Tag Archives: US Politics

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Another B.O. Appointee with Problem?

Obama appointee on leave after FBI raid, arrests

An employee of the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer and a private contractor were charged with corruption Thursday after an FBI raid at the former office of one of President Obama’s appointees, Vivek Kundra.

Kundra is on leave from his White House job until further details of the case become known, a White House source tells the Associated Press.

Kundra has not been linked to Thursday’s raid.

…yet.

As the raid took place, Kundra was giving a speech at FOSE – an annual government technology expo – about changing the way the government purchases materials from vendors.

You couldn’t make this stuff up!

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Got a health plan? You’re rich!

Under this scheme, apparently the Donks think that anyone who has a medical plan is (voila!) rich!

Didn’t B.O. himself promise to only increase taxes on the rich? If this tax scheme is put in place, then lots more of us MUST be richer than we thought, otherwise we wouldn’t be getting a tax increase, right?

(HA HA! Joke’s on us!)

Workers’ Health Benefits Eyed for Taxation

With President Obama’s plan to tax the rich to pay for health care facing deep skepticism on Capitol Hill, key lawmakers are pressing a different way to raise money: taxing the health benefits workers receive from their employers.

Since companies began offering group health insurance on a large scale during World War II, the value of that benefit has never been counted as income, reducing workers’ taxable earnings by an average of $9,000 a year for family coverage.

In recent weeks, however, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee, has repeatedly advocated changing tax laws to include employer benefits, arguing that it makes sense to fund the health-care changes by sucking cash out of the existing system. Meanwhile, 13 other senators — from both sides of the aisle — have signed on to a plan for universal coverage that includes a tax on employer-provided benefits.

They’ll never stop. F.E.T.E.

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Channelling JFK, Lincoln, or not?

Barack Obama rejects accusation that he is taking on too much too soon

Barack Obama has rejected the charge that he is taking on too much too soon, by comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy. The new president’s response ran the risk of reviving the criticism sometimes heard during his campaign and inauguration that he was prematurely ranking himself among the great American politicians.

Who is the real B.O.?  Backers are starting to wonder, too.

Even supporters are questioning whether or not the president would be better advised to concentrate all or most of his fire on reviving the economy, and in particular, finalising the details of saving the banking sector.

Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor and an early of support of Mr Obama, has criticised the government for a “muddled message”. David Brooks, a sympathetic if conservative columnist for the New York Times said that “Democrats apparently think that dealing with the crisis is a part-time job, which leaves the afternoons free to work on long-range plans to reform education, health care, energy and a dozen smaller things”.

The Chief submits that the pattern forming here is clear…B.O. has become a legend in his own mind.

National Insecurity

Another B.O. Appointee Bounces

Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy!

Freeman hits ‘Israel lobby’ on way out

President Barack Obama’s controversial pick for a top intelligence post blasted the “Israel lobby” on his way out the door Tuesday, intensifying a debate on the role Israel’s allies played in the latest failed Obama appointment.

Charles W. Freeman Jr.’s abrupt withdrawal from his appointment as chairman of the National Intelligence Council came after he drew fire on a number of fronts – including questions about his financial ties to China and Saudi Arabia.

The last thing we need is a top Intel policy geek in the tank for the Saudis and the ChiComs…two of the more significant players with definite reasons of their own not to hold the U.S. or its interests in favor.

Constitution Watch

DC Vote in Trouble

Marvel of marvels! This is apparently such a flagrant violation of the pesky language of the Constitution that apparently even the Donks (at least some of them) can’t swallow it.

Democrats Pull D.C. Voting Rights Act

The patently unconstitutional bill to give the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House of Representatives was pulled off the House calendar because — according to one House Republican leadership source — they feared that the so-called Blue Dog Democrats would not support it.

The bill was patently unconstitutional because under Article 1, Section 2, only states have representatives, and D.C. isn’t a state. (That idea is reinforced by the XXIII Amendment, under which D.C. voters are allowed to vote in presidential elections, and thus appoint electors to the Electoral College, “…equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State….”)

The Blue Dogs, a group of supposedly conservative Dems who have usually marched to Speaker Pelosi’s drum, were fearful that the National Rifle Association would “score” — i.e., use the vote to determine its annual rating of gun-friendly (and unfriendly) members the vote on the rule to bring the matter to the House floor.

