Democratic losses and lies

What’s new today

Story #1 tells of the people who are leaving the Democratic Party rolls in 8 key battleground states.  #2 identifies 5 lies in Obama’s fairness speech.  #3 points out the inconsistency of what Obama is demanding in his fairness speech.  #4 reiterates Obama’s threat to veto a continuation of the payroll tax decrease if the Republicans try to put approval of the Keystone pipeline in the bill.  #5 tells about how Chris Christie handled OWS hecklers.  #6 lays out the beginning of a story you’ll read more about.  It appears the Republican insiders don’t like Newt.  In our final story we look at Winston Churchill and see if Newt is our American Churchill. 

1.   Voters Flee Democratic Party

President Obama’s uphill battle to re-election is getting steeper.

A report released today by the centrist think-tank Third Way showed that MORE THAN 825,000 VOTERS IN EIGHT KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES HAVE FLED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY SINCE OBAMA WON ELECTION IN 2008.

“The numbers show that Democrats’ path to victory just got harder,” said Lanae Erickson, the report’s co-author. “WE ARE SEEING BOTH AN INCREASE IN INDEPENDENTS AND A DECREASE IN DEMOCRATS and that means the coalition they have to assemble is going to rely even more on independents in 2012 than it did in 2008.”

Amid frustrating partisan gridlock and unprecedentedly low party-approval ratings, the number of voters registering under a major party is falling fast, but it is also falling disproportionately.

In eight states that will be must wins in 2012  – Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina and Pennsylvania – DEMOCRATS LOST 5.4 PERCENT OF THEIR REGISTERED VOTERS WHILE REPUBLICANS LOST 3.1 PERCENT. The number of independent voters in those states jumped 3.4 percent.

“People are frustrated and the way you tune out in American politics is that is you drop the label of the two parties,” said Steven Jarding, a Harvard public policy professor and Democratic campaign strategist. “The danger for Obama in this is he is not only going to have to capture them but capture more of them because there are less Democratic voters.”…

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/12/voters-flee-democratic-party-in-key-swing-states/

Less democratic voters sounds like music to your ears. 

2.   Five Big Lies In Obama’s Economic Fairness Speech

Election '12: One thing is certainly true about President Obama — NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES PEOPLE POINT OUT THE FALSEHOODS IN HIS SPEECHES, HE JUST KEEPS MAKING THEM. Case in point: his latest "economic fairness" address.

In that speech Tuesday, Obama once again tried to build a case for his liberal, big-spending, tax-hiking, regulatory agenda. But as with so many of his past appeals, Obama's argument rests on a pile of untruths. Among the most glaring:

• TAX CUTS AND DEREGULATION HAVE "NEVER WORKED" TO GROW THE ECONOMY. There's so much evidence to disprove this claim, it's hard to know where to start. But let's begin with the fact that countries with greater economic freedom — lower taxes, less government, sound money, free trade — consistently produce greater overall prosperity….

BUSH'S TAX CUTS ON THE RICH ONLY MANAGED TO PRODUCED "MASSIVE DEFICITS" AND THE "SLOWEST JOB GROWTH IN HALF A CENTURY." Budget data make clear that Obama's spending hikes, not Bush's tax cuts, produced today's massive deficits.

And Obama only gets his "slowest job growth" number by including huge job losses during his own term in office. Also, monthly pre-recession job growth under Bush was about 40% higher than post-recession growth has been under Obama.

DURING THE BUSH YEARS, "WE HAD WEAK REGULATION, WE HAD LITTLE OVERSIGHT." This is patently false. REGULATORY STAFFING CLIMBED 42% UNDER BUSH, AND REGULATORY SPENDING SHOT UP 50%, according to a Washington University in St. Louis/George Washington University study….

http://news.investors.com/Article/594075/201112071902/obama-reruns-5-lies-in-fairness-speech.htm

Obama and his supporters keep saying these things and like Dr. Goebbels said 70 years ago, if you tell a lie often enough pretty soon you’ll start believing it yourself. 

3.  Obama’s Fairness Speech

President Obama spoke in Osawatomie, Kansas today, speaking in the vein of the “New Nationalism” speech Teddy Roosevelt gave there a century ago. There was a lot of the usual Obama stump content, including pleas for infrastructure spending, DEMANDS FOR THE RICH TO “PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE,” AND THE TRADITIONAL SHOUT-OUT TO WARREN BUFFETT’S  SECRETARY – a perennial class-warfare martyr who pays a higher tax rate (but a miniscule fraction of the tax dollars) coughed up by her boss. She belongs on Mount Rushmore at this point.

Buried beneath the tired Obama 2012 campaign claptrap – and I wonder if even some of the President’s dwindling base of fervent supporters aren’t growing weary of hearing the exact same focus-grouped phrases tediously repeated, over and over again – were two central ideas, tied back to the “New Nationalism” theme. FIRST: IT’S CRUCIAL FOR AMERICA TO COLLECTIVELY RECOVER ITS ECONOMIC GREATNESS BY PITCHING IN, PAYING FAIR SHARES, and working together under the direction of a benevolent government that will coach Team America to Win The Future. SECOND: EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY BY THE SAME SET OF RULES.

THESE TWO IDEAS ARE ENTIRELY CONTRADICTORY. The Obama presidency comes off as deranged because it’s impossible to reconcile them without going mad.

For example, IF EVERYONE IS SUPPOSED TO PLAY BY THE SAME SET OF RULES, WHY DO WE NEED 30+ “CZARS” TO EXERCISE HEAVILY FUNDED, LARGELY UNACCOUNTABLE POWERS OVER AMERICANS WHO HAVE COMMITTED NO CRIMES? If we’re all going to play by the same rules now, does that mean the President’s buddies are going to return their ObamaCare waivers?

Indeed, the central concept underlying liberal and socialist thought, THE IMMENSE PROGRESSIVE TAX SYSTEM, IS FOUNDED ON THE CONCEPT OF TREATING PEOPLE “UNFAIRLY.” Obama complained in his Osawatomie speech about sinister millionaires taking advantage of too many “loopholes” to avoid high taxes (hi, Warren Buffett’s secretary!) However, he didn’t have much to say about the huge constellation of manifestly “unfair” rules designed to penalize activities the government disapproves of, or subsidize objectives it finds worthy. ..

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=47974

Contradictions don’t seem to bother liberals.  They fight racism with racism.  The country needs jobs and Obama does whatever he can to strangle these jobs in their cribs (See Keystone).  They are against waterboarding because they deem it torture and yet are using drones to kill American citizens. 

4.  Obama threatens veto if pipeline decision is added to payroll tax cut

The battle between the White House and Republicans over the Keystone XL pipeline escalated Wednesday with a veto threat delivered personally by President Obama.

OBAMA WARNED THAT HE WOULD VETO AN EXTENSION OF THE PAYROLL-TAX CUT, HIS TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY, IF HOUSE REPUBLICANS LINK IT TO A MEASURE THAT WOULD FORCE THE ADMINISTRATION TO GREENLIGHT THE PIPELINE PROJECT.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/197901-obama-would-reject-gop-bid-to-tie-payroll-tax-cut-bill-to-keystone-pipeline-decision

So Obama will take a win/win proposition (extension of a tax break for the American public and a pipeline that will provide 20,000 jobs immediately and 200,000 jobs in the future) and veto it???  Actually it isn’t that surprising. 

5.   Chris Christie Interrupted by OWS hecklers:  deals with them

….“You know what, WE’RE USED TO DEALING WITH JOKERS LIKE THIS IN NEW JERSEY ALL THE TIME,” Christie said, as the protesters filed out. “So you guys go all out and chant and do what it is that you want to do.”

Once the room quieted and the protesters were locked outside, Christie resumed speaking and offered his thoughts on the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“Here’s the way I feel about it: THEY REPRESENT AN ANGER IN OUR COUNTRY THAT BARACK OBAMA HAS CAUSED,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “He’s a typical cynical Chicago... politician who runs for office and PROMISES EVERYTHING AND THEN COMES TO OFFICE AND DISAPPOINTS, and so their anger is rooted not in me or Mitt Romney, THEIR ANGER IS ROOTED IN THE FACT THAT THEY BELIEVED IN THIS HOPE AND CHANGE GARBAGE.”

Christie called them disillusioned and said he “feels bad” for them.

