◼ "Rick Santorum was a sitting senator who, in re-election, lost by 19 points," Donald Trump, a Mitt Romney supporter, said recently. "Then he goes out and says, 'Oh, OK, I just lost by the biggest margin in history, now I'm going to run for president.' Tell me, how does that work?" - Byron York/Washington Examiner
The reasons for Santorum's defeat are too complicated for a 30-second ad or a brief answer at a debate. He can blame a lot of factors, but in the end he was most responsible for his own fate. Now, if Santorum's presidential campaign continues to soar, he'll likely have to discuss the '06 defeat more. The Romney campaign will point to it as proof that Santorum can't win the White House. Santorum's job is to tell voters -- and prove to them with his actions -- that he has learned from his loss, and that he's a better candidate for it.
◼ Rick Santorum: Will women vote for him? - Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman/Politico
◼ Social Issues and the Santorum Surge - Jeff Bell, an 'early supply-sider,' on the roots of American social conservatism—and why the movement is crucial to building a Republican majority. - James Taranto/Wall St. Journal
◼ In The Matter Of Mrs. Santorum - The New Republic
◼ Santorum’s wife dated abortion doctor in the 1980s: report - NY Daily News
◼ Santorum's Residency is Still an Issue - Chartiers Valley Patch
◼ Obama Campaign Setting Sights on Santorum - Michelle Malkin
Saturday, February 18, 2012
President Obama is made to feel not so welcome in Orange County
◼ Hundreds of protesters lined Pacific Coast Highway Thursday morning to greet President Obama who was visiting Newport Beach for a campaign fundraiser. - FOX
This, Obama’s first visit to Orange County since 2009, was characterized by several blocks of protesters wielding a variety signs reading “Catholics Say No To Obamacare,” “Get Out Of My Way -- I am a Business Owner,” “Evict Obama,” “Enough is Enough,” “End of an Error” and many others. One pro-Obama sign that stuck out in memory read “Thank You for Getting Osama,” in reference to the administration’s killing of former Al Qaeda terrorist leader Usama bin Laden last year.
Perhaps the most hard-hitting sign at the rally read: “Breakfast with Obama: $38,000. 4 Years Of Political Favors: Priceless.”
◼ Obama's campaign travel raises money and criticism
(H)is motorcade shut down several blocks of traffic in one posh Orange County neighborhood, a bystander expressed the resentment that inevitably trails a president on such a purely political mission:
"That's our money at work," the woman shouted at the president's 17-vehicle procession.
This, Obama’s first visit to Orange County since 2009, was characterized by several blocks of protesters wielding a variety signs reading “Catholics Say No To Obamacare,” “Get Out Of My Way -- I am a Business Owner,” “Evict Obama,” “Enough is Enough,” “End of an Error” and many others. One pro-Obama sign that stuck out in memory read “Thank You for Getting Osama,” in reference to the administration’s killing of former Al Qaeda terrorist leader Usama bin Laden last year.
Perhaps the most hard-hitting sign at the rally read: “Breakfast with Obama: $38,000. 4 Years Of Political Favors: Priceless.”
◼ Obama's campaign travel raises money and criticism
(H)is motorcade shut down several blocks of traffic in one posh Orange County neighborhood, a bystander expressed the resentment that inevitably trails a president on such a purely political mission:
"That's our money at work," the woman shouted at the president's 17-vehicle procession.
I can't recall reading a more honestly totalitarian argument in a long time.
◼ Why Progressivism Should Scare the **** Out of You - AmericanPowerBlog
It's not so much the civil rights argument that comes across there --- that poor children won't have access to social advancement without the public schools (I think that may be true, in fact). It's the idea that the state knows best, and that families have an obligation to serve their children to the needs of the state. In sum, statism as an ideology over individualism and the family. That is totalitarian and un-American, and frightening in a way that I can't even describe. The word nausea comes to mind when I think about this. I've looked again for a concise paragraph to quote, but I can't do justice by lifting sections of the piece. Just go read it:
◼ All your children are belong to us - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ The prime directive is to make sure everyone is under government control. Once that's accomplished, then we can debate what's to be done with them. - Vox Popoli
It's not so much the civil rights argument that comes across there --- that poor children won't have access to social advancement without the public schools (I think that may be true, in fact). It's the idea that the state knows best, and that families have an obligation to serve their children to the needs of the state. In sum, statism as an ideology over individualism and the family. That is totalitarian and un-American, and frightening in a way that I can't even describe. The word nausea comes to mind when I think about this. I've looked again for a concise paragraph to quote, but I can't do justice by lifting sections of the piece. Just go read it:
◼ Liberals, Don’t Homeschool Your Kids - Why teaching children at home violates progressive values. - Slate.comSee also the comments at ◼ Vox Popoli and ◼ PJ Tatler ◼ (via Memeorandum),
◼ All your children are belong to us - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ The prime directive is to make sure everyone is under government control. Once that's accomplished, then we can debate what's to be done with them. - Vox Popoli
Labels:
Education,
Progressive Politics,
Totalitarianism
"Acting without any legal authority, President Obama has overridden the federal charter of the Export-Import Bank, and turned it into a competitor for domestic loan business, in utter defiance of the law."
◼ Obama Perverts Ex-Im Bank into Competitor for Domestic Banks - John F. Di Leo/American Thinker
Hardly anyone has noticed or seems to care. Speaking at a Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Washington Friday, President Barack Obama announced a bold new plan to help American exporters: he would broaden the services of the Ex-Im Bank to help grow our exports.
Now, that sounds good on the face of it. The Ex-Im Bank is chartered as an export-funding source with a very narrow, specific charter. It exists in an odd area of commerce that requires some background. (read here)
He has announced that he will break with 80 years of history and a clear bank charter to direct the Ex-Im Bank to provide loans for domestic (USA-to-USA) sales if a foreign government might offer export financing to the manufacturer's foreign competitors. They all do! By definition, export financing agencies abroad provide this service on their international sales; it's not normally restricted by industry or product. The American banking industry can provide sufficient financing for a domestic company to compete with a more costly foreign import (for which you have transportation, duties, and other import costs as well, presumably making the importation undesirable).
He has also announced that he will order the Ex-Im Bank to begin making short-term financing loans of six to twelve months -- not necessarily connected to any export sales! -- to small domestic firms who want to increase their exporting activity. That's so open-ended, it can mean anything and include any company. Not that there's anything wrong with loans to small businesses; it's just that this is not the job of the Ex-Im Bank. Short-term loans to domestic businesses are for normal domestic banks to offer; that's what the business department of every bank in the country is for!
...This administration is making a habit of directing government agencies to change their very jobs without congressional authority. The military isn't there to fight wars, but perhaps to help with disaster assistance. The Department of Education is to issue guidelines on children's diets. NASA is to stop flying into outer space, and instead is to propagandize about the scientific contributions of Islam through the ages. The Department of Energy is to thwart energy independence by denying permits that would produce domestic energy.
And now the Export-Import Bank is to loan money to domestic customers engaging in domestic transactions.
This administration is abusing government, by using agencies for purposes other than their constitutional or statutory functions. This government by executive fiat grows ever more random, ever more disconnected from the reality of the legislation that chartered these departments and agencies as they wander ever farther afield.
Hardly anyone has noticed or seems to care. Speaking at a Boeing assembly plant in Everett, Washington Friday, President Barack Obama announced a bold new plan to help American exporters: he would broaden the services of the Ex-Im Bank to help grow our exports.
Now, that sounds good on the face of it. The Ex-Im Bank is chartered as an export-funding source with a very narrow, specific charter. It exists in an odd area of commerce that requires some background. (read here)
He has announced that he will break with 80 years of history and a clear bank charter to direct the Ex-Im Bank to provide loans for domestic (USA-to-USA) sales if a foreign government might offer export financing to the manufacturer's foreign competitors. They all do! By definition, export financing agencies abroad provide this service on their international sales; it's not normally restricted by industry or product. The American banking industry can provide sufficient financing for a domestic company to compete with a more costly foreign import (for which you have transportation, duties, and other import costs as well, presumably making the importation undesirable).
He has also announced that he will order the Ex-Im Bank to begin making short-term financing loans of six to twelve months -- not necessarily connected to any export sales! -- to small domestic firms who want to increase their exporting activity. That's so open-ended, it can mean anything and include any company. Not that there's anything wrong with loans to small businesses; it's just that this is not the job of the Ex-Im Bank. Short-term loans to domestic businesses are for normal domestic banks to offer; that's what the business department of every bank in the country is for!
...This administration is making a habit of directing government agencies to change their very jobs without congressional authority. The military isn't there to fight wars, but perhaps to help with disaster assistance. The Department of Education is to issue guidelines on children's diets. NASA is to stop flying into outer space, and instead is to propagandize about the scientific contributions of Islam through the ages. The Department of Energy is to thwart energy independence by denying permits that would produce domestic energy.
And now the Export-Import Bank is to loan money to domestic customers engaging in domestic transactions.
This administration is abusing government, by using agencies for purposes other than their constitutional or statutory functions. This government by executive fiat grows ever more random, ever more disconnected from the reality of the legislation that chartered these departments and agencies as they wander ever farther afield.
Labels:
Banks,
President Obama
It Wouldn’t Be Saturday Morning Without Another Friday Night Solyndra Document Dump to Sift Through
◼ The Energy and Commerce Committee has given the White House a deadline of next Tuesday to release documents related to Solyndra in eleven specified categories. Failure to do so could result in a contempt of Congress vote. According to the ECC, yesterday’s 463-page Solyndra doc dump included material from only one of the eleven categories. - Michelle Malkin
The February 21st deadline will come and go, as other deadlines have. Part of the ECC’s mistake was requesting the material with a Tuesday deadline when the Document Dump Czar only works Friday afternoons. Levels of transparency this historic can’t be rushed and must occur just before the weekend in order to be fully appreciated.
◼ Friday Night Doc Dump: Did WH economic advisers raise red flags on Solyndra as early as March 2010? - HotAir
(Larry) Summers at the time was Director of the National Economic Council, nominally in charge of the administration’s economic policy. He was not the only economic adviser to raise questions about Solyndra and the administration’s involvement, either. Jared Bernstein, who helped write the case for the stimulus bill that produced the funding for Solyndra, shared his concerns with another Joe Biden economic adviser in May 2010 over the level of private investment that the green-tech stimulus loan guarantees had produced — and then suggested that no one mention it...
The February 21st deadline will come and go, as other deadlines have. Part of the ECC’s mistake was requesting the material with a Tuesday deadline when the Document Dump Czar only works Friday afternoons. Levels of transparency this historic can’t be rushed and must occur just before the weekend in order to be fully appreciated.
◼ Friday Night Doc Dump: Did WH economic advisers raise red flags on Solyndra as early as March 2010? - HotAir
(Larry) Summers at the time was Director of the National Economic Council, nominally in charge of the administration’s economic policy. He was not the only economic adviser to raise questions about Solyndra and the administration’s involvement, either. Jared Bernstein, who helped write the case for the stimulus bill that produced the funding for Solyndra, shared his concerns with another Joe Biden economic adviser in May 2010 over the level of private investment that the green-tech stimulus loan guarantees had produced — and then suggested that no one mention it...
Labels:
DOE,
GREEN jobs agenda,
Investigations,
Scandals,
Solyndra
Pro-Walker signature verification effort needs help this weekend
◼ Supporters of Gov. Walker, however, need more time to go through the approximately 1 million signatures, and quite unbelievably, a judge in Wisconsin just denied a request for two extra weeks, even though that still would have kept the recall process within the statutory time period... - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
A judge has denied Gov. Scott Walker’s request for a two-week extension to review recall petition signatures, saying the election is likely to proceed.◼ As reported at Big Government, the pro-Walker petition checkers are seeking more volunteers starting immediately, and with the tight timetable, they need all the help they can get:
Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess’ ruling was a victory for recall organizers who had said there was no good reason for another extension and that Walker’s request was an attempt to delay the inevitable.
Walker’s campaign argued it had only reviewed 330,000 of the roughly 1 million signatures and couldn’t get through all of them by the Feb. 27 deadline.
The effort to independently analyze hundreds of thousands of signatures on petitions seeking the recall of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is reaching a critical stage, one organizer said Friday.
More than 13,000 volunteers have signed up with the Verify the Recall project to help with enter the recall petitions into a search able database.
“The response from Wisconsin and across the nation has been phenomenal,” said Catherine Engelbrecht of True the Vote. “One strong push this weekend could help us finish the data entry aspect of the project and allow us to begin our thorough analysis.”
