With New Year, a chance to dump ‘negative waves’
In cultures around the world, the arrival of a new year means more than the mere changing of the calendar. It is a time of cleansing and renewal, an opportunity to set past disappointments aside and to look ahead with optimism.
But let’s be honest: These are not the easiest of times in which to set aside fear in favor of optimism.
The financial meltdown of four or five years ago lingers like a hangover from a holiday party that went on much too long. The economy continues its slow recovery; Georgia’s unemployment rate last month was 8.5 percent, down a full percentage point from a year earlier and down almost two full percentage points from 2010. But it is sign of diminished expectations when a statewide jobless rate of 8.5 percent is considered evidence of progress.
And as too many of our fellow Americans know, those cold, impersonal numbers hide deep personal pain, loss and frustration. The American dream and its inherent promise that hard work will be rewarded no longer seem plausible for many, particularly the young. Only the foolish would try to deny that profound, unsettling changes are under way, and for one of the few times in our nation’s history, parents have cause to wonder whether their children and grandchildren will live in a world of reduced opportunity.
On the other hand, anger and disappointment can become self-fulfilling prophecies if indulged too long, and a backward-looking fixation on what used to be will blind you to what can be. That is as true for nations as it is for individuals. Previous generations of Americans faced times much more challenging than these and overcame them, and there is no reason to believe that we are not their legitimate and equally capable heirs.
At the moment, though, such context seems in short supply. In a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, just 40 percent of Americans describe themselves as hopeful about the course of world events in the coming year, while 56 percent described themselves as fearful. Unfortunately, a good part of that dismal showing can be explained as the aftermath of a deeply divisive, hard-fought election campaign that both political parties treated as a life-and-death struggle.
According to the Post poll, just 18 percent of Republicans report that they are hopeful about the course of world events in 2013, compared to 38 percent of independents and 61 percent of Democrats; 72 percent of Republicans describe themselves as fearful about what the next year will bring.
In the political world, such numbers have a way of compounding themselves. As Ronald Reagan knew better than anyone, and as the Democrats learned from Reagan the hard way, a party animated by the belief that this is a country in decline will find it difficult to rally others to its cause, creating a spiral that is hard to reverse.
It’s also important to remember that people of all political persuasions tend to exaggerate the importance of government and who runs it. Except in times of war, and at moments of economic crisis such as that of 2008-2009, government actually plays a relatively small role in the course of human events. At times we like to believe otherwise; we like to believe that acting through government, we exert direct control our own fate, but most of the that time, that simply isn’t true.
Faith in ourselves, each other and our country — or the lack of it — is far more important.
– Jay Bookman
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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,425 comments Add your comment
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
9:13 am
Movie example of possible Reid – Boehner dynamic, from Animal House
Niedermeyer: How’s it feel to be an independent, Schoenstein?
Boon: How’s it feel to be an a**hole, Neidermeyer?
TaxPayer
January 2nd, 2013
9:13 am
McConnell hung Boehner and Co. out to dry in order to save face over his fiscal cliff plan.
heh heh heh
Thomas Heyward Jr
January 2nd, 2013
9:15 am
Yes……….let us dump the negative waves.
One should always look to the positive.
.
No matter how heartbreaking the Washingtonian coerced Detroitiazation of America plays out…….one can always find some good barbecue or fried chicken.
.
Welcome to your future
.
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-incredible-decline-of-detroit-photos-2012-10?op=1
.
Forward Soviet!
fair and balanced
January 2nd, 2013
9:16 am
Great New Years – Seeing Grover go on CNN no less yesterday and say he is for the Biden compromise with tax increases for the rich -Priceless.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 2nd, 2013
9:17 am
Hmmm. Detroit, fried chicken and bbq? Why would those things be linked in any way, Heywood? What are you really trying to say, child?
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:18 am
Without the spending cuts and the balanced approached that has been preached for weeks, this is just another example of giving the gov’t more money to spend.
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:19 am
Peadawg
I ask that because you seem to represent a number of Republicans with the attitude of ‘if it ain’t really, really big cuts then it ain’t good enough.”
So if smaller, incremental cuts aren’t acceptable, what is?
