Hello. Today’s featured artist is Meshell Ndegeocello.
Wiki: Meshell Ndegeocello (born Michelle Lynn Johnson, August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, bassist, and vocalist. Her music incorporates a wide variety of influences, including funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock, and jazz. She has received significant critical acclaim throughout her career,[1][2] and has had ten career Grammy Award nominations.[3] She has been credited for having “sparked the neo-soul movement.”[4]
Born in Germany, to army Sergeant Major and saxophonist father Jacques Johnson and health care worker mother Helen. She was raised in Washington, D.C. where she attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts andOxon Hill High School. In early press releases from Maverick Records her birth year was erroneously listed as 1969. The 1968 birth date has been confirmed through a previous manager and lifelong friend.[citation needed]
Named Michelle Lynn Johnson at birth, Ndegeocello adopted her surname at the age of 17, which she says means “free like a bird” inSwahili. Meshell Ndegeocello is pronounced Mee-shell N-deh-gay-o-chel-o. Early pressings of Plantation Lullabies were stickered with the instructions. The spelling has changed in the hands of record labels a few times during her career; however, the correct spelling of her stage name is now Meshell Ndegeocello.[5]
Personal life
Ndegeocello is bisexual and previously had a relationship with feminist author Rebecca Walker. She suffers from photosensitive epilepsy and is susceptible to seizures induced by flash photography when she is performing live. Her son Solomon was born in 1989.[6] She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her later work.[7]
In case you haven’t heard: Kwame Kilpatrick convicted of corruption charges; will report to jail next week:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/us/kwame-kilpatrick-ex-mayor-of-detroit-convicted-in-corruption-case.html?_r=0
Already, there’s a tasteless joke that was flown on an airplane over Detroit telling Kwame not to “drop the soap.”
Leading Women Defined: Michelle Singletary on Money
Clip: Financial columnist Michelle Singletary discusses teaching about money management and spending. (03/12/2013)
http://www.bet.com/video/news/national/2013/michelle-singletary-on-money.html
BBC Newshour: Alice Walker speaks Lyse Doucet
For her and many others, President Barack Obama’s historic rise to the White House was a hopeful moment, but for her, an all-too-fleeting one.
“He charmed me, he held out a wonderful vision of a different way,” she remarked wistfully, and then broke into a smile. “I was naive,” she remarked.
“He and his family are visually beautiful,” she explained. “But it’s not so good to watch the continuation of policies we deeply disagree with.”
Audio: https://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/newshour-alice-walker-iv
Happy Birthday, Al Jarreau. Hope you’re getting your Boogie Down!
Al’s 73 today.
Bo, the Obama family dog, follows First Lady Michelle Obama as she walks across the South Lawn of the White House towards the Kitchen Garden, March 11
–Photo by Lawrence Jackson
Love it; BO’s right on FLOTUS’ heel.
Budgetary Insanity
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 | Posted by Spandan C at 11:11 AM
Turn Medicare into voucher-care. Instead of expanding Medicaid to cover the working poor increasingly unable to obtain employer-sponsored or market-rate health insurance, cut it by half of current levels and turn it into a bloc grant for states to do whatever they please with. Rob the middle class of a marketplace to compare and buy private insurance at an affordable rate. Cut food stamps for needy children and families by 20%. Let Defense spending balloon by a half a trillion dollars. Don’t ask the multinationals and the super rich to pay a penny more – in fact in some instances, cut their taxes.
If that sounds insane, it is. But if that also sounds familiar, it should. It is Paul Ryan’s Path to Poverty – also known as the House Republican budget. Ryan was defiant in the face of the verdict of the American people, who not only rejected his ticket but even more overwhelmingly rejected the ideas he and his party offered in the last election – the same ideas put on steroid in this budget:
http://www.thepeoplesview.net/2013/03/budgetary-insanity.html
Ryan makes his case
By Steve Benen
Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:48 PM EDT
Following up on this morning’s coverage, we’ve had a few hours to review House Republican Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget plan and hear his defense, and there’s one question that’s proving hard to avoid: this is the guy the Beltway says deserves to be taken seriously?
Well, actually, there’s more than one question. It’s just the one I keep asking myself.
