David Letterman: “Top Ten Highlights Of Barack Obama’s Deficit Plan”

David Letterman: “Top Ten Highlights Of Barack Obama’s Deficit Plan”

10. Pay everything off with a giant bake sale on the White House lawn
9. New 10,000 percent tax on waffles — no way people are giving up their waffles!
8. Congressional Super Committee now reports to even more powerful Super Duper Committee
7. Medicare no longer covers butt X-rays
6. From now on, quarters are worth 26 cents
5. Change the definition of the word ‘deficit’
4. Seniors must wait until they’re 112 before they can collect Social Security
3. Open more post offices — those places are money machines!
2. Congressmen must pay hookers in cash
1. Jets giving three and a half in Cincy — it’s like found money

Quote Of The Day

“Between Ron Paul and Rick Perry, I think the lesson is don’t get sick in Texas.” –Bill Maher

Republicans Continue To Sabotage Economic Recovery For Political Gain

There are basically two important distinctions between today’s Republican Party and any conventional political party, including the GOP of the past: Today’s Republican Party is dominated by extremists who would have been ostracized by past Republicans, and today’s Republican Party is willing to do anything, no matter how much damage it does to the country, to increase its power. Republican economic policy has been to do everything they can possibly do to prolonged the recession created under George Bush so that Barack Obama would be blamed. Restoring Republicans to power because of a bad economy makes no more sense than Russians who wish to return to Stalinism, but recent polls show that this strategy is working. Former Bush speech writer David Frum is shocked by their latest attempt to block economic recovery for political gain:

I’m not shocked by much any more, but I am shocked by this: the leaders of one of the great parties in Congress calling on the Federal Reserve to tighten money in the throes of the most prolonged downturn since the Great Depression.

One line in the letter caught my eye as summing up the unreality of the Republican leaders’ position:

“We have serious concerns that further intervention by the Federal Reserve could exacerbate current problems or further harm the U.S. economy. Such steps may erode the already weakened U.S. dollar or promote more borrowing by overleveraged consumers.”

Are they serious? We are living through the most rapid deleveraging of the American consumer since the 1930s. Much of that deleveraging is occurring tragically, through the process of bankruptcy and foreclosure. Some is happening more happily, through the increase in the savings rate from the 0 of the housing boom to about 6% now.

After further discussion, Frum returned to the political implications:

I know what the detractors will say: to the end of defeating President Obama and replacing him with a Republican president. And if you’ve convinced yourself that Obama is the Second Coming of Malcolm X, Trotsky, and the all-conquering Caliph Omar all in one, then perhaps capsizing the US economy and plunging your fellow-citizens deeper into misery will seem a price worth paying to rid the country of him.

But on any realistic assessment of the problems faced by Americans – and not just would-be Republican office-holders – it’s the recession, not the presidency, that is National Problem #1 and demands the most urgent action. It won’t be enough to save Obama if he does not deserve saving – but it may be enough to save your neighbor’s house, job, and family. Or even … your own. Republicans after all have been victims of this crisis too. It’s an hour of national emergency even more urgent and overwhelming than the aftermath of 9/11. And things may soon get worse, if the Eurozone begins to crack up, as it seems it may. This is the hour for united action against the economic crisis, not partisan maneuvering.

Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan, who also broke with the extremists in control of the GOP long ago, is thinking along similar lines:

Every time you think the ultras in the current GOP won’t go there, they do. They’ll sabotage economic growth for short term political advantage. They’ll sabotage their own president in negotiating with allies. They’re happy for the US to default if it means they can damage Obama. Their own plan for immediate, drastic austerity would be catastrophic for the global economy. Their pre-Arab Spring belligerence would shut America out of a critical opportunity to ease tensions with the growing and burgeoning Muslim world. And they have no problem treating the world economy as a partisan plaything.

If they claw their way back to power this way, our system really will be broken for a long time. And the great possibility of an adult conversation on pragmatic grounds to help the economy will be lost. And this is emphatically not Obama’s fault. He tried. They threw it back in his face again and again. Which means, I believe, that we should double down in backing him, instead of the ear-splitting whine coming from the left.

Sullivan is right both about the efforts of the GOP to sabotage economic recovery for political gain along with his assessment of the response from portions of the left. (Although it is not stated here, I’ll give Sullivan the benefit of the doubt in assuming he realizes that this “ear-splitting whine” represents the view of only a portion of the left, and many others of us also have no use for the left’s equivalent of the Tea Party movement.)

Before discussing how the GOP is trying to stall recovery, Sullivan did have one comment on Obama’s drop in the polls: “I think the explanation is simple enough: Obama gave the impression that the recovery was happening – and then it stalled.”

