Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Say What You Really Feel

As seen from Highway 60-70-84, 5 miles east of Clovis, New Mexico:




Hat tip: Moonbattery.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Well Done -- GOP Frosh to Harry Reid: You're a "Failure"

If it looks like a turd and smells like a turd, odds are it is a turd.

Freshman House GOP members will send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday ratcheting up the pressure to pass a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year that “makes reasonable, responsible spending cuts”— and promise to protest daily until he does.

"Mr. Reid, your record on spending in the Senate is one of failure," says the letter, written by Arkansas Rep. Rick Crawford, a former radio broadcaster. "You have failed to pass a budget, failed to restrain spending, and failed to put our country on sound fiscal footing. We do not accept your failure as our own. The American people did not send us here to fail."

...In trying to flip the conventional narrative of government shutdown politics, the freshmen are engaging in their first publicly organized effort to use the strength of their numbers as a class.

Besides Crawford, among the freshmen lawmakers to sign the letter are Diane Black (TN-06), Francisco “Quico” Canseco (TX-23), Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Vicky Hartzler (MO-4), Mike Pompeo (KS-04), Jim Renacci (OH-16), Michael Grimm (NY-13), Frank Guinta (NH-1), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3), Billy Long (MO-7), Tim Scott (SC-01) and Stephen Fincher (TN-08).

Mr. Reid,

We the undersigned call on you and the Senate to pass a long-term Continuing Resolution; a resolution that hears the calls of the American people and makes reasonable, responsible spending cuts.

Mr. Reid, your record on spending in the Senate is one of failure. You have failed to pass a budget, failed to restrain spending, and failed to put our country on sound fiscal footing.

We do not accept your failure as our own.

The American people did not send us here to fail. Make no mistake: any government shutdown is the result of your lack of leadership. America has a $14 trillion debt and you offered a mere $6 billion in cuts. The House heard the calls of the American people and offered $61 billion in cuts, but the Senate has not sent us a Continuing Resolution in return.

We have received nothing from the Senate except denials of the dire straits of our nation’s fiscal health.

The House of Representatives is accomplishing what we were elected to do. We’ve cut spending. We’ve terminated wasteful programs. We’ve funded the government.

Mr. Reid, we are letting you know that we will rally on the Senate steps every day until you pass a long-term Continuing Resolution. We call on all Americans to join our fight in restoring our country’s fiscal health.

The House of Representatives is doing our job, Mr. Reid. The Senate needs to start doing theirs.

Mr. Reid, it’s time to pass a bill.

Bound together and determined,

[Signatures]

I like that:

"Bound together and determined."

It sounds like we may have some statesmen in the House after all.

How hard is it to explain, Speaker Boehner?

The last Congress, for the first time in modern history, failed to pass a budget. Any government shutdown is on their heads.

Now let's slash a trillion dollars from the budget.


Hat tip: D&S. Linked by: Michelle Malkin. Thanks!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Blunt Opinions on the 2012 GOP Presidential Field

In 2008 I learned my lesson: it's never too early to start examining GOP presidential candidates and to offer my take on winners and losers. The last thing we need in 2012 is an incoherent ('Heh, my friends...'), wish-washy "maverick" who is unmoored from the Constitution.

So I'm sure this take is going to piss off a lot of folks. Tough.

In reverse order of desirability -- using the 10-point must system -- the field is:

Jon Huntsman [1 point] - Who? The former ambassador to China, appointed by Barack Obama, was the media's attempt at marketing a Republican presidential nominee. His liberal track record, combined with his Obama affiliation, make him a non-starter for anyone right of Kathy Griffin.

Ron Paul [1 point] - The once-obscure Texas Congressman has made headlines over the last few years with his attempts to audit the Federal Reserve (okay), his Leftist youth supporters (not okay), his isolationist foreign policies (really not okay), and his tacit acceptance of 9/11 Trutherism (absolutely unacceptable). Echoing Dennis Kucinich's calls for Obama's impeachment (over a supposed violation of the unconstitutional "War Powers Act" - MP3) seals the deal.

Donald Trump [2 points] - The uber-successful real estate tycoon appears to have a single mission: promoting the Donald. His campaign contributions to Chuck Schumer, Anthony Weiner and other Leftists are troubling on their own. But combined with his refusal to entertain questions from conservative media, his campaign has the makings of a publicity stunt, not the effort of a serious GOP candidate.