That same source told HUMAN EVENTS that the rule would have precluded consideration of an amendment — similar to that approved in the Senate last week — to preserve D.C. residents’ gun rights.

The gun rights aspect of this makes the whole situation even sweeter. Looks like Queen SanFran Nan soesn;t have quite the hold she thought she did over all things on the Donk side of the House.

Constitution Watch

Democrat Senator: B.O. Power Grab Underway

Byrd: Obama in power grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

While it’s rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House.

This is interesting in several respects. It proves that at least SOMEBODY still knows how to read, and understand the Constitution.

It’s also different finding a leading Democrat warning about ANYTHING that B.O. does.

Also, not only is the Constitutional issue noted, there is the issue of the much-promised “transparency” taking it in the neck again:

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

Hear, hear!

Constitution Watch

D.C. Congresscritter to be Created?

Although the Chief realizes that in our enlightened age of the Abomination Obamanation worrying about what the Constitution actually says is far out of fashion, he still offers the following:

Read the Constitution: D.C. is not a state

Which part of Article I, Section 2 do proponents of the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 not comprehend? The Constitution of the United States clearly states that “the House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states.” The Constitution created D.C. as the federal “seat of government” – not as a state. Therefore, D.C. cannot have a voting Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Proponents are correct that the Constitution gives Congress the right to make all laws for the District. But that clearly does not permit Congress to substitute its will for that of the whole people to rewrite the Constitution. So, until the Constitution is amended to make D.C. a state, creating a voting representative for it as if it were a state would be “the most premeditatedly unconstitutional act by Congress in decades,” in the words of George Washington Law School professor Jonathan Turley.

There’s some further extension of this in the cited OpEd…it’s worth the read IMHO.

Sounds clear enough, at least to someone who can read, and properly attach actual meanings to words. Ooops. Apparently that leaves out much of the current Donk dominated People’s Congress….

Few roadblocks expected for D.C. voting rights bill

Congress is poised to grant the District of Columbia a legislator with full voting rights in the House of Representatives.

After failed attempts in previous years, a wide Democratic majority in Congress and a Democrat in the White House have paved the way for the possible success of the bill, but there is still a chance Senate Republicans could block it.

The legislation would add two members to the House roster — one from the District, the other from Utah — increasing its ranks to 437.

This is designed to throw a political bone to the Republicans, and all too sadly, a number of them are willing to roll over on command and accede to the Donks’ latest assault on the Constitutional order, which isn’t made any better by the application of this “bipartisan” fig-leaf.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a hint in all this of actually respecting the Constitution enough to do it the right way, with a constitutional amendment.

As a historical note, this sort of swapping of Congressional seats to maintain a superficial balance has happened before; most notably in the Missouri Compromise, allowing the admission of Missouri as a slave-holding state, along with Maine as a non-slave state.

It’s telling that the current state of the body politic is such that this kind of juggling of representation is the only thing that apparently allows the (illusory) continuation of political agreement.

UPDATE:

The Senate passed a key preliminary vote Tuesday morning for the District to get full voting rights in Congress. Senators voted 62-34 to take up the legislation. A final Senate vote to approve the legislation could come as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Sadness.

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Change – You better believe it!

Consumer confidence plummets to new low in Feb.

A private research group says consumer confidence sank to new lows in February as Americans grow more fearful over massive job cuts and shrinking retirement accounts.

The New York-based Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased slightly in January, plummeted in February to 25, down from a revised reading of 37.4 last month.

That was well below the 35.5 level economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. The reading is again at its lowest point since the index began in 1967.

A year ago, the index stood at 76.4.

“Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” ’nuff said.

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Fed I.G.’s Now Subjected to Political Review

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The RAT hiding deep inside the stimulus bill

…you probably haven’t heard about a provision in the bill that threatens to politicize the way allegations of fraud and corruption are investigated — or not investigated — throughout the federal government.

The provision, which attracted virtually no attention in the debate over the 1,073-page stimulus bill, creates something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — the RAT Board, as it’s known by the few insiders who are aware of it. The board would oversee the in-house watchdogs, known as inspectors general, whose job is to independently investigate allegations of wrongdoing at various federal agencies, without fear of interference by political appointees or the White House.

