Sen. Harry Reid Could Be Recalled Out Of Office

He may still get voted out. (HT Wikimedia)



As you are aware, the Democrats got slaughtered in last months midterm election. One democrat who survived was Senate majority leader Harry Reid. However, that may not last. From the Washington Times:

"With most Americans distracted by holiday plans, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, has sprung another Christmas surprise, vowing to ram through a far-left agenda in the waning days of 2010. Last year, he put a giant lump of coal in Americans' stockings with Christmas Eve passage of Obamacare.

This year, he has tried to force through a pork-loaded $1.1 trillion spendathon, dumping the nearly 2,000-page omnibus bill into the hopper four days before the Senate was supposed to adjourn. That hit a snag when Republicans actually revolted. But he also wants to ram through consent of the New START and amnesty for illegal aliens (the Dream Act) and overturn the military law barring homosexuality. Who knows what other tricks he has up his Grinchly sleeve?

Mr. Reid, who has called opponents "evil mongers," was re-elected in November to another six-year term. So what is a Nevadan who is appalled at Mr. Reid's arrogance to do?

Nevada is one of 11 states with broadly worded recall laws that allow petitioners to give citizens a chance to recall public officials - which may include members of Congress and senators - before their terms end. In fact, given the performance of the 111th Congress, 2011 may become the Year of Recall.

Here's Nevada's language:

"Every public officer in the State of Nevada is subject, as herein provided, to recall from office by the registered voters of the state, or of the county, district, or municipality which he represents." (Article 2, Sec. 9).

When I (Robert Knight) called the Nevada secretary of state's office, a nice lady asked me, "Is this about Harry Reid? No, you can't recall U.S. senators." The office sent a 1978 letter from the secretary of state that says pretty much the same thing.

The letter acknowledges that "there are no cases directly interpreting the language of Article 2, Section 9 regarding its applicability to federal officers." But citing cases involving other offices and noting that the provision describes officers "in" the state and not "of" the state, the letter concludes that the U.S. and state constitutions bar recalling U.S. senators. As Bill Clinton might say, it depends on what the meaning of "in" is. But we're still left without a federal court ruling.

The American Civil Rights Union has found that 11 states - Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin - have constitutional or statutory provisions for recall of "all," "every" or "any" elected officials. Together, these states have 21 incumbent U.S. senators, whom recall petition drives could put on the ballot in a special election. They include Democrats and Republicans. For more information, go to recallcongressnow.org.

Discontent with Congress is at an all-time high, according to Gallup's 2010 Confidence in Institutions survey, which ranks Congress at the very bottom of a long list, with just 11 percent of Americans registering a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence" in Congress (as contrasted with the military, which garners 76 percent).

If cases arise in several states, the issue will finally face constitutional scrutiny.

Meanwhile, it wouldn't hurt for the "world's greatest deliberative body" to know that a restive citizenry is determined to hold it more accountable."

If folks in the state of Nevada have a resolution to Recall Harry Reid, I would certainly support it given the great damage he's done to this country.

Background Reading:

Washington Times: Reckless Congress makes case for recall

Another ObamaCare Side Effect: Death Panels Exposed Through Breast Cancer

Every day, it gets more revealing. (HT Michelle Malkin)



Any woman reading this should find this post pretty disturbing. Death panels & rationing has hit the breast cancer front. From the Washington Examiner:

"OnFriday, the Food and Drug Administration could doom thousands of breast cancer victims. The FDA will be considering the unprecedented step of revoking approval for Avastin, a drug that represents the last hope for women with late-stage breast cancer. About 17,500 women a year are treated with the drug, which cuts off blood flow to tumors. It does not cure cancer, but it does stop its growth and extend life.

Doctors and patients were then stunned last summer when the ODAC ruled, by a vote of 12-1, that the drug did not produce clinically meaningful results. Why did the panel deny the obvious evidence of Avastin's effectiveness? One member of the FDA's panel, Jean Grem of the University of Nebraska, said, "We aren't supposed to talk about cost, but that's another issue."

The Obama administration wants to ration health care in order to help pay for universal coverage and other Obamacare goodies. Donald Berwick, Obama's controversial nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has explicitly endorsed rationing. The CMS is now considering whether to refuse Medicare payments for Provenge -- another expensive but effective late-stage prostate cancer treatment.

Government bean counters were never supposed to determine what your treatment options are, and patient advocacy groups are justifiably outraged. If Avastin and other expensive wonder drugs are denied approval because of costs, proponents of government-run health care will have to no choice but to admit "death panels" have gone from rhetoric to reality."

This bears repeating: with the Federal Government's track record of bungling things like Social Security, Education, and the Post Office, why on God's green earth would you want it handling health care?? That's doesn't even make bad sense!

Background Reading:

Washington Examiner: Examiner Editorial: Breast cancer drug offers glimpse of death panels

Political Caption Of The Day

This could be the updated cover photo of David Limbaugh's Bankrupt. (HT Mrk Levin)

A Giant "Successful Failure"

The biggest ponzi scheme of all. Thanks FDR. (HT Dreamstime.com)



A hard hitting piece by Marc Rudov has highlighted the ultimate in dependency on big government. Here's the punch line from the American Thinker:

"Social Security's failure is rooted not in actuarial anomalies, but in the violation of immutable psychology: people succeed only when they are responsible for their own decisions and actions. When government manages your life, it will fail -- and therefore, you will fail.

Examples of socialism's failure abound -- from the Weimar Republic to the Soviet Union to Cuba. Even the history of Thanksgiving provides such a lesson. The colonists at Plymouth Plantation were starving because of laziness and dependence on the industrious few who produced food. In 1623, Massachusetts Governor Bradford fixed the problem by abolishing socialism and mandating self-sufficiency. He gave each household a parcel of land and the right to keep or trade any food produced -- or face starvation. End of famine."

One way to take back this country is to phase out massive entitlement programs like this, and repeal Obamacare.

Background Reading:

American Thinker: Social Security: Successful Failure

The Omnibus Bill: The Latest Earmarked Monstrosity

This time it's more ridiculous spending. (HT AR15.com)



Right now in our nation's capital, The Omnibus bill is all the rage. Given that it's 1,924 pages long, and pack with over 6,400 earmarks, it is indeed outrageous. Here's a sample of those earmarks, HT Drudge Report:

$277,000 for potato pest management in Wisconsin
$246,000 for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and Minnesota
$522,000 for cranberry and blueberry disease and breeding in New Jersey
$500,000 for oyster safety in Florida
$349,000 for swine waste management in North Carolina
$413,000 for peanut research in Alabama
$247,000 for virus free wine grapes in Washington
$208,000 beaver management in North Carolina
$94,000 for blackbird management in Louisiana
$165,000 for maple syrup research in Vermont
$235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada
$100,000 for the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage Visitor’s Center in New York
$300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii
$400,000 for solar parking canopies and plug-in electric stations in Kansas
$727,000 to compensate ranchers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan whenever endangered wolves eat their cattle

Quite the laundry list isn't it? Nothing in there that I can support. I've been critical of Sen. John McCain's lack of covservatism in the past, but I agree with him when he said the following yesterday:

“Mr. President, at 12:15 p.m. this afternoon, my office received a copy of the omnibus appropriations bill. It is 1,924 pages long and contains the funding for all 12 of the annual appropriations bills for a grand total of over $1.1 Trillion. It is important to note that the 1,924 pages is only the legislative language and does not include the thousands of pages of report language which contain the details of the billions of dollars in earmarks and, I’m sure, countless policy riders.