Mike Huckabee [2 points] - Sorry, folks, but Huckabee is -- in the words of Ann Coulter -- "the evangelical liberals like." In 2008 Huckabee was marketed by the media in ways no real conservative would have ever enjoyed. Why? Because Huckabee was unelectable in the general election, seeing as how his prior positions were largely indistinguishable from those of Barack Obama. His awful track record on illegal immigration, global warming, higher taxes, crime and parole are, to say the least, ominous. Constitutional conservative? Hardly.

Chris Christie [3 points] - The New Jersey governor has the best YouTube cameraman in the business following him around. His candid exchanges with teachers and other union members are posted immediately on the video-sharing website and have garnered widespread attention. Receiving less attention, however, is his odd refusal to join the 30 states fighting Obamacare in the courts. Then add in his past support for global warming legislation, gun control, amnesty for illegal aliens, and erstwhile RINOs Mike Castle and Meg Whitman. To make matters worse, Christie recently launched thinly veiled attacks on Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Rush Limbaugh. The governor has some wonderful YouTube moments, but he appears to be miles way from the kind of conservative that Reagan would have embraced.

Mitch Daniels [4 points] - We don't know if Indiana's popular governor is running or not, but one would certainly expect an attempt. Daniels is marketed as a "Reagan Republican", but he joined that administration very late in the game and served as a key aide to RINO Dick Lugar for many years. In his speech at CPAC, Daniels' split-brained message suggested that conservatives abandon social principles to concentrate on fiscal issues. Uhm, why? And his bizarre advocacy of VAT taxes and cuts in defense spending should trouble every Republican.

Newt Gingrich [5 points] - Is there a smarter candidate from either party than the former Speaker? I think not. But even putting aside his bumbling campaign kickoff, Gingrich's well-documented personal foibles and collaboration with Nancy Pelosi on 'climate change' advocacy are problematic indeed.

Tim Pawlenty [5 points] - The Minnesota governor is, in on the national scene, somewhat of a cipher. Minnesotans know, however, that T-Paw supported boondoggles like light rail, universal health care, price controls for drugs, 'green energy' programs, a Sharia-compliant home ownership program and the use of stimulus money to facilitate rampant deficit spending. On the plus side, he's offered consistent, strong support for immigration enforcement.

Haley Barbour [5 points] - The Mississippi Governor is ineligible to run for another term in his state. A social and fiscal conservative, Barbour's main problem is his lengthy career as a lobbyist and political operative. Update: 'So Long, Haley.'

Herman Cain [6 points] - A highly successful businessman, Cain is credited with helping to defeat Hillarycare, the Clinton administration's run at socialized medicine. A Tea Party favorite, Cain appears to have true conservative credentials but is largely unknown outside of the cognoscenti.

Rand Paul [7 points] - The newly elected Senator from Kentucky appears to be a true Constitutional conservative. He's been brave enough, for example, to offer massive budget cuts -- in the trillions -- to address the catastrophic Pelosi-Obama-Reid budget deficit. His most problematic issue is one that plagues his father: an isolationist foreign policy that seems to downplay the threats that America faces around the globe.

Rick Santorum [7 points] - The former Senator from Pennsylvania is a social conservative who has been rock solid on illegal immigration. He helped lead the successful 1996 Welfare Reform Act, assisted in exposing the abuse of the Congressional Bank, supported Mitt Romney over John McCain in 2008, and consistently backed a robust armed forces effort against Islamofascism. One negative mark: losing his reelection campaign in 2006, though a concerted national Democrat and legacy media effort contributed mightily to his loss.

Mitt Romney [7 points] - The 2008 Presidential candidate has but one major issue dogging him: his Massachusetts version of Obamacare, which has proven much more costly and much less efficient than anticipated. A former missionary and successful businessman, Romney has proven to be a solid executive, helping to rescue the troubled 2002 Olympiad from fiscal ruin and transforming it into a profitable venture.

John Bolton [8 points] - the former Ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton is a foreign policy expert and an eloquent advocate for a strong national security posture. Having served in the Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations, Bolton seems to embrace true "Constitutional conservative" principles that underpin his personal philosophy.

Michele Bachmann [9 points] - The first female Republican elected to Congress by Minnesotans, Bachmann has a strong conservative track record. The founder of the Tea Party Caucus opposed the bank bailouts, socialized medicine, global warming and/or climate change (whatever it's called these days), the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, and other Democrat initiatives that threaten the Constitution. Her outspoken support for conservative values have made her a Tea Party favorite.

