Spend Less or Tax More? Is that a Question?

While you are being mesmerized by President Obama's leisurely style, resonating voice and media adulation, here is a little something to ponder about the state of America.

At the end of August 2008, before the financial bailout and the stimulus, the publicly marketable segment of the U.S. national debt was 4.88 trillion. Of that, $2.56 trillion was in the intermediate-term Treasury notes, $1.22 trillion was in short-term Treasury bills, $582.8 billion was in long-term Treasury bonds, and $521.3 billion was in TIPS.

At the end of March 2011, by which time the Chinese had dropped their Treasury bill holdings 97 percent from their peak, the publicly marketable segment of the U.S. national debt had almost doubled from August 2008, hitting $9.11 trillion. Of that $9.11 trillion, $5.8 trillion was in intermediate-term Treasury notes, $1.7 trillion was in short-term Treasury bills; $931.5 billion was in long-term Treasury bonds, and $640.7 billion was in TIPS.

Before the end of March 2012, the Treasury must redeem all of the $1.7 trillion in Treasury bills that were extant as of March 2011 and find new or old buyers who will continue to invest in U.S. debt. But, for now, the Chinese at least do not appear to be bullish customers of short-term U.S. debt. 

Who would have thought that capital would become the only remaining moral force in public governance? The bond market will decide America's political fate, just as it has made decisions that politicians don't dare touch in Greece, Ireland and Portugal. No politician alive has the nerve and power to cut the size of the government behemoths we've created under the influence of socialist ideology. And one of the two parties is ideologically committed to growing it. Few have been able to reduce its onerous demands on the body politic's purse and patience. It always wants more. There's always another dozen bureaucracies to create in order to provide six-figure salaries to the annual legions of social-science majors graduating from America's colleges and universities.

Big government liberals in both parties, but mostly the Democratic party, steered us to this precipitous state of affairs.  Their solution to profligate spending?--more taxes, of course.  Naturally, that will smother the last remaining spark of life in the economy.  But, who cares?  Life will be more "fair" in America once nobody has anything: nobody except the illuminati and government bureaucrats, that is; in short, our betters.

Noman is disgusted at the nauseating spectacle playing out before us in DC.

More Anti-Catholic Animus

The strident march of tolerance goose steps forward into the brave new world.  It appears that Representatives Pete Stark and Nancy Pelosi want gays, but not faithful Catholics, to adopt children.  That will be the likely affect of proposed legislation aimed at eliminating "homophobia" in the adoption process.

Stark told the Huffington Post he decided to introduce the measure because of the “homophobic opposition that has tried to decide that gay people aren’t suitable adoptive parents.”

He cited a “tremendous need” for adoptive parents in the U.S. and said there are “thousands of kids who would otherwise be stuck in foster care.”

But Sprigg said the bill would drive out “some of the most effective adoption agencies that there are.”

“Christian adoption agencies such as Catholic Charities have such an outstanding record. It would be sacrificing the interest of children to drive them out of the adoption business.”

In 2009 Catholic Charities completed 3,794 adoptions and provided adoption services to 43,982 clients. It provided foster care services for 18,344 children and adolescents, the Catholic Charities USA 2009 Annual Survey reports.

“The impact of the legislation would be to mean that fewer children will actually get homes,” said Windham. She said such proposals are part of a “growing conflict” and that supporters of religious freedom should oppose Stark’s bill. 

Without a religious freedom exemption, the bill would make it “very difficult if not impossible” for religiously-affiliated agencies to operate, Windham said.

Similar laws have forced some agencies to close.

So, the Democratic party's Catholiphobia has gotten the better of it again, ironically in the name of tolerance.  "Gays, out of the closet; Catholics into it."

Naturally, more children will go without adoptive homes should Christian organizations be forced out of the market by government preference.  Who cares?  The point of the Orwellianly entitled “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” is not to give every child a family.  Rather, it is to bend the Church to the leftist will, or, minimally, harass it for having the temerity to hold a contrary opinion regarding family matters--the traditional one--to Reps Stark, Pelosi, and their ilk.

Noman is too tired to spend much time on this.  He just thought you'd like to know what the party of the culture of death is planning should it recover its political hegemony.

Does Pete Stark look like Leo G. Carroll to anyone besides Noman?