A Plague On Both Your Houses

Tax Spending Reductions?

2011-04-14T11:05:22-07:00

What?! In his speech last night, the President said a couple of things that just drove me crazy. “The fourth step in our approach is to reduce spending in the tax code.” “the tax code is also loaded up with spending on things like itemized deductions.” “the Fiscal Commission’s model of reducing tax expenditures.” I hate politicians exactly because of this type of insane, dishonest and arrogant language. Has no...

Lacking Leaders, the Parties Bicker

2011-04-08T17:01:49-07:00

I doubt I am the only one in America who is tired of political bickering. You only had to watch Anderson Cooper last night to understand why the idiots in Washington can’t get anything done. Two “pundits” from opposite sides of the aisle just couldn’t help themselves from going at it like a couple of schoolyard six year olds. And David Gergen looked like the frustrated teacher who could only...

Obamas Critical Strategic Mistake Libya

2011-03-11T16:28:58-08:00

Ineffective, indecisive, lacking leadership, cowardly. These are words I never thought to use to describe the President of the United States. Yet they are descriptive of his failure in the Middle East and North Africa. Many people (including myself) can talk of morality and the terrible horror that Gadhafi continues to visit upon his own people. We can draw comparisons dating back almost 80 years where we have dithered while...

Libya, Failed Policies, Morality and Foreign Relations

2011-02-23T15:10:38-08:00

The measure of success of the nation in international affairs is in our ability to change with the times and by doing so protect our own interests. In this I agree with many conservatives that say we must treat differently each country in the Middle East that is exploding. On the other hand I find it highly hypocritical that conservatives supported our invasion in Iraq by resorting to the old...

Al Qaeda is a Loser in the Recent Middle East Uprisings - Foreign Policy

2011-02-14T15:53:35-08:00

One of al Qaeda's standard talking points is its insistence that terrorist violence is the only way to bring about change in the Arab world. It also likes to rail against U.S. support for authoritarian regimes in the Islamic world. By driving Mubarak from office through largely peaceful demonstrations, the Egyptian people have demolished the first claim. And despite some occasional wobbles, Barack Obama's administration ultimately came down on the...

Egypt Another in a Long Line of Failed US Support for Dictators

2011-02-10T16:22:07-08:00

We do it all the time. Historically, for around 60 years, the United States has pursued, and continues to pursue, a strategy of supporting oppressive dictators around the world who mistreat and are thrown out by their own people, all in the name of “stability” and their “friendship” to us. Also historically, this strategy has largely failed. Yet we continue to pursue it. Like an insane person banging his head...

Links for 2010-09-08 [del.icio.us]

2010-09-09T00:00:00-07:00

Hating Taxes for Anyone
Obama's populist rhetoric about taxing the "rich" is just that. People hate taxes not because they hate funding good programs or paying off the debt or social justice (whatever that means). They hate taxes because they get so little value for their money.
Clipmark: Hating Taxes for Anyone
Obama's populist rhetoric about taxing the "rich" is just that. People hate taxes not because they hate funding good programs or paying off the debt or social justice (whatever that means). They hate taxes because they get so little value for their money.

Republicans question birthright citizenship, but Dems question their motivations - Yahoo! News

2010-08-04T15:23:42-07:00

Republicans question birthright citizenship, but Dems question their motivations - Yahoo! News Yet again we are distracted by idiocy from the real issue. Yet again we are trying to fit immigration policy into a pandering 30 second sound bite. Yet again both sides of the aisle are ranting. The truth is that Phil Dobbs is right, revoking the protections of the 14th Amendment is not the answer. How many immigrants...

An Interesting line in a BP Story

2010-08-02T17:49:12-07:00

BP: Upcoming kill attempt might do the trick alone - Yahoo! News The Environmental Protection Agency released a study Monday concluding that when mixed with oil, chemical dispersants used to break up the crude in the Gulf are no more toxic to aquatic life than oil alone. BP: Upcoming kill attempt might do the trick alone - Yahoo! News Which, if you read between the lines, or have any sense...

Links for 2010-06-16 [del.icio.us]

2010-06-17T00:00:00-07:00

BP Agrees to Establish $20 Billion fund
Good. About time. Ken Feinberg is a good, no nonsense choice.
Clipmark: BP Agrees to Establish $20 Billion fund
Good. About time. Ken Feinberg is a good, no nonsense choice.
Oil Spill Toll on Wildlife will be Devastating
It has only just begun.
Clipmark: Oil Spill Toll on Wildlife will be Devastating
It has only just begun.

Links for 2010-06-15 [del.icio.us]

2010-06-16T00:00:00-07:00

Oil Companies Site Dead consultant in Response Plans
Are these guys for f---ing real? They all cut and pasted the same disaster response plan. The same one that BP had. The one with Walruses (absent from the gulf for 3 million years) and dead consultants. And People wonder why the American public is so angry.
Clipmark: Oil Companies Site Dead consultant in Response Plans
Are these guys for f---ing real? They all cut and pasted the same disaster response plan. The same one that BP had. The one with Walruses (absent from the gulf for 3 million years) and dead consultants. And People wonder why the American public is so angry.
What Can the Oil Companies Do to Regain Trust?
These guys need to stop acting in the typical fashion and step up.
Clipmark: What Can the Oil Companies Do to Regain Trust?
These guys need to stop acting in the typical fashion and step up.

