Reid Refuses To Allow Vote On Obama’s Fiscal Cliff “Plan”

By William Teach December 6, 2012 – 7:09 am

One can always count on some funny stuff from Harry Reid

(Weekly Standard) Senate majority leader Harry Reid is denying the Senate the chance to vote on President Barack Obama’s proposal. Reid calls Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s request to vote on the plan a “stunt.”

“I reserve the right to object. I just a minute ago moved to the Russia trade bill,” said Reid. “The purpose of moving to this bill is to protect American jobs. If we don’t do this legislation, we’ll lose American jobs for sure and put American companies in even worse shape than they are with Chinese and European companies. So the question is really this: are we going to get serious here and legislate or is this more of the obstruction we felt so much during this last Congress?

“The answer to that is really obvious. The answer is yes. Or are we going to continue the sort of political stunts that the Republican Leader is trying to pull today, now? On the substance, the Senate has passed a bill that goes a long way to address the fiscal cliff. That’s already passed here. Last July the Senate passed a bill to continue tax cuts for 98 percent of all Americans and 90 percent of all American small businesses. If the Republican leader were serious about preventing us from going over the fiscal cliff, he would urge his colleague, the speaker, to get the house to — to get the House to take up the Senate-passed bill now.

A “stunt”, huh? Well, of course it is. But, voting on legislation is also one of the things that elected officials in the Senate do. (NMP) Obama has made an offer of a “deal” to avert the fiscal cliff, one which includes those precious tax increases that Harry Reid says he wants, as well as even more spending, as well as offering to maybe possibly if Obama’s not playing golf negotiations on considering some spending cuts next year if he’s not on vacation. It all amounts to $3 in tax increases now for maybe possibly $1 in cuts later. Is it any wonder Democrats prefer Harry Reid to call voting on Obama’s fiscal cliff offer a stunt rather than actually going on the record in voting?

Mitch McConnell opines

“Look: this isn’t about the deficit for them, or balance.

“It’s about an ideological campaign that most Americans thought would have ended on November 6th. And that’s also why the President sent Secretary Geithner up here last week with a proposal so completely ridiculous it wouldn’t have passed the House with Nancy Pelosi in charge, let alone Speaker Boehner.

“It was more of a provocation than a proposal, frankly.  It was a message the President doesn’t want a deal at all. To date, not a single Senate Democrat has come forward to support it, and anybody who actually looks at the details would understand why.

And

“I for one was eager to see what Democrats in the Senate support this totally unrealistic proposal. I think folks should know who actually wants to raise taxes on family farmers and manufacturers, and who thinks we can solve our fiscal problems without doing anything serious to our real long term liabilities.

Speaker Boehner should bring Obama’s proposal up for a vote in the House, and watch the Democrats freak out.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in Barry Obama, Democrats, Economy | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Your Nose Shows When You Lie, Pinocchio

By William Teach December 5, 2012 – 2:46 pm

Interesting

(Fox News) Much like Pinocchio, your nose could reveal that you’re lying, though unlike the beloved character, your nose will heat up instead of growing longer when you tell a fib, new research claims.

Psychology researchers from the University of Granada in Spain used thermography to study the temperature of people’s faces in experiments. They said they found a jump in the temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye during lying. They also found that face temperature drops for people performing a difficult mental task and rises for people experiencing high anxiety.

The new work focused on the so-called “Pinocchio effect” was part of a doctoral thesis and has yet to be published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal.

They always say that the eyes are the window to the soul, but this could be another way to determine if someone is lying. Watch the nose.

I’ve always been really, really good at picking up on lies, especially in person (I’m pretty good in knowing when people are bullshitting me on the phone, too). I’ll have to look to see if part of the cues I’m picking up on are from the nose area, not just the eyes.

Read: Your Nose Shows When You Lie, Pinocchio »

Posted in Like, Gnarly, Dude | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 5, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled vehicle which no one else should be allowed to drive, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is A View From The Beach, with a science post on women staring at boobs.

Read: If All You See… »

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Washington Post: “Hey, Obama’s Fiscal Cliff Plan Is Rather Disingenuous, Eh?”

By William Teach December 5, 2012 – 8:09 am

Late yesterday, the Washington Post editorial board determined that the “Opening bids on ‘fiscal cliff’ talks are too small“. After spending most of the opening part of the editorial attacking John Boehner’s opening bid (surprising, eh?), we learn

What’s worrisome, though, is that the two sides are slipping into a kind of tacit agreement to scale back the size of an ultimate debt-reduction package. The president billed his plan as $4.4 trillion worth of debt reduction over 10 years. But $2.4 trillion of that comes from lower interest payments, alleged savings from winding down overseas wars Mr. Obama never planned to fight and discretionary cuts that were legislated a year ago. Mr. Boehner’s letter similarly identifies only $2.2 trillion of new revenues and cuts.

