Read through Nancy Pelosi's $800 billion pork sausage, aka "stimulus package".
It's just sad.
It's sad that we have such visionless leaders.
Such monkeys.
If we're gonna break the bank, and try to spend our way out of this mess, at least give me some vision. Some excitement. Some inspiration. Some lasting projects for a 21st century that will have massive returns on investment for hundreds of years, and be the pride of a generation.
Where's our moon shot?
Where's our Pacific Coast Highway?
Where's our New York subway system?
Where's our interstate highway system?
Where's our Boulder (Hoover) Dam, our Panama Canal, our Alaskan Pipeline, our Trancontinental Railroad, our Golden Gate Bridge, our Holland Tunnel?
Instead, we get unmemorable, uninspiring, visionless Democrat pork, care of Nancy fricking Pelosi. More roads, no rail. More pork, no sizzle.
I seriously hate this woman, and I hate our leaders.
When America needed leaders, needed vision, needed to be America again, we got Nancy Pelosi instead.
Let's hope the Senate can do better. And I'm hoping Obama takes a sledgehammer to this mess. And where's his big idea? Where's his moonshot vision?
So, if you had $1 trillion to spend, and a blank slate, what would you spend it on? Give me some vision. Some excitement. Something lasting. Something big.
I want my f*cking moonshot and I want my f*cking Boulder Dam.
Posts
99 comments:
Easy.
I'd make public transportation a viable commuting alternative for every metropolitan area with over 1 million in population. Buses, light rail, heavy rail, subways. Easily done with that budget.
Hell, there would probably be enough change left over to devise high speed rail to link the east/west coasts. Do for America what the bullet train did for Japan and what the HGV did for continental Europe.
Everyone gets a failed Chinesse factory....and one of Arnold's Cigars.
Bye Bye California.....
They want to buy all of those new cars sitting at the ports/car lots and destroy them. I think the article said; anything that gets 18 or less mpg will be smashed. Brand New Freaking Cars! W.T.F. Is ELF running the damn country now?
Solar panels for all the houses in SoCal, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. (I don't hate other states, you just get more bang for your buck in these states)
"So, if you had $1 trillion to spend, and a blank slate, what would you spend it on?"
---------------
Easy. Three words:
Achieve
Energy
Independence
A few options come to mind. 1-3 pay for themselves, 4 is a "last resort" spend.
1. Buy out and shut down the "Defense" industry.
2. Restore the Gulf Coast Wetlands and raze every structure within 1/2mile of the US coast.
3.Sex education and optional free birth control for every reproductive-age person on earth.
4. Improve the flavor and texture of Soylent Green.
Nuclear power plants that co-generate hydrogen.
Power our cars, trains, ships, and aircraft with a fuel that produces water vapor when burnt.
Generate a lot of our electricity while easing demand on oil.
I was going to mention something about this subject in another thread, but I had to spend the afternoon entertaining a young woman instead.
But, I'm glad that you have given this subject a blog, this, as I've read some very interesting comments as to how the stimulus is spent. It doesn't look good for any progress for the over-all economy in the long term. I think thats why Pelosi was doing photo-ops during the inaugural parade with one of her grandchildren.
You know they always say, it's about the future, it's about our kids, etc., but they spend so much money into the future, with interest, that it can never, ever, ever be paid-off. The psychotic spending of these people has a lead anchor tied around our neck just the way "they", our "masters", want "it".
I can't change the world and it's very difficult to opt-out, but the yoke of debt these completely insane politicians are heaving upon us can't be serviced, not even by complete slavery, it's totally insane, not to mention unreasonable, to be so harsh to the population of this country, is far from my comprehension and capacity to be a sane man when all I see is stupidity and pathos.
Just how it comes to some reasonable conclusion is beyond me, the only thing I see these politicians thinking about, is kicking the can down the road a few more years and adding a few more zero's to the numbers. You know, " a trillion here a trillion there".
May you live in bizarre times!
Everyone should watch this video in order to grasp reality. You people need to prepare for what's coming up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=38SYbigt8wY
and it's coming up fast now. You've been warned, so don't come later crying that you didn't know, like with the housing scam and this engineered crisis.
Large scale wind farms. For 1 trillion dollars you could build enough to power approximately half the US residential electricity needs.
Or perhaps a high speed maglev rail system that connects the north east corridor that in addition to traditional passenger cars, is augmented with drive on ferry style flatbed cars, capable of transporting automobiles. Get from DC to NY in under an hour with your car once you get there.
Or maybe turn up the heat on cellulosic ethanol research till we crack the commercial viability and can get a transport fuel made from garbage at a dollar a gallon.
Or we could just give it to whoever is the most politically connected and see what they do with it.
I live in Northern Va-DC metro area. We have some of the worst traffic in the country-in part due to the fact that the sheeple (and thieving county executives who got payoffs from the developers) built tens of thousands of home in the suburbs with NO viable transportation options, (often without even widening the roads enough) The rail and metro do not extend far enough and do not even go to some of the major employment centers in the area.
Yeah I think we could use some of that money in and around the nation's capital.
With One Trillion Greenbacks, we could...
1. Build the World’s Tallest Building
2. Holistic Care Assisted Living for Seniors
3. Rejuvenate the Education System
4. Work on achieving Energy independence
5. High Speed Cross-country Rail Link
For probably $500B we could be energy independent in 6-8 years....naw too hard.
OK - this is getting bizarre. Keith - you know very well who is to blame for this bill and it's not Pelosi. You can blame Pelosi all you want, but that's a cop out and you know it. The "stimulus" bill is the Obama administration's bill that they sent to the house and trumpeted up and down as their "fix" for the economy and twisted democratic house members arms (when they cut certain social spending) to pass. Where's mention of your saint-boy Obama in your wailing and gnashing of teeth over this atrocious piece of legislation?? This bill is HIS brainchild. Pelosi is just the errand boy.
