The Food Committee

The inaugural commission created a menu balanced across the palate of the United States of America… Featuring Maine Lobster, hickory grilled bison from South Dakota, Hudson valley apple pie, wines from Lake Eire region. The decision was made by a committee…

Mrs. Debbie Boehnor
Mrs. Diani Cantor
Mrs. Honey Alexander
Mrs. Iris Schumner
Mr. Paul Pelosi
Mrs. Landra Reid

They tasted thousands of different items representing areas across this , and came to a consensus… How hard is that? You try it. It is very hard!

If Americans who have no connection other than their spouses chose to run for office and won, can come together to figure out a complicated endeavor, why can’t we figure how to keep guns out of school, how to raise our debt ceiling, how to cut spending fairly and how to balance our budget?

The reason is the bullies on the outside. Those groups who yell, “don’t you give one inch”. Those groups who say “they’re trying to take rights away from you”. Those groups who growl: “take everything; give them not one penny in return”.

Usually those bullies are powerful because they are bullies. They live and survive on your donations… IF they can freak you out, that you give up some of your hard earned money, they get rich…

There is an industry that thrives on conflict. That gets rich off discontent. That fans flames to grow their pockets.

That industry is who to blame for our nation’s intransigence. Fox News gets the lions share, because they were first. But Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coultier, Glenn Beck, are all to blame. Because we see them in surroundings that mirror our memories of Ed Marrow, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, we drop the pretense that what we are hearing is not news. It is a business whose income depends upon the temperature of our hate. Pure and simple. The more we hate, the richer they get..

Would a consensus on a menu reflecting all of America have been so easily obtainable if Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly were shrieking about each item? Exhorting any viewers to call and complain?

You know the answer… Proof is without the bullies on the outside, you put a handful of Americans on any committee, and things get done….

We’ve got to silence the bullies on the outside… Let’s do it, and eat in peace…

Can Someone Belt The Beltway Press Corps?

Not like Sam Donaldson got belted… but the old fashioned way. The way Dad did when his little kids messed up big…

The nation was starving to hear about gun control. The President issues a brief statement then asked for questions.

The first question was NOT about gun control. It was about the fiscal cliff. Most people outside the beltway don’t care that much about the fiscal cliff. 26 people were not pushed off a cliff.

The second question was NOT about gun control. It was about the fiscal cliff. Again, can we please get back to gun control….

The third question was NOT about gun control. It was about the fiscal cliff… Excuse me MR. Reporter? Did you miss the story and impact of the shooting last Friday? Or you don’t even care?

Near the end, Jake Tapper, and ABC News reporter finally asked…. noting that the president hasn’t done much on guns in the last four years and asking, “Where have you been?”

Obama answered exactly correct… I pulled us out of the Great Depression faster than did President Roosevelt. I resurrected the American Automobile industry, which would have failed. I was fighting two wars, one I finished, and the other I will soon finish in this term. It has not been a vacation…….

He should have responded….. “The real question is where have YOU been? You are the press; you define the arguments to which I have to give answer. Right here. Right now. In a press conference to cover this tragic disaster of a mass shooting in Connecticut, one of children 6 years old… I have to first answer 3 questions about the fiscal cliff, because to you, that is more important… The real answer, is if I wasn’t having to fight so many firefights ignited by the press, usually over nothing, I could get some real work done….”

“Reality” could not have more clearly answered Jake Tapper’s question…..

For Those Who Follow DelawarePolitics.Net

I’m trying to put all your ideas together into one package. So, let me get this right… All you are asking is for, is a country where:

1) There is no universal healthcare.
2) Few entitlement programs.
3) Low Flat Tax System.
4) Faith based Government.
5) A deep reverence for God.
6) Extremely strict rules against abortion.
7) Marriage has already been strictly defined as between man and woman.
8) Homosexuality is a sin, and illegal.
9) Dress Codes are strictly enforced.
10) Tattoos, piercings, baggy pants, are banned.
11) Has the Death Penalty which they aren’t shy about using.
12) Strong private school system with religious focus.
13) Widespread dependency on oil and natural gas drilling.
14) Growing nuclear program
15) Nonexistent environmental nuisances
16) Culture that promotes family and stereotyped roles for men and women.