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
9:19 am
“First, the obligatory ‘where would you recommend cutting?’ question.”
I think the questions that precede that is ‘can we go on spending more than we take in ad infinitum?’ and ‘just how much debt is dangerous?’.
If the answers to these questions are ‘no’ and ‘16T’, then your question comes into play. Otherwise, please indicate how much debt is truly dangerous and why.
independent thinker
January 2nd, 2013
9:21 am
I hear Fox News and John Bolton are demanding that Darrell Issa convene an investigation to find out if Hillary really has a blood clot and to hold her possibly in contempt.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:25 am
” you seem to represent a number of Republicans ”
1. I’m not a Republican.
2. Why are you against a balanced approach? The ratio of spending cuts -> tax increases ain’t even close.
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:26 am
Thomas Heyward
The health of the American auto industry vs when Pres Obama took over paints a different picture than does the landscape of the city where the companies happened to be headquartered.
But if you tune into the negative waves it affects your thinking.
So, Thomas… ever thought about how those massive government cuts will affect jobs and lifestyles and how it just might lead to the Detroit landscape being duplicated all over America?
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:27 am
No Towncrier, the discussion has to START with “what would you cut and why” not “What dollar amount do you want to cut.” The U.S. government is not a household:
http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/federal-budget-not-household-budget-here-s-why
Whenever a demagogue wants to whip up hysteria about federal budget deficits, he or she invariably begins with an analogy to a household’s budget: “No household can continually spend more than its income, and neither can the federal government”. On the surface that, might appear sensible; dig deeper and it makes no sense at all. A sovereign government bears no obvious resemblance to a household.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:27 am
Happy New Year, my Bookmaniac peeps!!!
I hope everyone had a lovely time with friends and family over the holidays
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:28 am
“I hear Fox News and John Bolton are demanding that Darrell Issa convene an investigation to find out if Hillary really has a blood clot and to hold her possibly in contempt.”
heh.
have fun storming THAT castle.
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:28 am
I have to congratulate the republicans, they keep yammering on about spending cuts, now is not the time. Definitely, it needs to be addresses but we still need to emerge into a stronger economy after this great recession. That’s when the cutting should take place. In the meantime, it’s in the best interest of the world economy for america to lead forward…
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:30 am
Peadawg: The ratio of spending cuts -> tax increases ain’t even close.
And what is that ratio, if you take into account all the cuts Obama has already made, as detailed here:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/110606/obama-deficit-reduction-offer-spending-cut-tax-increase-boehner
The trouble with this analysis is that it ignores history: As part of the 2011 Budget Control Act, Obama agreed to spending reductions of about $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. If you count the interest, the savings is actually $1.7 trillion. Boehner should have no problem remembering the details of that deal: As Greg Sargent points out, Boehner at the time actually gloated about the fact that the deal was “all spending cuts.”
…
If Obama were proposing a truly balanced plan, he’d be calling for even more tax revenue or even less spending reduction.
Yes, I’m serious. As Richard Kogan of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has explained, those cuts from the Budget Control Act will take discretionary spending (spending on agencies and programs that Congress must reauthorize every few years) as a share of gross domestic product down to its lowest level since early 1960s, when government first began keep tracking of it.
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
9:31 am
“The ratio of spending cuts -> tax increases ain’t even close.”
It was not supposed to be. The bill just passed was mostly about the expiring tax cuts. They postponed the debt talks by 2 months.
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:31 am
usinuk
Happy new year! My brother is in culture shock over on your side of the atlantic. I warned him about getting pounded by the pound, uk is expensive compared to here….
Thomas Heyward Jr
January 2nd, 2013
9:31 am
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 2nd, 2013
9:17 am
Hmmm. Detroit, fried chicken and bbq? Why would those things be linked in any way, Heywood? What are you really trying to say, child?
———————————————————————
.
What are YOU trying to say?
Throwing that racerist card around?
.
I’m saying that when a people in a given geographic location finally realize that the state is merely a “gang of theives writ large” then said people peacefully ignore the government disfunctional jack-booted thugs.
.
\That is when good barbecue, fried chicken, and fried fish stands sprout along the roadsides, with free voluntary exchanges between non-coerced people.
