor.

-And how are the contracts offered by the mayors and governors?

-They are advertised. They’re advertised and have to be bidded on. If you have any problems with the bidding process, we want to know about it, don’t we, Nancy?
- (Yawn) Yeah. Sure. Let us know by all means! (Yawn)
-(Ahem) Now some of that, the biding I mean and contracts signed, has already been done and the mayors and the governors are just waiting for the money to give the “Go signal” to the contractors.

- And accountability, Mr. President?

- Oh, yes. Accountability. The money goes into the contractor’s individual accounts and every six weeks a team from the Accounting Office will look at their books and report back to whomever is going to be my “Chief Performance Officer”. As you know, I initially chose Nancy Killefer but that did not work out and I maybe making an announcement soon. Stay tuned, right Nancy?
-Yeah. Sure. Stay tuned by all means. (Yawn)

- And finally, Mr. President, if I were a day laborer who was laid off, how do I benefit from this Stimulus Package?

- You go back to your old employee and ask him if he applied for any stimulus money and if he has, when will he be hiring again? If not, you can go to your union hall and look on the bulletin boards or see what’s in the papers. That goes for school teachers, secretaries working for small companies and so forth. And if they tell you to hold on for a little longer, that is why we are extending the un-employment benefit payments and got over eleven million more children signed up for medical benefits. OK?

- Thank you, Mr. President.

-Next? Whose next?

-I am, Mr. President and I want to say my readers really want to support the Stimulus Bill but they’re scare because since nobody has gone to jail from the previous stealing of the government’s money and the judge refusing to let Bernard Madoff go to jail, they just do not have anymore confidence in things like stimulus packages. I mean people just steal our money and nothing happens to them.

-Tell them I believe no one is above the law and I'll just leave it at that. Right now, I‘ve got enough on my plate, don‘t you agree?
.
- Thank you, Mr. President.

-Your welcome. Did y’all like my singing?

-(Audience) You bet’cha, Mr. President! (Applause)
As always,
BB

*Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Maryland's Request for Stimulus Money
http://maryland-politics.blogspot.com/2008/12/marylands-request-for-stimulus-money.html

Excerpt:
Following is a letter from Governor Martin O'Malley to Congressman Chris Van Hollen requesting federal stimulus aid. The Governor sent identical letters to the rest of the state's Congressional delegation.

And
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley hopes for $4B in stimulus money
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/01/26/daily41.html
Excerpt:
O’Malley had proposed denying community colleges any increase in funding. He also planned to cut by half funding for the Geographic Cost of Education Index, a program that allocates extra state money for primary education in areas where education expenses are higher.
But with speculation that the state could get billions from Washington, D.C., including $1.1 billion for public education, O’Malley delayed the cuts.
“We have worked hard to protect our priorities even during this national economic downturn and we are hopeful that Congress will act quickly to approve this legislation that could provide up $4 billion in economic relief to Maryland,” O’Malley said in a statement.

While begging the cart to pull the horse

That’s what happens when you start off wrong; you leave yourself open for massive criticism and virus infected imaginations. When you start off wrong, as did the creators of the *Stimulus Recovery Bill the projects are as porous as a sponge. This can be attributed to being either lazy or lacking appropriate foresight or both. What galls me is the fact some of the framers of the Stimulus Recovery Bill have walked the halls of Congress much longer than the President and a few of them before he was born and surely by the time he was in Elementary School. In other words, many of them have gone around the barn a hell of a long time. The words “Dizzy“ or “Barn drunk” akin to “Punch drunk” comes to mind.

The banks and the Stimulus Bill
The banks have become as stubborn as the farmer’s mule at planting time. And “…just like a tree planted by the waters...” the mule will not be moved. Banks, like my metaphorical mule, are the financial arteries, if not the aorta itself, of our society so to speak and if they do not perform their function, what to do, I ask? I will never forget how Sen. Barney Frank coddled Sec. Paulson at the hearing when the Secretary introduced his two and one half written page request for $700 billion dollars. Just listening to Mr. Frank’s opening statement lets you know something was wrong, "a fix" was getting ready to go down, and good old Barney was going to be a large part of it. In my opinion, old Barney boy was the one who pushed the bill forward by giving it credibility. He should have said to Paulson, “How dare you!!” In my opinion, if ever there was a “How dare you!” moment, it was then but then again, I am talking about starting off wrong; the cart before the horse.

Enter the Stimulus Recovery Bill. When and if the phantom money begins to flow, it will in all possibility flow through the clogged arteries of the bank with the associated complications of blood moving through clogged arteries. With banks failing like salmon swimming upstream and with increasingly cautious customers, I posit yet another example of starting off wrong. In my opinion, the Stimulus Bill should be resting on the shoulders of the banks and not the other way around. The more I think about it, the bigger the mess! Finally, what if state governors do not use the Stimulus money appropriately and leave the citizens high and dry as the citizens of New Orleans begging for their lives?

