Thursday, March 28, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, March 28, 2013


My America...

Also my America...

(Yeah... don't know if I'll get around to posting much today, or at all over the weekend, so I figure...)

Happy Easter everyone!

Monday, March 25, 2013

Barker's Newsibtes: Monday, March 25, 2013


Update on "da Fetch": Still in the doggy hospital.

Update on me: I may be joining him... this was a "Ted" weekend... I'm still stuff-ed!

Finally... my nephews...

Friday, March 22, 2013

Stein's Law...


When it comes to the way American Higher Education works... 

(Or, rather, often doesn't!)

...something that can't go on forever... won't.

And I'll Drink to This!



Barker's Newsbites: Friday, March 22, 2013


Still no update on "da Fetch."

Growing kinda concerned...

(For those wondering, "da Fetch" is the BEST FRIGGIN' DOG in the whole wide world and as of last night he was undergoing tests at the animal hospital where they're trying to figure out what the hell's wrong with him.)

Do me a favor, folks... say a pray for "da Fetch." (The BIG GUY will know for whom you're praying for...)

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, March 20, 2013


Productive day so far; one ride this morning and upon returning home I designed and ordered new business cards!

Oh... and lunch! Rare Boar's Head Roast Beef on Arthur Avenue Bread with Stilton Cheese and also English Coastal Cheddar! (And, yeah... plenty of Hellmann's!) 

And now for a bit of blogging before heading off to the gym for my cardio!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., March 16 & 17, 2013


Watch and listen to the lyrics...

Did any of the lyrics strike you particularly...???

How'bout...

"Don't pass the plate, boys...
Don't pass the cup..."

Remember when America wasn't a welfare state... when Americans had pride... when nearly 50,000,000 Americans weren't on food stamps... when a hell of a lot more than half of us paid "our fair share" of federal income taxes - meaning paid at least something in federal income taxes?!

I ran into a public sector union worker the other day who was bitching and moaning that he was being asked to pay part of his health insurance package... contribute to his "benefits."

I told the guy that I wished he were paying 100%... that I wished we were all paying our own damn bills!

This guy looked at me like I was crazy...

(And, again... this guy is actually employed... actually working... a contributing member of society!)

I miss my America, folks. 

Priceless...


Twelve-pack of Magic Hat Heart of Darkness Stout... $12.99

Four-pack of Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Ale... $15.99

Four-pack of Innis & Gunn Aged in Irish Whiskey Barrel Ale... $9.99

Four-pack of Belhaven Scottish Ale in draught cans... $9.99

Six-pack of Woodchuck Barrel Select Limited Release Cider... $11.99

Six-pack of 21st Amendment Prohibition Brewery Bitter American Ale... $10.99

Four "pint" bottles of Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome... $11.96

Bottle deposits... $2.00

Tax... $6.90

Sharing my treasures with my friends on St. Paddy's Day in Pearl River...

PRICELESS...!!!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, March 14, 2013


Courtesy of my friend Maria...

And here's the thing, kids... there really was no "$380" cut; in the real world of government baseline accounting, the "$380" being referenced is wholly theoretical as opposed to actual spending which... goes up.

Yep. Funny video. No argument! But the underlying message is anything but funny...

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

While John Tamny is "disappointed" in Paul Ryan... I'm disgusted...


Well, folks... it's been awhile since I've posted a stand-alone newsbite. 
John Tamny takes on the new "Ryan Plan" and I take on both Tamney and Ryan!

* * * * * *

In a Republican Party that seemingly no longer believes or understands its limited government rhetoric, Rep. Paul Ryan has long been an outlier.



* ONLY IN TERMS OF PR-DRIVEN PUBLIC PERCEPTION...



Much like his late mentor, Jack Kemp, Ryan has always given the impression that he supports light taxation, limited government and stable money values precisely because they would do the most to lift the economic chances of those least well to do.



* YEP. THE KEY WORD THERE BEING "IMPRESSION."



That's why Ryan's latest budget proposal is such a disappointment.



* OH, PLEEEAAASE! ONLY TO THE GULLIBLE! RYAN IS A FAKE, PHONY FRAUD. PERIOD.



In proclaiming that his plan will balance revenues and spending by 2023, it's apparent that Ryan's lost the reformist fire that used to set him apart from his fellow Republicans.



