Another tough night of storms and tornadoes but no one was killed. On Monday night in Arkansas eight people were killed. I did hear that three 18 wheeler trucks were turned over by the wind though.

Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below:

Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Here are a few more I just emailed to him myself at 6:59 am CST on April 27, 2011.

Bradley R. Gitz wrote an excellent article about lawmakers that are not taking the debt serious. Here is a portion of the article “Heads in the sand,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 24, 2011:

The American public seems to have finally become alert to the fact that the nation’s finances are slipping over the edge. 
    Paul Ryan’s “roadmap” has performed a useful public service in this regard. Taken together with the recommendations of the Simpson-Bowles Commission, we now have, at least on paper, a vision of how we can get out of the mess we’re in. Along these lines, the columnist Charles Krauthammer has suggested a “grand compromise” which essentially merges the ideas of Wisconsin Congressman Ryan with Simpson-Bowles by combining Ryan’s $6 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years with a nudge of the top marginal rate to 28 percent, producing a closing of the deficit gap with a federal budget at about the average post-World War II level of 20 percent of GDP. 
    Except that liberals aren’t interested, at least not in the part about cutting spending and reforming entitlements and cleaning up the tax code (which are all of a piece). What they are interested in, and displaying plenty of, beginning with President Obama himself, is demagogy. 

    Free-lance columnist Bradley R. Gitz, who lives and teaches in Batesville, received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Illinois.

In my past posts I could have been accused of giving just general ideas of where to cut. Now I am starting in with specifics that are taken from the article “Federal Spending by the numbers, Heritage Foundation, June 1, 2010 by Brian Riedl. He notes:

• The State Department will spend $450,000 on art shows in Venice, Italy.
• During a recent three-day conference, NASA spent $62,611 on “light refreshments” for its 317 attendees—$66 per day per person. NASA officials said such expensive snacks were needed to keep its officials from wandering away from the conference.
• NASA spent $500 million constructing a 355-foot steel tower to launch a rocket that is now unlikely to ever be built.
• The Congressional Research Service has confirmed that the new health care law may subsidize Viagra and other sexual performance drugs for convicted rapists and sex offenders.
• Federal agencies are delinquent on nearly 20 percent of employee travel charge cards, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission spent $3.9 million rearranging desks and offices at its Washington, D.C., headquarters.
• Over half of all farm subsidies go to commercial farms, which report average household incomes of $200,000.
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• 

  Light Blue Dress

  The Princess of Wales arrives at St David’s Hall in Cardiff, for a charity concert, October 1982. She wears a gown by the Emmanuels. (Photo by Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)

  Part 8

  
  Associated Press

  JULY 29, 1981: Prince Charles looks at his beaming bride, the Princess of Wales, at the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral steps after their marriage in London July 29, 1981.

Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below:

We had a tough night with the storms last night. My son and his family came over and we watched the live weather coverage from 5:30pm to 8:30pm last night as tornadoes went through our county (Saline) but most the damage was just past us.

Here is an update from www.Ozarkfirst.com :

(Vilonia, AR) — Emergency officials say five deaths are attributed to severe weather in Arkansas on Monday.

Two people were killed in a violent tornado that hit the Faulkner County town of Vilonia.

Officials are not releasing the names or ages of the victims, but did confirm the two fatalities occurred in two different homes.

According to Stephan Hawks, Public Information Officer for Faulkner County, the storm left a path of destruction approximately 3 miles wide and 15 miles long, and destroyed 14 to 16 homes in Vilonia.

Storm spotters reported the width of the tornado was at least a half-mile wide and sent debris flying into the air.

Three other deaths in the state are a result of flash flooding.

One woman died in Washington County when her vehicle was swept into the Illinois River.

Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder says the victim, Consuelo Santillano of West Fork, attempted to drive her van through high water on Highway 265 when the vehicle stalled.

She reportedly made it out of the vehicle, but was swept into the flood waters.

Her son was a passenger in the vehicle, but escaped without injuries.

Two more deaths were recorded in Madison County, where an elderly couple drowned in War Eagle Creek.

Officials are not releasing the names of the couple who died, but said they were attempting to drive through rushing water covering Highway 23 between Huntsville and Witter when their vehicle was carried away.
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John Fund’s speech at Right Nation 2010, the unprecedented gathering of conservatives, Republicans, and Tea Party independents on September 18th just outside Chicago.

Mark Pryor may have seen the light concerning cutting federal spending. Sometime I wonder why the Democrats can not see the light concerning the need to cut spending and attack the huge federal debt. Below is a portion of an article by John Fund of the Wall Street Journal that was published on April 20, 2011:

Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Here are a few more I just emailed to him myself at 6:54 am CST on April 26, 2011.