If you think Obama crafted this bill you don't understand how government works, or who does what
I'd imagine he's pretty disappointed at what's come out so far.
We'll see what the Senate comes up with. Then we'll know. And if it still stinks like a turd, I hope he threatens a veto.
It amazes me there's nothing at all in there for housing. Nothing for cap gains. Nothing for corporate taxes. Nothing to settle the banks. In addition to being nothing for our moon shot. And hell, Pelosi even through in some protectionism. Amazing.
The only way America and the world gets out of this tailspin is for drama. It needs to be in one big bill, not more dribs and drabs. It needs to shock and awe, not just America but the world. It needs to be big.
Otherwise, head to the shelter, as a Greater, maybe Greatest, Depression will be here.
And get gold.
Where's the stimulus money for tram systems in every large American city?
The stimulus could have spent $1 billion for the 50 biggest American cities to rip up one lane, going each way, of the biggest roads in each city. Minimum eminent domain problems. The pavement could be replaced with steel rails, made in America. Cars like small railroad coaches, made in America, could run on these rails. They would be powered by electricity. Bonus for the coal industry! (until it's supplanted by solar.)
Every person that rides a tram to work pokes a finger in the eye of the Arab (and Canuck and Mexican) oil suppliers. Lower greenhouse gas emission per passenger-mile traveled. And it could be run by the government -- what a great socialist enterprise!
Oh, but wait. That would piss off the car industry. And the oil industry. Would the "socialist" Democrats do something to piss off their corporate masters? Nah. Because they're not socialist at all.
Plus, it would make average Americans mingle with each other, instead of sitting alone in their steel death traps. And Americans HATE each other!
One of the reasons I chose to immigrate to Melbourne, rather than any other Australian city, was because it had a decent tram system. Like Amsterdam, Zurich, even minor French cities such as Bordeaux and Nice. (I'm just mentioning places I've been. Many other Euro cities have better tram systems.) It means that even if the Arabs get jiggy with the oil, people here will be able to get around. (Although the local train system -- not the street trams -- melted down during the recent heat wave. Freakin' Aussies -- on the desert continent, they can't plan for days when the air temperature is higher than human body temperature...)
But noooooo, the corporate Democrats and the religio-fascist Rethuglicans can't do anything that will upset the status quo. And the "Eurotards" will be laughing at the Americans stuck in their off-gassing traffic jams, praying to Jeebus that their oilheroin keeps flowing.
What ever happened to nuclear fusion as the limitless, clean energy source? Make that a goal, the world's first fusion power plant within ten years.
Keith,
Moon shot sounds pretty vulgar. Like something out of a Peter North film.
Can you please rephrase, for the love of God?
-Mike
As many reading this thread are figuring out, 1 Trillion dollars is a sh*tload of money and there are not enough good ideas and projects that acually have an economic pay back to be worth funding.
So you are going to get a lot of pork, a lot of waste, just like you see here.
Here is the problem. Obama demands fast action but it would take a lot of time to develop some nice ideas. 1 Trillion is 1000 Billion dollar projects. Obama should earmark the money with a spend schedule and follow the use it or lose it. But there will be a committee that approves the projects with a test that it will create an economic ROI and jobs. Otherwise it's a portfolio of shit.
There are a few good ideas here. A medium scale wind farm is worth investing in although T Boone Pickings is doing this anyway.
Maybe an idea would be the gov't offering $1 Billion as a prize for any scientist or research team to come up with algae that can convert waste matter to hydrocarbons. A prize of this level would inspire a lot of private competition and has the best chance of spurring results. Look at the contest DARPA had to have an autonomous robot travel 100 miles from the Sierras to Nevada. The prize was $1 Million and dozens of teams competed to get the best design out. Most of the teams spent the money and the gov't got the solution that costed less than one cent on the dollar of what it would take to directly fund this.
Spending big and fast will produce erratic results. Just like the shock & awe campaign was rushed into failure. Just like the TARP program was a rushed mistake.
A smart leader would realize this. Let us hope Obama is this leader.
-Mike
Build a mile wide canal from Los Angeles to Houston.
Pump and desalinate the seawater with solar power and use the water to grow enough food and fuel across the southwest to feed a billion people.
That would be bigger than the pyramids and bigger than the great wall of china. It would even be bigger than the grand canyon.
'One of the reasons I chose to immigrate to Melbourne, rather than any other Australian city, was because it had a decent tram system.'
----------
You live in Melbourne. Interesting. Read it was 109 degrees there yesterday.
Power grid down due to overload, everyone had AC turned up.
One guy thru his little girl off a bridge in anger. Heat anger.
During the winter here in the US, everyone makes fun of GORE and global warming. Just wait until summer comes. Will be 110 here in August. One degree hotter every year.
one word = 'energy Independence'
Relying on others for our energy is like relying on others for our food and water.
as of now, we are nothing but commoners to the queen of Saudi arabia
Once we achieve 'energy Independence' and there is some change left over to spend, I say put the Europeans in camps!
Pay back time!
Robotics and AI. Genetic engineering. Green energy.
Any and all of those will lead to greater prosperity AND greater social dislocations.
The Gov is out of step with the economy. The economy's speed of disentegration is overtaking the Gov plans to stop the domino effect. Everytime the Gov tries to put a stopper to keep the dominos from knocking each other down, they find that the effect is already farther down the track!
It's already too late for any moonshot or any Boulder Dam scheme to stop this. Bush could have done that in the wake of 9/11 and shown the world the greatness of America. Instead he led us into two wars that have only bred more hatred for America across the globe and an unprecedented erosion of America's mighty economy.
Obama already looks much older than he was on the day of his inauguration, because the tasks at hand are colossal and it will take an act of God to rescue the country from the abyss. If I were in Obama's shoes, I'd address the American people and tell them the truth, I'd tell them the system is corrupt to the bones and needs a reboot, that Wall Street and the military industrial complex have taken control of Congress and that Congress no longer represents the interests of the people, I'd set aside a portion of that Trillion to start a sweeping investigation into the criminal acts of the previous administration and the corporate thieves who have enriched themselves and wrecked America and the world.
