AUGUST SECOND IS A DONE DEAL ALREADY

Well a woman on Jeopardy is afraid of butterflies. I think she saw one twoo many vampire movies as a kid. Of course some things we should be afraid of, like what will happen if we don’t raise the debt ceiling. Clearly everything the Republicans would happen if the President got his will will be the things that WILL be that happen if we default on our debts. Interest rates will skyrocket worse than any deficit could cause and the money markets will panic in a chain reaction as the economy is plunged into chaos and foreign investors pull their funds. But to the people on the Mc Laughlin report except for Eleanor Clift, they all think the President should exceed to every one of John Boehner’s demands, and approve every last budget cut and nave NONE of the tax hikes and loophole closures and corporate subsidy cuts that the President wants. They even mocked the idea saying “Now hoe expensive can a corporate jet be?” They accused the President of taking a cheap shot at the rich by bringing up something so obvious to the American people as a waste. They even went so far as to say that the salaries of a few dozen luxury yacht makers might be impacted if we close tax loopholes. Clearly as Maurie Head sang long ago “My mind is clearer; at last I see where we all soon will be”. The President will cold like a house of cards as he does on virtually every issue eventually, but John Boehner won’t acknowledge this and continue to cast the President as the villain as the economy slides into the toilet. The senate is democratic but that won’t matter. The democratic rule’s days are numbered there also, so they won’t think it matters. Things don’t look for the Senate saying democratic next year, and then they will pass a flag burning amendment, which just might be approved by three-fourths the states. Of course the approved method of disposing of the flag in official flag etiquette is - - burning the flag. What are they going to do then? Of course if government closes down how many prisons and mental institutions will have their doors flung open to let the loonies run free and become the bag ladies pushing shopping carts on the street pan-handling when they aren’t talking to themselves or buying food for their fifty cats. Of course the loonies were already set free in the election of 2010 and they took over Washington in the guise of Mitch Mc Conell and John Boehner. Clearly the President has no balls and will not fight for any of his principles. So therefore he will wait till the last possible minute and sign whatever bill John Boehner shoves in front of him. He’s too much like Mr. Data on Star Trek. In one episode Data was bullied by a despot and Data was a slave to his moral scruples and couldn’t fight back the way he wanted to. When a person with no moral scruples confronts a person with scruples, the latter is at a marked disadvantage. They spoke of these mafia moles going along with murders that they didn’t try and stop. Suppose there was a suicide bomber scheduled to set off a bomb at Times Square or Union Station? Would you blow your cover to prevent it, or you pull a Bo Brady and say “I don’t think we have enough evidence yet; we should wait”. There comes a point, like if someone is going to set off an atomic bomb in downtown Detroit that you say “You know, I think saving the lives takes precedence”. John Boehner is a terrorist with an atomic bomb because the economic repercussions are highly unpredictable because such a thing has never been done before. The President has no choice, really but to go along with the Mc Laughlin group, John Boehner and the dictates of the Tea Party’s check list of things to do. And having done so he will have lost every bit of courage and credibility among his own party, but he’ll do it anyhow, because that’s the sort of guy he is. He’s like Ned Flanders who from the back of a long line says “Hey, if we just turn around and look the other way we’ll be in front of the line”. His idea of decisive swiftness if to run faster than anybody else among the forces running in retreat. And at this point the President should at least say “A gun was held to my head and I am not responsible for what happens next”. But he won’t do that either. Instead the tea party will be emboldened making fresh demands the nature of we can’t now even fathom, just like the demands today would have been unthinkable twenty or even ten years ago. This is our current state of political reality.

People make assanine statements. Like "No socialized medicine but take your hands off of my medi-care". Or how about this one, "I'm all for religion and God, it's just all this supernatural stuff I can't stomach". Or "Marriage is a wonderful thing. It's just dating that's evil because it is a "gateway activity" that could lead to sin". The phrase "We all have to live within our means" seems to imply some ceiling on "personal growth". People talk about "printing press money" as though you could walk down to any bank and exchange it for gold right now and you don't want to lose this right. Homer Simpson was once told that the Wickipedia proved him wrong on something, so Homer says "We'll just change it when we get home. We'll change a lot of things". (that remark used to be funny) How about this exchange? A husband comes in and says to a counselor "My wife used to be so full of life and vigor and enthusiasum she brought to everything. But now after ten years of marriage she's down and discouraged and apathetic". The counselor responds, "Well, you' just told me what being married to you did to her". And the guy says "Oh, I know a friend who became a Born Again Christian and the same thing happened with him. Could there be an application of your words there?" "Well, you said it". Or you hear an evangelist say "You know you're gambling with eternity?" And someone yells out "No, I DON'T want to gamble you may be someone I can't trust and screw up my life". Or this: "I know that deficets are bad because I made a bad investment on my home a few years ago and can't pay for it now, and don't want the same thing to happen with the government". Or "Government investment in the ecconomy chokes out private investment". And of course there is always "I don't believe in getting married and I'm going to raise all my kids the same way". That one actually used to be funny. How about a preacher saying something like "He who steals my time is a thief". Or "If you go to church you're a thief if you don't put something in the basket to pay for the lights and air conditioning". Or "God is such an important person that if he feels you slighted him he feels entitled to respond with the ultimate vengence". And there is always "It's OK to talk to God, but if he ever talks to you they'll lock you up". And of course Christians are always saying you should "Keep on doing the same thing that's failed every time you've tried it, over and over again". Or "If I fall down on the job and fail to look after my flock, well it's not me, it must be the will of God". Here is a wise saying "The world is full of surprises". Often the person saying it himself doesn't know how prophetic his remarks are