As America wakes up this morning, everyone (who’s still paying attention) is wondering what is going on, concerning the Debt Crisis Negotiations.

According to reuters.com, reporting from their usual, decidedly Liberal, point-of-view:

Urgent efforts to avoid an unprecedented U.S. debt default suffered a new blow on Thursday when some fiscally hardline Republicans blocked a budget deficit plan proposed by their own congressional leaders.

After hours of trying to get enough votes, the Republicans who control the House of Representatives put off action for the night and scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday morning.

The Republican infighting further delays any compromise with Democrats to stop the countdown toward Tuesday when the government says it will run out of money to pay all its bills.

Lawmakers must lift the government’s $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by Aug. 2 or risk a devastating default and downgrade of the top-notch credit rating that helps make U.S. debt a pillar of the global financial system.

There was speculation House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, may revise his plan to attract more votes from rebels who want bigger cuts in spending than the roughly $900 billion over 10 years he has proposed.

“Republicans have taken us to the brink of economic chaos,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said. “The delay must end now so we can focus on the American people’s top priority: creating jobs and growing the economy.”

Also, from reuters.com:

House Republicans will meet at 10 a.m. on Friday (1400 GMT) to assess their options after they delayed a vote on their debt-ceiling bill due to a lack of support, Representative Mike Pence said on Thursday.

Republican leaders have been unable to convince some of their rank-and-file members that this bill is their best option to win deep spending cuts and avert an August 2 default.

So who are the Republicans standing in the way of Speaker John Boehner’s bill, which is going to die a horrible death in the Senate, anyway?

Per NPR’s blog, It’s All Politics:

After raising expectations for a vote that was seen as a test of his persuasive powers as speaker, Boehner was forced to order a strategic retreat.

The message many analysts are bound to take away from this episode is that the tail is wagging the dog to a degree — a large degree — in the House Republican conference, namely members linked to the Tea Party, including freshmen.

Those members have little allegiance to Boehner. In fact, many of them eye him suspiciously as a card-carrying member of the Washington establishment that’s part of the problem, not the solution.

They felt burned by the budget deal Boehner negotiated with President Obama earlier this year to prevent the government shutdown in March, that Boehner told them there were more spending cuts in that package than there actually were.

They vowed they wouldn’t be fooled again and that was reflected, in part, in Boehner’s failure to get enough votes for his debt-ceiling bill by the time of the scheduled vote, 6 p.m. ET Thursday.

It should be said that not all House Republicans with Tea Party connections were against Boehner. Some held a news conference for his bill Thursday. Unfortunately for Boehner, not enough supported him.

So the question is, now what?

Now what?, indeed.

Our Big Mouth on the Right, Rush Hudson Limbaugh, put it very succinctly yesterday, when he said:

…the Republicans think that by dumping this thing in Reid’s lap, the Democrats are going to end up looking like they don’t compromise. The Democrats are a step or two ahead here. That is, if they’re not all on the same page and just playing us for saps anyway. However, as Red State points out here: “All the Republicans keep telling us that this is the best they can hope for,” that the Boehner two-step is the best they can hope for. That’s what they keep telling us: “We’ve got to do it now. We’ve got the best we can possibly get.” So how is it the best they can hope for when it is going to get less votes in the House and Senate than either Paul Ryan’s plan or Cut, Cap and Balance. They’re going backwards on this.

Did the Maha Rushie nail it on the head, as usual? And where has the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, been this week after having his spectacular hissy fit, last week?

Perhaps, he’s been meeting with his academic pinhead and political hack advisers, formulating a plan.

In order to futher fuel your speculative fire, check this out:

Per politico.com:

Rep. James Clyburn and a group of House Democrats are urging President Barack Obama to invoke the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling if Congress can’t come up with a satisfactory plan before the Tuesday deadline.

Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, said Wednesday that if the president is delivered a bill to raise the debt ceiling for only a short period of time, he should instead veto it and turn to the phrase in the Constitution that says the validity of the U.S. government’s debt “shall not be questioned.”

“If that’s what lands on his desk, a short-term lifting of the ceiling, the debt ceiling, he should put it on his desk next to an executive order,” Clyburn said at a press conference. “He should sign an executive order invoking the 14th Amendment to this issue.” The Associated Press reported that he was applauded when he suggested the idea at a caucus meeting earlier in the day.

“I believe that something like this will bring calm to the American people and will bring needed stability to our financial markets,” Clyburn added, noting that President Harry Truman did it once during his presidency after Congress was unable to pass a bill to raise the debt ceiling.

Meanwhile, the solution to all this, Cut, Cap, and Balance, sits, dejected and lonely, on Harry Reid’s desk.

As Mike Myers, playing the Jewish lady on Saturday Night Live, would say:

Talk among yourselves.  I’m verklempt.

 

 

 

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave…Americans have sung those words for ceturies now…and rightfully so.  Our Best and Brightest have sacrificed themselves all over the globe for the cause of liberty.

Americans are the most generous people on the face of the Earth…and, by the way, Conservatives are the most generous of all Americans, leading Liberals  in charitible giving by a 3-to-1 margin.  But, I digress…

Debbie Wasserman Shultz, chairperson of the Democratic Party,  is accusing the Republican Party of trying to impose “dictatorship” through their tactics in the Debt Ceiling Negotiations.  According to the wild-eyed Lib, the rhetoric coming from the Republicans could “spark panic and chaos,” which she called “potentially devastating” to the economy.

