Why America is Failing – ‘Sam Donaldson Tells Tea Partiers ‘It’s Not Your Country Anymore – It’s Our Country’

It’s ‘interesting’ to listen to pubdits like Sam Donaldson (and I actually like him).

But….there are a lot of ‘levels’ if you will, of not only how to look at your community, Country, World but also how they actually ‘work’.

It’s true that ‘Nationally’, if the Republicans don’t somehow get rid of the tea party influence, they will not win elections – ‘Nationally’.

But they, the tea party, already know from experience that they don’t need and don’t even really want to win ‘Nationally’.

With just the few members of Congress that they have, they have, are and will continue to slowly but certainly stop and then destroy our Country.

It’s not the tea party. It’s the Republican Party. They let and wanted the votes from the tea party.

Now they need to ask themselves do they also want the coinsequences of ‘no compromise’?

 

Sunday picks – Setting the field

AFC – New England and Denver sit out the first week and watch.
Indy is not a fluke.
Baltimore and Houston – huge problems.

NFC – Atlanta and San Fran both sit out the first week.
Seattle showed it’s weaknerss anf going against Washington – not a good thing.
Repeat GB and Minnesota.

This week – 12 -4

Total 154 – 100
18…..to….28 – Win
Dallas @ Washington – Pick – Washington

26….to….24 – Win
Chicago @ Detroit – Pick – Chicago

16…..to….28 – Loss
Houston @ Indy – Pick – Houston
“Houston….We have a problem.”

34…..to…..37 – Loss
Green Bay @ Minnesota – Pick – Green Bay
Didn’t like the game? No worries. They paly again this coming weekend.

13….to…27 – Win
Arizona @ San Fran – Pick San Fran

13….to…20 – Win
St. Louis @ Seattle – Pick – Seattle
But Seattle showedd it’s weakness.

7….to…42 – Win
Phily @ NY Giants – Pick – NY Giants

9….to….28 – Win
NY Jets @ Buffalo – Pick – Buffalo

22…..to….17 – Loss
Tampa Bay @ Atlanta – Pick – Atlanta
Do you rerally want a loss with a week off going into the playoffs? No.

20….to…38 – Win
Jacksonville @ Tennessee – Pick – Tennessee

10….to….24 – Win
Cleveland @ Pittsburgh – Pick – Pittsburgh

17….to….23 – Win
Baltimore @ Cincinnati – Pick – Cincinnati
Again…do you really want a loss going into the playoffs? No.
0….to….28 – Win
Miami @ New England – Pick – New England

41….to….38 – Loss
Carolina @ New Orleans – Pick – New Orleans

21….to….24 – Win
Oakland @ San Diego – Pick – San Diego

3….to….38 – Win
Kansas City @ Denver – Pick – Denver
Peyton Manning starts his run to be the first QB to win Super Bowls with 2 different teams.
Standings that matter

AFC
East W L Streak
z-New England 12 4 Won 2

North W L Streak
y-Baltimore 10 6 Lost 1
x-Cincinnati 10 6 Won 3

South W L Streak
y-Houston 12 4 Lost 2
x-Indianapolis 11 5 Won 2

West W L Streak
*-Denver 13 3 Won 11

NFC
East W L Streak
y-Washington 10 6 Won 7

North W L Streak
y-Green Bay 11 5 Lost 1
x-Minnesota 10 6 1 Won 4

South W L Streak
*-Atlanta 13 3 Lost 1

West W L T Streak
z-San Francisco 11 4 1 Won 1
x-Seattle 11 5 Won 5
x-clinched playoff berth
y-denotes division winner
z-denotes first-round bye
*-clinched homefield advantage

Why America is Failing – ‘Lindsay Graham: I Will Destroy America’s Solvency Unless The Social Security Retirement Age Is Raised’

‘This is extortion, plain and simple’.

‘It is the budgetary equivalent of threatening to break America’s legs unless Congress agrees to break the backs of millions poised on the edge of retirement’.

‘And if Congress won’t agree to this deal, then Graham is prepared to thrust the nation into an economic calamity unheard of since the Great Depression’.

