Good AM, folks! Today's LTE's are environmentally correct, all being recycled. My responses are similarly green.
Guilty civil servants
MARY DICKINSON
Winston-Salem
Memorable
Please don't do as many readers have suggested and take his column out of the Journal — Donald Kaul and Sharon Randall are the only reason we remain loyal subscribers to the greatly diminished Journal — oh, yes, those two and Baby Blues!
SUE H. RAMSEY
Clemmons
Accept some responsibility
Many are dismayed and disgusted with Congress after this debt crisis, because once again it has kicked the really tough choices down the road, to be dealt with another day. Congress hasn't cut enough spending in this deal to make things significantly better, and we can't possibly put a dent in our debt without raising revenue. But before we heap all the blame on "those folks in Washington," perhaps we should look at ourselves for a moment.
We all agree that government spends too much and needs to be fiscally responsible. But this will only happen when we are willing to do our part. Oil companies need to tell Congress, "We don't need any tax breaks. We are doing fine, thank you." Farmers need to say, "I will take less in farm subsidies." We homeowners need to say, "I will accept a smaller mortgage deduction." We all could say, "Yes, I can pay a little more tax." Etc., etc., etc. When we start sending messages like this to Congress, then we will see real progress.
The core problem is that we, the people, have promised ourselves more than we are willing to pay for. So what are we going to do about it? Ultimately, there are only two choices: We can accept less, or we can pay more. And don't blame everything on "those folks in Washington."
DAVID R. BARNES
Winston-Salem
Obama was so right
President George W. Bush and his Republicans in Congress ran up our national debt to levels never before seen. It was a travesty. It cost the Republicans heavily in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and deservedly so. When one party controls the purse strings of Big Government, regardless of political party, the people will always lose. That is the very nature of Big Government.
As Bush was poised to raise our debt ceiling to an unprecedented $9 trillion (March 20, 2006), then-Sen. Barack Obama spoke those profound words from the Senate floor, words I agreed with then and now:
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies.… Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." (Sen. Obama, Congressional Record, S.2237-8, 3/16/06)
Now that the debt ceiling has risen to $14.3 trillion under President Obama, one has to wonder who the new occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. will be in January 2013.
WES PATTERSON
Winston-Salem
Guilty civil servants
While Sen. Stan Bingham's nonvote allowed ratification of Senate Bill 769, Abortion: A Woman's Right to Know ("State senator turns his back on women," Aug. 3), he is not alone in his failure to protect 51 percent of the residents of North Carolina from this assault on their personal decision-making. To find other guilty civil servants, we need look no further than our own Forsyth County legislators.
How can my state representative, Dale Folwell, and my state senator, Peter Brunstetter, feel they are qualified to tell women what they can or cannot do with their own bodies? Apparently, these legislators have chosen to join families in their personal, sometimes heart-wrenching decisions. I thought they were in favor of a smaller government. Who will pay for the extra time the doctor will have to spend making sure all of these requirements are met? Will it be financially strapped North Carolina or the pregnant woman? How is this a fiscally responsible bill?
Meanwhile, infringing upon a woman's right to choose is not what the General Assembly should be concerning itself about. Rather, tell us where the promised jobs are, how our universities can remain solvent and how our children will be duly educated to help us with the fiscal mess we are in today. How can Folwell or Brunstetter say they are representatives of their constituents when they have done nothing to address these very real problems?
MARY DICKINSON
Winston-Salem
Memorable
The Aug. 4 column by Donald Kaul, "Blame the no-way party for the debt-ceiling collision," was great — some memorable quotes and a clever analogy of "the neighbor and the dog."
SUE H. RAMSEY
Clemmons
Accept some responsibility
Many are dismayed and disgusted with Congress after this debt crisis, because once again it has kicked the really tough choices down the road, to be dealt with another day. Congress hasn't cut enough spending in this deal to make things significantly better, and we can't possibly put a dent in our debt without raising revenue. But before we heap all the blame on "those folks in Washington," perhaps we should look at ourselves for a moment.
