So – where is the Liberal “tea party”?

Why indeed?

Deficit spending is not new. There was Federal deficit spending – debt – as far back as 1840. Credit cards for individuals came into being in the 70s, but mortgages (long term debt for something you can’t afford) have been around for eons. When I was on council, every time we had to raise money for a road project or something that wasn’t in the budget, we bonded for it. This means we sold a bond and that was what we used as a loan. On Wall Street, Municipal bonds were(are) the closest thing to a sure bet you could find. Soooo – any idiot that says the government is spending beyond its means and should always have a balanced budget is a total moron and should be slapped. It not only will never happen, but there is no need for it.

Second – why are we in such a big deficit (besides Wall Street and the banks playing three-card monte with OUR money)? Bush cut taxes for the wealthy and then spent TRILLIONS over 8 years on wars, Homeland Security and corporate welfare. Cut income and increase spending. Doesn’t that seem fiscally sound? I keep trying to get my bosses to understand what a bad idea that is, but it never sinks in. Part of the deficit increase was when Obama came in a started adding the wars costs to the budget… which for some reason was never counted before.

But should we really care? The country is in debt – that’s true. But it seems EVERY country on the planet is deep in debt! The only two countries without this problem are China and Saudi Arabia. Are they REALLY holding promissory notes for every country on the planet? And if so – so what? China is having trouble managing their own country. Are they really going to take over the US and Europe? No. Actually every nation’s debt is probably owned by every other debtor nation. So nobody is in any position to win. Maybe we should just cancel all those loans and start clean.

Or maybe this is all just paper gymnastics anyway. Another political game that really has no meaning and no value except to get the middle class to pay for another large increase in somebody else’s dividends. “What if our ratings drop?” What is Moodys but a New York company started in 1909 and owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Standard’s and Poors was started in 1860 and owned by McGraw-Hill. They are just a couple of American corporations. As Bill Hick’s said – the “economy” is fake to begin with. A theory. A game. Nothing more.

Face it – no one is telling us the truth.

Therefore, I have added a new link to your right. It is to Al Jazeera – the only place to get news and information about actual happenings and none of the bluster and bloat that seeps from the TV set every night. I’m not going to miss Keith Olberman any more than I would miss Bill O’Rielly or Glenn Beck if they fell off the edge of the world. Tired, tired, tired of ALL the talking heads. The only worthwhile news story out of the Americas in the past week was the “discovery” that Taco Bell doesn’t use much beef in their food.

But was that really news to anyone?

Neither Palin nor Angle actually sanctioned that attack. That kid was so dazed, he probably didn’t even know those politicians existed. (Hell, he might have even been anti-Semetic since Giffords was Jewish.) But all this noise – whether from Fox or MSNBC or the blogoshere on the Internet – is more and more co-opting violent imagery to make the point. And it will only get worse come 2012. Call it free speech, but it is still illegal to yell “fire” in a public building, isn’t it? That is the level of discourse we have now in this country – people only yelling “fire” 24 hours a day. If that is what it takes to “energize” either sides constituents these days, then we all have serious, serious problems.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. I hope Congresswoman Giffords makes a full recovery and can go back to her good works. But this is not the last incident we will see before the next election.

But none of this is the worst fear. All this noise is a sideshow, a stupid VH1 reality program – which is all politics really are in the first place. No – worse than all that is an internal fear. A fear that cripples a person. Fear of failure. Or the correlating fear – fear of success. What if I get rejected? Better not to try. What if I get the job and fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if people don’t like me? Why try? Why should I put myself out there if I might fail or they laugh or it turns out that’s not what I want?

Why try?

Have you ever watched someone grapple with that fear? Particularly if it’s in your own family? It’s like watching a marathon of “Hoarders” but there are no commercials and it doesn’t end. And you watch that person curl into a ball most days of the week, waste their life and just get older – all the while waiting for that sure thing to come around. That lottery ticket. That perfect job that you never applied for that calls you. That girl that picks YOU up and asks YOU out. Fantasy.

What that person doesn’t understand is that we all have those fears. But they are part of Life and you have to play despite them. You know the commercial – “You have to be in it to win it”? That’s what Life is. You have to throw yourself out there. Take a chance. Face the fear. The rewards are immeasurable. Hurt comes with the territory. And here’s the thing about Hurt – it can’t kill you. It may feel like it, but it can’t. However you will feel alive. And that is the gift God gave you – being alive.

This is hard – so hard – to get someone crippled with fear to accept. I got through most of my fears ages ago (throwing myself onstage in front of people helps). But there are so many young people out there who could be exploring all the ups and downs of Life and are instead being sucked into a TV tube. They are giving up too soon… and that is my greatest fear.

You first, dude. You promote greed, fear and are sponsored by gold. I think I’m closer to God than you will ever be.

You know – if Beck was a sitcom, he would be less believable than “The Big Bang Theory”.

Stop saying you’re the majority. Six-seven MILLION people voted for Obama.