Sarah Palin [10 points] - John McCain's 2008 running mate was the target of some of the most vicious character assassination attempts in modern political history. After an exceptional track record as a local official, mayor, and then governor, Palin was tarred as "inexperienced" and "stupid", though her resume far surpassed that of the Democrat presidential candidate. Post-election, a series of 18 frivolous lawsuits, most launched by Democrat political operatives, threatened to bankrupt her and her family. She resigned the governorship and began raising money for Tea Party-backed conservative candidates in 2010, arguably becoming the primary rainmaker in the historic GOP landslide. Palin's charismatic appeal, plain-spoken American values and love of country make her a favorite for conservatives and a huge target for Democrats and legacy media, who appear terrified by her amazing popularity.

Others: Marco Rubio and Allen West would be conservative favorites if they ever decide to throw their hats in the ring. At this point, it seems they will serve Florida in the Senate and House, respectively.

Who did I miss? Where was I off-base? Let the flame-wars begin!


Linked by: Ace o' Spades. Thanks!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Want to Earn a Little Cash For Yourself and Help Support Constitutional Conservatives? Join the Doug Ross @ Journal Advisory Board!

Don't say I never did nothin' for you. Biff Spackle and I have partnered with a market research group to establish the Doug Ross @ Journal Advisory Board. Serving on the Advisory Board helps put cash in your pocket and also helps fund conservative, Constitutional causes.

Here's how it works: you sign up and provide some basic demographic data about yourself (age, gender, etc.). Once in a while you'll receive a survey -- either from us or a market research firm. If you choose to respond to a survey -- usually they're short -- you can earn a little extra cash.

Isn't this better than playing Angry Birds or watching ESPN Classic during the NFL lockout?

We receive a small amount for each signup and each completed survey. This will help us support one of our favorite campaign committees -- Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund -- and, if they choose to run, the presidential campaign committees of Michele Bachmann, Jim DeMint, Sarah Palin, Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, and/or Allen West (who did I miss?).

You can sign up here -- it'll take between a few seconds and a few minutes, depending upon how much info you want to provide. The more precise info you offer (nothing personally identifying, of course, the more research you'll be included in.

Once you've signed up, you can click the button at top right to log into Advisory Board Central at any time. Or just click on the link when you receive an email. Spackle tells me it's easy and it's fun. And the money goes to a good cause (a portion of the proceeds will also help fund Biff Spackle's beer tab at the local watering hole). And you can earn a little extra dough in your spare time. What's not to like? So sign up now and get started.

And email me anytime with concerns, questions or comments. I thank you. Biff's bartender thanks you. And the Senate Conservatives Fund thanks you.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Rep. Pete King: It's Not Islamophobia, It's Explodaphobia

Let me ask you a question.

Does the federal government have counter-terrorism units devoted to unearthing Islamic extremists in the U.S.?

Oh. And did the federal government just punish nine individuals for "administrative and leadership failures relating to the career of Maj. Nidal Hasan" who killed more than a dozen soldiers at Fort Hood?

And did legacy media just devote significant coverage to the spread of radical Islam in U.S. prisons?

Yes. Yes. And yes.

Which makes the despicably dishonest testimony of the traitorous Keith Ellison (D-MN) and the horrific Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) all the more egregious.

And I don't call Ellison a traitor because he's Muslim. I call him a traitor because he is one. There can be no other explanation for his behavior or that of the kook named Sheila.

Rep. Pete King is Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security; and he's holding public hearings on terrorism, not Islam.

Peter King isn't Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who imprisoned innocent Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Peter King isn't falsely accusing Islamists of an incessant series of terror attacks against the United States.

Peter King isn't holding secret hearings in some sort of "star chamber".

He's publicly investigating the known radicalization of young Americans in mosques.

The outrageous, anti-American rhetoric of Ellison and Jackson-Lee should be aired repeatedly in campaign commercials during the 2012 election cycle. They should be defeated and sent packing. Preferably to Somalia for a few months, after which they might appreciate this country a little more.

It's not paranoia if they really are trying to kill you.


Did you know that a bill was introduced this week that would begin to save Social Security from financial collapse? Neither did I.

That's the genius of our legacy media: they don't tell us stuff that we don't need to know.