In my past posts I could have been accused of giving just general ideas of where to cut. Now I am starting in with specifics that are taken from the article “Federal Spending by the numbers, Heritage Foundation, June 1, 2010 by Brian Riedl. He notes:

• Improper or fraudulent Medicare spending now totals $47 billion annually—12.4 percent of its budget.
• New York distributed $140 million in stimulus money into the individual accounts of families on welfare, yet neglected to mention it was intended for school supplies. Local ATMs were depleted, and much of the money was reportedly spent on “flat screen TV’s, iPods and video gaming systems” as well as “cigarettes and beer.”
• Washington will spend $615,175 on an archive honoring the Grateful Dead.
• Federal employees owe more than $3 billion in income taxes they failed to pay in 2008.
• Each month, taxpayers provide $40,000 worth of office space, cell phones, staff, and an SUV for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who currently works as a lobbyist for private corporations and foreign governments.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her staff have charged taxpayers $101,000 for “in-flight services”—including food and liquor—during trips on Air Force jets over the last two years. Charges reportedly include “Maker’s Mark whiskey, Courvoisier cognac, Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey’s Irish Crème, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewars scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, and Corona beer.”
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• 

  

  Out: Tony and Cherie Blair

  Former Prime Minister Tony Blair didn’t get invited, prompting rumors that it was a deliberate snub to the former Labour leader, who clashed with the queen over her handling of Princess Di’s funeral. Cherie, too, would have reason to be snubbed: She refused to curtsy for members of the royal family.

  Katie Nicholl, author of “Behind the Palace Walls” talks to Erica Hill about Kate Middleton, the commoner about to join the royal family.

  

  

  2007

  A jaunty brown beret topped off Middleton’s breezy look at the Cheltenham Festival races.

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Lots of tornadoes tonight in Arkansas. My family and I have been watching the TV all night long and the tornadoes have been going through Saline County all night long.

Let me point something out about the way the Democrats handled the healthcare debate. President Obama said it would be posted on the internet before  it was voted on. Also there is the claim that costs will magically go down. Take a look at the video clip below by John Fund. 

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor at the 2009 Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Dinner, Arkansas’s largest annual political event. Look at how happy Pryor is about Obamacare. 

Senator Mark Pryor wants our ideas on how to cut federal spending. Take a look at this video clip below:

Sometime I wonder why the Democrats can not see the light concerning the need to cut spending and attack the huge federal debt. Below is a portion of an article by John Fund of the Wall Street Journal that was published on April 20, 2011:

Senator Pryor has asked us to send our ideas to him at cutspending@pryor.senate.gov and I have done so in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Here are a few more I just emailed to him myself at 7:26 pm CST. 

In my past posts I could have been accused of giving just general ideas of where to cut. Now I am starting in with specifics that are taken from the article “Federal Spending by the numbers, Heritage Foundation, June 1, 2010 by Brian Riedl. He notes:

• Because of overstaffing, the U.S. Postal Service selects 1,125 employees per day to sit in empty rooms. They are not allowed to work, read, play cards, watch television, or do anything. This costs $50 million annually.
• Washington will spend $2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.
• Stimulus dollars have been spent on mascot costumes, electric golf carts, and a university study examining how much alcohol college freshmen women require before agreeing to casual sex.
• Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs.
• A GAO audit classified nearly half of all purchases on government credit cards as improper, fraudulent, or embezzled. Examples include gambling, mortgage payments, liquor, lingerie, iPods, Xboxes, jewelry, Internet dating services, and Hawaiian vacations. In one extraordinary example, the Postal Service spent $13,500 on one dinner at a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, including “over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere and Johnny Walker Gold.” The 81 guests consumed an average of $167 worth of food and drink apiece.
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• _
  

  

  In: Guy Ritchie

  Filmmaker Guy Ritchie will join the Beckhams and other celebrities at Will and Kate’s royal nuptials. Ritchie is described on the official guest list as “a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.” Wills allegedly frequents Ritchie’s popular pub in London, Punch Bowl.

  The couple’s (William and Kate) eight-year courtship started in college

  

  

  2006

  Middleton attended Prince William’s graduation from the Royal Military Academy in a wide-brimmed picture hat.

  
  

John Brummett in his article “Dear visa, my debt ceiling is capped,” April 25, 2011, Arkansas News Bureau, he asserted:

Nine times in the last decade the federal government has crept near its debt ceiling and Congress has voted to raise it.

Tea party types say they intend this time to tie their votes to raise the debt limit to actual and concurrent spending reductions.

But this is no equation. You absolutely owe your debt. Quite separately, it’s up to your future behavior whether you can fashion spending reductions to gain control of tomorrow’s debt so that you don’t have to keep dealing with these kinds of untenable financial and political situations.

