Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread 30 December 2012

Various driveby media sources ^ | 30 December 2012 | Various Self-Serving Politicians and Big Media Screaming Faces

[Alas Babylon!]

The Talk Shows

December 30th, 2012

Guests to be interviewed on major television talk shows:

FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

MEET THE PRESS (NBC): President Barack Obama.

FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

THIS WEEK (ABC): Sen. Chuck U. Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.; Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.

STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; Rep. Darrel Issa, R-Calif.; Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.; Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md.; Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

[Fishtalk]

I saw that slogan on the CFON can and smirked.

We got a world where maybe one out of every one hundred thousand people are allergic to nuts and the whole world has to watch out for them.

So of course CFON has to reassure the low information voters that there are, indeed, NO nuts in their coffee. Idiots, the whole lot of them.

Now I got a lady coming to my book club thing next week and she can’t eat gluten.

I don’t know nothing about gluten but I know it’s the latest and greatest way for boring people to get attention, that’s how I see it.

I have no idea what to serve her but all I can do is ask her what the hell she can eat.

She tells me that even though something says no gluten it doesn’t mean it’s free of it so even something hyped as having NO gluten might, indeed, have gluten.

Well gag me with a spoon.\

Anybody got any suggestions/experience with this sort of thing?

[Cheerio]

There are a lot of stupid people out there who have no idea what America means, how she came to be....have no true American values that made us what we are.

AND all by design. The left is now fully realizing their dream scenario.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561529/posts

[rodguy911]

Every Sunday morning around 5 AM I make 12 cups of Kona or the equivalent. By noon its all gone.I’m starting to run out now.....

[rodguy911]

If that photo is for real, she looks like she’s been embalmed.

This could be the post of the week here.

[kabar]

Time for a real conservative approach; cut the active-duty military to 500,000; change the name of the DOD to the Department of War, and only conduct actual wars, not extended occupations.

I assume your cuts in equipment would be commensurate with the size of the force. How many ships, planes, tanks, etc. should this new 500,000 force have? What would be the breakdown among the various services? What percentage of our GDP should be spent on defense?

As of 30 September 2010, 1,430,895 people were on active duty in the military, with an additional 848,000 people in the seven reserve components. You are proposing a reduction of two thirds in active duty personnel.

The Chinese have 2.3 million active duty personnel. Russia has 1 million. Mexico has 267,000. ROK 640,000.

Shouldn't our military be structured based on threat assessments and the capabilities of our potential enemies?

[Girlene]

Thanks for that info, Fishtalk. Maybe she said guard, not armed guard....but you see how I interpreted that? I assumed armed, regardless of what she said.....I’m sure I wasn’t alone.

[Bernard]

Hopefully, the negotiations about the current fiscal cliff will drag out into February. Why do I want them to last so long? Because I'm guessing that the average employee in the department I manage will have about $200 additional deducted from their paycheck for federal income tax on the bi-weekly payroll that comes out January 28, and I really want them all to see what the Clinton Tax Rates actually look like in their own pocket.

And when they come to me to complain, I will be tempted to say, "That's because Barack Obama thinks you're rich." Not sure what the reaction would be to that comment.

[kabar]

I guess their philosophy is that you have to destroy the country in order to save it.

[shalom aleichem]

Love yur banana clip, er, magazine?

[Girlene]

Tell her to bring her own snacks if she can’t tell you what she CAN eat.

[rodguy911]

The original need for any government at all was to keep us safe from foreign intervention and preserve the currency. Not epa, not SS, not medicare, unending unemployment benefits, free obama phones!! We have lost sight of what is truly important to preserve our country. Sad days ahead I fear.

[rodguy911]

Must be because they are well on their way.

[Fishtalk]

I’m an old payroll guy.

What about the 2% reduct in FICA withholding?

THAT affects waaaaaay more people than most anything.

Keep ear open for this as if they don’t renew it the hollering will be deafening.

[Bernard]

Shouldn't our military be structured based on threat assessments and the capabilities of our potential enemies?

Yes. We have nuclear weapons, and a distinct advantage in drone / remote warfare technology. And we are not in a declared war. Along with the 1.4 million active duty you cite, we also have the 20,000 contractor Secretary Of State army in Iraq, the TSA, and other people we don't want to call military on various payrolls all over the place.

So if we did have a shooting war, and we can send in drones or warplanes stationed in Missouri, why do we need a military geared to sending 300-400,000 troops somewhere for years at a time with no end result in mind?