Engelbrecht says it’s not too late to sign up to help. In fact, this weekend is a crucial moment in the project.
“If enough people sign up and give us two hours of their time this weekend, it will make a world of difference,” Engelbrecht said. “This is the home stretch.”
◼ Volunteers can sign up here.
Labels:
Recall effort,
Scott Walker,
Voter fraud,
Wisconsin
Markos Moulitsas, owner of Daily Kos, has called for Democrats to vote for Rick Santorum in the upcoming open primaries (such as Michigan).
◼ Daily Kos Announces ‘Operation Hilarity’
◼ Re: Daily Kos Announces ‘Operation Hilarity’ - National Review
In doing so, they can encourage a long and bruising battle for Republicans, and produce a nominee who has no chance at beating Obama. Tactical voting isn’t a horrible thing — for instance, I know Republicans who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 in the hopes he’d get 5 percent of the vote, qualifying him for federal funding in 2004 (he didn’t). But this tactic says something pretty sad about the Left (at least, inasmuch as it’s represented by the Daily Kos).
◼ Re: Daily Kos Announces ‘Operation Hilarity’ - National Review
In doing so, they can encourage a long and bruising battle for Republicans, and produce a nominee who has no chance at beating Obama. Tactical voting isn’t a horrible thing — for instance, I know Republicans who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 in the hopes he’d get 5 percent of the vote, qualifying him for federal funding in 2004 (he didn’t). But this tactic says something pretty sad about the Left (at least, inasmuch as it’s represented by the Daily Kos).
Labels:
Campaign tactics,
Democrats,
Mitt Romney,
Rick Santorum
AMERICANS love to laugh at ridiculous regulations.
◼ Over-regulated America - The Economist
A Florida law requires vending-machine labels to urge the public to file a report if the label is not there. The Federal Railroad Administration insists that all trains must be painted with an “F” at the front, so you can tell which end is which. Bureaucratic busybodies in Bethesda, Maryland, have shut down children’s lemonade stands because the enterprising young moppets did not have trading licences. The list goes hilariously on. But red tape in America is no laughing matter.
America is meant to be the home of laissez-faire. Unlike Europeans, whose lives have long been circumscribed by meddling governments and diktats from Brussels, Americans are supposed to be free to choose, for better or for worse. Yet for some time America has been straying from this ideal. More...
A Florida law requires vending-machine labels to urge the public to file a report if the label is not there. The Federal Railroad Administration insists that all trains must be painted with an “F” at the front, so you can tell which end is which. Bureaucratic busybodies in Bethesda, Maryland, have shut down children’s lemonade stands because the enterprising young moppets did not have trading licences. The list goes hilariously on. But red tape in America is no laughing matter.
America is meant to be the home of laissez-faire. Unlike Europeans, whose lives have long been circumscribed by meddling governments and diktats from Brussels, Americans are supposed to be free to choose, for better or for worse. Yet for some time America has been straying from this ideal. More...
Labels:
Economy,
Regulation
Obama campaign shifts to targeting Rick Santorum
◼ President Barack Obama’s campaign team has shifted gears to consider the possibility that his GOP opponent will Rick Santorum instead of Mitt Romney. - AP/Boston Herald
Campaign officials confirm Obama’s Chicago-based organization has begun combing through the former Pennsylvania senator’s background, looking for possible lines of attack. It also emailed Obama’s Pennsylvania supporters this past week asking for material that could be used against Santorum. The move reflects Santorum’s sudden surge in nationwide opinion polls and a spate of recent primary-season victories over Romney.
Campaign officials confirm Obama’s Chicago-based organization has begun combing through the former Pennsylvania senator’s background, looking for possible lines of attack. It also emailed Obama’s Pennsylvania supporters this past week asking for material that could be used against Santorum. The move reflects Santorum’s sudden surge in nationwide opinion polls and a spate of recent primary-season victories over Romney.
Newt Supporters Don Chicken Costumes at Georgia Welcome Home Rally
◼ "It's Mitt-chick and Rick-chick!" a Gingrich supporter said gleefully, pointing to the signs the costumed men carried, which read "I'm chicken to debate Newt" and "76 delegates but Mitt and Rick don't want them?" - FOX
Up for grabs Super Tuesday are Georgia's 76 delegates, but on Thursday CNN announced it would be canceling the March 1 debate it had scheduled in Atlanta after Romney and Ron Paul decided not to participate and Santorum's campaign signaled it was unlikely their candidate would either. The debate was to be co-hosted by the Georgia Republican Party and Ohio Republican Party.
Polls indicate Santorum has been gradually picking up support in Gingrich's home state, and the Georgia native showed up Friday ready to slam his opponents. "If you're afraid to debate Newt Gingrich, you sure can't debate Barack Obama!" he said to a cheering crowd of approximately 450 people gathered in an aircraft hanger decorated with a floor-to-ceiling sized American flag.
"Frankly there is something wrong when somebody tries to buy their way to the presidency with a series of negative ads and won't stand up out in the open to defend them," Gingrich said in another jab at his opponents.
Up for grabs Super Tuesday are Georgia's 76 delegates, but on Thursday CNN announced it would be canceling the March 1 debate it had scheduled in Atlanta after Romney and Ron Paul decided not to participate and Santorum's campaign signaled it was unlikely their candidate would either. The debate was to be co-hosted by the Georgia Republican Party and Ohio Republican Party.
Polls indicate Santorum has been gradually picking up support in Gingrich's home state, and the Georgia native showed up Friday ready to slam his opponents. "If you're afraid to debate Newt Gingrich, you sure can't debate Barack Obama!" he said to a cheering crowd of approximately 450 people gathered in an aircraft hanger decorated with a floor-to-ceiling sized American flag.
"Frankly there is something wrong when somebody tries to buy their way to the presidency with a series of negative ads and won't stand up out in the open to defend them," Gingrich said in another jab at his opponents.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Tea Party and OWS Protest Side-By-Side Against Obama in San Francisco (Photos)
◼ Many of the Tea Partiers wore giant foam “Nobama” fingers, which they waved in unison for a particularly photogenic effect. - ZOMBIE at PJM
Media pundits have often tried to point out the similarities between the Tea Party and the Occupy movement, in a futile attempt to get the two groups to merge. Unfortunately, the differences were too great, and we have yet to see the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street protesting against the same thing side-by-side at the same protest.
That is, until now.
The unthinkable finally happened last night in San Francisco: the Tea Party shared a protest with the Occupiers, both groups angry with the same person.
Labels:
#Occupy,
President Obama,
Tea Party
Peter Hannaford: The Day That Isn't
◼ On Monday we'll celebrate Washington's Birthday, and no one else's. - Peter Hannaford for The American Spectator Online on 2.17.12
On Monday America will celebrate a day that isn't. Millions of desk and wall calendars will show the third Monday of February as "Presidents' Day," but there is no such thing and thereby hangs a tale.
Sixty-one years ago, in 1951, a Californian named Harold Stonebridge Fischer formed the President's Day National Committee with the intention of creating a holiday that would honor the office of the presidency, but no particular president. He found some like-minded people to fill out his committee and push the idea and he must have acquired some financial donors, for he was executive director of the committee for the next two decades.
He lobbied Congress, proposing March 4, the original Inauguration Day, as the date for "Presidents' Day," but the bill to make it happen became stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Several members were concerned that adding a third holiday to celebrations of Washington's and Lincoln's birthday would be bad for the economy. Several state governors issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be "Presidents' Day" in their states.
Nevertheless, the federal bill went into hibernation.
In 1968 sentiment grew for a Uniform Monday Holiday Act that would move several national holidays from their specific dates to the nearest Monday, thereby reducing down-time for the economy and giving workers a series of three-day holidays. An early draft of the enabling bill would have renamed the Washington's Birthday holiday "Presidents' Day" to honor both Washington and Lincoln, whose birthday is on February 12 and has never been a national holiday.
The bill passed and was signed into law as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act on June 28 that year. George Washington's birthday, February 22, was moved from that date to the third Monday of the month and remains officially, the George Washington's Birthday Holiday. The term "Presidents' Day" is not mentioned in the Act.
Some Lincoln devotees saw the name "Presidents' Day" as an opportunity to use the new dating of the holiday to honor both men. Three states, Illinois, Missouri and Connecticut set February 12 aside as a state holiday to specifically honor Lincoln.
Other states have their own take on the George Washington's Birthday Holiday. Massachusetts state law requires the governor to issue a "Presidents' Day" proclamation on May 29 every year to honor four presidents with roots in the state: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge and John F. Kennedy.
Alabama calls the holiday "Washington and Jefferson Day," although Thomas Jefferson was born in April.
Used car and mattress salesmen, however, love what they call "Presidents' Day," as they salivate over plans for three-day weekend sales. Beginning in the 1980s advertisers began to use the "Presidents' Day" designation apparently because it had a snappier sound than "Washington's Birthday." The growing repetition of the fake name led calendar producers do put it on their products without verifying it.
It has been said that a day that honors all presidents honors none. After all, who stops to think about William Henry Harrison, Franklin Pierce, or Chester A. Arthur on the third Monday of February? Many people may be confused about the day, but the Wikipedia Encyclopedia isn't. If you go to Wikipedia and enter "Presidents' Day," it will redirect you to "Washington's Birthday." As will Google.
__________________
Mr. Hannaford is the author of “The Essential George Washington.”
On Monday America will celebrate a day that isn't. Millions of desk and wall calendars will show the third Monday of February as "Presidents' Day," but there is no such thing and thereby hangs a tale.
Sixty-one years ago, in 1951, a Californian named Harold Stonebridge Fischer formed the President's Day National Committee with the intention of creating a holiday that would honor the office of the presidency, but no particular president. He found some like-minded people to fill out his committee and push the idea and he must have acquired some financial donors, for he was executive director of the committee for the next two decades.
He lobbied Congress, proposing March 4, the original Inauguration Day, as the date for "Presidents' Day," but the bill to make it happen became stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Several members were concerned that adding a third holiday to celebrations of Washington's and Lincoln's birthday would be bad for the economy. Several state governors issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be "Presidents' Day" in their states.
Nevertheless, the federal bill went into hibernation.
In 1968 sentiment grew for a Uniform Monday Holiday Act that would move several national holidays from their specific dates to the nearest Monday, thereby reducing down-time for the economy and giving workers a series of three-day holidays. An early draft of the enabling bill would have renamed the Washington's Birthday holiday "Presidents' Day" to honor both Washington and Lincoln, whose birthday is on February 12 and has never been a national holiday.
The bill passed and was signed into law as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act on June 28 that year. George Washington's birthday, February 22, was moved from that date to the third Monday of the month and remains officially, the George Washington's Birthday Holiday. The term "Presidents' Day" is not mentioned in the Act.
Some Lincoln devotees saw the name "Presidents' Day" as an opportunity to use the new dating of the holiday to honor both men. Three states, Illinois, Missouri and Connecticut set February 12 aside as a state holiday to specifically honor Lincoln.
Other states have their own take on the George Washington's Birthday Holiday. Massachusetts state law requires the governor to issue a "Presidents' Day" proclamation on May 29 every year to honor four presidents with roots in the state: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge and John F. Kennedy.
Alabama calls the holiday "Washington and Jefferson Day," although Thomas Jefferson was born in April.
Used car and mattress salesmen, however, love what they call "Presidents' Day," as they salivate over plans for three-day weekend sales. Beginning in the 1980s advertisers began to use the "Presidents' Day" designation apparently because it had a snappier sound than "Washington's Birthday." The growing repetition of the fake name led calendar producers do put it on their products without verifying it.
It has been said that a day that honors all presidents honors none. After all, who stops to think about William Henry Harrison, Franklin Pierce, or Chester A. Arthur on the third Monday of February? Many people may be confused about the day, but the Wikipedia Encyclopedia isn't. If you go to Wikipedia and enter "Presidents' Day," it will redirect you to "Washington's Birthday." As will Google.
Mr. Hannaford is the author of “The Essential George Washington.”
Labels:
Holidays,
Peter Hannaford
Rick Santelli: “You Can’t Buy Your Way Into Prosperity”
◼ Three years ago today, President Obama signed the stimulus bill, a gigantic waste of our tax money that did nothing for the people of this country, but instead went into the pockets of Obama’s cronies and campaign bundlers. - Hillbuzz
Two days after the stimulus was signed, a brave man by the name of Rick Santelli gave a rant from the Chicago Exchange that was heard across the nation. Rick railed against the stimulus, screaming that it would “subsidize bad behavior”.
