Raising taxes and other Democratic pleasures

Do we need to raise taxes?

For starters, it completely recasts the struggle between the political parties. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WHAT THE PRESIDENT AND HIS ALLIES REALLY WANT TO DO IS RAISE TAXES. They might agree to some tinkering around the margins on entitlements for show. But in their heart of hearts they believe the solution is higher rates of taxation.

The problem is THEY DON'T HAVE THE GUTS TO SAY SO IN PUBLIC. They know that's the surest way to permanent minority status. And so they are hoping for a more indirect route to their goal, USING GUILE TO LURE GULLIBLE REPUBLICANS (SEE HERE) INTO AGREEING TO THEIR APPROACH WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO SELL IT TO A TAX-AVERSE ELECTORATE.

The Ryan plan blows this kind of plotting by Democrats to smithereens. There's no tax increase in the Ryan plan, and there's no debt crisis. What's required is far-reaching entitlement reform and serious spending discipline. By staking out that position, Ryan and his comrades have improved their leverage immensely. There's no need to agree to tax hikes to solve the budget problem. What's needed is for Democrats to get serious about spending reform, as Ryan has.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/do-we-really-need-to-raise-taxes-to-close-the-deficit/236897/


I think tax increases was what the Democrats were planning on doing when they went into the spending spree they did in 2009. They were planning on simply letting the “Bush Tax Cuts” expire and using a carbon tax to bring in an extra trillion dollars per year. But the recession killed letting the tax cuts expire and ClimateGate ruined the carbon tax. I also think they were taken back by the early rise of the Tea Party which saw through their subterfuge in March 2009.  Things did not work out as they had hoped. 



Obama’s support among blacks declines

….His job approval among blacks is sliding.

Once monolithic, blacks' support for the first African American president is still....

....immense. But FOR UNCLEAR REASONS IT'S DECLINED ABOUT 7% from well above 90% to 85% in March. That's a new low since Obama's inauguration 26 months ago.

Equally ominous for Obama in 2012, HIS APPROVAL AMONG HISPANICS, THE NATION'S FASTEST-GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC, HAS ALSO FALLEN TO AGAIN TIE HIS TERM LOW OF 54%. That's a drop of 11 points from its early high of 65%....

…. But any decline within the Democrat's strongest base group is ominously important because his overwhelming support in that sector of voters helps cover his crumbling support in other groups, such as Hispanics and whites, where he now has only 39% approval.

Predictably, OBAMA'S BIGGEST GROUP OF SUPPORTERS ARE DEMOCRATS (80%) AND LIBERALS (74%) AND THE LEAST LIKELY ARE REPUBLICANS, AN IMPRESSIVELY MINUTE 14%.

Gallup finds Obama LEAST POPULAR AMONG OLDER AMERICANS, MARRIED PEOPLE, THE LESS EDUCATED, THE MORE AFFLUENT AND THE MOST RELIGIOUSLY CONSCIENTIOUS. Women (50%) prefer him slightly more than men do (44%)…..

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/obama-black-support-slips-hispanics-too.html


And to paraphrase a joke that Reagan used to like, his support is crumbling among those with their eyes open.



Financial Crisis is almost here

The two parties are having a heated debate over the Republican plan to slice $61 billion off Uncle Sam’s projected $3.6 trillion budget. IF THE REPUBLICANS GET THEIR WAY, THE DEFICIT WILL FALL FROM 9.5 PERCENT OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT TO 9.1 PERCENT. If they don’t, they’ll probably shut the government for a couple of days. Then they’ll compromise on, say, a $40 billion budget cut, having proved they gave it their best shot.

Arguing over lowering our deficit by just 0.4 percent of GDP when we need to run massive surpluses to deal with the baby boomers’ impending retirement is, PICK YOUR METAPHOR -- REARRANGING THE TITANIC’S FURNITURE, NERO’S FIDDLING, CUSTER’S LAST STAND.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-05/u-s-fiscal-crisis-in-spitting-distance-commentary-by-laurence-kotlikoff.html

Unless you are a Democrat and then the metaphor is “extreme cuts, will kill seniors, cruel, etc.”



Hope and change is dead

Even among the nuzzling press here in Washington, the shine of President Obama has worn off.

HOPE AND CHANGE HAS CRASHED UPON THE CRAGGY SHORES OF REALITY.

Gitmo is still open and open for trials - a perfect double backflip rare even by Washington standards.

And then there were Mr. Obama’s worldly-wise assurances that peace would reign and everybody would love us if only we had a sophisticated, multilingual president who had lived abroad, on other continents, with roots in the Muslim world.

Instead, HE HAS SHEPHERDED US FROM FEARED AND LOATHED TO JUST LOATHED. AND, OF COURSE, MOCKED….

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/5/reporters-continue-to-be-snookered-by-obama/

Perhaps the new slogan should be hopeless and chained?



Confronting health issues of climate change

If physicians want evidence of climate change, they may well find it in their own offices. PATIENTS ARE PRESENTING WITH ILLNESSES THAT ONCE HAPPENED ONLY IN WARMER AREAS. Chronic conditions are becoming aggravated by more frequent and extended heat waves. Allergy and asthma seasons are getting longer. SPATES OF INJURIES ARE RESULTING FROM MORE INTENSE ICE STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS.

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/04/04/edsa0404.htm

It appears Stephen Foster foresaw global warming over 150 years ago when he wrote: “It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry The sun so hot I froze to death; Susanna, don't you cry.”



Emotion vs Rationality

On Monday we witnessed the beginning of two campaigns to shape the direction of the nation's future. President Obama declared that he would seek re-election in 2012, kicking off his pursuit of a second term with a web ad geared toward recruiting grassroots workers who would try to keep him in the White House.

In Congress, a much different campaign was launched by the Republicans, with Chairman of the Budget Committee Paul Ryan's release of the 2012 Republican budget. COMPARING THESE TWO OPENING SALVOS FOR NEXT YEAR'S ELECTION, AMERICA'S CHOICE CAN BE BOILED DOWN TO A SIMPLE CHOICE BETWEEN THE EMOTIONAL PLOYS OF THE LEFT, AND THE COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS OF THE RIGHT.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/the_choice_in_2012_emotion_ver.html

And yet the left keeps trying to fool themselves into thinking they are the party of reason.



Obama’s Marie Antoinette moment

OBAMA NEEDLED ONE QUESTIONER WHO ASKED ABOUT GAS PRICES, now averaging close to $3.70 a gallon nationwide, and suggested that the gentleman consider getting rid of his gas-guzzling vehicle.

"If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know," Obama said laughingly. "YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK ABOUT A TRADE-IN."

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/politics&id=8056167


This obviously is an embarrassment to the Democrats, but the MSM is covering up for him. The Associated Press scrubbed it from their coverage of the event.



Reforming Medicare for the Real World

After House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled a plan to overhaul Medicare, DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCED THAT DESPITE SOME IMPERFECTIONS, IT WAS A BRAVE AND THOUGHTFUL ATTEMPT TO GRAPPLE WITH A PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN IGNORED FOR TOO LONG.

JUST KIDDING. THEY SAID IT WAS THE WORST THING THEY'VE SEEN SINCE SEX AND THE CITY 2.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi accused Ryan of offering "a path to poverty for America's seniors." Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said his proposal would not reform Medicare, but "deform it." The White House faulted Ryan for "placing a greater burden on seniors."

The chief outrage, in their minds, is his proposal to restructure Medicare for Americans currently younger than 55 while KEEPING THE OLD VERSION FOR OLDER FOLKS. Instead of guaranteeing a certain set of benefits regardless of cost, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD PAY A FIXED PREMIUM so recipients could choose their own packages.