I can't agree more that there's no vision in what Pelosi and the corrupt Congress are sending back to Obama. If I were Obama, I'd veto that f*cking blatant scam and take to the airwaves to expose those scumbags.
Obama has no other choice. He's got to talk directly to the American people, or he's setting himself up for failure. He was given a clear mandate for change, but there won't be any change if he keeps trying to placate the Repubs and be politically handicapped by the old guard of his own party.
If Obama takes to the airwaves and starts telling the American people what really happened and what must be done, in a candid and courageous manner, for me, that's my moonshot, that's my Boulder Dam and my Golden Bridge.
I'm with the energy independence people, or, failing that, a complete education overhaul.
Obama can win or lose me in the near future. He has the juice right now to really make things uncomfortable (as they should be!) for these establishment losers, like Pelosi. They are neither morally nor intellectually equal to the task of unscrewing this country. He needs to call them out, and demand a real bill with real returns from the people.
How did Einstein put it? "Problems cannot be solved using the same level of thinking that created them."
Everyone should watch this video in order to grasp reality. You people need to prepare for what's coming up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=38SYbigt8wY
and it's coming up fast now. You've
-------------
Not convinced they really planned what's happening although I'm pretty sure they'll use any panic to increase their power.
more weapons for Israel, that's Nancy "War Is Good For You" Pelosi. Empires implode and she's just trying to keep the supporting columns from tipping over but it's a wasted effort.
Mr. Fusion and a hover-conversion for my car.
Analyze what energy delivery system(s), other than oil, has (have) the best EROEI and do it (them). Public transportation and light rail.
If you think Obama crafted this bill you don't understand how government works, or who does what.
IMO, Washington is run by think tanks and that's good (lots of ideas) but their inertia isn't impacted by democratic processes and that's bad.
Fortunately, Obama offered himself as the authority figure (the Christ) and told us "I'll make it work" so the game is his to win or lose.
The oddest thing about Obama is that he was screaming "Mission Accomplished" at his rallies and yet people didn't laugh at him-- as they did George Bush, when he told us: "this recession means that ''yes we can'' is now ''no we can't''."
Perhaps-- if the economy continues to go south, YouTube videos will start mocking Obama's words and emphasize his failure to transform "yes we can" into action.
If you enable every person of the world to understand compound interest and birth control and why these to things are important to their survival you will have fixed 95% of our problems.
Don Payne
Bukko_in_Australia:
Hey, I might have a few questions about living/moving to austrailia. Got any resources? And or mind if i send you a few questions?
nuclear power, and lots of it.
buff up the transmission grid.
several billion for battery technology so by the time the nuclear plants are operating and the transmission grid can move all that electricity, we'll have the batteries to switch all cars over to electric.
I'm all for the highspeed trains throughout north america and light rail through the metro areas. I also think something like a transpacific rail over connecting the North American Union...I mean US/Canada to Russia/China.
Anonymous said:
"They want to buy all of those new cars sitting at the ports/car lots and destroy them. I think the article said; anything that gets 18 or less mpg will be smashed. Brand New Freaking Cars! W.T.F. Is ELF running the damn country now?"
Are we back to breaking windows because repairing windows counts as economic activity?
Another Anon said:
"2. Restore the Gulf Coast Wetlands and raze every structure within 1/2mile of the US coast."
Breaking windows is bad, but at least government should not subsidize building in poor locations.
"3.Sex education and optional free birth control for every reproductive-age person on earth."
Maybe hospitals should not be required to treat all who show up. If the state takes on the responsibility of health and welfare of all, at some point it will have to control reproductivity. Either we are individuals living free in a society or we are cogs in societies machine.
"4. Improve the flavor and texture of Soylent Green."
Too funny.
The stimulus package as proposed is too slow. They need to dump money on everyone fast, like Bush's stimulus checks last year. They should double or triple the size and put them out quarterly. We need enough inflation to force wages to rise so the price of housing can level off and not lose another 50% of its value. If other countries central banks do not do the same the dollar will fall - but they will do much of the same or they will find themselves in depression. Fund it by "forcefully" borrowing from the Fed at zero percent interest with no maturity date.
Sadly, we will all be poorer materially, or maybe we are just finding out that we were not really as rich as we thought.
True money bombs away.
I am reading through the actual bill now (you should link to this keith): http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1/text
Just for oversight of this bill, the cost will be $233.5 million. The numbers are so big that people have lost all perspective. $233.5 million used to be considered a lot of money!
SEC. 1112. ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE OF APPROPRIATE USE OF FUNDS.
None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless: (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act; or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois. The preceding sentence shall not apply to any funds provided directly to a unit of local government: (1) by a Federal department or agency; or (2) by an established formula from the State.
Hah! They stuffed an anti-Blagojevich clause into the bill! Since he is now out of office it will not apply but that is hilarious!
Nancy Pelosi allowed her democrats to add a bunch of pork to the bill because Obama didn't have any great ideas of his own.
There's no vision there, Keith. A vision for the stimulus money is what Obama should have been spending some time thinking about the last few months.
We won't think any less of you if you start yelling at Obama to try harder.
Here's a vision he should be thinking about - the effects of the Federal Reserve buying all the treasury bonds that nobody else wants to buy at 3% interest.
The stimulus package as proposed is too slow.
---------
Perfect! All the crap will have time to disappear for everyone to finally see how the Emperor looks when naked.
One word...
T A R I F F
.
As others have said, energy independence. I would convene 10 no nonsense, independent, smart people. Review the prospects of solar, algae, wind, ocean, hydrogen, etc. technology. Then outline which combination of these, and in what percentages, we will aim to take over 50% of our energy usage in 10 years. Throw a trillion dollars at developing a renewable energy infrastructure. Every job created should be in this field.