In the middle of his rant, Santelli uttered the most famous words of all: “We’re thinking about having a Chicago Tea party in July”. The floor erupted with whistles and cheers, and within hours, an American movement was born.
The Tea Party.
Two days after the stimulus was signed, a brave man by the name of Rick Santelli gave a rant from the Chicago Exchange that was heard across the nation. Rick railed against the stimulus, screaming that it would “subsidize bad behavior”.
In the middle of his rant, Santelli uttered the most famous words of all: “We’re thinking about having a Chicago Tea party in July”. The floor erupted with whistles and cheers, and within hours, an American movement was born.
The Tea Party.
Dem convention co-chair's company got $230 million in federal loans for 'green' projects
◼ Jim Rogers, the co-chairman and lead fundraiser for the Democratic National Convention host-committee, is well versed in the art of political cronyism
Just as Rogers has helped fund Democratic politicians, they, in turn, have helped steer massive amounts of federal funding to Duke Energy. The 2009 stimulus package, for instance, was a boon for the company: Duke received federal grants totaling $230.4 million for a number of “green” energy projects including “smart grid” development and wind energy storage.
Just as Rogers has helped fund Democratic politicians, they, in turn, have helped steer massive amounts of federal funding to Duke Energy. The 2009 stimulus package, for instance, was a boon for the company: Duke received federal grants totaling $230.4 million for a number of “green” energy projects including “smart grid” development and wind energy storage.
Labels:
Crony Capitalism,
Democrats
Handing out condoms on the Titanic
◼ link - Mark Steyn/OC Register
Have you seen the official White House version of what the New York Times headline writers call "A Responsible Budget"? My favorite bit is Chart 5-1 on Page 58 of their 500-page appendix on "Analytical Perspectives." This is entitled "Publicly Held Debt Under 2013 Budget Policy Projections." It's a straight line going straight up before disappearing off the top right hand corner of the graph in the year 2084 and continuing northeast straight through your eye socket, out the back of your skull and zooming up to rendezvous with Newt's space colony on the moon circa 2100. Just to emphasize, this isn't the doom-laden dystopian fancy of a right-wing apocalyptic loon like me; it's the official Oval Office version of where America's headed. In the New York Times-approved "responsible budget" there is no attempt even to pretend to bend the debt curve into something approaching re-entry with reality....
The received wisdom among media cynics is that Obama has engaged in an ingenious bit of misdirection by seizing on a pop-culture caricature of Republicans and inviting them to live up to it: Those uptight squares with the hang-ups about fornication have decided to force you to lead the same cheerless sex lives as them....
It may well be that the Democrats succeed in establishing this narrative. But anyone who falls for it is a sap. In fact, these two issues – the Obama condoms-for-clunkers giveaway and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 900 percent by 2075 – are not unconnected. In Greece, 100 grandparents have 42 grandchildren – i.e., an upside-down family tree. As I wrote a few weeks ago, "If 100 geezers run up a bazillion dollars' worth of debt, is it likely that 42 youngsters will ever be able to pay it off?" Most analysts know the answer to that question: Greece is demographically insolvent.
Americans foolish enough to fall for the Democrats' crude bit of misdirection can hardly complain about their rendezvous with the sharp end of that page 58 budget graph. People are free to buy bacon, and free to buy condoms. But the state has no compelling interest to force either down your throat. The notion that an all-powerful government would distract from its looming bankruptcy by introducing a universal contraceptive mandate would strike most novelists as almost too pat in its symbolism. It's like something out of "Brave New World." Except that it's cowardly, and, like so much else about the sexual revolution, very old and wrinkled.
Have you seen the official White House version of what the New York Times headline writers call "A Responsible Budget"? My favorite bit is Chart 5-1 on Page 58 of their 500-page appendix on "Analytical Perspectives." This is entitled "Publicly Held Debt Under 2013 Budget Policy Projections." It's a straight line going straight up before disappearing off the top right hand corner of the graph in the year 2084 and continuing northeast straight through your eye socket, out the back of your skull and zooming up to rendezvous with Newt's space colony on the moon circa 2100. Just to emphasize, this isn't the doom-laden dystopian fancy of a right-wing apocalyptic loon like me; it's the official Oval Office version of where America's headed. In the New York Times-approved "responsible budget" there is no attempt even to pretend to bend the debt curve into something approaching re-entry with reality....
The received wisdom among media cynics is that Obama has engaged in an ingenious bit of misdirection by seizing on a pop-culture caricature of Republicans and inviting them to live up to it: Those uptight squares with the hang-ups about fornication have decided to force you to lead the same cheerless sex lives as them....
It may well be that the Democrats succeed in establishing this narrative. But anyone who falls for it is a sap. In fact, these two issues – the Obama condoms-for-clunkers giveaway and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 900 percent by 2075 – are not unconnected. In Greece, 100 grandparents have 42 grandchildren – i.e., an upside-down family tree. As I wrote a few weeks ago, "If 100 geezers run up a bazillion dollars' worth of debt, is it likely that 42 youngsters will ever be able to pay it off?" Most analysts know the answer to that question: Greece is demographically insolvent.
Americans foolish enough to fall for the Democrats' crude bit of misdirection can hardly complain about their rendezvous with the sharp end of that page 58 budget graph. People are free to buy bacon, and free to buy condoms. But the state has no compelling interest to force either down your throat. The notion that an all-powerful government would distract from its looming bankruptcy by introducing a universal contraceptive mandate would strike most novelists as almost too pat in its symbolism. It's like something out of "Brave New World." Except that it's cowardly, and, like so much else about the sexual revolution, very old and wrinkled.
Labels:
Budget,
Debt,
Deficit,
Propaganda,
Spending
3 Years is Up, Mr. President. We Can't Afford Another 4.
◼ Where Did All The Money Go? ◼ How The $825 Billion Stimulus Was Spent In Your State Over The Past Three Years
$2.5 Million For The Clinton Presidential Library. “A historic bridge at Bill Clinton's presidential center in Little Rock is slated to get $2.5 million of federal stimulus money from Arkansas's share of the funds.... ◼ More...
◼ Obama Stimulus Turns Three: What Has It Achieved? - John Merline/Investor's Business Daily
Labels:
Economy,
Spending,
Stimulus,
Unemployment
Controversy in Maine
◼ Maine GOP: Results went to spam
◼ More on The Maine Republican Party's Stolen 2012 GOP Caucuses - And How It Appears They Did It... - The Brad Blog
Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster has admitted that the state party made numerous clerical errors in counting the state’s caucus results — even omitting some votes because emails reporting tallies “went to spam” in an email account.◼ Romney Loses Maine? Maine Mess – by Design? - Maggie's Notebook
However, Webster insisted that the errors did not change the outcome.
On Saturday, he had declared former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney the winner of Maine’s Presidential Preference Poll by fewer than 200 votes, even though not all municipalities had reported results.
“There were clerical errors that did not significantly change the numbers. There were several smaller towns that were left out, the reporting was wrong. … We’ve corrected those clerical errors and will send those numbers out [soon],” said Webster...
The GOP Maine caucuses were held from February 4th through February 11th. Those caucuses were slated to be counted as official caucus votes. Any caucuses outside that time period would not be counted. After the count, thought to be the official count, Mitt Romney won over Ron Paul by 200 votes. Big problems now however. Some county votes within the proper timeline were not counted. State tally sheets were simply blank. It was a “clerical error.” Washington County was forced to change their caucuses to the next Saturday (outside the designated timeline) due to a snowstorm, and now want their votes counted. It’s a mess in Maine and you have to consider that it might be by design.◼ Maine GOP Commits Massive Election Fraud in State Caucuses; Paul Supporters Justifiably Outraged - The Brad Blog
◼ More on The Maine Republican Party's Stolen 2012 GOP Caucuses - And How It Appears They Did It... - The Brad Blog
[Now UPDATED at bottom of article. The Maine GOP executive committee has now decided to include Washington County's results from their upcoming caucuses in the final totals after all. They will also 'reconfirm' other results across the state next month. More details at bottom of story.]
Labels:
2012 Presidential Contenders,
Caucus,
Maine,
Mitt Romney,
Ron Paul,
Voter fraud
Was Yesterday’s Oversight Hearing Really ‘All-Male’?
◼ No. It’s that simple. - Heritage.org
The incessant attempts... to distract from the real issue of yesterday’s hearing – the constitutional problems in forcing employers to violate their own religious beliefs – prompted thoroughly fallacious claims that Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who chairs the Oversight Committee, and other congressional Republicans, were conducting a “war on women.”
The argument is absurd on its face, but few of its supporting claims have been so thoroughly and demonstrably false as the notion that yesterday’s Oversight hearing featured testimony only from men.
◼ Patty Murray: GOP waging 'war on women’s health' - J. Lester Feder/Politico
Murray’s speech — which was part of a series of floor speeches from other Democratic women, including Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire — confirmed that Democrats see political power in using the “attack on women’s health” line as an election-year theme.
Boxer said the photo of the all-male panel at yesterday's hearing reminded her of an all-male Senate Judiciary Committee’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991.
Labels:
Constitution,
Darrell Issa,
Democrats,
Fact checking,
Investigations,
Obamacare,
Power Grab
Reader comment: "Let me put this clearly and succinctly, “IT IS NONE OF DHHS BUSINESS”. I am not mandated nor can they mandate that I follow USDA guidelines. They can make the school lunchroom follow the guidelines, but when you start telling me what to feed my child and confiscating that lunch, we are going to have a problem. You better have a damn good lawyer, cause you will need it."
◼ 2ND N.C. MOTHER SAYS DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL LUNCH REPLACED FOR NOT BEING HEALTHY ENOUGH - The Blaze
North Carolina officials have said there was a misunderstanding when a preschooler’s homemade lunch was sent home for not meeting certain nutritional requirements, but now a second mother from the same school has come forward exclusively to The Blaze to say the same thing happened to her daughter.
Diane Zambrano says her 4-year-old daughter, Jazlyn, is in the same West Hoke Elementary School class as the little girl whose lunch gained national attention earlier this week. When Zambrano picked Jazlyn up from school late last month, she was told by Jazlyn’s teacher that the lunch she had packed that day did not meet the necessary guidelines and that Jazlyn had been sent to the cafeteria.
The lunch Zambrano packed for her daughter? A cheese and salami sandwich on a wheat bun with apple juice. The lunch she got in the cafeteria? Chicken nuggets, a sweet potato, bread and milk.... After she received her cafeteria food, the teacher told Zambrano, Jazlyn was told to put her homemade lunch back in her lunchbox and set it on the floor.
North Carolina officials have said there was a misunderstanding when a preschooler’s homemade lunch was sent home for not meeting certain nutritional requirements, but now a second mother from the same school has come forward exclusively to The Blaze to say the same thing happened to her daughter.
Diane Zambrano says her 4-year-old daughter, Jazlyn, is in the same West Hoke Elementary School class as the little girl whose lunch gained national attention earlier this week. When Zambrano picked Jazlyn up from school late last month, she was told by Jazlyn’s teacher that the lunch she had packed that day did not meet the necessary guidelines and that Jazlyn had been sent to the cafeteria.
The lunch Zambrano packed for her daughter? A cheese and salami sandwich on a wheat bun with apple juice. The lunch she got in the cafeteria? Chicken nuggets, a sweet potato, bread and milk.... After she received her cafeteria food, the teacher told Zambrano, Jazlyn was told to put her homemade lunch back in her lunchbox and set it on the floor.
Labels:
Big Brother,
Big Government,
Nanny State,
Obama Administration
Occupy Unmasked - Official Movie Trailer
◼ http://www.occupyunmasked.com The trailer for the new film produced by Citizens United and directed by Stephen K. Bannon. "Occupy Unmasked" goes deep into the "Occupy" movement and exposes its origins as well as the radical ideas behind "income inequality" that has become the centerpiece of the Obama re-election effort. The film is due to be released Spring 2012.
Labels:
#Occupy
Women, in Barack Obama’s world, are not just dim little dolts; they seem to think that women are intellectual slaves to their reproductive systems.
◼ Obama To Women: “Look, Little Ladies! A Shiny Object!”
People have been cooling on “The One” pretty much since inauguration day.
And The One needs to get that enthusiasm going again.
And so what better to take peoples’ minds off their miseries and rile the (female) troops?
“Republicans want to take away your contraceptives!”
