‘Tis the night before Thanksgiving, and no doubt, people are busy preparing for tomorrow, whether it be traveling or cooking or making plans to watch the big game, Thanksgiving is a big day, and well it should be. It is always good to take a step back, and count our blessings, large and small.
That said, there are still some news stories out today for our consideration. Russia is unhappy with us, and that can be a big problem, as this story indicates, Russia Threatens To Withdraw From Arms Control Deal With U.S.:
Russia threatened Wednesday to withdraw from the New START nuclear arms control deal with the United States and deploy missiles aimed toward U.S. defense installations in Europe in a harsh sign of the tension between the two countries.In a prime-time televised speech, President Dmitry Medvedev, visibly upset over missile defense consultations with Washington, said that an early warning radar system immediately would be put on red alert close to the Russian border with Poland and that missiles and other weapons would be positioned in the country’s west and south to target U.S. sites in Europe.
“These measures will be adequate, effective and low cost,” Medvedev said in his speech. “If the above measures prove insufficient, the Russian Federation will deploy modern offensive weapons in the west and south of the country ensuring our ability to take out any part of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe.”[snip] (Click here to read the rest.)
Brrrr – is there a chill in the air? We might not be returning to another Cold War with Russia, but they sure aren’t happy with us.
Um, how does that bode for the US astronauts who hitched a ride into space with the Russians? I wonder if they could bum a ride home from the Chinese…
The Senate is about to get ready to add a bundle to the deficit, as The Hill reports in this article, Post-supercommittee, Senate Dems Ready To Move $400 Billion In New Bills:
[snip] All of the proposals, such as the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, are popular but come with no agreement on how to pay for them.
Senate Democrats will go on offense next week by forcing Republicans to vote on extending and expanding the payroll tax cut, which accounts for $240 billion of the tab, according to Democratic and Republican aides. Lawmakers will take up the legislation after completing work on the Defense authorization bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has yet to announce an offset for the measure, but he has discussed matching it with a tax increase for millionaires. Such a vote would be intended to hammer home the message that Republicans are out to protect the rich, though it leaves Democrats vulnerable to arguments about class warfare. [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)
I’m not saying it isn’t a good idea to extend these policies, but we HAVE to figure out a way to pay for them. Close some tax loopholes, for instance. As I have noted, the Senate won’t pass a budget, and won’t allow the 20+ Jobs bills to see the light of day, but they will continue to play politics with our economy. Nice.
And speaking of Democrats, Rep. Gabriel Giffords suggested to the Super Committee a few days ago that they should cut the Congressional salaries. Giffords introduced legislation to this effect way back in January. It may not be that much on the face of it, but it would be a start.
And since Thanksgiving is all about gratitude, here’s a song by the same name by the incomparable, Earth, Wind, and Fire:
So what else is happening today?
