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Why I'm rooting FOR the sequestration crisis

BY Dori Monson  on February 26, 2013 @ 12:29 am (Updated: 5:59 am - 2/26/13 )

Dori writes...

Every few weeks, we have a manufactured federal government crisis. Last month it was fiscal cliff. This month it's sequestration. Both sides tell us it's going to be quite the disaster.

In fact, the White House tells us the sequestration cuts will impact us in these areas JUST IN WASHINGTON STATE ALONE. OMG!

We're going to lose $11 million in school funding! $3 million in clean air and clear water protection! $271,000 for law enforcement! $661,000 for job searching!$642,000 for public health! And on and on it goes.

So, if this happens on Friday, we're going to become a bunch of uneducated, polluted, lawless, unemployed losers!

Funny, while the federal government is threatening all of those things that are important to people, they haven't threatened to cut funding for any of these programs that they spent money on last year:

#1 The U.S. government is spending $750,000 on a new soccer field for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

#2 The Obama administration plans to spend between $16 and $20 million helping students from Indonesia get master's degrees.

#3 If you can believe it, the U.S. government has spent $175,587 "to determine if cocaine makes Japanese quail engage in sexually risky behavior."

#4 The U.S. government spent $200,000 on "a tattoo removal program" in Mission Hills, California.

#5 The federal government has shelled out $3 million to researchers at the University of California at Irvine to fund their research on video games such as World of Warcraft. Wouldn't we all love to have a "research job" like that?

#6 The Department of Health and Human Services plans to spend $500 million on a program that will, among other things, seek to solve the problem of 5-year-old children that "can't sit still" in a kindergarten classroom.

#7 Fannie Mae is about to ask the federal government for another $4.6 billion bailout, and it will almost certainly get it.

#8 The federal government once spent 30 million dollars on a program that was designed to help Pakistani farmers produce more mangos.

#9 The U.S. Department of Agriculture once gave researchers at the University of New Hampshire $700,000 to study methane gas emissions from dairy cows.

#10 According to USA Today, 13 different government agencies "fund 209 different science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education programs - and 173 of those programs overlap with at least one other program."

There are 20 more items for this list in the above link. Funny they don't threaten to cut any of those items. No, instead they threaten vaccinations for children.

Here's the truth of the sequestration cuts. Our federal government is at least triple the size of what it needs to be. It's about 100 times the size of what the founding fathers envisioned as the role of the federal government.

With the exception of the people who would have their bloated government jobs eliminated or cut back, a 2 percent budget cut on Friday would have zero impact on the life of almost every other American. While the politicians are predicting gloom and doom, you would see that it has no negative effect.

So let all the doomsayers predict calamity. I'm rooting FOR sequestration.

Dori Monson, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dori Monson is host of The Dori Monson Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays Noon-3) and the pre-game and post-game host for the Seattle Seahawks Radio Network. There are three words that Dori thinks best describe him - competitive, competitive and competitive.
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Comments (43)


