Liveblogging the Meet The Press debate

I had sworn off of this, but Tivo changed channels for me during breakfast....

Here's what's going on during the Meet The Press Republican debate.   

David Gregory, in order to prove that Meet The Press and the Republican Party are both hip and groovy, announces that some of the questions will come from Facebook.  Perhaps from the city of Farmville. 

Michelle Bachmann is no longer present as the Sarah Palin surrogate, and this is good. 

FIRST QUESTION: Why does Mitt Romney stink?

Gingrich:  Romney is timid, and he wants to grow up to be Barack Obama.  He is BarackLite.  When he makes love, he pretends to be Obama. 

Romney:  I'm proud of being the John The Baptist for ObamaCare.  I also believe that I created jobs as governor, unlike New Mexico governor Gary Johnson who claims that he created NO jobs as governor.  I have no freakin' clue about the true role of government in the economy.

Santorum:  Romney didn't want to run again as governor of Massachusetts.  He didn't fight.  I did the right thing, and fought until I got my ass kicked by a Democrat. 

Gingrich:  Romney ran the red light.  He talked too long ! 

Romney:  Ted Kennedy made me do it.

Ron Paul:  The question should be about the issues, not Mitt.  However, Mitt did endorse the single payer system, the TARP bailouts, the Fed printing money for their friends.  Romney hasn't challenged the idea of a U.S. Overseas Empire.  That's what we should be talking about.  Not whether Mitt and his Magical Mormon Underwear can defeat Obama. 

Perry:  Well I'm the one who can 1) reinvigorate the Tea Party, 2) defeat Obama and 3)  ummmm...Ooops !

SECOND QUESTION:  How will you tell Americans that your spending cuts you are going to cause pain?

Huntsman:  Back to Mitt Romney... He criticized me for putting my country first. 

Romney:  Huntsman went to work for Obama.  If you look closely at the older versions of Mormon doctrine, black men can't enter the highest levels of Mormon heaven.  As a Mormon, Huntsman should know that, and be ashamed. 

Huntsman:  Ok, ok, ok, I would tell Americans that I embrace the Paul Ryan plan.  It takes a pitifully small amount of money out of the budget during the next 10 years. 

David Gregory:  In the name of the prophet Lehi, PLEASE give me 3 programs you would cut....

Huntsman:  Social Security and Medicare?  Maybe?  But I'm not going to touch Defense. 

Santorum:  Means testing on Social Security.  Food Stamps.  Medicaid.  Give it all back to the states.  Give 'em a time limit.  Including Social Security.  If you ain't dead within 20 years, you get no more money. 

Gingrich:  I taught history at the college level for years, and I'm going to lull you to sleep without answering the question.  These are not the droids you are looking for.  I'm going to improve the government, not cut it. 

Perry:  I'm going to get it right this time !!   Commerce, Energy, and Education !!!

The crowd goes totally wild. 

Break for advertisements. 

SECOND QUESTION CONTINUED:

Santorum:  People think that they should have the same plan that Congress has.  They have a choice.  (I'm finding myself liking Santorum on this one.) 

David Gregory:  Grover Norquist has gotten some Congressmen to sign a pledge for No More Taxes.  Warren Buffett thinks the rich can pay more. 

This is where I go stark, raving mad, and I'm going to skip Romney's response on this one.  Warren Buffett has made his billions, and NOW he wants EVERYONE ELSE to pay more in taxes.  His Berkeshire Hathaway group has been in a two-year lawsuit against Washington to avoid paying an extra billion or so in taxes. 
Warren Buffett is a hypocritical old fraud. 

Huntsman:  The loopholes make our entire tax system silly.  We don't govern, we sell exceptions to the tax code. (My words, not his.) 

Gingrich:  I worked with Tip O'Neill.  I worked with Bill Clinton.  You have to do that to get things done. 

Romney:  We didn't just work with Democrats, we were totally immersed in them in Massachusetts.  We developed relationships with them.  We did it so long that we now refer to ourselves in the plural.  We, we, we. 

David Gregory:  Dr. Paul, why is your legislative record so poor?  Why aren't your bills passed?

Ron Paul:  This shows how out of touch Congress is with the American people.  (Paul hits this one out of the park online and live, something like 3 times per week.)  Shit, can you imagine Congress voting against any bill that cuts spending? 

Santorum:  Ron Paul has never accomplished anything, never done anything, he's never successfully worked with anybody.  But if he's Commander In Chief, he's going to bring our troops back home to defend the U.S. !!   Can you believe that ????  We need somebody to maintain the status quo !!!

Ron Paul:  Changing foreign policy mistakes that go back to Woodrow Freakin' Wilson takes time.  We can't be all things to all countries.  Yeah, it takes a while.  In the meantime, let's audit the Fed !!

Santorum:  I've tuned Rick Santorum out.  He's doing talking points.  I Will do better on his next question. 