Notwithstanding the fact that, as Romney noted in December when George Stephanopoulos incongruously broached the subject in a debate, the subject has never come up in GOP circles. Period. It’s a non-issue to the GOP.
No matter. The media is in lock-step behind the Administration’s meme that the GOP wants to outlaw contraception. The theatrical “walk-out” of Democrats from Darrel Issa’s hearings was a classic bit of Goebbelsian theatre; while the useful idiots in the media (in this case, the gleefully dim Amanda Terkel at Huffpo) called the hearings “about contraception” they were in fact hearings on the constitutionality of mandating that religious groups offer contraception against their beliefs.
Catch that? The Democrats don’t even need to hijack Republicans’ meetings themselves. The mainstream media will do it for them, after the fact.
At any rate, that’s Obama’s message to female voters: ”Never mind the economy; never mind the unemployment rate; never mind the fiscal catastrophe waiting for you, your kids, and their kids; and above all, don’t believe your lying ears when the GOP mentions that they’ve never said word one about taking anyone’s contraceptives away. Look! Boogeyman!”
◼ Stephanopolous - BreitbartTV
People have been cooling on “The One” pretty much since inauguration day.
And The One needs to get that enthusiasm going again.
And so what better to take peoples’ minds off their miseries and rile the (female) troops?
“Republicans want to take away your contraceptives!”
Notwithstanding the fact that, as Romney noted in December when George Stephanopoulos incongruously broached the subject in a debate, the subject has never come up in GOP circles. Period. It’s a non-issue to the GOP.
No matter. The media is in lock-step behind the Administration’s meme that the GOP wants to outlaw contraception. The theatrical “walk-out” of Democrats from Darrel Issa’s hearings was a classic bit of Goebbelsian theatre; while the useful idiots in the media (in this case, the gleefully dim Amanda Terkel at Huffpo) called the hearings “about contraception” they were in fact hearings on the constitutionality of mandating that religious groups offer contraception against their beliefs.
Catch that? The Democrats don’t even need to hijack Republicans’ meetings themselves. The mainstream media will do it for them, after the fact.
At any rate, that’s Obama’s message to female voters: ”Never mind the economy; never mind the unemployment rate; never mind the fiscal catastrophe waiting for you, your kids, and their kids; and above all, don’t believe your lying ears when the GOP mentions that they’ve never said word one about taking anyone’s contraceptives away. Look! Boogeyman!”
◼ Stephanopolous - BreitbartTV
Labels:
Constitution,
Media bias,
Obamacare,
President Obama,
Propaganda,
Religion
Romney highlights third anniversary of stimulus
◼ His new message? Three years ago, President Obama spent $787 billion on his failed stimulus adding trillions in deficits and an explosion in the federal debt. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner
Labels:
2012 Presidential Contenders,
Ads,
Mitt Romney,
Stimulus
Thursday, February 16, 2012
All of this is a brutal wake-up call for Americans: Obama's contraception mandate isn't an anomaly. It's the sign of things to come.
◼ Meet the masterminds who will decide what kind of health care you and your family will receive - Doug Ross
◼ The Wall Street Journal (via AEI) has the uncomfortable low-down on what Obamacare means - AEI
◼ Sarah Palin Tried To Warn Us – Obamacare Death Panels Have Arrived - Ulsterman
A just published editorial in the Wall Street Journal by Dr. Scott Gottlieb details how a SINGLE panel of advisers is determining what tests and procedures doctors can and cannot perform under the new Obamacare federal guidelines. The death panels are no longer a possibility – they are happening NOW.
Offended by President Obama’s decision to force health insurers to pay for contraception and surgical sterilization? It gets worse: In the future, thanks to ObamaCare, the government will issue such health edicts on a routine basis—and largely insulated from public view. This goes beyond contraception to cancer screenings, the use of common drugs like aspirin, and much more.
Under ObamaCare, a single committee—the United States Preventative Services Task Force—is empowered to evaluate preventive health services and decide which will be covered by health-insurance plans.
…The task force is a part-time board of volunteer advisers that works slowly and is often late to incorporate new science into its recommendations. Only in 2009 did it finally recommend aspirin for the prevention of stroke and heart attack among those at risk—decades after this practice was demonstrated to save lives and had become part of standard medical practice.
Labels:
Big Brother,
Mandates,
Obamacare,
Power Grab,
President Obama
If the State can force you to buy health insurance, then of course they can force you to buy chicken nuggets.
◼ Attack of the lunch police - Give me a turkey sandwich, or give me death. - John Hayward/Human Events
This is really a modest expansion upon the principle of the “individual mandate” at the heart of ObamaCare, which compels private citizens to purchase a State-approved product from private companies. If the State can force you to buy health insurance, then of course they can force you to buy chicken nuggets. Or vegetables, gym memberships… anything that is deemed in the “public good,” which now includes anything related to the health of the population. You’ll be amazed how much is “related to the health of the population” a few years from now.
This is really a modest expansion upon the principle of the “individual mandate” at the heart of ObamaCare, which compels private citizens to purchase a State-approved product from private companies. If the State can force you to buy health insurance, then of course they can force you to buy chicken nuggets. Or vegetables, gym memberships… anything that is deemed in the “public good,” which now includes anything related to the health of the population. You’ll be amazed how much is “related to the health of the population” a few years from now.
You mean it’s not possible to provide contraception insurance at no cost to … anybody?
◼ Well, duh. What’s crazy is that the administration has ever tried to say otherwise. - HotAir
Fortunately, insurers aren’t afraid to state the obvious. Hidden — or not-so-hidden — in the administration’s insistent mandate that insurers provide coverage for contraception to the employees of religiously-affiliated organizations is a very real cost:
◼ Insurers see costs in Obama birth control rule - Reuters
Fortunately, insurers aren’t afraid to state the obvious. Hidden — or not-so-hidden — in the administration’s insistent mandate that insurers provide coverage for contraception to the employees of religiously-affiliated organizations is a very real cost:
The administration has said insurers should ultimately make up any initial costs by avoiding expenses associated with unintended pregnancies. But a new survey of 15 large health plans shows they are dubious of such savings.Nobody should be surprised by this, not least the president, even if he did recently try to sell the mandate as driven by a desire to lower health care costs. Apparently, the administration actually prohibited the panel of health-care experts commissioned to craft a list of recommended preventive services — the list that ultimately led to the contraception mandate — from considering cost-effectiveness. So, they didn’t — and predictably recommended that the administration mandate coverage of contraception.
Asked what impact the requirement will have on their costs in the year to two years after it goes into effect, 40 percent of the participants said they expect the requirement will increase costs through higher pharmacy expenses.
The survey of pharmacy directors at the health plans was conducted on Wednesday by Reimbursement Intelligence, which advises pharmaceutical, medical device and other companies on reimbursement issues. The firm did not name the insurance plans it surveyed.
Of the health plans, 20 percent said costs would even out because they already budget for contraception in the premium, 6.7 percent said it would drive up pharmacy costs but decrease medical costs, while 33.3 percent weren’t sure. None said it would lead to net savings.
◼ Insurers see costs in Obama birth control rule - Reuters
Fact-checking tools: You can't believe everything you read online
There's a lot of information that gets passed around online, LOTS of emails with scare stories and horror stories that will make your blood boil. From the "OMG, they took 'In God We Trust' off the coinage," (they didn't, it's on the rim) to statements from Australia's PM (no, that one's not true either, though pieces of it are), you need to be careful. Check it out before you pass it on. And before your blood-pressure goes through the roof.
We've got links to help you verify the accuracy of rumors and email/internet claims - see our LINKS page above, scroll down to RESEARCH. They almost always have the scoop - true, partially true, or absolutely false - and it's good to know.
Here are three valuable tools, add them to your BOOKMARKS:
We've got links to help you verify the accuracy of rumors and email/internet claims - see our LINKS page above, scroll down to RESEARCH. They almost always have the scoop - true, partially true, or absolutely false - and it's good to know.
Here are three valuable tools, add them to your BOOKMARKS:
◼ urbanlegends - THE starting place for exploring urban legends and folklore on the Web: Internet hoaxes, rumors, myths, fallacies, urban legends and urban tall tales...And, if you get one you're not sure of, feel free to send us an email, and we'll see what we can find out.
◼ hoax-slayer - Hoax Slayer is website that aims to expose scams and common internet hoaxes including bogus warnings, email chain letters, phishing emails, charity giveaways, celebrity death news and other type of hoaxes which are hard to verify on the spot.
◼ snopes - Generally considered to be The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors , and misinformation. Also considered to lean left.
Rose
CNN Cancels Pre-Super Tuesday Debate - thanks to Romney, Paul and Santorum either turning it down or not accepting
◼ ”Without full participation of all four candidates, CNN will not move forward with the Super Tuesday debate." - Talking Points Memo
◼ Mitt, Rick and Ron to Georgia: Drop Dead - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ Newt vs. the Three Wimps - Gary Gross/Examiner
◼ Rivals Sting Gingrich by Dropping Out of Georgia Debate - Sara Murray and Danny Yadron/Wall St. Journal
◼ Mitt, Rick and Ron to Georgia: Drop Dead - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ Newt vs. the Three Wimps - Gary Gross/Examiner
◼ Rivals Sting Gingrich by Dropping Out of Georgia Debate - Sara Murray and Danny Yadron/Wall St. Journal
Chairman Priebus leads RNC revival: From $23M in the red to $7M in the black
◼ Republicans enjoyed a historic election in November 2010, but when Priebus took over a couple of months later, the RNC was $23 million in debt. Many donors had stopped giving to the RNC, which had been tarnished by various high-profile controversies. - The Hill
Priebus has brought them back, wiping out the RNC’s debt.
“He’s completely restored faith at the RNC amongst donors and activists, he’s been on message and he’s has done a great job raising money, which is the principal role of the RNC chairman,” said Ed Gillespie, who headed the committee in 2003 and 2004. “With Reince, it’s not about him — it’s about building the committee and the party.”
Priebus has brought them back, wiping out the RNC’s debt.
“He’s completely restored faith at the RNC amongst donors and activists, he’s been on message and he’s has done a great job raising money, which is the principal role of the RNC chairman,” said Ed Gillespie, who headed the committee in 2003 and 2004. “With Reince, it’s not about him — it’s about building the committee and the party.”
Labels:
RNC
How can the centralized State accumulate unlimited power, while still retaining the outward form of a democracy? This question has been the obsession of the American Left for over a century.
◼ The answer lies in subduing the middle class, which is always the deadly enemy of statism. - John Hayward at Human Events
To subdue the middle class, it must be made dependent upon the State. Middle class voters must, at some critical juncture, voluntarily relinquish a terminal amount of their economic freedom. The trick is keeping them quiet while the State passes the event horizon of growth.... it is necessary to persuade the middle class to think of itself as poor. Simple logic must be abandoned, in favor of soothing promises. The depth of its compassion must be the only yardstick by which the State is judged.
A fascinating example of this occurred on Tuesday, when President Obama sallied forth to demand the extension of his “payroll tax cut,” which is actually a $225 billion raid on Social Security funding. Obama described this program as putting $40 per paycheck in the pocket of average Americans, and insisted there is no honorable reason why anyone could possibly oppose extending it, or even question its virtue.
Obama said that “allowing this tax cut to expire would make people’s lives harder right now,” and cited a number of reasons… including high gas prices. “If we start seeing significant increases in gas prices, losing that $40 could not come at a worse time,” he inveighed, citing a local Washington, D.C. entrepreneur who said he was worried about being able to afford gas for his drive to work.
Thus speaks the High Gas Price President, whose policies have done more to cripple American energy than anyone except Jimmy Carter. Gas prices have risen an incredible 83 percent on his watch, and he never misses an opportunity to thwart domestic energy production, even as he pours taxpayer billions into foolish “green energy” payoffs to his big contributors. This is the President who stands athwart American industry yelling “Stop!”… and now he dares to cite the results of his own failure as a reason his demands must be obeyed. You can’t take that Obama “payroll tax cut” away! People need that to pay for Obama’s high gas prices!
To subdue the middle class, it must be made dependent upon the State. Middle class voters must, at some critical juncture, voluntarily relinquish a terminal amount of their economic freedom. The trick is keeping them quiet while the State passes the event horizon of growth.... it is necessary to persuade the middle class to think of itself as poor. Simple logic must be abandoned, in favor of soothing promises. The depth of its compassion must be the only yardstick by which the State is judged.