The amount provided for premiums would not shrink as time goes on. It would grow at the rate of inflation. Seniors wouldn't get less help than they do now; they just wouldn't get more.

http://reason.com/archives/2011/04/07/reforming-medicare-for-the-rea

The Republicans were smart to grandfather in everyone over the age of 55, but don’t expect that to stop the Democrats from trying to use the reform to scare current recipients by telling them they will lose their Medicare. The Democrats aren’t serious about the deficit.

Crazy time: The Democrats look ready to cut off their noses to spite their faces

The direction Obama is leading us

March Madness: U.S. Gov't Spent More Than Eight Times Its Monthly Revenue

The U.S. Treasury has released a final statement for THE MONTH OF MARCH THAT DEMONSTRATES THAT FINANCIAL MADNESS HAS GRIPPED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

During the month, according to the Treasury, the federal government grossed $194 billion in tax revenue and paid out $65.898 billion in tax refunds (including $62.011 to individuals and $3.887 to businesses) thus netting $128.179 billion in tax revenue for March.

At the same time, THE TREASURY PAID OUT A TOTAL OF $1.1187 TRILLION. When the $65.898 billion in tax refunds is deducted from that, the Treasury paid a net of $1.0528 trillion in federal expenses for March

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/march-madness-feds-spent-more-eight-time

Over a trillion dollars spent in one month!!!! This administration has to be stopped.



BREAKING: GOP Readies Short-Term CR as Budget Talks Break Down

House Republicans are preparing a third short-term spending resolution in the event that a long-term compromise cannot be reached with Senate Democrats and the White House before April 8, GOP aides confirm. That scenario suddenly looks a lot more likely after a tense back-and-forth Monday between leaders on both sides of the debate. THE MEASURE WOULD LAST FOR ONE WEEK, CUT $12 BILLION IN DOMESTIC DISCRETIONARY SPENDING, BUT WOULD INCLUDE FUNDING FOR THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT UNTIL THE END OF THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR (SEPTEMBER 30).

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263881/breaking-gop-readies-short-term-cr-budget-talks-break-down-andrew-stiles

The democrats aren’t serious at all about the deficit.



Obama administration moving forward with government shutdown plans

The process of shutting down the federal government is underway.

With the clock ticking towards Friday’s federal budget deadline and President Obama hosting congressional leaders for budget talks at the White House on Tuesday, TOP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS HAVE INSTRUCTED AGENCY OFFICIALS TO BEGIN SHARING DETAILS OF SHUTDOWN CONTINGENCY PLANS WITH TOP MANAGERS. This marks the next step toward both curtailing government operations if a budget impasse occurs and informing federal workers whether they are considered “essential” personnel who would stay on the job despite a shutdown.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/obama-administration-moving-forward-with-government-shutdown-plans/2011/04/04/AFodFdfC_blog.html?hpid=z1

The democrats aren’t serious about the deficit.



The Cupboard is bare

The left pinned its hopes and dreams on Barack Obama. HE WASN'T MERELY ANOTHER POLITICIAN, HE WAS POST-MODERN, POST-RACIAL, POST-CULTURAL, POST-POLITICAL. We were told OBAMA DIDN'T NEED POLITICAL EXPERIENCE. HIS INTERNATIONAL UPBRINGING, HIS MULTI-NATIONAL BACKGROUND, HIS INHERENT DIVERSITY AND MULTICULTURALISM, HIS YOUTHFUL HOPPING AND GROPING FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, CULTURE TO CULTURE, FAITH TO FAITH, THROUGH ISLAM, BUDDHISM, ASCETICISM, CHRISTIANITY, Augustine, Aquinas, Graham Greene, Nietzsche, Rev. Wright, and whatever else -- heaped atop his overflowing innate brilliance -- would beget a new breed of political man, a supreme decision-maker worthy of the most vexing challenges. HE WAS NO GEORGE W. BUSH; HE WAS THE ANTI-BUSH.

All of this, of course, was twaddle, but it's sadly in keeping with the perverse political-spiritual sentimentality that plagues the left. LIBERALS HAVE A BIZARRE TENDENCY TO REVERE THEIR POLITICAL LEADERS AS GENIUSES. They did so even with the Clintons and Al Gore. In handy contrast, THEY REFLEXIVELY CARICATURE THEIR OPPONENTS, IRRESPECTIVE OF STATURE OR FACT, AS STUPID. It's a very shallow thing to do, A TRIUMPH OF EMOTION OVER LOGIC; still, they do it incessantly.

Worsening the situation is the hard secularism of today's left. Progressives are more agnostic and atheistic than ever. THEY TEND TO SEARCH FOR SALVATION IN POLITICS, WHICH IS A GOD THAT WILL ALWAYS FAIL. In Obama, many of them hoped for some sort of political messiah, approaching levels of earthly omnipotence not possible by previous presidents…..

….So it is. And right now, WE'RE SEEING THE LEFT EMPTY. After burning down the house of Bush -- torching a good man with every weapon in the smoldering arsenal -- and assuring a Promised Land under Barack Obama, THE LEFT APPEARS NAKED, WITH NO ANSWERS ANYWHERE IN THE CUPBOARD. No water-turned-into-wine, no manna from heaven, no Holy Grail. All that remains are false promises from a false messiah made in the Left's own image. From Iran to Egypt to Libya, THERE ARE NO SOLUTIONS. This wasn't supposed to be.

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

This is an outstanding article. Don’t miss reading it!



Saving FDR

I heard Paul Ryan explain the House Republican budget proposal he released today. PAUL MADE A FINE CASE FOR WHY AMERICA NEEDS TO REVERSE DIRECTION AND EMBRACE FISCAL STABILITY BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. But there was an original and beguiling subtext to his talk: REPUBLICANS, NOT DEMOCRATS, ARE THE TRUE HEIRS OF FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT.

FDR’s New Deal economic policies have been justly criticized for prolonging the Great Depression. But to his tens of millions of supporters, his vision of America rang true. As articulated by Roosevelt, THE NEW DEAL WAS MEANT TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR AVERAGE AMERICANS—THE FORGOTTEN MAN—WHILE ALSO GIVING THOSE SAME PEOPLE THE SECURITY that comes from knowing government will step in to help out if they fall in troubled times.

Eight decades later, millions of working class Americans still desire that combination of growth and security FDR promised. According to Ryan today, they should invest their hopes in his plan, not President Obama’s….

http://blog.american.com/?p=29548


Basically the message from Ryan is similar to the message Chris Christie is giving. “I’m telling you the truth and you’ll thank me 15 years from now when these programs are still there for you.” The Democrats are not serious about the deficit and the deficit will destroy all these safety net programs.

Biggest Donors and who they’ve given to

Here is a list of the biggest political donors and who they’ve given to for the past 20 years from Open Secrets. It’s interesting. FOR INSTANCE, THE NEA AND THE AFT (TEACHERS UNIONS) HAVE CONTRIBUTED A TOTAL OF $ 60,758,000 OF WHICH $58,516,000 WENT TO THE DEMOCRATS (96%). At the same time you see how business (Dems like to say they are in the Republican bag) tend to split their donations with more going to the Republicans, but not anywhere near what the teachers unions are doing for the Democrats.

http://www.distributedrepublic.net/archives/2011/03/01/truth-about-money-and-politics




Transparency Obama Style

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS REFUSING TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT CONGRESSIONAL AUDITORS SAY THEY NEED TO ROOT OUT WASTE AND FRAUD IN FEDERAL PROGRAMS that pay out billions of dollars in disability benefits, stirring complaints about White House open-government practices.