Huntsman:  I will do better than Obama by demonstrating trust.  Democrats will trust me because, after all, I spent the last 3 years representing one. 

Perry:  I would buck my party by talking about their spending levels.  We need a part-time Congress, which implies that only millionaires could afford to serve in Congress. 

Rick Perry just showed the world that he is stark raving mad. 

Advertising break. 

David Gregory:  Let's bring in some newspaper and TV people to help with the questions. 

Newspaper guy:  Home heating oil is $4.00 a gallon.  Congress is cutting the subsidy.  Whatcha gonna do?

Huntsman:  I feel your pain.  He'll break up the oil distribution monopoly.  (Why not drill, baby, drill?  Or crank up that Keystone pipeline?)

Ron Paul:  Subsidies are bad policy.  On energy, we should de-regulate.  50% of the transaction is the monetary unit.  When you create money out of thin air, prices go up.  If you subsidize somebody and print money to do it, prices go up. 

Romney:  What we don't need is a Federal Government saying we're going to solve all problems for all people.  Give these issues to the states. 

TV Guy:  Romney, you once said that the gay community needs more support from Republicans, according to a GLBT periodical.  Whatcha gonna do now? 

Romney:  I oppose same-sex marriage.  But I don't discriminate against them.  And yet in death, we live. 

Santorum:  I think gays and lesbians should be treated with respect and dignity.  But no marriage or adoption rights.  And yet in death, we live. 

Newspaper Guy:  Are right to work laws a federal issue?

Perry:  Only because of existing federal laws.  It shouldn't be a federal issue.  I'm not anti-union, I'm pro-job.  If you want to grow jobs, pass right to work legislation.  Education, Energy, and Commerce. 

Romney:  Carpenters union makes them better carpenters.  But lets talk about the pure, undiluted evil of government unions - they should have the same salaries and bennies as the private sector. 

Santorum:  I would support Federal Right to Work legislation.  I've worked with unions. 

Another break.  I wish they'd gotten Ron Paul going on the unions. 

THIRD QUESTION:  Jobs, jobs, jobs. 

Gingrich:  The long term answer to the oil problem is to make supply and demand work for us, not against us.  Flood the market with the commodity that is scarce. 

Romney:  Obama didn't cause the problem, but Lord Have Mercy, he made it worse.  Obama is anti-business.  (And he oughta say that Obama's current improving jobs record is only due to the size of the workforce shrinking.  People are just giving up, and those people don't get counted.) 

Newspaper guy:  What about out of state power plants polluting New Hampshire? 

Romney:  I don't know this specific regulation.  We've got to find a way to keep the air clean.  (In economics, this is called an externality.  My transaction with party #1 does harm to party #2.  There are also positive externalities, BTW.) 

Gingrich:  My Environmental Solutions Agency would be better than the EPA, despite having the loathsome buzzword "Solutions" in the title.  Much well-deserved ridicule directed at EPA. 

TV Guy:  Is Obama a Patriot?  Is he evil? 

Perry:  Obama is a f***ing Socialist. 

Santorum:  When I voted for the prescription drug benefit, it was not the act of a f***ing Socialist.  It was a way to require people to have health savings accounts.  No irony intended. 

TV Guy:  Is healthcare a right? 

Ron Paul:  Entitlements are not rights.  You have a right to your rights, liberty, and the fruits of your labor.  There are no "group" rights.  One group is not entitled to take something from someone else. 

Newspaper Guy:  NH motto is "Live Free or Die". 

Huntsman:  "Live Free or Die" is an awesome motto.  New Hampshire wants a leader who will unify.  Huntsman, by use of his word leader, shows that he doesn't understand the NH motto.  We don't need leaders, we need people to maintain the infrastructure and secure the borders and interfere in disputes.  Huntsman as a "leader" would betray that ideal. 

Advertising break. 

David Gregory:  Let's scattershoot for a while. 

Santorum:  Russia and Korea have nukes, but Iran is a Theocracy.  "They think the next life is better than this one."  That is scary.  We can't treat them like normal people.  Therefore, they are different.  Santorum's extreme Catholicism kinda leaves him exposed on this one, right? 

Gingrich:  Concerning my attacks on Romney, Mitt Romney and his firm Bain Capital, committed acts of Capitalism.  There is nothing lower than committing acts of Capitalism.  I want Romney to admit that is his former staff running the anti-Gingrich PAC. 

Romney:  I can't direct ads of a PAC.  It's illegal.  Everything in those ads is true. 

Romney vs Gingrich spat ensues.  They're both silly people.  They both love Big Government, and their records show it.  That's why it's so easy for them to dredge up stuff like this. 

Gingrich:  We've going to make a movie about Romney committing acts of Capitalism. 

Santorum:  It doesn't take a village.  It takes a family.  Obama has a secular ideology. 

