◼ Here’s a fact you might not know – Connecticut is one of only SIX states in the U.S. that doesn’t have a type of “assisted outpatient treatment” (AOT) law (sometimes referred to as “involuntary outpatient treatment”). - Live Leak
There’s no one standard for these types of laws, but (roughly speaking) these are laws that allow for people with mental illness to be forcibly treated BEFORE they commit a serious crime. Whereas previous legal standards held that the mentally ill cannot be institutionalized or medicated until they harm someone or themselves, or until they express an immediate intent to do so, AOT laws (again, roughly speaking) allow for preventativeinstitutionalization or forced medication (I highly recommend reading the data cited in the link I provided in this paragraph, especially regarding what is known as “first episode psychosis”).
AOT laws vary state-by-state, and often bear the name of a person murdered by an untreated mentally ill person (“Kendra’s Law” in New York, “Laura’s Law” in California, etc.).
Earlier this year, Connecticut considered passing an AOT law (and a weak one, at that), and it failed, due to protests from “civil liberties” groups.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Egyptian journalist tours brutal Muslim Brotherhood torture facility
◼ The Muslim Brotherhood operates a carefully controlled network of torture chambers designed to violently dehumanize opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, according to a journalist who exclusively toured the facilities this week. - Gregg Re/Daily Caller
Mohamad Jarehi, writing for the privately owned Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, described imposing iron barriers and armed government guards who stand watch in front of the Brotherhood’s central torture facility, which is located in the Egyptian suburb of Heliopolis.
“The torture process starts once a demonstrator who opposes President Mohammed Morsi is arrested in the clashes, or is suspected after the clashes end,” Jarehi wrote, according to an English translation of Al-Masry Al-Youm’s Arabic-language article completed by the Middle Eastern media website Al-Monitor.
“Then, the group members trade off punching, kicking and beating him with a stick on the face and all over his body. They tear off his clothes and take him to the nearest secondary torture chamber.”
According to Jarehi, who spent three hours in the torture chambers with other Egypt-based journalists, the captors then begin demanding answers from their detainees....
The journalist’s account comes a week after reports first surfaced that the Brotherhood is paying thugs to sexually assault women and beat men who are protesting in Tahrir Square, a major downtown gathering place in Cairo.
Mohamad Jarehi, writing for the privately owned Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm, described imposing iron barriers and armed government guards who stand watch in front of the Brotherhood’s central torture facility, which is located in the Egyptian suburb of Heliopolis.
“The torture process starts once a demonstrator who opposes President Mohammed Morsi is arrested in the clashes, or is suspected after the clashes end,” Jarehi wrote, according to an English translation of Al-Masry Al-Youm’s Arabic-language article completed by the Middle Eastern media website Al-Monitor.
“Then, the group members trade off punching, kicking and beating him with a stick on the face and all over his body. They tear off his clothes and take him to the nearest secondary torture chamber.”
According to Jarehi, who spent three hours in the torture chambers with other Egypt-based journalists, the captors then begin demanding answers from their detainees....
The journalist’s account comes a week after reports first surfaced that the Brotherhood is paying thugs to sexually assault women and beat men who are protesting in Tahrir Square, a major downtown gathering place in Cairo.
Labels:
Egypt,
Muslim Brotherhood,
Torture
The right-to-work dilemma
◼ For all the fury and fistfights outside the Lansing Capitol, what happened in Michigan this week was a simple accommodation to reality. The most famously unionized state, birthplace of the United Auto Workers, royalty of the American working class, became right-to-work. - Charles Krauthammer/NATIONAL POST
...There’s a reason Detroit went bankrupt while the southern auto transplants did not. This is not to exonerate incompetent overpaid management that contributed to the fall. But clearly the wage, benefit and work-rule gap between the unionized North and the right-to-work South was a major factor.
President Obama railed against the Michigan legislation, calling right-to-work “giving you the right to work for less money.” Well, there is a principle at stake here: A free country should allow its workers to choose whether or not to join a union. Moreover, it is more than slightly ironic that Democrats, the fiercely pro-choice party, reserve free choice for aborting a fetus, while denying it for such matters as choosing your child’s school or joining a union.
Principle and hypocrisy aside, however, the president’s statement has some validity. Let’s be honest: Right-to-work laws do weaken unions. And de-unionization can lead to lower wages.
But there is another factor at play: having a job in the first place. In right-to-work states, the average wage is about 10 percent lower. But in right-to-work states, unemployment also is about 10 percent lower.
Higher wages or lower unemployment? It is a wrenching choice. Although, you would think that liberals would be more inclined to spread the wealth — i.e., the jobs — around, preferring somewhat lower pay in order to leave fewer fellow workers mired in unemployment.
...rigidity and nostalgia have a price. The industrial Midwest is littered with the resulting wreckage. Michigan most notably, where its formerly great metropolis of Detroit is reduced to boarded-up bankruptcy by its inability and unwillingness to adapt to global change.
It’s easy to understand why a state such as Michigan would seek to recover its competitiveness by emulating the success of neighboring Indiana. One can sympathize with those who pine for the union glory days, while at the same time welcoming the new realism that promises not an impossible restoration, but desperately needed — and doable — recalibration and recovery.
...There’s a reason Detroit went bankrupt while the southern auto transplants did not. This is not to exonerate incompetent overpaid management that contributed to the fall. But clearly the wage, benefit and work-rule gap between the unionized North and the right-to-work South was a major factor.
President Obama railed against the Michigan legislation, calling right-to-work “giving you the right to work for less money.” Well, there is a principle at stake here: A free country should allow its workers to choose whether or not to join a union. Moreover, it is more than slightly ironic that Democrats, the fiercely pro-choice party, reserve free choice for aborting a fetus, while denying it for such matters as choosing your child’s school or joining a union.
Principle and hypocrisy aside, however, the president’s statement has some validity. Let’s be honest: Right-to-work laws do weaken unions. And de-unionization can lead to lower wages.
But there is another factor at play: having a job in the first place. In right-to-work states, the average wage is about 10 percent lower. But in right-to-work states, unemployment also is about 10 percent lower.
Higher wages or lower unemployment? It is a wrenching choice. Although, you would think that liberals would be more inclined to spread the wealth — i.e., the jobs — around, preferring somewhat lower pay in order to leave fewer fellow workers mired in unemployment.
...rigidity and nostalgia have a price. The industrial Midwest is littered with the resulting wreckage. Michigan most notably, where its formerly great metropolis of Detroit is reduced to boarded-up bankruptcy by its inability and unwillingness to adapt to global change.
It’s easy to understand why a state such as Michigan would seek to recover its competitiveness by emulating the success of neighboring Indiana. One can sympathize with those who pine for the union glory days, while at the same time welcoming the new realism that promises not an impossible restoration, but desperately needed — and doable — recalibration and recovery.
Labels:
Bankrupt,
Economy,
Jobs,
Michigan,
Reform,
Right-to-Work,
Unemployment,
Unions
Why America Is Going To Miss The Bush Tax Cuts
◼ President Obama seems to have a strategy to terminate all of the Bush tax cuts, not just those for “the rich,” as he has been saying since 2008. - Peter Ferrara/Forbes
He is offering the Republicans exactly zero concessions in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. No spending cuts, no entitlement reform, no compromise on the rates. It is entirely my way or the highway, and if the Republicans refuse to do everything exactly as he demands, he will let the Bush tax cuts expire entirely, for the middle class and working people as well as the upper incomes, and blame the Republicans for refusing to go along with him, and for the economic results.
It is a cynical game worthy of an undeveloped, third world country, not the United States of America. But this is just one more reason, with many more to come, for the American people to regret the mistake they made on Election Day.
Because so many major media institutions, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, have been so duplicitous and dishonest in discussing the Bush tax cuts, most Americans don’t know much about them, even though they have been living with them for 10 years or more now. Indeed, most of what they think they know is not true. But the American people will understand them better, when they see what life is like without them.
President Bush and his Congressional Republican majorities at the time cut taxes for everyone in the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Indeed, they cut more for lower and middle income taxpayers than they did for “the rich,” as Obama calls the nation’s job creators, investors, and successful small businesses. The top tax rate was cut by only 13%, while the lowest rate was cut by one-third, 33%....
He is offering the Republicans exactly zero concessions in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. No spending cuts, no entitlement reform, no compromise on the rates. It is entirely my way or the highway, and if the Republicans refuse to do everything exactly as he demands, he will let the Bush tax cuts expire entirely, for the middle class and working people as well as the upper incomes, and blame the Republicans for refusing to go along with him, and for the economic results.
It is a cynical game worthy of an undeveloped, third world country, not the United States of America. But this is just one more reason, with many more to come, for the American people to regret the mistake they made on Election Day.
Because so many major media institutions, like the New York Times and the Washington Post, have been so duplicitous and dishonest in discussing the Bush tax cuts, most Americans don’t know much about them, even though they have been living with them for 10 years or more now. Indeed, most of what they think they know is not true. But the American people will understand them better, when they see what life is like without them.
President Bush and his Congressional Republican majorities at the time cut taxes for everyone in the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Indeed, they cut more for lower and middle income taxpayers than they did for “the rich,” as Obama calls the nation’s job creators, investors, and successful small businesses. The top tax rate was cut by only 13%, while the lowest rate was cut by one-third, 33%....
Labels:
President/Candidate Obama,
Taxes
CFRW: Capitol Update
President Hadley reflects on yesterday’s tragedy in Newtown, CT
Today, as a Grandmother and Great Grandmother, I wanted to fly to each of my grandchildren and great grandchildren's home to hug and kiss them, but instead had to rely on calling their parents to hug and kiss them for me. Today was also my granddaughter’s birthday and she has held tight to her little four month old daughter. I am so thankful they are safe.
I am sure all over the world grandparents wanted to run to Newtown, Connecticut to hold all of those precious little ones who were spared and to tell let them were loved. I wanted to reach through the television and hug each parent and hold them tight.
24 years ago we buried three cute little boys who lived just a matter of minutes. Thought I would die at that loss. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to take my child to school and never be able to bring them home again.
We are a strong nation where sorrow is shared with each other. When tragedies like this happen, we band together, especially when precious children are the victims.
WE MUST HOLD THESE FAMILIES IN OUR PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS. Please send cards and letters to: Sandy Hook Parents, Newtown, CT 06470. Please let them know we care. Bless all the little children.
By Patricia Welch, Secretary, California Republican Party
President John F. Kennedy once said that a “rising tide lifts all boats,” and while he uttered these words in response to a crippling economy, these words epitomize what this party must focus its efforts on as we move into 2013.
I want to say here and now, that I want to fight for and with YOU. It is my honor to announce that I am running for a second term as your California Republican Party Secretary. I want to continue to work with the grassroots organizations and build a solid foundation for our party. Volunteer organizations like Republican Women are integral to the success of our party moving forward and I want to be there to support you.
We need to focus on the real problem which is, what it is we, as a party are going to say. Our party needs to stop searching for the Big Tent and instead build a foundation for all of us to stand on. Focused on the generally accepted principles of limited government, individual responsibility and growth and prosperity, we can generate a rising tide that can appeal to all Californians. Republicans believe that every Californian has the opportunity to succeed and to prosper.
Like a “rising tide lifts all boats,” it’s time for California Republicans to start building boats again. The 2014 elections are right around the corner. It’s time to get back to work. Merry Christmas to you all and Happy New Year!
Dear CFRW Members,
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." (Albert Schweitzer)
Yesterday many of us attended the "Celebration of Life", for Barbara Alby in Sacramento. This has caused me to reflect on many things. My light was often rekindled by meeting and being in the same events with Barbara.
It also made me appreciate the many times each of you have rekindled my flame. Each of you are a light in this organization and at Christmas Time I am so thankful to have each of you in my life. You add to the betterment of this State and Nation. You are builders of people and ideas. Working together we can accomplish ever so much.
I know the 2013 declaration of "CFRW Year of the Woman" will be one of growth. We have read the evaluations from our Fall Conference and are incorporating many of your suggestions for our Winter Conference in San Diego, February 8-10, 2013. We need each and everyone of you to bring your ideas to share at our three workshops. Remember without you there would be no CFRW.
Presidents, if you have not received your 2013 President's Packet, please let us know. Also, all corrected documents are on the CFRW Web Site. We need the correct information as soon as possible so our reports to NFRW will not be late.
May you have time to reflect on all that is good about this time of the season. Christmas is a time to love and less time to find fault. Just as the lighting of the Menorah brings joy and reflection so should Christmas.
Remember always, you are the BEST OF THE BEST. Let you light so shine that all may see your good works and be blessed to have you in their lives. Your light might be the only good thing in someone's life or it may be the life saving thread in another.
May Our Father in Heaven continue to bless you.
Again, thank you for being my light in the desert.
