Showing posts with label Pelosi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pelosi. Show all posts

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Perfect Timing: Construction Costs Set to Skyrocket in California as Democrat Eco-Nuts' New 'CALGreen' Standards Kick In

In the teeth of the most vicious housing downturn in decades, the liberal masterminds running California have decided to kill the state's economy once and for all. Their weapon: a massive new encyclopedia of "environmentally friendly" regulations called "CALGreen".

The bureaucrats inside California's massive state government just published a 90-Page Introduction to CALGreen (PDF), which makes for excellent bathroom reading. Among the interlocking agencies that must be satisfied in order to build: the State Department of Housing and Community Development, the Division of the State Architect, the California Building Standards Commission, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, CALBO (California Building Officials), local chapters of the International Code Council, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Building Industry Association. Each has a stake in the new regulations and will defend their turf until the state finally goes bankrupt once and for all.

Oh, and one other thing: construction costs are going to skyrocket for every type of building.

January 1st is coming - are you ready for the new CALGreen Building Code?


On January 1, 2011 the California Building Standards Commission will require compliance with the new CalGreen building code. CalGreen requires residential and commercial building department permit submittals to comply with a wide range of sustainability measures in planning, design, energy & water efficiency, materials and resources, commissioning and environmental air quality.

Better still, cities and countries are permitted to enact local ordinances with even more restrictive green building standards.

The new requirements are mandatory for for all new residential and nonresidential buildings (including buildings for retail, office, public schools and hospitals) throughout the state, starting on January 1, 2011.

The level of detail specified by CALGreen is shocking. The new laws regulate every aspect of construction, far beyond what you might have thought possible. Mandates stipulate how builders handle storm water pollution prevention, bicycle parking, changing rooms, the paint used for marking parking stalls, "light pollution", grading and paving, all water use (including "multiple showerheads serving one shower" and all plumbing fixtures), irrigation design standards, handling of construction waste material, handling of excavated soil, fireplace design and testing, indoor moisture control, CO2 monitoring systems (not carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, which humans exhale), all HVAC standards (including required "ozone depletion and greenhouse gas reductions") and everything in between... including the kitchen sink.

To monitor compliance, CALGreen requires that builders fill out worksheets (23 pages of forms and templates), pay for inspections, verify business partners' conformance, and a whole bunch of other fun tasks wholly unrelated to, uhm, construction.

The development of the CALGreen Code is intended to (1) cause a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings; (2) promote environmentally responsible, cost-effective, healthier places to live and work; (3) reduce energy and water consumption; and (4) respond to the directives by the Governor. The reduction in greenhouse gases has been mandated in recent years by the Governor through executive orders and the passage of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Assembly Bill 32, Chapter 488 of the 2006 Statutes) adding Division 25.5 to the California Health and Safety Code. The provisions of AB 32 require a cap on greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, mandatory emissions reporting, and an ongoing market-based compliance program. Establishing the CALGreen Code is an important step towards more efficient and responsible building designs. The California Air Resources Board estimates that the mandatory provisions in this new code will reduce green house gases by 3 million metric tons by the year 2020.

As an aside, a single, large volcanic eruption can expel 120 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

With a massive new set of regulations like these, California's liberals really are trying to kill the state.

Here's a thought: maybe they're called "green jobs" because California's economy is turning gangrenous.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

So It Begins: DHS implements 'Backdoor Amnesty' and other startling immigration stories our beloved legacy media forgot to report

At the intersection of incompetence and ideology lies a crossroads called Legacy Media.

Feds moving to dismiss some deportation cases


Critics assail the plan as a bid to create a kind of backdoor 'amnesty'

The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records... Critics assailed the plan as another sign that the Obama administration is trying to create a kind of backdoor "amnesty" program...

"They've made clear that they have no interest in enforcing immigration laws against people who are not convicted criminals," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for strict controls.

"This situation is just another side effect of President Obama's failure to deliver on his campaign promise to make immigration reform a priority in his first year," said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "Until he does, state and local authorities are left with no choice but to pick up the slack for prosecuting and detaining criminal aliens."

...Tre Rebsock, the ICE union representative in Houston, said even if the efforts involve only a fraction of the pending immigration cases, "that's going to make our officers feel even more powerless to enforce the laws."

Myrick: 'Homegrown' terrorists are working within U.S.