Ron Paul:  If president, I will continue to preach liberty.  Sound money.  National Defense.  Defend Liberty and Liberty !!

Yet another ad break.  I had no idea that a debate would cost this much.  I'm getting hungry, as this project has disrupted breakfast.
 I am, however, 100% live.  Had to slow down to catch some stuff, but fast-forwarded through the ads. 
So far, Ron Paul is winning.  Why?  Because he's right. 

What the hell?  I was going to completely finish this liveblog on time, and the TV just cut it off, just like that?  No closing statements?  No nothing, just The End? 

Time to scramble some eggs. 

Enough of the political crap.  It's a nice day.  Hope y'all have a good one !!!

Maureen Dowd on Rick Perry's and Barack Obama's college transcripts

Here's an excerpt from Maureen Dowd's latest editorial in the New York Holy Times:

Traveling to Lynchburg, Va., to speak to students at Liberty University...., (Rick) Perry made light of his bad grades at Texas A&M.


Studying to be a veterinarian, he stumbled on chemistry and made a D one semester and an F in another. “Four semesters of organic chemistry made a pilot out of me,” said Perry, who went on to join the Air Force.

“His other D’s,” Richard Oppel wrote in The Times, “included courses in the principles of economics, Shakespeare, ‘Feeds & Feeding,’ veterinary anatomy and what appears to be a course called ‘Meats.’ ”

He even got a C in gym.

Perry conceded that he “struggled” with college, and told the 13,000 young people in Lynchburg that in high school, he had graduated “in the top 10 of my graduating class — of 13.”

It’s enough to make you long for W.’s Gentleman’s C’s. At least he was a mediocre student at Yale.

Yeah, bad grades are a problem.  Going to Jerry Falwell University to address the Baptists in Lynchburg is a bigger problem, but not for most Republicans. 
So how do Perry's college grades stack up against those of our current Commander-In-Chief?  Let's got to the Occidental College website.....

The 1974 federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (34 CFR Part 99) protects the privacy of student education records. We, therefore, cannot disclose students’ classes, grade point averages, majors or other such information. President Obama's transcripts and other student records have not been released by Occidental.

Nor will they ever be.  They're too damn embarrassing.  Based on my own research, I've been able to determine that teleprompters were not allowed in the classroom in the early 1980's.  Therefore, Obama's college grades sucked. 

I suspect that Barack Obama failed Economics, he failed American Government, he got a "D" in Political Science, a "D" in Speech, and a "Fails" in a couple of simple "Pass/Fail" basic math courses.  Those are just suspicions on my part, though, based on the current evidence. 

Enough about Rick Perry vs. Obama.  We don't have Obama's transcripts to hold up to one of Dowd's pitiless investigations. 

Here's another section from Dowd's editorial, which is primarily about how Republicans disregard college transcripts in choosing who to put at the top of the ticket:

The Republicans are now the “How great is it to be stupid?” party. In perpetrating the idea that there’s no intellectual requirement for the office of the presidency, the right wing of the party offers a Farrelly Brothers “Dumb and Dumber” primary in which evolution is avant-garde.

Well, yeah, the Republicans might have difficulty finding their way out of a sack.  That's why they aren't Libertarians yet.  But who are the scholastic giants that the Democrats put on the ticket prior to the Scholar From Chicago/Kenya/Indonesia?

Here's an evaluation of the college transcript of St. Albert, The Goracle Of Music City Tennessee:

Gore arrived at Harvard with an impressive 1355 SAT score, 625 verbal and 730 math, compared with Bush's 1206 total from 566 verbal and 640 math. In his sophomore year at Harvard, Gore's grades were lower than any semester recorded on Bush's transcript from Yale. That was the year Gore's classmates remember him spending a notable amount of time in the Dunster House basement lounge shooting pool, watching television, eating hamburgers and occasionally smoking marijuana. His grades temporarily reflected his mildly experimental mood, and alarmed his parents. He received one D, one C-minus, two C's, two C-pluses and one B-minus, an effort that placed him in the lower fifth of the class for the second year in a row.


For all of Gore's later fascination with science and technology, he often struggled academically in those subjects. The political champion of the natural world received that sophomore D in Natural Sciences 6 (Man's Place in Nature) and then got a C-plus in Natural Sciences 118 his senior year. The self-proclaimed inventor of the Internet avoided all courses in mathematics and logic throughout college, despite his outstanding score on the math portion of the SAT. As was the case with many of his classmates, his high school math grades had dropped from A's to C's as he advanced from trigonometry to calculus in his senior year.

Here's how The Goracle performed while going through the seminary associated with Vanderbilt:

(Gore) took the religious studies courses while also working full time as a journalist at the Nashville Tennessean, and after getting off to a strong start with an A-minus in Ethics, he failed to complete any of the three courses he took in the fall of 1971, and those incompletes eventually lapsed into F's. He returned for another semester in the spring of 1972, when two more incompletes turned into F's.