“Now they are angry but they’re not mature enough to know they should be angry with themselves,” he said.

http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/christie-heckles-occupy-protesters-iowa/243566

I do like Chris Christie.  He’s right, they did believe all this “hope and change garbage.”  It appears Obama has gone from Hope and Change to Fear the Republicans, Envy the Rich, and Resent everyone else and OWS has bought the “new garbage” hook, line and sinker.

6.  Newt and the Ruling Class

I just returned from the belly of the beast, Washington, D.C. There is not a more parochial or insular city in the country. While there, I had a conversation with two members of what can be described only as the Republican establishment, one in the print media and the other a K Street lobbyist. In short order, the conversation turned to Newt Gingrich and his surge to the top of the ladder.

THERE IS NO ONE MORE REVILED IN WASHINGTON THAN NEWT. IF ANYONE BELIEVES HE IS PART OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, HE OR SHE IS MISTAKEN. In fact, it would not be a terribly great stretch to say some in the Republican wing of the governing class would prefer to see Obama re-elected than Newt in the Oval Office. However, the vast majority of this class are now in a panic as the preordained choice, Mitt Romney, is truly threatened by the rabble in flyover country constantly looking for anyone but Romney. These people have settled, so it seems, on Gingrich. The increasing volume of commentary of the Beltway insiders and attendant vitriol toward Newt has become a near-hysterical tidal wave rehashing and embellishing Newt's supposed failings and personal "baggage."

Much of this stems from his days as House minority leader and later speaker, when HE RUFFLED MANY FEATHERS AS HIS, AT TIMES, ABRASIVE AND ASSERTIVE PERSONALITY WAS ON FULL DISPLAY. Newt was relentless, with a near-imperious and dictatorial demeanor, in getting many of his and other conservative ideas into law, and he never failed to expound on whatever came to the forefront of his mind. One must realize that THERE ARE NO MORE TENDER EGOS THAN THOSE IN CONGRESS, IN THE WASHINGTON MEDIA, OR IN THE UPPER REACHES OF THE ENTRENCHED BUREAUCRACY. They are all always the smartest in any room (regardless of party affiliation) and do not take kindly to being told otherwise or denigrated by someone who refused to become absorbed by and subservient to the dominant Washington culture.

Thus, many cannot fathom why Newt, of all people, would be in first place in the polls….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/12/newt_and_the_governing_class.html#ixzz1fwU2enFp

Newt is looking better and better to me. 

7.   Is Newt an American Churchill?

As one of the most polarizing figures in modern American politics, Newt Gingrich has racked up a huge inventory of pungent criticism of both his ideas and his character — much of it from his fellow conservatives. National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru, for example, notes Newt’s “erratic behavior, lack of discipline and self-absorption” and “need to justify his every petty move by reference to some grand theory.”

But before becoming prime minister, Winston Churchill was often dismissed in similar terms by members of his own party, who complained that “his planning is all wishing and guessing,” that he was “a genius without judgment,” and that he had been “on every side of every question.” His many non-fiction books were even characterized as “autobiographies disguised as history of the universe.” This is not to suggest that Newt is the next Churchill, which would indeed feed Newt’s grandiosity. Rather, it is to prompt us to recognize one important fact and to ask two questions that have heretofore not been asked….

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/285198/newt-churchill-steven-f-hayward

An interesting article that looks at Winston Churchill and how he ended up being the perfect man for his time in history and wonders if Newt might be the same. 

Spending cuts important to Republicans

Boehner draws lines in the sand

Based on reports from POLITICO and NYT, we know the following:

• EVERYTHING IS "ON THE TABLE" (Medicare, etc.) except taxes. That's the one thing Boehner won't accept.

• He doesn't feel the debt limit is urgent.

• He doesn't think a default is a real risk.

• HE WON'T SUPPORT SPENDING CUT "TRIGGERS" -- which are seen as a gimmick to kick the can down the road. THE CUTS MUST HAPPEN NOW.

• Defense spending needs a "fundamental review."

• Regarding Wall Street unease over the failure to enact, Boehner insists that not acting would be far more damaging.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT BOEHNER SEEMS TO HAVE BOXED HIMSELF IN WITH A PRETTY TOUGH LINE THAT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO GO BACK ON WITHOUT BASICALLY BEING A SELLOUT. If you thought he was going to be the pragmatic one, and try to work out a deal with moderate Republicans, think again. At least that's his stance right now.

As POLITICO's Jake Sherman puts it: He's now on a collision course with Democrats

http://www.businessinsider.com/john-boehners-huge-debt-ceiling-speech-2011-5#ixzz1LwpyNF7o

While the author seems to think Boehner has “boxed himself in” I look at this and see a principled stand for cutting spending. But I agree with Sherman, that Boehner is on a collision course with Democrats.


Kyl: Spending cuts of trillions, not billions

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) said Monday that Republicans will LIKELY DEMAND CUTS TO THE BUDGET WORTH $6 TRILLION OVER THE NEXT DECADE IN EXCHANGE FOR VOTING TO RAISE THE NATIONAL DEBT LIMIT.

“You’re going to have to have significant upfront cuts,” he told reporters Monday. “You’re going to have to have significant constraints on future spending. You’re going to have to have an agreement on the next several years of budget numbers so we know exactly what those are. I think there will be other constraints on spending – there is more than one way to do that, I think there are several things that might be done….”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54606.html#ixzz1LwxZT7mQ

It appears the Republicans have seen what the problem is.



Christie: Obamacare killing the states

Widely reported in the blog world is the fact that the latest projections show that OBAMACARE WILL INCREASE THE FEDERAL DEFICIT, NOT DECREASE IT AS PROGRESSIVES CONTEND. What is not widely reported is that the mandates that accompany the government run-health care plan saddle the states with an oppressive financial burden...

…“Listen, I think that there’s got to be a credible plan that’s put forward that deals with entitlements in a serious way," said Christie on the red carpet of MSNBC's White House Correspondents Dinner after-party. "And, you know, I THINK CONGRESSMAN [PAUL] RYAN’S GOT A GOOD SET OF IDEAS THERE. WHETHER IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO GO, WE’LL WAIT AND SEE.
"But I think as a governor what I’m most concerned about is getting us some more flexibility in Medicaid," said Christie. "IT’S REALLY KIND OF DROWNING THE STATES. AND SO IF HIS BUDGET GIVES US MORE FLEXIBILITY IN MEDICAID, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD. But you know I’m more concerned about what I have to do in New Jersey than I’m concerned about what they’re going to do nationally.”

http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com/2011/05/chris-christie-obamacare-is-killing.html

Obamacare must be repealed.

A sluggish recovery

The mainstream media did a heroic job of making the mixed jobs numbers on Friday look good. Then THE EXPERTS POINTED OUT THAT THE 244,000 NEW JOBS IN THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS ESTABLISHMENT SURVEY WERE MOSTLY A STATISTICAL ARTIFACT.

If you look, as I do, at the BLS Household Survey, you see a downtick in Employment of 190,000 jobs and an uptick in Labor Force of 15,000. (That's why the Unemployment Rate went up to 9.0 percent.) Don't understand the numbers? Then here's a chart of US Employment since the start of 2008 to show you what is happening….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/a_sluggish_recovery_for_presid.html


Keynesian economics never worked, and Obama is proving it once again.


The Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) is NICE

In March of 2010, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi famously said, "We have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it." Subsequent study of this leviathan legislation has brought some truly startling revelations to light; however, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT PAYMENT ADVISORY BOARD (IPAB) WILL LIKELY PROVE THE MOST DANGEROUS TO OUR LIBERTY.

IPAB is a fifteen-member board, appointed by the president and charged with developing recommendations regarding procedures, medications, and spending priorities for Medicare and Medicaid. OSTENSIBLY, THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE TO DISCOVER WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THE BEST PRACTICES, DEVISING METHODS BY WHICH THESE PROGRAMS MAY PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES AT LOWER COSTS.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/the_independent_payment_adviso.html

If you don’t understand how the IPAB is supposed to work this lays it out.



Mediscare: A leftist view

I found this article and the paragraph below caught my attention

THE EDITORIAL ARGUES THAT "SIMPLY PRESERVING MEDICARE AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT AN OPTION." OF COURSE IT'S AN OPTION. We could raise taxes to the levels that other advanced democracies employ. We could cut Medicare in some way that doesn't both waste money on privatization and dwindle to grossly inadequate funding levels. Indeed, several bipartisan proposals, including the sainted Bowles-Simpson plan, do exactly that.