Republican U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick warned a Huntersville audience Tuesday about the dangers of "homegrown terrorism" and new Iranian inroads into the Americas... [it was] when she was asked, "What keeps Sue Myrick up at night?" that her voice rose... "I'm extremely concerned about Iran and the situation in the Middle East," she said. "People don't want to face the fact that we have terrorist organizations operating in this hemisphere and this country."

Myrick, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said she's disturbed by reported activities in this hemisphere by the Lebanese-based Islamic group Hezbollah, seen by many as an Iranian proxy... Myrick repeated what she wrote in a June 23 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano: that Hezbollah has increased its cooperation with Central American drug cartels and poses a threat to security on the southern U.S. border.

Myrick said she worries about Iranians learning Spanish and slipping through the border.

But Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said Tuesday that, "At this time, DHS does not have any credible information on terrorist groups operating along the Southwest Border."

Myrick also expressed her frustration with the case of Samir Khan. He was the former Central Piedmont Community College student who ran a radical blog from his parents' Charlotte home... Intelligence sources said last month that they believe Khan is the top editor of "Inspire," an online magazine designed as a recruiting tool for the group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula... The first issue contained elaborate graphics and articles titled, "What to Expect in Jihad" and "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom.

Mexican Military Finds 72 Bodies Near U.S. Border



Mexican marines found the dumped bodies of 72 people at a rural location in northern Mexico following a shootout with suspected drug cartel gunmen that left one marine and three suspects dead, the Navy reported late Tuesday.

The cadavers of 58 men and 14 women were found at a spot near the Gulf coast south of the border city of Matamoros. It appears to be the largest drug-cartel body dumping ground found in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against drug trafficking in late 2006...

...The area has been wracked by bloody turf battles between the Gulf drug cartel and their one-time allies, the Zetas drug gang.

In May, authorities discovered 55 bodies in an abandoned mine near Taxco, a colonial-era city south of Mexico City that is popular with international tourists... In July, investigators found 51 corpses in two days of digging in a field near a trash dump outside the northern city of Monterrey. Many of those found were believed to have been rival traffickers. But cartels often dispose of the bodies of kidnap victims in such dumping grounds.

More than 28,000 people have been killed in violence tied to Mexico's drug war since the offensive began.

Perhaps one day, we'll open up our local newspaper to see all of these stories reported fully and accurately.

But, then, I'm a dreamer.


Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Still Life With President Obama and His Summer of Recovery

Stimulated.



Sunday, August 22, 2010

Photos: Today's 'Stop the 9/11 Victory Mosque' Protest in Lower Manhattan

Thanks to Shankbone's Flickr feed, we have a view into today's protest -- organized by StopThe911Mosque.com -- against the Ground Zero Victory Mosque* in lower Manhattan.









Click on any of the photos to see the complete album.

Update: FireAndreaMitchell has additional photos spotted on Twitter.


* Complete list of alternate names for the Ground Zero Victory Mosque here.

Please! Someone call 9-1-1! Eugene Robinson Just O.D.'ed on Stupid Pills!

Something is very wrong with the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson. The proof is in the pudding or, in this case, the bowl full of stupid served up by Gene on Friday. His column, entitled "President Obama's winning streak", describes the under-appreciated management skills of #44.

This is a radical break from journalistic convention, I realize, but today I'd like to give credit where it's due -- specifically, to President Obama. Quiet as it's kept, he's on a genuine winning streak... look at what he's accomplished in just the past few weeks. Let me highlight four recent headlines:

"Last U.S. combat troops leave Iraq" ... [Without thanking Bush 43 for the surge he opposed]

"General Motors to launch stock offering" ... [Another union payoff]

"Gulf oil spill contained" ... [With 23,000 unnecessary job losses]

"President wades into mosque controversy" ... [On the wrong side, as usual]

He still hasn't walked on water, though. What's wrong with the man?

Back in the little land we like to call "Reality", Americans are suffering. In the nearly four years that the Pelosi-Obama-Reid Democrats have held Congress, the private sector has disappeared faster than a sack of Chips Ahoy in front of Rosie O'Donnell.

