The Goat Pen

I don't think defense spending is a sacred cow.

When it comes down to senior citizens getting their flu shots or us buying a new F-22 Raptor,the Raptor goes bye-bye

It hasn't played that way in Congress, yet, by any large measure IMO. Actually, nothing has budged on the scale of addressing entitlements or defense spending...only the rhetoric stays on the negative portrayal of the entitlement side.

I think defense will still be a heavy plank in the GOP platform that makes it hard to make any meaningful changes. Shit Dick Lugar is getting his ass kicked because he voted for things (Obama judges, bail-out, etc) that opposing party Hill members did all the time in the past. Tea Partiers are a small part of the total electorate, but they are downright religious in their ideological stances and pols that represent those districts are hesitant to do anything that may catch their ire.

Bklyn wrote:It hasn't played that way in Congress, yet, by any large measure IMO. Actually, nothing has budged on the scale of addressing entitlements or defense spending...only the rhetoric stays on the negative portrayal of the entitlement side.

I think defense will still be a heavy plank in the GOP platform that makes it hard to make any meaningful changes. Shit Dick Lugar is getting his ass kicked because he voted for things (Obama judges, bail-out, etc) that opposing party Hill members did all the time in the past. Tea Partiers are a small part of the total electorate, but they are downright religious in their ideological stances and pols that represent those districts are hesitant to do anything that may catch their ire.

they haven't had to make a choice yet

I hope you're right. I'm just not optimistic. I've watched it get to the place where pols are willing to watch a fire burn rather than move of an ideological position. I have no more faith.

That "Texts from Hilary" site is pretty funny with their memes...

I heard about that on NPR this morning. They said Hillary loves the site

Another side note I wanted to add...

Romney needs Marco Rubio to clean some of the Primary stink off of him and have a chance at Florida, but he can't have Rubio because Marco was raised Mormon. I don't know of any other Veep choice that would get him where he needs to be come November.

It's a conundrum I'm fascinated in watching play out.

Under the Budget Control Act discretionary spending, which defense budget is a big part, gets significantly reduced; therefore, reduction in defense spending is already legislated to automatically occur if we hit the debt ceiling. The future problem is clearly SS and Medicare. Need to raise the retirement age to 75.

sardis wrote:Under the Budget Control Act discretionary spending, which defense budget is a big part, gets significantly reduced; therefore, reduction in defense spending is already legislated to automatically occur if we hit the debt ceiling. The future problem is clearly SS and Medicare. Need to raise the retirement age to 75.

Doesn't that only kick in if the ceiling isn't raised? It's not like it will definitely happen. I actually doubt it comes to that.

"white hispanic" zimmerman charged in FLA with 2d degree moida...

makes sense.

Bklyn wrote:

sardis wrote:Under the Budget Control Act discretionary spending, which defense budget is a big part, gets significantly reduced; therefore, reduction in defense spending is already legislated to automatically occur if we hit the debt ceiling. The future problem is clearly SS and Medicare. Need to raise the retirement age to 75.

Doesn't that only kick in if the ceiling isn't raised? It's not like it will definitely happen. I actually doubt it comes to that.

Under the Budget Control Act, there are automatic cuts in defense, medicare and medicaid. Each side has bills to protect either defense or on the other side to protect medicare and medicaid.

We don't have a short term debt issue, we have a long-term debt issue and a will issue. You want the debt to be reduced, include long-term revenue for all and long-term cuts for all. We need a 20 year plan (just like the plan in 1987 to protect SS was a long-term plan 20 year plan that was successful. You don't raise the retirement age to 75. You raise 1 year every 5 years starting at for those currently under 50. You raise taxes on all but start it in a rolling increase by those making the most.

Calm down, I wasn't advocating abruptly raising to 75, but the 55 year olds today need to be told that their retirement will be 75.

My point was that both parties are willing to reduce defense spending or at least cap the increase. But those on the left are far more adament about not cutting into SS and Medicare or lowering the retirement age. Name me one Dem congressmn who is willing to raise the retirement age. Obama's own debt commission made the recommendation, but he then quickly denounced his own commission's findings.

The fact is, you can cut down on defense, you can institute the Buffett rule, you can let the Bush tax cuts expire, but you still come no where close to getting control of deficits. The Buffett rule helps the deficit at 5 billion a year, the Bush tax cuts help 180 billion a year (only 80 billion if you exclude lower income from the expiration). The fact is that since WWII, tax revenue has barely touched 20 % of GDP one time, no matter how high the upper income tax rates were. We currently spend at 25%. We have to get that below 20%. 1% of GDP = 150 billion. We need to have a plan that over the next 5-10 years gets us below the 20% level.

If by "commission" you mean Simpson Bowles, then Obama did not quickly denounce, he actually prematurely embraced it...much to his own peril when he realized it would never pass and was nothing more than a memo, not a piece of legislation.

Anyway, I'll have to go in on that debate (if needed) later...as I'm on a conference call.

With that said, a bit of general fluff...Being A Billionaire

http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/201 ... 204100338/

I've changed my mind on this George Zimmerman case.

I was really turned off by that grandstanding prosecutor yesterday. Regardless of what she or anyone else is saying, he is being arrested solely because of public pressure at this point.

IF the voice on the 911 calling for help is actually George Zimmerman and they have a witness that came forward saying that Martin was indeed attacking Zimmerman, then regardless of whether Zimmerman was in the wrong for getting out of the car to follow Martin or not, if Martin made the decision to attack Zimmerman, then that is self defense without the stand your ground law, and with the stand your ground law, it, as I suspect with the original police report, they understood there was no chance of convicting Zimmerman.

Even the grandstanding special prosecutor admits that law is going to be a hurdle to overcome in this case.


It is a shame that this kid died, but as I see it, he made a critical mistake and decided to fight a man, admittedly who was following him solely because he was a black kid wearing a hoodie, with a gun. It cost him his life.

I'm not aware of any witness saying that Martin was shot in the back fleeing from an advancing Zimmerman.

What I am most repulsed by is the idea that this man is going to have to lose everything he owns just to pay for his freedom in a high profile case where the state is now in a mindset to win at all costs to feed the public demand for justice. Yea, he'll probably write a book afterwards and get a few paid public speaking gigs but he will never just walk away from it.

I think someone posted an article about this the other day but the only reason this made national big time news and Al Sharpton out there thumping his chest, is that because it was a kid and a sorta white guy did it.

Had it been someone that looked like Bernie Mac, it wouldn't be a story.

was really turned off by that grandstanding prosecutor yesterday.

What a self-fellating asshole.

I know, I know.

BigRedMan wrote:I think someone posted an article about this the other day but the only reason this made national big time news and Al Sharpton out there thumping his chest, is that because it was a kid and a sorta white guy did it.

Had it been someone that looked like Bernie Mac, it wouldn't be a story.

White guys are held to a higher standard. As they should be. Watch a few episodes of 48 Hours.

White guys are held to a higher standard.

LMAO. Good one. I'm still smiling.

The prosecutor did grand stand, though. When I heard that the presser was going to be at 6pm I knew

a. that an indictment was forthcoming
b. that it was done to maximize press coverage

With that said, an indictment was warranted. He may get off, who knows? Juries shock most often. It looks like he wasn't overcharged, like Casey Anthony was. I will know whether he should be viewed as Not Guilty when the information comes out in the trial and an understanding of the legal parameters of the state of Florida are laid out. That's why we have courts...and this needed to see one.

But, make no mistake about it, the Sanford Police did a shitty job and George Zimmerman should have been indicted well before a Twitter Blast caused outside civil rights activists to come down and ask that the state do its job.