Day: March 16, 2006

I Owe $30,000 — And So Do You

Trish

I just found out I’m deeper in the red than I thought. But at least I’m not alone. Every single American is right there with me, thanks to a Senate vote today to increase the national debt to $9 trillion. We’re all paying the price for Bush’s bad decisions, like tax breaks for the rich, pre-emptively going to war in Iraq and a delayed response to Hurricane Katrina.

It’s the fourth such move increasing the debt limit by a total of $3 trillion since Bush took office five years ago.

The measure allows the government to pay for the war in Iraq and finance Medicare and other big federal programs without raising taxes. It passed hours before the House was expected to approve another $91 billion to fund the war in Iraq and provide more aid to hurricane victims.

The partisan vote also came as the Senate continued debate on a $2.8 trillion budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year that would produce a $359 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

…It’s the fourth such move increasing the debt limit by a total of $3 trillion since Bush took office five years ago.

So how much is $9 trillion? Well, it’s got 12 zeros, but…

“It’s hard to understand what a trillion is. I don’t know what it is,” confessed Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, this week when debating the government’s staggering fiscal obligations.

This is so going to screw up my credit rating…
Comment by: mikefromtexas

It doesn’t help that the standard hand-held calculator comes nowhere close to computing numbers in the trillions. About the best it can do is 99,999,999.

John Nolan, a mathematics professor at American University in Washington, said… “But in terms of practical numbers it’s just overwhelming.”

So he conjured up a spending spree, something Americans might be able to relate to. “If you spent a million dollars a day for a million days (2,739 years),” you’d hit $1 trillion, Nolan observed…

The federal government has been on a spending binge. Just since 2002, the Republican-controlled Congress has had to hike the Treasury Department’s credit card limit four times, for a total of more than $3 trillion.

Allowing Bush’s tax cuts in the first place was idiotic but continuing to squander America’s former wealth this way is criminal. The worst part is we’re all going along with it. Is it O.K. if I post-date my check?

GOP Reps Call for Impeachment — in 1999

Jon Ponder

What will we tell the children?

In 1999, Republicans in Congress were outraged over presidential mendacity:

  • Former Representative, now Senator, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina):

    “The president of the United States sets [sic] atop of the legal pyramid. If there’s reasonable doubt about his ability to faithfully execute the laws of the land, our future would be better off if that individual is removed. And let me tell you where it all comes down to me. If you can go back and explain to your children and your constituents how you can be truthful and misleading at the same time, good luck.”

  • Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Pennsylvania), current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee:

    “[The] rule of law should apply to everyone, no matter what excuses are made by the president’s defenders… We have done so because of our devotion to the rule of law and our fear that if the president does not suffer the legal and constitutional consequences of his actions, the impact of allowing the president to stand above the law will be felt for generations to come –laws not enforced are open invitations for more serious and more criminal behavior.”

  • Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), who was then chairman of the House Judiciary Committee:

    “There is a visibility factor in the president’s public acts, and those which betray a trust or reveal contempt for the law are hard to sweep under the rug…They reverberate, they ricochet all over the land and provide the worst possible example for our young people.”

Jessica Simpson Opts to Avoid GOP Taint

Jon Ponder

During the Republican Convention in 2004, the GOP scrounged around the entertainment business to come up with celebrities they could trot out. Among the names on the list were Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson (with an average IQ lower even than their Dear Leader’s). None of these luminaries showed up for the convention, or at least that’s my recollection, but now one of them — the famously soon-to-be divorced star of “Newlyweds,” Jessica Simpson — has decided not to attend a GOP fundraiser, even though she will be in Washington on the night of the event:

oncerned about politicizing her favorite charity, singer-actress Jessica Simpson on Wednesday turned down a invitation to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, a snub that left Republicans dismayed.

The apparent final word that Simpson would be a no-show at a major Republican fund-raiser with Bush and congressional leaders on Thursday night came after a day of conflicting reports from her camp and organizers of the event.

The blond star of the film “The Dukes of Hazzard” still plans to visit Washington on Thursday to lobby members of Congress on behalf of Operation Smile, a non-profit venture offering free plastic surgery for disadvantaged children overseas with facial deformities.

People close to Simpson said she declined a request to appear that same evening at the gala fund-raiser of the National Republican Congressional Committee — even after she was offered some private face time with Bush — because Operation Smile is a non-partisan group.

“It just feels wrong,” one Simpson insider told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the actress keeps her political views private. “She would love to meet the president and talk about Operation Smile … but she can’t do it at a fund-raiser for the Republican Party.”

NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said he was surprised at Simpson’s position.

“It’s never been a problem for Bono,” he said, referring to the U2 rock star who has met regularly with political leaders of all stripes to promote various causes, including Third World debt relief. “I find it hard to believe she would pass up an opportunity to lobby the president on behalf of Operation Smile.”

Maybe she’s not as dumb as she appears.

Good News for Dems – Harris to Stay in Florida Senate Race

Jon Ponder

Fortune smiled on Sen. Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, and his re-election campaign yesterday. His opponent, Rep. Katherine Harris announced last night that she will stay in the race, despite opposition from her betters, including the same White House cabal she helped install in 2000; a serious lack of donations; and charges that she took tainted money from DZM, the same bogus military contractor whose bribes put her cohort, Rep. Duke Cunningham, R-California, in prison:

Appearing Wednesday night on Fox News Hannity & Colmes program, Harris said she will personally commit $10 million to the campaign, money she said was left to her by her late father.

George Harris died of a heart attack Jan. 13.

“I’m in this race and I’m in it to win,” Harris said…

If her name appears on the ballot in November, it is expected to boost turnout among Florida Democrats who want to vote against the woman they still blame for “stealing” the 2000 election from Al Gore.

Harris appeared to be choking back tears as she discussed spending her father’s money on the coming race as a tribute to his legacy.

“When I lost him I said I would win this for my father,” she said.

I’m sure the late Mr. Harris did not get rich throwing good money after bad.