Fixing the Deficit

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123378062602049003.html

Or, just fire Leo Paschetti.

KT,
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That won’t work. The Republicans are supporting Taliban-style insurgency!!
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See here: http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2009/02/sessions_gop_in.php

OBAMA HIJACKS CENSUS FROM COMMERCE…

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000003024858

Sure sounds like HATE MATH to me.

hula,
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What do you use to clean the spittle f4rom your keyboard when you’re done posting for the day?

Not to make light of Justice Ginsburg condition, but if she is forced to retire due to medical reasons I guess we are going to find how many liberal judges have not paid their taxs, liens or household help.

The two biggest issues that threaten the moneyed establishment. Healthcare and labor issues.
One checked off earlier this week and now, as predicted, Solis.

I think Karen is right – if everybody is appointed and we discover all the unpaid taxes out there, it would likely be a big boost to the economy. Although maybe not everyone – just those with tax liens.

I think we should call a halt to the nominations until these people have been SCOURED. The other side is being armerd with missteps that they use to ridicule the Obama administration.

Gunny,
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Good point. But I still can’t believe that a Republican congressman talking about how they were acting as the Taliban! no less got no play on any major news organization. Not a peep!!

I dislike that the IRS has the ability to tell us after we’ve paid them if we paid too much or too little (and have done anything potentially illegal), and not beforehand.
It’s like some twisted, evil game of Price as Right.

Wow. All this time and I never realized IRS was optional.

IS that in Dashole dollars or Paschetta pesos?
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123378062602049003.html

“I dislike that the IRS has the ability to tell us after we’ve paid them if we paid too much or too little (and have done anything potentially illegal), and not beforehand. It’s like some twisted, evil game of Price as Right.”

Then ask for a National Sales Tax, to replace the sloppy income tax.

“It’s like some twisted, evil game of Price is Right”.

Well put, sneezeguard.

“IS that in Dashole dollars or Paschetta pesos?”
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Oh, no, we wouldn’t be so cheap!
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IS = http://www.geldpress.com/2008/12/bailout-cost-85-trillion/
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= HULAGATE PRIORITIES ESTABLISHED =

From bryanfromhouston’s link:
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“Insurgency, we understand perhaps a little bit more because of the Taliban,” Sessions said…”I’m not trying to say the Republican Party is the Taliban. No, that’s not what we’re saying.”
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I don’t know, a bunch of xenophobe fundamentalists trying to obstruct progress however they can and sowing terror across America -sounds reasonable to me.

Here’s another solution: beating everyone on Capitol Hill with sticks until they realize how upset people are becoming.

I’m upset with all of them. Having crazy spending in a “stimulus package” with fear tactics that if we don’t do this RIGHT NOW we’re doomed. Forever. The other side is forgetting they lost on Election Day. Big time. Better come together soon.

Cliff, I’ve got it! Let’s raffle off who gets to best them with sticks. We’ll get the $1 Trillion in no time!!

“But I still can’t believe that a Republican congressman talking about how they were acting as the Taliban! no less got no play on any major news organization. Not a peep!!”
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John McCain himself is going around making delusional claims and statements about the stimlus package and all the networks are treating him like he has a serious message.

KT- did I miss the Swamp scrum on the next HHS nominee, or is that so yesterday’s news.

Or KT you and your crew could try I know — investigative reporting. If you were reporting on some Republicans with the same issues this crap would stop. Because I’m pretty sure there are plenty of Republicans who haven’t paid their taxes in full, they hate taxes I know you could find some that went for a few questionable loopholes.
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When the GOP runs confirmation hearings they don’t ask tax questions and they don’t volunteer tax problems.

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I’m assuming that the hyperventilation over taxes will fade once Obama selects someone less liberal to appease the right-whingers.
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Oh wait, this time it’s a nominee’s husband…I gotta admit; this instance of smear-by-association is less of a stretch than the whole Jeremiah Wright brouhaha. Just as dumb, but less of a stretch.
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Dee – agree with your point about Republican vetting. Solis is now held up because of taxes her husband owed from 16 years ago. This is getting to be like smoking pot when you’re 20.
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Ironically Obama may end up with the cleanest administration,but it doesn’t look like it because everyone’s confessing their sins.
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Did you see that Andrew Card wants Obama to wear a suit coat because the oval office stands for the constitution, or some such? Bush trashed the constitution but that was okay because he was wearing a suit coat while he did it.

