Holy Crap! Last time I saw a drop this steep I had a parachute on.

[Montagnard]

http://www.uuforum.org/deficit.htm

He, he, done good didn’t I. Terra, terra.

[DaveJ]

1. Among many other things...

Unfortunately * have made such a mess of the government that it's hard to find anyone who would want to step in at this point.

[Hugin]

12. All the money has been looted away...

Not much left for any kind of recovery.

We'll just have to tax the rich... eh?

[Pierre.Suave]

2. this makes me sick

just sick.

[Journeyman]

3. Well, the Republicans have certainly "taken us for a ride" . . .

Me? I don't like rollercoasters, but the Bushistas sure have an infatuation with them. . .

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. He nearly put Texas in bankruptcy. Why did anyone think

he would do anything different as president.

Hey, big spender!

[Straight Shooter]

8. He also allowed execution of a reformed killer but spared a serial killer.

Henry Lee Lucas, a notorious serial killer, is the only prisoner sentenced to death whom Little Boots pardoned. Of course, Lucas territory covered Florida and Texas, so who knows what quid pro quo went on there.

Karla Tucker, the notorious icepick killer of her exboyfriend and his girlfriend, strung out on drugs and "found Jesus," Christians all over the world begged Little Boots to spare her. But instead he mocked what he presumed her words to him would be, "Please don't kill me."

http://thecesspit.livejournal.com/21707.html

When George W. Bush was the governor of Texas, as one of his powers he was able to commute to life any death penalty, given the unanimous approval of a 18 string committee. He was also able to give one 30 day stay of execution to a prisoner.

For the first 183 cases that came before him as governor, neither the committee or the governor exercised those rights. Those cases did contain some with questionable evidence, procedures not being followed. Others the defendants could be shown to have reformed themselves <1>. The 18th case was that of Henry Lee Lucas.

Henry Lee Lucas committed between 20 and 200 murders, mostly traveling up and down the highways of Texas, Illinois and surrounding states. He'd pick up hitch-hikers, or stop truckers, steal their possession, rape and kill them. He was finely convicted of the 'Orange Socks' murder, where a female body had been found in a ditch wearing just orange socks. The identity of this person was never traced.

Lee confessed and helped police clear up scores of murders, though back tracking and other work has shown that he's only possibly guilty of around 20 of thse, a strong suspect of another dozen and just put his hands up to the rest of some sort of ego trip, while being fed information by the police desperate to clear up crimes. He certainly killed Kate Rich, a septuagenerian grandmother who'd taken him in and looked after him, and his 15 year-old 'wife' becky Powell, who'd decided to leave him.

More at link. Did Lucas do some of the bush family dirty work?

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. I was on Karla Tucker's side on that one.

I am not a fan of the death penalty ever. But that one was particularly awful.

[Straight Shooter]

27. I had nothing but hard feelings for Karla Tucker.

I was living in Houston when the crime was committed, and it sent shock waves throughout the city when she claimed to have had an orgasm while stabbing her boyfriend with the icepick.

Prison inmates who "find Jesus" are a dime a dozen, but I do believe Ms. Tucker was genuine in her reformation. She was actually doing a lot of good.

Ain't it funny, we're supposed to forgive the reformed cokehead/alcoholic bush for everything he did or didn't do while on drugs (half of which we'll never know), and yet Ms. Tucker becomes a sincere born again Christian, lives her life by the word of God, and bush refused to spare her, yet he had no problem letting Henry Lee Lucas live.

That man is totally f'd up. And so is anyone who believes he's really a "Christian."

[leftyladyfrommo]

32. I have always believed in redemption.

And I know there are lots of guys faking it out there.

But I always felt like they killed the wrong person when they killed Karla. The killed the person she was 15 years ago. Not the same person that she became and was 15 years later.

That may be true of a lot of people on death row.

I'm just anti the death penalty for anyone. Way too many unknowns.

[AnneD]

5. Bet that doesn't include Iraq...

that is an off the budget expense if memory serves.....We are so screwed....

[Gregorian]

22. Iraq is projected to cost $1-2 trillion, when including every aspect.

Retirement plans, extended health care, etc. This was just published by someone whom I don't recall. But the reason for the large variation was not to be precise, but to give the scope of the cost.

Everything is a lie. Ownership society. Healthy forests. And all of the rest. I want to see them all hanging. And I'm opposed to the death penalty.

[AnneD]

23. Too bad...

you won't be able to find a tree, let alone a healthy tree from which to hang them :spray:

[whistle]

6. Does this help convince people that the Bush Administration

...has been lying continuously about the state of the economy and have been also fudging numbers? Expect the national debt to explode in the remaining time Bush is in office. A train wreck will not be an adequate description of the disaster that is coming for our economy. Maybe a tsunami backwash might be much closer.

[Yoda Yada]

7. Use this chart in a TV ad. People respond to visuals. n/t

[lonestarnot]

9. San don donia! I hate high places!

[The Deacon]

11. Let's See....

An uptick coupla times in recent past...Carter, and then...Clinton...
OMG! You mean the "Tax and Spend" Libruls can balance a checkbook better than "Fiscally Conservative" Republicans?
Say it ain't so...

[Sugar Smack]

13. GOD, that is sickening.

:grr: :nuke:

[fed-up]

14. this needs to be on billboards all over america and freeway blogging nt

[lonestarnot]

17. Yes!

[GeorgeGist]

15. Kinda sticks a fork in those ...

'tax and spend' Democrats doesn't it.

[lonestarnot]

16. Come on somebody with 5. This needs 5. Somebody?

[C_U_L8R]

18. This country cannot afford Republicans

such wasteful spending... shocking

How many Republican wallets were lined with our hardearned dollars?
How much of our debt has subsidized ugly-ass Republican McMansions?
Who's the fat GOP DORK sitting in his yacht chomping on steak that I paid for?

[MindPilot]

19. As Howard Dean says

"You can't trust republicans with your money."

[Glimmer of Hope]

20. That is an excellent sound bite. The chart supports it.

[MindPilot]

31. It would make a great print ad

Just the chart with Dean's quote across the bottom.

[Elwood P Dowd]

21. Tax less and spend more republicans

:grr:

[ovidsen]

24. This graph is worth a thousand words. Thanks. n/t

[lonestarnot]

25. kick!

[sweetheart]

26. The graph leaves the question

that the republicans only make any effort to not fuck up the economy just before an election.

[tbyg52]

28. Wow

Makes Reagan look like a piker, huh?

[greatauntoftriplets]

29. Wow, your posting style reminds me of a very dear friend....

who also was a paratrooper.

<Cueing Twilight Zone theme>

[GETPLANING]

30. Any CEO presiding over a budget crash like this

would be fired, then sued by the shareholders. The CEO President and Vice President will have their golden parachutes deployed, while we, the shareholders, ride the stock into oblivion.