Daily Archives: February 6, 2009

The German Invasion

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYQTFudrqc[/youtube]

I know he isn’t German, but close enough.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6LSVNabJak[/youtube]

UPDATED: Carper Vote Watch

UPDATE: Carper is a jerk. Shocking!

From Jen Hill, SEIU:

As of last night our Senator Carper has signed on to the Nelson
Collins amendment.

The amendment will reduce the overall spending and significantly
reduce public school spending, IDEA, head start and the state
stabilization fund. As you all know Delaware is in dire financial
straits and will be cutting thousands of jobs without the package –
education and state workers will be affected, but so will our kids.

The cuts total somewhere around $77.9 billion from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Please call him and ask him to withdraw his support for the amendment.
202-224-2441

Carper is a jerk. Shocking!

I wonder which way Mr. Dependable will swing?

This afternoon an amendment to H.R. 1 is being proposed in the Senate that will cut more than $32.8 billion from the proposed stimulus funding for education: $6.5 billion from IDEA, $6.5 billion from Title I, $4.8 billion from the state stabilization fund, $15 billion from incentive grants, and $5 million from the teacher quality partnership grants.

Psst. Republicans. Come here and look at this.

Republicans have been ratcheting up their divisive rhetoric towards the President over the past week, and it made me think Obama’s poll numbers must be dropping, or at least the stimulus plan must be unpopular. The truth is, both are very popular.




The public may be largely taking these Cabinet controversies in stride because it tends to view them as nothing out of the ordinary, according to the Feb. 4 USA Today/Gallup poll that probed reaction to the controversies.

Specifically, the poll finds 58% of Americans describing the controversies as “a normal part of the process of filling high-level government positions in any new administration.” Only half that number — 29% — think they reflect poorly on the Obama administration, saying the administration “appears to be having more problems filling high government positions than is typical for new administrations.” The remaining 12% have no opinion.

A new CBS poll finds that 60 percent of Americans view Congressional Republicans unfavorably, with just 32 percent viewing them favorably. These numbers compare unfavorably with those of Congressional Democrats, as a plurality of voters (48 percent) rate the party’s caucus positively and just 43 percent rate it negatively. President Obama’s numbers are significantly better than those, with 62 percent approving of the job he is doing and a remarkably small 15 percent voicing disapproval.

It is worse than you think…

The unemployment numbers. Look at where the jobs are being cut.

Unemploy

Construction and Manufacturing in the top 4 industries affected, with rates in the double digits. Indeed, the 18% for construction is approaching Great Depression levels.

Women and Children First

Followed by cops and firefighters.  You can screw science, as well.  But rest easy, defense spending will increase under the latest stimulus plan changes.

Total Reductions: $80 billion

Eliminations:

Head Start, Education for the Disadvantaged, School improvement, Child Nutrition, Firefighters, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Prisons, COPS Hiring, Violence Against Women, NASA, NSF, Western Area Power Administration, CDC, Food Stamps

*****************************

Reductions:

Public Transit $3.4 billion, School Construction $60 billion

*****************************

Increases:

Defense operations and procurement, STAG Grants, Brownfields, Additional transportation funding

Oh, the upcoming headlines are going to be brutal, mainly because they will write themselves.  My conclusion:  There is no such thing as a moderate in Washington.