I’ve endeavored to put all your values on one page. I share your frustration because today, ever since 2008, it seems like America is moving further and further away from these values.

But you don’t have to be frustrated anymore. I have looked far and wide and have discovered a place already in existence that has those values in place, and more. If you sorely long for those values above, it is sincerely a place where you and your family would be very happy.

It is Iran.

You don’t have to pay me. I don’t need any commission. Just glad to help a fellow Delawarean out…. No problem.

Boycott AutoZone

(It appears that because of this and other boycott threats, AutoZone has taken to twitter to deny they sponsor any politically-charged programs.)…..

AutoZone supports Rush Limbaugh. They are one of his prime advertisers.  Of course it is for demographic reasons.  People who listen to Rush, work on their own cars.

However Rush Limbaugh just called an attractive thirty year old,… a hooker and a whore on his national show.  He then told her to take pictures of her private parts and send it to him “so he could watch.” Normally this would be funny and should be dismissed as a silly joke…..BUT…… The whole purpose of this exchange was NOT to make a silly joke……

The whole purpose of this exchange was to intimidate THAT WOMAN and to make all others quake in their boots the next time anyone dared to take an opinion unsanctioned by Rush Limbaugh…. because he might embarrass them publicly.

Across this entire nation, all public servants, teachers, parents, and a greater part of children, are trying to make schools bully-free…..

And yet we have “the unofficial spokesperson” for the Republican Party, bully a relatively young coed  in school, whom he doesn’t know, supposedly to make her, and all other women learn to “shut up.” If bullying is wrong, then all of us have got to do something about it…. We can. 

Boycott AutoZone….

Yes they are innocent. but if a business choses to support someone they know is an avowed crack-head, and that crack-head arbitrarily goes off and wounds someone, then they too are a responsible part of the reason it happened.  Had they not supported him, they would not now be liable for damages….

We are not talking damages in monetary value… We are talking damages to women everywhere…  Unless something monstrously big happens in punishment of this exchange, it is now “ok” to demean woman everywhere: at the workplace, on the street corner, at the checkout line, on the bus, because Rush did it and nothing was done about it….

Every woman took a step back today…  including your daughters…. THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 3RD, PLEASE SUPPORT A FLASH MOB DEMONSTRATION AGAINST RUSH LIMBAUGH AT THE AUTO-ZONE STORE ON ROUTE 40/SALEM CHURCH ROAD,  BETWEEN 1:00PM AND 2:00PM ….

(GPS INFO:  AUTOZONE  1727 PULASKI HWY   BEAR, DE 19701)

BRING SIGNS, POSTERS, BULLHORNS, AND AS MUCH WOMEN’S VITRIOL AS YOU CAN MUSTER.

Of all the Delaware AutoZone locations this one was picked for its proximity to the University, clear visibility from New Castle’s County’s major highway, and for the fact that a very busy car wash is across the street…. Please show up…

Women, it’s time to REALLY bust some balls…..

Why Was Fox News Told Not To Cover the Results Of The South Carolina Primary?

Why would they not cover the results of the primary as it was happening?

Hmmmm, what on earth could be going on at Fox News?

Newt’s Downfall (Coming Soon)

In one of the most marvelous pieces of writing that have ever crossed my path, Professor Dumbledore, after the Sorcerer’s stone has been successfully kept from Voldemort’s grasp, gives out a few remaining points at the end of the semester…..

As he bestows points to a most unlikely hero….. he says….

“It takes great courage to stand up to one’s enemies. It takes even greater courage, to stand up to one’s friends….”

