Jan 022013
 

I’m still down, and I’m going to skip the monthly report this month, because the numbers are so bleak.  I was ill for overt half the month.  I’m current with replies.  We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Jig Zone Puzzle:

Today’s took me 3:46 (average 5:09).  To do it, click here.  How did you do?

Short Takes:

From The New Yorker: Official Washington was in celebration mode on New Year’s Day after kind of averting a completely unnecessary crisis that was entirely of its own creation.

“This deal proves that if we all procrastinate long and hard enough, we can semi-solve any self-inflicted problem at the very last minute in a way that satisfies no one,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky).

But even as Sen. McConnell basked in self-congratulation, he warned Congress against the complacency that could come with having sort of fixed its own completely avoidable mess.

Don’t forget that the fiscal speed bump was created to satisfy Republican economic terrorism, when they blackmailed America over the debt ceiling, wrecking our credit rating.

From The White House:

Fact Sheet: The Tax Agreement: A Victory for Middle-Class Families and the Economy

At this make or break moment for the middle class, the President achieved a bipartisan solution that keeps income taxes low for the middle class and grows the economy. For the first time in 20 years, Congress will have acted on a bipartisan basis to vote for significant new revenue. This means millionaires and billionaires will pay their fair share to reduce the deficit through a combination of permanent tax rate increases and reduced tax benefits. And this agreement ensures that we can continue to make investments in education, clean energy, and manufacturing that create jobs and strengthen the middle class.

I disagree, because I think millionaires and billionaires still pay far less than their fair share. Click through. This info is worth the time to read it.

From Huffington Post: Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) slammed Kwanzaa, claiming "almost no black people" care about the holiday.

"Almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa — just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people’s throats in an effort to divide Americans," Grothman said in a press release, according to Patch.

"Why must we still hear about Kwanzaa?" Grothman asked. "Why are hard-core left wingers still trying to talk about Kwanzaa — the supposed African-American holiday celebration between Christmas and New Year’s?"

What can I say? Happy belated Kwanzaa to our African American friends from a white left winger who did not shove it down your throats, because I forgot all about it.  And to racist Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian hate mongers, Happy Holidays.

Cartoon:

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  24 Responses to “Open Thread–1/2/2013”

  1. 3:46 We tied, TomCat! I made duck for dinner yesterday. It wasn't Mandarin though.

  2. The New Yorker ~ I also wonder how long it will take them to create another disaster for our country. When do they have to approve the debt ceiling again. That's when it will happen. President Obama already told them he's not going to play games with them. Should be a laugh a minute.

     

    The White House ~ The uber-wealthy are paying closer to a fair share than they have in the past 12 years as a result of the deal. It could have been better though.

    I am glad they didn't extend the payroll tax relief. Social Security needs  that money.

    BTW, Goofy Grover said he would vote yes on the deal – "

    Grover Norquist said Monday that he would vote in favor of the Senate’s plan to raise taxes on those earning $450,000 or more annually and said it does not violate his anti-tax pledge.

    “Is this a violation of the pledge?” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked him on air.

    “No, it is not,” Norquist said on CNN." 

    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/grover-tax-rates-wont-increase-85603.html#ixzz2GpHKqlKL

    He thinks he won. LOL

     

    HuffPo ~ Happy belated Kwanzaa to those of you who celebrate.

    Cartoon ~ KKKantor is pouting today.

     

     

     

    • CNN — Did you notice that he never once said why it really wasn't a violation of the pledge?  But one thing he did say was that the fight isn't over.

      “Watch for the leverage that Republicans have with the debt ceiling, continuing resolutions, that allows us to come back and actually fight for spending cuts but also further tax deductions,” he [Grover] said.

      I think he sees this as just a skirmish in a bigger war and the Republican/Teabaggers have the advantage in the war.

      I also had to laugh at his reference to fighting for tax payers.  Had the Democrats not been on their case, the middle and working class would have born all the tax burden.  Really he has been fighting for the wealthy tax avoiders.

