Tax-cut deal strategy

I agree with myself.

The more I think about the tax-cut deal the less I think of it. This tax-cut deal is wrong for America.

It is time to put the tax hating Republicans in the time-out corner. Let them stay there till they develop a sense of fairness. Let them stay there till Boehner's tears reflect sincere remorse.

As for the Ds, it is time for straight talk. It is time to come together with the Rs who care enough about our country to vote NO on the tax-cut deal. It is time to for a real solution. It is time.

Here is a fact y'all seem to have forgot: when voters can believe our elected leaders are doing what is best for EVERYONE we don't get angry with you.

A little clarification might help

Help for the unemployed
Unemployment Insurance:
U.S. Department of Labor

EITC = Earned Income Tax Credit
White House - The Framework for a Tax Agreement Is a Good Deal for Working Families

American Opportunity Tax Credit
The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit for undergraduate college education expenses.
The White House Blog

Payroll Tax Credit
A Payroll Tax "Holiday" A Bad Deal for Workers and for America
What the deal will cost - Yahoo Finance by Jeanne Sahadi
Deutsche Bank Explains..... by Joe Weisenthal
Short Term Tax Drama - NPR by David Welna
Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for Senate to improve tax agreement

Child Tax Credit
Victories For Working Families and Jobs in the Agreement on Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance
Ten Facts about Claiming the Child Tax Credit

President Obama on 12/07/10 press conference about his deal with the greed master Republicans on the tax cuts and unemployment.

I knew a man who had the annoying habit of saying to me, "why didn't you speak up before you said something?" No matter the topic this guy could stop me in my tracks with his bratty reply which I'm going to borrow just this once.

Well, President Obama, why didn't you speak up before you said something?

Links to the way it was or will be

Posted by Christina Romer on July 28, 2010:

Extending High-Income Tax Cuts is the Wrong Answer for the Recovery

CBO document:

Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011

Compromise Redefined:

GOP leaders hint at compromise on tax cuts, jobless benefits

Krugman says "NO DEAL" on tax cuts

Good for you Paul Krugman.

"........the potential cost of giving in to Republican demands is high........ anything that makes permanent extension of obviously irresponsible tax cuts more likely also sends a strong signal to investors: it says, “Hey, we aren’t really an advanced country; we’re a banana republic!” And that can’t be good for the economy........
 As long as Republicans believe that Mr. Obama will do anything to avoid short-term pain, they’ll have every incentive to keep taking hostages........"

A Strategy For The Tax Cut Dilemma

So, I was reading this morning about the judgment of Solomon and conflict management and got an idea for President Obama. He ought to create a new type of conflict resolution - the lose-lose result. 

He could do that by backing off his desire to maintain tax cuts for the middle class. 

He could just say to the public, look when I made those speeches things were better economically and now, three years later, we can't afford to fulfill my wish. I'm sorry but for the good of the country we have to allow all the tax cuts to expire. 

President Obama gives up something he wanted and the Republicans would be giving up something they want, tax cuts for the rich. 

Its a lose-lose resolution. 

Neither side wins so neither side gets a campaign attack ad out of the resolution. Some would say we all lose.

In the end though, down the road a ways, we all win if the increased revenue helps pay down our national deficits.

Greedy GOP Stalls START treaty

Well the truth has finally surfaced. Never mind what Sen. Kyl said about wanting assurances our defense system will be modernized. Forget all that. He was just the front man for the greed masters who insist on tax cuts for the wealthy.

If the GOP would stand up for AMERICA as in UNITED States of America - all three hundred + million of us - if only the GOP would fight as hard for the rest of us, our country would be living the good life.

It is stupefying how blind the tax slackers can be. Guess they won't be happy till USA goes bankrupt.