For the benfit of all.
(see Western Bankhead Highway).
.
quit being so negative.
Your racism only exists in various State programs and ……..in your small…………mind.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:31 am
I thought we were talking about the deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff”? Stay on topic, Adam.
Doggone/GA
January 2nd, 2013
9:33 am
“Without the spending cuts and the balanced approached that has been preached for weeks, this is just another example of giving the gov’t more money to spend”
and OF COURSE, the passage of THIS bill means they can never, ever pass any other bill that addresses spending…right? /snarc
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:33 am
Towncrier
I’d say rather than a fixation with a dollar amount, a percentage of GDP is more realistic.
It’s like saying if we have just a couple trillion in debt and some banana republic has a couple trillion in debt, we’re in the same financial crisis as the banana republic.
Peadawg 9:25
I didn’t say you are a Republican. I said your views represent the same views as Republicans.
I’ve never said I’m against a balance approach. I’ve advocated for it. I’ve said the cuts are laughable. I’ve given many, many examples of where to make significant cuts. I thought you monitored this blog more frequently than you seem to.
Right off the bat: Defense: cut 20 percent from current baseline, not counting Iraq/Afghanistan costs.
SS: change the CPI for seniors.
Other Federal programs; no across-the board cuts. That implies everything’s equally important. It’s not. Cut whole programs AND the bureaucracy (direct and indirect manning and support) associated with those programs.
Independent Thinkier
I understand some are calling for an investigation to see if the Fox morning hosts and Issa have brains -
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:34 am
“They postponed the debt talks by 2 months.”
So they’ll right back at it in 2 months. Nothing like kickin’ the can down the road….
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:34 am
doogone
Happy new years to you! I see you haven’t lost your touch…
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
9:35 am
“Why are you against a balanced approach? The ratio of spending cuts -> tax increases ain’t even close.”
Good question. I think it is because a 16T deficit is not seen as a really serious problem. And I, for one, would sure like to know why. The US did not really recover from the Great Depression until we entered WWII in 1941. None of FDR’s policies did the trick. It was the huge influx of capital for manufacturing that did it.
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:36 am
Peadawg: I thought we were talking about the deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff”? Stay on topic, Adam.
Context is important. The topic overall is the deficit and debt. And let’s face it, some people keep pretending cuts never get made and that only tax increases happen. That’s horse manure.
Doggone/GA
January 2nd, 2013
9:36 am
Happy New Year to you too, Mick
barking frog
January 2nd, 2013
9:37 am
USinUK
Check out the grandtadpole
http://barkingfrog.webs.com/
pic on left -3 wks ago pic on right -newborn
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
9:38 am
” I think it is because a 16T deficit is not seen as a really serious problem. ”
There is no way you can cut spending enough to pay down that debt. In order to do that we will need tax increases and spending cuts.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:38 am
“My brother is in culture shock over on your side of the atlantic. I warned him about getting pounded by the pound, uk is expensive compared to here….”
tell him not to compare – that way madness lies … you just have to take the £££ price for things as they are (and learn where to shop!)
and please give him my apologies for the crap weather we’ve had – this is stupid rainy, even by London standards.
Thomas Heyward Jr
January 2nd, 2013
9:38 am
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:26 am
Thomas Heyward
So, Thomas… ever thought about how those massive government cuts will affect jobs and lifestyles and how it just might lead to the Detroit landscape being duplicated all over America?
————————————————————————————————
.
Absolutely not.
I’m not a statist.
There is no “job” nor “lifestyle” that SHOULD be preserved if they are built upon the foundation of theft.
.
You’re smart enough to see this…………..just not honest enough to admit it.
(see cognitive dissonance).
.
Stay positive.
It’s never too late to put the violence and the immorality of the State behind thee.
.
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
9:39 am
“and OF COURSE, the passage of THIS bill means they can never, ever pass any other bill that addresses spending…right?”
You must have been a Mets fan in the early 60s. I don’t see much of a winning record in the Congress in tackling serious problems in the last two decades.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:39 am
“some people keep pretending cuts never get made and that only tax increases happen.”
