-- Scotts Contracting - StLouis Renewable Energy: Democrats

Search This Blog

Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts

5.27.2012

America First before Politics


America First before Politics


While listening to the Interview by FAREED ZAKARIA who was interviewing Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.  I was pleasantly suprised that Simpson had the guts to put America First before Politics. (emphasis added by Scotty)

At the start of the Interview he got my full attention when he called himself a "R.I.N.O. ...which means a Republican in name only because I guess of social views perhaps or common sense would be another one which seems to escape members of our party". (Its a great lesson for all of the Republicans in Office).

I admired Mr Simpsons- frankness in why the Republicans and Democrats are causing the turmoil that is hampering the rebound of the US economy .  I especially appreciated his direct comment on Re-Election when he said:

" if (Re-Election)..." means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we're in extremity, you shouldn't even be in Congress.
He continues on to discuss the economy and progress needed to ensure continued growth.  
You can't cut spending your way out of this hole. You can't grow your way out of this hole and you can't tax your way out of this hole "Put that in your pipe and smoke it,"
To  bring about the progress that is needed to fix our economy while lowering our US Debt all Parties must be involved in solutions and learn how compromise is not always a bad thing.
"if you want to be in politics, you learn to compromise and you learn to compromise an issue without compromising yourself.

Show me a guy who won't compromise and I'll show you a guy with rock for brains."
Truelly pointing out that the lack of Partinanship is not helping the economy.

Mr Erskine Bowles then went on with the interview and pointed out his thoughts on where the economy was headed

If we have a negative effect of 2 percent of GDP, we'll be right back in recession and you better believe that the people of America will be calling on these members of Congress to do something.

So we think something will happen in the lame duck session. We believe it'll probably be a two-step process where we end up setting up a framework with a time-frame in order to get something done. ZAKARIA: Boy, that's pretty optimistic.

Lame Duck Session? What are they talking about.  We need Compromises ASAP.  What happened to the American Way of:

Everybody pitching in to do their part for the benefit of all?


Granted we Americans are a tuff nut and can handle anything thrown our way.  But what in the hell is wrong with our Elected Officials when they have to go behind the scenes and enact legislation during "Lame Duck Sessions".   



  • Do we really need to wait 6 blessed months for progress?   


  • Further Example of how the GOP is truely "Out of Touch" with Mainstream America.

If you too are tired of the Politics of the USA.  


Join me in voting a Democratic Ticket in the upcoming election.


My Best to You and Yours,
Scotty 

Helpfull Web Links:


Article transcripts to follow- supplied by CNN from the following listed web sites.




