Buffalo_Gal

Hey, if you have Amazon prime 'today only' you can 8 weeks of Bezo's Blog for free. That's one way to goose WaPo's numbers!

Not happening. I look horrible in brown.

Kick the can. Every Congress does it. No one wants to be the one to suggest America cuts an entitlement program. Can you imagine the ads with Grannie living on the street? And Congress figured out a few years back that it is better not to pass a budget - "better" for pork that is - than to pass one. Watch what comes out of the next debt ceiling bill. That will be a doozy. The U.S. Federal Budget for FY 2020 is $4.7 trillion. That's $2.8 trillion in mandatory spending which includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. There's $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending that includes Defense, Education, and Energy. Interest payment on national debt is $479 billion. </snip> Federal Spending Breakdown Almost two-thirds of federal spending goes toward paying the benefits required by Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These are part of mandatory spending. Those are programs established by prior Acts of Congress. The interest payments on the national debt consume 10% of the budget. These are also required to maintain faith in the U.S. government. The remaining 30% of spending goes toward discretionary spending. This pays for all federal government agencies. The largest is the military. Mandatory Spending The mandatory budget will cost $2.841 trillion in FY 2020. Mandatory spending is skyrocketing because more baby boomers are reaching retirement age. By 2030, one in five Americans will be older than 65. </snip> Interest Payments on the National Debt In FY 2020, interest payments on the national debt are estimated at $479 billion. That's enough to pay for 10 Justice Departments. It's also one of the fastest growing expenses. By 2029, it will more than double to $823 billion, becoming the third-largest budget item after Social Security and Medicare. It's not a mandatory program, but it must be paid to avoid a U.S. debt default. These estimates will increase as interest rates continue rising. </snip> When you get to the bottom of this article, it is very interesting. It shows who were the top 5 (#3 will astound you!). There are links to stuff like historical debt, etc if you want to deal with lies, damn lies, and statistics. • Trump (estimated over 8 years) increase 30% over Obama's last budget • Obama 74% increase over W's last budget • W 101% increase over Clinton's last budget • Clinton 34% increase over Poppie Bush's last budget • HW 54% increase over Reagan's last budget • Reagan 186% increase over Carter's last budget On and on back through Woodrow Wilson. Who increased the debt the least by percentage? Truman (3%). No new president is accountable for the budget deficit in his first year in office ('cause he's stuck with the last guy's budget). The Best Way to Measure Debt by President You can measure the debt by a president by summing up his budget deficits. The president is responsible for his budget priorities. The deficit by president reveals how much deficit was in each year's budget. The terminology sounds similar, but a difference exists between the deficit and the debt by a president. All presidents can employ a little sleight of hand to reduce the appearance of the deficit. For example, they can borrow from federal retirement funds. </snip> The Top Five Contributors by Percent Franklin D. Roosevelt: Percentage-wise, President Roosevelt increased the debt by the largest amount. Although he only added $236 billion, this was a 1,048 percent increase from the $23 billion debt level left by President Herbert Hoover. Woodrow Wilson: President Wilson was the second-largest contributor to the debt, percentage-wise. He added $21 billion, which was a 727 percent increase over the $2.9 billion debt of his predecessor. Wilson had to pay for World War I. During his presidency, the Second Liberty Bond Act gave Congress the right to adopt the national debt ceiling. Ronald Reagan: President Reagan increased the debt by 186 percent. Reaganomics added $1.86 trillion. Reagan's brand of supply-side economics didn't grow the economy enough to offset the lost revenue from its tax cuts. That was partly because Reagan increased the defense budget by 35 percent. George W. Bush: President Bush added $5.849 trillion, the second-greatest dollar amount. It was the fourth-largest percentage increase. Bush increased the debt by 101 percent from where it started at $5.8 trillion on September 30, 2001. That's the end of FY 2001, which was President Clinton's last budget. Barack Obama: Under President Obama, the national debt grew the most dollar-wise. He added $8.588 trillion. This 74 percent increase was the fifth-largest. Obama's budgets included the economic stimulus package. It added $831 billion by cutting taxes, extending unemployment benefits, and funding public works projects. The Obama tax cuts added $858 billion to the debt in two years. Obama's budget increased defense spending to between $700 billion and $800 billion a year. Federal income was down, thanks to lower tax receipts from the 2008 financial crisis.

