This is not an Onion article. This is for real.

In response to President Obama's budget plan, the Republicans in Congress have up to now mostly sniped and griped, not offering any sort of alternative.

Today, however, that changed. House Minority Leader John Bohner (R-Bizarro World) and other House Republicans today called a press conference to announce their budget proposal. The details? Well, there really weren't any, except for one thing. Guess what that thing was?

If you said "A massive tax cut for the wealthy!", you win a gallon of dog shampoo!

That's right, folks: the GOP's idea for how to fix the economy broken by years of deregulation and favoritism towards the wealthy is to favor the wealthy even more!

Under the Republican plan, the top marginal tax rate would be slashed from 35 to 25 percent, facilitating a dramatic transfer of wealth up the economic scale. Anyone making more than a $100,000 would pay the top rate; those under would pay 10 percent.

Which is such a good idea in a depression sorry, recession.

And get this: the proposal had absolutely nothing else in it. Even the Washington press corps, renowned for being both lazy and solicitous of conservatives, called Bohner (is it pronounced "boner"? It so should be) on this problem.

From the link:

"Are you going to have any further details on this today?" the first [reporter] asked.

"On what?" asked Boehner.

"There's no detail in here," noted the reporter.

Answered Boehner: "This is a blueprint for where we're going. Are you asking about some other document?"

A second reporter followed up: "What about some numbers? What about the out-year deficit? What about balancing the budget? How are you going to do it?"

"We'll have the alternative budget details next week," promised Boehner.

They called a press conference to announce a "detailed road-to-recovery plan" in which none of the details had actually been worked out. They didn't even have numbers to put to the budget basics. Their entire plan, as presented to the press and the country, is "give the rich more money".

He also called a budget "just a bunch of numbers", and said that it "really is a one-page document" in general practice. What a SMRT guy they've got leading the GOP in the House, nu? I really want someone proposing our national budget who refers to it as "just a bunch of numbers" and thinks one page is enough detail to describe how the entire federal government will spend its money for a year!

While I laugh, though, I am still filled with rage. These idiots who have enabled the idiots on Wall Street to wreck our economy, have decided that the best way to fix the problems they created is...keep doing what they did that created the problems.

Where is Madame Guillotine now that the people need her?

Flood update.

Many of you are probably worried, so here's the scoop: the cities of Fargo and Moorhead have, for the past week, been mobilizing a record number of volunteers and resources to build dikes, dams, levees, and other protections against the oncoming flood of the Red River. The latest work completed built dikes sufficient to protect against the expected crest of 41 feet.

The latest update from the National Weather Service, however, raised the projected crest to 42 or even 43 feet. To give you an idea, the previous record level for a flood in the Fargo-Moorhead area is 40.1 feet, in 1897.

So, they're still out there. Where I live, next to the Clay County Courthouse, is high ground, and the courthouse will not be allowed to flood. They've turned an entire street into an emergency dike, and they're adding to the existing ones to protect against the new expected crest. But the crest is expected within 36 hours. Oh, and did I mention that it's also snowed 8 inches and is below freezing?

I am not expecting to have to leave. But, just in case, I have a bug-out bag ready, and my cat carrier is at hand for kitty evacuation. If I have to go, I will take my lappie with me and try to update you from my new location. Again, not expecting to need to do this, just covering all bases.

The volunteer efforts in the cities have been amazing: I have seen sandbaggers, food carriers, machines, National Guard troops, and police EVERYWHERE. Sandbags and dirt dikes have been going up all over the place, and almost all bridges are closed. Traffic is, as you might expect, quite snarled. But, the people are out and doing what needs to be done, in record numbers. Latest word is that they continue to have too many volunteers.

Just one thing comes to mind: what with all the building of dikes, placing of dikes, reinforcing of dikes, and other dependence on dikes to save this city...when it's all over, Minnesota and North Dakota had damn well better allow gay marriage.