Day: March 3, 2009

A GOP Battle Royale?

Cool!  A battle has begun between the RNC’s Steele and The Mouth Of Radio, Rush.

Rush Limbaugh’s barn-burner at CPAC this weekend drew a line in the sand, once again, for Republicans: either they want President Obama to fail, or they don’t. RNC Chairman Michael Steele, subsequently, walked a tightrope on the issue last night in an interview with D.L. Hughley on CNN.
“Let’s put it in the context here,” Steele said. “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. His whole thing is entertainment…yes, it’s incendiary, yes, it’s ugly.” And that’s the line that has gotten the idea of Steele vs. Rush so much play in the blogosphere today.
Steele has put forth a vision for a more inclusive GOP–not necessarily inclusive to the idea of working with Democrats, but inclusive to new voting demographics–and “incendiary” rhetoric like Limbaugh’s may seem to threaten his chance at bringing in new votes. Then again, nothing generates campaign donations like passionate support, and nothing generates passionate support like “incendiary” opposition to Democrats.

Then The Rush fires back with both barrels…….tee hee….

“I hope the RNC chairman will realize he’s not a talking head pundit, that he is supposed to be working on the grassroots and rebuilding it and maybe doing something about our open primary system and fixing it so that Democrats don’t nominate our candidates,” Limbaugh said, his voice rising. “It’s time, Mr. Steele, for you to go behind the scenes and start doing the work that you were elected to do instead of trying to be some talking head media star, which you’re having a tough time pulling off.”

“I’m not in charge of the Republican Party, and I don’t want to be,” he said. ” I would be embarrassed to say that I’m in charge of the Republican Party in the sad-sack state that it’s in. If I were chairman of the Republican Party, given the state that it’s in, I would quit. I might get out the hari-kari knife because I would have presided over a failure that is embarrassing to the Republicans and conservatives who have supported it and invested in it all these years.”

Two days after calling Rush Limbaugh a mere “entertainer” with an “incendiary” talk show, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele apologized and acknowledged the radio commentator as a “national conservative leader.”

“My intent was not to go after Rush – I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh,” Steele said in a telephone interview. “I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. … There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership.”

Steele to Rush…..My bad…you be da man!  GOD!  I love this stuff!

Trouble within the ranks of conservatism….will the GOP destroy itself from the inside?  Hey Dumbasses!  You do know that you morons are playing into the political hands of the Dems, right?  The more you idiots keep slapping each other around…the more the people see just how flippin’ out of touch you are.

Are You Sick Of Repubs Yet?

All you Repubs out there…..do you feel that the GOP is still the party for you?

These guys and gals have been attacking the Obama plan without mercy.  They say that it will bring back big government and increase the deficit.  All in all, pretty good arguments, but there is one thing they are hoping that the people will not remember.  Just what could I be speaking of?

Wait a minute!  Are not these the same group of people that had NO problem letting GW Bush go ape shit with spending?  Do not hurt yourself…yes it is.

All this new found concern for the American people and the runaway spending is just so damn pathetic.  Their “principles” and I use the term lightly, were not a problem when they held all the cards and now that they have screwed themselves into a corner….they reach down and pull out their “fiscal conservatism”.

It is NOT about the spending, it is about trying to find a voice that can benefit them in upcoming elections.  It is NOT about the plight of the American economy and the people, it is about regaining their lost power.

If it were a real concern for the economy, then maybe they should have a plan B….something beyond a tired old mantra……Tax Cuts.  This is all so amusing…..lots of vocal opposition, but not a stable plan in the bunch.

May I suggest that instead of holding worthless meetings like CPAC that the conservatives sit down an formulate an alternative plan to the Obama proposals.  Maybe then the people would start taking them seriously.  As it is now, they are just jokes without a punch line.

How About A Mileage Tax

As the 15-member commission noted, the “transportation system has deteriorated to such a degree that our safety, economic competitiveness and quality of life are at risk.” The report depicted an astonishing degree of neglect: Real spending on highways has plummeted by 50 percent since the late 1950s, even though vehicle miles traveled have increased considerably in that time; the 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gas tax has lost one-third of its purchasing power since 1993, the last time it was raised; long-term revenue for the Highway Trust Fund, which helps pay for the country’s roads, will fall an average of $68 billion short of required levels annually. As a result, the commission wrote, there is an “unacceptable and unsustainable investment deficit in our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure.”

The commission argues,  that it’s necessary to raise the gas tax in the short term. However, as drivers switch to more fuel-efficient vehicles, the tax will generate insufficient revenue to cover the country’s transportation infrastructure needs. That’s why, after examining numerous alternatives, the commission concluded that a mileage tax was the best way to raise the necessary revenue while reducing the impact drivers have on the environment. In fact, a mileage tax could be much more effective at doing this than the gas tax. A mileage tax could be tailored so that Hummer drivers, for example, paid more per mile than Prius owners. The tax could also be levied at higher rates during rush hour or on congested highways, discouraging people from driving at times when they would spend the longest on the road. It’s no surprise, then, that groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund have praised the proposal.