I'll also go with energy independence - right now that means nuclear power and an upgrade of the electric transmission system. . .then most cities could convert bus systems to electric like San Francisco (they get cheap hyrdro power now). . .those new GM Volt cars will not be clean if they use coal powered electricity off the grid to fuel them. . .let's also look at solar for the future. . .lots of empty land between LA and Las Vegas - already one solar plant near Barstow.
Pie in the sky?? Hire SBB (SwissRail) to rebuild American rail system. Still wouldn't make money, but would at least perform well.
"Easy. Three words:
Achieve
Energy
Independence
"
...and we will achieve that with the stimulus package by building more roads. BRILLIANT!
Uh... I think the moon shot was just a cover for perfecting the ICBMs.
Friedman. http://tinyurl.com/dk9f56
>If it is not apparent to you yet, it will be soon: there is no magic bullet for this economic crisis, no magic bailout package, no magic stimulus. We have woven such a tangled financial mess with subprime mortgages wrapped in complex bonds and derivatives, pumped up with leverage, and then globalized to the far corners of the earth that, much as we want to think this will soon be over, that is highly unlikely.
I'm for transportation, education and healthcare - in any order. You're not going to get people back to work if they're sick, uneducated or can't get from A to B.
Leave housing alone - its a toxic Black Hole. If you really want to 'save' people, then buy their houses and allow them to rent them from the state/govt/whatever until they've paid the equivalent of a 20% downpayment .Then allow them the option of buying them back using a fixed rate at a low interest rate.
Ditto Tax Cuts - we've had 3 of them in the last 8 years and they've done bupkiss to help out the kind of people who really need them. If you want tax cuts, then do it indirectly via raising the Min Wage and reducing premiums and co-pay for health insurance.
Cut defense spending, get our troops out of Iraq, and have some serious debates about the end-game in Afghanistan.
We spend more in defense than all the other developed countries combined - we need smaller and smarter ways of dealing with conflicts.
And if we want to be competitive in the 21st century, we need to have an educated - and numerate - workforce. In order for that to happen, you need to have a education system that helps foster sciences, engineering and other tech-related things.
America has some of the best universites in the world, but some of the worst school systems - start at the bottom.
Encourage businesses to sponsor scholarships for kids through grade school, give bursaries to kids following a sci/tech course and give them help in going to school. Its crazy that kids can do better in getting sports scholarship than can getting a science foundation one.
And help parents to keep their kids in school - encourage employers to run day-care for companies that have more than 50 employees. Fund after-school programs so that kids can learn and be safe until their parents have finished working for the day.
And give extra financial help to teachers wanting to teach sci/tech in schools and colleges. The UK funded science and tech based student teachers a decade ago - and made huge inroads into the shortfall for those subjects in grade schools. It really made a difference.
And, energy independance is the key to our continued survival - both small scale and large scale.
We desperately need a 21st century energy grid, we need huge funding to make our cars efficient, we need major plans to implement light rail and effective cheap mass transit both in in our cites, and between them.
On the small scale - offer rebates to every homeowner that installs solar on their roofs. Offer incentives to businesses to do the same. Make it profitable to 'give back' energy into the national grid. Give rebates to all who want it to insulate houses.
There - I've already spent a Trillion :-)
And there's plenty more ideas out there.
They do not represent the American people. They are following orders from the elite who want a NWO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GThfWVCfjVo&feature=related
1) Subsidized trains. I think north to south on both coasts makes more sense than cross country. Hgh speed rail linking San Diego and San Francisco. Make the NYC to Chicago route more direct so it doesn't take 24 hours
2) Energy Independence. Private industry cant do this on their own without $200 oil. Someone else mentioned expand the petroleum reserve while the price is low.
WND NAtional poll results:
Who is the silliest woman in the world? (5136 votes)
Nancy Pelosi 50% (2585)
Rosie O'Donnell 11% (590)
Cindy Sheehan 8% (436)
Paris Hilton 4% (227)
Oprah Winfrey 4% (219)
Barbra Streisand 4% (198)
Michelle Obama 2% (108)
Madonna 2% (98)
Britney Spears 2% (95)
Hillary Clinton 2% (94)
Other 2% (93)
Amy Winehouse 1% (68)
_______________
Wow, Amy Winehouse has a 49% lower silly quotient than Nancy!
Good post Keith, Hoover dam and Davis Dam on the river are great examples of what a sensible generation did. We will have cheap, clean electricity from these dams for decades and decades still to come. Waterflow into the Colorado has enabled gazzilions of acres of sustainable farming. Boulder city was built for dam workers and to today is a wonderful little community.
This time around we'll get silly little projects and more money in banker/Wall Street exec and Gov. insider's pockets. No long term vision out of these folks in charge now, but plenty of greed.
GT Charlie
1 trillion $?
#1: Secure basic needs food and shelter for everyone. No more homelessness. No more single mom/dad working two/three shift for miserable wages
#2: Massive increase of efforts towards education. Starting young. People need more knowledge and science to handle the challenge of our generation.
#3: Free university (as long as you got good grades)
#4: Increase public transportation in metropolitan city.
#5: High speed train in the west high speed train in the east.
#6: Energy etc etc etc
Interesting how people on Kieth's blog go right to the sensable solution:
Clean, cheap energy and energy independence.
It's just too easy, you actually would have to try and not immediately think ENERGY, yet these monkeys in charge seem to be lost on the idea.
There is a company in San Diego ready and waiting to build Very High Temp Nuke Reactors which are ideal for co-generation of Electricity, hydrogen and/or desalination. Fresh water is greatly needed in CA. Today millions of acres of farm land are fallowed so CA can have drinking water.
I'm a simpleton and I know this, why doesn't Obama and Nancy?
energy independence.
complete and total.
if we need to turn new mexico and arizona into giant solar collectors then so be it.
if martha's vineyard needs to be turned into a windmill, so be it.
put geo thermal in yellow stone.
how about a bridge that connects alaska to russia?
It would be nice to have broadband out here in the boonies. New medical facilities, or a school that wasn't at least 90 years old.
