These are my links for December 29th through January 2nd:
- Can the Republican party survive any more McConnell-brokered deals? – Mitch McConnell has many virtues as a legislator. Unfortunately, brokering deals advantageous to Republicans is not one of them.McConnell’s defenders will say that his most recent deal was the best any Republican could do under the circumstances. Perhaps. But this defense ignores the fact that it was McConnell’s prior deal — the one creating the “fiscal cliff” — that established these adverse circumstances.Let’s step back and consider the impact of McConnell’s deals on the valiant effort of House Republicans in 2011 to use the debt-ceiling to attack the debt. So far, the results are as follows: (1) the debt ceiling was raised, (2) the debt continued to soar, (3) the latest McConnell-brokered deal will increase, rather than decrease, the debt, and (4) taxes are about to go up.
- The McConnell Tax Hike – The McConnell Tax Hike will become law of the land. Mitch McConnell can and should take responsibility for it.The McConnell Tax Hike raises taxes on people making over $400,000.00, but it also raises taxes on the middle class. “More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes.”Not only does the McConnell Tax Hike stick it to the middle class, it raises taxes $41 for every $1 in spending cuts. Those spending cuts are ephemeral as there is $330 billion in new spending and a $4 trillion price tag over the next ten years.
Both Hollywood and NASCAR get carve outs. So too do wind energy companies.
The Republican Establishment in Washington, DC should be burned to the ground and salt spread on the remains. Republicans who saw Mitch McConnell and John Boehner destroy the last plank of the Republican Party are going to need to look elsewhere for a savior for their party. Boehner and McConnell have declared they will survive. Their party? They don’t really care.
Conservatives must look elsewhere. I do not advocate a third party. I advocate bring fresh blood into the GOP.
- Senate-Passed Deal Means Higher Tax on 77% of Households – The budget deal passed by the U.S. Senate today would raise taxes on 77.1 percent of U.S. households, mostly because of the expiration of a payroll tax cut, according to preliminary estimates from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington.More than 80 percent of households with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000 would pay higher taxes. Among the households facing higher taxes, the average increase would be $1,635, the policy center said. A 2 percent payroll tax cut, enacted during the economic slowdown, is being allowed to expire as of yesterday.
- McConnell’s World | The Page by Mark Halperin | TIME.com – RT @MarkHalperin Mitch McConnell is the reason we got this deal. What does he do for an encore?
- Timeline of the ‘fiscal-cliff’ showdown
- The fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn’t – House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.
Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”
Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”
The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans — was only one episode in nearly two months of high-stakes negotiations laced with distrust, miscommunication, false starts and yelling matches as Washington struggled to ward off $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.
The White House and Congress knew of the self-imposed deadline for more than 17 months and they still blew past it, as a president fresh off a strong reelection victory tested — and ultimately broke — the Republican Party’s fidelity to its tax-cuts-only governing philosophy.
It took a late intervention of two Senate veterans — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Vice President Joe Biden — to rescue the negotiations. Their relationship, forged over two decades on Capitol Hill, helped move Congress to a resolution because it wasn’t burdened by the raw political conflicts of the past and the legislative fights still to come.
- How the House Voted on Fiscal Cliff Legislation – Most House Republicans voted against the final fiscal cliff deal late Tuesday night, while just 16 Democrats joined them.A few notes from the votes:* The bill easily passed 257-167, with 217 votes needed for passage. Democrats voted 172-16 in favor while Republicans votes 151-85 against.
* GOP leadership was split. While House Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and 2012 vice presidential nominee and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) voted yes, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) voted no.
* Ryan’s vote is noteworthy because another major 2016 presidential contender, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was one of just eight senators to vote no early Tuesday morning, as did another potential presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
* Other no votes included GOP firebrands Reps. Allen West (Fla.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Joe Walsh (Ill.). West and Walsh lost reelection in November, while Bachmann narrowly won.
* GOP Senate candidate Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) voted no. She is a top hope for Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-W.Va.) seat.
