Posted on 03/13/2011 5:17:53 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
The Talk Shows
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:
FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.
MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Mitch Daniels, R-Ind.; Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
FACE THE NATION (CBS): Senators Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Joe Lieberman, independent from Connecticut.
THIS WEEK (ABC): Live from Japan.
STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz; Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif; John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil; Ichiro Fujisaki, Japanese ambassador to the U.S.; James Acton, Nuclear Policy Program associate, Carnegie Endowment; James Lee Witt, former FEMA director.
You’re so right about social security. I can only imagine the bellyaching if they raised the qualifying age as you suggest, to keep pace with the expansion in lifespan. Eligibility would kick in around age 76 by that standard!
* for men, 82 for women.
Excellant analysis.
I find it interesting to see Evil vs Good as the Perfect Storm evolves...How bizzare that a degenerate, lacking compassion, intellect and civilization as Islamic Arab and non Arab countries are actually “competing “ with the Western world. It is played out small in King’s hearings, and writ larger around the globe.
Japan’s current crisis displays this so clearly...the Islamists have NOTHING to offer ( and wouldn’t)...the “Great Satan” again leads in technology etc. and is compassionate.
By the way I just took a quick look at Joe Circione the nuke expert all the drivebys are using this morning. Turns out hes a CFR guy and author of Deadly Arrivals referring to nukes and former member of the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace. Looks like a lefty kinda guy to me.
After all, Gordon Gecko wasn't even real. He was created by a Hollywood who collectively hate capitalism even while they, or at least the studio bosses and investors, rake in the big bucks more than perhaps any other industry.
It is perfectly ironic.
No, it comes down to culture and education. Once our culture applauded capitalism and entrepreneurship-ism. Our heroes, taught in grade school even, where Edison, Bell, Morse, Goodyear, Fulton, Franklin, and all the other inventors and experimenters who grew this country.
It just became trendy to show disgust for the establishment and all the establishment heroes and embrace Ho Chi Min, Che Guevara and all the other communists.
The 1960’s and the Me Generation drove a stake threw our cultural heart. The white man's guilt and all.
When we went from lauding the cowboy and pioneer to making them leering racists and genocidal murderers in just a short time, we began the end.
Just my opinion. It's dark, but there it is.
This world has other eager people willing to take our place. China and Islam will be the future world powers. I don't think we have the cultural strength left to oppose them.
Please, Dear Lord, NO means test.
They call it socialism; Obama would call it re-distribution of wealth. What you do, you make American citizens, REQUIRE, every citizen, to pay into a fund...right now 6.2% of their pay, not a small amount. AND A COMPLETE MATCH BY THEIR EMPLOYER...bringing it up to 12.4% of a paycheck, no small amount.
Then, as they pay all their lives, when they finally reach retirement age, well hey, TELL THEM...TOO BAD...YOU HAVE/MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY! Boo hoo on you.
And maybe they do make a lot of money. Donald Trump or Bill Gates, they prolly won't need their SS money. BUT...maybe Trump or Gates would like to donate their check to their church, or set up a trust for their descendents with the money they paid in all their lives and MATCHED by their employer. Maybe they have a charity they'd like to donate to. Or is it really better to have gubmint keep that 12.4% off of their paychecks...remember, no upper limit on SS withholdings so that's a lot of money we're taking away from Trump/Gates to give to Democratic voters.
Or even more likely, who exactly is going to determine what is too much money to be getting any money out of all paid in during a lifetime? You really think they're just going to go after Trump/Gates? The real money's in that great Middle Class. You think the politicians are going to be reasonable about this? You think the RINOS won't make a deal with the Dems...that hey, that guy with a 401K worth over a hundred grand, he's got lots of money...let's make that the limit?
You want re-distribution of wealth, something most conservatives at least say they don't want, they excoriate Obama for the same...but using MEANS testing iin order to receive what was withheld from your paycheck all your life, WITH AN EMPLOYER MATCH...is re-distribution of wealth
How're YOU going to feel when the bureaucrats tell you that you have a nice house and too much in the bank and too bad, you get nothing out of all that money you paid in.