In a telephone interview with politico.com, Madame Chairperson offered the following commentary:

Aren’t we at the point where the closer we get to chaos, the more concern that there should be about coming to the table and compromising with Democrats? This is not leadership. This is almost like dictatorship. I know they want to force the outcome that … their extremists would like to impose. But they are getting ready to spark panic and chaos, and they seem to be OK with that. And it’s just really disappointing, and potentially devastating.

Wasserman Schultz went on to reference a movie clip House Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) had played Tuesday during a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference. The brief clip was from “The Town,”. According to Republicans, it was intended to send the message that “we’re all in this together.”

She did not appreciate it, one bit:

They start the day with trying to incite their caucus with, essentially, violent movie clips – pushing their people to inflict pain and hurt people.

Michael Steel, press secretary to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), fired back:

Given how serious the situation is – and the situation is serious – why is she spending time complaining about Kevin McCarthy’s taste in movies?

Wasserman Schultz didn’t care.  She added:

What should be happening is what we’ve been ready to do for months. Ideally, what should be happening is a big deal – a big solution for a big problem, as the president has pushed for. At this point, it’s probable that we’re too close to the breaking point on Tuesday for that to happen.

At the very least, we should come to the table and hammer out a compromise that has the balance in it that the overwhelming majority of the American people want – and not just pile all the pain on seniors, on children, on the middle class and working families.

It’s just shockingly irresponsible that the closer we get to the breaking point here, the more irresponsible – and the closer they are to pushing us to chaos, as if that is the desired outcome.

We’ve been sitting at the compromise table for a long time. We’re just waiting for that cold chair to be warmed up by the Republican leadership. They still have time to do the right thing and be responsible. They just seem to be moving further and further away from it.

Pot…meet Kettle.

Since this bunch of “New Democrats” took over Congress in 2007, America has been on the Crazy Train to Financial Oblivion. And this chick is blaming the Republicans?

Gimme a break.

Debbie, sweetie, the whole country has been watching as your dear and precious leader, President Barack Hussein Obama, has been acting like a petulant 2 year old, throwing hissy fits on national television, because he lacks the professionalism, experience, and patriotism to effectively carry out his duties as President of the United States of America.

Instead of being worried about being an effective steward, in charge of the greatest country on God’s green Earth, he and his wife are trying to control what Americans eat, as if they were our parents, and responsible for OUR children and grandchildren.

Here’s some news for you to pass along to your president, cupcake:

My 3 1/2 year old grandson will have McDonald’s french fries with his Grandpa any cotton-pickin’ time he wants them. And there ain’t a dadgum thing that any of you Progressive Nanny-staters can do about it.

Now, back on topic: As far as these Debt Ceiling Negotiations are concerned, your leader and your political party have shown who the real foes of bi-partisanship are, from Harry Reid’s threats to block Boehner’s proposal, to Obama’s promise to veto it, if it passes the Senate.

In conclusion, pookie, you and the rest of your party’s leadership need to continue being the rating, raving, idiot Nanny-staters that you are.

Your president’s and your Congress’ out-of-control spending have gotten us into this Financial Freefall that we’re in.  And, no matter how you try to spin the situation, the American people know exactly who is responsible.

That is why Obama’s approval numbers are majestically circling down the porcelain receptacle.

All of your tantrums and snotty behavior have kept Americans focused on reclaiming our country, as we head towards November 6, 2012.

My grandson and I will see you at McDonald’s, precious…and we’ll save you a french fry.

As you wake up this morning, gentle reader,  here’s where we stand in the Debt Crisis Negotiations:

Senate Majority Leader “Dinghy” Harry Reid has a plan.  Speaker of the House “Cryin” John Boehner is revising his plan.

And, Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), the President of the United States of America, has no plan.

…And no clue.

House Republicans have delayed a vote on Boehner’s bill, which was supposed to be voted on today. The Congressional Budget Office smacked it down, by issuing a report saying it would save far less over the next decade than the $1.2 trillion advertised. According to the CBO, the spending cuts would save only about $850 billion over the next decade.

That means that Cryin’ John’s proposal would not meet his own demand that the cuts exceed the size of the $900 billion debt-limit increase.

As of last night, House Republicans were feverishly rewriting the proposal in an attempt to bring the numbers into line. The vote on the measure might possibly happen Thursday.

Meanwhile, our petulant president hinted that that he would veto the measure because it would force another battle over the debt limit early next year.

At the same time, Dinghy Harry Reid was proclaiming Boehner’s proposal DOA in the Senate, where he and his Democrat colleagues were having a hard time rallying votes for their own plan to raise the debt limit by $2.7 trillion, supposedly enough additional borrowing authority to cover the nation’s bills into 2013.

Reportedly, the Capitol Switchboard was receiving 40,000 calls per hour yesterday, twice as many as normal.  Most Americans were telling their lawmakers to stand firm.  Others (Obama fans) were responding to his pleas to call for an end to the stalemate.  Still others were the elderly and infirm, worried that the impasse could prevent their Social Security checks from arriving on time.

Per washingtonpost.com:

The national debt has already hit the $14.3 trillion legal limit. Unless Congress acts by next Tuesday, Treasury officials say they could begin running short of cash for federal health-care and retirement benefits, military salaries and payments due investors, potentially throwing the U.S. government into default for the first time. Even if a default is avoided, credit-rating companies are threatening to downgrade the nation’s AAA rating, a move that could drive up interest rates for governments at all levels, as well as for ordinary Americans. Some Republicans have challenged the Treasury’s warnings and said the economic fallout would be limited.

While Boehner faces major challenges in getting the House to approve his proposal, Reid was faring no better in the Senate. Democratic aides acknowledged that the Senate bill is unlikely to pass without Republican support.

