Happy New Years 2011!

The Best New Year’s Resolutions For 2011 from Buzzfeed

1. Always replace the gas nozzle before driving away from the pump

 

Earmarks are gone – now you know even less about where your money is being spent

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but the misconceptions over the earmark process haven’t ceased. Now we have Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona on Fox News discussing the issue. I maintain my position that you are not getting your money’s worth if you believe an earmark ban is somehow reducing wasteful spending. Not. Gonna. Happen. Sorry.

Here is a quote from the story:

“An earmark is created when a member of Congress designates money in the federal budget for a particular project, usually in his or her home state or district. Though the earmark does not represent new money in the budget — rather, it tags existing funds for a specific purpose — Flake said he hopes the ban will in turn motivate lawmakers to approve smaller budgets in the first place.”

Misc. views

Right Scoop has a piece out on Charles Krauthammer. Charles is trying to make the case for NOT defunding Obamacare. Now, the fact that Krauthammer is a neo-con is nothing new. Remember, he was in the camp taking a hard-line against Christine O’Donnell because she was not an establishment candidate. Didn’t matter what her message was, she hadn’t paid her dues by coming up through the ranks.

Krauthammer is missing a most basic premise with his take on Obamacare. He believes that defunding will provide Obama cover and give him an excuse for when it fails. He thinks it is better to simply let it go for a few years and fail on its own. Only one problem with his logic. He is assuming that the GOP will still own the House down the road. That would be the only way they could defund it. I would never make that assumption. The GOP is now on record as making it job one to repeal Obamacare. If they took his advice and simply let it ride the next couple of years, than the tea party will simply eat their lunch in the next election.

I wanted to just weigh in on the “illegal immigrant” terminology debate. The media are under fire to stop using the term as it is considered offensive to Latinos. I must say I agree. Not that it’s offensive, but that we should stop using it. It’s an oxymoron. You shouldn’t be “illegal” and an “immigrant” at the same time. The Latinos don’t want any mischaracterizations coming from mis-using the term. So let’s give them their wish. From now on “illegal immigrants” are simply called “border felons”. When you cross our border illegally, it’s a federal offense. You haven’t immigrated. You aren’t an “undocumented worker”. You may not even be here to work illegally. No, you are simply a “border felon”. Good, glad to have that settled.

Pension tsunami threat growing

There are three major threats threatening both state and local governments across the country. Bond defaults, health care costs and pension liabilities. Any one of them can bring down a state or local government on its own, yet we have many that face multiple threats. Now, a state may not be able to go bankrupt under current law, but they can go into receivership which will trigger a wave of problems not unlike a bankruptcy.

It already happened in Prichard, AL, as they couldn’t meet their financial obligations any longer and just quit mailing pension checks. They canot legally do this so we know where this is going. Prichard is just a small taste of what is to come. Many of our nations major cities and then of course the states also face the same fate. Business Insider magazine put together a list of those who are on the hot seat and most likely to go down next. I would think they are being optimistic in their projections. As the unemployment rate stays in the stratosphere and our federal government continues its policies which are detrimental to all of us, the economic pressures are likely to increase over the next decade and will speed up the doomsday dates for the cities and states. Here is the list.

The NEXT 10 City Pensions That Will Run Out Of Money

Republicans are accountable now

It’s as if we just experienced a two-year long nap. Despite the 111th Congress going down in history as the worst ever, Obama and his gang on the hill consistently claimed that everything was the fault of Bush. Didn’t matter what they did, they were forced to do so in response to the previous administrations “failed policies”. So now we are a second session of Congress removed from the Bush-era with the 112th set to commence next month. Obama is halfway through his campaign. Some would say his “campaign” never ends, but that’s another story. So we have finally reached a point where both Obama and Congress can finally stop blaming Bush and take responsibility for their actions, right? Wrong!

Obama’s chief mouthpiece Robert Gibbs is out with the new strategy. He’s now making the rounds with what we likely be inundated with over the next two years. Here is the new mantra. “Republicans are accountable now”. Yes sir, after the Democrats were taken to the woodshed in the mid-terms because the public clearly saw two years of disaster, they are still sticking with the “not my fault” excuse making. Of course, we know that the Democrats still hold a majority in the Senate and hold the White House, not to mention the courts. So the GOP is still the little brother if you will. But that won’t stop Gibbs. But let’s be honest. If you had a track record like the Democrats have had for the last two years, would you promote it?

