1.Shut it down. (most "core" stuff is still active)
2. See that everything pretty much works (or doesn't work) the same as usual
3. keep it shut down.

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: Ah yes, funny, hahaha...

You KNOW that picture was funny. It was in good taste, and wasn't at all insulting, but meant to be funny.

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: Used to be I'd get all riled up from personal attacks, lol. Gotta have some bit of respect for someone else for their attacks to get under my skin. Not so much anymore. In my old days I considered flooding the forum with political posts, think 400-500 copy-n-paste posts ala Avengador a day, every day, day in and day out. Imagine, go away for an hour and come back to find your last post on page three and fading fast. Two can play the "drown them out with volume if you can't match them with quality" game, hehehe... and there wouldn't have been a darned thing anyone could do about it.

Woah, buddy... the world doesn't revolve around you. When you make a post that makes it to page three without any comments, that's because the post sucks. We've all done it, it doesn't mean the world is plotting against you.

ONCE again, you've turned a completely normal post, into a drawn-out conversation about your problems. Who is the one being childish?

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: If there was some way to filter users like many forums have had to implement to deal with the inevitable problem children it'd be super easy, just click and poof, gone from sight. Alas, the only option offered by Cliff is to filter by topic category and that requires voluntary cooperation by the very problem children that create the need for filtering in the first place. Since the primary goal of the problem children is to have an audience, any audience no matter how unwilling, its inevitable to wind up where we are now.

Don't know if this is obvious to you, but if that feature was here, you'd end up at some point with a forum with no messages, because you'd end up finding out that you have a problem with every single person.

I know you are purposly ignoring me, but I'm really only trying to help you. You're obviously going through some major life change, and I don't think it's for the better. In the past 2-3 months, you've become a very bitter, angry person. I remember your old posts... you had views and opinions as do the rest of us, but you were never like this. I just did a couple of searches of your old post (because I DO care) and think I know what the issue is. I have several friends who also deal with that social condition. Really, I want to be helpful, but you've blocked me, so I have no other choice than to just say it all here. I know you have a hard time understanding some social situations, but there's nothing that says you aren't capable of learning through experience to make up for the lack of inference. No one here hates you, and no one here is "below you" either, even if that might be a defense mechanism you've created. If you want to survive in situations like this, you have to learn to take things in stride. The world will NOT change for you, you have to change yourself. If you don't... you'll never be able to grow, and you'll ALWAYS be miserable.

I'm going through my own changes. Politics, and my views on them, are very important to me. I have strong opinions, and I have a very out-going and aggressive character. I'm a nice guy, never once started a fight, but finished many growing up. But I'm learning... I'm always learning, that you have adapt to every situation if you want to get a long. No one on this message board is at all perfect. Every single one of us has our own issues that we are either dealing with, or have delt with. I don't think you'll find a single guy on here who isn't screwed up in his or her own way, but the sooner we learn to deal with our issues, the better person we become. I grew up with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. I've been told that it is, as your condition is, a part of the autism spectrum. Growing up, I had ADHD bad... I couldn't pay attention, my thougths raced, and I would act out in class, not for attention, but becuase I didn't know how to control all the energy. Despite the excellent opportunities I was given growing up, I screwed up constantly and had horrible grades. It took many, many years of maturity, and compounding wisdom to overcome my attention deficit disorder... but I have. I've learned to deal with it. I graduated in 1996 with a 1.7 GPA in high school. Just 2 weeks ago... I graduated from Barry University with a 3.95 GPA, Summa Cum Laude, Presidents List every semester, and was nominated for the Dean's Award (I might end up getting it, graduation isn't until May) which is the Valedictorian of the school. I can't tell you how difficult it was. I would pick up a text book, read pages and pages, and not have a single clue what I just read. I would have instead been thinking about Fieros, boobs, whatever else. But I forced myself... and I've learned to "hyper-focus" on things which allows me to overcome my ADD. I'm no longer hyper, and I don't take any medications, but I believe that has more to do with maturity and growing up. We are all constantly "growing up" but the direction you've taken the past couple of months (more so than over the past 8 years) are not healthy... despite what you might be inferring, we don't hate you here... you're a brethren, and you've helped many of us (including myself) with car advice.