In the name of accountability and transparency, Congress has given the RAT Board the authority to ask “that an inspector general conduct or refrain from conducting an audit or investigation.” If the inspector general doesn’t want to follow the wishes of the RAT Board, he’ll have to write a report explaining his decision to the board, as well as to the head of his agency (from whom he is supposedly independent) and to Congress. In the end, a determined inspector general can probably get his way, but only after jumping through bureaucratic hoops that will inevitably make him hesitate to go forward.

If the Chief were a gambling man, he would bet that the Donks who were SO fast to weep and wail about the possible political abuse of the Patriot Act will be only noticeable by their silence about this. Hmmmmm. Come to think of it, maybe it WOULDN’T be a gamble at all to bet on it!

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BOHICA!

Another massive spending bill on the agenda

After a week off taking a victory lap for passing an economic stimulus, Congress’ Democratic leaders return to Washington on Monday for a second race against the clock to pass another massive spending package.

This time it is a roughly $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill that would fund most of the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, replacing stopgap funding that expires March 6.

KEEP THE PRESSES ROLLING! That’s the only way they’ll ever come up with the money to even come close to meeting their stated goals.

Of course B.O. says we’ll raise taxes on…you know who…the job creating class, known to the Donks as the “filthy rich”, who already pay an excruciatingly high percentage of the entire income tax loot total.

(If you’re curious about the acronymic header on this post, refer to the “Site Jargonology” link – warning: it ain’t that pretty at all, but IMHO it DOES fit right in!)

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Schumer Hoist on Own Petard!

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Schumer’s Second Thoughts (Or: This Is Why Reading Legislation Before Voting Is a Good Idea)

Sen. Schumer has pledged to undo a provision included in the stimulus package that will make it nearly impossible for New York’s banks to hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program….

According to a report released last year by the Partnership for New York City, roughly 13,000 workers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are here on H-1B visas. The top visa sponsors in the area are the very same banks that have received TARP money. Those banks also have significant overseas operations, says Kathy Wylde, and this provision will hurt most when the economy turns around and the banks look to hire talent to tap new markets.

“When they require someone with a language or other skill who they feel is the best person for the job, if they can’t bring them to New York, they will move the function,” says Wylde. “That’s what’s happened in the past when we’ve had a shortage of the H-1B visas.”

Too bad. Schumer outsmartassed himself this time! His karma ran over his dogma.

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Newsweak Lets Cat Out of the Bag

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Joe the Plumber was right. B.O. is a liar, based on campaign-era denials of socialism, and the hidden lumps of totalitarian government intrusiveness packaged up under the veneer of “economic stimulus”.

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AT LAST! MSM honesty! All along we knew what we were up against, and now the LibDonk side has admitted it, and the new name the Chief proposed for the jackass party turns out to be all too true: National Socialist Democratic American Party (N.S.D.A.P.)

P.S. to Newsweak: YOU’RE PREMISE IS WRONG – We are NOT all socialists!

Lock and load!

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Daschle’s Totalitarian “Health” Plans

So, what does anyone care about Daschle’s plans for anything any more?

Well, he night be gone, but his ideas for health care are part of the aforementioned B.O. B.S. B.O. Bill.

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan

Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy. Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors

“So far, everything’s OK”. (in the words of a man falling from the Empire State Building, as he passed the 50th floor.) Then it gets really messy:

One (emphasis added) new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446).

NOTE: “…what the government deems appropriate and cost effective.” Not you and your doctor…THE GOVERNMENT. So much for any remnant of medical independence, but wait!  It doesn’t stop there:

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make.

The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal…is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He [Daschle] praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

And the practical effect: Welcome to the U.K.! (or worse.)

Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt. Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

Like Hitler did with Mein Kampf, Daschle has published his own vision vision of this brave new world.

The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly…

In other words, once your usefulness to society is done, then you should welcome this 21st century version of the tribal elderly being cast out into the blizzard when their day is done. So much for compassionate care.

Herr Himmler, and his pet Dr. Mengele would have heartily approved of this scheme to cut out support of such “useless eaters” as the infirm elderly.

The stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from medical and nursing education, to how patients are treated and how much hospitals get paid. The bill allocates more funding for this bureaucracy than for the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force combined(90-92, 174-177, 181).

!!!?

Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,” he said. “The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.”

Right to life? What’s that any more? Nothing…that question was settled by Roe v. Wade. This is merely an all too logical extension of that attitude. The Chief isn’t a Catholic, but Pope John Paul was spot on when he warned against a culture of death.