I hope you’re not including me in that “some people” b/c that’s funny.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:40 am
barking – ohmygoodness!!!!! what a little muffin!!! congratulations
I’ll bet you’re over the moon
Oscar
January 2nd, 2013
9:41 am
Time now to start addressing what cuts should be made. Ten per cent accross the board does not work for me. People should make the decisions on cuts. Some agencies need cutting more than others.
I would cut mainly on defense and medicare. And make changes in future social security payments. Remore the cap on contributions. Raise the age.
Onmediare cut spending on terminal patients. Too much money goes to keep people alive for another two weeks on pain and misery.
Real Scootter
January 2nd, 2013
9:42 am
and OF COURSE, the passage of THIS bill means they can never, ever pass any other bill that addresses spending…right? /snarc
Doggone,the big question in my mind is,will they address the spending later down the road?
I kinda doubt it.
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:42 am
I’m not a statist.
There is no “job” nor “lifestyle” that SHOULD be preserved if they are built upon the foundation of theft.
Statements like this should be laughed out of the arena.
There is no such thing as a “Statist.” It’s a made up insult that only Libertarians pat themselves on the back for using, like frat boys who fart and high five each other.
Taxation is NOT theft. Period. End of story. Get it through your skull and maybe you’ll understand why you will never get 5% of the vote.
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:43 am
usinuk
Oh I’m sure he’s learning, never a more frugal person do I know, he could really stretch a buck!
I hate to tell you this but its 80 degrees and sunny, they don’t call this place paradise for nothing..
Doggone – sorry about the mispell, I just always seem to be missing a letter or choosing a wrong one, my self editing is poor…
Oscar
January 2nd, 2013
9:43 am
Jackets and Dawgs both won their bowl games. Good new years.
barking frog
January 2nd, 2013
9:43 am
USinUK
Yep. We got to bring him home on Christmas eve but he got
a cold on New Years eve and they put him back in the hospital
and so we wait..
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
9:43 am
i. thinker — “I hear Fox News and John Bolton are demanding that Darrell Issa convene an investigation to find out if Hillary really has a blood clot and to hold her possibly in contempt.”
Yes, please, do that, Republicans.
Please try to defeat or circumvent HIPAA restrictions so that the rest of us can point out who the *real* tyrants are when it comes to gubmint getting all up in people’s personal business.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:44 am
“In order to do that we will need tax increases and spending cuts.”
Which this fiscal cliff bill didn’t do. And call me pessimistic but I don’t trust this Congress and this President to come to a deal in 2 months. Too many whiny 5 year olds in Washington these days.
Oscar
January 2nd, 2013
9:45 am
Frog – not good news. Hope thing go better.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:45 am
I’d be more impressed with Congress critters on both sides of the aisle if the FIRST thing they offered to cut was their pay and retirement packages.
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:45 am
Thomas Heyward
“if they are built upon the foundation of //theft.//
.
You’re smart enough to see this”
Oh, I think I’m smart enough to recognize the futility of attempting a meaningful discussion that’s open to ideas and not just listening to slogans from an unrepentant, selfish ideologue when I see one and that I know enough to not waste my time.
Good-bye.
Morning, Mick, USinUK, Doggone/GA et al
and with that, I’m out for a bit.
Cheers!
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
9:46 am
Towncrier — “The US did not really recover from the Great Depression until we entered WWII in 1941. None of FDR’s policies did the trick. It was the huge influx of capital for manufacturing that did it.”
If you’re looking for a specific yardstick to use, then may I suggest the DJIA? It didn’t return to its pre-Depression peak until 1954, 25 years after the Depression began.
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:47 am
This taking it to the edge is really tarnishing our reputation. Why don’t they just do the deal and spare us the last minute drama? They know they must pay the bills due, so, just do it this year and give us a frickin breather???
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
9:47 am
“There is no way you can cut spending enough to pay down that debt. In order to do that we will need tax increases and spending cuts.”