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/88029/mediscare-and-the-conventional-wisdom

Why I was struck by this is the author says “preserving Medicare as we know it is an option” and then he goes on to say how we can cut Medicare in ways he would approve of. So apparently it isn’t an option to him either, he just doesn’t know it.


Olbermann finds getting new staff is difficult

GASBAG KEITH OLBERMANN CAN'T SEEM TO WRANGLE STAFF FOR HIS CURRENT TV SHOW, "COUNTDOWN." Still in need of an executive producer and other staff, FAMOUSLY DIFFICULT OLBERMANN HAS CRAWLED BACK TO HIS CONTACTS AT MSNBC, MANY OF WHOM HE OFFENDED WHILE THERE, TO BEG FOR STAFF. "EVERYONE IS LAUGHING," said a source. "They would never leave the network to work for him." A witness recently saw him hobbling around the Upper East Side with a stick in his hand. Olbermann is recovering from a foot injury.

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/hobbling_gasbag_mU8w77Gr0Djcp9GZ1p4PgN#ixzz1LwnBJWZr

Perhaps his difficulties come from the fact he is “The Worst Person in the World.”



Kill or Waterboard? Which is more moral?

At the end of his "60 Minutes" interview, President Obama said of Osama bin Laden's death, "Justice was done. And I THINK THAT ANYONE WHO WOULD QUESTION THAT THE PERPETRATOR OF MASS MURDER ON AMERICAN SOIL DIDN'T DESERVE WHAT HE GOT NEEDS TO HAVE THEIR HEAD EXAMINED."

The longer he serves in office, the more Obama sounds like George W. Bush.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd also has started to sound like Bush. In her Sunday column, "KILLING EVIL DOESN'T MAKE US EVIL," Dowd writes that when Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden, it seemed like "the only civilized and morally sound response."

To review: OBAMA AND DOWD LONG HAVE CLAIMED THAT IT WAS MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE FOR U.S. INTELLIGENCE OPERATIVES TO WATERBOARD 9/11 MASTERMIND KHALID SHEIK MOHAMMED. Candidate Obama said that waterboarding was "never acceptable" because it contradicts our values. Obama even dished his now-Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, for having said in 2006 that she would authorize brutal interrogation measures to prevent a terrorist attack.

Apparently, it is consistent with Obama's and Dowd's values to shoot and kill an unarmed bin Laden -- as long as you don't waterboard him to learn possible intelligence that might prevent a terrorist attack first.

It's amazing how partisan politics can make the medicine go down….

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/10/obama_values_kill_but_dont_waterboard_109802.html

While like many conservatives I have no problem with killing Bin Laden, I also had no problem waterboarding Khalid Sheik Mohammed, it appears leftist don’t understand the cognitive dissidence of their stance.



UBL in Pakistan for 7.5 years, not just 5

THE TERROR CHIEF SPENT 2½ YEARS IN THE QUIET HILL VILLAGE BEFORE MOVING IN 2005 TO THE COMPOUND WHERE HE WAS KILLED.

It suggests he was able to run al-Qaeda from Pakistan for more than seven years.

US OFFICIALS ARE NOW CONVINCED HE WAS AIDED BY PAKISTAN'S ISI INTELLIGENCE SERVICE.

The second house was revealed by Bin Laden's youngest wife Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, 27, who was among 15 people held last week when US Navy Seals killed him at his Abbottabad compound.

YEMENI-BORN AMAL TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT THEY LIVED IN THE NEARBY VILLAGE OF CHAK SHAH MOHAMMAD. AN ISI OFFICIAL SAID: "SHE SAID THEY WERE THERE FOR NEARLY 2½ YEARS BEFORE MOVING TO ABBOTTABAD AT THE END OF 2005."

Cops yesterday searched caves in the village for signs Bin Laden used them - as locals told of "mysterious foreigners" in the area in 2004. Farmer Mohammad Younas, 55, said: "They asked me if there was any land for sale."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3569683/Osama-Bin-Laden-lived-unchallenged-in-a-second-safe-house-in-Pakistan.html#ixzz1Lwowd9Ul


Pakistan has a lot of “splanin” to do. Jay Leno in his Monday night monologue referred to Pakistan as Pak-o-liars.

Yemeni Man Screaming “Allahu Akbar” Tries to Rush Cockpit

The passengers sat stunned as they watched a man walk quickly toward the front of American Airlines Flight 1561 as it was descending toward San Francisco. HE WAS SCREAMING AND THEN BEGAN POUNDING ON THE COCKPIT DOOR.

"I kept saying to myself: 'What's he doing? Does he have a bomb? Is he armed?'" passenger Angelina Marty said.

Another shocked passenger, Andrew Wai, thought, "Could this be it? Are we going down?"

Within moments Sunday, a flight attendant tackled Rageh Almurisi. Authorities do not yet have a motive.

While Almurisi, 28, of Vallejo, Calif., has no clear or known ties to terrorism, AUTHORITIES SAY, THE INCIDENT UNDERSCORED FEARS THAT EXTREMISTS MAY TRY TO MOUNT ATTACKS TO RETALIATE FOR THE DEATH OF AL-QAIDA LEADER OSAMA BIN LADEN LAST WEEK

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ivPF__jOfd6yJW9fbUdmWcQcEgBQ?docId=0ecb96a28be64068977a20f4b9202c31

This is a job for ICE. Deport him.



The Obama myth

…. Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., had grown up in Kenya "herding goats." His mother, Ann Dunham, Obama traced to Kansas, as he always did. "MY PARENTS SHARED NOT ONLY AN IMPROBABLE LOVE," Obama continued, "they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation."

In the frequent retelling of this tale, Obama Sr. left the family for Harvard well after the family had cohered. "I get it," Obama told America's schoolchildren in 2009. "I know what that's like. MY FATHER LEFT MY FAMILY WHEN I WAS TWO YEARS OLD, AND I WAS RAISED BY A SINGLE MOTHER…."

…. OBAMA'S MOTHER, ANN DUNHAM, HAD LEFT HAWAII WITHOUT HER PRESUMED HUSBAND LONG BEFORE HER BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY.

By 2009, WorldNetDaily had confirmed the specifics of Dunham's departure. WND posted DUNHAM'S TRANSCRIPTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE, WHICH SHOWED THAT SHE HAD BEGUN TAKING TWO NIGHT CLASSES ON SEPTEMBER 25, 1961, ABOUT SEVEN WEEKS AFTER THE BABY'S BIRTH. WND PLACED HER ARRIVAL IN SEATTLE ABOUT A MONTH EARLIER.

This meant, of course, that the story Obama had been telling about his origins -- what Obama-friendly biographer David Remnick calls Obama's "signature appeal: the use of the details of his own life as a reflection of a kind of multicultural ideal" -- was profoundly false. THERE WAS NO OBAMA FAMILY, NO SHARED "FAITH IN THE POSSIBILITIES OF THIS NATION," NO "IMPROBABLE LOVE."

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/05/how_the_media_falsify_obamas_o.html

It appears Obama’s mother and father never lived together after he was born and his rendition of what happened was more wishful thinking than actual fact. So what else is new?



Kloppenburg Demands "Ballot Security" (but not in Dane County)

LAST NIGHT I CALLED ON JOANNE KLOPPENBURG TO CONCEDE. I don't think she listened.

Kloppenburg's only chance of winning is to knock out several thousand legitimate votes by challenging "ballot security" based on gaps and openings in ballot bags.

But I also noted that this was just a game. THE ACTUAL RECOUNT NUMBERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE CITY OF BROOKFIELD, SHOWED THAT ANY SUPPOSED "BALLOT SECURITY" FLAWS DID NOT AFFECT THE VOTE COUNT. There was no ballot bag stuffing or other tampering with ballots.

And now there is proof of Kloppenburg's craven gamesmanship, because KLOPPENBURG HAS IGNORED ALMOST IDENTICAL BALLOT BAG ISSUES IN DANE COUNTY, WHICH UNLIKE WAUKESHA COUNTY, WENT HEAVILY IN HER FAVOR…
…Stop now, JoAnne, while you still have some small measure of dignity.

YOU ARE ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A VERB.

http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2011/05/kloppenburg-demands-ballot-security-but.html

I loved the last sentence where Professor Jacobson warned her she was in danger of becoming a verb. Well said!

