Good Monday morning to you all.  Cloudy, rainy, mid 60s.  It should clear up later today.  As you can tell, I didn't have much to say yesterday.  Let's see about today.

What I find significant about this story is that most of the Administration comments are attributed to an unnamed 'senior' official.  I don't hold out much hope for this.  The Repthuglicans insist that tax legislation (unless it involves cuts) be taken off the table.  They have already dismembered the so-called American Jobs Bill.  The gridlock will simply continue. (Update: Obama is on now saying the same thing--he will veto any bill that trims entitlements without increasing the tax burden on the wealthy.  Now let's see if he keeps that promise.  And, of course, the noise machine (see below) talking head counters with the notion that the top 5% of the economic population pays as much in taxes as the lower 95% and that nearly 50% pay nothing at all.  Others have shown how misleading these statistics are.  Remember the old saying--"lies, damned lies, and statistics.")

It is nice to see a mainstream news source dip a toe in the hypocrisy pool.  The only kind of entitlement the Repthuglican's approve of are those that benefit their paymasters most.  What the story fails to mention was the nearly quadrupling of the prices just before the plan went into effect.  At least that is what happened to Mom's prices.

Even if the major parties involved in this legal shit throwing contest are not typical of the animal production industry (and they very probably aren't) their histories are enough to make one very cautious about where one's eggs and meat come from.  I would have used the more usual term 'mud throwing' but this muck is much more ripe than mere mud.

Maha provides a bull's eye critique of the modern news media or Noise Machine as she calls it.  It is simply noise.  One reason why the noise machine has been turned off earlier and earlier in this household.  It is either annoying because I see all the crap and don't want more of it or it is mere fluff which I find incredibly boring.  I am seeing another example right now: the commentary on Obama's press conference introducing his new plan (the latest as they go by).  All taking the Repthugican positions and not a Damnocrat to be seen.