It appears that the new media paragon of the Republican Party — Collin Powell — has expressed some concern over Hopey Changey’s over the top spending.
“I’m concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them,” Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN’s John King, released by the network Friday morning.
Ya think? The language here is hilarious. The guy couches it so gently you could miss it. This is akin to calling a gang rape a minor social deviation. Collin Power also had the nerve to sound a bit surprised during the interview while he made those remarks. What was he expecting — fiscal conservatism?
We are being spent into bankruptcy. The government will have to print money by the truck load to pay for all this. Another government tried to print its way out of debt in the early-mid 20th century, the Weimar Republic. Things did not end well back then and we are headed down the same path to the same economic ruin.
“too”
I heard part of that interview with King. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Considering Powell’s endorsement of Obama during the campaign, the statements he made in this interview reached clearly into the realm of incredulity. If you knew about his campaign endorsement, you might be inclined to see these statements as either an admission of being duped or evidence of a strange disconnect in the man’s thought processes. If for some reason you were unaware of that endorsement, you might have concluded that Powell was truly one of Obama’s most serious intellectual critics. Very strange was this interview. And after Obama has only been in office for less than six months. Powell’s credibility suffered in this.
$12 trillion debt now ($500 billion in annual interest payments alone)
$10 trillion more (at least) over the next 6-8 years given current budget projections
$13 trillion committed for loans and bailout money
$53 trillion or so in upcoming unfunded Social Security and Medicare committments
= $88 trillion
So what do we do?
a. Increase federal taxes and fees
b. Cut spending
c. Borrow it
d. Crank up the printing presses
e. Do nothing and continue on as if there’s not a problem
There must be two distinct personalities living in Colin Powell’s body: one that accepts reality and lives in the here and now, and one that spends its time concocting a dream world where Mr. Obama actually listens to his counsel and takes his advice. He helped to let the genie out of the bottle. He should just accept that and move on.
Prester: How about “cut taxes, cut spending, repeal the bailout and stimulus legislation AND get rid of Geithner, Rohmer, Summers, & Co.”
Rachel,
I saw a great bumpersticker at yesterday’s Tea Part: “Reduce the Deficit, Audit Democrats”
I hate to hijack this thread, but have any of you been following the dust raised by Joe Biden on ABC’s “This Week” during a Sunday interview? Biden all but flat out stated that the USG would not stand in the way if Israel ultimately decided to take out Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities. According to Biden, Israel is a sovereign nation and can take whatever action it deems best for its own interests whether we agree with it or not. When given a chance to back off these comments, Biden did not do so.
This goes beyond anything heard thus far out of the Obama White House. Unless Biden has contracted foot-in-mouth disease again and gets scolded for his statements, we had better start keeping a close eye on the Israelis. There could be a dust-up coming somewhere down the road of immense proportions. The Iranians are already responding to the Biden comments with threats of dire consequences if the Israelis take action.
To question 1: Apparently, the answer is “f”, spend more – there’s talk of Stimulus 2 already…
I happen to have a box of million, ten million, 100 million, etc Mark notes from 1920’s Germany – I’m beginning to think they may be a good hedge against the dollar – or at least, a sign of things to come.
2. If Israel really wanted to proceed with this, I’d have thought they’d have done it six months ago, when they likely would’ve had the *real* backing of the US administration. Now, they have a weird public maybe-signal from the notoriously misspoken VP of the new president who’s all but slapped Israel down in public. You think Obama would stand behind Israel if the going got tough? More importantly, do you think Israel would think Obama had their back?
We’ve already taken the UN Security Council veto of anti-Israeli resolutions off the table, I know what I’d say if I were Netanyahu, and the answer, again, would start with the letter “F” …
Didn’t Israel take out some atomic stuff in Iraq many years ago? Don’t believe the US did anything about that, did we?
If memory serves me correctly they bombed two, Baghdad and Syria.
Israel attacked and destroyed the nearly-completed Osirak nuclear reactor. Most of the West, the US included, denounced the attack, the UN General Assembly and Security Council passed resolutions, we delayed delivery of some a/c, etc.
I don’t think the question is “What we would do *to* Israel” if they attack, more what would we do *for* Israel in the afermath, when they face retaliation from Iran, its proxies, and the world at large.
The biggest question is whether the Russians have delivered / installed the SA-300 missile system. If they have, the game has changed – Israel couldn’t attack any of those facilities directly (except via Spec Ops) without US assistance – that is, using stealth to attack the SA 300 systems directly, or to evade them, and attack the nuclear sites.