You need to chill out, re-evaluate how you handle these situations, and learn from them. Personally, I would have preferred to send this in PM becuase I don't think the whole internet needs to know I graduated from HS with a 1.7, or that I had ADD... but never the less, here it is.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: I know you are purposly ignoring me, but I'm really only trying to help you. You're obviously going through some major life change, and I don't think it's for the better. In the past 2-3 months, you've become a very bitter, angry person. I remember your old posts... you had views and opinions as do the rest of us, but you were never like this. I just did a couple of searches of your old post (because I DO care) and think I know what the issue is. I have several friends who also deal with that social condition. Really, I want to be helpful, but you've blocked me, so I have no other choice than to just say it all here. I know you have a hard time understanding some social situations, but there's nothing that says you aren't capable of learning through experience to make up for the lack of inference. No one here hates you, and no one here is "below you" either, even if that might be a defense mechanism you've created. If you want to survive in situations like this, you have to learn to take things in stride. The world will NOT change for you, you have to change yourself. If you don't... you'll never be able to grow, and you'll ALWAYS be miserable.

Well said sir. I actually like the guy. I have met him a time or two. James IS a class act.
Let's show some class James.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Woah, buddy... the world doesn't revolve around you. When you make a post that makes it to page three without any comments, that's because the post sucks. We've all done it, it doesn't mean the world is plotting against you. ONCE again, you've turned a completely normal post, into a drawn-out conversation about your problems. Who is the one being childish?

Is it strange to you that after accusing a guy of thinking the world revolves around himself you used the term "I" or "I'm" no less than 44 times in 26 lines of text?? Glass houses my friend... glass houses.

quote I know you are purposly ignoring me, but I'm really only trying to help you. You're obviously going through some major life change, and I don't think it's for the better. In the past 2-3 months, you've become a very bitter, angry person. I remember your old posts... you had views and opinions as do the rest of us, but you were never like this. I just did a couple of searches of your old post (because I DO care) and think I know what the issue is. I have several friends who also deal with that social condition. Really, I want to be helpful, but you've blocked me, so I have no other choice than to just say it all here. I know you have a hard time understanding some social situations, but there's nothing that says you aren't capable of learning through experience to make up for the lack of inference. No one here hates you, and no one here is "below you" either, even if that might be a defense mechanism you've created. If you want to survive in situations like this, you have to learn to take things in stride. The world will NOT change for you, you have to change yourself. If you don't... you'll never be able to grow, and you'll ALWAYS be miserable. I'm going through my own changes. Politics, and my views on them, are very important to me. I have strong opinions, and I have a very out-going and aggressive character. I'm a nice guy, never once started a fight, but finished many growing up. But I'm learning... I'm always learning, that you have adapt to every situation if you want to get a long. No one on this message board is at all perfect. Every single one of us has our own issues that we are either dealing with, or have delt with. I don't think you'll find a single guy on here who isn't screwed up in his or her own way, but the sooner we learn to deal with our issues, the better person we become. I grew up with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. I've been told that it is, as your condition is, a part of the autism spectrum. Growing up, I had ADHD bad... I couldn't pay attention, my thougths raced, and I would act out in class, not for attention, but becuase I didn't know how to control all the energy. Despite the excellent opportunities I was given growing up, I screwed up constantly and had horrible grades. It took many, many years of maturity, and compounding wisdom to overcome my attention deficit disorder... but I have. I've learned to deal with it. I graduated in 1996 with a 1.7 GPA in high school. Just 2 weeks ago... I graduated from Barry University with a 3.95 GPA, Summa Cum Laude, Presidents List every semester, and was nominated for the Dean's Award (I might end up getting it, graduation isn't until May) which is the Valedictorian of the school. I can't tell you how difficult it was. I would pick up a text book, read pages and pages, and not have a single clue what I just read. I would have instead been thinking about Fieros, boobs, whatever else. But I forced myself... and I've learned to "hyper-focus" on things which allows me to overcome my ADD. I'm no longer hyper, and I don't take any medications, but I believe that has more to do with maturity and growing up. We are all constantly "growing up" but the direction you've taken the past couple of months (more so than over the past 8 years) are not healthy... despite what you might be inferring, we don't hate you here... you're a brethren, and you've helped many of us (including myself) with car advice. You need to chill out, re-evaluate how you handle these situations, and learn from them. Personally, I would have preferred to send this in PM becuase I don't think the whole internet needs to know I graduated from HS with a 1.7, or that I had ADD... but never the less, here it is.

