JPB

Links that I tweeted (from @justinbarbour) today!

• Judge who is facing impeachment for, among other things, giving the finger to an attorney, pledges that he has changed: http://on.wsj.com/jB7fzo.
• President Obama on Alabama tornadoes: ‘I’ve never seen devastation like this’: http://j.mp/ki7C4a.
• Superman threatens to renounce US citizenship: http://j.mp/mjEsKH. 
• Julia Gillard to meet the Queen: http://j.mp/jJkpvq.
• Gay Rights, the Legal Profession and the House Republican’s Desire to Defend [the] Defense of Marriage Act: http://j.mp/j3HNfz.
• The Question: Is Australia too big for a high-speed rail network? http://j.mp/kWjdhR.
• Governor Jerry Brown cancels plan for fancy new death row in California: http://j.mp/l6Upz8.
• Cursive writing will never die, so we might as well teach it in school: http://j.mp/kV9lQI.
• A look at how graduate outcomes are (inaccurately) reported: http://j.mp/mjqnoV.
• Sharon Angle returns, this time as a House candidate: http://bit.ly/iNWG6s.
• The S.C. GOP will not allow the first openly gay candidate to be in the debate because he does not meet a filing requirement: http://bit.ly/lo4VED.
• Poll finds that self-identified conservatives and liberals agree on one thing: raise taxes on the rich: http://bit.ly/jcsx79.
• The Ugandan Opposition Leader has been arrested, sparking deadly riots: http://bit.ly/lTwtaD.
• Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning will no longer be held in solitary confinement: http://bit.ly/iw5FXN.
• The South Australian MP who is facing child pornography charges is considering taking his seat in Parliament as an Independent: http://bit.ly/k4kucD.
• Tony Crook is considering formally joining the Coalition: http://bit.ly/kxTO52.
• Sarah Palin, on whether she would raise the debt limit: “Hells no!”: http://bit.ly/luioaj.
• The President’s father was forced out of Harvard because they were concerned about his personal life: http://politi.co/kJOdx2.
• The Governor of Indiana intends to sign a Bill that would defund Planned Parenthood: http://bit.ly/kmY0c9.
• Where the Reagan recovery was robust in 1983-4, the President is still facing a sluggish recovery in simular circumstances today: http://bit.ly/mA4J2O.
• Democrats are threatening to join Republicans in refusing to raise the debt limit: http://wapo.st/j0dP72.
• David Letterman might ban Donald Trump from The Late Show unless he is prepared to apologise for his remarks: http://bit.ly/mdPlw4.
• GOP Rep compares unemployed Americans to substance abusers: http://bit.ly/kPUNOF.
• GOP State Rep who called blacks lazy will not be disciplined by her Party: http://bit.ly/iwNr0K.
• Conservatives are, predictably, backtracking from their former #birther claims: http://bit.ly/lKsgl5.
• The strengths and weaknesses of American exceptionalism: http://huff.to/lcCvZl.
• Kevin Rudd was beheaded, and it was all for nothing, writes former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner: http://bit.ly/kZxtht.
• “Abortion and the US debt problem” by @ryanmoore3: http://bit.ly/jY9Xgi.
• Fox Business is still promoting falsehoods about the birthplace of the President: http://bit.ly/kiVwRA.
  
• Mitt Romney’s trouble start to the campaign: http://bit.ly/mLcJ8J.
  
• Prince Charles accuses climate change deniers of playing a “reckless game of roulette” with the planet: http://bit.ly/lawzqb.
  
• Al Gore on the state of the climate change movement, his latest iDevice app, and his new book: http://ti.me/jCkmZ0.
  
• The President has told a college audience that his Administration is still committed to immigration reform: http://reut.rs/mh4aRj.
  
• Did John McCain choose Sarah Palin as his VP nominee because she looks like Tiny Fey? http://bit.ly/kQwgD7

From The Australian:

THE Coalition claims the coming budget deficit will be the worst in Australian history after reports this morning indicated an expected revenue slump would blow the deficit out to roughly $50 billion.     

I hope that Joe Hockey is wrong, and I am aware that it is speculation, but the idea that we are facing the biggest deficit ever is a testament to the fact that the Gillard Government is bad at economic management. But their obsession with Howard Government economics prior to the 2007 Federal Election probably already demonstrates that. “I am a proud economic conservative,” etc. 

I look forward to Wayne Swan handing down the Budget - Let us just hope that he and the Government are able to utter the actual numbers this time. 

I find it interesting that those who seek to diminish the legacy of Ronald Reagan are invariably forced to tell the selective truth because on the whole his Presidency was beneficial to millions across the world. That is all I will say. (For now). 