We all agree that government spends too much and needs to be fiscally responsible. But this will only happen when we are willing to do our part. Oil companies need to tell Congress, "We don't need any tax breaks. We are doing fine, thank you." Farmers need to say, "I will take less in farm subsidies." We homeowners need to say, "I will accept a smaller mortgage deduction." We all could say, "Yes, I can pay a little more tax." Etc., etc., etc. When we start sending messages like this to Congress, then we will see real progress.
The core problem is that we, the people, have promised ourselves more than we are willing to pay for. So what are we going to do about it? Ultimately, there are only two choices: We can accept less, or we can pay more. And don't blame everything on "those folks in Washington."
DAVID R. BARNES
Winston-Salem
Obama was so right
President George W. Bush and his Republicans in Congress ran up our national debt to levels never before seen. It was a travesty. It cost the Republicans heavily in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and deservedly so. When one party controls the purse strings of Big Government, regardless of political party, the people will always lose. That is the very nature of Big Government.
As Bush was poised to raise our debt ceiling to an unprecedented $9 trillion (March 20, 2006), then-Sen. Barack Obama spoke those profound words from the Senate floor, words I agreed with then and now:
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies.… Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." (Sen. Obama, Congressional Record, S.2237-8, 3/16/06)
Now that the debt ceiling has risen to $14.3 trillion under President Obama, one has to wonder who the new occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. will be in January 2013.
WES PATTERSON
Winston-Salem
Good AM, folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE1: Yes, the party that accuses government of intrusiveness wants government to be more intrusive. But, let's not get too dewy-eyed over this "right to choose" biz. I note a lot of liberal fervor for the right to choose to have an abortion, but allowing unions to pressgang people into membership against their will somehow is also "Employee Free Choice," and right to choose not to join is somehow a transgression of "social justice." Orwell would aadmire.
LTE2: Yes, I like some things that the Journal prints, the LTE's for example. I'm not sure why Kaul is getting the "air time" in the LTE section, though? Is the paper really contemplating getting rid of his column? I doubt. Thus this is a tempest in a microscopic teapot.
LTE3: This LTE writer pretty much gets it right. I will, however, typify the response of lots of folks whose oxen might be gored by some of the solutions: we need to phase in some of the changes, like reducing the mortgage deduction. We also need to remember Unintended Consequences. If we have a lesser mortgage deduction, we pay more taxes, which help with the deficit problem, provided Congress applies the taxes wisely. But, that is less dough for consumer spending. Right now, consumer spending is deficient.
Hey WW! David Barnes once worked for me.
LTE4: I'd feel better about debt-funded stimulus spending if the projects weren't subject to a component of President Obama's Marshall Plan for unions and their campaign funding, in this instance, project labor agreements. However, I think the stimulus spending was probably vital to staving off further economic dislocation. And Silas Creek Pkwy did indeed need repaving. It's a good question who will occupy the WH in 2013. The choices aren't promising, at the moment. Obama is running again. Those disinclined to vote for him should let the R's know that the current crop of hacks, retreads, loose cannons, and gadflies is not what we want.
LTE-1...a woman's right to choose is a right limited only to abortion I guess? But if she chooses to send her child to the school of her choice then whoa nellie? Certainly the consequences of the first makes, by comparison, the consequences for the second much easier wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteLTE-2...in the world of liberal writers, what is the big deal about Don Kaul?
LTE-3...yes we are responsible for "those people" in Congress. They reflect us. If we who pay Federal income taxes send them even more money, "those people" will only spend every dollar of it and still borrow every dollar of the newly adopted "debt ceiling". There is no such thing as enough. A solution to this habit would be a part of the Bowles-Simpson report about a flat tax. Only I want an even flatter tax for biz and individuals with possibly a very small national sales tax to get at the large underground economy we hear about.
LTE-4...somebody will take office January 2013 and it won't be Obama. That person may regret taking the job as the next 5-10 years are going to be hell as America begins the transition from welfare/entitlement state to a more Constitutional self reliant government.
