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

Sunday, September 04, 2011

For wont of $3 billion: the President's Priorities

"I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jump- start job creation and long-term growth ...this plan must begin today, a plan I am confident will save or create at least 3 million jobs over the next few years." --President-Elect Barack Obama, January 8, 2009


With another "jobs speech" scheduled for Thursday, it is worth remembering the speech President-Elect Barack Obama gave at George Mason University the second week of 2009. Obama asserted that only government -- through a massive, $840 billion stimulus package -- could jump-start the stricken economy.

In his 2009 speech, Obama promised to "put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges and schools by eliminating the backlog of well-planned, worthy and needed infrastructure projects", i.e., the infamous, "shovel-ready" construction projects that he later confessed didn't really exist.

In fact, only six (6) percent of Stimulus spending went to construction projects; much of the rest redistributed wealth from the private sector to public sector unions.

For wont of $3 billion, NASA loses manned space flight capability...


In the midst of the Stimulus spending spree, President Obama shocked the NASA program with a devastating pronouncement. The Space Shuttle replacement effort, dubbed the Constellation Program, which needed $3 billion in annual funding, would be terminated.

For the first time since the initial manned flight of Project Mercury on April 18, 1961, the United States would not have the ability to put a man into space. In spite of the national security impact of the space program -- and the fact that China has actively tested anti-satellite weaponry, the President felt that $3 billion was too much to spend on a replacement for the Space Shuttle.

...though illegal aliens received $4.2 billion in tax credits


And it wasn't just the fact that the public sector unions were awash with hundreds of billions in taxpayer Stimulus cash: the waste, fraud, and abuse in other federal programs turned out to be equally outrageous.

The IRS sent $4.2 billion in tax credits to illegal aliens
The EPA received an increase of $2.7 billion in funding from 2010 to 2011
Spending on the Food Stamp program has more than doubled since 2009, to $71 billion in 2011

Priorities


The President's priorities are funding his union boss supporters, growing the size of government bureaucracies, ringing up massive deficits, advancing the anti-jobs "green" agenda, and cutting back on strategic national security programs.

Now I want you to imagine what Obama's priorities will be if he were to be reelected in 2012. He would have absolutely nothing to lose in enacting an even more radical agenda: his devastating policies will go from merely stunningly bad to spectacularly worse.

And that is why he must be defeated next November.



Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How did we survive?

I am one of the baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. I sometimes wonder how we survived our childhoods. Consider:

Our mothers smoked and/or drank while pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with brightly colored, lead-based paints.

There were no childproof lids on medicine or special locks on cabinet doors.

We we rode bikes, we wore baseball caps, not specially engineered helmets.

As infants, we rode in cars without car seats or booster seats, no seat belts and no air bags. Sometimes, as tots, we rode in small moving boxes packed with blankets and toys.

We rode in the back of pickup trucks and no one was arrested or cited.

We drank water from garden hoses, not from plastic bottles.

We shared a single bottle of Coca-Cola with three friends -- and no one died.

We ate cupcakes with food coloring, white bread, real butter and bacon. In fact, we drank Kool-Aid mixed with tablespoons of real sugar.

Yet we weren't overweight, because we were always outside playing.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when dusk fell. And no one was able to reach us all day. And: we were okay.

We'd spend hours in the forest with Daisy rifles, or building go-carts without brakes, or sledding with wooden and steel monstrosities that could sever a limb.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-Boxes. There were no video games, no cable television, no DVD players. There were no computers, no web, no Facebook, no Twitter.

We had friends and we went outside and found them... without cell phones or text messages.

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits resulting from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns and knives for our birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, played lawn darts and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The boomers and their parents have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, inventors and entrepreneurs ever.

The last 50 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

We had the good fortune to grow up as kids in America, before the government regulated so much of our lives "for our own good".

Give thanks, for such an age will never occur again.


Hat tips: How Beautiful We Were (American Digest), Contrairimairi and AdClassix.

The Truth About Rick Perry: Cliff Notes Version

"...if Barack Obama remains in office another four years there is a very good chance that he will have the opportunity to name between three and four Supreme Court justices either through natural death or retirement."


For those interested in an overview of PeskyTruth's two masterful articles describing the pros and cons of Rick Perry ("Want to know more about Rick Perry?" and "Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry"), please consider the following "Cliff's Notes" version.

Want to know more about Rick Perry?


• Fifth-generation Texan; married high school sweetheart Anita in 1982
• After graduating, joined Air Force in 1972 as C-130 pilot. Left in 1977 with the rank of Captain.
• For the next seven years, Perry farmed cotton and tended the family ranch
• Entered politics in 1984, served in Texas House of Representatives, as Agriculture Commissioner and Lt. Governor
• Succeeded G. W. Bush in 2000 after latter resigned to run for the presidency; reelected three times since

• Supports repeal of Obamacare, which he says "puts many states on a collision course with bankruptcy"
• Strong supporter of Second Amendment, received "A+" from NRA
• Staunch supporter of Israel; visited in 2007; received "Defender of Jerusalem" designation in 2009
• In 2009 and 2011, endorsed a resolution supporting state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution

• Opposes regulation of greenhouse gases; believes in "all of the above" energy strategy
• Moved Texas "aggressively" into a large portfolio of energy sources including renewable, natural gas, coal and nuclear
• Texas has become a national leader in reducing emissions and known pollutants
• Texas has the world's largest wind farm, producing three times as much power as second-place Iowa

• Faced with a budget deficit in 2010-11, Perry became the first Texas governor since WWII to cut general fund spending
• Also balanced budget in 2003 by cutting spending in a challenging economic environment
• Rebated or cut taxes to business in 2007, 2008 and 2009
• Signed both Cut, Cap & Balance pledge and Americans for Tax Reform pledge not to increase taxes
• By several independent measures, Texas has the second lowest tax burden in the country for individuals and businesses

