Curmudgeon's Corner
cur-mud-geon: anyone who hates hypocrisy and pretense and has the temerity to say so; anyone with the habit of pointing out unpleasant facts in an engaging and humorous manner
They Live to Fight Another Day...Over Our Money
Considering the hand that was dealt, the Republicans came out of this dust-up in better position than expected. The Bush tax rates were largely codified permanently and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was made permanent without the need to have it annually updated for inflation. The AMT will now be automatically updated.
Debt Will Kill Our Country
This video (click here) will show you, in a few short minutes, the predicament we've permitted ourselves to get into, and it is sobering at the very least.
Ryan 'likes' Romney
Paul Ryan, as you already know, made Mitt Romney his selection in the race for the Republican nomination. That may be enough of a push to assure a significant victory for Romney in our election.
The Cost of Uncertainty
Uncertainty is at the root of much of the disruption we face today in the various markets that exist in our economy. When that is coupled with energy costs, we have the makings of a tough summer and fall right when we will elect or re-elect a president.
Lipstick On A Pig
Private sector adds 233,000 jobs was the headline on the story in the morning Journal Sentinel. Then followed the statement: Unemployment rate unchanged at 8.3% after 3 strong months.
The Newest Republican Senate Candidate
Eric Hovde is officially in the race to replace Sen. Herb Kohl (D) who is not running for re-election. Hovde has a lot of competition and will take his lumps as the long-time politicians who are his opponents in the Republican primary work him over. Hovde has made a lot of money, so he is similar to our other Senator, Ron Johnson (R), in that he can provide a lot of funding from his own bank account if need be, and that is likely to be needed given the number of hands already reaching out for contributions.
Iran, Israel & Us
The latest step in the dance that has been ongoing for a long time took place yesterday in the Whitehouse when President Obama met with Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Volt Jolt
General Electric announced a tough new program that required its employees with company vehicles to use Chevrolet Volts or lose their company auto privilege. This involved GE buying tens of millions of dollars worth of these electric vehicles.
Obama Budget Magic
President Obama has published his version of a 2013 budget, even though his Democrat-controlled Senate is unlikely to do the same since they haven't for well over 1,000 days in spite of the requirement they do so.
The White House, Health Care & Old Folks
There is little secret that this White House wants to control virtually everything about our lives. Health care, of course, has been the big target since PPACA (a/k/a ObamaCare) was passed in the dead of night.
Circular Firing Squads
The last, I hope, Republican Presidential candidate debate was televised last evening. I watched a good portion of it after returning home late in the evening. First, I thought that John King of CNN did a decent job of spreading time around and of staging the questions.
Romney vs. Santorum
I meet every other week with a group of men in a Bible Study group and breakfast usually follows. Those breakfasts often get to political discussions since there are some very strong thoughts in this group that has some quite-active Republican members. That discussion this morning centered on Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney and the relative standing of each in the polls and in public opinion.
Typical Government Program
The Federal agencies involved have just released the final regulations that govern how the simplified Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) for PPACA must be written and displayed. This is a small part of the PPACA bill (aka ObamaCare) that covered some 2,100 pages without really saying anything in detail about that program. All the detail is now being formulated by the agencies, all of which are unelected and therefore beyond the public's reach so far as expressing displeasure.
What If?
What if Newt Gingrich would not continue his slash and burn attacks on Mitt Romney? What if Newt would put the need to remove President Obama from office above his personal, and seemingly petty, needs (compared to the public's needs)? Would that make a difference in the polls that now seem to indicate Obama could beat Romney in the Fall elections?
In The Eye Of The Beholder
The phrase "in the eye of the beholder" seems particularly appropriate for today. I watched only part of the State of the Union address last evening. That was a blessing for which I am most thankful, so I doubt that I'll watch the recording that I made.
Random Political Thoughts
As I read the morning Journal Sentinel today, I was struck by the political inferences across the main section even though this publication claims to be unbiased. (1) Dan Bice continues on the 'expose Walker' bent that he has made standard fare of late. His "sources say" that charges will be issued in the coming days and that they likely will involve Walker operatives. He mentions that "at least eight" of Walker's "former aides and associates have hired criminal defense lawyers". "Insiders" have told Bice that the "next phase is focusing on the role of some of Walker's closest associates". (2) There is now an 'issue' over whether or not Wisconsin is in a deficit or not in a deficit. The gap of some $3.6 Billion that Walker encountered when he took office was closed by the Walker government but that was on a cash basis. So now we are exposed to the fact that under GAAP accounting there is still a deficit and that this fact was used recently in a petition to the federal government to gain its permission to cut some 50,000+ people from a state health plan if necessary. I don't recall the continuing series of articles during the former government's time in office that traced the ever-increasing budget deficit or that condemned the use of various 'funds' (transportation and patient compensation, for example) to make possible increased state spending. (3) A story on the national 'health care overhaul' from the Associated Press states that Wisconsin is among the states "lagging" in implementation of the wonderful new PPACA legislation that has yet to withstand U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny. This story mentions some 500,000 Wisconsinites who have no health insurance but does not indicate that this state is among those with the lowest uninsured population in the nation. Nor does it bother to mention that each of these 500,000 people have access to health care under federal laws that have been in force for years. Maybe this was simply accidental story selection. Maybe not.
Haves vs. Have Nots
We are witnessing one of the worst types of political campaigns this year. We are watching as politicians try to convince one group that it is being intentionally victimized by the other group, and that it would really be part of the "Haves" if it weren't for the political tricks being played on it. Class warfare, pure and simple.
Interesting Twist in Manitowoc
The union workers (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 516) at the Manitowoc Company have been fighting with the company for the past two months to get a new contract. There have been at least three votes of which I am aware. Each time the proposed deal was voted down, the union and company went back to the table and came up with a revised contract proposal. In the meantime, the company hired temporary replacement workers.
Republican Field Smaller
Rick Perry left the field of Republican candidates this morning. He asked his supporters to back Newt Gingrich. Given Perry's showing, his tossing his support to Gingrich will do very little to help Gingrich. One of Newt's former wives, Marianne, will speak tonight on national television, and that won't help Newt either.
Newt Used to be Appealing
I was always something of a Newt Gingrich fan BUT that has come to a screeching halt. He has always been very bright, with innumerable ideas on virtually any subject...some he probably doesn't know enough about to make his pontificate.
Iran & U.S. in 2012
We have, in case you've not noticed, a Presidential election brewing throughout most of 2012. (It already seems this has gone on way too long.)