Jeffrey Scribner wrote the excellent article “Let’s not increase the Debt Ceiling,” www.LewRockwell.com, April 22, 2011. Here is a portion of that article:

It so happens that there are just about enough votes in the current House of Representatives to prevent an increase in the debt ceiling. If the debt ceiling is not increased, there will be bigger spending cuts in the 2011 budget and the 2012 budget and every budget after that because we are very close to the debt ceiling. If the debt ceiling is not increased, money cannot be spent that would raise the debt over that ceiling. Deficit spending would end immediately. Congress will be finally forced, at least for a little while, to allocate austerity rather than funding their favorite expenditure with borrowed money.

The voters could then decide whether to re-elect those who voted to increase the debt ceiling or those who tried to be responsible and voted not to. Some people are saying that failure to raise the debt ceiling will cause a catastrophe. If that happens, the voters can consider it. What if there is no catastrophe – just a lot less spending? The voters can consider that, too. Some big spenders are claiming that failure to increase the debt ceiling will cause a recession. We have managed to get into a recession and sustain it while adding to the debt every minute. Deficit spending has not prevented a recession. Moreover, there is reason to believe that not extending the debt limit will actually be good for the economy. Government spending will be curtailed. Some government services will also be curtailed. This provides fertile ground for more free enterprise solutions, more little companies, more employment in the private sector and more GDP growth. Why should we believe those who say increase the debt ceiling or suffer a recession?

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Prince William and Kate Middleton were interviewed by ITV’s Tom Bradby shortly after they announced their engagement. Erica Hill speaks with Bradby about how the royal couple is coping with the global attention.

John Brummett in his article “Dear visa, my debt ceiling is capped,” April 25, 2011, Arkansas News Bureau, he observes:

The first thing I intend to do is join the tea party. Then I’m going to refuse to raise my debt limit. Then I’m going to call the Visa people.

“Y’all have me down here owing $6,000,” I’m going to say. “But I’ve become a fiscal conservative. I’m getting really disciplined fiscally. I’m taking my household back.

“My self-imposed debt ceiling is $4,000. I’ve opted not to raise it. Nary a cent. I only went over it because the oral surgeon demanded immediate payment.

“So $4,000 is the most you rascals will get out of me. You may as well quit compounding the interest on this outstanding balance. I am serious about this. You may consider this baby capped at four grand.

“Oh, by the way: Don’t even think about canceling this card. I have a second round of dental work coming up and the oral surgeon doesn’t give these implants away.

“Thank you, and remember: Vote Palin-Bachmann.”

You are thinking this is absurd. You are right, of course.

But you are not intellectually entitled to call it absurd if you are among the seven in 10 Americans telling pollsters you don’t want the federal government’s debt ceiling raised. You are not intellectually entitled if you are one of these right-wing politicians pandering to this tea-drunken grandstand by threatening to vote not to raise it.

Here is how real fiscal responsibility works: You repay the debt that you have incurred to date. You make spending reductions prospectively by showing sufficient discipline to reduce the future pace at which you incur debt. You dare not let your existing debt go unpaid lest your credit score suffer and you get denied the next time you find yourself in a bit of a pinch and need to finance a refrigerator at Sears.

Jeffrey Scribner wrote the excellent article “Let’s not increase the Debt Ceiling,” www.LewRockwell.com, April 22, 2011. Here is a portion of that article:

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. The President and the Congress are playing political games while the national debt grows to out of control proportions. We should hold the government’s feet to the fire and force an end to spending using borrowed money. An opportunity to do this will arise in a month or so.

In April, almost seven months after the start of the fiscal year, Congress finally passed the FY 2011 Federal Budget, nominally $38 Billion (about one percent) less than the proposal by the President. Two things are significant here. The first is that this is the first budget for FY 2011. Congress has spent money from the beginning of FY 2011 (01 October 2010) until mid April by “continuing resolution” in the absence of any budget. The second important point is that the 2011 budget, with the aforementioned $38 Billion reduction, spends more money than was spent in 2010. It is still in deficit. It has been adding to the national debt all year through continuing resolution and will continue to add to the debt for the rest of the year via the budget that was finally passed.

The House of Representatives has also passed a “Budget Blueprint” prepared by Congressman Paul Ryan, Chairman of the House Budget Committee. If all spending and receipts outlined in this document are implemented by the House and Senate and are then signed by the president, spending will be reduced by about six trillion dollars and the deficit will be reduced by about four trillion dollars over ten years. Do you really believe that this will happen? Even if it does, the Federal Government will continue to run deficits and add to the national debt for the next ten years, albeit at a slower rate than the present.

What does this tell you about the difficulty in reining in the runaway spending that has become the habit of Congress? It tells me that something a lot more drastic has to be done to get a grip on Federal spending and to stop adding to the debt immediately.

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Kate and William Interview Part 2

In 1981 I got up early in the morning to watch the Royal Wedding live. Now that I have the ability to tape it, I may just record it and watch it later. Here is a clip from the 1981 wedding.

Part 2