What? You think we left town or something? You’re just noisy and you know politicians (especially Democrats) can’t stand yelling. So – yeah. You’ll get your way on a few things.

But your not the majority.

No one? That’s about what I thought. Why would we want to watch our elected officials make asses out of themselves in real time when John Stewart can just give us the basic stupidity without all the Boring. We KNOW nothing intelligent goes on in the Halls of Congress. We KNOW we are constantly electing guys who have less skills than your average 7-11 clerk. Why would we want that insidious reminder playing on our TV set?

Well – they have C-Span out here in the Middle East. And it’s a premium. That’s right – you have to pay EXTRA to get Democracy in action on your cable network out here. Hannah Montana? Free. Family Fat Surgeon? Free. The Ellen DeGeneres Show ? Even that is free (I can’t get rid of it no matter how hard I try…). But C-Span will cost you. And these suckers pay for it! This is where the Middle East learns how America works.

After the last few months of the Health Care debate, God help us all…

There are many funny things about the current Health Care Carnival, but here are two:
I find it very amusing to see all the noisy crowds at the various Town Hall meetings. Mainly, because many in the crowd are over 65 and, um, their healthcare is ALREADY COVERED BY THE GOVERNMENT! So obviously they must be worried about the children…. Or America… or school prayer… something. Just not healthcare.

And I find it hilarious that the Democrats have agreed to have these Town Hall meetings. Because none of them know what’s in the bill! Or which bill they are talking about. From what I’ve heard, there could be as many as six bills on the table. Everything they say is thoroughly incomprehensible. I hear nothing but babbling on the TV. There could be death panels. There could be pet insurance. There could be provisions to only treat children with lollipops. How would anybody know? The rumors are easier to follow than the facts.

Finally – Sarah Palin. A good laugh anytime. If she thinks the government insurance will ration her care, she obviously hasn’t met Oxford Insurance. Do these yahoos think actual doctors and nurses answer the phones at these companies? Truth is – their previous jobs were working the phones for Time Magazine subscriptions. In India.

At least it’s a distraction from it being August…

But lo and behold – Hell froze over and women were elected to the Assembly for the first time! Not one, not two – but FOUR!! And for the first time in many elections, the fundamentalists lost seats. Whether this will unstick the government from lethargy, corruption and self-serving grandstanding remains to be seen. But it IS hopeful.

The Right blames Obama.

What is God’s name is going on? Whatever happened to investing for the long term? What about all the garbage they taught us about 401ks – always with a condescending look in their eye? Talking to children about big finances. “We know you don’t understand, but trust us. We’re experts.” Where are those experts now?! At least we laymen thought they would better understand a company’s worth and value. That doesn’t seem to matter anymore. What matter is how Wall Street feels. Does it feel good or does it feel uneasy? I swear – the government is acting like a parent with a stubborn child, offering treats for good behavior. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO FUNDAMENTALS??

Aren’t we glad they didn’t put our Social Security money in there?

A year ago, New Jersey’s politicians were saving the world from Foie gras. Today – Behold!

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey is drawing the line when it comes to bikini waxing.
The state Cosmetology and Hairstyling Board is moving toward a ban on genital waxing altogether after two women reported being injured. Both women were hospitalized for infections following so-called “Brazilian” waxes. Technically, genital waxing has never been allowed — only the face, neck, abdomen, legs and arms are permitted. But because it wasn’t specifically banned, state regulators haven’t enforced the law.
The board will decide on April 14 whether to adopt explicit language banning genital waxing, which it has already done preliminarily.
The earliest the ban would take effect would be sometime in May.
Salons which continue to perform the bare-it-all “Brazilian” could face fines.

What’s next? Itchy toilet paper?

Too many outlets, too much time on their hands and not enough REAL reporting. How can there be enough space to reprint every half-baked rumor and outright lie and yet NO time for investigative journalism. The Media has become purveyors of Spam and news is just processed cheese-food on a cracker. Bad enough that every website I open sings out to me of which third rate former TV star is now arrested for DUI. Bad enough that ‘OctoMom’ can rightly see a meal ticket in giving birth to a basketball team and now I have to feel for her because of the ongoing backlash. BAD ENOUGH even that every program from “Hardball” to “John & Kate Plus Eight” show the Wall Street ticker at the bottom of the screen like some kind of macbre death-watch!

But now the Media demands that I know that all our members of Congress are busy “Twittering” during sessions? And I thought it wasn’t possible to think less of them! What the hell is Twitter anyway? What vile scum created THAT? Why do we care what members of Congress are doing since they are obviously NOT DOING THEIR JOB? Why can’t they just drink like our fore-fathers??!

And I’m a billion miles away from y’all. So my options for news are the icky-gushy, melodramatic brain freeze that is CNN/FOX/MSNBC or the death and destruction of the rest of the world that is Al Jazeera. I could watch even less than I do, but I might miss something.