War Ends, War Spending Goes On

I have not directly looked at how the accounting was done in the 2010 budget. It looks as if the Iraq war spending was added to the budget just to claim the savings. Technically it is savings, you are no longer spending the money but is very misleading. It was borrowed money to begin with. It does not mean you have more to spend. Savings is jusst shy of newsspeak, call it Obama speak.

Ace of Spades

'So here's how he comes up with $1.6 trillion of his $2 trillion in "cuts:" He takes the 2008, peak-of-the-surge cost of the Iraq War as our permanent Iraq War spending baseline. He extends that out ten years -- including goosing it down the line for inflation.

Then he notes that he's ending a war which was actually pretty much ended by our troops (and the Iraqis, too) by defeating Al Qaeda and ending the insurgency.

Then he says,"Hey, man, look -- every year I'm going to be saving money on those Iraq War costs! Count it as a 'cut'!"'

I find the rest of it entertaining, being on blogger I won't repeat.

The Never-ending Surge

"This is, even by Washington standards, unusually dishonest. And coming from the administration of Barack Obama, who promised us “honest” accounting and made a big show of how much integrity and candor he would bring to his governing, this is astonishing."

You take last years subtract what your not going to spend and then add what else you want to spend. That is the way it is always talked about in this manner. So what does this mean for all the spending next year? If we spend like we did this year next year then they "held the line on spending". This is exactly what is argued about the stimulus package, only they are talking about the war ending not the need for stimulus ending.

Logic Look: Straw Man

I am not a logician or linguist so I had gotten confuses by straw man as apposed to red herring fallacies. So I went back to my logic book from collage. We all need a big dose of the informal fallacies. Hopefully we all can understand what is really being said. Even if it is nothing.

Logic for good or bad should be required in high schools. Time to refresh what I knew. I didn't want to copy from my book so I will use this site for now. It has a better list.

Straw Man:

"The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. (Cont.)

This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself. One might as well expect an attack on a poor drawing of a person to hurt the person. "

Do the "we can't do nothing" stimulus arguments sound familiar.

Sick of Missouri Politicians

To me there are no moderate politicians in this state. To compound the matter I heard it said(not a good source) the state government described as a kind of back woods mess. Lack of professional staff, part time congress people voting to help the industries they work in and lack of well structured bureaucracy. I could be wrong. I don't follow it that closely.

I could not disagree with Sen. Claire McCaskill any more than I do. So it is good that her offices are going to be marched on.

An might i say i love our new Governor Jay Nixon.

Missouri Dem Governor Is Not Worried About Cost of Stimulus "Missouri Kids & Grandkids Will Pay the Debt Off"

"In Missouri, the governor does not even know how he's going to spend all of the spendulus money. He's even set up a website Transform gov to ask for tips on how to spend the money in Missouri."

Just a hat tip to Ed Martin at American Issues Project. Someone else from the mess that is St. Louis making a difference.

Pushing Open The Door for Fairness Rules

I have no faith in the administration's denial. It was not very strong to begin with.

From Hot Air

"I’d like to hear a little more about Obama’s opposition to reimposition of FD on talk radio. Would he block such a move by Congress with a veto? Or would he replace an FCC commissioner who attempted to reimpose it?

That’s not an academic question. We have had several members of Congress talk approvingly of reimposing equal-time requirements on talk radio, including Senators Tom Harkin, Debbie Stabenow, and Representatives Maurice Hinchey and Dennis Kucinich, among others. Just in the last two weeks, we have seen a veritable avalanche of support from Capitol Hill for the Fairness Doctrine or its equivalent."

They will not even try to pass it. Why?
From US Common Sense:

"The first reason is that the government should not be dictating how the media companies should schedule the news/commentary formats and programs that they carry. Even though these stations use government regulated frequencies, the general public will view any attempt to strong-arm the messages shared on air as an infringement of free speech or an attempt to push propaganda to the masses. The second reason is the conservative hosts will use such an action as a reason to wage war against the President (not that they needed any additional ammo). Obama already has to deal with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity; both men whom he has addressed by name in his first month in office."

It is good political reason not to. It is made much easier by the fact they don't have to. They can easily go through the FCC. I don't believe that they are trying to push any "fairness" rules right now. The issue is that they are pushing over the road blocks, setting up government to easily implement them. Stimulus? Net Neutrality? I don't know what the end game is. Yes, i believe they think they have America's best interest at heart. I am just not sure that their ideas and mine of America's best interest are even in the same ball park.

Protesting the Stimulus

I am glad to see some protests against the stimulus and Obama. I not sure that it being lead by people like Michelle Malkin are the best to be leading the rallying cry. I think, as with Hannity or Savage , they make a lot of sense on any number off issues(not all by any means). However the kind of name calling and over the top talk turn people away. People we will need If we are really going to push back.

The pork is the least of the problem. It makes for a good rallying point but it is only going to go so far. Focus on what was hidden and what it will allow will go much further. Do protest all look similar?

So the protests in CO:

Help Us Roast The Pig!

Hundreds Rally Against Generational Theft Act In Denver

Slapstick Politics: Denver Anti-Stimulus Rally: Videos

Instipundit Rally Photos

“Yes, we care!” Porkulus protesters holler back Updated

Then From AZ:

With signs in hand, protests await President's arrival in Mesa

Mesa, Arizona: Anti-porkulus protesters raise their voices

There needs to be protest every time he leaves D.C. and every time some new unbelievable crap comes out of this bill.

Health Care Rationing for the United States In the Stimulus Bill

This is one of those Bad Little Things tucked away in the stimulus bill. It is Now gaining traction. Again the web seems to be ahead of everyone else Fox was just talking about it. It appears when this good enough light of day it set off a whole new round of out rage against this. What set it off?

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan

"But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.” "

The mistake is that they cleared up the language. From the How the Stimulus Bill Could Kill You

'Section 9201 of the stimulus package establishes the "Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research." This body, which would be made up of federal bureaucrats will "coordinate the conduct or support of comparative effectiveness and related health services research."'

I talked about it here some days ago. SCHIP and A Heath Care Nanny Board, We Will Be Boxed In

"It sounds exactly like the last part of socialized heath care, just before the socialized society kicks in. Pass the little expansions of heath care like SCHIP til every one covered. Then start with the food taxes, weight checks and screens in all rooms waking you up and watching to make sure you do your exercise"

This is exactly how you get 1984 in modern times. I am glad this is getting attention. Lets all hope this will push the "what else is buried in this" storyline. This should give the politicians in the senate the cover to kill this bill hear and now. If they want Socialized society(Marxist? Communist?) they should put it in the light of day. Be very aware that they are taking us in a very different direction and playing like its just a little different.