Margot Cleveland put together an excellent piece on why the Flynn case matters, and what happened. Latest Development In Flynn Case Proves Special Counsel Was A Cover For Taking Down Trump His former lawyer’s latest testimony establishes two facts, both of which benefit Michael Flynn and both of which the media has missed. The special counsel’s investigation was a sham controlled by the intelligence community. Evidence has long suggested as much, but testimony earlier this week from Michael Flynn’s ex-lawyer—that Flynn’s former legal team had not seen recently revealed information purporting to implicate Flynn in a conspiracy with a Turkish agent—confirms it. </snip> She does highlights in this thread:

I do not think you were being sarcastic. I think you really think President Trump is a racist. ? Your example was just bad as Poland is no longer a shithole. Once it got out from under communism, it flourished.

You apparently have not been to Poland in the last 20 years if you think it is still a shithole. Back under communist rule it was pretty bad. The best way to describe it was dreary, dirty, and utilitarian. Bleak was the word I used. Now? Not-so-much. Do get your passport together and take a trip, especially to Kraków. You will be impressed with the changes if you haven't been there in 30 or 40 years. Once communism ended and capitalism took over things really changed. Poland is a true capitalist success story. ?

I was hoping he'd reread the tweets and recognize his interpretation is merely a MSM talking-point. Guess not.

Yup, I am sure that was it.

Less than two weeks after Benghazi? I am sure it was simply "god is great", no other reason. /sarc edit, two weeks if you go with the start of Benghazi

More than you ever wanted to know about going to the bathroom in space! (long thread) edit: fixed link

That wasn't trolling, it was a tweet from 2012.

The UK and EU are supporting the US on sanctions. England is also in political flux right now. It will be interesting to see what kind of help President Trump offers to make certain that the UK and EU stand firm on Iranian sanctions.

Crew was bribed? That "sudden turn" into Iranian waters certainly does smell like it was done purposely.

Joe Biden appears to have had some work done, not that there's anything wrong with that. I simply didn't recognize him (seriously). NBC News poll: Biden, Sanders and Warren lead 2020 field

Crazy thing is that she seems more "Republican" than Jeff Flake ever did. Could be positioning herself as a more center D for when the Democratic civil war is over?

Isn't there something in the new testament about forgiveness? Note: I cannot speak for evangelicals in any way. I am not religious or even spiritual, I'd go so far as to label my "beliefs" agnostic.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pushes program to streamline removal of migrant families without valid asylum claims Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is pushing for the implementation of a pilot program along the U.S.-Mexico border that aims to more quickly screen and remove migrant families without valid legal claims for asylum in the United States. Sinema, D-Ariz., joined a bipartisan group with eight other senators who sent a letter Wednesday to acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan describing their proposed program, dubbed "Operation Safe Return." </snip> The program would allow the Department of Homeland Security to deport certain migrants within 15 days, according to the letter, and would help alleviate overcrowding at border facilities, Sinema said. </snip>

Don't forget he's divorced too! TWICE!!! Simply scandalous! ?

Yeah, they are trying to whitewash St Teddy's leaving a woman to die. It is simply disgusting.

I think you are a liberal in part (so am I). You definitely have something personal against President Trump. That is fine, but it leads to a real blind spot in assessing his policy, personality, and political moves. When you stop reacting to what he does, simply because he does it, then you will not longer be part of the #OrangeManBad-brigade. ?‍♀️

I don't know where this came from (I stole it from a blog), but it was pretty good work.