In the meantime, George W. Bush, our first president to earn an MBA, was knocking out a 2.75 GPA in a Harvard MBA program while, by all accounts, he was partying his ass off. 

I repeat.... While The Goracle was flunking 5 out of 8 courses at a freakin' seminary, Bush was doing ok in a Harvard MBA program. 

W. was not a good president.  Until The Teleprompter Jesus came along, George W. Bush did more to increase the national debt than any other president.  But I can assure you that George W. is not the anti-intellectual dolt that the Maureen Dowds of this world have portrayed him to be.  While I was running bookstores in Dallas, GWB was a regular visitor, purchasing Current Events, Politics, Sports, and lots and lots of history.  I don't know if he read 'em, but he sure bought 'em and knew how to talk about them.  Ask anyone who worked at the Dallas Preston/Forest Bookstop back in the day. 

Well what about John Kerry?  Surely he outperformed Bush?  Naw.  He didn't.  Here's CBS News:

Senator John F. Kerry's grade average at Yale University was virtually identical to President Bush's record there, despite repeated portrayals of Kerry as the more intellectual candidate during the 2004 presidential campaign.

No, their grades weren't "virtually identical".  Bush's grades were 1 point higher. 

Kerry had a cumulative average of 76 and got four Ds his freshman year - in geology, two history courses and political science, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

His grades improved with time, and he averaged an 81 his senior year and earned an 89 - his highest grade - in political science as a senior.

"I always told my dad that D stood for distinction," Kerry said in a written response to reporters' questions. He said he has previously acknowledged focusing more on learning to fly than studying.

Under Yale's grading system in effect at the time, grades between 90 and 100 equaled an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, 60 to 69 a D, and anything below that was a failing grade.

In 1999, The New Yorker magazine published a transcript showing Bush had a cumulative grade average of 77 his first three years at Yale, and a similar average under a non-numerical rating system his senior year.

Bush's highest grade at Yale was an 88 in anthropology, history and philosophy. He received one D in his four years, a 69 in astronomy, and improved his grades after his freshman year, the transcript showed.

Kerry, a Democrat, previously declined to release the transcript, which was included in his Navy records. He gave the Navy permission to release the documents last month, the Globe reported.

So the best Dowd would be able to say about Kerry is that he wasn't quite as sharp in the classroom as Bush. 

How about Republican John McCain, another Republican dunce?  He barely passed. 

How about current Vice President Joe Biden?  How did he do in school? 

Biden graduated College in 1965, with a Bachelor of Arts and a double major in Political Science and History.  He was 506th in a class of 688.

At Syracuse University of Law, 1968, Biden graduated 76th in a class of 85. 

Wow. 

I couldn't find anything on Ron Paul's GPA or his college transcript.  But if grades really are that important, let's point out the obvious....  Ron Paul did well enough to get into medical school.  But then, he's not really a Republican.  He's a Libertarian.  And a genius. 

I'm with Maureen Dowd on this one.  Grades matter !!!

Why Rick Perry is wrong - Social Security is not a Ponzi Scheme

For years, I've mistakenly thought of Social Security as a Ponzi Scheme.  I was wrong.   
What's a Ponzi Scheme, you ask? 

Here's the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission's answer:

A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors.

During the recent Republican debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry made a stir by declaring that Social Security was a Ponzi scheme.  Lamestream Media outrage immediately blanketed the earth.  Animal shelters were working overtime because of the MSNBC Talking Heads having multiple litters of kittens all over their desks.  If I remember correctly, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews stood and ceremonially tore their garments and dipped their foreheads in hot vats of black ashes.  (I've got it Tivo'd at home, and will correct the names if necessary.)  Mitt Romney, in a white heat to look like the responsible adult in the room, rushed to the program's defense.  New York Timesians have gathered to reconcile their faith with the inconvenient evidence of Ponzi-ism. 

I laughed and laughed.  I shouldn't have. 

According to Reason magazine, my current source of infallible doctrine, Social Security isn't a Ponzi scheme.  Here's why:

1)  Ponzi schemes take money from new suckers and use it to pay older suckers.  Social Security collects money from new victims, uses some of it to pay previous victims, and spends the rest on stimulus packages, Cash For Clunkers, TARP, wars, prisons, slop, slush, and kickbacks to supporters and government drones.  Trillions of dollars from the Social Security Lockbox have been looted in this manner. 

2) Ponzi schemes attract their money through fraud and lies.  Social Security funds are collected at gunpoint.  If you disagree with that statement, try not paying for Social Security. 