The position taken by the Health and Human Services Department has resulted in a standoff with congressional investigators, who want to flush out cases of people who obtain jobs while collecting federal disability payments. That could be a violation of law under certain circumstances.

Congress' investigative arm, the Government ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, HOPES TO MATCH THE NAMES OF THOSE GETTING DISABILITY PAYMENTS AGAINST A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN NEWLY HIRED, a method of confirming whether healthy, gainfully employed people are receiving disability on top of their regular salary…..

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-obama-records-20110405,0,15008.story


Sigh, just another day in Obamaland.



President Barack Obama is in trouble. Big trouble.

Despite the news that unemployment has dropped, Obama is still in trouble. THE MOST RECENT RASMUSSEN POLL SHOWS THAT ONLY 22 PERCENT OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THE COUNTRY IS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION – the lowest since Obama took office. This is a clear indication that the administration is veering dangerously off course.

FOOD COSTS AND OIL PRICES ARE NOW SPIKING TO ALARMING LEVELS. So there is every reason to believe that the president’s approval rating – which fell below 50 percent, to 47.6 percent, in the most recent Real Clear Politics average — will continue to slide in the weeks and months to come….

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52491.html#ixzz1IiGKgMfc

The disappointment is mounting. Here are my reasons why I think Obama will be a one term president. Last election, Obama was elected not on who he was, but who everyone wanted him to be. We now know who he is. Secondly, unemployment has decreased of the past year, not so much because of job gains (although there have been those), but more that more and more people have dropped out of trying to find work. As the economy improves, the unemployment rate is likely to rise as more and more people opt back in. Third, inflation is starting up. You can’t do what Obama has done and not expect inflation. Finally, Obama has drastically increased the deficit, but has shown no leadership to try to tame it.




Paraplegic faces jail in violent citizen’s arrest

‘Victim’ charged with child abuse

Cape and Islands District Attorney MICHAEL O’KEEFE IS PRESSING AHEAD WITH A FELONY ASSAULT CHARGE THAT COULD PUT A PARAPLEGIC GRANDFATHER IN THE SLAMMER FOR UP TO 10 YEARS for whacking his 3-year-old granddaughter’s alleged molester with a Louisville slugger after setting a trap for his arrest.

As a result of 57-year-old Martha’s Vineyard computer salesman Frank Hebert’s unconventional citizen’s arrest, Joshua A. Hardy, 27, of Middleboro, now faces child molestation charges in a second case out of Wareham involving another little girl, authorities tell the Herald.

“I’m not a hero, that’s for damn sure,” Hebert, his voice cracking, said last night. “I’d do it again tomorrow, knowing the consequence. I DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE. A 10-year-old kid could take me. This is not about me. This is about a tiny child. I WOULD NEVER TELL HER I TOOK A RISK FOR HER. I’D TELL HER I LOVED HER.”

http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1328424


I know the DA is looking for a plea deal on this one. He should plead with the grandfather to quit making statements like the last one. Sometime justice maybe blind, but it is not crazy.


Hip and knee patients facing 'cruel' delays

HOSPITAL TRUSTS ARE CLAMPING DOWN ON ROUTINE SURGERY INCLUDING HIP AND KNEE REPLACEMENTS TO SAVE MONEY.

But orthopaedic surgeons said THE DELAYS ARE "DEVASTATING AND CRUEL" TO PATIENTS.

Peter Kay, president of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA), told the BBC that there was "excellent evidence" that these operations improved quality of life and were cost effective.

But he said: "THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY IS THAT PATIENTS WAIT LONGER IN PAIN, AND WHEN THEY HAVE THE OPERATION, THE RESULT MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AS GOOD AS IT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAD THEY HAD IT EARLY. "

Almost 700 orthopaedic surgeons across England sent the BBC information on their primary care trusts' policies on hip and knee replacements.

Of those, 152 said patients were now having to show they were more disabled or in greater pain than before to qualify for surgery; 118 said the operations were now regarded as a low priority; while 106 said they had been put on hold.

SOME TRUSTS HAVE INTRODUCED SCORE CARDS FOR PAIN AND DISABILITY….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8430242/Hip-and-knee-patients-facing-cruel-delays.html

Somehow this doesn’t sound kind and compassionate. But this is what lies ahead for our seniors under Obamacare.

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.

Everything you wanted to know about Unions, but were afraid of the answer.

Wisconsin from a left wing perspective

…NOBODY DENIES THE RECESSION HAS TANKED STATE REVENUES. That's why even progressive governors have been making budget cuts -- and why Wisconsin's state unions conceded to Walker's demands for higher pension and health care contributions. WHAT THE UNIONS ARE RIGHTLY RESISTING IS A SHIFT IN THE LONG-TERM BALANCE OF POLITICAL POWER that undercutting collective bargaining would represent.

HOW DO WE KNOW THIS IS ABOUT POWER, NOT BUDGETS? Even as they go after the unions, Walker and his Republican legislative allies are also trying to change the makeup of future Wisconsin electorates in their favor. THEY ARE PUSHING TO END SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION (WHICH CURRENTLY EMPOWERS YOUNGER VOTERS, WHO ARE MORE LIBERAL THAN THEIR ELDERS AND MOVE AROUND MORE) AND TO PASS ONEROUS VOTER ID LAWS THAT WOULD ESPECIALLY BURDEN LOWER-INCOME VOTERS….

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/28/why_the_wisconsin_fight_matters_109038.html


E.J. Dionne sees this as an attempt to change the makeup of future Wisconsin election by ending same-day voter registration and to pass “onerous voter ID laws” (requiring a ID to vote—the dogs).

Actually you can turn the argument around. Why did Wisconsin allow same day registration to begin with if it wasn’t a plot by the Democrats to change the future Wisconsin electorate? What’s sauce for the goose….



How Big Labor Became Little Labor

WHAT WE ARE WITNESSING IN WISCONSIN AND ELSEWHERE IS THE DEATH KNELL OF BIG LABOR. Once upon a time, most Americans could identify the head of the AFL-CIO. He was George Meany, the cigar-chomping ex-plumber who ran the union federation from 1955 to 1979. He was one of the nation's great power brokers, much quoted and wooed by presidents. It's doubtful that as many Americans can name Meany's present successor. (Answer: Richard Trumka, ex-head of the mine workers' union.)

The American labor movement has been in eclipse for decades, but public- sector unions were one of its few remaining bastions. Now, their power too is waning. STATES AND LOCALITIES FACE LONG-TERM BUDGET SQUEEZES. LABOR COSTS REPRESENT ROUGHLY HALF OF THEIR SPENDING, notes the Cato Institute's Chris Edwards. Pension and retiree health benefits are underfunded. Teachers' unions are being pressed to weed out poor performers. All these unions are on the defensive. Critics are less Republicans than taxpayers and parents.

It's hard for us to recall now how dominant unions were immediately after World War II. By the mid-1950s, unions represented 36 percent of private-sector workers

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/02/28/how_big_labor_became_little_labor_109042.html


A good history of the labor movement in the country. And yet another pundit analyzes why there is such a storm in Wisconsin as labor unions are fighting for their lives.



