Wisconsin and other Democrat nightmares

Republicans are Winning

Here’s the unvarnished pitch House Speaker John Boehner would love to make to his conservative critics if he could just let it fly: “YOU ARE WINNING, AND WINNING DECISIVELY. SO STOP YOUR WHINING.”

And here’s the unvarnished truth about that pitch: Boehner would be spot on.

The winners and losers of this weekend’s 11th-hour budget deal may be in dispute. But the broader trajectory of politics, stretching back to the spring of 2009, is not. THE REPUBLICAN — AND, YES, THE TEA PARTY — AGENDA IS NOT ONLY ASCENDANT, IT’S DRIVING THE DEBATE OVER RESHAPING GOVERNMENT AT EVERY LEVEL.

Jubilant top Republicans told POLITICO in interviews that they plan to use the momentum from the budget fight to take a hard line with President Barack Obama in the fiscal fights of the months ahead. And the GOP leaders said they believe their new advantage in the national debate will lift the party’s presidential candidates — none of whom right now looks capable of beating Obama.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52870.html#ixzz1JDGzOH7K

Expect to hear a lot about this in the coming year.



Obama’s fiscal feint

Well, that didn't take long: Less than two days after President Obama reluctantly agreed to accept a less-than-whopping $38.5 billion in cuts from this year's spending, the White House announced that Obama will take to the airwaves Wednesday to announce his new plan to deal with the deficit.

Paul Ryan, take a bow. With the release last week of his dramatic "Path to Prosperity" proposal to trim $6 trillion from the bloated federal budget over the next 10 years, A MERE CONGRESSMAN FROM WISCONSIN HAS FINALLY OBLIGED THE PRESIDENT TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SPENDING. OR AT LEAST DO A SOMEWHAT BETTER JOB OF PRETENDING TO.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/bam_fiscal_feint_5URbEBWpinEwDnKOdI3y6N#ixzz1JDKLD8t2

Does anyone really think Obama is serious about addressing the debt? Any bets on how much ends up as cuts and how much ends up as increased taxes?



Wisconsin: The Madison Factor

This was Gov. Walker’s take on last Tuesday’s election, in which he wasn’t on the ballot but loomed over the campaign:

“YOU HAVE TWO VERY DIFFERENT WORLDS IN THIS STATE. YOU’VE GOT A WORLD DRIVEN BY MADISON, AND A WORLD DRIVEN BY EVERYBODY ELSE ... What that tells me is just as you’ve seen in past elections, for president, for governor, for other offices, Wisconsin is not a red state. It’s not a blue state. In many ways, it’s a purple state. And it’s divided on these issues.”

The governor’s argument, echoed by many Republicans, is that: The election did not reflect negatively on Walker, it merely confirmed the state’s underlying 50/50 political makeup; and if there was any backlash against the governor and his policies, it was mainly a Madison phenomenon.

How convincing are those arguments?

The Madison factor. Dane County played an extraordinary role in the election. IT HAD THE HIGHEST TURNOUT IN THE STATE – 48% OF VOTING-AGE ADULTS. It had a higher turnout for a spring judicial election than 49 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties did in last fall’s midterm election for governor, Congress and state Legislature. IT VOTED 73% TO 27% FOR JOANNE KLOPPENBURG against incumbent Justice David Prosser, giving her such a massive margin (almost 85,000 votes) that Prosser had to win the rest of the state by almost seven percentage points to overcome it.

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/119576304.html


An interesting battle which shows deep divides in Wisconsin. While Dane Country (Madison) is heavily Democratic, Milwaukee is highly Republican. In fact around most of the Country you will find big Democrat Majorities in state capitals (where government workers live).



Wisconsin: Copious Quantities of Casuistry

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Thursday filed a filed a Petition for Supervisory Writ [PDF] directly to the state Supreme Court over a circuit court judge’s temporary blocking of the Budget Repair Bill. THE PETITION IS ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATING TO JUDGE SUMI’S ACTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE BILL.

The Wisconsin Constitution clearly does not allow such actions by the judicial branch. Moreover A COURT MAY NOT ENJOIN THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS IN ORDER TO PREVENT A LEGISLATIVE ACT FROM BECOMING LAW. When a court takes such actions it violates fundamental principles of of separation of powers and does serious and irreparable harm to our constitutional system of government. [Emphasis in the original.]