That backing was not forthcoming Tuesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized the Democratic alternative, saying it contains “highly suspect spending reduction features.” He argued that more than a third of the $2.7 trillion in savings in Reid’s bill would come from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — money Obama never intended to spend.

With less than a week left to strike a deal, Reid was engaged in talks with Boehner and McConnell about a potential compromise. But they remained deeply divided over the size of a debt-ceiling increase and the mission of a new debt-reduction committee that would be created under both measures.

Late Tuesday, the trio was still searching for a way to ensure that Congress adopts a far-reaching strategy in the coming months for reducing the national debt — or to guarantee that lawmakers would raise the debt limit a second time without such a plan.

…while the president’s manufactured deadline looms near.

Per Charlie Gasparino, of Fox Business Network:

While officials from the Obama Administration raised their rhetoric over the weekend about the possibility of a debt default if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, they privately have been telling top executives at major U.S. banks that such an event won’t happen, FOX Business has learned.

In a series of phone calls, administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen even if the debt cap isn’t raised by the August 2 date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the government will run out of money to pay all its bills, including obligations to bond holders. Geithner made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows saying a default is imminent if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, and President Obama issued a similar warning during a Friday press conference after budget negotiations with House Republicans broke down.

…A senior banking official told FOX Business that administration officials have provided guidance to them that even though a default is off the table, a downgrade “is a real possibility for no other reason than S&P and Moody’s have to cover (themselves) since they’ve been speaking out on the debt cap so much.”

Yesterday, during the Daily Press Briefing, held by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the normal softball-throwing reporters turned into Nolan Ryan, peppering Carney with questions about why the White House won’t release something in writing laying out its position on the Debt Ceiling Crisis.

According to the Carney, that would be a risky move. If the White House were to do that,

…your chances of actually getting an agreement diminish significantly.

That’s how it works. You know that’s how it works.

Uhhh, no, you jackwagon. As your boss, Barack Hussein Obama, said recently:

If you want to be a leader, you got to lead.

Last night, speaking in a tone reminiscent of Rev. Jim Bakker of the old PTL Club,( which in both cases stands for Pass The Loot) President Barack Hussein Obama, in a hastily-called televised speech, spoke concerning the impasse in the Debt Ceiling negotiations.

However, he neglected to mention that he’s the one causing the impasse.

Desperately seeking to grab back the reins of leadership in this situation from House Speaker John Boehner, Obama spoke 7 times about a “balanced approach” and brought up the word “compromise” 6 times in his 15 minute sermon, apparently taken from the Book of First Babylonians.

Last night’s oratorial flourish by the president was nothing more than a hastily-contrived, last-minute plea for tax increases to be included in any bi-partisan plan that may be constructed at the ninth hour.

Of course, Obama attacked those wascally wepublicans, predicting that they would be “sparking a deep economic crisis” if the GOP doesn’t roll over and play dead, like good little pets:

The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn’t vote for a dysfunctional government. So I’m asking you all to make your voice heard. If you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your Member of Congress know. If you believe we can solve this problem through compromise, send that message.

The president’s Jim Bakker impression came in response to direct negotiations among Congressional Leaders, which kept him out of the loop. Those negotiations broke off, producing two different plans: one by the House Republicans‘ which would increase the debt ceiling by $1 trillion, cut discretionary spending by $1.2 trillion and arrange a committee to propose up to $1.8 trillion in future deficit reduction; and the other by the Senate Democrats’, designed to raise the debt limit by $2.7 trillion, accompanied by an equal amount of reductions in future spending.

After the president spoke, House Speaker John Boehner replied in his own address, where he said that Obama himself is the chief roadblock in the negotiations:

You see, there is no stalemate in Congress. The House has passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support. And this week, while the Senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and Washington gimmicks, we will pass another bill – one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate.

According to Boehner, the bill will also pass the Senate and make its way to the president’s desk, where Obama will be faced with actually having to back up his promise of vetoing the GOP’s proposal.

Boehner said last night:

If the president signs it, the ‘crisis’ atmosphere he has created will simply disappear. The debt limit will be raised. Spending will be cut by more than one trillion dollars, and a serious, bipartisan committee of the Congress will begin the hard but necessary work of dealing with the tough challenges our nation faces.

According to the Speaker of the House, the GOP’s message to Mr. Obama’s calls for continued spending and debt has been “Not so fast.”

The Leadership in Washington (especially Obama and his minions) are in panic mode, trying to get a deal brokered by the Aug. 2 deadline, which is when, according to Treasury Secretary Turbo Tax Tim Geithner,the government will reach its $14.29 trillion borrowing limit. According to Geithner and the rest of the Administration, if that glass ceiling is broken, the government would have to default on some of the government’s promises.

Last night, the budding television evengelist, and part-time President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), told the American public that he wouldn’t bore us “with the details of every plan or proposal.” Then, he went on to claim that while both political parties share the same broad goals, those mean ol’ Republicans are blocking progress by defending lower taxes and spending cuts.

This is bi-partisanship?

If the president, like Jim Bakker himself, along with his late wife Tammy Faye Bakker, always wanted, does not succeed in getting his wish to further empty out Americans’ pocket books, Obama stated that he would support the Debt Ceiling Plan of House Majority Leader, and noted Obama Sycophant, Dinghy Harry Reid.

Adding to the confusion regarding the Debt Ceiling Crisis, is the following report from bloomberg.com:

According to the  chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC, John Silvia, the U.S. government would be able to avoid defaulting for at least a month after the Aug. 2 deadline:

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury can work together to generate enough cash probably for the next two or three months to avoid any kind of automatic default on the Treasury debt.  There’s a way of getting around this issue for at least another month or two.

