Dreams Come True: Will Texas Leave the USA?

Since February 1982, the great state of Texas has stood between my life in Mississippi and my friends and family on the Left Coast. I have traversed the length of the Lone Star State many, many times during the intervening years, and I have often thought: What if we gave Texas back to Mexico? Good-bye, Republican majorities in the Electoral College; good-bye, Bush family; good-bye, Karl Rove; good-bye, most of our immigration issues; good-bye, Dallas Cowboys . . .

And now, Texas Governor Rick Perry has suggested the next best thing: that Texas may secede from the Union. From CNN, courtesy of Y'all Politics:

(CNN) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn't ruling out the possibility his state may one day secede from the nation.

Speaking to an energetic and angry tea party crowd in Austin Wednesday evening, the Lone Star State governor suggested secession may happen in the future should the federal government not change its fiscal polices.

"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."

The CNN story (which includes a video) is here

Can it get any better than this? Maybe John Madden will be coming back to coach the Raiders.

I can dream, can't I?

Mississippi Republicans: Thanks for the Stimulus, Mr. President!

The Associated Press is running an interesting story today: http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090320&id=9715786

The AP reports that two influential Mississippi Legislators -- both Republicans -- are grateful for President Obama's stimulus package.

Yes, you read that correctly. The AP reports:

Mississippi is set to receive from about $2.5 billion to $2.8 billion in federal stimulus cash between October 2008 and December 2010. Barbour said some federal agencies are still setting regulations for the money.

Some lawmakers say the federal money will pad the state budget and could help head off the possibility of deep cuts in services or layoffs of workers.

"Without the stimulus, we'd be in one heck of a bind," said Rep. Herb Frierson, R-Poplarville.

* * * *
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, said some of the federal stimulus money will be used to restore budget cuts Barbour made this year to public education.

With the infusion of federal money and the use of some — but not all — of the state's financial reserves, Nunnelee said, "we will be able to limp through the fiscal years that we have in front of us."

Makes you proud to have supported the President, doesn't it?

House of Hypocrisy, Part 3

The blog Facing South (http://www.southernstudies.org) has spotted yet another example of rank hypocrisy on the part of Congressional Republicans.

Facing South links to a Human Events post: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=31121, which says:

Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and David Vitter (R-La.) will later this morning send a letter to Senate Banking Committee leaders demanding that they subpoena all records of bailed-out insurance giant AIG to find out how AIG executive bonuses were given unique and privileged treatment in the Obama stimulus bill. . . . . [the letter is] aimed at the Banking Committee Chairman, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) who authored the provision under which the AIG bonuses were exempted from the “stimulus” bill’s limits on executive compensation.

The New York Times reports that: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/business/20bailout.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Republicans have seized on possible shortcomings in bills passed to combat the crisis, noting that the Democrats control Congress . . . . Some Republicans have also been offering reminders that not one of them in the House voted for President Obama’s stimulus program.

But wait! As Facing South points out (via link to the Huffington Post), here's what the Republicans said just last month, in opposing any limits on executive compensation: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/06/gop-opposes-pay-limits-on_n_164544.html

President Obama has proposed capping compensation for executives at banks that take taxpayer bailout money at $500,000. Republicans hate the idea -- a position that puts them uncomfortably on the side of people currently about as popular as child-porn producers and subprime mortgage brokers.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) blamed the "tone deaf" bankers for creating the political environment that allows Obama to call for a cap.

"Because of their excesses, very bad things begin to happen, like the United States government telling a company what it can pay its employees. That's not a good thing in America," Kyl told the Huffington Post.

"What executives have done is troubling, but it's equally troubling to have government telling shareholders how much they can pay the executives," said Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL).

* * * *

The GOP is also concerned that setting compensation limits could put the country on the road to serfdom. "This is just a symptom of what happens when the government intervenes and we start controlling all aspects of the economy. This is just the first piece," said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). "If you accept the fact that the government should be setting pay scales in America, then it's hard not to go after these exorbitant salaries. But I think it's a sad day in America when the government starts setting pay, no matter how outlandish they are."

So, I suppose Senator DeMint was against limiting executive bonuses, before he was for them? Hmmmmm . . .

Don't Listen to Them, Mr. President

The President is facing near-unanimous Republican opposition to his economic policy. But he doesn't need to stare too much at his rear-view mirror -- the Republicans he left in the dust last November are still there. Jason Linkins on The Huffington Post reports a new ABC News poll that shows that 67% of Americans approve of President Obama's plan to use public spending to stimulate the economy. That means, of course, that at least 13-14% of Americans who voted against the President are in his corner on the need for the stimulus. The same poll shows 58% disapproval of Congressional Republicans' stonewalling. 51% of those polled consider the plan's passage to be "critically important," with "Only 16% say it is 'not that important.'"

Linkins' excellent report (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/09/poll-obama-stimulus-effor_n_165206.html) also explains that the "moderate Senators' plan" does NOT cut "pork," but instead reduces funds for State governments and school construction:

Senators Ben Nelson and Susan Collins have been allowed to skate by and issue fundamental falsehoods about what they have done to the bill. . . . . [t]he two Senators claim to have "funded education," and have ensured that the bill will contain "robust spending on infrastructure to create jobs, $87 billion in assistance for states, and assistance to schools, especially for special education and Pell grants." [But in fact their plan includes]:

* Elimination of $25 billion in flexible funding for state governments.

*Cut $7.5 billion in funding for "state incentive grants" to help states make progress toward No Child Left Behind goals.

* Eliminated $19.5 billion in construction aid for schools and colleges.

* Reduced new aid for the Head Start early childhood program by $1 billion.

Nowhere in their statement do [Senators] Nelson and Collins make any effort to justify these decisions. Indeed, they don't even seem prepared to admit that they made these decisions.

Don't stop now, Mr. President. Remember that it was the Republicans who would only vote for the Bush Bailout after $100 billion in pork was added to the Fall package. Take care of the people and we'll take care of the GOP doomsayers.