* FRANKLY... I DON'T KNOW WHICH RYAN... THE RYAN OF WHICH YEARS... HE'S TALKING ABOUT. ANYONE WHO ACTUALLY PAYS ATTENTION KNOWS THAT RYAN HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN THE POCKET OF BOEHNER AND THE RINO LEADERSHIP. HE'S THE HOUSE VERSION OF SENATOR TOM COBURN - TALKS A GOOD GAME BUT WHEN ONE DELVES INTO THE DETAILS...



(*SHRUG*)



In promising to balance the federal budget, Ryan has very much made plain that he's given up any pretense of shrinking the burden that is government.



(*NOD*)



To understand why, it has to be remembered that there's nothing "small government" about balanced budgets. This is particularly true in the United States.



* AMEN!



Thinking about the U.S. (and Ryan no doubt knows this well), Americans are easily some of the most productive people on earth. Because they are, and because their private output is enormous, the federal government collects gargantuan sums on an annual basis thanks to its power to tax.



Ryan observes that his budget "returns government to its proper limits and focus," but even he must have chuckled when he typed out what is so plainly untrue.



When we consider how very limiting is our founding document, the Constitution, it's surely laughable that Ryan's 10-year, $41 trillion dollar budget will return government "to its proper limits and focus." More likely it's the opposite, particularly when we consider that Ryan is in no way talking about reducing annual federal spending.



* ONE... MORE... TIME...



... Ryan is in no way talking about reducing annual federal spending.



(*SPITTING ON THE GROUND*)



Instead, and this is typical of Washington budgeting, Ryan's merely talking about reductions in planned increases in federal spending.



(Or, as he puts it, "On the current path, spending will increase by 5% each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4%.")



* DOUCHE BAG...



Taking this further, would readers prefer annual deficits of $500 billion on $1 trillion in spending, or a balanced federal budget of $4.1 trillion in 2023 as Ryan promises? The answer should be obvious, but if it's not, the deficit-infused $1 trillion dollar budget is the one that would make us much better off economically.



* WHILE I SEE THE AUTHOR'S POINT, BOTH SCENARIOS ARE DISASTROUS. I FEAR VIOLENCE IS THE ONLY ANSWER.



Indeed, lost on the deficit worriers is the simple truth that a dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Deficits aren't the problem, but the level of federal spending is.



* NO... BOTH ARE THE PROBLEM!



Whether we're financing deficit spending or paying for it all with incoming federal revenues is of no economic consequence; the real burden being the dollars taxed or borrowed to fund that which is unproductive and that exists at the expense and often to the detriment of the profit-disciplined private sector.



* THIS IS WHERE THE AUTHOR - JOHN TAMNY - LOSES ME. DEBT MATTERS! DEFICIT MATTER! OR... TO BE MORE PRECISE... UNSUSTAINABLE AND UNREPAYABLE DEBTS AND DEFICIT MATTER - AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NO MATTER WHAT SORTS OF ROSY SCENARIOS WE PLUG INTO OUR EQUATIONS!



* FOLKS... IT'S CALLED LIVING WITHIN ONE'S MEANS... AND, YES, I'LL EVEN TOSS IN LIVING WITHIN ONE'S LIFETIME EXPECTED MEANS! (THUS... WE BORROW FOR COLLEGE... WE BORROW FOR A HOME... BUT WE ONLY BORROW WHAT WE CAN REASONABLY EXPECT TO PAY BACK IN THE FUTURE!)



[Ryan apologists apparently believe] that the days of small government are over and that Ryan's doing the best he can in consideration of a federal government no longer limited by the Constitution.



* AND IT IS TRUE... THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NO LONGER ALLOWS ITSELF TO BE EFFECTIVELY LIMITED BY THE CONSTITUTION.



Ryan apologists would add that even under his existing proposal he'll be pilloried by lefty politicians and their media enablers as the ultimate Austerian; stingily taking away Grandma's healthcare.



* AGAIN... GRANTED...



Of course... the latter explains why Ryan should have gone for broke, and actually proposed shrinking the size of the federal government.



* YES...!!!



Indeed, as evidenced by the false adjectives that will be attached to Ryan's budget no matter its size, the traditional media were and are going to attack him. That being the case, Ryan should have proposed something that's actually meaningful when it comes to shrinking our federal burden.



* YES...!!!



The traditional media would [still] hit him hard, much as they're doing now, but in proposing real cuts Ryan would have ensured a real debate about the proper role of government.



