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The following are some corrections regarding claims made by Obama n his Congress Address on February 25th:

- “we import more oil today than ever before”

That is false… we imported more oil than ever before last Monday, not today.

- He claimed his mortgage aid plan would help “responsible” buyers but not those who borrowed beyond their means.

If people didn’t borrow beyond their means… they probably don’t need the aid.

- Noted the high cost of health care “causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds.”

It is probably more like 41 seconds.

- He flubbed one fact about American history.

Though contrary to what other fact checks are saying, the U.S. did invent the automobile… Al Gore did it. However, the transcontinental railroad was not completed until … {looks up in Wikipedia} … apparently 2019.

- Obama noted that 95% of Americans would benefit from the tax cut.

No one will benefit from the tax cut of $20 extra bucks a paycheck.

Link to overview

The good news… the over $1 trillion annual deficit is only supposed to last for two years. Glad to see the budget being what the budget actually is. No more hiding the Iraq / Afghanistan costs. Though it’d be nice if the Social Security funds were also taken from the revenue side. The bad news, the National Debt will nearly triple between ‘08 and ‘19. Umm… that’s bad. Very bad!

Worst yet, looking over the numbers, I don’t see much in the way of spending cuts… anywhere. Perhaps a cut here and there, but overall, spending increases everywhere, including our woefully overfunded military. Obama says he wants to cut our deficit in half in 4 years… well, seeing the deficit is going to be over $1 trillion next year, that really shouldn’t be that hard. Shouldn’t we be raising the bar a tad bit higher?

According to some economists, some see Obama’s budget plan over the long term as being too rosy with the economic assumptions (link).

But many economists who examined the economic assumptions that undergird the spending plan believe that Obama may have resorted to one of the oldest gimmicks around — relying on overly optimistic economic assumptions to make it look like you are dealing with soaring budget deficits when in reality you are only closing the gap on paper.

The irony I see, regardless if the assumptions are too rosy… we can’t afford to let our debt triple under these “rosy” assumptions!

So this means a couple things overall.

First, this budget, regarding the long-term numbers, doesn’t mean too much to me. The long-term economic forecast of the Obama Administration is about as legit as anyone else’s, based on how questionable our economy actually is. Obama’s numbers are not crazy optimistic, though they could be very optimistic seeing we’d need something (of which doesn’t yet exist) to drive our economy to get back to 4% annual growth.

In its budget, the administration predicted that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, will shrink by 1.2 percent this year but will grow by a solid 3.2 percent in 2010. That growth would be followed by even stronger increases of 4 percent in 2011, 4.6 percent in 2012 and 4.2 percent in 2013.

Optimistic, yes, but not quite George W. Bush optimistic with his original Blueprint, which had unemployment at the bare minimum for the rest of eternity. That said, what matters to me in this budget are the short term spending numbers. They are cutting very little anywhere, most importantly with regards to the military… the only place we have where cuts can be made and actually benefit from it. We were told cuts would be made, but they aren’t. Granted, Global Recession, so maybe we can’t afford to for the government to cut spending too much yet.

Second, taxes. We need to reincorporate the tax rates that the uber rich were paying before Bush gave them a huge break in taxes in 2001. We need to change the ceiling on the Social Security payroll tax (FICA), to make that tax more fair for those of us paying a higher share relative to our salary. Social Security needs to be fluid, now!

We need to make these changes. How soon? Don’t know. I really can’t tell you how the economy would suffer if we raised taxes right now. But it needs to be sooner than later. Otherwise, it’d be impossible to catch up to these rather large spending increases.

This budget scares me. We can’t afford it at all. But it is too early to actually get a feel as to what spending and tax revenue will be like until after the Recession passes, which will hopefully be sooner than later.

SOMEWHERE IN ITALY – Bishop Dick Villiamsan, who recently shot up a nunnery killing 42 nuns, apologized for his actions.

“If I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the church, but also to the survivors and relatives of victims of my injustice, I would not have made them,” Williamson was quoted as saying in the statement carried by the Catholic news agency.

“I still believe shooting all those nuns was a proper thing to do, but I ask God for forgiveness for the pain I caused.”

——————-or—————–

VATICAN CITY, VATICAN CITY – Bishop Richard Williamson, who recently caused a stir by suggesting that the Holocaust was exaggerated apologized in a statement today.

“If I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them,” Williamson was quoted as saying in the statement carried by the Zenit Catholic news agency. “Honestly, I was taken by surprise that so many people would have issue with someone saying the Holocaust was exaggerated. I wasn’t saying it was a complete lie, only that it was exaggerated.”

At no time did he deny still believing that the consequences of the Holocaust was exaggerated. Rather, the Bishop asked “God” to forgive him. Bishop Richard Williamson did say he was going to look further into the issue of the Holocaust and the Illuminati online at infowars.com.

Pretty much sums up the hypocrisy that has become a steadfast Republican trait.

NEW YORK CITY, NY – Captain Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot of a US Airway A320, was awarded the Key to the City of New York City by Mayor Bloomberg. The pilot, who was supposed to fly his plane to Charlotte, North Carolina and instead planted the plane approximately 600 miles short of the destination into the Hudson River was heralded for his ability to cut corners and call it an early day.

The event was dubbed the “Miracle of the Hudson” because it seemed impossible for a plane to land in such the wrong place, over 600 miles from the destination.

“When we landed, I was thinking, this isn’t Charlotte,” noted passenger Amy Beckinstein. “It was much too wet to be Charlotte. I was fuming to find out we just landed about 10 miles from LaGuardia. I didn’t go through security for two hours just to do it over again.”

