October 19, 2009
Stimulus Strings Will Hobble Budget Options in 2010

Amber Gunn from the EFF wrote this piece on the trouble Gregoire and her cohorts in the legislature have gotten us in. Rather than solve our budget problems, they put them by accepting billions in stimulus funds, the acceptance of which creates even more problems.

Posted by pudge at October 19, 2009 01:04 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Oh boy. This is NOT good. Dino would have done such a better job of navigating through times like this. He'd done it before; he'd be a sight better at it than Gregoire's doing. Heaven help us all.

Posted by: Michele on October 19, 2009 03:29 PM
2. Well, it's not like they didn't hear our warnings.

Posted by: Gary on October 19, 2009 03:34 PM
3. I guess I fail to see the problem. We took the stimulus money and were able to stave off some cuts for a few years; how is this a bad thing?

Posted by: Ryan on October 19, 2009 04:29 PM
4. Ryan - you make a great liberal.

Posted by: USA Ronin on October 19, 2009 06:22 PM
5. What is worse is they have a malady called hard of hearing!!

Posted by: Laurie on October 19, 2009 06:33 PM
6. The article at the link says "...than those that were in effect in July 2008 until the current biennium expires (Dec. 31, 2010)."

Is there another "biennium" involved here? I believe the state's biennial budget goes from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2011; so it doesn't appear to be that biennium.

Posted by: Micajah on October 19, 2009 08:24 PM
7.
■$68 million for "non-citizen pregnant women" ■$32 million for "undocumented kids to 300% FPL" (FPL=Federal Poverty Level; See Cover All Kids debacle) ■$13 million "SCHIP kids 200-300% FPL"

Ahem. Why are we still funding these things?

I'll second that opinion. If you can't afford children, you shouldn't be having them. If you can't get in line and enter this country legally, take your sorry carcass back to your country of origin and go through the legal process of immigrating to this country. We need to crack down on this nonsense post haste.

Posted by: Rick D. on October 20, 2009 05:09 AM
8. RickD - your comments are right but Obama would never do that as he is opening up the country for everyone. Anyone coming will become a citizen so they can vote for Obama!

Posted by: Tim on October 20, 2009 09:37 AM
9. The problem is...The State Department, like all Government entities, wants to grow and has grown itself into a giant make-work bloated Pig. It has built itself a Red-taped Empire. It has expanded itself with excess Government employees and associated bureaucrats, all at Taxpayers expense, to the point where it takes 10 to 15 years to process an applicant for legal entry into the United States. The results are, an immigrant will waste some of their most productive years of his or her life waiting to make entry. Plus, these most productive years are lost from benefiting the United States. Can you blame a young or any adult wanting to get on with their lives and not, wanting to waste many years waiting? A major component of the Crime of illegal immigration lies with the State Department. It not only cheats the immigrant, it cheats America from being infused with hardworking able bodied Producers/Taxpayers to further support the Economy and Country. Yes, those who are forced to enter illegally, in order to better their lives, will have a strong tendency to vote for the Party that supports amnesty, all thanks to the Big Government State Department.

Posted by: Daniel on October 20, 2009 10:23 AM
10. Welcome back, John!

Did pudge make you stand in the corner as part of his program for encouraging dissent?

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 05:58 PM
11. scottd, you must be seeing things.

Jensen will not be back for a long time ... if ever.

Posted by: pudge on October 20, 2009 06:15 PM
12. Well, pudge, I gotta respect your immunity to irony -- banning someone on the same day you post that Obama hates dissent.

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 06:26 PM
13. Correction -- banning someone and erasing his comments on the day AFTER you post that Obama hates dissent.

BTW, what was so offensive about John pointing out that SCHIP doesn't grant benefits to illegal aliens?

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 06:38 PM
14. scottd: he is not banned for dissenting, so ... nope, no irony here. I do not even READ his comments. He was abusive and lying months ago, and he has been banned ever since.

Posted by: pudge on October 20, 2009 07:27 PM
15. pudge: Well, we just have your word on the lying, but I'm betting there was a little more dissent than you could handle. Why not let your readers decide?

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 07:31 PM
16. Well, scottd...pudge is letting you Blab yourself Silly...Isn't he? As far as John Jensen goes, I personally don't care for his commentary. Having said that, I also, don't believe a forum should be over controlled either. During more than one exchange with pudge where I referred to the far left Liberals as Nazis, pudge disagreed to the point of deleting a couple of my comments as well. But then, its pudge's forum and he has the final say right or wrong.

Posted by: Daniel on October 20, 2009 09:08 PM
17. its pudge's forum and he has the final say right or wrong.

No disagreement there. If pudge wants to crab about Obama hating dissent on one thread while deleting comments from people he doesn't like on another, who's to stop him? Nothing ironic about that!

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 09:17 PM
18. scottd: If pudge wants to crab about Obama hating dissent on one thread while deleting comments from people he doesn't like on another ...

If you are implying I am deleting comments BECAUSE I don't like those people, then no, I never did that. Not once. You're making that up.


we just have your word on the lying

False. I did not delete his comments that existed leading up to my decision to ban him. Everyone can decide for themselves. I don't know which discussion it was, so you'd have to find it, but it's all there.


I'm betting there was a little more dissent than you could handle

Shrug. You lose.

Posted by: pudge on October 20, 2009 09:40 PM
19. scottd - stop being an Alinskyite for one friggen second.

Posted by: Crusader on October 20, 2009 10:34 PM
20. I say ignore the strings. Let the feds take us to court. Encourage other states to do the same. I for one am sick of the federal government and would rather we break all ties, but for now lets just break the ones we do not like.