(Also, it must be remembered that the mainstream or traditional media we've long known is not the powerful force that it once was. Thanks to the internet, Americans are not as a reliant anymore on traditional sources for their news. While the New York Times would and will report negatively on any Paul Ryan budget, Americans are less and less reliant on the Times for analysis of matters political and economic.)



* IN OTHER WORDS, THE COWARDLY SCUM RUNNING THE GOP COULD ACTUALLY WIN THE DEBATE IF ONLY THEY WERE WILLING TO HAVE IT!



Ryan surely knows that it's heavy government spending that represents austerity and slow growth, while lower spending represents a reduction in the certain economic burden that is our federal government.



* RYAN HAS POWER, PRESTIGE, AND MONEY... HE'S BEEN CAPTURED. WHAT HE ACTUALLY BELIEVES IS IRRELEVANT.



If Republicans, and in particular Paul Ryan, can't make the latter case, then welcome to the minority.



* YEP. THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THE GOP WILL LOSE THE HOUSE AFTER THE 2014 ELECTION.



Put simply, Republicans will never win the battle over who can best redistribute wealth. On the other hand, they can win the argument if they use history and logic to explain to the voters that the federal government is their burden in terms of lower wages and reduced job opportunities.



* BUT THEY WON'T.



(*SHRUG*)



Paul Ryan surely understands this, and that's why his federal government expanding ‘balanced budget' is such a disappointment.


* AGAIN... I SEE NO VIABLE SOLUTION OTHER THAN VIOLENCE... AND I DON'T SEE VIOLENCE AS A VIABLE SOLUTION. CATCH-22. WE'RE SCREWED. OUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS ARE REALLY SCREWED!

Barker's Newsbites: Wednesday, March 13, 2013


In fact... it was a little bit frightening!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Monday, March 11, 2013


Shirley Crabbe...

Wow... huh?

I attended high school with Shirls. On Saturday Mary and I went to see Shirley perform at the Old '76 House in Tappan with Jim West accompanying her on piano.

What a talent! This girl... this woman... is a star!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Weekend Newsbites: Sat. & Sun., March 9 & 10, 2013


Friggin' hicks in Orange County...

(*GNASHING MY TEETH*)

(*SLAMMING MY FIST ON THE DESK TOP*)

So... beautiful day... for breakfast a slice of cold leftover pizza - extra cheese and onion; then off to Body Pump Class at the gym.

After an outstanding workout and a refreshing shower my body craves... BEER!

But not just any beer!

My body craves 21st Amendment Brewery's "Bitter American" session ale.

(Thanks be to "He Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned" for introducing me to this PERFECT post-workout brew!)

Folks... it comes in a can... and there's a MONKEY IN A SPACESUIT on the can...!!!

So... there's a (supposed!) beer store in Monroe. I drive there. No cans of beer with monkeys in spacesuits!

Then... I drive further northwest... to Chester, NY; again.... NO FRIGGIN' SPACESUITED MONKEYS...!!!

My friends... I am a bitter Amerrican. Perhaps I'm THE bitter American. But can you honestly blame me...???

I live in a nation where beer stores within a 60 mile radius of midtown Manhattan don't have the beer I want!

Luckily... on the way home... one of my favorite songs came on the radio.

I suppose... I'll just have to carry on...

Friday, March 8, 2013

Time for a Drink...


Yeah... consider this a pseudo-tweet... or perhaps the equivalent of  a Facebook posting... but it's Friday... I've shoveled out Hank and cleaned his space... IT'S DRINKIN' TIME...!!!

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, March 8, 2013


Ya never know what you're gonna be exposed to here at Usually Right...

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Thursday, March 7, 2013


Somebody loves yours truly!

How do I know...? Well... I've received an anonymous gift in the mail - a subscription to "Draft: Life on Tap," addressed to... Big Bill!

(*HUGE FRIGGIN' GRIN*)

Joey Baby... was this you...?

Jonathan...???

Carl...???

You "Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned?"

Well, whomever set me up... thank you! 

And now... on to today's newsbiting!

Monday, March 4, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Monday, March 4, 2013


Sorry for no weekend newsbites; it was a busy weekend!

Today's better...

(You guys know that my nephews have played with the Bangles, right? Opened for them on tour and recorded with them!)


Friday, March 1, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Friday, March 1, 2013


Busy day...

Soon off to pick up "He Whose Name Dare Not Be Mentioned" at the airport...

Then tonight a wake for a friend's mom who passed after a long illness.

Anyway... in honor of Lent...