• Has twice formally requested that the Obama administration and DHS provide more support for border security
• Passed a "Voter ID bill" in 2011 after six years of "fierce partisan battling"
• Applicants for TX driver's licenses must be verified federal immigration databases to ensure they are in the country legally
• In 2008 stated his clear opposition to Amnesty; has advocated for secure borders and "sensible immigration policies"

• In the last five years, Texas has created more net jobs than the other 49 states combined
• In 2005, signed a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman
• Over the past ten years, teachers' salaries have increased 30%
• State budgets have consistently cut general spending while spending more, year-over-year, on education

• Appointed an African-American as chief justice of Texas’s Supreme Court; appointed the state’s first Latina justice
• Since 2003 tort reforms, more than 21,000 doctors have begun practice in Texas
• This year, Perry signed a "Loser Pays" bill into law, which should cut down on frivolous lawsuits
• Perry is said to have appointed only "unabashedly conservative" judges and would "carry this philosophy into the White House"

Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry


Gardisil is a vaccination designed to prevent cervical cancer caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); the FDA approved the drug in 2006 and recommends vaccination in girls by age 12, before they become sexually active. Perry signed an Executive Order mandating vaccinations; this was overruled by a veto-proof majority in the Texas legislature. 18 other states, including New York and Michigan, had considered similar mandates, but none were actually implemented. Perry has since admitted his EO was a mistake, claiming he was motivated by his hatred of cancer (both of his parents are cancer survivors).

As of June 22, 2011, approximately 35 million doses of Gardasil® have been distributed in the U.S... the CDC says: “Based on all of the information we have today, CDC recommends HPV vaccination for the prevention of most types of cervical cancer."

• The Trans-Texas Corridor was plan introduced by Perry in 2001 that would have created a $175 billion program to build high-speed auto lanes; truck lanes; commuter and freight rail; water, natural gas and oil transport; telecommunications and other services. After eminent domain and "NAFTA Superhighway" concerns were raised, the corridor was killed off.

Once a Democrat, he served as Al Gore's campaign manager in Texas. Perry had been raised a Democrat and Gore in 1988 "opposed the federal funding of abortion, supported a moment of silence in schools for prayer, approved funding of the Nicaraguan contras and was against the ban on interstate handgun sales." The experience with Gore's campaign helped convert him to the Republican Party, which he joined in 1989.

He advocated secession. Actually, his real statement -- after a speech was interrupted with chants of "Secede!" -- was, "We’ve got a great union. There is absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that. Texas is a very unique place, and we’re a pretty independent lot to boot."

Jobs created in Texas are low-wage. But, according to CBS MoneyWatch (4/11), Texas is ranked third among “Best States to make a living.” Texas has also seen its wages climb faster than the country overall. The "low-wage" canard was thoroughly debunked by Political Math.

Texas ranks poorly in educational spending and high school graduations, both of which are true statements. However, differing racial makeups make states difficult to assess head-to-head. But according to The Nation's Report Card, standardized testing shows white students, black students and Hispanic students in Texas outperformed those in Wisconsin in math, reading and science for both 4th and 8th grades.

Perry turned down $555 million in federal stimulus, but later asked for federal disaster aid for wildfires. Both assertions are true. But the Stimulus funds were a one-time payoff that had strings attached requiring Texas to continue paying the $555 million even after the federal funds had disappeared. Perry did accept other stimulus funds that had no such strings attached.

Perry says he hasn't raised taxes, but he actually has in certain cases. Perry's actual statement was “we don’t raise taxes." But certain taxes have increased including tobacco, fireworks, diesel equipment, franchise, and unemployment. But, overall, Perry's record is stellar. The state ranks 45th in per-capita taxes with a 7.9% combined state/local tax burden versus, say, New York’s burden of 12.1%. Texas has no personal income or capital gains taxes; and Perry vetoed a proposed Internet state sales tax.

"Perry has presided over the highest number of executions in the nation". This statement implies Perry was actively involved in the court cases, appeals and sentences when, in fact, he simply followed Texas law. Perry has commuted 31 death sentences, most for crimes committed as juveniles.

Perry refused to commute the execution of a Mexican national though the White House and Mexico itself had requested it. True enough. And the Mexican national -- who is not immune from prosecution under U.S. laws -- was a despicable animal who kidnapped, raped, tortured, sexually mutilated and then murdered a 16-year old girl. He confessed to the crime to both the police and his brother. After 45 separate hearings and appeals, Perry (thankfully) allowed the execution to proceed.

Did Perry preside over the execution of an innocent? Days before the execution of a man convicted of setting a fire that killed his three children, new evidence was presented by his defense attorney. Although Texas allows the governor to issue a 30-day stay of an execution, only the state's Pardons and Paroles board can issue clemency or commutation orders. This board reviewed the evidence and refused to recommend that Perry act.

Perry supports giving in-state tuition to illegals. This is true. In 2005, Perry signed a law that allowed any student who lived in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a state high school to receive in-state tuition.

"Rick Perry is gay" and "Rick Perry is homophobic". Politico and other magazines have inferred that there are questions about Perry's sexual preferences, These accusations remain unsubstantiated and there appears to be no evidence that Perry is either gay or homophobic. There is no question, however, that he supports the tenet that a marriage binds one man to one woman.

Perry is a "weak" governor. This argument is used by critics to minimize Perry's role in an obviously booming state. However, an independent assessment indicates that "thirty other state’s governors were ranked as having more power than Texas’ chief executive, seventeen are ranked about equal, and three had even less power."

Perry is "squishy" on immigration. He certainly has a mixed record; he has opposed an Arizona-style immigration law. But he recently added a bill that prohibited "Sanctuary Cities" (which didn't garner enough support to pass the legislature). Texas has earmarked more than $400 million for border security since 2005 with $152 million in the last legislative session alone.

"Perry is a member of the Bilderberg cabal and therefore believes in a New World Order (NWO)". Although Perry attended a Bildeberbug meeting in 2007, so have Presidents Clinton and Ford, Timothy Geithner, George Stephanopoulos, Thomas Friedman, Senators Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Diane Feinstein and Tom Daschle. Perry attended the meeting for three days in 2007 and apparently received his instructions on how to implement an NWO during that time.

