Fun With Dick & Jane

Today’s show was really fun. First of all it was election day – the primary to fill Senator Kennedy’s seat. We predicted Coakley (d) and Brown (r) to win and we were right. Dick then went into campaign mode and made the case for a republican taking the seat. Listening to the rest of the media you would have been hard pressed to know 2 republicans were on the ballot.

Next we moved to Climategate, which I have been talking about for 3 weeks. The story got more complicated right before the broadcast when the UN declared that CO2 is “a danger to human health” thus giving the executive branch the power to regulate without Congress – which of course will be used as leverage to pass Cap and Trade.

We talked a little about health care and then Dick told me something I didn’t know: Apparently the Obama administration threw Deval Patrick under the bus over the weekend. You will have to listen to see how.

Enjoy!

It’s the second installment absolutely no one requested! This time I’m covering –in a wholly untimely fashion– Jane’s comments on the April 15th Tea Parties, Democratic hypocrisy, the CIA torture investigation, Obama & racism, and healthcare. This episode is about twice as long as the first, so if you disliked it, you’re really gonna hate this one a bunch.

Oh, and stay tuned for a full episode of FWDAJ, which I’m editing even as I post this.

Greetings, FWDAJ Fans. I’m Roger, Jane’s long-time friend and occasional political opposite. I promised her months ago that I would try to crank out a (relatively) brief, podcastic response to FWDAJ, and after much procrastination, I’ve finally followed through. Don’t know yet if there are more to come… we’ll see.

Needless to say, it’ll be a bit different than what you’re used to hearing here. Hope it isn’t an overwhelming shock to the system.

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!

It was an interesting hour. Dick managed to filibuster the first ten minutes despite my on-going attempts to chime in, interrupt, knock him out and just generally get a word in edgewise.

Dick complained about labor and I reminded him that Democrats get lots of money from labor so if you want to loosen labor’s grip, stop electing democrats.

We talked about President Obama’s first 50 days. Dick is certainly not defending the president at this point, but assumes some expertise on the president’s part because he wants to get re-elected. I’m of the opinion that incompetence is the order of the day despite any re-election plan.

We talked about the economy, all the spending and the fact that to date the government is costing every household $80,000 – nearly twice the medium income in this country. Both Dick and I believe we should THROW THE BUMS OUT!

Finally we discussed the Governor of Massachusetts latest junket to Jamaica accompanied by a posse of state police (paid for by the taxpayers). Both Dick and I wondered who exactly would recognize Deval Patrick in Jamaica, never mind want to cause him harm

The New Era of Arrogance is simply astounding. Enjoy!

Father Peter Preble substituted for Dick today, and was a great co-host. Father Peter is an Obama voter experiencing some buyer’s remorse. His church will, of course, be affected by the proposed change in the tax code that reduces the deduction for charitable donations.

We talked about the economy, the economy, the economy – taxes, personal responsibility, Rick Santelli’s Tea Party movement, and some local issues.

Enjoy!

The President has pretty much extended the middle finger to those of us who have spent a lifetime living within our means.

The President’s Housing Recovery bill, is a slap in the face to anyone who has spent a lifetime working hard, saving, and going without to attain their piece of the American dream. Clearly the new way to get ahead in this country involves not reading the fine print, living outside your means, and getting to the point where your assets are about to be seized. Without nary as much a nod to the 96% of us who pay our mortgages, the president decided to redistribute our equity to those who who can’t pay theirs. And he did it on a way that doesn’t even require congressional approval.

I wonder if President Obama’s willingness to trash the American dream comes from his background. Our President has very little work experience. He never tended bar to buy his books for college, or waited on tables for money in law school. He’s probably never held a shovel in his hands, or swung a hammer, or loaded boxes on a rig. He had Tony Rezko to pick up the slack in his own real estate venture, which allowed him to buy a home that was beyond his means. He doesn’t seem to know a thing about sweat equity. And he doesn’t have any respect for those of us who do.

Dick begins today’s hour with a swat at MA Governor Deval Patrick’s latest idea which is to implant a GPS chip in everyone’s car inspection sticker to tax us on every mile we drive. Dick than slams Governor Patrick’s choice to spend the state’s Porkulus money, who, Dick believes, has been named to the post to boost his government pension.

Ted Kennedy’s name enters the fray and I ask why MA can’t get past electing Kennedy’s. Dick seems to think it is the pork, while I can’t think of a thing either he or John Kerry has done for the state.

We also talk about Judd Gregg’s departure.

I then bring up the Ted Steven’s trial and suggest that Brenda Morris the prosecutor is being held in contempt of Court because of a report of an inappropriate relationship with a witness. Brenda Morris is being held in contempt of Court (and has now been dismissed by the Obama administration), but is not being accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a witness. The person accused of having the inappropriate relationship with the witness is the FBI agent in charge Mary Beth Kepner. My mistake. Dick doesn’t seem to think it matters if Steven’s was railroaded because he doesn’t like Stevens. I think it matters a lot, whether you like Stevens or not. I also note that if Stevens was still in the Senate, Porkulus would not have passed.

Dick talks about a local story where a prostitute is prosecuted for extortion and he is upset that, ala Spitzer, the john isn’t prosecuted. My ambivalence for the entire incident is apparent.

About a half hour in we get to the Porkulus bill, and Dick asks me to recite the pork. I comply for a while and then go off on President Obama’s doomsday rhetoric and how I think he used the politics of fear to pass the bill. Dick follows with the obligatory Bush bashing.

At this point I lost the recording, but hopefully Roger can put it back together.

Enjoy!

Dick moves to the right in today’s podcast – to the point where by the end of the hour I asked him why he is a democrat.

We talk about Daschle – before he withdraws his nomination, President Obama’s second week in office, Iraq successes, General Petreaus, Obama’s move toward socialism, the bail-out bill, President Obama’s pessimism, and Michael Steele.

Enjoy!