Because if you want to leave this sort of thing up to the bureaucrats, who gets the money they paid in, who doesn't, if you want to trust that they really will only go after the REALLY, REALLY rich people...then I got a bridge to sell, cheap.
Wallass
LOFL!!!!!!
Wallass it shall be from now on. I so command it, as the keeper of the Sunday thread!
Gosh you’re smart! Perfect call on the drivebys and morally bankrupt Left.
I think you're absolutely right and that means we really have no one to blame but our selves.
After all, people vote for the dumbest reasons. It's just all emotions to them.
Who is the best looking, who has the best hair, those who do things "for the children", those who will "fight for you". Those who promise a "chicken in every pot" and a "car in every garage". Do we not all, collectively, fall for it?
But we know it's not true. It's all lies. They rob from Peter to pay Paul. And we don't mind it at all! Until we become Peter. Then we wail and cry like wounded banshees! "O the Humanity!"
You know, I'm a military retiree, with a family full of medical problems. The government is going to raise my Tricare fees. I don't like it, but I can live with it. Why? Because we all got to just say no. Go cold turkey. Get off the gravy train. Give it up. Something.
Why don't we vote for those who say "I'm not going to do anything in Washington--I have no mission but to keep the damage to a minimum"" or "I'm going scrape laws, not make them"? Why do we have career politicians? Think about it, have you ever really heard of a dumber idea?
And yet we gooble it up. Big media makes $billions off our stupidity. Watch a commercial nowadays. Every one is a rip off of the Jackass movie. It's all so demeaning and even decadent. People don't respect each other. Every one treats others like morons. Our country is morally bankrupt.
but any of us Freepers could have been far more animated and done a much better job than either of these elected reps and that simply should not be the case.
But it’s almost always the case. LOL
I think I’m as disillusioned with the GOP Establishment as I can be—and then each year I find there’s still a little more disillusionment to be had.
Agreed. 0zero lives in an alternate universes built on the fantasy of communistic ideals after using socialism to get us going there. It’s actually pretty typical of the radical 60’s and people like William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and Frank Marshall.
Heck, for that matter, these are the goals of all the people 0 has surrounded himself with, including the union bosses for the SEIU and NEA, etc. 0 has the vision, learned over years, and he’s relying upon others to implement whatever policy is necessary to accomplish those goals.
< /rant >
“Please, Dear Lord, NO means test.”
Totally agree, Fishtalk. Never, ever open the door for the government to step in and tell you that you have enough.
"This world has other eager people willing to take our place. China and Islam will be the future world powers."
"I don't think we have the cultural strength left to oppose them."
(First, thanks AB for gettin' this thread up and running each week!!)
A great post, and I totally agree with you.
I'm gonna go darker and double heavy duty aluminum tin foil hat on what you posted.
"This world has other eager people willing to take our place......."
I would have added the word "HERE".
Due to the anti-capitalism points you mentioned in your post upthread, a Cloward-Piven style economic collapse of the US makes the takeover (either from China, Islamists or whoever does end up with "us" in the "Battle Against Capitalism") a lot easier versus a military one with a lot of collateral damage to infrastructure and a decrease in the amount of forced labor they would have for "redecorating".
IMHO, it seems like all the eco-nazis progressive Marxists agenda is, is part of their overall plan to save those resources (oil - natural gas - trees for lumber - coal - non-producing farms for growing food etc) for whomever wins the "Battle Against Capitalism" and takes over if and when the US (as we once constitutionally and economically knew it) ever completely collapses.
(It WOULD make it a lot easier for the anti-capitalism "transition team", than having to "bring or import all that resources stuff ya need with ya" or "fix the stuff you broke to gain entry", to complete the "Capitalism Takeover Project".)
Not only could any Capitalist-killing victorious invaders use those resources to cheaply and quickly shape things to their liking, it gives whoever takes over an abundant instant economic array of worldwide useable and very sellable commodities along with the "inexpensive expendable labor force" ( think shovel-ready-jobs) that would be needed for a swift and smoother "transition".
