Wednesday’s Words
Several items struck me today….
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S health care reform keeps sinking. Gallup has it 46-48 no among adults, Washington Post 44-51 no among registered voters. The Real Clear Politics poll average is 38-53 no. Speaker Pelosi today said that if the Senate passes a bill by Christmas, they might be able to get a bill on the President’s desk by the State of the Union in late January. Remember when the deadline was August? Then September? Then Thanksgiving? Then Christmas? When the other side is digging a hole, don’t stop them………..
Speaker Pelosi also told the press today that she was ‘in campaign mode’ and that job creation and deficit reduction would be their campaign themes in the 2010 Congressional races. Which planet is she living on again??
The President yesterday said that insulation would be his new job creation program, spending billions of tax dollars to save money. I have a friend with elderly relatives in the Dakotas who already has had their house insulated by a Federal stimulus program. The name of the planet again please?? How deep is that hole??
In Sunday’s New York Times, economist Greg Mankiw reported that he has studied 91 episodes of stimulus packages, covering 21 countries since the 1970s. ” The results are striking. Successful stimulus relies almost entirely on cuts in business and income taxes. Failed stimulus relies mostly on increases in government spending.” I know what planet Mankiw lives on. Thanks to Larry Kudlow and NR for this story.
The national debt today actually exceeded the national debt limit ( until Congress voted to raise it ) of $12.04 trillion by about $150 billion. Can anyone out there understand these numbers? Was Alinsky right when he said once you’re over $25 million, the eyes glaze over?
Brian Baird’s announcement that he was not running for re-election in the 3rd District ( SW Washington, Olympia to Vancouver ) has led to several candidates jumping into the race. GOPer David Castillo has been running, now joined by State Rep Jamie Herrara and State Rep Deb Wallace, running on the Democratic side. This seat should be Republican, either David or Jamie could win it, though I will admit partiality for Jamie, as she was an intern for my show on KVI and I know her well.
Tuesday Talk
Today is Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the ratifcation of the document in 1791. Many of our Founding Fathers had insisted on a Bill of Rights to be added to the newly-written Constitution before they voted for it. James Madison agreed to submit such a document to the first Congress and the states upon approval of the Constitution. Many supporters of the Constitution saw no need for such a document – ‘ We all know what our rights are ‘ -, but Madison agreed to assure the ratification of the Constitution.
Today would be a good day for all of you to read the Bill of Rights. Note how many times ‘no’ and ‘not’ are used. This document is a straitjacket on the concentration of power in government. It reinforces the primacy of individual rights, rights bestowed not by the Constitution or the Federal government, but by our Creator. We must always remember that these rights are not Constitutional in the sense of being endowed by the Constitution originally, but by being protected by it.
MONDAY MUSINGS
Well, OBAMACARE appears to be mortally wounded. CNN poll shows 61% against, the administration’s own Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the plan would raise costs, reduce Medicare services and lead to higher insurance premiums and the President has to call Democratic Senators to the White House for a private pep talk. Even Kos says kill it. Only days left before they come home for the holidays, if it doesn’t pass before the end of the year, it will die. Keep up the pressure.
Interesting report issued by the West Point-based Combatting Terrorism Center, finding that 85% os the casualties in Al Qaeda attacks between 2004 and 2008 are , ready for this, Muslim. Since 2007, 98% have been Muslim. Way to go AQ. Unfortunately, the Muslim world doesn’t seem to care.
Saturday musings
ACCORDING to Orbusmax.com and the Washington Policy Council, Washington State plans to raise their unemployment insurance premiums 54% in 2010. Now only the ignorant and economically illiterate think a bad economy is the time to raise taxes. But, please, raise taxes, keep raising them, the higher they go, the higher the chances of a big and needed change in Olympia next year.
THE DRUDGE REPORT has a story posted on the problems and confusion among our troops caused by the rules of engagement in Afghanistan. You should read it.
CROSSCUT.COM has a story by Dick Morrill, emeritus professor of geography at UW and expert on political demographics, titled We Are Two States: Seattle and Washington. It is an analysis of the vote on Referendum 71. Except for a silly comment about voters against 71 being ‘anti-gay’, it has some interesting insights about the great divisions in this state. It’s worth reading for anyone interested in state and local politics. You will learn, for instance, that pro-71 voters were typically transit users, non-traditional households ( big surprise ), singles, same sex households ( another big surprise ), college graduates, managerial professionals, 20-39 year olds and Asians. Those against, drivers of SOVs ( single occupied vehicles ), traditional families, under-20 year olds ( haven’t been brainwashed in college yet ), native Washingtonians, high school education only, Hispanics and blue collar occupations. There is a lot here as the Republicans and conservatives plot their future plans. READ IT.
Musings on a Friday
IRS DATA on taxes paid in 2007, the last complete year they have data for, shows the top 1% paid more than 40% of all income tax revenue for the first time and that more than 14 million working Americans became ‘non-payers’ between 2000 and 2007. Guess those Bush tax rate cuts were just for the rich….
OUR CURRENT debt coming due this year is $1.6 trillion, double the revenue from the income tax for the year, according to Leonard Burman, a Syracuse University economist. David Walker, former Comptroller General of the US, recently said that our total federal financial hole is $10 trillion greater than the current estimated nret worth of the entire country.Saul Alinsky wrote ” The moment one gets into the area of $25 million and above, let alone a billion, the listener is completely out of touch, no longer really interested, because the figures have gone beyond his experience and almost are meaningless. Millions of Americans do not know how many million dollars make up a billion.” These notes courtesy of National Review.
ACCORDING TO the AP, only 10,000 homeowners have received permanent mortgage loan modifications under Obama’s program for such things. Problems include that only about one in three people who sign up return the completed paperwork.
CHALK ONE up for the good guys…Abu Yahya al-Libi, #3 in command of Al Qaeda, has been killed by a drone strike in Pakistan. Hope it happened during his Nobel Prize speech. Killing bad guys is a surer way to peace than demonstrations, songs, chants and dreams.
A REPORT OF a poll of GOP insiders that says 28% would like to see Sarah Palin shut up. Insiders, those are the guys and gals who gave us Bob Dole, John McCain, Lincoln Chaffee and Dede Scozzafava. I suspect a poll of the GOP grass roots would show 95% wish the consultants would shut up.