[This message has been edited by newf (edited 03-18-2011).]

quote Originally posted by newf: Is it strange to you that after accused a guy of thinking the world revolves around himself you used the term "I" or "I'm" no less than 44 times in 26 lines of text?? Glass houses my friend... glass houses.

That's how you converse with someone. I'm sharing an experience of mine that I feel is similar to what he's going through, and by that, I hope to show that he's not the only one who has to work through stuff. I'm trying to help, people help either by just being Socratic and having them sit on the couch, or relating to them. That's what I've done. I know you're trying to be kind, but I think if you had read the entire thing, you would have seen that in my post, I was being genuine.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: That's how you converse with someone. I'm sharing an experience of mine that I feel is similar to what he's going through, and by that, I hope to show that he's not the only one who has to work through stuff. I'm trying to help, people help either by just being Socratic and having them sit on the couch, or relating to them. That's what I've done. I know you're trying to be kind, but I think if you had read the entire thing, you would have seen that in my post, I was being genuine.

No that's how "YOU" converse with someone...I did indeed read the whole thing and even read you call a person self absorbed, childish, socially inept, being miserable, having issues, obviously going through a major life change, and even accusing him of possibly having a problem with everyone if he continues on this forum.... and then read you suggesting he change his ways using you as an example.

I'm honestly not trying to start anything here, and do assume you have this persons best interests at heart but surely everyone is entitled to post his opinions on an internet forum without being accused of such things, no matter if people agree or disagree with those opinions.

quote Originally posted by newf: No that's how "YOU" converse with someone...I did indeed read the whole thing and even read you call a person self absorbed, childish, socially inept, being miserable, having issues, obviously going through a major life change, and even accusing him of possibly having a problem with everyone if he continues on this forum.... and then read you suggesting he change his ways using you as an example. I'm honestly not trying to start anything here, and do assume you have this persons best interests at heart but surely everyone is entitled to post his opinions on an internet forum without being accused of such things, no matter if people agree or disagree with those opinions.

I'm not talking about his views / opinions on politics or whatever, but I assume you've read his old posts from several months back where he talks about his problems?

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Don't know if this is obvious to you, but if that feature was here, you'd end up at some point with a forum with no messages, because you'd end up finding out that you have a problem with every single person. I know you are purposly ignoring me, but I'm really only trying to help you. You're obviously going through some major life change, and I don't think it's for the better. In the past 2-3 months, you've become a very bitter, angry person. I remember your old posts... you had views and opinions as do the rest of us, but you were never like this. I just did a couple of searches of your old post (because I DO care) and think I know what the issue is. I have several friends who also deal with that social condition. Really, I want to be helpful, but you've blocked me, so I have no other choice than to just say it all here. I know you have a hard time understanding some social situations, but there's nothing that says you aren't capable of learning through experience to make up for the lack of inference. No one here hates you, and no one here is "below you" either, even if that might be a defense mechanism you've created. If you want to survive in situations like this, you have to learn to take things in stride. The world will NOT change for you, you have to change yourself. If you don't... you'll never be able to grow, and you'll ALWAYS be miserable. I'm going through my own changes. Politics, and my views on them, are very important to me. I have strong opinions, and I have a very out-going and aggressive character. I'm a nice guy, never once started a fight, but finished many growing up. But I'm learning... I'm always learning, that you have adapt to every situation if you want to get a long. No one on this message board is at all perfect. Every single one of us has our own issues that we are either dealing with, or have delt with. I don't think you'll find a single guy on here who isn't screwed up in his or her own way, but the sooner we learn to deal with our issues, the better person we become. I grew up with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. I've been told that it is, as your condition is, a part of the autism spectrum. Growing up, I had ADHD bad... I couldn't pay attention, my thougths raced, and I would act out in class, not for attention, but becuase I didn't know how to control all the energy. Despite the excellent opportunities I was given growing up, I screwed up constantly and had horrible grades. It took many, many years of maturity, and compounding wisdom to overcome my attention deficit disorder... but I have. I've learned to deal with it. I graduated in 1996 with a 1.7 GPA in high school. Just 2 weeks ago... I graduated from Barry University with a 3.95 GPA, Summa Cum Laude, Presidents List every semester, and was nominated for the Dean's Award (I might end up getting it, graduation isn't until May) which is the Valedictorian of the school. I can't tell you how difficult it was. I would pick up a text book, read pages and pages, and not have a single clue what I just read. I would have instead been thinking about Fieros, boobs, whatever else. But I forced myself... and I've learned to "hyper-focus" on things which allows me to overcome my ADD. I'm no longer hyper, and I don't take any medications, but I believe that has more to do with maturity and growing up. We are all constantly "growing up" but the direction you've taken the past couple of months (more so than over the past 8 years) are not healthy... despite what you might be inferring, we don't hate you here... you're a brethren, and you've helped many of us (including myself) with car advice. You need to chill out, re-evaluate how you handle these situations, and learn from them. Personally, I would have preferred to send this in PM becuase I don't think the whole internet needs to know I graduated from HS with a 1.7, or that I had ADD... but never the less, here it is.