Consider, if you will, Lummis Bill Tackles Entitlement Reform.

U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) has introduced H.R. 867, Alex’s Law. Alex’s Law, named after a four-year-old child of a member of Representative Lummis’ staff, helps ensure Social Security remains viable for all generations of Americans by slowly raising the retirement age starting in 2024.

...America’s debt has surpassed an astounding $14 trillion – and [f]or the first time since its reform in 1980, the Congressional Budget Office announced in January that [Social Security] is now permanently in the red. The Social Security trust fund goes broke in 2037, which means Americans will see a 22 percent cut in benefits, and the cuts will get worse if Washington continues to look the other way.

... In 2010, payroll taxes fell $37 billion short of what was required to pay out benefits. The Congressional Budget Office projects permanent Social Security deficits until the Social Security trust fund is exhausted in 2037. At that point, the Social Security Administration trustees estimate that Social Security payroll tax revenues will only be able to support 78 percent of benefits, leading to a 22 percent cut in benefits for all retirees.

Under H.R. 867, the retirement age increase would phase-in slowly over time:

• Today’s 50-year-olds and those older: NO CHANGE FROM CURRENT LAW

• Today’s 49-year-olds – Retirement age increase: 1 month

• Today’s 35-year-olds – Retirement age increase: 1 year

• Today’s 19-year-olds – Retirement age increase: 2 years

• Today’s 4-year-olds – Retirement age increase: 3 years

Let me guess: if the media bothers to cover this, Democrats will demagogue these trivial but important changes.

Because that's what they do.


Michele Bachmann's Letter to the House Leadership: Defund ObamaCare Immediately

Rep. Michele Bachmann posted an article at RedState this afternoon that all Americans should read. I am going to crib it in its entirety for one reason: to get the message out. It's that important.

Letter to Leadership to Defund ObamaCare Immediately


Last night my colleague Rep. Steve King (IA-05) and I drafted a letter to Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor and Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers urging them to include language to defund ObamaCare and rescind the $105,464,000,000 in funds already appropriated to implementing the health care law.

Next Wednesday the House will consider another Continuing Resolution. Including language to defund ObamaCare is our opportunity to stop the flow of funds to ObamaCare once and for all. Our suggested language is, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available by this or any previous Act with respect to any fiscal year may be used to carry out the provisions of Public Law 111-148, Public Law 111-152, or any amendment made by either such Public Law.”

All members of Congress are encouraged to contact my office to join us in the effort to prevent taxpayers’ money from going to the implementation of this unconstitutional program.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, and Chairman Rogers,

We very much appreciate your leadership in bringing H.R. 2 to the floor, which resulted in a unanimous Republican vote to repeal ObamaCare. This was an essential step in achieving our universal Republican goal to bring about the final, 100 percent repeal of this law. No strategy to accomplish this goal could succeed without this House vote.

From the moment legislation to repeal ObamaCare was first introduced, it has been widely discussed that a successful repeal strategy would center on first winning a Republican majority in the House, then holding a clean, up or down vote on repeal, and then prohibiting funding for the implementation or enforcement of ObamaCare. We must ensure that this strategy remains on track and on schedule.

The success of our effort to shut off funding for ObamaCare will hinge on the leverage points of this first session of the 112th Congress - namely the CR, which expires on March 18th, and the vote on raising the debt ceiling. We recognize the work to defund ObamaCare began with the inclusion of language in H.R. 1 to restrict annual appropriations from being used to implement the law. However, we also recognize that even this language, if enacted, leaves on the table $105.5 billion in automatically appropriated funds for the law’s implementation. We cannot successfully defund ObamaCare without shutting off these automatically appropriated funds.

While some have argued that our defunding efforts in the CR should be limited only to those annual funds actually provided by the CR, we disagree. If we do not stand our ground on the CR, leverage it as the “must pass bill” that it is, and use it to stop the $105.5 billion in automatically appropriated funds, ObamaCare will be implemented on our watch. We will also have conceded a significant amount of ground on this issue and will find it difficult, if not impossible, to regain the strategic advantage in future legislative vehicles.

Consequently, we ask that the following language, or more effective language, be added to the FY11 CR to cut off both the annual and automatic appropriations for ObamaCare’s implementation: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds made available by this or any previous Act with respect to any fiscal year may be used to carry out the provisions of Public Law 111-148, Public Law 111-152, or any amendment made by either such Public Law.”

