Looming US Government Shutdown

I just want so badly for each story I hear, each radio or tv blurb to mention that this is THIS YEAR"S BUDGET that LAST YEAR'S CONGRESS didn't get passed, but kicked the can down the road, so we are looking at the 2011 budget in April.

Blame that on the Koch brothers, salad tossers and coffee stains!

Now I have looked and listened for mentions of this fact and have yet to be satisfied. Sure, the commentators are all over it, but as an example, I just want the demon FoxNews to include it in a radio update, since they are so "faux news and uber conservative" and all. I won't hold my breath.

Coffee Party? Really?

Well, I've had some liberal friends (yes, I have friends with whom I disagree politically, it's totally possible and very healthy) that have joined the Coffee Party Movement. I clicked the Facebook link, and yes, it's exactly what I thought, but this wording from the dailykos linked there struck me:

"the movement to counter the Tea Party Movement has grown from an idea of a few progressive friends...."

So wait, a movement (the Tea Partiers) that seeks to emulate and foster the ideals of the founders of our nation, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, etc. that takes all political parties to task as it is not tied to any (although it shares more commonality with one) is something that needs to be countered?

Now, I happen to agree with those that say that our government is too big, doing too much, and that we need to rein in back it quite a bit. I am offended that critics of the Tea Party folks refer to them as "teabaggers" as I know what that means (and am on the verge of calling all progressives "salad tossers") and think it's disgraceful to attack fellow patriotic Americans that way (which is why I have refrained so far with trying to start the "salad tosser" ball rolling :)). Although I have never been to a Tea Party event, I, with my knowledge of American history totally get it and support it. Here's a tip: how much do you pay in Federal Income Tax? Did you know that the straw that broke the camel's back for our founders was a one cent increase in the tea tax? For that final insult, they went to war with the only world superpower of the day?

This idea that a group of people that want a smaller, more representative, less onerous government needs to be countered is disturbing to me, and that people I know agree with that idea is a little disturbing.

Reading the Kos article, it is laughable that this is yet another example of a liberal who just doesn't get it, blaming the ills on the bogeyman "lobbyists" and truly hysterically calling this grass-roots movement "astroturf" in an attempt to steal that term from the conservatives that created it. Funny if it weren't so sad.

One line is all you need to get the total insanity that has gripped the writer: "Most people don't realize that 95% of people actually got a tax cut under Obama." Wow. No taxes have been lowered since Obama became President. None. nada. zippo. zero. Promises have been made, but no tax cuts have been enacted. Tax credits in the Stimulus bill are not tax cuts, moron. Go back and finish 8th grade. I can't believe I even went that far to refute these ravings of a lunatic. Drivel.

Update #1 This isn't drivel. Well done, William A. Jacobson, sir, doing the work that a truly independent Press should be doing.

So, it's actually worse than I thought: these Coffee Stains (I hereby lay claim to that pejorative) are just another arm of the Obama Army, and that is scary. Seriously scary when you look at the attitude of the Kos writer towards Obama's already established arm, so that it now looks to me like deliberate disingenuiousness: more like a bait and switch "leave those liberal groups and join our progressive group!"

Update #2: There is a group on Facebook for the Cocoa Party! Funny stuff right there.