What else could or would be the reason for NOT using these resources RIGHT NOW to get our country going again on a path to capitalistic economic and energy independence?? Using them now might prolong our marxists enemies from trying on taking over sooner. The marxists can't have THAT happen THIS close to "victory".
As you also mentioned in your post:
"I don't think we have the cultural strength left to oppose them."
I agree. Economically and militarily our strength is almost depleted there also. IMHO, Those three strengths (cultural, economic, and military) are essential to our survival as a country. They are dwindling faster as each day of this present administration passes.
I just hope SOMEBODY SOON steps up and grabs the reins of this runaway Marxist stagecoach and by 2013 (if it's not too late) gets us back on the right (Constitutional and Capitalist economic) path.
OK...Sorry AB for the "vein opener" style rant, and let us now return to REGULAR "Sunday Morning Talk Show Thread" programing.
I agree with changing the retirement age. and I do get that SS was never meant as a payment to a long, leisurely retirement. SS was begun during an era when older folks suddenly had nowhere to live, nothing to eat, and no way to work to get these things.
They hadn’t saved for their unexpected retirement but a civilized country really can’t turn its back with a shrug, too bad, you didn’t save, you suffer with no medical care, you live and die out here in the cold.
Forcing folks to save for an eventual day when they cannot work was the only option then and is frankly the only option now. Because a whole lot of folks won’t save and believe, when they go needing and wanting, we can’t just turn and say no.
I do think the age of collecting SS is way below any short span of time till an average life ends. I don’t know the answers, I’ll listen to the debates, but it seems to me that the retirement age can be pushed up to 70 for reasonably healthy people. But again, there’s debate open for this.
I say NO means testing because right there you’ll have bureaucrats determining who gets what. You could have folks opt out of SS but I got another bridge to sell anybody thinks that will work. I used to work deep in the urban jungle. Give those employees a chance to get a paycheck increase of 6.2% a pay, they’ll take it, retirement be damned.
We’ll be back in the 1930’s before we know it.
I do think the gubmint workers should be part of SS and don’t know why they aren’t. I also know that SS disability pmts are almost a joke of late but now I’m going into nuance territory.
You gotta start somewhere. Straightaway, raise the retirement age for folks under 35 or so...boost it up to 70. Second, anybody not currently enrolled in the SS system should be, immediately, no excuses. Third, allow people to take up to 3% of their SS deduct and invest it into a retirement account. Have the employer match 3% of it and leave 3.2% and employer match in the SS system.
Dubya tried to do it but our hero in the senate was all busy pushing campaign finance reform, something I thank God every day for, waking up some days with a bright sun and a song in my heart that campaign finance reform finally became law and how important this was to all Americans.
Finally, folks, if the pubs don’t ban gubmint funding for PBR, it will never, ever change.
They’ve practically got it handed to them, no reason whatsoever for this funding to remain on the taxpayer dime.
But the pubs, they don’t want to offend the Dems across the aisle, muss the head hairs. Why can’t they at the very least take advantage of something so important us....
....NO WAIT! That’s right. We’re their base, us Tea Party types who think the gubmint should not be in any way financing free speech, of either idealology. It’s only their base that the pubs snub and sniff down to.
Silly me.
I’m scared to keep mentioning it although it still seems like a good idea. They’ve got a public quite disgusted with the behavior of the PBR minions and their wheelings and dealings with nasty Muslims. But it’s only us, the base. If we try to push too much against their almighty wisdom...THEY GET REAL NASTY PEOPLE! Wow, you’ll be surprised at how nasty a pub with perfectly placed head hairs will get.
For funding of PBR probably is base for a lot of reaching across the aisle type of deals I’m thinking here. The hell with the Repub base which so despises this system.
Let’s see what they do about PBR. Already I heard they’ve proposed a CR with $6 billion decrease with NO programs whatsoever cut.
