Daily Agitator

I was not going to comment on the shootings at Ft. Hood until all the facts were in.  There is speculation flying around the web and the news rooms on why this guy went to this extreme.  We have heard he is a terrorist or that he is just suffering from PTSD or that he was just a whacko…..well so far there is NO definitive explanation…he is alive and alert but NOT talking.

Like I have said…I was not going to comment but things have progressed to the point that I feel compelled to comment….

All the “expert” analysts are saying that the military is going to be doing a review of the situation to see why this guy fell through the cracks and his actions were not more closely monitored.  All involved, including some in the White House,  have said that they want to make sure and promise that something like this will NEVER happen again.

That is a hollow promise…there is NO way they can guarantee that it will not happen again.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO way that they can guarantee that it will NEVER happen again!

But that is okay, we Americans are use to hollow promises….we have been living with them for over 200 years.

(Thanx to Hunter for part of the title)

I have, along with oh so many others, been a critic of the way the GOP is handling their opposition to anything the Dems propose.  These guys and gals may seem like they are insane but it is a method to their madness.

Back in the day I was a pretty active activist….and there are techniques to use when addressing issues….

“Fear and loathing” is a techniques where the activist takes an issue and turns it into something to be afraid of….like same sex marriage or health reform or …..pick one…they all do it…..NOTHING new.

The best way to accomplish this is by finding an issue and putting the opposition of defense….do not give them a chance to go on the offense….if you are watching the health reform debate unfold, then you are witnessing this technique.  It is not so much an ideology battle but rather just simple obstructionism.

If anyone has been watching the debate unfold then they have witnessed the use of props….babies…..throwing copies of the bill….holding the Constitution…..all of this is theatrics nothing about an ideology…nothing about alternatives….nothing offered as a solution….just plain obstructionism.

In case you are not sure what obstructionism is…then I can help……”to be a obstacle….to impede progress….to block or stop…..to hinder….”  so far the conservatives have done well using this tactic.  The Dems control the White House and both Houses of Congress and they still cannot get a bill passed without the wrangling and theater…..I would say that the theatrics are working and that the obstruction put into place by the conservatives is doing its job….slowing and possibly stopping any progress….

The Repubs have been using “fear” forever to push their agenda…the daddy of the GOP, Thomas Jefferson once said,  “A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take away everything you have”.  “Fear”….when you have nothing else……works every time!

He’s Baaaaaack!

Ida has come ashore…more sound than fury….lots of rain but the blow job was a bit weak…she needs a little practice…….sorry, had to get a sexual comment in there somewhere….

Never thought I would hear myself say anything like that…….

If the reader is a regular then they will know that I am not a fan of Haley Barbour he is my governor and I have not had a whole lot of good to say about him and his way of governing….I have criticized him unmercifully at every turn …….I do not think Barbour is stupid only that I did not agree with his governing style in my state…..if nothing else can be said about Barbour it can be said that he is a helluva politician and a knowledgeable politico…..

But now for something completely different (thanx Monty Python)………

The recent purity purges occurring within the GOP is an indication of a dying party trying desperately to find a life giving issue or for that matter, a leader, something that is sadly missing with the party now.

It is the far right versus the middle or the moderates……the purge right now is of the moderates….the far right is saying that there is a litmus test and if they, the moderates, do not pass then they are out…..and to the extent that the Party will work against a moderate in any election they enter into.

And look how so-called moderates of the past are behaving…Pawlenty of Minnesota is on board with the litmus test for a “proper” candidate and then there is the popular governor of Florida Charlie Crist…..he has started back peddling and caving to the far right of the party.  He, Crist, is running for the senate and he is trying hard top appease the far right so that he can win his election without the Party trying to de-rail his effort.  For instance, his stand on the stim plan from Washington he has said:

Crist told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he “didn’t endorse” the stimulus bill and he wouldn’t have voted for it. The Associated Press, however, pointed out that Crist had once told AP that he had “endorsed” it.  Crist was the only major Republican to campaign for the stimulus bill by appearing onstage with Obama in February. He even asked congressional Republicans to vote for it.

He is crawfishing or waffling or whatever you choose to call it….he is NOT a man of principle he is just trying to win an elect at any cost, even to losing his ideals.

And then there is my favorite governor Haley Barbour, for years I have disagreed with damn near everything the man has said or done, but for once I can say that I am proud of his stand on the purges.