In terms of the plan itself, Ezra called it “social engineering with a side of deficit reduction,” which sounds about right. The budget proposal slashes public spending on domestic programs, most notably on health care, while effectively eliminating Medicare. At the same time, it offers the wealthy another round of deep tax cuts, to be paid for with tax-reform revenue that Ryan refuses to identify.
The House GOP budget plan, in other words, is largely the exact opposite of what the American mainstream wants, and bears no resemblance to the platform the American electorate endorsed in national elections four months ago. It’s designed to satisfy folks who believe the wealthy are over-burdened by taxes and struggling families have too much access to affordable health care.
Much of the news coverage this morning seems to be focused on Ryan’s plan to balance the budget in 10 years, but I’d hesitate before accepting this premise. For one thing, until Republicans can fill in the magic asterisks on how to pay for their tax cuts, the plan doesn’t really balance the budget at all. For another, if the goal were really to eliminate the deficit, Ryan wouldn’t be calling for massive tax breaks in the first place.
But if you watch the video above, note how woefully unpersuasive Ryan’s defense is. Asked about his motivations, Ryan says the government “just can’t” spend more than it takes in, though for the vast majority of American history, we’ve always spent more than we’ve taken in.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/12/17284899-ryan-makes-his-case?lite
Michigan GOP considers investing in Detroit, once they’re in charge of it
By Laura Conaway
Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:40 PM EDT
The Detroit City Council today made its appeal for the state of Michigan not to take away local democracy. The plea is widely seen as futile, with the name of the leading contender for an emergency manager to run Detroit already an open secret.
The local press has been weighing the risks for Governor Rick Snyder in assuming control of Detroit, including the lousy track record for emergency management statewide as a means of fixing a broken city. Snyder also faces resentment from the rest of the state as he pour money into the Detroit that so much of Michigan has turned a cold shoulder on.
Under the new emergency manager, Snyder will have until sometime in the fall of 2014 to convince the Detroit City Council that his plan is working so they don’t vote the manager out. That happens to be the same time that Snyder — or someone from his Republican Party — will be running for governor.
Faced with those hazards for their party, Michigan Republicans sound like they’re ready to prop up an emergency manager and the city with actual cash dollars. Eclectablog writes:
It’s time for our state to start investing in the rebuilding of our failing cities and engage in some serious urban renewal. The consent agreement with Detroit was supposed to provide a framework for doing that without stripping away democracy in order to make it happen. It’s unfortunate that Republicans can only see fit to start investing in Detroit when they can control every aspect of how it plays out under the auspices of a state-appointed dictator
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/12/17285299-michigan-gop-considers-investing-in-detroit-once-theyre-in-charge-of-it?threadId=3683226&commentId=74765869#c74765869
Budget war showcases sharp contrast in values and priorities
Posted by Greg Sargent on March 12, 2013 at 1:40 pm
Tomorrow, Senate Democrats will propose a plan to replace the sequester that contains $100 billion in … stimulus spending.
Yep, you read that right. According to a source familiar with the proposal, Democrats will offer a plan tomorrow that does not simply cut the deficit amid mass unemployment. It takes steps to mitigate the damage the cuts are expected to do to the economy by spending to boost job creation and job training.
According to the source, the plan — which is being presented by Senate Budget Committee Chairperson Patty Murray to the Dem caucus today — replaces the whole sequester and includes a total of $1.85 trillion in deficit reduction, derived from a 50-50 split of cuts and revenues derived from closing tax loopholes. The spending cuts include $275 billion in cuts to health care spending (but no Medicare benefits cuts; the source says cuts would be focused on the provider side), another $200 billion in non-defense spending cuts, $240 billion in defense cuts, and $242 billion in reduced interest rates.
It would spend $100 billion to boost the economy through spending on infrastructure repair and job training — all paid for by closing loopholes and cuts to “wasteful spending.” Total in new revenues: $975 billion. (Details are not yet available.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/12/budget-war-showcases-sharp-contrast-in-values-and-priorities/
Would Paul Ryan budget raise middle class taxes? No way to say.
