Fun With Dick & Jane

You can now go to ITunes and download the latest version of FWDAJ.  Just search “podcasts” and “FWDAJ”

There.  I said it twice.

Dick returned this week and we talk about Massachusetts’ 25 % sales tax hike voted in by the democrat legislature the night before.  The Governor preferred a 19 cent hike on gasoline, but was handed his hat by his own party.  Dick thinks the sales tax is certainly more fair than the gas tax.  I agree, but am bummed out that the democrat legislature didn’t even give lip service to a cut in spending.

Next we discussed the President’s first 100 days in office.  I asked Dick what he felt were President Obama’s accomplishments.  The answer spoke volumes.  We went on to discuss swine flu, and the incident involving the President’s plane terrorizing Manhatten.    I still have no idea why the plane was dispatched, and the excuses thus far don’t pass the giggle test.  I wondered who actually has to sign off on this sort of event, as I suspect the President was aware of it.

We talked a bit about Barney Frank and wondered why in the first quarter, Fidelity employees have given  Frank ten times as much money has they gave him in the last two decades combines.  We should keep a close eye on that.

Dick managed to add something about Leveritt Saltonstall before we were done, which has become somewhat of a tradition.  He also managed to remind me of his political expertise.  C’est la vie.

Enjoy!

Father Peter substituted for Dick again this week and we had a fascinating laid back conversation.  We started with a recap of the Worcester Tea party, which we both enjoyed immensely.    We then  got into intense interrogation, and differed on whether or not water boarding is torture.  Despite calling water boarding ‘torture” Fr Peter agreed that he would take just about any action if he was faced with saving the lives of his congregation, including water boarding.  Then we had a conversation about rising to the occasion, and we both hoped we would be able to do that.

We talked about President Obama’s odd move on stem cells – first getting rid of President Bush’s ban on using federal funding for embryonic stem cells, and then a couple of days later, reinstituting it.

We then talked a bit about the change in society over the years.  Fr Peter specifically mentioned increased teen pregnancy, and blamed the ongoing degradation of society on the end of school prayer, which I admit is a cause and effect I have never considered.

At that point Dick returned and co-opted the mike.

Enjoy!

How time flies!  Father Peter subtituted for Dick today, and we had a great time.  We started by talking about the Somali pirates,  and Richard Phillips the heroic captain of the Maersk Alabama who was rescued by our incredible navy seals

We noted that the President performed well in his first Overseas Contingency Operation, and wondered about his yet unannounced plan for combatting the escalating piracy problem.

We then celebrated Tax Freedom Day on April 13th  and wondered whether next year, the day when we finish paying the government, will fall some time in December.

Next we talked about the Tea Parties.  Father Peter and I are attending the Worcester Tea Party on April 15th.  For some reason Peter spent a long time wondering if we will end up in jail.  Having visited most of the jails in the Commonwealth, I hope not.

We talked about MA congressman Ed Markey and Henry Waxman’s proposed legislation with would allow all of us to sue the government if we think we have been harmed by global warming.  I wondered if the suit provision could be extended to people who have been harmed by global warming legislation.

Next up was corrupt prosecution of Ted Stevens,  China’s growing reluctance to purchase our bonds, and the first lady’s new full time make-up artist.

It was a really fun hour so enjoy.   If you are attending the Worcester Tea Party come up and say hello.  (Fr Peter will be the guy in the priest outfit)

The first half of FWDAJ was about as contentious as it gets. Dick had been plotting for days to blame the corrupt prosecution of Ted Stevens on President Bush forgetting the furor over the “politicization of Justice” and what would have been the consequences of a republican President firing a democrat prosecutor who was prosecuting a republican Senator immediately before election day.

it got worse as I talked about the President’s “Apology Tour” and Dick declared it a raging success. As I said, it got ugly. I expressed concern about the President’s ongoing criticism of this country to Europeans, and Dick thought it was just fine to criticize “since it is true”. When I asked him “To what end” the criticism served, he changed the subject.

During the second half we recovered a bit. We talked about the usual suspects, Dodd and Frank, particularly this extravaganza.

And of course we talked about the corruption on Wall Street and in Washington, and agreed that it was time to THROW THE BUMS OUT!

We both noted with some surprise that Governor Deval Patrick says he is running for re-election. Once again I encouraged our listeners to meet me at the Worcester Tea Party on April 15th.

Enjoy!

On April 15th people all over the country are gathering for Tea Parties to show their distaste for the out of control spending by this administration.

Today my friend Caro and I started the preparations.

This is going to be fun!

Today was mostly about the takeover of General Motors by the President, and the firing of the CEO Rick Wagoner. Dick was all for the firing because “in 8 years Wagoner has not turned the company around”.

My concerns have to do with the constitutionality of the firing and the ongoing encroachment of the Executive branch of the government on private industry.

We also talked about the UAW and their role in the GM debacle including the legacy costs of health care and the salaries paid.

Dick was outraged at Wagoner’s retirement package and I reminding him that if Wagoner had been demoted rather than fired or the company was allowed to go into bankruptcy instead of being taken over by the president, the retirement package could have been renegotiated.

Once again Chris Dodd crept into the discussion. This time it was in connection with the $160k ponied up by AIG executives when they learned that he would be the chairman of the banking committee.

We talked about the NY Times spiking a story adverse to candidate Obama because they felt it might be a “game changer”. Dick thinks all media is biased, and I maintain some biases are worse than others.

We talked about the boon of lobbyists accompanying the administration’s increased federal spending as well as the MA MBTA costs to the Commonwealth. I was able to avert a retelling of Dick’s favorite MBTA story about the men driving the train on the tracks for too much money.

Enjoy!