No need to duck and cover

That's right.  The rein of terror that has prevailed in my absence came to a halt the moment I got my cape through customs.

Sorry to blog again so quickly but travel does that to me.

I was in London, at the airport, when the royals kissed on the balcony.  People crowded around televisions cheered and clapped.  I could see that if he'd just scored a touchdown or something.  Actually, looking at Kate, I'd say he scored a big one.

This remains my least favorite airport.  It's as if the person that built it had never flown before.   There are very few signs and those that you do see are confusing.  At one point, I came to a sign as big as a truck.  It had an arrow on it pointing Right (->) to Terminal 1.  Since I was going to Terminal 1, I went right.  I somehow ended up in the Australian outback.  I followed a trail of Kit Kat wrappers I'd wisely left in my tracks and got back to the sign.  This time, there was a "Sherpa" there directing traffic.  I looked at the sign with no idea of how I could have misread it.  So I asked.

Me:  This sign says go right and when I went right, I ended up on the Siberian Tundra.
Him:  Yes, that happens a lot.
Me: What was I suppose to do?
Him: Scoot around the sign on the left side and Then turn right.  You turned to early.
Me:  How was I supposed to know that?
Him:  I'm here to point it out.
Me:  Where were you when I came by 10 minutes ago.
Him:  On my break.  Now move along...there's a good lad.

At first I was confused.  Why hire someone to stand there and direct traffic when a better sign would have done just as well.  Then it hit me.  Tax Breaks.  Someone got a tax break and, just like the GOP predicted, they spent it hiring someone to do a job that didn't need to be done.  This is known as "Expanding the base" or equally well known as "Ren and Stimpy make a budget plan."

Next I tried to get a coke out of a machine.  I put in about 6 Euros and it still wanted more.  I gave up and hit the refund button.  My change came in the form of 2 fatrthings, a pence, three klingons and some kibble.  I'll never understand the money in the UK.

Now here is something that really gets to me.  They do this all all European airports.  They don't tell you what gate your plane leaves from until 30 minutes before the flight departs.  We can tell them hours in advance in the States.  I don't know why they do it here.  My theory is that they like to watch people on the security cameras as they try to sprint the 8 furlongs (metric thing I think) to their gate before their plane takes off.

Time for a little rest and then off to my high school reunion.

Cherrio!


Up, up and away...

Jim

Does this make me famous?

I'm on my way home from Budapest.  They have a brand new airport here.  It's beautiful.  I don't know if you have ever been to LAX international airport.  It's like a third world terminal without the unexploded ordinance laying around.

I will be in London right about the time the Royals are getting married.

CNN told me that the entire world will remember where they were at when this "Event of the Millennium" took place. (Millennium is a really hard word to spell).

I think I am more likely to remember what I have for a snack on the plane flying in.  I have nothing against royalty nor the big pep rally this wedding seems to be generating.  I just don't get it.  I'd think more people would watch the last episode of LOST than the wedding.

I must be an outlier data point.

I am not a basketball fan, but CNN made me watch some highlights.  I saw the Spurs were about to be eliminated when a guy drops in a 3-pointer from outside the building with no time left on the clock.  Wow!  The Spurs go on to win.

Ryan is pitching his budget plan all over his home state.  Getting lots of boos but I think this is actually helping him develop a strategy for responding to criticism.  For example:  His new catch phrase is "Broaden the base."  This mean that cutting taxes will create jobs and thus, more tax payers.

This is a great idea...almost.

Step 1: cut taxes to create jobs
Step 2: more jobs equals more tax payers
Step 3: more tax payers equals a balanced budget

Aside from the fact that Step 1 is a complete fantasy, I like this idea.  2 out of 3 ain't bad.

I see Mitt Rommneneneeny has really stepped up to the plate with the insightful comment of "Obama is on a spending spree."  He puts out this little sound bite and then steps away from the podium as if he's just solved something.  Blaming the other guy implies that he has the solution.

It's like when the GOP says "Gas prices are too high."  People look at them as if they've just created our nations first energy policy.

How come this only works for politicians.  If it worked in the real world, I could point out the window and say, "That plane is blue," and people would gather around to congratulate me as if I'd just invented air travel.

Bottom line: A sound bite is just a string of words that actually does - nothing.

Henry Ford said: "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."

My flight boards soon and thus far, I have avoided the giant bag of M&Ms.  I actually have a strategy for this.  I eat as much as I can hold before going to the airport in an attempt to muffle my M&M urge.   This actually works fairly well.

By the time you read this, I will be flying alongside my plane as it crosses the Atlantic.

Time to do something heroic.

Up, up and away...

jim


Time permitting, take a look at this video and see if you see what I see.   We get after the Muslim leaders for not standing up to their radicals and say, "Quit being stupid!"  And yet...

Royalty in Abundance

When in Hungary, I watch CNN constantly since its the only English speaking channel on TV.  I leave it going in the background as I work.

Apparently, the Earth has frozen in place in anticipation of the Royal wedding.

At least that is what it feels like.  For every minute of world news, there are 59 minutes of Royal wedding details.

"Bob, are they still fighting in Libya and what color will the escort horses be at the wedding?"

"Grey, Frank.  The horses will be grey.  Back to you."

I know the types of flowers they will have, how much the wedding cake costs and the alternative transportation plans should it rain.  This is WAY more than I want to know.

This just in:  The Tea Party's main platform of "Obama is not a citizen," was just flushed down the toilet with the release of his birth certificate.  Obama came on television and said, "There...now quit acting like babies and let's get to work on real problems."  My guess is they will start to polish off Plan B: Obama is an alien from outer space.

The Republican "Path to Prosperity" is hitting a few bumps in the road. There are some high points to their plan.  They are tackling the budget.  I like this.  I just don't like how they are doing it - mostly because it won't work.  Right now, they are putting on a series of Town Hall meetings and they are finally finding out "What Americans Really Want," as they are so fond of saying.

These meetings are not going well for them.

(Wedding dress: $46,965)

They have a two-fold plan.  Here it is:

Step One: Eliminate Medicare and replace it with a voucher for healthcare.  This is fine if you never get sick.  Old people not only get sick, they get very sick.  This voucher is a modest amount and if you get cancer or need a heart bypass, you will use up this voucher in the first day.  After that, you are on  your own.  Even the GOP admits this pushes the cost of healthcare onto the elderly (not those currently elder, just those that are now 55 or younger).  This saves government money but you will be paying for healthcare out of your own pocket.

Step Two:  Eliminate tax loopholes (which the rich use) and then give the rich a tax cut to 25%, down from 35%. The idea is to replace the money the rich will lose when their loopholes go away. They actually say this is the plan.

(Odds makers think a hand kiss is much less likely than a liplock)

If you think giving money to the rich will stimulate the economy, then this is a great idea.  The best economic minds in the world look at this idea and marvel that educated people would even consider this.  It hasn't worked in the past; its not working today; and it will not work in the future (unless the entire future is Opposite Day).