A fascinating example of this occurred on Tuesday, when President Obama sallied forth to demand the extension of his “payroll tax cut,” which is actually a $225 billion raid on Social Security funding. Obama described this program as putting $40 per paycheck in the pocket of average Americans, and insisted there is no honorable reason why anyone could possibly oppose extending it, or even question its virtue.
Obama said that “allowing this tax cut to expire would make people’s lives harder right now,” and cited a number of reasons… including high gas prices. “If we start seeing significant increases in gas prices, losing that $40 could not come at a worse time,” he inveighed, citing a local Washington, D.C. entrepreneur who said he was worried about being able to afford gas for his drive to work.
Thus speaks the High Gas Price President, whose policies have done more to cripple American energy than anyone except Jimmy Carter. Gas prices have risen an incredible 83 percent on his watch, and he never misses an opportunity to thwart domestic energy production, even as he pours taxpayer billions into foolish “green energy” payoffs to his big contributors. This is the President who stands athwart American industry yelling “Stop!”… and now he dares to cite the results of his own failure as a reason his demands must be obeyed. You can’t take that Obama “payroll tax cut” away! People need that to pay for Obama’s high gas prices!
Labels:
Big Brother,
Big Government,
Nanny State,
President Obama,
Social Security,
Spending,
Taxes
Manufacturing Noises
◼ Is that a job-making machine we hear? - Peter Hannaford on 2.16.12 at The American Spectator
American manufacturing is coming back. By how much and for how long is uncertain, but the signs are clear and they are growing. For example:
General Electric, a huge conglomerate, may be in the forefront of the movement. Overall the company cut U.S. jobs when the recession hit, but has added 9,000 since 2009 and plans to add 4,500 or more this year.
Among its products are jet engines (it's the world's largest manufacturer of them). It has announced it will open three new engine factories this year, in Ohio, Mississippi and Alabama. When, last December, GE announced the opening of a new X-ray machine plant in China, many worried that the 120 workers in its Wisconsin plant would lose their jobs. GE says, no, tit wasn't a zero-sum matter. The China plant is for expansion in that market -- not an outsourcing of U.S. jobs.
Last week GE opened a new appliance plant in Louisville, Kentucky to meet increased demand for energy-efficient water heaters and refrigerators. The company says it will create 1,300 new jobs there by 2014.
A smaller conglomerate, Carlisle Companies, makes restaurant supplies, insulation and tires. It has announced it will open two new U.S. plants and bring its tire manufacturing back from China.
Union Pacific plans to double its purchase of locomotives this year, spending $400 million or so to buy them. Boeing says it added 10,000 jobs last year in U.S. plants to fill airline customer orders for new 737s and the much-delayed 787.
Caterpillar is closing a locomotive plant in Canada and bringing the work into a U.S. plant where wages are lower and productivity higher.
Where is the Obama Administration in all this? President Obama has touted exports and U.S.-based manufacturing. He has called for a tax credit for companies that bring jobs back home. Generally, tax credits are not good policy because they add new complications to an already overcomplicated Tax Code and have very little effect on the economy. Mostly, Obama is paying lip service, but will of course try to take credit for any manufacturing job increases as well as increased exports.
The reasons are elsewhere and there are several. The low level of the dollar against several other currencies makes our exports very competitive. Several companies, seeing India and Brazil as promising growth markets, are building plants and distribution systems there.
China's domestic market is still a growth opportunity for many American companies. On the other hand, China's exports to here and elsewhere are becoming less competitive. For years, as it set out to build a major manufacturing infrastructure, China lured ever-increasing numbers of farm workers to its cities. Result: For years China became the favored source for inexpensive household goods, clothing and electronics.
Now, however, its urban work force is beginning to decline. Women make up the work force in most garment and electronics factories. The United Nations estimates that China's women aged 15-24 will drop from 106 million in 2010 to 92 million by 2015. Add to that increased affluence in the population and wages that are growing faster than productivity, plus continued international pressure on China's currency and you have a recipe that means manufacturing benefits for the U.S.
A recent New York Times poll showed 52 percent of the public said it was important that the products they buy be made in the U.S. Two-thirds of those polled said that U.S. companies should take much of the responsibility for keeping manufacturing jobs on our shores.
They are, by reading the signals of the market. Will "insourcing" and domestic demand grow sufficiently to speed up the weak economic recovery and create enough jobs to replace the 8.7 million lost in 2008 and 2009? It will take more than manufacturing to do it. Its work force shrunk from 14 million in 2006 to a little under 12 million last year. Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh, predicts that job growth in 2012 will average 135,000 a month. At that rate it would take the economy -- manufacturing and service sectors -- five-and-a-quarter years, until 2016, to get there.
Presidential pep talks and speculating taxpayer money on risky "green" solar plants, wind farms and expensive automobiles won't do it. Getting the government out of the way would give savvy businesses a chance to make it happen.
__________________
Peter Hannaford’s latest book is ”Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.”
American manufacturing is coming back. By how much and for how long is uncertain, but the signs are clear and they are growing. For example:
General Electric, a huge conglomerate, may be in the forefront of the movement. Overall the company cut U.S. jobs when the recession hit, but has added 9,000 since 2009 and plans to add 4,500 or more this year.
Among its products are jet engines (it's the world's largest manufacturer of them). It has announced it will open three new engine factories this year, in Ohio, Mississippi and Alabama. When, last December, GE announced the opening of a new X-ray machine plant in China, many worried that the 120 workers in its Wisconsin plant would lose their jobs. GE says, no, tit wasn't a zero-sum matter. The China plant is for expansion in that market -- not an outsourcing of U.S. jobs.
Last week GE opened a new appliance plant in Louisville, Kentucky to meet increased demand for energy-efficient water heaters and refrigerators. The company says it will create 1,300 new jobs there by 2014.
A smaller conglomerate, Carlisle Companies, makes restaurant supplies, insulation and tires. It has announced it will open two new U.S. plants and bring its tire manufacturing back from China.
Union Pacific plans to double its purchase of locomotives this year, spending $400 million or so to buy them. Boeing says it added 10,000 jobs last year in U.S. plants to fill airline customer orders for new 737s and the much-delayed 787.
Caterpillar is closing a locomotive plant in Canada and bringing the work into a U.S. plant where wages are lower and productivity higher.
Where is the Obama Administration in all this? President Obama has touted exports and U.S.-based manufacturing. He has called for a tax credit for companies that bring jobs back home. Generally, tax credits are not good policy because they add new complications to an already overcomplicated Tax Code and have very little effect on the economy. Mostly, Obama is paying lip service, but will of course try to take credit for any manufacturing job increases as well as increased exports.
The reasons are elsewhere and there are several. The low level of the dollar against several other currencies makes our exports very competitive. Several companies, seeing India and Brazil as promising growth markets, are building plants and distribution systems there.
China's domestic market is still a growth opportunity for many American companies. On the other hand, China's exports to here and elsewhere are becoming less competitive. For years, as it set out to build a major manufacturing infrastructure, China lured ever-increasing numbers of farm workers to its cities. Result: For years China became the favored source for inexpensive household goods, clothing and electronics.
Now, however, its urban work force is beginning to decline. Women make up the work force in most garment and electronics factories. The United Nations estimates that China's women aged 15-24 will drop from 106 million in 2010 to 92 million by 2015. Add to that increased affluence in the population and wages that are growing faster than productivity, plus continued international pressure on China's currency and you have a recipe that means manufacturing benefits for the U.S.
A recent New York Times poll showed 52 percent of the public said it was important that the products they buy be made in the U.S. Two-thirds of those polled said that U.S. companies should take much of the responsibility for keeping manufacturing jobs on our shores.
They are, by reading the signals of the market. Will "insourcing" and domestic demand grow sufficiently to speed up the weak economic recovery and create enough jobs to replace the 8.7 million lost in 2008 and 2009? It will take more than manufacturing to do it. Its work force shrunk from 14 million in 2006 to a little under 12 million last year. Kurt Rankin, an economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh, predicts that job growth in 2012 will average 135,000 a month. At that rate it would take the economy -- manufacturing and service sectors -- five-and-a-quarter years, until 2016, to get there.
Presidential pep talks and speculating taxpayer money on risky "green" solar plants, wind farms and expensive automobiles won't do it. Getting the government out of the way would give savvy businesses a chance to make it happen.
Peter Hannaford’s latest book is ”Reagan's Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.”
Labels:
Economy,
Peter Hannaford
Can Democrats cite real examples of Christian businessmen denying AIDS treatment or screenings prior to Obamacare's passage? No, they can't. Because that never happened. (Though you can find countless examples of Christians setting up ministries specifically devoted to providing care to AIDS patients.)
◼ Yesterday, I asked Senator Dick Durbin if he thinks Obamacare's contraception/abortifacient mandate still violates the religious liberty of Catholic churches, like the Archdiocese of Washington. - John McCormack/Weekly Standard
Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he didn't know. But Durbin said he did know one thing: The bill being offered in the Senate by Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri (and co-sponsored by Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska) to protect religious liberty and rights of conscience from Obamacare goes too far.
"The Blunt approach is, I think, entirely overreaching," Durbin said. "You know, a Christian Science owner of a running shoe store could decide no health insurance."
"Wasn't that the law prior to the health care bill?" I asked.
Durbin didn't reply and walked away.
Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said he didn't know. But Durbin said he did know one thing: The bill being offered in the Senate by Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri (and co-sponsored by Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska) to protect religious liberty and rights of conscience from Obamacare goes too far.
"The Blunt approach is, I think, entirely overreaching," Durbin said. "You know, a Christian Science owner of a running shoe store could decide no health insurance."
"Wasn't that the law prior to the health care bill?" I asked.
Durbin didn't reply and walked away.
Labels:
Democrats,
Dick Durbin,
Freedom of Religion,
Obamacare,
Religion,
Talking Points
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Insiders had 'huge stake in decisions' - WaPo finds nearly $4 billion in green-tech stimulus funds went to WH-connected firms
◼ $3.9 Billion in Fed Cash Flowed to Energy Firms With Ties to White House... - Carol D. Leonnig and Joe Stephens,/Washington Post via Drudge
◼ Big donors reap subsidies - Human Events
◼ Not only did Obama start his administration by reneging on his lobbyist pledge, insiders in his administration conducted informal lobbying on behalf of companies to whom they were connected — and manged to snag nearly $4 billion in federal funding in the green-tech stimulus - HotAir
It didn’t take long for the RNC to create a helpful graphic that acts as a scorecard (image above)
Labels:
Crony Capitalism,
DOE,
Ener1,
GREEN jobs agenda,
President Obama,
Scandals,
Solyndra,
Spending,
Stimulus
President Sarkozy officially declares re-election bid
◼ After months of “will he” or “won’t he”, French President Nicolas Sarkozy officially announced his intention to run for a second term in the country’s upcoming presidential elections during an appearance on prime-time television Wednesday. - france24
“France can’t pretend that the crisis doesn’t exist, that Europe doesn’t exist, that the world doesn’t exist”, Sarkozy said.
“When one is unemployed, one has rights and responsibilities…I want to protect and help the jobless, but above all I want to give them the means to work. I want to put jobs at the centre of everything”, Sarkozy hammered home.
“France can’t pretend that the crisis doesn’t exist, that Europe doesn’t exist, that the world doesn’t exist”, Sarkozy said.
“When one is unemployed, one has rights and responsibilities…I want to protect and help the jobless, but above all I want to give them the means to work. I want to put jobs at the centre of everything”, Sarkozy hammered home.
Labels:
France,
International News,
Sarkozy
WORLD BANK HEAD TO STEP DOWN
◼ "Asked specifically about Hillary Clinton or Larry Summers as possible candidates, Carney said, "There is a lot of speculation in the press about this and other jobs...I am not going to confirm any of it." - Reuters via Drudge
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Wednesday he will step down in June, raising questions as to whether the United States will for the first time throw open the job it has always claimed as its own.
Labels:
Hillary Clinton,
International News,
World Bank
Massachusetts hospitals are poised to receive a $3.5 billion windfall in federal funding over the next 10 years thanks to a little-known provision Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) inserted into the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act, also known as “Obamacare.”
◼ THE KERRY KICKBACK - The Washington Free Beacon
The increased funding—$367 million a year in the form of Medicare reimbursement payments, according to the Federal Register—would not only come at the expense of hospitals in the 49 other states, but would also directly benefit an organization that has given generously to Kerry’s campaign.