You couldn't be more wrong about me if you tried, really...

------------------
Bring back civility and decorum!

It's possible to understand someone's point of view without accepting it. It's possible to disagree with someone without being rude and nasty about it. Sure it's hard, but nothing worth doing is ever easy, is it?

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: You couldn't be more wrong about me if you tried, really...

Ok, well.. whatever, I tried.

quote Originally posted by newf: No that's how "YOU" converse with someone...I did indeed read the whole thing and even read you call a person self absorbed, childish, socially inept, being miserable, having issues, obviously going through a major life change, and even accusing him of possibly having a problem with everyone if he continues on this forum.... and then read you suggesting he change his ways using you as an example. I'm honestly not trying to start anything here, and do assume you have this persons best interests at heart but surely everyone is entitled to post his opinions on an internet forum without being accused of such things, no matter if people agree or disagree with those opinions.

Wish there was a smiley for "nailed it".

It was either him or someone like him that posted something to the effect of "I miss the old apathetic JazzMan" a while back. What can I say, I just got tired of being the fat kid in the bullying video meme. Don't miss it one whit, either.

quote Originally posted by avengador1: '"The government has been operating under a series of temporary appropriations, known as continuing resolutions, since Oct. 1 because of lawmakers’ inability to agree on how much money to provide federal agencies." This is because the Liberals in Government are refusing to accept the cuts the Conservatives are proposing to control spending. They (Liberals) just keep wanting to up the limit of what they can spend when there is no money to support this.

Massive, 95% pay cuts for congresspersons, senators, representatives, and the prez. They can now have monthly checks for the exact same amount as the smallest social security check. Problem solved. And that'll happen about the same time as term limits. Never.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the government shut down today at midnight, correct? Haven't looked online because it's mostly bollocks, but I read it was supposed to be the 8th at midnight.

quote Originally posted by Docs87gt: http://www.navytimes.com/ne...nt-shutdown-031111w/ it seems the government has run out of money to pay its military members ,

Hello, back to the OP thread. Five times before facing government shutdowns the Presidents have always paid the Military by evoking a Executive Order but not Obama. With a stroke of the Pen he could pay the Military but chooses not so for now, why?. Is it so that he can use this to lay blame on the other party for political gains in his mind. Somehow this is not leadership while he chides the House to grow up. Where was his parties budget last year, thats why we are in this mess now? Oh yeah, Congress while at that time controlled by the Dems on both sides refused to lay out a budget during the election cycle for fear that the voters would see where and how much the Dems want to spend your money!.

[This message has been edited by normsf (edited 04-08-2011).]

If the government shuts down and doesn't pay the military, maybe the GIs could strike for more pay and benefits and refuse to do the job they were hired for..like the union public employees.

The stop payment is just a scare tactic by those who failed to pass the 2011 budget while they were in control of the house, senate and white house.

I would like to see a law requiring the government to pass a budget in "reasonable" time or the whole group that holds it up not be able to run for re-election when their present term is up.

Obama: I’ll Shut Down the Government and Suspend Military Pay
http://biggovernment.com/mi...uspend-military-pay/

quote Rather than accept a few billion in budget cuts (read rounding error), President Obama has signaled his willingness to shut down the federal government. (Yah!) For those keeping score at home, any government shutdown that happens is on Obama’s plate. He is the President. All on him. The worst part of this whole debate is the Obama Administration’s decision to hold military pay hostage to the budget debate. For the last few decades, government shutdowns have been guided by an OMB directive issued during the Reagan Administration. Under this directive, military personnel would continue to receive the paychecks while politicians argued about the budget. The Clinton Administration, during the last government shutdown, kept the paychecks flowing. But, not Obama. The Obama Administration has overturned the old OMB directive and has decided to suspend military paychecks if there is a government shutdown. No reason to do it…but they have decided to. Reprehensible.