‘In an interview on Fox News Sunday this morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) threatened to oppose this must-pass bill unless Social Security benefits are taken away from millions of future retirees’:

“I’m not going to raise the debt ceiling unless we get serious about keeping the country from becoming Greece, saving Social Security and Medicare [sic]. So here’s what i would like: meaningful entitlement reform — not to turn Social Security into private accounts, not to take a voucher approach to Medicare — but, adjust the age for Social Security, CPI changes and means testing and look beyond the ten-year window. I cannot in good conscience raise the debt ceiling without addressing the long term debt problems of this country and I will not”.
From : http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/30/1379681/lindsay-graham-i-will-destroy-americas-solvency-unless-the-social-security-retirement-age-is-raised/?mobile=nc

 

Gun Control – Is stupid a ‘mental illness’? – ‘Man seriously hurt using exploding target to build a fire’

This is why we will never have nor should we expect ‘perfect’ gun control legislation.

Being stupid isn’t illegal.

But in the case of weapons – it should be.

Seriously. It really should be illegal to own a gun if you are this stupid.

A simple multiple choice questionare could determine it.

KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — ‘Two people were hurt after trying to start a fire using exploding target material Friday afternoon’.

‘The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said the men had spent the day in an area commonly referred to as the Hayden Creek shooting pit, when they decided to start a fire using some of their leftover exploding material as an accelerant’.

‘When one of them came close to the fire with the materials in a bag, the materials exploded, severally injuring the man’s hand. Another man suffered lower body injuries’.

‘The material involved in the incident was determined to be exploding target material purchased over the counter at a local sporting goods store’.
From : http://www.krem.com/news/local/Man-seriously-hurt-using-exploding-target-to-build-a-fire-185173062.html

 

Caturday at the Kane’s – The Cat Beds of Christmas

That’s Opie above and Tigger below.

Not spoiled at all.

2013 Prediction – Prediction #2 – ENOUGH!

There will be two ‘ENOUGH’ movements.

One started just after the 2010 midterm elections
by Democrats when the tea party ran into Congress not knowing or caring about actual Governing except to ‘limit’ it.

The second ‘ENOUGH‘ movement will be started by Governor Chris Christie. He will be the Republican voice to stop Republican obstructionism.

What was ENOUGH for Democrats…..

‘House votes to repeal ObamaCare — for the 33rd time’
@ :
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/11/house-votes-to-repeal-o
bamacare-for-the-33rd-time/
(For those thinking it’s only twice – the other 31 votes were
to defund various parts of Obamacare. The House votes to
defund parts are their childish reaction to not having the votes in the
Senate to repeal Obamacare.)

‘House votes to defund Planned Parenthood’
@ : http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49830.html

‘US House GOP Votes To Cut Food Stamps Over Military
Spending’
@ :
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-house-gop-votes-cut-food-stamps-ove
r-military-spending-697983

‘House of Representatives Votes To End Medicare’!
@ :
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/04/15/house-of-rep
resentatives-votes-to-end-medicare/

But while help for the poor, working or not, the elderly,
children, disabled costs too much for Republicans, the
wealthy need tax cuts….

‘News Wrap: US House Votes to Renew Tax Cuts, Including for
the Most Wealthy – PBS NewsHour’
@ :
http://www.bloggerbontang.com/2012/08/us-house-votes-to-renew
-tax-cuts.html

‘House GOP Says ‘So Be It’ To Taxpayers, Votes Unanimously to
Protect Big Oil Subsidies’
@ :
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/01/147597/house-gop
-oil-subsidies/?mobile=nc

But it hasn’t been enough to ‘help’ the wealthy and
Corporations (they ARE the ‘job creators’ after all) while
cutting benefits to the poor to pay for that ‘help’, it also
went to ‘You will do what I want or no one will get a Government‘….

‘Republicans flunk government shutdown history’
@ : http://www.salon.com/2010/09/08/government_shutdown_1995/

‘Republican says government shutdown possible, as House GOP
work to bridge divisions’
@ :
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/10/republican-sa
ys-government-shutdown-possible-as-gop-tensions-grow/

‘House Republicans To Boehner: If We Can’t Repeal Obamacare,
Shut Down The Government’
@ :
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/07/25/581901/house-repub
licans-obamacare-funding/

It is déjà vu all over again ……and what will be enough
for Republicans too….

‘Senator Bob Corker: GOP Should Hold Debt Ceiling Hostage As
Leverage For Medicare Cuts’
@ :
http://carloz.new.newsvine.com/_news/2012/12/10/15825419-sena
tor-bob-corker-gop-should-hold-debt-ceiling-hostage-as-levera
ge-for-medicare-cuts

ENOUGH.

The move to stop the Republican obstructionism of a
‘government of the people, by the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth. .’ needs to come from within
the Republican Party.

Some have spoken out at a cost to their political standing.

So my second prediction is that Governor Chris Christie gets
re-elected in November and with a very large margin and he
is the one to give voice to compromise and moderation in the
Republican Party.