Texas has an abysmal rating compared to other states in ___. Whether its "uninsured children", "uninsured adults" or "percentage of people living below the poverty line", the rankings are selected by critics to smear Texas and Perry. Look for the following characteristics of these claims: no citations, no credible sources, no dates and no original context. Put simply, any rankings comparing Texas to other states must account for a large Hispanic population, many of whom entered the country illegally.

I would encourage you to read both of PeskyTruth's articles on Perry in full:

• "Want to know more about Rick Perry?"

• "Seventeen (17) things that critics are saying about Rick Perry"

This is an outstanding set of articles that really helps the reader gain a better understanding of the Texas Governor and would-be GOP candidate.


Hat tip: Ace o' Spades.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Oh, My: Obama's Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Says Giving Away Food-stamps Is a Stimulus Program Which Puts People Back to Work

One in seven Americans (another Obama record!) is now on food stamps. Asked how the federal government might alleviate those high numbers, Obama Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed that food stamps are "putting people to work".

No s***. He really said that.

Well, obviously, it's putting people to work. Which is why we're going to have some interesting things in the course of the forum this morning. Later this morning, we're going have a press conference with Secretary Mavis and Secretary Chu to announce something that's never happened in this country -- something that we think is exciting in terms of job growth...

...I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.

Bask in the sheer genius of Tom Vilsack, peons: the government taking money from you hard-working Americans -- and giving it to others, without regard for their ability to work -- stimulates the economy!

Why didn't we think of this before?

In fact, let's put everyone in America on food-stamps! That'll be the ultimate Stimulus!

Ultimate, I say!

As an aside, my fellow Tea Party terrorists, Vilsack's wife is running against Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a true fiscal conservative.

Do we need another economic illiterate in Congress? I think not. Therefore I urge you to give $5, $10, whatever you can spare to Steve King's campaign.

We need exactly zero Vilsacks in office in 2012.


Related Fun: So the Democrats Finally Want Fiscal Responsibility? Great. Let's End Their Disastrous "War on Poverty"


Hat tip:
Real Clear Politics.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Time Magazine Nails It: The Cause of S&P's Downgrade of the U.S.

With their usual attention to detail, the crackerjack reporters at Time Magazine have finally discovered the root cause of S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt instruments.

I'm glad they cleared that up, because I was truly confused.

So it wasn't a Democrat refusal to address entitlement reform. It wasn't the Democrats' repudiation of every single suggestion by the Obama "Deficit Commission". It wasn't a failure of the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama to proffer a budget for more than 800 days. Oh, and it wasn't a "one-time, emergency Stimulus", the most aggressive spending increase in world history, that is now built into the baseline budget.

It also wasn't a refusal to acknowledge the repeated failure of Keynesian economics. It wasn't passing the most expensive entitlement program ever -- Obamacare -- which passed in the dark of night so Americans could "find out what's in it". Furthermore, it wasn't a massive, command-and-control takeover of the financial industry -- Dodd-Frank -- with a bill so immense and complex that even today no one can predict exactly what it will do to banks and insurers.

And it certainly wasn't the thousands upon thousands of bureaucrats in the EPA, the Interior Department and the National Labor Relations Board, which are shuttering businesses large and small.

No, none of those things were responsible for the debt crisis and downgrade. This was:

Thank goodness we still have true journalists at Time who are willing to cut through all of the clutter, confusion and misinformation to report upon the real culprits of the deficit debacle.



Wednesday, August 10, 2011

It can't be true. Can it?

Brutally Honest (via iOwnTheWorld):

Amidst news of the S&P credit rating downgrade, the loss of 30 Americans in Afghanistan, to include nearly two dozen of our elite Navy Seals, and news predicting that world markets were going to react most negatively, reports are coming in that Obama decided to play golf over the weekend.

I know this guy's callous, arrogant, narcissistic... but this can't be true.

It simply can't be true. 

There's just no way.

Is there?


Though Camp David's golf facilities are limited, it's not hard to imagine POTUS teeing off during a tragic week for the families of America's warfighters.

But that's not the worst aspect of Obama's relationship with the military. There are credible reports that the administration leaked classified information to Hollywood for a forthcoming movie about the Bin Laden raid. And it's easy to assume that is another cynical ploy to remind Americans of Obama's greatest only triumph right before the 2012 elections.

Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal — the Hollywood director and screenwriter, respectively, who made The Hurt Locker — are working on a movie about the SEAL mission that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. It will come out just before the election next year. And according to Maureen Dowd, the Obama administration is giving the film team “top-level access to the most classified mission in history.”

This one has the musky odor of David Axelrod written all over it.


Monday, August 08, 2011

Exclusive Photo: Actual Cause of S&P Downgrade and Market Meltdown Discovered

Thanks to David Axelrod, John Kerry, Howard Dean, and President Obama, we now know the true cause of the U.S. debt crisis, S&P's downgrade, and the resulting economic turmoil.

It was not a Democrat refusal to address entitlement reform. Not a failure of the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama to proffer a budget for more than 800 days. Not a "one-time, emergency Stimulus", the most aggressive spending increase in world history, that is now built into the baseline budget. Not a refusal to acknowledge the repeated failure of Keynesian economics. Not passing the most expensive entitlement program ever -- Obamacare -- which passed in the dark of night so Americans could "find out what's in it". Not a massive, command-and-control takeover of the financial industry -- Dodd-Frank -- with a bill so immense and complex that even today no one can predict exactly what it will do to banks and insurers. Not scores of bureaucrats in the EPA and the NLRB, who are shuttering businesses large and small.

No, none of those things were responsible for the debt crisis and downgrade. This was:

So now you know.



Saturday, August 06, 2011

Tragedy: Did Joe Biden's Loose Lips Sink the SEALs?

