Quote of the Day
From long familiarity, we know what honor is. It is what enables the individual to do right in the face of complacency and cowardice. It is what enables the soldier to die alone, the political prisoner to resist, the singer to sing her song, hardly appreciated, on a side street.
Mark Helprin
Reid Announces His Selections for the Debt Reduction Super Committee:
THUMBS DOWN!
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his three (of 12 overall) members: co-chair Murray (WA); Kerry (MA), and Baucus (MT). The selections of Murray and Kerry in particular are too ideological for my tastes. Who do I think should have been chosen? Retiring Senators Kent Conrad (ND, Gang of Six) and Joe Lieberman (CT, veteran of the Gang of 14), and Joe Manchin (WV, former governor and one of 4 governors to win an A from the Cato Institute).
Who would I choose if I was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell? Not that he asked, but how about: Rob Portman (OH), former OMB director; retiring Senator Jon Kyl (AZ); and Tom Coburn (OK), whom has said this is his final term as senator and was a member of the Gang of Six.
Matthew 11:25 "At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants."
Let me translate:
infants=virgins in politics, e.g., obscure conservative bloggers whom have never been elected to anything (except to lead a group of altar boys)
wise and intelligent people=by their own accounts, POTUS and Congressional Democrats
Wisconsin State Senate Recall Elections: 2 Senators Recalled, 1 Too Close to Call
The Wisconsin Senate, going into today's recall election, was controlled by the GOP needing to defend successfully 4 of 6 to retain control. . There were 6 seats up for recall: 3 have been successfully defended, 2 have been recalled, with the remaining race too close to call with the Dem challenger up by a modest 2%. The Dems have 3 seats of their own to defend; 1 has already been defended with 2 more to be defended in the weeks ahead.
Democratic Talking Points on Debt Ceiling and the S&P Rate Change
One particularly galling objection that the Democrat are arguing that THEY are the voice of reason, of compromise. This talking point is utterly absurd; it's not unlike a football coach telling his squad before the start of the game, "Let's go for a tie!" The Democrats aren't looking for compromise; they are looking for capitulation. The idea that the Dems should run up a $1.6T deficit and expect a rise in the debt ceiling to accommodate that is "reasonable" is a departure from reality.
Most people understand you don't deserve a raise in your credit card limit. You make room in your budget to accommodate your new spending needs. For example, maybe I use mass transit instead of driving to work or I brown-bag my lunch instead of eating out. The Democrats are showing no good faith effort whatsoever to do something similar in nature.
"Tea Party Downgrade?" Axelrod and Kerry speak with their typical lack of intelligence and common sense. The downgrade is due to an unsustainable increase in national debt; there is no evidence whatsoever that the Tea Party is responsible for doubling the publicly-held debt since the Democrats swept into power in 2007. It is not the Tea Party which projected $1T annual deficits over the coming decade. This President has never presented a plan to close these trillion dollar gaps. That is what the downgrade is all about.
Finally, the fact that the Democrat-controlled Senate is looking to intimidate S&P after lowering its rating is utterly futile, stupid, and a violation of professional ethics.
Political Humor
"It turns out that Texas Gov. Rick Perry got a D in Principles of Economics. So he can’t be president, but he can get a job on President Obama’s economic team." - Jay Leno
[President Obama already has a campaign ad out pointing out whereas Gov. Perry got a D, he just got an AA+ from S&P.]
:President Obama said that even though we’ve been downgraded, we’re still a AAA nation. Unfortunately, he meant in the minor league baseball sense." - Jimmy Kimmel
[After the S&P downgrade Obama decided to call Chinese-owned AAA Bailout Bonds.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Eagles, "The Long Run"