Also, additional tax revenue that has come in, might give the Treasury until Aug. 10 before it runs out of cash, per a report in Barclays Capital last week.

New York-based Barclays analysts, including Ajay Rajadhyaksha, said:

Tax-receipt inflows from July 14 to date have been considerably stronger than we were expecting.

Per the report, incoming tax revenue over the five-day period from July 14 was about $14 billion higher than Barclays had foreseen, and outlays were about $1 billion less.

So,  what’s the rush, Mr. President?  Ramadan or vay-cay?

When we left our story, President Barack Hussein Obama was on the cusp of launching into the first Presidential Hissy Fit in American History, with faithful minions San Fran Nan Pelosi, the Norma Desmond of Capitol Hill, and the Godfather of Las Vegas, Dinghy Harry Reid, following in lock-step.

Across the aisle, the Speaker of the House, Cryin’ John Boehner, was arranging meetings with the aforementioned Congressional Leaders , also including Senate Majority Leader “Grandpa” Mitch McConnell, who seemingly was still trying desperately to figure out what all the excitement was about.

As we join our story this morning, an anxious America holds its collective breath, waiting to see if the tanking Asian Markets portend a Black Monday on Wall Street.  Meanwhile,  life in the sleepy little hamlet of Washington, DC, goes on…

As we catch up with Norma Desmond, err, Nancy Pelosi, she  has attended an Elite Fundraiser for fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

As San Fran Nan left Sunday’s Elite Event, she was asked by a reporter about the Debt Ceiling Negotiations.

Of course, she blamed those wascally Wepublicans…again:

As Speaker Boehner said, there are two different visions of America and I think that’s right. President Obama has a vision to work for the little guy, the middle class and for all people in our country. He is there for 100 percent of Americans and Republicans are there for 2 percent of Americans.

Those prescribed medications are pretty strong, aren’t they, Norma?…errr…I mean, Nancy?

And, what of the erstwhile hero of our tale, Cryin’ John Boehner?

With his self-imposed Asian Market Deadline looming before him yesterday, he said, while appearing on Fox news Sunday:

I would prefer to have a bipartisan approach to solve this problem.  If that’s not possible, I and my Republican colleagues are prepared to do this alone. Today.

According to our hero, it is not “physically possible” to get everything done before the Treasury Department’s August 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling:

There is going to be a two stage process.

I don’t want to get anywhere close to [default]. This is about what’s doable at the eleventh hour.

Boehner’s office had reported late Saturday that a two-vote approach was now necessary in order to raise the debt ceiling immediately. They would tackle debt reduction, later.

Our hero had harsh words for the antagonist of our story, the mysterious (and clueless) President Barack Hussein Obama:

The president’s worried about his next election, but my God, shouldn’t we be worried about the country? I’m not worried about the next election. I told the president months ago: Forget about the next election!

The president continues to insist that the debt ceiling should be raised at least through 2012, in order to take politics out of the negotiation.

A short pause, while I wipe Diet Coke off of my computer monitor.

During the president’s nationally televised hissy fit on Friday evening, he stated that he would be willing to work on “any plans” that lawmakers brought him over the weekend:

The only bottom line that I have is that we have to extend this debt ceiling through the next election, into 2013.

Per an anonymous GOP aide, Republican leadership will fight back if the president threatens to veto a debt limit increase because it conflicts with the election calendar.

If you will remember, our story’s hero announced on Friday that he was walking away from deficit negotiations with the White House due to the fact that that President Obama was “adamant” about raising taxes and would not agree to “fundamental changes” to entitlement program:

Obama’s response was:

It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this deal.

He went on to accuse the Republicans of not being able to say “yes” to any agreement.

Boehner replied on Fox News Sunday:

Last Sunday, I thought there was an agreement. On Tuesday, the president said they need more revenue. [House Leader Eric] Cantor (R-Va.) and I said no.”

According to Boehner, this back and forth went on all week, until he made the decision on Friday to step back from the negotiation table.

And, per two sources, Boehner told Republican colleagues on a conference call yesterday, that he gave President Obama a Civics lesson, telling him:

As I read the Constitution, the Congress writes the laws and you get to decide what you want to sign.

That may explain the hissy fit.

Boehner also announced on Fox News Sunday that:

My last offer is still out there. I’ve never taken my last offer off the table, and they never agreed to my last offer. On the other hand, “It may be pretty hard to put humpty dumpty back together again.”

Boehner said that he is an “optimist” when it comes to reaching a deal on the debt ceiling and is determined to find “as much common ground as we can” in order to reach an agreement.

Well, faithful reader, as you’ve guessed by now, nothing at all was accomplished yesterday, and Cryin’ John did not make his deadline of solving the Debt Ceiling Fiasco by the opening of the Asian Markets yesterday.

So, here Americans sit, waiting for Wall Street to open, on what may become a Black Monday. 

May I suggest that those of you with stock portfolios, think of fluffy bunnies, and bambi-esque deer frollicking through golden meadows.

Or, call your broker, and convert everything to gold…

Be with us next time for our next exciting episode of As the Stomach Turns!

If you can still afford to pay for your internet connection….

After being summoned by the Emperor Scooter Insipidus (President Barack Hussein Obama) and sitting through a useless Saturday morning meeting which lasted for less than an hour, Speaker of the House John Boehner hosted a meeting of his own with Congressional Leaders including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The purpose of both it and the meeting with Scooter was, at least in Speaker Boehner’s mind, to head off an unprecented government default, at the same time showing enough progress to forestall a disastrous plunge in stock prices when Asian markets open ahead of the U.S. workweek.

Leaving the Emperor, err, president, out of the afternoon’s negotiations, Boehner and the Republicans pursued their goal of as much as $4 trillion in deficit cuts over a decade as a condition for raising the nation’s debt limit.