“While we continue to uncover which earmarks the appropriators decided to fund – thanks to a new online database – we at least know what earmarks were requested by Members and how much those projects would cost the American people if they were all funded. Taxpayers against Earmarks, www.washingtonwatch.com and Taxpayers for Common Sense joined forces to create this database. According to the data they compiled – for fiscal year 2011 Members requested over 39,000 earmarks totaling over $130 billion. Absolutely disgraceful. I encourage every American to go to the website www.endingspending.com study it, and make yourselves aware of how your elected officials seek to spend your money.

“One thing is abundantly clear to me – that the majority has not learned the lessons of last month’s election. The American people could not have been more clear. They are tired of wasteful spending. They are tired of big government. They are tired of sweetheart deals for special interests. They are tired of business as usual in Washington. And they are tired of massive bills – just like this one - put together behind closed doors, and rammed through the Congress at the last moment so that no one has the opportunity to read them and no one really knows what kind of waste is in them.

“Let me be clear about one thing – if the Majority Leader insists on proceeding to this monstrosity - the American people will know what’s in it. I will be joined by many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle to ensure that every single word of this bill is read aloud here on the Senate floor.

“I encourage my friends on the other side of the aisle to rethink their strategy and move forward with a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government into next year when a new Congress takes over – a Congress that was elected by the American people on November 2nd. “The majority may be able to strong arm enough members into voting for this omnibus – but they will not win in the end. The American people will remember – and I predict that we will see a repeat of November 2nd in the very near future.”

That's conservatism in action. Calling out the pigs at the trough. Needs to be done a lot more often. As Sen. McCain said, go to endingspending.com and take a look at how this rogue congress and white house want to spend your money. Bookmark it!!

Background Reading:

Drudge Report: THE LAST FEAST: 6,488 EARMARKS

Despite Midterm Bloodbath, Democrats Want Tax Increases

On tax policy and the economy, this MUST be done. (HT AR15.com)



Remember in my last post when I stated that President Obama and the Democrats still want to raise your taxes? Well, here's the proof. From WSJ.com:

"'It is not a sensible way to run a country to have this magnitude of tax issues left to annual uncertainty," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner earlier this month, and he's certainly right about that. But at the current moment the single biggest obstacle to more certainty is his boss, President Obama, who (before this week) still refuses to compromise on the tax increase set to whack the economy in a mere 30 days.

Republicans won 63 House seats running against those tax increases, but Mr. Obama still seems under the spell of the dead enders led by soon-to-be-former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The magnitude of the looming tax increase ought to snap him out of this hypnosis. If the Democrats who still run Capitol Hill for another month fail to act, tens of millions of American households will see their paychecks shrink immediately in the New Year.

Capital gains and dividend tax rates will climb to 20% and 39.6%, respectively, from 15%, and the top two income tax rates will climb to 38% and 41% (including deduction phaseouts), from 33% and 35%. The typical family with an income between $40,000 and $75,000 a year will pay as much as $2,000 more in 2011, as the 10% tax rate bracket and the $1,000 per child tax credit vanish.

This could have been resolved months ago, except that the White House and Congressional Democrats insist that some taxes must be raised. Mr. Obama wants the lower rates to expire on incomes of $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. Dozens of Democrats revolted against that in the campaign, so the latest gambit, courtesy of New York Senator Chuck Schumer, would raise that threshold to $1 million.

Republicans shouldn't be suckered into raising taxes on anyone, especially not on small business job creators. The U.S. corporate tax rate of 39% (a combination of state average and federal rates) is already about 15 percentage points above the international average, and for the first time in a generation the personal rate of 41% would rise above the average of our overseas rivals. That's all before the 3.8% surtax on investment income arrives in 2013, courtesy of ObamaCare.

Because most nations tax their companies at a business rate lower than the personal rate, the Tax Foundation says the Obama plan would mean that many Subchapter S corporations in the U.S. would pay "virtually the highest tax rates in the world on their business income." In other words, the after-tax rate of return on investment in the U.S. would fall relative to investing in Europe or Asia. This is an invitation to outsource more jobs. The U.S. should be cutting tax rates to become more competitive, as President Obama's deficit reduction commission and tax reform advisory panel have recommended.

Even in this lame duck liberal Congress, there is a bipartisan majority in both houses to prevent this tax increase. The only obstacles are a defeated, willful liberal minority that wants to extract one more pound of flesh from the private economy, and a President who still fails to comprehend that jobs and wealth are created outside of government and politics. If Democrats won't compromise this month, the first vote in the new Republican House in January should be to repeal the Obama-Pelosi-Schumer tax increase."

At this point, it won't come to that after the so-called compromise. Nevertheless, this is still one of the key reasons that the left must be defeated continually so we can keep our nation and society intact.

Background Reading:

WSJ.com: The Dead Enders

Sen. Sherrod Brown - A Must See Video

Even after the election, He still doesn't get it. (HT Wikipedia)



Despite his party's shellacking in last month's midterm elections, Sen. Sherrod Brown D-OH is still pushing a failed economic model (link to the video is below). He believes that the best way to grow the economy is through unemployment benefits. House Speaker Nazzi Pelocchio said this nonsense back in July, which is one reason why Americans fired her from that post last month. A great explanation come from The Right Scoop:

"We’ve been extending unemployment benefits for 2 years or more now, and has it grown our economy? Have we seen any new jobs because of unemployment benefits? I didn’t think so, and that simple test just proves how ludicrous this really is.

Furthermore, by keeping the tax code the same for at least several years are more, it will tell business that they can now spend that money they’ve saved up because of economic uncertainty, which will in effect create jobs. Of course, we have to do more than just keeping the tax code the same, like repealing Obamacare. But keeping the tax code the same, especially in a recession, is crucial."

Amen. Also state the case that President Obama and the Democrats still want to raise Taxes. Never forget that.

Background Reading:

The Right Scoop: Sen Sherrod Brown: Best way to grow economy is unemployment benefits

The (Bogus) Federal Payfreeze

This time it's symbolism. (HT AR15.com):



So the President has orders a pay freeze. Sounds good, but when you peel back this onion, it's merely a token. It doesn't address the step or cost of living increases, meaning the budget will be as bloated as ever. More from the American Spectator:

"In his press conference, Obama claimed that the move would save the government $28 billion over five years. Taking that number at face value, that would represent a sixth-tenths of one percent reduction in the projected $4.52 trillion deficit over that same period (2011 through 2015). It would be the equivalent of a person who expects to rack up $10,000 of of credit card debt over the next five years touting the fact that he's found a way to reduce his expenses by $60 over that time period. In football terms, it would be like a kickoff return that gains about a half of a yard."

Not much of a "change", is it??

Background Reading:

American Spectator: The Federal Pay Freeze, In Context

11 Signs Of The Times

The fight for the country rages on. (HT AR15.com)



As you know, one of the reasons that President Obama and the Democrats were crucified in last months midterm elections is because of the economy. here are some glimpses from DailyMarkets.com:

"#1 In November 2006, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. Today, the “official” U.S. unemployment rate has been at 9.5 percent or greater for more than a year.

#2 At Thanksgiving back in 2006, 26 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, there are over 42 million Americans on food stamps and that number is climbing rapidly.

#3 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States fell from $51,726 in 2008 to $50,221 in 2009. Median household income declined the year before that too. Meanwhile, prices have continued to rise throughout that period.

#4 At the end of the third quarter in 2006, 47 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”. At the end of the third quarter in 2010, 860 banks were on the FDIC “problem list”.