CFRW President
Labels:
Capitol Update,
CFRW
Attorney General Secretly Granted Gov. Ability to Develop and Store Dossiers on Innocent Americans
◼ In a secret government agreement granted without approval or debate from lawmakers, the U.S. attorney general recently gave the National Counterterrorism Center sweeping new powers to store dossiers on U.S. citizens, even if they are not suspected of a crime, according to a news report. - Kim Zetter/Wired.com
Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder granted the center the ability to copy entire government databases holding information on flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and other data, and to store it for up to five years, even without suspicion that someone in the database has committed a crime, according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story.
Whereas previously the law prohibited the center from storing data compilations on U.S. citizens unless they were suspected of terrorist activity or were relevant to an ongoing terrorism investigation, the new powers give the center the ability to not only collect and store vast databases of information but also to trawl through and analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior in order to uncover activity that could launch an investigation.
The changes granted by Holder would also allow databases containing information about U.S. citizens to be shared with foreign governments for their own analysis.
A former senior White House official told the Journal that the new changes were “breathtaking in scope.”
...Under the new rules issued in March, the NCTC can now obtain almost any other government database that it claims is “reasonably believed” to contain “terrorism information.” This could conceivably include collections of financial forms submitted by people seeking federally backed mortgages or even the health records of anyone who sought mental or physical treatment at government-run hospitals, such as Veterans Administration facilities, the paper notes.
The Obama administration’s new rules come after previous surveillance proposals were struck down during the Bush administration, following widespread condemnation....
◼ U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizens - Julia Angwin
Not everyone was on board. "This is a sea change in the way that the government interacts with the general public," Mary Ellen Callahan, chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, argued in the meeting, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A week later, the attorney general signed the changes into effect.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder granted the center the ability to copy entire government databases holding information on flight records, casino-employee lists, the names of Americans hosting foreign-exchange students and other data, and to store it for up to five years, even without suspicion that someone in the database has committed a crime, according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the story.
Whereas previously the law prohibited the center from storing data compilations on U.S. citizens unless they were suspected of terrorist activity or were relevant to an ongoing terrorism investigation, the new powers give the center the ability to not only collect and store vast databases of information but also to trawl through and analyze it for suspicious patterns of behavior in order to uncover activity that could launch an investigation.
The changes granted by Holder would also allow databases containing information about U.S. citizens to be shared with foreign governments for their own analysis.
A former senior White House official told the Journal that the new changes were “breathtaking in scope.”
...Under the new rules issued in March, the NCTC can now obtain almost any other government database that it claims is “reasonably believed” to contain “terrorism information.” This could conceivably include collections of financial forms submitted by people seeking federally backed mortgages or even the health records of anyone who sought mental or physical treatment at government-run hospitals, such as Veterans Administration facilities, the paper notes.
The Obama administration’s new rules come after previous surveillance proposals were struck down during the Bush administration, following widespread condemnation....
◼ U.S. Terrorism Agency to Tap a Vast Database of Citizens - Julia Angwin
Not everyone was on board. "This is a sea change in the way that the government interacts with the general public," Mary Ellen Callahan, chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, argued in the meeting, according to people familiar with the discussions.
A week later, the attorney general signed the changes into effect.
Labels:
Big Brother,
Big Government,
Eric Holder,
Privacy,
Terrorism
Many single women, a key bloc, are avoiding GOP
◼ (S)ingle women, already one-quarter of the electorate, represent the most serious threat to the party's viability. - AP
"There was just no way I could have supported any Republican this year," said Stevenson, 31. "They skew so much to the religious right. ... They focused so much on taxes. It's not something that women in my demographic really care about. I've never heard my friends lament their taxes."
...Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who wrote a book with (Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster) on the women's vote, said unmarried women are a tough group for the GOP to crack.
"Any way you cut it, this demographic is much more on their own and much more precarious and much more interested in a safety net," Lake said. "If you're married, you're much more likely to be a churchgoer and have your church as a community. If you're married, you're much more likely to have owned your home for a while and have that community to rely on. If you're married, you're more likely to have your spouse to depend on...."
"There was just no way I could have supported any Republican this year," said Stevenson, 31. "They skew so much to the religious right. ... They focused so much on taxes. It's not something that women in my demographic really care about. I've never heard my friends lament their taxes."
...Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who wrote a book with (Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster) on the women's vote, said unmarried women are a tough group for the GOP to crack.
"Any way you cut it, this demographic is much more on their own and much more precarious and much more interested in a safety net," Lake said. "If you're married, you're much more likely to be a churchgoer and have your church as a community. If you're married, you're much more likely to have owned your home for a while and have that community to rely on. If you're married, you're more likely to have your spouse to depend on...."
Labels:
#WarOnWomen,
Democrats,
Demographics,
Republicans,
Women
What we know about the Connecticut school shooting
◼ The facts as of 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning. - AP
◼ Discussion at Lucianne
THE TOLL: 28 dead, including the gunman, Adam Lanza; his mother, Nancy Lanza; the elementary school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung; and 20 schoolchildren. A woman who works at the school was wounded.
THE SUSPECT: 20-year-old Adam Lanza wore a pocket protector when he was in high school and was an honor student, and was called "remote" and "one of the goths" by classmates. A law enforcement official said he may have had a personality disorder. He grew up in an affluent neighborhood of well-tended homes with neighbors who worked as executives at companies like IBM. Police shed no light on his motive.
THE SCENE: Police told children to close their eyes as they led them past the carnage from their classrooms. The intercom broadcast screams throughout the school; others heard popping sounds, or, as a boy said, something that sounded like "cans falling." Crying children were escorted through the school's parking lot in line, hands on one another's shoulders, as panicked parents raced to the school to find their children. Witnesses said the shooter said nothing.
WHERE THEY DIED: Most of the dead were found in two classrooms; Lanza's mother, Nancy, was found dead at her home. The children killed were between ages 5 and 10....
HISTORY: The shooting is the second-deadliest in U.S. history and one of the deadliest mass shootings around the world. A gunman at Virginia Tech University killed 33, including himself, in 2007. Only Virginia Tech and the mass killings of 77 in Norway in 2011 had greater death tolls across the world over the past 20 years.
◼ Timeline of Connecticut elementary school shooting - FOX Greensboro
◼ Reports: Nancy Lanza Wasn’t A Teacher At Sandy Hook Elementary - Anjali Sareen/Mediaite
◼ A Gunman, Recalled as Intelligent and Shy, Who Left Few Footprints in Life - David Halbfinger/NYT
◼ Dem Congressman: We Must “Exploit” Elementary School Massacre For Political Gain… - WeaselZippers
__________________ If you would like to mail sympathy cards, postcards, or letters to support the survivors at Sandy Hook Elementary, the school's address is: Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12 Dickenson Drive, Sandy Hook, CT 06482
◼ Discussion at Lucianne
THE TOLL: 28 dead, including the gunman, Adam Lanza; his mother, Nancy Lanza; the elementary school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung; and 20 schoolchildren. A woman who works at the school was wounded.
THE SUSPECT: 20-year-old Adam Lanza wore a pocket protector when he was in high school and was an honor student, and was called "remote" and "one of the goths" by classmates. A law enforcement official said he may have had a personality disorder. He grew up in an affluent neighborhood of well-tended homes with neighbors who worked as executives at companies like IBM. Police shed no light on his motive.
THE SCENE: Police told children to close their eyes as they led them past the carnage from their classrooms. The intercom broadcast screams throughout the school; others heard popping sounds, or, as a boy said, something that sounded like "cans falling." Crying children were escorted through the school's parking lot in line, hands on one another's shoulders, as panicked parents raced to the school to find their children. Witnesses said the shooter said nothing.
WHERE THEY DIED: Most of the dead were found in two classrooms; Lanza's mother, Nancy, was found dead at her home. The children killed were between ages 5 and 10....
HISTORY: The shooting is the second-deadliest in U.S. history and one of the deadliest mass shootings around the world. A gunman at Virginia Tech University killed 33, including himself, in 2007. Only Virginia Tech and the mass killings of 77 in Norway in 2011 had greater death tolls across the world over the past 20 years.
◼ Timeline of Connecticut elementary school shooting - FOX Greensboro
◼ Reports: Nancy Lanza Wasn’t A Teacher At Sandy Hook Elementary - Anjali Sareen/Mediaite
◼ A Gunman, Recalled as Intelligent and Shy, Who Left Few Footprints in Life - David Halbfinger/NYT
◼ Dem Congressman: We Must “Exploit” Elementary School Massacre For Political Gain… - WeaselZippers
Labels:
Gun Control,
tragedy
Bloomberg News hid conflicting fiscal-cliff poll numbers, pushed results favorable to Obama
◼ A poll conducted last week by an Iowa-based firm showed Americans are conflicted about whether or not to support raising tax rates on wealthy Americans to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff.” But that’s not how Bloomberg News, which commissioned the poll, reported the results Thursday. - Greg Re/Daily Caller
In a story headlined “Americans Back Obama Tax-Rate Boost Tied to Entitlements,” Bloomberg reported that the poll showed most Americans support President Barack Obama’s insistence on increasing taxes for high-income earners.
“A majority of Americans say President Barack Obama is right to demand that tax-rate increases for the highest earners be a precondition for a budget deal that cuts U.S. entitlement programs,” the story, written by reporter Julie Hirschfeld Davis, began.
The poll asked respondents, “President Obama has said he will not negotiate with Republicans on cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare, until they agree to raise tax rates on the wealthy. Do you think he is right or wrong to insist on that as a precondition to broader negotiations?”
As Bloomberg reported in its story, 58 percent percent of respondents indicated that the president was “right” to insist on the precondition, while 37 percent said he was “wrong.”
But in the same poll, American adults were asked “whether it is better to raise the top tax rate the wealthy pay, or to limit the amount people can claim in tax breaks, such as mortgage interest and charitable contributions, so they end up paying tax on a bigger share of their income.”
Fifty-two percent responded that they preferred limited tax breaks to a tax-rate hike. Only 39 percent said they would rather see tax rates on the wealthy increase. Nine percent indicated they weren’t sure.
The Bloomberg News story quoted the president of Selzer & Co., which conducted the survey, saying the results indicated that Republicans and Speaker of the House John Boehner should yield to the president.
“Obama won the election promising to raise taxes on the wealthy,” J. Ann Selzer told Bloomberg News. “Republicans who refuse to budge from their pledge not to raise taxes are wrong-headed. Failure to strike a deal would put the national economy and the people who live in it at risk....”
In a story headlined “Americans Back Obama Tax-Rate Boost Tied to Entitlements,” Bloomberg reported that the poll showed most Americans support President Barack Obama’s insistence on increasing taxes for high-income earners.
“A majority of Americans say President Barack Obama is right to demand that tax-rate increases for the highest earners be a precondition for a budget deal that cuts U.S. entitlement programs,” the story, written by reporter Julie Hirschfeld Davis, began.
The poll asked respondents, “President Obama has said he will not negotiate with Republicans on cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare, until they agree to raise tax rates on the wealthy. Do you think he is right or wrong to insist on that as a precondition to broader negotiations?”
As Bloomberg reported in its story, 58 percent percent of respondents indicated that the president was “right” to insist on the precondition, while 37 percent said he was “wrong.”
But in the same poll, American adults were asked “whether it is better to raise the top tax rate the wealthy pay, or to limit the amount people can claim in tax breaks, such as mortgage interest and charitable contributions, so they end up paying tax on a bigger share of their income.”
Fifty-two percent responded that they preferred limited tax breaks to a tax-rate hike. Only 39 percent said they would rather see tax rates on the wealthy increase. Nine percent indicated they weren’t sure.
The Bloomberg News story quoted the president of Selzer & Co., which conducted the survey, saying the results indicated that Republicans and Speaker of the House John Boehner should yield to the president.
“Obama won the election promising to raise taxes on the wealthy,” J. Ann Selzer told Bloomberg News. “Republicans who refuse to budge from their pledge not to raise taxes are wrong-headed. Failure to strike a deal would put the national economy and the people who live in it at risk....”
Labels:
Fiscal Cliff,
Media bias,
Polls,
President/Candidate Obama,
Spending,
Spending Cuts,
Taxes
How Maps Helped Republicans Keep an Edge in the House
◼ Redistricting may sound esoteric, but it can have an impact on governing at the state and federal levels. - Griff Palmer and Michael Cooper/NYT
In the nation as a whole, Democratic candidates for Congress won 1.1 million more votes than Republicans... But Republicans maintained their control of the House - making this one of a handful of elections in the last century where the party that won the popular vote for Congress did not win control of the House.
In the nation as a whole, Democratic candidates for Congress won 1.1 million more votes than Republicans... But Republicans maintained their control of the House - making this one of a handful of elections in the last century where the party that won the popular vote for Congress did not win control of the House.