Barbour told the Iowa Independent:

Party building is about addition and multiplication, not subtraction and division, Barbour said at a party fundraiser in Des Moines. The GOP must be inclusive, he argued, and that idea extends to even the most divisive political issues. To make his point, Barbour pointed out that he helped pass several anti-abortion bills as governor, eventually garnering his state the reputation as “the safest place in the nation for an unborn child.”  But he said there are good Republicans who don’t agree with him on the issue.

“There are tens of millions of pro-choice Republicans that are just as good Republicans as I am, and we need to support them,” he said, adding: “That’s what party building is about, and don’t think that is giving up your principles.”

All of which prompts conservatives to cry, Haley’s comet is streaking! He’s a strong voice in a leaderless party, and as leading 2012 contenders self-destruct, flirt with fringe theories, and attack one another, there sits Mr. Fix-It, now a successful elected executive, conveniently term-limited in 2011. Even opponents are impressed, or at least they say they are. “He’s an unusual combination of someone who’s really good on policy, really good on politics, and really good on TV,” says Democratic lobbyist Anthony Podesta. “And everybody likes him.”

Once again I am proud of this conservative for his stance…I never said he was stupid.  Also said, during the last election when McCain won the nomination of the GOP that Barbour should be on the short list for vice president.  Why would I say that if I disliked him so?  Slate.com has said it better than I could have:

Barbour is the GOP’s Mr. Fix-It. Sixteen years ago, when the party was in a similar position—booted out of the White House, out of money, and ideologically incoherent—he was elected to run the Republican National Committee, promising strong executive leadership to rebuild the party. In his first two years, he bailed out the nearly bankrupt National Republican Campaign Committee while cajoling, strategizing, fundraising, and bullying fractious Republicans back into the majority. Newt Gingrich was the bullhorn of the 1994 Republican revolution, but Barbour was the guy who paid for the bullhorn.

His experience then as now gives him the inside track to another leadership roll in the GOP…a party that should be all inclusive….I cannot believe I am saying this…the GOP could do worse than nominating Haley Barbour….and they probably WILL!

No!  I am not talking about the cocaine injection used by the great Sherlock Holmes!

It is the latest figures released on the unemployment in the US….but if we figure in those who have come off the rolls or have just gave up on the prospect of having a job, then the figure would be closer to 20% or more.

Let me see….we threw money at banks….most are now stable…..most are once again giving those great bonuses to the idiots that cause this recession…..then the auto makers got their piece of the pie….although it was a smaller piece than the banks got….they are doing sort of okay….and now the rise in home starts….existing home sales….yada yada….we are being told, in some circles, the recession is over and that we must be patient and all will be good…….

How nice….but all is NOT good…..unemployment is still rising…foreclosures are still rising…..bankruptcies are still high…..consumer spending is still almost non-existent….but things are getting better….

I think that the banks have had enough good fortune….maybe the admin needs to come up with a 10.2% solution….it would solve a lot of the problems we “real” people have….we have had enough of “banks…banks” we need “jobs…jobs”!  Maybe some of that cash that has not been spent on the thieves could be spent creating jobs…just a thought!

One of my fav comments was made by the CEO of Goldman-Sachs, who makde about $68 million last year, that the bank is doing God’s work……think about that for damn minute…..doing GOD’S work….I bet you did not know that God was a capitalist did you?

Does that not sound a bit pretentious?  These banks are NOT creating anything but wealth for themselves…they are helping NO one out in this recession.  Actually, they are still making the same types of trades they did in the past that blew up in their face, but this time they are betting on the government again to cover their losses.

YOU are covering their losses and YOU a getting nothing in return….GET MAD!

So we need a 10.2% solution…it can begin with YOU….burn up the phone lines….reload their emails…..write a damn letter….let Capitol Hill know that it is time for them to get off their butts and STOP covering for the banks….YOU CAN DO IT!  But are you a wimp?  Stop bitching about everything and DO SOMETHING….even if it is wrong…at least you tried…..

However, please do not try to sell us the tired old argumnent that cutting taxes will create jobs…..if there is NO demand for products there will be NO jobs……the only demand that has been created so far is a credit demand with first time home buyers and cash for clunkers….the problem with those is if there is NO job…there will be little buying…..again…the creation of demand should be priority one.  For demand will create jobs and jobs will create more demand…..pretty straight forward stuff….

Since I live just north of just about every hurricane and there is one heading toward me, Ida, Info Ink maybe off line for awhile…..have NO fear this opinionated SOB will return just as soon as possible……Just thought I would let the loyal readers know the score……we will take a short break if that is what Ida prefers….clean up and move on…..see you in the funny papers….peace!

