Bits and Pieces

Obama’s “Buffett Tax,” otherwise known as “tax the rich,” will apparently raise $50 billion in 10 years. That is $5 billion per year to work on a deficit of $1.3 trillion, so it solves about 0.4% of our deficit. The man is a really big thinker, isn’t he? Now what’s his plan for the other 99.6% of the deficit?

North Korea was “warned not to proceed” with their rocket launch, but went ahead and did it anyway. That’s freedom loving America for you; we “warn” other nations about what they can and can’t do. When they don’t obey us, we withhold 250,000 tons of food from them. Follow our orders or starve to death. Way to go America; I am so proud.

It is fascinating how the same people who were saying last winter that cold weather does not disprove global warming are saying this winter that warm weather does prove global warming. One would think that weather is either proof or it is not proof, but I guess it depends which side of the issue you are trying to prove.

Democrats abhor deregulation, denounce Republicans for engaging in deregulation, take great pride in purported re-regulation in the form of the Dodd-Frank bill, and then in an election year pass a major deregulation bill and call it the “Jobs Act.” Republicans, meanwhile, fulminate about the horrors of Obamacare and then nominate a presidential candidate who instigated that exact same program in his state as governor.

I guess both parties think that espousing both extremes simultaneously will secure the “center” votes. They may be right; it did for Bush. He was a “born again Christian,” he tortured people and espoused wars of choice, and he got reelected.

Update: I'm reminded of a movie titled "Operation Petticoat" about a submarine in World War Two. They needed to repaint it, but had neither enouth red lead for the base coat nor enough white lead, so they mixed them together, which is sort of what the potlitical parties are doing these days. The outcome in the movie was not pretty, unless you consider a pink warship pretty. The Chief Of The Boat was not happy.