Weird Q. Why does this nanny/tax thing afflict the democratic administrations? I know Linda Chavez got nailed, but it seems like either the dems have more of an issue here in D.C., or it’s ignored when it’s Republicans. I would like to know which is which.

KT — I filled out that multi page document that the transition team requested for all job seekers. I haven’t gotten a call yet. Now I understand why. I don’t have any tax liens or nanny problems. Silly me, with taxes issues, “I coulda been a contentda.”

I’ve been reading this blog for a few months and I decided I had to start submitting comments because I’m getting so sick of the Republican game. A Republican today said that they wanted a “Taliban-like insurgency” against this bill. Cheney says there’ll be another terrorist attack because we no longer torture (gotta love him), sounding remarkably like Rush Limbaugh, and nobody besides the NYTimes calls him out on it. And all the Republicans (Lindsay Graham, McCain being the notable ones) are deriding Obama’s attempts at bipartisanship. He HAS gone above and beyond any of his predecessors in terms of reaching out to the other party. Not to mention that there ARE long-term things we SHOULD address with this bill – such as education and health care. I’m all for short term fixes, but if we don’t look towards the future, my generation will not just be stuck with debt but with a horrendous infrastructure as well. If tax cuts were the cure-all, why the hell is the economy as bad as it is now? Also, if this stimulus sucked so much, why would Krugman and Stiglitz (Nobel prize winners, unlike the media pundits and umm all Republicans) be on board for it (in fact, they’re saying it’s not enough)? When will you guys actually get EXPERT opinions on this stimulus package? Even McCain’s economist says we need a stimulus…

One more thing: Kristol says Republicans should unite against this bill not because of principle, but to ruin chances at health care reform down the road. Does this bother nobody in the press?

“Does this bother nobody in the press?”
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Ahhhhhh.No.

ilehas: What did Kristol mean? That if they’re able to stall this bill, they can stall others?

Guys: I’ve been listening to talk radio today and the Repubs are ENERGIZED. Salon.com has an interesting article on what Obama needs to do and say NOW.

One more thing: Kristol says Republicans should unite against this bill not because of principle, but to ruin chances at health care reform down the road. Does this bother nobody in the press?
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No, because they’re all in perfect health and have no children.

“John McCain himself is going around making delusional claims and statements about the stimlus package and all the networks are treating him like he has a serious message.”
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Careful guys, the not-a-media-critic Tumulty will soon be accusing you of causing the economic crisis as she did w/ me in the other thread. It’s just a game people, all this crap has no consequence for you, if you’re hungry just eat one of those cocktail weenies…oh, you don’t have any?

kathy: i have not put up my next nominee, but i’m leaning toward sully the pilot, per joyomama’s suggestion.
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and cincy is totally to blame for the dow jones industrial average.

cincinnatus est exterminata,
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Maybe we’ll get one of the left-over BBQ ribs from McCain’s shindig at the Ponderosa!

i also think cincy is behind global warming.

Andy from MA Says…
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hey andy, all hope is not lost. File your returns today including massive and totally fictitious deductions, then tomorrow fila an amended return with the correct numbers, and you might be able to qualify!

Somebody please explain to me why a person’s spouse’s tax issues become the problem of said person? Other than optics, of course.

See…she just doesn’t care. She came in here w/ some cock and bull story about how she has someone in her family has a chronic disease and how she sooooo concerned w/ health care issues. Karen Tumulty is not only a not-a-media-critic, she’s also a highly paid concern troll.

cincy, I’m jealous. KT used to rag on me for “blaming the media for everything”, and you’ve taken my place!

plus, cincy told hilda solis’ husband that only suckers pay taxes.

pluk: but then, in a burst of generosity, you stated unequivocally that i had NOTHING TO DO with the peloponnesian war. remember?

i wish it were a cock and bull story, cincy.

i wish it were a cock and bull story, cincy.
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So do people like Bill Kristol bother you at all, then?

i also wish that my brother had health insurance.

Now KT is a concern troll? Out of curiosity, cincy, did a reporter bite you when you were a kid?

cliff: people like bill kristol do not bother me at all. why? because i don’t read him. fox news doesn’t bother me either.

KT,
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Why no story on the Republican Taliban and their insurgency?
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See here: http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2009/02/sessions_gop_in.php
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All we want is for the truth to see the light of day.