It is essential that the above language be included in the CR. We, the undersigned, will not vote in support of a continuing resolution that is void of this crucial funding prohibition.

Sincerely,

Steve King Michele Bachmann

God Bless Reps. Bachmann and King.

They are, if you'll forgive the chauvinistic euphemism, manning up to face the most dire economic challenge this country has ever experienced.

Call your member of Congress now at 202.224.3121 and tell them, "Vote NO on the Continuing Resolution because it doesn't cut funding for Obamacare!" Be polite, but firm.

It's time to put our foot down and that foot is us*.


Hat tip: Mark Levin.
*Hat tip: Dean Wormer


Thursday, March 10, 2011

What the hell is the matter with John Boehner, Eric Cantor and the rest of the House GOP leadership?

Our country is on the edge of a financial abyss.

That's not my opinion. That's the official position of the Congressional Budget Office in 2009, reiterating its warning in 2010, and repeating it last month.

Bill Gross, the world's most powerful bond investor, recently shed all U.S. debt from his $1 trillion-plus portfolio. He warns that "there is no way out" of the Democrats' debt trap and that American living standards are destined to plummet.

Gross further states that interest rates will almost certainly rise much faster and much higher than official government projections. The amount of federal spending to service that debt, then, will be unsustainably high: "...these [federal] projections, which show an explosion in the amount of money needed to service our debt, underestimate the problem, since any decrease in economic growth resulting from higher interest rates — or any other cause — is not accounted for. Bottom line: This could be really bad."

The Medicare Trustees have repeatedly warned that their health care system is headed for "collapse".

Social Security, according to the Office of the Chief Actuary, will become insolvent years ahead of schedule.

And while the existing entitlement programs are headed for certain catastrophe, Medicare's Chief Actuary issued his own official warning: "[Obamacare] won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it."

It, too, is on an unsustainable path.

Billionaire Carl Icahn just returned nearly $2 billion to investors, warning of a 'renewed market dislocation'.

In other words, the support beams of the American financial system are splintering.

To the House leadership: what the hell is the matter with you? Afraid you won't get invited to the best cocktail parties? That you'll get snubbed by that idiot at Meet the Press? Who gives a flying crap!

The future of our children is at stake! Start fighting! The Left is destroying the foundation of this country -- the Constitution -- and it is destroying our currency. The full faith and credit of the American system hangs in the balance and you're whittling around the edges? What the hell!

$61 billion? When the budget deficit is $1.65 trillion? Cut a trillion! Refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless all of Obamacare is defunded! What do you have to lose? The entire system is headed for collapse! Is that reason enough?

Start fighting or we promise -- we pledge -- to devote the next 18 months to primarying your asses and defeating you.

Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor and the rest of the you old guard Republicans: as a presidential candidate once said, "Get in their faces!"


Chart: Gateway Pundit.

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Walker Wins, Government Unions Lose, Fleebaggers Throw Temper Tantrum, President Obama Votes Present #wiunion #SolidarityWI

It turns out President Obama's efforts to foment civic unrest organize government unions against taxpayers were just as successful as his laser-like focus on jobs.

Which is to say: the result was an epic fail.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate have voted to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers after discovering a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats.

All 14 Senate Democrats fled to Illinois nearly three weeks ago, preventing the chamber from having enough members present to consider Gov. Scott Walker's so-called "budget repair bill" -- a proposal introduced to plug a $137 million budget shortfall.

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. But Republicans on Wednesday split from the legislation the proposal to curtail union rights, and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved that bill a short time later.

The move set up a vote in the Senate, which voted mere moments later.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald blasted the fleebagging Democrats:

After nearly a month of debate on the budget repair bill, nearly three weeks of childish stunts and delay tactics from the Democrats, the longest public hearing in state history and the longest Assembly debate in state history, the Senate met tonight to pass the non-fiscal items in the Budget Repair Bill...

Before the election, the Democrats promised “adult leadership” in Madison. Then a month and a half into session, the Senate Democrats fled the state instead of doing their job... In doing so, they have tarnished the very institution of the Wisconsin state Senate. This is unacceptable.

This afternoon, following a week and a half of line-by-line negotiation, Sen. Miller sent me a letter that offered three options: 1) keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 2) take our counter-offer, which would keep collective bargaining as is with no changes, 3) or stop talking altogether.