If you’d like them to stop funding PBR,whisper softly. They turn on you like a rabid mink you make them mad.
LOL!! Slow thread today.
I LOVE this quote (from the link to the WSJ op ed you just posted):
“When the U.S. chooses to act like everyone else, the result is Rwanda, Darfur and now Libya.”
I’m in the middle of something in Indiana related to Daniels. It feels like the sort of things Fishtalk says about Delaware. I don’t know if I’m up to what she does when she posts but I am going to try.
First a new story on the Hill about Daniels:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/149155-daniels-endorses-embattled-lugar-calls-him-a-role-model
Daniels is endorsing Lugar in 2012 after the Tea Party made him an issue and endorsed a different candidate.
The tea party candidate is the state treasurer Richard Mourdock, at least many tea party groups do support him. I don’t know that anyone speaks for the entire state. It is an effort that is being organized.
This is from Mourdock’s campaign website, contrasting his positions to Lugar. There were some things I didn’t know which I am ashamed to admit since I do pay attention, close attention to such things.
http://www.richardmourdock.com/content/lugar-vs-mourdock
This is from Mourdock’s announcement speech, where he discusses Lugar regarding the Indiana tea party:
“Mr. Lugar even went so far as to say that the Tea Party needs to: “get real.” Please understand, I know you ARE real. I understand the “reality” in which you live and it is that of the heartland that IS Indiana. YOU are not disconnected from reality, it is those living in that fantasy land of Washington DC where taxpayers are seen as revenue sources and burdensome regulations are seen as the product of a good day’s work.… It is the elite of Washington DC who must “get real.” “
This next part is more interesting to me, because in 2006 I contacted everyone listed on the Rep Indiana website about Lugar, and I could never vote for him again. I received no replies, but Mourdock said a number of people on the state committee talked to him as individuals and asked him to run against Lugar. Not the state Republican party but individual committeemen. They he started calling county chairs. Ended up seventy four percent of the county chairs endorsed Mourdock. The remaining ones did not endorse Lugar but said they would not be endorsing anyone until after the primary. Source is here:
http://www.richardmourdock.com/news/announcement-speech-us-senate-candidacy
So what kind of a mess is this, that all of a sudden Daniels is saying he is endorsing Lugar after he said he would not when the tea party made their statements about Lugar and being opposed to him?
Looks like more of the same establishment Republicans forcing a really bad establishment politician down our throats, which is what happened in 2010 with Dan Coats. In the primary, two tea party candidates ran against Coats and divided the vote so Coats won. [Marlin Stutzman, Hofstetter] If you put the votes of the two together it would have knocked out Coats. So now we are stuck for six years with the establishment doesn’t have a spine Dan Coats.
Marlin Stutzman was elected in the fall to the House of Representatives.
The tea party in Indiana is trying to be united this time behind one candidate, which would be Mourdock. He is very popular, has independent voter support, is pro life, strong on fiscal conservative credentials and is a constitutional conservative. There are other conservatives who want to run but he is probably the strongest candidate and he lacks nothing on conservative credentials. He has a lot of support among the Republican party elected officials.
And Daniels wants to endorse Lugar. Probably thinks he owes him a favor.
The tea party in this state is trying to build and gather strength. There are a few groups and the Indianapolis tea party is trying to organize more groups in other counties, including my county.
I don’t like Daniels. I REALLY do not like Daniels. I’m not alone in this state. I like the Lt. Governor, she is a solid conservative, and he picked her so he would have some support among conservatives. He likes to take credit for things he hasn’t done, and is now sending her out to events where he has problems.
Just wanted to give this thread an idea of what is going on in this state, since MD will probably be on lots of talk shows in the run up to the election. It might be a good thing if the fleebaggers continued to stay out of state in Indiana, and he had to keep calling more sessions of the legislature, because it might prevent him from running for president. He said he was not going to do anything about running for president until this problem is resolved.
Thanks for the insight from somewhat in the state who knows far more about Daniels than I do.
Which isn’t hard since I know almost nothing, except that he was mentioned as a possible candidate.
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