Pharmaceuticals ... If our post yesterday wasn't enough proof that this administration isn't doing much different than the last, how's this: Yesterday the Senate voted down a chance for all of us to purchase pharmaceutical drugs from outside the US&A at a cheaper price. One more victory (or defeat) for the Barrack O-Bush administration? This amendment also fell short of the 60 votes needed for approval; the tally on it was 56 in favor, 43 opposed.
Let’s see ... there are currently 58 Democrats, 40 Republicans and two Independents (Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders, both of whom caucus with the Democrats? Well, okay, let’s scratch Joe on this one—he’s a total sellout to anything health care related). But Sanders, as we know, is a self-described democratic-socialist (God bless him).
But no matter how you slice it, amici, it’s yet another check mark on the Saturday Night Live box score of President Fredo’s lack of accomplishments.
“On broader Healthcare issues, Obama promises in his manifesto that he will lower the costs of prescription drugs and will repeal the ban that prevents government from negotiating with drug companies.”
Still don’t think we need a third party to save us from two versions of the same political scam?
The New Voice of Right Wing America ... Last week on Sixty Minutes, President Obama talked tough. “I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street.” He went on to say: “Well, let's see … You guys (Wall Street Bankers) are drawing down $10, $20 million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year that it's gone through in decades, and you guys caused the problem. And we've got ten percent unemployment. Why do you think people might be a little frustrated?”
So what does Mr. Obama/President Fredo do two days later?
From last night’s Washington Post: The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday issued an exception to longstanding tax rules for the benefit of Citigroup and the few other companies partially owned by the government. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain $38 billion in tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value when the government sells its stake to private investors.
Now, can one of yous please confirm for me whether Barrack Obama is a Republican or a Democratic? The one note boring samba that it has become here at Knucksline (and other places—see Huffington Post for any number of Bush-Light/Bush-Heavy decisions), seems justified in light of how the Democratic Party gave George Bush (and Wall Street) just about everything he (and they) asked for before and after they (Democrats) had a majority in Congress and why now that they have a veto proof majority in Congress, Democrats continue to vote the Republican line of tax breaks (and just about everything else—see Afghanistan troop escalations, Blackwater budget increase, watered down healthcare that guarantees insurance companies more customers (and that Howard Dean says should be scrapped), and, of course, we’re still in Iraq, etc.), etc., etc. ...
Back in my bleeding heart liberal/loyal to the Democratic Party at all cost days, I used to be amazed how anybody in my financial boat (or under it) could vote Republican. Why would they do that to themselves? Republicans are for the rich. Republicans don’t care about the little guy. Republicans are too eager to go to war with our kids. Republicans are for big business and big business only.
Okay, so yous tell me the focking difference now that this Democrat is President?
Frankly, I don’t know what has DOC’s panties in a bunch. This guy couldn’t govern more to the right with a gun to his head. Citibank gets to walk away from $38 billion in taxes after we had to bail them out? What the FOCK is that all about?
Clearly, Obama wasn’t ready for the job. He looks good on camera and he can speechify with the best of them, but that’s where it ends. We’ve now been disappointed by two Ivy League Presidents; Yale gave us President Moron and now Harvard has given us President Fredo. Here’s a thought … how about somebody from Brooklyn College? Or Katharine Gibbs or TCI (Technical Career Institutes) or a some Croupier school or one of the instructors from the Evelyn Wood school of speed reading or the American bartender academy (Knucks has a certificate from there). Or, as I’ve said many times in the past, how about somebody who can run a pretzel stand at a profit?
Or how about a haberdasher? That seemed to have worked pretty well once.
Harry Truman has always been my favorite President.
Last week Fredo gave himself a B- on Oprah for his first year in office. Knucksline gives him a big fat F. You know the reasons. What he contributed to the dismantling of labor gains for American workers with the two things he should’ve voted “present” on (the bailouts and his half-assed stimulus—which consisted of 1/3 tax breaks—how Democrat of him) remains unforgivable. What he’s done with the political capital he was handed after his inauguration and a clear Congressional majority is nothing short of a fiasco. He’s watching Americans continue to lose their jobs and homes while continuing to supply Wall Street with all the ammunition it wants (between flying around the world, of course). He gave them OUR money with the understanding that they’d lend it back and they haven’t. He gave them OUR money without protecting any of us and not only do they reward themselves with bigger bonuses than before the "crisis" (and for screwing up the economy in the first place and requiring US to bail them out), some of those FAT CATS didn’t even bother to show at his emergency meeting the other day.
Because they don't take him serious and frankly, neither should we.
We’re all getting shot by Wall Street assassins and Fredo, on cue, is fumbling the gun.
President Fredo he is.
Change we can believe in?
Change my ass.
The Rock of the Week ... down we went last week (my beloved new york state buffalo bills went and won another game--idiots--didn't anybody in Buffalo ever hear of Draft Picks?) ... so take the Aints over the Cowgirls in a good old romp ... because it's December and the girls just don't show up this time of year.
—Knucks
And the DOC says ...
Hey Chaz,
So now it's okay to call the Chosen One, Fredo? Thanks. I hope you didn't stumble getting off of your high horse. But at least we know that the horse must be relieved.
I do, however, object to your comparing Fredo to Bush. Bush may have spent money like a drunken sailor, but Fredo is spending like a teenage girl with her first credit card and trust me, I have first hand experience with this.
Yesterday, Fredo was given a bill to sign that would increase government budgets by 10% with an additional FIVE THOUSAND pork projects included. Cost of the bill... $1.1 Trillion! Suddenly, the Repubicans leapt to their feet and shouted, "With this economy we cannot continue to waste money on pet projects." With equal fervor, the Dimocrats stood and said, "By God, you're right. We too will cancel all of our pork spending."
The Bamster looked to the heavens and then at his brace of teleprompters and declared, "It's a good thing you have finally come to your senses. Throughout my campaign I told the American people that I would not sign any bill that included pork projects. That first bill only included 9,000 pork projects, so I let that one slip through, but I was actually going to be true to my promise this time."
At that point, both houses of congress dropped to their knees and recited the Lords Prayer. Fredo was a little slow to kneel, because at first he thought they were talking to him.
And then I awoke from my dream and both parties were snout-deep at the trough and Fredo had just pissed away another Trillion Dollars to make government even bigger. But fear not, we're only spending $3+ million to study "Surgery in Space".
Next week, Chaz, we should delve into the logic of how if we don't spend another Trillion Dollars on health care we will be bankrupt. Hmmm, spending money, you don't have, to avoid bankruptcy. Over the weekend, I'll have my daughter explain that to me again.
Hope and change, brother
Doc