With corporate hatred rivaling the level of intensity the Colonists felt to King George, or Abolitionists felt to Southern Plantation slave owners, if Gingrich flips and coddles the corporate line of soon to be dismissed Mitt Romney, he will fail. Newt must maintain the populist vein he found in North Carolina, and portray himself as being the true one from Main Street, meaning by default, Obama will be left, …. looking like he is defending Wall Street….

This year’s vote will be anti-corporate. Whoever earns it, is officially now up in the air.

Yes, Obama showed “toughness” to go after Bin Laden.. But again, in the real world, that choice is a no brainer. But, is Obama tough enough to imprison his personal friends, those traders at Goldman-Sachs, for their illegal deception which lead to he worst financial crises in our lifetimes?

I doubt it. Anyways, .. Time is running out.

Are Politics Divisive?

At times they are, more so now than in recent memory. But, they were not always… There are fond memories from some of the more senior actors on the political stages across this country, of when elections were viewed as mere sporting events… similar to that of Dallas versus Philadelphia… Some sparing, baiting, teasing when on, but after the vote, life went on.. just the same as it does after game day.

The decisiveness began to occur during the eighties. Which simultaneously, coincides with the advent of Fox News… We all know how a mother in law can pick apart a marriage. Suppose a news network used the same approach? First shining a light on one little thing that pissed the other partner off, then, returning the favor, shining a light on something the other did, pissing the first one off too… Pretty soon both sides are expressing anger at each other; so mad they are, it never occurs to them to be mad at the person creating a fiasco where none existed before… the mother in law…..

What if our anger, was just us getting played? I imagine one could do that with a team rivalry. “Cowboy players all said they wished when they played Philadelphia, they could play in another city. Philadelphia stinks…” Then two days later. Philadelphia’s quarterback said the ugliest hooker in Philly, was better looking than the Dallas Cheerleaders.” The following week, Dallas fans beat up Philadelphian shopping in the Galleria.” Two days later, “Woman gang raped outside King of Prussia Mall for wearing Cowboys Jersey.” So what if none of the stories were true… Actually no one was even concerned to check out their veracity. (it was false) but that didn’t stop the animosity from building… Next seasons event: for some reason, had more fights then ever recorded at any NFL game. The second game of the season, was played without any fans in the stands…. Tickets were refunded.

Of course this is fictitious. And believable..

So what if we hate each other for no reason? Just that we were told there was a reason and so hate we do?

There is proof that we don’t hate for a reason.

One, history. We always got along well before.
Two, American Tradition. We pride ourselves with polite civility
Three, both Tea Party and Occupiers, have big money corruption as part of their policy planks.
Four, both Tea Party and Occupiers within the course of two years, have protested the status quo.
Five, both Tea Partiers and Occupiers have a common enemy. Big Money.
Six, both Occupiers and Tea Partiers, are upset Middle Class is doing poorly…

Just like the broken couple, both point fingers at the other side, and develop a deep hatred for the other.

But, is it too late?

Can a couple disown their mother in law, send her packing to a nursing home, and get along well enough again to provide their children with a better future? Well, it gets done all the time….

Humans can forgive and forget. Americans as a people, are far better at that than most any other country… Certainly better than France (lol)…

Imagine if David Anderson, Jason Scott, Dana Garrett, Dave Burris, Liberalgeek, Hube, Pandora, Frank Knotts, Unstable Isotope, Fay Voshell, as well as a cast of thousands, got so fed up, they withdrew their accounts from a big bank and put it into a local one. What if they refused to use a credit card, tore them up, and all paid everything with cash? What if they stopped buying anything made in China, or sold by a multinational corporation? What if they all wrote about why and what they were doing, and all those who read followed? It certainly would change Delaware. What if all states did the same…Those mad on the right, and those mad on the left, pursued the same course of action, until the complete absence of secret monetary influences, became standard policy in elections….?

What if both sides, supported a constitutional amendment that explicitly overturned Citizens United, and forbid, slush funds, large corporate donations, and only allowed individual donors to contribute small amounts?