Here is my plan for a Manufacturing Policy.  We tax all imports only to the amount that the advantage of cheap labor is eliminated.  So, if I buy a radio from China, they must raise the price to where it should be if their laborers were paid the same as those in the United States.  This will eliminate the Chinese advantage of slave labor and thus encourage them to raise the wages for their slaves.

(Flowers will be local and mostly have a green theme)

My energy policy is "Nuke It!"

I know we are all afraid of nuclear power however, it is way safer than all of the other forms of energy generation.  Here is a chart of deaths per TeraWatt-hour.  The nuclear figure includes Chernobyl.

(The open carriage is called the 1902)

Energy Source                      Death Rate (deaths per TWh)

Coal – world average               161 (26% of world energy, 50% of electricity)

Coal – China                       278

Coal – USA                         15

Oil                                36  (36% of world energy)

Natural Gas                         4  (21% of world energy)

Biofuel/Biomass                    12

Peat                               12

Solar (rooftop)                     0.44 (less than 0.1% of world energy)

Wind                                0.15 (less than 1% of world energy)

Hydro                               0.10 (europe death rate, 2.2% of world energy)

Hydro - world including Banqiao)    1.4 (about 2500 TWh/yr and 171,000 Banqiao dead)

Nuclear                             0.04 (5.9% of world energy)

You can see that Nuclear Power is way safer.

Here is another chart that evaluates the Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI).  Basically, it takes energy to make energy.  The higher the EROEI, the more efficient.

Power Source	EROEI(actual)
Hydro	50, 43 and 205
Nuclear (centrifuge)	18.1, 18.4, 14.5, 13.6 and 14.8
Nuclear (diffusion)	6.0, 6.7, 5.8, 7.9, 5.3, 5.6 and 3.9
Coal	12.2, 7.4, 7.32, 3.4 and 14.2
Gas (piped)	16
Gas (piped a lot or liquefied)	3.4, 3.76 and 4
Solar	10.6
Solar PV	12-10, 7.5 and 3.7
Wind	12, 6, 34, 80 and 50

By the way, biofuel has and EROEI of between .8 and 1.4.  This means that by some estimates, it takes a barrel of biofuel to make .8 more barrels of it.  This is a big loser!  Politically, it rings popular but the more biofuel we make, the more energy we use and the less food there is in the world.

(No elected heads of state are invited.  Apparently same goes for superheroes.)

I was surprised at the efficiency of coal.  However, it causes a lot of pollution and is the most dangerous.

Nuclear power is by far the safest and currently competitive as far as efficiency goes.  I read the comments that went along with this last bit of data.  These guys are real brainiacs.  All of them agree that the nuclear figures for efficiency are accurate, new improvements in this industry will quickly make it the most efficient when the next generation of plants are built.  I know you are thinking about waste and such.  I'll say this, they took everything into account.  They even talk about the additional energy needed to make stronger turbine blades in a nuclear plant vs. a coal plant.

(2 billion people will watch the wedding.  That's about 1 out of every 3 people.  I plan on napping.)

My energy policy is to make electricity using the safest, most efficient means.  I will also promote green tech.  I once thought that Going Green meant loss of operational efficiency and thus puts the U.S. at a disadvantage.  The GOP still believes this.  Now, I think Going Green means creating an entire new generation of jobs.  It's like the computer industry.  Let's embrace it.

I hope Obama is reading this today.  Just to be sure, some of you may want to forward this to him.

Paul Ryan is on the move.  I must get going as well.  Only I stand between him and a world of Kings and
Serfs.

By the way, this world-saving blog is now read in 52 countries.  That's a lot of saving...

Up, up and away...

Jim

Today's video is of people outside a townhall meeting where Paul Ryan is inside being booed as he tries to sell tax cuts while eliminating Medicare.

Breaking News

They said it couldn't be done.  They said it was a big waste of time.  But now it has been achieved.

Yes, I'm talking about the Large Hadron Collider.  It set a new world record in Beam Intensity.

I can see it now, one physicist holding out his hand to another saying, "See.  Told ya.  Now pay up the $5 you owe me."

Actually, I think this is great science.  I just think its too complicated for you mortals, and us semi-mortals to understand.  I think the goal of science should be to discover the mythical graviton.  Once we have that little bugger, all we have to do is turn it upside down (or maybe inside out) and we all get to fly.

I have a high school reunion coming up.  This will be my 35th.  Not reunion, but years since I graduated.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  We all threw our hats in the air and then everyone carried me around on their shoulders.  No, wait.  That was a dream.  I'm actually too old to remember what really took place so I am rounding up to the nearest heroic incident.

I am going to make a fortune making and selling a Hungarian biscuit called a Pagacsa (Pa-gotcha).  These highly fattening  treats are extremely addictive.  On the scale of all things addictive, they fall between heroin and crack cocaine.  Although, they are slightly less dangerous to your health; and yet, they are street legal.  That's the beauty of it.  My plan is to give a few out for free and then charge a premium for those that come by wanting to mainline my biscuits.

I went to a Hungarian garden party today.  I met a bunch of interesting people.  One man makes Man-camps.  These are ready made villages they set up at remote mining sites.  He is also training to be a Shaman.  Another fellow, just retired from his job at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  He's been there his entire adult life and saw the changes that span from a Soviet Occupation to a free democracy.  Another guy was a doctor preparing to make a major presentation in Moscow.  The entire range of people and personalities was a real treat.  About half spoke English.

Here is a picture of what it looks like in the countryside here.  I'm not sure what the plant is but in places its yellow for miles.  In a few months, the sunflower fields will start to bloom.  Stunning...

No news to complain about other than McCain wants to go to war against Libya.  I think that if we are not going to learn from our past, why not just quit teaching history altogether.  Maybe we can teach magic classes instead - the kind where you can do the same thing over and over but every time you get a different result.  Unlike real life.

I want to make sure to wish everyone a Happy Easter - so Happy Easter!

Does anyone know where the Easter Bunny and Egg come from?  I think I do.  Here in Hungary, they have this tradition where, on Easter, a boy or man will recite a poem to someone he is fond of.  He then asks if he can spray her.  If she likes him, she will say yes and allow herself to be sprayed by water or maybe perfume.

Once she is sprayed, she hands the fellow an egg.  This sounds like a Springtime fertility rite.  So that is where the egg comes in.  As for the rabbit...I'm thinking they threw that in because rabbits are fertile and make for excellent marketing.

I wrote a poem for my wife.  Here, they actually read the poems on Monday.

Open any newspaper and you will know were I am - world saving.

Up, up and away...

jim

Opposite Day

I was going to try to not blog about the economy or politics.