Stab...Mr Barnes seems to have recovered and is showing no ill effects.
Hi WW!
ReplyDeleteYes, the 12-step program appears to have worked well :D
Women are incredible. They want to be able to kill a fetus at will, but yet if someone injures their unborn child, it's murder.
ReplyDeleteThey want to be able to rip the child out of their bellies without the father's permission, yet if they decide to keep the child against the father's will, he has to pay for it for 18 years. If he wants to keep the child, he has no rights.
They don't yell about sexual discrimination when the mother gets custody of the child over the man in 90% of the divorce cases.
They yell and scream about discrimination in the workplace regarding equal pay, yet I never see any of them yelling and screaming for their right to dig ditches or do any of the hard manual labor jobs in the same percentages as men.
They say they want the ERA amendment, yet you never see pickets in the streets demanding its passage.
They demand equal rights, yet they are willingly left out of direct combat roles in the military.
They never yelled and screamed when over 1 million men, not women, were drafted and killed in U.S. wars.
Yes, they want your way, my way, their way, their mother's way, their father's way and whatever way that comes into their minds.
So, let's not take women too seriously about women's rights until they get serious about taking on equal responsibilities and jobs in our society.
Good AM, LG.
ReplyDeleteDrive by the Valvoline quick oil change place on the corner of Peace Haven and Robinhood Rds. You will find a young woman working there, and I don't mean just as cashier. She's under the hoods, getting her hands greasy just like the other staff. She's good at her job, and pleasant to us customers.
Most teachers are women, are underpaid, but continue to work.
I notice on the financial channels that our 10 year Treasury notes are having a bang up day as billions of $$ are flooding out of Europe for the safe haven of America. The crisis in Europe is on going and getting worse which is most of our down day correction so far. Also, Freddie and Fannie have also been further downgraded to no one's surprise. All the S&P downgrade did was put a little ding in our national pride as it is not a surprise since there were no spending cuts in the big debt ceiling compromise. China is buying our Treasuries too as they have to keep their phony currency artificially low to keep their multi bubble economy from popping.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, the mortgage companies that my good, gay, friend Barney Frank created, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, took a credit downgrade today and took the stock market down with them. Nobody took notice back when Democrats, with Barney at the helm of the U.S. Congress' Banking Committee, were forcing banks to take on unstable and undeserving loans back during the Clinton Administration. Some people say those loans ultimately caused the housing market to collapse, which in turn caused the U.S. economy to take a major nose dive. However, you seldom heard that in the liberal news media.
ReplyDeleteAnd good morning to all the Obama supporters out there. I hope you had the chance to call yourself an 'idiot' in the mirror last night as I suggested. If you did, I'll bet you feel better today.
Stab....good morning to you. She is the exception rather than the rule. I'll bet women make-up less than 5% of the population that's engaged in serious, hard, manual labor.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to see a woman operating a jack hammer except on some poor man's head in divorce court.
Fannie Mae was created in 1938. Freddie Mac was created in 1970. Barney Frank was elected to congress in 1980.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to lie, at least try and fool somebody.
Arthur...I read something othewise, if you are correct, my error. I'll admit my errors, will you admit you made an error by voting for Obama?
ReplyDeleteUnlike Democrats Arthur, I'm in the business of telling the truth. I find it works out better that way. Because Arthur, when you try to 'fool' somebody, it always comes back to bite you in the butt. You know, much like Obama's empty promises.
ReplyDeleteLinds, I suspect if you looked long enough, you'd find a woman leaning into a jackhammer, and you would probably furnish an opinion re her sexual identity.
ReplyDeleteYes, women are infrequently found operating a jackhammer, just as I'm not found operating one, and it's the same reason for them and me: you don't find women or me playing linebacker in the NFL, power forward in the NFL, or pitcher in MLB. We aren't physically suited to the task. Mind you, a few women might be, but in the main not.
