In case you are lacking knowledge about the “Fiscal Cliff” the Wall Street Journal’s David Wessel posted a video explaining it back in October. You can watch “Everything You Need to Know About the Fiscal Cliff’ by clicking HERE.
Today’s Poll Question: “Do you think Congress and the White House will come to an agreement before the United States reaches the “Fiscal Cliff” on January 1, 2013?”
Click on “Continue Reading” to take the poll.
Only in America
Dreaming in red, white and blue
Only in America
Where we dream as big as we want to
We all get a chance
Everybody gets to dance
Only in America
-Brooks and Dunn “Only in America“
If you watched Fox News the last 24 hours, you were informed that the speech President Obama gave in Osawatomie, Kansas, yesterday contained the word “fair” a lot or that the President was starting class warfare.
His speech did contain the word “fair” some, but that was just the Fox News “fair and balanced” way of slighting the President. You should really flip the channel to MSNBC and CNN once in awhile to get a more balanced look at the news…
President Obama’s speech yesterday was darn good. It was the kind of speech that he could have given from the back-of-a-pick-up-truck-parked-in-the-gravel-parking-lot-at-a-truck-stop and it still would have been good. Continue reading
Jobs should be the major issue in the United States today. Many media outlets have been airing stories about jobs and the economy, but the CBS Evening News has gone a step further and has been conducting a series of interviews with CEOs about how to get Americans back to work.
It has been interesting to watch. I have placed a link to the story at the end of this column.
Scott Pelley of the CBS Evening News recently interviewed Robert L. Johnson. According to CBS, “… Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television, and later sold it to Viacom for almost $3 billion. Johnson is now the chairman of RLI, which invests in companies in a variety of industries, from entertainment to real estate.”
Besides his ideas on how to put America back to work, toward the end of the interview Pelley asks him what he would say to elected officials in Washington.
This is what he had to say: Continue reading
Like many Americans, I caught President Obama’s speech last night. I normally try to listen to the speech and then read it later. I also attempt to stay away from the cable and network news and form my own opinion.
I succeeded and here it is… Continue reading
Who’s the cat that won’t cop out…when there’s danger all about? MAX! Right On!
OK, maybe the theme song from Shaft goes a little too far in describing Montana’s Max Baucus and his career in the United States Senate – way too far – Baucus is really not cool at all.
Nonetheless, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has picked Montana’s Max and two other senate democrats (Patty Murray, John Kerry) for spots on the new Super Committee. They will join nine others in cutting $1.5 trillion from the federal budget before Thanksgiving. The Super Committee needs seven votes to pass anything – Max Baucus could easily be that seventh vote.
Baucus was “working” at a market in Billings on Tuesday when word came that he was Harry Reid’s man. Baucus took time out from stacking the grocery shelves with yogurt to issue a statement saying, “I’m humbled to be appointed to the committee to help tackle this critical issue for Montana and the American people.” Continue reading
The one and only thing that was good about yesterday’s vote in the U.S. House on the debt limit was that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., made a surprise showing in the House chamber to cast her vote. Giffords had been absent from the House since January after being shot in the head. Thank God she is well enough to return to the House.
That was the one good thing.
The bill, the final product, those in leadership working on the bill, and most of the elected folks in the House, the Senate, and the White House have all terribly disappointed most of the citizens in this country the last few weeks. That disappointment reached the zenith yesterday evening and will continue today with the senate vote. Continue reading
On Monday, the word of the day was “balanced” as in a “balanced budget amendment” being called for by several GOP members of the Montana Legislature and “balanced approach” being called for by President Barack Obama in his Monday evening address to the nation. House Speaker John Boehner used the word or a variation of it several times in his speech, most notably when he mentioned the “Cut, Cap, and Balance” plan approved by the House.
Even a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that, “Fifty-six percent (56%) of Likely U.S. Voters would be more likely to support a candidate for Congress who said that a balanced approach including spending cuts and increased tax revenue is needed to reduce the federal debt.” Continue reading
Yesterday during an interview with CBS News, President Obama turned up the heat on the debt ceiling debate with these comments to Scott Pelley:
Pelley: Can you tell the folks at home that no matter what happens, the Social Security checks are gonna go out on August the third? There are about $20 billion worth of Social Security checks that have to go out the day after the government is supposedly gonna go into default?
Mr. Obama: Well, this is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans’ checks, these are folks on disability, and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out each month.
Pelley: Can you guarantee, as president, those checks will go out on August the third?
Mr. Obama: I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue. Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.
Maybe the lines at Walmart and the local grocery store won’t be so long that week… Continue reading
That’s the number of people who filed new claims for unemployment last week – that’s down about 1000 from the week before. Still not good. More information can be found HERE.
If you like numbers, then Thursday is a good day to stop by The Western Word. Today I take a look at two sets of numbers: one is the newest unemployment numbers and the other one is the number of troops President Barack Obama wants to cut from the mission in Afghanistan. Of course I offer some commentary about both, so read on… Continue reading