Among the back letter law and clearly enunciated jurisprudence ignored by Judge Sumi in issuing three TROs which purport to invalidate the Budget Repair Bill and enjoin it from becoming law are the following:

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/copious-quantities-of-casuistry/
It's amazing how a rogue judge can stop democracy in action. 


Abortionist Cover up?

ABORTIONISTS IN THIS COUNTRY ARE ACTIVELY BURYING RISK RESEARCH JUST AS TOBACCO COMPANIES DID MANY DECADES AGO. There are now literally piles of genuine medical research which show what most would deem DIRE ELEVATED RISKS FROM ABORTION -- not just to the baby killed in the procedure -- but to the woman and also to the future siblings of the aborted baby.

Just as tobacco companies once deep-sixed any negative research on the smoker's health and well-being, abortionists and their extensive lobbying web of far-left, social-engineering "feminists" NOW SCAMPER TO SQUELCH EVERY NEW RESEARCH STUDY WHICH DEMONSTRATES ELEVATED RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR KILLING-FIELD BUSINESS MODEL. In this diabolical scheme, abortionists are far, far worse than tobacco companies could ever have been, if only for the single reason that abortion is controlled not by known capitalistic corporations, but by the very people whom the public trusts for its healthcare….

…..IF THESE EARLY STUDIES WERE ON THE MARK, THEN ONE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE A DRAMATIC RISE IN BREAST CANCER RATES AMONG AMERICAN WOMEN DUE TO ABORTION gaining such a distinguished imprimatur from both the medical and the legal communities of professionals. And sure enough, this dramatic rise has taken place right here in America. In 1975, less than one woman out of every 12 was likely to ever get breast cancer, almost always late in life. However, SINCE 1975 THOSE ODDS HAVE INCREASED TO AT LEAST ONE IN EVERY 8 AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE AGE OF ONSET HAS MARKEDLY COME EARLIER….

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_coverup_of_abortions_real_1.html

The Democrats like to say they are the party of science and the Republicans suppress science when it conflicts with their ideology. In truth, the opposite is the case. In 2006, during Bush's second term, a UCS survey found that 10 per cent of its scientists they had been asked to inappropriately exclude or alter information in the previous year; the 2010 figure was 16 per cent. And this story gives you information on abortions that six medical societies have come out with warnings about.


Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating in Virginia Now 34%

I’ll admit, I figured that most polling, examining a potential Virginia Senate race matchup between the GOP’s former governor and Sen. George Allen and Democrats’ former Gov. Tim Kaine would show a close race.

But at least one poll says otherwise, at least at this point:

In a very early look at the possible battle for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Webb, REGISTERED VOTERS IN THE COMMONWEALTH PREFERRED FORMER GOV. AND U.S. SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, A REPUBLICAN, OVER FORMER GOV. TIM KAINE, A DEMOCRAT, BY 45 PERCENT TO 32 PERCENT WITH 23 PERCENT UNDECIDED.

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/264246/poll-obamas-approval-rating-virginia-now-34

It’s early yet, but this poll most likely reflects Obama’s problems in the coming election. He won Virginia in 2008, but his popularity in VA is now 34% (notice Kaine’s numbers). This bodes ill for the Democrats chances in both the Senate and the Presidential elections.



Gabby Giffords’ recovery may be overstated

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS’S RECOVERY FROM A JANUARY GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD MIGHT NOT BE QUITE AS SPEEDY OR AS MIRACULOUS AS MANY REPORTS HAVE INDICATED, and the congresswoman still faces a long road toward some approximation of a “new normal,” which may not include a return to Capitol Hill.

While public pronouncements from Giffords’s astronaut husband Mark Kelly, her doctors, her friends and her staffers have boosted the spirits of observers, INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED WITH MANY OF THOSE SAME PEOPLE FOR A NEWSWEEK STORY PUBLISHED MONDAY SUGGEST THAT HER PROGRESS HAS BEEN OVERSTATED.

Gabrielle Giffords’s recovery from a January gunshot wound to the head might not be quite as speedy or as miraculous as many reports have indicated, and the congresswoman still faces a long road toward some approximation of a “new normal,” which may not include a return to Capitol Hill.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52908.html#ixzz1JEYwRlcn


Only time will tell how fast and how far Congresswoman Giffords will come in her fight to recover from her wounds.