Twitter         ----    Find Me   ---         Facebook



FAREED ZAKARIA GPSInterview with Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles; Panel Discusses Presidential Politics
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2012.05.27.html http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1205/27/fzgps.01.htmlIn 2010, President Obama challenged the bipartisan duo to chair a commission to develop policies to bring America back to fiscal sustainability and they did. Many powerful Washingtonians on both sides of the fence applauded the proposal from the two chairs, but nobody ever did anything about it and this week, the dangerous carping over the debt limit began anew.
  1. Who better to talk about this than Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles who are joining me now from North Carolina?
  1. Thank you so much for joining me, folks.
  1. ALAN SIMPSON, FORMER WYOMING SENATOR: It's a pleasure.
  1. ERSKINE BOWLES, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Great to be here.
  1. Senator Simpson, you've seen what's been going on these last few months. The House actually voted on the Simpson-Bowles proposal and it went down decisively.
  1. Paul Ryan, the leader of the House on fiscal issues, I suppose, said that Simpson-Bowles was the wrong way to go because there weren't enough spending cuts and there were too many tax increases.
  1. What was your reaction? That's your party.
  1. SIMPSON: Well, I think my party and I have different views on a lot of things. I guess I'm known as a "
  2. rhino" now, which means a Republican in name only because I guess of social views perhaps or common sense would be another one which seems to escape members of our party.
  1. Abortion is a horrible thing, but, for heaven's sakes, a deeply intimate and personal decision and men legislators shouldn't even vote on it. Gay-lesbian issues, we're all human beings. We're all God's children. What is that?
  1. And for heaven's sakes, you have Grover Norquist wandering the Earth in his white robes saying that if you raise taxes one penny, he'll defeat you. He can't murder you, he can't burn your house, the only thing he can do to you, as an elected official, is defeat you for reelection.
  1. And
  2. if that means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we're in extremity, you shouldn't even be in Congress.
  1. ZAKARIA: But talk about Ryan particularly, because what I'm struck by is the Simpson-Bowles plan calls for an awful lot of spending cuts and, yet, those weren't enough.
  1. SIMPSON: Well, Erskine can tell you we don't call for --
  2. You can't cut spending your way out of this hole. You can't grow your way out of this hole and you can't tax your way out of this hole "Put that in your pipe and smoke it," we tell these people.
  1. This is madness. If you want to be a purest, go somewhere on a mountain top and praise the east or something, but
  2. if you want to be in politics, you learn to compromise and you learn to compromise an issue without compromising yourself. Show me a guy who won't compromise and I'll show you a guy with rock for brains.
  1. ZAKARIA: Erskine, you're hopeful. You think that some of the ideas gaining fraction and, you know, there's a kind of inevitability if you're going to do this, there has to be some approach that's pretty close to what you're describing.
  1. BOWLES: Fareed, I believe the markets will force us to. I've spent my life in the markets, as you know, and look at what's happening at the end of the year.
  1. We have about $7 trillion worth of economic events that are happening. We have expiration of the Bush tax cuts, we have the patch that's been placed on the alternative minimum tax that'll affect so many middle-class taxpayers, we have the payroll tax deduction that's expiring.
  1. We have these senseless, mindless, across-the-board cuts that come from the sequester that comes as a result of a failed super committee. You know, all of those are hitting at once and the economic effect of those just next year, about 2 percent of GDP.
  1. If we have a negative effect of 2 percent of GDP, we'll be right back in recession and you better believe that the people of America will be calling on these members of Congress to do something.
  1. So
  2. we think something will happen in the lame duck session. We believe it'll probably be a two-step process where we end up setting up a framework with a time-frame in order to get something done.
  1. ZAKARIA: Boy,
  2. that's pretty optimistic.
  1. BOWLES: And don't forget it doesn't have to be exactly what the Simpson-Bowles plan has, but it's got to be a balanced plan. You've got to have some small amount of revenue that comes from reforming the tax code and there's broad agreement that the tax code needs to be reformed.
  1. So I believe that you will find -- if, in fact, we can get the right kind of momentum going, I think I'll find strong support. We've been working with 47 members of the Senate, an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, the same kind of group in the House of Representatives.
  1. And I believe these -- this group will come together during the lame duck to put forward a plan like this. Now, I don't think the plan itself will be implemented during the lame duck, but I think there will be an agreement that we have to do some kind of balanced plan.
  1. If we don't, then I think you will see the markets really take a really adverse look at the country and I think you'll see us lose another downgrade in our credit and I think you'll see interest rates pop up and, before long, you'll see the availability of credit lessen. So I think we could have a real problem if we don't do something and do something relatively quick.
  1. SIMPSON: And you know who will get hurt the worst in that process when interest rates go up and inflation kicks in, the little guy, the one that everybody on their hind legs talks about, "We're doing this for the little guy, the most vulnerable, the unfortunate." Well, Merry Christmas, those guys are going to get eaten when interest rates and inflation kicks in.
  1. ZAKARIA: Gentlemen, stay with us. When we come back, we're going to ask Senator Simpson and Erskine Bowles what they think of President Obama's leadership on this issue, what they think of Mitt Romney and there'll be a few other things as well.
  1. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
  1. ZAKARIA: And we are back with Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the authors of the Simpson-Bowles plan for a rare opportunity to have a conversation.
  1. Senator Simpson, I want to ask you -- I want to ask both of you, but I want to ask you what you think of President Obama's embrace of your plan or lack thereof.
  1. And I'm going to start by asking you -- just bear with me because I talked to him in January, mostly about foreign policy, but I did ask him about Simpson-Bowles. And he probably got -- this got him more agitated than at any point in our conversation.
