Archive for November, 2010

Dacia Nichol

First of all, let’s consider the source of Monday’s announcement that Afghan security forces will, by 2014, be able to take over their own security measures from International Security Assistance Forces (“ISAF”), also known as the United States plus whoever else hasn’t ditched us yet. Yeah, that would be Mr. Corruption and psychosis in the flesh, Afghan President Hamid Karzai himself. This is his “endorsed” plan. (Insert raised eyebrow.)

Him and what army? (And whose money?)

According to the Department of Defense (and Karzai), ISAF should have the Afghan National Army trained and ready to take over the handling of security for their own country by 2014. As in, just like the transition has been made in Iraq, so will the transition go in Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave it a thumbs up and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen gave it a shoulder-shrugged “why not”, but when everything’s based on the “situation on the ground”, and recent news flies in the face of this week’s news, my personal bullshit meter is going haywire. Or to be more specific, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

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Bob Maistros

You know, I get behind sometimes.  There are so many things in the world to comment on, and so little time.

But our friends at the Wall Street Journal – and I do consider them friends – touched on one of my obsessions nearly two weeks back, and I have to respond.

They think THIS is better?

No, not stoplights (although I am awaiting a Journal investigation any day now of those aliens who universally installed the “red-for-Maistros” sensors).   Rather, the downtown crowd went after the FAIR Tax.

Now, I’m fully convinced that the folks on the editorial page at the Journal never read the front page.  If they did, they might spot that big banner across the top with the words “WALL STREET.”

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Brett Noel

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Bob Maistros

As part of my continuing public service to the Republican leadership in Congress, not to mention the world, I’m going to keep offering free but highly valuable advice on how to make governing easy.

My first advice was for the GOP to double down on the FAIR Tax, which is a one-program-solves-all approach to fixing government.  Since that morsel of wisdom is, shockingly, virtually certain to be ignored, I’m willing to meet the Republican bigwigs where they are – or where they claim to be – on the other side of the fiscal equation, spending.

Amber waves of $$$$.

In their Pledge to America, the GOP brass promises to “roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone.”

Now what’s going to happen if the Republican Party starts seriously hacking at spending?  Howls and screams from the favored constituencies.  Caterwauling about starving poor people and depriving babies of health care and kicking Grandma down the stairs.  Because one fella’s wasteful spending is another’s mother’s milk.

Only one sure way exists to defend oneself and one’s party from such sophistry.  And that is to create a philosophical basis and a standard for cutting outlays: make budget cuts about ridding Americans of bad government.  After all, why would anyone want to pay for government that is not only not helpful, but downright counterproductive?

Now we all know (from reading my postings here) that the epitome of bad government is the stoplight, which is not so much a federal issue.  But if the Republicans want to show they really are serious about putting Uncle Sam on a diet, here’s an easy and obvious place to start:  ethanol subsidies.

Yeah, you read that right.  I wrote “ethanol subsidies.”

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Dan Calabrese

Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution reads: “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”

The House has typically construed that to also include spending bills, and while the Senate disputes this interpretation, it has become standard practice in Washington D.C. for the Senate to treat appropriations as a matter that must originate in the House.

No way, Jerry.

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the incoming Republican majority in the House plans to use this power of the purse to stop ObamaCare in its tracks – no money for onerous regulations, no money for IRS enforcement of the notorious health insurance mandate.

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Herman Cain

If you are one of the nearly 15 million people who want to work and can’t find a job, you are not impressed that 151,000 new private sector jobs were created in October. That’s because it represents less than 1 percent of the workforce while 9.6 percent are still unemployed, which is nearly four million more than when President Obama took office.

Maybe we need to try something else.

If you are unemployed it’s not encouraging that the president says he is willing to consider some compromise with the new Republican majority in the House. Compromise does not produce a job or stimulate the economy. Certainty about taxes and regulations does.

Certainty about taxes and regulations will cause businesses to start growing again, if that certainty is lower taxes and fewer regulations. I wish I were optimistic that President Obama heard the American people last week through the mid-term election results, but during his press conference the next day he would only say that if the other side has some ideas about creating jobs, he would consider them.

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Brett Noel

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Dacia Nichol

Okay, flash back to that Twisted Sister video we all know and love – the one with the tightwad father screaming in the rockin’ rebel kid’s face, “What do you wanna do with your life?!”  You know the next part, right?  Ha!  Maybe in the 80s the response was, “I wanna rock!”.  But today’s youngins?  Try, “I wanna play WOW!”

Here he comes to save the day!

That’s “World of Warcraft” for anyone without kids and/or lives in a vacuum of lame.

Many many words have been written about the next generation, or the “Net Generation”, and their growing reliance and obsession with technology-based communication and entertainment.  Aside from being doomed to geekdom, where are they headed in life?  Apple?  Microsoft?  Blizzard?  An open source helpdesk?  GoDaddy?  Oooh!  I know!  How about the military??

Stop laughing.

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Dan Calabrese

That was fast. Voters get results.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that President Obama is open to discussing a one- or two-year extension on the Bush tax cuts for taxpayers in all income brackets, including the hated “rich” who make more than $200,000 a year.

More vindication.

The complication, of course, is that this needs to be done before January 1, 2011, because that’s when tax rates automatically revert to their old levels, prior to the cuts that were enacted in 2001 and 2003. And that would require action by the current, lame duck Congress.

First, why is Obama suddenly open to this after so ardently opposing an extension of the cuts for upper-income taxpayer? That seems obvious. This is not a political fight he can win with the incoming Republican majority, and attempting to have such a fight while the economy is still reeling will only make things worse, and put him squarely in a position to be blamed for it.

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Dacia Nichol

Three cheers for new leadership!  Kind of.

OK, now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to cash in on the hours and months of work Republican supporters have put in this election season, along with the hangover we all had to endure Wednesday morning – present company excluded, I swear.

Ask them.

Yeah, we’re all affected by the economy. Yeah, we’re all affected by Social Security. Yeah, we’re all affected by health care. But you know what?  It doesn’t really affect dead people (I say “really” because I’m sure Democrats could figure something out if you let them).

Sorry to be grim, but between 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan alone, there are some 9,000 American men and women who won’t be joining us when Social Security becomes insolvent and our tans fade because the taxes are too high. Maybe I shouldn’t combine that point with a joke. Too late.

What I mean is that they’ve either died as victims or died as heroes, all in the name of freedom and liberty that the United States represents. And they’re still dying every . . single . . . day. We owe it to them to hunker down and solve this thing or rather, win this thing.

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