As the cartoon character “Pogo” observed: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

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B.O.’s BS B-O Bill Passes Senate

Senate passes $838 billion stimulus bill

Well, the formless legislative blob of the Gigabuck omnibus banking, finance, and industrial nationalization act has entered the maw of the Senate, moved into the inner digestive processes of lawmaking, and inevitably, appropriately (to according to the Great One and his DonkCong adherents) completed its passage through the belly of the legislative beast and emerged as…what can described as noted above: B.O.’s B.S. Bailout Bill.

Senate passage of an $838 billion stimulus bill triggered an intense round of late-night bargaining on Tuesday, with the White House and key congressional Democrats seeking agreement on a final compromise aimed at combatting the worst economic crisis in decades.

If you don’t like it, don’t worry, your grandkids will get to pay for it, and you won’t have to be bothered…that is, unless you think rationally, and still have a functional conscience.

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Chicago School Problems: The Heritage of the New Ed. Secretary!

‘Painful Lessons': Abuse At Chicago Schools
Hundreds Of Kids Beaten, Whipped, Even Choked By Teachers, Coaches

A couple of weeks ago there was news of $67,000 being spent on a no-bid deal for cappucino machines for Chicago schools, most of which hadn’t requested them, and weren’t even using them once they were delivered.

Now, comes another installment showing how the Chicago school system has been in the habit of operating.

Treveon Martin, 10, is afraid of a teacher at his school. “I’ve seen him hit five of them in the classroom,” Martin said.

Martin says he and others have been hit, grabbed and even struck with a belt. “He’s threatened almost all the kids in his classroom,” Martin said.

He says it happened at Robert Emmet Academy in November but a Chicago Public School investigator didn’t talk to him until last week – 70 days after the case was reported, and not until after we started asking questions.

“He holded my arms and he picked my body up, and then he just slammed me on the desk,” Martin said.

An exclusive CBS 2 investigation discovered Treveon Martin is one of at least 818 Chicago Public School students, since 2003, to allege being battered by a teacher or an aide, coach, security guard, or even a principal. In most of those cases – 568 of them – Chicago Public School investigators determined the children were telling the truth.

So, just another local issue? It shouldn’t be.

These sorts of incidents don’t spontaneously appear in a large organization. They won’t appear at all where competent, engaged, hands-on management is not afraid to set and enforce rigorous standards of professional conduct at all levels.  In order for this pattern of mismanagement to have arisen, those in charge are prima facie guilty of failure to exercise due diligence in the performance of their responsibilities.

The REAL question at this point is where is the media’s questioning of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about his prior and  apparently poor performance as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, under which the above noted financial, (and even more seriously) physical abuses occurred.

From the Department of Education website we find the following:

Prior to his appointment as secretary of education, Duncan served as the chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools, a position to which he was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley, from June 2001 through December 2008, becoming the longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country. (emphasis added)

Seems to the Chief that Duncan SHOULD have some ‘splainen’ to do!

DOE’s bio blurb goes on:

As CEO, Duncan’s mandate was to raise education standards and performance, improve teacher and principal quality…

If that was Duncan’s mandate, based on the evidence, he failed to live up to expectations…and now he’s the man that B.O. (The Exalted One) himself has picked to lead the rest of the country’s educational establishment ever onward and upwards beyond the realm of “no child left behind”.

(Eeeeeuuuu!)

Better the Department of Education was eliminated than to turn it over to Duncan’s apparently incompetent management.

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Obamanation Abomination

Agreement Reached on Economic Stimulus, Senators Say

Senators agreed on an economic stimulus plan of at least $780 billion to rescue the U.S. economy from sinking into what President Barack Obama warns would be an even deeper recession if Congress doesn’t act.

Three Republicans agreed to join Democrats who control the chamber in supporting the measure. A Senate vote, possibly this weekend, would move Congress closer to Obama’s deadline of sending a bill to him by mid-February.

Words seem to fall short at describing this quivering gelatinous legislative toxic blob, that will surely draw us along the path of B.O.’s National Socialist Democrat American Party (N.S.D.A.P.)

Unfortunately the Senate apparently can always be counted on to find at least a few Republocrats (also known as RINOS) to join with the party of the jackass and give them cover from bearing the full responsibility for their constitutional malpractice. In this case the Republocratic caucus is made up of the Maineiac senators, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe(-job), and the Pennsylvania RINO spook Arlen Spectre Spector, may their names live forever in the annals of political infamy.