Would we then find common ground? Would we, without the divisiveness being forced upon us, have the normalcy to actually listen to the other side for a change, and craft compromises in the fashion they used to be crafted, back when things were golden?

Tell me, could you not work with the other side to achieve this goal? We have a common complaint. That complaint is that our government, who depends upon our votes to achieve their office, is not listening to us…. Both sides voice that.

Perhaps we take care of the corporate mother in law first, then work together again and fix this country… It’s not that hard to fix, we already have a plan.……

Taxes and The Wealthy

Right click to open full image… Pictograph Courtesy of Viral..

So, can someone tell me again, why we shouldn’t tax the rich, and instead, balance the budget on the backs of everyone else?…….

I seem to be missing that little detail where that all makes sense……

Why I Read The Foreign Press Instead of The Crap Found In American Ones

I’m printing this article in full: tell me, where in America can you find journalism this “fair and balanced”?

Another crisis in the horizon?

A | A | A |
Winarno Zain, Jakarta | Tue, 07/19/2011 7:00 AM A | A | A |

It seems the world economy has faced endless threats preventing it from sailing smoothly into a strong recovery this year.

First there was the Greek debt crisis that jolted several major banks, and then a political uprising in the Middle East that pushed up oil prices, and then a tsunami in Japan that disrupted manufacturing activities in many countries.

The world economy has not fully dusted off the adverse impacts of these three events. Yet another headwind is looming large on the horizon. This time it is the possible default of the US government of its debt on Aug. 2, if the US Congress fails to approve an increase to its debt ceiling as requested by President Barack Obama. By that date, the US government debt would have reached its maximum allocated limit of US$14.3 trillion.

The current negotiation between representatives of Democratic and Republican parties on the US budget deficit has run into a deadlock, and so the possibility is real that there won’t be any substantial agreements reached, since the dateline is nearing. Major rating agencies such as Standard and Poor, and Moody’s have warned they are ready to downgrade the US government debt rating from top grade AAA.

This would be the first time in 90 years that the US government debt has been downgraded.

It is not hard to imagine what will happen if by Aug. 2 the US government has exhausted its credit ceiling and can not get additional debt to pay for its spending needs.

The US government would have to curb its spending, and because some of these relate to payments to government employees, pensioners and other social benefits, this would strike a severe blow to the consumer spending that is so essential to the US economic recovery.

With debt default and credit rating downgrades, it would be difficult for the US government to get loans. Faced with increasing risk, investors would ask for higher returns for US government bonds. This would push interest rate higher, further depressing the economic recovery.

The US dollar would plunge, triggering a surge in commodity prices and another round of inflation around the world. A deadly combination of inflation and economic stagnation could spin the world economy into a tailspin as happened in the early 1970’s.

How would this worst case scenario affect the Indonesian economy? As capital flows out of the US, investors have tended to seek safe havens elsewhere. Commodities, especially gold and oil, would be their first targets. Emerging markets could be the next destination of this capital flight, depending on the assessment of investors on the strength of its economy and their vulnerability and exposure to the US economic fallout.

But financial crises always result in a loss of confidence and produce negative sentiments in the financial markets. They put financial markets into disarray, and as investors panic, capital starts flowing out of emerging economies.

During the global financial crisis in 2008-2009, capital moved out from emerging economies back to the advanced economies. At that time, the US government bonds and commodities like gold were considered safe havens.

If the US government defaults on its debt payment this time, the question is will the situation change? Will the US government bonds still be considered a safe haven for investors? If not, then where else will they put their money? Or maybe they would prefer to keep their money in the same place and not move it anywhere. If so, the Indonesian economy could get some benefit and may not have to face another shock.

In the longer term, however, the situation may change. No country is immune to the negative ripples of a US economic crisis. As US imports plunge from weakening domestic demand, exports from emerging countries will also suffer. The extent to which these negative impacts affect each country will depend on their trading and banking exposure to the US economy.

What is disturbing about this debt talk is the use of this debate as a political game. This is especially apparent in the Republican stance.

