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Budget Woes
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/15/2009 12:00:17

Good Morning.

Everyone should have a budget. At it's simplest and most basic...you spend less than you earn, and save a little for a rainy day. Why is this such a hard concept for governments to master?

We surely don't need to talk about the Fed; every Tuesday I post a link to the biggest sucking sound in the entire Federal budget, the ongoing cost of war.

But it's all the liberal's fault, right? After all, we're the party of tax and spend, and now President Obama's healthcare plan is going to push us into the deficit stratosphere, right?

If you haven't seen the remarkable chart posted in yesterday's blog, I'll give you a minute to go look it up now.

So now...City, State, and Federal programs are facing cuts just to keep the economy from falling apart as we try to figure a way out of this mess. The Bush economic policies just keep on ripping money out of the hands of 97% of the population in order to support the remaining 3%....the ones that don't need it at all.

It's part of our national wherewithall; during WWII, taxes on the richest segment of the population approached 90% of their income....but 70 years ago we decided as a nation that it was important to defeat global fascism. Now I guess it's important to us as a nation to make the rich richer, and to sellout everyone else so an elite subset of Americans can maintain their hold on power.

There are more and more stories in the news everyday about what this is doing to ordinary people, and indeed those who depend on the system and the assistance that all those social programs do. Here is one of those stories.

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9 comments (Latest Comment: 08/16/2009 13:12:31 by Scoopster)

Where were they?
Author: BobR    Date: 08/14/2009 12:34:10

The right-wing has been getting a lot of press lately for their protests. It seems that every time you turn around, they're having a tea party, or disrupting a town hall meeting. There's going to be a large shindig right here in Atlanta on Saturday. Don't these people ever work? More importantly though - where the hell have they been for the past 8 years?
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50 comments (Latest Comment: 08/14/2009 22:28:58 by livingonli)

Raising the Bar
Author: Raine    Date: 08/13/2009 12:47:40

Yesterday President Obama awarded 16 people the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for their service to mankind. It was begun in WWII to recognize civilians for their service and revived by President John Kennedy to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." (source) These were the recipients of this award for 2009:
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60 comments (Latest Comment: 08/13/2009 23:48:54 by Raine)

The Kennedys - an Appreciation
Author: BobR    Date: 08/12/2009 12:46:40

In 1961 John F. Kennedy famously said "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." With the passing yesterday of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, our country and the world has lost yet another member of that clan who lived those words. Has any other family worked as tirelessly for the betterment of their country? Though born to wealth, they've joined the military, and served their homeland in private and political ventures.
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89 comments (Latest Comment: 08/13/2009 02:13:58 by livingonli)

Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/11/2009 10:26:27

Good Morning.

Today is our 2,337th day in Iraq.

We'll start this morning as we always do, with the latest casualty figures from Iraq and Afghanistan, courtesy of antiwar.com:

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 4330
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03): 4191
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 3869
Since Handover (6/29/04): 3471
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09): 102

Other Coalition Troops - Iraq: 318
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 773
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 523
Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq: 1,395
Journalists - Iraq: 139
Academics Killed - Iraq: 423

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 896, 787, 100, 000 .00


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122 comments (Latest Comment: 08/12/2009 03:27:39 by Mondobubba)

The Real Death Panels
Author: Raine    Date: 08/10/2009 12:42:08

They aren't anything imagined up by Sarah Palin's speechwriter. They aren't anything the riotous mobs are at the Town hall events. The real death panels Do exist, they are called insurance companies.

A few years ago, we were quite outraged and saddened by the death of a 17 year old leukemia sufferer. She died because Cigna Health insurance decided that a liver transplant was "experimental". Over the weekend I read a story about a baby, 6 moths old, who died at the hands of a hospital panel.
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79 comments (Latest Comment: 08/14/2009 19:51:36 by bloodystanng)

The Debate Continues....
Author: AuntAzalea    Date: 08/09/2009 13:29:32

Good morning Aunt Azalea stepping in today.
And, due to computer problems this is my now 3rd attempt to post this.

There were two posts ideas on my mind this week, the first was a private group message board post that did not seem altogether Kosher. And secondly dreams for our new foster daughter. I ran across this post and I am sharing it with you as well as my reply. I have changed the authors name.
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6 comments (Latest Comment: 08/10/2009 02:19:32 by TriSec)

The peace of fishing
Author: TriSec    Date: 08/08/2009 11:29:55

Just a brief entry this morning....we're already late.

I'm fortunate here in New England....I've got the Atlantic Ocean a mere 12 miles away from my front door, with miles of coastline, beaches....and fishing piers.

For about a decade, I spent my summer weekends as an unpaid deckhand aboard a private boat owned by a family member. We took family, guests, and the ocassional paying customer out of the Saugus river out to the Boston Harbor Islands for bottomfish, or 35 miles out to sea to Stellwagen bank for the big bluefish.

Well....you know the drill. Eventually, I got married, then the family member died and we sold the boat...then young Javi came along. My days on the sea became a distant memory.

But then this spring I started working for the Outdoor Discovery School at LL Bean. One of the things the school does is a fly-casting class. So, somewhat inspired, I dug out an old bamboo fly rod that I inherited when my grandfather passed; it's been gathering dust in the cellar for over a dozen years now.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it might actually be worth something. I haven't been by the store to see the resident expert yet, but who knows. It's certainly not going in the water anytime soon!

In any case, for the first time ever, I bought a freshwater fishing license this year. There's two tubs of nightcrawlers sitting on my dining room table, and as soon as we finish breakfast we're heading over to Spy Pond in nearby Arlington for a morning of fishing.

It's birthday weekend for us; young Javi is turning 8 tomorrow, and his papa is a bit older than that today. What more could you ask for on your birthday than bright sun, a bucket of worms, and a lake?



 
13 comments (Latest Comment: 08/09/2009 03:11:03 by trojanrabbit)

Lord of the Flies
Author: BobR    Date: 08/07/2009 12:29:48


"We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, and the English are best at everything."

"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"


- from "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding


William Golding's first novel describes children descending into savagery on a remote island when left without adult supervision. It is a particularly grim indictment of human nature, describing how easily mob rule can overcome our civilized upbringing. It shows what people can do when fear guides their actions in the absence of reason.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I read the news of a town hall meeting on healthcare reform in Tampa, where emotions came to a boil and violence broke out. It certainly raises questions of "how did we get here?" and "where is this going?". It seems the crazies are coming out of the woodwork and getting louder.... and crazier. Is this some new breed of animal? I don't think so. I think they've been here all along. I think there's another explanation.
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91 comments (Latest Comment: 08/08/2009 03:43:43 by livingonli)

Manufactured Poutrage
Author: Raine    Date: 08/06/2009 12:47:54

So what to do about Claire McCaskil? Look, I generally like her. I do. She isn't super liberal, but for the most part she tries to be fair. I can live with that. I appreciate that she uses the technology out there to touch base with her constituents. That said, last night I saw a few of her tweets that I found at first, sad and misinformed. Putting them in chronological order, let's take a look:
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88 comments (Latest Comment: 08/07/2009 10:19:08 by Scoopster)

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