You guessed it. No progress was made, whatsoever.

After the meeting, “Dinghy Harry” Reid said that he deeply disappointed in the status of the negotiations.

Reid accused GOP leaders of intransigence (a seldom-used word meaning hard-headedness). He added he would not accept anything less than a deal that raised the debt limit through 2012.

Reid issued a statement, saying:

Their unwillingness to compromise is pushing us to the brink of a default on the full faith and credit of the United States. We have run out of time for politics. Now is the time for cooperation.

The Norma Desmond of the House of Representatives, San Fran Nan Pelosi, decided that she would blame the Republicans, too.

I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

Her statement read:

The delay in bringing forth a solution springs from the Republicans’ decision to walk away from 98 percent of the wealthiest people in our country

That’s right, Norma. As you fly around in your private jet, bought with the money you and your husband have made, blame all of those filthy capitalists that made it possible.

Boehner’s spokesman responded in a statesmanlike manner, (Darn it.) issuing the following statement:

Like the President and the entire bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leadership, we continue to believe that defaulting on the full faith and credit of the United States is not an option.

In an effort to produce an outline of a plan before the markets open Monday and if possible before the Asian markets open Sunday night,the House Republican leadership may release a plan as early as Sunday afternoon.

According to an anonymous GOP congressional aide, both sides are working on a plan that would include no new revenues, spending cuts of more than $1 trillion along with a debt-ceiling increase that is smaller than the spending cuts but would get the country into early next year.

There’s a major hitch in their plans. The President of the United States desperately wants to raise our taxes, euphemistically calling our money REVENUE.

During his royal meeting yesterday morning, Obama once again told those assembled that he would not support a short-term extension of the debt ceiling, ludicrously arguing that it could lead to a downgrade in the nation’s credit rating.

Scooter, your disastrous economic policies have done that already.

Royal Page, errr, White Press Press Secretary Jay Carney issued the following statement on behalf of Scooter Insipidus:

As the current situation makes clear, it would be irresponsible to put our country and economy at risk again in just a few short months with another battle over raising the debt ceiling. Congress should refrain from playing reckless political games with our economy. Instead, it should be responsible and do its job, avoiding default and cutting the deficit.

To call this political theater would be a gross understatement. It is the culmination of the consequences of political chicanery…grand schemes which have been plotted and carried out, to the detriment of our country, since the “New” Democrats took over Congress in 2007.

Now, as the August 2nd deadline, set by Scooter, which just happens to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and his extended vacation, draws closer, he and his congressional minions are in full panic mode, desperately trying to blame the Republicans for their own irresponsible spending and economic policies that have gotten us into this mess in the first place.

Here’s the thing:  according to an article posted on americanthinker.com yesterday, by Rick Moran, the deadline of August 2nd may not be accurate:

…For months, markets have been girding themselves against the possibility that the U.S. will reach the limits of its borrowing ability on August 2 and default on its debts. But researchers at Barclays Capital think the real deadline may not be until a week later.

In a note published Friday, the Barclays Interest Rates Research team wrote that “the date on which the Treasury will run out of cash to pay its obligations might not be August 2; it might be around August 10 instead.”

Why the change? The note explains that previous projections showed the Treasury running out of money on the morning of Wednesday, August 3. On that day, it was predicted, the Treasury would need to spend $32 billion, including $22 billion in Social Security payments — and it was only projected to have $30 billion at its disposal.

That projection was made on July 13. But since then, the researchers say, the Treasury has taken in about $14 billion more than expected, and paid out about $1 billion less than expected. Hence, the deadline date might actually be August 10, a week later than previously believed.

Interesting, huh?  About those vacation plans, Scooter…

 

 

 

Watching the Fox News Channel yesterday evening, while perusing my favorite Conservative Website, I observed something that I never thought that I would see in my lifetime. Well, that is, I never thought that I would see it before Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

President Barack Hussein Obama had a hissy fit on National Television.

Calling  Speaker  John Boehner and the the Republican members of the House of Representatives everything but Children of God, the Leader of the Free World went on a 35 minute tirade, explaining how it WASN’T HIS FAULT that the nation is heading to Default.

Naturally, it was the fault of those wascally Wepublicans.

Sounding like an adolescent girl having a tantrum over being dumped by a boyfriend, the petulant president (known affectionately around here as “Scooter”) told the sycophantic reporters assembled that the Republicans “won’t return my calls”.

So, holding his breath until he turned blue, while jumping up and down and stomping his feet, (my perception, anyway) the Leader of the Regime summoned the Republicans to a Royal Meeting this morning at the Royal Palace…errr…I mean, the White House.

If I was John Boehner, I would have told Scooter that I had already scheduled a golf game. But, I digress…

Here are some official excepts from the Presidential Hissy Fit, courtesy of the Royal Scribes at whitehouse.gov:

…But in the interest of being serious about deficit reduction, I was willing to take a lot of heat from my party — and I spoke to Democratic leaders yesterday, and although they didn’t sign off on a plan, they were willing to engage in serious negotiations, despite a lot of heat from a lot of interest groups around the country, in order to make sure that we actually dealt with this problem.

It is hard to understand why Speaker Boehner would walk away from this kind of deal. And, frankly, if you look at commentary out there, there are a lot of Republicans that are puzzled as to why it couldn’t get done. In fact, there are a lot of Republican voters out there who are puzzled as to why it couldn’t get done. Because the fact of the matter is the vast majority of the American people believe we should have a balanced approach.

Bull.

