1 It's welfare for rich big city liberals.

2 The biggest budget problem we have isn't debt service, unfunded pension obligations or entitlements. It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face. -------------------------------------------------- The deuce you say.

3 The biggest budget problem we have isn't debt service, unfunded pension obligations or entitlements. It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face. ------------------------------------------------------------- Word.

4 It's time to remind the politicians that we sent them for fiscal sanity...

Speaking of... I have a "mock congress budget session" thingy with Rep. Joe Barton tomorrow and Saturday.  If you're interested in me asking him any questions, let me know- I can give my email address where you can send them.  If I get a chance, I'll ask them.

5 There was a big fight down here about the state budget with the Dems being all but but the Republicans want to FIRE SCHOOL TEACHERS instead of increasing a ONE PENNY tax, don't you want to give ONE PENNY to save our schools?  It made me want to start shotgunning my tv.  Yeah, just a penny.  Like that tax on phone bills that was to fund the Spanish American war that kind of, ooooops, never ever went away.

6 They could give a shit about this country.  Either side.  Third party time.  Right fucking now.  Put all of the bastards under the one's bus.

7 Death by avoiding a thousand cuts.

8 1 It's welfare for rich big city liberals.

Posted by: SGT Ted at June 16, 2011 11:01 AM (arV2e)

Well how else is Nancy Pelosi supposed to increase her net worth?

9 Cultural enrichment.  We really need that shit.  By the bus load.  And we especially need it from the fucking government.  What the fuck are these assholes thinking?

10 OT

Can someone much smart than I, please explain this legislation on patents that the GOP is pushing through?

Thanks. (link to TownHall)

Will the GOP Pull a 'Pelosi' on Patent Rights?

11 Can we keep Weiner and get rid of the others? I would rather pay for his internet service then to give all the other clowns access to the national checkbook.

12 $200 million on luxury chairs -- need I say more?

13 Raise the debt limit.  For this crap.  Pay U.N. dues.  Raise revenue!  What bullshit.  These fuckers are in it only for themselves.  All of them.

14 Problem: Legislators who don't bring back the pork have trouble being re-elected. If citizens are required to send a bunch of their money to DC, they won't be too happy if it just gets distributed to other states. Solution: Reduce the money going to DC. If it's just going to go back to the states (minus what sticks to a bureaucrat's hands) we shouldn't be filtering it through DC in the first place.

15 Rush had this up on his FB page the other day:

Dirty Spending Secrets

http://tinyurl.com/6kqul9e

16 Spend less than you make, happy.
Spend more than you make, unhappy.

It used to be that the press was a watchdog on spending, especially stupid spending.  Now?  The MSM is cheer-leading.
I want to know the teacher - administration ratios;  not just head counts, but spending as well.  I bet you could eliminate a lot of spending by cutting administration. Especially the high administrative salaries.

If only there was a way to make members of congress personally responsible when the shit they vote for goes wrong.

17 Some of the House Rs also blinked yesterday on food programs. The Rs had called for some cuts there but some didn't follow-through because they were worried about what the Dems would say. Slight cuts to WIC were handily defeated (360-64 on one vote) and a call for virtually eliminating funds for Food for Peace was denied 107-319. While helping those who are starving in foreign countries is a noble thing, there are numerous private overseas organizations who could do the job just as well, if not better.

18 " It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face.".....and hand out our money like it's Halloween candy. When a guy in Michigan won a 2 million dollar lottery and called to find out what to do about his bridge card (food stamps), it was a state government official who told him to keep taking the food stamps. We're an endless supply of free money to these gubmint people, folks.

19 And on top of all of this bullshit, Barry threatens critics with Tax Audits.

20

When a guy in Michigan won a 2 million dollar lottery and called to find out what to do about his bridge card (food stamps), it was a state government official who told him to keep taking the food stamps.

From what I've read, the official had no choice but to tell him that due to a loophole in the law (iirc there was an issue about how the lottery funds would be counted for qualification purposes).  An amendment to the law is being passed to deal with that.  That being said, there's ways and ways to tell someone that - my response would have been "well, if you're fine being a parastic jackass who is, literally, taking food out of the mouth of someone who really needs it, by all means keep the card".  Sadly, there are people who would be fine doing that.

I've dealt with this for people who get lawsuit settlements and the settlement is structured in such a way as to permit that person to keep getting public benefits.  It's sleazy but, hey, set up a game with rules that can be manipulated and people will manipulate them. 

 

21

Sharpening pitchforks.

I can see 2012 from my house.

22 Apparently these assholes didn't get the message in nov. '10...

23 The biggest budget problem we have isn't debt service, unfunded pension obligations or entitlements. It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face.

But if they're Republicans, don't you dare criticize them.

24 Guy Fawkes had a good idea once.

25 Unfortunately, pain is the only motivator that will work to correct this attitude in people.  That's it. Some sort of pain.

26 Look on the bright side, you no longer have to spend a bundle on a Greek holiday. Greece is coming to us.

27

If the US doesn't change its profligate spending:

EU's Rehn Confident Of Greek Aid Deal

/Greece is our future.

28 28 Look on the bright side, you no longer have to spend a bundle on a Greek holiday. Greece is coming to us.   jinx!  Greece is the word indeed.   And our children and our children's children will be shafted - Greek style.

