Day: January 7, 2009

2009 Anal-ocity

This is the first anal statement of the New Year and I am sure there will be many, many more.  They get no better than this.

Radio talk show host Bill Cunningham out of Cincinnati said on his show, “The poor are not that way because they lack money, but rather they lack values, ethics and morals.”

A tired old saying that was proved wrong about 50 years ago; I guess that conservatives just take longer to get the news than the rest of us, huh?

Also please go to the “Assie” Ward and vote for the 2008 Anal-ocity.

Obama Tax Cuts

Damn this all sounds so darn familiar.  I just cannot put my finger on where I have heard all this before. (sarcasm)

The Wall Street Journal noted that the “Obama tax-cut proposals, if enacted, could pack more punch in two years than either of George W. Bush’s tax cuts did in their first two years.” Many of Obama’s proposals, the newspaper wrote, were, in fact, extensions of measures carried out by the Republican administration over the last eight years.

One such provision under the Obama plan would allow businesses to reduce taxes by claiming immediate depreciation of half of their spending on new equipment, rather than spreading out that depreciation over years.

Another would allow businesses to write off the huge losses they incurred last year and any suffered in 2009, enabling corporations to apply retroactively for refunds on taxes paid over the last five years.

Corporations will also get thousands of dollars in tax credits for each job supposedly created or retained.

Under the plan, ordinary working people will receive a tax credit worth up to $500 for individual workers and $1,000 for families—adding up to about $150 billion of the total package. This under conditions in which the decline in the value of US homes alone will lead to the wiping out of some $6 trillion in US household wealth.

This means families crushed by high levels of debt and other living expenses will either pay a little less in taxes or receive a rebate of a few hundred dollars. The new administration will also adjust payroll taxes for the current year, meaning an average worker is likely to see his or her paycheck increase by about $10 a week!

$10 a week and that will be eaten up by new taxes imposed by the state and local governments to cover their budget shortfalls.  So where is the benefit, please tell me again.

The Swearing In Of The 111th Congress

As the Senate opened for business Tuesday, there was Joe Biden — who soon will resign his seat in the chamber to assume the vice presidency — standing in one corner. Not far away sat John McCain, the Arizona lawmaker who lost the White House to Biden’s running mate, former Sen. Barack Obama.

On the other side of the room was Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost the Democratic nomination to Obama but will probably leave the Senate soon to serve as secretary of State. Close by sat Joe Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent who nearly was tossed out of the Democratic caucus for supporting McCain.

In contrast to the formality of the Senate’s opening day, the House lived up to its reputation as the more populist chamber. The House floor teemed with children and grandchildren, while lawmakers greeted one another with hugs and back-slapping camaraderie.

But wait!  Why not put a little skin in the game for the lawmakers?

During these tough economic times, the 111th Congress should make one simple act a priority: Give up the pay raise.

Members of Congress received a 2.8 percent salary hike Jan. 1, averaging $4,700 per lawmaker.

Such increases have been nearly automatic since 1989, when by law, annual raises for lawmakers based on the Labor Department’s Employment Cost Index have kicked in.

Lawmakers have rejected the pay hikes only six times over that 20-year span. Since it takes a three-fifths majority vote in both houses to turn down an annual raise, we’re surprised it’s happened that frequently. Still, we can think of at least three reasons Congress should set aside its 2009 salary bump.

The obvious initial objection – but one still worth making – is that Congress has no business accepting a pay hike with the economy tanking. Home prices have taken a record dive, consumer confidence keeps setting new lows and there’s no way of knowing whether the recession has indeed bottomed out.

Besides, we doubt the American people would authorize a raise for Congress, if they had the chance. Based on polling averages compiled by RealClearPolitics, the most recent approval rating for Congress is 18.4 percent.

Even the CEOs are pretending to give up their bonuses and pay raises during the slump, so why not the people that help put the economy in the tank?

War Comes To Gaza–Day 11

The civilian death toll in Gaza increased dramatically today, with reports of more than 40 Palestinians killed after missiles exploded outside a UN school where hundreds of people were sheltering from the continuing Israeli offensive.