  1. This is what he said. He said, "I've got to tell you most of the people who say it if you ask them, "What's in Simpson-Bowles," they couldn't tell you. First of all, I did embrace Simpson-Bowles. I'm the one who created the commission. If I hadn't pushed it wouldn't have happened because the Congressional sponsors, including a whole bunch of Republicans, walked away."
  1. "The basic premise of Simpson-Bowles was we have to take balanced approach in which we have spending cuts and we have revenue increases. And although I did not agree with every particular thing that was in it, what I did do is take the framework and present a balanced plan of entitlement changes, discretionary cuts, went ready to make a deal."
  1. "I presented this plan three times to Congress. The core of Simpson-Bowles, the idea of a balanced deficit reduction plan, I have consistently argued for, presented to the American people, presented to Congress."
  1. Is that fair?
  1. SIMPSON: Well, he does get a little testy and we all get a little testy, but the president -- I wouldn't have done this if I didn't regard him as our president. I accept that. He's my president, too. And it's ugly stuff out there.
  1. There's a lot of hatred in the world, hatred toward politicians, hatred toward the president, hatred toward Democrats, hatred toward Republicans, but I can tell you this. If he had embraced our plan, he would have been ripped to shreds.
  1. Erskine can tell you a little more. He visited with him personally alone for an hour-and-a-half, but he would have been ripped by the Democrats saying, "Why you rotten -- you're digging into the precious, precious Medicare."
  1. And the Republicans would have rejected -- if he'd embraced the Republicans, en mass, in the House would have rejected it. So, either way he's going to get hammered so he's playing the waiting game.
  1. ZAKARIA: Erskine, a lot of economic experts say, look, the right solution for the United States right now is obvious, which is you need some stimulus now, particularly given the very low interest rates, the very high levels of unemployment in the construction sector.
  1. The government should spend some money repairing and rebuilding the infrastructure, but that would only be viable and particularly something the markets would celebrate if it was tied to a long-term deficit reduction plan like Simpson-Bowles.
  1. Do you buy that basic idea that if your plan were adopted as a ten-year plan, it actually gives the U.S. government some leeway to make some necessary investments now?
  1. BOWLES: Yes, I truly believe that the only thing standing between the U.S. and sustainable growth is having a sensible, responsible, long-term fiscal plan. I believe if the world believed that we were going to put our fiscal house in order that you would see substantial economic growth in the future.
  1. But, again, I got back to what's happening at the end of this year. We have $7 trillion worth of economic events that are going to hit the fan in December.
  1. And if we don't set up to them -- if we don't stand up for them and we don't do the right thing, if Congress doesn't act, it doesn't put this partisanship aside and doesn't make some compromise, you'll have a negative impact on GDP next year of at least 2 percent. That doesn't make any sense.
  1. ZAKARIA: Alan, what do you make of Mitt Romney? Romney's first ads are out and when he says, on day one what is he going to do and he says he's going to approve the Keystone Pipeline, fine. But then he says and, then, we're going to have tax cuts.
  1. This has, of course, been the, you know, kind of a Republican strategy for a while. Do you think -- given what you're describing, I can't imagine you think day one what a Republican president should do is propose tax cuts?
  1. SIMPSON: Well, I wouldn't have voted for him if I'd have been in Congress. How could you vote for a tax cut when you were doing two wars on the cheap? You had two wars you were fighting. You had things that were -- the government -- all the income from the government was only taking care of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and you do a tax cut.
  1. Every time there was a surplus and the last time was when this fine gentleman was doing it in '96, you can't get there. But you don't have to do a tax cut, get that out of your gourd. You go into the tax expenditures and start knocking that stuff off and that's where you get your revenue.
  1. BOWLES: Fareed, we have the most inefficient, ineffective, globally anti-competitive tax code that man could dream up and what we need to do is broaden the base, simplify the code, use -- get rid of this spending in the tax code and use about 90 percent of the money to reduce income tax rates for everybody and use about 10 percent of the money to reduce this deficit.
  1. You know if you think about the debt today and the interest on the debt, it's kind of -- you know and put it in relationship to something else, we spend about $230, $240 billion a year on interest on the debt today even at these current low rates.
  1. Fareed, that is more than we're spending today at the Department of Commerce, Energy, Education, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice and State combined. And if we don't do anything, if we just, you know, put our heads in the sand and hope things will get better, we'll be spending over a trillion dollars on interest by the year 2020.
  1. That's a trillion dollars we can't spend on this country on education or infrastructure or high valued-added research. And worst of all, it's a trillion dollars we will be spending principally in Asia to educate their kids and to build their infrastructure and to do high value-added research over there so that the next new thing is created there and the jobs of the future are there not here. That's crazy.
  1. ZAKARIA: All right, final question. Erskine, there are rumors in Washington that President Obama has asked you whether you would be interested in being the Secretary of Treasury. Do you have a comment?
  1. BOWLES: He hasn't asked me to be Secretary of Treasury for sure.
  1. ZAKARIA: If he were to ask you, would you accept?
  1. BOWLES: No, I'm living in North Carolina and that's where I want to live. I'm the happiest in my whole life, Fareed.
  1. ZAKARIA: Gentlemen, pleasure to have you.
  1. SIMPSON: I would just say we -- all we do, Erskine and I, is math. We don't do Power Points. We don't know charts. We do math, but we don't do BS or mush so join us.
  1. ZAKARIA: Maybe what we should try and get -- and do is for the first time in the history of the republic, have co-Secretaries of the Treasury, one Republican and one Democrat. SIMPSON: Boy, if we could get our hands on that script.
  1. BOWLES: I don't want a job, thank you.
  1. ZAKARIA: Thank you very much, gentlemen.
  1. SIMPSON: Thank you.
  1. BOWLES: Thank you
  2. .