But a bigger necessity is to repair the streets and roads. Otherwise it
won't matter if gas is $2 or 20¢, the roads won't be navigable.
OPEN QUESTION TO KEITH:
I am just curious why you are laying this pork debacle at Nancy Pelosi's feet. This crazy loon is not acting alone.
BARACK OBAMA IS YOUR PRESIDENT. HE, too, is shoving this shameful stimulus bill down the throats of American people. He is holding bbqs and cocktail mixers to get the GOP on board. I am not a Republican by any means, but thank God they are willing to draw the line in the sand and refusing to enable the insanity of the Dems. Obama is the man that YOU backed and supported in spite of all the red flags to the contrary. This man has never had to work outside the confines of the government or a community organization in his entire life. He has no understanding of the economy or free markets because he has no experience whatsoever in the private sector. The guy has never had a real job and has been on the dole all his life. How can he really be expected to understand the value of a dollar or how spending dollars affects taxpayers or our currency? He may not have been in Congress as long as Biden, Pelosi and the other career hacks. but he has developed a sense of entitlement based on the fact that he has never been thrown to the wolves like most of us and has lived a sheltered life in ivory towers, academia and state government. And now he is living in the ultimate bubble: sucking from the teat of the federal government and telling the American people to sacrifice while he spends this country into oblivion.
OBAMA'S FINGERPRINTS ARE ALL OVER THIS BILL. He is selling Americans down the river just as he did last Fall when he voted for TARP funds. How'd that work out for us, Keith?
But somehow you cannot bring yourself to see the truth: this man is a fraud; he brings no change; he, Pelosi and the entire lot of Demi-crooks are determined to destroy our currency and induce a systemic collapse.
I am wondering how much longer you will be able to carry on with this silly game...blaming everyone BUT Obama. I am guessing that by this summer or early fall, when this stimulus package has revealed itself to be a colossal failure that turns a horrible problem into a catastrophic one, when Americans have thrown their Barack Obama Inaugural plates in the trash and stopped bookmarking his White House home page on their computers, when those who show up to hear him speak come armed with eggs and water balloons, you will finally take off your blinders and face the truth: Obama is a sham, and you have been conned. And don't tell me that he was our best choice. Our BEST choice is to overturn the whole f****** system and throw the whole lot of idiots out. That's why I chose not to vote last November. I can honestly say that I took no part in enabling the disaster that Pelosi AND Obama re now creating.
Can you say the same? I think not.
Obama has no other choice. He's got to talk directly to the American people, or he's setting himself up for failure. He was given a clear mandate for change, but there won't be any change if he keeps trying to placate the Repubs and be politically handicapped by the old guard of his own party.
--------------------------------------
Yep BO has the backing of the people, so much so that he could clean house in congress and DC in general. he has so much backing it is kind of scary. he could take total control if he wanted to.
Keith
Retire 5 million cars that do over 30k miles per year and contract Honda and Toyota to replace them with hybrids. That's about $150bln at $30k/car.
Build underground nuclear plants encased in concrete. They power 20,000 homes at a time at a cost of $13million each. They last 30 years. Build $500bln worth of these.
Make a $1bln prize for the person or group that solves the current LI battery problem or something similar (like what Craig Venter is working on with biology).
Have the gov't buy up arable land and farm it for the coming food crisis. Another $150bln.
All together this less than $1T.
Together these projects would get us out of this mess.
Why don't they do it? They (including your man Obama) have no foresight. They are blind. Your man Obama is on the path to destroying the U.S.A. Amazing, isn't it?
Obama and cronies are instead sending us into a Depression. They seem happy pretty about it too.
My family has been here for many generations. This clown is going to destroy everything that they built in a few months. It's hard to build, easy to destroy.
Time to get your gold and make sure your passports are up to date.
Have a nice day.
Give it all to the teachers union...for the children.
Contact Sen Conrad, who heads up the Senate Budget Committee, here:
http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm
Energy Independence and Broadband for everyone
That's pretty good vision I'd say.
Wonder what that'd cost? Wonder what the 100 year ROI would be?
obama is no savior. the voters were hoodwinked. he is an empty suit that speaks well but never talks about details, just platitudes. Yes we can! change you can believe in!
he is going to be worse than jimmy carter and likely worse than bush.
Nuke power plants that can also generate hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen filling stations and pipelines coast to coast.
This is the future of energy so we might as well get started now and have something to show for our trillion spent.
I am just curious why you are laying this pork debacle at Nancy Pelosi's feet. This crazy loon is not acting alone.
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she is the leader of the majority so it is her responsibility. but she was chosen as speaker because she is a good representation of the rotten apple.
there is a famous quote that goes something like:
"democracies work until the people figure out how to vote themselves money from the public coffers".
I think we are at that point. 4 billion for ACORN? 300Million for contraceptives? increasing the earned income tax credit (tax rebate for those who file but don't pay taxes).
I think we are now past the tipping point and are rapidly gaining momentum. we are going to get to a point where everyone just gives up and holds out their hands for government entitlements. at that point the system is completely broken.
I don't think it is the USA that is getting close to that point. I think it is the whole world.
in november the american people voted for increasing entitlements as the solution to our problems and that was the last straw.
DEC 2008
Philbert McDoodle said...
Keith
Retire 5 million cars that do over 30k miles per year and contract Honda and Toyota to replace them with hybrids. That's about $150bln at $30k/car.
Good post Philbert (except for the above paragraph) but why not have Ford and Chevy build the cars. We cannot continue to send our money to other countries, because oddly that practice has shown to leave us with less money?
GT Charlie
Wonder what that'd cost? Wonder what the 100 year ROI would be?
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i don't care about the dollar roi at this point. it would be worth it just for the "flipping the bird" to the middle east.
we wouldn't even have to really become energy independent. just making it a national priority and actually working towards it would crash the middle east. Kind of like how reagan beat the USSR, a poker game where you have a good hand but you beat the others because you bluff better.