#5 California home builders began construction on 1,811 homes during the month of August, which was down 77% from August 2006.

#6 In 2006, new home sales in the United States were near record highs. In 2010, new home sales in the United States are at record lows as the following graph from Calculated Risk demonstrates….

#7 A recent survey of last year’s college graduates found that 80 percent moved right back home with their parents after graduation. That was up substantially from 63 percent in 2006.

#8 According to one analysis, the United States has lost a total of 10.5 million jobs since 2007.

#9 In 2006, the Social Security program took in somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 billion more dollars than it paid out. Of course the U.S. government spent all that money instead of setting it aside. So now more U.S. retirees than ever are ready to start drawing on Social Security and a “tipping point” is rapidly coming. Social Security will pay out more in benefits in 2010 than it receives in payroll taxes. This was not supposed to happen until at least 2015, and the years ahead look very, very grim….

#10 The U.S. government’s debt ceiling has been raised six times since the beginning of 2006.

#11 In 2006, the U.S. national debt was getting close to 9 trillion dollars. Today, the U.S. national debt is well past 13 trillion dollars and is rapidly closing in on 14 trillion dollars.

So is there much hope for an economic turnaround any time soon?

No, not really.

Even the Federal Reserve, usually one of the biggest cheerleaders for the U.S. economy, is not very optimistic right now. In fact, the Fed has just announced that they are projecting that unemployment will still be at about 8 percent when the next presidential election arrives in 2012.

Actually, if the official unemployment rate was to get that low by then that would really be something to celebrate. Many economists fear that unemployment will be even higher than it is now by then."

Obviously President Bush was a part of it. He made some missteps on the domestic side. However, he was aided by a Democrat controlled congress that was sworn in back in January 2007. You know, the one that has those abysmal approval ratings, with soon to be ex House Speaker Nazzi Pelocchio, who was fired from her post last month.

Background Reading:

DailyMarkets.com: 11 Statistics That Reveal Just How Far The U.S. Economy Has Fallen Over The Past Four Years

Bradley Manning: Biggest Intelligence Leak In History

Sellouts. (HT UK Guardian)



WikiLeaks has a worldwide impact. From the UK Guardian:

"An innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. But its contents will send shockwaves through the world's chancelleries and deliver what one official described as "an epic blow" to US diplomacy.

The 1.6 gigabytes of text files on the memory stick ran to millions of words: the contents of more than 250,000 leaked state department cables, sent from, or to, US embassies around the world.

What will emerge in the days and weeks ahead is an unprecedented picture of secret diplomacy as conducted by the planet's sole superpower. There are 251,287 dispatches in all, from more than 250 US embassies and consulates. They reveal how the US deals with both its allies and its enemies – negotiating, pressuring and sometimes brusquely denigrating foreign leaders, all behind the firewalls of ciphers and secrecy classifications that diplomats assume to be secure. The leaked cables range up to the "SECRET NOFORN" level, which means they are meant never to be shown to non-US citizens.

The US military believes it knows where the leak originated. A soldier, Bradley Manning, 22, has been held in solitary confinement for the last seven months and is facing a court martial in the new year. The former intelligence analyst is charged with unauthorised downloads of classified material while serving on an army base outside Baghdad. He is suspected of taking copies not only of the state department archive, but also of video of an Apache helicopter crew gunning down civilians in Baghdad, and hundreds of thousands of daily war logs from military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

It was childishly easy, according to the published chatlog of a conversation Manning had with a fellow-hacker. "I would come in with music on a CD-RW labelled with something like 'Lady Gaga' … erase the music … then write a compressed split file. No one suspected a thing ... [I] listened and lip-synched to Lady Gaga's Telephone while exfiltrating possibly the largest data spillage in American history." He said that he "had unprecedented access to classified networks 14 hours a day 7 days a week for 8+ months".

Manning told his correspondent Adrian Lamo, who subsequently denounced him to the authorities: "Hillary Clinton and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format, to the public ... Everywhere there's a US post, there's a diplomatic scandal that will be revealed. Worldwide anarchy in CSV format ... It's beautiful, and horrifying."

He added: "Information should be free. It belongs in the public domain."

Manning, according to the chatlogs, says he uploaded the copies to WikiLeaks, the "freedom of information activists" as he called them, led by Australian former hacker Julian Assange.

Assange and his circle apparently decided against immediately making the cables public. Instead they embarked on staged disclosure of the other material – aimed, as they put it on their website, at "maximising political impact".

This isn't the first time a member of the gay community has sold out their country. From AnnCoulter.com:

"Maybe there's a reason gays have traditionally been kept out of the intelligence services, apart from the fact that closeted gay men are easy to blackmail. Gays have always been suspicious of that rationale and perhaps they're right.

The most damaging spies in British history were the Cambridge Five, also called "the "Magnificent Five": Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, Donald Maclean and John Cairncross. They were highly placed members of British intelligence, all secretly working for the KGB.

The only one who wasn't gay was Philby. Burgess and Blunt were flamboyantly gay. Indeed, the Russians set Burgess up with a boyfriend as soon as he defected to the Soviet Union.

The Magnificent Five's American compatriot Michael Straight was -- ironically -- bisexual, as was Whittaker Chambers, at least during the period that he was a spy. And of course, there's David Brock.

So many Soviet spies were gay that, according to intelligence reporter Phillip Knightley, the Comintern was referred to as "the Homintern."

Bradley's friends told the Times they suspected "his desperation for acceptance -- or delusions of grandeur" may have prompted his document dump.

Let's check our "Gay Profile at a Glance" and ... let's see ... desperate for acceptance ... delusions of grandeur ... yep, they're both on the gay subset list!

Obviously, the vast majority of gays are loyal Americans -- and witty and stylish to boot! But a small percentage of gays are going to be narcissistic hothouse flowers like Bradley Manning.

For liberals, gays in the military is a win-win proposition. Either gays in the military works, or it wrecks the military, both of which outcomes they enthusiastically support."

This will make the argument of profiling as well as keeping gays out of intelligence areas of the military, to say the least. No telling how much damage was done.

Background Reading:

UK Guardian (Via Mark Levin): How 250,000 US embassy cables were leaked
AnnCoulter.Com: Bradley Manning: Poster Boy For 'Don't ask, Don't Tell'

A Healthcare Irony

Irony from the purple shirts. (HT Wikipedia)



In a glittering irony, Children of workers in an SEIU affiliate are getting their health coverage dropped. From WSJ.com:

"One of the largest union-administered health-insurance funds in New York is dropping coverage for the children of more than 30,000 low-wage home attendants, union officials said. The union blamed financial problems it said were caused by the state’s health department and new national health-insurance requirements.

The fund is administered by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. Union officials said the state compelled the fund to start buying coverage from a third party, which increased premiums by 60%. State health officials denied forcing the union fund to make the switch, saying the fund had been struggling financially even before the switch to third-party coverage.

The fund informed its members late last month that their dependents will no longer be covered as of Jan. 1, 2011. Currently about 6,000 children are covered by the benefit fund, some until age 23.

The union fund faced a “dramatic shortfall” between what employers contributed to the fund and the premiums charged by its insurance provider, Fidelis Care, according to Mitra Behroozi, executive director of benefit and pension funds for 1199SEIU. The union fund pools contributions from several home-care agencies and then buys insurance from Fidelis.

