GOP has "baked-in" advantage in Senate?

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Friday March 08, 2019 · 7:50 AM PST

2019/03/08 · 07:50

Just read a story in ThinkProgress where the author bemoans the un-democratic nature of the Senate… Wyoming has 68 times the representation of California!

Poop.

Here are the “small” states with one or two Reps…

	#Reps	Senate
AK	1 (R)	R + R
DE	1 (D)	D + D
HI	2 (D + D)	D + D
ID	2 (R + R)	R + R
ME	2 (D + D)	R + I
MT	1 (R)	D + R
NH	2 (D + D)	D + D
ND	1 (R)	R + R
RI	2 (D + D)	D + D
SD	1 (R)	R + R
VT WY	1 (D) 1 (R)	D + I R + R

I’d say they’re evenly split in the Senate. Let’s put our energy elsewhere.

So we have a new CIA director...

godwhataklutz

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Monday May 21, 2018 · 10:44 AM PDT

2018/05/21 · 10:44

I had hoped that after her first fifteen minutes of infamy the human shitstain who now heads the CIA would have had the decency and common sense to keep her head down and finish her government career with a low profile. Twas not to be. Now we’ve got an unindicted war criminal leading our intelligence agency… what a message it must send to the rest of the world.

So, what do we do now? All I can think of is ridicule. I think it has helped my physche knowing that others will also refer to our president as The Orange Shitgibbon or Lord Dampnut (my favorite). Perhaps we can find a suitable alias for Ms Haspel...

Poll

19 votes Show Results

How should we refer to the new CIA director?

19 votes Vote Now!

How should we refer to the new CIA director?

La WaterBroad

4 votes

Princess Thumbscrews

7 votes

The Tape-inator

0 votes

Miss Rectal Probe

4 votes

Sleep Deprivation Barbie

3 votes

Something in the comments...

1 vote

Impeachment not required...

godwhataklutz

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Tuesday January 24, 2017 · 11:05 AM PST

2017/01/24 · 11:05

From the 25th amendment…

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

So, if Trump sufficiently pisses off Pence and a majority of the Cabinet (or if they just tire of being ridiculed), a quick note to Congress and Trump’s out.

I agree with Mr. Krugman: Trump’s nuts. But none of the GOPer congresscritters have the testicular fortitude to start up the impeachment machine. The 25th seems (to me) to be an easier and quicker alternative.

The amendment specifies that Trump could say “Hey! I’m not nuts!” and then Congress would have to vote on it. If 2/3 of both houses say “Sorry, but you really are nuts” then say Buh-bye to the Orange Shitgibbon.

An open letter to Leon Cooperman

godwhataklutz

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Friday October 19, 2012 · 11:19 AM PDT

2012/10/19 · 11:19

If you haven't read The New Yorker article described here then you really should. I was particularly impressed by comments made by Leon Cooperman, a very wealthy hedge fund manager.

ps.
If you want to read about another put-upon jillionaire, read this article featuring a timeshare magnate who is troubled by burdensome regulations.

godwhataklutz

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Wednesday July 25, 2012 · 2:43 PM PDT

2012/07/25 · 14:43

I just heard the news today, oh boy...

Can we please get rid of Harry Reid? Please?

godwhataklutz

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Friday June 17, 2011 · 4:22 AM PDT

2011/06/17 · 04:22

For argument's sake, I want to take the position that support for Medicare "restructuring" (as proposed in Ryan's budget) should imply support for the health insurance "mandate" (as laid out in the PPACA and HCERA). The two aren't exactly the same (obviously) but maybe they're duals or isomorphic or something...

godwhataklutz

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Thursday April 21, 2011 · 5:45 PM PDT

2011/04/21 · 17:45

I'm the healthcare proxy for my Mom and my Aunt, who are looking at either side of 90 years of age. Within the last few months, they both have spent a good number of days in the hospital due to horrible reactions to new medication. Luckily, my sister and I found a hospital with a geriatric evaluation unit, and in each case they were immediately taken off the offending drug regimen. Is this situation commonplace? If so, let's please stop doing it.

Details below.

godwhataklutz

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Tuesday March 08, 2011 · 4:51 AM PST

2011/03/08 · 04:51

Megan McArdle echos some crackpot figures from the Wall Street Journal that says we need $75,000 per year during retirement. Huh? That seems awfully high to me. My folks don't have anywhere near that much coming in, and they're doing just fine, thank you.

It turns out that my family is on a rather strict budget, and I know exactly where the money goes for the things that we'll still need during The Golden Years...