As for combat, there are women fighter pilots. Serving as an infantry soldier is another matter. A woman can carry and operate a 10# rifle just fine. It's the other 70 pounds of gear that would pose more of a problem.
Women are moving into other physical "non-traditional" jobs. I know a fairly attractive gal who is a landscape contractor. She wields a shovel, and among other things, digs ditches.
Stab....you know as well as I do there are few absolutes in life. I'm speaking in the sociological sense when I make group generalizations.
ReplyDeleteI know that generalizations are politically incorrect, but they can be very accurate.
Good afternoon folks!
ReplyDeleteLTE 1: In agreement with the sentiments expressed. Women are perfectly capable of making these decisions without legislatures' help. Perhaps we should start calling up our state reps when we have questions about what to do if we have problems with our prostrates.
LTE 2: I'm more into Pearls Before Swine and Dilbert myself, but variety is the spice of life in cartoons as well as columnists.
LTE 3: Well, he used "kicked the really tough choices " instead of "kicked the can". Trying to make a dent in the deficit when there's a 9% UR and a slowing economy that may very well fall back into a recession cannot be done without finding new revenues. There just aren't enough taxpayers. Everyone wants to solve the problem, but everyone wants someone else to suffer the pain.
LTE 4:"When one party controls the purse strings of Big Government, regardless of political party, the people will always lose." - that has been shown to be true for both sides. It is way too early to predict the demise of the Obama administration.
prostate (a little eager with the r's today)
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing LG's anti-women rants, I can see why he is stuck with dating men.
The downgrade of Spain, Italy and Greece had to do with CAN they pay their obligations. The downgrade of the US has to do with WILL the US pay its obligations. That's a failure of Congress that warrants their firing. Just speculating, but if Obama had threatened to invoke the 14th, or had invoked it and ordered the Treasury to ignore the D.C., would the downgrade have still taken place?
Bucky boy, you are a moron.
ReplyDeleteI know a number of women who work at labor intensive jobs, and see many more at work sites all over town. Of course, people like you see only what they want to see.
Have you ever been to a women’s boxing match? Of course not. Let me tell you, those dames can hit. Love to put your sissy butt in the ring with one of them.
There are many women who have asked to be placed in combat units who COULD carry the equipment if allowed to. It is the military, not the women, who holds them back. The Navy has female carrier pilots who fly combat missions on a regular basis, with many more eager to get into the cockpit.
Beginning with Viet Nam, the wars that we are engaged in have changed dramatically. There is no front line anymore. Essentially, everyone is a front line soldier. I imagine that you would have wet your pants in the first five minutes in Viet Nam. Thousands of women are serving right now in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first American woman killed in action was Jemima Warner, 11 Dec 1775 while serving as a cook in Thompson’s Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion. The nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, was created during the Civil War. One of its first recipients was Dr. Mary Walker, for extraordinary courage while serving as a battlefield surgeon.
Six women have won the Distinguished Service Cross and four have received the Navy Cross. Dozens have won Silver Stars, Air Medals and Bronze Stars. How many medals does your simpering self have?
When I came home from Viet Nam, one of the first things that I did was to attend the largest anti-war rally ever held at that time on the mall in Washington, DC. Over 100,000 people were there, about 40% of them women.
It is understandable that you know nothing about women, because from your posts it is easy to see that you are afraid of them. At this very moment some bull dyke, as you call them, may be headed your way. BOO!!!
Speaking of Vietnam, former Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon died; his was an eloquent voice against the war.
ReplyDeleteHe was a liberal Republican and a good man. One of the last of an extinct breed.
A great man, who spoke at several of the rallies that I attended and who was most helpful to the nascent Viet Nam Veterans Against the War.
ReplyDeleteOh please...Rush/Kit...do you think I believe anything you say. I'd believe Barack Obama over you anyday, and that's not good.
ReplyDeleteHow many women died in Vietnam and how many men? I rest my case.
How did you look in the mirror last night when you were calling yourself an idiot?