(Bloomberg News story by Lisa Lerer and James Rowley)

Kyl's START block offers new attack options to Russians

Dec. 1, 2010 AP Associated Press news item
Putin: failure to ratify START would be 'dumb'

The Library of Congress THOMAS Legislative Actions on:
Treaty with Russia on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms 

Executive Report 111-06 submitted by Sen. John Kerry to accompany START treaty

Houston Chronicle Editorial: Arms Reduction treaty is nonpartisan, should be approved in lame-duck session.

Kasich cancels

Mini Political Junkie: The Ohio Governors' Race
On October 25th, John Kasich canceled a scheduled appearance to appear along with Gov. Ted Strickland on NPR Radio's "Talk Of The Nation", ten minutes before air time, because he found out the show would be taking questions from callers.
 What is Kasich afraid of? Certainly not Ohio media outlets.  If this does get a mention it will be on page B37 lower left next to the fold, 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches.

Gov. Strickland did not cancel.
Gov. Strickland took caller questions.

Each November, the fix is in.

California Dreaming
LA Weekly by Hillel Aron

Proposition 20 and 27: How Gerrymandering Robs California Voters Of Nearly All Real Choices For U.S. Congress In November

Mercury News editorial:

Re-elect Jerry McNerney to Congress

Tea Party Truthiness v Awkward Facts

"......The report, released tomorrow, used information on the Open Secrets.org database to track what it called a co-ordinated attempt by some of Europe's biggest polluters to influence the US midterms. It said: "The European companies are funding almost exclusively Senate candidates who have been outspoken in their opposition to comprehensive climate policy in the US and candidates who actively deny the scientific consensus that climate change is happening and is caused by people."........
The Guardian.co.uk 

• Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Sunday 24 October 2010 22.57 BST

America's Tea Party Fraud

America's Tea Party Fraud

Peter Beinart answers the question we've all been asking, "where were the tea party folks in 2004?"

JbF replies: The tea party folks were not used until the Republican conservative leadership realized they needed to

"rebrand" the party. 2006

or here "rebrand" 2008

or here "rebrand" 2009

or here "rebrand" or here "rebrand" 2010

Besides, it doesn't matter how many brands you put on the bull, whats beneath the brand is still  bull.

1910 politics trumps 2010 reality

Ohio population increased the last decade yet, Ohio loses TWO Congressional Districts - Texas Gains 4 Congressional Districts ??? Why does Texas growth trump Ohio's?
How much longer will this errant 100 year old Congressional District mapping go on? 
More Districts. More Representation. End political stranglehold on the citizens.

TEAM Politics

Not gonna vote?
Think you did enough in 2008 when you voted for Obama?

No you did not!

The Nov. 2nd election is all about electing Obama's Team.
The men and women who will support and promote Obama policies.

So you need to vote.

Get in the back seat cause we won't let you drive!

If you could ask my husband he would tell you that I can not draw. You should see some of the pathetic attempts I’ve made when I try to show Bill something I’d like him to build for me. 

Despite my lack of artistic talent, sometimes when I am reading a news item, a picture will form in my minds eye about the subject matter. Such a thing happened when I read an article that told about the Republican plans for taking over Congress. In my minds eye,  I saw a picture of our President standing alone against the conservative Republicans.

We just can’t let that happen!

We can not leave President Obama alone to face his opponents. 

We D’s must vote for an even stronger team to back up the President we elected.

I hope Democratic and Independent voters give the R’s a new message. 

Get in the back seat cause we won't let you drive!

A quartet of news

Have you noticed how alike the cable news networks sound? 

What's up with that? Sounds like they are reading the same script.

I actually found myself wishing for the 'olden' days when cable news spent hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks on topics like murder, kidnapping, car chases, court trials and evidence. 

I like the Parker-Spitzer show on CNN** - even though Kathleen Parker can't say the name Palin often enough. Wonder why that is? Why does KP want to talk about SP so often? More Spitzer less Parker would cure that. And yes, I remember what he did, in fact I know more than one thing he did. Besides, I'm not his judge. 

**CNN week nights at 8 P.M. eastern time.

10/14/10 

On second thought what I miss from television is the time when broadcasters thought their mission was to inform the viewers in accordance with fact or truth. 

