I am forever reminded of this line from Star Wars.
“So this is how liberty dies? With thunderous applause…”
Dumb Ass Logic: 101
The feel good deed: By extending benefits, the government will help you get back on your feet and keep you and your family from starvation.
The unintended consequences: Keeping you out of a job will make you more dependent on the government and absolutely do irreparable damage to the economy by preventing people from getting up off of their asses and actually working and doing stuff. No start up companies. Only consumers doing what they do best. Consuming. Seems to me that if you are starving, you’d be more inclined to get out there and hunt for food. Why hunt when the government is paying you to sit on your ass?
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to offer up to 20 more weeks of unemployment benefits to those who have been out of work a long time, after weeks of delay in which hundreds of thousands of Americans exhausted their government aid.
The measure will increase to 99 weeks, or nearly two years, the maximum length of time that a jobless worker can get benefits in some states.
99 weeks? Who would have thought that being laid off could be considered a “career choice?”
Thanks uncle Sam. Read the whole story here.
Saving a government job?
While perusing around this morning, I happened on this headline from Reuters. “White House says stimulus saving education jobs”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Monday its economic stimulus had saved or created 250,000 education jobs, as it sought to push back against Republicans who contend the package was wasteful and had not worked.
The Republicans are saying that it isn’t working because it isn’t working. I guess cause the Republicans are focusing on the private sector where it really matters and not the government where it doesn’t. The quarter of a million jobs we are now losing on a monthly basis are private sector jobs not public ones.
It’s like getting shot in the arm and bandaging your leg. Like that.
I had to read the headline once again to make sure I wasn’t dreaming or perhaps read this incorrectly.
School teachers outside of the public system were excluded in this story. The stimulus didn’t save the private sector jobs just the public ones that you already pay for anyway. I mean “saved or created.”
School teachers are on the public payroll. You pay them. You the taxpayer. In theory, school districts are funded for the most part by local school taxes which then pay for school teachers. Federal money is given in the form of a supplement to existing programs and so on.
Let’s assume that the federal money is paying for the teacher’s salaries (it’s really not but play along). What this headline says is that the federal government isn’t cutting jobs that it wasn’t going to cut anyway and that the stimulus has everything to do with that.
Complete and utter nonsense.
Infrequent Blogging
Folks,
I know there are serious gaps in my posts but I have a really good reason for that…
…2 full time jobs.
I get up and work for 4 hours on Take That! Radio.
I go to my day time job for 8 hours.
I come home and record podcasts and edit for an additional 4 hours.
I also have to squeeze in writing, designing websites, artwork, and…
…eating and sleeping.
I think Melissa’s schedule is even worse.
All the folks who are working on projects and podcasts at Take That! are doing so because we all believe that we make a difference.
I had a friend of mine ask me if I felt that I was doing enough to advance my conservative values. At the time, I thought “no.”
When I went to Washington 2 weeks ago, I helped Melissa and Tabitha interview over a dozen key players in the conservative movement. My moment of Zen came when I looked up from my laptop as Melissa was conducting an interview and realizing that United States Senator Jim DeMint was sitting 2 feet away from me talking to Melissa to appear on a show I produce.
Did I feel like I was doing enough?
Did I mention that Jim DeMint was 2 feet away from me?
The Trip to Washington
*** Updated: 10/04/09 ***
Well. We missed the meet-up in Washington because we didn’t arrive until about 1:00 am. Went straight to bed.
*** SATURDAY 10/03 ***
Steve Schippert and I met up for coffee and registration for the conference. Got to meet E. Telford while fielding malicious text messages from Dr. Clouthier.
Internet connectivity problems seem to plague the conference room where the bloggers are. I finally got connected but poor Steve’s eyes are bleeding…
Ok. We’re connected and waiting for Melissa…
Melissa made it.
*** Take That! Radio on Radio Row ***
After deciding that Blogger’s Row would be too noisy to record interviews, we landed a spot on Radio Row thanks to Melissa.
Due to the location and setup of our equipment (big thanks to Steve for bringing the pro microphone. We couldn’t have had the great audio without it!), we landed a whole slew of great interviews including:
Bob Weeks
Phil Kerpin
Dan Gainor
Senator Jim DeMint
Steve Moore
Hugh Hewitt
Tracy Walsh
Phelim McAleer
Ed Morrissey
Mark Kelly
Diana Cohen
Erik Telford
Emily Zanotti
John Hawkins
Mary Katherine Ham
We wrapped up taping around 6:30 as the bloggers went to the “bloggers dinner.”
We have tremendously talented people who work very hard to put out a quality show in their own right but they also play very hard as well.
The last bar we ended up in was the one where we heard “last call.”
I’d like to thank Melissa for helping to get Tabitha “smashed” which in turn provided the entertainment for the long walk back to the Marriot and Sheridan.
Thanks to Elizabeth for getting Tabitha home.
Where in the World
This weekend, a bunch of the Take That! staff is heading to the Americans for Prosperity conference in Washington, DC.
Steve Schippert and I will be joining Dr. Melissa Clothier and Tabitha Hale this evening (if we can get to DC in time) for a Twitter Meetup at Bailey’s in Arlington, VA.
Throughout the weekend I’ll be posting pictures and taping as much audio as possible.
Take That! Radio is taking on Washington, DC.
Watch it.
The Star Trek Universe
I’m always humbled to write a script idea and Star Trek Repulse is no exception.
I was able to write most of the story line today and it’s a real tear jerker to Star Trek fans.
Fueled by a need for revenge, a technology we haven’t seen before, and a death count in the billions, Starfleet faces an enemy that will stop at nothing until they are destroyed.
The Qutarians start a conflict that Captain John Burton hopes to bring to an end. He’s lost his parents and is now forced to return to the planetary system where they died. Unfortunately, his new ship now bares the name of Repulse. The same ship that had been destroyed along with his parents all those years ago.
Lansu won’t forget. He won’t forget about a wayward nacelle crashing into his settlement on Delvian 2 and taking the life of his beloved wife Kara. The Qutarians want revenge. They build a massive ship to fulfill that purpose.
Armed with a “phase based” technology Lansu begins a crusade of destruction. Destroying whole worlds, he begins to make the Federation pay for what they have done.
When Lansu destroys Captain John Burton’s home world and his aunt and uncle, the need for revenge becomes the “pulse” of John Burton’s command decisions.
Armed with a small Federation Starship, John Burton has a score to settle.
The battle for Earth’s survival begins with…
U.S.S. Repulse
