I'm gonna take my football and go home!

Looks like the shrub and his ho are doing their best to alienate the rest of the world.

First shrub rips Putin over his brand of democracy (ours is the only right way you see).

And then Rice bails on a meeting in Egypt because someone got arrested there

who is in the opposition party.

We don't need those guys anyway, meanwhile, China is out signing contracts on any oil

it can get, essentially locking in as much oil as it can.

We will soon see oil become scarce and expensive, while we ride around in our SUVs

getting low mileage and the price of oil will bring our economy to its knees.

Ever hear that old chinese curse? "May you live in interesting times"

Well, now it starts!

Here is the first one.



Do you believe this shit?
These people have got to be kidding!

Oh the lies!, The lies!

Well those mouth breathers that funded the swift boat Big Lie, have crawled out of their holes again and announced that they are going to mount an attack on AARP because its campaign against the destruction of Social Security has been going well. I immediatly went to AARP's web site and renewed my membership, they will need the bucks. If you haven't seen the facts on Social Security, go here.

The fact is, there is no problem!

To paraphrase a famous statement: The only thing we have to fear is Bush himself.
The nasties are coming out of the woodwork and starting their lying and it is a sorry fact that most people in this country get their opinions from the TV. And I don't mean public TV, although even that has started to bow under pressure from the neocons and is airing conservative shows like the Wall Street Journal program on Friday night. I'm fed up with them.

Just goes to show you!

I recieved an invitation to a forum hosted by the local democratic club(central New Jersey). the meeting was today, superbowl day, I went and was amazed that the room was full! I guess people care more about the mess our country is in than the Superbowl. The meeting was focused on what we, as democrats, have to do to get back the voters that voted their fears in the election. There was some pretty good discussion and although no magic bullets I was happy to see and be involved in the meeting. It gave me, and others, a chance to join the club and I am going to get active, it sure beats stiing around all depressed. Before Nov 2nd I thought that all I had to do was give money to whoever asked for it and vote. Well that didn't work! Oh sure there was a major bump in the funds raised, but we picked the wrong guy and just watched him be a gentleman while he got knifed. We have to get buzy now and start working towards 2006. On the local level!

email from thereisnocrisis.com

1) Making the Bush tax cuts for the elite permanent will cost three to five times more than any shortfall in the Social Security program.



2) If the Republicans are serious about not cutting benefits to seniors, why don't they propose a voting supermajority requirement to cut benefits?



Best,



Matt, Bob, and Josh

www.ThereIsNoCrisis.com



PS.  The first point was inspired by Senator Kennedy on Meet the Press this morning.  Tim Russert has by the way been one of the single worst pundits on this issue.  After parroting the 'There's a crisis' line in December, he's now continuing in the same 'What's YOUR idea for fixing Social Security, wise guy?' line of right-wing framing.  This despite the fact that (a) Bush doesn't have a clear plan for fixing anything (b) All plans Bush has pointed to don't actually have any effect on Social Security solvency but DO require the borrowing of trillions and (c) There is NO crisis with Social Security, and any long-term problems require minor tweaks at the MOST.



PPS. Can someone please ask Tim Russert to actually get the facts on Social Security before going off and saying stupid things like this:



"We have a situation where the number on people in Social Security is going to double. People, rather than spending 15 months, are going to spend 15 years."



This is flat-out wrong.  Infant mortality rates were higher back then, which explains much of the life expectancy gap.



Atrios has it right: http://atrios.blogspot.com/2005_02_06_atrios_archive.html#110771246275484929



Um, Timmy? No. There's a difference between life expectancy at birth, and life expectancy at 65. According to the folks at the SSA, for the cohort of people who turned 65 in 1945, 53.9% of men and 60.6% of females survived from age 21-65. And, for those made it that long - survived until 65 - on average males lived until they were 77.7 and females lived until they were 79.7.



----------------

There is no crisis





Says it all.

LiesNatch!

Well, here it is, the night of lies! From what I read the shrub is going to start his litany of lies with a "sky is falling!" section on the destruction of Social Security and how it is going to benefit us all. I hear he is going to promise those over fifty that their social security checks will not be effected at all. Thereby starting to attempt to split us into over fifty and under fifty, then he will tell those under fifty that they weren't gouing to get anything because social security is going to go banckrupt, but he will save the day, with the privatization! Unfortunatly, as P.T. Barnum said there's a sucker born every minute and too many will fall for it. Those of us who can be called intellectuals know better, the 2 Trillion of debt that will be created by this harebrained scheme will end up sinking the whole of Social Security and every person who starves in old age will have the Shrub to thank. they, of course, won't know what hit them! Of course, if he is succesful with this, then madicare, which is the real problem, will be the next to go, as our economy buckles under the weight of the massive deficits and the other countries of the world withdraw their investments in our debt. we will sink into a third world economy and such frills as medicare, and social security will disappear. the middle class will also disappear, all that will be left are the ruling class and the serfs (thats us folks!)