So I predict that this is the new buzzword statement the mainstream media will regurgitate endlessly. “Republicans are accountable now”. Get used to it. You’re going to hear it a ton. Here’s the link to it if you can stand to hear it. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/26/gibbs-republicans-are-accountable-now/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_politicalticker+%28Blog%3A+Political+Ticker%29

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas from around the world!

 

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees

Afrikander

: Een Plesierige Kerfees

African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja

: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats

Albanian

:Gezur Krislinjden

 

 

Arabic: Milad Majid

Argentine

: Feliz Navidad

Armenian

: Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand

Azeri: Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun

 

Bahasa Malaysia

: Selamat Hari Natal

Basque

: Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!

Bohemian

: Vesele Vanoce

Brazilian

: Feliz Natal

Bengali

: Shubho borodin

Breton

: Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat

Bulgarian

: Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo

Catalan

: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!

Chile

: Feliz Navidad

Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Chinese

: (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Choctaw:

Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito

Columbia

: Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo

Cornish

: Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth

Corsian

: Pace e salute

Crazanian

: Rot Yikji Dol La Roo

Cree

: Mitho Makosi Kesikansi

Croatian

: Sretan Bozic

Czech

: Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish

: Glædelig Jul

Duri

: Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak

Dutch

: Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast

English

: Merry Christmas

Eskimo

: (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!

Esperanto

: Gajan Kristnaskon

Estonian

: Ruumsaid juulup|hi

Ethiopian

: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal

Eritfean/ Tigrinja

: Rehus- Beal- Ledeats

Faeroese

: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!

Farsi

: Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Finnish

: Hyvaa joulua

Flemish

: Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar

French

: Joyeux Noel

Frisian

: Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!

Faeroese: Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!

Galician: Bo Nada

Gaelic

: Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!

German

: Froehliche Weihnachten

Greek: Kala Christouyenna!

Greenlandic: Juullimi Pilluaritsi!

German: Froehliche Weihnachten

Haiti

: (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri’cho o Rish D’Shato Brichto

Hausa

: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaiian

: Mele Kalikimaka

Hebrew

: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Hindi

: Baradin ki shubh kamnaaye

Hausa

: Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaian

: Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Hungarian: Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket

Icelandic

: Gledileg Jol

Indonesian

: Selamat Hari Natal

Iraqi

: Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Irish

: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Iroquois

: Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.

Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese

: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Jiberish: Mithag Crithagsigathmithags

Korean: Sung Tan Chuk Ha


Lao

: souksan van Christmas

Latin

: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Latvian

: Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!

Lausitzian

:Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto

Lettish

: Priecigus Ziemassvetkus

Lithuanian

: Linksmu Kaledu

Low Saxon: Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar

Macedonian

: Sreken Bozhik

Maltese

: IL-Milied It-tajjeb

Manx

: Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa

Maori

: Meri Kirihimete

Marathi: Shub Naya Varsh

Navajo

: Merry Keshmish

Norwegian: God Jul, or Gledelig Jul

Occitan: Pulit nadal e bona annado

Papiamento

: Bon Pasco

Papua New Guinea

: Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu

Pennsylvania German

: En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!

Peru

: Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo

Philipines

: Maligayan Pasko!

Polish

: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Portuguese

:Feliz Natal

Pushto: Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha

Rapa-Nui

(Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua

Rhetian

: Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn

Romanche

: (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!

Romanian

:  Craciun Fericit

Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom

Sami

: Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan

: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Sardinian

: Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou

Serbian

: Hristos se rodi

Slovakian

: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce

Samoan

: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Scots Gaelic

: Nollaig chridheil huibh

Serbian

: Hristos se rodi.

Singhalese

: Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa

Slovak

: Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Slovene

: Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto

Spanish

: Feliz Navidad

Swedish: God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År

Tagalog

: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon

Tami

: Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal

Trukeese

: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!

Thai

: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas

Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian

: Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM

Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho

Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh: Nadolig Llawen

Yoruba

: E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!