Then I saw a post that said "Gas will soon be $5 a barrel.  Let's make Obama a one-term president."

At first I thought this was a joke.  I'm not talking about someone wanting to replace Obama.  I'm talking about someone that thinks he is responsible for the high price of gas.

This same person probably believes that if we drill off shore, all of our oil problems will go away.

They probably believe that putting more money in the pockets of the rich will create jobs.  This, in spite of the fact that 2000 to 2008 showed that doing just that ruined our economy to the tune of about 1.6 trillion dollars.  That's not counting the impact of turning a blind eye to sub-prime mortgages.

They must be in favor of invading Libya.   After all, that strategy of attacking when not attacked worked so well in Iraq and Afghanistan.  When will we learn that if you break it, you own it.  I saw McCain was in Libya.  He said, "These rebels are my heroes."  I bet he comes to regret that one.

Maybe it is opposite day and I just missed the announcement.  Now that I know, I want to play along as well.

Here is my wish list:

Bring back the Republican Party, preferably the Tea Party.  I'm sure they can cut costs and still pay for everything.  I'm sure they can do this in spite of the fact that we are 1.6 trillion over budget and only have 1.4 trillion in discretionary spending  (and that's if you count paying for the military discretionary).

I think we should not tax the rich at all.  This will allow them to hire even more people to create things that no one can by.  Or, they may create jobs indirectly by buying lots of things and thus allowing the poor to go to work making these things for the rich.   I know this was a big failure during the 8 years of Bush but that was not really his fault...oh wait...it was his fault but maybe the engines of economics have changed since his failure.

I think we should impeach Obama.  He has only turned around an economy that was nearing the Great Depression in scope.  He did it in 2 years while the Great Depression lasted 12 years.

I think Obama is not an American citizen anyway.  Sure, everyone has seen the documentation but saying it feels so good.  And if the Donald says it, it feels extra good.

Finally, I want to fix my remote so every channel is Fox news.  Through them, Rupert Murdock is president and he is really a man with vision.  After all, he just came up with a service where you can buy news and have it sent to your phone.  Only a genius could find a way to make money out of something that is readily available for free everywhere.

In short, I want Bush to come back.  I want a new war, out of control spending, massive job loss and the complete collapse of the middle class.  Alas, he's had his two terms so we can't legally bask under the leadership of his C student, Cheney-sock-puppet hand.  Maybe Sarah can bring us back to his glory days.

Nothing say's leadership like "I was mayor of brown-bear Alaska."

I love opposite day.  Up is down, and Obama is to blame for $5 gas.

Anyway, I need to get back to reality.  There is a world to save.

Up, up and away...

jim

A Gentler Jim

"Nothing to excess and Know Thyself."

This is wisdom out of ancient Greece.  Wisdom that I got half right.

I do Know Myself.

And the one thing about me I am certain of is that I do EVERYTHING to Excess (even the use of capital letters.)

This knowledge has probably saved my life.  For example, I'm certain that if I ever dabbled in Crystal Meth, I would overdose the very first day.  So I stay away from that side of the street.

My only vice is food.  Earlier today, I opened a bag of wafer cookies to take a nibble or two.  Two hours later, I went into the kitchen to get another nibble only to discover the bag is now empty.

I am the only one in the house.

Do you know what this means?  Ghosts like wafer cookies as much as I do.

I'm currently in Hungary and I have to say, I love the food here.  My wife is a great cook but everywhere I go there is thick stew (goulosh) with dumplings.  This stuff is great.  I'll have to find a simple version for my Cooking for the Single Man blog.

Speaking of blogs, have a look at my Poetry for Men Blog.  I tried to transfer my political outrage there.

However, I do have an observation about the GOP budget plan.  The GOP is in favor of reforming the tax code  like Obama mentioned, so that people can't take advantage of it.  This is true.  They go on to say, and I'm not making this up, that the rich will have to pay more taxes because all of their loopholes will be closed.  Therefore, the rich need a tax cut to give them back the money they would lose.  I'm not making this up.  They are proud of this clever idea so do a little searching and see if I'm wrong.

By the way, the U.S. stock has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's because of GOP threatened refusal to raise the debt ceiling.  I feel they will cave, but keep alert for a little more posturing and promoting of political agenda (i.e. stuff that has nothing to do with the budget like abortion but they pretend it does.) by the GOP.  Every day the outlook on our long term debt is low, we pay higher interest.

Travel tip.  There are great airfares available to Japan and the Middle East.  I actually saw this on CNN today.

Inflation is on the rise in China.  This is an opportunity and I hope someone is noticing.  While places like California actively work at driving jobs out of the state, someone will figure out that its time to grab some market share.  The entire world's manufacturing base is flat.  Except for China.  To date, they build crappy stuff but at extremely attractive prices.  If those prices go up due to inflation, a void will be created.  Hopefully, someone is paying attention.

Microsoft has come out with a beta version of some new cloud based stuff.  I don't know about you but I think their sun is setting.  Take spell check for example.  Microsoft Office spell check is only effective it you are "almost" correct.  I never "almost" spell a word correct.  So I often use Google to figure out what I am trying to type.  Why can't Microsoft be as effective?

My next laptop will be a Mac.  Why?  Because everyone that uses a Mac loves it.  I was at an airport lounge the other day.  There were four of us strangers sitting at a table.  The other three people had each switched to Mac in the last three months.  Each loved it and said they would never go back.  I have never heard a story about a Mac user switching to a PC an seeing it as an improvement.

I need to get a job as an air traffic controller.  Lately I have been having trouble sleeping through the night.

The Middle East is filling up CNN's airtime.  My cape is in the wash.  But it will be clean soon enough.  Then it will be hero time.

Up, up and away.

By the way, below is some pre-election video as Fox (Fair and Balanced) tries to push Obama under the bus.

Becoming Republican 101

Last night I had a dream.

It started when a tanned man entered the room.

His suit is impeccable.  He picks up a piece of chalk and writes his name on the board before turning to his students.

"Good morning class.  My name is Speaker Boehner and I will be your instructor.  Today we will be discussing how to achieve our overall goal of Ascension to Power."

"First of all, let's look at our base.  You can see by this pie chart that 1% of our base consists of the richest people in the country.  14% of our base thinks that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that Jesus should run for president.  40% of our base had their soft spot poked when they were young and as a result, are unable to blink both eyes simultaneously.  These are more commonly known as Tea Party members.  The majority, 45% are fear based."

"First of all, we must cater to that 1%.  They have all the money in the world but still need a little more just in case the price of mistresses takes a jump or their foreign investments drop.  To do this, we need to make sure they get lots of tax breaks.  Yes, there is a hand in the back."

"Mr. Speaker, don't the rich already pay the lowest tax rate of about 14% because most of their wealth is not taxed as income?  Additionally, how will we pay for roads and education if we keep giving money to those that already have it?  Finally, won't someone suspect what we are up to?"

