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Monday, August 29, 2011

A Compelling Weekend

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Hurricane Irene dominated the weekend news, but it's it was also a good time to sit back and reflect. It was a huge hurricane but did New York and the eastern seaboard go a little overboard in its coverage? I'm not downplaying any major storm or its affect but Hurricane Katrina was much more powerful, but the response didn't match what we saw this weekend. I know the politicians didn't want to be Katrinasized, so they took the extra precaution. I understand that a category 2 hurricane can cause a lot of havoc in a populous area like the northeast in contrast to the open spaces along the Gulf Coast. Especially, after an earthquake.

The earthquake and hurricane situation were used by Congressmen Eric Cantor and Ron Paul to make a stand on their principles. Erick Cantor said an equal amount of cuts would have to be made to pay for the relief efforts in his district and state. Ron Paul used this opportunity to downplay the importance of FEMA. Ron Paul said, "FEMA is not a good friend of most people in Texas because they only come in and tell you what you can and can't do," Paul said.Paul's statements came before Hurricane Irene made landfall in North Carolina then pummeled the East Coast through the weekend, leaving millions without power and leaving at least 20 dead. “He also told Chris Wallace that we can't afford FEMA because it's full of bureaucracy and our country is broke. Ron Paul voted against Hurricane IKE relief for his constituents in Galveston. Was that a stand on principle or did he know his colleagues would vote for the relief? I think it's the latter but Ron Paul is trying to use the Katrina response to bolster his argument, but that doesn't hold any water because Bill Clinton's FEMA director, James Lee Witt, did a tremendous job. President Bush put his inexperienced cronies at the head of that important agency, and we got what we paid for. Rick Perry got FEMA aid and wanted more. Ron Paul said that we could pull our troops from other countries or reduced foreign aid to pay for FEMA. That's the same line that he uses for Social Security, Medicare, and any other government program. Ron Paul is pretty consistent, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps, yourself up by your bootstraps and if you don't have bootstraps, you've done something wrong to get yourself in that situation." It's the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

The talk shows were lacking this weekend due to the coverage of Hurricane Irene, but the topic was centered pretty much over the Republican front runners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. They pointed out the lack of foreign policy credentials will not be a factor in the next election. It's Ron Paul making all the foreign policy news because of his nonintervention views. Mr. Paul said Al qaida may now be in Libya. He's taking a small point and exaggerating it. Some of the rebels who took part in the overthrow of the Libyan government did enlist in the fighting in Iraq against us, but they weren't really members of Al qaida. There were more like adventurous mercenaries out for the weekend thrill. We just killed Al Qaida’s number two, Omar Qaddafi has been overthrown, and so forth, or we just around the corner or just running in place? I don't know, but it calls for a serious discussion, not one driven by politics.

The role of government is a conversation that we should have. We shouldn't have this discussion in the middle of a storm because the outcome would be lopsided in favor of FEMA. Congressman Ron Paul, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Grover Norquist are all on the same page on taxes and a goal of making government small enough where you can drown it in a bath tub. I imagine that those people cringe every time FEMA is applauded for helping people in dire need. It doesn’t help their cause when 67% of the people think that the top two should get taxed more in an effort not to put most of the burden on the old, disabled, elderly, and middle class. There is a lot a waste at all levels of government but that's no cause to throw the baby out with the bath water. I get a kick out of our locals arguing our tax rate in Victoria, especially when they try to impress without knowing the difference between a marginal tax rate and an effective tax rate. I still think those people are just trying to muddy the waters because they hate taxes and government.

I know that Michelle Bachmann is behind the frontrunners but I just can't get over how people will use God in politics.  She said"“I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians,” Bachmann said to supporters. “We've had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here? Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending.' ”....  Do they know I stupid this sounds?  I imagine Ed Rollins (Bachmann's campaign manager) put the fear of  God in her , because now she is saying that she was just kidding. If we believe that God is the lone creator, why would God put so much emphasis on  United States(~310 million people) over the other six billion people?  Pat Robertson said the crack the Washington monument received from earthquake was a sign.

Remember you can hold you mouse cursor over any subject or person I mentioned  for more information.