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2013-01-01 – Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2013-01-01
- Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-01-01 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2013-01-01 #tcot
- My Daily Twitter Digest for 2013-01-01 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2013-01-01
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-31 – Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-31
- Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-31 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-31 #tcot
- My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-31 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-31
- Gregory Flap @ Chumash Casino Resort – A little poker to start the New Year! (@ Chumash Casino Resort)
- LIVE: Final Day Before The Fiscal Cliff – Business Insider – RT @businessinsider: Fox News reports Reid hasn’t signed on to tax deal
- What’s in the fiscal cliff deal – Ginger Gibson – POLITICO.com – RT @politico: What’s in the fiscal cliff deal? @GingerGibson details:
- White House pre-spins fiscal cliff defeat | WashingtonExaminer.com – RT @conncarroll: White House pre-spins fiscal cliff defeat
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-30 – Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-30
- Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-30 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-30 #tcot
- My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-30 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-30
- Adventure Travel, Gear, and Fitness | OutsideOnline.com – CrossFit Endurance’s Unconventional 12-Week Marathon Training Plan | Endurance | #tcot
- Silent sub: Russian noiseless Borei class nuclear submarine immersed – Super-modern, powerful and almost noiseless Russian nuclear submarine Vladimir Monomakh has been put in water to become the third ship of the Borei project. The cruiser is about to begin sea trials and mooring to become fully operational in 2013.Vladimir Monomakh was laid down at Russia’s largest shipbuilding complex Sevmash, located on the shores of the White Sea in the town of Severodvinsk in northern Russia on March 19, 2006 – the 100th anniversary of the Russian submarine fleet.Borei-class submarine
Length: 170 m
Beam: 13.5 m
Draught: 10 m
Test depth: 450 m
Displacement:
14,720 tons surfaced
24,000 tons submerged
Speed: 29 knots (54 km/h)
Complement: 107 (55 officers)
Armament: 16-20 × Bulava SLBMs
6 × 533 mm torpedo tubesIt belongs to a class of missile strategic submarine cruisers with a new generation of nuclear reactor, which allows the submarine to dive to a depth of 480 meters. It can spend up to three months in autonomous navigation and, thanks to the latest achievements in the reduction of noise, it is almost silent compared to previous generations of submarines.
The submarine is armed with the new missile system, which has from 16 to 20 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles Bulava (SS-NX-30 by NATO classification). The rocket is able to overcome any prospective missile defense system.
- NFL playoff matchups and dates are set – latimes.com – RT @latimessports: NFL playoff matchups and dates are set
- CrossFit Endurance’s Unconventional 12-Week Marathon Training Plan | Endurance | OutsideOnline.com – CrossFit Endurance’s Unconventional 12-Week Marathon Training Plan
- Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors discover blood clot – NBC Politics – Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors discover blood clot – NBC Politics #tcot
- Report: Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors find blood clot – The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – RT @thehill: Report: Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors find blood clot by @danielstrauss4
- Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors discover blood clot – NBC Politics – RT @nbcwashington: Latest on Sec. Clinton’s hospitalization:
- Hillary Clinton ‘in hospital’ with blood clot – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been admitted to hospital in New York with a blood clot, officials say.Mrs Clinton suffered a concussion earlier this month after fainting and falling down.At the time, she was reported to have had a stomach virus and to have passed out after becoming dehydrated.
Mrs Clinton is due to stand down as secretary of state before US President Barack Obama officially begins his second term in January.
Doctors discovered the clot during a follow-up examination on Sunday, her spokesman Philippe Reines said.
Mrs Clinton is being treated with anti-coagulants. She was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where she will remain for the next 48 hours so that doctors can monitor her medication.
- Pentagon Readying 800,000 for Rolling Layoffs – The Pentagon is preparing to notify its entire civilian workforce to prepare for furloughs if Congress and President Barack Obama are unable to reach a deal before Jan. 2 to avert automatic spending cuts.A senior defense official said Sunday that the Pentagon would notify 800,000 civilian workers to brace for furloughs in the new year, meaning the workers would be ordered to take mandatory leave without pay for a certain period. The warning is much gloomier than the agency recently offered employees, as it had said there wouldn’t be an immediate impact on personnel or operations if a deal wasn’t reached by January.But the senior official said that notices would go out soon after sequestration took effect. The official didn’t know when the first layoffs would take place, but said they weren’t likely to happen immediately.
The Pentagon must notify Congress of the possible layoffs because of labor laws requiring advance notice, the official said.
In a letter to employees before the December holidays, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta promised that other options for cutting costs would be examined before officials resort to layoffs and that sequestration “would not necessarily require immediate reductions in spending.”