Two Israeli tank shells struck the school in Jabaliya refugee camp, spraying shrapnel on people inside and outside the building, according to news agency reports.

A United Nations official in Gaza said the school was clearly marked with a UN flag and its location had been reported to Israeli authorities. John Ging, director of operations in Gaza for UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said that three artillery shells landed at the perimeter of the school where 350 people were taking shelter. “Of course it was entirely inevitable if artillery shells landed in that area there would be a high number of casualties,” he said.

Asked whether there were Hamas militants in the area at the time of the attack, Ging said it was the scene of clashes “so there’s an intense military and militant activity in that area.” He said UN staff vetted Palestinians seeking shelter at their facilities to make sure militants were not taking advantage of them. “So far we’ve not had violations by militants of our facilities,” he said. Ging called for an independent investigation of the strikes near UN facilities.

Israel continues to insist that the bulk of those killed are Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, although its claim to be going to extraordinary lengths to target only “terrorists” has been undermined by one of its own tanks firing on a building being used by Israeli troops, killing four.

The sharp spike in the number of civilian casualties came as Israeli troops and tanks moved into Gaza’s second largest city, Khan Younis, for the first time today, supported by intensive artillery strikes as the military pledged to press on with its attack.

Nine Israelis, including three civilians hit by rocket fire, have been killed in the conflict. At least five rockets fired from Gaza landed in Israel today, including one that hit the town of Gadera, 17 miles from Tel Aviv, police said. A three-year-old girl was wounded.

Drama At The CIA

President-elect Barack Obama phoned key lawmakers to defend the selection of Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency and quell concerns over Mr. Panetta’s lack of first-hand intelligence experience.

In his first public comments on intelligence matters since the election, Mr. Obama also promised that his intelligence team would break from Bush administration practices that he said had “tarnished” the government’s image.

A formal announcement of Mr. Panetta’s nomination is expected later this week.

The two senators, the top Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, chastised Mr. Obama on Monday for not choosing an intelligence professional for the job and not telling them of his plans to nominate Mr. Panetta. The intelligence committee will hold confirmation hearings for Mr. Panetta and the expected nominee for director of national

Only two CIA directors in the past three decades — Robert Gates in the administration of George H.W. Bush and current CIA Director Michael Hayden — have held senior intelligence posts prior to appointment. Outsiders are frequently selected to be CIA director, with mixed results.

The senators that are the most vocal in opposition were Bush collaborators.  They white washed the intelligence to allow the invasion of Iraq.  Their lax oversight has given the country more grief than they have given good news.  Especially Feinstein who championed such stuff as the Iraq War, FISA and the Patriot Act.

The truth is that their feelings were hurt because they were not consulted in the pick.  But why would Obama , who wants change, seek counsel from the very people that are the problem in the intel community?

Let’s Be Fair To Palin

The union representing state troopers has backed off allegations that a drug investigation of Sherry Johnston was slowed down last fall to shield the national candidacy of Gov. Sarah Palin.

An inquiry Monday by officials for the Public Safety Employees Association concluded that investigators did not delay a search warrant for political reasons, said union president Rob Cox. Charges of political meddling erupted last week because of misunderstandings between investigators working on the case and senior state public safety officials, Cox said.

The drug-selling case against Johnston — whose son, Levi, is the father of Palin’s new grandson, Tripp — did draw unusual scrutiny from top public safety officials, Cox said. He said union and state officials hope to meet Tuesday to sort out any misunderstandings and determine whether political considerations had any effect at all.

Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters issued a statement late Monday, repeating his assertion that the governor’s office was never clued in to the drug investigation and that trooper leaders were only trying to assure that the case was handled like any other.

“Events nationally, and their affects (sic) locally, certainly may have influenced Ms. Johnston’s behaviors and ultimately the timeline of the case,” Masters said. “However, the accusations that political motives were behind the decision on how to manage this case are baseless.