[rodguy911]

Great catch Fish.
Not only did it put SS into a near fiscal free fall dive but it also jeopardized the amount of SS each individual will collect. Less money paid in less money paid out.
It was another slick Axelrod move by the regime. When the time comes to restore the full funding,we will be seen as wanting to increase taxes on those who can't afford it.
All they do is strategize,conjure up stuff that will destroy us. While we try to make a living and do what is right for the country.
Just another issue we were beat up on because all they do on the left is engineer defeat after defeat for us at the expense of the country.
For them its all politics and political victories/losses. We are charged with begin the adults.

[Girlene]

again, I agree. We’ve lost the education system to the liberals. ....it’s sad and frightening at the same time.

[Fishtalk]

I am going to ask her as I’d be perfectly fine with preparing her something that will work for her.

She’s a nice lady but every time there’s big hoopla about her thing with gluten.

Her doctor, for reasons she elaborates that only confuse me, has not found anything indicating she has issues with gluten but I dunno, she says he’s wrong.

Or something.

Husband and I met her and her husband at a restaurant oncit. Man she had to go back to the kitchen and read all the ingredients on the packages....it was a hoot.

Today it seems that everyone is either allergic to something or they are on some special diet.

Except for me.....I take meds to clear out my sugar, fat in my blood, cholesterol in my blood...yada, yada.

I can eat anything.

Heh.

Do not rant at me. Lost 15 pounds at last doctor appts, mostly cause I exercise.

Now THERE’S a concept.

I happened to have written an article about my unique way of exercising for “Chicken Soup for the New You”. Doctor was so intrigued so I gave her an autographed copy of the book, thank me very much.

Also was picked up for my contribution for Chicken Soup for the Soul’s “I Can’t Believe My Dog Did That”. Get paid $300 for each contribution plus a dozen free books. Everyone knows me what has a dog got a signed book from me.

Including my priest Father Jim who has a dog what looks just like him.

[kabar]

Exactly. The primary duty of government, as outlined in our Constitution, is to keep the nation safe from foreign enemies.

Great nations and civilizations in decline always have this battle--Guns versus Butter. Because it has more constituents, butter wins. The welfare state is collapsing. It needs more revenue to keep it treading water. Once defense is eviscerated, the next step is to raise taxes on everyone to keep the spending going. We have seen this played out in Europe over the past 65 years.

Eventually, faced with the inevitable fiscal reality, the benefits of the welfare state must be cut. This causes people to go to the streets in protest demanding what the government promised them. Civil unrest and disorder are the result. Big government and the loss of liberty are needed to restore order.

The bottomline is that the American public wants all of the benefits of the welfare state but without paying for them. I say let's go over the cliff and present the American people with the bill instead of insulating them from the costs, which are passed down to their children and grandchildren.

[Fishtalk]

New thing is those eligible for free cell phones now...

....ELIGIBLE FOR FREE INTERNET IN THEIR HOME!!!!

Indeed.

[Bernard]

The 6.2% FICA tax/contribution being reduced by 2% for the last few years is an arbitrary number selected by prior politicians to fund a program that is currently running a deficit.

Just like the income tax rates, the FICA tax/contribution needs a permanent change or we need to go back to the original rate. Having more temporary tax rate changes is a suicide path, sort of like poking yourself with a bullet hoping that repetition can overcome the slow rate of penetration.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Anybody got any suggestions/experience with this sort of thing?

Yeah, gluten (glue)...found in abundance in refined wheat flour.

It's "a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat, barley and rye. Gluten gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape and often gives the final product a chewy texture."

Most processed foods contain a lot of it. That and tons of sugar are probably a large reason why Americans are so...well, large.

[Fishtalk]

Do the employers get a 2% reduction in their match?

If not, hell’s bell’s, where does their extra 2% go?

Does the employee still get credit for full salary or do they goose up the value of the dudctions to determine the salry on which to base the Social Security comes time to collect.

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Girlene]

LOL, I don’t think I’d be going out to eat if I had to do all that.

So what’s your secret exercise routine?

[Happy Rain]

I watch the MSM talking heads because Don Corleone was right—keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer...only this time on MTP (DNC Dave and Obama exchanging STDs?) the intelligence is just too predictable and boring to be worth much.

Still, I even visit the loony liberal Internet forums cuz we lose through ignorance of the Evil Lefts' grass roots think tanks.

Think any good general or diplomat during WWII DID NOT read Mein Kampf?

