national television

Monday night, House Speaker John Boehner took to the airwaves to taught his deficit reduction plan. Of course the left didn't like this plan, but they aren't alone:

The debt ceiling deal introduced by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would save, by one measure, roughly $850 billion over the course of ten years and just $1 billion in 2012 -- two metrics unlikely to satisfy the most conservative members of his conference.

The Congressional Budget Office, which is the official scorekeeper of legislation, released its analysis of the Budget Control Act of 2011 on Tuesday afternoon. The findings were damaging enough that an hour later, Boehner's office told reporters it would rewrite the bill to achieve a more favorable scoring. Hours after that, GOP leadership announced it was delaying a vote on the plan until Thursday.

Measured against March 2011 government expenditure levels, the Boehner proposal, as currently written, would reduce the deficit by $850 billion during the next decade, according to the CBO. Measured against January 2011 government spending levels, the bill would reduce budget deficits by roughly $1.1 trillion during that same time period.

And it isn't just the "most conservative" corners of his party rejecting this plan. We see Americans as a whole wanting something more along the lines of an Obama plan than a Boehner plan:

Most Americans would like to see a mix of spending cuts and tax increases be part of a deal to raise the debt ceiling, a new poll finds, aligning the majority with President Barack Obama's position.

I never got a chance to touch on last week’s saga of “Balloon Boy”, so I have to mention now how this is so indicative of the problems with our society.

We now live in a country where people will do anything to get on the teevee. The Heene family is the epitome of this new lust, and now that Mayumi Heene has admitted to it all being a hoax she makes her family the poster child of this sick obsession for fame that plagues our society today.

Our capitalistic economy fuels this need for fame. People are willing to go on national television and embarrass themselves all for the rush of being seen. The Henees did it by appearing on Wife Swap and countless others have done the same by appearing on the plethora of other “reality shows”. Even news organizations have fueled this frenzy. “Hey capture it on your cellphone and send it to us!”. Everyone seems to want that minute of fame if its threw the embarrassment of reality tv or making that YouTube hit.

So when did our society become so obsessed with this need? It seems like families should have a lot more to worry about than just getting famous through some scheme. What’s your take on this and what it says about the American culture?

Dave Kurtz has a very interesting post up at TPM asking exactly what Senator Craig did wrong.

We've had lots of back and forth discussion here internally about what conduct by Sen. Craig in that Minneapolis airport restroom was actually illegal. We've posted the arrest report, so take a look and reach your own conclusions.

Leering stares, foot tapping, a lingering presence. Are any of those, even taken together, what most reasonable people would call criminal? Is it because they happened in a bathroom? God knows they happen every night in bars and other public spaces, among gays and straights.

Please take a moment and read the entire post. I have been trying to wrap my brain around this very question.

The charges do seem very far fetched, and I highly doubt they would have stuck if Senator Craig would have decided to fight them. The problem is he knew what he was planning on doing and in turn pleaded to the charges. I got a funny feeling this decision was made by him in hopes of saving public embarrassment, a plan that did not pan out how he wanted.

So a man soliciting sex from another man in a restroom is worthy of a sting operation. Does the same apply if a man solicits sex from a woman, or vice a versa? It appears that this case really exposes the hypocrisy of our legal system and those charged with enforcing it.

PRAISE BE JESUS! Today we saw a miracle right before our eyes. Bob Novak was
healed on national television. The poor agile man who has been confined to walk
with his cane, no longer needs it. The lord works in mysterious ways and today
we were witness to his powers.

People are focusing on James Carville getting to Novak which resulted in his
storming off the set of Inside Politics on CNN after saying "this is such
bullshit".

Now let's look at what really happened

After the power of the lord entered Bob's body though, he was at first upset
over losing his trusty cane. No longer will he have his signature walking staff.
That explains why he blew up like that. Shortly after that, he was so excited to
go out and try his new working legs that he had to leave the set right away.
After all, who could sit still after having the power of the lord reach down
onto you.

Crooks and Liars
has the video clip to
this. Please check their site so you can see Bob get healed personally.