Tarp and Stimulus

If you think the tarp and stimulus did not work or were unnecessary:

1. you can not see why it was necessary because the tarp and stimulus worked.

2. you refuse to believe it was necessary because you do not trust government.

The Upshot by John Cook 10/1/2010

".......Bob Bennett of Utah, is still out there stumping for it, though. "My career is over," he told the Times. "But I do hope that we can get the word out that TARP, number one, did save the world from a financial meltdown and, number two, did so in a manner that, I believe, won't cost the taxpayer anything. And even if it did not all get paid back, it was still the thing to do." Don’t tell anyone, but TARP and stimulus both came in under budget

Ignore the headline and go ahead and tell someone. 

Questions for tea party folks

What is the meaning of big government? 

How big is too big?

How does big government get in your way?

What specifically has big government done that actually impedes on your life?

How small is smaller government? 

How much lower should your taxes be?

Do you believe in paying any form of taxation?

Why did America lose jobs during Bush 43 years when he gave the "job makers" a huge tax cut at the beginning of his term?

When is a life endangered by a pregnancy?

Does the woman have to be near death? 

What if she believes having a baby will ruin her life? 

Does that count as having your life endangered?

Pro lifers line up with RNC - how's that working out for them?

Why do you think the Republicans didn't take care of this matter during the first 6 years of Bush 43 term of office?

FYI abortions were not banned.

Christian groups stand with RNC - how's that working out for them?

How did their Faith Based initiatives work out?

Did the Founding Fathers use the word 'God' in our Constitution?

Do you believe in a secular government or a religious government?

Why do you think your Tea Party will successfully lead/change the GOP when in fact no group or organization has ever been little more than a stage puppet for the GOP leadership?

RE: C. O'Donnell

Why do you support her when she has  pledged her allegiance to the Washington D.C. insider,  Grover Norquist?

Why do you support any candidate who gives away their options before even being elected? That is like a football coach determining his Friday night game plan on Thursday and then refusing to change the plan based on actual game events.

Please be specific when you reply.

Federal Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers for 2010

Taking the high road

Tonight, at 8:00P.M. EST, President Obama will give a major speech about withdrawing from Iraq. Some folks (Boehner for one) think Obama wants to claim credit for this mess. 
I am not one of those folks.
President Obama should distance his administration from this war of Bush's choice. Something between an arm's length and a mile should be enough. Praise Bush where he deserves praise, talk about what went well and what went wrong, and explain what he wants to happen next.
End of speech. 


USA TODAY - by Mimi Hall President Obama prepares to deliver Oval Office address on Iraq
Washington Post - by Anne E. Kornblut Obama speech on Iraq has risks

Banks’ Self-Dealing Super-Charged Financial Crisis

by Jake Bernstein and Jesse Eisinger ProPublica, Aug. 26, 10:09 p.m.
Over the last two years of the housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history.
Faced with increasing difficulty in selling the mortgage-backed securities that had been among their most lucrative products, the banks hit on a solution that preserved their quarterly earnings and huge bonuses:
They created fake demand.
A ProPublica analysis shows for the first time the extent to which banks -- primarily Merrill Lynch, but also Citigroup, UBS and others -- bought their own products and cranked up an assembly line that otherwise should have flagged.
The products they were buying and selling were at the heart of the 2008 meltdown -- collections of mortgage bonds known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs.
As the housing boom began to slow in mid-2006, investors became skittish about the riskier parts of those investments. So the banks created -- and ultimately provided most of the money for -- new CDOs. Those new CDOs bought the hard-to-sell pieces of the original CDOs. The result was a daisy chain that solved one problem but created another: Each new CDO had its own risky pieces. Banks created yet other CDOs to buy those.
Individual instances of these questionable trades have been reported before, but ProPublica's investigation, done in partnership with NPR's Planet Money, shows that by late 2006 they became a common industry practice.