Now, if you do not have any revenues (TAXES!, YOU PREVARICATOR!), as the most recent Republican plan that’s been put forward both in the House and the Senate proposed, if you have no revenues (TAXES!) at all, what that means is more of a burden on seniors, more drastic cuts to education, more drastic cuts to research, a bigger burden on services that are going to middle-class families all across the country. And it essentially asks nothing of corporate jet owners, it asks nothing of oil and gas companies, it asks nothing from folks like me who’ve done extremely well and can afford to do a little bit more.

In other words, if you don’t have revenue (TAXES!), the entire thing ends up being tilted on the backs of the poor and middle-class families. And the majority of Americans don’t agree on that approach.

And I think that one of the questions that the Republican Party is going to have to ask itself is can they say yes to anything? Can they say yes to anything? I mean, keep in mind it’s the Republican Party that has said that the single most important thing facing our country is deficits and debts. We’ve now put forward a package that would significantly cut deficits and debt. It would be the biggest debt reduction package that we’ve seen in a very long time.

…And so the question is, what can you say yes to? Now, if their only answer is what they’ve presented, which is a package that would effectively require massive cuts to Social Security, to Medicare, to domestic spending, with no revenues (TAXES!) whatsoever, not asking anything from the wealthiest in this country or corporations that have been making record profits — if that’s their only answer, then it’s going to be pretty difficult for us to figure out where to go. Because the fact of the matter is that’s what the American people are looking for, is some compromise, some willingness to put partisanship aside, some willingness to ignore talk radio or ignore activists in our respective bases, and do the right thing.

Not getting your way, are you, Scooter?

…And for us not to be keeping those folks in mind every single day when we’re up here, for us to be more worried about what some funder says, or some talk radio show host says, or what some columnist says, or what pledge we signed back when we were trying to run, or worrying about having a primary fight — for us to be thinking in those terms instead of thinking about those folks is inexcusable.

I mean, the American people are just desperate for folks who are willing to put aside politics just for a minute and try to get some stuff done.

No, Mr. President.  We’re desperate for an American President who cares more about his country and its citizens that his own personal agenda involving the advancement of a failed Socialist Ideology.

So when Norah asked or somebody else asked why was I willing to go along with a deal that wasn’t optimal from my perspective, it was because even if I didn’t think the deal was perfect, at least it would show that this place is serious, that we’re willing to take on our responsibilities even when it’s tough, that we’re willing to step up even when the folks who helped get us elected may disagree.

And at some point, I think if you want to be a leader, then you got to lead.

Mr. President, you showed America on National Television yesterday, that you are a long way from reaching that point.

Within a backdrop of the biggest battle of wills between our petulant president, Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm), and Congress, since the disastrous passage of Obamacare, our nation’s capital is resembling a soap opera instead of a bastion of freedom.

There are more rumors flying around DC than in a high school, the week before the Senior Prom.

The lead characters in this Soap Opera, which I have dubbed, As the Stomach Turns, are (cue the melodramatic announcer):

President Barack Hussein Obama, a man wih a mysterious past, whose arrogance and goal to radically change the great country on the face of the Earth, is exceeded only by his desire to improve his golf handicap…

Speaker of the House (Cryin’) John Boehner, who is trying his best to put on a show of doing the right thing and holding the line against a debt ceiling increase, while all the time, secretly wishing for negotiations to wrap up in time for August Recess…

The Gang of Six, a mysterious cabal of cronies, whose sole purpose for existence seems to be to create the illusion of compromise, while, once again, capitulating to the president and the Democrats, as happened with the passage of Obamacare.

(Dinghy) Harry Reid – Majority Leader of the Senate…a crusty old politician, who never saw a political blackmail scheme which he didn’t like, and who follows his president so closely, if Obama ever stops suddenly, Senator Reid will disappear in a forced Colonoscopy.

San Fran Nan Pelosi – Former matriarch of the House of Representatives, desperately trying to re-achieve relevancy, by showing up every time a camera light comes on.

As we left our story yesterday, Cryin’ John Boehner, called the all-knowing, all-seeing Maha Rushie to set the record straight, by telling him that there was no deal on the table regarding the Debt Ceiling negotiations:

RUSH: We’re so happy to have with us the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. I’m glad that we had a chance to talk to you here, Mr. Speaker, because people are confused with all of these leaks as to what’s going on.

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Well, Rush, there is no deal. No deal publicly. No deal privately. There is absolutely no deal. Our focus —

RUSH: Are you talking about a deal, though?

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Pardon me?

RUSH: Are you talking about a deal in secret?

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Our focus right now is getting the Senate to follow us in the House and pass Cut, Cap, and Balance. I believe that we’ve got to act to prevent a default and to prevent a downgrade of our nation’s credit rating, and the best way to do that is to enact Cut, Cap, and Balance. But let me be clear: I believe that is the best course of action. I’ve said all the way along that we’ve gotta keep the lines of communication open. That’s why Leader Cantor and I have talked with Mitch McConnell. We’ve talked to Nancy Pelosi. We’ve talked to the president. We talked about fallback options if in fact Cut, Cap, and Balance does go down; and I do think it’s our obligation to have a fallback plan if that doesn’t work.

RUSH: Well, but that’s what everybody is worried about: What is the fallback plan? A congressional aide is out there today saying that the deal’s been struck. He’s unnamed, he’s on Fox, he’s saying, “It’s $3 trillion of cuts with no tax revenue.” National Journal says three trillion in cuts with “insignificant” tax revenues. So a lot of people out here are of the opinion that Obama is the one who ought to be caving. He’s the one that doesn’t have a plan. He’s forcing you to compromise with yourself. He’s done great damage to the economy, and people want it to stop.