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B.O. Bailout Bill in Senate Trouble?

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GOP leaders doubt stimulus bill will pass Senate

THIS is truly encouraging!

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday the massive stimulus bill backed by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could go down to defeat if it’s not stripped of unnecessary spending and focused more on housing issues and tax cut.

The Senate version of the bill, which topped out at nearly $900 billion, is headed to the floor for debate. The House bill totaled about $819 billion and earned no Republican votes, even though it easily passed the Democratic-controlled House. At some point lawmakers will need to compromise on the competing versions.

Remember! These amounts don’t include the interest on the money to be spent. We’re well into the trillion + range with that!

McConnell and other Republicans suggested that the bill needed an overhaul because it doesn’t pump enough into the private sector through tax cuts and allows Democrats to go on a spending spree unlikely to jolt the economy. The Republican leader also complained that Democrats had not been as bipartisan in writing the bill as Obama had said he wanted.

“I think it may be time … for the president to kind of get a hold of these Democrats in the Senate and the House, who have rather significant majorities, and shake them a little bit and say, ‘Look, let’s do this the right way,'” McConnell said. “I can’t believe that the president isn’t embarrassed about the products that have been produced so far.”

Well, the Chief is a native of Missouri. B.O. needs to “Show me” before I’ll bellieve that will happen.

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More Government? Ready or not!

Federal jobs still growing amid layoffs

Companies are cutting jobs by the tens of thousands. State and local governments are penny-pinching, too. So what about Uncle Sam? Tough times for him as well?

Not exactly. In fact the number of federal workers is on the rise.

That might seem strange to the 11 million people in the U.S. who are out of work, and the millions more who fear they soon will be. Shouldn’t Washington pare down too?

NAH! Just ask your favorite neighborhood Donk: The bureaucracy must expand to meet the needs of an expanding bureaucracy!

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GOP Chair…A Sign of Progress

Steele’s conservative challenge

OpEd from the D.C. Times:

Following two consecutive national election losses, the Republican Party has been in disarray. President Barack Obama’s victory and the Democrat seizure of both houses of Congress in November were as much a stinging indictment of the GOP as an endorsement of the campaigns of its opponents (as well-oiled as the latter were). Yet with the election of former Maryland lieutenant governor and GOPAC leader Michael Steele as chairman of the Republican National Committee on Friday, anemic conservatives will get new blood….

He has already reassured the base that he will be true to them, spending much of the weekend reaching out – and in many cases assuaging – leading GOP fiscal and social conservatives, as reported by the Times’ Ralph Hallow. Mr. Steele, who trained for three years to be a Catholic priest before becoming a lawyer, understands the value – and beauty – of the traditional family. He is also firmly pro-life, even tough he is willing to broaden the GOP tent to accommodate pro-choicers.

Solidifying the base in itself does little or nothing to expand it, and if done by a dolt would only cause the GOP to be a perpetual minority. Mr. Steele is visionary enough, and smart enough, to know he must expand the “brand” to attract the broad middle. He has said repeatedly that the main failure of the GOP has not been its ideals, but its leadership, which “behaved like Democrats” and embraced big-government policies. He is first and foremost calling for a return to the pro-family, fiscal conservatism that was the bedrock of the Reagan Revolution.

The Chief thinks that this is nothing but a good move…at least from the perspective of non-country club portions of the GOP.

Now, all we need to find is someone of equal potential for the South Dakota party.

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Senate Supermajority for Donks Still Elusive

Gregg exit wouldn’t boost Senate Democrats
Replacement to maintain status quo

Interesting political maneuvering going on here.

President Obama was poised to tap Republican Sen. Judd Gregg as his commerce secretary, but officials cautioned Sunday the move would not deliver Democrats complete control of the Senate as they had hoped.

Leading the pack to replace the fiscal conservative was his former chief of staff and a veteran of the Reagan White House, Bonnie Newman. Officials expect New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, would name her to fill the final two years of Mr. Gregg’s term. Miss Newman would not seek the seat for a full term in 2010.

The move would allow Mr. Gregg to join the Cabinet without giving Democrats’ unchecked power in Congress.

The White house is publically keeping a “hands off” attitude…which you can believe if you really want to, I guess.