"Those are all excellent questions.  First of all, you can never have too much money.  If we don't cater to the rich, they may elect others to represent them instead of us.  To keep our jobs, we need to cater to this 1%.  As far as roads are concerned, we'll worry about that later; besides the soft spotters...I mean the Tea Party members will like that we are making cuts.  They don't know what that means but they know they like it.  Finally, we'll just say Democrats = tax hikes and that will bring the Fearful ones running to our side."

Turning to the class as a whole, Boehner continues.

"You see class, our entire party is based on sound bites. For example, we say that tax breaks for the rich will create jobs.  Everyone knows that is nonsense.  Customers create jobs not the rich.  If no one is buying, no one will be selling.  Still, we say it as if we believe it and it works.   We also say, "make more cuts" all the while knowing that cuts have only a very small impact.  None of our economic policies have worked in the past.  You can't find an economist of note willing to back our current proposal.  Even the Chairman of the Federal Reserve thinks our tax cuts for the rich is ridiculous (see clip below).  However, the rich will be richer and that is all that really matters.  After all, they are the ones that put us here."

I'll admit, this was a really weird dream.  I then turned on the television only to discover I must still be dreaming.

I really, really wish that someone would show me how I am wrong about all of this.  I've asked several times and could only hear the echo of an empty room.  I think even Republicans are embarrassed by their own party.  4 years ago, I was one of them.

This just in.  Obama, speaking to supporters after the press left the room said the following about GOP budget crafter Paul Ryan:

"When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, he's just being America's accountant ... This is the same guy that voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for," Mr. Obama told his supporters. "So it's not on the level."

The clip below is very telling.  Look at Boehner squirming as he tries to avoid answering a question that basically shows the entire GOP policy is a loser.

I really need to get away from this political stuff.  It's just too frustrating.  I'd much rather go back to writing funny stuff about the TSA and M&Ms.  But if I completely turn my back on the GOP's fairy tales, who will save the world?

For the moment, my work here is done.

Up, up and away...

j

Between a Rock and Another, Really Big Rock

I have to talk about the national debt, but first...

I have been watching Raising Hope.  This show is really funny.  It strikes me as the Simpsons in real life.

I'm not sure what type of chair air traffic controllers use, but it seems to me they shouldn't have the ability to recline.

Egypt is now a free country right?

A blogger there got 3 years of jail time for criticizing the military now in charge of things over there.  He didn't get a lawyer.  Justice was swift.  Here is an excerpt from an article about the event:

"A general in charge of the "Morale Affairs Directorate" of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said on television that "Nabil had used 'inappropriate language' and defamed the military, and that his calls for an end to military conscription would have a negative effect on the youth of Egypt," according to Human Rights Watch."

I also heard that he used an inappropriate font.  The nerve of some bloggers...

Thank God I'm not in Egypt.  I criticize our government all the time. In spite of this, I am forever thankful that we live under a government where that is possible.

The Chinese government has banned television shows and movies that show time travel.  It seems writers have been sending people back in time to change the present.  Not good.  Creation of any society better than the one currently in place is seen as misleading.  In a sense, they have banned HOPE.

I didn't know this but citizens of the web are called Netizens.  This is interesting to me.  The world is rushing toward homogeneity.  It has always been moving in that direction; One world - one citizenship.  A hundred years ago, it was so slow as to seem improbable.  Today, we can almost see the boundaries fall.  Politically, there are some tall walls out there but economically, there's crumbling afoot.

Now with regards to the budget.

I believe that if we are to keep the untouchables (defense, social security, medicare and such) that we are talking about 10-15% of the budget that can be worked with.

I believe both parties want to eliminate waste.

I absolutely believe that we will not get anywhere near to balancing a budget by simply cutting costs.  At least not if we want to keep Medicare and Social Security.

I absolutely believe that a tax cut for the rich is the most ridiculous strategy out there.  Scammers make a living by offering things that are too good to be true.  This is what the GOP is doing.  In their response to Obama's speech they said that by even mentioning a possible tax raise, businessmen and going turtle - cutting back spending and cutting jobs because taxes might go up.  This is ABSOLUTELY WRONG.  To even imply such a thing shows how out of touch the GOP is with the world of business. I don't want to repeat my argument here but read my April blogs to find out why the GOP is being intellectually dishonest.

The GOP is slamming Obama with two arguments.  They say he lacks leadership because they got their proposal out before he did.  They go on to say Obama is looking at 12 years instead of the "traditional" 10 years, all the while ignoring the fact that theirs is a 39 year plan.

They slam it as irresponsible without any specifics.  it's as if Glen Beck is writing their lines for them.

To be fair, Obama's speech lacked specifics as well.

Let's summarize in spite of specifics.

GOP: Cut taxes and rework Medicare plus some cuts in minor things like education.
Dems:  Raise taxes and keep entitlements.

It will come down to a combination of cuts and tax increases.

My position, as a superhero:  Cut waste (minor savings), Keep entitlements (major cost), raise taxes (increase revenue).

That "increase taxes" thing sounds soooo bad.  But it's the only way to do it.  No educated person can actually believe that cutting taxes is going to balance the budget or create jobs.

The GOP had the courage to put something untouchable on the table.  Too bad they lacked the courage to be honest about taxes.

Onward...

It seems that there is a royal wedding afoot.  I don't know which I am less excited about: Hockey playoffs, Basketball playoffs or the Royal wedding.

Talk about exciting, I just saw the Hungarian equivalent of the QVC channel.  Since I have no idea what they are saying, I get an interesting perspective on how excited the two salespeople are about the plastic slicer and dicer they are selling.  It's really funny.

I have a world to save.  If your world needs saving, I recommend the video below.

Up, up and away...

j

Obama's Speech on the Budget

There were no surprises.  It's nice to see he's been reading my blog.

This does not mean the speech wasn't worth giving.  As usual, he built a strong case for his proposal and laid out why the GOP is wrong.

Here's the problem.  People will decide, not based on what he said, but rather on what others will tell them.

Let's take this point by point.

First of all, the budget was balanced when George W. took over.  Two unnecessary wars and a tax cut for the rich later, the economy is in a nosedive.  W. then hands the keys over to Obama.

If the tax break had never been given by Bush, we'd be in good shape right now.  Remember how the GOP told us that putting money in the hands of the rich will create jobs.  Well, they were wrong.  You only have to go back a few years to see what a failure that was and continues to be.

Still, the GOP will say that Obama wants to raise taxes.

The fact is that the GOP can say whatever it wants.  "We can balance the budget and still lower taxes.  All you have to do is vote for us."

And some of us will, because someone pressed on our soft spot when we were infants.

Obama's overall message was, "I will not allow a tax break for the rich if the poor have to pay for it."