The Democrats have given us:

* Three straight years of job losses, an unemployment rate that has more than doubled to nearly 10%, and a true (U-6) underemployment rate of nearly 18%;

* A national debt that has ballooned to over $13 trillion, a catastrophic increase of 60%;

* A $787 (now $860) billion pork-, bribe- and boondoggle-laden "stimulus" bill, which not only failed to stimulate the economy, but helped bankrupt the country;

* Record high home foreclosures that the American taxpayer is on the hook for thanks to the Democrats' favorite job shops: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;

* Another "jobs bill" that cost taxpayers $18 billion, yet created no "jobs"... along with a $26 billion "teachers' jobs bill" that simply kicks the fiscal responsibility can down the road and rewards the AFT and NEA teachers' unions;

* The $700 billion TARP bill to bailout banks that couldn't balance their books; and...

* The 2,000+ page health care takeover bill, which leaves the American taxpayer on the hook for another $2.6 trillion to pay for this new "entitlement."

Yes, Americans are grateful for the work of the Obama Democrats. Stimulus. TARP. ObamaCare. $200 million in Stimulus propaganda construction signs. And union payoffs and political bribes -- used to pass this mess -- as far as the eye can see.

Eugene Robinson's latest excretion does prove one point:

WaPo's management team needs to start random drug-testing.


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Good News: Obama Summer of Recovery Continues as Insurance Companies Begin Mass Layoffs Thanks to DemCare

Remember: you'll get to keep your plan if you like it. And your costs won't go up. In fact, they'll go down. Or something.

Assurant health cutting jobs ahead of health reform implementation: "Milwaukee-based Insurer Assurant Inc. is cutting its workforce in various locations around America ahead of health care reform implementation."

NC's largest health insurer to cut jobs: "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina will contract with Dallas-based Sourcecorp for some data entry work... The company wants to cut its total operating costs by 20 percent, or $200 million, by 2014. That's when much of the federal health care law takes effect."

WakeMed begins $87M cost-cutting effort: "Wake County's largest hospital system plans to slash annual operating costs by as much as $87 million as it makes changes recommended by an outside consulting firm... efforts likely will include eliminating jobs in some departments... The hospital also may phase out some services where it's not the market leader, such as providing chemotherapy and other cancer treatment."

Houston Employers chop 17,000 jobs in area: "Finance and health care companies are holding back on hiring because of uncertainties about recent federal regulations, he said. The moratorium on deep-water drilling has also caused energy companies to be more cautious about domestic expansion."

Latest round of layoffs under way at Addison Gilbert: "CEO warns this week's actions 'only the beginning'... A second round of layoffs began yesterday at Northeast Hospital Corp., as the health care organization looks to eliminate up to 100 full-time positions."

Unhealthy time for insurance brokers: "Health insurance brokers that serve small businesses and individuals are concerned that new federal regulations due next year could reduce their sales commissions, forcing some out of business and others to lay off employees... Some health insurers that serve Southeast Michigan, including Priority Health, Cigna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, already have informed agents of commission cuts, partially because of changes stemming from the recently approved health care reform bill."

A.M. Best Maintains Negative Outlook for Health Insurers: "A.M. Best Co. is maintaining a negative outlook for health insurance companies. The driving factors are the struggles to grow revenue and the near-term impact from the implementation of health care reform... With the phased-in implementation of health care reform beginning in 2010 and full implementation in 2014, A.M. Best does expect to see some changes. One of the most significant changes in the near term is the minimum medical loss ratio requirement for individual, small and large group segments beginning in 2011. Although the definition of what is included in the medical loss ratio is not yet available, A.M. Best does expect to see margin compression as companies comply. Additionally, A.M. Best anticipates health insurers will try to lower administrative expenses [Ed: i.e., layoff workers] to help offset the increase in the medical loss ratio."

The passage of ObamaCare had nothing at all to do with either health or care. Its intent was to plump the membership of the SEIU as more and more people are forced into government-run health care options like Medicaid, SCHIP and Medicare. More SEIU members translates to more union dues. With more dues comes increased campaign contributions for Democrats. It's a vicious cycle in which average, taxpaying Americans are used as pawns in order to fund Democrat campaign coffers.

Remember in November.


Friday, August 20, 2010

Incredible New Voter Sentiment Index: Counting Comments at "The Hill"

I have arrived at the best scientific assessment of voter sentiment since, well, Fred Zogby's historic 1965 prediction that Al Gore would invent the Internet. At TheHill.com -- not exactly the center of right-wing thought -- I tallied the ratio of pro-Obama to anti-Obama comments.