29 This is why we should cut Medicaid,too.

30 Greece is coming to us.

Posted by: JackStraw

mmmm Baklava

31 The problem is the Senate only gets 1/3 up for election at a time.  We need some more primaries

32 The fix is in.

33 Greece is coming to us.

Posted by: JackStraw

It's a good thing I got that degree in Philosophy!  Dialectics baby!  Oops, lunch break over--gotta head back to the stock room.   

34 10 OT: Can someone much smart than I, please explain this legislation on patents that the GOP is pushing through?

Thanks. (link to TownHall)

Will the GOP Pull a 'Pelosi' on Patent Rights


Patent reform is in Obama's budget, and this legislation is essentially his proposal. My understanding is that Obama here is moving patents into mandatory spending. Those in-favor argue it would allow would encourage innovation and job creation, and those opposed worry it violates Congress' power to appropriate. Both Budget and Appropriations said they opposed the legislation unless major changes were made.

35 I think a lot of the attitude is "fuckit, we have to fight on the BIG HILL!"  but I think if you make them willing to die on the small ones, Planned Parenthood, ACORN, this crap, they will expend all of their capitol making it easier to flatten EPA, TSA, FAA and so on.

36

The biggest budget problem we have isn't debt service, unfunded pension obligations or entitlements. It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face.

Don't the unserious legislators reflect pretty well the folks who vote for them? Look at it this way. We're all partners in in USA,LLC. And half or more of our partners have a raging drinking problem. They won't put down the bottle, we talked to them about it over and over and it does no good. They keep going on benders and buying shit we can't afford. What do the sober partners, who pay for the mistakes of the others, do?

37 If I were a Senator or a Rep I would be getting a tad nervous. The violence in Greece is spreading and a pretty good indication of what may happen in our not to distant future. People always think these things can't happen here, right up until the point they do.

38

The biggest budget problem we have isn't debt service, unfunded pension obligations or entitlements. It's that we continue to be represented by (save for a handful) fundamentally unserious legislators who are not up to the task of addressing the fiscal problems we face.

And even that understates the problem. They're quite serious about what they do, and they'll continue to be as long as the treasury gives them the money to do it.

Whatever, as long as I get a pony.

39 These observations recall some of the arguments we heard on the budget and cutting expenditures from several weeks ago. Sadly the pragmatic adults in Washington always seem to tell us we can't waste our time squashing little things; we have to get ready for that big budget battle down the road. The really important one that we will get to tomorrow. No, really we will, scout's honor. There is always an excuse. It is hard to imagine this profligacy ending through any means other than Monty's means: doom.

40

Who foresaw the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990?  At that point, the bureaucracy could no longer instill fear in the individual, the goverment was insolvent, and packs of Marlboros were accepted as currency instead of the ruble.

I've stated before that we have to start making plans for a post-united republic--the tipping point would be the California/New York/Illinois bailout, which is gonna happen prior to the 2012 election. 

41 That patent bill looks like another payoff to lobbyists from the "big companies" so they can screw small business and ordinary people yet again.

42 18 RE food programs-- I forgot to add that 2/4 top leadership members voted for cuts to food programs. On 10% cuts to WIC, that would be Cantor and Hensarling. With regards to Food for Peace, it was almost the entirety of the leadership.

43 44 18 Sorry, 2 of 4 voted for 10% cuts to WIC and largely voted in-favor of a number of other bills. You have a problem when leadership members are voting to further cut spending and their members aren't.

44 That patent bill looks like another payoff to lobbyists from the "big companies" so they can screw small business and ordinary people yet again.

Posted by: Vic at June 16, 2011 11:40 AM (M9Ie6)

Our Harvard trained DoJ lawyers have thoroughly reviewed and edited the language in this bill, so there's nothing to see here--move along!

Besides, we really do need to "harmonize" with the world/global patent system just to be fair.  That outdated stuff in the US Constitution dedicated to the rights of US citizens is not applicable for this modern world.

45 17 Spend less than you make, happy.
Spend more than you make, unhappy.

It used to be that the press was a watchdog on spending, especially stupid spending.  Now?  The MSM is cheer-leading.
I want to know the teacher - administration ratios;  not just head counts, but spending as well.  I bet you could eliminate a lot of spending by cutting administration. Especially the high administrative salaries.

If only there was a way to make members of congress personally responsible when the shit they vote for goes wrong.

Posted by: Jack at June 16, 2011 11:11 AM (kCT7A)

You need to watch "The Cartel" you can get it on Netflix.  It is about how wasteful our education system is.  They want more and more money for the chiiiiiiildren but a lot of public schools already spend $300,000- $500,000 per classroom per year.  My kids' private school spends around $100,000.  Oregon public schools spend $12,000 per student per year.  Private school $3,500 to $6,000.  You don't even want to see the test scores between the 2.

46 Yeah, uh, kinda at the point where I'd just as soon abolish Congress and the Executive branch. Do we really need these corruptocrats and imbeciles to "lead" us because they sorta suck. No, they really suck. It's just not worth saving since their institutional memories keep remembering the crimes merely to hone the abuse.

47 Thanks Obama!  Now we got yet another three letter government agency (EDA) that will be an impossible to kill parasite just like all the others.

48 He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

49 Nothing changes until the people change, and that wont happen until the pain comes.
The question is, how long can the can be kicked down the road.

50 Yes, The Cartel is supposed to be really good. In CA there was a teacher protest and they were saying all the "reduce class size" BS and the reporter said, isn't enrollment dropping?  (It is in Los Angeles)

Protestor:   Uhhhhh........

51 Great job on the site, it looks wonderful. I am going to bookmark it and will make sure to visit often