The Master Chief reminds us that the dumbest vice president in American history likely played a role in the tragedy that saw 31 special operators killed, 25 of whom served in the ultra top-secret SEAL Team Six.

...It is believed that many of these men were the ones that brought Usama Bin Laden to justice. This is a double tragedy. First, the loss of any American fighting personnel is tragic. Second, SEAL Team Six is the best of the best! Replacing them is difficult at best and probably impossible.

The Taliban has taken credit for this kill. I suspect that they were tracking SEAL Team Six ever since the OBL event. How did the Taliban know who did the OBL job[?] Vice President Biden told the press[!] He blabbed [about] a top secret op in the open to the press to look good! This moron is a danger to the security of America not to mention the lives of American fighting personnel.

SEAL Team Six has been in operation since the early 1980's. It was established by President Reagan. They have accomplished many missions and saved many lives, all under the cover of secrecy. Even their base of operations was classified. Their secret compound was double guarded and secure within the confines of a Naval Training Base. They wore civilian clothes, grew beards and long hair, did not carry military ID cards and did everything in secret. That lasted, until this administration. The Vice President's reckless abandonment of security [practice] has lead to the death of 31 military members including 25 members of this elite team. He should be tried for treason and murder in my book. His desire to "look good to the press" by showing them he knew what was going on, permitted the Taliban to track and kill these men. If this was an enlisted man, he would be in a Courts Martial this morning and hung this afternoon. But not Vice President Biden. No, he will continue to be a threat to the lives of our military and the security of our Nation.

I have known about Six since 1980, when I was the GMG detailer. I toured their facility in 1987 when I was the Force Master Chief of the Surface Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. I am proud to have know some of these men, past and present, who have defended freedom, quietly, secretly, and very effectively for the last four decades. Now I fear they will cease to be viable because their cover has been blown by a politician of the lowest denominator. A politician who will sacrifice anyone, lie about anything, and plagiarize anyone, to look good to the press and to get re-elected. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Remember this event, these deaths in November 2012!

Let's rewind to May of 2011, when London's Daily Telegraph exposed what most of our far left-wing media outlets failed to report.

Since President Barack Obama announced that “a small team of Americans” had killed Osama bin Laden, US government officials have carefully stuck to the line that they will not talk about which units were involved... Obama did not say it was the SEALs. In numerous television appearances, Obama’s counter-terrorism chief John Brennan didn’t and his deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough didn’t. Despite the numerous news reports that named the SEALs, none of the anonymous briefers from the CIA and Pentagon would confirm it.

...But here’s what the legendarily verbose and loose-lipped Vice President Joe Biden said at a dinner at Washington’s Ritz Carlton Hotel last night...

Let me briefly acknowledge tonight’s distinguished honorees. Admiral James Stavridis is a, is the real deal. He can tell you more about and understands the incredible, the phenomenal, the just almost unbelievable capacity of his Navy SEALs and what they did last Sunday...

...Folks, I’d be remiss also if I didn’t say an extra word about the incredible events, extraordinary events of this past Sunday. As Vice President of the United States, as an American, I was in absolute awe of the capacity and dedication of the entire team, both the intelligence community, the CIA, the SEALs...


Biden, as has been proven over and over again, is an outright idiot.

May God Bless our brave warriors and their families.

They are far too brave and far too good for our current breed of feckless politicians. As the Master Chief reminds us: 2012 is coming and we must vote in the most conservative citizen-politicians into office that we can find. We must support men and women who believe in and abide by the Constitution.

More to the point: we must politically obliterate the hapless, lying, power-hungry, political hacks who believe themselves to be some kind of permanent ruling class. In a general sense that translates to primarying RINOs and then defeating Democrats at every level of government. The Democrat Party has been hijacked by the 1960-retread Marxist left. It's bent on destroying this country and capitalism with it. The modern Democrat Party must be politically crushed.

I urge you to remember your anger in 2012.


Hat tip: Tim.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Rally at John Boehner's Hometown Office

A hastily arranged Tea Party rally at John Boehner's hometown office took place earlier today. Karl writes:

...Several Ohio and Kentucky Tea Party groups rallied at Speaker Boehner's office in Ohio today...

...It was a rowdy group of right wing extremism. Grandmas and Grampas, Moms and Dads, and a couple children. Each arrived with a personal letter to the Speaker which was then handed to a gentleman from the Speaker's office. Letters were collected for those who could not attend and handed over in a binder. 350 letters!

There are more pictures at Karl's place.


Sunday, July 24, 2011

President Obama unveils his deficit plan: We can only pay our bills if others will continue to lend us $125 billion a month

I'm paraphrasing of course.

The President has yet to release a spending plan. Senate Democrats have yet to release a spending plan.

The real reason Democrats have refused to publish a budget for 815 days is this: they know that the rating agencies will downgrade the U.S. if they reveal their plans to continue spending like drunken liberals.

A downgrade is likely no matter what comes out of current negotiations. Specifically, Standard and Poor's has indicated a $4 trillion deficit reduction package is necessary by Aug. 2 to avoid a downgrade...That simply is not possible given the president's aversion to genuine spending cuts -- evidenced by his failure to table concrete spending cut proposals -- and the insistence on no new taxes by many members of the Republican House caucus.

Stand strong, Speaker Boehner: the House of Representatives has done its job:

• The Republicans passed a plan that avoids a downgrade by the rating agencies while raising the debt ceiling.

• The Republicans passed the 2012 Ryan budget that saves the dying entitlement programs.

Any economic spasms felt as a result of this reckless spending is the fault of three people: Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, who piled more debt on the backs of the American people than any President and any Congress in history.

And 2012 is coming.


Thursday, July 21, 2011

The only 3 conditions under which Republicans should support raising the debt ceiling

Under what conditions should conservatives support raising the debt ceiling?

That's a question I've been asking myself for a while.

Here's my take.

The 111th Congress and President Obama put in place the largest deficit spending package in world history. They created a "stimulus" program -- only six percent of which was spent on infrastructure, by the way -- and then refused to pass a budget for 812 days (and counting). That was their way of institutionalizing the "stimulus" package as part of the baseline budget -- putting that huge, unconscionable loan from our children on autopilot.