5.18.2011

Share Ideas with Sen Claire McCaskill-May 25-2011

 "Kitchen Table Talk" in St. Louis at the St. Louis Public Library - Buder Branch (4401 Hampton Avenue) from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this meeting is to reach out to you, to listen to your thoughts and ideas about federal policies and legislation and to take them back to the Senator.
 ______
Dear St Louis Renewable Energy Readers,
My name is Brendan Fahey and I am a staff member for U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill. On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, on behalf of the Senator, I will be hosting a "Kitchen Table Talk" in St. Louis at the St. Louis Public Library - Buder Branch (4401 Hampton Avenue) from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this meeting is to reach out to you, to listen to your thoughts and ideas about federal policies and legislation and to take them back to the Senator.
These "Kitchen Table Talks" also serve, in part, to inform you of the services that are available through Senator McCaskill's regional offices. The Senator's staff throughout the state are able to assist you on a range of federal government issues. If you are currently having an issue with a federal agency, I will be happy to discuss that with you and put you in touch with the member of the Senator's staff best suited to help with your issue.
Should you have any questions, please contact me at Brendan_Fahey@mccaskill.senate.gov or by calling (314) 367-1364. I hope you will be able to join me in St. Louis on May 25th.
Sincerely,

4.13.2011

Politician Joke

Diapers and Politicians should be changed often, both for the same reason- EDs Rentals
Diapers and Politicians should be changed often, both for the same reason- EDs Rentals
Shared via Facebook

4.10.2011

Help Create Jobs Now-Legislative Movement

As the 27393rd person to sign this petition, you are helping us reach our goal of 30000 signatures.

Dear Scotts Contracting,

Thank you for signing our "Create Jobs Now" petition at:
http://www.democrats.com/create-jobs-now



You can help make this petition a success by sharing this petition with your friends and family. Petitions will succeed only by word of mouth, and every signature makes a difference! Forward our sample email below, or simply send
your friends this link: http://www.democrats.com/create-jobs-now

Thank you again for making a difference!

Bob Fertik
Democrats.com

=======Please forward to friends==============

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the petition: "Create Jobs Now"

Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. Please sign here:
http://www.democrats.com/

Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.

