We at the Winkest Link were stupid enough to believe that the House of Representatives would eventually see the light and just pass raising the debt ceiling. To all presidents of both parties this has always been a formality in the past. But now morons run the House, so we at W-L will have to delay the follow-up to our ‘Voter Fraud’ article to make time to beg for two-cents worth of maturity from the GOP. Here goes….

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Dear GOP: (I will address the GOP directly, and not the teabaggers, because teabaggers are to thoughtful discussion what Neanderthals are to aeronautics…. “Ugh… me not get joke”) This is so stupid. Just raise the debt ceiling already. Don’t attach anything to it, just pass it.

This is not a budget bill, this is just (to paraphrase Ronald Reagan) ‘housekeeping.’

Raise the debt ceiling already, we can argue about the budget later.

The debt ceiling is arbitrary and should be totally non-controversial. Only one other country on the planet even has one. It is a made-up number.

For this stupid “principle” you would trash the U.S. economy? Especially when we are trying to recover from this last recession?

The only reason it is controversial is because the teabaggers want all conflicts to go nuclear. They control about 80 of the 535 House seats, but they have John Boehner’s private parts in a vice. He cannot breathe without their approval.

Boehner must be the weakest speaker in modern times. He knows additional taxes are needed to help the budget, but he dare not whisper that….

Teabaggers don’t know and don’t care about our responsibilities to maintain our standing in the world/financial community. Don’t know, don’t care.

Interest rates will rise on everybody, including you and me and the small businesses the GOP so often claims to care about.

This is the REAL job-killer. If a business can’t afford to borrow money, they can’t grow the company, or hire people.

Raising the debt ceiling should be perfunctory. We must pay our bills. This is not the same as passing a budget, it is simply paying our bills.

Teabaggers want every issue with Obama to be nuclear war. That is not real governance. Certainly not MATURE governance.

Raise the debt ceiling already. And raise it to at least 2013 so we don’t have to go through this B.S. again during election year 2012.

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Additional Comments

By Kasson

Ostensibly (I like that word), the reason for Republican’s insistence on balancing the budget is to prevent economic and financial collapse in the future.  This is a noble goal, and that is why it works in the polls.But if the purpose is to prevent economic collapse, why would they flirt with it now?  Neither side is willing to take a bitter pill.

I think of it this way.  The United States has a cancer (the national debt).  Everyone agrees that in the short, medium, and long terms we need to deal with it to prevent it from metastasizing at least any worse than it has.  But I don’t feel the solution is to go on a murderous, suicidal rampage, taking out the global economy.  Sure it would “fix” the problem of debt.  But it is like curing an ice cream headache by shooting yourself in the head.  Solves the pain, sure, but it isn’t forward looking.  You need to look ahead and plan for the future.  Think of the consequences of your choices.

I am confident something will get passed, albeit it wont be a solution anyone likes.  They punted on the problem for too long, and now have to accept a less than desirable outcome.  You know it’s bad when NFL owners are laughing at the inability of congress to come to some sort of deal.

The press seems obligated to report a certain number of ‘happy stories’ every day. They search and search for these, because they know that war stories and cancer stories become a bit of a buzz-kill, and after a while people will tune you out.

Some days the ‘happy story’ comes easy. Every Thanksgiving the President will ‘pardon’ a turkey. This always makes the local and national news.

Boring. Stupid. Happy.

Same with Easter. The President and his wife invite some kids over. The kids scramble around the White House lawn scooping up eggs.

It turns out that these are ceremonial, wooden, Easter eggs. This is not new, but I probably didn’t know about the wooden eggs because I DON’T CARE. The ‘happy stories’ bore me.

Fox cares. Fox cares about everything the Obama’s do.

Every day the Fox writers are assigned one duty: Find any story and turn it into a way to rip the President and his wife.

Even a stupid, boring, Easter story.

Conservatives love to say all other networks are simply liberal mouthpieces. When “W” was president, did NBC/CNN/etc. ever do anything like this? http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/fox-news-takes-serious-issue-with-the-white-house-easter-egg-roll-event-video

Likewise, did Fox complain about Laura and George Bush when they held 8 consecutive Easter egg events, also with wooden eggs? Hint….no, they didn’t.

If you care (and I don’t know why anyone would care), here are the facts surrounding this years’ Easter Egg hunt at the White House…..

1. The eggs were certified hardwood, not particle board. Certified hardwood is just like any other wood, but comes from sustainable forests.
2. The ‘particle board’ mentioned is the cardboard box that the eggs come in, which is still not really particle board, but it isn’t normal hardwood either. (The box is also certified wood.)
3. The 85,000 eggs were NOT signed by Michelle and Barack Obama, The names were just stamped on them. (It would be a little time-consuming to sign 85,000 wooden eggs.)
4. The White House egg-rolling event actually uses hard-boiled eggs, so yes, there were real eggs there. The wooden eggs are given as souvenirs to the families who attend the event, and also sold online with proceeds going to the National Park Foundation.

