Fun With Dick & Jane

Dick and I had vastly different agendas today. He wanted to talk about Sarah Palin. He’d received an email from the MIA Father Peter who had written that the Oprah interview “was a disaster”. I saw the Oprah interview, and missed the disaster. I was disappointed that the interview was all fluff and no policy, but that was Oprah’s choice.

We then went on to the MA Senate race. Dick has decided to vote for Steve Pagluica who is in a 3 way race for the democrat nomination with Martha Coakley and Mike Capuano. His reasoning is that Pagluica is not an incumbent. He’s in a “throw the bums out” frame of mind.

We went on to the decision to try KSM in New York Federal Court, the attempt to quash the Congressional investigation into Fort Hood, and the current state of denial by this administration about the war on terror.

We talked about the errors in the government reporting on the stimulus bill. The government has reported millions of dollars creating hundreds of jobs in congressional districts that do not exist. It’s a joke. Interestingly, there is not one error on the side of under reporting either money or a job.

We talked about Geithner’s newly discovered overpayments to Wall Street firms while he served as the head of the Fed in NY, and the general state of the economy. The question is whether this can be sufficiently swept under the rug so that Geithner survives.

Joe (next door) wanted us to talk about the President’s waist deep bow to the emperor of Japan, the suicide Chicago’s school superintendent (who was a big part of the “let’s make money off the Olympics” team, moving GITMO to Illinois and the unconcession of Doug Hoffman in NY 23.

Enjoy!

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!

We start today with MA Governor Deval Patrick, who Dick is not thrilled with; then move on to the stimulus bill and President Obama’s first press conference. I get in the mandatory disgust about pork, the medical provisions stuck in the so-called stimulus bill, and the wrestling of the census from the Commerce Department to the White House. Meanwhile we watch the market crash in reaction to the Geithner speech.

Dick then talks about a proposed fiat by the Massachusetts Speaker of the House who is introducing legislation to prohibit the elected leadership in Massachusetts to serve “in leadership” after indictment. (I kid you not)

That leads us to talk about how pols protect each other, regardless of party, and how we really need to throw the bums out. We end with Dick’s usual rant about Sarah Palin, who I am convinced he has a crush on.

I HEREBY propose three amendments to President Obama’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” now pending in the Senate.

First:  Term limits: Since most of our elected officials appear to be crooks, let’s limit the time they can steal from us to two terms.  At the same time let’s ban legacy seats.    If  you die in office (or become VP) your spouse or offspring is limited to the remainder of your two terms in the same seat.

Second:  Deficit Reduction: After every election require every candidate and elected official to turn over any unused donations to the treasury to be used against the deficit.  Pay off the debt and level the playing field at the same time!

Third:  Mandatory Audits: Audit every elected official’s tax returns from the day they took office with no exception.  Double interest and fees on any back taxes owed.    If more than one “mistake” is found, the elected official is disqualified from serving and must relinquish their office immediately.

Voila!  I predict that within 60 days, the deficit is reduced, the economy is stimulated and we have a whole new crop of politicians stealing from the taxpayer.