By the time I tired of the exercise, the score (for this article) read:

35 anti-Obama to 3 pro-Obama to 3 neutral

After 41 comments, I'll be honest -- I gave up.

Do with this data what you will. No matter what: vote in November.


Nancy Pelosi Calls for Investigation into Funding Sources of Families of 9/11 Survivors who Object to Ground Zero Victory Mosque

Citing concern with First Amendment issues and/or local zoning rules, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for investigations into the funding sources of those who oppose the Ground Zero Mosque.

"It seems incomprehensible to me that in this great country of ours, which tolerates all religions and especially atheism, that anyone could object to the construction of a massive 15-story mosque near the Ground Zero crater. Or, as the Associated Press refers to it, 'Manhattan's Friendliest Sharia-Compliant Mosque'," the Speaker opined.

"For this reason, I have asked Attorney General Holder to launch an investigation of all opponents of this mosque, including the 9/11 families. I have also requested that the Internal Revenue Service and the newly-formed Federal Bureau of Health Care Investigations research the funding behind this insidious organization that does not demonstrate the religious tolerance of all things Islamic."

After the Speaker's press conference, other House Democrats also expressed interest in investigating the funding sources of pro-life groups, talk show hosts and long-haul truck drivers.


Image: Record-Online.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Civil War Breaking Out in Failed Narco-State; President Obama Welcomes Combatants Into Arizona

23,000 people have died in Mexico as a result of its ongoing civil war. It's gotten so bad that business executives in the once-safe capital of Monterrey have taken out full-page newspaper ads pleading for help.

The growing violence in Monterrey, long one of Mexico's most modern and safe cities, is a sign that the country's war against drug gangs is spreading ever further from poorer battlegrounds along the border and into the country's wealthiest enclaves.

...Residents opened their newspapers Wednesday morning to find the ads taken out by Mexican business leaders, begging the government to send more military into the city. "Enough already," said the notice that ran in national and local papers, criticizing what it said was a slow response of police against "criminal bands that in every act look to establish a new boundary of terror."

Later that day, the body of Edelmiro Cavazos, mayor of the Monterrey suburb of Santiago, was found beside a highway. Mr. Cavazos had been abducted Sunday night, the latest in a string of attacks against politicians in Mexico's north.

His killing is another incident in a terrifying spell for Monterrey residents that began Saturday when armed gangs set up more than a dozen roadblocks on key boulevards of the city, paralyzing traffic for hours...

...The next day, a grenade was lobbed at the offices of an important television broadcaster. On Tuesday night, grenades were also hurled at several small businesses on the city's outskirts...

...The brutality of the conflict is escalating. Alleged gang hit men broke into the home of a Chihuahua state policeman this week and strangled to death his 4-year-old brother, authorities said...

...Across the country, mutilated and decapitated bodies turn up virtually every day, sometimes hanging from bridges.

It wasn't always this way in Monterrey. Mexicans know the city of 2 million as "The Sultan of the North," a nickname stemming from its wealth, generated by corporations such as Mexico's beverage titan Femsa S.A.B. de C.V. and U.S. businesses such as Whirlpool Corp. and General Electric Co., which have large offices in Monterrey. International architects built the city's skyline, which is framed by dramatic mountains.

As the civil war inside Mexico's failed narco-state spreads, border security will become an increasing concern.

The violence, drugs and refugees spreading into our country would tax even an economically healthy United States. And, thanks to the Obama Democrats, our country is anything but.

That is why the Democrats' failure to enforce immigration law is doubly insane.


I join those who have called for looking into how Nancy Pelosi's facelifts are being funded

Seriously. Something is very, very wrong with the Speaker of the House.

In an interview with KCBS radio, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) yesterday called for a congressional investigation into opposition to the Cordoba House, "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded."

Is there a medical phenomenon related to an overdose of face-lifts? A brain-squeeze effect or something?

So who is funding Pelosi's face-lifts?

The answer is likely as obvious as the answer to her question about the mosque's opposition, but since this lady is third in line from the presidency, we can't be too careful.


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

$200M In Stimulus Construction Signs Were Encouraged by White House as 'Symbols of President Obama's Commitment to American People'

If this doesn't remind you of the old Soviet Union, you probably grew up after 1989. They have a word for this in other societies: Propaganda.

Federal contractors receiving money for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—the $862 billion economic stimulus law President Barack Obama signed in February 2009—have been encouraged and, in some cases, required by the administration to post signs that say their work is funded by that specific act.