Ok, so you only are bothered by things you directly interact with?
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I mean, according to ilehas, Kristol is pushing for the defeat of health care reform. Kristol is a Big Time Conservative, so the Right pays attention to the things that he says.
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So, he’s exerting his (inexplicably) considerable influence on a matter that is directly affecting you and your family, to achieve an end that is detrimental to you and your family. And that doesn’t bother you?

cliff:
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i don’t think he’s nearly as influential as you think he is. maybe 10 or 15 years ago.
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bryan: i’ll take a look at that. it looks like it might be a good post.

i also wish that my brother had health insurance.
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Which is all the more reason that floating ideas like Mittens Romney for SecHHS is totally bizarre. Maybe once Romney intervenes the Free Market will return your brother’s calls.

BTW, I don’t care what you do to fix the deficit, just don’t tax Joe Klein’s stash, man!

because i don’t read him. fox news doesn’t bother me either.
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I don’t read Senator Inhofe’s weekly newsletter, or his journal, or the laws he writes.
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However, he doesn’t believe in global warming and is doing his best to defeat all attempts to counteract global warming.
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That directly affects me, and it bothers me a lot.
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So in other words, I’m calling BS on you. There’s no way that you are not intelligent enough to follow the logical chain from Brill Kristol’s sayings to his impact on your life.

And I’m making an example of Kristol. Maybe he’s not a big shot, but Rush Limbaugh is. And I’m guessing Rush isn’t a fan of health care reform either.
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Does he bother you?

@bryan What makes you think Pete Sessions ‘insurgency’ comments aren’t getting out? Here’s a sampling from Google:
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A Republican jihad?
USA Today – 4 hours ago
Pete Sessions, R-Tex., apparently thinks House Republicans can learn something from the Taliban. In an interview Wednesday with Hotline editors, …
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From The Hotline for Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009 National Journal
all 8 news articles »
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Van Hollen On Sessions Remark: “Truly Shocking”
National Journal, DC – 51 minutes ago
Van Hollen: “NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions’ remark comparing his own party’s tactics during the economic recovery debate to those of a terrorist group in …
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I’d imagine it will be part of any report and soundbite out of coverage of the stimulus bill.

bryan: just posted it.

cliff:
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rush limbaugh doesn’t bother me either, but apparently i’ve bothered him on a few occasions. my relatives in texas always call me when i’m being denounced.

davemc:
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now you tell me. that soundbite is all over the place. i’ve been working today and not letting sessions bother me either, apparently. speaking of which, i probably should go back to that.

“i don’t think he’s nearly as influential as you think he is. maybe 10 or 15 years ago.”
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There you go again…being a media critic when it’s convenient for you. So Time magazine is in the habit of hiring people who have no influence? You’re saying your bosses are morons for hiring Bill Kristol? I would concur…but you? Bill Kristol and FOX news bother all of us KT, because they mold the minds of the Great Moron Majority. Then the Great Moron Majority calls their reps and off we go!

cincy:

I defer to my favorite quote from my favorite fictional politician, francis urquhart, on that one.

roger ailes cites cincy as his most important influence.

rush limbaugh doesn’t bother me either
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Again, the choice of pundit isn’t the issue here.
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It sounds like your family has issues with health and health care. Do you see any sort of relation between their issues and the debates taking place in DC?
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I ask, because it feels like journalists are treating what’s happening right now as a mere strategy game, with abstract results that have no impact on our lives.
Do you recognize the impact or not?

KT, this is the problem. You guys in the media may dismiss Kristol because you know that he’s an idiot (or for whatever reason you dismiss him), but he’s got a national soapbox.
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Your theory is that the media has no influence, so whatever anybody says in print or on TV is material for a joke but not worth serious consideration. So why are you in this business again? At least AMC was forthright about not taking her profession seriously.
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If I sound harsh, it’s because you are usually one of the better voices here on Swamp. But you’ve got this weird blind spot, that you think, or pretend to think, that none of this matters.
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I don’t know … maybe you’re right, in which case I’m happy to go away and read a book or something. (Which I should probably do anyway!) Or maybe this is your psychological defense mechanism to keep from going insane, in the face of the tidal wave of stupidity inside the beltway.