[Fishtalk]

I appreciate your response but I am still curious.

Should I serve her something with NO flour of any sort in it? I mean, come on, I am serving a shrimp platter. Surely shrimp has no gluten? I am not frying, just steamed shrimp, peeled and de-veined.

Hummous? No gluten, right?

Clementines, in top season right now as I type, surely they have no gluten?

The little crab cakes are breaded so I understand there’s probably gluten.

Also, gluten isn’t fattening, is it?

[Fishtalk]

I appreciate your response but I am still curious.

Should I serve her something with NO flour of any sort in it? I mean, come on, I am serving a shrimp platter. Surely shrimp has no gluten? I am not frying, just steamed shrimp, peeled and de-veined.

Hummous? No gluten, right?

Clementines, in top season right now as I type, surely they have no gluten?

The little crab cakes are breaded so I understand there’s probably gluten.

Also, gluten isn’t fattening, is it?

[kabar]

What about the 2% reduct in FICA withholding? THAT affects waaaaaay more people than most anything. Keep ear open for this as if they don’t renew it the hollering will be deafening.

I have no doubt that the public will be hollering, but the payroll tax holiday for the past two years has increased our debt and deficit by close to two hundred billion dollars. It is just another stimulus package.

Source: CBO “Combined OASDI Trust Funds; January 2011 Baseline” 26 Jan 2011. Note: See “Primary Surplus” line (which is negative, indicating a deficit)

Matters are even worse than this chart shows. In December, Congress passed a Social Security tax reduction. Workers are temporarily paying 2 percentage points less, from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent, in Social Security payroll taxes this calendar year. Since the government is making up the shortfall out of general revenues, CBO’s deficit projections for the trust funds do not include that. But CBO’s figures predict that the “payroll tax holiday” will cost the government’s general fund $85 billion in this fiscal year and $29 billion in fiscal year 2012 (which starts Oct.1, 2011.) Since every dollar of that will have to be borrowed, the combined effect of the ” tax holiday” and the annual deficits will amount to a $130 billion addition to the federal deficit in the current fiscal year, and $59 billion in fiscal 2012.

Social Security has passed a tipping point. For years it generated more revenue than it consumed, holding down the overall federal deficit and allowing Congress to spend more freely for other things. But those days are gone. Rather than lessening the federal deficit, Social Security has at last — as long predicted — become a drag on the government’s overall finances.

As recently as October, CBO was projecting that it would be 2016 before outlays regularly exceed revenues. But Social Security’s fiscal troubles are more severe than was thought, and the latest projections show the permanent deficits started several years ahead of earlier predictions.

Don’t be confused by the fact that the trust funds are projected to continue growing for several more years. That’s because Treasury must still credit interest payments to the funds on the borrowings from earlier years. But unless taxes are increased or other spending is cut severely, the government will have to borrow from the public to pay the interest that it owes to the trust funds.

And don’t be misled by those who say the system can pay full benefits until about 2037 without making any changes to the law. That’s true, but does not change the fact that Social Security taxes no longer cover those benefits. The government is now borrowing money to pay them, and will do so every year for the foreseeable future. And keep in mind, if nothing is done, when those trust funds are exhausted, benefits would have to be cut by 22 percent in 2037, and more each year after that, according to the most recent report of the system’s trustees. By 2084, the system will generate only enough revenue to pay for 75 percent of promised benefit levels.

Anyone who thinks that the payroll tax holiday should continue is a low information voter. It is pure and simple a scam. It is just another unfunded stimulus package that increases our debt and deficit.

[shalom aleichem]

sushi

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Maybe she said guard, not armed guard.

I think she did say "armed guard". I also believe the guard at Columbine was on break and too far away to hit anything with a pistol.

[Fishtalk]

So what’s your secret exercise routine?

First off, heh, I actually got a 1099 from Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers.....can't deny Obama's voters their cell phones now can we?

A long while back I actually told the story, on THIS very thread, of how my dog was attacked as I walked lawfully upon my public street, as she was harnessed and tethered with sturdy leash. I was taking her for a walk as was my wont but TWO dogs, different occassions, came out of nowhere and attacked her.

She didn't kill the dogs but one was a little dog, the other a cocker spaniel. They came out from their yards and attacked her on the street. They survived her defense but come on, she's a Belgian Malinois...a very protective dog. And in her dog mind she was protecting ME.

