From 'round the sphere today...
Hope and change?
A new AP poll [2]shows that a majority of Americans now think that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Further, the number of people that think "The One" can create jobs, improve our economy and cut the deficit in a single bound has dropped by at least 15 points.
Debt and the economy
Now that our annual deficit seems headed to at least 2 trillion dollars by the end of the year, many economists are starting to worry about a debt bubble [3]and its potential devastation to America's economy. (What took 'em so long?)
No "stimulation" from the F-22?
While our government has felt free to borrow and spend untold trillions of just about everything under the sun, including things the federal government has little or no business being involved in, the place where they find time to cut spending is one of the places we can least afford it. That being defense spending. Obama's already cut fuding for missile defense (despite missile threats from North Korea, to say nothing of future threats), and now the Senate has gone along with his plan to cut funding of the F-22 fighter [4].
When you consider how much money we've spent in the past year trying to "stimulate" the economy and create jobs, it's hard to see much sense in cutting production of needed defense technology that ALREADY employs people.
Lefties oppsing the motto and the pledge
A number of liberal groups are working to oppose current efforts in Congress to make sure that our national motto ("In God We Trus") and the Pledge of Allegiance is added to the new visitors center for the US Capitol. It seems that someone wasn't paying attention when this thing was built in the first place...as in, no one bothered to notice the plans didn't call for such basic decor. And now that some members of Congress are moving to fix it, liberal groups are suing to stop them [5]. They claim it would constitute a "government endorsement of religion". (I suppose the Constitution and the Declaration do too?)