Upending Our Caste System

As Wisconsin flips its wig, there has been A GREAT DEAL OF DISHONEST, ILL-INFORMED, AND INDEED KNAVISH COMMENTARY on the relationship between public-sector unions and the fiscal conditions of the states. THE THRUST OF THESE UNENLIGHTENING ANALYSES HAS BEEN THAT PUBLIC-SECTOR UNIONS ARE NOT TO BLAME FOR THE DIRE FISCAL SITUATION facing Wisconsin and many other states. The general shape of the Left’s argument here has been that of a compound error with two distinct components: 1) THE INABILITY TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE SHORT-TERM PROBLEMS FACING STATES AS A RESULT OF THE RECENT RECESSION AND THEIR LONG-TERM FISCAL PROBLEMS; 2) THE MUCH MORE SERIOUS CONFLATION OF COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING RIGHTS WITH UNIONS’ POLITICAL POWER

.

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/260830/upending-our-caste-system-kevin-d-williamson?page=1


Definite worth the read and then continue on to another analysis below.



The Privileged Class

The manufactured Madison, Wis., mob is not the movement the White House was hoping for. BOTH MAY FIND THEMSELVES AT THE WRONG END OF THE POPULIST PITCHFORK. While I generally defend collective bargaining and private-sector unions (lots of airline pilots in my family), it is the abuse by public unions and their bosses that PUSHES CENTRISTS LIKE ME TO THE GOP. It is the right and duty of citizens to petition their government. The Tea Party and Republicans seek to limit government growth to protect their pocketbooks. Public-union bosses want to increase the cost of government to protect their racket.


1. PUBLIC UNIONS ARE BIG MONEY.

Public unions are big money…..Of the top 20 biggest givers in federal-level politics over the past 20 years, 10 are unions; just four are corporations. The three biggest public unions gave $171.5 million for the 2010 elections alone, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s big money.
2. PUBLIC UNIONS REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH.

Michael Barone sums it up: “public-employee unions are a mechanism by which every taxpayer is forced to fund the Democratic Party.”
3. PUBLIC UNIONS SILENCE THE VOTERS’ VOICE.

In effect, the unions sit on both sides of the table and collectively bargain to raise taxes while the voters’ voice is silenced. …. The proposals offered by Gov. Scott Walker would avert 5,500 layoffs of public employees and save $300 million.

4. PUBLIC UNIONS ARE UNNECESSARY.

The primary purpose of private-sector unions today is to get workers a larger share of the profits they helped create. …The government is a monopoly and it earns no profits to be shared. Public employees are already protected by statutes that preclude arbitrary hiring and firing decisions

.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-26/end-unions-and-end-the-privileged-class/

Collective bargaining is a way to negotiate how to share the profits in the private sector. In the public sector that doesn’t exist. Collective bargaining in the public sector is how more the taxpayers can or should pay the public sector and it becomes a problem when the taxpayers make on average less than the public sector’s average pay and benefits are.

Who is killing the public unions?

Some people, like the tens of thousands of protesters in Madison and the tens of millions of Americans who agree with them, believe that THE VILLAINS ARE SCHEMING CORPORATE INTERESTS, FOX NEWS, TEA PARTY ‘FANATICS’ AND OPPORTUNISTICALLY POPULIST POLITICIANS LIKE SCOTT WALKER.

Many of their opponents agree that the right is responsible, though from their point of view THE TEA PARTY AND POLITICIANS LIKE WALKER ARE THE GOOD GUYS, and the public sector unions are the ones in the black hats.

In fact, both sides are wrong. Despite the differences in rhetoric, killing public sector unions is a nonpartisan policy in the United States. While Republicans are more explicit about their goal, and want to move faster, DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS ARE BOTH TAKING STEPS THAT WILL SOON REDUCE THE PUBLIC SECTOR UNION MOVEMENT TO A SHADOW OF ITS CURRENT SELF.

LOOK AT RAHM EMMANUEL, NEWLY ELECTED MAYOR OF CHICAGO. Chicago is a dark blue city in a deep blue state; Emmanuel is a career Democratic pol who served as chief of staff to the most liberal American president elected in many years. And what is Emanuel doing?

The mayor-elect was cagey on the subject during the campaign, but massive tax increases are off the table, and so are big bailouts from Washington DC. ACCORDING TO TIME MAGAZINE, THE CAMPAIGN HAS SPOKEN CRYPTICALLY ABOUT SAVING $110 MILLION from reducing “outdated and duplicative work processes to focus on front-line service delivery.” TRANSLATE THAT OUT OF BUREAUCRATIC NEWSPEAK AND IT MEANS GETTING MORE WORK DONE WITH FEWER PEOPLE: LAYOFFS. Emanuel says that the city’s generous pensions need to be preserved, but may also have to be, ahem, renegotiated. This does not sound like a renegotiation up.

Strip away the fluff and the rhetoric and it looks as though Chicago’s new mayor plans to balance the city budget primarily through layoffs and cutbacks.

http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/02/27/blue-state-dems-turn-on-state-local-workers/

This is the dirty little secret. The left will howl and protest cutbacks by right wing governors, but they will quietly accept those by left wing governors and politicians. The reason is it has to be done and the left knows it.

What Journalism Isn’t

On Sunday morning, the economics analyst and TV commentator BARRY RITHOLTZ DROPPED A BOMBSHELL ON HIS BLOG: ROGER AILES, THE POWERFUL PRESIDENT OF FOX NEWS, WILL BE INDICTED IN CONNECTION WITH ALLEGEDLY TELLING A NEWS CORP. EXECUTIVE TO LIE TO FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS, according to Ritholtz's blog post.

The story, which was based on what an unnamed source told Ritholtz, quickly boomeranged around the Web and Twitter. Several well-read web sites, including Business Insider and Political Wire, picked up the report….

…Ritholtz, for his part, describes his attitude in writing the post as "passing along what an informed person had said."

"If it's true we'll find out. If it's not, no big deal," he says. "We'll see where this goes."

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/27/ailes_indictment_story/index.html


Just a reminder, don’t believe everything you read on the internet. I try to make sure when I’m quoting a story that it is backed up or I will give the limitations on what you are reading.



THE HILL POLL: On shutdown, more voters would blame Dems

Twenty-nine percent of likely voters would blame Democrats for a government shutdown, compared to 23 percent who would hold Republicans responsible, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.


THE RESULTS ARE SURPRISING BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE BLAMED THE GOP FOR THE LAST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, which occurred during President Clinton’s first term. A week before the 1995 shuttering, polls showed the public blamed Republicans by a two-to-one-margin.

http://thehill.com/polls/146361-the-hill-poll-more-voters-would-blame-dems-than-gop-for-shutdown

The results are only surprising if you’ve been living in a cave for the past 4 years. The Democrats have set an all time record for deficit spending and people want it stopped. Shutting down the government because you want not to cut spending is not going to woo the majority of Americans. But a poll like this will probably make the Democrats think twice before the filibuster or Obama vetoes the spending bill.



Bernard Nathanson: A Life Transformed by Truth

FEW PEOPLE, IF ANY, DID MORE THAN BERNARD NATHANSON TO UNDERMINE THE RIGHT TO LIFE OF UNBORN CHILDREN by turning abortion from an unspeakable crime into a constitutionally protected liberty. Someday, when our law is reformed to honor the dignity and protect the right to life of every member of the human family, including children in the womb, historians will observe that FEW PEOPLE DID MORE THAN BERNARD NATHANSON TO ACHIEVE THAT REVERSAL…..