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B.O. Supporters With Some Disappointment

Obama’s new rules have loopholes

President Obama’s first moves earned him triumphant headlines: “Obama Freezes Pay, Toughens Ethics and Lobbying Rules,” and “Obama sets new course.”

But some of his biggest accomplishments are twinned with the word “but”: Lobbyists are banned, but exceptions can and will be made; orders on ending torture and secret prisons contain loopholes and provisos.

Call it the fine print, an exception, a waiver, but there have been caveats to many of Mr. Obama’s first actions.

Well, that’s what you get by believing someone who believes in…what? (Still to be determined, apparently.)

“Change we can believe in, as long as we pay attention to the disappointing asterisk on the word ‘change,’ ” complained Rachel Maddow, a liberal talk-show host for MSNBC.

Hmmmm. There’s a word that comes to mind…oh yeah: S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E. :)

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Appoointee Tax Dodge Redux

GOP senators scrutinize Daschle nomination

Former South Dakota fired Senator Tom Daschle back in the spotlight…or is it on the spot…whatever.

Hmmm. A SECOND B.O. appointee with tax…er…”issues”.

Senate Republicans piled on Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle for failing to pay more than $128,000 in taxes, though they stopped short of saying they would reject the South Dakota Democrat’s confirmation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said Mr. Daschle’s tax woes, as well as those of new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, do “raise some questions about the [Obama administration’s] vetting process.”

One of the best comments the Chief ran across was also in this article:

Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican, a staunch conservative who rarely holds back criticism of Democrats, called Mr. Daschle’s tax woes “disheartening.”

“I can see now why liberals don’t mind if the tax rate goes up, because they’re not going to pay it anyway,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Zing!

Sorry, the claims that these are “minor oversight errors”… of 6 figures (!) just doesn’t compute. I guess you CAN accept that excuse, if you want to.

If you do believe the offered explanations, please e-mail the Chief about a great deal on tropical beachfront property in Moody County, South Dakota.

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Note from a Republican in Exile

Governor Romney’s Remarks to the House Republican Conference Retreat

This was presented by the Governor to the House GOP, right after they said “Thanks, but no thanks!” to B.O.’s & the Donk Congs’ bloated bailout bill.

Just a few highlights:

This is a time of hardship and uncertainty for millions of Americans. The question is: whose leadership and ideas will turn things around. And in such a moment, it’s our job to offer the clear answers, the proven solutions, and resolute leadership that will make this country strong again.

The new President and the Congressional majority are having a difficult time doing that. After all, they have a lot of campaign rhetoric to make good on. And they’ve got plenty of special interests to pay back. As the opposition party, we’re entirely free to do what is right for the country. There are certain advantages to that kind of freedom, and I suggest we make the most of them….

That begins with a clear analysis of what’s needed to get the economy moving again. Predictions that we are almost out of the woods, based on the length of prior recessions, are wishful thinking. Americans have lost some 11 trillion dollars in net worth. That translates into about 400 billion dollars less annual consumer spending in the economy.

There’s something else people don’t talk much about: The pool of investment capital—all the money available for new investments, business start-ups, business expansions, capital expenditures, and new hiring. The size of that pool has shrunk by trillions of dollars. This was a huge loss in value, and the effect could be felt for years—in businesses that don’t start up or grow, in jobs that don’t get created….

We’re on an economic tightrope. That’s why it is so important to exercise extreme care and good judgment. So far, the Democratic leadership hasn’t shown a great deal of that. They’ve passed 355 billion in infrastructure spending, 60% of which won’t be spent by the end of 2010. Billions for electronic medical health records—it’s a fine idea, but it won’t produce jobs for years and years.

Even worse are the liberal payoffs—50 million dollars for the National Endowment for the Arts, hundreds of millions of dollars to the states for STD prevention and education. Until your loud protests got it dropped from the bill, there even was 200 million dollars for the DC Mall. That might have grown some grass, but it wouldn’t have grown the economy. And they’re doing this when the economy is on a tightrope….

We need to stimulate the economy, not the government. (emphasis added) A true stimulus package, one that respects the productivity and genius of the American people, could lift this country out of recession. And experience shows us what it should look like.

First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by spending more or by taxing less. But if it’s stimulus you want, taxing less works best….

Second, any new spending must be strictly limited to projects that are essential. How do we define essential? Well, a good rule is that the projects we fund in a stimulus should be legitimate government priorities that would have been carried out in the future anyway, and are simply being moved up to create those jobs now….