Inkwell Institute

Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Politics/Government/Political Theory

In the past I was called a “Federal Agitator” the person that made this accusation a decade ago meant it in a derogatory way, but I kind of liked it so I have retained that title for my passing……sorry….that was a digression on my part….now on to the meat of the series….

I have been having some interesting exchanges with a reader of Info Ink, he is the blogger on “Systematic Change In Business And Government”  If interested go to blogroll and give it a look).  After my years of absence from the world of academia I felt that I needed a refresher course on Federalism so that I could debate with knowledge.

I started writing this piece to educate people on federalism and it turned into more than one post….I decided to break this up into several parts to explain the concept and put in my two cents worth on what I think of it all.

I am hoping that this series will induce others to debate whether federalism is good or bad….does it help or hurt…..people need to understand what federalism is and how it works…as it is today people use the term but know little about the term…it easy to talk about the intentions of the founders, but unfortunately federalism has moved a little beyond trying to save property rights…….originally the concept was a simple concept for a simple division of power….again …unfortunately the country has moved well beyond worrying about who is property and who is not.

Do you, my reader know what permissive federalism is?  How about “marble cake” federalism?  These are some of the points I will touch on to help people understand the concept that they so dearly love.

I will examine the different types of federalism and whether we should try to work within the bounds of the concept.  I also hope that opinions will be forthcoming, whether pro or con, all will be accepted, as long as they are civil and genuine.

This series will be continued every Monday until the final part…..please read and let me know what you think….

There is always someone that tries to resurrect a tired old issue; they try to re-package it to sound more up-to-date….but any analysis will show that it is a tired unsuccessful issue or program.

The GOP is trying to resurrect the Health Savings Account (HSA) as a way to push health reform…at best a tired issue….but my favorite is the push for tort reform, you know those frivilous lawsuits….but unfortunately for the GOP, the CBO crapped all over that proposal….why….they have said that lawsuits account for one half of one percent of the total cost of health care.  Pretty much a dead issue unless of course you are a Repub without any new ideas, then just resurrect something that sounds good but actually does nothing to control the rising costs.

But I digress, the subject of this post is the resurrection of the tired old issue of TABOR…Taxpayers Bill Of Rights….

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights (abbreviated TABOR) is a concept advocated by conservative and free market libertarian groups, primarily in the United States, as a way of limiting the growth of government. It requires that increases in overall tax revenue be tied to inflation and population increases unless larger increases are approved by referendum.  (Thanx to wikipedia for the definition)

With rising deficits in the national programs and the state’s dwindling revenue, I look for the TABOR to make a comeback and comeback strong as a way to try and find the funds for the state’s and its programs.

The name sounds like a good thing , right?  A Taxpayers bill of rights…..a great selling point….anytime you invoke the Bill of Rights you have got a winner especially when dealing with people that have no idea what they are voting on.  TABOR is just such an issue.

But how has the past TABOR’s done in helping the state’s fund their programs?  According to the Economist magazine:

The experience of states around the country with constitutionally-mandated taxation limits has been pretty disastrous. California, whose Proposition 13 pioneered the genre, is on the verge of bankruptcy 30 years later, unable to raise the taxes it needs to cover annual expenses because voters refuse to acknowledge that they must pay for the public services they receive. The effect has been particularly devastating on public education. But, you know, why not try it out? Maine’s not Colorado or California, and maybe it’ll work for them.

Everyone hates to pay higher taxes…it is American to do so……in the same breath I ask…..do they want programs like education to be funded?  The Oregon Center for Public policy wrote this in a paper on TABOR:

During recessions (we have that now) …..TABOR’s revenue limit for future  years gets ratcheted back.  When the economy starts to recovery, state government cannot readily restore services  to pre-recession levels, because the new base for determining  spending growth is the low revenue level from the recession.  Thus any cuts in services are basically permanent.

Under TABOR, tax breaks and loopholes cannot be reduced or eliminated without a vote of the people.  Present and future tax loopholes and breaks are effectively locked into place…….

In short, TABOR is a bad idea….sounds like a good idea only because they will package it with the words “Bill of Rights” and we all think that is a good idea…If they, the tax reform people, are trying to sell this idea in your area….do some research, do not just take my word, do some research and see if it is everything they promise….you will find it is NOT!

Daily Agitator

Remember you may not appreciate what I have to say…but that concerns me not…..for you were warned!

First, I am not talking about ALL Americans!  I am talking to those people that seem to care little about their country!