Posted by Greg Sargent on March 12, 2013 at 12:01 pm
Here’s the first thing you need to know about Paul Ryan’s budget, which was released this morning: Ryan appears to have shrewdly taken two important steps that allow him to avoid the political pitfalls that bedeviled Mitt Romney’s campaign tax plans last year. In so doing, he has made it impossible to determine whether his budget would raise taxes on the middle class to pay for tax cuts on the rich — as experts claimed about the Romney plan.
This comes by way of Roberton Williams, a senior tax expert at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center — the same outfit, you may recall, that set off a bomb during Campaign 2012 by demonstrating that there was no way Romney’s tax plan could pay for itself without targeting some middle class loopholes.
Romney’s tax plan cut taxes across the board by 20 percent, hugely and disproportionately benefiting the rich — and paid for it by promising to close unspecified loopholes. But the Tax Policy Center found that even if you eliminated all the loopholes and deductions enjoyed by the rich, you still wouldn’t have enough to offset the costs of the tax cuts. So you’d have to hit some middle class loopholes to keep the plan’s promise of revenue neutrality — offsetting the tax cuts enjoyed by the middle class, and then some, meaning a tax hike for them.
Ryan’s new plan consolidates all tax brackets into two. It sets a target of cutting the top tax rate for individuals to 25 percent — a bigger tax cut for the top than in the Romney plan — and sets the other bracket at 10 percent. It cuts the corporate tax rate to 25 percent. The plan would be made revenue neutral through tax reform, by closing loopholes, but it doesn’t say which ones, noting that this work will be left to the House Ways and Means Committee.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/12/would-paul-ryan-budget-raise-middle-class-taxes-no-way-to-say/
With Bolling out, the stage is set in Virginia
By Steve Benen
Tue Mar 12, 2013 2:08 PM EDT.
As recently as two weeks ago, Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) looked like he was set to run for governor as an independent, telling supporters in an email that he thinks “there is an opportunity to make history in Virginia this year.”
But it appears Bolling changed his mind, and today announced he would skip the race. My colleague Laura Conaway flagged this tweet from the commonwealth this morning.
………….
It’s not altogether clear exactly why Bolling, who originally intended to run as a Republican before bowing out, backed off his intentions from two weeks ago, but he cited high fundraising hurdles and a desire to maintain his relationship with the GOP.
In light of the news, with about eight months to go, the stage is now set for a fascinating gubernatorial race in Virginia, pitting former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe against the state’s almost-comically far-right attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/12/17285485-with-bolling-out-the-stage-is-set-in-virginia?lite
Ryan’s Budget Plan is Not What It Seems
by BooMan
Tue Mar 12th, 2013 at 10:37:07 AM EST
It has been widely reported (e.g., in the National Review) that in January, Speaker Boehner had to promise his caucus a vote on a budget that balances in 10 years in order to get them to agree to extend the debt ceiling.
According to sources in the room, Boehner made the pledge at a closed-door meeting in the Capitol basement. The speaker said that Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the budget committee chairman, will lead the effort.
Boehner’s commitment is a signal to conservatives that the speaker is listening to their demands. Behind the scenes, backbenchers have been pushing Boehner and Eric Cantor, the majority leader, to endorse a 10-year balanced budget.
On Wednesday, insiders say, most Republican lawmakers will begrudgingly back a three-month extension of the debt limit. But before Boehner could finalize the whip count, he needed to make this fiscal assurance in return.
It seems to have been a concession that was wrung out of Boehner during the party’s January retreat in Williamsburg.
………………………………….
So, this is plain and simple, and everyone should be able to understand it. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s column in the Wall Street Journal, announcing his 10-year plan to balance the budget is disingenuous. His budget plan is not serious. The plan is merely a concession that Boehner made to the most conservative members of his caucus to prevent them from forcing the country into default and thereby destroying our credit rating and the global economy. Remember that when you read Ryan explain why he’s trying to balance the budget in 10 years.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/3/12/103636/693
TIME Pimps for Attacking Iran
by Steven D
Tue Mar 12th, 2013 at 09:25:18 AM EST
Gosh what a surprise! An American media outlet sucking up to the discredited Neocons to promote another incredibly bad idea for attacking an oil rich country in the Middle East. Can the NY Times be far behind?