I bet that becoming energy independent would pay for itself quickly because we could pull back our military presence around the world because it would not longer be needed to secure our energy sources.
I'd use it to build jails and work camps for all the realtors, builders, bankers, brokers, analysts, homedebtors that created this disaster.
Keith, an interesting question. I really can't comprehend that much money, but I think it could surely do the following:
Build a new industry for manufacturing and do it with Tax payer money, but sell it off as time permits to public interest and give the money back to the tax payers.
I don't care what the product is that you are building, but something for energy independence seems to make the most sense.
I am talking building factories designed to operate with cell technology. You need effiecency in whatever approach you take.
I am talking 1 factory in every major city in the country. All linked up together real time. As you sell these off by city the new owners must maintain the factory to factory tie in. This will help as they all communicate now and in the future for common good for all.
This creates sustainable long term jobs, doesn't favor unions or any class of worker, creates jobs in every state, has a chance of getting the tax payers money back, could set the stage for private development to jump aboard.
It would / will work, but needs to be thought of by somebody that means something and not me on this blog...
I agree with the idea of more manufacturing. Turning raw materials into goods creates wealth. I think that people are getting serious about buying American products.
I would support tariffs too.
Not one, not two, not 5;
But ten rockets shot at innocent civilians today, by the European supported barbaric Arab animals.
We Sashers are not expecting a ’special UN security council meeting’ until Israel responds..
We are also not expecting the BBC to start re-playing the ‘suffering civilian casualties’ until the Israelis start moving.
We are also not expecting the usual calls that come out of the woodwork for the intentional murderers to ‘act with restraint’ --- yup --- you bet they will be coming once Israel defends herself,
along with stupidity like ‘ disproportionate response’ or ‘excessive force’
What is it gonna take for Israel to start fighting like men?
When will they learn that being ‘nice Jewish boys’ in a cruel world of ‘man eat man’ does not work.
It has never worked.
Dear great people of Israel,
Learn from your brutal enemies and hit them back ten fold.
Then double that!
Do not stop beating on them until they fall to there knees with missing limbs.
During the winter here in the US, everyone makes fun of GORE and global warming. Just wait until summer comes. Will be 110 here in August. One degree hotter every year.
That's a lie. Here's a NOAA map showing average temperatures throughout the US in 2008:
http://tinyurl.com/5bgs9e
As you can see, most states are below average temperature. Global warming is a Ponzi scheme to transfer taxpayer money to bankers/global elite. Don't be a sheep, wake up.
Not convinced they really planned what's happening although I'm pretty sure they'll use any panic to increase their power.
Watch the entire thing, all 14 videos. It gets much better.
Love said:
‘We are also not expecting the usual calls that come out of the woodwork for the intentional murderers to ‘act with restraint’ --- yup --- you bet they will be coming once Israel defends herself,
along with stupidity like ‘ disproportionate response’ or ‘excessive force’’’
Love,
That is pretty funny,
Israel will likely demolish an abandoned building after informing the surrounding neighbors with flyers from helicopters, releasing a statement that they have hit a ‘symbolic terror structure’.
Just about every corrupt politician across the world will immediately run to the Press or on camera, saying stuff like ‘we urge both sides to act with restraint’ blah blah blah;
or something like ‘Israel response is aggressive and will not help the situation’ blah blah blah..
And Israel wonders why they keep getting attacked.
Maybe, just maybe, if Israel really responded things would begin to change.
Subsidize and expedite export of American manufacturing and technology to China. Appoint John McCain and Bill Clinton to oversee.
China is impatient to begin Chinese Century.
1) Take your 1 Trilldo (or ten or sixty or whatever it takes to cover), take over the banks and sell off the pieces.
2) Repeal all tax policies that reward suicidal economic behavior.
3) Enact tax policies that reward:
Small Business
Small Farmers
Walkable Communities
Renewable Energy
Thrift
Long-Term Investment
Responsible Employers
Conservation
(you get the idea...)
None of the things in this list will get America out of this mess.
Only ingenuity that creates products and services that consumers want to buy here and abroad will keep this country on top and with a sound economy.
Moonshots, solar panels, green energy projects, rail systems, paved roads, etc. do not form the basis of economic power. Unless you have an economy producing end user consumables and durables, then nothing else really matters.
And this is why we are so screwed....because we don't make anything anymore.
You all talk about this $1T of spending as though it represents tax dollars or money we already have. Hey folks, WE DON"T HAVE THE MONEY!
We can borrow it from our "good friends" in Asia and the Middle East, or we can print it outright and suffer the consequences 18 months from now when inflation spikes and interest rates go to the Moon.
This is all bullshit -- no different than a couple of clueless, broke teenagers talking shit about what kind of hot car they're going to buy.
Anon @ 1:53 p.m., slight correction about the guy who threw his daughter off the Westgate Bridge. (Ironically, he did it over the spot of a tragedy where 35 blokes were killed when the bridge collapsed in 1970.) He was involved in a nasty divorce, and he apparently killed the girl to get back at his estranged wife. He didn't toss his two older boys who were cowering in the car. There's sick bastards in every country, mate. And yes, it was farking hot here, to the point of breaking the infrastructure. But it's a dry heat...
If you think Obama crafted this bill you don't understand how government works, or who does what
I'd imagine he's pretty disappointed at what's come out so far.
So, you'll help you messianic-nwo tool to take credit only when something is supposedly good or working, right?
Why do we need BO then, if this bill's supposed to be our salvation? I mean, if he doesn't get involved in what's supposed to be one of the most important decisions in America, why is BO relevant at all?
Do you see how you don't make any sense here? How cheerleader you've become, to the point of me having doubts about your objectives in this blog? Serious doubts.
With allllll the "political capital" BO has, suddenly he has no input whatsoever in the most important bill since the depression? So I ask you again, why is BO relevant? What's his political capital good for? Abortion bills (Eugenics)?