Labels:
Congress,
Redistricting
Friday, December 14, 2012
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus today launched an initiative to grow the Republican Party and improve future Republican campaigns.
WASHINGTON - The effort, known as the Growth and Opportunity Project, will be chaired by five GOP leaders and is charged by Priebus with initially reviewing past practices and also making critical recommendations for the future in these eight key areas: 1) campaign mechanics and ground game; 2) messaging; 3) fundraising; 4) demographic partners and allies; 5) third party groups; 6) campaign finance issues; 7) presidential primaries; and 8) lessons learned from Democratic campaign tactics.
The group will reach out to hundreds of individuals including RNC Members, grassroots activists, donors, elected officials, community leaders and other important partners to gain insight and help the Republican Party form a solid path going forward. These leaders will be involved in one or more of these critical areas.
The Growth and Opportunity Project is co-chaired by five prominent Republican leaders:
Henry Barbour, National Committeeman from Mississippi
Zori Fonalledas, National Committeewoman from Puerto Rico
Glenn McCall, National Committeeman from South Carolina
Sally Bradshaw, Veteran senior strategist in Florida and national politics
Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary
They will report their findings to Chairman Priebus and make recommendations for a long-term strategy for the future.
"The Growth and Opportunity Project will recommend a plan to further ensure Republicans are victorious in 2013, 2014, 2016 and beyond," said Chairman Priebus. "I've appointed a talented group of individuals to study eight key areas, and I look forward to working with these outstanding Republicans as they conduct rigorous analysis and engage in important conversations. The work of the Growth and Opportunity Project will be critical as we move forward as a Party and take our message to every American."
The group will reach out to hundreds of individuals including RNC Members, grassroots activists, donors, elected officials, community leaders and other important partners to gain insight and help the Republican Party form a solid path going forward. These leaders will be involved in one or more of these critical areas.
The Growth and Opportunity Project is co-chaired by five prominent Republican leaders:
Henry Barbour, National Committeeman from Mississippi
Zori Fonalledas, National Committeewoman from Puerto Rico
Glenn McCall, National Committeeman from South Carolina
Sally Bradshaw, Veteran senior strategist in Florida and national politics
Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary
They will report their findings to Chairman Priebus and make recommendations for a long-term strategy for the future.
"The Growth and Opportunity Project will recommend a plan to further ensure Republicans are victorious in 2013, 2014, 2016 and beyond," said Chairman Priebus. "I've appointed a talented group of individuals to study eight key areas, and I look forward to working with these outstanding Republicans as they conduct rigorous analysis and engage in important conversations. The work of the Growth and Opportunity Project will be critical as we move forward as a Party and take our message to every American."
Labels:
2014,
2016 Elections,
GOTV,
Republicans,
RNC
Five of the Twelve Deadliest Gun Massacres in U.S. History Took Place During Obama’s First Term
◼ The Left Wants to Play Games? How about this… - I Own The World
◼ Barack Obama was sworn in as America's 44th president 1,425 days ago. Since then, five of the 12 deadliest mass shootings in our history have happened. Here they are, as well as other lesser mass gun-killings that happened under his watch. Pics at Gawker
◼ Barack Obama was sworn in as America's 44th president 1,425 days ago. Since then, five of the 12 deadliest mass shootings in our history have happened. Here they are, as well as other lesser mass gun-killings that happened under his watch. Pics at Gawker
National Federation of Republican Women Mourns Lives Lost in Newtown, Connecticut
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Rae Lynne Chornenky, president of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), issued the following statement regarding the shooting in Newtown, Conn.
“The National Federation of Republican Women joins our country in mourning the tragedy and the lives lost in Newtown, Connecticut, this morning. While the shock of such an evil act envelopes the community of Newtown and the families and friends of those victimized, the strength and the prayers of all Americans surround each of them as we hold them close in our hearts.”
“The National Federation of Republican Women joins our country in mourning the tragedy and the lives lost in Newtown, Connecticut, this morning. While the shock of such an evil act envelopes the community of Newtown and the families and friends of those victimized, the strength and the prayers of all Americans surround each of them as we hold them close in our hearts.”
UNIMAGINABLE
SCHOOL SLAUGHTER: Dozens Dead...
Shooter Son Of Teacher...
*Both parents of gunman found dead at separate locations...
REPORT: Shooter's girlfriend missing...
District Had Just Installed New 'Safety' Protocols...
8-year-old says teacher saved him...
Screams 'over the intercom'...
Four weapons recovered from scene...
Scene 'atrocious'...
◼ Details Emerge About Family of Suspected Gunman - Tammy Audi, Heather Haddon, Erica E. Phillips and Tamer El-Ghobashy/WSJ
New details emerged late Friday about the family of the suspected gunman in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which left 28 people dead.
Law-enforcement officials identified the suspected shooter as 20-year-old Adam Lanza and said he was found dead inside the school. Officials said the alleged shooter’s mother, Nancy Lanza, was believed to be among the victims.
Earlier, a law-enforcement official incorrectly identified the suspect as 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, who is Adam’s brother. Ryan was questioned by investigators Friday but isn’t believed to have had any role in the shooting.
Two federal law-enforcement officials familiar with the investigation said the firearms recovered at the scene — Glock and Sig Sauer handguns – were registered to the alleged shooter’s mother and are legal. A third firearm was registered to Ms. Lanza as well, the officials said....
A former school board official in Newtown called into question earlier reports that Nancy Lanza had been connected to Sandy Hook Elementary School, possibly as part of the teaching staff.
“No one has heard of her,” said Lillian Bittman, who served on the local school board until 2011. “Teachers don’t know her.”
Labels:
tragedy
The New York Times offers a “News Analysis” today in which it is revealed that the Republicans are right on the merits of most of the arguments...
◼ The High Cost of Dems’ Cheap Populism - Seth Mandel/Commentary @SethAMandel
Last week, I wrote about the fact that President Obama’s approach to taxes as part of the “fiscal cliff” negotiations is billed as taxing the rich but would end up hurting the poor and possibly deepening inequality. Policies built on the flimsy populism of “fairness”–at least as modern Democrats define it–are quite often devoid of economic common sense. What’s more, the Democrats seem to know this.
The New York Times offers a “News Analysis” today in which it is revealed that the Republicans are right on the merits of most of the arguments, but Obama and congressional Democrats have boxed themselves in by relentlessly demagoguing the issue....
◼ Income Malaise of Middle Class Complicates Democrats’ Stance in Talks - Anne Lowry/New York Times
The income stagnation that has hit the middle class in the last decade is complicating the Democrats’ position in the fiscal talks, making it more difficult for them to advocate across-the-board tax increases if a deal falls through.
Many Democrats have derided the expiring tax cuts as irresponsible since President George W. Bush signed them a decade ago. Yet the party is united in pushing to make the vast majority of them permanent, even though President Obama could ensure their expiration at year’s end with a simple veto.
Last week, I wrote about the fact that President Obama’s approach to taxes as part of the “fiscal cliff” negotiations is billed as taxing the rich but would end up hurting the poor and possibly deepening inequality. Policies built on the flimsy populism of “fairness”–at least as modern Democrats define it–are quite often devoid of economic common sense. What’s more, the Democrats seem to know this.
The New York Times offers a “News Analysis” today in which it is revealed that the Republicans are right on the merits of most of the arguments, but Obama and congressional Democrats have boxed themselves in by relentlessly demagoguing the issue....
◼ Income Malaise of Middle Class Complicates Democrats’ Stance in Talks - Anne Lowry/New York Times
The income stagnation that has hit the middle class in the last decade is complicating the Democrats’ position in the fiscal talks, making it more difficult for them to advocate across-the-board tax increases if a deal falls through.
Many Democrats have derided the expiring tax cuts as irresponsible since President George W. Bush signed them a decade ago. Yet the party is united in pushing to make the vast majority of them permanent, even though President Obama could ensure their expiration at year’s end with a simple veto.
Labels:
Cost of Living,
Democrats,
Republicans,
Skyrocketing Costs,
Spending
Deadline for States to Claim Their Role in Obamacare
◼ the deadline for states to declare their intentions about setting up their own health insurance exchanges for residents to purchase insurance under the new regime. - Amy Payne/Heritage's Foundry
If a state does not set up an exchange, the federal government will come in and set it up, according to the law. So far, 22 states have said they are not going to set up state exchanges. Only six states have received conditional approval from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate their own exchanges.
Why leave it up to the federal government? Well, to begin with, it’s an extremely costly undertaking. ...
◼ Only 15 States Opt to Run Obamacare Exchanges - CNBC
Only 15 states have told the federal government they plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for two-thirds of the country.
On the eve of a federal deadline for states to say whether they will run their own exchanges, a top health care policy official told lawmakers that the exchanges will start enrolling eligible families starting on Oct. 1....
◼ Get ready for the costs and chaos of Obamacare - Chaos, the Obama drink of choice. - Byron York/Washington Examiner
◼ Discussion at Lucianne
If a state does not set up an exchange, the federal government will come in and set it up, according to the law. So far, 22 states have said they are not going to set up state exchanges. Only six states have received conditional approval from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate their own exchanges.
Why leave it up to the federal government? Well, to begin with, it’s an extremely costly undertaking. ...
◼ Only 15 States Opt to Run Obamacare Exchanges - CNBC
Only 15 states have told the federal government they plan to operate health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's reform law, leaving Washington with the daunting task of creating online marketplaces for two-thirds of the country.
On the eve of a federal deadline for states to say whether they will run their own exchanges, a top health care policy official told lawmakers that the exchanges will start enrolling eligible families starting on Oct. 1....
◼ Get ready for the costs and chaos of Obamacare - Chaos, the Obama drink of choice. - Byron York/Washington Examiner
◼ Discussion at Lucianne
Labels:
Obamacare,
Skyrocketing Costs,
State's Rights
Obama's Electronic Medical Records Scam
◼ Here's more evidence that government "cures" are inevitably worse than the "diseases" they seek to wipe out. Buried in the trillion-dollar stimulus law of 2009 was an electronic medical records "incentive" program. Like most of President Obama's health care rules, this top-down electronic record-sharing scheme is a big fat bust. - Michelle Malkin/Townhall
Oversight is lax. Cronyism is rife. The job-killing and privacy-undermining consequences have only just begun.
The program was originally sold as a cost-saving measure. In theory, modernizing record-collection is a good idea, and many private health care providers have already made the change. But as with many government "incentive" programs, the EMR bribe is a tax-subsidized, one-size-fits-all mandate. This one pressures health care professionals and hospitals across the country into radically federalizing their patient data and opening up medical information to untold abuse. Penalties kick in for any provider that hasn't switched over by 2014.
So, what's it to you? Well, $4 billion has already gone out to 82,535 professionals and 1,474 hospitals, and a total of $6 billion will be doled out by 2016. But the feds' reckless profligacy, neglect and favoritism have done more harm than good....
Oversight is lax. Cronyism is rife. The job-killing and privacy-undermining consequences have only just begun.
The program was originally sold as a cost-saving measure. In theory, modernizing record-collection is a good idea, and many private health care providers have already made the change. But as with many government "incentive" programs, the EMR bribe is a tax-subsidized, one-size-fits-all mandate. This one pressures health care professionals and hospitals across the country into radically federalizing their patient data and opening up medical information to untold abuse. Penalties kick in for any provider that hasn't switched over by 2014.
So, what's it to you? Well, $4 billion has already gone out to 82,535 professionals and 1,474 hospitals, and a total of $6 billion will be doled out by 2016. But the feds' reckless profligacy, neglect and favoritism have done more harm than good....
OBAMA SENDS U.S. TROOPS TO TURKEY, & IRAQ
◼ U.S. to send troops, Patriot missiles to Turkey - CNN
The United States gave the go-ahead Friday to deploy Patriot anti-ballistic missiles to Turkey along with enough troops to operate them as the heavily embattled government in neighboring Syria again vehemently denied firing ballistic missiles at rebels.
◼ REPORT: 3,000 US troops secretly return to Iraq... - PressTV
Over 3,000 US troops have secretly returned to Iraq via Kuwait for missions pertaining to the recent developments in Syria and northern Iraq, Press TV reports....
According to our correspondent, the US troops have secretly entered Iraq in multiple stages and are mostly stationed at Balad military garrison in Salahuddin province and al-Asad air base in al-Anbar province.
Reports say the troops include US Army officers and almost 17,000 more are set to secretly return to Iraq via the same route.
All US troops left Iraq by the end of 2011, after nine years of occupation, as required by a 2008 bilateral security agreement between the two countries. The troops left Iraq for the neighboring Kuwait.
