Quote of the Day

CHEZ

"The two sides are not only polarized these days, but there are so many media outlets now that there's always one guaranteed to tell you only what you want to hear, regardless of your viewpoint. The political media has become like porn: whatever your particular fetish, there's something to satisfy you. The problem with this is that people meet to discuss politics and each person comes equipped not only with his or her opinion but his or her supposed "facts" -- and that means no one budges on anything. There is no common ground anymore."

From the comment section of the anti-tea party comment from his original post. Yeah, that's probably a feedback loop.

I would retort, "it's the stupid spending." But that's only adding to the false partisan divide that keeps us distracted while 5 shooting wars are being engaged. Each Tomahawk missile aimed at Quadaffy is another couple schools or 60 teacher's salaries... and since three of those wars are kind of illegal, but yet, are still being funded by our broke ass Congress -- I think we CAN come to some common ground, Chez. They're all crooks!

First You've Got To Get Mad

Senator Mark Kirk (r-IL) went on TV today, and said "The Right and Left Fringe hate it -- that's why I love it!"

Time to get mad. The window is closing, folks.

Sugar Coated Satan Sandwich

Emanuel Cleaver, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, who described today’s debt compromise as a “sugar-coated Satan sandwich,” by which I assume he meant he planned to vote against it.

The Democrats just had their asses handed to them, and they're still bitching that there aren't any tax increases.

The Republicans took a stand - probably at the wrong time, and framed the debate incorrectly, and put the country in a self-imposed crisis that they created. They got the sausage made, but let the nation look into the process. The intestine casing isn't going to win them any friends. Especially when they took it out of the living calf. That was brutal.

Is it a perfect compromise - because everyone's pissed? No, it's not leadership. They STILL haven't solved any problems -- they're letting some "Super Committee" come up with some cuts before November. Oh, that's a good idea. They have to come up with "up or down" votable super proposal - or some kind of secret guillotine comes down on the budget. How'd that work out this week? You think that kind of threat is going to work around Thanksgiving?

Remember, they're only talking about 3 Trillion total in 10 years. That's the same number crunching and accounting tricks that says that Bill Clinton had a surplus. And you get the Bush Tax Cuts -- because Clinton was OVERTAXING the citizens to get a damn surplus. Five wars later, a shrinking tax base, rising fuel costs and underwater mortgages, and suddenly - the U.S. is broke. Just like most of the cities, and States in the Union. Especially those that tend to vote Blue.

And what are the Democrats getting out of the deal? I haven't seen any reason for any of them to back this new compromise... which makes me wonder what the hell their problem was back in April when this process started? If you're going to fold, fold early. Maybe none of the Democrats have ever played poker? Obama said "Don't call my bluff" and the Congressional Dems proved they didn't have a hand in the first place ... And remember, this was all a hangover from Reid and Pelosi refusing to pass a budget for this year in the first place! They were kicking the can in November and didn't even pass it in the lame duck session.

No cash + no leadership = no more Pax Americana.

We Broke

Attention - you cannot pay your mortgage with a credit card.

Obama is on the prompter like a preacher looking to build a new church - "The good news is that we have the money to build the church! The bad news is that it's out there in your pocket."

There's been plenty of yelling and screaming - and a lot of anger toward the Tea Party. This doesn't make sense to me - since they're the ones who hit the fire alarm. Oh, it's because they're birther racists? No, the party is called "tea" because it means Taxed Enough Already. When they called their freshman Congressman that they got elected to the House - they reminded them why the Boehner Bill sucked. They may have mentioned that compromising with the President was a bad idea -- especially since it involved more taxes. More taxes doesn't address the problem - and it's like giving an alcoholic more booze to get them to stop drinking so much. That's the problem. It is Norm Peterson, on a bender, with a tab he has no intention of ever settling. One more Normy? How about we top you off? Perhaps we need to ask a bigger question - maybe the Federal Government is doing a whole lot more than it probably ought to be doing. One of those things? Writing checks.

And here's the best part - they're buying your votes with what used to be your money.

Both teams are acting like those screaming kids in the cereal isle.

What amazes me, is that normal people are getting upset.