This raises an interesting question as to Obama’s response upon taking office. He did a tremendous job when, for all practical purposes, he began exercising control over economic policy even before taking office Bush and McCain were clueless as to what to do, preventing a probable depression. In retrospect Obama did hurt himself politically by downplaying the severity of the economy he inherited, possibly overly optimistic that the economy would recover by 2012. As we did not yet have all the numbers showing how bad the Bush recession really was, that might have been a reasonable prediction at the time. In addition, we did not predict how much damage the Republicans would still be able to do to the economy. I also wonder if there wasn’t another motivation on Obama’s part. There is a strong psychological component to business recoveries and to predict another four years of a weak economy could have easily turned into a self-fulling prediction. This looks like a case of Obama doing what was best for the country, despite taking a political risk, in contrast to the strategy of the Republicans.

Quote of the Day

Bill Maher’s advice to Glenn Rice after the book by Joe McGinnis alleged that Sarah Palin had sex with him: “Next time you f**k someone’s brains out, put them back in.”

Barack Obama Has Finally Stopped Negotiating With Terrorists

Let’s say you had a plan based upon noble ideals but after a while, due to reasons beyond your control, this noble plan just was not working out as you thought it would. Would you stick to the plan, or change to something which looks more likely to succeed? The answer should be pretty simple to most people, not counting a self-described sap such as David Brooks. Brooks is all upset because Obama is now taking on the Republicans as opposed to concentrating on finding a compromise with them:

Yes, I’m a sap. I believed Obama when he said he wanted to move beyond the stale ideological debates that have paralyzed this country. I always believe that Obama is on the verge of breaking out of the conventional categories and embracing one of the many bipartisan reform packages that are floating around.

But remember, I’m a sap. The White House has clearly decided that in a town of intransigent Republicans and mean ideologues, it has to be mean and intransigent too. The president was stung by the liberal charge that he was outmaneuvered during the debt-ceiling fight. So the White House has moved away from the Reasonable Man approach or the centrist Clinton approach.

Obama campaigned on a post-partisanship which was noble. It contributed to the decision of many of us to support him. Over the last few years it became clear that it isn’t working.  Republican leaders have made it clear that their primary goal has been to  prevent  Obama from succeeding. They have done this, even if it meant extending the recession and harming the country. You cannot  negotiate with terrorists who are willing to shut down the government before making a reasonable compromise.  From time to time Brooks has recognized the craziness of the Republican leadership in his columns, but now appears to be suffering from a selective amnesia. Obama has repeatedly attempted to promote bipartisan compromises but the Republicans have refused to consider any compromise if it might give Obama a political victory. Republican are far more concerned over whether passing a compromise will help Obama politically than they are concerned with how Obama’s proposals might help the country.

At least Brooks is more realistic than some on the left who say they prefer candidate Obama to President Obama. This attempt at moving beyond the old political and ideological battles, even if unsuccessful, is exactly what candidate Obama said he would do. Brooks is correct in seeing that President Obama has now broken with candidate Obama as well as his previous strategy. Brooks is just wrong in failing to understanding that the extremists dominating the GOP have given him no choice.

For a while I accepted the fact that Obama would have little, if any, success in negotiating with Republican leaders. After eight years of seeing George Bush govern from the extremes, I saw some benefit in a more centrist approach, even if it meant policies I have not always agreed with.  I  saw the real benefit of Obama’s efforts to compromise being to win over more support from independents and Republicans who might not agree with GOP’s move to the extreme right. This hasn’t worked either. Polls show that independents support policies far closer to Obama’s than those of the Republicans but the Republicans have been successful in distorting Obama’s record and demonizing him. Absurd right wing claims that Obama is a socialist have had more effect than Obama promoting centrist policies, including many which in the past were supported by Republicans. Negotiating with right wing terrorists during the debt crisis made Obama look weak and lose support, despite simultaneous public opposition to the Tea Party for precipitating the crisis and causing the downgrading of the nation’s credit rating.

Falling poll numbers and the losses in the special Congressional elections have convinced Obama that it is time to change course politically. This might not be what Obama wants, but this had been forced upon him by the realities in Washington. There has already been a tremendous amount of hype  talk that Obama’s deficit reduction plans were proposed to improve Obama’s support from the Democratic base. While true, Obama is also going after the independents.  Numerous polls have shown that most Americans support higher taxes on the wealthy to help balance the budget in poll after poll.

Obama might still turn things around, and receive some benefit for his past efforts. His past attempts place him in a far better position to attack the Republican leadership for their extremism and unwillingness to consider the type of compromise which is needed to govern effectively. Obama now needs to make it clear why policies to improve the economy have been blocked by the Republicans and campaign against Republican obstructionism. I’m sure we will see that when Republicans block Obama’s current proposals.

There are additional factors which may help Obama and the Democrats turn things around over the next year. Disapproval of Obama is exceeded by disapproval of Republicans and their policies. Pressure from the Tea Party extremists could force Republicans into taking positions which are even more insane and which will foster  greater public opposition.