The United States gave the go-ahead Friday to deploy Patriot anti-ballistic missiles to Turkey along with enough troops to operate them as the heavily embattled government in neighboring Syria again vehemently denied firing ballistic missiles at rebels.
◼ REPORT: 3,000 US troops secretly return to Iraq... - PressTV
Over 3,000 US troops have secretly returned to Iraq via Kuwait for missions pertaining to the recent developments in Syria and northern Iraq, Press TV reports....
According to our correspondent, the US troops have secretly entered Iraq in multiple stages and are mostly stationed at Balad military garrison in Salahuddin province and al-Asad air base in al-Anbar province.
Reports say the troops include US Army officers and almost 17,000 more are set to secretly return to Iraq via the same route.
All US troops left Iraq by the end of 2011, after nine years of occupation, as required by a 2008 bilateral security agreement between the two countries. The troops left Iraq for the neighboring Kuwait.
Labels:
Iraq,
Military,
President/Candidate Obama,
Syria
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Cavuto cuts off Dem rep when she won’t offer any spending to cut
I’ll leave you with this from Philip Klein to put all of the above in perspective: “Democrats have gotten away with promoting the fantasy that the nation can balance the budget by making modest adjustments to spending while protecting 98 percent of the country from tax increases. But they won’t be able to get away with this fairy tale forever. At some point, reality will set in, and the reality is that in order to protect entitlements from major changes, Democrats will have to back massive across the board tax hikes. Let’s see how polls turn out when middle class Americans are asked whether they want to pay significantly higher taxes in order to minimize cuts to entitlement programs, or how they’ll feel when interest rates and inflation are soaring as a result of the national debt.”
Labels:
Spending
Charitable giving tax break at risk; White House, Nonprofits battle behind the scenes...
◼ The White House and the nation’s most prominent charities are embroiled in a tense behind-the-scenes debate over President Obama’s push to scale back the nearly century-old tax deduction on donations that the charities say is crucial for their financial health. - Jerry Markon and Peter Wallsten/Washington Post
Labels:
charity,
President/Candidate Obama,
Spending,
Taxes
Harbor answer to county's economic woes
◼ link - Susana Munzell/for the Times-Standard
There is no question that Humboldt County is splendid in its bounty, natural beauty and resources: majestic trees, clear rivers, the ocean and all they provide. Yes indeed, many of us can enjoy the serenity and beauty of our surroundings.
But not all. There are the children, the men and women living in poverty, jobless and desperate. There are the young and the families that move out to look for a life elsewhere. There are the elderly with insufficient services.
The irony of this situation is that nature has provided us with a natural resource that, if used responsibly, has the potential to reverse the trend of poverty and drug dependence into a new wave of prosperity. The Humboldt Bay Harbor....
A group of concerned citizens met over a year ago to talk about job opportunities in the community and immediately recognized the potential of the Humboldt Bay Harbor. Since then the group, known as the Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group (HBHWG), has set about meeting its goals, talking to city and county leadership and spreading the good word. It joined the Prosperity 2012 effort and its project is included in the draft recommendations to the county Board of Supervisors.
Our vision is to revitalize the harbor to increase job opportunities for the people of Humboldt County, bring new revenues to the community, create a model green port and ensure that the environment is protected and, when possible, enhanced.
There is no question that Humboldt County is splendid in its bounty, natural beauty and resources: majestic trees, clear rivers, the ocean and all they provide. Yes indeed, many of us can enjoy the serenity and beauty of our surroundings.
But not all. There are the children, the men and women living in poverty, jobless and desperate. There are the young and the families that move out to look for a life elsewhere. There are the elderly with insufficient services.
The irony of this situation is that nature has provided us with a natural resource that, if used responsibly, has the potential to reverse the trend of poverty and drug dependence into a new wave of prosperity. The Humboldt Bay Harbor....
A group of concerned citizens met over a year ago to talk about job opportunities in the community and immediately recognized the potential of the Humboldt Bay Harbor. Since then the group, known as the Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group (HBHWG), has set about meeting its goals, talking to city and county leadership and spreading the good word. It joined the Prosperity 2012 effort and its project is included in the draft recommendations to the county Board of Supervisors.
Our vision is to revitalize the harbor to increase job opportunities for the people of Humboldt County, bring new revenues to the community, create a model green port and ensure that the environment is protected and, when possible, enhanced.
Labels:
Business,
Economy,
Humboldt County,
Local News
Replace the Fiscal Cliff with a Tax Cut
◼ Republican should fight to extend tax rates for the rich and reduce them for the middle class. - Deroy Murdock/National Review
◼ Tax rich liberals - Ann Coulter/Daily Caller
Republicans have been forced into a Hobson’s choice of either letting the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone or agreeing to a tax hike on the top 2 percent of income earners (not to be confused with “the rich,” who have already made, inherited or married their money).
If Republicans object to the Democrats’ hitting job creators with a tax hike, three things will happen: Taxes will go up for everyone; Republicans will be seen as the “party of the rich”; and the inevitable economic collapse will be blamed on Republicans.
If Democrats were merely trying to raise taxes on the rich in a vacuum, it would be easier for Republicans to oppose raising anyone’s taxes. But because the Bush tax cuts are only temporary, unless the high-income earners’ taxes go up, everyone’s taxes revert to pre-Bush tax rates.
◼ Tax rich liberals - Ann Coulter/Daily Caller
Republicans have been forced into a Hobson’s choice of either letting the Bush tax cuts expire for everyone or agreeing to a tax hike on the top 2 percent of income earners (not to be confused with “the rich,” who have already made, inherited or married their money).
If Republicans object to the Democrats’ hitting job creators with a tax hike, three things will happen: Taxes will go up for everyone; Republicans will be seen as the “party of the rich”; and the inevitable economic collapse will be blamed on Republicans.
If Democrats were merely trying to raise taxes on the rich in a vacuum, it would be easier for Republicans to oppose raising anyone’s taxes. But because the Bush tax cuts are only temporary, unless the high-income earners’ taxes go up, everyone’s taxes revert to pre-Bush tax rates.
Labels:
Fiscal Cliff,
Fiscal Responsibility,
Republicans,
Taxes
BREAKING: SUSAN RICE DROPPING NAME FROM SECRETARY OF STATE CONSIDERATION
◼ U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice is dropping her name from consideration for secretary of state, NBC News reported - THE BLAZE
In a letter to President Barack Obama obtained by NBC, Rice wrote, “If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities.”
“That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country…Therefore, I respectfully request that you no longer consider my candidacy at this time,” she wrote.
______
Obama: Today, I spoke to Ambassador Susan Rice, and accepted her decision to remove her name from consideration for Secretary of State.
Obama statement says Rice will continue to serve as U.N. ambassador.
◼ OBAMA DOUBLED DOWN ON RICE--AND LOST - Joel Pollak/Breitbart
President Barack Obama has suffered a major political defeat with Susan Rice's withdrawal today of her name from consideration as the next Secretary of State. A month ago, Obama raised the stakes by defending Rice angrily in his first post-election press conference, challenging Republicans to "go after" him instead. He and his party cast Republican objections as racist and sexist, rather than motivated by legitimate concerns about her role in lying to the public about the Benghazi terror attack and her thin record as ambassador to the United Nations.
For a long time, the GOP seemed to be losing the public debate over Rice's potential nomination. But Obama's needlessly confrontational approach handed Republicans a victory. By trying to force the GOP to back down with false accusations of prejudice, Obama created a no-win scenario for himself: if he proceeded to nominate Rice, Republicans could turn her confirmation hearings into a full public investigation of the Benghazi debacle; if he backed down, he would look weak and perseverating. The press followed Obama's lead, but the GOP held firm.
◼ Dan Rather On Obama And Susan Rice: "He Made A Lot Of Tough Talk, Didn't Back It Up" - Real Clear Politics
On... MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow" show, guest Dan Rather was disappointed with President Obama after Susan Rice decided to withdraw herself from Secretary of State considerations. Rather said Obama talked tough, but didn't back it up.
"He indicated in his press conference just after the election -- he made a lot of tough talk, didn't back it up," Rather said. "So there are people who say, 'Listen, the kind of leader we want is one who will fight to the finish, never give in.' On the other hand, one could make the case that President Obama has said to himself, 'Yes, I could probably force this to a vote, and win the vote. But it would cost me down the road.'"
In a letter to President Barack Obama obtained by NBC, Rice wrote, “If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive and costly – to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities.”
“That trade-off is simply not worth it to our country…Therefore, I respectfully request that you no longer consider my candidacy at this time,” she wrote.
______
Obama: Today, I spoke to Ambassador Susan Rice, and accepted her decision to remove her name from consideration for Secretary of State.
Obama statement says Rice will continue to serve as U.N. ambassador.
◼ OBAMA DOUBLED DOWN ON RICE--AND LOST - Joel Pollak/Breitbart
President Barack Obama has suffered a major political defeat with Susan Rice's withdrawal today of her name from consideration as the next Secretary of State. A month ago, Obama raised the stakes by defending Rice angrily in his first post-election press conference, challenging Republicans to "go after" him instead. He and his party cast Republican objections as racist and sexist, rather than motivated by legitimate concerns about her role in lying to the public about the Benghazi terror attack and her thin record as ambassador to the United Nations.
For a long time, the GOP seemed to be losing the public debate over Rice's potential nomination. But Obama's needlessly confrontational approach handed Republicans a victory. By trying to force the GOP to back down with false accusations of prejudice, Obama created a no-win scenario for himself: if he proceeded to nominate Rice, Republicans could turn her confirmation hearings into a full public investigation of the Benghazi debacle; if he backed down, he would look weak and perseverating. The press followed Obama's lead, but the GOP held firm.
◼ Dan Rather On Obama And Susan Rice: "He Made A Lot Of Tough Talk, Didn't Back It Up" - Real Clear Politics
On... MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow" show, guest Dan Rather was disappointed with President Obama after Susan Rice decided to withdraw herself from Secretary of State considerations. Rather said Obama talked tough, but didn't back it up.
"He indicated in his press conference just after the election -- he made a lot of tough talk, didn't back it up," Rather said. "So there are people who say, 'Listen, the kind of leader we want is one who will fight to the finish, never give in.' On the other hand, one could make the case that President Obama has said to himself, 'Yes, I could probably force this to a vote, and win the vote. But it would cost me down the road.'"
What should the Republican Party stand for? The fiscal cliff, no matter the result, was an instant opportunity to elevate the party's basic beliefs.
◼ Republicans are failing to define their party's purpose during the fiscal-cliff talks. - Wall St. Journal
John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have worked hard to keep their thumbs stuck in the dam of rising tax rates. Still, the fiscal cliff is looking more each day like an inside-the-Beltway CYA operation. Does anyone in the country beyond the halls of Congress and media specialists have any idea what these people are doing?
The Republicans' rote rationale for this sorry state is four words: We have no leverage. We lost the presidential vote. We only control the House. By law, the Bush tax rates will rise for everyone Jan. 1. The default strategy is: Survive. Give Barack Obama some version of the soak-the-rich revenue-raising he ran on, get past the cliff and regroup in 2013. Not a very happy New Year, but that's the best we can get.
This sad argument is not ridiculous.
Only a newborn babe in the Washington woods would think the congressional Republicans' leverage with the president is much more than zero. It'd be nice to think this is all a grim fairy tale and that come New Year's Eve, Prince John of Cincinnati will turn dross into gold. No, Virginia. Republicans lost the election.
But does that mean Republicans have to help Barack Obama dismantle their party by letting its most basic conservative principles disappear into the Beltway's smoke and mirrors?
◼ USING THE LANGUAGE OF LIBERTY - Marc Zarlengo/Right Message.org
John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have worked hard to keep their thumbs stuck in the dam of rising tax rates. Still, the fiscal cliff is looking more each day like an inside-the-Beltway CYA operation. Does anyone in the country beyond the halls of Congress and media specialists have any idea what these people are doing?
The Republicans' rote rationale for this sorry state is four words: We have no leverage. We lost the presidential vote. We only control the House. By law, the Bush tax rates will rise for everyone Jan. 1. The default strategy is: Survive. Give Barack Obama some version of the soak-the-rich revenue-raising he ran on, get past the cliff and regroup in 2013. Not a very happy New Year, but that's the best we can get.
This sad argument is not ridiculous.
Only a newborn babe in the Washington woods would think the congressional Republicans' leverage with the president is much more than zero. It'd be nice to think this is all a grim fairy tale and that come New Year's Eve, Prince John of Cincinnati will turn dross into gold. No, Virginia. Republicans lost the election.
But does that mean Republicans have to help Barack Obama dismantle their party by letting its most basic conservative principles disappear into the Beltway's smoke and mirrors?