There is always a bit of good news to be found in the “sources” and then there are those that makes one want to f*cking puke…….I am sick of these feel f*cking good stories…there is way too many people suffering in this country for me to give two shits about the rest of the goddamn world…..

Bill and Melinda Gates will make an unusual personal appeal to Washington officials Tuesday night, asking them to continue funding global health initiatives despite the recession and to commit to nearly halve the number of child deaths worldwide by 2025.

“Government funding that’s coming from the United States is making a huge difference on the ground in the developing world,” Melinda Gates said in an interview last week. Particularly over the past four to five years, she said, “it’s really palpable — it’s making a huge difference saving lives.”

The U.S. government’s annual contribution to global health initiatives has increased dramatically in recent years, from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $7.7 billion in 2009.

Above is excerpts from a piece in the Washington Post.

How f*cking nice!  Let me see…they want the US to do more for every f*cking country but this one….about right?  This country?  You mean the one that has a shitty health system…or do you mean the one that has a horrendous educational system…..yeah…makes great sense to use your influence because you have more money than God to help the rest of the world…let see the country in which they made their money…what do they owe us?

Personally, I am Goddamn tired of rich assholes that want to save the world and turn their backs on the country they owe….yes I f*cking said they OWE!  By all means you dick save the world while Americans struggle for their next meal…..Let me ask, how much of a tax incentive is it to save the f*cking world?  I realize pricks like you do very little without some sort of goddamn incentive…..F*CK the world!  America needs help and who better than the assholes that made it here?

NO!   I AM NOT FINISHED!

There is always little pricks out there that want to HELP….but only help those that will appreciate it by allowing them to pay for children….I know…HUH?

U.S. pop star Madonna launched the construction of a multi-million dollar girls’ school she is building in Malawi on Monday and pledged to build similar schools in other countries if the project succeeds.The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls — in Chinkhota village about 15 kilometres outside the capital Lilongwe — is expected to be completed in two years and will admit 500 girls from the small southern African country’s 28 districts.

The construction is expected to cost $15 million.

Gee, sounds like a payment to me……yet another rich asshole that wants to help the world by turning a blind eye to the plight of American kids……the academic scores in the US rank in math and science,  just behind Kazakhstan…..I say again…lag behind f*cking Kazakhstan!  Do you think that some of that pay-off cash could be used in the US?

Why is it that the little assholes like me are seemingly the only people that care what happens to this country?  Suggestion:  Make the rich assholes spend their money in this country FIRST!  These pricks get everything they want with no f*cking care for the country that gave them life….when will Americans DEMAND that these pricks do the right thing by the country and tell the rest of the world to wait their f*cking turn?

These people may have the best intention in mind….but I believe America first and then the rest can have what is left……

Note:  If this post offended you in any way….get in line….and if it did then that is your problem, not mine…….you were warned….

Daily Agitator

First, I do not know why but every time I use the word Boehner…the word Boner comes to mind……

And then there are reports or stories that make one shake their head and ask why……

In the recent past I have heard the name John Boehner being batted around as a possible speaker of the House if the GOP ever returns to power…he does get lots of face time on TV especially on FOX News, after all he is the minority leader and should be the spokesperson for the Party in the House.

Yesterday there was a “spontaneous” rally in Washington against the Health Reform Bill that is being considered…..there were the usual suspects….references to socialism, nazis, and just plain hate for the president and Pelosi……I watched some of it on TV and thought it was a “white power” protests….the GOP really needs to find someone with a different color face to be in the crowd.

I have written many times on these “spontaneous” out pouring of hate, but today I want to talk about the leader of the GOP in the House……John Boehner got up in front of the 4000 or so protesters to egg them on….he had the usual babble and then he pulled out a copy of the Constitution and said “this is my copy of the Constitution and I will read from it” (paraphrase)….

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…….

(I will give a long pause here for contemplation)……..I realize that to be a member of a certain party you need an IQ check but this is moronic…..Boehner was holding the Constitution and reading the Declaration of Independence….you would have thought one of his fellow GOPers would have told him he was screwing up…..they did not….maybe they do not know the difference either….ever think of that?

These are the LEADERS of American governance and they do NOT even know the difference between the two documents….this whole things reminds me of something Plato said:

The penalty good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.

The part that should scare the people is…. these are the people that are defending the Constitution….they say so in their oath of office….and yet they have NO IDEA what it actually says….. Do they still teach Civics in school?……

If HE, Boehner,  is the future of the GOP….then members should worry or at least run for the nearest exit….