Dysfunctional is the word that comes to mind for me when looking at our current state of affairs. A lot of the talking heads say we have to raise taxes to fix the problem, but that will only work up to a certain point. Nothing in, nothing out ………..

Kicking a can down the road may be fun but it’s a waste of time for the most part.

Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can’t Stop Digging Hole

CHICAGO — Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois’s comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet. Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo.
Payback Time

Illinois’s Cash Balance and Overdue Payments

He picks the papers off his desk and points to a figure in red: $5.01 billion.

“This is what the state owes right now to schools, rehabilitation centers, child care, the state university — and it’s getting worse every single day,” he says in his downtown office.

Mr. Hynes shakes his head. “This is not some esoteric budget issue; we are not paying bills for absolutely essential services,” he says. “That is obscene.”

For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the state’s bills and refuses to take the painful steps — cuts and tax increases — to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the state’s budget.

Then there is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up.

States cannot go bankrupt, technically, but signs of fiscal crackup are easy to see. Legislators left the capital this month without deciding how to pay 26 percent of the state budget. The governor proposes to borrow $3.5 billion to cover a year’s worth of pension payments, a step that would cost about $1 billion in interest. And every major rating agency has downgraded the state; Illinois now pays millions of dollars more to insure its debt than any other state in the nation.

“Their pension is the most underfunded in the nation,” said Karen S. Krop, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. “They have not made significant cuts or raised revenues. There’s no state out there like this. They can’t grow their way out of this.”

As the recession has swept over states and cities, it has laid bare economic weakness and shoddy fiscal practices. Only an infusion of federal stimulus money allowed many states to avert deep layoffs last year.
Read the rest here

At some point this stuff is going to hit critical mass. Get a grip America, or you will slide into oblivion.

City wants to nip tobacco use in the butt

You’ve got to see this.

From Pajamas TV:

Victicrat

Weekly Column Published: 10.16.2009

As part of the next arms reduction treaty between superpowers, the United States has tentatively agreed to unprecedented Russian access to American nuclear missile sites. According to published accounts, Russian weapons inspectors will be given an open door to American nuclear sites in order to monitor the number of missiles and warheads. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is quite satisfied with the deal. Perhaps it is an error of omission, but there is no news of a similar concession from the Russian side. This is psychologically and strategically significant: first, because it presents us with a President and a Secretary of State who are mistaken in their assessment of Kremlin trustworthiness; second, because it shows weakness in the President; third, because the Russians are demonstrating a kind of superiority.

Read the rest here

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,552021,00.html

Give me a break! I can burn my leaves on the 1st and 3rd week of the month, only if the sun is still shinning? (new local mandate) And does Nancy Pelosi just have to bat her eyes to make it all happen in the first place?

Wake up America, the control freaks are out of control. People that think only their rules apply know nothing about human nature or physics in general.

Sure we should all try to do the right thing, but if we’re not careful, everybody will have rights but you. Once they take everything what do you have left?
That cannon could backfire if not loaded correctly.

Posted at 4:37 pm on August 21, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

When our founders created the federal government, I’m pretty sure they didn’t anticipate having its power reach into their carriage houses.  Thanks to a particularly asinine piece of legislation called the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act, though, we now have federal inspectors threatening to start investigating yard sales and church bazaars.  They say they’re just going to focus on thrift stores and Craigslist … for now:

If you’re planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you’d best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products.

The initiative, which targets toys and other products for children, enforces a new provision that makes it a crime to resell anything that’s been recalled by its manufacturer. …

The crackdown affects sellers ranging from major thrift-store operators such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army to everyday Americans cleaning out their attics for yard sales, church bazaars or — increasingly — digital hawking on eBay, Craigslist and other Web sites.

Secondhand sellers now must keep abreast of recalls for thousands of products, some of them stretching back more than a decade, to stay within the bounds of the law.

And I’m sure that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison would be especially proud of this report from McClatchy:

Staffers for the federal agency are fanning out across the country to conduct training seminars on the regulations at dozens of thrift shops.

Yes, because when America was founded by men like John and Samuel Adams, George Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, it was to ensure that we could send federal inspectors “fanning out across the country” to stop people from reselling their old junk.

What did we ever do before the CPSIA protected the US through its throngs of federal nannies?  How did we ever survive garage sales in the past 233 years?  Oh, yes: we used our common sense as consumers.  Gee, those were the good old days, weren’t they, when our government treated us as though we had a lick of intelligence and maturity?

I’m not the only one waxing nostalgic, either:

“Many toys have small pieces that could be dangerous,” she said. “My son played with army men, Lego blocks, all kinds of things with little parts. A toddler can put anything in his mouth. Parents need to have common sense. Ultimately, the parent needs to really evaluate and be watchful of what the child is playing with. We as consumers have to be careful. It really comes back to us.”

Nonsense, Nancy!  We’re not qualified to make our own decisions and exercise our own discretion any more.  We need CPSIA federal inspectors to get between us and those dangerous thrift stores, Craigslist entries, and church bazaars.