◼ USING THE LANGUAGE OF LIBERTY - Marc Zarlengo/Right Message.org
In the 1,420 days since he took the oath of office, the federal government has daily hired on average 101 new employees. Every day. Seven days a week. All 202 weeks. That makes 143,000 more federal workers...
◼ Americans believe public workers better paid and more secure (Bingo!) - Andrew Malcolm/IBD
"The federal workforce has become an elite island of secure and high-paid workers, separated from the ocean of average American workers competing in the global economy," according to a report this year by the Cato Institute.
That report found the average civilian federal government worker collected just under $84,000 a year in taxpayer money, about $32,000 more than the average private sector worker. That's a total federal worker package of about $236 billion a year.
"The federal workforce has become an elite island of secure and high-paid workers, separated from the ocean of average American workers competing in the global economy," according to a report this year by the Cato Institute.
That report found the average civilian federal government worker collected just under $84,000 a year in taxpayer money, about $32,000 more than the average private sector worker. That's a total federal worker package of about $236 billion a year.
Labels:
Big Government,
President/Candidate Obama,
Spending,
Unions
Fiscal Cliff Creates Problems That Don't Faze Obama
◼ Obama seeks to advance what Alexis de Tocqueville in "Democracy in America" called "soft despotism," with "a network of small, complicated, painstaking rules" -- think Obamacare -- to "finally reduce ... each nation to being nothing more than a herd of timid and industrious animals of which government is the shepherd." - Michael Barone/Real Clear Politics
Which blue state gets the 2012 Darwin Award? (Reader Poll)
◼ Vote at the blog -- California, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan, Rhode Island, New York? - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
◼ The Blue-State Suicide Pact: - Joel Kotkin/NewGeography
With their enthusiastic backing of President Obama and the Democratic Party on Election Day, the bluest parts of America may have embraced a program utterly at odds with their economic self-interest. The almost uniform support of blue states’ congressional representatives for the administration’s campaign for tax “fairness” represents a kind of bizarre economic suicide pact.
Any move to raise taxes on the rich — defined as households making over $250,000 annually — strikes directly at the economies of these states, which depend heavily on the earnings of high-income professionals, entrepreneurs and technical workers. In fact, when you examine which states, and metropolitan areas, have the highest concentrations of such people, it turns out they are overwhelmingly located in the bluest states and regions.
Ironically the new taxes will have relatively little effect on the detested Romney uber-class, who derive most of their income from capital gains, taxed at a much lower rate. They also have access to all manner of offshore dodges. Nor will it have much impact on Silicon Valley millionaires and billionaires, or the Hollywood moguls and urban land speculators who constitute the Democratic Party’s “good rich,” and enjoy many of the same privileges as their wealthy conservative counterparts.
The people whose wallets will be drained in the new war on “the rich” are high-earning, but hardly plutocratic professionals like engineers, doctors, lawyers, small business owners and the like. Once seen as the bastion of the middle class, and exemplars of upward mobility, these people are emerging as the modern day “kulaks,” the affluent peasants ruthlessly targeted by Stalin in the early 1930s....
◼ The Blue-State Suicide Pact: - Joel Kotkin/NewGeography
With their enthusiastic backing of President Obama and the Democratic Party on Election Day, the bluest parts of America may have embraced a program utterly at odds with their economic self-interest. The almost uniform support of blue states’ congressional representatives for the administration’s campaign for tax “fairness” represents a kind of bizarre economic suicide pact.
Any move to raise taxes on the rich — defined as households making over $250,000 annually — strikes directly at the economies of these states, which depend heavily on the earnings of high-income professionals, entrepreneurs and technical workers. In fact, when you examine which states, and metropolitan areas, have the highest concentrations of such people, it turns out they are overwhelmingly located in the bluest states and regions.
Ironically the new taxes will have relatively little effect on the detested Romney uber-class, who derive most of their income from capital gains, taxed at a much lower rate. They also have access to all manner of offshore dodges. Nor will it have much impact on Silicon Valley millionaires and billionaires, or the Hollywood moguls and urban land speculators who constitute the Democratic Party’s “good rich,” and enjoy many of the same privileges as their wealthy conservative counterparts.
The people whose wallets will be drained in the new war on “the rich” are high-earning, but hardly plutocratic professionals like engineers, doctors, lawyers, small business owners and the like. Once seen as the bastion of the middle class, and exemplars of upward mobility, these people are emerging as the modern day “kulaks,” the affluent peasants ruthlessly targeted by Stalin in the early 1930s....
Labels:
#FAIL,
Blue State,
Economy,
Red State,
Taxes
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Union Violence In Michigan Is No Tea Party
◼ The assault on a Fox News contributor protecting women and seniors in a tent is but the latest example of the civil discourse and respect for democracy the president's union supporters really have. - IBD Editorial
Imagine the outrage and the mainstream media feeding frenzy had it been a Tea Party member punching an MSNBC contributor covering a protest over ObamaCare.
Or if Tea Party members had descended on a tent full of Occupy Wall Street supporters, flattening and tearing it apart with total disregard for the people inside....
Imagine the outrage and the mainstream media feeding frenzy had it been a Tea Party member punching an MSNBC contributor covering a protest over ObamaCare.
Or if Tea Party members had descended on a tent full of Occupy Wall Street supporters, flattening and tearing it apart with total disregard for the people inside....
Labels:
Left-wing civility,
Media bias,
Michigan,
Right-to-Work,
Tea Party,
Unions
Obama´s Big Michigan Right-To-Work Lie: Lower Wages
◼ Probably the most breathtaking public lie to date. - Discussion at Lucianne
◼ The president says right-to-work laws mean "the right to work for less money." So how does he explain the fact that incomes are up in RTW states while forced unionism is a proven job killer? - IBD Editorial
Campaigning Monday in Michigan as it stood poised to become the nation's 24th right-to-work state, President Obama spoke the exact opposite of the truth to union workers at a Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in the birthplace of organized labor.
"What we shouldn't be doing," he told the small crowd, "is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages. We don't want a race to the bottom. We want a race to the top."
Yet looking at the hard numbers, becoming a right-to-work state is a direct line to the top....
Michigan law will now bar requiring workers to pay money to a third party, namely unions, as a condition of employment. This has given rise to the big lie that workers who refuse to join a union and pay dues will get a "free ride" enjoying the benefits of union representation without contributing to that representation....
(I)n its most recent federal filings, the Michigan Education Association said "representational activities" (money spent on bargaining contracts for members) made up only 11% of total spending for the union.
Most of the rest went under the category "general overhead," which included union administration and, of course, the union political activities that include lobbying for more government spending. It's the unions that are getting a "free ride...."
◼ The president says right-to-work laws mean "the right to work for less money." So how does he explain the fact that incomes are up in RTW states while forced unionism is a proven job killer? - IBD Editorial
Campaigning Monday in Michigan as it stood poised to become the nation's 24th right-to-work state, President Obama spoke the exact opposite of the truth to union workers at a Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in the birthplace of organized labor.
"What we shouldn't be doing," he told the small crowd, "is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages. We don't want a race to the bottom. We want a race to the top."
Yet looking at the hard numbers, becoming a right-to-work state is a direct line to the top....
Michigan law will now bar requiring workers to pay money to a third party, namely unions, as a condition of employment. This has given rise to the big lie that workers who refuse to join a union and pay dues will get a "free ride" enjoying the benefits of union representation without contributing to that representation....
(I)n its most recent federal filings, the Michigan Education Association said "representational activities" (money spent on bargaining contracts for members) made up only 11% of total spending for the union.
Most of the rest went under the category "general overhead," which included union administration and, of course, the union political activities that include lobbying for more government spending. It's the unions that are getting a "free ride...."
Labels:
He Lied,
Michigan,
President/Candidate Obama,
Right-to-Work,
Unions
Boehner has managed to allow Obama to turn the Bush middle class tax cuts, passed by a Republican majority Congress over 10 years ago, into the Obama middle class tax cuts, supposedly opposed by the House majority Republicans.
◼ Replacing Speaker Boehner: Here's how and why it has to be done. - Peter Ferrara/American Spectator
John Boehner is a good man in a hard place. He has served in public office as a lifelong conservative, not a RINO. His position on the Obama tax increases has been better than almost any other Republican who has been speaking out lately, given the Obama/Democrat election victories -- close loopholes and deductions for $800 billion in new revenue over a decade, but no increases in rates.
But face it. Boehner is no match for Obama on the national stage. He cannot press the economic arguments articulately. He does not have a compelling personality. Obama is running circles around Boehner with outrageous falsehoods, and Boehner cannot raise a peep to challenge him. Boehner has managed to allow Obama to turn the Bush middle class tax cuts, passed by a Republican majority Congress over 10 years ago, into the Obama middle class tax cuts, supposedly opposed by the House majority Republicans.
...the biggest reason Boehner must go as Speaker is found in the Constitution. As Jeff Lord reminded us a month ago, the Speaker of the House does not have to be an elected member of the House. Anyone can serve as Speaker!!!
Think about the possibilities and the opportunities that creates. Republicans can pick the most articulate, knowledgeable, lucid leader possible to fire volleys back at Obama and the Democrats.
That is what is needed now most of all. An articulate Republican who can take on Obama and his dishonest, false narratives. About the rich, the budget, spending, taxes and debt. About energy and the environment. About the Obama record, and the longest trail of broken promises in world history.
Steve Forbes could be named Speaker of the House. Or Larry Kudlow. Or Steve Moore. Or Paul Gigot. Or Grover Norquist. Or Rush Limbaugh. Or Sean Hannity. Or Mark Levin. Someone who can talk, explain, tutor, and at last who knows what he is talking about. How about R. Emmett Tyrrell? Hell, they could even bring Gingrich back.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy are perfectly capable of managing the day to day affairs of the House and getting legislation through. What the Republicans need as Speaker of the House is something they don't have now -- someone who can speak.
John Boehner is a good man in a hard place. He has served in public office as a lifelong conservative, not a RINO. His position on the Obama tax increases has been better than almost any other Republican who has been speaking out lately, given the Obama/Democrat election victories -- close loopholes and deductions for $800 billion in new revenue over a decade, but no increases in rates.
But face it. Boehner is no match for Obama on the national stage. He cannot press the economic arguments articulately. He does not have a compelling personality. Obama is running circles around Boehner with outrageous falsehoods, and Boehner cannot raise a peep to challenge him. Boehner has managed to allow Obama to turn the Bush middle class tax cuts, passed by a Republican majority Congress over 10 years ago, into the Obama middle class tax cuts, supposedly opposed by the House majority Republicans.
...the biggest reason Boehner must go as Speaker is found in the Constitution. As Jeff Lord reminded us a month ago, the Speaker of the House does not have to be an elected member of the House. Anyone can serve as Speaker!!!
Think about the possibilities and the opportunities that creates. Republicans can pick the most articulate, knowledgeable, lucid leader possible to fire volleys back at Obama and the Democrats.
That is what is needed now most of all. An articulate Republican who can take on Obama and his dishonest, false narratives. About the rich, the budget, spending, taxes and debt. About energy and the environment. About the Obama record, and the longest trail of broken promises in world history.
Steve Forbes could be named Speaker of the House. Or Larry Kudlow. Or Steve Moore. Or Paul Gigot. Or Grover Norquist. Or Rush Limbaugh. Or Sean Hannity. Or Mark Levin. Someone who can talk, explain, tutor, and at last who knows what he is talking about. How about R. Emmett Tyrrell? Hell, they could even bring Gingrich back.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy are perfectly capable of managing the day to day affairs of the House and getting legislation through. What the Republicans need as Speaker of the House is something they don't have now -- someone who can speak.
Union Thugs Shouted Racial Slurs At Hot Dog Vendor While Trashing His Business
◼ Yesterday a hot dog vendor named Clint Tarver was serving hot dogs at the AFP tent that was torn down by an angry mob of union members. He wasn’t there to be political, he was there to do his job and make a living. The union goons didn’t care, they destroyed his hot dog cart while shouting racial slurs at him as he tried to gather his belongings. - The Lonely Conservative
◼ Heckuva job: Michigan union thugs destroyed hot dog vendor’s cart - Michelle Malkin
◼ Update on ‘the hot dog guy’ - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin
...Tarver also says he was called racial epithets by other union attackers, including the “N” word and “Uncle Tom.” Tarver says he’s never been called such things in his 17 years as a hot dog vendor. His wife expressed her digust that union workers stood around with their hands in their pockets while Tarver attempted to pick up his catering equipment and other items....
A fund started to help Tarver replace his equipment that had an original goal of $2,000 is now up to over $25,000.
Early today[December 11, 2012], Clint Tarver, known as “The Hot Dog Guy” here in Lansing had his business attacked and destroyed by out of line and out of control protesters near the Capitol.◼ AFL-CIO OMG WTF? - The Other McCain
Everyone who has passed the hot dog cart knows what a kind and caring individual Clint is. He never fails to bestow a smile or friendly greeting. In no way [did] he provoke this attack, nor any of the behavior displayed toward him.