By the way, if the tax break that was extended to the rich last December, the one Obama approved so he could get unemployment money and extend the tax cut for the poor, it that tax cut had been eliminated, then the 4 trillion the GOP plans to save by eliminating Medicare would not be needed.

He called the GOP Medicare plan exactly what it is, "A plan to lower Medicare by pushing costs onto the seniors."

He pointed out that during the last 10 years, the rich have gotten richer while, for the first time in our history, the average wage of the middle class dropped.  The GOP plan will simply carry on with this redistribution of Anti-Robin Hood behavior by taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

The picture he painted if the GOP plan were to be enacted is as accurate as it is terrifying.  They want to reduce revenue even more while reducing funding for education.

That's right.  They want to give the rich yet another tax cut and, at the same time, reduce money for education.  all in the name of balancing the budget.

Here is the most important point.  Obama pointed out that we need to take care of those that don't have a voice in Washington.  Do you know who has a voice in Washington?  I do.  It's the rich.  They are well represented by the GOP.  This party is bought and paid for by the wealthiest among us.  That 1% is telling their GOP puppets to get just a little more "squeal from the pig."

The one thing Obama said that I don't agree with.  He said the GOP wants what is best for the country but differ from him as to how to get there.

In my mind, the GOP is why we are where we are now.  They want it to get worse so they can reinstate the Bush policies that got us here to begin with.

I'l love to hear from someone that saw the speech and has a different take on it.  Please be specific.

Jim

Here and there

A town in France had to get rid of a bust of a famous woman.

The reason:  People were starting to gossip.

It seems the artist gave her overly large breasts to symbolize the town's generosity.

Elsewhere...

Have you tried the website StumbleUpon.com?  This is a kind of cool site that takes you to random places based on your preferences.  I found it less than intuitive to set up but now that its done, I occasionally click on its bookmark to see what shows up.

I promised to list Obama's accomplishments.  Here is his biggest:  The world now respects the United States once again.

This seems trite but I think its important.  I spend a lot of time in Europe (I'm there now) and I can see how the world views us.  Back when Bush was in charge, everyone saw us as bullies.  It's as if we were the dictator of the world.  Judging from the GOP's position on Libya, that is just what they wanted.  The GOP feels that by exerting our military might, the rest of the world will see who's got the big diaper in town and respect us for it.

When George W. would make a speech, people would change the channel (much like we did in the States).  When we  would try to work with other countries, they would politely say, "We are too  busy to help you invade another innocent country right now so just run along."

When Obama speaks, the rest of the world stops and listens.

They have the luxury of not having to listen to Fox News or the GOP.  They couldn't care less about what Boehner says or thinks.  They hear Obama's words and see his actions.  They love him.  It's my personal opinion (like everything else here) that the Middle East is in turmoil because they want what we have.  When Bush was in charge, no one was saying, "I got to get me some of that."  But they all want the promise of Obama.

Elsewhere...

A diet doctor in PA is accused of sexually assaulting several female patients.  He actually told them he was helping because an orgasm burns 200 calories.

Bank earnings are way up.  In the United States, we are great at making money while providing nothing.  Wall Street is making millionaires out of people that do little more than stir the money pot.  I still can't believe they give such huge bonuses to financial advisors claiming they are irreplaceable.  Talk to any of those that got off that gravy train and they will tell you they did nothing special.

We need a manufacturing policy in the United States.  We know how to make things.  We just can't make them as cheaply.  There are two reasons for this.  The first is the cost of labor.  From the lowest employee to the CEO, we pay way more than countries we are trying to compete with.  The second issue is regulation.  For example, California has lost over a million jobs in the last few years simply because their labor laws are too restrictive.

I can here some of you saying, "If we don't have those restrictive laws, big companies will abuse the people."

First of all, if California want's to compete with the other states, they can't have anti-competitive laws.  Additionally, is the United States wants to compete with the rest of the world, they need to get labor costs under control.  The quickest way to do that is to reduce CEO salaries and bonuses.  We can't force companies to lower CEO salaries.  But we can do things.  For example, a state could offer a tax incentive for a company whose CEO's salary is no more than 100 times larger than its lowest employee's wage.

We need to get creative, not restrictive.  The GOP is very big on cutting back on those things that make it hard for our companies to compete internationally.  The problem is that they limit their ideas only to those that make the rich, richer.

We all need to find a way to create jobs while closing the gap between the rich and the poor.  Closing that gap means that there are more people able to buy things beyond mere survival.  Right now, we are headed in the opposite direction.  We are going back to the age of Kings and Serfs.

And so on...

Tonight, Obama goes on television to paint a giant bullseye on his back.  He will talk about a budget that is bound to piss off everyone.  Half will think he is caving to the GOP while the other half will think he is caving to the progressive Democrats.

My guess is that he will rightly spend some time talking about the reality of "If we want certain things, we will have to pay for them."

Due to time zone differences, I probably won't see it until tomorrow.

I can't wait to see the GOP response.  Recently, the GOP criticized Obama as abandoning the elderly when he took away a part of Medicare.  Then, knowing we wouldn't remember, they proposed eliminating Medicare altogether.  They want to cut cost while cutting tax rates for the rich.

I have yet to hear anyone explain how cutting taxes for the rich will create jobs.

And now...some soothing music for those that stay behind while I go off to save the world.

Up, up and away....

I Challenge You

Palin is testing the presidential waters with a "birther" position.  Not directly, of course.  But she seems fond of mentioning it as part of Trump's campaign.  How "innocent" of her.

Romney is running for president.

His first ad says, "All of Obama's policies have failed."  Quite a "none-specific" statement.  To him I say, "Give me just one example of a failure that wasn't caused by the GOP putting up a roadblock."  This is a guy that passed Obamacare for his state and then when on to criticize Obamacare nationally.  This is a perfect example of how a politician puts politics ahead of the good of the nation.

Remember, the GOP wants Obama to fail.  This means they want the country to fail.  Then they can step in and recreate George W's government that succeeded so spectacularly only a couple of years ago.

Since Romney is not responding to my blogs, I will step in for him and list Obama's main failures.

Failure number 1:  Gave Tarp money to bail out all of the rich bankers.
Fact number 1: The Tarp was given out by the Bush administration

Failure number 2: Use money for an economic stimulus that didn't work.
Fact number 2:  The  Great Depression, which the current crisis has been oft compared to, lasted for 12 years.  A mere two and a half years after taking office, the economy is adding job faster than Bush lost them.  the recession is technically considered over although unemployment is slow to recover.    Now, Glen Beck may call this a failure; but I can tell the difference between Glen Beck and the top Economists in the world that supported the stimulus package.

Failure number 3: He's failed to get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan and is now in Libya.
Fact number 3: We are not in Libya in the same sense that Bush was in the other wars.  Lets not forget who lied to get us into those wars and lets not forget the GOP position on Libya which is to invade and throw Gadaffi out.