On March 4, 2012, Obama told the AIPAC crowd, “I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.” In his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, he said, “As President of the United States, I don’t bluff.”
One year later, Iran has yet to call it. Even as Obama has committed to using military force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, he has worked hard to avoid war. Attacking Iran’s nuclear sites could cost American military and civilian lives, set off a wave of terrorist attacks, spike oil prices and sour the U.S.’s relations with Muslims worldwide. So Obama has tried to slow or derail the Iranian program through a combination of diplomacy, sanctions and covert action. He has succeeded in pushing the timeline for war back at least 12 months.
But eventually time will run out. As talks among Iran, the U.S. and other international powers ended inconclusively on Feb. 27, even optimists said Obama’s promise will be put to the test in his second term. The Pentagon has launched the largest buildup of forces in the Gulf since the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, and Iran has boosted security around its nuclear sites and is reportedly handing out shoulder-launched missiles capable of downing civilian airliners to loosely allied terrorist groups in the region. Senior congressional Republicans say they are expecting to be briefed soon on the options and consequences of a U.S. strike.
Anyone ready to buy what TIME (and its sources) are selling? You know, because time is running out! And has been since 2005! Senior Republicans (Hi, John McCain) demand answers!
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/3/12/92518/7491#6
A Liberal in Kentucky
by BooMan
Tue Mar 12th, 2013 at 01:20:21 PM EST
Early last week, I offered some initial thoughts on Ashley Judd after I watched her make an appearance at a women’s reproductive health conference at George Washington University. I tried to provide some constructive criticism, because I could see that she needs to improve as a politician if she is going to have any chance of beating Mitch McConnell. Note that I didn’t take a deterministic view that she cannot win because Kentucky is too conservative or because of things she has said, or because she lives in Tennessee or because she’s too Hollywood or too liberal or too female.
My assumption is that she can win. Nate Cohn is correct that it’s hard to imagine a Judd victory, but I think Molly Redden comes closer to the mark.
Any race is inevitably complicated by the hot-button issues of the moment, campaign-trail gaffes, and outside money. For now, Republicans are content to portray Judd as a stereotypical “Hollywood liberal”; if she declares her candidacy, the attacks ads will multiply and diversify. But on her best days, Judd does not settle for being a stock character. One can imagine her embracing her radicalism as just one piece of a more complicated whole: a true Kentuckian and feminist movie star whose liberalism is as fierce as her manners are charming. To make voters believe it, though, she’ll need to deliver the performance of a lifetime.
One thing I think you can throw out the window in looking at this potential McConnell-Judd race is the recent regional voting preferences of the state. If we ran some old white dude, those demographics would matter a lot. They’d have to go into Eastern Kentucky coal country and convince those folks that they’re the Second Coming of Joe Manchin, the junior senator and former governor from West Virginia. Ashley Judd doesn’t have to do that. She couldn’t do that. She has to go into that area and convince the women that the Republicans are a bunch of bullies who don’t act like gentlemen. She needs to explain how coal jobs can be converted to better jobs, just as tobacco jobs were in the 1990’s. Mitch McConnell doesn’t fight for coal miners; he fights for their employers. Judd can go into those communities and help make sure everyone who is eligible for health care subsidies gets the information they need and gets signed up. She can take the liberal case to them because she must if she wants to win.
That’s ultimately what makes this race so interesting. It won’t be a contest to see how conservative a Democrat has to be to get elected in a red state. And, because of that, we won’t see the same breakout in the electorate.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/3/12/132021/034#4
ENDLESS LOOP, PEOPLE.
ENDLESS LOOP.
……………………..
Paul Ryan Accidentally Says He Is “Destroying The Health Care System”
posted on March 12, 2013 at 12:23pm EDT
. Oops.
“This is something we will not give up on because we are not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/dorsey/paul-ryan-accidentally-says-he-is-destroying-the-health-care
Yep; the thread is up with VIDEO
Hackers claim to have posted Michelle Obama’s personal data:
http://ow.ly/iOwz7
TIME Pimps for Attacking Iran
by Steven D
Tue Mar 12th, 2013 at 09:25:18 AM EST
Gosh what a surprise! An American media outlet sucking up to the discredited Neocons to promote another incredibly bad idea for attacking an oil rich country in the Middle East. Can the NY Times be far behind?