San Francisco’s “social justice” requirements costs millions

San Francisco's much-heralded "social justice" requirements for city contracts are costing local taxpayers millions of dollars a year in overcharges, according to workers in departments ranging from the Municipal Transportation Agency to the Department of Emergency Management.

In one case, a MUNI WORKER SAID THE CITY PAID $3,000 FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY TRAY. SUCH PARTS CAN BE FOUND ONLINE FOR $12 TO $300, DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF VEHICLE. City officials said they couldn't verify that purchase, saying the trays are usually bought in bulk with the battery.

OTHER CITY PURCHASING POLICIES, IF FOLLOWED, WOULD MEAN PAYING ABOUT $240 FOR GETTING A COPY OF A KEY THAT ACTUALLY COST A WORKER $1.35 TO GET DONE AT A HARDWARE STORE ON HIS BREAK, the employee said. Another city worker called the use of catalog pricing for supplies "Pentagon-style purchasing."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/07/MN7T1JB8JF.DTL#ixzz1LyDEzPBL

What I found interesting was not the ridiculous prices illustrated here, but just how much is controlled. It gives you a glimpse of what more government trying to do the right thing costs and not just in the term of dollars, but hassle as well.



New paper: Increased solar activity caused far more global warming than assumed by the IPCC

A recent peer-reviewed paper published in Astronomy & Astrophysics finds that solar activity has increased since the Little Ice Age by far more than previously assumed by the IPCC. The paper finds that the TOTAL SOLAR IRRADIANCE (TSI) HAS INCREASED SINCE THE END OF THE LITTLE ICE AGE (AROUND 1850) BY UP TO 6 TIMES MORE THAN ASSUMED BY THE IPCC. Thus, much of the global warming observed since 1850 may instead be attributable to the Sun (called "solar forcing"), rather than man-made CO2 as assumed by the IPCC.

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-paper-increased-solar-activity.html


Another nail in the global warming coffin. The sun might actually have something to do with warming?  Who would of thunk it? 

Done in one: Why Obama will be an expresident in less than two years.

Why Obama will be a one term President

The president can hold as many town halls as he wants. He can attack Republicans to his heart’s content. He may be, as his supporters insist, hyper-rational, the very model of the complex, nuanced thinker, perhaps even “the smartest guy ever to become president.” He can be charming on Oprah. He can do lots of things. BUT ONE THING HE CANNOT DO IS ESCAPE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS. AND IF THE ECONOMY REMAINS FLAT ON ITS BACK—IF THINGS DON’T PICK UP SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN NOW AND THE SUMMER OF 2012—THEN THE ODDS ARE QUITE HIGH THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT A ONE-TERM PRESIDENT.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/04/28/how-smartest-president-ever-becomes-one-term-president/


Read it to get all the particulars that represent what his actions have gotten us. Obama is a disaster as a president.



Stagflation comes to Obamaland

Call it the "excuses recovery." President Obama and his administration have been warning for the last week that THE JUST ANNOUNCED FIRST QUARTER GDP GROWTH RATE OF 1.8 PERCENT WOULD BE WEAK, AND THEY HAVE BEEN QUICK TO BLAME IT ON THE RECENT SPIKE PRICES IN OIL. The problem is that this whole recovery has been anemic, not just one or two slow quarters of economic growth.

SEVEN QUARTERS INTO THE OBAMA RECOVERY, GDP GROWTH HAS AVERAGED AN ANNUAL RATE OF ONLY 2.8 PERCENT. IN CONTRAST, SINCE 1970, THE FIRST SEVEN QUARTERS OF PREVIOUS RECOVERIES AVERAGED 4.6 PERCENT. The poor growth rate is especially surprising since the preceding recession was so severe, there should have been ample room for high growth as the unemployed returned to work. For example, the REAGAN RECOVERY FOLLOWED A SIMILARLY HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND SAW THE ECONOMY GROW AT AN AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF 7 PERCENT.

The slight decrease in unemployment – currently at 8.8 percent -- has been touted as good news. Yet that slight drop has largely been the result of job-seekers giving up looking for work and leaving the labor force. ON TOP OF THAT, THE NEW JOBS THAT HAVE OPENED UP HAVE PRIMARILY BEEN TEMPORARY JOBS, THE NUMBER OF PERMANENT JOBS HAS ACTUALLY FALLEN.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/04/29/recovery-obama-offers-excuses-solutions/

I’ve seen liberal tout 3 quarters of growth,decreased unemployment, etc as reason Obama would win reelection. It just isn’t so.



Chris Christie Addresses Harvard on Education

Addressing the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Askwith Forum on Friday afternoon, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie chose two audience members from the front row, asked them their first names, and, casting them in the roles of two teachers being evaluated at the end of the year, as the school principal, addressed them something like this.

New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, April 28, 2011

“ROBERT, YOU HAVE BEEN ONE OF OUR BEST TEACHERS THIS YEAR. You are always here long before the morning bell and long after the afternoon bell. Your lesson plans are continually updated and innovative. Not only do your students love you, but by every measure we have your students are excelling. Parents call me and tell me how great you are at teaching their children and at communicating to them how their children are doing. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A 4% RAISE.”

“NOW PAMELA, YOU ARE A LOST CAUSE. Pamela, we have all been disappointed again this year with your performance. You show up every day with the bell and you leave every day with the bell. Your lesson plans haven’t changed in years and your teaching shows it. Your students complain and the parents of your students complain all the time. Furthermore, the performance of your students is systematically well below average. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR AND I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A 4% RAISE.”

AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH EDUCATION IN NEW JERSEY.

Compounding that problem, Christie said, as he so often has, that the teachers unions in New Jersey are “a political thuggery operation” that PUTS THE INTERESTS OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS AND THEMSELVES, THE UNION LEADERS, FAR ABOVE THE INTERESTS OF THE STUDENTS – if the students interests are ever considered at all.

Christie pointed out that 31 of New Jersey’s 500 plus school districts, THE WORST URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS, RECEIVE STATE AND FEDERAL SUPPORT TO THE TUNE OF $16,000 PER PUPIL PER YEAR, while the remaining 500 or so districts receive state and federal support of $2,900 per pupil per year. THE COST OF EDUCATING THESE URBAN SCHOOL STUDENTS COMES OUT TO SOMETHING OVER $33,000 PER PUPIL PER YEAR. (By comparison, the average cost of educating a pupil per year in Massachusetts is around $13,000).

http://www.mikestopa.com/2011/04/chris-christie-teaches-at-harvard/

Money isn’t the problem in failing schools and throwing more money at it isn't the solution.

Government shutdowns and other mixed blessings

A Government Shutdown: Who to blame


We are seeing a lot of talk about a government shutdown as both sides of the aisle jockey to assign the blame to the other side. THE DEMOCRATS TALKING POINTS ARE THAT THE MEASURES PROPOSED BY THE GOP ARE EXTREME AND THAT THE GOP HAS BEEN HIJACKED BY AN EXTREMIST TEA PARTY.

In the meantime, the Republicans claim that they don’t want a shutdown, but if it comes it will be the Democrats fault. First THE DEMOCRATS FAILED TO PASS A BUDGET BACK LAST SEPTEMBER WHEN THEY HAD MAJORITIES IN BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS. Second with a projected deficit of $1.6 trillion the Democrats have offered up only $30 billion in cuts which equals 1.9% of the deficit. The Republicans are attempting to double that cut to $60 billion or less than 4%.

The CURRENT SPENDING IS AT A RATE THAT WILL SPEND $3.8 TRILLION DOLLARS. The Democrats seem to find cutting that by $60 billion is something we cannot afford to do. If we look at spending in Bush’s last year and increase it by 3% for each year since we find that spending should be $3.17 trillion. This means Obama has increased spending by 633 billion above that figure. THE DEMOCRATS SEEM TO BE ONLY ABLE TO FIND CUTS OF 5% OF THAT EXCESS INCREASE AND THINK THAT 10% IS EXTREME.

Yesterday CHUCK SHUMER WAS CAUGHT GIVING SOME FELLOW DEMOCRATS THE TALKING POINTS about extreme cuts and the TEA Party while HOWARD DEAN ADMITTED THAT IF HE WERE STILL THE CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HE WOULD BE SILENTLY ROOTING FOR A SHUTDOWN.