Yugoslavian: Cestitamo Bozic

 

Need a hot last minute gift idea?

Gentlemen, would you like to make your ladies happy this Christmas? How about a win-win? You get to look like the hero and you get to do it on the cheap. No expensive jewelry or spa treatments. No hand-wringing over buying the right size clothing. God forbid you buy something too large! Talk about a Snickers moment! No, just get out your credit card, go online and get her a box of  STTP.

What the heck is STTP? It’s sodium tripolyphosphate. Why do you need it? Because many states have banned, or severly limited, phosphates in dishwasher detergent. That’s why your significant other is screaming at her dishwasher and wasting more of your hard earned dollars on rinse agent because she’s outraged that her dishes aren’t getting clean. Mix in the right proportion of  STTP with your standard powdered dishwashing detergent and you have instant clean dishes again. I don’t need to tell any of the married guys the value of a happy wife.

Now, a couple of sidenotes. First, you are not being “green” by doing this. Phosphates were banned to prevent them from getting into our lakes and rivers because they promote heavy algae growth. So, you would risk the Obama “green” police knocking down your door and putting you in a gulag. Somehow, I don’t think most in this audience are too concerned with being politically correct. Secondly, make sure to do your Googling first. You can get TSP anywhere but it has different concentrations of phosphate depending on the brand, and TSP is generally a household cleaner. Also, STTP is rated food grade so it should be safer for dishware since you obviously eat off it. And of course you need to get the mix right so do your research first.

Then later when you appear to be a knight in shining armor because you solved her dirty dish problem, you get to reap the bennies. Just remember me. You can send cash or checks, I have no preference.

Would you feel guilty buying a Volt?

So what do you think? Are you a buyer at $41,000 ($33,500 after rebate)? This is supposed to be the savior, at least for GM. It will be the 2011 Motor Trend car of the year. It will get an unprecedented advertising blitz. It will be subsidized by your fellow taxpayers to the tune of $7,500 per copy. I have to wonder, does that bother you at all if you’re a buyer? We all know how tough times are and the huge problem our debt and spending is causing. You could buy many different cars in the mid $30 grand range, either GM or not, so it’s not a buy American issue . For example, a Cadillac CTS starts at just over $35,000. They won’t put the taxpayers on the hook for your subsidy. I’m talking about someone who is already making a car purchase anyway. Does the feeling of being “green” offset the fact that you are increasing our debt to own this car?

REO Speedwagon trifecta

REO Speedwagon used to rock the house, although you’d never know it by their later efforts.

If you’ve never been to 157 Riverside Avenue, then you are in for a real treat. Gotta love Kevin Cronin and Gary Richrath having a little “conversation”.

Unions look to get another win with NLRB proposed rule on membership

The nations unions continue to get paid back in spades from supporting President Obama with their voting dollars. The NLRB ( National Labor Relations Board ) is proposing a new regulatory requirement of our nations employers. They will be required to post in the workplace a notice that lets employees know they have the right to unionize. The unions have failed thus far on getting card check passed, so they have found success here instead. Don’t worry, they haven’t given up on card check or their pension plan bailout either. This is right on the heels of winning their “sweetheart deals” ruling against the Dana Corporation. Since they can’t effectively sell their message of membership, they are now putting the onus on employers to do it for them. In fact, if your workers work from home or are otherwise mobile, you the employer will be forced to actively deliver this notice through other means.
So maybe you say what’s the big deal? No one is being forced to join the unions, only that a notice is posted illustrating their right to do so. The problem is that this is a necessary step in getting to that requirement. Power grabs don’t generally happen overnight. They are incremental. Each step lays the groundwork for the step to follow. You are expected to relax and think this is no big deal just as you will for the next step. It won’t just come down tomorrow that you are forced to join a union. It’s a tried and true method to get the American people to willingly accept ideas that they would reject out-of-hand if they were presented with it straight-up.  It will evolve into a situation where you will face a choice. Going non-union will penalize you in some fashion. That’s the beauty of this type of strategy. Eventually, they get you to willingly cross the line and you won’t have any ill will as if you were unwillingly coerced into it.