We need increased revenue, not necessarily a lot of tax increases. And we need some serious (rather than frivolous) spending cuts. I agree with your suggestions regarding the DoD and SSI. But there is a lot more to look at. For instance, one of the things liberals liked to harp upon during the health care debate was our relative standing in the world for the quality of medical care. But I don’t see many liberals voicing the same complaint when it comes to public education. Here is an area in which I think competition will serve us well – that is, I expect we’d get more bang for the buck. And I still think there is a huge amount of money squandered by the government through waste, fraud and inefficiencies.
barking frog
January 2nd, 2013
9:48 am
Oscar,
Thanks, he’s doing fine except that the congestion interferes with
eating and he gets angry and blows his vital signs…
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:49 am
well barking, it looks like you got a LOVELY Christmas present … again, many congrats on the tadpole!!! now, go love on that sweetness and spoil it rotten (that’s your job, you know!)
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
9:49 am
USinUK — “I’d be more impressed with Congress critters on both sides of the aisle if the FIRST thing they offered to cut was their pay and retirement packages.”
I’d accept that as a precursor requirement for any sort of pay/benefit cut or freeze; Congress has to endure the most draconian cut/freeze provisions (from a percentage POV) that they place on Federal workers. Cut Federal workers’ pay and bennies by 15% and the same to you, Mister Congressman.
Thomas Heyward Jr
January 2nd, 2013
9:49 am
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:42 am
I’m not a statist.
There is no “job” nor “lifestyle” that SHOULD be preserved if they are built upon the foundation of theft
There is no such thing as a “Statist.”
———————————————————————————————————-
.
Lenin and Mao tried to outlaw words and concepts too.
Surprisingly……it worked on many.
Thankfully……liberty ALWAYS prevails.
Stay positive son.
You kids deserve better than the nightmare of ………..(that thing that doesnt exist.)
.
lol
RB from Gwinnett
January 2nd, 2013
9:49 am
“There is no way you can cut spending enough to pay down that debt. In order to do that we will need tax increases and spending cuts.”
So, when is Obama going to demand that tax increase? Not the window dressing he’s thumping his chest about today, but a real tax increase, on everybody, that actually makes a real difference in the deficit.
This BS we just passed only serves to pacify the low information liberals who will never educate themselves enough to know it was just window dressing.
Just keep giving that fat kid a cookie to shut him up, liberals.
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:49 am
Ok, time to get outside…have a great day all…
Mick
January 2nd, 2013
9:51 am
rb
Happy new year to you also..but…I see your still stuck in the same rut, it’s bad for you…
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:51 am
“I’d accept that as a precursor requirement for any sort of pay/benefit cut or freeze; Congress has to endure the most draconian cut/freeze provisions ”
exactly, they want to show good will with the poor and the elderly? they need to look to themselves first before they cut benefits of the people who need them.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
9:51 am
“FIRST thing they offered to cut was their pay and retirement packages.”
In their defense, didn’t they freeze the pay increases? That’s a start…
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
9:52 am
“I’d accept that as a precursor requirement for any sort of pay/benefit cut or freeze; Congress has to endure the most draconian cut/freeze provisions (from a percentage POV) that they place on Federal workers. Cut Federal workers’ pay and bennies by 15% and the same to you, Mister Congressman.”
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
9:54 am
“In their defense, didn’t they freeze the pay increases? That’s a start…”
nope.
they got a pay increase over the holidays
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
9:56 am
“And call me pessimistic but I don’t trust this Congress and this President to come to a deal in 2 months.”
Peadawg, it’s not just Congress and the President. In order to get things in order we need serious revenue increases and spending cuts. Polls show that most Americans want the deficit to be reduced but don’t want their taxes raised and don’t want cuts made to defense, social security and Medicare.
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
9:57 am
There is no such thing as a “Statist.”
———————————————————————————————————-
.
Lenin and Mao tried to outlaw words and concepts too.
Ah, the traditional “I’m oppressed” cry of the Libertarian. Cry me a freakin river. And then, when you’re done tiring yourself out, go back and tell me where it was even suggested that the word be “outlawed.”
Good luck.
indigo
January 2nd, 2013
9:57 am
Thomas – 9:49
Detroit, and the rest of the “rust belt” look that way because Businesses moved to the Sun Belt. They did this because local Republican politicians promised them low wages, low taxes and no unions.
Businesses then ran to the South like starving hyenas chasing a meat wagon.
You get what you pay for and the chickens are now coming home to roost because of these low wages, low taxes and no unions.