It is this insanity that led rating agencies the world over to either downgrade -- or threaten to downgrade -- America's credit rating.

Never before, in all of American history, has a political party set the nation on such a course. It is literally economic suicide. And yet that is precisely what the modern Democrat Party has done.

It's been 812 days since the Democrats have even proposed a budget. And now President Obama claims he wants "balance". Balance? Balance? You mean balance like Obamacare, which was stuffed down the American people's throats -- replete with secret negotiations, thousands of pages no one bothered to read, passed at midnight, and that slashed half-a-trillion dollars from Medicare? You mean balance like that?

In that spirit, here are my "balanced" conditions for raising the debt ceiling. Pick one, Marxists:

• The Senate ratifies the Cut, Cap & Balance Act already passed by the House; the President signs it; and ***voila*** the debt ceiling is raised.

• The Senate passes the Ryan plan; the President signs it; and ***voila*** the debt ceiling is raised.

• The House and Senate cut annual, discretionary, non-defense spending by $1 trillion -- and that, by the way, is basically the amount of the failed "stimulus" program -- the President then signs it; and and ***voila*** the debt ceiling is raised.

Those are the only conditions under which the House should yield on the debt ceiling.

Here's the political reality:

• Where is President Obama's budget?

• Where is the Democrats' budget?

This crisis is entirely of Obama's making. The deficit spending. The failure to produce a budget. The failure to lead.

It's all in Obama's hands. And he is, as usual, "leading from behind".


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Gang of Six Details in Plain Text

Uncle Ben relays the full plan in plain-text:

A BIPARTISAN PLAN TO REDUCE OUR NATION’S DEFICITS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This bipartisan, comprehensive, and balanced plan consistent with the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission that will:
• Slash our nation’s deficits by $3.7 trillion/$3.6 trillion over ten years under CBO’s March 2011 baseline, or $4.65 trillion/$4.5 trillion under the original fiscal commission baseline (which used the President’s 2011 budget request as the starting point for discretionary spending).
• Stabilize our publicly-held debt by 2014.
• Reduce our publicly-held debt to roughly 70% of our economy by 2021.
• Impose unprecedented budget enforcement.

A COMPREHENSIVE AND BALANCED PROPOSAL
The plan uses a two-step legislative process: (1) an initial bill that makes immediate cuts; and (2) a process for a second bill to enact comprehensive reform and put our nation on a stable fiscal path. The plan would:

Immediately implement aggressive deficit reduction down payment

• Cut deficits by $500 billion.

Dramatically cut discretionary spending

• Cut nonsecurity and security discretionary spending over 10 years.
• Maintain investments that encourage economic growth, strengthen the safety net for those who truly need it, and preserve a strong national defense.

Carefully strengthen the solvency of our most important entitlement programs

• Spend health care dollars more efficiently in order to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid, while maintaining the basic structure of these critical programs.
• Fully pays for SGR (the “doc fix”) over 10 years.

Fundamentally reform our tax code

• Reduce marginal income tax rates and abolish the $1.7 trillion Alternative Minimum Tax.
• Encourage greater economic growth.
• Enhance the competitiveness of American businesses and workers against global
competition.
• Reform spending through the tax code to eliminate investment distortions and tax gaming.
• Change the debate about taxes in America from rate levels and carve outs to
competitiveness, fairness and growth.
• If CBO scored this plan, it would find net tax relief of approximately $1.5 trillion.

Strictly tighten the government’s budget processes

• Impose spending caps and security/nonsecurity firewalls.
• Sequester accounts at the end of the year to recoup any excessive spending by Congress.
• Restrict the use of emergency designations that circumvent the spending caps.
• Prevent Congress from exceeding the caps by requiring a stand-alone resolution subject to a 67-vote threshold, in order to isolate that vote to increase the deficit from any other policy items.

Reform Social Security for future generations

• Ensure 75-year solvency of Social Security and provide for a decennial review of the program to ensure it remains solvent.
• Reform Social Security on a separate track, isolated from deficit reduction – any savings from the program must go towards solvency.

AN AGGRESSIVE PLAN THAT INVOLVES THE WHOLE CONGRESS
The plan would be implemented through an open, aggressive two-step legislative process led by committees of jurisdiction and involving the American people by:
Enacting a $500 billion down payment that would secure immediate deficit savings, while establishing a fast track process for the committees in Congress to specify further savings
• Impose statutory discretionary spending caps through 2015.
• Implement numerous budget process reforms.
• Shift to the chained-CPI (a more accurate measure of inflation) government-wide starting in 2012, along with the following specifications for Social Security: (1) exempt SSI from the shift for five years, and then phase in the shift over the next five years; and (2) provide a minimum benefit equal to 125% of the poverty line for five years. (According to CBO, the shift to chained-CPI would result in the annual adjustment growing, on average, about 0.25 percentage points per year slower than the current CPI.)
• Repeal the CLASS Act.
• Enact concrete policy changes that lock-in additional savings, including freezing
Congressional pay and selling unused federal property.
• Require GAO and the Department of Labor to report to Congress on establishing a more effective unemployment insurance trigger.