But Fox does continue to validate the “We Report – You Decide” motto. The full motto is …

“WE REPORT 50% fact and 50% bulls**t, YOU DECIDE which is which.”

Apparently, Rep. Michele Bachmann made a misstatement about early American history.  She claimed that of New Hampshire, “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world at Lexington and Concord.” We all know that happened in Texas with T. Boone Crockett exclaiming “Remember the Armadillo.” I don’t remember why the Armadillo was so important, but I guess Mexico wanted it or something.

I only heard of this mistake, when she said that the reporting of her mistake shows and obvious bias in the media. It must be news to her that I, a self-proclaimed follower of the news, had not heard of her mistake, until she used it to claim the bias.

Thankfully, she provided an example. She mentioned that during the 2008 campaign Barrack Obama, had claimed “Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.” Again, we all know there are 52 States, excluding Canada (that’s a Province). She claimed this wasn’t reported in the media. First of all, how did she hear about it if it wasn’t reported? Second of all, I heard it many times when it happened. Yet, I didn’t hear her statement.

Where is the bias now?

To be forgiving to Bachmann, I know when it is you that make a mistake it feels if the whole world is closing in and making notice of the error, but the bias here doesn’t lie in the media’s hands, the bias is you perceiving yourself as more important than you really are.

The rest of the world could care less about that quip, there are many more telling quotes.

10:32 [Kasson]: Well Bristol Palin apparently moved on tonight.

10:19 [Wink]:  The nation is following this very-very closely.  Unless ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is on….

10:02 [Wink]:  The curse of victory. Republicans, like the Dems before them, will let this alleged power go to their heads.

9:30 [Kasson]: Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin are on Fox News right now, and it was actually a nice, cordial  conversation. Although I found it funny when Sarah Palin suggested that the “Neanderthals verbally attacking” female candidates on both sides need to “evolve.”   Is that a belief in evolution I hear?

9:27 [Kasson]: It looks like Rhode Islanders (sounds like an NBA team), are voting down the state name change, I guess this should be taken as a referendum against our suggestions.

9:16 [Kasson]: That Michele Bachman interview with Chris Mathews was a classic in the disconnect (though noise may have played a factor.

9:03 [Wink]:  O’Donnell can tour with Palin. That would bring the total IQ up to about 115…

8:48 [Kasson]: Interesting “concession” speech by Christine O’Donnell.  If you weren’t paying attention, you would think she won.  Are there bigger things planned for her?

8:44 [Wink]:  While the red states get redder, the blue states become truly blue.

8:13 [Wink]:  GOP will control the House, the Dems may hold onto the Senate.

8:02 [Kasson]: Republicans are now projected to take control of the House.

7:50 [Wink]:  Update:  The GIANTS ARE STILL THE WORLD SERIES CHAMPS !!!

7:43 [Kasson]: You know what they say about pundits, they make a “pun out of you ‘nd it”

7:37 [Wink]:  But back to the Rhode Island thing… rename it? How about ‘Rhode Schlolar’ (Rhodes Collar?)or ‘Rhode Hard and Put Away Wet’ or (irony intended) ‘The Colossus of Rhode’

7:35 [Cessna]: West Virginia projected to go Democrat, according to pundits this was a key win for Democrats to keep the Senate.

7:23 [Kasson]: How about Apple Juice, an an All-American drink, also healthy (and cheap, you never know in this economy).

7:19 [Cessna]: For the 2008 election, we toasted Barack Obama’s win with eggnog. This election’s drink of choice? Tears.

7:13 [Wink]: Election Night, 2010. We know that each and every election season you look forward to tracking the inner thoughts of the Winkest Link team.  Kick back and enjoy. We will give you a blow-by-blow as the evening progresses. For example, the pizza is delicious…

7:10 [Cessna]: So a Democrat in Delaware won their House seat. Is that a surprise, even in a Republican Takeover year?

7:00 [Cessna]: I was going to say something like that or “Rhode Landlocked,” but in all reality, Rhode Island is nothing. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

6:57 [Kasson]: Welcome Wink, glad to see you helping better the country.  Cessna, is bringing us his geography trivia informing me that in fact Rhode Island is not an island.  Does that make it an isthmus?

6:53 CST [Wink] Sorry for the late arrival. I was boosting the economy of the local pizza mart.  Just doing my part.

6:40 CST [Cessna]: Rhode Not An Island?

6:36 CST [Kasson]: Interesting ballot issue of the moment.  Rhode Island is voting to change their name, any suggestions?

6:33 CST [Cessna]: Rob Portman projected to win Ohio Senate seat. So much for my help in my Political Science 230 class, Mr. Fisher.

6:26 CST [Kasson]: I love it when results are called before any votes are tallied,  This includes (D) Leahy in Vermont and (R) DeMint in South Carolina.

6:17 CST [Cessna]: Early lead for Republicans in House 11-1. This is a bad sign for Dems since polls that have closed by now are on the East Coast, which is majority Democratic, usually.