…..BY HIS OWN ESTIMATE, HE PRESIDED OVER MORE THAN 60,000 ABORTIONS AS DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH, PERSONALLY INSTRUCTED MEDICAL STUDENTS AND PRACTITIONERS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF ABOUT 15,000 MORE, AND PERFORMED 5,000 ABORTIONS HIMSELF. In one of those abortions, he took the life of his own son or daughter—a child conceived with a girlfriend after he had established his medical practice. Writing with deep regret in his moving autobiography The Hand of God (1996), Nathanson confessed his own heartlessness in performing that abortion: “I swear to you, I had no feelings aside from the sense of accomplishment, the pride of expertise.”…

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2011/02/2806/


It is always interesting to read a story like this one. From one of the main people who got abortions legalized to one of the most harsh critics of the procedure and the maker of the movie, The Silent Scream, Dr. Nathanson died last week and was buried in blessed ground by the Church he first demonized and later converted to.




Union Friends’ Pockets

In Wisconsin, ABOUT 64 PERCENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS CARRY HEALTH INSURANCE OFFERED BY WEA TRUST, an organization created by and still very closely AFFILIATED WITH THE WISCONSIN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, Inc. (WEAC), according to a 2010 report by the Education Action Group Foundation and the MacIver Institute.

Collective bargaining has helped the WEA Trust grow. Gov. Scott Walker’s office has said that making it such that NO DISTRICT IS REQUIRED TO BUY INSURANCE THROUGH THE WEA TRUST COULD REDUCE HEALTH-CARE COSTS BY $68 MILLION A YEAR, noting that “many school districts participate in WEA Trust because WEAC collectively bargains to get as many school districts across the state to participate in this union-run health insurance plan as possible.”

Coverage offered by the WEA Trust is generous. “WEA Trust offers what is commonly known as the ‘Cadillac’ of school employee health coverage,” the Education Action Group Foundation report states. “It earned that moniker for two very good reasons — THE HEALTH COVERAGE IS VERY THOROUGH, AND THE COST TO LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IS VERY HIGH.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner


One hand washes the other. Meanwhile the taxpayers get hosed.

Public Sector Unions--a stuggle for power

Senators must collect their paychecks in person

A nice first step. THE NEXT STEP, AFTER THE “FLEEBAGGERS” (AS THEY’RE NOW BEING CALLED ON TWITTER) HAVE COME HOME, SHOULD BE TO PASS A LAW RETROACTIVELY DOCKING THEIR PAY FOR THE DAYS THEY MISSED. Senate Republicans can’t do that now, I believe, because it’s a fiscal measure and those require a 20-member quorum. But soon enough, soon enough.

[MOTION] That the Chief Clerk provide the paycheck, per diem check, and any expense reimbursement check of any Senator who is absent without leave for 2 or more session days to the Majority Leader for the absent member to pick up in person. Until the Majority Leader authorizes the Chief Clerk to reinstate direct deposit, the Chief Clerk shall suspend the direct deposit of the paycheck of any such Senator and process the Senator’s pay as a paper check. The Majority Leader shall provide the checks only to the absent Senator and only on the floor of the Senate during a session day.

THE COMMITTEE VOTE ON THAT WAS 3-2, THREE REPUBLICANS IN THE MAJORITY and two Democrats in the minority. But wait — how can Democrats vote when they’re not there? Well, apparently, telephone votes are permissible and common practice for committee sessions, just not for floor sessions.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/02/22/wisconsin-senate-committee-passes-new-rule-senators-must-collect-their-paychecks-in-person/


This just keeps getting better and better.


POLITICAL HARDBALL IN WISCONSIN

Republicans on a state Senate committee approved a bill Tuesday to require voters to show ID at the polls, in their latest effort to entice Democrats to end their boycott of Senate proceedings.

The committee made significant changes to the bill in a meeting that included a bizarre element. Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) participated in the meeting by phone, but Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), the committee chairwoman, refused to let him vote because he and the 13 other Senate Democrats left the state Thursday.

Senators routinely participate in committee meetings by phone and are allowed to debate, offer amendments and vote on measures. But Lazich said she wasn't allowing Erpenbach to vote because he had an invalid reasons for being absent.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116680594.html


You’ve got to love it. If the Wisconsin Democrats are going to act like petulant children, they deserved to be treated like petulant children.



Wisconsin starts reviewing complaint about Doctor excuses

Staff at the state Department of Regulation and Licensing have BEGUN TO REVIEW ROUGHLY 300 E-MAIL COMPLAINTS ABOUT DOCTORS ISSUING EXCUSE NOTES FOR PROTESTERS at the state Capitol over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.

Complaints that name a specific doctor and the alleged violations of rules covered by their licenses will be forwarded to the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board. Letters specifying the complaint will be sent to the doctors at the start of the investigation.

To date, THE NAMES OF DOCTORS LOU SANNER AND JAMES SHROPSHIRE have been cited in media reports about the medical excuses dispensed over the weekend. Both are affiliated with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The agency said none of the doctors involved was representing UW Health at the time…..

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/116683269.html


Somehow the terms “chickens” and “roost” come to mind.



It’s early yet, but Obama has a big uphill fight for reelection

For polling purposes, we divided all 10,000 voters into three camps: 1) RED STATES THAT DID NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA IN 2008 AND ARE UNLIKELY TO DO SO IN 2012; 2) BLUE STATES THAT DID NOT VOTE FOR MCCAIN IN 2008 AND ARE UNLIKELY TO VOTE GOP IN 2012; AND 3) BATTLEGROUND “GREEN” STATES THAT COULD GO EITHER WAY IN 2012. The following 12 Green states all saw significant changes brought about by statewide and congressional GOP victories and GOP wins in state legislatures as a result of the 2010 midterm elections: FL, IN, IA, MI, MO, NH, NM, NC, OH, PA, VA, and WI.

The first question we asked voters in all three state categories is WHETHER THEY THINK PRESIDENT OBAMA DESERVES RE-ELECTION or if they think it is time for someone new in the White House.

Voters in BLUE STATES WOULD PREFER SOMEONE NEW OVER PRESIDENT OBAMA BY A SLIM 3-POINT MARGIN (48% TO 45%). The President should easily be able to make-up this ground once his campaign gets into full swing.

IN RED STATES, HOWEVER, VOTERS WOULD PREFER SOMEONE NEW BY A SIZEABLE 22-POINT MARGIN (58% TO 36%), a sizeable margin that the President is unlikely to overcome. In GREEN STATES, VOTERS WANT SOMEONE NEW IN THE WHITE HOUSE BY A 13-POINT MARGIN (54% TO 41%), showing that Obama’s quest for the critical middle-ground will be a severe uphill climb.....

http://townhall.com/columnists/bradoleary/2011/02/22/poll_shows_battleground_states_trending_strongly_for_gop_on_obama_re-election_issues/page/full/


As I said in the headline, it’s early. But I followed the change happening in the country throughout all of 2010 and it really didn’t change. People may have already made up their mind about this President and the Liberal agenda.



Meanwhile the Polls aren’t being kind to Obama

THE PRESIDENT’S MINI-RECOVERY IS STARTING TO FALL FLAT. According to the latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking poll, Barack Obama’s approval ratings have fallen to their lowest level since mid-November. JUST 21 PERCENT OF US VOTERS STRONGLY APPROVE OF THE PRESIDENT’S JOB PERFORMANCE IN CONTRAST TO 41 PERCENT WHO STRONGLY DISAPPROVE. Obama’s Presidential Approval Index rating now stands at minus 20 points (the difference between the percentage of Americans who strongly approve of the president’s performance against the percentage who strongly disapprove). Further, Republicans now have a nine-point lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot in Rasmussen’s survey.