Posted by: Lysander on October 20, 2009 10:46 PM
21. If you are implying I am deleting comments BECAUSE I don't like those people, then no, I never did that. Not once. You're making that up.

No, I meant you are deleting comments you don't like from people who disagree with you. Hope that clears things up.

Posted by: scottd on October 20, 2009 11:14 PM
22. scottd: you are deleting comments you don't like from people who disagree with you

So you're actually not saying anything at all.

I obviously would not delete a comment I *did* like, or one that I *agreed* with.

But as I never delete a comment *because* I dislike it, or *because* I disagree with it, you're not actually making a point at all.

So yes, you did clear things up: you have no point. Noted!

Posted by: pudge on October 21, 2009 12:11 AM
23. pudge: Yes it is obvious -- and so is the point that you dance around. You are deleting comments you do not like or do not agree with while complaining about others stiffling dissent.

Of course you have other "reasons" for doing this -- in my experience censors usually rationalize their acts. One of the most common rationalizations is claiming that the censored material was a lie or from an unreliable source. It shows a lack of confidence that others can judge for themselves the strength or veracity of opposing arguments. Your response to this is to play tiresome semantic games. Sad.

Posted by: scottd on October 21, 2009 07:55 AM
24. scottd: You are deleting comments you do not like or do not agree with

Again, I am deleting comments because of WHO is posting them, not because of WHAT is in them. As noted, I am not even reading Jensen's comments, so you are lying by saying I am deleting the comments because of their content.


Of course you have other "reasons" for doing this

You're lying. By saying I have "other" reasons, you are necessarily implying that the fact that I dislike the comments is a reason. This is a lie. I have only ONE reason: the people were lying or abusive and have been banned for that. No other reason, period.


in my experience censors usually rationalize their acts

I am not censoring anything. I am banning people. There's a difference, obviously.


It shows a lack of confidence ...

Nonsense. It shows that I feel their "contributions" are hurting the discussion. They are free to post their idiocies on the "Public Blog." I am not seeking to prevent them from speaking, just keeping them away from my discussions, where they have proven themselves incapable of playing well with others.


... that others can judge for themselves the strength or veracity of opposing arguments.

You're lying again. As I already told you, I did not delete the comments that contained the lies; those remained for people to judge for themselves.

No more lies from you, scottd. And no more warnings.

Posted by: pudge on October 21, 2009 08:27 AM
25. The hostility of the SP contributors to the readers/commenters is getting a little out of control... :(

Posted by: AD on October 21, 2009 08:45 AM
26. AD: shrug. I don't put up with persistent lying. Don't like it? Tough.

Posted by: pudge on October 21, 2009 08:47 AM
27. Of course you have other "reasons" for doing this

You're lying. By saying I have "other" reasons, you are necessarily implying that the fact that I dislike the comments is a reason. This is a lie. I have only ONE reason: the people were lying or abusive and have been banned for that. No other reason, period.

No pudge, I'm not necessarily implying that. I'm considering that you dislike a comment as a possible reason, but I didn't claim that it was your motivation -- how would I know? You have said that you delete the comments because you have banned the person. That is another reason, one that you have that is different from the one I suggested. What I said was true -- to call it a lie, you have to add something to it that I did not say.

I am not censoring anything. I am banning people. There's a difference, obviously.

Of course there is...

... that others can judge for themselves the strength or veracity of opposing arguments.

You're lying again. As I already told you, I did not delete the comments that contained the lies; those remained for people to judge for themselves.

Once again, you're distorting what I said so you can find a lie in it. I didn't claim that you deleted any specific comments containing "the lies". (Here, I assume you are referring to specific comments leading to Jensen's ban.) My full statement referred to censoring (ie, deleting) material that one claims is a lie or from an unreliable source. You say you banned Jensen because he lies -- I think that's covered in the second half of what I said.

So, ban me if you like, pudge. It says more about you than me.

Posted by: scottd on October 21, 2009 08:56 AM
28. scottd: I didn't claim that it was your motivation

False. Your language was clear. You said I removed comments I didn't like (which is false), and then you said I might have "other" reasons ... that necessarily implies that me not liking them was a reason. You're lying.


You have said that you delete the comments because you have banned the person. That is another reason ...

False. It is THE reason. There is no other reason. You're lying.


... one that you have that is different from the one I suggested.

Yes, you said I removed them because I didn't like them. It's a lie.


I didn't claim that you deleted any specific comments containing "the lies".

False. You said that me deleting comments because it is a lie shows a "lack of confidence that others can judge for themselves." Except that I don't delete comments for containing lies, and I *do* leave the comments there for people ot judge for themselves.


You say you banned Jensen because he lies -- I think that's covered in the second half of what I said.

Yes, so you admit you were lying when you said you didn't claim I deleted comments containing lies.


So, ban me if you like, pudge. It says more about you than me.

No, it really doesn't say anything about me ... except maybe that I was TOO generous in letting you lie so much.

Posted by: pudge on October 21, 2009 09:06 AM
29. Scottd,

Any thoughts about the way we're being crushed by the Slavery Party budgets and stimulus they're cramming through in Washington, DC? Or do you simply have an unhealthy obsession with pudge?

Posted by: Shanghai Dan on October 21, 2009 04:53 PM
30. back on topic--there is a great site called stimulus watch that allows one to see where so called 'stimulus' money actually went.

If you scroll through some of the projects, obviously the 'stimulus' is just a bailout of state & local deficits. In other words, it is a way to transfer the ability of the federal gov't to print money down to the state and local levels.

Hyperinflation, here we come.

Posted by: travis t on October 21, 2009 09:12 PM
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