SPEAKER BOEHNER: I understand. I’m concerned about the nation defaulting on its credit rating. I’m concerned about us not doing anything about our debt, which will cause our credit rating to fall — and which then would mean everybody’s interest rates go up. I think that’s irresponsible. Frankly, we’ve looked at a half a dozen fallback plans. None of which, none of which, are all that appetizing. That’s why we continue to support Cut, Cap, and Balance.

We join today’s episode as the mysterious President Barack Hussein Obama, (affectionately known to followers of this soap opera as “Scooter”), puts pen to paper (or, at least, one of his staff did), producing a vacuous op ed or the daily newpaper, USA Today, in an effort to keep his adoring public up to date, concerning the Debt Ceiling Crisis:

…The middle class hasn’t just borne the brunt of this recession; they’ve been dealing with higher costs and stagnant wages for more than a decade now. It’s just not right to ask them to pay the whole tab — especially when they’re not the ones who caused this mess in the first place.

Why not? You’ve had not trouble in the past with stating that you’re going to increase our taxes.

A balanced deficit deal that includes some new revenues isn’t just a Democratic position. It’s a position that has been taken by everyone from Warren Buffett to Bill O’Reilly. It’s a position that was taken this week by Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, who worked together on a promising plan of their own. And it’s been the position of every Democratic and Republican leader who has worked to reduce the deficit in their time, from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton.

There will be plenty of haggling over the details of all these plans in the days ahead. But right now, we have the opportunity to do something big and meaningful. This debate shouldn’t just be about avoiding the catastrophe of not paying our bills and defaulting on our debt. That’s the least we should do. This debate offers the chance to put our economy on stronger footing, restore a sense of fairness in our country, and secure a better future for our children. I want to seize that opportunity, and ask Americans of both parties and no party to join me in that effort.

Will the mysterious President of the United States (Ptui!) Barack Hussein Obama, succeed in getting America’s Debt Ceiling raised in time for the start of Ramadan and his killer family vay-cay at Martha’s Vineyard?

Will Cryin’ John Boehner succeed in the passage of Cut, Cap, and Balance, while maintaining his reserved bar stool at the GOP Elite Country Club?

Will the mysterious cabal of cronies, known as the Gang of Six, succeed in getting their compromise bill passed…and will they ever figure out exactly what they want to be in the bill, in the first place?

Will Senator Harry Reid ever propose anything useful?

Will San Fran Nan Pelosi finally end her Norma Desmond impression and just shuddup?

Stay tuned tomorrow, fellow Americans, for another exciting episode of AS THE STOMACH TURNS!

…And pass the Tylenol.

I am a product of the Memphis City Schools System. I graduated in 1976, 30th out of a class of 360.

I don’t say that as an exercise in braggadocio, but, rather, in deep sorrow for the delapidated state of what was once one of the nation’s finest metropolitan school systems.

Back on February 13th, in a post titled A Scholastic Soap Opera in Memphis, I reported the following:

In the last few days, things have really come to a head in this scholastic soap opera:

• The Memphis City School Board voted Monday night, December 20th, 2010 to let City voters decide on March 8th whether to surrender its charter.
• On Thursday, February 10th, 2011, the Memphis City Council voted 10 – 0 to accept the decision by the Memphis City Schools Board of Education to surrender its charter, wiping out the city school board in one vote.
• On Friday, February 11th, 2011, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslan signed into law a measure designed to delay any merger between the two systems.

And, through all of this, the wishes of the Shelby County School Board and the citizens that it represents have been tossed aside, because…wait for it…it’s for the children.

Well, now, Memphis has hit the national wires again with a story of poor management, involving, you guessed it, the Memphis City Schools  System.

The school board voted Tuesday night, by a tally of 8-1, to postpone the start of the school year indefinitely, locked in a spittin’ (I cleaned that up.) contest with the Memphis City Council, and in the process, once again putting the former “City of Good Abode” in the national spolight for all the wrong reasons.

Classes for Memphis City Schools have been halted because local professional politicians have decided that the education of urban children, many living in depressed conditions, is not as important as the $55 million which the city of Memphis owes them, budgeted for the schools from the city’s tax revenue.

According to board member Tomeka Hart:

We’ve been patient; we’ve cut 1,500 jobs. We’re not going for everything. We’re not saying give us everything you owe. We are just saying we have to have the money in the bank from our city so we can pay our bills.

It’s a difficult situation they are in but we can’t continue to sacrifice our difficult situation to help them out of theirs. We did not create this situation, and we are a governing body as well.

City Council president and former TV news anchor Myron Lowery fired back, claiming that several of the funding issues are tied up in court and therefore not negotiable right now:

The council supplies less than 10 percent of almost a billion-dollar school budget. They have voted to delay for having less than 10 percent in hand. That is ridiculous.

Per Lowery, the problem is a failure to communicate between School Board President Kriner Cash and Mayor AC Wharton.

Employees of the school system will not receive a paycheck until school finally starts, which will effect thousands of personnel, including Sarah Harper, who spoke at the meeting of the school board, saying:

…as much as I would like to get paid, as much I need to get paid, let’s not muddy the water about what the real issue is. Our children are being made the pawns. The city of Memphis needs to fund Memphis City Schools and fund them now. Demand they make this right.”

Fellow employee, Clara Ford,  also emotionally addressed the school board, proclaiming:

We’ve got to have the money. If we don’t have it, we can’t open the doors. I will guarantee you this city would be up in arms if they have to teach their children at home or find somewhere for them to go.

School superintendent Kriner Cash attempted to be as politically correct as he could, walking a fine line between altruism and avarice, regarding the board’s vote:

Our children need to be in school. I can’t tell you that passionately or emphatically enough. I am going to keep fighting to get a resolution. What’s next? I expect the city to be in touch with us.