"I can't believe they're politicizing this issue..."

THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. That's all this is! It's a political battle - highlighting the useless partisan blinders to obscure the actual truth. We Broke!

And it's broke, it's time to roll up the sleeves and fix it. It's not going to be easy, and given our current attitude of entitlements and leaders who are more interested in their own interests -- we're exactly what I said 2 years ago. We're Greece.

And one last parting shot -- the Congress reflects exactly who put them there. The people who are walking away from underwater mortgages, who floated home equity loans based on inflated price assumptions to purchase stuff on credit to fill into those houses. Sounds similar, like the US debt situation, doesn't it?

What Medicare Reform?

Reforming Medicare the Right Way

Excerpt: With all of the heated rhetoric coming from Washington these days you would think there is a huge difference in the way Republicans and Democrats want to reform Medicare. But did you know that over the next decade there is no difference at all between the agendas of the two parties? Although the House Republicans voted to repeal ObamaCare they did not vote to repeal the cuts in Medicare spending intended to pay for ObamaCare. So for the next ten years, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the two parties, to quote an all but forgotten political refrain.

Even more surprising, there is no difference between what the House Republican budget proposes and what Democrats voted for in last year’s health reform bill for anyone over the age of 55. It’s only young people who have a real stake in this fight. But as former Medicare Trustee Thomas Saving and I reported in The Wall Street Journal the other day, the cuts the two parties are proposing are so draconian, that there is little chance they will ever see the light of day. In a way, that’s bad news. Absent politically unsustainable spending cuts, Medicare’s unfunded liability is almost $90 trillion at today’s prices, looking indefinitely into the future. That’s about six times the size of the entire U.S. economy. And Medicare spending is growing at twice the rate of growth of our national income. Clearly that cannot go on forever.

Read More - and the Rest

Oh, sorry, did you want me to make Weiner jokes? The joke is that everyone is still only paying attention to that ass clown.

The Budget 'Crisis'

House Votes to Cut $60 Billion, Setting Up Budget Clash

The House early Saturday approved a huge package of spending cuts, slashing more than $60 billion from domestic programs, foreign aid, and even some military projects, as the new Republican majority made good on its pledge to turn the grassroots fervor of the November elections into legislative action to shrink the size and scope of government.

The vote, of 235 to 189 , was a victory for the large, boisterous class of fiscally conservative Republican freshmen that is fiercely determined to change the ways of Washington and that forced party leaders to pursue far bigger cuts than originally planned. It set the stage for a standoff with Senate Democrats and the White House that each side has warned could lead to a shutdown of the federal government early next month.

Read More

The hot potato is, who will be blamed? How about BOTH!

The Wedge

Democrats in Tight Races Put Focus on Abortion Rights
"In the campaign’s closing weeks, Democrats are working to convince voters that a conservative social agenda is waiting in the wings should Republicans be elected in large numbers."

Yep - time to pull out the old divisive political wedge issues.

What's so desperate about this move is that - frankly - it doesn't work. The Repubs did have a majority at one point, and didn't do squat about this issue. They won't and can't. Everyone knows this -- or should know this. If the Republicans were pulling this stunt out of their desperation bag, Jon Stewart would be pulling down his trousers and screaming about it on his show. But when the Democrats do it, it's a polite reminder that the Republicans are batshiat insane.

I'm sick and tired of the divide and conquer attitude that 'We the People' have allowed ourselves to be sucked into. It's not pro-life vs pro-choice -- it's US vs. THEM, and THEY are winning. Look beyond these ridiculous emotional issues (that the Legislative and Executive Branches are completely impotent to enact any change upon -- ex, Flag Burning, Gay Marriage, and even Medical Marijuana, and even if they could, they won't - note, on a National scale. These issues are local or screaming at the sky issues) and look at the money they're spending and printing and giving to their friends, family and cronies! They're on the last couple sips past the ice cubes and are trying feverishly to grab the last few drops from the straw... and we're going to let them pull out the race card or the abortion punt.

Don't buy into it - or better, stop buying into it. Anyone who's carting this trash onto the podium should have rotten fruit or eggs pelted at them.

