Will it ever end?! Seriously, I gave my tribute to Michael Jackson and the whole world should have taken note of my lead and ended it there. But no! Here we are, still going over every tidbit of his life as if we hadn't already lived it over the past +30 years. Let the dead bury the dead.
A few things have been happening in the world that were not covered enough. First and foremost, the US House of Representatives passed the Cap and Trade bill on June 26th. It now heads to the Senate to be voted on in September, and who are currently drafting their own version. What is this bill? Who really knows because it's +1300 pages long, with the last 300 pages added between 12am and 3am that Friday before they voted on it. No one has read the entire bill in Congress! Just like the stimulus bill which was quickly passed which no one had time to read, this bill is in that same boat. I'll tell you what I do know; the Cap-n-Trade is a taxing policy that allows companies to trade carbon credits if they go over their government mandated allowance of CO2. For example, if a certain manufacturer doesn't use up all the carbon credits allocated to them, they can trade them for money (or whatever -- favors?) to, say, a coal burning electric company who would obviously go over their amount. Basically, this would translate to higher electric costs for you, me and every building in this country.
It's a lot more than that as well. Actually, if you want the skinny on it, read this article for a huge enlightenment on this idiotic bill. Do me a favor, at least read the second paragraph of the above reference article. Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world [worth ~40 billion dollars], who owns Hathaway Berkshire, stated that if this bill passes the Senate, there will be no economic recovery in the US. None. How scary is that? Obama has already promised to sign it into law, but make no mistake, this bill is about control and power-grabbing. Hopefully people will come to their senses before September, but now that Stuart Smalley - or Al Franken - gives the 60th vote in the Senate, there may be little we can do to stop it. Some estimates of the impact it'll have on the people is as little as $175 a year per family of four, and up to $1600 a year for a family of four. Here's my deal: either is bad during a prolonged recession! How is this going to help move the economy along? Obama stumped the day before that this is a "jobs bill" because alternative energy jobs will sky-rocket. Really? Well how many will lose jobs because of "trickle down" taxation? Idiots!
The next thing that happened was a "coup d'etat" in Honduras. The media has deliberately downplayed the real story here, and it is a story about people standing up for democracy. President Jose Manuel Zelaya was serving in his legally elected office when he decided the State Constitution didn't suit him anymore. He wanted to be elected into a 3rd term which is specifically illegal and immutable. The Supreme Court told him as much, as did their congress, and even then, the President does not have the authority to change the Constitution. But, he went ahead and tried to get new ballots printed up with his option. No one in the country would do it, but dictator for life Hugo Chavez of Venezuela was willing and did so, sent the newly minted ballots to Honduras. The Honduran Military got ahold of the shipment and held it captive. The President broke into the warehouse to get them. He then dismissed the head General of the military and started handing out the ballots. It was then that he was removed from office, put on a plane in his pajamas, and sent to Costa Rica. After that, the military immediately handed the officiating powers back to the people and elected officials. Not exactly a real coup d'etat in the strictest sense.
What happened then? The whole world denounced Honduras for standing up to a soon-to-be tyrant, and we [Obama and Sec. of State Clinton] sided with Castro and Chavez that President Zelaya should be reinstated. Ridiculous! The US, the bastion of freedom, chiding a country for upholding their near-identical Constitution to ours, because they over-threw a wannabe tyrant. What's the matter, Obama, afraid we're taking notes from our brave neighbors to the south?
Well, considering it is after 1:30 in the morning (I got up late and then took a nap...) I should probably be heading to bed. I did want to say that this week, gas prices actually went down. Somewhat good news, though the influx of extra money still hasn't flooding in yet either. Sure, that drop was .03 cents around here, and the Oregon congress just passed a bill increasing gas tax by .06 cents, so we'll lose that small perk anyway. Still, good news, and again, hopefully things will turn around so I can stop being an alarmist and go back to criticizing The Little Mermaid, which I saw again today, not surprisingly. Yes, I still hate that little hedonistic redhead. Meanwhile, my daughter adores her.
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2 comments:
As always, you combine the perfect amount of sarcasm, information, and hilarity.
Do you find it interesting that Obama ALWYAYS sides with the dictator like President/ruler of another country. In Iran he sided with the Supreme Ruler who cracked down on his citizens who contested an election that may have been, okay lets face it, probably was rigged. And in Honduras he sided with the President that was trying to enact un-Constitutional powers for himself allowing him to stay in power longer than he actually could. Maybe another power that Obama wants to reserve for himself some day???
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