And, Thomas, the only way this country will become Communist or Socialist is if the people VOTE in this kind of Govt.
Granny Godzilla
January 2nd, 2013
9:59 am
Good Morning Campers and Happy New Year!
barking frog….
Congrats on your most marvelous new grandbaby. What a fabulous blessing for you and your family!
Mine spent the holiday biting the heads off the gingerbread men and hanging them back on the tree.
Thomas Heyward Jr
January 2nd, 2013
9:59 am
Paul
January 2nd, 2013
9:45 am
Thomas Heyward
“if they are built upon the foundation of //theft.//
.
You’re smart enough to see this”
Oh, I think I’m smart enough to recognize the futility of attempting a meaningful discussion that’s open to ideas and not just listening to slogans from an unrepentant, selfish ideologue when I see one and that I know enough to not waste my time.
Good-bye.
———————————————————————————————————————
.
Paul———————-I now dub thee …
.
Murray Hamilton……………………………. the mayor of Amity Island.
Stay positive my friend.
.
Three smarter individuals………above the mob…………..saved him and countless bathers and dogs.
.
And the Freedom movement …..will save you too.
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
10:00 am
Towncrier — “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.
I know that a pay and benefit cut for 535 Federal employees wouldn’t amount to that much on a cash basis, but IMO it’s the *symbolism* of the action that’s important. A Congress that says ‘you people deserve a pay cut but I’ve got mine so screw you, Jack’ comes across as callous and uncaring.
A Congress that says ‘we’re going to take the hit just like all other Federal workers’ gives, IMO, the impression that they’re not disconnected from the end-result of what they’re doing.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:01 am
“Mine spent the holiday biting the heads off the gingerbread men and hanging them back on the tree.”
hahahaha … classic!
independent thinker
January 2nd, 2013
10:01 am
I wonder if Paul Ryan felt the same last night voting for the Biden tax compromise as he did back in 2004 when he voted to approve unfunded Medicare Part D – drugs for the elderly so George W. could get reelected.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
10:02 am
“they got a pay increase over the holidays”
Oh yeah. Looks like Obama signed an executive order for a pay increase. Good job Obama!
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
10:03 am
Atleast the House voted for a bill to try and stop the pay increases…
UNCLE SAMANTHA
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
liberal fuzzy math
“The Congressional Budget Office scores the Senate bill as adding $4 trillion to the national debt by 2022. That assumes the sequester or equivalent spending cuts are fully implemented in March, which seems unlikely”
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
Peadawg – it was for all federal workers, including Congress critters … sadly, Congress had to be included.
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
Peadawg — “Atleast the House voted for a bill to try and stop the pay increases…”
I was not aware of that. Can you provide a linkee, please?
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
Hey guys, you know what happens after Obama signs these NEW tax cuts?
Do you know what they’ll be called?
Wait for it…
THEY’RE THE OBAMA TAX CUTS NOW!
Granny Godzilla
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
UsinUK
And after they got hung on the tree Old Joe the dog would sneak by, sniff baby spit, figure it was a leftover and snarf itdown.
By Christmas morning the bottom half of tree was naked, but the dog was smiling.
Towncrier
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
“A Congress that says ‘you people deserve a pay cut but I’ve got mine so screw you, Jack’ comes across as callous and uncaring.”
It not that it appears that way, it’s because it is hypocritical and selfish. Period. Carter may not nave been a good leader and was I hear a micro-manager. But at least he made a lot of cuts in expenses at the WH when he was asking for cuts elsewhere.
stands for decibels
January 2nd, 2013
10:05 am
go back and tell me where it was even suggested that the word be “outlawed.”
Yeah, really. If foolish online folk want to use silly terms like “statist,” give ‘em enough rope, I say.
(I would be ok with outlawing high fiving AND f@rt jokes, however.)
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
10:05 am
“Oh yeah. Looks like Obama signed an executive order for a pay increase. Good job Obama!”
That pay increase was for all federal workers, they haven’t had an increase in years. Members of Congress are also federal employees and they are responsible for rejecting their increase. It’s up to them.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
10:06 am
Joe – H.R. 6726, the Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility Act
The sad thing is it was voted 287-129, not unanimous.