What explains this rather dramatic reversal of fortune for the president after three months of rising poll numbers? IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT OBAMA’S MESSAGING ON THE ECONOMY IS NOT GOING DOWN WELL WITH AN AMERICAN PUBLIC that is deeply worried about high levels of unemployment, the general state of the economy, the spiraling budget deficit, and fears over the impact of the government’s health care reforms. As Rasmussen reveals, a mere 24 percent of Americans believe their own personal finances are improving, and just 31 percent believe the economy is improving.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/nilegardiner/100077285/the-obama-bounce-is-falling-flat/


The democrats seem to be hoping that the economy will improve and Obama will get the credit. That might happen, but with the fights that are about to go on about the deficit, the economy might improve but Obama will get no credit.



Wisconsin Showdown

Nationwide, state and local government workers are paid on average 45% more than private sector workers, with an average hourly wage of $26.25, and $13.56 in hourly costs for benefits, for total hourly costs of $39.81, or $80,000 per year on average. This is true in Wisconsin as well. Indeed, the Manhattan Institute's E.J. McMahon reports that for public school teachers in Milwaukee, the annual cost of family health coverage is $26,844, for which the teachers currently pay nothing.

Yet, state and local government workers are mobbing the capitol in Wisconsin because newly elected GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER'S BILL TO CLOSE THE STATE'S $3.6 BILLION BUDGET DEFICIT WOULD REQUIRE THEM TO PAY 5.8% OF THEIR PENSION COSTS, AND 12.6% OF THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS. …

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/23/wisconsin-showdown


A good article spelling out the problem with Public Sector Unions.


Liberal Magic

There is a Wisconsin talking point that will not die: Everything was fine until Scott Walker got some business-incentive tax cuts passed. I just heard it from Erica Williams of the Center for American Progress. Rachel Maddow has trafficked in this nonsense, as have some more respectable lefty types.

Help an English major out, here: HOW EXACTLY DO $137 MILLION IN TAX CUTS CAUSE A $3.6 BILLION DEFICIT IN TWO YEARS? I AM DYING TO KNOW.

Those tax cuts may or may not be a good idea; I am generally skeptical of using special tax breaks as a tool of economic development. (Low general taxes, a simple tax code, a sane regulatory environment, and a sane tort environment seem to me much better tools.) But getting a $3.6 billion deficit out of a $137 million tax cut is a pretty good rabbit-outta-the-hat trick.

http://www.nationalreview.com/exchequer/260578/tax-cuts-and-wisconsins-deficit


Actually this is a very good question.



What’s happened to civility?

SOMETIMES IT'S NECESSARY TO GET OUT ON THE STREETS AND "GET A LITTLE BLOODY," A MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRAT SAID TUESDAY IN REFERENCE TO LABOR BATTLES IN WISCONSIN.


Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) fired up a group of union members in Boston with a speech urging them to work down in the trenches to fend off limits to workers' rights like those proposed in Wisconsin.

"I’m proud to be here with people who understand that it’s more than just sending an email to get you going," Capuano said, according to the Dorchester Reporter. "EVERY ONCE AND AWHILE YOU NEED TO GET OUT ON THE STREETS AND GET A LITTLE BLOODY WHEN NECESSARY."

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/145627-dem-lawmaker-on-labor-protests-get-a-little-bloody-when-necessary


Apparently Capuano didn’t get the memo that declared only the right advocated violence. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge about history knows this is complete rubbish.



Shutting Down the Government

Let’s put aside that congressional Republicans deny that they want to shut down the government. How can Harry Reid continue talking about Republicans wanting to shut down the government as if it were the worst conceivable thing in the world when, as he is making this accusation, DEMOCRATS IN (NOW) TWO STATES HAVE ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN THEIR GOVERNMENTS — and not due to a legitimate legislative impasse, but by the illegitimate tactic of fleeing the state to avoid being compelled to do their jobs? If government shutdowns in Wisconsin and Indiana occur in coordination with President Obama’s political operation AND TO THE CHEERS OF DEMOCRATIC BIGWIGS ACROSS THE NATION, HOW BAD CAN SHUTTING DOWN THE GOVERNMENT BE?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/260424/shutting-down-government-andrew-c-mccarthy


Actually this is an interesting way to look at the possibility of a government shutdown.



Follow the Money

Enormous contributions, yes -- to the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign. UNIONS, MOST OF WHOSE MEMBERS ARE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, GAVE DEMOCRATS SOME $400 MILLION IN THE 2008 ELECTION CYCLE. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the biggest public employee union, gave Democrats $90 million in the 2010 cycle.

FOLLOW THE MONEY, WASHINGTON REPORTERS LIKE TO SAY. The money in this case comes from taxpayers, present and future, who are the source of every penny of dues paid to public employee unions, who in turn spend much of that money on politics, almost all of it for Democrats. In effect, public employee unions are a mechanism by which every taxpayer is forced to fund the Democratic Party.

So, JUST AS THE PRESIDENT COMPLAINED IN HIS 2010 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS ABOUT A SUPREME COURT DECISION THAT HE FEARED WOULD INCREASE THE FLOW OF MONEY TO REPUBLICANS, HE ALSO FOUND TIME TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A PROPOSED STATE LAW THAT COULD REDUCE THE FLOW OF MONEY TO DEMOCRATS.

And, according to the Washington Post, to get the Democratic National Committee to organize protests against the proposed Wisconsin law. PROTESTS THAT SHOWED CONTEMPT FOR THE LAW, with teachers abandoning classrooms, doctors writing phony medical excuses, Democratic legislators fleeing the state and holing up in a motel. The lawmakers played hooky without losing any salary, which is protected by the state constitution.

It's true that Walker's proposals would strike hard at the power of the public employee unions. They would no longer have the right to bargain for fringe benefits, which are threatening to bankrupt the state government, and they would no longer be able to count on government withholding dues money and passing it along to them.

But what are the contributions that public employee unions make to our states and our citizens? THEIR INCENTIVES ARE TO INCREASE THE COST OF GOVERNMENT AND REDUCE DOWN TOWARD ZERO THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES -- BOTH CONTRARY TO THE INTERESTS OF TAXPAYING CITIZENS….

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/02/public-unions-force-taxpayers-fund-democrats#ixzz1EnX1eUKH


What’s going on in Wisconsin and other states is a fight for money and power. The Democrats and the Unions want to keep the status quo while the Republicans and the majority of Americans are looking for change.

Irony?

http://datechguy.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/the-ultimate-irony-of-todays-rally-in-boston/


Watch this short video. It makes an interesting point.

Will Wisconsin spread?

Obama’s Attempt to Distance Himself From Wisconsin Rally Fails

In a good indication that the Wisconsin PROTESTS HAVE BECOME A LIABILITY FOR DEMOCRATS, the White House and the DNC have clumsily attempted to distance themselves from the event in the New York Times:

Administration officials said Sunday that the WHITE HOUSE HAD DONE NOTHING TO ENCOURAGE THE DEMONSTRATIONS IN WISCONSIN — nor was it doing so in Ohio, Florida and other states where new Republican governors are trying to make deep cuts to balance their budget. …

And, officials and union leaders said, reports of the involvement of the Democratic National Committee — specifically ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA, THE GRASS-ROOTS NETWORK BORN OF MR. OBAMA’S 2008 CAMPAIGN — WERE OVERBLOWN TO START WITH.…

“This is a Wisconsin story, not a Washington one,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. “False claims of White House involvement are attempts to distract from the organic grass-roots opposition that is happening in Wisconsin.”