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  • Keitho wrote...
    Me too!
    February 26, 2013 6:13 am
    The budget will still be bigger than last year and 17& bigger than when dear leader took office. I did not notice the squallor before. I for one would like to see alot of the federal government disappear. Given 47% are totally dependant on the government that would not be easy but it is necessary not only to save the other 53% who do work for a living but it would eventually be good for most of the 47% who do not.
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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @keitho
    February 26, 2013 6:54 am
    Please take notice that even the Republican 'Dear Leaders' of the past have nearly always been in charge of massive increases in spending too - so it's not just a 'blame Obama' game here. BOTH sides are responsible. And give the 47% rhetoric a rest. MOST of those in your reviled 47% actually do work and work hard to contribute. They just don't make enough to survive without programs created and/or funded just as much by republicans as democrats.
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Sarg. -Here's your hero. Oz the Great and Powerful
    February 26, 2013 7:28 am
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vowHQwFUHAY&feature=player_embedded
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Hey Maplefish...
    February 26, 2013 8:17 am
    1) He ain't my hero. 2) I'm on neither side - I cant' stand people who are willing to slam one side while ignoring the same behavior from thier own side. 3) ANYONE can put together a selective set of quotes from ANY politician and then call him on those quotes, so the information from your link ain't worth snot. I could do the same to 'Crying Boy' Boehner, 'Turtleneck' McConnell, and every one of the top 'rising stars' of the Republican Tea Party movement in Congress. AND make them look as stupid and such as that youtube video does of the President. 4) MY POINT that you so clearly missed is that BOTH SIDES are guilty of the same things, that persecuting dems while holding the repubs(tea partiers or not) up as if they were Gods is just as stupid and shortsighted as what you all claim against Obama/dems. Did you miss my point because you are so partisan that you can't see validity in anything except your own extreme views?
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  • DonVigo wrote...
    Just another part of the problem, Sarge.
    February 26, 2013 10:16 am
    Maplefish is the PRIME example of the root cause of the majority of the problems within our government. No, he didn't get your point, he's willfully ignorant towards anything but whatever Fox News tells him to think/say. Just like so many blind liberals follow MSNBC in the opposite direction, nobody is willing to drop the bipartisan pissing contest and do what needs to be done. Thank you for pointing out that the issue lies on both sides of the line. I stand by my opinion that the Republican party seems to be far more caustic and blatantly distructive in this whole process, but both parties are equally guilty in this current stalemate situation. By the people, for the parties, screw the greater good of society. I just want to point fingers, hurl insults, and blame the "other" guy.
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  • Keitho wrote...
    True Sarge
    February 26, 2013 3:34 pm
    But Republicans have not massively increased spending as much and have typically held the Dems in check. Also, I never claimed to be a Republican though I vote that way. Bush was way too liberal for me as well. The 47% do not make enough to survive precisely because of big spending and the liberal agenda. Entry level jobs are being erased by the minimum wage. The EPA and others make it near impossible to build factories and produce things at a profit in this country. High corporate taxes tempt companies to send jobs and funds over seas. So, in part, the % of the 47% that is trying hard is being screwed. They are then forced to vote Democrat to keep their meager benefits. That is the overall plan of the left. Keep people dependant on government and you will keep power forever. I give you presidents Roosevelt, Johnson and Obama as evidence.
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    Grand Bargain
    February 26, 2013 10:48 am
    And who is it that threw a tantrum and walked away from the Grand Bargain in 2011? Where's the leadership?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • doubleogordo wrote...
    Me Three
    February 26, 2013 6:46 am
    Agee
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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    How short sighted Dori.... How short sighted you are...
    February 26, 2013 6:51 am
    You honestly think that these 'wastes' that you list will actually stop? Many of these are likely sponsored by Republicans (they love pork too). You'd think that by the results of previous budget cuts that you guys would learn that meat cleaver cuts like this NEVER result in fixing the 'improper spending' that you right wingers love to point out as the problems in America. These 'improper spending' items are just as much a part of republicanism and they are democratisms. If you honestly believe that the sequestration cuts will even slightly affect that issue, you're even dumber than you call out democratic politicians for being.
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  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    Then how to fix it?
    February 26, 2013 7:17 am
    Do we allow nonsense like the above to continue because it comes from one side or the other? Do we just take it in the rear because that is just the way it is? Shouldn't we say enough is enough?
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    It's up to Obama where the cuts are made
    February 26, 2013 10:49 am
    Congress provides the budget. The administration executes it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Not a Single Mention of....
    February 26, 2013 7:09 am
    ...military equipment that is being bought that the military does not want nor asked for.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ratrustle wrote...
    Hey, this is everyone's fault
    February 26, 2013 7:18 am
    that we let it get this way. The blame goes to our congressional Representatives and Senators who've been piling on all this additional PORK for the last 30+ years. Sure Obama has been terrible balancing the checkbook. But Bush never met a defense contractor he didn't like either! We have to start from the bottom and clean house in congress in order to impact change at the top.
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  • cdbtx wrote...
    There are those
    February 26, 2013 7:38 am
    so blinded by ideology that they can't grasp reality. Read the post to see how many people have bought into the media and political rhetoric "Heart and Soul" - Defends of greed, graft, and corruption - proffered as "Social Programs".

    Neither party wants the cuts - so it's a cute stage production by both sides - and who's buying tickets... "FormerMarineSgt" purchased front row seats to the Obama production...hmmm.. looks like the Obama production is selling out faster the the Boehner production.

    I'll leave with a story from Ben Carson..

    The Bald Eagle... watching it fly is amazing.. and it leaves you thinking... that in order to fly it requires a left wing and a right wing...

    Today - we see two eagles flopping on the ground going nowhere... it's an embarrassing sight.. more embarrassing are those that think the eagles are doing just fine. - out of touch with reality..