Clint is a beloved local figure, his hot dog stand across from the Michigan state capitol being a sort of institution, a landmark. “This is not a guy who’s about politics,” Lee explained. “He’s about hot dogs.”UPDATE: ◼ Those racist right-wing teabaggers have already raised more than $17,000 to help Clint Tarver.
Americans for Prosperity hired Clint to serve hot dogs at their tent on the capitol grounds, where AFP officials were presenting the pro-freedom side of the right-to-work argument. And when the union goons decided to assault the AFP tent, Clint became a target.
◼ Heckuva job: Michigan union thugs destroyed hot dog vendor’s cart - Michelle Malkin
◼ Update on ‘the hot dog guy’ - Doug Powers/Michelle Malkin
...Tarver also says he was called racial epithets by other union attackers, including the “N” word and “Uncle Tom.” Tarver says he’s never been called such things in his 17 years as a hot dog vendor. His wife expressed her digust that union workers stood around with their hands in their pockets while Tarver attempted to pick up his catering equipment and other items....
A fund started to help Tarver replace his equipment that had an original goal of $2,000 is now up to over $25,000.
Labels:
Left-wing civility,
Michigan,
Race,
Right-to-Work,
Unions
Future of party depends on holding the line
◼ GOP-controlled House has never raised taxes - Rep. John Fleming/Washington Times
In the past 100 years, since the authority of Congress to tax income was enumerated in the 16th Amendment, marginal income tax rates have never been raised when Republicans have held the majority in the House of Representatives. For nearly a century, Republican-controlled Houses held the line on tax rates, a Republican coup de pointe to Democratic tax-increase parries. Here’s the question for my fellow Republicans: Do we want to be the first-ever GOP House majority to raise federal marginal income tax rates?
In the past 100 years, since the authority of Congress to tax income was enumerated in the 16th Amendment, marginal income tax rates have never been raised when Republicans have held the majority in the House of Representatives. For nearly a century, Republican-controlled Houses held the line on tax rates, a Republican coup de pointe to Democratic tax-increase parries. Here’s the question for my fellow Republicans: Do we want to be the first-ever GOP House majority to raise federal marginal income tax rates?
Labels:
Fiscal Cliff,
Fiscal Responsibility,
History,
Principles,
Republicans,
Taxes
Jerry Brown has early-stage prostate cancer
◼ The governor's office described the condition as a "localized prostate cancer" and said Brown is continuing to work a full schedule while being treated with a short course of radiation. - Sacramento Bee
Say a prayer for Governor Brown.
Say a prayer for Governor Brown.
Labels:
California,
Governor Jerry Brown
As 'fiscal cliff' nears, president's schedule loaded with photo-ops, holiday parties, golf...
◼ Since returning from a trip to southeast Asia on Nov. 21, President Obama has managed to play three rounds of golf but has met face-to-face only once with Speaker John A. Boehner, the man with whom he is trying to strike a deal on taxes and spending that could prevent another recession. - Dave Boyer/Washington Times
On Monday, Mr. Obama’s only public event was a trip to Detroit, where he held a campaign-style rally with union auto workers that was ostensibly a push for middle-class tax cuts but mainly showcased Mr. Obama’s criticism of Michigan’s new “right-to-work” labor law.
“It seems to me, that time would have been better spent here in Washington, D.C., working on the fiscal cliff, but he was in Michigan,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama had lunch with Vice President Joseph R. Biden and spoke to Mr. Boehner by phone late in the day. The president spent much of his evening with first lady Michelle Obama posing for photographs with members of the White House press corps and their guests at a holiday party. (Mr. Obama actually has performed this function twice in the past week; there was another media holiday party at the White House on Dec. 5).
On Monday, Mr. Obama’s only public event was a trip to Detroit, where he held a campaign-style rally with union auto workers that was ostensibly a push for middle-class tax cuts but mainly showcased Mr. Obama’s criticism of Michigan’s new “right-to-work” labor law.
“It seems to me, that time would have been better spent here in Washington, D.C., working on the fiscal cliff, but he was in Michigan,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican.
On Tuesday, Mr. Obama had lunch with Vice President Joseph R. Biden and spoke to Mr. Boehner by phone late in the day. The president spent much of his evening with first lady Michelle Obama posing for photographs with members of the White House press corps and their guests at a holiday party. (Mr. Obama actually has performed this function twice in the past week; there was another media holiday party at the White House on Dec. 5).
Labels:
Fiscal Cliff,
golf,
Not Working,
President/Candidate Obama
SHOCK: Dem senator employed illegal immigrant who was registered sex offender...'Homeland' instructed agents not to arrest until AFTER Election Day...
◼ Sen. Robert Menendez employed as an unpaid intern in his Senate office an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender, now under arrest by immigration authorities, The Associated Press has learned. The Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, a U.S. official involved in the case told the AP.
...A Homeland Security spokesman, Peter Boogaard, said Wednesday that it was "categorically false" that the department delayed the arrest of Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, 18, until after the election....
Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official told the AP. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said.
...A Homeland Security spokesman, Peter Boogaard, said Wednesday that it was "categorically false" that the department delayed the arrest of Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, 18, until after the election....
Authorities in Hudson County notified ICE agents in early October that they suspected Sanchez was an illegal immigrant who was a registered sex offender and who may be eligible to be deported. ICE agents in New Jersey notified superiors at the Homeland Security Department because they considered it a potentially high profile arrest, and DHS instructed them not to arrest Sanchez until after the November election, one U.S. official told the AP. ICE officials complained that the delay was inappropriate, but DHS directed them several times not to act, the official said.
Public Support of Tax Increase Is a Myth
◼ Most don’t know that successful individuals and small businesses already pay a progressive rate - Colin Hanna and Alex Cortes/Roll Call
Myths are perpetuated in Washington, with conventional wisdom created by one person and bouncing off hundreds more in a self-reassuring circle of groupthink. But in real America, you can find the truth if you look hard enough.
When the Democratic Party and the fourth branch of government, the mainstream media, unite on an issue, the result is a powerful megaphone of misrepresentation. During the present fiscal cliff negotiations, the most egregious myth perpetrated by the Democratic media complex is that the public supports raising taxes on the successful.
You might believe that the Democrats and mainstream media are right, according to public opinion polling. Just one example, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, found that 60 percent of respondents support increasing taxes on incomes more than $250,000 a year, including a meaningful 39 percent of Republicans. It is seemingly hard to argue with that.
However, when you ask the public what the top tax rate should be, you get a completely different picture of reality.
In a survey conducted by The Hill in February, 61 percent of likely voters said the top tax rate should be 25 percent or less, a rate that is substantially lower than the present top rate, demonstrating majority support for lowering taxes below what they are today. Fully 88 percent said the top rate should be at the current 35 percent, or less. Only 4 percent supported a top tax rate of 40 percent, which is closest to the proposal of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to increase the top rate to 39.6 percent.
This is worth repeating: Only 4 percent of the public supports the tax rate Democrats are trying to force successful small businesses and individuals to pay. This finding destroys the myth that Obama’s election was primarily a mandate for higher taxes.
So why is a majority of the public calling for higher taxes, while at the same time believing the top rate should be lower than it is today?
The answer is that today a majority of the public simply does not know that successful individuals and small businesses are already paying a very progressive tax rate of 35 percent — higher than what the public supports. As conservatives, we have only ourselves to blame for failing to inform them of this reality.
Myths are perpetuated in Washington, with conventional wisdom created by one person and bouncing off hundreds more in a self-reassuring circle of groupthink. But in real America, you can find the truth if you look hard enough.
When the Democratic Party and the fourth branch of government, the mainstream media, unite on an issue, the result is a powerful megaphone of misrepresentation. During the present fiscal cliff negotiations, the most egregious myth perpetrated by the Democratic media complex is that the public supports raising taxes on the successful.
You might believe that the Democrats and mainstream media are right, according to public opinion polling. Just one example, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, found that 60 percent of respondents support increasing taxes on incomes more than $250,000 a year, including a meaningful 39 percent of Republicans. It is seemingly hard to argue with that.
However, when you ask the public what the top tax rate should be, you get a completely different picture of reality.
In a survey conducted by The Hill in February, 61 percent of likely voters said the top tax rate should be 25 percent or less, a rate that is substantially lower than the present top rate, demonstrating majority support for lowering taxes below what they are today. Fully 88 percent said the top rate should be at the current 35 percent, or less. Only 4 percent supported a top tax rate of 40 percent, which is closest to the proposal of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to increase the top rate to 39.6 percent.
This is worth repeating: Only 4 percent of the public supports the tax rate Democrats are trying to force successful small businesses and individuals to pay. This finding destroys the myth that Obama’s election was primarily a mandate for higher taxes.
So why is a majority of the public calling for higher taxes, while at the same time believing the top rate should be lower than it is today?
The answer is that today a majority of the public simply does not know that successful individuals and small businesses are already paying a very progressive tax rate of 35 percent — higher than what the public supports. As conservatives, we have only ourselves to blame for failing to inform them of this reality.
Labels:
Class Warfare,
Polls,
Taxes
Rand Paul: We Should Let Dems Raise Taxes And Then Let Them Own It
SEN. RAND PAUL: I have yet another thought on how we can fix this. Why don't we let the Democrats pass whatever they want? If they are the party of higher taxes, all the Republicans vote present and let the Democrats raise taxes as high as they want to raise them, let Democrats in the Senate raise taxes, let the president sign it and then make them own the tax increase. And when the economy stalls, when the economy sputters, when people lose their jobs, they know which party to blame, the party of high taxes. Let's don't be the party of just almost as high taxes.
LARRY KUDLOW, CNBC: Some people have called that the doomsday scenario. Others have said, 'Look, it's a strategic retreat on the Republicans' behalf.' WWould you vote present for that in the Senate if that came up?
RAND PAUL: Yes, I don't think we have to in the Senate. In the House, they have to because the Democrats don't have the majority. In the Senate, I'm happy not to filibuster it, and I will announce tonight on your show that I will work with Harry Reid to let him pass his big old tax hike with a simple majority if that's what Harry Reid wants, because then they will become the party of high taxes and they can own it.
Labels:
Democrats,
Fiscal Cliff,
Rand Paul,
Republicans,
Senate,
Taxes
Most chilling Michigan video — “There are people under there, oh my God”
◼ The numerous videos of the union mob action in Michigan today show an assault on Steven Crowder, but it actually was potentially much worse as the mob collapsed the tent even as bystanders screamed that there were people inside. - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
...As the union members attacked the Americans For Prosperity tent, a woman cried out “there are people under there, oh my God” (at 1:20). At 1:40, as union members start walking on top of the collapsed tent, a man shouted “hey, there are people in there” but again the crowd didn’t stop, and the union members continued walking on the collapsed tent defiantly as the crowd shouted obscenities and cheered....
...As the union members attacked the Americans For Prosperity tent, a woman cried out “there are people under there, oh my God” (at 1:20). At 1:40, as union members start walking on top of the collapsed tent, a man shouted “hey, there are people in there” but again the crowd didn’t stop, and the union members continued walking on the collapsed tent defiantly as the crowd shouted obscenities and cheered....
526,421 family farms threatened by new death tax
◼ New legislation that jumps the death tax to 55 percent of estates exceeding $1 million threatens 526,421 family farms, of about 25 percent of all farms in America, according to a Senate analysis. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner
If President Obama and Senate Democrats do not act, the federal government will begin taking more than half the value of family farm estates exceeding $1 million beginning next year. This summer, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats passed legislation (S.3412) on a party-line vote that allows Washington to take up to 55 percent, a huge increase over today's top rate of 35 percent, and drop the tax's exemption from $5.1 million to $1 million. The lower exemption -- combined with soaring farm real estate values -- could put more than 420,000 additional farm estates at risk from the death tax.
Farm values are largely tied up in non-liquid assets like land, buildings, and livestock. Many farm and ranch families would be forced to sell their assets to satisfy Washington Democrats' insatiable appetite for tax money. Up to 24 percent of America's farm and ranch families could be forced to hand over a large chunk of their heritage to the Internal Revenue Service when a family member dies. This would economically devastate rural communities. The President and Senate Democrats should join Republicans in rejecting this irresponsible policy.
If President Obama and Senate Democrats do not act, the federal government will begin taking more than half the value of family farm estates exceeding $1 million beginning next year. This summer, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats passed legislation (S.3412) on a party-line vote that allows Washington to take up to 55 percent, a huge increase over today's top rate of 35 percent, and drop the tax's exemption from $5.1 million to $1 million. The lower exemption -- combined with soaring farm real estate values -- could put more than 420,000 additional farm estates at risk from the death tax.