3) When Ponzi schemes run out of suckers, they collapse.  When Social Security starts running low on suckers?  The men with guns simply raise your rates.  Here's the Cato Institute:

In fact, Social Security taxes have been raised some 40 times since the program began. The initial Social Security tax was 2 percent (split between the employer and employee), capped at $3,000 of earnings. That made for a maximum tax of $60. Today, the tax is 12.4 percent, capped at $106,800, for a maximum tax of $13,234. Even adjusting for inflation, that represents more than an 800 percent increase.

In 1950, every retiree had sixteen Social Security victims working to support him.  We now have only three suckers working to support every retired sucker.  In 2030, it'll be only two suckerw working to support every retired sucker.  Look for the men with guns to increase your rates. 

So.... according to Reason magazine, Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme (in the Bernie Madoff sense of the word). 

It is something much, much worse. 

I regret my previous error. 

The vintage poster came from here. 

LateBlogging the Republican Debate. September 7, 2011 - total failure at pretending to be interested

If it weren't for Ron Paul, I wouldn't be doing this. 
I usually liveblog interesting debates.  This one won't be interesting.  I didn't even get home in time to liveblog the thing.  Thank you, Tivo. 

Ok, here we go. 

Mitt Romney and Rick Perry just finished a little argument over who created the most jobs as governor.  Perry claims that Michael Freakin' Dukakis created more jobs as Massachusetts governor than Romney did.  Romney claims that George W. Bush created more jobs as Texas governor than Perry did. 

Who gives a rip?  You know who isn't here at this debate?  Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson.  He's wasn't invited to this thing because he's a libertarian-ish sort.  Johnson claims (truthfully) that he didn't create a single job as New Mexico governor.  He just got the government out of the way and let the private sector take care of it.  Can you imagine anyone at MSNBC letting that cat out of the bag to run around on this stage, making a mockery of the proceedings? 

The MSNBC moderators (and the rest of the lamestream media) ought to show how many government employees were on the payroll before and after the Romney and Perry administrations.  That's what matters. 

Michele Bachmann just ripped ObamaCare a new one. 

Brian Williams just asked Ron Paul how the world would survive without government regulations.  Ron Paul just gave a somewhat rambling answer, but got to the point.... we don't need the government to do it.  "But who would keep the airplanes from dropping out of the sky?"  Paul shoulda said "follow the Canadian model and privatize it.  Canadian Air Traffic Controllers don't fall asleep on the job."  But he just said, essentially, let the Free Market handle it. 

Why is there an airplane hanging over the audience? 

MSNBC, like most left-wing organizations, is having a hard time making things work properly.  They can't coordinate their video clips with the debate moderators' questions. 

The debate moderators are trying to hang the Massachusetts RomneyCare model on Mitt Romney (where it belongs).  Romney is dodging the question, and talking about what he would do in the future. 

These people are talking about jobs as if they're the goal of a business.  Jobs are not the goal.  They are a by-product.  Lordy. 

Michele Bachmann is claiming that she's the only person with the legislative experience to repeal ObamaCare. 

Gingrich is trying to get some party unity going, claiming that all of his brothers in pork are against ObamaCare, and he's not going to put up with MSDNC trying to get Republicans fighting with each other. 

Herman Cain, after multiple appearances on Stossel, Freedomwatch, and debates that I've seen, finally cut loose a rip on ObamaCare that I could agree with. 

God help me.  Rick Santorum just answered a trick question on welfare, using words that I could have possibly written.  I think the entire world, after the last 3 years, is now leaning Libertarian. 

Bachmann says that "energy" is one of the greatest opportunities for job creation that we have.  Bullshit.  Outlawing "energy" and digging ditches with spoons would create the most jobs.  But that's not the point.  We'll have good job creation when we allow entrepreneurs to get filthy stinkin' rich.  Jobs are merely a by-product of that process. Deal with it.  Thank you. 

They just asked Ron Paul if eliminating the minimum wage would create more jobs.  He answered that it would.  Didn't even think about it.  Why?  Because it would. 

Ron Paul just scared the shit out of me.  I thought he'd lost it.  He said he could create a gallon of gas for a dime.  Yes, for a dime.  But yes, if you have an old-school silver dime, it's now worth $3.50. 

Brilliant.  Freakin' brilliant. 

Now Perry is attacking Paul for quitting the party, and writing an anti-Reagan letter.  Paul says Reagan taxed too much and spent too much.  Yep.  Until Obama came along, more debt was rung up under presidents named Reagan and Bush than all other presidents combined.  Look it up.  Hit the Ronald Reagan label at the bottom of this post. 

Ok, the airplane hanging over the audience is Reagan's Air Force One plane.

Shortly after hitting Ron Paul with an anti-Reagan question, they're acknowledging Nancy Reagan in the audience and giving her a round of applause.  Nice. 

Rick Perry is saying good stuff about Social Security being as broke as The Ten Commandments, and that anyone who promises money to today's young workers is lying. 