For his part, Memphis Mayor AC Wharton could not understand why the school board delayed the start of the school year:

The money is in the budget — no ifs, ands or buts about it. On Friday, I stated to Dr. Cash that we have fully funded Memphis City Schools for the fiscal year 2012. The money is there, point blank. I don’t know how to state that with any more clarity.

The mayor was fit to be tied, as he pounded the podium repeatedly, resonating through the city council’s chambers.

The school board says the city has failed to give it funds totaling $151 million over four years, including $78.4 million for the 2011-12 school year.

In return, the city council has not approved the district’s budget, required by state law. The district has to submit its budget to the state by Aug. 1. School was supposed to start on Aug. 8.

To add to the school system’s misery, if they cannot produce an approved budget which proves that the city will pay up by schools by Oct. 1, new Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman told Superintendent Kriner Cash on Tuesday that he would withhold state funding for MCS.

The state provides 50 per cent of the funding for public education in Memphis.

The City Schools’ Budget was not approved until Sept. 14 last year, more than a month after the start of school.

According to school board attorney Dorsey Hopson, this year’s budget is different, because the Memphis City Council’s legal position in the merger with Shelby County Schools is that the city schools no longer exist.

However, until now, they were still getting paid for their incompetency.

 

 

 

 

Last night, Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans passed a bill cutting federal spending by $6 trillion and requiring a constitutional balanced budget amendment be sent to the states, in response to a presidential untimatum proclaimed by Barack Hussein Obama ordering Congress to raise the Debt Ceiling by August 2nd, coincidentally, the day after the beginning of the Muslim holiday period known as Ramadan.

The legislation, nicknamed “Cut, Cap and Balance”, would require an estimated $111 billion in immediate reductions and would ensure that overall spending declined in the future in correlation to the overall size of the economy.

The Balanced Budget Amendment would require a supermajority vote in both houses of Congress for any future tax raises.

Voting along party lines, 234-190, the victory was secured by the actions of Conservative first-term Republicans, and dumped the issue’s resolution squarely in the laps of the Democratically-controlled Senate and the president, who have been whining about the Republican’s lack of bipartisanship during the Debt Ceiling/Budget Negotiations.

Speaking of the Upper House, Obama and a number of Republican senators were all aglow in their praise yesterday for a deficit-reduction plan proposed by a group of Senators known as the”Gang of Six”, which called for the confiscation of $1 trillion of American’ hard-earned money, euphemistically referred to as “additional revenue” by these professional politicians.

Scooter (Obama) proclaimed that he hoped that leaders in Congress would “start talking turkey” on a deal to reduce deficits and raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit as soon as Wednesday, using the Gang of Six’s proposition as a roadmap.

A roadmap? Yeah…to a place with a permanent Heatwave, paved with good intentions.

Per Treasury officials, without an increase in the Debt Ceiling by Aug. 2, the U.S. Government will not be able to pay all its bills, and default could result in severe consequences for the economy.

And, besides that, the Obama Family won’t be able to begin their vay-cay up in Martha’s Vineyard.

With time running out, yesterday’s soap opera certainly did not portend a happy ever after ending to this war between the two political parties.

Democrats in the Senate, led by Harry Reid, have announced they will oppose the House passed-measure, although it could take two or three days to reject it.

After last night’s vote was completed, signs started to emerge that House Republican leaders might pivot swiftly.

Speaker of House John Boehner, representing the GOP Elite, hedged his bets before the vote, telling reporters that it also was “responsible to look at what Plan B would look like.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor disappontingly chimed in with Boehner, issuing a statement leaning in favor of the Gang of Six proposal:

This bipartisan plan does seem to include some constructive ideas to deal with our debt.

Obama would not endore the Gang of Six’s plan.  His excuse was that administration officials were analyzing it and not all details were known.

But, he did say that it included “a revenue component” along with savings in Medicare and Social Security, making it the sort of balanced approach he has long advocated.

Scooter also hinted that he may use the 14th Amendment to bypass the will of the American people and raise the Debt Celing.

Obama said that the Senate’s two top leaders have been cooperating on a measure that would allow him to raise the debt limit without a prior vote of Congress while also setting up a special committee to recommend cuts from federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare.

According to the president:

That continues to be a necessary approach to put forward. In the event that we don’t get an agreement, at minimum, we’ve got to raise the debt ceiling.

Recently, Former President Bill “Bubba” Clinton came out in favor of using the 14th Amendment option for lifting the debt ceiling, saying that he’d raise it “without hesitation, and force the courts to stop me.”

Clinton said:

I think the Constitution is clear and I think this idea that the Congress gets to vote twice on whether to pay for [expenditures] it has appropriated is crazy.

Clinton and Obama are basing their proposed Congressional bypass on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s implication that the 14th Amendment gave the president unilateral authority to raise new debt.

However, now the Treasury Department has hedged on this point, with its general counsel saying that “Secretary Geithner has never argued that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows the President to disregard the statutory debt limit,” but rather “the Constitution explicitly places the borrowing authority with Congress, not the President.”

Per thehill.com:

Some constitutional analysts have suggested that the 14th Amendment makes it illegal for the United States to default on its debt, giving the president the power to extend the Treasury Department’s borrowing authority without congressional approval.

The amendment reads, in part, that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.”

Section 4 of the 14th Amendment actually reads, in its entirety:

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

If Obama bypasses the will of the American citizenry by raising the debt ceiling through Executive Order, he’ll witness an insurrection and rebellion against his presidency, culminating Election Day,  November 6th, 2012.