But apparently someone forget to tell the DNC’s communication director BOB WOODHOUSE TO SCRUB HIS TWITTER FEED to reflect this new strategy. Doug Ross has pointed out a Feb. 17 Tweet from Woodhouse saying that THE WHITE HOUSE WAS “PROUDLY” PLAYING A ROLE IN THE PROTEST.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/02/21/obama%e2%80%99s-attempt-to-distance-himself-from-wisconsin-rally-fails/


It sounds as if the President is doing the political hokey pokey. “You put you left foot in you take your left foot out….”


New poll: Public sides with Wisconsin governor over union

A new national poll just released by pollster Scott Rasmussen shows that 48 PERCENT OF THOSE SURVEYED SUPPORT WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN GOV. SCOTT WALKER in his showdown with the state's public-employee unions, while 38 percent support the union. Broken down by party, Rasmussen found that 68 PERCENT OF DEMOCRATS SUPPORT THE UNIONS, WHILE 68 PERCENT OF REPUBLICANS SUPPORT WALKER. Among the POLITICALLY-CRITICAL INDEPENDENTS, 56 PERCENT SUPPORT THE GOVERNOR. And in a showdown in which teachers have abandoned the classroom to protest against Walker's budget bill, 38 percent said they believe that teachers, along with firefighters and police, should have the right to strike, while 49 PERCENT SAID THOSE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO STRIKE

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http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/new-poll-public-sides-wisconsin-governor-over-union#ixzz1EgyW4TbQ

And this story may tell you why President Obama is doing the hokey pokey.



Our reactionary President

…..In a noisome bit of body snatching, THE MADISON PROTESTERS ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH THE DEMONSTRATORS IN EGYPT. If we must use Egypt analogies, THIS ONE HAS IT BACKWARD. Tapping into new technologies empowering individuals, the anti-Mubarak protesters overthrew a sclerotic political system that no longer fit the times. In their aims, THE ANTI-WALKER THRONGS ARE MORE LIKE EGYPT’S COUNTERDEMONSTRATORS WHO RODE IN ON CAMELS TO TRY TO SAVE A DECREPIT, 30-YEAR-OLD POLITICAL DISPENSATION.


Obama’s transformative agenda has largely consisted of accelerating already-present trends. WE HAD ALREADY TRIED A STIMULUS AND DEFICIT SPENDING — OBAMA GAVE US MORE OF BOTH. WE ALREADY HAD SUBSIDIES TO GREEN ENERGY — OBAMA CREATED MORE. WE ALREADY WERE SPENDING MORE THAN EVER ON EDUCATION — OBAMA ADDED MORE. WE ALREADY HAD MASSIVE GOVERNMENT HEALTH-CARE PROGRAMS crowding out the private sector and tipping the federal government toward bankruptcy — Obama added yet another one….

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/260307/our-reactionary-president-rich-lowry


Progressive? It doesn’t really look like it. In fact, the left has grown lazy and moribund in regard to ideas. When challenged on what they are doing they tend to resort to name calling using racist, bigots, homophobe, sexists, etc instead of explanations. These are not the actions of a dynamic and thoughtful movement.



The Left’s Assault on Democracy in Wisconsin

LEFTIST RADICALS DON’T BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY IN THE WAY THE TERM IS USED IN AMERICA. If they win, it’s democracy in action, a noble rendering of the wise judgment of the people. If they lose, democracy has been undermined and usually some cabal of corporate villains in a smoke-filled backroom somewhere is to blame for the injustice.

The union goons and paid protesters wreaking havoc in Madison, Wisconsin believe in the radical left-wing un-American conception of democracy.

They’re being cheered on by the REV. JESSE JACKSON who dropped by to outrageously compare the ongoing disruptions to the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. “THIS IS A MARTIN LUTHER KING MOMENT, this is a Gandhi moment,” he said without chuckling.

They’re also being praised and encouraged by the nation’s foremost leftist guru, professor Noam Chomsky. CHOMSKY TOLD DEMOCRACY NOW! RECENTLY THAT HE HOPES THE PROTESTS BEGIN TO RESEMBLE THE VIOLENT DEMONSTRATIONS IN EGYPT. “It was heartening to see that there are tens of thousands of people protesting in Madison day after day in fact. I mean that’s the beginning maybe of what we really need here, a democracy uprising. Democracy’s almost been eviscerated

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/02/22/the-left%E2%80%99s-assault-on-democracy-in-wisconsin/


We’ve seen a lot of hypocrisy going on over the past week. I guess the phrase “We won,” is only applicable if it is a leftist who won the election.


Howard Dean and the $100,000 Wisconsin Slush Fund

YOU CAN CALL THEM "DEAN DOLLARS."

Former Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a one-time presidential candidate, is the founder of a group that by mid-day of President's Day HAD RAISED OVER $100,000 IN A SLUSH FUND TO "BACK" THE ON-THE-LAM WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATORS.

The Dean Dollars are being specifically funneled to the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee (SSDC) -- AN APPARENT VIOLATION OF WISCONSIN ELECTION LAW that pointedly says, according to the Wisconsin Election Board's Legal Counsel in a 2005 decision, that the "SSDC may not accept a contribution of more than $6,000 from a single committee in a calendar year."

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/02/22/howard-dean-and-the-100000-wis


It appears we have welfare for elected officials who are on the lam.



Missing Democrats: A spreading problem

Seats on one side of the Indiana House were nearly empty today as House Democrats departed the the state rather than vote on anti-union legislation.

A source tells the Indianapolis Star that Democrats are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky. They need to go to a state with a Democratic governor to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.

The House was came into session twice this morning, with only three of the 40 Democrats present. Those were needed to make a motion, and a seconding motion, for any procedural steps Democrats would want to take to ensure Republicans don’t do anything official without quorum.

With only 58 legislators present, there was no quorum present to do business. The House needs 67 of its members to be present.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110222/NEWS/110222004/House-Democrats-flee-Indiana-stop-votes?odyssey=mod

It appears we have a new Democratic phenom.  The case of the disappearing Democrats.  Actually it is more like the spoiled kid who if he doesn't get his way threatens to take is ball and go home. 


George Will dissects Wisconsin

…He does, however, think there is sincerity unleavened by information: MANY PROTESTERS DO NOT REALIZE THAT MOST WORKER PROTECTIONS - merit hiring; just cause for discipline and termination - ARE THE RESULT NOT OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BUT OF WISCONSIN'S UNIQUELY STRONG AND CENTURY-OLD CIVIL SERVICE LAW.

"I am convinced," he says, "this is about money - but not the employees' money." IT CONCERNS UNION DUES, WHICH HE WANTS THE STATE TO STOP COLLECTING FOR THE UNIONS, just as he wants annual votes by state employees on re-certifying the unions. He says many employees pay $500 to $600 annually in union dues - teachers pay up to $1,000. Given a choice, many might prefer to apply this money to health care premiums or retirement plans. And he thinks "eventually" most will say about the dues collectors, "What do we need this for?"

SUCH UNIONS ARE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED AS AN INTEREST GROUP TO LOBBY ITSELF TO DO WHAT IT ALWAYS WANTS TO DO ANYWAY - GROW. These unions use dues extracted from members to elect their members' employers. And governments, not disciplined by the need to make a profit, extract government employees' salaries from taxpayers. Government sits on both sides of the table in cozy "negotiations" with unions.

A few days after President Obama submitted a budget that would increase the federal deficit, he tried to sabotage Wisconsin's progress toward solvency. THE WASHINGTON POST: "THE PRESIDENT'S POLITICAL MACHINE WORKED IN CLOSE COORDINATION . . . WITH STATE AND NATIONAL UNION OFFICIALS TO MOBILIZE THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS TO GATHER IN MADISON and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals." Walker notes that in the 1990s, Wisconsin was a trendsetter regarding school choice and welfare reform. Obama, he thinks, may be worried that Wisconsin might again be a harbinger….