The Democrats are doing what they always do in a crisis. It's the Tea Party's fault, it's the Republican's fault, it's the global market,...they'll go on and on.
ReplyDeleteIt's just like in the Monica Lewinsky affair , it was her fault that Bill Clinton got a blow job and lied about it.
Democrats never take the blame for anything. They're too 'smart' for that. You gotta love 'em. They're always good for a laugh.
Boehner and Pelosi have agreed to end the House page program at the end of this month, save $5MM/year and perhaps dissuade some lowlifes from running for Congress.
ReplyDeleteWhoop-de-do...that's the way to get down to serious negotiations. before you know it they'll find a way to save anothe $10-15 million.
ReplyDeleteActually, I doubt if they will save much at all. Pages do a LOT of work...somebody will have to do it.
It is a shame to destroy such a venerable program, which has its roots in the Continental Congress of 1774. Over the years, a number of pages returned to serve as elected members. Bill Gates was a page in 1972.
For those who read the "Journal" print edition or can find his column for today online, Eugene Robinson has an interesting suggestion on what to do to increase revenues: nothing. Just let the tax cuts expire next year. I suspect this will happen, as I doubt the electorate will view increasing the rates with the same disfavor as last time.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the print edition ready to hand at the moment, and cannot find Robinson's column online, but his logic is persuasive. Now whether it is right is another matter. So, I bid those who are more knowledgable in such matters to seek it out and comment. I'll post his argument when it's available.
The Robinson piece is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/aug/08/wsopin02-eugene-robinson-column-the-wrong-problem--ar-1273701/
"No matter what some agency may say," Obama said, "we've always been and always will be a triple-A country."
ReplyDeleteUh, Mr. President. Are you refusing to face reality? It's obvious, he just doesn't get it!
Unless the market makes a huge recovery, we'll be in a recession until at least the next presidential election.
And then what will happen, Bucky Boy.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin will be elected POTUS and wave her magic wand and out of the west come the thundering hoofbeats of the great Deacon Larkin's horse...Paul Revere rides again...to warn the British...of what?
That a genuine nitwit now lives in the White House, where she sits on the porch and keeps an eye on Russia...
Bucky Boy, you are like a parrot, babbling the same nonsense over and over...Bucky want a banger...Bucky want a banger...Bucky want a banger...
O.T., thanks for the link. Someone once asked me under circumstances too lengthy to relate here (over on The Limb maybe) if I were blind. I answered affirmatively.
ReplyDeleteHere is what Robinson had to say re the tax rate cuts:
_____________________________________________
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner spent weeks trying — and failing — to come up with a package of budget cuts and revenue "enhancements" that would reduce the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade. Want to see me do what Obama and Boehner couldn't?
There.
I did nothing, and now I'm waiting for the Bush tax cuts to expire at the end of next year. If we just let all income-tax rates revert to what they were during the era that should be called the Clinton Prosperity, a debt problem that now may seem overwhelming suddenly looks quite manageable. A little growth, a little tinkering with entitlements, and we're set for another quarter-century or so.
Problem solved. Now, let's do something that might actually benefit the country.
_______________________________________
I'm not sure about his "little tinkering with entitlements." Perhaps I'll email him.
Stab...I wish it were that easy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure letting the Bush Tax cuts would not be enough or it would have already been considered and addressed in the media and by law makers.
Even when we had a surplus under Clinton, did we ever get any of that money back? Oh hell no, the government can spend our money better than we can.
We just need to face reality, our government is ineffectual and out of control with its spending.
I'm for getting out of Afghanistan and Libya, and cutting the military's budget. We've got too many illegal immigrants mouths' to feed to be engaging in wars.
When thinking about Palin as president. You have to ask youself the question: Which would you rather have, a dumb nitwit with common sense (Palin), or a smart nitwit (Obama) with none?
