Day: February 12, 2009

2009 Anal-Ocity

I want to be fair and try to put in ALL anal statements from whoever says them, do not care which party or group it is…anal is anal.

This one is from our new President, it is not so much an anal statement, but a bit of a falsehood…I consider it anal because if you have half a brain you will see the hypocrisy in the statement.

Obama said at his first press conference when answering the first question of the day with:

“What I won’t do is return to the failed theories of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the first place, because those theories have been tested, and they have failed. And that’s part of what the election in November was all about.”

But Irene, it is the same just with some minor tweaking to appear more sympathetic to the working class.

Been a helluva 2 months for anal-ocities, a friend over at My Corner To Vent (go to blogroll and visit) has suggested that with so many candidates maybe I should have voting twice a year instead of one…..please let me know what you think.

Peas And The KKK

Before I go any further let me say….I cannot make this stuff up!

We have all seen and heard the campaigns of PETA….you know trying to get Ben & Jerry’s to make ice cream out of breast milk or the renaming of fish to “sea kittens”.  I know these people are just plain silly sometimes….but when you thought they were done with hair brained ideas.

A leading animal advocacy group said the road to Mideast peace begins in a pita. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has requested Israel’s permission to post pro-vegetarian signs on both sides of its barriers with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

PETA’s signs are in Hebrew and in English. They feature Israelis and Palestinians sitting down for a meat-free meal along with the slogans: “Give Peas a Chance,” and “Nonviolence Begins on Our Plates: Go Vegetarian.”

“Every time that we eat, we can choose not to participate in violence,” PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk wrote Wednesday in a letter. “While choosing a falafel sandwich over a lamb kebab doesn’t create instant peace, it reduces the sum total of violence and suffering in the world.”  (Another Anal-Ocity)

But wait!  They are a source of constant silliness.

“Is this really the KKK?” somebody asked the woman in the white robe and the pointy hat.

Crowds gawked at a table set up outside Madison Square Garden on Monday afternoon, where People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was protesting the start of the Westminster Kennel Club show. PETA contends that the American Kennel Club promotes pure-breeding of dogs that is harmful to their health.

“Welcome AKC Members,” read a banner hanging from the table — with AKC crossed out and KKK written above it. Two PETA protesters dressed as Ku Klux Klan members, while other volunteers handed out brochures that read: “The KKK and the AKC: BFF?”

“Obviously it’s an uncomfortable comparison,” PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said.

But the AKC is trying to create a “master race,” he added. “It’s a very apt comparison.”

Cannot wait for the next piece of absurdity from PETA.

PETA started off as a group that was against the killing of animals for the purpose of making coats and then they morphed into this whacko group.  I guess that happens when the protein from meat is lacking in your diet.

It Is Good To Be A Bank

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner defended his financial stabilization plan Tuesday, telling senators it is “fundamentally different” than the one pursued by his predecessor, Henry Paulson.  (sounds like the same thing to me)

Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Geithner conceded that the plan he outlined Tuesday morning lacked some details, including how much it might cost and how much additional funding might be necessary beyond what’s available under previous congressional authorizations.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged government financing for as much as $2 trillion of efforts to spur new lending and address banks’ toxic assets, seeking to end the credit crunch hobbling the economy.

The main components of the Treasury’s package today are a joint public- and private-sector fund to buy as much as $1 trillion of illiquid assets and a $1 trillion program to supply new credit to consumers and businesses. The administration also will inject additional taxpayer funds into banks, imposing tighter restrictions that will include limits on dividend payments, acquisitions and executive pay.

“I want to be candid: this strategy will cost money, involve risk, and take time,” Geithner said today.

Under today’s plan, regulators will subject banks to new tests to determine whether they have enough capital. The Treasury, Fed and other supervisors in the President’s Working Group on financial markets will develop guidelines for the examinations, which are aimed at ensuring that the country’s largest banks can withstand a worsening economy.

Banks that don’t have sufficient capital will be given additional taxpayer funds in the form of convertible preferred securities. Participants will have their dividends and political lobbying efforts restricted, along with limits on stock buybacks, acquisitions, executive compensation and so-called golden parachutes. Luxury spending provisions must also be disclosed.

Today’s package includes $50 billion for measures to stem mortgage foreclosures. Banks receiving federal funds will be required to participate in efforts to mitigate foreclosures. The Treasury and Fed will work to reduce monthly payments and establish loan-modification guidelines.

Still sounds like the same plan with a bit of tweeking to appear more sympathetic to the middle class.  Just once I would like to hear a plan coming out of Wall Street…..so far they have not said anything to address the problem they created.  A thank you would be a good start.

Professor Sez…….When Is It Pork?

Does anyone besides me get tired of the political rhetoric and use of buzzwords to gain political points?  Last week’s was “pork”.  Here is a news flash for all of you–ALL spending is pork to someone, somewhere!

Now there is a word that has got a bunch of play in the last 3 weeks or so.  But what is “pork”?  Is there really a such a thing as “pork”?

First of all there is a political saying, “it is not pork unless it is someone else”s district”.

“PORK” is a purely subjective word, depends on your point of view.  If you want to be accurate then ALL spending can be called pork even the billions upon billions the Defense Dept. receives.  It is a complete bullsh!t word that is used in the theatrics of Washington.

Pork comes from the term “pork barrel spending” or spending for pet projects of the representives in their home state.  Spending is helping some body somewhere with a project that is needed at least appears to be needed.  But think about this….how much military spending has been labelled pork?  Very little….that is one of those sacred things in Washington.

How about earmarks?  These are when a member of Congress tries to bring the bacon home to his/her home district.  These things are what gives the members of an appropriation committee their power.  These are to obtain federal money for projects back home…oh yeah..it is also called “PORK”.

In essence ALL spending could be called pork at some point.  We will see if the Dems counter-attack when the bills for the military comes up…these bills are where many Repubs attach pork for their home districts….will the Dems play the tit for tat game with the Repubs?  My guess is they will!

Congress Fiddles While Economy Burns

Moving with lightning speed, the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House agreed Wednesday on a compromise $790 billion economic stimulus bill designed to create millions of jobs in a nation reeling from recession. President Barack Obama could sign the measure within days.

But while the days of debate raged on who gets what and who does not the economy continues its downward spiral.  Banks are getting grilled and at the same time having their pockets filled with taxpayer money.

And the news from Main Street just keeps getting worse with every report.

U.S. foreclosure filings exceeded 250,000 for the 10th straight month in January as falling prices trapped owners in homes worth less than the mortgage, RealtyTrac Inc. said.

A total of 274,399 properties got a default or auction notice or were seized by banks, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said in a statement today. It was the 37th straight year-on-year increase in filings.

The housing market lost an estimated $3.3 trillion in value last year and almost one in six owners owed more than their homes were worth, online data provider Zillow.com said last week. The U.S. economy shrank 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the most since 1982, and payrolls plunged by 598,000 in January, pushing the jobless rate to the highest level since 1992.

Home prices have fallen every month since January 2007 and tumbled 18.2 percent in November, according to the S&P/Case- Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities. President Barack Obama may support federal guarantees for modified home loans as the administration and Congress consider ways to help borrowers facing default or negative equity.

No one was any idea how to fix the economy…there is plan after plan…idea after idea….but none seem to be the right answer….as those who live on Main Street USA  watch and wait….their lives and their resources shrink and they worry….and Congress plays the partisan fiddle