The increased funding—$367 million a year in the form of Medicare reimbursement payments, according to the Federal Register—would not only come at the expense of hospitals in the 49 other states, but would also directly benefit an organization that has given generously to Kerry’s campaign.
Labels:
John Kerry (D),
Obamacare
What seemed even weeks ago as potentially a banner year for Republicans now appears a potential debacle.
◼ Can Republicans Avoid a Debacle? - Roger L Simon/PJM
The Republicans have only themselves to blame. Sure they have to contend with a dishonest and biased media, not to mention a meretricious administration honed on Chicago and Alinksy — but this is a surprise? In reality, what the Republicans mostly have to contend with is themselves in an endless roundelay of “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most conservative of all?” – a game more befitting a theocracy than a democracy....
The Republican electorate, like automatons in some Huxley novel, sat complaisantly at the debates as the media manipulated them into thinking one after the other of the candidates might be prevaricating. No one paid the slightest attention to the candidate’s actual ideas, even though the country was and is in the worst pass it has been in decades. And so, with little encouragement, fewer ideas were discussed in public, most relegated to the back pages of a website....
No wonder the candidates look so unsatisfactory. The system has been rigged – and the Republican Party has allowed it to be rigged – against the Republicans and in favor of the incumbent. So we are left with tarnished candidates poised to compete with a president (himself a total failure) who has barely had to break a sweat as the polls tilt in his favor. If this continues, he will waltz back into office. What an abysmal prospect for us and for our children.
The Republicans have only themselves to blame. Sure they have to contend with a dishonest and biased media, not to mention a meretricious administration honed on Chicago and Alinksy — but this is a surprise? In reality, what the Republicans mostly have to contend with is themselves in an endless roundelay of “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the most conservative of all?” – a game more befitting a theocracy than a democracy....
The Republican electorate, like automatons in some Huxley novel, sat complaisantly at the debates as the media manipulated them into thinking one after the other of the candidates might be prevaricating. No one paid the slightest attention to the candidate’s actual ideas, even though the country was and is in the worst pass it has been in decades. And so, with little encouragement, fewer ideas were discussed in public, most relegated to the back pages of a website....
No wonder the candidates look so unsatisfactory. The system has been rigged – and the Republican Party has allowed it to be rigged – against the Republicans and in favor of the incumbent. So we are left with tarnished candidates poised to compete with a president (himself a total failure) who has barely had to break a sweat as the polls tilt in his favor. If this continues, he will waltz back into office. What an abysmal prospect for us and for our children.
The Tea Party movement was supposed to represent an end to this sort of moralistic Big Government conservatism.
◼ Santorum is severely wrong - Gene Healy//Washington Examiner
A recent Time magazine symposium asked leading thinkers on the Right, "What Is Conservatism?" Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist offered this answer: "Conservatives ask only one thing of the government. They wish to be left alone."
Tell that to Santorum, whose agenda rests on meddling with other people, sometimes with laws, sometimes with aircraft carrier groups.
"This idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do," Santorum complained to NPR in 2006, "that we shouldn't get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn't get involved in cultural issues ... that is not how traditional conservatives view the world."
That version of conservatism has a new standard bearer, and he's rising in the polls.
◼ Santorum's voting record at odds with tea party's fiscal philosophy - Miami Herald via Lucianne
◼ Memo to the Tea Party: Rick Santorum Rejects Your Message - The Atlantic
A recent Time magazine symposium asked leading thinkers on the Right, "What Is Conservatism?" Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist offered this answer: "Conservatives ask only one thing of the government. They wish to be left alone."
Tell that to Santorum, whose agenda rests on meddling with other people, sometimes with laws, sometimes with aircraft carrier groups.
"This idea that people should be left alone, be able to do whatever they want to do," Santorum complained to NPR in 2006, "that we shouldn't get involved in the bedroom, we shouldn't get involved in cultural issues ... that is not how traditional conservatives view the world."
That version of conservatism has a new standard bearer, and he's rising in the polls.
◼ Santorum's voting record at odds with tea party's fiscal philosophy - Miami Herald via Lucianne
◼ Memo to the Tea Party: Rick Santorum Rejects Your Message - The Atlantic
"It's the president's favorite stick to beat opponents with," Sen. Jon Cornyn, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, told The Washington Examiner. "And I think part of the strategy of the House Republicans is to get the sharp sticks, the big sticks, off the table."
◼ Congress near deal to extend payroll tax cut - Susan Ferrechio/Washington Examiner
Labels:
Congress,
Social Security,
Spending,
Taxes,
Unemployment
Obama is traveling to Wisconsin to rally his supporters. Gov. Scott Walker to greet Obama in Milwaukee
◼ As President Obama lands in Milwaukee today, he will be greeted by Republican Governor Scott Walker on the tarmac. - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner
◼ Walker expected to greet Obama for Wisconsin visit - Don Walker and Bill Glauber/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
◼ Walker expected to greet Obama for Wisconsin visit - Don Walker and Bill Glauber/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Earlier Tuesday, Republicans criticized the presidential trip in which Obama is expected to credit Master Lock for bringing 100 jobs from China back to its factory.◼ Awful. Obama Travels to Wisconsin to Show Support to Leftist Hooligans on Anniversary of Anti-Walker Protests - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, called the visit "yet another taxpayer-paid funded campaign stop by the president, this time to our home in Wisconsin, to rehash really more of the same broken promises, more speeches . . . "
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who joined Priebus on a conference call with reporters, said, "With President Obama going to Milwaukee, visiting Master Lock, it does remind me like the rooster taking credit for the sunrise."
Last year we caught Obama’s Organizing for America red-handed as they orchestrated and organized the protest mobs that stormed the State Capitol. Remember they chased after Republican State Senators and made death threats against them?◼ President Obama comes to Wisconsin tomorrow and will do a public appearance with Governor Scott Walker. - Althouse
Then they announced RECALL campaigns against six Republican State Senators. They needed to win four of the RECALLs, but with your help we stopped them in all but two of the RECALL campaigns.
So now they are back, with Barack Obama campaigning in Wisconsin at taxpayer expense, and the leftist mobs are trying to RECALL Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Republican Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four more Republican State Senators.
You see what's going on there, don't you? Why would our Democratic President do some high-profile hobnobbing with the Republican Governor that Democrats have targeted with protests and a recall effort for the past year, even as the recall election is still pending?
Labels:
President Obama,
Scott Walker,
Wisconsin
Barbara Boxer: Religious rights don't trump right to insurance
◼ Boxer: Insurance rights trumps religious rights - David Freddoso/Washington Examiner
- Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner
Team Romney attack on Santorum backfires
◼ A new ad run in Michigan by the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future hits Santorum for voting to raise the federal debt ceiling, for voting in favor of wasteful spending, and for voting to raise his own pay as a member of Congress. - Byron York/Washington Examiner
How many members of Romney's team of House and Senate endorsers have never voted to raise the debt ceiling, never voted for wasteful spending, and never voted to raise congressional pay? The fact is, many, many Republicans who have been members of Congress, especially in the George W. Bush years, have done those things and more. How effective will they be in Romney's effort to condemn Santorum as a big spender? Romney himself can still make the spending argument against Santorum, although as governor of Massachusetts Romney sought federal earmarks just like other governors. But in this campaign Romney has often relied on surrogates to attack his opponents. From now on, when it comes to charges of big spending, Team Romney will have to be careful about who's doing the talking.◼ Romney Surrogate Attacks Santorum for Voting the Same Way He Did - Michael Warren/Weekly Standard
Talent continued, pointing to a few votes that show Santorum’s “liberal” spending record. “I want to note that Senator Santorum voted for No Child Left Behind, which was a big expansion of federal power over local education,” he said. “He voted for Medicare Part D, a big expansion of a federal entitlement.” Asked about the validity of these criticisms, particularly since Talent himself had a similar voting record to Santorum while both men served in the Senate, Talent said he would be “happy” to compare his record to Santorum’s if they were running against each other.
“[But] he’s running against Governor Romney,” Talent said. “The point is that Mitt Romney has a much more comprehensively conservative record than Rick does…. He’s running on a comprehensively conservative agenda now, the most conservative anybody’s run on since Reagan. So it’s his record against Rick Santorum’s, which is an issue in Missouri. And Senator Santorum is portraying as a Jim DeMint conservative in Missouri, and it’s just not true.”
Labels:
2012 Presidential Contenders,
Ads,
Mitt Romney,
Rick Santorum,
Spending
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Obama Traffic, Street Closures in Los Angeles, Corona del Mar for February 15, 16
◼ President Obama will be returning to Los Angeles for fundraising on Wednesday, February 15.
Then he’ll go south to Orange County to attend an event in Corona del Mar on Thursday, February 16. You know what this means — many street closures and delays as the presidential motorcade goes to and fro...
◼ President Barack Obama starts West Coast fundraising spree in LA - Subha Ravindhran /ABC 7
Then he’ll go south to Orange County to attend an event in Corona del Mar on Thursday, February 16. You know what this means — many street closures and delays as the presidential motorcade goes to and fro...
◼ President Barack Obama starts West Coast fundraising spree in LA - Subha Ravindhran /ABC 7
Genesis: Latest Taxpayer-Backed Solar Project Stalls
◼ Last August, the Department of Energy finalized a partial guarantee on an $852 million loan to the Genesis Solar Project. - Michelle Malkin
Genesis is the latest in a long line of taxpayer-backed “clean energy” projects that’s teetering on the edge of the cavernous green money pit.
Genesis is the latest in a long line of taxpayer-backed “clean energy” projects that’s teetering on the edge of the cavernous green money pit.
The $1-billion Genesis Solar Energy Project has been expedited by state and federal regulatory agencies that are eager to demonstrate that the nation can build solar plants quickly to ease dependence on fossil fuels and curb global warming.
Instead, the project is providing a cautionary example of how the rush to harness solar power in the desert can go wrong — possibly costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and dealing an embarrassing blow to the Obama administration’s solar initiative. ◼ More at LA Times
Labels:
GREEN jobs agenda,
Scandals,
Solyndra
Nasdaq Web Site Shut Down By Denial Of Service Attacks
◼ Nasdaq has been been under steady attack for the last 24 hours or so, causing ongoing disruptions for people trying to use the site. Also hit: the BATS Exchange, which accounts for 11%-12% of daily U.S. stock trading activity, although that site seems fine at the moment. - Forbes
As The Guardian notes, Credit for the Nasdaq attack is being claimed by a group called “Operation Digital Tornado by L0NGwave99.”
The group said in a statement that “this DDoS Operation over NASDAQ is done in support of the great and rooted 99% movement, whom the L0NGwave99 Group has decided to give a present.”
As The Guardian notes, Credit for the Nasdaq attack is being claimed by a group called “Operation Digital Tornado by L0NGwave99.”
The group said in a statement that “this DDoS Operation over NASDAQ is done in support of the great and rooted 99% movement, whom the L0NGwave99 Group has decided to give a present.”
Labels:
#Occupy
Another Obama-Funded Solar Company Goes Belly Up – Given $13.3 Million in Tax Credits
◼ Last Year Energy Conversion Devices moved 140 jobs from Michigan to Mexico to save money. - Gateway Pundit
This week the Obama-funded solar company went belly up.
Energy Conversion Devices managed to blow $13.3 million in tax credits before filing for bankruptcy.
◼ Lightweight solar product maker Energy Conversion Devices Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, the latest in a string of solar companies that have collapsed in an industry shakeout. - Reuters
This week the Obama-funded solar company went belly up.
Energy Conversion Devices managed to blow $13.3 million in tax credits before filing for bankruptcy.
◼ Lightweight solar product maker Energy Conversion Devices Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, the latest in a string of solar companies that have collapsed in an industry shakeout. - Reuters
In some forms of violence there has been notable increase, for instance, sexual assault increased by 48.65 percent, acid throwing increased by 37.5 percent, ‘honour’ killings by 26.57 percent, and domestic violence increased by 25.51 percent.
◼ Violence against women touches new heights - Nation.com
The findings were shared at the launch of the fourth annual statistics of Violence Against Women report by Aurat Foundation (AF) Tuesday. The research that is based on media reports gives an overall glimpse of the situation of violence against women in the country in 2011.
The findings were shared at the launch of the fourth annual statistics of Violence Against Women report by Aurat Foundation (AF) Tuesday. The research that is based on media reports gives an overall glimpse of the situation of violence against women in the country in 2011.
Labels:
International Issues,
Islam/Muslim,
Womens Rights
It’s almost as if Stephanopoulos got the memo first. Unless, of course, you believe in coincidences.