Most of the people here are so clueless to what's really going on that's even sad. They're the famous zombies, engineered by the NWO. They're Al Gore's green brigade. These zombies still fall for the bad cop-good cop party lines thingy, refusing to believe that there's a shadow global government behind all.
There's so much going on right now, and much more about to hit you, that's not even funny. But you're all discussing party lines, green projects, like it'll be business as usual.
It's bizarre to me that zombies don't even blink when Kissinger, on the NY Exchange floor, tells on CNBC's camera that BO is the perfect man to bring the New World Order. That was a few weeks ago! Jesus people, they're not even hiding it from you anymore, it's right there in the open.
When there's a systematic global financial meltdown, you don't even stop to think that's an odd thing, or that's definitely engineered to push agenda amidst chaos, just like on 9-11. It's sad.
You'll probably applaud when they drop the North American Union on you, or the Global Central Bank to collect carbon taxes, or when expressive numbers of global population begin to die off due to an "unusual" virus. Henry Kissinger wrote: "Depopulation should be the highest priority of U.S. foreign policy towards the Third World." It's on record!
The shadow government has convince you that population die off is a good thing, because of the ohhh, the fuzzy polar bear or because some are better than others, like we should live in a cast system, with the global elite on top of the PYRAMID. Too bad you don't realize that you might be the ones dropping dead, or if you survive, you'll be a serf for the global elite, with no rights left and no constitution.
Don't you get it? This an agenda, a project, it's going on for decades, it's happening at fast speed now, and just like they've been saying all along. Folks, nothing here is tinfoil stuff, it's based on facts, because they don't have to hide it anymore, since it seems most everyone has become a zombie to care. Their symbols are everywhere now:
http://tinyurl.com/d6hwq6
Can you find Waldo here, too?
http://tinyurl.com/dd6d6h
http://tinyurl.com/clguab
what about here:
http://tinyurl.com/ah2uer
http://tinyurl.com/a9zmer
Do you see it in the logos? Isn't it odd that the most powerful players in the world present the same symbols? Hmmm, which other logo has a sun rising (Cult of Aton)...from a certain Messiah...gee, that's a toughy.
That's just a coincidence, right? You're on your own, zombies.
.
IT'LL BE USED FOR FEMA CAMPS, EUGENICS, AND SURVEILLANCE OF CITIZENS.
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How about we spend it reaching out to muslims? I'm sure we can work things out; just draw a line down the middle of the earth and we all stay on our sides.
"President Barack Obama told the Organisation of Islamic Conference that he has full confidence that the United States can work together with the world's largest grouping of Muslims, the OIC said on Sunday."
Do away with the Refugee Act of 1980. Note: The Refugee Resettlement Program is a federally funded program that provides English Language Instruction, employment services, health screening, social services, and medical and cash assistance to refugees.
The US Government is resettling 35,000 Iraqis in Florida. Use part of the money to transport the Iraqi refugees back to Iraq.
Finishing building the fence along the border. Stop Mexican trucks from crossing the border.
Give tax credits to businesses that build manufacturing plants in the US. Put huge tariffs on US companies that build their plants outside the country.
Repair and expand the Interstate Highway System.
Expand and improve the national parks. Build more railways for transporting goods.
Help Mexico's economy by contracting out our prisons to them. The threat of going to jail in Mexico will also reduce crime in the US.
I was just thinking I've already lost my excitement for the Obama administration though not given up yet. I knew all the hope and beauty wasn't going to be reality but I would like to see a swift and aggressive plan to increase energy independence. Also improving the mass transit. If people get more quickly and easily get to work they will be more productive on average. Increase interest rates for saving, start policies that make people want to work and tuck away money.
WTF!!
Let 'em roll!!
AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers
AP Investigation: Bailed-out banks
sought to hire 21,800 foreign workers in past 6 years
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year and Americans were getting laid off, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.
The dozen banks now receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.
Star-Kist Tuna is owned by Del Monte Foods. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's home district includes San Francisco. Star Kist Tuns's headquarters are in San Francsico, Pelosi's home district. Star-Kist is owned by Del Monte Foods is a major contributor to Pelosi. Star-Kist is the major employer in American Samoa employing 75% of the samoan workforce. Paul Pelosi, Nancy's husband, ownes $17 million dollars of Star-Kist stock. In January, 2007 when the minimum wage was increased from $5.15 to $7.25, Pelosi had American Samoa exempt from the increase so Del Monte would not have to pay the higher wage. This would make Del Monte products less expensive than their competitions's. When the huge bailout bill was passed, Pelosi added an earmark to the final bill adding $33 million dollars for an economic development credit in American Samoa. The Star-Kist matter was big news at the beginning of 2007 and the $33 million earmark was news at the end of 2008.
To Jim @ 3:39 p.m. -- If you're interested in Oz. a good place to start is this Yahoo group for Americans who have moved to Australia. About half of them are American women who have married Aussie blokes, but there are some IT types, an immigration counselor who chimes in frequently to answer questions, and the group's site has a lot of links for resources. Lurk a bit and you can see what people like, and hate, about the place. It's a friendly group, unlike Sashers, so people don't get flamed for asking newbie questions.
As far as e-mails go, no aspersions on you, but there's some daggy people who comment on Keith's blog. Not like I'd want to give out my e-mail addy here. You can follow my ID to my semi-existent blog if you want to ask anything off-Sash.
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Hey,
I want my money shot to!
What?
Never mind.
.
Keith.
What we want is a GLOBAL plan. We've got bio and nano-tech changes coming in a few years.
Let's build a time machine.
I call it a time machine, but it's really a nano-tech way to transmit life through death. Creating unlimited new worlds where we can choose our lives and jump to another if one isn't going as well as originally planned.
Roads? Where is exactly is any money for even roads in the Obama/Democrat Pork spending bill?
All I see is 30 billion at the most for infrastructure projects in its current makeup. To put that in perspective, the big dig project in Massachusetts cost over 20 billion and at it peak, only had 5000 people working on it.