Mitt Romney, bless his Mormon heart, is defending Social Security.  Let's see two workers support one retiree.  That's where we're headed. 

Rick Perry, bless his perfect hair, is calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.  Because that's what it is. 

Herman Cain, bless his thick crust, just suggested that we go to the Chilean system for retirement plans.  Go here for info. 

The moderators have now taken us off into inoculations.  I bet fluoride in the water supply will be next. 

Ron Paul just hit a home run on a TSA question.  Now Brian Williams is going after him on FEMA.  Paul asks him back "What happened before 1979 when we didn't have FEMA?"  Let the states handle it.  Doh. 

Herman Cain wants to fix FEMA and fix Homeland Security.  Good luck, Herm. 

Jon Huntsman is bleating about what he did for job creation. 

I can't watch any more of this.  With the possible exception of Ron Paul, I can't drink enough beer to imagine any of these people being willing to cut out a single cabinet-level department.  I can't imagine MSDNC asking the question. 

If something happens that's remotely interesting, I might expand on this thing.  Dull, dull, dull.  Talking points, talking points, talking points.

Good night !!

If you're disappointed in this blog post, I apologize. Here's a fun video:

An interesting letter from Rick Perry, on Hillarycare

Here's a 1993 letter that Rick Perry wrote to She Whose Name Is Not Spoken. 

Hmmmmm..........

God's comments on Rick Perry

Having great hair isn't enough

Texas governor Rick Perry has been getting a lot of attention as a potential Republicrat candidate for President of The United States.   

Unbelievable.  Just because he has wonderful, wonderful hair and he says all the right things about Jesus doesn't mean he has any qualifications to be president in these difficult times.  I can't remember anything in government that he has significantly cut, eliminated, or reduced. 

One other thing....Perry once served as Al Gore's Texas Campaign Manager.  If we had a reading, thinking populace, this factoid alone would give Perry the same electoral chances as Casey Anthony. 
 Here's Big Daddy John Spivey, chair of the Tarrant County Libertarian Party, on why Governor Goodhair isn't a good idea.  This is from the Spivey Facebook page. 

#1 Rick Perry is a “big government” politician. When Rick Perry became the governor of Texas in ...2000, the total spending by the Texas state government was approximately $ 49 billion. Ten years later it was approximately $ 90 billion. That is not exactly reducing the of government.

#2 The debt of the state of Texas is out of control. According to usdebtclock.org, the debt to GDP ratio in Texas is 22.9% and the debt per citizen is $ 10,645. In California (a total financial basket case), the debt to GDP ratio is just 18.7% and the debt per citizen is only $ 9932. If Rick Perry runs for president these are numbers he will want to keep well hidden.

#3 The total debt of the Texas government has more than doubled since Rick Perry became governor. So what would the U.S. national debt look like after four (or eight) years of Rick Perry?

#4 Rick Perry has spearheaded the effort to lease roads in Texas to foreign companies, to turn roads that are already free to drive on into toll roads, and to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor which would be part of the planned NAFTA superhighway system. If you really do deep research on this whole Trans-Texas Corridor nonsense you will see why no American should ever cast a single vote for Rick Perry.

#5 Rick Perry claims that he has a “track record” of not raising taxes. That is a false claim. Rick Perry has repeatedly raised taxes and fees while he has been governor. Today, Texans are faced with significantly higher taxes and fees than they were before Rick Perry was elected.

#6 Even with the oil boom in Texas, 23 states have a lower unemployment rate than Texas does.

#7 Back in 1988, Rick Perry supported Al Gore for president. In fact, Rick Perry actually served as Al Gore’s campaign chairman in the state of Texas that year.

#8 Between December 2007 and April 2011, weekly wages in the U.S. increased by about 5 percent. In the state of Texas they increased by just 0.6% over that same time period.

#9 Texas now has one of the worst education systems in the nation. The following is from an opinion piece that was actually authored by Barbara Bush earlier this year….
• We rank 36th in the nation in high school graduation rates. An estimated 3.8 million Texans do not have a high school diploma.
• We rank 49th in verbal SAT scores, 47th in literacy and 46th in average math SAT scores.
• We rank 33rd in the nation on teacher salaries.

#10 Rick Perry attended the Bilderberg Group meetings in 2007 and 2011. Associating himself with that organization should be a red flag for all American voters.

#11 Texas has the highest percentage of workers making minimum wage out of all 50 states.

#12 Rick Perry often gives speeches about illegal immigration, but when you look at the facts, he has been incredibly soft on the issue. If Rick Perry does not plan to secure the border, then he should not be president because illegal immigration is absolutely devastating many areas of the southwest United States.

#13 In 2007, 221,000 residents of Texas were making minimum wage or less. By 2010, that number had risen to 550,000.