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  • Keitho wrote...
    CDBTX
    February 26, 2013 3:39 pm
    Good analogy but I look at it as a tug of war. One side wants mass goverment to control the economy, the other wants to leave it to individuals. We are having a tug of war with ourselves. We the people need to decide if we want euro socialism or contine as this country was founded warts and all. A left and a right wing do no good if there is nothing guiding them.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Where's the Kleenex?
    February 26, 2013 7:59 am
    The U.S. government, red or blue is and always has been the best propaganda machine on the planet. Whenever you hear the words children, children's children, (children of the future) schools, seniors, food for seniors, less cops, dirty air (that's a new one), parks and recreation education cuts all coming from the mouths of the feds or the state, it's total Bull5h1t. They want to drum up so-called public support for their causes which by the way, are largely porked up. Tug at the heartstrings of the uneducated and uninformed and you have an immediate cheer section at your disposal. This is what we call the sequestration fiscal cliff. It's not an Obama thing or a John Bohner thing. They all do it all the time. They lie to you. The only sure thing is that Patty Murray needs to think about a different hair-do.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Relevant13 wrote...
    Fencewalker
    February 26, 2013 10:37 am
    You certainly have that right. It either says quite a bit about how good the politicians are at the propoganda and/or just how out of touch us citizens are that they have really been able to get the "sheeple" to fall in line without a shepard to guide them. The only reason that the "Cliff" and the "Sequestration" and every other pitfall that is upon us gets solved on the last day is because if they actually got it fixed right away, we would KNOW that they could fix it at any time. Unfortunately, there are still way too many people who actually believe that our elected officials did something special to make what they put into place go away. If I wait to pay my electric bill until the day before it gets shut off does that make me a hero for getting it done or an idiot for waiting until the last minute?
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  • Clearwater3 wrote...
    Consider the source of Dori's information...
    February 26, 2013 8:20 am
    ...a website that also claims that the President is turning the US into a big version of North Korea. Really? I don't care what your politics are, but anyone who believes that sort of nonsense is probably too idiotic to live. Sure there is waste in government, but breathlessly parroting a bunch of BS from a John Stossel wet dream isn't any way to prove it.
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  • Cbrew wrote...
    Dori, You're dumb
    February 26, 2013 10:26 am
    The programs you outline may indeed be perfect examples of waste in the budget but Sequester isn't going to cut those programs idiot... they're going to cut some of the more important programs that actually DO make sense, and just because there's plenty of waste out there to eliminate, doesn't mean it will be eliminated because of these cuts... your ignorance is amazing, The only way the wasteful items you listed are going to be eliminated is if the Government agrees on a budget to eliminate those projects... just blindly hacking at the budget hurts the country you should be against it and pushing for these 2 Parties to work together on something that makes sense, instead you're a bloated windbag that makes no sense but your ratings go up whenever you attack a political group so i guess it doesn't matter from where you stand huh? Fraggin worthless media windbag
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    F-22s COST
    February 26, 2013 10:36 am
    $412,000,000 a copy,it cost the US Taxpayer $1,000,000 a year to keep a soldier in Afghanistan,we just opened a military base in Afghanistan and are adding others in Africa.WE have soldiers and bases in Europe,Korea,and Japan.WHY?WE even have Submarines WHY?WE even equip the US Marines do Beach Assaults,When was the last time they did a Beach Assault? Why do we have Airborne Divisions in the Military? (do we drop Paratroopers in even Brigade size on the enemy any more?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    It's up to Obama where the cuts are made
    February 26, 2013 10:51 am
    Congress provides the budget. The administration executes it.

    I wonder who it is that decided spending $16-20 million on Indonesian graduate degrees is a good idea?...

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  • Cbrew wrote...
    SeattleNative - No it's not, learn about Govt before you post rediculous crap...
    February 26, 2013 11:36 am
    That's the most uneducated comment I've seen today. Congress doesn't hand the President the entire budget and say, here ya go Mr. President, spend it how you wish, If you believe that, you really need to go back to 5th grade social studies. The budget is provided by congress and it decides what departments get what. They are specific budgets not an overall fund... you gotta be kidding me Seattle Native is that really what you think?
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  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    That is the point!
    February 26, 2013 2:09 pm
    We need to prioritize.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • daveismenotyou wrote...
    My post was for Cbrew
    February 26, 2013 2:10 pm
    Threads here don't work too well
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Rjammfam5 wrote...
    Cbrew
    February 26, 2013 5:36 pm
    Wait, what? I think you are agreeing with Dori and calling him an idiot at the same time...unless you're trying to be funny but you aren't coming across that way!
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  • Palmettogirl wrote...
    He's rooting for sequestration
    February 26, 2013 10:39 am
    The first thing that is going to happen is that federal employees, such as TSA agents, food and meat inspectors, and border patrol agents will be furlowed one to four days per month. So don't complain about higher food prices and longer lines at airports, border crossings, and other places where we rely on federal government employees.
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    If those things happen...
    February 26, 2013 10:52 am
    ...it will be the administration's fault.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cbrew wrote...
    SeattleNative - again, WRONG
    February 26, 2013 11:38 am
    Pick up a dang Social studies book and try to understand Government you moron... and people ask me why I post with insults, how can you avoid it when people Like Seattle Native don't even know how the Government works, what a moron... My only question is SeattleNative, if you're so completely ignorant of how the Government works why do you post about it? Do you even realize how stupid you look right now?
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