Democrats should wind up with upper hand in campaigning against a party which opposes both Medicare and Social Security, but they failed to take advantage of this in the recent special elections. They should be able to benefit from campaigning against a party which wants to restore the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and drop people’s coverage when they get sick, but so far have also done a poor job in campaigning on this issue.   It will be an uphill battle, but if they spend the next year promoting a consistent message it might not be too late to win back voters by explaining how Republican policies caused this recession, and how the actions of Congressional Republicans have prolonged it. While it might not pick up votes in many areas of the country, I would love to see the Democrats directly campaign against Republicans for their opposition to science.

Democrats have done a poorer job than the Republicans in the spin wars since well before Obama took office. Republicans have advantages in dominating the cable and broadcast news media and in not being tied to reality in their claims. Obama showed he was an effective communicator while running for president. His change in attitude  towards negotiating with the Republican and Tea Party terrorists provides hope that he might be able to come back.

Question of the Day: If Corporations Are Really People…

If corporations are really people, wouldn’t Rick Perry have executed some by now?

This Is Not Class Warfare, But Republican Millionaires Claim Financial Hardship

Barack Obama says, “This is not class warfare; it’s math.”

“Middle class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires,” the president declared. “That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to argue against that. Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. There’s no justification for it.”

“Anybody who says we can’t change the tax code to correct that, anyone who has signed some pledge to protect every single tax loophole so long as they live, they should be called out. They should have to defend that unfairness,” he added. “If their pledge [is] to keep that kind of unfairness in place, they should remember the last time I checked, the only pledge that really matters is the pledge we make to uphold the Constitution.”

“We’re already hearing the usual defenders of these kind of loopholes saying this is just class warfare. I reject the idea that asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate at a plumber or teacher is class warfare. I think it’s just the the right thing to do,” he said.

“Both parties agree that we need to reduce the deficit by the same amount, by $4 trillion. So what choices are we going to make to reach that goal? Either we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share in taxes or we ask seniors to pay more for Medicare. We can’t afford to do both. Either we gut education and medical research or we’ve got to reform the tax code so that most profitable corporations have to give up tax loopholes that other companies don’t get. We can’t afford to do both. This is not class warfare; it’s math.”

Some Republicans not only see this as class warfare but as unfair treatment of  them.  As seen in the video above, Rep. John Fleming (R-LA)  complains that “by the time I feed my family, I have maybe $400,000 left over.”

Of course millionaires like Fleming are the exception. Most small businessmen, the job creators, make far less than he does and aren’t affected by the proposed tax increase on millionaires. Besides, historically there is no evidence that higher taxes reduce hiring. If I need an employee for my office, I’ll hire somebody. The tax rates do not weigh into the decision.

SciFi Weekend: Doctor Who; The God Complex; Smithy Returns to Doctor Who; TV Choice Awards; Merlin; Fringe

This week’s episode of Doctor Who, The God Complex, could be named after the monster of the week or the Doctor himself. During much of the episode the Doctor thought it was about a monster which lived off of fear but it turned out to live off of faith. To save Amy Pond he had to reduce her faith in the Doctor. Then he took Amy and Rory home to save them.

There was something wrong with the Doctor during this episode as he liked apples and a Rubik’s cube. The problem is that in The Eleventh Hour the Doctor hated apples and in Night Terrors he hated Rubik’s cubes. Could we be seeing two different Doctors as we go into the season finale in two weeks in which it appears that one Doctor does die?

Will this really be the end of Amy and Rory as companions? Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill have signed on for next season, but the speculation is that it will be in a more part-time role as opposed to being the main companions. There is a report that makes it look like the Doctor is returning to where he dropped them off in the Christmas special.

Next week James Corden fills the role of a temporary companion as he did in last season’s episode, The Lodger. Corden co-wrote and acted in the British sit-com, Gavin and Stacey. Here is Corden offering to be a sperm donor for Gavin.

The BBC has released the official synopsis for the season finale, The Wedding of River Song.

As the Doctor makes his final journey to the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah, he knows only one thing can keep the universe safe – his own death – in the concluding episode of this series of the time-travelling drama. But has he reckoned without the love of a good woman?

Doctor Who fans can also enjoy an extra helping of the Time Lord’s adventures in a special, one-off mini episode written by schoolchildren in Doctor Who Confidential on BBC Three tonight.

The Doctor is played by Matt Smith, Amy by Karen Gillan and Rory by Arthur Darvill.

Doctor Who won for Best Family Drama and Karen Gillan won for Best Actress at the TV Choice Awards. Sherlock won for Best New Drama.

Merlin returns to BBC1 on October 1. Trailer above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6vUO97fZmc&feature=player_embedded

Another trailer for Fringe above. Fringe returns on September 23 to ask, and perhaps answer, the question, “Where is Peter Bishop.” It also looks like Lincoln Lee is back.

 

Quote of the Day

“Based on their applause for abolishing healthcare and ordering executions, Tea Party voters are solidly pro-dying” –Andy Borowitz

Quote of the Day

“For a guy who doesn’t believe in science, Rick Perry is sure happy about the invention of the electric chair.” –Andy Borowitz