Well, I’m glad they finally told us that Obama’s plan, which he has been playing with for over a year now (and which he formalized once the presidential debates were over with) is a load of mule fritters chalk full of imaginary savings and cuts already planned. The rest of Obama’s plan pretty much comes from tax increases, from raising the marginal rate on “the rich” (which starts with the upper middle class), taxes through Obama(not)Care (which will also hit the middle and lower classes), raising capital gains, and many others. We’ll supposedly get a whopping $2 trillion in debt/deficit reduction out of it over 10 years. Which we all know will never be used for that purpose. Boehner’s is not much better, but at least the plan actually reduced the debt/deficit.

It will take more than that to dent the debt. A new report from a Bipartisan Policy Center task force headed by former senator Pete Domenici, a Republican, and former budget director Alice Rivlin, a Democrat, suggests that it would take $2.8 trillion in fresh cuts and revenue to stabilize the debt at 69 percent of gross domestic product by 2022 — above historical levels but sustainable. It would appear that Republicans and Democrats must not only come together but also raise their sights.

What we have is a spending problem, not a revenue problem. The government spends too darned much, and wastes it. Government is inherently wasteful. They fail to treat the money as their own and spend it wisely. The whole system is foolish. Yet, if we want to increase revenue, the best way is to get the economy roaring, to get people working, and to get those “evil rich” people to spend their money, which would mean more money ending up in governmental coffers after it has flowed through the private economy.

Read: Washington Post: “Hey, Obama’s Fiscal Cliff Plan Is Rather Disingenuous, Eh?” »

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Think Progress: “Know What’s Really Behind The War On Christmas? Hotcoldwetdry”

By William Teach December 5, 2012 – 7:42 am

It’s that time of the year when Warmists start trotting out their stories linking Christmas and globull warming. Perhaps George Soros funded Think Progress should ask the Obama’s, who have 54 Christmas trees

Global Warming Is Behind The Real War On Christmas

It’s that time of year when Fox News and other conservative media outlets revive their imaginary “War on Christmas.” But the actual threat to one Christmas tradition comes from something more insidious than Fox’s perceived attacks: Extreme drought, fueled by climate change, has hit the Christmas tree market.

2012′s relentless drought will likely last through the rest of the winter, at least in the midwest, as areas under severe drought expanded in November. Right now, 63 percent of the lower 48 states are experiencing drought conditions: (snip)

One study after another shows that the U.S. will only face increasingly severe, frequent droughts, with global warming as the culprit.

I’ll give Rebecca Leber some props for using the phrase “global warming” a few times, though she used climate change a bit, as well. What she forgot to do was provide definitive proof that Mankind’s actions are behind the rise in temperatures that occurred since the end of the Little Ice Age, particularly since the 1930’s were warmer than today, and the drought was considerably worse. The previous warm periods were likewise warmer. There has been no increase in global temperatures in 16 years, despite rising CO2 levels. This has all been a primarily natural swing in temperatures, with much of the apparent increase being due to land use and the Urban Heat Island Effect.

Furthermore, AGW believers always fail to tell us what changes they’ve introduced into their own lives to reduce their own “carbon footprint.” I’ll believe it’s a crisis when they act like it’s a crisis. They should all run out and get rid of their minivans and big SUVs and purchase Chevy Volt’s, for starters.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Think Progress: “Know What’s Really Behind The War On Christmas? Hotcoldwetdry” »

Posted in AGW Idiocy, Barking Moonbats, Global Warming | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Owning A Gun Is Like Being A KKK Member

By William Teach December 4, 2012 – 4:12 pm

Especially if you’re a member of the NRA (via Hot Air)

(Daily Caller) “Sports gets so much attention, and people tune out the real world, that I try to take advantage of the opportunity to talk about the real world when sports lends itself to that and try to open people’s eyes,” Whitlock said.

“You know, I did not go as far as I’d like to go because my thoughts on the NRA and America’s gun culture — I believe the NRA is the new KKK. And that the arming of so many black youths, uh, and loading up our community with drugs, and then just having an open shooting gallery, is the work of people who obviously don’t have our best interests [at heart].”

The problem is, of course, that most of these “black youths” (and Latino and even whites) are not obtaining the guns in the inner city communities legally. Quite a few of them are gang members who care little for the law (just watch Gangland on Spike TV on Friday’s). Perhaps Roland Martin should concern himself more with just why so many “black youths” turn to crime and drugs. It’s not because of guns. Perhaps he should wonder why this is tolerated by Liberals, who tut tut and refuse to get tough.

And what Liberals like Martin want is to take guns out of the hands of law abiding citizens who usually have guns for protecting from criminals. Make sure to read this open letter to Costas at Doubleplusundead.

Oh, and Bob Costas stands by his remarks.

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Posted in 2nd Amendment, Unhinged Tools | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach December 4, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an ocean that will rise up 200 feet and cause islands to tip over, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Ice Age Now, with a post on how Russian drivers are dealing with globull warming. Though Robert’s headline should probably have been something like “Russian schoolkids won’t know what getting home looks like”

Read: If All You See… »

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Bummer: EV Infrastructure Lagging In Brokeifornia

By William Teach December 4, 2012 – 10:25 am

While I support the concept of electric vehicles, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels which isn’t particularly clean and environmentally friendly (again, I’m not referring to CO2 output), this is absurd

(Grist) About a third of the electric cars in the U.S. are spinning on California roads, but the state still has much work to do to build the charging infrastructure to support them.

