Will Republicans Get Their Act Together?; The Deal Even Obama is Considering; Debt Limit Debate Shows Hypocrisy by All; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Still A Knucklehead; The First Ever "Say What" Award Goes To..?; Those Disgusting Street Cart Vendors

Congress is pledging they will work around the clock until they are absolutely certain they will get nothing done.--Lettermann

• I'm still waiting for one reporter--just one--to ask the President why did he and the Congressional Democrats spend so much time on pushing ObamaKare when their first priority should have been in creating jobs and correcting this economy? The President and Democrats spent the first 14 months of Obama's administration on getting the health care bill passed while totally ignoring a 9-10% unemployment rate at the time (Yes, Jerry, but they did pass a stimulus program, right? That's right they did. And it was bogus and didn't do a damn thing to help correcting the economy. When people have jobs--they usually have some kind of health insurance. And when people have jobs--they pay taxes thereby pumping more revenue into the fed coffers. It's not rocket science).
• You can give the Republicans a plate full of chances, and they will often blow it. If you're a Republican, you have to wonder what the hell these folks are up to. Rich Lowry, National Review, wrote it best in his piece this week, "Calling Bam's Bluff: GOP Is Bumbling Debt Fight." He wrote, "Republican leaders don't know their next move {in the debt ceiling discussions}. To extend the poker analogy, they are all-in with no hand to play." But I have to disagree with him on one point: whether one supports their plans or not, at least the Republicans submitted some plans.
• House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) also had a point. He said of the negotiations with the White House, "Dealing with them the last couple of months has been like dealing with Jell-O."
• Peggy Noonan said it best in her NY Post piece today, "Stop Playing Games With America." She added, "They {legislators} are the system. If it's broken, they're broken, and if they're broken, who needs them?"
• So what deal is now being considered? As of this morning, even the Obama administration is considering the Republican plan. It includes a cut in the 22012 budget by $111 billion. It caps federal spending at 18% of GDP. It would increase the debt limit by $2.4 trillion and it would NOT raise taxes.
• Cartoon from The Times Picayune shows how utterly hypocritical both parties are when it comes to this debt limit issue. Uncle Sam with the following bubbles over his head: In one frame, "We need to assure the world that the U.S. has its financial crisis under control." In frame two, "That when it comes to fiscal responsibility, we mean what we say!" Frame three says, "Therefore, we must raise the debt ceiling..." And the final frame, "For the 75th time since 1962."
• Michelle Malkin had a great piece today where she lists all the bogus claims made by the administration regarding ObamaKare. She lists several stories told by the Obama administration of people who allegedly had run-ins with their insurance carries that resulted in either deaths or serious medical problems. The problem is none of the stories were true.  One case used by the administration was of Otto Raddatz. The Obama administration said he died because his health insurance carrier dropped him due to some medical problems. The truth is he got treatment and lived for nearly 4 more years. Another patient, Robin Beaton, was allegedly dropped because she forgot "to declare a case of acne." She was actually dropped because she failed to disclose a heart condition. And she had her insurance restored anyway. President Obama used his own mother as an example. He said her insurance carrier refused to pay for her treatment because of a pre-existing condition. The truth was the health insurer did reimburse her medical expenses with no objection. Malkin cites several other similar cases of outright lies and exaggerations by the administration.
• "DumbAss Quote of the Week" goes to one of the biggest knuckleheads in Congress--Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. She basically said the criticism of Pres. Obama regarding the budget and debt ceiling is racist. "I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president, only this one--only this one-- has received the kind of attacks and disagreement and inability to work, only this one." Where was she during the 8 years of the shots taken at Pres. Bush? Also, she needs a little history lesson. I would advise her to read what was said when Lincoln was running for president. And more recently, how does this nitwit believe  Obama was elected president? If it was not for the white vote--he would have lost. Mind you this is the same Sheila Jackson Lee who asked a NASA administrator if photos of the place where Neil Armstrong landed on Mars could be sent back. This is the same Sheila Jackson Lee whose office has almost a 200% turnover rate. Gee, one wonders if it's because she called one of her staff a stupid MFer?
• The "Say What? Award" this week goes to Gov. Cuomo (D) of NY State. Cuomo is getting some high praises for his tackling of the dire fiscal issues facing the state. Yet, this week he told the NY Times he thinks the president is doing a good job on the economy. So what's so surprising about this Democrat supporting Pres. Obama? Cuomo has initiated the exact opposite strategy of the Obama administration. Cuomo is cutting taxes and cutting spending. He's also going to institute a property-tax cap.
• "Ford Plans To Hire 7,000 In Next 2 Years," headline appeared in Philadelphia Inquirer today. Ford was the only auto maker who did not take bail-out money from the feds.
• If you happen to be one of those people who likes to eat food from a food cart vendor on the street, you might want to think twice. Violations in NY City alone found many who had bad personnel hygiene (you ever wonder where these people go to the bathroom?); improperly maintained equipment; dirty equipment; cooking food below minimum required temps; food from unapproved or unknown sources and vermin and bugs. These findings are not specific to NY City either (NY Post).