“In addition, new federal health-care reform legislation requires plans with dependent coverage to expand that coverage up to age 26,” Behroozi wrote in a letter to members Oct. 22. “Our limited resources are already stretched as far as possible, and meeting this new requirement would be financially impossible.”

Bottom Line: If union workers think they'll be exempt from this beast, think again. Your union bosses sold you out. You must ask yourselves if the union dues your paying out is really a good investment.

Background Reading:

WSJ.com: Union Drops Health Coverage for Workers’ Children

Time To Be Held Accountable

Two Organizations that have a LOT of explaining to do. (HT Wikipedia)





Some of the side effects of Obamacare have been felt all across the fruited plain. Mostly in the form of health insurance increases for workers. President Obama and the Democrats were held accountable for this monstrosity in the midterm elections last month.

Now it's time for those who supported this disaster to be held accountable. Specifically the AARP and the AMA. By engaging in crony capitalism, they sold out their members and this nation. From Legal Insurrection:

"The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and American Medical Association (AMA) came out in support of the 2000-page plus House Democratic health care bills.

Do not be deceived by this alphabet soup of support. The positions of the AARP and AMA amount to political posturing divorced from the reality of the legislation.

The AARP position, much like that of Consumers Union, is a masterpiece of disingenuous and misleading prevarication, starting with this sentence in the opening paragraph:

"The Association’s support follows nearly two years of work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to craft a health care reform plan that meets the needs of AARP’s nearly 40 million members and all older Americans."

No, there is nothing bipartisan about it. Republicans literally have been shut out of the House legislative process and no major Republican ideas were allowed into any of the current bills. This legislation is solely about the expansion of government, without consideration for any market or individual mechanisms to save costs and expand coverage.

The legislation also will be disastrous for senior citizens. The bill enacts $426billion in cuts to Medicare and other federal programs and $572 billion in tax increases (apart from the mandate tax), much of which will fall on seniors. The bill also will lead to de facto rationing, most of which will fall on seniors, as "bending the cost curve" leads to bureaucratic decision-making and guidelines as to the worth of a life later in life relative to the cost of care."

These organizations , along with all the others, need to have their feet held to the fire for this.

Background Reading (HT Mark Levin):

Legal Insurrection: Alphabet Soup of Health Care Delusions
Legal Insurrection: When Will AARP, Consumers Union and AMA Be Held To Account for Obamacare?

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Smithsonian Freak Show

Something that sould be defunded along with ObamaCare. (HT Nigel Young)



As you are already aware, Americans want the Federal Government to drastically reduce spending. A perfect place to start is the Smithsonian Institution. From CNSNews.com:

"The federally funded National Portrait Gallery, one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently showing an exhibition that features images of an ant-covered Jesus, male genitals, naked brothers kissing, men in chains, Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts, and a painting the Smithsonian itself describes in the show's catalog as "homoerotic."

The exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” opened on Oct. 30 and will run throughout the Christmas Season, closing on Feb. 13."

Sounds like fun for the whole family. Yet another example of government doing so much of what they're not supposed to do, that they can't do what they're actually supposed to do.

Background Reading:

CNSNews.com: Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus, Naked Brothers Kissing, Genitalia, and Ellen DeGeneres Grabbing Her Breasts

Political Caption Of The Day

Some folks just can't handle the truth. (HT BadIdeaTShirts.com)

Political Caption Of The Day

I don't think they mant for the worse. (HT BadIdeaTShirts.com)

Political Caption Of The Day

Words that ring true even today. (HT badideashirts.com)

Joy Behar On The Attack

The Joyless One. (HT Muldrake.com & TMZ)



The View is my #2 least favorite show. One of the reasons is Joy Behar. She's a rabid leftist that recently showed her true colors once again. From DebbieSchlussel.com:

"Behar said about Angle,

I’d like to see her do this ad in the South Bronx. Come ‘ere, BITCH. . . . She’s gonna rot in hell, this bitch.

I’m not surprised by Behar’s new low. After all, she’s the same cretin-ette who compared Bush to a Klansman over the Hurricane Katrina response and said then-FEMA director Mike Brown was “worse than a pedophile.”

Yup, on ABC’s dumb daytime chick show, you can’t tell the truth about who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks . . . but you can go on “bitch”-filled tirades against a candidate who speaks her mind on the illegal alien invasion.

Sadly, far too many American women (and gay men) who watch this show have the right to vote. Is this really what Susan B. Anthony was all about? If it was, maybe we should consider repealing the 19th Amendment.

I’d happily give up my right to vote, if it meant the millions of American women who watch and mindlessly ingest “The View” and “Oprah” lost theirs."

Repeal of the 19th amendment? Thought provoking to say the least.

Background Reading:

DebbieSchlussel.com: VIDEO – “View’s” Joy Behar on Sharron Angle: “This Bitch is Going to Hell”

Early Cheating Underway From Democrats

In this case, it's cheating Dems. (HT AR15.com)



Democrats are up to their old tricks. From The Las Vegas Sun:

Democrats and their cronies are up to their same old tricks, of trying to manipulate the election in hopes of skewing the results in their favor.

Two days ago, the Democratic Secretary of State announced that voters can be provided "free food" at "voter turnout events." Harry Reid has been offering free food and, according to other reports, some Democratic allies such as teachers' unions are offering gift cards in return for a vote for Reid.

What Harry Reid is doing is clearly illegal. Nevada law (NRS 293.700) provides that, “A person who bribes, offers to bribe, or use and other corrupt means, directly or indirectly, to influence any elector in giving his or her vote or to deter the elector from giving it is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.”

We've seen evidence of this sort of voter 'enticement' by groups such as ACORN - where, in 2008, two ACORN workers in Milwaukee were accused of offering pre-paid gasoline cards or restaurant gift cards to people in exchange for registration."

Bribery and pay to play politics. It's not just the Chicago way, it's the Democrat way. All the more reason to vote as many Democrats out of Office on Tuesday.

Background Reading:

Las Vegas Sun: Angle campaign attorney: Reid “intends to steal this election if he can’t win it outright”

Michelle Obama Caught Electioneering

A lawbreaker and a corrupt banker. (HT Zimbio)



Looks like Jan Schakowsky wasn't the only socialist caught electioneering recently. The First Lady herself is an active participant. From the Drudge Report:

"First lady Michelle Obama appears to have violated Illinois law -- when she engaged in political discussion at a polling place!

The drama began after Mrs. Obama stopped off at the Martin Luther King Center on the south side of Chicago to cast an early vote.

After finishing at the machine, Obama went back to the desk and handed in her voting key.

She let voters including electrician Dennis Campbell, 56, take some photos.

"She was telling me how important it was to vote to keep her husband's agenda going," Campbell said.

According to a pool reporter from the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES at the scene, the conversation took place INSIDE the voting center, not far from the booths.

Illinois state law -- Sec. 17-29 (a) -- states: "No judge of election, pollwatcher, or other person shall, at any primary or election, do any electioneering or soliciting of votes or engage in any political discussion within any polling place [or] within 100 feet of any polling place."

A top Ilinois State Board of Elections official tells the DRUDGE REPORT that Mrs. Obama -- a Harvard-educated lawyer -- may have simply been ignorant of the law and thus violated it unintentionally.

"You kind of have to drop the standard for the first lady, right?" the official explained late Thursday. "I mean, she's pretty well liked and probably doesn't know what she's doing."

This elections official believes "she's pretty well liked and probably doesn't know what she's doing." I say wrong on both counts. She knew full well what she was doing, and growing numbers of people feel she's as angry and arrogant as her husband. Ask German Chancellor Merkel or French President Sarkozy and his wife, not to mention the secret service or the waitstaff at the hotel in spain she stayed in. I'd love to hear what they have to say off record, but I digress.