Farm values are largely tied up in non-liquid assets like land, buildings, and livestock. Many farm and ranch families would be forced to sell their assets to satisfy Washington Democrats' insatiable appetite for tax money. Up to 24 percent of America's farm and ranch families could be forced to hand over a large chunk of their heritage to the Internal Revenue Service when a family member dies. This would economically devastate rural communities. The President and Senate Democrats should join Republicans in rejecting this irresponsible policy.
Labels:
Big Government,
Democrats,
Harry Reid,
President/Candidate Obama,
Ruin,
Spending,
Taxes
NFRW: Political Briefing
Talking Points
◼ Senate bill 3637 was introduced late last month by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), who wants to bring it to a vote this week. This bill extends the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, a system that supplements the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
◼ The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) normally insures bank account deposits up to $250,000. During the financial crisis, the TAG program was created to eliminate the cap on insuring deposits from $250,000 to infinity.
◼ The TAG program ensures there will be insurance for deposits for any amount of money, on the condition that the sum of money in a TAG account does not accrue any interest. Normally, wealthy individuals and corporations would not let large sums of money sit in a bank account without accruing interest, preferring to invest that money in the market. TAG changes things because now corporations and wealthy individuals would rather not take a risk by investing in the market when they can have any sum of money insured by taxpayers in a TAG account.
◼ Proponents of TAG argue that by incentivizing people to hold static large sums of money in banks, those banks will be able to lend more. However, according to the FDIC, lending has decreased since TAG was first enacted, not increased.
◼ TAG encourages people to put large sums of money into banks that may be troubled, meaning that if those banks begin to fail, taxpayers will be responsible for paying for any depositor's losses in a TAG account.
◼ As Peter Wallison points out in the American Banker, $1.6 trillion, or 13% of all bank deposits are now a part of the TAG program. The average account size TAG is concerned with has $2 million in it; 19 of the largest banks take 2/3 of taxpayer-backed TAG insurance.
◼ The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has scored Senate bill 3637 and determined that it increases the deficit. Click here to see the brief report.
◼ If the economy recovers and interest rates rise, people will take money out of TAG accounts and invest it to take advantage of the higher interest rates. This could create a problem where banks then stop lending because there is no longer the necessary liquidity to do so, causing any recovery to be cut short. Even still, banks have been lending less since TAG was enacted in January 2011, so the argument that the program enables banks to have sufficient capital at hand to lend fails because it is not incentivizing banks to lend.
◼ It is strange for Democrats to want to put the taxpayer on the line for bailing out corporations and wealthy individuals with liquid assets over $250,000 if their banks fail, but also want to raise taxes on the same wealthy Americans because they believe it will help the middle class.
◼ Finally, TAG was passed as a temporary program, set to expire on December 31, 2012, after which the FDIC would return to business as usual by insuring deposits for up to $250,000. Washington needs to stop renewing temporary programs, especially ones that increase the deficit and inhibit investment in the market. Peter Wallison said it best: "the one good thing about the TAG program is that it was scheduled to end on December 31, 2012."
Last Thursday, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) announced that he will leave the Senate to head the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in Washington DC, come January. This leaves South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley the task of appointing someone to take Sen. DeMint's place until a special election is held in 2014. Speculation from CNN and The Hill on who Gov. Haley will pick includes 5 Republicans:
Rep. Tim Scott, elected in 2010 to serve South Carolina's first congressional district.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, elected in 2010 to serve South Carolina's first congressional district. Before being elected, Gowdy served as the district attorney for South Carolina's seventh judicial circuit.
Henry McMaster, who from 2003 to 2011 served as South Carolina's attorney general. He ran for governor in 2010 but did not gain the Republican nomination.
Jenny Sanford, former first lady of South Carolina. She is an investment banker.
Catherine Templeton, the head of South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Labels:
Harry Reid,
Jim DeMint,
NFRW,
TARP
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Boehner: ‘Let’s Be Honest … We’re Broke’
◼ "The plan we offered is consistent with the president’s call for a balanced approach,” said the Ohio Republican. “We’re still waiting for the White House” to do the same.” - CBS-DC
“The president seems to think that if all he talks about are taxes, and that’s all reporters write about, somehow the rest of us will magically forget that government spending is completely out of control, and that he himself has been insisting on balance,” McConnell said in remarks on the Senate floor.
◼ Reid: If you were expecting a fiscal-cliff deal before Christmas… don’t - Erika Johnsen/HotAir
Of course, same-sex marriage started out as a conservative idea, and lefties resisted. That was back in the day when marriage was patriarchy and oppression.
◼ "Conservative Pundits: Accepting Same-Sex Marriage Is Common Sense." - Althouse
If you don't remember when lefties called it right-wing to support gay marriage and gays in the military, read ◼ "Richard Goldstein’s Heresy Hunt," and article from 2001, referring to a Village Voice writer who despised that notorious right-winger, Andrew Sullivan...
And watch ◼ "The Great Gay Debate" from 2002, with Andrew Sullivan, attacked from the left, at his fiery best. Conservatives missed a great opportunity a decade ago.
If you don't remember when lefties called it right-wing to support gay marriage and gays in the military, read ◼ "Richard Goldstein’s Heresy Hunt," and article from 2001, referring to a Village Voice writer who despised that notorious right-winger, Andrew Sullivan...
And watch ◼ "The Great Gay Debate" from 2002, with Andrew Sullivan, attacked from the left, at his fiery best. Conservatives missed a great opportunity a decade ago.
Labels:
Civil Liberties,
Gay Marriage,
History
The Scaremongers’ Ball
Static made it hard to hear the voice on the other end, but I soon recognized it as that of my friend Henny-Penny, the erstwhile founder of The Holy Order of The Sky Is Falling, now a leading global warming skeptic. “Where are you” I asked.
H-P: In Doha, Qatar at the U.N. Conference on Climate Change, also known as The Scaremongers’ Ball. And, believe me, the delegates are having a ball, chatting one another up furiously as they try to put together a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 which expires at the end of this month.
ME: Isn’t it the treaty that didn’t get a single vote in the U.S. Senate?
H-P: Yes, and it’s good thing, for it would have tied us--but not China and India--to various “greenhouse gas” emissions reductions that would have hurt our economy. They were based on unproved scientific theories, as is the hoped-for new treaty.
ME: What about that conference in Copenhagen in 1997 that got pledges from industrialized nations for $30 billion to go to the so-called developing world?
H-P: That’s expiring, too, and the pledges weren’t mandatory. No telling who has paid.
ME: Aren’t there delegates from about 200 countries? How do they feel about all this?
H-P: Most of them are employees of their governments, posted to the U.N. Their job is to get more money out of the process for their countries. That’s what these conferences are all about. They last a week or so. The delegates get free air travel, free accommodations, free meals and lots of time to gab and have fun.
ME: Don’t they all believe that global warming is leading to disaster?
H-P: Many do. If , for example, you live on a low-lying island in the ocean and you have bought the scaremongers’ theory, you would be scared stiff your island would be awash in a few years.
ME: Many scientists seem convinced that the phenomenon is getting worse by the year.
H-P: Yes, but there are plenty of skeptics among them. Keep in mind that while there has been a moderate uptick in temperature over several decades, it is by no means certain that it is-human made andwill continue for ever and ever. Scientists who look for a cause of it have hit on human consumption of fossil fuels. After all, they are right, humans are fixable, so the problem can be fixed.
They then create computer models to “prove” their theory. Remember that you begin a computer program with assumptions, using whatever data you have. When a dire prediction pops out, the scientists says “Aha, this is the way it will be,” then speaks at a conference, writes a paper, gives interviews, is widely quoted. Before we know it, believer scientists claim that the theory is “settled science.”
It’s not, but the environmentalists love it, for their philosophy, just under the surface and disguised as saving trees, rare birds and animals, is the belief that human beings are wasteful, lead materialistic lives, produce too many children and must be made to lhave a simpler--read “lower”--standard of living. So, if all the sturm und drang results in reduced use of fossil fuels and a shrinking economy, the greater good will have been served--or so they think.
ME: What about the street demonstrations outside the conference hall that I’ve read about in the papers?
H-P: These were orderly. The most popular sign read, “CLIMATE JUSTICE!” Translated, it means, “Don’t write, just send money.” Most of the demonstrators were Qataris or from neighboring low-lying Gulf countries. They have succumbed to the siren song of the scaremongers and really believe they will be doomed without a lot of outside aid to mitigate the rising sea level.
ME: Where is Barack Obama on all of this?
H-P: He hasn’t made any public statements, but the U.S. delegates are all his appointees. And, he must be a climate doomsday believer because he has waged warsteadily on oil, gas and coal production while, on the other hand, subsidizing failing solar companies.
ME: And you say you’re having a good time?
H-P: Yes, because most of what goes on here is blather. These delegates weren’t able to achieve their goals in Copenhagen in 2009, Cancun in 2010 and Durban last year. If they run true to form here, I’ll go home happy, knowing that my former THOOTSIF Pontiff, Al Gore, will be disappointed.
Labels:
Global Warming,
Peter Hannaford
75% of Obama's Proposed Tax Hikes to Go Toward New Spending
◼ According to the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee, $1.2 trillion of the proposed $1.6 trillion in tax hikes would go toward new spending, while only $400 billion would go toward deficit reduction. - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard
"Spending under that plan would increase $1 trillion above the levels agreed to in the Budget Control Act, as signed into law. We agreed to the Budget Control Act 16 months ago, in August 2011, and we raised the debt ceiling and agreed to reduce spending. We raised the debt ceiling $2.1 trillion and agreed to reduce spending $2.1 trillion. The President's plan would take out over $1.1 trillion of those spending limitations that are in current law. I repeat, spending will increase more than $1 trillion above the already projected growth in spending," Sessions added.◼ Obama has hired 101 new federal employees PER DAY since taking office - Andrew Malcolm/IBD
"Our spending is growing. It is not decreasing. It is already projected to grow, but the President's proposal is to have it grow even faster than the law currently calls for."
In the 1,420 days since he took the oath of office, the federal government has daily hired on average 101 new employees. Every day. Seven days a week. All 202 weeks. That makes 143,000 more federal workers than when Obama talked forever on that cold day in January of 2009.
Under Obama the total federal workforce has surpassed two million for the first time since the first Clinton term, now sitting about the 2.2 ,million level.
Now comes a new poll revealing that Americans know what's going on.
Labels:
Big Government,
Debt,
DEBT CEILING,
President/Candidate Obama,
Spending,
Taxes
Fighting for the freedom to work without coercion; Update: Dem threatens “There will be blood”
◼ MANY great links here: Right to Work laws protect the right of employees to choose for themselves whether or not to join or financially support a union. - Michelle Malkin
Today in Michigan, legislators are expected to ◼ approve a historic right to work bill.
If it is passed and signed into law, Michigan would become the 24th right-to-work state, banning requirements that nonunion employees pay unions for negotiating contracts and other services.
Democratic lawmakers and union backers acknowledge that they have little chance of stopping the tide, given the Republican-dominated Legislature and GOP Gov. Rick Snyder, who has pledged to sign the measure into law.
In an interview Tuesday with WWJ-AM, Mr. Snyder said he expected the bills to be on his desk later this week, calling them “good legislation.” He said the intention is to give workers a choice, not to target unions.
“This is about being pro-worker,” Mr. Snyder said.
◼ Teacher ‘sick out’ for right-to-work protest closes some Michigan schools - Michelle Malkin
As an email directed to retired Michigan Education Association members said: “Take a lesson from Wisconsin, brothers and sisters, protests alone won’t do it. Cause mayhem!”◼ Michigan Approves Curbs on Unions - Matthew Dolan and Kris Maher/WSJ
◼ Michigan Democrat legislator Douglas Geiss threatens: “There will be blood.” - Twitchy
Pics, reports: Union goons protest right-to-work vote in Lansing, Mich.; Riot police on scene; Update: ‘There will be blood’; : Mich. Dems proudly tweet quote; Update: Michael Moore thinks it’s awesome teachers failed to do their jobs; Update: Mob rule reigns at the link.
◼ As union violence escalates, Mich. House Dems delete tweet promising ‘there will be blood’ - Twitchy
◼ VIDEO: Violent Mob Attacks AFP Booth In Michigan
Never allow these union thugs to tell you they’re peacefully protesting. This isn’t peaceful — it’s violent, hateful and physically threatening.