It was a mistake for the President to release his birth certificate. He has now given legitimacy to a movement that most people within his own Party regarded as completely insane, and by seeking to refute one insane idea, he will now be expected to refute any others. “If he was willing to release his certificate of birth, why doesn’t he give us his academic records?” It will simply never end – These people won’t be satisfied, because they are not advancing a particular theory because they actually believe it. They don’t. They simply do not like the President.

I don’t know why he did it, and I don’t intend to postulate upon matters on which I have absolutely no idea. Only the President and his advisors know why they released it when they did. But I hope that they are prepared for the next onslaught of crazy theories. Because they brought it upon themselves.

From Politics USA:

Glenn Beck has been grumbling about Donald Trump for weeks, and today on his radio show he finally went after Trump by linking him to George Soros. Beck accused Trump of running in the same circles as George Soros, “Donald Trump took investment money from George Soros to build the Trump Tower in Chicago.”

Beck pointed out that Trump hangs out the same circles as Soros, “However they donate to the same candidates and entities such as DSCC. In December 2009, The New York Post mentioned a private party hosted by Nouriel Roubini including Oliver Stone, George Soros, and Donald Trump.” The Beck crew pointed out that Trump keeps interesting company for a Tea Party candidate…Anybody else find it odd that he would say let’s get off of George Soros, because he’s at the money level and power player enough to know how much that kind of money can make a difference.”

I don’t think that anyone will really take Glenn Beck very seriously, and rightly so. The idea that any person who is even remotely connected to George Soros is automatically somehow the “enemy” is not an idea that resonates well with most people.

I believe that Mr Trump will inevitably be judged by the media, and if he runs for President, the electorate, on his merits - and on that alone he will never be President. Whether you consider his complete policy reversals on important issues like healthcare reform and abortion, or his questionable personal life, or the failed businesses that Trump was directly or indirectly involved with, he will simply be too toxic. 

You can tell that the Trump camp is getting desperate given that he has resorted to using anonymous sources, that he supposedly cannot reveal, to make claims such as “the President’s birth certificate does not exist,” and “the President was far too stupid to be elected to an Ivy League institution.” Those are not the views of a serious candidate, and it is my hope that Trump will go away as the short-term spectacle that he is so that the serious contenders can start having real policy debates about the issues that actually matter (in this election, I think, it will be all about the future - how each candidate intends to bring down the staggering debt).

I oppose the Ryan budget proposal for one very simple reason: It does not contain any plans to raise taxes, or end the tax breaks that allow large corporations to get away with paying absolutely no tax to the federal government. This, in my view, is unacceptable. The other issue is that it attacks the safety net of American society – Medicare, Medicaid, and social security. I will write about that later.

The budget deficit this financial year is predicted to exceed $15tn. That’s $15,000,000,000,000. It does not matter to me how the financial position of the greatest nation on Earth got to such a state, nor do I believe that an ideological approach is the best solution (i.e., applying the traditional “raise taxes or reduce spending” formula will not produce the best outcomes).

The “Washington does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem” mantra is a Reagan idea. So, naturally, the GOP is frothing at the mouth in repeating it as much as possible. I believe that this is partly true. But to ignore revenue is to ignore 50% of the problem – How can lawmakers look at only one half of the balance sheet? It does not make sense. It is true that any tax hike will have a negative impact on overall growth – But, the damage that the federal deficit and debt is doing at present is much greater than what a relatively small contraction in growth would do.

The GOP will run their typical “oh no! jobs!” scare campaign. I hope that the Democrats will have enough tenacity to fight the fight that needs to be had – Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire (for everyone) and  end tax breaks that allow the large corporations to get away with paying absolutely nothing in federal taxes. It needs to be done. 

From The Daily Caller:

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal received criticism from [Newt] Gingrich. While the former Speaker of the House credited the House Budget Committee chair’s plan for thinking on the right scale, he noted, “there are details I disagree with. One of them is cutting investment in science and research.”

Gingrich said that Ryan’s intention to reduce science funding was “essentially like saying I want to save money on your car, we’re not going to change the oil. And for about a year I can get away with it. And then the engine will freeze up and we’ll have to replace your engine.

I am extremely pleased to see that a potential GOP candidate is stating his opposition to parts of the Ryan budget proposal. Gingrich, although I believe that he will never be President, is a major player within the GOP and so his approach may influence many others to oppose the plan (either in its entirety, or parts thereof).

I will be interested to hear Gingrich’s views on the major elements of the budget proposal - That is, cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and social security. I hope that he will have the courage to do the right thing and oppose them.