Background Reading:

Drudge Report: First Lady Campaigns Inside Polling Place

Illegal Aliens Canvass For Democrat Votes

A noble volunteer courtesy of the pro-amnesty party. (HT Fox News)



First prison inmates, now this. Illegal Aliens Canvassing for Votes. Whats wrong with that picture? Foreigners are not supposed to be influencing our elections right?? That's what the left's been screaming about lately. Then they do this on the left coast. From FoxNews.com:

"When Maria Gianni is knocking on voters' doors, she's not bashful about telling people she is in the country illegally. She knows it's a risk to advertise to strangers that she's here illegally -- but one worth taking in what she sees as a crucial election.

The 42-year-old is one of dozens of volunteers -- many of them illegal immigrants -- canvassing neighborhoods in the Seattle area trying to get naturalized citizens to cast a ballot for candidates like Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who is in a neck-to-neck race with Republican Dino Rossi.

Pramila Jayapal, head of OneAmerica Votes, says the campaign is about empowering immigrants who may not feel like they can contribute to a campaign because they can't vote."

Hey Pramila, Illegal immagrants aren't even supposed to be in the country, much less voting. The fact that these illegals are canvassing for Democratic Sen. Patty Murray shows that the senator must be complicit in this caper.

The Democrat party is the party of amnesty. Here's the proof:

"OneAmerica Votes launched one of the largest get-out-the-vote campaigns in the state on behalf of Democratic candidates. The organization is an offshoot of OneAmerica, one of the state's largest and the most influential immigrant-rights advocacy group.

Through home visits, phone banks and mailings the organization is aiming to reach about 40,000 registered voters in the Seattle area in an attempt to help Democrats gain ground in key races. Volunteers include other types of people who can't vote, such as legal permanent residents.

"There's always a risk," Gianni said in Spanish about her legal status. "But if there's a change, I would feel like I contributed, even in a small part, to a change we all need."

Gianni arrived in the United States on a visa 13 years ago looking for work and stayed. For a while her only son lived here, but has since moved back to Mexico.

"In order for there to be a change to our broken immigration system," she said, "I believe one has to fight."

I believe I have to fight too. Specifically to get you and others like you deported, and remove democrat politicians that support your efforts to stay and use our resources.

Background reading:

FoxNews.com: Illegal Aliens Canvass for Votes in Wash. State

What We're Fighting For

As you know election day is a week from tomorrow. Citizens across the fruited plain are ready to take their liberty back from a rogue tyrannical government. The video below is a reminder of why we must vote for liberty on November 2nd. Thanks DJ for the Link!!

The Chicago Way: Jan Schakowsky

The bad girl herself. (HT acslaw.org)



Jan Schakowsky is behaving badly again. From BigGovernment.com:

"Monday was the first day of ‘early voting’ in Illinois. Between now and November 2nd, any Illinois voter can cast their ballot in certain designated polling place. The prohibition on electioneering, i.e. campaigning inside a polling place, still apply, even if the voting isn’t on election day.

Schakowsky joins a group of people walking into an early voting precinct. She is asked if she is excited about voting that day:

"Actually I’m gonna walk in with these folks but I’m gonna vote on Election Day"

You can’t do that.

Only people voting, election officials or credentialed poll watchers can enter a voting precinct. We don’t know exactly what she did or said inside the polling place, since the cameraman, observing the law, stayed out of the polling place.

But, we don’t need to know. Her presence alone constitutes electioneering."

Antoher case of election law swept aside by a Democrat. This gets even better. She made another appearance and got even more brazen:

"Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) delivered this speech to Democrats at a restaurant in Chicago–with U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and Governor Pat Quinn in attendance:

"All around the country, people are trying to replicate what we do in Chicago. They–we have a tradition of knockin’ on doors, of pulling people out–you know, people, they talk about “message” and “persuasion.” Here’s our message: “I don’t get off your doorstep until you get out to the polls and vote.” That’s our message! That’s our message!"

There’s nothing wrong with going door-to-door and urging people to vote. There is something wrong–and illegal–with “pulling” people out of their homes, or threatening that you won’t leave until they do what you tell them.

It’s called intimidation, and it is a felony under Illinois law–even if it is, in Jan Schakowsky’s experience, a “tradition” in Chicago politics.

There are two reasons to be concerned about Schakowsky’s exhortation. One is that it may be part of a national strategy for desperate Democrats in this election cycle. Indeed, her husband, Washington insider and convicted felon Robert Creamer, gave the same advice (almost word-for-word) in a recent Huffington Post column. (And repeated it. And repeated it again. And again.)

The other reason is that Schakowsky and Creamer are ardent supporters of Card Check (euphemistically called the “Employee Free Choice Act”), which will take the secret ballot away from workers in elections to form unions. Schakowsky’s method of campaigning will be exactly the sort of pressure that workers will suffer if Card Check ever passes: “I won’t get off your porch until you sign up.”

This is typical leftist machine thuggery. Watch out Illinois, they're going to cut-off your winter heating oil and electricity if you don't vote them in. They're sick like Stalin!

Background Reading:

BigGovernment.com: Dems Gone Desperate: Schakowsky Caught Electioneering in a Polling Place
BigGovernment.com: Getting Out The Vote, the Chicago Way

The State Of Illinois Give The Wrong Group Preferential Treatment

A sad state gets much sadder.





There are time when I get really frosty about my state government as well as the Chicago Democrat machine. This is one of those times. From BigGovernment.com:

"Over 35 counties in Illinois missed the deadline to mail military ballots to our soldiers defending America. But in Chicago, county election officials have taken special steps to ensure that no inmates at the Cook County Jail are unable to cast a ballot.

The Chicago Board of Elections hand delivers ballots to the jail. They don’t even wait for the inmates to apply – they bring the applications with the ballots! Over 2,600 inmates have cast ballots so far – strikingly similiar to the 2,600 soldiers who will likely not recieve a ballot for the Nov 2 election.

Disgraceful does not begin to describe the Illinois Election system."

So let me get this straight: You can't mail ballots to our troops who are fighting to defend our freedom, but you can hand deliver ballots to prison inmates who shouldn't be voting in the first place!! My gut instincts tell me this is being done because the military votes mostly Republican, and the prison inmates vote mostly Democrat. Do you now understand why every last Democrat, especially if they're from Chicago, needs to be voted out of office?? They cannot convince me that they support the troops if they're not supporting their right to vote.

Background Reading:

BigGovernment.com: Illinois Soldiers Wait for Ballots. Prisoners Get Hand Delivery

Top 10 Failures Of Obamacare So Far

A spectacular failure if there ever was one.



How has Obamacre failed America? Let me count the ways. From Human Events:

1. Premiums Have Gone Up
2. You Can’t Keep Your Current Plan And Doctor
3. National Budget Deficit Is Worse
4. More Children Are Uninsured
5. Small Business Taxes Increased
6. Small Businesses Health Care Burden Increased
7. More Government Spending
8. Senior Citizens Suffer from Medicare Cuts
9. Minorities Get Worse Health Care
10. Democrats Losing Elections

Background Reading:

Human Events: Top 10 Failures of ObamaCare After Six Months

Illinois' Big Government Reaches Deeper In Citizens Pockets

The Land of Big Government.