The military can thank our leader for the shutdown and the suspension of their pay, if it happens.

yes - welfare - and many other things along them lines DO need some review. but - that really is a tiny pot to diddle in.
the BIG pot that needs some severe going over is the US Military (and the so called "intelligence" agencies). It is the single largest expense ON EARTH. NOTHING burns thru $$$$$ like the pentagon.

The whole thing hinges on Abortion posturing? We're doomed.

quote By DONNA Cassata, Associated Press Donna Cassata, Associated Press – 1 min ago WASHINGTON – Republicans portray Planned Parenthood as primarily focused on performing abortions and — intentionally or not — using American taxpayer dollars to do it. Not so, say Democrats who counter that the group's 800-plus health centers nationwide provide an array of services, from screenings for cancer to testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Abortion is just one of many procedures, and the law bars Planned Parenthood from using tax money for it. In the budget maelstrom that threatened to partially shut the federal government Friday stood Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a 90-year-old organization now part of a decades-long congressional battle over abortion. Republicans want any legislation keeping the government operating to bar federal dollars for Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest provider of abortions. They want to distribute the money to the states. "The country is broke and the vast majority of Americans don't want tax dollars to take the life of unborn children," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio., chairman of Republican Study Committee, told reporters in a conference call. Democrats say they see a radical agenda against women's health, especially poor and low-income women, and won't allow it, even if that means shutting down the government. "It is appalling that Republicans would hold our economic recovery hostage for a ransom of denying millions of women Pap tests, breast exams, and birth control," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. "It shows their top priority is not keeping our economic recovery on track — it is reviving divisive social issues." Republican leaders say that's just not so. The question of a shutdown, they said Friday, is about a need for greater cuts in federal spending, not social issues including abortion. Abortion nearly scuttled President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in the final hours of debate last March. A year later, the stakes are still high, the political rhetoric fierce and the claims in need of clarification. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., wrote last month that the legislative fight is "Big Abortion vs. American taxpayers." Giving its version, Planned Parenthood said it performed about 330,000 abortions last year, 3 percent of its total health care services. The organization also said its doctors and nurses annually conduct 1 million screenings for cervical cancer, 830,000 breast exams and some 4 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases. "It's an outrage to shut down the government over an extreme proposal that would deny millions of women Pap tests, breast cancer screenings and birth control," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement. "Attacking Planned Parenthood's preventive health care hurts women, does not cut the deficit or fix the economy, and must be stopped." Nine of the Senate's Democratic women stood together at a midday Capitol Hill news conference vowing to stop the House GOP effort. "This is an opportunity for the right wing in the House to really sock it to women," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.: "These women are a mighty line of defense against cutting Planned Parenthood." The organization said it receives $363 million in federal funds, getting its money from both the Title X program and Medicaid. Title X provides grants for family planning and related health services under a law signed by Republican President Richard M. Nixon in December 1970. Of the Title X money, Planned Parenthood gets about $70 million, some 25 percent of the $317 million in Title X spending. The organization's annual budget is $1.1 billion and includes individual donations. Federal law bars Planned Parenthood from using tax dollars for abortion. In 1976, three years after the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment which bars the use of taxpayer funds for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. It annually is attached to the congressional spending bills. But Republicans argue that often all the money ends up in the same account for the organizations. "Come on," Jordan said, "Money is fungible. ... It's just common sense. We think that taxpayers understand this, particularly at a point in history when the country is broke." No matter what the outcome, the fight over federal money for Planned Parenthood will continue. Once Congress resolves the budget for the current fiscal year, it must decide on spending for the next budget. "We have a long history of pro-life protection being part of an appropriation debate," Jordan said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/...n_planned_parenthood
No one is going to budge, this government is shutting down. Hope I'm wrong.

[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 04-08-2011).]

Who wins and who loses if the government shuts down.
http://www.dailyfinance.com...7Csec3_lnk3%7C209145

I've been watching this blog which is being updated frequently as the night goes on.

quote Originally posted by Cheever3000: I've been watching this blog which is being updated frequently as the night goes on.