With that letter, I realized that we’re dealing with someone who is stalling indefinitely, and doesn’t have a plan or an intention to return. His idea of compromise is “give me everything I want,” and the only negotiating he’s doing is through the media.

Enough is enough. ...The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job. They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy. The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda.

Tonight, the Senate will be passing the items in the budget repair bill that we can, with the 19 members who actually DO show up and do their jobs. Those items include the long-overdue reform of collective bargaining needed to help local governments absorb these budget cuts, and the 12 percent health care premium and 5 percent pension contribution.

We have confirmed with the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Reference Bureau that every item in tonight’s bill follows the letter of the law.

The people of Wisconsin elected us to come to Madison and do a job. Just because the Senate Democrats won’t do theirs, doesn’t mean we won’t do ours.

Well done, Leader Fitzgerald. Well done.

Well done, Governor Walker. Well done.

One wishes that the Republican leaders in Congress were this brave.


Hat tip: D&S.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Community Organizers Try to Shout Down Ohio Governor As He Proposes Plan to Deal With $8.5 Billion Deficit

AFSCME, the SEIU, and Barack Obama's personal political arm -- Organizing for America -- are doing the one thing they do best. Fomenting class warfare, spewing hateful rhetoric and shouting down political debate.

Most of the leftist bullies were forced to stand outside the Chamber Door today during Ohio Governor John Kasich’s State of the State Address...

However, at least one shrieking protester interrupted the Republican Governor during his speech today...

In his first state of the state address, Ohio governor John Kasich (R) was jeered as he called for collective bargaining reforms in the Buckeye state, even though the subject was barely mentioned in the 65 minute speech... Kasich says the reforms in the bill are needed so local governments can control their budgets.

“Frankly, folks, the provisions of collective bargaining reform are examples of what we wanted to do to allow people to control their costs,” Kasich said as boos rained down from protesters watching in the chamber... He then addressed the passion of protesters gathered in and outside the state house whose chants could be heard at other points during the speech...

“I appreciate passionate people who don’t agree with us… People who feel strongly, I respect them, but they also need to respect those who don’t always agree with them, Ok?” he said to extended applause from Republicans.


Did this stop the thugs from screaming? ... No.

Of course not.

Free speech and sensible fiscal policies are off limits to the community agitators who control this era's Democrat Party.


Saturday, March 05, 2011

Governor Walker sends out layoff notices to union bosses; tells Fleabagger Democrats they have 15 days to show up for work

It would appear that the Wisconsin stalemate is nearing an end -- as the laws of economics dictate it must.

Gov. Scott Walker notified unions Friday of impending layoffs if a budget-repair bill isn't passed in the next 15 days...

According to GOP sources... the discussions with Democratic senators holed up in Illinois include ... removing or changing a provision that would require workers to vote every year on whether their union would remain active or be decertified ... The last provision especially is anathema to Democrats and unions, who say it could kill many labor groups.

...The budget-repair bill would require most public workers to pay more for their health care and pensions, eliminate most collective bargaining by their unions, and give the governor broad powers to reshape the state's health care programs for the poor and elderly... Unions have agreed to the concessions on their benefits, but the provisions taking away most collective bargaining have prompted sustained protests for over two weeks.

Personally, I wouldn't have given them 15 days. More like 15 hours.

Perhaps something like laying off 100 workers for every hour Democrats refuse to show up and work.

After all, as the Democrats told us repeatedly from 2006 to 2010, "elections have consequences." Apparently that applies to only one party.

Stand strong, Governor Walker: the vast majority of Americans are behind you 120%.


Hat tip: Drudge.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

That thumping sound you just heard was Mitt Romney getting thrown under the bus by Paul Ryan

I'll be frank. It may not have been a popular position, but I've always been a fan of Mitt Romney. He appears to be an honest guy, a good businessman and a turnaround specialist. But there's a lot of merit in Paul Ryan's assessment of the former Massachusetts governor's flagship program.

Asked about the Massachusetts health care plan signed into law by Mitt Romney, Ryan said, “It’s not that dissimilar to Obamacare, and you probably know I’m not a big fan of Obamacare. I just don’t think the mandates work … all the regulation they’ve put on it.”

“I haven't studied in depth the status of it," he continued, "but I think it’s beginning to death spiral. They’re beginning to have to look at rationing decisions. I don’t think this health care system works. That’s why I’m a believer in a consumer-based medicine, in consumer-based patient-centered reforms health care reforms.”