A New Idea for a Catholic Grade School

It’s 1 p.m. and time for Amy Clayton’s fifth grade to show off their memorization skills.

Decked out in blue long-sleeved shirts and dark pants for boys and bright yellow blouses and plaid jumpers for girls, the students begin with the words of Patrick Henry’s immortal “Give me liberty or give me death” speech first delivered on March 23, 1775, in Richmond. That recitation merges into verses from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Paul Revere’s Ride.” That morphs into a few phrases from the Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and finally to fragments of speeches by Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

“Beautifully done,” Clayton says at the conclusion. “WE JUST ENCAPSULATED 80 YEARS OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN OUR RECITATION.” She is engaged, dramatic, and students are nearly jumping out of their seats trying to answer her questions about the beginnings of the Civil War. To her right is a banner containing a quote from Aesop: “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” Near that hangs a crucifix.

THIS IS ST. JEROME CLASSICAL SCHOOL, THE NEW NAME FOR WHAT ONCE WAS A TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL IN HYATTSVILLE. Starting last spring, St. Jerome’s began transforming itself from a debt-ridden, pre-K-8 institution into a showcase for one of the more intriguing trends in modern education. IT IS ONE OF A HANDFUL OF ARCHDIOCESAN ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE A CLASSICAL CURRICULUM….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/embracing-a-classical-education/2011/03/09/AFj6amwC_story.html


This is an interesting idea for a school. Perhaps public schools should be looking at some Charter Schools to emulate this idea.

10 days since the shooting

Gabrielle Giffords could lose her seat

Even as REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS SHOWS SIGNS OF A NEAR-MIRACULOUS RECOVERY, with doctors on Sunday upgrading her condition from critical to serious, a little-known statutory provision in ARIZONA STATE LAW COULD ENDANGER THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN'S HOLD ON HER SEAT through what doctors say will be a protracted medical struggle.

A statute buried in Arizona law states that if a public officeholder CEASES TO "DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF OFFICE FOR THE PERIOD OF THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS," the office shall be deemed vacant - at such time, a special election could be called to fill the vacancy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/17/AR2011011702542.html?hpid=topnews


This is a tough one. No one wants to let an assassin deprive the congresswomen of her seat, but she has a long recovery ahead and the people of Tucson deserve to be represented in the 112 congress.



Unions and the destruction of the public school system

KIDS AREN'T CARS" is a new short film series set for release February 1st. Using examples from the Midwest, it DOCUMENTS THE IMPACT ORGANIZED LABOR HAS HAD ON THE AMERICAN EDUCATION SYSTEM, creating a one-size-fits-all assembly line model that leaves students behind and treats teachers equally, stifling innovation and improvement.

Our government education system has been spending more and more each year, yet the results have been the same. While unions demand higher spending - which of course ends up in the pockets of their members - MONEY IS NOT FIXING THE PROBLEM.

Those that have been in the trenches gave shocking interviews - stories of money grabs by adults while children are left behind.

AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF A LITERACY CLINIC IN DETROIT - where high school graduates go to learn how to read - COMPARED THE ACTIONS OF THE SCHOOL BOARD TO THE KU KLUX KLAN. "If they were sitting up there in Klan robes," she said, no one would be tolerating what is going on, but the effect is the same

 

http://townhall.com/columnists/KyleOlson/2011/01/17/new_film_documents_unions_destruction_of_public_education


Unions have their place, but it isn’t at the public trough.

Obamacare

Prognosticators are rarely held accountable in Washington, but SENATE DEMOCRATS MAY WANT TO CONSIDER HOLDING CHUCK SCHUMER ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS ANALYSIS OF THE BENEFITS OF OBAMACARE. Last March, Sen. Schumer smugly predicted, “BY NOVEMBER THOSE WHO VOTED FOR HEALTHCARE WILL FIND IT AN ASSET and those who voted against it will find it a liability.”

Well, November has come and gone and it is safe to say THE 65 HOUSE DEMOCRATS WHO LOST THEIR SEATS IN 2010 MIGHT QUIBBLE WITH SCHUMER’S PREDICTION. Indeed, the weight of Obamacare hung like an albatross around the necks of these defeated Representatives. And the wreckage is likely not over.

