Tea Party candidate appears to be in debt

MoonHowler

Tea Party Senate candidate Jamie Radtke apparently isn’t practicing what she preaches.  On Friday she  stated on her website that she was running for office because of the fiscal “ineptitude, mismanagement and irresponsibility” of the nation’s current leaders.  However, it appears her own house isn’t in order.

According to the Washington Post:

The larger problem for Radtke emerges further down in her report. As of June 30, she had $46,000 in the bank and $84,000 in debt. While about $6,000 of that total is money Radtke owes to herself for campaign expenses, roughly $70,000 is money she owes to various consulting firms.

Asked for comment, Radtke’s campaign turned its guns against Allen.

“Here are the facts: When this campaign is over, Jamie’s debt will be paid and gone,” said Radtke spokesman Chuck Hansen. “Meanwhile, the $3.1 trillion in debt George Allen voted for while senator is still on our books.”

It’s not uncommon for campaigns to owe money to vendors, but it’s relatively rare for candidates to have more debts than money in the bank. And given that Radtke isn’t nearly as well-known among Virginia voters as Allen is, it’s widely assumed in state political circles that she will have to improve her fundraising if she hopes to mount a strong challenge in the GOP primary.

I don’t care if the lady is in debt or not.  Campaign financing is obscene to me anyway.  It takes one’s breath away.  But isn’t Ms. Radtke a little on the hypocritical side to be in debt herself all while telling us that the current national leaders are inept, irresponsible and mismanage their financial  responsibilities?

Radtke needs to learn to run with the big dogs or stay on the porch.   She also needs to tell her IT staff to check for code error mistakes on the website.  Ouch.

ACLU asks Gov. McDonnell to drop invasive judicial questions

MoonHowler

The ACLU has asked Virginia Governor McDonnell to drop two of the questions on the judicial application.  According to the Washington Post:

The ACLU of Virginia has asked Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) to revise or remove two questions from his questionnaire for judicial applicants regarding mental and physical disabilities that the group says may violate the American with Disabilities Act.

The questions are: “Have you ever been treated for any emotional or mental illness or condition. If so, please give the particulars.”and “Do you suffer from any impairment of eyesight or hearing or any other physical limitation?”

“These questions are unnecessary, inappropriate, invasive and very likely illegal,” said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. “Persons with disabilities fought for many years to eliminate employment and other forms of discrimination against them. The governor’s questions are an affront to them and the law, and we hope he will move swiftly to remove them.”

The application is available.  After reading it, it seems far more invasive and inappropriate than just the health questions.  Why does the governor need to know what political candidates an applicant has contributed to?  I guess you don’t want anyone who has ever contributed to a Democratic candidate.  This administration seems to just go by its own set of rules.  The hell with  HIPAA laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Should judges and other appointment applicants be subjected to questions of this personal of a nature?  Should questions like this be part of the initial vetting or should they be part of a final selection?  Perhaps this type of question should never be asked.  How much do we really get to know about a public servant?

When the troops leave town and the flags are take down…

MoonHowler

As the first part of the Sesquicentennial weekend comes to a close, many folks got to learn about the Civil War and partake of the fun, interesting parts.  Let us not forget Robert E. Lee’s words regarding war:

It is well that war is so terrible. We should grow too fond of it.

 

When all the battle regalia has been cleaned and put away, when the visitors have moved on, we should all stop and think what that war has cost this country and will continue to cost this nation, indivisible.  We mustn’t lose sight of  the dead and the horrible killing and maiming;  the property destroyed; the children who would never know a father, or a wife who  never saw her husband again; or mothers and fathers who lost not one son but many; of the friends and neighbors who would never come home. 

 The Civil War was perhaps our nation’s darkest hour.  We should not forget it.

Evil

MoonHowler

From the Huffington Post:

OSLO, July 23 (Reuters) – A suspected right-wing fanatic accused of killing at least 92 people deemed his acts “atrocious” yet “necessary” as Norway mourned victims of the nation’s worst attacks since World War Two.

Police were hunting on Sunday to see if a possible second gunman took part in the shooting massacre and bomb attack on Friday that traumatized a normally peaceful Nordic country.