Failure number 4: Third year in a row of record national debt
Fact number 4:  The first year was from Bush.  The second and third years were on Obama's watch.  However, we would have a balanced budget if the tax break wasn't extended to the rich and we weren't paying for the GOP wars.

Failure number 5:  He is costing jobs.  It's his fault unemployment is so high.
Fact number 5:  Look at my chart on jobs from 3 or so blogs ago and tell me the GOP knows how to create jobs.  Their failed and ongoing failure in the realm of economics is astounding and akin to gross incompetence.

So, if my name were O'Reilly, I would call those last five points "Fair and Balanced."  After all, I'm just stating the facts.

I would like to know how cutting taxes for the rich creates jobs and reduces the national debt.

Give me an example.

I have gone first.  I have laid out exactly why it doesn't work in earlier blogs.  Critique it.  Tell me why I'm wrong.

Don't say, "You're weak point is economics."  I'm not an economist.  However, I've taken classes in Micro and Macro economics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Several courses at each level.  I'l wager that puts me well ahead of 90% of those trying to make policy.

Plus I'm good at math.

What I'm saying is, I will understand your argument so feel free to use facts.

If you tell me it worked before; I'll tell you I wore a raincoat last week when it rained.  A policy that may or may not have created jobs over 30 years ago is not automatically going to work now.  Tell me why I'm wrong.

I'm on my way to the airport.  It's a long, boring flight to Zurich and on to Budapest.  The last time I took this flight, I saw a bad guy on the wing.  I was able to stare him down and he left us alone.  Nothing worse than having to change into my hero outfit in mid-flight.  The lines to the bathroom can be soooo long.

I'll check back in tomorrow.

Up, up and away...

jim

American Autoban

I just finished a high speed run down to Bakersfield.

I live about 300 miles north of there in Novato; about 20 miles north of San Francisco.

I went down for my sister, Patty's birthday. I won't say which one, but it rhymes with Spifty.

All the family was there. I also saw Michele Griebling. She has a different last name now but I'm not sure what it is. Her being mentioned in this blog counts towards her 15 minutes of fame so be sure to tell a friend about it.

We had dinner at a Mexican food place. I love Mexican food. I can eat a ton of it and still pretend that I'm eating healthy. After all, it's not candy (M&M's) and it's not fast food (McNuggets) and it was probably cooked in an oven.

Speaking of food, it has come to my attention that not all of you have been to my cooking website. This is a must read. You can get there by clicking on the Cooking For the Single Man link above this blog.

Back to my road trip. I tend to make this 600 mile round trip in two days. It's not that I don't like Bakersfield. I actually grew up in Wasco, a small town near there. No, I come home quickly just to get the trip out of the way.

I don't know if you have ever been on Interstate 5 between Bakersfield and the Bay area but its not exactly the most scenic place to spend 5 hours. The easiest job in the world would have to be a travel guide on a tourist bus along this road.

"Looking back over your shoulder, you can see the vanishing Bakersfield skyline."

Two hours later: "Be careful not to lower your window as we are now passing through the largest methane cloud outside of Jupiter. And yes, those are 50,000 cows off to your right. They seem to be standing in mud (or something) up to their knees. I'm told they are very content."

(Cows got Knees??)

Three hours later: "We are now entering Oakland. In the event of an emergency, handguns will fall from the overhead compartment. I'll now demonstrate how to load it..."

And that would be about it.

This stretch of road has no real speed limit. The signs say "75 mph" but I think they just didn't have any bigger numbers in their Acme Sign Making Kit. It's basically, go as fast as you can, dropping out of Warp speed only when a cop car is spotted on the other side of the freeway.

Every time I see someone getting a ticket on that stretch of the road, I can't help admiring them and thinking, "How fast was that guy going anyway?" I routinely go around 80 and spend the entire time in the slow lane watching the fast cars speed by as their paint peels back from the wind friction.

So now, I'm home.

Now, just a bit of politics...

After the fact, I'm glad the budget came down to the wire. It brought a lot of focus on the need to cut spending. I'm all in favor of either cutting spending or increasing revenue.

Here's the thing: Everyone wants to balance the budget. The GOP pretends they are the only ones. I have no problem with them being the vocal leaders on this so long as they comply with the following:

• Don't use budget cutting to forward your social agenda and pretend it's about the money.
• Don't tell me you want to cut spending when you just gave the richest 2% over $1,000,000 apiece over the next ten years by extending the tax cuts to include the rich.
• Don't eliminate Medicare and pretend that you've solved a problem instead of creating one.

By the way, Props to Boehner. This guy has essentially signed a deal with the devil. He knows the Tea Party is a joke and yet, he has to do their bidding to keep his job. I think he held up fairly well considering who is pulling his strings.

I'm off to Budapest tomorrow. I'll try to post before my flight in the evening. By the way, I'm trying to post more often to see how it affects readership. If you like this coming out daily or every other day...or never, let me know.

Now, I'm not in the mood to "Keep them honest" so here is a feel good song.

Enjoy while I get my cape out of the wash and packed for my trip.

Up, up and away...

Let me be perfectly clear...

I am absolutely convinced that Bonds lied to Congress.

I am certain the Garden of Eden is a fable.

I have no doubt that either (a) No one knows what God is or wants or (b) Everyone knows what God is or wants.

I know, as certain as I'm know the sun will come up tomorrow, that tax cuts for the rich creates more wealth for the rich and nothing more.  If you don't agree with this, then you are guessing. (or listening to Fox news).

I am fairly certain that arming rebels in Libya is a bad idea; given that we don't know who is in charge.

I think Egypt may be ruining it for others that want to overthrow their dictators because Egypt wants to punish the guy that stepped down.  If I were a dictator and I thought that I'd spend the rest of my life in jail by stepping down - I'm staying put.

The smart money is that the Yankees will win more games than Oakland.  Money may not buy happiness but it certainly can buy a lot of championship trophies.

And Finally,  there is no doubt in my mind that the Republican Party wants to shut down the government.  Here is why I say this.

• After George W. the party lost all credibility; financially, militarily and global leaderhip-ly
• The economy is improving and the Republicans don't stand a chance if that happens under Obama
• The Tea Party is outside the capitol chanting "Shut it Down."
• If it was about the money, they can just drop .008% from everything and save the money instead of targeting Planned Parenthood.  The facts are that Planned Parenthood prevents 2,000,000 unwanted pregnancies a year.  This translates into 800,000 fewer abortions a year.  The Republicans know this but they tell their constituents that Planned Parenthood causes abortions.  They are lying to get votes.  To appease the ignorant.
• A shutdown, even if it is blamed mostly on the GOP will hurt the White House
• The idea of 800,000 joining the ranks of the unemployed when the government shuts down will make George W's 700,000 job loss per month seem small.