RB from Gwinnett
January 2nd, 2013
10:06 am
Mick, “Happy new year to you also..but…I see your still stuck in the same rut, it’s bad for you…”
Does anybody think Mick will remember how giddy he and all his fellow mental midgets are today since we’ve “solved the fiscal crisis” when the same conversations are going in in 2 months, 6 months, next year, the year after that, BECAUSE WE DIDN’T DO A DAMN THING TO FIX ANYTHING?
Talk about being stuck in a rut, Mick. Geez…. Enjoy your cookie, Mick.
TaxPayer
January 2nd, 2013
10:06 am
Poor peadawg is trying his best to hold that Republican pig still so he can slather on a good layer of lipstick.
stands for decibels
January 2nd, 2013
10:07 am
Re: this headline:
John Boehner Told Harry Reid ‘Go F— Yourself’ Outside the Oval Office
Well done, Harry. More like this, please.
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
10:07 am
Congress’ new anthem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIo7eTS-2PI
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:08 am
“And after they got hung on the tree Old Joe the dog would sneak by, sniff baby spit, figure it was a leftover and snarf itdown.”
yeah, the wondermutt had a FAB Christmas with all the sneaky treats, as well! everyone got fat in our household!
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
10:08 am
Towncrier — “It not that it appears that way, it’s because it is hypocritical and selfish. Period. Carter may not nave been a good leader and was I hear a micro-manager. But at least he made a lot of cuts in expenses at the WH when he was asking for cuts elsewhere.”
I think we’re pretty close on both issues. Agreed.
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:09 am
“John Boehner Told Harry Reid ‘Go F— Yourself’ Outside the Oval Office”
ah, the “party of morality” always keeping it classy …
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
10:09 am
Adam
January 2nd, 2013
10:04 am
They aren’t even tax cuts anymore. It’s just keeping them the same they’ve been for 10 years now.
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
10:10 am
RB, you seem to be more angry than usual today. Everything okay?
Joe Hussein Mama
January 2nd, 2013
10:10 am
Peadawg — “Joe – H.R. 6726, the Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility Act”
Thank you for that, sir. I’m going to give that a look-see when I take lunch at my desk.
Assuming one of my people doesn’t bust into my office with some emergency or other while I’m trying to eat my tuna melt sammich.
barking frog
January 2nd, 2013
10:10 am
Granny Godzilla
Thanks. Kids Christmas trees and dogs seem to function well
together….
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:11 am
“RB, you seem to be more angry than usual today”
crumbs.
someone better give him some meds or he’ll stroke out.
Peadawg
January 2nd, 2013
10:11 am
TaxPayer
January 2nd, 2013
10:06 am
For the second time today, not a Republican. Just b/c I don’t agree with you 100% doesn’t make me a Republican. I don’t follow either party rank-and-file. Keep trying though.
F. Sinkwich
January 2nd, 2013
10:17 am
“And, Thomas, the only way this country will become Communist or Socialist is if the people VOTE in this kind of Govt.”
Done!
RIP USA 1776-2012
Brosephus™
January 2nd, 2013
10:19 am
Throwing that racerist card around?
WTF!!!!
DannyX
January 2nd, 2013
10:19 am
“RIP USA 1776-2012″
Time for your yearly update F., we’re still alive.
RIP USA 1776-2013
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:21 am
“I’m still standin’” – Thomas Jefferson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHwVBirqD2s
USinUK - not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout)
January 2nd, 2013
10:22 am
Brocephus!!! happy new year, my friendly friend!
fair and balanced
January 2nd, 2013
10:23 am
How come no one asked Dick Cheney to help mediate a compromise when he was vice president?
stands for decibels
January 2nd, 2013
10:23 am
Not the window dressing he’s thumping his chest about today
Anyone have a link of the President doing this chest-thumping as reported by RB?
Brosephus™
January 2nd, 2013
10:24 am
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.
Anytime you wanna strap on body armor and hit the borders, let me know. I’ll help you train.
stands for decibels
January 2nd, 2013
10:25 am
oh, where are my manners? Congrats to Barking Frog on the new tadpole!