On Thoughts and Prayers
To the people of Norway for their violence
To the people of Korea dealing with their mega rain
On Politics
GOP Presidential Candidate John Huntsman (R-UT) endorsed the Boehner deficit plan and the need for a Constitutional amendment regarding a balanced budget. Consider this as his first major faux pas for my vote.
Although Senator McCain (R-AZ) recently criticized the Tea Party, he also criticized Senator Reid (D-NV) and President Obama in the same speech. Let us not forget that he is the one who brought The Nincompoop into the spotlight.
The debt ceiling stalemate is all about political positioning by both sides. Here’s a quote from Speaker Boehner (R-OH): (to this party’s members) “Get your ass in here. I can’t do this job unless you are behind me.”
The Tea Party expanded it’s “our way or the highway” approach by stating it is time for Speaker Boehner to go and be replaced by a Tea Party Speaker of the House.
The magic number is $4 trillion over 10 years – the number to stop growth – thus both Boehner and Reid plans fall short.
It’s Week 29 of the Boehner-led House without a jobs bill. To quote Speaker Boehner, “Where are the jobs?”
Interesting Reads
John Avlon
New York Times editorial
Columnist Ruth Marcus
Texting transcript between a Norwegian teen and her mother
Interesting Headlines I Saw this Week
Rupert Murdock is King Lear on steroids
Latex Casey Anthony mask fetches almost 1 million on eBay
Bachmann warns of Dictator Obama
Bad weather, busy roads mean more Ohio potholes
Emergency team of 8th grade civics teachers dispatched to Washington
On Potpourri
My Cincinnati Reds have won consecutive games only once in the past 5 weeks. Going into the trading deadline, it’s time to be a cautious seller.
With the NFL labor strife over, we Cincinnati fans are eagerly anticipating a routine lousy season.
For those remembering the Volkswagen commercial with the kid in the Darth Vader costume, CNN’s Dr. Gupta recently did a wonderful story about the kid who was born with a rare heart defect.
Last fall, George Clooney used Cincinnati for an upcoming film. Here is the just released trailer for Ides of March. Have a good and safe weekend everyone!
A Frank Angle 
bronzo the clown is very, very bad at his job. he can’t even get his own bill passed. the rethugs encouraged the teabaggers so they could get control of the house, but they forgot that they’d have to deal with them later on. dr. frankenstein, meet your monsters. 😆
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Nonnie,
On Saturday I spelled out a scenario for a friend that started with Speaker Boehner duping the Tea Party folks. So far it is playing out … but Monday’s vote will still be interesting.
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McCain’s new platform seems to be “I have everyone” — I haven’t heard anything constructive from him in forever — just “what’s wrong with _______” (fill in the blank with anything).
I’m still confused where the Tea Party is getting its power from. They aren’t that big, most of their main supporters are populist at best so they aren’t that wealthy (at least not as wealthy as the old guard), and their platform is untenable. Why is everyone so afraid of them?
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Beagz,
The Tea Party power comes from being unite in a single-minded mission. They may be a small group, but the hold enough votes to create chaos. The 2012 election will determine their real power. Thanks for visiting.
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Thanks for the preview clip of George Clooney’s new film, “Ides of March.” I had expected to see views of Cincinnati but instead got caught up in the movie’s intriguing plot and excellent cast. I only wish the film was out this weekend to get my mind off the economic cliff the House Tea Party Conservatives are pushing the country off.
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Tim,
Regarding the debt talk, it seems to be playing out as per the email. But it is not over yet! Thanks for commenting.
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Greenpeace has actually started a campaign against VW and their not-so-good environmental record. They are using humour – a true rarity for those guys – to help “turn VW from the darkside”. It’s actually rather entertaining, and (for once) a well-thought-out campaign lacking the usual hysterical rhetoric.
The really fun part (NOT) of the South Korean flooding? There’s a strong possibility of land mines having been swept along by the water and mud. Bad enough pumping out your basement without having to wonder if that clump of mud might go BOOM!
Sorry for the late arrival. One dead laptop, one dead A/C window unit, and one dead wireless internet tower have added up for an … INTERESTING …several days.
Have a good weekend!
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John,
Dang … you’re a good example of when it rains, it pours. I didn’t realize that Greenpeace was campaigning against VW, meanwhile, the Darth Vader kid went to Congress to testify regarding funding to children hospitals. Thanks for sharing.
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😆
Emergency team of 8th grade civics teachers dispatched to Washington
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Spinny,
Thank The Onion for that one! They sure are a creative bunch. Thanks for stopping by.
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