Thank you!

Scotts Contracting,

Democrats.com





--

Scott's Contracting


Green Me UP-Scotty
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

11.20.2010

Democrats Cling to Possibility of smaller Renewable Energy Bills

Democrats Cling to Possibility of RES Bill This Session, Prepare for Next Year

Nov 18, 2010 New York Times
KATHERINE LING of Greenwire
Key Senate Democrats continue to hope they can pass a renewable electricity standard and other smaller energy bills this year despite the dwindling time and interest in the lame-duck session.

Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and other lawmakers have been talking with one another and leadership this week on how to move several pieces of energy legislation in the remaining time and with a schedule crowded with expiring income tax cuts, appropriations and a Russian nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) inflicted a severe blow for action on an RES or other energy issues when he decided this week not to proceed on a procedural vote for a natural gas and electric vehicle incentives measure yesterday, the only obviously germane bill on energy issues scheduled for floor time in the lame-duck session (E&E Daily, Nov. 17).
But Dorgan said yesterday that Reid's decision was not "the last chance" for energy this year.

"I remain very hopeful that we can have a chance to get the natural gas piece, the electric vehicle ... as well as the RES," Dorgan said. "I just had some discussions on the floor. ... We're still working" on the RES, he said.

Bingaman, the main author of the RES bill said that while he did not have the 60 co-sponsors needed to end debate and pass the measure yet, it was still a top priority for him. "We're still waiting to see what the majority leader decides," he said yesterday.

Reid withdrew the natural gas and electric vehicle bill to increase chances of passing it later in the session, according to a Reid aide. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a former co-sponsor of the bill, echoed those sentiments yesterday.
Hatch told reporters he wants the bill to be considered in the lame-duck session and that he might be open to attaching a set of expired energy tax incentives to the measure. Hatch withdrew his sponsorship of the bill because it increased the fee for the oil spill liability trust fund as an offset.

"Tax extenders -- we need to do that ... it's possible," Hatch said. "But I don't want anything to get in the way of the natural gas bill."

Hatch said the bill was critical to begin addressing the nation's dependence on foreign oil. He said he did not have an alternative suggestion to offset the approximately $5 billion bill yet.

Foundations for next year

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said while he did not think an RES bill or any other energy issues "will come up" in the Senate in the lame duck, he and several other senators, including John Kerry (D-Mass.), were taking the time now to plan new legislation to address these issues in the next session.
"We hope maybe we can build a broader base of support for American energy independence legislation, which also effectively is climate change," he said.

Lieberman, Kerry, and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)and Tom Carper (D-Del.) -- "who would be a good bridge builder for us" -- met earlier this week to plot a new course to address energy and climate issues from scratch, Lieberman said.

"Cap and trade is off the table. ... I think we are starting anew," Lieberman said. "We have to start on the presumption that the table is clean, that nothing is on it."

"My own feeling is some of us who met [Tuesday] should sit down with a group of Republicans who are at all interested in energy independence legislation and start saying, 'OK last year we battled each other. Now what can we agree on to make some progress here?'" he said.

Lieberman suggested Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is still interested in working on a bill, despite walking away from negotiations on climate change legislation earlier this year. Other GOP senators who might want to work on a bill could be Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Bob Corker of Tennessee or Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, assuming she wins her re-election, he said.

Lieberman said he has also had a brief floor discussion with Alexander about working on an air pollution bill next year to address the regulation of four main pollutants: NOx, SO2, mercury and CO2.

Reporter Katie Howell contributed.
Copyright 2010 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.
For more news on energy and the environment, visit www.greenwire.com.
Greenwire is published by Environment & Energy Publishing.


--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com

Connect with Scotts Contracting

FB FB Twitter LinkedIn Blog Blog Blog Blog Pinterest

Featured Post

Misc Tools, Truck, For Sale

$2,000 obo 97 Nissan Pickup 4wd AC 4cyl 5speed New Clutch / Pressure Plate, Plugs, Wires, Rotor, Dist Cap, Door Locks w/ Keys  Front Clip su...