◼ Video gallery of union thuggery in Michigan; Updated - Michelle Malkin
◼ BREAKING VIDEO: MI Union Thugs Greet Right-To-Work Law With Thuggery And Cupcakes, But Mostly Thuggery - The Other McCain
◼ Michigan Right to Work Protests and Vote Live (Bills pass House)(Unions turn violent) - Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion
After making a big deal of publicly supporting the "Affordable Care Act," Walmart Bails On Obamacare-Sticks Taxpayers With Employee Healthcare Costs
◼ Now, Huffington Post is reporting that the party is over for many more existing Walmart employees, along with all employees hired after February 1, 2012 that the company can classify as “part-time.” - Rick Ungar/Forbes
Employees hired after Feb. 1, 2012, who fail to average the magic 30-hours per week requiring a company to provide a healthcare benefit, will lose their healthcare benefits on the following January. Part-time workers hired after Jan. 15, 2011, but before Feb. 1, 2012, will be able to hang onto their Walmart health care benefit if they work at least 24 hours a week.
Anyone hired before 2011 will not be cut off from the company provided health insurance.
Of course, Walmart carefully controls employee work schedules and will have the opportunity to design worker hours in a manner that will keep employees at a level below the threshold required to accomplish company healthcare benefits pursuant to the law.
Employees hired after Feb. 1, 2012, who fail to average the magic 30-hours per week requiring a company to provide a healthcare benefit, will lose their healthcare benefits on the following January. Part-time workers hired after Jan. 15, 2011, but before Feb. 1, 2012, will be able to hang onto their Walmart health care benefit if they work at least 24 hours a week.
Anyone hired before 2011 will not be cut off from the company provided health insurance.
Of course, Walmart carefully controls employee work schedules and will have the opportunity to design worker hours in a manner that will keep employees at a level below the threshold required to accomplish company healthcare benefits pursuant to the law.
Labels:
Business,
Economy,
Layoffs,
Obamacare,
Obamanomics,
ObamaTAX,
Skyrocketing Costs,
Unemployment,
WalMart
Republicans’ Easy Way to Defuse Social Issues
◼ Republicans’ Easy Way to Defuse Social Issues - Conservative Byte
...If states want to legalize marijuana then let them do it. Colorado seems to have the broadest laws and the state has not sunk into the earth’s core. Other states should look at what they are doing and Republicans should stick to the view that it is a state’s rights issue. The feds should keep their hands off.
These are just two social issues that need to be defined at the state level. Republicans should be on the forefront arguing that each state has the right to make their own decision just like they have argued for 40 years to have abortion decided at the state level. Then people can continue to vote with their feet as was designed by the Constitution.
◼ Republicans Must Reshuffle Nomination Deck for Future Presidential Hope - Conservative Byte
...To put it bluntly, it’s time for the Republican Party to let the Democrats play games in the snow or learn how to eat grits overnight and start a move toward letting the big boys and girls who want to be president play in a big-time arena. For goodness sakes, start the GOP nomination contest off in what continues to be the nation’s bellwether for a November presidential showdown: Florida.
It’s not that voters in the Sunshine State are smarter. It really isn’t that they are more moderate or conservative than the GOP as a whole. Rather, it’s the simple fact that a candidate who can win Florida is a candidate who proves that he or she can handle a large number of big media markets, raise the necessary funds to stage a first-class candidacy, and can turn voters out in large numbers....
National press and pundits can build up or tear down candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire, but in Florida every section of the state is a “nation” unto itself. The GOP needs a true “game change,” and “Florida first” in 2016 can provide it.
◼ California Republicans Need To Cooperate With Latinos On Border Issues - Tom Del Beccaro/Forbes
Post election analysis is a favorite American past time. For any party that loses an election, the questions rightfully center on which voting blocs they need to reach for the next election. For Republicans nationally and especially in California, that discussion must be focused on Latinos.
...If states want to legalize marijuana then let them do it. Colorado seems to have the broadest laws and the state has not sunk into the earth’s core. Other states should look at what they are doing and Republicans should stick to the view that it is a state’s rights issue. The feds should keep their hands off.
These are just two social issues that need to be defined at the state level. Republicans should be on the forefront arguing that each state has the right to make their own decision just like they have argued for 40 years to have abortion decided at the state level. Then people can continue to vote with their feet as was designed by the Constitution.
◼ Republicans Must Reshuffle Nomination Deck for Future Presidential Hope - Conservative Byte
...To put it bluntly, it’s time for the Republican Party to let the Democrats play games in the snow or learn how to eat grits overnight and start a move toward letting the big boys and girls who want to be president play in a big-time arena. For goodness sakes, start the GOP nomination contest off in what continues to be the nation’s bellwether for a November presidential showdown: Florida.
It’s not that voters in the Sunshine State are smarter. It really isn’t that they are more moderate or conservative than the GOP as a whole. Rather, it’s the simple fact that a candidate who can win Florida is a candidate who proves that he or she can handle a large number of big media markets, raise the necessary funds to stage a first-class candidacy, and can turn voters out in large numbers....
National press and pundits can build up or tear down candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire, but in Florida every section of the state is a “nation” unto itself. The GOP needs a true “game change,” and “Florida first” in 2016 can provide it.
◼ California Republicans Need To Cooperate With Latinos On Border Issues - Tom Del Beccaro/Forbes
Post election analysis is a favorite American past time. For any party that loses an election, the questions rightfully center on which voting blocs they need to reach for the next election. For Republicans nationally and especially in California, that discussion must be focused on Latinos.
Labels:
Analysis,
Republicans
Nine years ago, California Democrat Gray Davis became the first U.S. governor in 82 years to be recalled by voters. The state’s 20 million taxpayers still bear the cost of his four years and 10 months on the job.
◼ $822,000 Worker Shows California Leads U.S. Pay Giveaway - Mark Niquette, Michael B. Marois & Rodney Yap/Bloomberg
Davis escalated salaries and benefits for 164,000 state workers, including a 34 percent raise for prison guards, the first of a series of steps in which he and successors saddled California with a legacy of dysfunction. Today, the state’s highest-paid employees make far more than comparable workers elsewhere in almost all job and wage categories, from public safety to health care, base pay to overtime.
Payroll data compiled by Bloomberg on 1.4 million public employees in the 12 most populous states show that California has set a pattern of lax management, inefficient operations and out-of-control costs. From coast to coast, states are cutting funding for schools, public safety and the poor as they struggle with fallout left by politicians who made pay-and-pension promises that taxpayers couldn’t afford.
“It was completely avoidable,” said David Crane, a public-policy lecturer at Stanford University.
“All it took was for political leaders to think more about the general population and the future, rather than their political futures,” said Crane, a Democrat who worked as an economic adviser to former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. “Citizens should be mad as hell, and they shouldn’t take it anymore.”
Davis escalated salaries and benefits for 164,000 state workers, including a 34 percent raise for prison guards, the first of a series of steps in which he and successors saddled California with a legacy of dysfunction. Today, the state’s highest-paid employees make far more than comparable workers elsewhere in almost all job and wage categories, from public safety to health care, base pay to overtime.
Payroll data compiled by Bloomberg on 1.4 million public employees in the 12 most populous states show that California has set a pattern of lax management, inefficient operations and out-of-control costs. From coast to coast, states are cutting funding for schools, public safety and the poor as they struggle with fallout left by politicians who made pay-and-pension promises that taxpayers couldn’t afford.
“It was completely avoidable,” said David Crane, a public-policy lecturer at Stanford University.
“All it took was for political leaders to think more about the general population and the future, rather than their political futures,” said Crane, a Democrat who worked as an economic adviser to former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. “Citizens should be mad as hell, and they shouldn’t take it anymore.”
Labels:
California,
Economy,
Entitlements,
Public Sector,
Spending,
Unions
Monday, December 10, 2012
PARADISE LOST: CA TO PROVIDE FREE CELL PHONES FOR HOMELESS
◼ In California, the unemployment rate may be above 10.2%, and the state debt may be above $16 billion, the state’s GDP may be in serious trouble and businesses may be leaving in droves due to ever-increasing tax rates, but that isn’t going to stop the gravy train for the state’s poor and dispossessed. - Breitbart News
The new program will give beneficiaries some 250 minutes of time and 250 free text messages every month.
◼ On the other hand: Overcriminalization: Jail Time for Charging a Cell Phone, Drying Clothes - David Jackman/Heritage's Foundry
Did you know that you could be put in jail for charging your cell phone? Or for hanging your clothes out to dry? These are just two examples of recent events illustrating the burden that overcriminalization puts on the poorest among us.
Late last month, a homeless Floridaman, 28-year-old Darren Kersey, was arrested for charging his cell phone at a public charging station. The charge? “Theft of city utilities.”
Sergeant Anthony Frangioni justified his action in the police report, stating that “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.”
How much does this so-called theft cost? “Cell phone chargers…run about seven cents a month,” said a spokesperson for Tampa Electric Company.
This arrest is especially questionable since there are free charging stations for electric cars all around the Sarasota area. Thankfully, the judge threw out the case due to a lack of legal justification for the arrest.
The new program will give beneficiaries some 250 minutes of time and 250 free text messages every month.
◼ On the other hand: Overcriminalization: Jail Time for Charging a Cell Phone, Drying Clothes - David Jackman/Heritage's Foundry
Did you know that you could be put in jail for charging your cell phone? Or for hanging your clothes out to dry? These are just two examples of recent events illustrating the burden that overcriminalization puts on the poorest among us.
Late last month, a homeless Floridaman, 28-year-old Darren Kersey, was arrested for charging his cell phone at a public charging station. The charge? “Theft of city utilities.”
Sergeant Anthony Frangioni justified his action in the police report, stating that “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.”
How much does this so-called theft cost? “Cell phone chargers…run about seven cents a month,” said a spokesperson for Tampa Electric Company.
This arrest is especially questionable since there are free charging stations for electric cars all around the Sarasota area. Thankfully, the judge threw out the case due to a lack of legal justification for the arrest.
Labels:
California,
Spending,
Welfare
The Rice vs Kerry battle has wider implications. An open Senate seat can mean an opportunity for Scott Brown to get back into the Senate.
◼ Did Hillary Put One Over Obama One Last Time? - Daniel Greenfield/Front Page
If Susan Rice fails to become the next Secretary of State it will be due less to Republican Senators and more to the quiet civil war of staffers that has been raging inside the Obama Administration for the last four years. While Obama’s people have retained most of their hold on domestic policy, foreign policy has been slipping into the hands of Clinton loyalists. And with Hillary Clinton leaving, allowing her position to fall into the hands of the woman who betrayed her would be a reversal of the Clintonization of Obama’s foreign policy....
The Clintons know that an attack from the right will have no traction, that is why they instead veered to the left, targeting Rice on Keystone. They know that attacking a black Obama loyalist is dangerous territory, so they outsourced the work to African hands who are calling Rice to account for her sympathy for African tyrants.
The endgame is to create another sticking points for the Democrats to make Rice seem not worth defending against the Republicans. It’s an effective pincer movement that may end up spelling the doom of Susan Rice’s career. Once you’ve tried to get through the gate and failed, the resistance to trying a second time will be far higher.
Orchestrating John Kerry’s closing number as Secretary of State would give the Clintons a moral and political victory, while humiliating the Obama loyalists one more time. The Clintons are hardly conservative, about as much as Kerry is, but in the face of the radical left that is now running things, they tend to look it and have staked out that corner of the office. Foreign policy, particularly Iraq, was where Obama picked his fight with Hillary Clinton. Hijacking Obama’s foreign policy has been Hillary’s revenge.
The editorials are already lining up.
If Susan Rice fails to become the next Secretary of State it will be due less to Republican Senators and more to the quiet civil war of staffers that has been raging inside the Obama Administration for the last four years. While Obama’s people have retained most of their hold on domestic policy, foreign policy has been slipping into the hands of Clinton loyalists. And with Hillary Clinton leaving, allowing her position to fall into the hands of the woman who betrayed her would be a reversal of the Clintonization of Obama’s foreign policy....
The Clintons know that an attack from the right will have no traction, that is why they instead veered to the left, targeting Rice on Keystone. They know that attacking a black Obama loyalist is dangerous territory, so they outsourced the work to African hands who are calling Rice to account for her sympathy for African tyrants.
The endgame is to create another sticking points for the Democrats to make Rice seem not worth defending against the Republicans. It’s an effective pincer movement that may end up spelling the doom of Susan Rice’s career. Once you’ve tried to get through the gate and failed, the resistance to trying a second time will be far higher.
Orchestrating John Kerry’s closing number as Secretary of State would give the Clintons a moral and political victory, while humiliating the Obama loyalists one more time. The Clintons are hardly conservative, about as much as Kerry is, but in the face of the radical left that is now running things, they tend to look it and have staked out that corner of the office. Foreign policy, particularly Iraq, was where Obama picked his fight with Hillary Clinton. Hijacking Obama’s foreign policy has been Hillary’s revenge.
The editorials are already lining up.
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