The Democrats come right out and specifically say what the GOP wants to cut.  When confronted with this, the GOP says, "It's about the money." All the while refusing to say specifically what they want to cut.

Elsewhere...

I have decided I like the fact that Medicare has been put on the chopping block.  I say this knowing that it won't be cut. i don't want it to be cut. However, I think we need to look at all of the untouchables.  If, in the end, we decide not to cut any of it, then we need to come up with a way to pay for it.  One or the other.  Completely ignoring it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.  

I had an interesting conversation over lunch about the absurdity of accusations of Socialism and the Obama administration.  I decided to imagine a country with ZERO social programs.

Only the rich will have educated children since there will be no schools.

Every road will be a toll road, including the one in front of your house.

If you are poor and are robbed, the thief is free to go his own way.

If you are not rich and your house catches on fire, you'd better run for it because no one is coming to help.

If you have a heart attack and no insurance, they will leave you where you fall.

There will be no laws, no government, no military and no regulation

I know there are those that say, "Come on.  You are being ridiculous.  Of course we need those things.  That doesn't make us a socialist."  And you know what I would say, "You are absolutely right."

So, when the government wants to fund Planned Parenthood, the Tea Party calls it socialism and wasteful spending.

If you are a Tea Party member, I have to say, "I'm glad you're here."  Why?  Because once Glen Beck is out of the picture, I need someone else to provide my material.

Less than four hours before the shutdown.  I think I'd better get my cape on...

Up, up and away...

Jim

By the way, let's keep them honest with this...

Note: The airplane engine that the Republican talked proudly about getting rid of was actually tried to push through by Boehner because it would have meant 7,000 more jobs in his district.

Fractured Facts

I think the problem with American politics is that we have a short memory.  We forget the past.  It's as if all politicians have The Force on their side.  All they have to do is wave their hand across the front of your face and whisper, "Never mind about that...it never happened."

The GOP is doing this now with unemployment.  "Luke...we weren't losing 700,000 jobs a  month at the end of the Bush administration."

Either that or we are too trusting. "If he said that, then it must be true."

I write this as I think about a Republican that was on MSNBC last night.  He said that he would shut down the government if money for Planned Parenthood wasn't cut.  He said most American's wanted him to do that (Hey! He said it so it must me true....right?)  He said that he wanted to shut it down because it was using Federal dollars to pay for abortion.

So, I looked this up.  Turns out that 84% of the money spent by Planned Parenthood was used to either treat STDs or prevent unwanted pregnancies (which they do with condoms and birth control pills).  Also, the Hyde act of 1976 prevents Federal funds from being spent on abortions.

So, what this politician is really trying to do is eliminate planned parenthood which would actually increase unwanted pregnancies and thus increase abortions.

Actually, I'm not being fair.  I don't think he really wants to increase abortions.  So, why is he taking this stand if it Will increase abortions?  Simple:  It sounds good to his base.  It energizes his base.   He claims he is stopping the use of Federal Funds for abortion, which he is not.  This gets the Conservative base all in a tizzy and they begin to cheer.  Remember, this is a group of people that will vote for you just because you start every speech with "Let's say a prayer for our troops."  (you know, the ones they sent over there to make Bush's dad proud)

All the while, what they are really cheering for is a congressman that is trying to do just the opposite of what they want him to do.  He doesn't care that they don't understand.  He just cares that they are clapping.

Note:  Yesterday's blog has a comment that, I think implies that my economic assumptions are incorrect.  They probably are.  I say this because I think nearly 100% of all economic assumptions are incorrect.  However, the poster failed to explain how my assumptions were wrong.

Here is the deal.  I have no intention of editing out comments.  You want to post a comment, go ahead.  Constructive comments are better than judgmental ones.  Convince me I'm wrong.  I have no problem changing my mind in the face of a persuasive argument.

Onward.

Bristol Palin did 15-20 days of work for a charity in 2009 that promoted Stopping Teen Pregnancy Through Abstinence.  For this work, she got $262,500.  The charity got $35,000.   Hmmmm

Glen Beck is out.  He still has 2,000,000 viewers (a 33% decline from last year) but he has lost over 300 advertisers.  If you've seen his show, its all about the end of the world, mostly caused by Obama the Black Supremest.  It turns out that people don't do a lot of shopping if they think the world is ending so no one wants to advertise on his show.

I have a problem with this.  Where will I get my material if he is out of the picture.  And, who will run the Republican Party?  Oh yeah, there is still Hannity and O'Reilly.

I came across a web site that did a little research on which politicians were the least honest.  According to them, #1 least honest is Michele Bachman.  They checked 19 statements she made and came up with the following:

True: 0
Mostly True: 0
Half True: 3
Barely True: 2
False: 8
Pants on Fire: 6

For those of you that don't know Michele Bachman, she is the Tea Party's candidate for president.  I saw a news team ask her about all of the accusations of false statements.  Her reply was to talk about her resume.  It's as if they'd said, "Do you think it will rain today?"  and she replied with, "I like ice cream."

Number 2 was the Steele (RNC) and number 3 was Dean (DNC).  I won't go into details since they are not candidates.

Number 4 was....drum roll....Sarah Palin, another Tea Party darling.

They checked 45 statements she made and came up with the following:

True: 10

Mostly True: 6

Half True: 7

Barely True: 6

False: 12

Pants on Fire: 4

Noteworthy is the fact that Pelosi was on the list as well; not surprising to me.

There are a number of Fact Checker websites out there.  I wish they would all consolidate into one big site.  This would give them enough material for a 24 hour show akin to CNN.

Since I spent so much time on "keeping them honest" above, I will forgo my youtube video today.

The world is calling and I must go.

Up, up and away...

jim

Fish in a Barrel

This whole budget thing is a thing of beauty.

Nothing could more clearly show what is wrong with politics, the news and the mis-perceptions of the American public.

Let's start with the current impasse.  The GOP wanted $61 billion in additional cuts and the Democrats agreed to $33 billion. They met them half way.  Now, this is really not a good way to tell if this is a fair compromise or not but its all I've got.

The GOP, equipped with a TEA PARTY bark collar is now trying, not to get that last $28 billion, but tying to adjust the social programs certain moneys pay for.  They don't care about the savings.  They are more interested in anti-abortion politics (to appease those that seem to know what God wants) and to eliminate NPR so that their other master, Rupert Murdock, will not have any radio competition for Rush and Hannity.

I saw a Tea Party leader on television a few minutes ago.  Here is their party line:  "We can't keep spending more than we take in."  This is a great line because 100% of us agree with it.  She went on to say a government shutdown will be "No big deal."  Apparently, she is not one of the 800,000 people that will lose their job when the shutdown occurs.  By the way, costs for preparations for a shutdown are quickly approaching the amount the two parties are squabbling over.  Another Tea Party member, when asked how a tax cut for the rich will help balance the budget, she said, "It's a fact that when business owners have more money, they reinvest in their company and create jobs."