On March 4, 2012, Obama told the AIPAC crowd, “I will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend the United States and its interests.” In his interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, he said, “As President of the United States, I don’t bluff.”
One year later, Iran has yet to call it. Even as Obama has committed to using military force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, he has worked hard to avoid war. Attacking Iran’s nuclear sites could cost American military and civilian lives, set off a wave of terrorist attacks, spike oil prices and sour the U.S.’s relations with Muslims worldwide. So Obama has tried to slow or derail the Iranian program through a combination of diplomacy, sanctions and covert action. He has succeeded in pushing the timeline for war back at least 12 months.
But eventually time will run out. As talks among Iran, the U.S. and other international powers ended inconclusively on Feb. 27, even optimists said Obama’s promise will be put to the test in his second term. The Pentagon has launched the largest buildup of forces in the Gulf since the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, and Iran has boosted security around its nuclear sites and is reportedly handing out shoulder-launched missiles capable of downing civilian airliners to loosely allied terrorist groups in the region. Senior congressional Republicans say they are expecting to be briefed soon on the options and consequences of a U.S. strike
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/3/12/92518/7491
Tuesday, March 12, 2013Deficit or Debt? Republicans move the goalposts
Smartypants
As the media becomes consumed with talking about Rep. Paul Ryan’s soon-to-be-released budget, please note that Republicans are no longer talking about the deficit (the annual short-fall between revenues and expenses). Now its all about the debt (the total accumulated historic shortfall).
Read on here: http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/03/deficit-or-debt.html
Sheryl Sandberg pushes women to “lean in”
March 10, 2013 4:00 PM
Why aren’t more women in leadership positions? Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg tells Norah O’Donnell women need to learn to “lean in.”
Video: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50142538n&tag=nl.e875&s_cid=e875&ttag=e875
Another LOSER. Please run, Ashley Judd, RUN.RUN,RUN
More craz. The GOP continues their fantastical trip down the RABBIT HOLE
Run Ashley! Get this mofo!
You know if Judd does run and doesn’t win, she’d still give this mofo a run for his money. McConnell and his ILK need to be CHALLENGED & DEFEATED.
Alright now!
Here’s the deal – Ashley wins if one thing happens – Yertle gets primaried by a Teahadist challenger and he loses the primary. Ashley wins in a landslide because the Teahadist candidate will be too bat-shyt crazy, even for Kentuckians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T71kmgUNMeA&feature=player_embedded
CRAY MOFO
Paul Ryan pretends he didn’t lose
By Steve Benen
Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:00 AM EDT
The Republican message during the 2012 elections was fairly specific: this one was for all the marbles. Americans were witnessing — and participating in — a once-in-a-generation showdown that would, once and for all, dictate the direction of the country in the near future. It was, we were told, the most spectacularly important, history-changing, life-setting election any of us have ever seen. Some insisted 2012 would be the most critical election cycle for the United States since 1860 — the election before the Civil War.
And then the results came in. President Obama won with relative ease; Senate Democrats expanded their majority; House Democrats gained seats; and Republicans said, “On second thought….”
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who was on his party’s national ticket and whose plan was enveloped into his party’s platform, will unveil the House Republican budget plan today, outlining the GOP’s vision for the near future on taxes, spending, deficit reduction, and social-insurance programs. In this one document, we learn quite a bit about the specific scope of Republican priorities.
And while the plan itself won’t be publicly available until later this morning, Ryan has another Wall Street Journal op-ed pitching his plan. I’ll have more detailed coverage once the budget is released, but there are five broader takeaways to keep in mind as the debate begins in earnest.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/03/12/17282086-paul-ryan-pretends-he-didnt-lose?lite
Ryan’s on a FOOL’s errand if he thinks he’s Presidential material. THE END
The Morning Plum: Don’t let Paul Ryan skate this time
Posted by Greg Sargent on March 12, 2013 at 9:16 am
In the movie Groundhog Day, the character played by Bill Murray leaves his hotel and steps off a curb, only to plunge his foot deep into an icy puddle. The Murray character does this a couple of times, grows annoyed with himself, and then, on the next rerun of the morning, finally remembers the location of the puddle and steps around it.