You want a moon shot or Pacific Coast Highway? You really expect the current majority in DC to spend this money on something like that? That's just freaking sad, but maybe its the bitchslap all the Obama voters on this board were soo in need of.
This is just 850 billion of democratic pork and Obama kickbacks (5 billion for ACORN to bankroll more election fraud, etc....). There's your damn moon shot all you Obama worshippers.
Obama and his crew are the ultimate ones who orchstrated this 850 billion spending bill. You still believing he was going to fix all the worlds problems with his nice speeches about hope and change? I bet your going to try to blame this all on Congress instead. Obama the magic negro political messiah cannot be doubted. Blame Pelosi and her crew. How predictable.
Oh yahh, I forgot to mention that 200 million of the spending bill is to repair the wrecked national mall in DC after the Obama fans trashed it on inaguration day. Oh well, I guess its a small price to pay with our tax dollars because it was just such a "historic event" according to the main stream media that I can't tell the difference from Russia Pravda and all you Obamaiacs.
GT Charlie:
Thanks for your comment.
The reason I say to contract Honda and Toyota to build these vehicles is because I don't believe GM/Chrysler/Ford have the management necessary to survive. I would prefer to see that money invested with Honda/Toyota at this time. Perhaps part of the deal can be that these vehicles are built in the USA using former GM/Ford employees.
I know that many, many good people and engineers work for the American automobile industry and that the industry has produced and continues to produce some excellent vehicles. However, given their balance sheet I don't think that pouring money into them is a wise investment. The UK did that with British Leyland and it was a waste of time/money. I believe it is better at this time to allow the American automobile industry to fail, especially Chrysler.
It is highly unfortunate that gov't officials cannot see through the muck and actually take a reasonable position regarding the so-called 'economic stimulus'. It's pretty obvious, I think, to many on this forum what needs to be done with that $1T. The gov't seems intent on spending it on supporting existing firms which are bound to fail no matter what. It is insanity. They are also incapable of listening to the electorate. Unless you are prepared to make a sizable contribution to their campaign (Obama included), they have no interest in listening to new ideas. The reality is that capitalism has not failed, it is democracy that has failed. Listen to Schumer, Frank and Pelosi - they have no concept as to what happened and what needs to be done. They are interested in one thing only - retaining their power. When you think of the time, money and effort that has been put into this country and the fact that these clowns are destroying everything around us it is sickening.
We could get out of this one. They won't do it - they have no vision and are unwilling to listen to anything new. Watch what they do - they are now sending us into the trash heap.
Have a good day.
buddy.. at 5 million a mile for a few recycled autos and installed as railroad tracks, the crony politicians cronys make out much better than bandits and p[ay bigger bribes.......................
Here's a petition that says the same thing:
http://tinyurl.com/dg98mw
It's sad when you finally realize that the entire system is corrupt and that you are just a pawn. It really blows.
I would spend 500 billion building a 40 foot high brick wall of reinforced concrete between mexico and America, spanning from San Diego to Ron Pauls district in Texas.
Put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work at 20.00 an hour building a wall keeping mexicans from taking future jobs. Its a win, win proposition.
Then I would spend 250 billion rounding up all the illegals sending them back to mexico. Thus solving the fiscal crisis in California and saving taxpayers and medicaid trillions for the future.
The other 250 billion would be used to buy Gold and Silver to put in fort knox.
In response to your remark Mr/Ms. i've said it....:
You are wrong. We need to become energy indepenedent first, and then we can concentrate on our manufacturing industries. If we can attain cheap, reliable, clean energy then our industries will be the most competitive in the world. If we can stop importing oil we can save $700 billion each year. The lack of affordable energy 15 years down the road would cripple any new industry.
More nuke electricity would free up natural gas to power cars and new industry cheaply. We have lots of natural gas and its a great stop gap for cars until hydrogen is ready.
GT Charlie
Keith: I am the one who said you are getting bizarre in your desire to shield Obama from the results of his own actions. Of course, he is responsible for this stimulus bill. His transition team drafted it and sent it to the Hill and he personally called Pelosi to get her to ram it through. This wasn't drafted on the Hill - stuff was added by House members, but that's not where it was drafted.
It's you who doesn't understand how things are happening in DC. I worked in the WH Counsel's office and as a staff director for a Senator, so I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two about how things operate there.
I also know when someone is desperate to explain away the abuse they are getting from the object of their infatuation when I see it. Take the rose colored glasses from your eyes when you look at what Obama has wrought so far. He doesn't know what he's doing anymore than anyone else, so I don't fault him more than anyone else, but he is responsible for his and his own team's actions.
Thin film solar panels for all buildings; Geothermal pumps for all buildings; Wind mill farms; R-40+ for all buildings; multi fuel stoves for all homes; Passive hot water heaters; Mandatory passive solar building designs for all new buildings going forward; fuel cells for all products; plug in hybrids; fuel cell cars; 50 mpg cafe standards for 2012; tidewave energy systems and the ultimate holy grail... COLD FUSION!!
Warp drive for space craft; fully charged phaser banks; flux capacitors for all. Just kidding on the last 3.
In light of the coming hyper-inflation due to the out-of-control money printing currently underway by Uncle Ben, insert "Trillion" for "Million" below:
Peter Gibbons: Lawrenece, what would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man: two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I were a millionaire I could hook that up, too; 'cause chicks dig dudes with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well, the type of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Bonus question: Guess that movie.
>how about a bridge that connects alaska to russia?
Trust me, you don't want that...
"we need to have an educated - and numerate - workforce. In order for that to happen, you need to have a education system that helps foster sciences, engineering and other tech-related things."
We have a glut of technically educated persons, not a shortage. If there are jobs then people will pursue the educational qualifications for them but not the other way around. But if we only promise an engineer, a 5-7 yr career, followed by layoff/offshoring, then what incentive is there for someone to follow?
Phillip Gibbons is from Office Space.
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