Great Blog, I added it to Stumble, he should be bypassing that 10k in hits soon lol.

Brad

quote Originally posted by twofatguys: I added it to Stumble, he should be bypassing that 10k in hits soon lol.

I don't know what you just said, but it sounds like a good thing, yes?

[This message has been edited by Cheever3000 (edited 04-08-2011).]

NO SHUTDOWN

quote WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says a last-minute deal with congressional leaders to avert a government shutdown happened because "Americans of different beliefs came together." Obama says some of the cuts will be painful but the White House protected its priority projects. House Speaker John Boehner announced the agreement with the White House and Senate Democrats less than two hours before the money would officially run out to keep many government services in operation. A shutdown threatened to affect affects millions of people, endanger the recovery of the economy and embarrass the administration and Congress. The deal will cut billions of dollars in spending through Sept. 30, the end of the budget year. The House and Senate were to rush through a stopgap bill until the broader bill could be finalized.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/...nding_showdown_obama

[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 04-08-2011).]

Don't you just love it when Democrats and Republicans play chicken with your wallet?
A budget should have been passed last August. There was no 2010 budget. They were too busy spending money to make one.

$39 Billion cut from budget.
Harry Reid is said to be furious over having to agree to it, and his GOP counterpart in the house would have liked to see even more cut.

What a difference 5 months makes.

quote Originally posted by JazzMan: You couldn't be more wrong about me if you tried, really...

Seemed pretty close to the mark to me; reading through your old posts that you haven't had time to edit or erase yet because you are too much of coward to let your words stand, it seems your past years have revolved around classic liberal Bush hating. Your sheer hatred for the past admin was all that got you out of the bed in the AM. Now that you got your boy Barry in power, and he is doing an choice job of failing in every and all ways in his leadership of your country; instead of admitting his failures, you throw of the liberal classic "victim" card and try and turn every and all criticism of him into a criticism of yourself. No longer can you call Bush a Nazi, and blame the "repugs" for everything that has gone wrong in your life - now you only have yourself and the man you voted into power for those failures.

It's pretty sad to watch, actually. Hope and change can only go so far.

[This message has been edited by loafer87gt (edited 04-09-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Formula88: Don't you just love it when Democrats and Republicans play chicken with your wallet? A budget should have been passed last August. There was no 2010 budget. They were too busy spending money to make one.

Mark Levin's take:

President Obama ferociously resists tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts—right up to the moment he strikes a deal with Republicans and hails the tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts as his idea.
http://online.wsj.com/artic...=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