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022103190.html


One of the truisms of Unions is that they will sacrifice many of the promises they made to organize a group to get a check off clause (the company collects union dues from the members for the union) in that first contract. Of all the things being proposed by Walker, doing away with this is most likely the biggest problem for the Unions.


Two-Thirds of Wisconsin Public-School 8th Graders Can’t Read Proficiently

TWO-THIRDS OF THE EIGHTH GRADERS IN WISCONSIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS CANNOT READ PROFICIENTLY ACCORDING TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, despite the fact that Wisconsin spends more per pupil in its public schools than any other state in the Midwest.

In the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests administered by the U.S. Department of Education in 2009—the latest year available—ONLY 32 PERCENT OF WISCONSIN PUBLIC-SCHOOL EIGHTH GRADERS EARNED A “PROFICIENT” RATING WHILE ANOTHER 2 PERCENT EARNED AN “ADVANCED” rating. The other 66 percent of Wisconsin public-school eighth graders earned ratings below “proficient,” including 44 percent who earned a rating of “basic” and 22 percent who earned a rating of “below basic

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/two-thirds-wisconsin-public-school-8th-g


This sounds like those teachers really need to be back in the classroom explain what is happening since it appears 66% of their students will have a tough time reading about it.



Wisconsin labor unrest spills across Lake Michigan

MICHIGAN UNION LEADERS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVISTS WILL JOIN WITH COLLEAGUES IN WISCONSIN AND OHIO ON TUESDAY AS THE AFL-CIO PLANS STREET PROTESTS IN LANSING against Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's attempt to balance the state budget on the backs of public employees.

In scenes that US Rep. Paul Ryan (R) has likened to the massive recent protests and clashes in Cairo, Wisconsin public sector employees and union activists staged a seventh day of protests in Madison Monday as Gov. Scott Walker (R) refused to budge on his plan to gut collective bargaining, the behind-closed-doors process by which civil service workers, including teachers, secure pay, health, and pension benefits.

FIGHTING SIMILAR PROPOSALS, OHIO UNION ACTIVISTS PROTESTED IN COLUMBUS LAST WEEK, as well, and now Michigan union protesters are planning a morning protest in Lansing. In Tennessee, a Republican-backed plan to end collective bargaining for the state's 52,000 teachers has drawn sharp rebukes from the education establishment. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has also proposed curbing collective bargaining rules in the Hoosier State….

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110221/ts_csm/364791


Wisconsin is only the first place you will be seeing this struggle. Stand bye.


Mika Makes Excuses For Vile WI Signs—Till She Sees Them

Mika Brzezinski learned a life lesson this morning: look before you leap to defend liberals . . .


At the top of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough referenced the hateful emails he and Mika had received from the left and the similarly ugly signs held by Wisconsin union protesters. MIKA REFLEXIVELY DEFENDED THE VILENESS, SAYING THAT PEOPLE WERE "HURTING AND REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING HEARD."


Aww. But later, the show rolled video of some of the Wisconsin signs, including one with crosshairs on Gov. Walker, another calling him Hitler, one accusing him of rape, and of course that great old standard "death to tyrants."



TO HER CREDIT, MIKA DID CHANGE HER TUNE. VIEW VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP.

Admitting that she hadn't previously seen those signs, MIKA AGREED WITH JOE THAT IF TEA PARTIERS HELD UP SOMETHING SIMILAR, "THEY'D BE ON A [MSM] LOOP."

View the video and watch Mika's change of heart as she runs headlong into the hard reality of what's happening in Wisconsin.

http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2011/02/21/mika-makes-excuses-vile-wi-signs-till-she-sees-them#ixzz1EgpGKtH1


An admission that the MSM treats the TEA Party more harshly than it does Public Employee Unions. Who would of thought it?



GOP can cut spending without closing government

Washington Democrats and liberal mainstream media journalists have been wearing out their tongues for a week PREDICTING HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL FORCE A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN JUST AS THEY DID IN 1995, WITH THE SAME DISASTROUS RESULTS FOR THE GOP. They are framing the issue this way because they want a government shutdown, thinking IT WILL BLUNT THE DRIVE BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO CUT FEDERAL SPENDING, which voters demanded last November. Unfortunately, many Republicans have bought into the fallacy that the only way to achieve their goal is through a political stalemate that forces a suspension of government services.

In fact, THIS IS NOT AN "EITHER/OR" PROPOSITION, as congressional Republicans can show this week by taking two steps. First, HOUSE GOP LEADERS SHOULD INTRODUCE AN ALTERNATIVE CONTINUING RESOLUTION THAT ENSURES NO SLOWDOWN IN ESSENTIAL SERVICES, including the delivery of Social Security checks and Medicare payments for medical treatment, keeping the military at full strength and funding agencies charged with maintaining the public safety. House Speaker John Boehner should make clear that this alternative continuing resolution will be approved if Senate Democrats and/or President Obama refuse to accept the $61 billion in spending cuts approved last week by the lower chamber. Just as Cato the Elder ended his every Roman Senate speech by demanding that "Carthage must die," BOEHNER SHOULD CONSTANTLY DEMAND THAT DEMOCRATS STOP OBSTRUCTING THE DEFUNDING OF OBAMACARE, WHITE HOUSE "CZARS," EPA'S REGULATORY CAP-AND-TRADE, AND OTHER MUCH-NEEDED SPENDING CUTS…..

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/02/examiner-editorial-gop-can-cut-spending-without-closing-government#ixzz1Eh9uvyg9

I do think the democrats think this is 1995, not 2011. There seems to be a giggly anticipation that this will do the Republicans in and revive the Democrats. I don’t think this is the case.



Time Magazine: Greens move on from 'climate change' to organic food movement

THESE ARE DARK DAYS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT. A year after being on the cusp of passing landmark legislation to cap greenhouse gases, greens are coming to accept the fact THAT THE CHANCE OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BECOME MORE REMOTE THAN EVER. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under attack by newly empowered Republicans in Congress who argue that the very idea of environmental protection is unaffordable for our debt-ridden country. Accustomed to remaining optimistic in the face of long odds, the environmental movement all at once faces a challenge just to stay relevant in a hostile political climate. In 2004, authors Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus faced a harsh backlash from the greens when they released a polemic essay called "The Death of Environmentalism," but now it appears they might have been ahead of their time.

EVEN AS TRADITIONAL ENVIRONMENTALISM STRUGGLES, ANOTHER MOVEMENT IS RISING IN ITS PLACE, ALIGNING CONSUMERS, PRODUCERS, THE MEDIA AND EVEN POLITICIANS. IT'S THE FOOD MOVEMENT, AND IF IT CONTINUES TO GROW IT MAY BE ABLE TO CREATE JUST THE SORT OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ENVIRONMENTALISTS HAVE FAILED TO ACHIEVE IN RECENT YEARS. That would mean not only changing the way Americans eat and the way they farm — away from industrialized, cheap calories and toward more organic, small-scale production, with plenty of fruits and vegetables — but also altering the way we work and relate to one another. TO ITS MOST ARDENT ADHERENTS, THE FOOD MOVEMENT ISN'T JUST ABOUT REFORM — IT'S ABOUT REVOLUTION…..

http://hockeyschtick.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-magazine-greens-move-on-from.html


As AGW falls new green movements are afoot. This is a new one on me. I had heard that bio-diversity was the next big green assault.