Enacting a comprehensive deficit reduction plan that includes discretionary and
entitlement savings as well as fundamental tax reform


• Require committees to report legislation within six months that would deliver real deficit savings in entitlement programs over 10 years as follows:
• Finance would permanently reform or replace the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate
formula ($298 billion) and fully offset the cost with health savings, would find an
additional $202 billion/$85 billion in health savings, and would maintain the essential health care services that the poor and elderly rely upon.
• Armed Services would find $80 billion.
• Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions would find $70 billion.
• Homeland Security and Government Affairs would find $65 billion.
• Agriculture would find $11 billion while protecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
• Commerce would find $11 billion.
• Energy would find $6 billion and may propose additional policies to generate savings that would be applied to the infrastructure deficit or to reduce the deficit.
• Judiciary would find an unspecified amount through medical malpractice reform.
• Require the Finance Committee to report tax reform within six months that would deliver real deficit savings by broadening the tax base, lowering tax rates, and generating economic growth as follows:

• Simplify the tax code by reducing the number of tax expenditures and reducing individual tax rates, by establishing three tax brackets with rates of 8–12 percent, 14–22 percent, and 23–29 percent.
• Permanently repeal the $1.7 trillion Alternative Minimum Tax.
• Tax reform must be projected to stimulate economic growth, leading to increased revenue.
• Tax reform must be estimated to provide $1 trillion in additional revenue to meet plan targets and generate an additional $133 billion by 2021, without raising the federal gas tax, to ensure improved solvency for the Highway Trust Fund.
• If CBO scored this plan, it would find net tax relief of approximately $1.5 trillion.
• To the extent future Congresses find that the dynamic effects of tax reform result in additional revenue beyond these targets, this revenue must go to additional rate reductions and deficit reduction, not to new spending.
• Reform, not eliminate, tax expenditures for health, charitable giving, homeownership, and retirement, and retain support for low-income workers and families.
• Retain the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, or provide at least the same level of support for qualified beneficiaries.
• Maintain or improve the progressivity of the tax code.
• Establish a single corporate tax rate between 23 percent and 29 percent, raise as much revenue as the current corporate tax system, and move to a competitive territorial tax system.
• Require the Budget Committee to report legislation within six months that would:
• Extend discretionary caps and enforcement mechanisms through 2021.
• Ensure Congressional action to reduce the deficit if the debt-to-GDP ratio after 2015 has not stabilized.
• Review total federal health care spending starting in 2020 with a target of holding growth to GDP plus one percent per beneficiary and require action by Congress and the President if exceeded.
• Achieve program integrity savings of $26 billion in entitlement programs to curb fraud, abuse, and other wasteful spending government-wide.
• Create a working group to provide updated budget concepts for CBO and OMB.
• Provide expedited floor consideration for a consolidated bill meeting these instructions:
• If any committee fails to report entitlement program savings, impose across the board cuts to programs in that committee’s jurisdiction as necessary to achieve the required savings. To protect programs that benefit low income families, exempt from across the board cuts those most in need.
• Allow a group of at least five senators from each party to introduce a resolution in lieu of the non-reporting committee.
• If a resolution receives 60 votes on the floor, those recommendations will be added to the comprehensive bill.
• If the Senate does not agree to those recommendations, the comprehensive bill cannot come to the floor under the special procedures established in the first (down payment) bill.
• Bar substitute floor amendments that upset the revenue/spending balance or any amendments that make the deficit worse, but place no other limits on debate or the substance of amendments.
• Allow the Majority Leader and Minority Leader to limit debate and the number of amendments, or impose other substantive restrictions by agreement, so that the Leaders can manage the bill with a process that satisfies 60 Senators and the process cannot be held up by a small group on either side. If the Leaders cannot agree, the bill is considered under the regular order.
• Hold any such comprehensive bill that receives 60 votes at the desk pending consideration of the Social Security bill.

Enacting Social Security reform if the comprehensive deficit reduction plan has passed

• Consider Social Security reform, if and only if the comprehensive deficit reduction bill has already received 60 votes.
• Reform must ensure 75-year solvency of the program and provide for a decennial review to ensure it remains solvent. Any savings from the program must go towards solvency, not deficit reduction.
• If Finance fails to report Social Security reform meeting the instructions, allow a group of at least five senators from each party to introduce a resolution with recommendations that meet the committee’s instructions.
• Bar substitute amendments that worsen the solvency of Social Security.
• Combine any qualifying Social Security reform bill that receives 60 votes on final passage to the comprehensive bill at the desk before being sent to the House as a single bill.
• Vitiate the vote on the deficit-reduction bill if the Social Security reform bill does not receive 60 votes.

Uncle Ben adds, "It seems like a reasonable approach to me, and the fact that the market went up 80 points after word got out about the proposal suggests that Congress just needs to get something done."

I'll reserve judgment until I have a chance to digest it. If Democrats are for it, my first tendency is to oppose it.


Update, digested: Gang of Six Reactions From Around the Web: It "Raises Taxes by $3 Trillion" and "It's based on dishonest Washington budget math"

Saturday, July 16, 2011

S&P Raises State of Ohio's Credit Rating; Cites GOP Governor Kasich's Whining About His Predecessor and His Budget, But Mostly His Budget

By electing a fiscal conservative, Ohio is moving in the right direction when it comes to economic vibrancy.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services upgraded Ohio's debt rating just one day after it put the United States on "creditwatch negative" on what it calls a rising risk of policy stalemate in the debt limit negotiations.

For Ohio, the rating was revised from "negative" to "stable" after Gov. John Kasich signed a new budget the ratings agency says will essentially balance the state's finances for the next two years. S&P also said Ohio is experiencing a modest economic recovery which has stabilized revenue.

In making the upgrade, the agency also assigned a "AA+" long-term rating to Ohio's $416.75 million general obligation bonds... "After a significant decline through the recession, Ohio's economy is steadily recovering," according to S&P's statement issued Friday.

The agency listed factors such as Ohio's unemployment rate has stabilized and fallen to 8.6 percent through May 2011 from a peak of 11 percent in March 2010. The also state experienced positive employment growth in 2010 and through the first quarter of 2011...

In S&P's statement Thursday about the U.S., it said it placed its 'AAA' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term sovereign credit ratings on "CreditWatch with negative implications."

The action means there is a "substantial likelihood of it taking a rating action within the next 90 days." ...

Unlike President Obama, Kasich actually took proactive steps to reduce the size of Ohio's government and improve business conditions for the private sector. Plus he didn't blame his predecessor, demonize his political opponents, or say "I" and "me" all the time.