It’s the era of Hope and Change!  We’re all idiots!  And that’s why the government is here to help.

Gerald Celente: The “Second American Revolution” Has Begun!!!!

Personally I think the train wreck has already happened and sooner or later the conductor in the caboose will catch up with the engineers. Revelation might be a more accurate term than revolution if you really want to mince words.

H/T to Flopping Aces and Texas Fred for this one. A little humor is a good thing. Right?

Anyhow, here is what some of our folks in the medical field think of ObamaCare.

Medical Stimulus Package:

Apparently the American Medical Association has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package….

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all laboring under a misconception.

The Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Pediatricians said, ‘Oh, Grow up!’

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, “This puts a whole new face on the matter.”

The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.

From WorldNetDaily:

Census GPS-tagging your home’s front door

Coordinates being taken for every residence in nation!

“Why does the Obama administration need or want the latitude and longitude coordinates for every home in America? Why the rush to GPS paint
every home in the next 90 days? Why must the marker be within 40 feet of every front door? For what possible purpose does the Fed need GPS coordinates for every home, and under what authority do they have the right? Census workers, whom I asked, had the same holy-crap look on their faces that I had by then,”

So there you have it folks, evidently there is a difference between illusion and reality.

Creative Visualization 101

Self-help books have become popular in America. These books pose numerous questions. One such question asks, “Where do you want to be in three years, five years, or ten years?” The question immediately fixates on two things: (1) What you want (2) according to a timetable. Anything is possible. You can be whatever you want and do whatever you want. There is a problem with this approach to life, however. “Where do you want to be in ninety years?” Answer honestly, and everything comes into sharper focus.

How does a self-help guru deal with the most fundamental human limitation of all? Perhaps he would respond with something akin to the idea, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” This would be rephrased as, “Whoever dies having achieved the most goals wins.” The goals might be anything. Perhaps you’d like to be dictator, occupy the Rhineland, take Austria, break up Czechoslovakia, overrun Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France, etc.

More

Good news: EPA set to shackle economy with ruling on global warming

Economy booster: California looking to ban plasma TVs

So what would national bankruptcy mean?

This kind of stuff leaves me totally speechless. Are these people serious?

Lose your property for growing food?

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Some small farms and organic food growers could be placed under direct supervision of the federal government under new legislation making its way through Congress.

Food Safety Modernization Act

House Resolution 875, or the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., in February. DeLauro’s husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto – the world’s leading producer of herbicides and genetically engineered seed.

DeLauro’s act has 39 co-sponsors and was referred to the House Agriculture Committee on Feb. 4. It calls for the creation of a Food Safety Administration
to allow the government to regulate food production at all levels – and even mandates property seizure, fines of up to $1 million per offense and criminal prosecution for producers, manufacturers and distributors who fail to comply with regulations.

Michael Olson, host of the Food Chain radio show and author of “Metro Farm,” told WND the government should focus on regulating food production in countries such as China and Mexico rather than burdening small and organic farmers in the U.S. with overreaching regulations.

“We need somebody to watch over us when we’re eating food that comes from thousands and thousands of miles away. We need some help there,” he said. “But when food comes from our neighbors or from farmers who we know, we don’t need all of those rules. If your neighbor sells you something that is bad and you get sick, you are going to get your hands on that farmer, and that will be the end of it. It regulates itself.”

Chaos, Confusion, and Civil War

Glenn Beck w/ Ben Stein - Where there’s smoke, there’s fired

April Fools! Thank You For Smoking (For The Kids) Day comes early

H/T to Flopping Aces for the link.

H/T to Velvet Hammer for the following video link.

Nice job Scarlett!

Barack Obama: There Will Be Bamboozling

ng

High Finance and Bolshevik Principles

One only has to wait for the FDIC to detonate beneath a floundering Republic. If anyone thought U.S. Treasury bonds are a riskless investment, think again. Am I suggesting the U.S. government will default on its obligations? In my opinion, no other outcome is imaginable. If you doubt this conclusion, try to imagine federal, state and local government paying off $10 trillion. It’s not going to happen, as the readiest method of default open to government is the debasement of the national currency. This means an end to American international power – financial and military. It means an end to the old international order, which has existed since 1945.
It means global revolution. Wave hello to socialism. [snip]

Read the rest…..

Take it with a grain of salt if you must, but we’ll all get the after taste of this bitter sweet deal in the long run. Math and economics are not my forte so to speak, but I can tell you that this probably won’t work out in the long run.

The Thin Red White & Blue Line
10 Metaphors for a Broken Economy

James Macfarlane
23 Jun, 2008

H/T to Mary Lamb for the link!

Rep. Poe can see the light at least.

Click on the image for the YouTube video.

Dick Durbin acting like a hapless fool in the background is the best part of the video.

Are these just words?

H/T to Flopping Aces for the link.