Our #1 story describes how Obama has ducked the tough issues for his first three years and how it is expected he will do it this year as well. #2 relates the turnaround in Michigan. Run by the Democrats it was run into the ground. Now with the republicans in charge they’ve gone from a deficit to a surplus without raising taxes. Perhaps BHO could learn something from the state. #3 while there is much noise being made by the left on how we absolutely must provide contraception for women’s health in Philadelphia a 3 year old girl who is considered mentally retarded has been denied a place on the transplant list for a new kidney. I guess woman’s health only counts if they are ovulating. #4 is a look at the contraception commandment that seems to be part of the Progressive Creed. Finally #5 shows us how unions are paying occupy protesters to protest. Pictures only the organizers said to the press when many of the protesters had no idea what they were protesting against.
1. Obama to vote “Present” again
On Monday, President Obama is scheduled to release his proposed budget for the coming year. If his past three budgets are any indication, it is unlikely anyone outside of the White House will take this budget seriously.
That's because past Obama budgets have been long on empty promises and short on real solutions. This president has consistently ignored Washington's crushing debt and passed the real costs on to future generations.
The administration has already signaled that this year's spending plan will offer more of the same: a budget that spends too much, borrows too much and taxes too much.
For starters, this budget will not be balanced. Despite his frequent rhetoric about spending restraint and the dangers of debt, Obama has never submitted a balanced budget in his life.
In last year's budget, he wrote: "The fiscal realities we face require hard choices." That was true. His budget, however, failed to make any hard choices….
Obama doesn’t have a clue what to do. He’s already played the one card he had, that is, spend. That’s put us close to $5 trillion more in debt with a sluggish economy. The democrats keep saying they don’t want to go back to the failed policies of the past. It appears they want to stay with the failed policies of the present.
2. Michigan’s turnaround
Michigan's Republican Governor, Rick Snyder, didn't just balance the budget. He's putting $130,000,000 into a rainy day fund. Maybe Obama, Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats should take notice.
Snyder inherited a Michigan economy that was bleeding money, jobs and residents thanks to eight years of Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm's "leadership". Michigan had led the nation into the recession and had one of the worst unemployment rates and housing declines in the country.
In his first year in office Snyder and his Republican-controlled House and Senate balanced a $1.5 billion deficit and added $255 million to the State's rainy day fund.
For his encore, in the second year he isn't just projecting another excess (bringing the rainy day fund total to $385 million), he's providing funding increases for education, cities and roads while giving a 16% boost to the Michigan State Police. The budget includes extra funds for dental care for children, autism treatment, home heating for vulnerable people, the cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks, and even an extra $3.6 million for arts and culture.
The left keeps talking about not wanting to go back to the failed policies of the past. Yet over and over in Democratically ruled states we see failure after failure after failure. And here in Michigan we see how those policies that the Democrats describe as failures are succeeding.
3. Death to the unfit
You may not have heard the story of Amelia Rivera, a beautiful three-year-old Philadelphia girl in need of a kidney transplant. According to her mother, Amelia was denied a life-saving transplant because she was "considered mentally retarded." The statements attributable to her denying doctor are explicit and, if true, leave no doubt that the girl's life was discounted because she has a neurological syndrome.
The hospital is wisely reconsidering, but this sort of decision is surprisingly common. Initial reporting cited a Stanford-based report on organ transplant programs:
Thirty-nine percent of programs stated that they "rarely" or "never" consider NDD [neurodevelopmental delays] in their decisions, whereas 43 percent of programs "always" or "usually" do….
…Peter Singer, another luminary of the left, has argued that “the notion that human life is sacred just because it's human is medieval." He elaborates further:
[W]e should not see all human lives as of equal worth but recognise that some are more valuable than others. Such judgments should be made on the basis of the individual's capacity to think, relate and experience. ... In cases of brain damage making it impossible for the patient to express a preference, this principle obviously opens the door to non-voluntary euthanasia….
…Some humans are non-persons, while some non-human animals are persons. ... We put a horse that has broken its leg out of its misery as quickly as possible. This merciful act spares the animal an untold amount of needless suffering. If we look upon human animals in the same fashion, our opposition to killing those who are suffering will begin to dissolve….
It appears the predictions found in Animal Farm are alive and well and a cornerstone of the Progressive Movement.
4. Contraception: A Commandment of the Progressive Religion
…Let's be clear: despite left-wing organizations and pundits proliferating volumes of statistics describing how the majority of Catholic women use birth control or why their definition of "women's health" is more important than religious doctrine, the real issue is the invasion of previously protected religious rights -- rights guaranteed by our Constitution -- and what is behind this invasion.
Understand that I am agnostic, and I lean towards being pro-choice on abortion issues. I also lean towards favoring gays on marriage and other social issues. And I am definitely of the opinion that the government spends way too much. Furthermore, one of the few things I believe the government should provide without charge is contraception to anyone who wants it. I think the morning-after pill is a great concept. So, please -- no accusations of religious fervor on my part.
But contraception and women's health are not the issues here. Not in the slightest. In fact, I think it is something of a disservice that religious leaders are calling it as such. No, this is about something much bigger: the Progressive Religion, under the guise of government, is forcing its religious views on everyone else.
Unfortunately, the battle cannot be fought on the real front, because how do you prove to a court that Progressivism is a religion? So, it has to be fought piecemeal on a case-by-case basis. Regrettably, we'll do that.
It's understandable that our constitutional rights are not 100% guaranteed. Sometimes our "rights" conflict with the rights of others, and require amelioration. Of course there is the age-old example: regardless of free speech principles, you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater when it is not true because of safety reasons. But it is true that our rights are not to be taken away without clear and convincing evidence that the health, safety, or rights of others are at considerable risk.
Which, of course, is certainly not the case with the new Commandment. Women who are financially capable can get contraception wherever they want. Those who are unable to afford it can obtain it from any number of sources without charge -- usually in clinics right in their own neighborhoods. Clearly, the Commandment is unconstitutional…
I’ve seen the screeds of the leftist about misogyny if you oppose this (they can’t seem to take up an discussion without name calling) and the tone and decible level of their arguments sound like a religious group condemning those “other” religions. I guess their god is a very jealous god.
5. Astroturf: Occupy CPAC
Protesters at the “Occupy CPAC” event, organized by the AFL-CIO and Occupy DC to target the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, were unaware of what they were protesting against Friday afternoon. The Daily Caller spoke to several protesters outside of the conference venue and many said they had no idea what the Conservative Political Action Conference was, or what they were supposed to be opposing. Several of the protest organizers were unhappy that reporters were trying to ask questions. They demanded that reporters “just film” the signs and protesters, but refrain from speaking to participants…
Nancy Pelosi tried to call the Tea Party rallies astroturf (as opposed to real grass roots protests). It appears the Occupy movement at CPAC actually fits this description.
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