Pepper, she a dilettante. The ‘who gives a sh!t’ Karen Tumulty is the real Karen Tumulty.

cliff:
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i very much see the connection between those issues and the debate taking place in DC, which is one reason I have written about it since 1994. what i don’t get worked up about is everyone who says something stupid on cable tv or talk radio. there are far larger forces at work.
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art: i take my profession very seriously, and you know i do. it is not the same profession as you are talking about. and, yes, please read a book. and a newspaper. and a magazine. read the real reporting, and not the cheap punditry. please. we need people to be reading, and not watching cable pundits.

plus, cincy told me to say that about bill kristol.

“read the real reporting, and not the cheap punditry. ”
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Avoid Time magazine? Gotcha.
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Honey what I paid you for had nothing to do w/ Bill Kristol…and I want my money back.

cincy:
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you could also avoid this blog. really. you could.

Now that you’ve shown that I’ve gotten under your skin? Not a chance baby cakes.

Stengel says you told him to hire Kristol.

also, my dermatologist has recommended an antibiotic that he promises will clear that (#19) problem right up.

BTW…if I hadn’t been making valid points about the media you wouldn’t have bothered. Jus’ sayin’.

what i don’t get worked up about is everyone who says something stupid on cable tv or talk radio. there are far larger forces at work.
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Then why don’t I see anything about those larger forces? Why are we subjected to the Limbaughs and the Kristols and the Coulters and the horseraces and the celebrity gossip?
Why can’t we get an acknowledgement that this stuff does flood our media, and it does have an impact?
Can you deny that Congressional Republicans share many, if not all, of the same views as Rush and Kristol?
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I would be thrilled if people dug deeper for information, as opposed to watching the O’Reilly Factor. Everyone here would. But I can’t really change that.
What I can do is expect that our journalists uphold their historic responsibility, despite the pressure to be profitable.

cliff:
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if you would like to know about the larger forces that killed health care in 1994, i would suggest you read (seriously) “the system” by david broder and haynes johnson. it is an excellent book.

Art, you are aware that there is a difference between reporters and columnists, right? A different set of standards for accuracy and fairness. Kristol is a columnist, spouting opinion and partisan rhetoric. He’s not reporting. To say that Bill Kristol is easily dismissed is not the same as saying the media has no influence.
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Kristol’s effectiveness – and I would say it’s waning – is that he preaches to a small audience of the converted. Despite cincy’s elitist nonsense of Kristol’s appeal to the ‘moronic masses,’ have you ever known anyone who was convinced by Kristol’s arguments? For very long, at least.
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Let’s review: He once wrote that Saddam was more of a threat to the U.S. than al Qaeda. He said the war in Iraq could good for the U.S.’s reputation in the Middle East. He dismissed the risk of sectarian conflict resulting from U.S. invasion of Iraq. And swore the war would ‘be a bargain’ at $100 to $200 billion.
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He bumbled even more as a political observer. Kristol thought Sarah Palin would be just peachy.
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When you get so many things wrong so quickly, even the True Believers start looking elsewhere.
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Why does he still have a job? I don’t know. Maybe Time and the Post get points for hiring the handicapped. But his missed prognostications and articulate miscues are why he’s easily dismissed.

KT – why are you evading my questions? I thought journalists were supposed to be honest.

The studied and conveniently timed obtuseness is maddening isn’t it? To add insult to injury, she suggested you check out a book written by David Broder. She hates us all dude.
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KT, the disease you have can’t be cured by antibiotics…only by continued layoffs at Time Inc.

KT: I know you do take your job seriously. Also I appreciate that you are willing to engage us down here in the comments. (On 2d-page comments no less!) And I totally get that you do actual research and stuff, whereas Kristol and his ilk just make up crap. And I assume he gets paid more for making up stuff than you do for doing actual work.
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The book I’m reading now is “Legacy of Ashes” about the CIA.
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davemc: Let’s review: He once wrote that Saddam was more of a threat to the U.S. than al Qaeda. He said the war in Iraq could good for the U.S.’s reputation in the Middle East. He dismissed the risk of sectarian conflict resulting from U.S. invasion of Iraq. And swore the war would ‘be a bargain’ at $100 to $200 billion.
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And those were the talking points of the Bush administration; and cable TV talking heads were used to browbeat anyone who said otherwise; and Judith Miller was fed mis-information about WMDs to regurgitate in the Times. The manipulation of the media is a big part of the story, and it’s a part that the media (not surprisingly) pretends is not a story.
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We’re watching it happen in real-time with the stimulus package.