What Eugene Robinson said:
Amen, Mr. Robinson. Which is why this entire dog and pony show debate over what and how much to cut starts from a false premise and takes off from there. Most Americans don't give a flying flip at the moon about what the debt to GDP ratio is, they want to get up every morning and go to work. Want a deficit reduction plan? It doesn't take hundreds of pages of proposals and plans. I can give it to you in one word--jobs. Want economic growth? Same word--jobs.
People with jobs pay income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. People with jobs don't need government assistance. People with jobs buy stuff, which creates demand for stuff, which means more stuff needs to be made, which creates jobs for people to make more stuff, and so on, and so on, and so on. It ain't rocket science, and it don't take a PhD in economics to figure that out, one would think.
So where is the bi-partisan [insert name of former politicians here] jobs commission? Where is the "Gang of [insert number of senators here]" working on legislation to put Americans back to work?
Hmmmm?
"What is it about the word "jobs" that our nation's leaders fail to understand? How has the most painful economic crisis in decades somehow escaped their notice? Why do they ignore the issues that Americans care most desperately about?
Listening to the debate in Washington, you'd think the nation was absorbed by the compelling saga of deficit reduction. You'd get the impression that in households across America, parents put their children to bed and then stay up half the night sifting through piles of think-tank reports on the kitchen table, trying to calculate whether there will be enough in the Social Security trust fund to pay benefits beyond 2037.
And you'd be wrong. Those parents are looking at a pile of bills on the kitchen table, trying to decide which ones have to be paid now and which can slide. The question isn't how to manage health care or retirement costs two decades from now. It's how the family can make it to the end of the month."
Amen, Mr. Robinson. Which is why this entire dog and pony show debate over what and how much to cut starts from a false premise and takes off from there. Most Americans don't give a flying flip at the moon about what the debt to GDP ratio is, they want to get up every morning and go to work. Want a deficit reduction plan? It doesn't take hundreds of pages of proposals and plans. I can give it to you in one word--jobs. Want economic growth? Same word--jobs.
People with jobs pay income taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes. People with jobs don't need government assistance. People with jobs buy stuff, which creates demand for stuff, which means more stuff needs to be made, which creates jobs for people to make more stuff, and so on, and so on, and so on. It ain't rocket science, and it don't take a PhD in economics to figure that out, one would think.
So where is the bi-partisan [insert name of former politicians here] jobs commission? Where is the "Gang of [insert number of senators here]" working on legislation to put Americans back to work?
Hmmmm?
And congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I wish you and your new bride many, many years of happiness.
If my momma's name was "Stanley" I wouldn't release MY birth certificate either.
Amen Shortstuff. Thank you.
Ok I am going to be blunt and vulgar and profane and I am going to say it. The teatards are all a bunch of fucking racists. (Phew. I've been holding that back for months!)
They can't admit that a black man could be born in America. Gotta be born in Kenya, right?
And the bullshit about his "adoption"? Where the hell did that come from? He was not adopted. His mother was American. Born in Kansas, for freakin' Chrissake. His father was Kenyan. Yep. An - gasp! - interracial marriage! (That's probably what is pissing them all off most of all!)
Big fucking deal! What the hell is wrong with these people?
And yeah, Bart, or Keith or any of you wingers that we know are on here all the time (even though you deny it), try to give us ONE - just ONE - rational explanation of the stupidity and insanity of those in your party. If you can.
I am not holding my breath. The GOP is a sorry excuse of a bunch of certifiable idiots. Throw Trump into the mix and they can not be considered to be a "serious" political party. I feel like Alice who has just fallen down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Where's the damn White Queen and the Cheshire Cat?
Thank you, my friend.
Do you realize that you were all duped by the Birthers ? It was a fine post from Bob and it derailed unto a long tirade of post decrying the Birthers, you must be smarter than them : ignore them. You president will deal with them as he saw fit.
Carguy wrote: "If she had only named him Fred, or Bob, or George, anything but Barack."
I would think "Sue" would have been more karmic and appropriate seeing as his mom was named "Stanley". Ok, she should have named him Johnny.
Carguy wrote: "I DO keep wondering, since the Fall of the American Empire is imminent, when exactly do we get to the debauchery and promiscuity? Maybe at the next meeting?????"
Jeez CG, now you tell us how to get you to show up...
If she had only named him Fred, or Bob, or George, anything but Barack.
Re: Obama birth certificate...Accordong to an MSNBC on-line poll, as of 2:45pm today 37% of respondents state that EVEN NOW there is still doubt in their mind about his citizenship.
Racism searching for justification. Plain and simple.
hugs
Hell, Scott, they might NEVER realize it.
Hi, AH..thanks for asking. Every day is better.
I agree, I have been reading comments and listening to various news reports today, and the detestation has become even more palpable (if that were possible).
I really agree with Shortstuffs comments made in the past...I truly fear for my country.
It's all a chess game. If he produced it immediately they'll say it was print shopped. Wait and they'll say why did you wait. Protest their ignorance and doth protest too much. Ignore and they'll say your hiding. I say pull the duck season rabbit season bit and produce an obvious forgery that says he was born in Kenya. See how long they protest before realizing they've been had.