Economist, market analyst and CEOs of financial institutions and even the IMF itself have warned that if Congress fails to raise the ceiling of the US government debt, the world economy would slip into deep recession.

The Republicans did not fully accept Obama’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling. They only agree on a smaller number, but even it was given with some conditions. The Republicans asked Obama not to raise taxes, especially for the wealthy, and Obama should cut social spending, a sacred cow for the Democrats.

By using tit for tat tactics in the negotiation and by seemingly ignoring the impending consequences and dangers, the Republicans were trying to push Obama into an intricate political dilemma.

If the US economy slip into another crisis, economic contraction would be inevitable. Corporate bankruptcies would spread, and jobless rate would surge.

A presidential election is still slightly more than one year away, and Obama’s reelection prospects are solid. But his popularity rating is highly dependent on the unemployment rate. That is why the Republicans think the only way for them to erode Obama’s popularity now is by pushing the US economy into crisis.

As the stakes are high, the two political parties should temporarily set aside their ideologies and adopt a pragmatic stance for the interests of saving the world economy from another catastrophe.

President Obama demonstrated his willingness to compromise his political ideology during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Being a Democrat, Obama’s political inclination is generally anti-big business.

Obama realized that it was reckless lending by some big banks on Wall Street that triggered the financial crisis. But he also realized that saving these banks from bankruptcy was key to saving the world economy from further disaster.

His decision to pour $800 billion of taxpayer’s money to bail out these banks was hard to swallow by his fellow party members, but it worked. Now it is expected that the Republicans will be willing to do likewise.

The writer is an economist.

Republicans Cost to the World Today….. $1.2 Trillion

The global markets lost 1% today… Actually that is pretty good. The losses stemmed over the fact that Republicans won’t allow new revenue to enhance our failing budget…….

Like George Washington, they want to apply more leeches (tax cuts) which eventually will bleed the father of our country dry, and kill him dead.

There are great ideas to get around the impasse……

One was so close last week in which Obama and Boehner had come almost to a 4$ Trillion Deal… It was so, so close. Boehner was about to become the Alexander Hamilton of the 21st Century: Historians would forever know him as the man who brought America back from economic ruin…….

But Boehner’s owner, jerked hard on his leash… cracking Boehner’s trachea. He then spun Boehner to the ground, and applied zip strips to his wrists and ankles. He then tazed Boehner repeatedly. For the first time in his life, Boehner did not cry. He was then strapped to a board, tilted backwards into a tank of water, and held for 45 seconds, over 111 times. He was then blindfolded and pummelled with cans of Pepsi, embedded in old cotton socks, leaving no evidence. He then poked with a tube, in his (you know where) and the other end was attached to a fire hydrant.

The next morning, Boehner said the deal was off; he refused to return Obama’s calls.

Leaks from those working for his owners, tell us the taxes on the wealthy 1% were the sole reason Boehner was given “the treatment”… It’s a damn shame; for a package of $3 trillion in cuts, (yes, includes modifications to SS and Medicare) and a Trillion in tax increases on the top 1%… would shake the dynamics of our economy.

It would spur investment here in America.
It would therefore create jobs.
It would stop the uncertainty where America was financially headed.
It would prevent the immediate loss to our economy of $4 billion a day.
It would reduce the deficit over time, and save money spent paying interest, which could then be used for services.
It would be the proper step at this time in the direction we need to go.

But, if the US defaults on its debt, nothing in the financial markets is sacred, and when nothing is sacred, that… causes panics…

And a panic in 1929… caused the Great Depression. A panic in 2008, caused the mess we’re in right now.

The world’s managed wealth is $122 trillion… A one percent drop.. is $1.2 trillion. That is the amount, that one half, of one third our government,… cost the world today.

They are kids, playing with a live junction box… Sticking a screwdriver in the wrong hole, burns down the entire house……

(At $50,000 a job, today’s loss is the financial equivalent of putting 24 million human beings out of work)