And that will propell him to the front of the pack and
eventually the Republican nomination in 2016.

But it’s NOT Republicans holding the Nation hostage on the debt ceiling – ‘GOP senators propose $1 trillion debt ceiling deal’

From Kaiser Family Foundation :

“Raising Medicare’s Age of Eligibility to 67 Would Achieve Significant Savings, But Shift Costs To 65- and 66-Year-Olds, Other Individuals, Employers and Medicaid, Assuming Health Reform’s Full Implementation, New Analysis Shows”

“Study Estimates Two in Three People Ages 65 and 66 Would Pay $2,200 More On Average For Health Care in 2014 Than They Would If They Remained in Medicare”
@ : http://www.kff.org/medicare/med032911nr.cfm

And…..

“How Raising the Medicare Eligibility Age Will Cost America Billions”
@ : http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/08/how-raising-the-medicare-eligibility-age-will-cost-america-billi/

And….

“Raising Medicare age to 67: Not a great idea”
“House Republicans are suggesting raising the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67 as part of a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff. It’s not a particularly good idea because it just shifts costs from the federal government onto individuals, state and federal government employers and private employers”.
@ : http://medcitynews.com/2012/12/raising-medicare-age-to-67-not-a-great-idea/

Instead……

‘A pair of GOP senators, confident Congress will head off the tax hikes set to kick in within days, are already turning their attention to entitlements and the debt ceiling’.

‘Tennessee Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander pitched a plan on Friday to cut federal spending by $1 trillion — much of it from Medicare — in exchange for increasing the nation’s borrowing limit by that amount’.

‘The plan would raise the Medicare eligibly age to 67 and require wealthier Medicare users to pay higher premiums’.

‘Both senators were aware of how their plan might be seen by the public, and Corker corrected a reporter who posited the plan equals Medicare “cuts,” preferring instead the word “reforms.”

“This will sound unpopular. This is bad medicine for many people. But it is part of what we are supposed to do,” Alexander said’.
From : http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/12/gop-senators-propose-trillion-debt-ceiling-deal-152936.html

Tea Party Intelligence Report (pun not intended) – ‘Tea Party Leader: Romney Was ‘The Worst Candidate In History’

Judson Phillips is the leader of Tea Party Nation.

‘Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips on Thursday disputed that President Obama claimed a mandate in November’s election, arguing that his re-election victory came over “the worst candidate in history in Mitt Romney.”

“You know, Obama ran on the fact he was going to raise taxes, the Republicans put up the worst candidate in history in Mitt Romney, yet Obama allegedly has this mandate,” Phillips said during an appearance on MSNBC. “Well, why did Republicans keep the House if Obama has this great mandate? People don’t want their taxes going up. What people do want is spending cuts.”
@ : http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/tea-party-leader-romney-was-worst-candidate-in

Ummmm….

‘Polls: Voters Want Debt Limit Deal to Cut Spending and Raise Taxes’.
@ : http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/07/14/polls-voters-want-debt-limit-deal-to-cut-spending-and-raise-taxes/

Or …..

‘Poll: Americans Want A Fiscal Cliff Deal Without Spending Cuts’
@ : http://personalliberty.com/2012/12/19/poll-americans-want-a-fiscal-cliff-deal-without-spending-cuts/

Ummmm. Do you teach your children these precious values of honor, integrity, courage of your convictions?

Judson Phillips say Mitt Romney was ‘worst candidate in history’.

Judson Phillips on HIS Tea Party Nation site :

‘The alternative to Mitt Romney’
‘Posted by Judson Phillips on August 12, 2012 at 8:05am in Tea Party Nation Forum’

“This is a battle for the soul and future of America. It is literally a battle between good and evil. It is a battle between those who revere America and the liberty and freedom it stands for and those who worship at the altar of socialism and the inevitable tyranny that follows with socialism”.

“I endorse Mitt Romney for President and Paul Ryan for Vice President. I encourage every Tea Party member and conservative to go out and support them, work for them”.
From : http://www.teapartynation.com/forum/topics/the-alternative-to-mitt-romney

Gun Control – Stop trying to make a ‘perfect’ solution – ‘Should People Be Forced to Buy Liability Insurance for their Guns’?

Stop trying to find ‘perfect’ solutions to gun control or anything else for that matter.

We are never – ever – going to ‘control’ criminal behavior.

We are humans. We are not perfect. Don’t expect us to be or live perfectly.

As to would insurance be ONE of several ideas worth promoting…..