      Good find Patty.
       

    • This time there will be more Democrats in tthe House and Senate, and Obama has learned that Republicans will cave-in.

      The money Social Security would have lost was reimbursed from the general fund.

      As soon as the cuts expired at midnight, voteing for the measure was a tax cut.

      Amen.

      My point exactly.

       

  3. Get well soon, TomCat, and a happy, healthy, and progressive new year to you! 🙂

  4. Just like the re-election of Pres. Obama, WRT the "Fiscal Cliff" fiasco I'm more relieved than happy.

     

    Unfortunately we've still got THREE MORE "Fiscal Cliffs" to deal with in the next couple of months:

    [1] Debt Ceiling

    [2] Sequester

    [3] Continuing Budget Resolution.

     

    Like Bette Davis said: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night"

  5. I'm watching Martin Bashir and Chris somebody was on and said he had it on authority that Agent Orange is going to resign as Speaker tonight. I can't find anything to substantiate it but there is a movement to oust him.

    http://tv.msnbc.com/2012/12/06/and-so-begins-the-fire-boehner-campaign-2/

    • Interesting article.  The Republicans really need to rein in those right-wing radicals before they take the whole party into oblivion.  Or maybe not, and be done with the whole party.  I question whether the party could rehabilitate itself after removing the cancer of the radical right-wing.

    • Must be this Chris guy was just blowing smoke out his a$$.

    • There are lots who want to replace him, but I do not think he will be replaced because nobody wants the job.

      If the law is on your side, argue the law.  If the facts are on your side, argue the facts.  If both the law and the facts are againsty you, you are a Republican, so don't run for Speaker unless you're a drunk.

  6. Puzzle — 4:17 I was too busy playing 'kiss me ass' to swim anywhere.

    The New Yorker — I particularly liked the end of the article.

    “This is a new year, and much work remains to be done,” he said. “It’s up to us to concoct entirely new optional disasters that we will have to undo at some later date in a more or less half-assed way.”

    In a related story, an arsonist received an award for putting out his own fire.

    I'm not sure they have to concoct anything.  The debt ceiling is already out there.  I wonder if Norquist is right and they will try to use that as leverage.  More economic terrorism is on the horizon brought to you by the Republican/Teabaggers.

    The White House — My first reaction was that they will pay more, and that is a start.  Perhaps what could be done is a look at allowable deductions and make some of those income level based and graduated so that if you make, for example, $1 million/yr, that deduction is based on 50% while if your income is $2 million/yr, it completely disappears.

    Huffington Post — I had heard the word but didn't know what it was so, of course, I googled it.  The principles of Kwanzaa:

    Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
    Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
    Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
    Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
    Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
    Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
    Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in God, our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

    Very worthwhile principles that could apply to anyone, well except for a racist Republican/Teabagger of course.  Their core principles are:

    Me — Me first and last; only Me.
    Greed — The more for me, the better.
    Power — I will acquire as much power as possible any way I can and use it to enrich myself and my friends.
    Profits before people —  It is good to increase my wealth and that of my friends at the expense of everyone else.  If they can't pay, too bad.

    Happy Kwanzaa.

    Cartoon —- No kidding!  So, if Boehner either resigns as Speaker, will Cantor try to run?  In Patty's offered article in comment #5, there is even a suggestion that Cantor,as Speaker, is personna non grata.  Oh that radical right-wing is going to be the death of the Republican/Teabaggers. 
     

    • Dang!  I hopr it goty lots of kisses.

      See my reply to Patty.

      Thanks and amen.

      I think Cantor and Ryan would refuse to run.

  7. This is a temporary victory.  The Republicans will fight raising the debt ceiling and will continue to try to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits.  I am still steamed that Romney only paid 14% taxes, since his income was from capital gains, and those of us on pensions paid 28 to 32 percent.  They will figure a way to help their corporate sponsors, guaranteed.  Cantor will be worse than Boehner has been because he is a lot shrewder.  Heaven help us!

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