Demand solutions, not more wedges.

You vs. Corporations

Every generation or so, a major secular shift takes place that shakes up the existing paradigm. It happens in industry, finance, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, travel, communication, etc.

Barry Ritholz would like to discuss the paradigm shift that is occurring in politics... So I cut'n'pasted it here for you.

For a long time, American politics has been defined by a Left/Right dynamic. It was Liberals versus Conservatives on a variety of issues. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice, Tax Cuts vs. More Spending, Pro-War vs Peaceniks, Environmental Protections vs. Economic Growth, Pro-Union vs. Union-Free, Gay Marriage vs. Family Values, School Choice vs. Public Schools, Regulation vs. Free Markets.

The new dynamic, however, has moved past the old Left Right paradigm. We now live in an era defined by increasing Corporate influence and authority over the individual. These two “interest groups” – I can barely suppress snorting derisively over that phrase – have been on a headlong collision course for decades, which came to a head with the financial collapse and bailouts. Where there is massive concentrations of wealth and influence, there will be abuse of power. The Individual has been supplanted in the political process nearly entirely by corporate money, legislative influence, campaign contributions, even free speech rights.

This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.

Consider:

• Many of the regulations that govern energy and banking sector were written by Corporations;

• The biggest influence on legislative votes is often Corporate Lobbying;

• Corporate ability to extend copyright far beyond what original protections amounts to a taking of public works for private corporate usage;

• PAC and campaign finance by Corporations has supplanted individual donations to elections;

• The individuals’ right to seek redress in court has been under attack for decades, limiting their options.

• DRM and content protection undercuts the individual’s ability to use purchased content as they see fit;

• Patent protections are continually weakened. Deep pocketed corporations can usurp inventions almost at will;

• The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have Free Speech rights equivalent to people; (So much for original intent!)

None of these are Democrat/Republican conflicts, but rather, are corporate vs. individual issues.

For those of you who are stuck in the old Left/Right debate, you are missing the bigger picture. Consider this about the Bailouts: It was a right-winger who bailed out all of the big banks, Fannie Mae, and AIG in the first place; then his left winger successor continued to pour more money into the fire pit.

What difference did the Left/Right dynamic make? Almost none whatsoever.

How about government spending? The past two presidents are regarded as representative of the Left Right paradigm – yet they each spent excessively, sponsored unfunded tax cuts, plowed money into military adventures and ran enormous deficits. Does Left Right really make a difference when it comes to deficits and fiscal responsibility? (Apparently not).

What does it mean when we can no longer distinguish between the actions of the left and the right? If that dynamic no longer accurately distinguishes what occurs, why are so many of our policy debates framed in Left/Right terms?

In many ways, American society is increasingly less married to this dynamic: Party Affiliation continues to fall, approval of Congress is at record lows, and voter participation hovers at very low rates.

There is some pushback already taking place against the concentration of corporate power: Mainstream corporate media has been increasingly replaced with user created content – YouTube and Blogs are increasingly important to news consumers (especially younger users). Independent voters are an increasingly larger share of the US electorate. And I suspect that much of the pushback against the Elizabeth Warren’s concept of a Financial Consumer Protection Agency plays directly into this Corporate vs. Individual fight.

But the battle lines between the two groups have barely been drawn. I expect this fight will define American politics over the next decade.

Keynes vs Hayek? Friedman vs Krugman? Those are the wrong intellectual debates. Its you vs. Tony Hayward, BP CEO, You vs. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO (see pic). And you are losing . . .
This short commentary was conceived not to be an exhaustive research, but rather, to stimulate debate. There are many more examples and discussions we can have about this, and I hope readers do so in comments.

But my bottom line is this: If you see the world in terms of Left & Right, you really aren’t seeing the world at all . . .

To wit, all I can add to this is that I have cut'n'pasted this for Blasphemes readers - and this:

There is only one party - the business party. It's you vs the corporate interest groups. Once you are wise to the fact that they're ALL the problem, otherwise you're just perpetuating this useless left right paradigm that keeps people blinded to the facts of what's really going on around the world. Terrible things. In American's name, with America's tax dollars.

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