I am mindful Sec. Of Treasury Paulson begin his request for $700 billion dollars written on two and a half pieces of paper and no way did he get this much flack. This was a classic case of asking Congress to jump and they responded by asking “How high, comrade… ol’ buddy… ol’ friend?” Those two and one half pieces of paper heralding Paulson’s request for $700 billion locked one door for the take over of America by nefarious figures and I strongly suspect money from the Stimulus Bill will be another lock-down. The educational system is no problem due to the fact there is already a lock-down in place. Sen. Collins and Rahm Emanuel are effectively helping us on that front. “We can’t have no edge-u-mah-cated people runnin’ around trying to give us a hard time. We are on a mission!”

The banks and Wall Street have fled with their money and now it is up to the lesser minions to fin for themselves as they will due to the Stimulus Recovery Bill. I hope not but hey, we are talking about human nature and human behaviors. People are not dumb. They have seen how our treasury can be so easily robbed with impunity. If I were personally face with the chance to steal loads of money from our treasury and could get away with it, I say believe you-me and with no shame I would take what money I could and run like hell! I, like my predecessors, would say, “I got mine now you get yours the best way you can! It’s every man for himself now! (Blank) you!”. Damn, I hate thinking this way! It is either thinking this way or completely ignoring what I perceive as reality. Enough said. Maybe too much. Good-night.
-Nice talking with you, Mr. BB.
-Likewise, and pass me my drink over there before you leave.
As always,
BB
P.S. If the word on the street is correct the Stimulus Recover Bill is in reality the Nancy Pelosi Bill then Pres. Obama is the wrong person going around defending it. It should be Ms. Pelosi herself, wouldn’t you think? I hope Pres. Obama is not one of those late bloomers. But I guess it's OK if he is. I guess....
*Don't Do it, Obama. Please
by david mizner
Sun Feb 08, 2009 at 12:22:27 PM PST
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/8/10016/76828/832/694790
Excerpt and opening paragraph:
Tomorrow Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will roll out Obama's bailout plan. If reports are accurate, the plan is a huge gift to Wall Street and the wealthy courtesy of taxpayers. It's not just wrong; it's a political blunder. It will ignite populist anger on both the left and right, which will hamper Obama's ability to lead.

Computers? Broadband? American schools? Fightin’ time!! (Update)

(Author: This is a re-post from 12/08/08. I re-post this due to the recent elimination of almost $50 billion dollars for education from the Stimulus Recovery Bill.)
Imagine Pooky, Shanika and Jamal going to Al Gazzera English web site and reading the content of the site on their school computer. Imagine them going to the Dkos web site or to the Huffington Post. Lord have mercy if they find The Drudge Report or CounterPunch!

David “Thought police” Horowitz will not allow that to happen. The group who last year closed the Muslin school in New York City would strenuously object as will the opponents of “Leave No Child Behind”. Pres. Elect Obama recently announced re-structuring our school, putting in computers with broadband connections has upset a lot of people. The foes of education are saying, “No, no, no by my chinny chin chin!” They go on to bray, “We are very satisfied with our permanent underclass citizens. They satisfy our needs” they would conclude.

Needless to say, in my opinion the new Secretary of Education is going to have a tough row to hoe. Very tough! There are segments of our society who will do anything, anything you hear, not to educate people of color. They have done it in the past and will continue to do so. Their efforts to keep us dwelling in the past with the Holocaust and 1932 Germany is notorious i.e., Christiana Amanpour “Scream bloody murder” as an excuse to once again show the tired story of the Holocaust. Hello? There is the more modern American Civil Rights story.

There may be many virtues living in the past but a citizenry has to at least move up a notch or two on the scale of civilization. They can not all be subjected to Herculean efforts to keep then at ground zero expecting any meaningful productivity from them or their country. Their anticipations and productive levels are predictable. The permanent underclass becomes a drag on a country.

Yesssirree! The new Secretary of Education is going to indeed have a tough row to hoe and as a matter of fact, it may well be the hardest cabinet position both to fill and sustain with many of us learning how to love eating cake as we did with Sec. Spelling. To be specific, do I think we will get our schools physically restructured having computers with broadband connections? No! In my lifetime? Hell No. In my children’s lifetime? No. My grand-children’s? It. Will. Not. Happen! At best, we will be able to modify or change some curriculums and ask for the return of, and get, some trade schools. Might as well as Ms. Spelling to stay.
Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-Span and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
(Update)
Education can be a key element to our recovering from this economic crisis long-term, or it may play a role in our continued decline. To have someone who sees the complexity of these problems, and is willing to draw counsel from those who have studied that complexity, gives me much hope going forward that the role of education in our country will be more the former than the latter.
If you have read this far, thank you. This is a long diary, and I had to resist making it longer. But, I hope you have found here something thought provoking, if not helpful, in your own coming to terms with education policy as we move forward.
Linda Darling-Hammond and "Renegade" Education Advice
by elropsych
Mon Dec 08, 2008 at 06:31:16 AM PST
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/8/93116/4574/785/670429
A Comment:
Kennyb said...
From CBS News:
"Collins earlier Friday circulated a roster proposing $88 billion worth of net cuts from the measure. She proposed eliminating money in the bill for K-12 education while boosting funding for Pentagon operations, facilities and procurement by $13 billion."
That's More of the Same, not Change I can believe in. Boo and hiss.
February 6, 2009 3:40 PM
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/02/obama-hits-road-to-sell-stimulus-steps.html#comments