#14 Rick Perry actually issued an executive order in 2007 that would have forced almost every single girl in the state of Texas to receive the Gardasil vaccine before entering the sixth grade. Perry would have put parents in a position where they would have had to fill out an application and beg the government not to inject their child with an untested and unproven vaccine. Since then, very serious safety issues regarding this vaccine have come to light. Fortunately, lawmakers in Texas blocked what Perry was trying to do. According to Wikipedia, many were troubled when “apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry were reported by news outlets, such as a $ 6,000 campaign contribution and Merck’s hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work.”

Texas is doing well because our state constitution limits the power of the governor, and our legislature only meets every two years (they somehow managed to write 1500 laws while in session last time, but you get my point). 
Rick Perry is at least smart enough to ride the wave without screwing it up. 

Borders Books - Burleson Texas, R.I.P. We'll miss you, but don't ask for a bailout

Dang it, dang it, dang it. 
Border's Books has declared bankruptcy. 

They're closing 200 stores, one of which is their Burleson/I-35 store where I've spent many a lunch break.  I got to hear one of my alt-country heroes, Deryl Dodd, play an acoustic show in their coffee bar during the store's grand opening.  (I'm typing this in that same Border's coffee bar, BTW.) 

They're also closing their 30,000 square foot monster store on Preston Road in Dallas.  I used to run stores for Bookstop/Barnes and Noble, and that Border's store kicked my Preston/Forest Bookstop's rear end.  Hard.  Bookstop couldn't compete on selection or service, and couldn't beat them by very much on price.  It was ugly.   

(Full Disclosure:  I left Bookstop because of illness and fatigue.  They got sick and tired of me.)

The Preston Road Border's has great sales but is probably burdened with rent from hell.  Oh well.  They're closing it.   

The Fort Worth Hulen/I-30 store looks safe for now (congratulations, Jackie G.!) as does the south Arlington location. 

Gary Hoover founded Bookstop, sold it to Barnes and Noble, and went on to create business data provider Hoovers.com. 
Gary (once my boss's boss's boss) also doubts that Border's will survive:

Now, the survival of Borders depends on the financial stability of the company, the ability to secure interim funding (GE Capital has promised $505 million in financing) and the willingness of publishers to supply books, Hoover said. But in retailing, unlike the airline industry, it’s uncommon for a company to emerge from bankruptcy, he said.


“If the same management team who has been running it the last several months stays in place, it is only a matter of time until they close up completely. But whether that is six months or six years depends on many variables,”

That's not a vote of confidence. 

I  love books.  I keep them stacked in dangerous piles on my bedside table, I keep them in unlikely piles on my truck seat, and I have various books "started" at my mother's house, my sister's house, a church library, and in two different vehicles.  Until my eyes went bad, I had books beside the bathtub.  (Reading glasses fog up in hot water.) 

I'm sure that I'll eventually get a Kindle or a Nook, but I'm fighting it. 

I'm the same way with CD's.  They're all over the bedroom, leaking by the dozens out of a bookcase across from the bed.  I can't quite go digital.  I don't trust any electronic device with my stuff.  Do a Google search on "symptoms of old age" for more details. 

The Aggie hasn't bought a CD in 6 years.  The main draw at Border's Preston used to be the massive CD selection.  It's now dwindled to a few lonely rows. 

So....

Name an industry worthy of a bailout.  Explain why. 

Did you pick Border's?  Would you be willing to prop up a failing business model and product line with your own money?  Would you take that risk? 
Did you pick Chrysler?  Would you be willing to prop up a failing business model and product line with your own money?  Would you take that risk? 
Did you pick a bank or a Wall Street firm?  Blah? Blah? Blah? Blah?  Would you encourage them to carry on as usual with your money? 

If Texas Governor Rick Perry were to intervene and throw a hundred million taxpayer dollars to the Texas Border's stores because they were "too big too fail", would it give you a warm and runny feeling?  What if he did it to "save and create jobs"?  Would that work for you? 

I didn't think so. 



The marketplace has spoken, which is another way of saying that YOU have spoken.  Rick Perry doesn't know any more about Bookselling than John Boehlout Boehner knew about Wall Street or banks.  There is no difference.  For capitalism to work, government can't support any form of screw-uppery. 
 
There came a time when the last American Buggy Whip manufacturer had to close its doors.
Ditto for Betamaxes, Edsels, the TRS-80 computers, the Commodore 360's and my beloved Sour Lemon "Now and Laters" candy. 
Within 5 years you won't be able to purchase a new car with a CD player in the dashboard. 

I'm betting that within 10 years, you'll be able to approach some sort of device in any public place and access all of your "stuff" - work, health, movies, music, books, email, pictures, and things we can't even imagine.  Maybe the device will even be portable.
Oh, wait a minute....that has already happened.  I'm typing this on a contraption called a "laptop".  You may have heard of them.  And they've almost killed the filing cabinet industry, the movie rental industry, Virgin Music Megastores, Border's Books, the U.S. Mail, and Eastman/Kodak, and the IBM Selectric typewriter, and World Book Encyclopedias, and the career of Dan Rather.