We are in full partisan mode right now, but THE REPUBLICAN PARTISAN MODE IS MUCH BETTER FOR THE COUNTRY than is the Democratic one. But a shutdown would test my viewpoint. If the public supports balancing the budget they will blame the Democrats. If they don’t, they will blame the Republicans. In either case it probably is a good idea to find out now where the public is.



Republicans jump on Shumer’s gaffe

Republican leaders wasted little time playing up reports Tuesday that New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the third-ranking Senate Democrat, told other members of his party that the caucus had urged him TO START CALLING REPUBLICAN BUDGET CUT PROPOSALS “EXTREME” DURING PUBLIC BATTLE BETWEEN THE PARTIES OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING.

“Chuck Schumer did us a favor. He exposed their tactic,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, told reporters. “You heard his comment. HE’S BASICALLY INSTRUCTING HIS MEMBERS TO DEEM ANY SPENDING CUT UNREASONABLE. ANY SPENDING CUT. SO CLEARLY THEY’RE NOT SERIOUS.”

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/29/republican-leaders-react-to-schumer-gaffe-on-budget-strategy/#ixzz1I53BeE00

Are the Democrats serious? Only about getting a political advantage and not about fixing the biggest problem the country faces.



Obama tanking in the polls

AMERICAN VOTERS DISAPPROVE 48 - 42 PERCENT OF THE JOB PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA IS DOING AND SAY 50 - 41 PERCENT HE DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE RE-ELECTED IN 2012, both all-time lows, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 46 - 46 percent job approval rating and a 45 - 47 percent split on the President's re-election in a March 3 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. IN A HYPOTHETICAL 2012 MATCHUP, PRESIDENT OBAMA GETS 36 PERCENT OF THE VOTE TO 37 PERCENT FOR AN UNNAMED REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER.

http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/03/30/obama-tanking-polls


The more you know about Obama, the more uncomfortable you feel.


Christie at this point the front runner for the Republicans

The Newsmax/IBOPE Zogby survey shows CHRISTIE TO BE THE CHOICE OF 23.6 PERCENT OF LIKELY GOP PRIMARY VOTERS. That dwarfs the 10.3 percent for second-place finisher Sarah Palin.

“Conservative voters like Chris Christie,” pollster John Zogby tells Newsmax, “because he offers AN ACTUAL GOVERNING MODEL THAT’S CONSISTENT WITH HIS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY.

“Essentially, he has been fearless in terms of tackling unions, tackling budget cuts, and so on,” Zogby says. “But they also know that he’s an affable personality, that HE DOES NOT COME OFF AS THIS ANGRY RADICAL, BUT AS A CREDIBLE FELLOW.

“And at the same time,” says Zogby, “HE’S PORTLY, HE’S REAL, HE’S NOT OUT OF CENTRAL CASTING. And in many ways, for Republicans, he’s the un-Obama.”

Newsmax/Zogby Poll: Christie Leads GOP Pack

The more you know about Christie, the more comfortable you feel. I guess he is the “un-Obama.” Can you imagine Obama and Christie debating? They would look like Laurel and Hardy and we know who the smart one was with those two.


“Selective Indignation”

There was nothing particularly wrong about Sen. Dick Durbin holding a hearing today on anti-Muslim bigotry. It’s just that NOBODY AT THE HEARING WAS ABLE TO GIVE A PARTICULARLY COMPELLING REASON FOR IT.

Muslim Advocates Executive Director Farhana Khera testified about “A GROWING MENACE” of “RISING” BIGOTRY against Muslim Americans. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez spoke of the “steady stream of violence” against the Islamic community. The hearing was heavy on anecdotes and light on statistics.

There’s no denying that there have been contemptible attacks against Muslims in this country. But the idea that the number of incidents are “increasing” simply hasn’t been supported by federal hate crime reports. SINCE THE SPIKE IN ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIMES IMMEDIATELY AFTER 9/11, THE NUMBER OF THESE CRIMES HAS ACTUALLY DECREASED.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/03/29/%E2%80%9Cselective-indignation%E2%80%9D/


It appears the left’s narrative is not supported by the facts. Of course this really isn’t new.



Pigford Case: Racism or Racist fraud?

It’s back to business on our investigation of the Pigford story – the ongoing fraud that needs your help and attention to make it stop. The mainstream – with a few exceptions like John Stossel – are IGNORING THE STORY OF THE ONE OF THE BIGGEST FRAUDS IN U.S. HISTORY BECAUSE IT DOESN’T FIT THEIR NARRATIVE. THE GOOD GUYS ARE THE REAL FARMERS who faced discrimination at the hands of the USDA and the people, mostly conservative at this point, trying to bring their story to light. THE BAD GUYS ARE THE TRIAL LAWYERS, POLITICIANS, RACE HUSTLERS AND THOSE INSIDE THE USDA WHO PROFIT BY LYING TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW THE PIGFORD SETTLEMENT IS A ‘VICTORY’ FOR BLACK FARMERs.

http://biggovernment.com/lstranahan/2011/03/29/original-pigford-claimant-calls-it-one-of-the-biggest-conspiracies-against-the-u-s-treasury-ever/


This is a classic case of how the government can screw something up and then screw up even worse as they try to rectify it. It’s a story of race, fraud, and the worst of our legal and political system.

Cash for clunker part two

Ready for another cash for clunkers program? It looks like GENERAL MOTORS IS ATTEMPTING TO REPLACE IT'S OWN CONSUMER INCENTIVES WITH TAX PAYER MONEY. The car company, bailed out of bankruptcy in 2009 by the American tax payer, APPEARS TO BE TURNING THE GOVERNMENT INTO AN AUTOMATIC REBATE PROVIDER.

The Obama administration and their friends on Capitol Hill are floating around A PROPOSAL TO CHANGE THE $7500 TAX CREDIT FOR GREEN VEHICLES. This change can be found not only in President Barack Obama's budget but also a bill proposed by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan Democrat.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/mar/29/cash-clunkers-2-dumped-capitol-hill/

Once again Washington wants to pick the winners and the losers by unsustainable rebates for favored projects. So a $41000 Chevy Volt will only cost $33,500 after the government’s rebate. I don’t think we will see a lot of poor or lower middle class people paying that kind of money for a car.

The Green Energy Economy Reconsidered

"Green" energy such as wind, solar and biomass presently constitute only 3.6% of fuel used to generate electricity in the U.S. But if another "I Have a Dream" speech were given at the base of the Lincoln Memorial, it would undoubtedly urge us on to a promised land where renewable energy completely replaced fossil fuels and nuclear power.

How much will this particular dream cost? ENERGY EXPERT VACLAV SMIL CALCULATES THAT ACHIEVING THAT GOAL IN A DECADE--FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AL GORE'S PROPOSAL--WOULD INCUR BUILDING COSTS AND WRITE-DOWNS ON THE ORDER OF $4 TRILLION. Taking a bit more time to reach this promised land would help reduce that price tag a bit, but simply building the requisite generators would cost $2.5 trillion alone.

Let's assume, however, that we could afford that. HAVE WE EVER SEEN SUCH A "GREEN ECONOMY"? YES WE HAVE; IN THE 13TH CENTURY.

Renewable energy is quite literally the energy of yesterday. Few seem to realize that WE ABANDONED "GREEN" ENERGY CENTURIES AGO FOR FIVE VERY GOOD REASONS.

First, GREEN ENERGY IS DIFFUSE, and it takes a tremendous amount of land and material to harness even a little bit of energy. Jesse Ausubel, director of the Program for the Human Environment and senior research associate at Rockefeller University, calculates, for instance, that the entire state of Connecticut (that is, if Connecticut were as windy as the southeastern Colorado plains) would need to be devoted to wind turbines to power the city of New York….

http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/28/green-energy-economics-opinions-jerry-taylor-peter-van-doren.html

This is a good summary of why those proponents of green energy now don’t really know what they are talking about.



Book review: Why Experts Get the Future Wrong

….This is the problem Dan Gardner tackles in “FUTURE BABBLE: WHY EXPERT PREDICTIONS ARE NEXT TO WORTHLESS, AND YOU CAN DO BETTER.” Gardner, a Canadian journalist and author of “The Science of Fear,” takes as his starting point the work of Philip Tetlock, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Beginning in the 1980s, TETLOCK EXAMINED 27,451 FORECASTS BY 284 ACADEMICS, PUNDITS AND OTHER PROGNOSTICATORS. The study was complex, but the conclusion can be summarized simply: THE EXPERTS BOMBED. NOT ONLY WERE THEY WORSE THAN STATISTICAL MODELS, THEY COULD BARELY EKE OUT A TIE WITH THE PROVERBIAL DART-THROWING CHIMPS.

