Dems End Repubs' Unemployment Cruelty

Fucking finally. With a new Democrat sworn in to replace the late Robert Byrd, President Obama was at last able to extend unemployment benefits for 5 million Americans amid the indefatigeable failing economy. Republicans had enacted a filibuster, claiming the deficit is more urgent than feeding and housing struggling job seekers—a thinly veiled ploy to cast a pall over the land in a desperate attempt to win party votes in November. Pathetic.

Economists now say it will take at least until the middle of this decade to drive down the nation's current 9.5% unemployment rate to a more normal 5.5-6% (and where are those jobs coming from?). Mind you, historically, Congress has never allowed federally funded extended benefits to lapse when the unemployment rate is above 7.2%, including President Bush's terms—until now.

Of course, Republicans are talking out of their ass regarding the deficit. Extending unemployment costs less than $40 billion, while maintaining Bush's tax cuts on the wealthy—which the party supports—will cost $700 billion. I refudiate that!