I used to think that one day I would write a book.  And if it was really good, maybe 3 or 4 thousand people would read it.  I called it my dream.  Now, because of this website, that's not called a dream, it's called.... "Friday".  Or "Monday".  I now reach more people every day than my hometown Sunflower County News used to reach in a week.  The dinosaurs have died out, but the possums lived on....

But I'll miss the Border's in Burleson.  (At the risk of sounding totally contrived and corny, they've already closed the cafe at the Border's Burleson, where I'm typing this, but the Wi-Fi has still been working.  The staff just came by, thanked us for our support, and told us that they're about to turn off the wireless internet.  For good.  I'm switching over to a Sprint/Nextel aircard....speaking of devices that need to be replaced QUICKLY with something better.) 

Heck, you're reading the words of somebody who violently resisted the switch from 8-tracks to cassettes. 

This is what has to happen in order for things to improve.  Dammit. 

The picture of the Debt Star came from here. 

The results of the Texas Republican Ballot Propositions

In case anyone is wondering, Rick Perry is now the Republican nominee for Texas governor. 
If those who voted for Perry's competitors are wondering what they can now do to support a fiscal conservative, please go here for a look at the Libertarian Party's candidates.  Any of the four would be better than Governor Trans-Texas Corridor and the Eminent Domain nightmare associated with this project. 

On to the other issues associated with the Republican ballot (here's a sample).  These are the Republican Ballot Propositions and their results.  As one blogger commented, this collection of wedge issues reads like a poorly constructed "push poll". 

Ballot Proposition #1: Photo ID


The Texas Legislature should make it a priority to protect the integrity of our election process by enacting legislation that requires voters to provide valid photo identification in order to cast a ballot in any and all elections conducted in the State of Texas.

92% of Republican voters favored this one.  There's one difficulty, though.  Which poll worker is qualified to say whether a voter looks enough like his photo I.D. to vote?  Many bloggers have called this the anti-Mexican, anti-Black voter proposition.  I used to buy beer and cigarettes with my father's drivers license, and I see no way for this to be effective for either side. 

Ballot Proposition #2: Controlling Government Growth

Every government body in Texas should be required to limit any annual increase in its budget and spending to the combined increase of population and inflation unless it first gets voter approval to exceed the allowed annual growth or in the case of an official emergency.

92% of Republican voters favored this one.  Ballot propositions like this one always have an escape hatch for an official emergency.  Everything is an emergency.  We are always in crisis.  It is imperative that we take action now, before it is too late.  Spur 308 has a defective sewer drain that threatens our way of life ! !
This ballot proposition was nothing but pointless feelgoodery.  We need to vote out the Crips and the Bloods and replace them with politicians who promise to start shutting things down.  Half measures will get us nowhere. 

Ballot Proposition #3: Cutting Federal Income Taxes

In addition to aggressively eliminating irresponsible federal spending, Congress should empower American citizens to stimulate the economy by Congress cutting federal income taxes for all federal taxpayers, rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars on so-called "federal economic stimulus".

93% of Republicans favored this one.  I don't.  I believe that all government spending should immediately show up in the amount of taxes held back from your paycheck.  Especially during wars, emergencies and disasters.  It would focus our attention wonderfully, don't you think? 

Ballot Proposition #4: Public Acknowledgement of God

The use of the word "God", prayers, and the Ten Commandments should be allowed at public gatherings and public educational institutions, as well as be permitted on government buildings and property.

95% of Republicans went for this.  95% of Republicans who voted were willing to listen to Rick Perry pray, would be willing to hear Tim Curry discuss the 10 Commandments, and would be willing to hear a representative from the Teacher's Union discuss his or her thoughts about God. 
You can go here for my other rants on this subject. 
In the words of Mark Twain, I'm going to spend the rest of my day praying for the damnation of the human race. 

Ballot Proposition #5: Sonograms

The Texas Legislature should enact legislation requiring a sonogram to be performed and shown to each mother about to undergo a medically unnecessary, elective abortion.

Only 68% of Republicans went for this one.  There are only two people who should have a vote on abortion, and that's the mother and the doctor doing the procedure.  We're getting very close to this being a losing issue for the Theocrats. 
My maternal grandmother once chose to have an abortion.  My maternal unh... mother, during an insanely difficult and risky pregnancy, decided not to.  That's why I'm here.  I stand by both decisions, and wish that everyone else would. 

If you are a Republican voter and found yourself embarrassed by these crude wedge issues, the Libertarian Party awaits. 
Here's a picture of an embarrassed monkey.  I found it here.  I couldn't find one of an embarrassed elephant.