Residents in Illinois know full well that state, county, and local governments are strapped for cash. Public officials are scrambling for ways to fill budget shortfalls. Here's the latest from the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Being a speed demon on Illinois roads soon could take a bigger bite out of your bank account.

Fines for a series of minor but common traffic offenses will go up by as much as 60 percent -- adding $45 to the typical speeding ticket -- after the Illinois Supreme Court signed off on new charges that take effect Sept. 15."

The fact that the court did this raises a big red flag. This is all about one thing: Revenue. Here's the proof:

"The increases have the potential to pump more revenues into some cash-strapped county and local governments, though there are no firm estimates from the courts, the secretary of state's office or the Illinois Municipal League.

But in DuPage County, where about 185,000 tickets get adjudicated annually by the court system there, Circuit Court Clerk Chris Katcharoubus predicted Friday the higher fee structure could result in "a couple million dollars or so" more for the county.

"The financial impact was not something we looked at because we see this as bond," said Ford, the Champaign County judge. "But of course, with the petty offenses where the person can just use their bond money to pay, there'll be a financial increase in the amount of money getting paid to the [Circuit Court] clerks. But that's a by-product of it."

The legislation passed the Democratic-led General Assembly as an alternative to massive layoffs Quinn threatened against the State Police last spring in a bid to offset the state's $13 billion budget deficit."

Remember the formula: Democrats = Tax Increases = Big Government.

Illinoians, aka the ones who have to pay for this, aren't happy for example:

""That's terrible because a lot of people have lost their jobs," Barbara Oladunni, 40, an unemployed South Sider, said of the increases that will kick in in two weeks. "Speeding is a serious offense because somebody could get hurt, but I think the [new fines] are a little ridiculous."

"Man, that's too much," said Michael Green, 32, a South Sider and a forklift operator, when told of the new fee structure. "They've already got their hands in too many people's pockets. I'm going to be more careful. I'm going to drive like somebody's grandfather."

Bottom line: In this economy, people need to keep more of what they earn. The new fine increases do the exact opposite. In this instance, Illinos government is waiting for you to screw up so they can punish you.

Background Reading:

Chicago Sun-Times: Speeding becomes a high-ticket item as fines rise

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Vegas Junket, Baby!!!

Where big kids go to play. (HT Michelle Malkin)



Here's an instance of what happeened in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas. From CBS4 - Denver:

"The CBS4 investigation learned that the Census administrators were flown to Las Vegas Aug. 24 and put up at the luxurious Treasure Island hotel and casino on the Las Vegas strip. Some of the managers stayed for two days, others stayed for three."

Looks like our money's going to Vegas against King Hussein's wishes. I wonder what's his take on this??

Speaking of King Hussein's check out this flashback from Michelle Malkin:

"Hey, remember when President Obama told Americans to stay away from Vegas…twice?

Flashback:

“When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don’t go buying a boat when you’re trying to pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save on college. You prioritize, you make tough choices.”

And:

… “You are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you pay taxpayers back. You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime.”

Census officials’ response: Yes, we can!"

Do you now understand why this country must get back to constitutional principles, and fast??

Background Raeading:

CBS4 - Denver: Investigation: 140 Census Bosses Took Vegas Trip
Michelle Malkin: Your Census dollars at work: $100,000 Vegas junket to Treasure Island, baby

Political Caption Of The Day

A new daily standard? (HT Michelle Malkin)

The Democrat Congress's DREAM

Say No to this DREAM, which in truth is a nightmare.



Between one and two this afternoon, The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Here's what it does. From the Socialist Worker:

"If passed, the DREAM Act would grant legal residence to students in college regardless of immigration status, thereby also opening employment opportunities in the U.S. after graduation for undocumented immigrants.

However, the DREAM Act would also grant legal residence to undocumented immigrants who serve in the military. Some on the left have voiced concern that residency would be yet another benefit used by aggressive military recruiters to entice immigrant youth--Latinos, in particular--to join the military."

This is in a word, amnesty. Specifically for the young adult illegals. Time to melt those phone lines (Provided in the second link). Americans must realize that Democrats are for open borders, NOT secure borders.

Background Reading:

SocialistWorker.org: Undocumented and unafraid in LA
Michelle Malkin: Stop the illegal alien student bailout now: DREAM Act Senate phone list; Update: Vote scheduled Tuesday 2:15pm

Obamabots Exhausted Of Defending King Hussein

More Americans are doing it everyday. (HT AR15.com)



With each passing day, more Obama voters are realizing the error they made. Case in Point: at a CNBC Town Hall Meeting, one such voter asks king Hussein the following hard hitting question:

"Quite frankly, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now. I have been told that I voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I'm one of those people. And I'm waiting, sir. I'm waiting. I -- I don't feel it yet ... Is this my new reality?"



King Hussein responded by saying that his questioner, and those like her, "are the bedrock of America," thanks to their hard work, patriotism, and family values. The president went on to cite some of the ways he and his administration are helping the middle class (Obamacare & Finance reform), and also included a moment of levity. Probably because he couldn't cite anything his administration's done to help people create wealth. The Anguish of Americans overshadowed King Hussein's timid response.



Bottom Line: Michelle Malkin Said it best: "Takeaway quote: “I’m Exhausted Of Defending You.”

And we’re exhausted, Obama-bots, of hearing all the desperate defenses, subsidizing them, and being called RAAACISTS/fatcats/meanies/haters for pointing out all the abject failures you’re finally acknowledging."

Background Reading:

Yahoo Buzz Log: Town Hall Exchange Sparks Big Buzz
Michelle Malkin: Obama-bot to Dear Leader: “I’m Exhausted Of Defending You”
Real Clear Politics: Town Hall Questioner To Obama: "I'm Exhausted Of Defending You"
Real Clear Politics: Obama Responds To "Exhausted" Woman

Your Tax Dollars At Work: African Genital-Washing Program

I know we have to do our part, but come on man! (HT CNSNews.com)



If anyone still believes that stimulus money went towards creating American jobs, think again! From CNSNews.com:

"The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), spent $823,200 of economic stimulus funds in 2009 on a study by a UCLA research team to teach uncircumcised African men how to wash their genitals after having sex.

The genitalia-washing program is part of a larger $12-million UCLA study examining how to better encourage Africans to undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling – however, only the penis-washing study received money from the 2009 economic stimulus law. The washing portion of the study is set to end in 2011.

If most of the men in the study wash their genitals after sex, are willing to do so after the study ends, and report that their partners accept the regimen, the researchers will develop another study to see if the “penile cleansing procedure” actually works to prevent HIV infections. (Meaning they'll want another taxpayer funded grant)

The study’s lead investigator Dr. Thomas J. Coates was the fourth highest-funded researcher in the country in 2002 and is currently conducting HIV research on three continents.

CNSNews.com asked both Coates and NIMH the following question: “The Census Bureau says the median household income in the United States is $52,000. How would you explain to the average American mom and dad -- who make $52,000 per year -- that taxing them to pay for this grant was justified?”

Coates, who was unavailable for comment, directed CNSNews.com to ask grant-related questions of his assistant, Darya Freedman, who did not respond.

The NIMH also declined to respond to CNSNews.com’s question."

Bottom Line: When called out, they can't justify bilking taxpayers. This is why there's such a huge revolt against government today. Careless wastful spending and bloaed budgets. Give me back my money!

Backgreund Reading:

CNSNews.com: Feds Spent $800,000 of Economic Stimulus on African Genital-Washing Program

Political Caption Of The Day

More than ever, Americans want Obama and the Democrats to keep the change. (HT Leo & Michelle Malkin)

September 11th: In Rememberance & Resolve

A day that forever changed America the world.