6:15 CST [Kasson]: The first polls are now closed.  First predictions: Senate after election Dems-52 Republicans-48 House: this is way crazier to predict,  Republicans-228 Dems 210

Often times when a superstar, whether it is an athlete, actor or musical act takes a political or moral stance, people tell them to just go back to what they are famous for, and leave the politics for the politicians.

I don’t have a problem with a person expressing his/her views even on such a large stage.

Next, I am glad Mrs. Tebow chose not to have an abortion. It is her right to make that decision, not the governments.

It is wrong for the government to be making the decision in either direction.

Please note: Planned Parenthood also supports Mrs. Tebow’s decision.

Enjoy the game.

Yesterday President Obama went to Norway to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize.  He spent 26 hours there, long line I guess, these days they seem giving them out to everybody.  He get’s to Norway and prepares to deliver his acceptance speech.

What will he talk about? Well it is the Nobel Peace Prize, so I am sure it will be about holding hands, ending all wars, getting rid of all nukes, and the like.  It turns out his speech is partly about the necessity of war, how wars can be justified.

This type of speech should be a State of the Union address in which he outlines the reasons to invade Canada.  This is not exactly the typical “peace speech” that you would expect from a person who just won The Nobel Peace Prize.

Here is the already infamous cover (you may need to avert your eyes)(click the “more” button):

(from here)

Wait, is that it? A picture of her posing as a runner?  To me, this image is by all means conservative.  For Newsweek this may be a little better than normal.  What is wrong with looking pretty good in a photo?  Why is she holding a BlackBerry?  Would you have prefered that they chose a tabloid photo?

I get the feeling that the only real problems Palin and her followers have is the subtitle underneath. I have not read the article yet, but my guess is that it is also fairly mundane.  Newsweek has a habit of using provocative title to get you to read an article where they often say almost the opposite of the title.

This brings me to my next magazine cover (from here):

Using similar logic this magazine cover would definitely fall into the “sexist” category.  It even calls our President “hot.” I don’t particularly have a problem with either cover, and Palin should know that starting this issue is only going to sell more Newsweek magazines.

Because everyone everywhere apparently speaks with a liberal bias, someone had to create a website called “Conservapedia.” This differs from Wikipedia by twisting all conventional wisdom toward conservative opinion.

Fine, whatever. If you want your kids to think the earth is 6000 years old (and they DO), then this is the website for you.

And if you think Conservapedia might have a biblical bent, you are right. BUT, as I said before, everyone everywhere speaks with a liberal bias, and now that includes the Bible.

The brain trust at Conservapedia has finally noticed the Bible’s distinct liberalism.  I do not even disagree with their judgment, what with all the ‘caring for the poor and the sick.’  Or such liberal ideas as ‘turn the other cheek,’ which in the case of current liberalism is: when you take a beating, you should join the other side (in a if you can’t beat them, join them mentality).

Here is what I have a problem with, Conservapedia wishes to change the Bible to rid it of all liberal bias.  I consider this sacrilege.  Conservatives (at Conservapedia, I realize that they are not the voice of all conservatives),  you cannot change the Bible’s words. If you already twist the meaning of passages, why would you need to change the words themselves?

One guideline is to avoid “dumbing” down the bible, and another is to avoid “liberal wordiness.”  I will be surprised if they can manage to avoid using the “big” words in the Bible currently, without dumbing it down.

I can’t wait for the changes though…..

To quote Stephen Colbert:  While the bible quote is “The meek shall inherit the earth” what Jesus meant was… “The meek shall inherit the earth if we can repeal the federal estate tax. Seriously. 45 percent for estates over 3.5 million? Spareth me.”

The state legislature of Massachusetts is working on a bill to allow the Governor to appoint an interim Senator so that their state is fully represented in congress until the special election takes place on January 19, 2010.  This bill was one of Ted Kennedy’s final wishes.

It seems logical that the state legislature should pass this law to allow their state to be fully represented, and to grant Ted Kennedy his wish.

Here is where the problem lies…

Massachusetts used to have a law allowing an interim appointment to a vacant Senate seat. In fact, it wasn’t all that long ago that this was the norm in Massachusetts.  You only have to look back to 2004 and two familiar names. John Kerry was running for President,  Mitt Romney was the Governor. The vacancy created by John Kerry would have allowed Republican Mitt Romney to choose the temporary replacement.

So the state legislature took those powers away from Romney, preventing him from seating a presumably Republican interim replacement.  This was highly partisan and should never have been done. It was stupid then, and makes them look a lot worse now.

It seems logical to want your state to be fully represented, but you can’t keep changing the laws based on your partisan “wants.” The people elected Mitt Romney and that showed they trusted him enough to pick some guy to sit in the Senate for a few months.  You are elected for the people, not for yourselves.  Make up your mind and stick with it, even if it isn’t convenient in your partisan little world.