Weighing into the calculus – would such an attack even be effective? Iran has certainly dispersed and hardened every part of their program.
And what of Iranian retaliation? Much is made of Hizbollah, but while they may make a hedgehog of Jordanian neighborhoods, their ability to invade Israel is minimal, though would certainly offer many opportunities for martydom for the Believers. But a Hizbollah guerrilla and a dirty bomb, or some other asymmetrical weapon could do a *lot* of damage to such a small country.
Between Iran’s belligerence and nearness to obtaining nuclear weapons, (not to mention, a desperate need to change the subject after their botched elections), combined with Obama’s back-of-the-hand treatment of Israel, I really can’t predict what Israel will do – they’re being backed into a corner, and that makes them unpredictable. I have a suspicion we aren’t going to like what’s to come.
“I have a suspicion we aren’t going to like what’s to come.”
All the more reason to have someone several clicks above that of a Dairy Queen Manager as President.
We may be doing the same thing many have done for sixty years: underestimating the Israelis and overestimating the abilities of the potential target.
Wolv, yes, conventional wisdom in many cases is not..
“several clicks above”
Feeling overly generous today G ?
Guess you must have had a good 4th…
“All the more reason to have someone several clicks above that of a Dairy Queen Manager as President.”
Well, it’s not just his reaction to the events — seems to me he’s going a long way towards inciting those events.
I foretold that Hopey Changey would have to deal with the Israeli attack on Iran… if he lived long enough to have to. In appeasing Hillderbeast, he’s improved his chances. People who piss her off tend to drop dead with a regular frequency.
Obama should look to President’s past for the welfare of Americans for our future!
Received this email,
What did Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower have in common?
Here is something that should be of great interest for you to pass around..I didn’t know of this until it was pointed out to me.
Back during The Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work..
Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal’s after WWII to create jobs
for returning veterans.
And then again in 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican Nationals! The program was called ‘Operation Wetback’. It was done so WWII and Korean Veterans would have a better chance at jobs. It took 2 Years, but they deported them!
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0706/p09s01-coop.html
Now…if they could deport the illegal’s back then – they could sure do it today?
lf you have doubts about the veracity of this information, enter Operation Wetback into your favorite search engine and confirm it for yourself.
Reminder: Don’t forget to pay your taxes…
Many, many million Illegal Aliens (mostly Mexicans) are depending on you
I see from his recent CNN interview in Russia that Obama has already started to back and fill on the Biden statements vis-a-vis Israel and Iran. The dangers of the swine flu…misreading the state of the economy… Israel and Iran? Looks to me like Obama should consider either banning Biden from talk show interviews or having somebody permanently attach a teleprompter to Biden’s chest. And they claim Palin wasn’t qualified to be Vice-President?
On the other hand, perhaps we should be cheering Biden on. From the mouths of babes…
The Pope is calling for a “world political authority” to oversee the economy and work for the “common good.” Just great. Now we’ve got a pope who talks like a friggin’ Marxist. Doesn’t that old man realize that one of the first things to go down in a “world political authority” would be his own church?
Wolv, I suspect in many cases Biden is Obama’s trial balloon..
Maybe so, Dans, but those gas-filled balloons have a nasty habit of getting away from you and floating off to places where you are not able to recover them.
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
U.S. must be open to second economic stimulus: Hoyer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090707/pl_nm/us_usa_economy_stimulus
“I think a second stimulus is an even worse idea than the first stimulus, which has been demonstrably proven to have failed,” he told reporters.
“And we’re — we’re spending $100 million a day on interest on the first stimulus,” he added. “Rush and spend is what this administration is about, rush and spend. This needs to stop.”
Obama adviser says U.S. Should Mull Second Stimulus
http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3097
“The U.S. should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on infrastructure projects because the $787 billion approved in February was “a bit too small,” said Laura Tyson, an outside adviser to President Barack Obama.”
Senate Blocks Bill To Audit Fed As Government Prepares Second Round Of Looting
http://www.truthnews.us/?p=3091
“However, the amendment was blocked by Senate authorities who claimed that it violated rules for provisions attached to spending bills.
DeMint said that the Fed has enjoyed a monopoly over money and credit in the United States since 1913 yet has never been transparent or accountable to Congress, while during that time the dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power.”
Obama: Hey, let’s bypass the Senate on treaty ratifications
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/05/obama-hey-lets-bypass-the-senate-on-treaty-ratifications/