...The Department of Housing and Urban Development recommended one model sign that included these words: “Funded By: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/ Barack Obama, President.”

..."Projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will bear a newly-designed emblem," said the OMB directive. "The emblem is a symbol of President Obama’s commitment to the American People to invest their tax dollars wisely to put Americans back to work."

“All projects which are funded by the ARRA should display signage that features the Primary Emblem throughout the construction phase,” said the directive. “The signage should be displayed in a prominent location on site. Some exclusions may apply. The Primary Emblem can also be displayed on signs at events or conferences associated with the ARRA or the individual projects funded by the ARRA. The Primary Emblem should not be displayed at a size less than 6 inches in diameter."

...the Department of Housing and Urban Development even suggested a model sign that gives Barack Obama personal credit as president for funding the project.

...“It’s blatant propaganda on the part of the Obama administration to take credit for the spending of public dollars,” said Schock, who has investigated the matter as a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “It’s propaganda that will be worthless in a matter of years. To think that we can spend $200 million on a bunch of sheet metal signs that will end up in a landfill somewhere is a poor use of public funds at a time when our nation is facing mounting deficits.”

...“I’m less concerned about the perceptions of the policy makers than I am of the grant recipients,” Schock said. “I’ve spoken with recipients in my district who thought that if they did not participate in the promotional signs, recovery money would be less likely." ...He added, “Without a requirement, most units of government would choose to spend that money putting people to work.”

...The HUD e-mail, cited in the IG report, included an attachment with two templates for a sign. One included a blank white space where the details of the specific project could be inserted over the words, “Funded By: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Barack Obama, President.”

...The White House did not respond to requests from CNSNews.com for comment by phone and e-mail... How many of President Obama’s signs have been posted at highway projects around the country? “That’s a question for the states,” a Federal Highway Administration spokesman told CNSNews.com. “It would be like asking how many stop signs are out there. We don’t know.” But the spokesman did confirm that the signs themselves are paid for by Recovery Act dollars.

Welcome to Moscow, circa 1963.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.

Question: What's more bizarre than Barack Obama's endorsement of a Sharia-compliant mosque in the World Trade Center debris field?

Answer: Nancy Pelosi's repeated calls for an investigation into the funding of... not the WTC mosque, mind you, but the opposition to the mosque.

I'll save Pelosi the time, effort and cost related to the investigation. She can start with a subpoena of the 9/11 families who were stunned by the President’s support of the Ground Zero mosque. I'm sure that would go over well with the American people.

There is something fundamentally and deeply wrong with Nancy Pelosi.


Image: Sad Hill News. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Perfect Timing: Media Matters Beclowns Itself Just as FDA's New Death Panel Begins Process of Denying Access to Breast Cancer Treatment

If you look up schmucks in the dictionary, odds are you'll see this logo. The nutters at Media Matters selectively spliced Jim Hoft's pick-up of this story to apply their typical Streicher-style spin.

While I appreciate the free P.R., what you'll want to note is what the cretins forgot to mention. That is, the Susan G. Komen for The Cure Foundation -- not exactly a bunch of wingnuts -- are among those protesting the FDA's discontinuation of Avastin "for metastatic breast cancer patients, noting that it is effective for some patients and warning of a chilling effect on new drug development if approval is withdrawn."

In the kind of exquisite timing at which Media Nutters specializes, Ace o' Spades reported the following delightful development earlier today, complete with flaming skull.

Ho Boy: FDA May Rescind Approval Of Anti-Breast-Cancer Drug As Political Favor To Obama


The FDA is not supposed to consider costs of treatment. Their mandate is to determine if a drug is "safe and effective," period. If it's safe and effective, it gets approved. Period. That's their job. Officials there recently re-iterated that cost considerations are not part of their mandate.

...This presents a political problem for Obama in the case of anti-breast-cancer drug Avastin. Apparently it's quite expensive. His new head of Medicaid and Medicare, Berwick, who makes a point of talking up controlling costs by denying some treatments, is going to deny reimbursement for an anti-prostate-cancer drug, Provenge. Or, well, they're still mulling it over, which means they're considering not covering it.

And now there is the anti-breast-cancer drug Avastin. Like Provenge, it has already been approved by the FDA. But that creates a political problem -- how can Obama control costs and reassure the public that he's not, as maintained by his critics, denying useful and effective drugs to seniors in order to free up money for ObamaCare?