In his first comment via a lawyer since he was arrested, 32-year-old Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik expressed willingness to explain himself in court at a hearing likely to be held on Monday about extending protective custody.Read More

Republicans don’t necessarily support Republican leadership

MoonHowler

Washington Post:  [Emphasis Mine]

Nationally, Republicans are widely critical of their party’s leadership in the debt talks. Nearly six in 10 in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll say GOP leaders are not doing enough to compromise with Obama on deficit issues.

Half of the Republicans surveyed in the poll said the best way to reduce the deficit is by an exclusive focus on cutting federal spending, but nearly as many accept new taxes as part of the mix. Most Republicans support higher taxes on those earning $250,000 and up annually and on oil and gas companies.

Obama made that pointFriday night after Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Cantor abandoned the talks, saying “There are a lot of Republican voters out there who are puzzled as to why it couldn’t get done. Because the fact of the matter is the vast majority of the American people believe we should have a balanced approach.”

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Open Thread……………………………………..Friday, July 22

MoonHowler

Scorcher!!!!! 

                                                                             The Cavalry joins the parade

 

It is still sweltering and the Sesquicentennial is going full blast.  Mr. Howler had to go up to Prince William Hospital and he said this evening there was a fleet of ambulances bringing in the war wounded…from the heat.  Many of the friends are in period dress.  I asked him if Robert E. Lee was up there and he said, no, he wasn’t at first Manassas.  Geez!  So much for my attempt at humor.  

JEB, Jackson and Mosby are all asleep still and enjoying the AC. 

 

McDonnell gets a reality check on the debt ceiling

MoonHowler

Rachel Maddow has given us a little history on Bob McDonnell’s tenure in Virginia and how he has gravitated towards the centrist position on raising the debt ceiling:

 It isn’t so much that McDonnell is a centrist. It is that he got kicked in the teeth with the reality of what will happen to Virginia should August 2 happen without legislation. 

Are you prepared for Virginia, with its pride in fiscal responsibility, to be one of the first off the cliff and lose its Triple A bond rating?  I, for one, am not. 

Tea-jaddists are not winning the war of words with anyone but their base and I hear that is getting a little shakey.  There is a certain arrogance in assuming that one knows all the answers to not just the US economy but also to the global economy. 

Dodd-Frank, a year later…and the debt ceiling

MoonHowler

What’s to not like? This questions is usually answered as ‘job killer.’ I have been thinking about this ‘job killer’ on every street. I have been told that if income taxes go up just 1% on millionaires, it will kill jobs. Instead, I am supposed to like having the budget cuts on the backs of the middle class and on seniors with both medicare and social security.Read More

Ragging on Gov. McDonnell

MoonHowler

As Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell urges Congress and the White House to compromise over raising  the nation’s debt ceiling  to avoid  default on federal debt, he’s taking grief  from the GOP right.  Two candidates in particular who are trying to curry favor with the far right, Claudia Tucker, and Tito Munoz, both take shots at McDonnell for urging compromise.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, Ms. Tucker had the following to say:

“I frankly feel that Governor McDonnell’s willingness to bless a retreat that includes tax hikes and an increase in the debt ceiling is just plain wrong. Republicans share in the reckless spending that has gotten (America) to this point and now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get back to our basic principles.”

Tito Munoz voiced his own criticism of the governor: 

Tito Muñoz, a Republican primary candidate for the 36th state Senate district in Prince William and Fairfax counties, followed Tucker with a statement saying “I understand the governor’s job, but I disagree with his sentiment that there should be a compromise or retreat from solid, conservative principles.”

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The Lunar Landing 42 years ago

MoonHowler

A day late…but July 20, 1969 was the Lunar Landing, the day man first landed on the surface of the moon in a little space capsule named Apollo 11.  It is hard to imagine how little we knew back then and how rudimentary our tools were.  Much of the landing was done with computers but not the computers you and I know today.  It all seems so long ago and looking back, so very impossible.  I can remember our hearts being in our throats the entire time.  Would they make it back alive?

How terribly sad that our Manned space program is all but ending.  Ironic that the last space shuttle is almost ready to return to earth, never to slip into the wild blue yonder again.   Wallops Island is no Kennedy Space Center.  That is a downgrade I don’t even want to consider. 