Then there was the GOP guy that said eliminating Medicare will promote competition.  He also said that those near retirement will not be affected.  Others, they young, will have time to prepare for having to pay for health care until they die.

These are such easy targets (thus my "fish in a barrel" title).

Let's address them, starting with Medicare.

I'm  53; just a  year and a half too young to fall into the pool of "unaffected".  So, I have about 12 years to find a way to come up with $2,000 a month to pay for medical insurance for the rest of my life.  I got the $2,000 a month figure from what it costs us now to ensure an employee in his 60's.

Furthermore, Medicare, unlike many government programs, is actually very efficient.  I'm not sure how passing this off to the most expensive health care system in the world (our private sector) will actually lower costs.  The GOP seems to think the health care providers will say,"look at all of this money coming in.  Let's pass some of these savings along to the people."  I'm thinking not.


As far as "trickle down" economics are concerned:  This is where you give rich people money in the hope that they will create jobs.

How about an example:

 Let's suppose that I am a business owner and my company makes book shelves. The economy took a nosedive and people quit buying bookshelves.  I kept my people employed as long as I could.  In fact, my warehouse is full.  Finally, I laid people off.

The GOP believes that if I get a tax cut, I will hire my people back and begin making bookshelves once again.

That is not what I would do.  I won't start making more bookshelves until people start buying bookshelves again.  Demand precedes supply.

Why do you think no one sells space heaters in the Mojave desert?  Because there is no demand.  The GOP would have you think that by starting a space heater business in the middle of the desert, people will drop by and say, "Hey, I may not have any money, but I have to get me some of that."  This will in turn create jobs for space heater makers and the economy will thrive.

Ridiculous!

I can't make it any more simple than that.  You need to get customers first.  This means that you have to put money in the hands of the buyers, not the makers.

No one can believe that its the other way around; which makes the GOP's position even worse.  They are lying right at you in hopes that Glenn Beck can convince you to believe them.

Why, you may ask, if this is so clear and easy to understand, why aren't the Democrats saying something like this.  First of all, they are.  Secondly, they are wimps.

If the Republican party would just respond to every accusation with "Democrats are Wimps," I would nod knowingly.  "You have a good point," I would say.

However, just because they are wimps, doesn't mean they are wrong.  The fact that they are wimps just means they won't fight in the streets like the GOP.

You can help them get their message out by forwarding this blog link to someone that watches Fox news.  They will have to believe what I am saying; after all, I'm a hero and that's how we heroes roll.

By the way, there is a much more complicated issue here that deals with taxes, debt ratios and interest rates.  These are things that impact capital investment, not tax cuts for the owners.

So, we are spending more than we are taking in.

Take in more money.  Why eliminate Medicare while cutting taxes for the rich.  Don't lower the upper tax bracket - double it.  There have been times when I'm in that higher range and I still say "raise it."

I say this because I'm a hero and there is saving to be done.

Up, up and away...

j

And now, a moment from "Keeping them honest."

America's Pastime, and a bit of baseball

Let's go with the baseball thing first.

The season has started and my team, the Oakland Athletics, are making their all-to-predictable run for last place.  I don't blame them.  They have a payroll of $66 million compared to the $202 million of the Yankees.  The Royals have a payroll of $36 million!

How can this be considered a game worth watching.  There are the four or five teams with the money and then there are 25 farm teams.

If someone from another planet was watching all of this, with the mute button on, and you asked them to describe what what happening, they would say, "Oakland finds prospects and develops them.  When the player is good enough, he goes to Boston or New York.  Then, when he's too old to play anymore, he returns to Oakland."

The only thing worth watching is the home run king.  The Big Headed one is on trial for lying.  The entire world knows he's lying.  Either that or he has a serious problem of Water-head.  Right now the defense is trying to keep certain testimony out of the case.  His position is that if too much of the truth is put in front of the jury, they will have no choice but to find Bonds guilty.  I understand about illegal search and seizure and all  of that type of stuff that keeps evidence out of the courtroom.  But somewhere along the line, we need to get to the truth.  That is what this should be about.

First Jesus turned water into wine.

Not wanting to be outdone, the GOP has found a way to cut 1.4 trillion dollars from the budget while cutting the highest tax bracket from 33% to 25%.

No, they aren't going to start printing money.  They are simply going to eliminate Medicare.  Actually, that's not quite true.  They are going to "change" it so that you will get money to supplement the health insure you didn't know you were going to have to buy  at 65 years of age.  They claim it will have no impact on the elderly or poor.  When I say elderly, I'm talking about you and me; not today but soon enough

This is brilliant!

Apparently, they discovered that if you eliminate Medicare, people will get sick less often.  Talk about your think tank.  I, being uneducated, would have guessed that people would still get sick but now they either won't get care or they will be a burden on those paying taxes - the middle class.

So, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  I heard it best yesterday:   The GOP is against big government when it affects the rich and in favor of it when it affects the poor.

Speaking of the Budget Impasse.

There is an even more diabolical reason for the budget impasse.  The economy added 230,000 jobs last month.  That's bad news for the party that wants Obama to fail.  Every dime cut from the federal budget costs jobs.  Fewer jobs equals less taxes which means more cuts.  This is the Goal of the GOP

The GOP wants us to fall into a self-sustaining death spiral so they can blame Obama and regain power.    I don't see how this is very different from domestic terrorism.  It's not that they have different beliefs.  This is all just simple math - meaning, even a senator should be able to understand it.  No, it's that they know what they are doing.  They are intentionally working to make Obama, and thus American as a country, fail.

Just think about how much money in taxes just those employed in March will generate.  Compare that to how much money was lost during the last few months of Bush's administration (700,000 jobs lost per month).

Newt Gingrich, took time out from his extra-marital affairs and such to make a statement about Obama's run for president. He claims it is Obama's intent to "extort" money from the good people of this country so he can have a well funded campaign.  I wonder what Newt's thoughts are on Meg Whitman who spent hundreds of millions trying to buy California.

I'm hearing more and more rumblings about Glenn Beck being fired.  Apparently, the rest of Fox says that Glenn is so far out there that he is ruining their credibility.  To this I say, "What credibility?"  Stephen Colbert said that Glenn is under pressure because he is such a downer.  He goes on to say, "If Glenn is fired, our worst fears will be realized: Not knowing what to be afraid of."

A shutdown looms.  Even though the Democrats have agreed to the $73 billion in cuts the GOP originally wanted, the GOP now wants more.  The Tea Baggers really have a tight collar on these guys.  I suggest they go take back the millionaire tax extension.

Don't worry, I work for free.  If the government shuts down, I'll still be out there saving the day.

Up, up and away.

jim


And for those of you that want a little more of my version of "Keeping Them Honest."  This is for you...