- California Democrats signal they want to reform Proposition 13 – San Jose Mercury News – California Democrats signal they want to reform Proposition 13 #tcot
- Untitled (http://pollingmatters.gallup.com/2012/12/very-conservative-americans-least.html) – RT @gallupnews: Very Conservative Americans Least Likely to Want Fiscal Cliff Compromise #tcot
- GOP Sen. Cornyn will oppose Hagel nomination – Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the Republican whip, told me in a phone interview this morning he would oppose the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense: “I can’t support a Hagel nomination if it comes,” he said. He is the first senator to expressly state he would oppose Hagel. He told me he thinks there would be substantial opposition to Hagel on both sides of the aisle. “I’ve heard prominent Democrats concerned about his position on Israel. Many Republican have said they did not want to prejudge. But it would be a bad move and one of the reasons I’ve taken the position [to oppose]. ‘Mr. President don’t do that. It would be a bad nomination.’”
- As ‘fiscal cliff’ looms, Republicans have no political incentive to make deal with Obama – That mentality means that for the vast majority of Republicans in Congress, a deal is more dangerous than no deal. A deal creates the possibility of a primary challenge from their ideological right in districts and even states that, by and large, went heavily against Obama in November. No deal means they might — with the emphasis on “might” — face some blow back from constituents who want them to get something done for the good of the country and put the partisanship and politics aside.And so, if you are wondering why congressional Republicans won’t, in the words of Obama, just “take the deal,” now you know. They have every political reason not to.
- Pat Buchanan – Conservative Columnist and Political Commentator – Why the War Party Fears Hagel #tcot
- Press Releases – News – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell – RT @StewSays: Sen. McConnell’s speech today on the lack of urgency and his call to VP Biden is here: #FiscalCliff
- Untitled (http://gov.mtopgroup.com/ref/art1/house-live.htm) – RT @HouseFloor: 2:15:44pm – The House recessed. The next meeting is subject to the call of the Chair.
- McConnell reaches out to Biden, Reid steps back – RT @ZekeJMiller: RT @edatpost: Mitch McConnell reaches out to @VP Biden as Harry Reid steps back #fiscalcliff
- Why the War Party Fears Hagel – Neocon hostility to Hagel is rooted in a fear that in Obama’s inner councils his voice would be raised in favor of negotiating with Iran and against a preventive war or pre-emptive strike. But if Obama permits these assaults to persuade him not to nominate Hagel, he will only be postponing a defining battle of his presidency, not avoiding it.For Bibi Netanyahu is going to be re-elected this January. And the government he forms looks to be more bellicose than the last. And Bibi’s highest priority, shared by his neocon allies, is a U.S. war on Iran in 2013.If Obama does not want that war, he is going to have to defeat the war party. Throwing an old warrior like Chuck Hagel over the side to appease these wolves is not the way to begin this fight.
Nominate him, Mr. President. Let’s get it on.
- Latest on the fiscal cliff: Major setback – Negotiations between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have suffered a “major setback” after Republicans demanded the inclusion of new method for calculating entitlement benefits as part of the fiscal cliff package, according to Democratic sources.The provision, known as “chained CPI,” is opposed by many progressives because it would result in lower payments for Social Security beneficiaries.
- Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-29 – Flap’s California Blog – Flap’s California Blog @ Flap Twitter Digest for 2012-12-29
- Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-29 – Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Blog @ Flap Twitter Daily Digest for 2012-12-29 #tcot
- My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-29 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – My Daily Twitter Digest for 2012-12-29
- The Healthy Flap: December 29, 2012 – Locum Tenens (Temporary) Dentist – Gregory Cole, D.D.S. – The Healthy Flap: December 29, 2012
- 52 ways to leave your blubber – latimes.com – 52 ways to leave your blubber
- Hope for hearing: Cochlear implants – CNN.com – Hope for hearing: Cochlear implants
- Medicare Cuts Loom Large as ‘Cliff’ Nears – ABC News – Medicare Cuts Loom Large as ‘Cliff’ Nears
- New year means changes for taxes, driving, light bulbs Page 1 of 4 | UTSanDiego.com – New year means changes for California taxes, driving, light bulbs #tcot
- Lawmakers in VIP loan program violated no rules, House panel says – latimes.com – Lawmakers in VIP loan program violated no rules, House panel says #tcot
- New law: Texting on hands-free devices while driving will be legal Jan. 1 – LA Daily News – New California law: Texting on hands-free devices while driving will be legal Jan. 1 #tcot
- The Fiscal Cliff – Something for Nothing? – Flap’s Blog – The Fiscal Cliff – Something for Nothing? #tcot
Comments Off
Entries (RSS)