◼ Dick Morris Accuses George Stephanopoulos of Being a 'Paid Democratic Hitman'
Former Clinton adviser Dick Morris on Monday accused ABC’s George Stephanopoulos of being a “paid Democratic hitman.” Appearing on Fox News’s Hannity, Morris also said Stephanopoulos was “under orders” to ask Mitt Romney all those contraception questions during ABC’s January 7 Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire:◼ It’s almost as if Stephanopoulos got the memo first. Unless, of course, you believe in coincidences. - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
DICK MORRIS: Obama did not make a mistake in this mandate. It’s a deliberately calculated move on his part. The Democrats realize that abortion is no longer a winner for them. It used to be ten points more pro-choice than pro-Life, now it’s ten points more pro-Life than pro-choice possibly because of the publicity of the anti-abortion people, possibly because of the aging of the population. But the point is that it’s a loser issue. So what they’re trying to do now is replace it with contraception. So the first piece of evidence was after Santorum won Iowa, the first controversy was, “Do you think states should have the right to ban contraception?” Where did that come from? Then you remember that ABC debate with that paid Democratic hitman George Stephanopoulos went after Romney trying to… pin him down on, on contraception? And Romney kept saying, “George, nobody wants to make contraception.” “No, but do they have the theoretical power to do it?” Remember, it was five minutes, people were laughing at him, booing him.
◼ Dick Morris appeared on Hannity last night (h/t @TheAnchoress) and made a connection between the January New Hampshire debate and Obama rolling out the contraception issue: - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ ABC host has previously undisclosed connections to Obama - WND Exclusive
◼ Do you remember -- 'cause this is a setup for what's coming -- do you remember, we were all perplexed here. George Stephanopoulos kept hounding Romney on contraception. It had not come up, nobody had said anything about it, and we were all confused, as was Romney, what the deal was. - Rush Limbaugh
This came out of nowhere, and it made no sense. Contraception had not come up in the debate. Contraception had not come up in the primaries. Contraception was not an issue at all.... So, it appears Dick Morris is up to something. It appears that he's on to this. Out of the blue, this has now become something all about contraception. So what happened last week happens, the weekend goes by, the regime makes this big notion on Friday about accommodating and caving, and that's not at all what happened. And what's happened, really, is that the terms, the definition and the terms have changed. We're no longer talking about abortion. All of a sudden now it's Republicans who want to stamp out contraception, that's what the attempt last week was all about.
That's what Morris' theory is about what happened last week, trying to get abortion off the table because it's a loser for the Democrats. And now instead of Republicans want to ban abortion, they want to ban contraception.
Labels:
Debates,
Media bias,
Power Grab,
President Obama,
Religion,
Stephanopolous
Uygur Resorts To False Quote, Cries For Commercial After Breitbart Roasting
14:04
◼ Breitbart vs. Cenk Uygar over rape at “Occupy” camps - Allahpundit/HotAir
Via Breitbart TV. I should have guessed that eventually we’d be arguing over whether “Occupy” has a problem with crime, notwithstanding the long, long, long, long, long list of alleged criminal activities at the encampaments. Remember, things at Zuccotti Park got so bad that a women-only tent was set up so that there’d be strength in numbers against sexual predators. Some feminist sites criticized “Occupy” for its rape problem back during the movement’s brief heyday; even HuffPo reported on “multiple incidents of assault, drug dealing and drug use, rape and attempted rape, according to conversations with numerous protesters.” (Per Breitbart in the clip, that detail apparently didn’t make it into their book.)
...This is why, of course, Breitbart was yelling at the Occupiers outside CPAC to “stop raping people,” but now that the movement is gearing up for a big spring comeback, I guess it’s time for the left’s whitewash to being in earnest.
◼ Breitbart vs. Cenk Uygar over rape at “Occupy” camps - Allahpundit/HotAir
Via Breitbart TV. I should have guessed that eventually we’d be arguing over whether “Occupy” has a problem with crime, notwithstanding the long, long, long, long, long list of alleged criminal activities at the encampaments. Remember, things at Zuccotti Park got so bad that a women-only tent was set up so that there’d be strength in numbers against sexual predators. Some feminist sites criticized “Occupy” for its rape problem back during the movement’s brief heyday; even HuffPo reported on “multiple incidents of assault, drug dealing and drug use, rape and attempted rape, according to conversations with numerous protesters.” (Per Breitbart in the clip, that detail apparently didn’t make it into their book.)
...This is why, of course, Breitbart was yelling at the Occupiers outside CPAC to “stop raping people,” but now that the movement is gearing up for a big spring comeback, I guess it’s time for the left’s whitewash to being in earnest.
Labels:
#Occupy,
Andrew Breitbart,
Radical Left Wing
"Votes"
See the full video and read the facts sheet for "Vote" at www.RickFacts.com
How did Rick Santorum actually vote? Santorum voted to raise the debt limit 5 times. And for billions in wasteful projects including the "Bridge To Nowhere". In a single session, Santorum co-sponsored 51 bills to increase spending and 0 to cut spending. Santorum even voted to raise his own pay. And joined Hilary Clinton to let convicted felons vote. Rick Santorum - Big spender, Washington insider.
◼ Here we go: Romney Super PAC rolls out first Michigan attack ad against Santorum _ HotAir
◼ Romney Death Star Opens Fire On Santorum - Buzzfeed
◼ Rick Santorum and the Terri Schiavo disaster - Atlanta Journal Constitution
◼ Santorum’s problem isn’t ‘insiderism,’ it’s economic literacy - Jennifer Rubin/Washington Post
Labels:
Ads,
Arizona,
Michigan,
Mitt Romney,
Ohio,
Rick Santorum,
Super PAC
Food Police: A preschooler was fed chicken nuggets for lunch because a state worker felt that her homemade lunch - which consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips - did not have enough nutritional value
◼ NC preschooler’s “unhealthy” lunch replaced with cafeteria nuggets - FOX
The West Hoke Elementary School student was in her More at Four classroom when a U.S. Department of Agriculture agent who was inspecting lunch boxes decided that her packed lunch — which consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips — “did not meet USDA guidelines,” the Journal reports.
The decision was made under consideration of a regulation put in place by the the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services, which requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs to meet USDA guidelines.
The West Hoke Elementary School student was in her More at Four classroom when a U.S. Department of Agriculture agent who was inspecting lunch boxes decided that her packed lunch — which consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, apple juice and potato chips — “did not meet USDA guidelines,” the Journal reports.
The decision was made under consideration of a regulation put in place by the the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services, which requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs to meet USDA guidelines.
Labels:
Michelle Obama,
Nanny State,
School Lunch
The 'stay in your parents' basement' Obama budget
◼ “The Obama administration’s budget is the most anti-youth piece of proposed legislation in generations,” said Patrick Coyle, vice president of Young America’s Foundation. “The government is enslaving young people to pay off national debt and student loans, but they’re also chaining young people to their parents’ basements. By raising taxes on job creators, this budget leaves young people with a mountain of debt—and destroys their means to pay it back." - Jason Mattera/Human Events
While this administration blames “tax cuts for the rich” on our uneven balance sheet, the truth is that, under Obama, federal spending has spiked 27 percent.
“Obama’s new budget is nothing more than a campaign gimmick aimed at trying to keep support among young people, a demographic his policies have failed,” Alyssa Farah, the Communications Director for the College Republican National Committee told HUMAN EVENTS. “Due to the policies of the Obama administration, the graduating class of 2011 became the most indebted group of graduates ever with average debt at $22,900 per student. Unemployment among young people is more than twice the national average, yet the Campaigner-in-Chief, President Obama, seems more concerned with his re-election than actually addressing the problems crippling our generation.”
True.
What the president forgot to mention to the college audience was that, not only has the deficit increased a whopping $5 trillion since he’s been in office, but that if Obama were to have his way, he’d increase that same debt by another $10 trillion over the next 10 years, with the total accumulated debt topping $25 trillion.
$25 trillion—with a T.
◼ Reminder: 2013/2014 Budget Projections From Same Administration That Underestimated 2012 Deficits by 138 Percent - Michelle Malkin
While this administration blames “tax cuts for the rich” on our uneven balance sheet, the truth is that, under Obama, federal spending has spiked 27 percent.
“Obama’s new budget is nothing more than a campaign gimmick aimed at trying to keep support among young people, a demographic his policies have failed,” Alyssa Farah, the Communications Director for the College Republican National Committee told HUMAN EVENTS. “Due to the policies of the Obama administration, the graduating class of 2011 became the most indebted group of graduates ever with average debt at $22,900 per student. Unemployment among young people is more than twice the national average, yet the Campaigner-in-Chief, President Obama, seems more concerned with his re-election than actually addressing the problems crippling our generation.”
True.
What the president forgot to mention to the college audience was that, not only has the deficit increased a whopping $5 trillion since he’s been in office, but that if Obama were to have his way, he’d increase that same debt by another $10 trillion over the next 10 years, with the total accumulated debt topping $25 trillion.
$25 trillion—with a T.
◼ Reminder: 2013/2014 Budget Projections From Same Administration That Underestimated 2012 Deficits by 138 Percent - Michelle Malkin
Labels:
Budget,
Economy,
President Obama,
Spending
59% of Catholics Disapprove of Obama’s Job Performance
◼ A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of likely Catholic voters nationwide at least somewhat disapprove of the president’s job performance, while 40% at least somewhat approve. But the passion’s on the side of those who don’t like the job he’s doing: 44% Strongly Disapprove versus 19% who Strongly Approve. - Rasmussen
Sixty-one percent (61%) of Evangelical Christians and 52% of other Protestants also at least somewhat disapprove of the job Obama is doing in the White House. The view is much more positive among non-Christians. Among those who profess some other religious affiliation or none at all, 68% at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance.
Regardless of religious affiliation, disapproval is higher among those who regularly attend religious services. Among those who attend services every week or nearly every week, 41% offer their approval of the president while 59% disapprove. Among those who rarely or never attend services, 63% approve and 36% disapprove.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of Evangelical Christians and 52% of other Protestants also at least somewhat disapprove of the job Obama is doing in the White House. The view is much more positive among non-Christians. Among those who profess some other religious affiliation or none at all, 68% at least somewhat approve of the president’s performance.
Regardless of religious affiliation, disapproval is higher among those who regularly attend religious services. Among those who attend services every week or nearly every week, 41% offer their approval of the president while 59% disapprove. Among those who rarely or never attend services, 63% approve and 36% disapprove.
Labels:
Approval Rating,
Polls,
President Obama,
Religion
Only those who lack sense or are ideologically committed to class warfare would fail to learn the clear lesson from California’s example.
◼ A California lesson in progressive income taxation
Brown wants to do exactly what Obama proposes on a national basis — to increase revenues by hiking taxes even further on a declining class. Both talk about paying a “fair share,” but as the Sacramento Bee reports, the 0.5% of Californians who qualified for the current class-warfare treatment in 2009 accounted for 18.8% of all taxable income in the state — and 32% of all income taxes paid. That’s hardly an issue of the higher income earners failing to pay a “fair share.”
Plus, no one is quite sure why the number of the $500K+ filers dropped by a third. The downturn certainly has something to do with it, but it might also be that the highest income earners have a greater ability to relocate to a more friendly state. Either way, thanks to the heavy progressive tilt of the income tax system, the state is much more vulnerable to economic downturns, especially when it comes to capital gains income in a year where capital gains are difficult to produce...
Brown wants to do exactly what Obama proposes on a national basis — to increase revenues by hiking taxes even further on a declining class. Both talk about paying a “fair share,” but as the Sacramento Bee reports, the 0.5% of Californians who qualified for the current class-warfare treatment in 2009 accounted for 18.8% of all taxable income in the state — and 32% of all income taxes paid. That’s hardly an issue of the higher income earners failing to pay a “fair share.”
Plus, no one is quite sure why the number of the $500K+ filers dropped by a third. The downturn certainly has something to do with it, but it might also be that the highest income earners have a greater ability to relocate to a more friendly state. Either way, thanks to the heavy progressive tilt of the income tax system, the state is much more vulnerable to economic downturns, especially when it comes to capital gains income in a year where capital gains are difficult to produce...
Labels:
California,
Economy,
Taxes
California: A bitter conflict between dissident judges and the leaders of the California Supreme Court has now gone public.
◼ The Not So Civil War Between the Legislature and the California Supreme Court - Tony Quinn/Fox&Hounds
It has never happened before. The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani Cantil Sakauye, accusing the Speaker of the California Assembly John Perez of lying while a prominent Assembly member compares the chief justice to a rookie legislator who does not understand the process.