Poll

0 votes Show Results

0 votes Vote Now!

Give Defense its own budget (w poll)

godwhataklutz

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Tuesday February 08, 2011 · 2:13 PM PST

2011/02/08 · 14:13

The biggest problem I have with the OMIGOD! deficit debate is that everybody thinks that the solution is to throw all the Federal programs into the mix. So, even though Social Security is fiscally sound, has always operated under its own budget, and is good for the near term, "reasonable" folks want to allow it to be gutted.

But many of us know that the way you deal with very large seemingly intractable problems is to split the problems into smaller pieces, and to then deal with those smaller problem individually. For Social Security (and Medicare) this has already been done. Medicare is certainly a significant problem with an estimated $5trillion deficit over the next ten years, and deserves focused consideration.

The rest of the near-term deficit difficulty comes from the "U. S. Government" budget, which currently consists of interest payments, "mandatory" spending, and (non-)security spending. If "divide and conquer" is the way to go, should we consider chopping the "U. S. Government" budget into virtual pieces, giving (e.g.) Defense its own revenue stream (e.g. a percentage of tax revenue)?

Poll

24 votes Show Results

Should Defense operate under its own budget?

24 votes Vote Now!

Should Defense operate under its own budget?

Yes, even if only as an exercise in accounting

13 votes

NO! The diarist is an idjit for even thinking of such blastphemy!

3 votes

Not a good idea... the unintended consequences are great

1 vote

Never in a hundred, never in a thousand, never in a million years

1 vote

This reminds me of a case of the bloat that I had last week

1 vote

Could you please repeat the question?

3 votes

No... I prefer the way things are... where did I put my wine glass?

0 votes

No... I prefer the way things are... where did I put my beer?

0 votes

No... I prefer the way things are... what's this doing in my pipe?

1 vote

I need to consult with General Motors, Electric, and Disarray

1 vote

For God's sake... there won't be any deal

godwhataklutz

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Wednesday December 08, 2010 · 3:03 PM PST

2010/12/08 · 15:03

I'm sorry to have to state the obvious. But now that Obama has announced a "deal" with the GOPers, does anybody actually think that they'll go ahead and pass something? Who wins and who loses if nothing gets done? Take the poll and let's see where we stand.

Poll

78 votes Show Results

Will the GOPers allow anything to be passed this year?

78 votes Vote Now!

Will the GOPers allow anything to be passed this year?

No, they didn't negotiate in good faith, and they never have

45 votes

No, they didn't count on DeMint and the Krazy Kaukus

7 votes

No, but only because the House won't pass anything

2 votes

No, because that's that only word they no.

13 votes

Yes! Because I haven't been paying attention!

11 votes

Eliminate the mortgage interest deduction?

godwhataklutz

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Thursday November 11, 2010 · 12:31 PM PST

2010/11/11 · 12:31

Two of the big "third rails" embraced by Messrs. Bowles and Simpson are the existing Federal income tax deductions for state/local taxes and mortgage-interest on a primary residence. My first thought is that "eliminating" anything which has been around for a long time is probably not a good idea... a lot of folks have made rather significant decisions based on the assumption that things aren't going to change (much). Since I live in a state with a large income tax, and since I work (and would like to move to) a region with much higher house prices, any talk of diddling with these deductions is troubling... I can barely afford to move with the current deductions, and eliminating them might force me to stay put. Unless, of course, house prices collapse as a result. Details follow.

godwhataklutz

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Thursday October 28, 2010 · 7:09 AM PDT

2010/10/28 · 07:09

From "Budget of the U.S. Government, FY 2011" Table S-3 (p149)

For years 2011-2020...

Social Security receipts.......  8788 B$ 
Social Security benefits.......  9388 B$
Social Security deficit........   600 B$

Medicare receipts..............  2566 B$
Medicare benefits..............  6955 B$
Medicare deficit...............  4389 B$

Other receipts................. 23903 B$
Security programs........  9187 B$
Non-security programs....  5120 B$
Mandatory programs.......  9173 B$
Interest.................  6029 B$
Other expenses................. 29509 B$
Other deficit..................  5606 B$

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GOP has "baked-in" advantage in Senate?

So we have a new CIA director...

Impeachment not required...

An open letter to Leon Cooperman

Harry Reid is an idiot

Aren't Medicare vouchers the same as the health insurance mandate?

Reduce Medicare costs? Stop overmedicating!

WTF? $75K/yr required for retirement?

Give Defense its own budget (w poll)

For God's sake... there won't be any deal

Eliminate the mortgage interest deduction?

The 10-yr federal deficit and Social Security