Free Republic

<p>On the afternoon of July 12, 1974, House and Senate Democratic leaders were arriving early at the White House — well before their demoralized Republican counterparts. And were they ever pumped! As they trouped into the President’s office for their photo-op, it became clear they considered this a victory party. They almost literally pranced around the Oval Office giving each other the 1970s equivalent of high-fives and chest bumps.</p>

If the fiscal cliff talks make Lindsay Lohan look like a productive member of society, perhaps it's because President Obama and John Boehner are playing by the dysfunctional Beltway rules. The rules work if you like bigger government, but Republicans need a new strategy, which starts by exposing the rigged game of "baseline budgeting." Both the White House and House Republicans are pretending that their goal is "reducing the deficit," which they suggest means making real spending choices. They are talking about a "$4 trillion plan," or something, regardless of how that number is reached. Here's the reality: Those numbers...

Rep. Dr. Ron Paul is the only Candidate now running who: 1.) Has a comprehensive platform that will cut BASELINE Federal spending. 2.) Insists that all of the planks in his platform are consistent with the US Constitution. 3.) Accepts the fact that the USA can no longer financially afford to be the World’s policeman. 4.) Fully understands how to dismantle the disastrous Federal medical “entitlements” of Medicare, Medicaid, and the illegal Obama”care.” 5.) Has a comprehensive plan to abolish or dramatically shrink 5 Federal Departments, or Bureaus. These positions set Dr. Paul apart from the rest of the Candidates...

Ok, This is something that has been bothering me all day. When did baseline budgeting start? My husband says it started under Graham- Ruddman, I can't find any proof of this. My next question, How can we get rid of this scourge on the republic?

I just love Washington-speak which offers heartfelt phrases such as “baseline spending,” “debt ceiling,” “drop dead dates,” and my ultimate favorites, “the cut,” “to cut,” “a cut,” or just simply “cuts.” Like the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” a “cut” means different things to different people. Let me explain by first discussing common-speak, which is very easy to understand. When someone takes a cut in pay, it could mean going from $20 per hour to $15 per hour. Or, they’re paid $30,000 per year for a job that used to pay $35,000 per year. To most...

Ron Paul slams it right out of the ballpark. When a Cut is Not a Cut One might think that the recent drama over the debt ceiling involves one side wanting to increase or maintain spending with the other side wanting to drastically cut spending, but that is far from the truth. In spite of the rhetoric being thrown around, the real debate is over how much government spending will increase. No plan under serious consideration cuts spending in the way you and I think about it. Instead, the "cuts" being discussed are illusory, and are not cuts from current...

For those of you that don't know what the baseline is and how baseline budgeting works, let me give you the real quick explanation of it. When you put together your budget, if you do one, you take last year's spending and income and you take a look at it and you figure out if you spent more than you had, or if you didn't spend more than you had, what did you do with what you had left over, where did it get spent. If the next budget you prepare has to be smaller because your income's dropped, you...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: So Obama has told the bankers secretly and privately, according to the Drudge Report, that we're not gonna be defaulting, that there will not be a default. Charles Gasparino had the story at the Fox Business Network. It's just as we've told you. There isn't gonna be any default and there probably won't be a downgrade. All of this is hocus-pocus. Look at what a great lousy job the Drive-Bys have done in educating the American people on the subject of the debt ceiling. For instance, how many of you realize that we have more than doubled...

Jury selection began Monday and opening statements are expected Thursday in the trial of Mark Goudeau, a 42-year-old former construction worker accused of being the Baseline Killer. Superior Court Judge Andrew Klein asked the first group of 14 prospective jurors whether they recognized Goudeau's name or face. Goudeau was in the courtroom at the time. All but one said no. For months last year, Phoenix residents were on the lookout for the man in the fisherman's hat. They watched for the pencil-thin mustache, the dreadlocks, the cold black eyes.His face, as shown in a police sketch based on descriptions by...