Oh -- here's a great idea! We'll just get the FDA to rescind its previous approval of the drug so that Medicare and Medicaid don't even have to consider reimbursing for it, thus sparing Obama a political headache, and merely at the cost of taking off the market, from anyone suffering from breast cancer, a drug already deemed "safe and effective" by the FDA.

Federal regulators are considering taking the highly unusual step of rescinding approval of a drug that patients with advanced breast cancer turn to as a last-ditch hope... The FDA is not supposed to consider costs in its decisions, but if the agency rescinds approval, insurers are likely to stop paying for treatment.

This is criminal. To avoid a difficult political debate -- and the honest confession that "bending the curve" of Medicare costs to free up money for ObamaCare is going to require a lesser standard of treatment -- the FDA is killing a safe and effective drug and thereby outlawing for anyone, including those who can be helped by this drug and no other, and who are paying for the drug with their own private insurance or own out-of-pocket money.

Ace points out that your betters -- i.e., the Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangels of the world, who are above the law -- will certainly have access to any drug they need.

As for the peasants?

We're just numbers in one of Donald Berwick's actuarial tables.

And what will you drones at Media Matters do now? The pencil-necked geek named TBogg appears to have proffered an invitation for you. Of course, it could be time for you to have another slumber party so you can regroup.


Astoundingly excellent automatically generated headlines o' the day

Spotted at Memeorandum.

Mr. Krugman, meet Mr. Ponzi. Mr. Ponzi, meet Mr. Schmuckman. I mean Krugman.


Sunday, August 15, 2010

Democrats Gone Wild: California So Broke It's Assessing Payroll Taxes and Fines on Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy Caretakers It Hasn't Paid

A KPBS interview with California State Assemblyman Joel Anderson (R) describes the tragic failure of the Democrat Party's brand of socialism.

Q: Tell me where we are with the vote on the budget.

A: We haven't had a vote yet. I'm in the minority party. We don't dictate when the votes come. The majority party does. Last year, we issued over 450,000 IOUs, totaling more than $3 billion. And many of these IOUs went to individuals and also to companies.

Q: Who gets the IOUs?

A: Vendors. Primarily vendors of the state of California.

Q: People who sell to the state?

A: Or people who have services. For example, we have Novis Homes in... in San Diego County. This is a 70-bed facility for Down's Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy clients. Many are orphans, their parents have long since passed away. And they're looking at a $270,000 fine.

Q: Can they say open under these circumstances.

A: I don't see how they can. Because they're having a tough time meeting payroll. And at the same time, we're asking them to pay payroll taxes.

I wonder whether the taxpaying residents of California's sanctuary cities appreciate the genius of the Democrat Party's brand of economic leadership.


Saturday, August 14, 2010

Berwick's First Strike: Susan G. Komen Foundation and Ovarian Cancer Alliance Decry First-Ever Medicare Denials of FDA-Approved Cancer Drugs

Just days after the recess appointment of Donald Berwick, the controversial new head of Medicare and Medicaid, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance posted the following grim news: for the first time in history, an FDA-approved anti-cancer therapy may not be covered by Medicare.

Provenge, a vaccine to treat the recurrence of prostate cancer, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)... Medicare usually covers the cost of FDA-approved anti-cancer therapies. However, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is still reviewing whether it will cover Provenge, and at what rate.

The CMS statute states that Medicare must cover therapies that are reasonable and necessary, while the FDA is instructed to approve drugs that are safe and effective. Because of the conflicting Federal coverage and approval requirements, there are some non-FDA approved drugs (called off-label drugs) that are paid for by CMS. However, with respect to Provenge, it appears that CMS is arguing that while the treatment is safe and effective, it may not be reasonable and necessary. For the first time, an FDA approved anti-cancer therapy may not be covered by Medicare.

A life-saving cancer treatment "may not be reasonable and necessary"? Gee, that kind of decision-making by an unelected federal bureaucracy certainly sounds like a death panel to me.

Say, I thought the President said that pre-existing conditions would always be covered. Isn't cancer a pre-existing condition?

Oh. What's this?

Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Ovarian Cancer National Alliance Appeal to FDA and Key Lawmakers on Avastin Issue

Patient Access and the Impact on Development of New Treatments at the Heart of Komen for the Cure's Concerns


Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue to allow the use of the drug bevacizumab, commonly known as Avastin, for metastatic breast cancer patients, noting that it is effective for some patients and warning of a chilling effect on new drug development if approval is withdrawn...

...In a joint letter sent to the FDA and key Congressional lawmakers Thursday, Komen for the Cure and the OCNA wrote, "We are particularly concerned about patients who are presently receiving bevacizumab and the message that this decision sends about drug development for women with advanced breast cancer."

...According to Komen, the decision to use Avastin should be made between a woman and her doctor after a thoughtful conversation that carefully considers the drug's benefits and risks. Komen does not want to see access limited by Medicare and Medicaid.

Gee, and I thought no one would be denied coverage by ObamaCare.

Didn't the President himself say, "I want seniors to know, despite what some have said, these reforms will not cut your guaranteed benefits."

That's what President Obama told us, endlessly and repeatedly, for months on end.

Do you mean to say he was lying?

Folks, this is precisely why the cancer survival rate for the U.K. is so much lower than that of the U.S. -- and, in some cases, lower than Eastern Europe's. And why Donald Berwick's nickname is Dr. Death.

America's seniors are about to find out that having coverage is not the same thing as receiving care. And our seniors are about to pay the piper.


Update: Under Dr. Berwick, Death Panels Coming to Life. Hat tips: Valerie Ward and Mark Levin.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Oh, Noes! Now Even Black Democrats Reconsidering Party Affiliation

And it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of Marxists.

Michelle Rena Jones cheered when candidates Barack Obama and Joe Biden visited south-central Michigan in 2008. She supported Mr. Obama that November along with a slate of Democrats, including Mark Schauer in the 7th congressional district.

Now, the 40-year-old is rethinking her lifelong support for the party. She has been without steady work for two years, lost her home and car and began receiving cash assistance from the state for the first time. This year, she says, "I'm willing to take a chance on something different."

Ms. Jones is part of an unmeasured, agitated mass: unemployed Americans who don't believe the Obama Administration and Congress have done enough to produce jobs. With elections coming up, their unease is especially troublesome for the Democrats, who control both chambers. [Ed: and have for four -- count 'em -- four long years.]

One of the busiest places in Albion is Michigan Works!—a work force development office that provides services for job seekers and employers... It is early in the morning but the building is full. Ms. Jones, who supported the Democratic slate in 2008, scrolls through job postings on a computer terminal. The mother of two now lives in public housing and is receiving $403-a-month public cash assistance while she waits for employment... One interview, for a job at the Michigan secretary of state's branch office, recently fell through simply because Ms. Jones couldn't get there. She has no car and there is no local public transportation. She was counting on her employment program to give her a ride. But the interview site in Kalamazoo, more than 50 miles away, is beyond the program limit... [Ed: note the public sector theme...]

...Susan Kruger, 51, is living on $1,300-a-month unemployment—well below the $41,000 a year she earned as a librarian before she lost her job in October. It's the first time she has been without a job in a library since she was 16. "I never thought I'd be out of work and I sure never thought I'd be out of work this long," she says...

The welfare state is collapsing as we speak. The public sector, at every level of government, must shrink in order for all of us to survive.

And all Americans -- African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Indian-Americans, Native Americans and every other form of hyphenated citizens -- must reject the Democrat Party that loves to divide us. Freedom is our watchword and hatred of slavery is our creed.


Hat tip: Ace o' Spades, via my bookmarks, via my muscle memory, via waaay too much time online.

'Dual Capacity': The Straw that Broke the Economy's Back

Easy-to-follow instructions: how to kill the economy in four easy steps -- and touch off the Dempression of 2011:

Step 1: Create an unbelievably onerous new regulation that hits small businesses particularly hard.

To partly fund ObamaCare, Democrats altered 1099 reporting requirements for small businesses beginning in 2012. Via a Google search, you can see the backlash from small business here. For a specific reaction, from one of many industries with serious concerns, see the National Restaurant Association. The move would saddle small businesses everywhere with a huge new administrative burden, as well as raise their taxes at a time when we need job growth from them.

Step 2: After weathering the outcry, pretend to listen to the American people and reconsider the new 1099 reporting regulations.

Late yesterday Majority Leader Reid re-filed a substitute to the small business jobs bill [which modifies] the expanded 1099 reporting provision enacted as part of the health reform bill.