It has never happened before. The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani Cantil Sakauye, accusing the Speaker of the California Assembly John Perez of lying while a prominent Assembly member compares the chief justice to a rookie legislator who does not understand the process.
Labels:
California,
Court Decisions
Wisconsin: Woman signs names of family members while they were out of the country, then bragged about it on Facebook.
◼ Two months ago, it was reported to the Recall Integrity Center that Caitlin Haycock, a Milwaukee resident, posted on facebook "I signed for my parents who are out of the country! Three signatures out of me." - wisgop.org
"The Democrats’ repeated dismissal of potential recall petition fraud is absolutely shameful, and only highlights the fact that their number one priority is to force a baseless recall of Governor Walker, regardless of the obvious detriment to Wisconsin families. This apparent attempt to defraud Wisconsin voters was brought to our attention by alarmed citizens concerned with a liberal minority of disgruntled Democrats attempting to cancel out the vote of the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin residents who elected Governor Walker in 2010 to turn our state around."
"The Democrats’ repeated dismissal of potential recall petition fraud is absolutely shameful, and only highlights the fact that their number one priority is to force a baseless recall of Governor Walker, regardless of the obvious detriment to Wisconsin families. This apparent attempt to defraud Wisconsin voters was brought to our attention by alarmed citizens concerned with a liberal minority of disgruntled Democrats attempting to cancel out the vote of the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin residents who elected Governor Walker in 2010 to turn our state around."
Labels:
Democrats,
Recall effort,
Voter fraud,
Wisconsin
BUDGET BUST: Obama's deficit spending $17k per person, $70k per family
◼ The Cost of Obama - Weekly Standard
President Obama’s fourth budget has now been released, which allows for a relatively full accounting of deficit spending during his four years in office. The picture isn’t pretty, but it is revealing.... deficit spending during Obama’s four years in the White House (based on his own figures) will be an estimated $5.170 trillion — or $5,170,000,000,000.00.
To help put that colossal sum of money into perspective, if you take our deficit spending under Obama and divide it evenly among the roughly 300 million American citizens, that works out to just over $17,000 per person — or about $70,000 for a family of four.
President Obama’s fourth budget has now been released, which allows for a relatively full accounting of deficit spending during his four years in office. The picture isn’t pretty, but it is revealing.... deficit spending during Obama’s four years in the White House (based on his own figures) will be an estimated $5.170 trillion — or $5,170,000,000,000.00.
To help put that colossal sum of money into perspective, if you take our deficit spending under Obama and divide it evenly among the roughly 300 million American citizens, that works out to just over $17,000 per person — or about $70,000 for a family of four.
Labels:
Budget,
Debt,
Economy,
President Obama,
Spending
Last week State Attorney General Kamela Harris was reportedly whooping up what the Wall Street Journal calls an “election windfall” for California from the Obama Administration’s new $25 billion foreclosure settlement with commercial banks.
◼ Loan Bailout Rips Off Middle Class - Wayne Lusvardi/Cal Watchdog
Reportedly, $18 billion of this shadow bailout will be for California. Only $5 billion will be in actual cash. The rest will be in loan write-downs. Of the $5 billion, only $1.5 billion will be to compensate borrowers who suffered foreclosures from 2008 to 2011. This will be in the form of $2,000 “gifts” having no connection to the unpaid balance on loans or anything else.
The other $3.5 billion will be for state and local government regulatory programs. So government will end up getting 70 percent of the cash. Big whoop!
Liberal columnist Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times calls the Obama foreclosure bailout “the Big Whoop” –- a slang term sarcastically meaning “big deal,” typically used in the negative to indicate something is not a big deal (“So you got $2,000 from Obama four years after you lost your house? — Big whoop!”.)
...The loan write-offs are likely to eventually lead to more, not fewer, foreclosures. Forgiven homeowners will face the reality that they still can’t make payments even on lowered loan balances with even lower interest rates. Without incomes from well-paying jobs, all this will be is a tax write-off for commercial banks....
There is an indication that banks have already begun processing foreclosures in preparation for Obama’s “Big Deal.” In the fourth quarter of 2011 in California, 61,517 Notices of Default were filed, according to the Dataquick real estate data service. Of these, 60,289, or 98 percent, were homeowners who were delinquent on multiple loans, such as a primary mortgage and a home equity loan....
And loan-defaulted homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans cannot participate in this bailout, which may lead to more voter outrage....
Another huge problem with the foreclosure bailout program is the component to help those with “underwater” mortgages — meaning the loan is more than the market value of the home.
Any public housing agency in California is required to include a clause in any subsidy program that any increase in value of the property has to go to the agency. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the “gift of public funds” prohibitions. More at the link.
Reportedly, $18 billion of this shadow bailout will be for California. Only $5 billion will be in actual cash. The rest will be in loan write-downs. Of the $5 billion, only $1.5 billion will be to compensate borrowers who suffered foreclosures from 2008 to 2011. This will be in the form of $2,000 “gifts” having no connection to the unpaid balance on loans or anything else.
The other $3.5 billion will be for state and local government regulatory programs. So government will end up getting 70 percent of the cash. Big whoop!
Liberal columnist Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times calls the Obama foreclosure bailout “the Big Whoop” –- a slang term sarcastically meaning “big deal,” typically used in the negative to indicate something is not a big deal (“So you got $2,000 from Obama four years after you lost your house? — Big whoop!”.)
...The loan write-offs are likely to eventually lead to more, not fewer, foreclosures. Forgiven homeowners will face the reality that they still can’t make payments even on lowered loan balances with even lower interest rates. Without incomes from well-paying jobs, all this will be is a tax write-off for commercial banks....
There is an indication that banks have already begun processing foreclosures in preparation for Obama’s “Big Deal.” In the fourth quarter of 2011 in California, 61,517 Notices of Default were filed, according to the Dataquick real estate data service. Of these, 60,289, or 98 percent, were homeowners who were delinquent on multiple loans, such as a primary mortgage and a home equity loan....
And loan-defaulted homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans cannot participate in this bailout, which may lead to more voter outrage....
Another huge problem with the foreclosure bailout program is the component to help those with “underwater” mortgages — meaning the loan is more than the market value of the home.
Any public housing agency in California is required to include a clause in any subsidy program that any increase in value of the property has to go to the agency. Otherwise, it would be a violation of the “gift of public funds” prohibitions. More at the link.
Labels:
California,
Housing crisis,
Loans and Mortgages,
President Obama,
Taxes
Monday, February 13, 2012
Politico reporter Ben Smith withheld information about liberal Media Matters For America plans to target opponents
◼ About a year ago, the organization Media Matters For America gave Politico reporter Ben Smith a 2010 planning memo for a profile he was writing on the liberal advocacy group. - Alex Pappas/Daily Caller
But Smith curiously withheld key parts of the 89-page document when he published his story, “Media Matters’ war against Fox,” in March 2011....
It’s not clear why Smith, who recently left Politico for the website BuzzFeed, didn’t include more specifics from the lengthy document in his March 2011 story if he had the full copy.
Approached by The Daily Caller about this on Monday, Smith reacted by subsequently posting most of the memo online at BuzzFeed. His version did not include the final five pages, which contained a Media Matters For America three-year budget outline....
Smith made no mention of Media Matters targeting organizations other than Fox News, such as the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Nor does he reveal that, according to the memo, Media Matters was intent on researching Republican political figures like Republican former U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and Republican Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, and the prominent libertarian political donor Peter Thiel.
“An opposition research team will serve to hold Thiel and others like him accountable,” the memo states. Smith made no mention of such efforts in his story.
He also failed to disclose Media Matters’ interest in marginalizing political news websites including Newsmax and Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government, saying only that the organization had narrowed its focus to “Fox and a handful of conservative websites.”
But Smith curiously withheld key parts of the 89-page document when he published his story, “Media Matters’ war against Fox,” in March 2011....
It’s not clear why Smith, who recently left Politico for the website BuzzFeed, didn’t include more specifics from the lengthy document in his March 2011 story if he had the full copy.
Approached by The Daily Caller about this on Monday, Smith reacted by subsequently posting most of the memo online at BuzzFeed. His version did not include the final five pages, which contained a Media Matters For America three-year budget outline....
Smith made no mention of Media Matters targeting organizations other than Fox News, such as the libertarian Cato Institute and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Nor does he reveal that, according to the memo, Media Matters was intent on researching Republican political figures like Republican former U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and Republican Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, and the prominent libertarian political donor Peter Thiel.
“An opposition research team will serve to hold Thiel and others like him accountable,” the memo states. Smith made no mention of such efforts in his story.
He also failed to disclose Media Matters’ interest in marginalizing political news websites including Newsmax and Andrew Breitbart’s Big Government, saying only that the organization had narrowed its focus to “Fox and a handful of conservative websites.”
Labels:
Media bias,
Media Matters,
Propaganda
California's high-income taxpayers dropped sharply
◼ Gov. Jerry Brown wants to hit California's highest-income taxpayers with billions of dollars in new taxes, and is jousting with other groups with their own tax-the-rich measures over which, if any, will win voter approval. - Dan Walters/Sacramento Bee
But the number of Californians with $500,000-plus annual incomes declined dramatically from 2007 to 2009 as the state's economy stagnated, leaving fewer to tax, the California Taxpayers Association points out in a compilation of data from the Franchise Tax Board....
At one time, the top 1 percent of California taxpayers accounted for half of the state's income tax revenues but their incomes, tied to stocks and other capital markets, declined the most of any income class and currently, state officials say, they are believed to provide about 37 percent of the state's income taxes. That decline accounts for much, if not most, of the state's revenue declines in recent years.
But the number of Californians with $500,000-plus annual incomes declined dramatically from 2007 to 2009 as the state's economy stagnated, leaving fewer to tax, the California Taxpayers Association points out in a compilation of data from the Franchise Tax Board....
At one time, the top 1 percent of California taxpayers accounted for half of the state's income tax revenues but their incomes, tied to stocks and other capital markets, declined the most of any income class and currently, state officials say, they are believed to provide about 37 percent of the state's income taxes. That decline accounts for much, if not most, of the state's revenue declines in recent years.
Labels:
Budget,
California,
Revenue,
Taxes
Democrat Schakowsky: No Americans Actually Follow Their Christian Faith
◼ Socialist Rep. Jan Schakowsky wants you to believe that the Obama Administration’s attack on the Catholic Church is really about women’s health. - Gateway Pundit
Contact Jan Schakowsky
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President Obama submitted his FY 2013 budget today. As expected, it is utterly irresponsible.
◼ Obama's Deceptive, DOA Budget - John Hinderaker/Powerline
The administration claims it will reduce the deficit by $4 billion over ten years. That is absurd... What the budget actually will do, if enacted, is increase spending in FY 2013 to $3.8 trillion and run up, in FY 2013, another $900 billion in debt (if you accept the administration’s rosy assumptions). That is on top of the $1.3 trillion deficit the budget projects for the current fiscal year.
◼ Republicans call Obama’s budget a reelection ‘gimmick’ - Paul Kane/Washington Post
Congressional Republicans rejected President Obama’s $3.8 trillion spending outline as nothing more than a political document meant to guide his reelection campaign while putting off any tough decisions about ballooning red ink until after voters have cast their ballots.
◼ Obama budget: National debt will be $1 trillion higher in a decade than forecast - Lori Montgomery/Washington Post
◼ BUDGET BUST: Obama's deficit spending $17k per person, $70k per family - Weekly Standard
The administration claims it will reduce the deficit by $4 billion over ten years. That is absurd... What the budget actually will do, if enacted, is increase spending in FY 2013 to $3.8 trillion and run up, in FY 2013, another $900 billion in debt (if you accept the administration’s rosy assumptions). That is on top of the $1.3 trillion deficit the budget projects for the current fiscal year.
◼ Republicans call Obama’s budget a reelection ‘gimmick’ - Paul Kane/Washington Post
Congressional Republicans rejected President Obama’s $3.8 trillion spending outline as nothing more than a political document meant to guide his reelection campaign while putting off any tough decisions about ballooning red ink until after voters have cast their ballots.
◼ Obama budget: National debt will be $1 trillion higher in a decade than forecast - Lori Montgomery/Washington Post
◼ BUDGET BUST: Obama's deficit spending $17k per person, $70k per family - Weekly Standard
Labels:
Budget,
President Obama
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