Have we become so complacent or so full of our own knowledge that we can just quit?  I think America deserves better.  We are better than this. 

Have we come full circle or have the goal posts moved?

MoonHowler

T

The Hill:

The Treasury’s cash balances have reached a dangerously low point. Henceforth, the Treasury Department cannot guarantee that the federal government will have sufficient cash on any one day to meet all of its mandated expenses,”

“The full consequences of a default — or even the serious prospect of default — by the United States are impossible to predict and awesome to contemplate.

“Denigration of the full faith and credit of the United States would have substantial effects on the domestic financial markets and on the value of the dollar in exchange markets,”

“The nation can ill afford to allow such a result.”

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Murdoch gets rescued by his wife

MoonHowler

Rupert Murdoch interrupted, was humbled, had someone attempt to throw a pie in his face and got saved by his 42 year old wife.  Murdoch is 80.  Apparently he slept through some of the hearings.  I don’t blame him.  So did I. 

Jon Stewart was all over this one.  Amazingly enough, he picked up on the same things I did.  This has to be one of his funniest:

 

And let us not leave the Faux Friends and their ‘pile on’ out of the story:

Common reading at the White House? Now THAT was a pile on. No one knows pile ons like the Faux Friends. 

Florida Dust-up? She said, He said

MoonHowler

She said:

“The gentleman from Florida. who represents thousands of Medicare beneficiaries, as do I, is supportive of this plan that would increase costs for Medicare beneficiaries, unbelievable from a Member from South Florida,” Wasserman Schultz said, saying the legislation “slashes Medicaid and critical investments essential to winning the future in favor of protecting tax breaks for Big Oil, millionaires, and companies who ship American jobs overseas.”

He said:

From: Z112 West, Allen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 04:48 PM
To: Wasserman Schultz, Debbie
Cc: McCarthy, Kevin; Blyth, Jonathan; Pelosi, Nancy; Cantor, Eric
Subject: Unprofessional and Inappropriate Sophomoric Behavior from Wasserman-Schultz

Look, Debbie, I understand that after I departed the House floor you directed your floor speech comments directly towards me. Let me make myself perfectly clear, you want a personal fight, I am happy to oblige. You are the most vile, unprofessional ,and despicable member of the US House of Representatives. If you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face, otherwise, shut the heck up. Focus on your own congressional district!

I am bringing your actions today to our Majority Leader and Majority Whip and from this time forward, understand that I shall defend myself forthright against your heinous characterless behavior……which dates back to the disgusting protest you ordered at my campaign hqs, October 2010 in Deerfield Beach.

You have proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady, therefore, shall not be afforded due respect from me!

Steadfast and Loyal

Congressman Allen B West (R-FL

The she and he are Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, on the floor of the House and Allen West.  West seems to have gone way over the top.  He moved from a disagreement over policy to a very personal attack which included words like ‘vile,’ ‘unprofessional,’ and ‘despicable.’  It sounds to me like West is no gentleman. 

Further reading at Politico.com

Cut, Cap and Balance or Duck, Dodge and Dismantle

MoonHowler

The Tea Party backed “Cut, Cap and Balance” fiscal plan has passed the House by  234 to 190, on a largely partisan vote, but has no chance of becoming law.   The bill will probably not pass the Senate and the President has promised to veto it.  According to Huffington Post:

Five Democrats, including Reps. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Health Shuler (N.C.) and Dan Boren (Okla.), sided with Republicans in passing the measure. Nine Republicans opposed the bill, including Tea Party favorite and GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). In a statement issued after the vote, Bachmann said the bill “does not go far enough” and should have included provisions to defund health care reform.

Other Republican defectors included Reps. Walter Jones (N.C.), Francisco Canseco (Texas), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Connie Mack (Fla.) and Ron Paul (Texas). Paul said he has never voted for a debt ceiling increase and never will. In addition, he took issue with Republicans for not including defense cuts in the mix of discretionary cuts.

“All spending must be deemed discretionary and reexamined by Congress each year,” Paul said in a statement. “To allow otherwise is pure cowardice.”

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