This week, the House will again vote on Obamacare – this time, to repeal it. After this vote, House members will have no where left to hide on the question of repealing Obamacare. The upside – if there is one – for the far-left is only 13 of the 34 House Democrats who courageously voted against the federal government’s hostile takeover of our health care system remain. And yet, many of them are now waffling on their position.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeNeedham/2011/01/17/repealing_obamacare,_and_the_senate/page/full/

We will hear a lot about this over the next two years. In this case, the Democrats will be fighting to keep it while the Republicans we try to repeal it.

Progressives: Always Angry, Newly Desperate

…..Being a writer makes one a reader, and this writer is no exception. Yet try as I might last week, I couldn't find a single column blaming the American left for what Jared Loughner did in Tuscon. Not one. That is not to say that none existed. Perhaps some obscure publication or two created by some far-right fringe elements published screeds of which I am unaware. But nothing remotely compares to the avalanche of vitriol which spewed from high-profile, mainstream media sources such as the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC or Newsweek, all of which was not only easy to find, but almost impossible to avoid.

Which is precisely why I refuse to go where far too many of those on the right went last week, neatly encapsulated in THE PART OF THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH WHEN HE TOLD AMERICANS THAT "WHAT WE CANNOT DO IS USE THIS TRAGEDY AS ONE MORE OCCASION TO TURN ON EACH OTHER." With all due respect, we didn't turn on each other, Mr. President. IT WAS OVERWHELMINGLY THE AMERICAN LEFT WHICH TURNED ON ANYONE AND EVERYONE from Sarah Palin to talk radio, to the Tea party movement in particular, and conservatism in general. And anyone who equates those on the right defending themselves with those on the left attacking them—as a means of demonstrating "moral equivalence," no less—is only kidding himself….


…..What did progressives see? The 2012 election. The genuine possibility of historically unprecedented political irrelevance in less than two years. THINK LAST WEEK WAS UGLY? THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE 2012 ELECTION CAMPAIGN. The bet here is that by the time we reach the end, what Americans heard and saw last week will be tame by comparison. Progressive are "all in" for 2012—but unlike 2008, most Americans now know exactly who they're dealing with.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0111/ahlert.php3


This is a very interesting commentary on what we’ve seen by the left since the shootings in Tucson. The last paragraph is prophetic. Here’s hoping we have a campaign on the issues rather than what we saw last week.

Can’t we all just get along?

A week’s worth of talk about civility is very nice. WE SHOULD BE MORE CIVIL TOWARD EACH OTHER. There’s little more depressing in life than the incivility of much public discourse. But if you take five seconds to think about it, what happened in Tucson had nothing whatever to do with unmannerly misbehavior. Quite the opposite: the morning’s events gave ample evidence of humankind’s ability to hear the immediate call to greatness, as in Daniel Hernandez’s heroic salvation of Gabrielle Giffords’s life and HOW DORWAN STODDARD GAVE HIS LIFE TO SHIELD HIS WIFE, MAVANELLE, from Jared Loughner’s spray of bullet fire.

Thus, as we continue to gather more evidence of Loughner’s schizophrenia, the continuing rhetorical calls for the need for “civility” are now turning into nothing less than cover. THEY’RE A DODGE, a means by which those responsible for the slanderous accusation that somehow the Tea Party and Sarah Palin and the right were responsible for the massacre have been excused for hurling their grievously unjust charge. FOR, YOU SEE, THEY WERE ONLY CALLING FOR A “NEW TONE,” FOR “CIVILITY,” AND WHO COULD BE AGAINST THOSE?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/257283/yup-jonah-goldberg


I remember a cartoon. In it a mother was hitting her son while she said, “Don’t (whack), Hit (whack), your sister (whack). It seems a condemnation of others while calling for more civility parallels the cartoon.

2010 Crude Oil: 50 Billion Barrels Discovered, 30 Billion Barrels Used

With the price of oil hovering above $70 a barrel for over a year -- and around $90 a barrel for several weeks -- oil exploration companies can get to work discovering rich new oil fields. In 2010, more new oil was discovered than was consumed -- and we can expect that trend to continue as long as oil stays high -- above fundamentals.

http://www.thegwpf.org/energy-news/2234-2010-crude-oil-50-billion-barrels-discovered-30-billion-barrels-used.html


So much for peak oil. Makes you wonder why the price of crude is rising so much? Speculators perhaps?