Mitch's Chainsaw Massacre

To recap, Republicans like Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell still haven't figured out the difference between playing your hand, and badly overplaying your hand.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday said Republicans will demand steep spending cuts during the next round of budget negotiations.

McConnell, in an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” said President Obama had won all he’s going to get on taxes in last week’s agreement to extend the Bush-era tax rates for most taxpayers.

“The tax issue is, finished, over, completed. That’s behind us now. The question is: what are we going to do about the biggest problem confronting us and our future,” McConnell said.

McConnell said next round of negotiations over a deal to raise the debt-ceiling would need to include Democratic concessions on spending.

Mitchy here believes steep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security are going to make him popular here in Kentucky (one of the poorest states in the nation) in 2014.  Sure, Mitch.  Even the Village is calling you out on this fantasy.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me just interrupt you there. In the last year in the Budget Control Act, the Congress actually cut $1.5 trillion in spending. That’s more than was raised in revenue in this last fiscal cliff deal. So are you saying that any discussion of revenue is completely off the table going forward? You will not accept any new revenues in any new deal?

McCONNELL: Yeah, absolutely. The tax issue is behind us. Now the question is, what are we going to do about the real problem?

The "real problem" is that Mitch McConnell, a guy who has seen his personal wealth jump nearly 800% to $27 million dollars since 2004, feels the poor and the elderly of Kentucky and the nation have to suffer even more.  Mitch is going to be able to retire quite comfortably.

What about you, fellow Kentucky voters?  Do you feel that your retirement money is the "real problem" in America like Mitch does?

One Heck Of A Hat Trick

And I woke up this morning to a nice surprise: a new tenative deal between NHL players and management could mean that what's left of this year's NHL season may be saved after all.

The National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association struck a tentative agreement early Sunday that may end a more-than-100-day lockout of unionized players, the league said in a statement posted on its website.

The new agreement reached in New York still must be approved by both the players and owners, the NHL said. 

"After a marathon 16-plus hour negotiating session at the Sofitel Hotel that began Saturday afternoon, the sides announced an agreement in principle shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday," the league said.

Some players had a "crucial role in the final stages" of reaching the agreement, the union said. "Players in the room early Sunday for the announcement were: Craig Adams, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Shane Doan, Andrew Ference, Ron Hainsey, Jamal Mayers and George Parros," the players association said.

A shortened season would at least mean we'd get to see hockey this year, but as I said earlier, two crippling lockouts in eight years means I've got no real incentive to go to any games and make the drive to Columbus, let alone Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis or Chicago...and remember, it's still not even a done deal.

NHL has a lot of work to do to make it up to the fans.