What Would Harry Truman Say?

moinkslinger — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:39:01 +0000

Over the past several months, I have watched the stock market drop faster and farther than a hunk of chew being spit from the top of the silo. Those folks who had stock in the market are “have-nots” just like those who think Wall Street is the site of the infamous Wall Drug.

Here in the Midwest, we are insulated from most of the shenanigans of East Coast and the idiosyncrasies of the West Coast. Thanks to all the modern inventions of television, internet, 24/7 newscasts, and cell phones, we are shortening the information gap between the sticks of Missouri and the lights of the big cities.

While some of us farmers might be happier to remain ignorant of the doings in Washington, D.C., others feel compelled to speak up about the nonsense going on in our nation’s capital. In the past presidential election, Missouri fell in John McCain’s column by the smallest of margins.

About half of the population voted Democratic and the other half voted Republican. We have two Senators – Kit Bond (Republican) and Claire McCaskill (Democrat). Senator Bond is in the twilight of his political career and Claire is a first term Senator. Our most famous contribution to Washington politics was President Harry S. Truman and most Missourians hold “Old Harry” in high esteem.

What would Harry S. think of all the things going on in Washington? No doubt, his opinions would be punctuated with spurts of colorful slang laced with obscenities.

If anyone was surprise when Claire called the Wall Street CEO’s IDIOTS, they were lucky that “Old Harry” wasn’t giving the speech as they would have called them worse.

Here in Missouri, we pretty much tell it like it is. Like it or not!

Earmarks or Ear tags?

moinkslinger — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:00:01 +0000

All this hoopla is about earmarks which allow Congressmen to appropriate monies for specific projects, hide them in a bill and bring home the bacon. Only $7.7 billion of pork cellulite packed in the bill that was signed secretly behind closed doors by Obama. His campaign vow to go done the bill line by line, and disallow earmarks fell on the deaf ears of his Democratic pawns in the House and Senate. With the bust of Abe Lincoln staring at the President, imagine Obama hiding under the desk in the Oval Office with the pen crafted from the wood of ship used to stop slave trade and given to him by Gordon Brown. With the quick sweep of BO, the pen has enslaved taxpayers to an additional $410 billion in debt.

On the farm, we put ear tags on our pigs to distinguish them and in older days, we notched the ears to mark the pigs. During the campaign Obama claimed he wanted earmarks reform. Imagine a politician who made campaign lies to the voters! While drinking a cup of Joe at the local truck stop, a couple of us farmers have decided that the Congressmen who buried earmarks in the bill should have their ears notched. We have a couple of volunteers who are eager to do the notching and can be in Washington D.C. in a few hours. One farmer suggested we use an elasticator on the Congressman responsible for the most earmarks.

McCain voted against earmarks and that cute little Sarah Palin was against earmarks, too. I think a lot of Missourians liked Palin and she was a great drawing card to the party in Missouri.

Looks like our Republican Senator Kit Bond could be first to get his ears notched. In the days leading up to the vote, our fair-maiden, Claire McCaskill hopped on one foot and the other like a one-legged man at an ass-kickin’ contest and doing major “flip-flopping” on the topic of earmarks. Breaking with the Democratic rank, McCaskill had no earmarks and at the end a solid “No” vote for the bill.

Remember, we are the Show-Me State. Claire, you can tell us what you want, but you have to show us the vote.

America's Hillbilly Economist

What Would Harry Truman Say?

Earmarks or Ear tags?