Third, sending out rebate checks to citizens and businesses is not a tax cut. The media bought this line so far, but they’ve got it wrong. Checks in the mail are refunds, not tax cuts. We tried rebate checks last year and they did virtually nothing to jump-start the economy….

Fourth, if we’re going to tax less and spend more to get the economy moving, then we have to make another commitment as well. As soon as this economy recovers, we have to regain control over the federal budget, and above all, over entitlement spending. This is more important than most people are willing to admit….

Fifth, we must begin to recover from the enormous losses in the capital investment pool. And the surest, most obvious way to get that done is to send a clear signal that there will be no tax increases on investment and capital gains….

And finally, let’s exercise restraint in the size of the stimulus package. Without restraint, it may grow as the days go by. Last year, with the economy already faltering, I proposed a stimulus of 233 billion dollars. The Washington Post said, and I quote: “Romney’s plan is way too big.” So what critique do they have for the size of the Democrat’s package? I’m afraid they’ve caught a bad case of liberal laryngitis. It’s everywhere these days.

In the final analysis, we know that only the private sector—entrepreneurs and businesses large and small—can create the millions of jobs our country needs. The invisible hand of the market always moves faster and better than the heavy hand of government.

The difference between us and the Democrats is this: they want to stimulate the government, and we want to stimulate the economy.

Sounds a LOT better to the Chief than most of what spews forth from the banks of the Potomac these days.

The Governor goes on and also comments on other issues…healthcare, the union card-check scam, abortion funding, and the status of GITMO and the war on Islamoterrorism.

Too bad that Romney wasn’t carrying the banner in November instead of The Manchurian Candidate.

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Bye-bye Blago!

Received the following from an e-mail correspondent (not associated with the state government) from Springfield, Illinois:

Hurray!!!! :)

The impeachment of Rod Blogjevich has been sustained by the Illinois Senate and they also voted that he may not in the future hold any public office in the State of Illinois. Both votes were unanimous.

When he addressed the Senate this morning his speech was all about himself and how he was being treated unfairly, no mention of his treatment of we the people.

Seems to make the point. The Chief concurs.

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Beware of the RINOs!

Senate GOP leader says party must change

Better late than never!

After crushing defeats in back-to-back elections, the top Senate Republican warned Thursday that the GOP risks remaining out of power in the White House and Congress unless it better explains its core principles to woo one-time faithful and new loyalists.

“Unless we do something to adapt, our status as a minority party may become too pronounced for an easy recovery,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Republican National Committee on Thursday. “The situation is challenging, but it’s far from irreversible.”

After the House GOP hung tough in yesterday’s vote on the B.O. Omnibus Bailout/Boondoggle Spending Act,
the Chief takes this as being encouraging. If the Senate GOP’ers can also discover that yes indeed, they DO actually have a spine and can stand up to the Donkey party. If this is really the case, then the party’s troubles will be on the road to solution.

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B.O. Bail Out B.S.

10 Reasons to Whack Obama’s Stimulus Plan

Some people are going to oppose President Obama’s ginormous stimulus package just because they’re on a different political team. But when you look at the economic evidence, it sure seems like an economic recovery package that’s heavy on government spending and light on tax cuts is just the opposite of what we should be doing right now.

Following are the 10 reasons noted…all from economics heavy hitters…including from within the B.O. administration. But is B.O. listining? From all evidence to date, not really, all’s the worse for the country.

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B.O.’s Bailout Rides Out of House on Donkey-back

House OKs $819B stimulus bill in win for Obama

In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young adminstration’s revival plan for the desperately ailing economy. The vote was 244-188.

Note: solid Donk support, NO GOP backing.

There is so much crapola in this mess, that it is beyond description. Stimulus? most of the money won’t be spent for a year or more…so much for worrying about the immediate economy.

So what’s relly going on here? The Chief recalls an old African proverb: “Any stick will do if you want to beat a snake.” In this case, the recession stick does a great job of beatin gthe Donk’s snake…an ever expanding government with the bureaucracy expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.