Today, in releasing his new budget, Ryan will, in political terms, step into the icy puddle a third time.
The question is whether the rest of the script will unfold in the same way it did the last two times. Will Beltway commentators and self-styled deficit hawks broadly grant Ryan the presumption of Seriousness (with a capital “S”) about the deficit that was inexplicably lavished on his two previous efforts? Or will they pretend he didn’t step in the puddle again?
The Ryan budget rollout is best described by the Wall Street Journal, which pointedly notes that he will “introduce a proposal to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid that is almost identical to the Republican presidential platform in 2012.” The plan hits many of the usual high points: It voucherizes Medicare (with the option of remaining in the program) and block grants Medicaid. As the Journal describes it: “The moves would save hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years, while potentially raising costs for Medicare beneficiaries and sharply cutting the number of Medicaid recipients.” The Ryan plan also repeals Obamacare, while partly balancing the budget with Obamacare savings.
We need to see the details of Ryan’s plan, but the last two efforts were picked apart for being full of holes and magic astericks. This year’s model purports to wipe out the deficit in 10 years — an even heavier budgetary lift than in previous years. So will commentators and deficit hawks politely ignore it if the new version is also full of holes?
Mike Tomasky is pessimistic. He writes: “something tells me that when the plan is released in full, the `serious’ people will applaud the effort and will implore the president to mimic Ryan’s alleged sincerity about deficit reduction.” I dunno. I like to think things have changed. As Jonathan Chait detailed last fall, the high profile accorded him as his party’s Veep candidate, combined with aggressive press scrutiny of his role in killing bipartisan budget deals and of the GOP campaign’s unspecific and mathematically-challenged proposals, did real damage to the Legend of Ryan’s Fiscal Seriousness. Then there’s the fact that this year’s budget includes the $700 billion in Obamacare Medicare cuts that Ryan and Romney campaigned against so visibly last fall — in a presidential election, which drew far more attention than Congressional races which also centered on those cuts. As First Read notes, Ryan even attacked these cuts in his convention speech.
More broadly, there’s the glaring fact that Ryan and Mitt Romney just lost an election fought around all of these fiscal questions. The unrepentant reprisal of the same fiscal vision that was decisively repudiated last fall is bound to attract notice and penetrate the narrative (see the Journal’s pointed language above as Exhibit A).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/03/12/the-morning-plum-dont-let-paul-ryan-skate-this-time/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkW_ZkMtmlQ
Ryan and Co really do live in an ALTERNATE universe.
Paul Ryan’s make-believe budget
By Eugene Robinson,
If Rep. Paul Ryan wants people to take his budget manifestos seriously, he should be honest about his ambition: not so much to make the federal government fiscally sustainable as to make it smaller.
You will recall that the Ryan Budget was a big Republican selling point in last year’s election. Most famously, Ryan proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program. He offered the usual GOP recipe of tax cuts — to be offset by closing certain loopholes, which he would not specify — along with drastic reductions in non-defense “discretionary” spending.
If the plan Ryan offered had been enacted, the federal budget would not come into balance until 2040. For some reason, Republicans forgot to mention this detail in their stump speeches and campaign ads.
Voters were supposed to believe that Ryan was an apostle of fiscal rectitude. But his real aim wasn’t to balance the budget. It was to starve the federal government of revenue. Big government, in his worldview, is inherently bad — never mind that we live in an awfully big countr
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-paul-ryans-make-believe-budget/2013/03/11/f0e090e0-8a67-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions
Good Morning, Everyone! :-)
Good Morning, Everyone :)
May I have some hot chocolate, please?
The temp has dipped back into the 20’s.
Good morning, everyone!
The hot chocolate looks soo good. mmmm…
When I was a little girl my granny use to make me the best hot chocolate in the world. :)
Thank you, Big Mama!
I’d take my girls out in the winter and build snowman and we’d create snow angels, then we’d come inside and I’d make a big pot of hot chocolate with the biggest marshmallows!
I’ll bet that was so much fun.