Radical reality-denying rightist Congressman Steve “Never Heard of Anyone Getting Pregnant by Statutory Rape” King (R-IA-4) was recently on a call-in talk show and had this conversation:
CALLER: When I see the First Lady and the beautiful girls going off to the Bahamas waving goodbye to us, it’s really hard to stomach. When we’re tightening our belts, either all of us should do it or none of us should do it. This, I am pretty tolerant, I always have been, I usually shut my mouth. This is not acceptable.
KING: Carla, you’re on point and on the mark all the way through. […] You’re right on the president. He needs to show some austerity himself. Instead he wanted to tell America how bad it was going to be. […] We’ve got the president doing these things. He sent the daughters to spring break in Mexico a year ago. That was at our expense, too. And now to the Bahamas at one of the most expensive places there. That is the wrong image to be coming out of the White House.
A couple of corrections for the underformed nutburger of a Congressman. First, Obama did not “send his daughters to spring break in Mexico.” One daughter (Malia) was allowed to…
…join a school trip to Oaxaca [, Mexico], where students volunteered at an orphanage, visited archaeological sites and sipped vanilla milkshakes on the honey-colored town plaza.
The school has done such trips for years.
Second, the Obamas pay for their own vacations and school field trips. The government pays for security, as it should. And notice that King isn’t complaining about that—for good reason. Imagine the PR disaster he would endure should any member of the First Family get hurt.
King believes Obama “needs to show some austerity himself” because he was telling “America how bad it was going to be.” Obama has pointed out how the sequestration cuts will hurt Americans, but so have a bunch of Republicans Congresscritters—you know, the the ones whining about losing tax payer-funded economic subsidies to their districts.
How odd that King’s calls for Obama to show austerity.
Obama makes a fair amount of money. He is wealthier than most Americans. Oh…and he is the leader of the free fucking world. He certainly has the money (and credit line) to allow his child to go on a school trip to Mexico, or to send his family on the occasional vacation, like the trip to the Bahamas.
So what’s gotten up Rep. King’s ass that makes him think that the President shouldn’t use his own money how he wants to use it? Isn’t that the American way?
You know who would agree with King that Obama should renounce the trappings of wealth and live the life of a commoner?
Karl Marx.
Once again, I call upon the major newspapers of this country to investigate these members of Congress to find out if they are pro-America or FUCKING SOCIALISTS!
If Republicans want to reduce the size, scope and cost of government, they should step up and show us all the way. Start first with things that are near and dear to Republicans, like our overseas empire. How about cut the Department of Defense by ending the occupation of Germany? Why do we still have a permanent presence in Central Europe? The Soviets are gone, so why do we have Army and Air Force bases in Germany?
How about farm subsidies? Republicans want free markets, but cling to government support for all those huge corporate farms in the Breadbasket states. Why not make farmers be responsible for producing food and selling it without the government having to hold their hands?
The only way we’re ever going to pay off the $16.7 trillion we owe is to get serious about cutting expenses. If the Republicans are serious about it, then they should bite the bullet and suffer for what they believe.
When did a Republican congress critter ever worry about little things like facts?
@1 They’re not serious, and never have been; see, e.g., Reagan deficits, Bush deficits, etc. King is just another grandstanding GOP politician putting on a show for Teabagger constituents back home.
Pretty soon puddytwit will be here to
pathologically lie againcorrect Darryl onright wing fantasiesstatements of fact.From 3,
Yeah, I suppose you’re right, but I’d surely like to see SOMEONE come up with a no-kidding program to end deficits and pay-off the dang debt! It make take 50 years, but we’ve got to start somewhere.
Well, let’s get “serious” shall we?
First, the Obama children are …. not white.
Second, school trips to foreign lands are for …. white children…. no?