Asked if he would rule out running for the presidency himself as emphatically as Chris Christie did by threatening to commit suicide, Ryan replied, with a laugh, "I guess I wouldn't talk in suicidal terms."

Ryan, Michele Bachmann and Allen West would all make eminently credible -- and electable -- candidates for office.

In fact, it would be quite the trick for the Democrats to try to paint Ryan as a dimwit, as they did with varying levels of success with Ford, Reagan, Bush 41 and number 43. That crap ain't gonna fly with the Wisconsin numbers whiz.


Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Nuke it: Judge set to rule on enjoining Obamacare as early as this week

Judge Roger Vinson's original ruling striking down the entire health care law and barring its implementation couldn't be more clear. There was no need for an injunction since:

...the declaratory judgment that the entire law was invalid was sufficient. In effect, there is nothing left to enjoin, since no part of the law survived. By contrast, in the ruling in Virginia last year invalidating the mandate, the Judge severed the mandate from the rest of the law (but denied an injunction preventing the rest of the law from taking effect).

Here is the key language from the Order showing that Judge Vinson expects the federal government to obey the declaration that the law is unenforceable in its entirety:

"...there is a long-standing presumption “that officials of the Executive Branch will adhere to the law as declared by the court. As a result, the declaratory judgment is the functional equivalent of an injunction.” See Comm. on Judiciary of U.S. House of Representatives v. Miers, 542 F.3d 909, 911 (D.C. Cir. 2008); accord Sanchez-Espinoza v. Reagan, 770 F.2d 202, 208 n.8 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (“declaratory judgment is, in a context such as this where federal officers are defendants, the practical equivalent of specific relief such as an injunction . . . since it must be presumed that federal officers will adhere to the law as declared by the court”) (Scalia, J.) (emphasis added).

There is no reason to conclude that this presumption should not apply here. Thus, the award of declaratory relief is adequate and separate injunctive relief is not necessary."


In this sense, this decision is far more sweeping than the Virginia case, and presents a greater problem for the Obama administration which arguably does not have authority to implement any aspect of Obamacare.

Which makes the Judge's answer to the Obama administration's delaying tactics all the more momentous:

This week, the Florida federal judge who struck down the health care reform law in January is expected to answer the looming question his ruling left uncertain [sic]:

Did he mean to stop the law from being implemented in the 26 states that challenged the law?

The Justice Department has asked U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson to clarify his ruling, and the judge gave the government until today to file a brief laying out its legal position. Vinson has promised to rule quickly on the motion once it's filed...

One can only hope that Judge Vinson treats Obamcare with all the respect it treats the Constitution: i.e., that he nukes it from orbit, since it's the only way to be sure.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

'The beaming foetus'

Dude.

Scan of smiling foetus puts new spin on abortion issue


Transformed by a beaming smile, this is the tiny face of a foetus just 17 weeks old.

Professor Stuart Campbell, who took the picture at his London clinic with 3-D and 4-D scanning equipment, said it did not necessarily show the unborn child had feelings – but it was certainly displaying human behavior.

The scan implies that a baby can experience feelings such as happiness and pain much earlier in its development than previously thought. It will prompt further calls from doctors and campaigners to lower the upper abortion limit from 24 weeks.

They claim that by his stage the unborn baby can already feel agonising pain and the procedure is therefore inhumane...

Shhh... no one tell Mitch Daniels.


Saturday, February 26, 2011

State of USA, Incorporated

KPCB's Mary Meeker has created an extensive report (266 pages) on America's fiscal condition, evaluated as if it were a business. The resulting picture is, to put it bluntly, disturbing.

By the standards of any public corporation, USA Inc.’s financials are discouraging.

True, USA Inc. has many fundamental strengths. On an operating basis (excluding Medicare and Medicaid spending and one-time charges), the federal government’s profit & loss statement is solid, with a 4% median net margin over the last 15 years. But cash flow is deep in the red (by almost $1.3 trillion last year, or -$11,000 per household), and USA Inc.’s net worth is negative and deteriorating... the trends are clear, and critical warning signs are evident in nearly every data point we examine.





This analysis can’t ignore our dependence on entitlements. Almost one-third of all Americans have grown up in an environment of lean savings and heavy reliance on government healthcare subsidies. It’s not just a question of numbers – it’s a question of our responsibilities as citizens…and what kind of society we want to be.


































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