…..But building up the infrastructure isn’t simple, as KQED reports:

Still, a multitude of challenges face NRG and other charging companies, like Bay Area-based ChargePoint andEcotality. Fast chargers produce very high voltage. They require complicated permitting. And they cost upward of $40,000 each.

Right now, the financials don’t add up says NRG’s Terry O’Day.

“The public charging infrastructure is extraordinarily expensive and there aren’t enough cars right now so there isn’t an effective business model to make the investment work,” he says.

OK, so what we’re looking at is not only a monumentally expensive proposition (hey, which income class benefits most from these expensive EV’s?) but Warmists expect the taxpaying public to fully subsidize the build-out. Notice in the first excerpted paragraph, the mention of “the state”. That means “The Government” has to do it. And the people will also subsidize the use of the charging stations, ie, “the public charging infrastructure.”

Still, what the state might lack in competence in makes up for in enthusiasm….

In Liberal World, it is all about intentions, not results.

Read: Bummer: EV Infrastructure Lagging In Brokeifornia »

Posted in Energy, Global Warming | 6 Comments | Trackback URL

Obama, Dems Quietly Look To Nail Those Evil Producers With Even Higher Marginal Rates

By William Teach December 4, 2012 – 8:16 am

Because success should be punished, comrades!

(Politico) Tax rate increases aren’t the only way in which Democrats are aiming to collect more tax dollars from the rich — they’re also looking to resurrect a dormant pair of oddly named laws that targeted the wealthy for decades.

Some call them gimmicks, some call them a step toward a more progressive tax system — and now Democrats want to use them to solve $12 billion worth of the looming fiscal cliff.

Known as PEP and Pease, they’re a little bit like the original “Buffett rule.”

The Personal Exemption Phase-out, or PEP, and the “Pease” deduction cap — named for the late Rep. Don Pease (D-Ohio) — were introduced in the 1990s to try to help balance the budget by getting the rich to chip in more. PEP reduced the value of exemptions for high-income earners by as much as 2 percent for every $2,500 earned over a set amount. Pease limited itemized deductions for the wealthy.

Seriously, Team Obama and The Donkeys can’t find a measly $12 billion in cuts somewhere? Is there anything that they are willing to cut? Well, the military, of course. Not programs that involve drone strikes: Obama really seems to like the ability to personally pick which Islamist will get a wake up call from one.

The two provisions were a persistent thorn in the side of doctors, lawyers and upper middle-class families of all stripes until they were gradually put out to pasture as part of the 2001 Bush-era tax cuts.

Wait, wait, “upper middle class”? So, all this talk of starting at $200k/$250k means that middle class people are going to get a tax hike? And this notion of reinstating PEP and Pease will hurt them more? And doctors will get nailed? Wow, great plan!

Democrats say the plan would allow taxpayers to ease into the new restrictions and increase revenue without the rate-raising that Republicans vehemently oppose. Viewed as a way to increase taxes on the wealthy that could achieve similar goals with less opposition, the two programs are becoming a more frequent part of the number-crunching going on behind the scenes on the Hill.

What we see is that the entire “fiscal cliff” plan from Obama and the Democrats is focused solely on “new revenue”, ie, taxes, and spending it. There seems to be virtually no debt/deficit reduction involved. The GOP made a $2.2 trillion debt reduction offer Monday, which Obama dismissed out of hand. Obama has no plan (take that with both meanings) to reduce the debt or the deficit. Any new revenue will be spent. The debt will continue to balloon. The brokeyest broke nation in history will continue to get broker. And the economy will continue to stagnate.

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Posted in Barry Obama, Democrats, Taxation | 3 Comments | Trackback URL

Hamas Pushes To Get Themselves Removed As A Terrorist Organization

By William Teach December 4, 2012 – 7:37 am

This is a group that has launched numerous attacks specifically on civilians, including over 1,500 rockets launched towards Israel during the recent violence. A group whose stated goal is the destruction of Israel, and calls for jihad against all Jews. And their talking points sound remarkably just like the those of Progressives

(The Blaze) Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday to a European delegation that Hamas is a “national liberation movement” seeking only to defend itself against Israeli “aggression,” the Jerusalem Post reports.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the occupation is committing war crimes, given the cruelty and hardship our people faced in these eight days of war,” he added, saying Hamas eventually aims for “a Palestinian state with complete sovereignty, with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of the refugees to the lands they owned in 1948.”

They had been recently willing to go back to 1967 borders (wink wink). Now they want 1948 borders? And all of Jerusalem? This would essentially destroy the state if Israel, leaving a good chunk of the Israeli people to live under hardcore Islamist rule. And, again, the talking points sound eerily similar to what progresses and Israel haters say.

“We have no problem with Jews worldwide, and we don’t oppose Jews because of their Jewish identity,” Channel 10 reportedly quoted him saying.  “We have a problem with the occupation that controls our land.”

Except, their Charter “calls for the fulfillment of the Qur’anic scripture which reads: “The prophet [Mohammad] said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!”

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in Israel, RoP, War On Terrorism | 4 Comments | Trackback URL
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