ReplyDelete51% of Americans say Obama doesn't deserve to be reelected, and only 46% of North Carolinians approve of Obama's job as president. The poll was conducted over the weekend. Can you imagine if the poll would have been conducted after today?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2011-08-08-poll-gallup-election_n.htm
I say throw him out, and his portuguese water dog too.
More of the same.
ReplyDeleteBucky want a banger...Bucky want a banger...Bucky want a banger...
Linds, President Obama does not leave office till 01/20/13. We cannot sit on our hands till then. He can and will sign legislation (or veto it), make appointments, issue orders, etc. Like him or not (and I will not vote for him), we must work within a framework that includes President Obama. If we as a body politic are to be effective, compromise will be necessary.
ReplyDeleteIt appears to me that columnist Robinson's suggestion is worth discussing, and as he observes, very easy to implement.
I note that Journal has truly killed the Reader's Forum. One of the true signs is an aspect of the old forum that I repeatedly made fun of, the TU and TD thing, which I still see as a kind of middle school level thinking.
ReplyDeleteBut I will admit that I enjoyed seeing how many TDs I could generate. I think my record might have been 13. Somewhat satisfying considering the general level of discussion, but should have been a lot more.
But now we have only TUs, no TDs, so I am left with little to aspire for...just don't care about TUs. And the TU action is pretty lame, beginning with the fact that you can even give yourself one TU. So if you are feeling socially rejected, you can boost your own ego, which no doubt many have done.
Yesterday, the Journal posted an editorial about the recently ended Black Theater Festival, which I have been a huge supporter of from its inception. I don't watch TV and rarely attend movies. I love live drama, black, white, brown, whatever color.
This year I noted that at one event I attended, the only other white people there were a single couple. And at another, I was the only white attendee.
Back when Larry Leon Hamlin (one of my all time favorite people in this town), the founder of the festival, was still in the saddle, that was never true. But things seem to be creeping in the wrong direction.
Then came the Journal editorial, which at one point said:
"It would be good to see more whites and Hispanics at the theater festival, for example."
So I posted a reply:
"By using the term 'Hispanic' you have already alienated part of the intended audience. Many Latinoamericans find the term offensive because they are not 'of Spain' but 'of Latin America', which is a considerable difference. And the term excludes entirely the citizens of the largest country in South America plus the former French West Indies.
"That being said, the festival needs to make a serious effort to improve its marketing anent the potential white and Latino audience, which includes recruiting more volunteers from those two groups."
To my astonishment, I received 2 TUs, neither of them mine. But there was not any response in words, thus reinforcing my contempt for the TU/TD idea.
Larry's festival is one of our great events, but it has problems that need addressing. If people are not willing to discuss those problems, merely passing them off as a couple of TUs, then we will surely lose the festival in the near future.
Off soap box.
O.T., wave at me next year, and Mrs. Stab and I will meet you for a show, if you would like.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the problems with the theater festival?
Never mind. I reread your post. It's been a fatiguing day. Good night, folks.
ReplyDeleteJust as the Journal's editorial suggested.
ReplyDeleteDwindling white turnout, almost zero latino turnout.
I really hate getting into the race area, because Larry, with his charm and enthusiasm, seemed able to transcend that. But he is no longer with us, and his heirs do not have his sterling qualities.
The festival is VERY expensive. I love the energy put into it by the black community, because it in small ways makes up for the horrible racism that is our heritage, here and throughout the nation.
But the black community cannot support the festival without white and latino support, just as the civil rights movement in the 1960s could not have succeeded without white support, both outside and inside the South.
I will be interested to see what is said of attendance figures for this year. Since I live right in the middle of downtown, I am very much aware of what is going on around me.
Attendance was down earlier this year at the River Run Film Festival. I did not need to wait for any announcement...it was obvious to me. My observation for the Black Theater Festival is the same.
Since the only obvious connection you have to Hispanics is when you blew a kazoo, wearing a 'go go' at a gay pride parade in downtown Winston Salem, I doubt that qualifies you as an expert on Hispanic culture and feelings, Rush.
ReplyDelete