8 comments:

Mike said...

I can't wait to download Dick Cheney's book and blog about it.

The book has already made Joe Scarborough defensive because he just can't see how liberals can remain quiet as president Obama goes on the offense; in true Cheney style. Mr. Scarborough gets mad when his guest disagree with him and this morning was no different. It's what republicans like Joe Scarborough do, they try to get everyone involved in their mistake. When one of his guest said" one big difference;Cheney lied", Joe Scarborough was fit to be tied.

Edith Ann said...

Michelle Bachmann is going to take a real beating on that comment! I still just interested in Rick Perry, and now apparently Mitt Romney. May the best hair win, I suppose!

It is very early, yet, and I really feel like Perry will sputter to a nothing soon enough. He hasn't even been in a debate yet, has he? It's just a matter of time and folks all across the country will come to learn what Perry is about.

Even over on Facebook folks are talking about Perry and his shortcomings with the intent of spreading the word on him. We'll see what social networking does for an election.

Edith Ann said...

Oh, yeah--Cheney's book. I'm sure it will be a best seller. Every republican will give or get one for Christmas...

Edith Ann said...

OMG!!! I was watching the Last Word, and they were discussing Cheney's book. My thought was that Cheney is (of course) rewriting history to let it reflect better upon him while throwing Bush under the bus. Not that Bush doesn't belong there, but damn!

Then I caught the last part of Morning Joe where they were discussing it. There was a lady (in blue) who, I believe, called it accurately--Cheney is in denial about his years in the White House. His recollections are 180 degrees from some of Bush's. Go figure!

But Joe was practically begging for someone to agree with him that if everyone was as transparent as Cheney, we'd have all the pieces.

Sure we would. Because we all know now that Cheney and Rumsfeld were right...

But, I think I'm with you--I think I may want to read the book, too.

Mike said...

gansoblanco hit the ball out of the park when he stated"The terminology has me confused. Is "pay their fair share" shorthand for"class warfare"or "punish the job creators?".He said this in the " Home appraisals in the country club vs. Taxpayers" blog. The local republicans can see the inequality in property tax when it comes to appraised value and asking price but when the national democrats want to tax the top 2%, it's called class warfare and punishing the job creators..... I've seen these examples come up year after year but is probably from the same individuals that don't wanna pay any property tax.

Mike said...

EA
I heard a commentator say that people like Perry and Bachmann are setting themselves up for a question like this " would you hire an atheist to work in your administration?"... I can't imagine republicans voting for someone who answered "yes."

I've heard all the stories about Perry not being “intellectually curious" but I'm willing to wait until after the September 7th debate. There's no doubt that he's a astute campaigner and politician.

I've been waiting for Dick Cheney's account of 9/11 and Iraq for longtime; I can now put all the pieces together. It seems there were two different President Bushes; one from 2000-2004 where Dick Cheney was in charge; then the one from 2005-2008 where the vice president was overruled. Dick Cheney was the only one that wanted to bomb Syria's nuclear reactor site; imagine that....
Dick Cheney throws everyone under the bus, from Condoleezza Rice to Colin Powell; a classic, everyone was wrong but Cheney and Rumsfeld.

I think Dick Cheney's conscious is starting to bother him because Scooter Libby took the fall for him and he wasn't able to convince President Bush to give him a full pardon. This book was a way to retaliate.

Edith Ann said...

"I think Dick Cheney's conscious is starting to bother him because Scooter Libby took the fall for him and he wasn't able to convince President Bush to give him a full pardon. This book was a way to retaliate."

You are 100% correct about Dick Cheney, except he does not have a conscience. He is devoid of any ability to take responsibility.

(I do like how he admits what we knew all along--he ran the WH.)

Mike said...

Lol.... I was thinking about that conscience bit and Cheney.... Perhaps I should've said that he is having nightmares, hearing noises, or is not returning Libby's calls.

The NBC interviewer asked Cheney if he had any new revelations after his heart attacks and in typical Cheney fashion; he said "NO." The man has no remorse and will never admit he was wrong.
I wonder why he didn't give that interviewed to FOX? Perhaps he tried but Fox didn't want to air anything negative about the Bush administration.