Today we remember those who were murdered, as well as those who serve in our military. Americans must also maintain resolve to protect our way of life and defeat our enemies who want to destroy it, both foreign and domestic. We must also resolve to help other nations stay free because the more nations that are free, the easier it will be to protect our freedom.

God Bless and keep our troops overseas fighting evil at the door. Same for our Police Officers, Firefighters,and EMT's.

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Fueling Left Wing Causes

He wasn't lying about this. (HT Cowgirlfromhell's Blog)



Here's one way King Hussein's administration spreads the wealth: Through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Check out some of the 2010 Susan Harwood Grant Awardees:

Workers Defense Project, Austin TX - $85,000
American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation, Washington, DC - $220,000
California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc, San Francisco, CA - $225,000
Compacion Foundation, Hispanic Contractors Association de Tejas, Balch Springs, TX - $180,000
International Union, UAW, Detroit, MI - $220,000
New Jersey AFL-CIO, Trenton, NJ - $200,000
SEIU (Service Employee International Union) Education and Support Fund, Washington, DC - $215,000

This is only part of a list of 44 total recipients receiving $6,999,995 of your tax dollars. To redistribute wealth to buy votes from left wing groups and unions. This doesn't come up for a vote, or get earmarked. What make this even worse is that some of the recipients have some ties to supporting illegal immigrants. This is why DC needs to be overhauled.

Background Reading:

OSHA: 2010 Susan Harwood Grant Awardees
Rush Limbaugh: Regime, OSHA Spread Our Cash

Your Tax Dollars At Work: Public Sector Fat Cats

This goes for the state and local level too. (HT RightWingStuff.com)



What do tax dollars pay for? O let me count the ways. From The Free Enterprise Nation:

In the first quarter of 2010, employees in the private sector earned $300 billion LESS than they earned in the last quarter of 2007, while governments grew and their payrolls increased.

In 2010, there are 3 million FEWER workers in the private sector than there were 10 years ago, but 2 million MORE working in government. That's why they want more taxes from fewer workers.

At the end of 2009, average compensation and benefits to federal workers was $123,049, as compared with $61,051 for private sector workers. And, during 2009, federal workers got an average of 6.9% in raises and two new employee benefits!

State and local government and public education workers averaged $82,492 in compensation and benefits in 2008, more than $25,000 a year MORE than private sector workers.

The average taxpayer who actually PAID income taxes in 2008 paid $10,000 that year. That was enough to pay ONE federal worker for ONE MONTH!

n San Francisco, one of every three city workers earns more than $100,000 a year. The AVERAGE pay is $93,000! The number earning more than $100,000 increased by 800% in the last decade.

At the University of Connecticut, there are 29 people who are being paid to work full time while they are also collecting pensions of over $100,000 a year.

In Illinois, there are teachers earning salaries of more than $150,000 a year (for 9 months work), who can retire at 75% of pay after 30 years, or 100% of pay after 40 years…with guaranteed 3% raises every year, and free health insurance.

In Miami, Florida, the city’s pension contribution for 2011 is $101 million, accounting for almost the entire projected $105 million budget gap. The average city resident earns $29,151; the average city employee’s salary is $75,961 per year. Nearly half of the city’s employees earn $100,000 or more; 186 earned over $200,000. Average firefighter’s salary was $118,000 in 2009; 8 of Miami’s top 10 earners are firefighters, making over $336,000 per year in salary and benefits.

Unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare are estimated to be $106 TRILLION, eight times more than Congress says the US debt is.

New York – In Suffolk County, there are currently 500 police officers earning over $150,000 per year.

A Long Island school superintendant collects a $316,000 annual pension while earning $225,000 annually working for a different school district.

The city of Vallejo, CA filed bankruptcy as a direct result of overly generous salaries and pensions; 40% of the city’s employees earned $100,000 or more. Average firefighter’s salary was $170,000 per year. That didn’t prevent the city council from recently approving a 7.5% raise for the city police department.

Bottom Line: Public sector salaries and pensions are busting budgets all across the fruited plain. People are getting tired of it. The time has come for the bloated public sector to "sacrifice". That has to be top priority at the state and local level to reign in spending. Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey has set the template, and believe me others will follow.

Background Reading:

The Free Enterprise Nation: Look Where Your Tax Dollars Are Going!

Side Effects Of Obamacare

Complete with far reaching side effects.




Like many prescription drugs, Obamacare has side effects. From The Heritage Foundation:

"Aetna Inc., some BlueCross BlueShield plans and other smaller carriers have asked for premium increases of between 1% and 9% to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators.”

It’s exactly what conservatives predicted. While the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) did estimate that Obamacare would cause health insurance premiums to rise, conservatives correctly pointed out that the CBO’s estimates were wildly optimistic. James Capretta wrote at the time:

"For weeks, experts have been warning that the Senate legislation would lead to serious “adverse selection” in the individual and small-group insurance markets. Adverse selection occurs when, on average, the pool of insured lives becomes less healthy over time compared to a relevant comparison group. The Senate bill would require insurers to take all comers, with heavily regulated rates. These rules would help those with chronic conditions get less expensive coverage. But they would also drive up premiums for the young and healthy.
…
CBO argues that risk-selection problems will be mitigated by the presence of new insurance subsidies, penalties for those who don’t get coverage, a once-a-year enrollment window which will limit the opportunity to come back into insurance, and the tendency for people to comply with mandates even if they are costly. But, as others have shown, even with subsidies, the cost of coverage for many low and moderate wage families will be very substantial. Many people could reduce their costs if they paid the penalty instead of premiums and signed up with insurance only when they really needed it. Would the fact that they might have to wait a few months before getting insurance be enough to keep them in coverage all year? Hard to predict. In fact, as pointed out here, it appears that none of most-cited models used to estimate the impact of health-reform plans, including CBO’s, has an explicit capacity to calibrate insurance take-up rates based on the penalties imposed on those who go without coverage. Apparently, the premium estimates are based as much on judgment as analytics, and CBO’s judgment is clearly on the optimistic side."

Knowing this, is it any surprise that Democrats are distancing themselves from their glorious crowning achievement? It's one of the central reasons why they'll get hammered in a few weeks. A number of news outlets have reported on health insurance rate hikes. The last link is the most comprehensive I've seen to date, and well worth the read & view.

Background Reading:

Dallas Morning News: As insurers face health care law requirements, customers face cancellations
LA Times: Health Net is cleared by state to raise premiums
WSJ: Health Insurers Plan Hikes
Health Insurance Tips & Advice: The TRUTH about ObamaCare

King Hussein Creates Record Debt

Yet another reason to rebel. (HT AR15.com)



We now have an idea of what irresponsible spending leads to. From CNSNews.com:

"In the first 19 months of the Obama administration, the federal debt held by the public increased by $2.5260 trillion, which is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan.

At the end of fiscal year 1989, which ended eight months after President Reagan left office, the total federal debt held by the public was $2.1907 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That means all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan had accumulated only that much publicly held debt on behalf of American taxpayers. That is $335.3 billion less than the $2.5260 trillion that was added to the federal debt held by the public just between Jan. 20, 2009, when President Obama was inaugurated, and Aug. 20, 2010, the 19-month anniversary of Obama's inauguration.

