[Rhodes22-list] Obama's Magic

[Brad Haslett]

Michael,

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Now on to the lions, and tigers, and
bears.  And last but not least, the Flying Pandas.

I had a long conversation with my mother last night about her health
issues among other things.  Her doctor is recommending that she have
"minor" surgery for some back issues and she explained that there is
nothing "minor" about doing surgery on an 83 year old woman.  "But,
Mrs. Haslett, Medicare will pay for it".  Mom built bombs in a defense
plant during WW2 in Springfield, Illinois and is no dummy.  "No, my
kids will pay for it and what difference does that make?"

Everyone loves de-regulation if it means flying to Grandma's house
coast to coast for $129 but against it if they have to take some
personal risk.  If we're going to re-regulate the economy, I say we
start with the airlines first and go back to the days when pilots were
gods and flight attendants could fit down the isle.

Sarah Palin is the only politician in this race with the balls (fill
in the blank here _____ with the more appropriate description) to say
it is your responsibility to live within your means.

 "A chicken in every pot".  Deja Vu all over again!

Brad

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 10:39 AM, MichaelT <mticse at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> While we're at it...I thought I'd add to the mix from today's WSJ coped below
>
> Michael
> s/v Silversides
>
> Obama's Magic
> By Kimberley Strassel
>
> And now, America, we introduce the Great Obama! The world's most gifted
> political magician! A thing of wonder. A thing of awe. Just watch him defy
> politics, economics, even gravity! (And hold your applause until the end,
> please.)
>
> To kick off our show tonight, Mr. Obama will give 95% of American working
> families a tax cut, even though 40% of Americans today don't pay income
> taxes! How can our star enact such mathemagic? How can he "cut" zero?
> Abracadabra! It's called a "refundable tax credit." It involves the federal
> government taking money from those who do pay taxes, and writing checks to
> those who don't. Yes, yes, in the real world this is known as "welfare," but
> please try not to ruin the show.
>
> For his next trick, the Great Obama will jumpstart the economy, and he'll do
> it by raising taxes on the very businesses that are today adrift in a
> financial tsunami! That will include all those among the top 1% of taxpayers
> who are in fact small-business owners, and the nation's biggest employers
> who currently pay some of the highest corporate tax rates in the developed
> world. Mr. Obama will, with a flick of his fingers, show them how to create
> more jobs with less money. It's simple, really. He has a wand.
>
>  Next up, Mr. Obama will re-regulate the economy, with no ill effects
> whatsoever! You may have heard that for the past 40 years most politicians
> believed deregulation was good for the U.S. economy. You might have even
> heard that much of today's financial mess tracks to loose money policy, or
> Fannie and Freddie excesses. Our magician will show the fault was instead
> with our failure to clamp down on innovation and risk-taking, and will fix
> this with new, all-encompassing rules. Presto!
>
> Did someone in the audience just shout "Sarbanes Oxley?" Usher, can you
> remove that man? Thank you. Mr. Obama will now demonstrate how he gives
> Americans the "choice" of a "voluntary" government health plan, designed in
> such a way as to crowd out the private market and eliminate all other
> choice! Don't worry people: You won't have to join, until you do. Mr. Obama
> will follow this with a demonstration of how his plan will differ from our
> failing Medicare program. Oops, sorry, folks. The Great Obama just reminded
> me it is time for an intermission. Maybe we'll get to that marvel later.
>
> We're back now. And just watch the Great Obama perform a feat never yet
> managed in all history. He will create that enormous new government health
> program, spend billions to transform our energy economy, provide financial
> assistance to former Soviet satellites, invest in infrastructure, increase
> education spending, provide job training assistance, and give 95% of
> Americans a tax (ahem) cut -- all without raising the deficit a single
> penny! And he'll do it in the middle of a financial crisis. And with falling
> tax revenues! Voila!
>
> Moving along to a little ventriloquism. Study his mouth carefully, folks: It
> looks like he's saying "I'll stop the special interests," when in fact the
> words coming out are "Welcome to Washington, friends!" Wind and solar
> companies, ethanol makers, tort lawyers, unions, community organizers -- all
> are welcome to feed at the public trough and to request special favors. From
> now on "special interests" will only refer to universally despised, if
> utterly crucial, economic players. Say, oil companies. Hocus Pocus!
>
> And for tonight's finale, the Great Obama will uphold America's "moral"
> obligation to "stop genocide" by abandoning Iraq! While teleported to the
> region, he will simultaneously convince Iranian leaders to peacefully
> abandon their nuclear pursuits (even as he does not sit down with them), fix
> Afghanistan with a strategy that does not resemble the Iraqi surge, and
> (drumroll!) pull Osama bin Laden out of his hat!
>
> Tada!
>
> You can clap now. (Applause. Cheers.) We'd like to thank a few people in the
> audience. Namely, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who has so
> admirably restrained himself from running up on stage to debunk any of these
> illusions and spoil everyone's fun.
>
> We know he's in a bit of a box, having initially blamed today's financial
> crisis on corporate "greed," and thus made it that much harder to call for a
> corporate tax cut, or warn against excessive regulation. Still, there were
> some pretty big openings up here this evening, and he let them alone! We'd
> also like to thank Mr. McCain for keeping all the focus on himself these
> past weeks. It has helped the Great Obama to just get on with the show.
>
> As for that show, we'd love to invite you all back for next week's
> performance, when the Great Obama will thrill with new, amazing exploits. He
> will respect your Second Amendment rights even as he regulates firearms! He
> will renegotiate Nafta, even as he supports free trade! He will.
>
> Ms. Strassel is a member of The Wall Street Journal's editorial board.
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Obama%27s-Magic-tp19920746p19920746.html
> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
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