Most mileage tax proposals call for a tracking device in vehicles that, according to the commission, would “function like the GPS devices that million of Americans have already installed in their cars without worry of privacy loss.” There are potential privacy pitfalls, but, as the commission wrote, “such systems can and should be designed to fully protect travelers’ privacy.” The trackers could be designed so that the government would only receive information about how much a driver owes, not where the driver has traveled. Reassuringly, a successful mileage tax pilot program in Oregon protected drivers’ privacy.

Mileage tax advocates say it’s possible that Congress will include funding to study the proposal, and possibly implement pilot programs, in a major transportation funding bill this year. That would be a good start for a promising idea.

Eco-Terrorism On The Rise

The information compiled by the alliance showed that ALF, ELF, DBF and related groups claimed a total of 640 acts of sabotage, vandalism and arson in 2008, up from 467 in 2007, an increase of over 35 percent. The overall level of animal-rights extremist attacks in the United States on businesses that use animals — including medical research, consumer product safety, pets, circuses, rodeos, fur shops, hunting stores, farmers, ranchers, food retailers — surged nearly 40 percent. An even more troubling development is the massive expansion of damages inflicted upon food retailers. Claimed attacks on food retailers in the United States, especially the brand names of McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and Hardee’s, increased from 9 in 2007 to 34 in 2008, an increase of 377 percent.

Destruction or defacement of property — especially smashing windows, etching windows, and painting (or paint bombing) windows, buildings, vans and billboards — were the techniques most frequently used by extremist groups in their attempts to intimidate food chain businesses to shut down. The groups also adopted a new unsavory technique this year, using sponges to block toilets and urinals to cause expensive flooding and extensive clean-up.

Extremists claimed responsibility for the “liberation” of thousands of animals during the year and millions of dollars in damage. Mexico appears to be an emerging center for animal-rights terrorism. In 2008, extremist groups in Mexico claimed more than double the amount of attacks than were claimed in the United States.

As disturbing as this news might be, the geographic array of attacks in the United States is equally disturbing. “We have seen a significant change in extremist activity directed against the food chain,” said Kay Johnson Smith, executive vice president of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. “The numbers of attacks against food retailers in hotbeds of extremism like California and New York were noticeably lower, while attacks in other areas not widely associated with animal-rights extremism increased markedly. For instance, the greater Kansas City, Kan., area appears to be the new home of an ALF cell, with two attacks having been claimed in the second half of 2008, one in Lenexa and the other in Overland Park. An ALF cell in Georgia claimed five actions. One targeted a butcher shop, another hit a meat company and three more were aimed at quick-serve restaurants. Further, ALF cells in North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas all claimed actions.

“The message is loud and clear that the agenda of these groups is focused solely on advancing a vegan agenda through destruction and intimidation,” Johnson Smith said. “The fact that extremists are willing to massively increase their attacks on the food chain during a serious economic downturn should cause major alarm for all companies and organizations responsible for feeding people. The exponential escalation of attacks is shocking and disturbing. All companies in the food chain need to be vigilant, enhance their security efforts and be sure to report all incidents to their local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

What To Spend The Stim Cash On?

The U.S. public is bubbling over with ideas on how to spend the billions of dollars set to flow to states from the federal stimulus program — including six-packs of beer, airboats and bathtubs.

Thousands of suggestions have poured into websites states have set up to give residents updated information on the money and where it might be spent, and in some cases asking them to submit their own ideas. Ohio, for example, had received a whopping 11,373 proposals as of Thursday.

President Barack Obama has pledged to keep citizens apprised of how the $787 billion stimulus plan is carried out through the website www.recovery.gov and has encouraged governors to do the same. Within a week of the bill passing at least a dozen states had created stimulus sites.

Some of the ideas for tapping into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act posted to the sites go beyond typical bricks-and-mortar infrastructure projects like roads and bridges.

Virginia has received scores of ideas since launching its website on February 10. A common theme was using stimulus funds to send the money back to taxpayers as a rebate or tax cut. Still, there were some unusual requests.

One Virginia resident proposed a “shovel-ready” idea to lift small business development by giving a six-pack of locally brewed beer to every adult in the state. The cost would be $48.6 million with the assumption that the beer’s price would average $7.99.

If you have an idea go to your state’s website and submit…who knows?  You could win the stim lotto!

Support For The Employee Free Choice Act

Forty prominent economists, including three Nobel laureates, have signed onto a statement in favor of the Employee Free Choice Act written by EPI President Lawrence Mishel, Richard Freeman of Harvard and Frank Levy of MIT. Citing the recent unprecedented growth of inequality in household income and the urgent need to give workers more bargaining power to counter national and global trends, Freeman, Levy and Mishel wrote that the proposal is an essential step toward rebuilding a solid middle class.

“A rising tide lifts all boats only when labor and management bargain on relatively equal terms,” the statement says. “In recent decades, most bargaining power has resided with management. The current recession will further weaken the ability of workers to bargain individually. More than ever, workers will need to act together. The Employee Free Choice Act is not a panacea, but it would restore some balance to our labor markets.  As economists, we believe this is a critically important step in rebuilding our economy and strengthening our democracy by enhancing the voice of working people in the workplace.” The statement will appear in a full-page ad in the Washington Post on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Repubs hate the act….but there is a growing amount of support for the act among economists.