By contrast, President Reagan was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 1981 and left office eight years later on Jan. 20, 1989. At the end of fiscal 1980, four months before Reagan was inaugurated, the federal debt held by the public was $711.9 billion, according to CBO. At the end of fiscal 1989, eight months after Reagan left office, the federal debt held by the public was $2.1907 trillion. That means that in the nine-fiscal-year period of 1980-89--which included all of Reagan’s eight years in office--the federal debt held by the public increased $1.4788 trillion. That is in excess of a trillion dollars less than the $2.5260 increase in the debt held by the public during Obama’s first 19 months.

When President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, the total federal debt held by the public stood at 6.3073 trillion, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. As of Aug. 20, 2010, after the first nineteen months of President Obama’s 48-month term, the total federal debt held by the public had grown to a total of $8.8333 trillion, an increase of $2.5260 trillion.

In just the last four months (May through August), according to the CBO, the Obama administration has run cumulative deficits of $464 billion, more than the $458 billion deficit the Bush administration ran through the entirety of fiscal 2008.

The CBO predicted this week that the annual budget deficit for fiscal 2010, which ends on the last day of this month, will exceed $1.3 trillion.

The first two fiscal years in which Obama has served will see the two biggest federal deficits as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product since the end of World War II."

Bottom Line: King Hussein's spending and economic policies have bankrupted this country, mortgaging at lest the next two generations future in the process. This is why people who never been involved in politics before are getting involved now. They're trying to save this country from an out of control rogue federal government that craves more power to abuse. This is why the Democrats must lose their majorities in congress in November. That's just the beginning. Then we must hold that rogue congress in check during in final months, Then the new congress can take steps to reverse course.

Background Reading:

CNSNews.com: Obama Added More to National Debt in First 19 Months Than All Presidents from Washington Through Reagan Combined, Says Gov’t Data

Political Caption Of The Day

Reasons why Americans have disdain for Democrats. (HT Investors Business Daily)

More Americans Believe King Hussein Is A Muslim

Is he a Muslim? More Americans believe so. (HT IMAO)



The latest polls are showing More Americans believe that King Hussein is a Muslim. First, from Pew Research:

"A new national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that nearly one-in-five Americans (18%) now say Obama is a Muslim, up from 11% in March 2009. Only about one-third of adults (34%) say Obama is a Christian, down sharply from 48% in 2009. Fully 43% say they do not know what Obama’s religion is. The survey was completed in early August, before Obama’s recent comments about the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center."

Then there's this from Time Magazine:

"Nearly one-third of the country thinks adherents of Islam should be barred from running for President — a slightly higher percentage than the 24% who mistakenly believe the current occupant of the Oval Office is himself a Muslim. In all, just 47%of respondents believe Obama is a Christian; 24% declined to respond to the question or said they were unsure, and 5% believe he is neither Christian nor Muslim."

What gets me on that Time quote is that if people believe he's a Muslim they're mistaken. If it's a mistake, then why did Obama say "My Muslim Faith" when interviewed by George Stephonopolis? Why did he refer to himself as a Muslim when speaking to the Arab Street? Lastly, why does he always say Holy Karan? A devout Christian wouldn't do these things. Furthermore, you know the issue's cloudy when a White House spokesman has to say publicly that "The president is obviously a Christian. He prays everyday." The reality is Mr. Burton, it's not so obvious.

Pew Research: Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim
Time Magazine: TIME Poll: Majority Oppose Mosque, Many Distrust Muslims
Associated Press: White House says Obama is Christian, prays daily

King Hussein's Presidency "A Spectacular Political Collapse"

In reality, it's hoax & chaos.



Gotta love the UK press. They're doing what the lamestream media in this country won't do. That's being balanced on covering King Hussein. From the UK Telegraph:

"The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are growing increasingly weaker and divided.

Against this backdrop, the president’s approval ratings have been sliding dramatically all summer, with the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll of US voters dropping to minus 22 points, the lowest point so far for Barack Obama since taking office. While just 24 per cent of American voters strongly approve of the president’s job performance, almost twice that number, 46 per cent, strongly disapprove. According to Rasmussen, 65 per cent of voters believe the United States is going down the wrong track, including 70 per cent of independents.

Can it get any worse for President Obama? Undoubtedly yes. Here are 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in serious trouble, and why its prospects are unlikely to improve between now and the November mid-terms.

1. The Obama presidency is out of touch with the American people
2. Most Americans don’t have confidence in the president’s leadership
3. Obama fails to inspire
4. The United States is drowning in debt
5. Obama’s Big Government message is falling flat
6. Obama’s support for socialised health care is a huge political mistake
7. Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill has been weak-kneed and indecisive
8. US foreign policy is an embarrassing mess under the Obama administration
9. President Obama is muddled and confused on national security
10. Obama doesn’t believe in American greatness

There is a distinctly Titanic-like feel to the Obama presidency and it’s not hard to see why. The most left-wing president in modern American history has tried to force a highly interventionist, government-driven agenda that runs counter to the principles of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government that have made the United States the greatest power in the world, and the freest nation on earth.

America at its core remains a deeply conservative nation, which cherishes its traditions and founding principles. President Obama is increasingly out of step with the American people, by advancing policies that undermine the United States as a global power, while undercutting America’s deep-seated love for freedom."

Nile Gardiner's Telegraph piece is a must read. Remember these reasons when you go to the ballot box in November. The task for conservatives is to throw out as many Democrats as possible out of Congress.

Background Reading:

Another Black Conservative: Hope and Change: It came in like a lion, but is going out like a scam
UK Telegraph: The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown

Daley Machine Out To Bilk Taxpayers Once Again

The Home of Machine Politics and Bilked Taxpayers.



Mayor Daley has stepped in it once again and he's in full CYA mode. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey was suspended for a day over the Aug. 10 memo that told police the city “will witness a dramatic decrease in annual revenues and not meet 2010 targets” if a slump in parking tickets and vehicle-compliance tickets continues.

“Stupidity. It was stupid. Just stupid. Some bureaucrat sent that out,” Daley said at an unrelated news conference. “The revenue department has nothing to do with the police department, period. They [officers] will determine whether you violated a law. No one else can. Especially revenue can’t.”

Questions for Mayor Daley: What administration does that bureaucrat belong to? Whose administration has a rep for cronyism, corrutption, and wasteful spending, and mismanagement?? You're not as slick as your old man, pal. We all know that everything in the machine is connected.

David Orr gets it right:

"Cook County Clerk David Orr and several aldermen said the memo sends the wrong message to the public. City Hall considers parking tickets a revenue-generating tool more than a public-safety tool, Orr said.
“I don’t think we put the citizens first enough in this town,” he said. “This is one indication of it. There’s been too much pressure [on officers] to write tickets.”

“I totally sympathize with the mayor because of the recession, but I also know how much has been stolen,” he said. “I would like to see City Hall fess up to the millions and millions of dollars that have been stolen over the years.”

This is another example of the ruling political class taking from the taxpaying class. They've been doing it forever, but it may be finally starting to catch up with them.

Lastly there's this from Mayoral Press Secretary Jacquelyn Heard:

"“The e-mail is backwards, given that the mayor is by no means encouraging police to write more tickets,” mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard said.

Reyna-Hickey was suspended “because she is responsible for what happens in her office,” Heard added.

The Bottom line: Safety and fighting crime may be the line, but it's all about the revenue. This is what municipalities that are strapped for cash are doing, not just in Chicago, but nationwide. It's also time to make Mayor Daley accountable for what's happened in his machine administration.

Background Reading:

Chicago Sun-Times: Daley suspends revenue director over memo saying police not writing enough tickets