Vet says some dogs, other dogs see them as a threat and attack them. Neither case was my dog doing a thing wrong.

But the hell with it. I decided no more do I walk dog.

Still and so she needs exercise and so do I.

So I began walking around my yard. Indeed, in circles, a circle 75 feet in diameter. Yeah, got a "dirt ring" in my yard but I take picture of it to show doctors my exercise ring.

There are a gazillion things to do while walking...talk on cell phone, record my two do list, listen to my MP3 player, radio talk shows....yada, yada. Besides, how is walking around in circles in my yard much different than walking on one of those walking exercise machines?

Also have cooling fan set up on deck, lawn chair, take coffee out and yeah, dogs walks in circles with me.

Normal exercise session is 30 walks around dirt circle. This equals, converting feet to yards, about 7 1/2 football fields that I walk-four times a week.

Dog gets to play frisbee at intervals, chasing ball. I also do all back yard work, picking up fallen "tree" lumber, tossing compost pile, brushing dog, filling bird feeders.

That's another thing, I adore birds and love being out with them. They're all so used to me they just fly down and get seeds right by my head...."don't mind me, you keep on walking."

Story was printed in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book titled "A NEW YOU".

My doctor was so impressed she put my book in her waiting room. also go to local book signings, that sort of thing.

AND I MUST REPORT MY INCOME.....HEH.

[rodguy911]

The bottom line is that the American public wants all of the benefits of the welfare state but without paying for them. I say let's go over the cliff and present the American people with the bill instead of insulating them from the costs, which are passed down to their children and grandchildren.

I"ll second that.

[rodguy911]

Exaclty FIsh it never ends!
(I’m tired of saving the world my kids left some mimosa mix....)

[rodguy911]

sort of like poking yourself with a bullet hoping that repetition can overcome the slow rate of penetration.

Can you say Cloward/Piven...

[Happy Rain]

Gluten is profitable because it gives a satisfactery if ersatz “full feeling” to the consumer in practically any snack or processed food...

...without it, munchies may taste good but the message from the stomach is that you actually ate nothing (most snacks are puffed and poofed yet are really small portions) much like cotton candy.

If anything gluten has helped to prevent obesity by making pigs pay top dollar for puffy poofy food lower in calories than what the porky appetites thought ingested.

It’s the availiability of free welfare food, the smug entitlement gloating of others being forced to pay for the maintenance of your fat lazy ass, and depression triggered glutony that makes the pig.

[kabar]

You haven't answered my questions on exactly how you would restructure our forces if you cut the overall staffing by two thirds or close to a million active duty forces.

Yes. We have nuclear weapons, and a distinct advantage in drone / remote warfare technology.

You need some other options besides nuclear war and drones. And you need the personnel and delivery systems to make them work.

And we are not in a declared war.

WWII was our last declared war. We face asymetrical threats. OBL declared war on the US in 1996.

Along with the 1.4 million active duty you cite, we also have the 20,000 contractor Secretary Of State army in Iraq, the TSA, and other people we don't want to call military on various payrolls all over the place.

So how would you defend our diplomatic and NGO presence in Iraq? If you think that TSA is a quasi military force then how about police and other state and local law enforcement personnel? Or the FBI? Or the CIA? Or NSA?

So if we did have a shooting war, and we can send in drones or warplanes stationed in Missouri, why do we need a military geared to sending 300-400,000 troops somewhere for years at a time with no end result in mind?

We don't have 300,000 to 400,000 troops to send anywhere now. Our military has already been significantly cut over the past decade. We need to look at what the threats are and how to best combat them now and in the future.

We also need to ask such questions as to what our role in the world is in terms of strategic security interests. Do we need to keep the sea lanes open around the world? We have a navy now of 323,000 with less than 300 ships, down significantly from the days when I served in the 60s and 70s when we had a 600 ship navy.

You can rationalize all the cuts you want but there are irreducible limits that should not be passed. You cannot reconstitute a trained military force overnight. It could take a generation to replace a trained cadre of people given the sophistication of our weapons systems and the training needed. And it depends on a steady influx of people to move up thru the ranks gaining experience and training.

Reducing our armed forces to 500,000 is sheer insanity. It sends a powerful message to our enemies and invites adventurism that makes the world less secure.

[rodguy911]

As an employer I am now paying 5.65% instead of 7.65% for payroll taxes. The SS/medicare part of that amount gets doubled when I actually pay the taxes,not the withholding.So for now I pay 4% less,it helps sabotage the system. But makes the regime look good since they are once again looking out for the little guy. More like watching him drown in truth.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

I think all your seafood preparations should be safe as long as they have no flour in them.

gluten isn’t fattening, is it?