A spokesman for the pilot noted that landing in a frigid river not 15 miles from the take off point was “the only viable alternative” to actually flying for two hours to Charlotte.

AKRON, OH – During a routine drive to the supermarket, John Hedson announced that the unidentified man who was driving in front of him was a “complete jackass” for not pulling out onto West Market Street when he had “more than enough” time to do so.

“He had 5 to 10 seconds of time, easy,” muttered John Hedson while behind the wheel of his SUV. “Jackass.”

It is unknown whether this is the same person Hedson cursed off for not leaving the line fast enough at a green light two days ago.

Save the Tiger - In my quest to watch all movies that are Jack Lemmon led me to this not so mainstream movie. Watching the movie right now, in the current economic times is quite appropriate. The movie will eat your energy away. Lemmon just has this ability to really make you care and feel what his character is feeling. Desperate people will do desperate things, it’ll make you ponder what exactly you would do.

As noted, this isn’t a mainstream movie. It isn’t a thriller or action film. The plot is actually quite simple and the cast is pretty small. You may like it, you may not. It is a great drama. And if you want a great drama, this is the film to watch. 8.9 of 10

The China Syndrome - It is always a treat to watch a movie that came out 30 years ago and still get the adrenalin rush that came with the movie originally. Few movies offer that sort of experience. The Manchurian Candidate is the first thing that comes to mind. Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas star in this film about a nuclear plant and a news crew that happens to be there when something goes wrong. But it isn’t the event itself that is the climax of the movie, rather it is the political and business result of the event. Fonda, nominated for best Actress, plays her role perfectly and Jack Lemmon, well he was nominated for an Oscar and probably should have won if not for Dustin Hoffman in Krammer vs Krammer. Ironically, the other funny man turn seriously good actor, Peter Sellers was nominated for his role in Being There. Tough year to be a nominee.

The suspense of the movie is so surreal. At the movies climax you’ll be rewarded with a terrifying experience. You’ll be experiencing what the characters are experiencing. The movie probably did so well because Three Mile Island occurred 13 days after the films release, but regardless, this film was terrific and if you haven’t seen it, you need to. 9.5 of 10

The Petrified Forest - Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Leslie Howard star in this movie which could have been done as a play, and I believe actually was originally a play. The compact film and the compact setting helps keep you in the set with the actors, much like 12 Angry Men.

I really don’t have much else to say about the film. You’ve got three outstanding lead actors in the film. It is a great movie, it is short and if you really know what is good for you, you’ll watch it. 9.5 of 10

Well, in Palin’s defense, she is Governor of a state, so she still has an active role in politics. But Joe the Plumber? According Politico, Joe the Plumber was the guest speaker at the Conservative Working Group meeting in DC.

This guy is a simpleton, perhaps worse, a full blown idiot. He makes Palin and GW Bush look like intellectual heavyweights vying for a Nobel Prize. He makes Hannity and Limbaugh look like Pulitzer Prize material.

How McCain ever thought Joe the Plumber was a good idea to bring up in the debate is beyond me. Why this guy is still getting any attention whatsoever blows my mind. Why do any Republican Aides give a darn what he thinks?

So what did he say? According to USA Today:

Joe Wurzelbacher, the plumber who shot to fame after a sidewalk debate with Barack Obama in Ohio, says his latest advice was not to be subtle: “I don’t believe there’s two sides to every story. It’s black and white. There’s right and wrong.”

Wurzelbacher, the Daily News says, also called for killing the proposed stimulus package because it’s just another example of “American government” — Republicans and Democrats — “kicking our butts left and right.” He also called it welfare.

What genius!

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA – Thousands of people watching a porn movie last Sunday were interrupted by a 30 second clip of Super Bowl XLIII. “I was watching this porn movie,” noted Chad Allen, “when all of a sudden this triple gang bang scene turns into a huge pile of guys with tight pants on top of each other.” It was obviously a deflating experience for those watching the porn movie.

Cox Communications quickly fixed the problem and the porn viewers went from Kurt Warner hiking the football back to a woman receiving quadruple penetration.

Okay, in reality, it was the other way around, link.

BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — The Government of Kyrgyzstan announced that it was holding a liquidation sale with the announcement of the US airbase closing. “Everything must go!” noted Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstan’s President. “No reasonable offer will be refused!”

The announcement has surprised many. Kyrgyzstan is home to the US air base that has been the main support site for the Afghanistan military effort. With the Kyrgyzstian base closing, America would have a much harder time with military logistics in Afghanistan which is land locked by America’s lesser friends, Pakistan and Iran.

Regardless, Bakiyev announced that “Due to pressures from the Kremlin, we have no choice but to close the Manas Air Base, which means we must close our doors and empty our inventory at any cost. F-17’s for $1 million, B-52 tankers starting at just $100,000, cruise missiles at just $10,000. We won’t be able to keep our hangers stocked for long, so come down to the Manas Air Base and take part in these wild savings. Tell them Krazy Kurmanbek sent ya!”

While some are optimistic about the cost savings, others are a little suspect over the deal. “These places always have these ‘base closing sales,’ noted Kurt Campbell of the CSIS. “Yet after the sale, the bases always seem to stay open or they open up another base, with the same ownership,”

Your knowledge has limits, but my ignorance knows no bounds.

What is with rich people not paying all their taxes? Don’t they pay people to do their taxes to begin with?

That said, Daschle seemed too attached to the Health Care industry, by being a lobbying non-lobbyist. Hopefully Obama can name someone better qualified to take the position, someone who is in the know with the industry, but not in their pocket.