What Can the Oil Companies Do to Regain Trust?

2010-06-15T11:45:50-07:00

We can’t trust the Oil Companies. Surprise, surprise. BP has lied to us throughout the current crisis and before. The other Oil Companies according to Congressional Testimony today have spill response plans that are not only remarkably similar, but discuss Walruses in the Gulf and provide contact information for consultants who are long dead. They have demonstrated themselves to be completely untrustworthy. Their credibility is in the toilet. So what...

Links for 2010-06-14 [del.icio.us]

2010-06-15T00:00:00-07:00

"Anchor" baby legislation is just wrong
I will say up front I am not opposed to Arizona's SB1070. It asks people if they are complying with the law.

But this? This is just wrong. It is unconstitutional and it negates all of the principle on which we are founded. A person born in this country is a citizen. Pure and simple, no question, no denial, no controversy. Everyone born in this country, everyone. Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Ethiopian, Irish. Everyone. Without exception. To try and make it hard for them to prove is evil, wrong, unconstitutional, and exhibits nothing but anger, resentment and meanness. It is a terrible idea. And it will not garner sympathy on the part of many who don't think 1070 was wrong. There may be much confusion and many flaws and gray areas in immigration laws. This isn't. Born here = citizen. No ifs ands or buts.
Clipmark: "Anchor" baby legislation is just wrong
I will say up front I am not opposed to Arizona's SB1070. It asks people if they are complying with the law.

But this? This is just wrong. It is unconstitutional and it negates all of the principle on which we are founded. A person born in this country is a citizen. Pure and simple, no question, no denial, no controversy. Everyone born in this country, everyone. Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Ethiopian, Irish. Everyone. Without exception. To try and make it hard for them to prove is evil, wrong, unconstitutional, and exhibits nothing but anger, resentment and meanness. It is a terrible idea. And it will not garner sympathy on the part of many who don't think 1070 was wrong. There may be much confusion and many flaws and gray areas in immigration laws. This isn't. Born here = citizen. No ifs ands or buts.

Links for 2010-06-11 [del.icio.us]

2010-06-12T00:00:00-07:00

Clipmark: BPs Larger Platform Lacks Certification
The British government defends these guys and our government does little if anything to impose consequences for their actions. And people want us all to be calm and rational and not frustrated with them.

Carville has it right, somebody needs to take a baseball bat to these guys.
BPs Destruction of a way of Life
This is just the beginning.

Halted for the first time in 176 years. Hey, British Prime Minister, you want us to stop bashing BP, F--- you.
Clipmark: BPs Destruction of a way of Life
This is just the beginning.

Halted for the first time in 176 years. Hey, British Prime Minister, you want us to stop bashing BP, F--- you.

Zakaria: Obama caves in to media frenzy over BP - CNN.com

2010-06-11T15:29:45-07:00

Zakaria told CNN, "I think that what he's been doing in recent days has been caving in to this media outcry that he show more emotion and anger and energy in dealing with the problem. And I think the result of it is that you're getting government as theater rather than government that is actually doing something effective. Zakaria: Obama caves in to media frenzy over BP - CNN.com I...

The Oil Spill

2010-06-10T11:11:48-07:00

The U.K. government continues to keep a low profile on the issue, despite increased calls from business to intervene on BP's behalf. This included a call in a report by U.S. investment bank J.P. Morgan for Britain to raise a "diplomatic red flag" on BP's behalf. Trade group the Institute of Directors said that aggressive U.S. political rhetoric was "inappropriate" and could prejudice other U.K. business abroad. Prime Minister David...

The New Arizona Immigration Law

2010-05-27T16:26:57-07:00

To anybody interested in the Arizona immigration law, I highly recommend the Cato Institute blog entitled A Legal Analysis of the New Arizona Immigration Law | Cato @ Liberty. People, however, seem to be missing an important point that Erwin Chemerinsky raised with the New York Times: “The law is clearly pre-empted by federal law under Supreme Court precedents,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, an expert in constitutional law and the dean...

Is anyone really surprised by the election results?

2010-05-19T10:43:13-07:00

It reminds me of the oft quoted statement from Casablanca “I’m shocked, shocked, that there is gambling in this establishment.” Or in this case that people are pissed off at the incumbents. Hello! Is anyone home?! Have you been listening? You’re surprised? What planet are you from? The truth is Obama was elected because people wanted change in Washington and he has given them more of the same. He has...

I Wonder How Much Mr. Obama Took From Working American's 401(K)s when he berated Goldman and Trashed Wall Street?

2010-05-13T16:59:56-07:00

Punitive political populist pronouncements may be politically popular but they aren't good policy. I am no fan of Goldman Sachs or the excesses of risk Wall Street predictably brought on, and I think that imposing and modernizing financial reform and regulation is necessary, but this bank bashing has gotten out of hand and has cost the American worker, the American Economy and the World Economy, billions. It is another example...

Taxes and Why we Hate to Pay Them

2010-05-13T15:54:40-07:00

Technorati Tags: taxes,government,political,politics,republicans,democrats,liberal,conservative,charity,corrupt People hate taxes. Rich people, poor people, republicans and democrats all hate taxes. For political reasons some blame it on greed and for political reasons some say it makes economic sense to hate taxes. The truth is that taxes are the only way we have to pay our government debts as they exist today. They ultimately pay for the borrowing required to fund all government programs. The...