Just like auto insurance. If I’m a responsible gun owner, no charges, take (and I think these should be annual) required firearms courses, have weapons with less then 10 rounds, have non assult weapons and keep my guns either triger locked or locked up in cedrtified gun cabnets, then I have a low rate.

Don’t take the class – rate goes way up.

Want/have to have 30 round clips (if not banned) – rate goes way up.

Want/have to have military assault weapons (if not banned) – rate goes way up with each weapon.

As a gun owner – I wouldn’t have a problem with this.

And considering the financial benefits to especially medical care but also loss of time at work to anyone who was shot, I can’t imagine why anyone would object.

Oh yeah. ‘The goberment is coming to take my guns’.

No Herman. We are a civilized society. Supposedly the ‘greatest Nation on Earth’. And we need laws for those who don’t want to act civilized.

‘Novel gun control ideas continue to percolate through the commentariat. The latest idea is requiring liability insurance for gun owners, which seems to have first been suggested by John Wasik blogging at Forbes’.

‘Reihan Salam, one of my favorite thinkers, says it’s an idea seriously worth considering. I too have been mulling this since it started making the rounds, mostly because I’ve been spending a fair amount of time thinking about insurance for the book I’m writing’.

‘In the end, I think it might be a fine idea to help a small number of people, but it wouldn’t do what proponents are imagining in terms of controlling criminal behavior’.
From : http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/12/28/should-people-be-forced-to-buy-liability-insurance-for-their-guns.html

 

Sunday picks – The Seahawks only get 1 Pro Bowl pick Edition

Oh smack! Only 1 pick?
The teams they play may well pay….

There’s really only a couple of games that are important but in for a penny, in for a pound……

Seattle , Washington and Green Bay are rolling. If they all win Sunday, I wouldn’t want to face any of them in the first round…..

Dallas @ Washington – Pick – Washington
1st ‘Game of the Week’
They are on a roll. Will RG3’s Pro Bowl pick give him a big head and blow the games?

Chicago @ Detroit – Pick – Chicago
Even with a win, they need help.

Houston @ Indy – Pick – Houston
Houston is fighting for home field through out. Indy should rest some regulars for the first round.

Green Bay @ Minnesota – Pick – Green Bay
GB can’t ‘win’ anything but doesn’t want to go into round 1 with a loss.

Arizona @ San Fran – Pick San Fran
San Fran feeling Seattle’s ‘footsteps’.

St. Louis @ Seattle – Pick – Seattle
StL beat Seattle earlier this year. How they paly sets them up for the playoffs.

Phily @ NY Giants – Pick – NY Giants
A whole lot of teams would have to lose for the Giants to get in if they even win.

NY Jets @ Buffalo – Pick – Buffalo
The Jets will look a lot differet next year. Step one : get rid of Tebow. Step two : get rid of Ryan.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta – Pick – Atlanta
Atlanta has the bye in the first round so they can’t rest their regulars and you want the win going into the playoffs.

Jacksonville @ Tennessee – Pick – Tennessee
Thanks for the memories Matt.

Cleveland @ Pittsburgh – Pick – Pittsburgh
Hust because.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati – Pick – Cincinnati
Baltimore’s already in and needs to rest up some injuries.

Miami @ New England – Pick – New England
Again just the win going in + hope for a Denver loss to get home field and round 1 bye.

Carolina @ New Orleans – Pick – New Orleans
Cam needs to go to another team. NO looking forward to next year.

Oakland @ San Diego – Pick – San Diego
Look for changes in SD next year. Coach or QB.

Kansas City @ Denver – Pick – Denver
Home field and round 1 bye.
Standings that matter

AFC
East W L Streak
y-New England 11 4 Won 1
Miami 7 8 Won 2

North W L Streak
y-Baltimore 10 5 Won 1
x-Cincinnati 9 6 Won 2
Pittsburgh 7 8 1 Lost 3

South W L Streak
y-Houston 12 3 2 Lost 1
x-Indianapolis 10 5 Won 1

West W L C Streak
y-Denver 12 3 1 Won 10

NFC
East W L Streak
Washington 9 6 Won 6
Dallas 8 7 1 Lost 1
N.Y. Giants 8 7 3 Lost 2

North W L C Streak
y-Green Bay 11 4 Won 4
Minnesota 9 6 Won 3
Chicago 9 6 Won 1

South W L C Streak
*-Atlanta 13 2 Won 2

West W L T Streak
x-San Francisco 10 4 1 Lost 1
x-Seattle 10 5 0 Won 4
x-clinched playoff berth
y-denotes division winner
z-denotes first-round bye
*-clinched homefield advantage