… yeah, i got nothing
A guick Google search of “Bush Twins Vacations” revealed as the top story of Nov. 2009 that the Bush twins refused to cut their vacation to Buenos Aires short even when requested to by the U.S. embassy, citing security concerns. They were celebrating their birthday.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/sto.....id=4800480
Remember at the time that in Nov. 2009 the country was still in the throes of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, brought about mostly by their father’s policies (or lack thereof) while he was in office.
From 7,
That whole mess was a domino effect, starting with the mortgage brokers giving loans to people who had no real ability to repay them. Then, they packaged the things up into collateralized debt obligations and sold them as Tripple-A-rated income streams to pension funds , insurance companis and others. Of course, the raring agencies provided the triple-A ratings like good little jerks, and AIG sold everyone credit default swaps.
Everybody made money until the inevitable happened: the rubes that took out the loans couldn’t make the payments when the teaser interest rates expired. The dominos started falling, but the smart boys and girls, like Goldman Sachs, bet against the very CMOs they were selling others. The raked in bucks on top of bucks, nearly killed AIG, and then collected big time with all that TARP business.
Personally, I don’t think the Republicans of the time were smart enough to engineer what happened.
# 8: “…Personally, I don’t think the Republicans of the time were smart enough to engineer what happened.”
It’s not a matter of engineering the results. It’s a matter of ignoring history, making an ideological stand against regulation without foreseeing the obvious consequences, and not really caring about the results.
The bankers/mortage brokers/investment houses treated those mortgages like a game of hot potato. The firm originating the loan had it sold off within a few days of it closing. Other firms split up the mortages between who held the paper and who held the loan. Then, as you said, they tried to conceal the bad loans by bundling them into negotiable securities. They knew the house of cards was eventually going to fall, but they thought they could cash out while there were billions of dollars in transit, and that they could aways find a “greater fool” to whom they could transfer the liabilities.
In contrast, I had to go through considerable effort to document my ability to repay my mortage when I bought both of my homes. I knew something wierd was going on when I learned that mortages were being issued without anything more than a basic credit report. That’s when I got out of the rehab & flip side business – the market was rapidly becoming unstable, and I didn’t want to get stuck owning a house I never wanted to live in.
Already debunked last week rhpee6033. Butt keep dope alive. Wait… unemployed lunatic Pluto boy is live and well on HA
From 9,
Buying and flipping homes is an extremely risky business strategy. Good thing you got out of it!
I have written to my dry side Congressperson about the massive socialistic power and water scheme going on over here, but, curiously, have yet to receive a reply.
@5
Ask, and you shall receive….
The Peoples’ Budget
First, Obama did not “send his daughters to spring break in Mexico.” One daughter (Malia) was allowed to…
…join a school trip to Oaxaca
Well, that was last year.
THIS year, the year of Sequestrageddon, both daughters got to hit the Bahamas AND the ski slopes in Idaho. In the same week.
Sea and ski.
I’ll start treating the sequester like it’s a crisis when the man at the top starts acting like it’s a crisis.
Love it. Thanks, Darryl.
The people’s budget looks good. If only the republicans were not so busy passing jobs bills that they could adopt it.
Bob @ 14,
Huh…I guess the sequestration has brought out YOUR inner Marxist, too!
You wingnutburgers are all turning out to be a bunch of closet commies!
@14. Actually this is in perfect form for Serial “Get Help” Conn. He always advocates doing Nothing.
@ 18
He always advocates doing Nothing.
If the alternative is leaving it to you guys to make things worse, then yeah. Fuck yeah.
Wow,
Obummer’s sequestration is making libtards nervous. People are negatively reacting to the fog of Obummer’s war on Republicans and it’s not pretty for libtards. And… now we see the outcome of ObummerCare and people are reaping the whirlwind of lies and deceit. So this is a double whammy of negativism brought on by Obummer himself.
Democrats had a “plan” to get rid of the deficit. It was called the Clinton tax increases. I know the Republicans were huge fans of those and because of their longstanding fiscal conservatism, kept them in place during the Bush years. Isn’t that what happened?