Hello,
Yes, I've been quiet for a while. Part of it was being overloaded by my "day job" [computer professional], but part of it has been how fast things have been changing, as well as in ways that I like. (For example, I observe that people are more likely to post on their BLOG when they are upset about something).
About Obama's speech last Tuesday, I share the brief viewpoint Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) gave Keith Olbermann [as in Countdown with _____ on MSNBC]: He asked Senator Boxer, "You've seen and heard a lot of these. I'll give you the softball question off the start: Rank this one!" Senator Boxer responded, "A home run, a touchdown, and a three pointer. I mean, is that good for you for an analogy?" After a chuckle, Keith responded, "It works. Yes". [Note to the uninitiated: In Keith's "spare time", he's also an occasional sportscaster].
More later. Ken in Seattle.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Rebuttal to some Republican Talking Points on Stimulus Package
Today, Friday, February 13, 2009, the House just voted for the Stimulus package without a single Republican vote. And, afterwards, we heard a number of Republicans defend their unanymous NO vote.
1. "More tax cuts will create twice as many jobs as spending". (Only a partial rebuttal follows):
Excuse me, but, in many states, people will actually find their taxes increased! A number of states have constitutions that prevent deficit spending. Thus, they will be forced to increase their state taxes, while laying off many of their employees. (One example, California, is having to give IOU's, because they have no money in their treasury. This includes anybody who overpaid their state taxes, who will not be able to get their refund).
2. "Just because Bush overspent doesn't mean Obama gets to".
The error in logic here is that Bush's spending equals Obama's. Excuse me, but Bush's spending was purely on Destruction! A couple of wars! The money went out of the country where it could not help with, say, our country's infrastructure! And, so, for example, we had a huge bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because there was no money to fix it in advance! (And don't even get me started about Katrina!)
That's what hit me the hardest today. Give me some more Republican talking points, via Comments, and I'll rebut them also.
1. "More tax cuts will create twice as many jobs as spending". (Only a partial rebuttal follows):
Excuse me, but, in many states, people will actually find their taxes increased! A number of states have constitutions that prevent deficit spending. Thus, they will be forced to increase their state taxes, while laying off many of their employees. (One example, California, is having to give IOU's, because they have no money in their treasury. This includes anybody who overpaid their state taxes, who will not be able to get their refund).
2. "Just because Bush overspent doesn't mean Obama gets to".
The error in logic here is that Bush's spending equals Obama's. Excuse me, but Bush's spending was purely on Destruction! A couple of wars! The money went out of the country where it could not help with, say, our country's infrastructure! And, so, for example, we had a huge bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because there was no money to fix it in advance! (And don't even get me started about Katrina!)
That's what hit me the hardest today. Give me some more Republican talking points, via Comments, and I'll rebut them also.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Amish help Neighbors without Power. Who knew?
(First, a note: I'm keeping the "Newsreel", at the right, pointed to the January 22, 2009 post: "Bill of Rights in the Toilet", because it's still in the toilet! Yes, folks things have improved. People are now actually looking in the toilet bowl itself, seeking out the Bill of Rights -- separating the pieces of them from the pointless Republican rhetoric that is also there, and hoping that there are parts of the Constitution that can still stand, together with these soggy pages of our bill of rights, to get our country back to a healthy position. Fortunately, it seems that the republican rudeness that I often see in the world, worked out this time in our favor as, though they threw the Bill of Rights into the Toilet, they didn't flush it!)
The story I bring out now is actually a good one, showing us how some people, who might be marginalized, as well as ridiculed when conditions are normal, might be the only ones who can conduct normal lives, even taking charge and helping the people around them, when things go awry.
This begins with the Ice Storms themselves. All over the East Coast! Many states with long power outages. I'm going to take one of them, Kentucky, because of the heartwarming story that follows. But first, on January 30th, the local papers were saying: "Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spots".
But then, one area, Mayfield, KY, got some unexpected help from two fronts: First, some friendly Amish Neighbors helped, in many ways, but much of it was simply mentoring people who are used to being on the Electric Grid. In other words, there is life without electricity! An excerpt from the article follows:
But Kentucky’s Amish have been living that way all their lives. And when the disaster struck, they generously lent a hand to their non-Amish neighbors and showed them how it’s done.
“Those folks are very good at sustaining themselves,” said Master Sgt. Paul Mouilleseaux, a National Guard spokesman.
The Stutzman family and the roughly 8,500 other Amish in the state were essentially unaffected by the storm that knocked out power to more than 1.3 million customers last week, about half of them in Kentucky.
Stutzman, his wife and their seven children were secure in their toasty, two-story home amid corn and soybean fields and swampy stands of cypress in western Kentucky.
“We paid it no attention,” Stutzman said Tuesday, relaxing in a handmade rocker as a wood stove across the room radiated heat on a windy morning with temperatures in the low 20s.
The second helping hand actually came from another state, where telephone crews in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, went out to help Kentucky with their telephone repair work.
Please, folks! I know there's a debate between helping Wall Street and Main Street, but, unlike on Wall Street, real people are hurting on Main Street!
The story I bring out now is actually a good one, showing us how some people, who might be marginalized, as well as ridiculed when conditions are normal, might be the only ones who can conduct normal lives, even taking charge and helping the people around them, when things go awry.
This begins with the Ice Storms themselves. All over the East Coast! Many states with long power outages. I'm going to take one of them, Kentucky, because of the heartwarming story that follows. But first, on January 30th, the local papers were saying: "Life after ice storm dire, getting worse in spots".
But then, one area, Mayfield, KY, got some unexpected help from two fronts: First, some friendly Amish Neighbors helped, in many ways, but much of it was simply mentoring people who are used to being on the Electric Grid. In other words, there is life without electricity! An excerpt from the article follows:
But Kentucky’s Amish have been living that way all their lives. And when the disaster struck, they generously lent a hand to their non-Amish neighbors and showed them how it’s done.
“Those folks are very good at sustaining themselves,” said Master Sgt. Paul Mouilleseaux, a National Guard spokesman.
The Stutzman family and the roughly 8,500 other Amish in the state were essentially unaffected by the storm that knocked out power to more than 1.3 million customers last week, about half of them in Kentucky.
Stutzman, his wife and their seven children were secure in their toasty, two-story home amid corn and soybean fields and swampy stands of cypress in western Kentucky.
“We paid it no attention,” Stutzman said Tuesday, relaxing in a handmade rocker as a wood stove across the room radiated heat on a windy morning with temperatures in the low 20s.
The second helping hand actually came from another state, where telephone crews in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, went out to help Kentucky with their telephone repair work.
Please, folks! I know there's a debate between helping Wall Street and Main Street, but, unlike on Wall Street, real people are hurting on Main Street!
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