The most generous conclusion Tetlock could draw was that SOME EXPERTS WERE LESS AWFUL THAN OTHERS. Isaiah Berlin once quoted the Greek poet Archilochus to distinguish between two types of thinkers: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Berlin admired both ways of thinking, but Tetlock borrowed the metaphor to account for why some experts fared better. THE LEAST ACCURATE FORECASTERS, HE FOUND, WERE HEDGEHOGS: “thinkers who ‘know one big thing,’ AGGRESSIVELY EXTEND THE EXPLANATORY REACH OF THAT ONE BIG THING INTO NEW DOMAINS” AND “DISPLAY BRISTLY IMPATIENCE WITH THOSE WHO ‘DO NOT GET IT,’ ” he wrote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/books/review/book-review-future-babble-by-dan-gardner.html?_r=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimesscience&pagewanted=all


This is timely as the AGW hypothesis fades into the dustbin of human history. The climate hedgehogs have attributed everything under the sun that goes wrong to global warming.



Adolescent Challenges Einstein

Jacob Barnett is twelve years-old. He likes to play Halo, has favorite shows in the Disney Channel, and recently attended his first dance. HE HAS AN IQ HIGHER THAN EINSTEIN'S AT 170, can play classical masterpieces by memory on the piano, left high school by the age of 8, taught himself advanced mathematics within a two week period, and is currently getting so far ahead in university that he is likely to be given a PhD research position soon. NOW, THE BOY IS CHALLENGING EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RELATIVITY AND THE BIG BANG. By Mr. Barnett's calculations, EINSTEIN'S THEORY DOES NOT ADEQUATELY EXPLAIN HOW ALL THE CARBON THAT MAKES UP THINGS LIKE THE EARTH CAME INTO BEING, and that that Earth would have to be three times older than it is believed to be-- which he also deems improbable. As for what, if not the Big Bang, is responsible for all the carbon in the universe? "I'm still working on that," says the child prodigy. "I have an idea, but...I'm still working out the details."

http://nlt.ashbrook.org/2011/03/adolescent-challenges-einstein.php


This is an interesting story that is worth your time to read it. In it you will learn why Mars’ moons are potato shaped rather than round. Jacob figured it out when he was three years old.

Republicans are actually serious about the deficit

Daniels and Christie light fuse under GOP lawmakers

AS CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS MULL WHETHER TO ADDRESS THE GOVERNMENT'S LONG-TERM FISCAL PROBLEMS -- HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADERS ARE BEING PUSHED BY THE 87 FRESHMEN TO DO SO, while some Senate Republicans are seeking some bipartisan accords with Democratic colleagues -- two Republican governors barrelled into Washington with the message that the lawmakers better get moving. And that congressional Republicans might do just fine politically if they do.

The two Republican governors are Mitch Daniels of Indiana, who spoke to a Conservative Political Action Committee dinner Feb. 11, and Chris Christie of New Jersey, who spoke at American Enterprise Institute (where I am a resident fellow) on Feb. 16.

In style they're a contrast. Daniels is slight, balding and spoke quietly from a carefully prepared text. Christie is large and spoke bombastically without notes. But IN SUBSTANCE THEY WERE MUCH THE SAME.

They were both mightily concerned with what Daniels called "THE RED MENACE" -- "THE DEBTS OUR NATION HAS AMASSED FOR ITSELF OVER DECADES OF INDULGENCE." He warned that "federal spending commitments now in place will bring about the leviathan state" and "the slippage of the United States into a gray parity with the other nations of this Earth."

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/02/daniels-and-christie-light-fuse-under-gop-lawmakers-0#ixzz1EWFROvVE

These two could be very important over the next two years as the Republicans look for a Presidential candidate for the times.



Wis. GOP ups pressure on Dems to return and vote

WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS ON SUNDAY UPPED THE PRESSURE ON DEMOCRATS WHO FLED TO ILLINOIS TO RETURN HOME and vote on an anti-union bill, with the governor calling them obstructionists and a GOP lawmaker threatening to convene without them.

Gov. Scott Walker said the 14 minority Democrats who left Madison on Thursday were failing to do their jobs by "hiding out" in another state. And SENATE MAJORITY LEADER SCOTT FITZGERALD SAID HIS CHAMBER WOULD MEET TUESDAY TO ACT ON NON-SPENDING BILLS AND CONFIRM SOME OF THE GOVERNOR'S APPOINTEES EVEN IF THE DEMOCRATS DON'T SHOW UP - a scenario that should outrage their constituents.

Senate Democrats acknowledged that the 19 Republicans could pass any item that doesn't spend state money in their absence. The budget-repair bill they have been blocking requires a quorum of 20 senators to pass, while OTHER MEASURES REQUIRE ONLY A SIMPLE MAJORITY OF THE CHAMBER'S 33 MEMBERS.

Nonetheless, Democrats said they were standing firm in their opposition to the budget-repair bill, which would take away the right of most public employees to collectively bargain for their benefits and working conditions. Hundreds of protesters filled the Capitol for a sixth straight day, noisily calling on Walker to drop the plan they consider an assault on workers' rights.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WISCONSIN_BUDGET_UNIONS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US


I think this will be pretty much over by Tuesday. The Democrats will come back and the changes will be made to the state laws regarding collective bargaining by public employees. The venue will then switch to other states that will follow suit.



How Wisconsin Could Save The Democratic Party

The Wisconsin fight over the power, pay and perks of government-sector unions could end up saving the Democratic Party, but not in the way most people might expect….

….PUBLIC EMPLOYEE UNIONS HAVE BECOME THE KUDZU OF GOVERNMENT — growing fast and choking off everything else in its path.


That liberal vision of high-speed rail, renewable energy, health care for all, more money for universities? Sorry, that money is going to government workers and retirees….


….THE MOST AGGRESSIVE LOBBYING FOR PENSION REFORM IS COMING NOT FROM FISCAL CONSERVATIVES BUT FROM PROGRESSIVES, who see the logarithmic cascade of pension liability as a threat to public parks, environmental programs, and rail transit…..

http://blogs.investors.com/capitalhill/index.php/home/35-politicsinvesting/2462-how-wisconsin-could-save-the-democratic-party

This is an interesting take on what’s happening. Public employees won’t be happy, but this could be very important for the Democratic Party.


Newsweek's Evan Thomas: Obama's Budget a 'Profile in Cowardice'

EVAN THOMAS, NEWSWEEK: Only the President, only the President can break the logjam. HIS STATE OF THE UNION WAS A PROFILE IN COWARDICE. HIS BUDGET IS A PROFILE IN COWARDICE. I hope there’s a secret plan he has here to come forward to lead us, but he hasn’t shown it yet.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/02/19/newsweeks-evan-thomas-obamas-budget-profile-cowardice?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz1EWLbqbX9

With friends like this, you don’t need enemies.



Does President Obama have a tin ear?

President Obama HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF HAVING DOUBLE STANDARDS AFTER APPEALING FOR AMERICANS TO SACRIFICE THEIR HOLIDAYS JUST DAYS BEFORE HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN WENT ON A COSTLY SKIING TRIP.

First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are said to be on a ‘private family trip’ to Colorado for Presidents' Day Weekend.

They are staying at the upscale Sebastian Hotel on Vail Mountain, where rooms start at $650 a night and range up to more than $2,400 for multi-bedroom suites.

The trip came just days after the president tried to sell his cost-cutting budget to the American people by asking them to stay at home.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358829/Obama-accused-double-standards-family-holiday-telling-Americans-to.html#ixzz1EWJHakvN

I’m seeing in my mind Republican campaign ads where you see the vacations the Obama’s have taken while the jobless numbers are superimposed over them. The Obamas seem to be more and more like Marie Antoinette.

In House debate, pet projects euthanized

AFTER MORE THAN 100 VOTES IN FOUR DAYS, THE LESSON FROM LAST WEEK’S SPENDING DEBATE IN THE HOUSE IS THAT NOBODY’S PET PROJECTS ARE SAFE ANYMORE.