Linked by: Instapundit, Weasel Zippers and Memeorandum. Thanks!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Destroyer-in-Chief Gets Testy

The GOP has President Obama's shoulders pinned against the wall. He will have to make a choice between making Social Security payments to seniors... or funding his bloated legions of $150,000/year paper-pushers. And because he realizes that his back is against the wall, tempers are running high:

President Obama abruptly walks out of talks: "President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations, according to GOP sources... 'He shoved back and said ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out,' House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters... On a day when the Moody’s rating agency warned that American debt could be downgraded, the White House talks blew up amid a new round of sniping between Obama and Cantor, who are fast becoming bitter enemies."

Much Needed Straight Talk from Rep. Walsh: Quit Lying, Mr. President: "Congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL)... reminds Obama and fellow Republicans why people like himself were elected to Congress. While everyone is focused on the fight over tax increases, many Republicans are forgetting that the $2, $3, or even $4 trillion in supposed spending cuts are nothing but unverifiable accounting gimmicks that are based upon some contrived baseline. Even if they would represent real cuts, the $4 trillion in deficit reduction would only extirpate $400 billion annually from a $1.4-1.6 trillion yearly deficit."

DNC chairwoman: Republicans acting almost like 'spoiled children' on debt ceiling: "The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee said Republicans have been acting like 'spoiled children' in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling... 'We demonstrated that we're willing to put all our sacred cows on the table and the Republicans are simply not willing to do anything but sit on their hands and cross their arms like spoiled children almost. That's just not responsible,' Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said Wednesday on MSNBC... [she] also rejected the idea that some Democrats were 'rebelling' against President Obama for wanting to include cuts to Social Security and Medicare as part of a possible debt ceiling increase deal."

Obama warns Cantor: 'Don't call my bluff' in debt-limit talks: "Republicans said tense negotiations over raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit at the White House ended when President Obama stormed out of the meeting with a stern warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.): 'Don’t call my bluff.'"

Call his bluff.

After all: how do you negotiate with a charismatic demagogue who simply can't tell the truth?

Answer: you can't.

Don't fold, Republicans. Let Obama make the choice. Everyone knows that if he willfully stiffs Social Security recipients it will be to keep his public sector union bureaucrats fat and happy.

Let's see how the electorate reacts to that maneuver.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Friday, July 08, 2011

An Open Letter to @SpeakerBoehner and Sen. McConnell: You Blow This and You Are Political Toast

You cave on the debt ceiling without meaningful spending cuts -- not Social Security, not Medicare, not some far-off, mystical trillion dollars a decade in the future -- but cuts now in the massive discretionary spending programs that exploded under the 111th Congress, well, then you are both political toast.

President Obama has publicly vilified you, has equated you with terrorists ("holding a gun to the American people's head") and has now gone 800 days without a budget. He spent this money. He knew it would blow past the debt ceiling. This is his fault And now he demands something "balanced"?

This is the real deal, since you or your staffers haven't figured it out yet: Obama is prepared to slash Social Security, Medicare, Defense--in fact, anything except the bloated public sector unions.

As always with Obama, it's about the unions. There can be no negotiation with the ideologues who have blown trillions in borrowed money to no avail.

The bloated government bureaucracies are the Democrat Party and vice versa. One can't exist without the other.

If you -- Senator McConnell -- and you -- Speaker Boehner -- blow your advantage, you can stick the old political forks in you. You're done.

Your starting position -- non-negotiable -- should be the Cut, Cap, Balance Pledge.

Period.

No secret, back-room deals. No bullcrap "trillion-dollar spending deals for 2020 with non-tax revenue increases".

This is Obama and the 111th Congress' fault. They didn't pass a budget. They spent like drunken liberals. And, as we speak, they are destroying the full faith and credit of the United States Treasury.

If you are too wedded to your status on the Beltway cocktail and press circuit -- rather than as representatives of a pissed-off electorate -- there will be hell to pay.

Hell.

To.

Pay.


P.S., How's "Speaker West" sound to you?

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Advice for a Young Blogger: How to get a million or less hits on your blog over some unspecified period of time, maybe

Received:

Subject: hello

My name is miss glory 23 years old never married. l saw your profile today at and after going through it many times then l made up my mind to contact you as my friend. so l want you to write back to me through my email address so that l will give you my picture and for you to know who l am. l hope to see your mail ok. lt is from me,
miss glory

Oh. I'm sorry. Wrong email.

Subject: Blogging Advice

Hello,

My name is [C.H.] and I'm a junior Journalism student at [College name] in [City, State]. I recently started blogging again on my blog and I was wondering if I could get any advice from you on how to be a better blogger, attract readers, etc. In particular, I'm wondering where you find the news stories the mainstream media doesn't cover. But any advice you might have I would greatly appreciate.

Thank you so much for your time.

[C.H.]

C, here are my top 10 rules on the delicate topic of blogging.

10. Always link to stories on blogs around your size and smaller than yours -- to paraphrase Glenn Reynolds, you need an "Army of Davids" to help support your mission.

9. Always link to larger blogs: you never know when the likes of Hot Air, Instapundit or Michelle Malkin -- incredibly prolific consumers of media -- will notice and, perhaps someday, post a link to your site. Like losing your virginity, you will never forget your first Instalanche.

8. Always remember to thank those who link you or provide the sources for your stories, unless of course they prefer to remain anonymous. Here is an example of how I do it: "Hat tip: Gateway Pundit."

7. As for unconventional news stories that might pique your interest, my favorite sources for the offbeat are Drudge Report, Memeorandum and TrendingRight. Using Twitter and Facebook -- both for collecting news stories as well as providing updates to your followers (see TwitterFeed) -- is crucial as well.

6. Post a blog-roll and keep it up-to-date. This will come in handy when the previous suggestion doesn't tickle your fancy.

5. If you're so inclined, keep an updated list of headlines like Sister Toldjah or Weasel Zippers; these are stories that may not merit a story, but still deserve your readers' attention.

