John Boehner - the Democratic budget - "Imprisoning our Kids and Grandkids"

By Heather:

From The Newshour with Jim Lehrer April 2, 2009. John Boehner is suddenly now concerned about fiscal responsibility with his criticism of the Democratic budget. Never mind the debt that was run up under the Bush administration for things like invading other countries that weren't a threat to us and war profiteering. Never mind tax cuts that never trickle down and enrich those at the top. Now that the spending is needed to keep our country out of a depression, Boehner is concerned about the debt being left to future generations. His talk about bi-partisanship after the way he and his fellow Republicans ran the House of Representatives is also laughable.

Thanks to Video Cafe.

Nelson, Bayh, the Budget and the rich

The following is derived from Think Progress.

First of all, when the Senate passed President Obama's budget, NOT one Republican voted Aye! Which is what we've come to expect from these partisan asshats who cry about the need for bi-partisanship while undermining bi-partisanship at every opportunity.

What we don't expect and what we don't need are hypocritical Democrats who go against the president in order to fulfill some deranged commitment to a "principle" in which they don't really believe.

We're talking about Ben Nelson from Nebraska and Evan Bayh from Indiana, both of whom joined with the Repugs and voted NO.

In a statement explaining his negative vote, Nelson harped on how Obama's budget had "trillion dollar-plus deficits" and would increase the debt, blah, blah, blah.

Bayh said essentially the same thing in his statement.


Both of them are full of horsehockey. As Think Progress asks, "why then did they also vote ... in favor of a $250 billion tax cut for the rich? ... Bayh and Nelson along with eight other 'moderate' Democrats broke with Obama and voted to reduce estate taxes from which 99.7 percent of Americans were already exempt."

Yup. Ten Dems in total voted for an amendment (introduced, by nogoodniks John Kyl, Repugnican from Arizona and Blanche Lincoln, Democrat from Arkansas, which would "slash estate taxes for the heirs of multmillion-dollar estates."

The Democrats were (and you may wish to join other progressives in trying to remove these bums from Congress):

Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Cantwell (D-WA), Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-Fl), Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR), and Tester (D-MT).

Think Progress quotes from The New York Times: "99.8 percent of estates will never -- ever -- pay a penny of estate tax. The heirs of the remaining 0.2 percent of estates are who Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Kyl are so worried about."


One cannot help but wonder about the motivation of these dismal Democrats. Again, of all the problems we have in our country and in the world, the problems (hah!) of the super rich aren't among them!

Or maybe these Democratic senators are in that 0.2 category?

Or maybe they owe their election to the people in that 0.2 category?

It makes no sense. And it is extremely discouraging that people like Nelson of Nebraska and Bayh of Indiana, who pretend to be so worried about deficits and debt, vote to "slash" $250 billion in taxes from the federal treasury!

Hey Jindal! Breaking news!

[Mt. Redoubt photo from Anchorage Daily News]

Yup. The Anchorage Daily News reports today that Mount Redoubt, after "roaring to life Sunday and Monday, blasting a column of ash and steam almost 12 miles above Cook inlet," has undergone another more minor eruption this morning.

Mount Redoubt's been blowing its top. No problem, though according to the Repugnican nogoodnik governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal. I'm not sure if he even knows we have volcanoes in the United States.

You remember, in his "rebuttal" (Ha!) to Obama's address to Congress, nogoodnik Jindal "singled out '$140 million for something called "volcano monitoring"' as an example of out-of-control federal spending." He said, with that disgusting smirk, "Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."

Well, really. First of all, it's become commonplace for christianist wingnuts to lie through their teeth about anything or anyone Democratic, and especially about President Obama. And these are the religious clowns who claim you've got to believe in their god and their holy book in order to have any ethics or morals.

Not really! So Jindal, who if he didn't know better, should have, speaketh ill of Obama and the budget not knowing he's blowing hot air and looking like a fool? Maybe. But again, maybe he knew damn well we need volcano monitoring in this country and being a good Repugnican simply stuck to Repugnican talking points, truth and honesty be damned.


Here's the truth: The $140 million was for "repair and restoration of a variety of USGS science facilities and laboratories.

NPR.org notes that "Only a fraction of that money would be spent on monitoring volcanoes," maybe $15.6 million or so."

Marianne Guffanti with the U.S. Geological Survey says that monitoring volcanoes is extremely important (hear that, Jindal?) because "We are one of the most volcanically active countries in the world. We have nearly 170 volcanoes that are either active or capable of reawakening."


Erupting volcanoes are very dangerous, especially for airplanes. "In 1989, a full[y]-loaded Boeing 747 jumbo jet was flying over Alaska when an ash cloud suddenly appeared and all four engines suddenly stalled out, causing the plane to fall dangerously close to the mountains that surround Anchorage before the engines could be restarted. That ash came from Mount Redoubt."

Life repeats itself. Mount Redoubt has spewed all kinds of ash into the atmosphere and everyone who knows anything is thanking the gods that we had volcano monitoring. It was because of volcano monitoring that the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory was given due warning and was able to warn others.

Especially pilots. And every pilot that flies the Alaska skies is a big fan of volcano monitoring. In fact hundreds of flights in and out of Alaska have been canceled because the USGS was able to get word out in time - before they flew into danger!


I think, in order to teach the christianist wingnut from Louisiana a little lesson, we should no longer provide hurricane information to that state! Hah! Who needs the Weather Service anyway, right Jindal?

Nah, we could not and would not do that! Unlike the wingnut, we have ethics and morals. And to take away advance hurricane warning from Louisiana wouldn't hurt the wingnut anyway, 'cause he'd be ensconced in some underground bunker; it would only hurt the people of Louisiana.

Still...