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN A. BOEHNER, Ohio Republican, watched lawmakers vote to defund a military project that pumps millions of dollars into his district, and FORMER SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, California Democrat, saw her colleagues vote to end federal funding for a park in her San Francisco congressional district.

PRESIDENT OBAMA ALSO TOOK SOME SHOTS TO THE CHIN in the bill known as a continuing resolution — or “CR” in Capitol Hill-speak. Lawmakers opposed his environmental agenda and an overwhelming bipartisan majority vote to block his administration’s rules designed to clamp down on for-profit schools.

In the span of one week, the House probably took votes on as many big issues as it did in the entire last Congress, including the war in Afghanistan, health care, environmental regulations, the extent of federal power, and whether the Defense Department should be sponsoring NASCAR race teams

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/20/in-house-debate-pet-projects-euthanized/

It appears the Republicans are serious. This should help lift the stock market up.


Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050, experts say

A growing, more affluent population competing for ever scarcer resources could make for an "unrecognizable" world by 2050, researchers warned at a major US science conference Sunday.

The United Nations has predicted the global population will reach seven billion this year, and climb to nine billion by 2050, "with almost all of the growth occurring in poor countries, particularly Africa and South Asia," said John Bongaarts of the non-profit Population Council.

To feed all those mouths, "we will need to produce as much food in the next 40 years as we have in the last 8,000," said Jason Clay of the World Wildlife Fund at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110220/ts_afp/scienceuspopulationfood


In case you are very concerned about this here’s a blast from the past (predictions made at the very first Earth Day)


“Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.”


• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist


“By…[1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s.”


• Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University biologist


“It is already too late to avoid mass starvation.”


• Denis Hayes, chief organizer for Earth Day




Science Fiction becoming science fact

The Navy just set a new world record, a test blast from a new type of laser THAT CAN SHOOT CRUISE MISSILES FROM THE SKY IN SECONDS WITH A DEADLY ACCURACY that simply doesn't exist in the military’s vast arsenal today.

And that new record moved them one step closer to proving the "holy grail" of laser guns is real.

To create incredible power requires incredible energy. After all, the more power one puts into a laser accelerator, the more powerful and precise the light beam that comes out on the other end. During a private tour of the Jefferson Lab in Newport News, VA., on Friday, FoxNews.com SAW SCIENTISTS BLAST UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF POWER INTO A PROTOTYPE ACCELERATOR, PRODUCING A SUPERCHARGED ELECTRON BEAM THAT CAN BURN THROUGH 20 FEET OF STEEL PER SECOND.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/18/navy-breaks-world-record-futuristic-laser-getting-real/


I remember watching Goldfinger many years ago where Bond was left while a laser slowly cut through steel toward his body. He couldn’t survive with today’s technology.

The future is happening now

Why I’m a Chris Christie fan

As Mr. Chrisie recounted it: “You can imagine how that was received by 7,500 firefighters. As I walked into the room and was introduced. I WAS BOOED LUSTILY. I MADE MY WAY UP TO THE STAGE, THEY BOOED SOME MORE. . . . SO I SAID, ‘COME ON, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT,’ AND THEY DID!”


HE CRUMPLED UP HIS PREPARED REMARKS AND THREW THEM ON THE FLOOR. He told them, “Here’s the deal: I understand you’re angry, and I understand you’re frustrated, and I understand you feel deceived and betrayed.” And, he said, they were right: “FOR 20 YEARS, GOVERNORS HAVE COME INTO THIS ROOM AND LIED TO YOU, PROMISED YOU BENEFITS THAT THEY HAD NO WAY OF PAYING FOR, making promises they knew they couldn’t keep, and just hoping that they wouldn’t be the man or women left holding the bag. I understand why you feel angry and betrayed and deceived by those people. Here’s what I don’t understand. WHY ARE YOU BOOING THE FIRST GUY WHO CAME IN HERE AND TOLD YOU THE TRUTH?”


He told them there was no political advantage in being truthful: “The way we used to think about politics and, unfortunately, the way I FEAR THEY’RE THINKING ABOUT POLITICS STILL IN WASHINGTON” INVOLVES “THE OLD PLAYBOOK [WHICH] SAYS, “LIE, DECEIVE, OBFUSCATE AND MAKE IT TO THE NEXT ELECTION.” He’d seen a study that said New Jersey’s pensions may go bankrupt by 2020. A friend told him not to worry, he won’t be governor then. “That’s the way politics has been practiced in our country for too long. . . . So I said to those firefighters, ‘YOU MAY HATE ME NOW, BUT 15 YEARS FROM NOW, WHEN YOU HAVE A PENSION TO COLLECT BECAUSE OF WHAT I DID, YOU’LL BE LOOKING FOR MY ADDRESS ON THE INTERNET SO YOU CAN SEND ME A THANK-YOU NOTE.’“

http://peggynoonan.com/


Big, bold and honest is the way you describe Chris Christie and may I add Presidential.



Poll: Most Americans Don’t support Public employee unions

CLARUS' NATIONWIDE STUDY FOUND THAT 64 PERCENT OF AMERICAN PEOPLE THINK STATE WORKERS SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO JOIN LABOR UNIONS.

Another 29 percent believe that d government employees should be represented by unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions.

The survey also uncovered a deep divide along party lines-- Republicans and independents strongly oppose unionization for government employee. Indeed, ONLY 10 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS AND 23 PERCENT OF INDEPENDENTS SUPPORT The right of public employees to be represented by unions.

Contrarily, 49 PERCENT OF DEMOCRATS THINK THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO UNIONIZE

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/114185/20110218/unions.htm


This is not good for the democrats as they rally behind the unions.



WHO GOVERNS WISCONSIN?

THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE NOW CENTRES UPON WISCONSIN. On one side are Governor Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Republican majorities in the legislature, and the majority of Wisconsinites who voted them into office. On the other side are the public sector unions for whom governance is, at bottom, a racket – and their Democratic allies.

This fight began when Governor Walker decided to deal with Wisconsin's state budget deficit, projected at $3.6bn over the coming two years, BY ADDRESSING ROOT CAUSES: NOT THROUGH TAX HIKES OR STATE WORKER LAYOFFS, BUT BY TACKLING THE EXCESSIVE POWERS AND BENEFITS OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR UNIONS. With this done, sensible budgeting and prioritisation is possible – not with an eye toward union demands, but to the actual needs of Wisconsinites.

THE STRIKING THING ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSALS IS THEIR MILDNESS. Indeed, private sector workers – that is, the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites and Americans both – would be fortunate to have such terms. WISCONSIN PUBLIC SECTOR UNION MEMBERS ARE TO BE ASKED TO CONTRIBUTE 5.8% OF THEIR SALARIES TO PENSIONS, AND 12% TO THEIR HEALTHCARE PREMIUMS. They furthermore will retain collective bargaining rights only on matters of salary, but lose them for benefits and perks. These would be regarded as fairly ordinary terms of employment engagement for most Americans.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/18/us-unions-wisconsin


What is amazing is that the Democrats are so quick to want to raise taxes on people earning more money, unless they support the Democratic Party. Here we have a privileged groups of primarily Democrats who the state is asking to “pay their fair share” and the answer seems to be a resounding, “Hell no.”



Even Joe Klein comes out against the Wisconsin Protesters

...An election was held in Wisconsin last November. The Republicans won. IN A DEMOCRACY, THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO ELECTIONS AND NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES UNIONS, ARE EXEMPT from that. There are no guarantees that labor contracts, including contracts governing the most basic rights of unions, can't be renegotiated, or terminated for that matter. We hold elections to decide those basic parameters. And IT SEEMS TO ME THAT GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER'S BASIC REQUESTS ARE MODEST ONES--asking public employees to contribute more to their pension and health care plans, though still far less than most private sector employees do. He is also trying to limit the unions' abilities to negotiate work rules--and this is crucial when it comes to the more efficient operation of government in a difficult time. When I covered local government in New York 30 years ago, the school janitors (then paid a robust $60,000 plus per year) had negotiated the "right" to mop the cafeteria floors only once a week....

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/02/18/wisconsin-the-hemlock-revolution/#ixzz1EP9aFYED


This is a losing issue if you are a democrat and Joe Klein comes out against your position.