Hi Carol,
Hope everything is okay...
I was watching Pat Buchanan rage about the 'affirmative action' that allowed the Pres to graduate magna cum laude and elevate him to the chair of the Harvard law Review. First time ever I saw Chris Matthews slack-jawed. It was stunning and shocking simultaneously to see the snake venom pour from Buchanan's mouth.
But Des...you fail to mention that the wars have created a market for casket makers back home. That's helps boost the G.D.P. And what about Florists Des hmmm? Their business has pick up because of these funerals. You got to look at all sides, all sides..
ARGH!!!!!
People in America (or at least some of them) are certifiably insane - and I am not talking about the ones that are in mental hospitals.
This crap about Obama's eligibility to be President has to STOP!
We need to focus on jobs and putting food on the tables of many Americans!
It didn’t take as long as you thought. World Nut Daily:
"The certificate of live birth is an absolutely vital foundation for determining constitutional eligibility of any president. We look forward to reviewing it like so many other Americans do at this late date. But it is important to remember there are still dozens of other questions concerning this question of eligibility that need to be resolved to assure what has become a very skeptical public concerning Barack Obama’s parentage, his adoption, his citizenship status throughout his life and why he continues to cultivate a culture of secrecy around his life."
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=292165
LIke you can take the CBO's word for that.
Oh, you can take that to the bank. By 11:47 AM, CDT, some repubtilian will state that the president of the UNuted States would not have ANY trouble producing a fake birth certificate. WHY it took him 2 1/2 years is the "suspicious" thing.
On we go, marching off the cliff, "Thelma and Louise" style.
I DO keep owndering, since the Fall of the American Empire is imminent, when exactly do we get to the debauchery and promiscuity? Maybe at the next meeting?????
How many jobs would $1.26 trillion have created?
“CBO says the total for the Iraq operations is about $752 billion since the United States went to war there in 2003, compared to the $386 billion for Afghanistan since 2001. When operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are combined together and some "other" costs are added, U.S. taxpayers have spent $1.26 trillion on both wars, CBO says.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/26/us-afghanistan-usa-costs-idUSTRE73P7L720110426
Carguy, what are the 45% of Republicans that think Obama was born in a foreign Country going to do now?? Hmmmm? This is really going to put a crimp in their day. They're going to have to come up with another conspiracy theory. Wait, I know. You have to be 35 to be president right? They're going to say that they have PROOF that Obama wasn't really born in '61. Obama and the blacks, ERASED that part of the upper right hand corner of the six, and it was really an eight. Obama was born in 1981. So Obama is really only 30 now. You have to watch those clever negroes...
By the way...many of you know I am about to marry a Kenyan woman who was born in Kenya. If we have any children here in the U.S. I am not only going to lock up the birth certificate in a bullet proof vault, but I will record the event, have witnesses, and invite the local news to come and report live from the hospital.
Today, the president held a press conference to finally, finally, exhibit,for ALL to see, his OFFICIAL STATE OF HAWAII BIRTH CERTIFICATE. Issued by THE STATE, HAWAII, THE FIFTIETH STATE, of the fifty, some odd, states IN the USA.
Although he DID blame the republicans for this ridiculous waste of time and for furthering this absurd argument, he did not mention that detestable, mega-egomaniacal, asswipe, Donald Trump, by name. So, in the pursuit of fairness, I will.
Now, maybe, maybe, we can move on to jobs, and maybe education. Perhaps reducing this preposterous spending of money we don't have on things we don't need. Oh, and the two wars we are currently engaged in once again spending BILLION$$ of dollars for a questionable cause with an uncertain and very dubious outcome, should there actually be one.
The birthers still won’t be satisfied. They’ll say “it’s fake” or “it’s forged” or “OK, now let’s see those college transcripts” or some other such foolishness. Wait and see.
Today, the president held a press conference to finally, finally, exhibit,for ALL to see, his OFFICIAL STATE OF HAWAII BIRTH CERTIFICATE. Issued by THE STATE, HAWAII, THE FIFTIETH STATE, of the fifty, some odd, states IN the USA.
Although he DID blame the republicans for this ridiculous waste of time and for furthering this absurd argument, he did not mention that detestable, mega-egomaniacal, asswipe, Donald Trump, by name. So, in the pursuit of fairness, I will.
Now, maybe, maybe, we can move on to jobs, and maybe education. Perhaps reducing this preposterous spending of money we don't have on things we don't need. Oh, and the two wars we are currently engaged in once again spending BILLION$$ of dollars for a questionable cause with an uncertain and very dubious outcome, should there actually be one.
Good points Des. Below is a link to an organization that is working to strengthen (not cut) Social Security. Congress and the White House need to hear from us. Thanks.
http://strengthensocialsecurity.org/dont-make-us-work-til-we-die
It is indeed ALL about jobs: THEIRS!
Or else why would they go to such extreme extends to please their contributing daddys?!?
They're working. Obama and his gang are watching the economy grow (like grass) but the game must go on. Obama's biggest strength and most glaring public weakness is humility in the guise of self-possession. He isn't by nature a cheerleader, his nature is more akin to the quiet but very sturdy strength of the Renaissance man. He is a mirror of reflection for American resolve.