Probably not, but the flour also contains tons of starch, which is. After all, farmers fatten up livestock on a grain diet....not cheeseburgers.

[rodguy911]

Very well said.

[Girlene]

Walking is very good for you......a lot harder to do in the winter (at least for me). That’s always a problem once the real winter hits, like now. Maybe I’ll try walking around the garage. :-)

Congratulations on your story being published!

[kabar]

Do the employers get a 2% reduction in their match?

No.

If not, hell’s bell’s, where does their extra 2% go?

The employer pays the same amount as does the self-employed. The SSTF receives the amount of the reduction from Treasury in the form of non-market, interest bearing T-bills, which holds SS harmless for the reduction in revenue. However, the shortfall must be made up by cashing in the T-bills by redeeming them from the General Fund, which borrows 42 cents of every federal dollar spent. Thus, the payroll tax holiday is just another unfunded stimulus.

Does the employee still get credit for full salary or do they goose up the value of the dudctions to determine the salry on which to base the Social Security comes time to collect.

The individual contribution is credited as though the full payment was made.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

If anything gluten has helped to prevent obesity by making pigs pay top dollar for puffy poofy food lower in calories than what the porky appetites thought ingested. ...It’s the availiability of free welfare food, the smug entitlement gloating of others being forced to pay for the maintenance of your fat lazy ass, and depression triggered glutony that makes the pig.

Not so sure I agree with your hypothesis that gluten prevents obesity...I'd say it's a fact that Americans are fatter than ever.

I've seen many a morbidly-obese welfare-hog, with equally fat-pig children in tow, piloting a supersized shopping cart (or two) piled to overflowing with boxes and bags of carbohydrate/sugar laden junkfood, and not a single healthy food item in the mix.

The proof's in the puddin'.

[Girlene]

You are right. He was not there at the time, but was first on the scene. He did exchange gun fire with one of the shooters, but missed. Columbine High School cop says armed guards at schools coupled with assault weapons ban would keep students safe Learnt me somthin' new today!

[Scrambler Bob]

What’s with Tom Brokaw showing Shot Gun News, which he says not everyone gets but he does (or what did he actually say?; does he suscribe, or did he get one off the rack?).

Oh I get it, last week Gregory showed a magazine, and now Tom does too!

Then Chuck Todd calls it a 92-page newsletter.

[rodguy911]

Just heard from Morgan in Denver’s wife.He’s finally doing better after being “under the weather” for some time.
I’m wishing him a Happy New Year.

[Happy Rain]

(Mostly white) Taxpayers are paying the grocery bills of many morbidly obese welfare hogs thus subsidizing their health problems...problems that lead to many early deaths.

....deaths suffered by minorities in a large part because they tend to be more dependent on government hand-outs as a percentage of the population—cuz of past institutional racism of course/s.

So now the white devil slave master taxpayer racist is financing the obesity related deaths of minorities...

...can't win for losing.

[Fishtalk]

Love your phraseology.

Think I agree with you but not yet sure.

Which is no mind cause in all the solar system, indeed even the universe, there is no better sig line....EVER.

[Sal]

Good advice. I would make an exception for CNBC because of Maria Bartiromo and Rick Santelli who started the TEA Party.

Probably a matter of time till the NBC Politburo cuts them though. They’re way too dangerous.

[Fishtalk]

Thanks RG. been wondering that for quite a while.

Hmmmmmm.

So I guess, de facto, for past couple of years folks have been getting credited for less income...ie 4.2% grossed up as opposed to, well at the 6.2% rate ALL income was counted up until the max.

so people are essentially borrowing from their own retirement, grossed up and all that jazz, and getting NOTHING from the gubmint?

Or is full income still counted toward retired SS calculation?

I think I know the answer.

[chiller]

.."they know obama will call for “tax cuts” for everyone under 250K if we go over the cliff "

I'd bet against Obeyme upstaging Republicans with a tax cut. Higher taxes are his nirvana and the only way to pay for what he wants. Of course, the middle class is where are all the money is.

If he did, Republicans could pretty easily co-opt it , or take credit for it.

They're only play is huge spending cuts in exchange for a small debt limit increase.

[animal172]

I’d tell her politely she’s SOL. Happy New Year to all.