8/10/2005 – Editorials

By Richard Peterson

Q. When did the federal government stop selling 30-year bonds?
A. 2001.
Q. Why?
A. Because it was thought they would no longer be necessary in light of expected declines in total national debt.
Q. What was the national debt in 2001?
A. $5.9 trillion.
Q. What is the national debt today?
A. $7.8 trillion.
Q. When will the federal government again start selling 30-year bonds?
A. 2006.
Q. Why?
A. To finance that growing national debt.
Q. When was the last time the federal government ran a surplus?
A. 2001.
Q. Who prepared the 2001 budget?
A. President Bill Clinton.
Q. What was the deficit on last year’s federal budget?
A. $412 billion, a record.
Q. Who’s responsible for the $2.1 trillion, 36 percent increase in the national debt since President Bush took office less than five years ago?
A. Must be tax-and-spend liberals, huh?
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The total US government debt as of August 4, 2005 was: $7,878,734,742,338.35.
It increases at the rate of $1.64 billion each day.
Nobody knows what the 35 cents went for.
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The conservatives are in charge of the presidency, the congress and the Supreme Court. Look at the mess!
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This editorial page has been quite critical of President Bush. There’s a good reason. He deserves all that criticism and more because his incredibly poor judgment has created many of our most pressing problems today, including an unnecessary war and a federal budget deficit totally out of control.
His governing by deceit only adds to the criticism he should be receiving.
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With school starting soon, these items e-mailed to us by Dean Sorlie of Maddock are appropriate:
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America.
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America?
CLASS: Maria.
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TEACHER: Why are you late Frank?
FRANK: Because of the sign.
TEACHER: What sign?
FRANK: The one that says, "School ahead. Go slow."
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
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TEACHER: Greg, how would you spell "crocodile?"
GREG: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L.
TEACHER: No Greg, that’s incorrect.
GREG: Maybe it’s incorrect, but you asked me how "I" spelled it.
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TEACHER: Ryan, what is the chemical formula for water?
RYAN: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: Ryan, what are you talking about?
RYAN: Well, yesterday you said it was H to O.
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TEACHER: Hunter, name one important thing that we have today that we didn’t have 10 years ago.
HUNTER: Me!
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TEACHER: Adam, why do you always get so dirty?
ADAM: Well, I guess it’s because I’m a lot closer to the ground than you are.
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TEACHER: Beth, give me a sentence starting with "I".
BETH: I is . . .
TEACHER: No Beth . . . Always say "I am, not I is."
BETH: All right . . . I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.
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TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father’s cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now Alex, do you know why his father didn’t punish him?
ALEX: Because George still had the ax in his hand.
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TEACHER: Now, Macy, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
MACY: No Ma’m, I don’t have to. My Mom is a good cook.
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TEACHER: Daniel, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same as your brother’s composition. Did you copy off of him?
DANIEL: No teacher, it’s the same dog.
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TEACHER: Parker, what do you call a person who keeps on talking to people who are no longer interested?
PARKER: A teacher.