Rather than simply repeal the regulation (as the GOP had attempted to do), the Democrat alternative will raise taxes on oil and gas companies in the U.S. only.

Step 3: Enact new taxes on domestic energy companies by taxing their foreign profits -- which are already heavily taxed in each foreign country in which the companies operate.

In the Obama administration’s 2011 budget proposal, included are provisions to change existing “dual capacity” rules, which are laws that grant tax breaks to American companies who generate income in foreign countries. These tax credits are used to offset the U.S. income tax on foreign income. Plans to change this policy would result in double-taxation on domestic oil and gas producers... [Foreign energy companies] carry on ...free of this added expense. State-controlled competitors in countries like Russia, Venezuela and China will secure energy sources at our expense.

In short, this will make domestic energy production completely unprofitable and will kill American jobs deader than Benito Mussolini.

Step 4: Profit! Well, the public sector profits, but Joe and Jane taxpayer take it on the chin, again.

It's a triple-whammy: energy prices will definitely increase (because there's less competition); Americans will lose jobs (as domestic energy companies cut unprofitable staff); and America will become even less secure (as more of our plentiful domestic energy sources lie fallow).

* * * * * * * * *

Add in the expiration of the evil Bush tax cuts on January 1st, 2011, and we have the recipe for a stake in the heart of the economy.

And should it be allowed to proceed unchecked, the "Great Recession" will henceforth be known as the "Dempression".

You've got to act in November, folks. That really is our last chance to set things right for our children. I'm not kidding -- it's happened throughout history and it can definitely happen again. That's not fear-mongering -- that's a fact.


Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Summer of Recovery: 'The IMF has... pronounced the U.S. bankrupt'

For your consideration, an eclectic montage of upbeat economic stories:

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It: Laurence Kotlikoff


Let’s get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

What it can and must do is radically simplify its tax, health-care, retirement and financial systems, each of which is a complete mess. But this is the good news. It means they can each be redesigned to achieve their legitimate purposes at much lower cost and, in the process, revitalize the economy.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund released its annual review of U.S. economic policy... the IMF has effectively pronounced the U.S. bankrupt. Section 6 of the July 2010 Selected Issues Paper says: “The U.S. fiscal gap associated with today’s federal fiscal policy is huge for plausible discount rates.” It adds that “closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 percent of U.S. GDP.”

The fiscal gap is the value today (the present value) of the difference between projected spending (including servicing official debt) and projected revenue in all future years...

Sounds sustainable!

Looking for a more positive assessment? How does a comparison to a Disney character sound?

America is a "Mickey Mouse economy"


America is a "Mickey Mouse economy" that is technically bankrupt, according to Jochen Wermuth, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and managing partner at Wermuth Asset Management.

"America today looks like Russia in 1998. Consumers, companies and the government are all highly indebted. America as a result is a bankrupt Mickey Mouse economy," Wermuth told CNBC.

Kewl! Thanks, Mister Prezodent!

Deficit in July Totals $165.04 Billion


The U.S. government spent itself deeper into the red last month, paying nearly $20 billion in interest on debt and an additional $9.8 billion to help unemployed Americans.

Federal spending eclipsed revenue for the 22nd straight time, the Treasury Department said Wednesday...

The $165.04 billion deficit, while a bit smaller than the $169.5 billion shortfall expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires, was the second highest for the month on record...

The highest was $180.68 billion in July 2009...

That level of deficit spending comes to, uhm, $2 trillion a year. For you leftists out there, that would pay for about... carry the one... 20 years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- combined. Oh, and it's another Obama record for economic master FAIL.

Freddie Mac requests $1.8B more in aid after 2Q loss


The government rescued McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae from the brink of failure nearly two years ago...

The new request means they have needed $148.2 billion to stay afloat, about $63.1 billion of which is being used by Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac is losing money from bad loans it backed, many of them before the housing market went bust...

It had $118 billion in bad loans at the end of June, up from $103.4 billion at the end of last year. It owned more than 62,000 foreclosed properties in June, up from about 35,000 a year earlier.

To put it all in perspective, please recall the following:

The Democrats' so-called "financial reform bill" completely ignored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To have truly repaired these government-sponsored entities -- which triggered the 2008 economic calamity -- would have exposed some very, very embarrassing truths.

And the real reasons for the mortgage meltdown.