Makes you wonder

A reader asks a good question about news coverage of events in Wisconsin:

BTW...IN NO MSM COVERAGE I HAVE SEEN IS THERE ANY NOTE THAT THE CROWD IS "PREDOMINANTLY WHITE".... WHY IS THAT?

Heh. We all remember how liberal news coverage of tea party rallies rarely failed to note that they were "predominantly white." Somehow, that is no longer a salient fact when the same outlets cover illegal sick-outs by Wisconsin teachers. Why would that be?

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/02/028403.php


Actually from the pictures I’ve seen the correct term would be “overwhelmingly white.” I guess they must be racists.



New Press Secretary but old lies

White House press secretary JAY CARNEY SAYS THE RECOVERY ACT ADDED SEVERAL MILLION JOBS AND LOWERED THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. ACCORDING TO CARNEY, THE "GOALS" OF THE STIMULUS PACKAGE "HAVE BEEN MET."



A reporter asked Carney why unemployment is at 9% and not 7%, the percentage projected if the stimulus worked. Carney dismissed the question. "WE'VE SAID REPEATEDLY THAT WE DON'T WANT TO RELITIGATE THE BATTLES OF THE PAST," Carney told the reporter.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/02/17/whs_jay_carney_stimulus_goals_have_been_met.html


I guess $854 billion doesn’t buy as much as it once did.


Stripping Most Institutional Media of Constitutional Protection?

SEVERAL WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATORS HAVE PROPOSED A RESOLUTION THAT WOULD “URGE[] CONGRESS TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION for the states’ consideration which provides THAT CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PERSONS UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES or any of its jurisdictional subdivisions.” It’s pretty clear from context that they mean corporations aren’t supposed to have constitutional rights, and that they are asking for the amendment because THEY WANT TO OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED.

But of course the proposed amendment, to the extent it STRIPS BUSINESS CORPORATIONS OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, WOULD ALSO STRIP MEDIA CORPORATIONS OF FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. It would also strip nonprofit corporations — such as the ACLU, NRA, etc. — of First Amendment rights. And it would let government take corporate property without just compensation, and more.

Now I don’t know whether the state legislators actually want this to happen, and actually want THE GOVERNMENT TO HAVE THE POWER TO, SAY, CENSOR THE NEW YORK TIMES (or the Seattle Times). But that’s precisely what they are asking for

.

http://volokh.com/2011/02/18/stripping-most-institutional-media-of-constitutional-protection/

I’m sure that isn’t what the people who proposed this wanted. However, that is what they are in essence proposing. Sometimes I don't think liberals are very bright. 


Dr. Berwick and Mr. Hide

In Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novella about the duality of human nature, a minor character describes Mr. Hyde thus: "THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIS APPEARANCE; SOMETHING DISPLEASING, SOMETHING DOWN-RIGHT DETESTABLE. I NEVER SAW A MAN I SO DISLIKED." It is difficult to avoid similar feelings of revulsion watching the C-SPAN video of Dr. Donald Berwick's alter ego testifying at the February 10 hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. His disingenuous opening remarks, evasive answers, and transparent contempt for congressional oversight revealed Obama's recess-appointed administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) as a grotesque changeling. GONE WERE THE BOLD STATEMENTS ABOUT RATIONING, BRITAIN'S SOCIALIZED MEDICAL SYSTEM, AND THE PERILS OF THE MARKET. The celebrated visionary, Dr. Donald Berwick, has been completely subsumed in the sly apparatchik, Mr. Hide.

The Dr. Berwick with whom we have become all too familiar was a vocal advocate of health care rationing. IN A 2009 INTERVIEW FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY HEALTHCARE, HE GUSHED WITH ENTHUSIASM FOR THE HEAVY-HANDED RATIONING REGIME OF GREAT BRITAIN'S NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH & CLINICAL EXCELLENCE (NICE) and advised his interlocutor that "THE DECISION IS NOT WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL RATION CARE; THE DECISION IS WHETHER WE WILL RATION WITH OUR EYES OPEN." When the good doctor's alter ego appeared before the Ways and Means Committee, however, he told a different story. Mr. Hide, it seems, has always been a vehement opponent of rationing. When asked by Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA) about the above-quoted remark and a variety of similar public statements, he stunned the committee with the following answer: "I ABHOR RATIONING…. MY ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN SPENT FIGHTING RATIONING

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/18/dr-berwick-and-mr-hide


It is no wonder Obama didn’t want him to go through the conformation process. He is either a fool or a liar.





Whatever happened to the romance between the environmental lobby and natural gas?

After years of basking in a green glow as the cleanest fossil fuel and a favorite short-term choice to replace cheap-but-dirty coal, GAS NOW FINDS ITSELF UNDER ATTACK FROM ENVIRONMENTALISTS, filmmakers and congressional Democrats — and even from some scientists who raise doubts about whether its total emissions are as climate-friendly as commonly believed.

Case in point: the Sierra Club, whose former executive director, Carl Pope, has spoken warmly in recent years about gas as an alternative to coal in power plants. NOW, THE GROUP IS CONSIDERING CALLING FOR NATURAL GAS TO BE PHASED OUT BY 2050 — about 20 years after it wants coal eliminated.

While the group said it hasn’t changed its mind about gas vs. coal, Deputy Executive Director Bruce Hamilton says he and other Sierra Club leaders are “trying to be clearer in our communication. ... WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT NATURAL GAS IS NOT A CLEAN FUEL AND IT NEEDS TO BE CLEANED UP BEFORE IT CAN BE AN ACCEPTABLE FUEL.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/259945/green-double-cross-begins-steven-f-hayward


I recommend you read this article and go on to the comments. It is very entertaining. For instance the second one listed (when I looked at them was)


A friend of mine once told me of environmentalists:


"The environmentalist can't take yes for an answer".



The Role of Fannie and Freddie in the Economic crisis

How unwilling is President Obama to truly rein in the growth of government? Consider his refusal to do anything about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Oh, Obama last week -- more than two years after the two mortgage giants were seized and placed into a federal conservatorship -- issued "recommendations" that would supposedly wind down the twins over a decade.

Mind you, FANNIE AND FREDDIE HAVE COST THE TAXPAYERS $160 BILLION IN DIRECT SUBSIDIES since they were taken over in August 2008. The country would be better off if they shut down today. ….

…THE HOUSING BUBBLE AND CRISIS NEVER WOULD HAVE OCCURRED ABSENT GOVERNMENT PRESSURE. Congress, acting through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pushed Fannie and Freddie to buy trillions of dollars worth of subprime loans in order to make "housing more affordable." Meanwhile, regulators bullied banks to make loans to minority borrowers who couldn't afford to pay them back.

IN 1996, HUD SET AN EXPLICIT TARGET, COMMANDING THAT 42 PERCENT OF THE LOANS BOUGHT BY FANNIE AND FREDDIE BE TO PEOPLE WITH INCOMES BELOW THE AREA'S MEDIAN. THAT TARGET ROSE TO 50 PERCENT BEFORE CLINTON LEFT OFFICE -- AND WAS PUSHED EVEN HIGHER IN THE BUSH YEARS. ….

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/the_housing_menace_djbi0v0oAavvUVucvzuVcN#ixzz1EJjUB3Mk


The Democrats want to blame a lack of government oversight on the financial crisis, but as Ronald Reagan said in the 1980s “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.”


From Pro-abortion to Pro Life

She is a former Planned Parenthood clinic director. She has a new book, with an important story.

….JOHNSON: THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE ABORTION INDUSTRY DESIRES TO HELP WOMEN IN THEIR TIME OF NEED AND CRISIS BY PROVIDING NOT ONLY REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, BUT ABORTION SERVICES IF A WOMAN IS NOT READY, or not in a position financially or emotionally, or not stable enough to bring a child into her life. THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT HAS THE SAME DESIRE TO HELP WOMEN IN THEIR TIME OF NEED AND CRISIS BUT LOOKS BEYOND THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF THE WOMAN AND CONSIDERS THE LIFE OF THE CHILD and the woman’s family as well. The abortion industry provides a “quick fix” and focuses more on the immediate effects of the crisis, while the pro-life movement focuses on the long-term effects of the woman’s choice and the reality of what is best for the woman, rather than providing an “out.”…

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260084/meet-abby-johnson-kathryn-jean-lopez


This is an interesting interview and seems to represent both sides of the debate well. I thought I would post it because it shows a respectful disagreement. It’s probably something we could use more of. I recommend reading it.