quote This is getting to be a habit. President Obama ferociously resists tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts—right up to the moment he strikes a deal with Republicans and hails the tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts as his idea. What a difference an election makes. This is the larger political meaning of Friday's last minute budget deal for fiscal 2011 that averted a government shutdown. Mr. Obama has now agreed to a pair of tax cut and spending deals that repudiate his core economic philosophy and his agenda of the last two years—and has then hailed both as great achievements. Republicans in Washington have reversed the nation's fiscal debate and are slowly repairing the harm done since the Nancy Pelosi Congress began to set the direction of government in 2007. *** Yes, we know, $39 billion in spending cuts for 2011 is less than the $61 billion passed by the House and shrinks the overall federal budget by only a little more than 1%. The compromise also doesn't repeal ObamaCare, kill the EPA's anticarbon rules, defund Planned Parenthood, reform the entitlement state, or part the Red Sea. On the other hand, the Obama-Pelosi Leviathan wasn't built in a day, and it won't be cut down to size in one budget. Especially not in a fiscal year that only has six months left and with Democrats running the Senate and White House. Friday's deal cuts more spending in any single year than we can remember, $78 billion more than President Obama first proposed. Domestic discretionary spending grew by 6% in 2008, 11% in 2009 and 14% in 2010, but this year will fall by 4%. That's no small reversal. The budget does this while holding the line against defense cuts that Democrats wanted and restoring the school voucher program for Washington, D.C. for thousands of poor children. Tom DeLay—the talk radio hero when he ran the House—never passed a budget close to this good. The political gains are also considerable. When Mr. Obama introduced his 2012 budget in February, he proposed more spending on his priorities in return for essentially no cuts. Two months later, the debate is entirely about how much spending to cut and which part of government to reform. Democrats were forced to play defense nearly across the board, obliged to defend programs (National Public Radio) that were once thought to be untouchable shrines of modern liberalism. Republicans also showed they are able to make the compromises required to govern. We realize that "governing" can often be an excuse for incumbent self-interest. But this early show of political maturity will demonstrate to independents that the freshmen and tea party Republicans they elected in November aren't the yahoos of media lore. A government shutdown over a spending difference of $7 billion and some policy riders would have made the GOP look reckless for little return. Now the battle moves to the debt ceiling increase and Paul Ryan's new 2012 budget later this year, and there are lessons from this fight to keep in mind. One is to focus on spending and budget issues, not extraneous policy fights. Republicans have the advantage when they are talking about the overall level of spending and ways to control it. They lose that edge when the debate veers off into a battle over social issues. We certainly agree that, amid a $1.5 trillion deficit, taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood is preposterous. Let George Soros or Peter Lewis spend their private fortunes to support the group's abortion counseling. But Mr. Boehner was wise to drop the provision on Friday rather than let Mr. Obama portray a shutdown as a fight over abortion rights. If Republicans want to win this fight in the coming months, they need to convince voters that Planned Parenthood funding is a low fiscal priority, not make it seem as if they want to use the budget to stage a cultural brawl. This point is especially crucial in the looming showdown over increasing the debt limit. Mr. Obama will marshal a parade of Wall Street and Federal Reserve worthies predicting Armageddon if the debt limit isn't raised as early as mid-May. Republicans will play into his hands of they seek to load up any debt limit increase with policies unrelated to spending and debt reduction. The best advice we've heard is from former Senator Phil Gramm, who says Republicans should agree that families and nations should always honor their debts. But in doing so they should also make sure they won't pile up new debt. For a family, that means cutting up the credit cards. For Congress, it means passing budget reforms that impose hard and enforceable limits on new spending and debt. We are not talking here about that hardy perennial, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, that would easily become a lever for Democrats to push for higher taxes. Far better would be statutory limits on spending increases and debt as a share of GDP, sequesters that automatically cut spending if Congress exceeds those limits, supermajority rules for replacing those limits, and revisions of the budget baseline so that each year's budget begins at last year's spending levels, not with automatic increases. This is the kind of reform the public will understand is directly related to the debt limit, and one that Senate Democrats and Mr. Obama will find hard to oppose. Republicans should waste no time starting to explain their debt-limit terms, so voters also understand the GOP isn't toying with default as a political ploy. *** One of the ironies of Friday's budget deal is that it is being criticized both by Ms. Pelosi and some conservative Republicans. We can understand Ms. Pelosi's angst. But conservatives are misguided if they think they could have done much better than Mr. Boehner, or that a shutdown would have helped their cause. Republicans need to stay united for the bigger fights to come this year, and for now they and the tea party can take credit for spending cuts that even Mr. Obama feels politically obliged to sell as historic.

HOLD EVERYTHING: There's No Budget Deal, And The Government May Still Shut Down
http://www.businessinsider....2011-4#ixzz1JLUlAf5c

quote On Friday, The White House and the GOP came to a budget agreement to fund the government for the rest of Fiscal Year 2011, averting a government shutdown. But they didn't actually vote on the deal. They voted on a 1-week continuing resolution so they could wrangle up the details for an official vote this week. And that might not work out. The buzz out of DC is that the number of GOPers who will vote "no" is growing. John Podhoretz at Commentary thinks that over the next 72 hours, there will be a big anti-deal groundswell, and that we will ultimately have a government shutdown, with the GOP getting the brunt of the blame. Even if this isn't the case, it's pretty ominous for the bigger debates -- the debt ceiling, the 2012 budget -- that are due to begin in just weeks. As we noted this weekend, the whole reason the GOP caved on certain issues, was because they knew the much bigger fights were right around the corner. Whether it happens now, or at some point down the road, a government shutdown still seems very possible. Update: National Review's Rich Lowrey tweets: "maybe freshmen and house conservatives just want to move on from CR debate, but there's a chance this deal could melt down in a big way."

Didn't double check but it sounds perfectly plausible: Rand Paul on the radio said we will still be spending more this year than last year even after the 40 or $60B in cuts.

[This message has been edited by Scottzilla79 (edited 04-13-2011).]