Although Queen Nancy got her way…it may just come back to bite her in the butt…with NO support from ANY GOP, the Donks will end up with this Albatross firmly and finally lashed around their neck, which also happens to reflect the view of this OpEd from across the pond:

Hollow victory: Republicans deliver slap in the face to Barack Obama

President Barack Obama got the $825 (or $1.2 trillion over a decade) stimulus package through the House of Representatives but the 244 to 188 vote is a hollow victory indeed. Without a single Republican voting for the bill, his high-profile visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday came to exactly naught – at least on the House side.Obama vowed to change Washington and usher in a new post-partisan era. The the mood music and optics were pitch perfect as he trekked up to the Hill. Republicans praised his gesture, welcomed his sincere demeanour and appreciated his willingness to listen.

SOUNDS good…but wait…the typical liberal formula…symbolism over substance, especially when it comes to what looks more and more like a pattern of faux-bipartisanship:

Problem was, he wanted only to listen and did not want to act on what Republicans said.

It’s going to be a long 4 years.

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View from a Brit…and “it ain’t pretty at all”

Barack Obama inauguration: this Emperor has no clothes, it will all end in tears

Interesting perspective from across the pond.

This will end in tears. The Obama hysteria is not merely embarrassing to witness, it is itself contributory to the scale of the disaster that is coming. What we are experiencing, in the deepening days of a global depression, is the desperate suspension of disbelief by people of intelligence – la trahison des clercs – in a pathetic effort to hypnotise themselves into the delusion that it will be all right on the night. It will not be all right.

The Brits have been down this road before us…after 11 years of a “progeressive” regime led by a “new generation” young. charismatic leader & his followers of similar ilk, the once puissant British lion has been reduced to bankruptcy.

So if we go down a similar path, we will have a different outcome? Nah. Not a chance!

As Warner from the Telegraph concludes:

It is questionable whether the present political system can survive the coming crisis. Whatever the solution, teenage swooning sentimentality over a celebrity cult has no part in it. The most powerful nation on earth is confronting its worst economic crisis under the leadership of its most extremely liberal politician, who has virtually no experience of federal politics. That is not an opportunity but a catastrophe.

These are frank, even ungracious, words: they have the one merit that, unlike almost everything else written today about Obama, they will not require to be eaten in the future.

The Chief concurs.

Constitution Watch, Culture Wars

Obamacracy: ANYTHING GOES?

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‘Anything possible,’ Obama tells joyous crowd

Two days from the White House, President-elect Barack Obama joined a vast throng Sunday at a joyous pre-inauguration celebration staged among marble monuments to past heroes. “Anything is possible in America,” declared the man who will confront economic crisis and two wars when he takes office.

So, what’s wrong with this? Sounds nice? Lots of possibilities? Right?

Er…what ever happened to Constitutional government? According to that ANYTHING is NOT possible…there are some definite limitations as to what any American government is allowed to do, even with a President Obama.

Unfortunately, the crop of politically ascendant LibDonks (admittedly the outgoing Bushites also) seem to have no cognizance if any restraint on their near-orgasmic response to the prospect of untrammeled government.

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Senator Frankenstein?

The dirty joke from Minnesota

This election and its aftermath has been as synthetic as the efforts of Mary Shelley’s fictional doctor, and the results is just as monstrous as the original monster who was widely known by the name of said doctor: Frankenstein!  It fits!

1105franken.jpg

A lot of the venal sins of Congress could be judged pornographic, both politically and otherwise, but we’ve never had an Official Senate Pornographer before. Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al Franken will fit right in.

“With the Minnesota recount complete,” he says, gleefully, “it is now clear that Al Franken won the election.” Actually, it isn’t clear at all, as Mr. Schumer well knows, even though the Democrats managing the recount declared Mr. Franken the winner yesterday. The Democrats in the Senate are eager to get Al seated quickly because once he’s seated among equals a bum is difficult to throw out. There’s honor among senators, similar to the honor among thieves. (The difference is that thieves often hold to higher standards.)

The gory details of the stealing of the election are obvious, brazen, and detailed in this column.  In the words of a Warren Zevon song:  “It ain’t that pretty at all.”

The thought of  Al Franken(stein) in the Senate is just about enough to make one truly sympathetic of the normally hideous Roman Emperor Caligula, who appointed his favorite horse as consul of the empire, as a means of showing his contempt for the feckless and corrupt Senate of his day.

With the Minnesota Border about 25 miles away, the Chief hopes that their state environmental agency has means to keep the slime on that side of the line if this buffoon is finally confirmed to the Senate, but Caligula would feel at home.