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Sequestration might not be such a bad thing for me, was it not such a bad thing

You know, I would kind of like the looming Sequestration was it not that I am squarely in its sights.

The runaway train of automatic spending cuts seems hell-bent on crashing somewhere even though the president has called the top Republicans a week before the magic date of March 1. I am just guessing but if Congress and the Obama administration do anything at all, they will kick the can down the road a little more and we’ll have to go through all of this stressful crap over again. Yes, I’m worried. And my dog is worried. Actually, I have no dog. But if I did have one, it would be worried.

My part-time job is my money-maker at the moment. I must find someway to supplement it or do something else. Of course, any of that is down the path. If furloughs hit if or when Sequestration comes it will be incremental, like death by a thousand paper cuts.

So you have federal guys who will lose nearly a quarter of their annual salary. Some government contractors — especially ones working for the Pentagon — could see their jobs go “poof.” The Sequestration will cause even more economic chaos than one might imagine with the loss of jobs and the loss of spending dollars for both working folks and the unemployed. You could see even longer lines going through security at the airport. Maybe stacked up flights. We may lose some of the gains made at controlling the borders because la migra might see furloughs. The job loss could cause economic panic, a return to 2008 and the almost-Depression, through a lack of spending and shattered economic confidence.

That takes me back to the lead. The Republicans have it all planned out. The Sequestration will make the deep cuts the GOP wants and they are already blaming it on the Democrats and especially Obama. But not so fast GOP. The Republicans might be good at running out the clock. Yet Obama still has the public on his side. Once the damage is done from the massive spending cuts, the ticked-off will look for someone to blame. That blame has an easy target nicknamed the Grand Old Party.

It will be a windfall for Democrats, of whom I am one. It will also be a disaster for those who will be hurt by Sequestration, of whom I also am one. So there you go — you’ve got your classic win-lose. And such a victory doesn’t look very sweet right now.

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A what-questration are you talking about?

This President’s Day off has been spent updating my resume. That task does not mean I am looking for another job. Rather, I am looking for additional jobs. I have to do something, considering the prospect looming only 10 or so days away when “Sequestration” could begin. Here is a handy-dandy little guide as to just what Sequestration is although I could give an answer in three words or less: “It’s a bitch.”

As a career, part-time worker for Sam I face the possibility of as many as 22 days on furlough. Just what that means to me I am unsure. I don’t work every day. I don’t work the same hours every day. Thus, I don’t make the same amount of pay each week, or more importantly, every two weeks. Two is when I get my paycheck. Except when there is a banking holiday like today. I have to wait an extra day to get my pay then.

Unless you work for the government or are somehow tied to the government of Sam, then you may not have thought much about Sequestration. The talking heads on TV speak of it as just another concept to debate. I have hoped for a last-minute deal between the administration and Congress as in the past. But it doesn’t seem to be coming. Sequestration may have what some Democrats think are positive consequences. I think the President may figure if an economic calamity comes he can blame it on the GOP. The Republicans don’t seem to care. A sequester might possibly make the cuts to government that all the little knot-headed Tea Party people want. A win-win as politicians might say.  It may also drive us into another recession or depression. If such does not happen on a national scale surely it will on a personal level.

So when your stock prices start falling like flies into a pesticide fog, remember what happened. Oh that sequestration thing. I think I spoke to some homeless guy on the street a while back who told me that it was what had caused his slide.

Yes, I imagine that had something to do with it, and thank you for your concern, a**hole!

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Coming near you: The Big “S” for Sequestration

There are a number of reasons to fear “Sequestration,” the automatic delete switch that flips on U.S. government finances come March 1. Sequestration sounds kind of like “castration.” Perhaps it will not be as painful as castration, but if it happens it surely will bring on some real hurt of its own.

The majority of the public doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass whether these painful cuts hit the federal government itself or its workforce. Among the possibilities are 22 days of furloughs set over a particular period for federal employees. That won’t happen immediately and it will not happen consecutively. Still, being deprived of almost three-quarters of a month’s salary is not a pleasant prospect, particularly for those whose general schedule (GS) are toward the end of the scales and especially for those in that situation who work part-time. Let’s just say “I know a little ’bout it,” as I always like to bring up some song lyrics from the good ol’ days such as that one from Lynyrd Skynyrd. Happy memories from a rockin’ tune sometimes makes the hurt go away for 3 minutes or so.

I don’t ask anyone to feel my potential pain but here are a few points to ponder if we get s**t-slapped by the “Big S:”

Watch as it hurts fiscal oversight. What oversight you say that is, boys?

¡Buenos dias, la migra! What’s a few million more illegal immigrants?

Cuts to training for 80% of American Army ground forces. Over hill, over dale, we will just sit on our tail …

And not just the Army. The wolf is at the door of the U.S. Armed Forces, says deputy SECDEF

Oh this is just folks with a vested interest crying wolf, you say. Well, read on …

It’s happening, says GOP senator Coburn!

Yes, I agree with Coburn. At least with his saying: “It’s a stupid way to govern … ”

Screw the poor, again, right? Right. And whomever else happens to be in the Republicans’ way.

 

 

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The joys of news

The TV networks were able to pull off both the shootout at the Big Bear Corral and the State of the Union. It appears the police got their man, the one who once stood in their own ranks. It will be interesting, to me at least, what comes out in the investigation surrounding the death of Christopher Dorner. That is provided it was Dorner whose remains are inside that burned out cabin. It likewise will be interesting what becomes of the initiatives introduced in the SOTU address.

As for me, I’m exhuasted. I didn’t sleep enough because I watched too much news coverage. What a bitch! Now I am nodding offfffffffffff. Sorry. I’fpppppppppddddddddd. Think I better eat then get some sleep.

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Will Perry run or just hunt coyotes?

If I had access to Lexis-Nexis I bet I could find a quote where our Good-haired Guv, Mr. Perry, supports term limits. I say that because he has been in elected office for some time now. Maybe he didn’t say it at a press availability which now seems to be favored by both politicians and media alike because it is easy. Maybe he said at some small town function where he, as a young House member, didn’t figure the Whipoorwill City news made it to Austin or Dallas.

But I don’t have Lexis. I don’t even have PublicData at the moment. It would be something rich to throw in Good Hair’s face when he runs for Governor or President or Travis County commissioner. The GOP wouldn’t care. Hypocrites are no problem. The Democrats would make hay with such lines, for sure.

And we should care why? It looks like the Guv might just run again.

Perry told the Dallas Regional Chamber that his biggest potential foe as governor, Attorney General Greg Abbott has pledged he will not run against him if he decides to run for an unprecedented fourth term. Of course, that’s if Abbott doesn’t decide to have the governor indicted for some crime or the other. Then he runs for governor. That also depends whether one of the big powers in Texas politics decides to run against him. There are certainly some big pols circling the Governor’s Mansions like buzzards these days. I speak of Lite Gov. David Dewhurst, and others who have been patiently waiting their turn to be picked as the “Good Party Man,” or lady if, for instance, Comptroller Susan Combs decides it’s her turn.

The chamber types were told by the Guv that he would decide sometime this summer. I can’t hardly wait.