4. Try to keep content fresh and stories flowing, even if it means running a group blog or having guest bloggers. People don't visit sites that are static. If nothing changes between visits, there's really not a reason to surf to your site. As for myself, each day since January 9, 2009, I've posted Larwyn's Linx, my roundup of important stories. No matter what else is happening, regular readers can at least get a daily snapshot of my favorite articles.

3. Have a specialty that you love and are passionate about. Ed Driscoll and Noel Sheppard enjoy exposing the hypocrisy of legacy media. Fausta Wertz uses her multilingual abilities to provide expert news and analysis of Latin America. Black Five tackles defense and intelligence issues. Zero Hedge and Mish cut to the chase when it comes to the economy. Ace o' Spades uses brilliant, caustic humor to savage the left. Expertise plus passion equals kerploding traffic numbers!

2. Avoid internecine warfare if at all possible. Like any relationship, bloggers can have fallings-out. One of the more famous instances was the 2009 showdown between Atlas Shrugs, JihadWatch and LGF over the loyalties of European anti-Jihad groups. Had I really cared about European anti-Jihad groups, I would have researched the issue and weighed in. As it turned out, I didn't let the issue sway my opinions of any of the bloggers. That is, until LGF's Charles (author of my favorite blogging software) executed an ideological 180-degree turn. Even then, I've mostly just de-linked LGF as opposed to pillorying it. I have better things to do, like saving this Republic.

1. Read Robert Stacy McCain's "How to Get a Million Hits on Your Blog in Less Than a Year ", a neatly executed Tour de force on ramping your blog viewership.

Although I eschew Rule 5 because my wife gets pissed off for religious reasons.


Linked by: Instapundit, Memeorandum, American Power, The Other McCain, and The Lonely Conservative. Thanks!

Monday, July 04, 2011

Charting the GOP Candidates on Conservatism

Nate Silver's column at The New York Times is usually about as exciting as listening to two safety engineers argue the merits of non-glare glass. But this chart, pointed out at Ace o' Spades, is actually quite fascinating.

If you want more big government, more cap-and-trade swill, and just a slower on-ramp to Marxism, well, then Huckabee Huntsman and Romney are your guys.

Otherwise, the only candidates worth supporting at this point are Bachmann and Cain (Perry would be a reasonable choice if he ever throws his hat in).

Here's an interesting conjecture: I would bet Sarah Palin would be closer to Perry than Bachmann. What say you?


Related: Throw Michele Bachmann a couple o' bucks if you have em' to spare.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

Counting Down to July 4th: The Sermon on Iwo Jima [MGySgt]

The Master Gunnery Sergeant:

An interesting fact that many of you may be unaware of is the historic events that surrounded a Jewish chaplain on [Iwo Jima, where of 70,000 American Marines, 1,500 were Jewish].

Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn, assigned to the Fifth Marine Division, was the first Jewish chaplain the Marine Corps ever appointed. Rabbi Gittelsohn was in the thick of the fray, ministering to Marines of all faiths in the combat zone. His tireless efforts to comfort the wounded and encourage the fearful won him three service ribbons. When the fighting was over, Rabbi Gittelsohn was asked to deliver the memorial sermon at a combined religious service dedicating the Marine Cemetery.

Unfortunately, racial and religious prejudice led to problems with the ceremony. What happened next immortalized Rabbi Gittelsohn and his sermon forever.

It was Division Chaplain Warren Cuthriell, a Protestant minister, who originally asked Rabbi Gittelsohn to deliver the memorial sermon. Cuthriel wanted all the fallen Marines (black and white, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish) honored in a single, nondenominational ceremony. However, according to Rabbi Gittelsohn's autobiography, the majority of Christian chaplains objected to having a rabbi preach over predominantly Christian graves...

To his credit, Cuthriell refused to alter his plans. Gittelsohn, on the other hand, wanted to save his friend Cuthriell further embarrassment and so decided it was best not to deliver his sermon. Instead, three separate religious services were held. At the Jewish service, to a congregation of 70 or so who attended, Rabbi Gittelsohn delivered the powerful eulogy he originally wrote for the combined service:

Here lie men who loved America because their ancestors generations ago helped in her founding. And other men who loved her with equal passion because they themselves or their own fathers escaped from oppression to her blessed shores. Here lie officers and men, Negroes and Whites, rich men and poor, together. Here are Protestants, Catholics, and Jews together. Here no man prefers another because of his faith or despises him because of his color. Here there are no quotas of how many from each group are admitted or allowed.

Among these men there is no discrimination. No prejudices. No hatred. Theirs is the highest and purest democracy! Whosoever of us lifts his hand in hate against a brother, or who thinks himself superior to those who happen to be in the minority, makes of this ceremony and the bloody sacrifice it commemorates, an empty, hollow mockery. To this then, as our solemn sacred duty, do we the living now dedicate ourselves: To the right of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews, of White men and Negroes alike, to enjoy the democracy for which all of them have here paid the price.

We here solemnly swear this shall not be in vain. Out of this and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this, will come, we promise, the birth of a new freedom for the sons of men everywhere.

Among Gittelsohn's listeners were three Protestant chaplains so incensed by the prejudice voiced by their colleagues that they boycotted their own service to attend Gittelsohn's. One of them borrowed the manuscript and, unknown to Gittelsohn, circulated several thousand copies to his regiment. Some Marines enclosed the copies in letters to their families.

An avalanche of coverage resulted. Time magazine published excerpts, which wire services spread even further. The entire sermon was inserted into the Congressional Record, the Army released the eulogy for short-wave broadcast to American troops throughout the world and radio commentator Robert St. John read it on his program and on many succeeding Memorial Days.

In 1995, in his last major public appearance before his death, Gittelsohn reread a portion of the eulogy at the 50th commemoration ceremony at the Iwo Jima statue in Washington, D.C. In his autobiography, Gittelsohn reflected, "I have often wondered whether anyone would ever have heard of my Iwo Jima sermon had it not been for the bigoted attempt to ban it."

ANOTHER DAY TO SERVE THE CORPS Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus, et Fidelis!