Cast Your Non-Binding Vote for 2010 U.S. Senate GOP Candidate

by Ben DeGrow | 10:26 pm, February 4, 2009

Rocky Mountain Right has posted a great straw poll that’s just begging your participation. You have until noon on Wednesday, February 11, to vote for your favorite potential GOP candidate to challenge the newly-selected Michael Bennet for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat in 2010.
As of this posting, Mark Hillman and Ryan Frazier are deadlocked at 42 [...]

Jon Henke’s Advice: Keep Our Eyes on The Real Problem Before Us

by Ben DeGrow | 9:59 pm, February 4, 2009

If you really want to engage in a serious debate about how to implement free market conservative policy solutions with a practical eye on messaging and political coalition building, then you ought to be reading what Jon Henke has to say. Be prepared: you won’t get a rosy-eyed view or a mealy-mouthed answer.
I appreciated what [...]

Government employee unions? No way!

by John West | 2:48 pm, February 4, 2009

I was in a government building today and saw a sign posted that raised my ire.  It was a recruiting poster for a government employees union.  The first thing on the poster was the main reason they state for government employees to join their union.  The reason, “The THREAT:  Under way is a powerful and rapidly moving effort aimed [...]

Rape used to recruit women as suicide bombers #TCOT

by Mr. Bob | 1:38 pm, February 4, 2009

Al-Qaeda anywhere (Islamic Terrorism in general) is a viscous enemy that cannot be reasoned with, they must be eliminated. My friends who believe in diplomacy at any cost disagree with me, but let me submit into evidence this little tidbit.

The accounts, in a video released Tuesday by Iraq police, offer a rare glimpse into the networks used to find and train the women bombers who have become one of the insurgents’ most effective weapons as they struggle under increasing crackdowns.

In a prison interview with The Associated Press, with interrogators nearby, the woman said she was part of a plot in which young women were raped and then sent to her for matronly advice. She said she would try to persuade the victims to become suicide bombers as their only escape from the shame and to reclaim their honor. READ THE REST

Hat Tip LGF

What… Me?

by Jon Caldara | 12:45 pm, February 4, 2009

Thanks to Face the State flexing their Open Records Act muscles, they obtained an email from a Denver attorney James Lyons that alluded to my blood-thirsty love of the night and my much maligned living dead persona. In referencing Independence Institute employees, James says,
…However, I fear that, like the social vampires they are, they [...]

Illegal Immigrants to get in-state tuition

by Mr. Bob | 11:48 am, February 4, 2009

DENVER – If passed by the state legislature, a new law would mean illegal immigrants in Colorado would be able to go to college and pay in-state tuition.

Senate Bill 170, proposed by Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver), would let undocumented students pay the same tuition rate as resident students at public universities like the University of Colorado or Colorado State University.

To be fair, Senator Romer does qualify it a bit;

The bill stipulates that in order to qualify for in-state tuition, high school students would have to have gone to a Colorado public or private high school for three years, have graduated from a public or private Colorado high school, or get a general equivalency diploma (GED), and they would have to enroll in a Colorado higher learning institution within five years of earning their high school degree.

Another policitian who sees illegal immigrants as constituents and ignores the word “illegal”. READ THE REST

Pelosi Claims 500 million jobs lost!

by Mr. Bob | 10:49 am, February 4, 2009

No one in America will be working, and neither will our children if we don’t pass the porkulus package!

Run like an human.

by John West | 8:41 am, February 4, 2009

I am getting back into running.  One thing that has always bothered me about runners is sometimes they are runners and sometimes they are just joggers that call themselves runners.  Joggers can’t seem to stride out past where their knees straighten out.  I know this is nit picking but those people are not runners, they [...]

Will Colorado Democrats Overreach on Sticking Taxpayers for Transportation?

by Ben DeGrow | 8:12 am, February 4, 2009

As we discussed on last night’s Blog Talk Radio show with the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Mike Saccone (to listen to a recording, you can go to the sidebar or directly to the RMA page) – the fight over transportation dollars is the big story brewing at the State Capitol.
Senate minority leader Josh Penry and the [...]

Ritter’s administration blows estimate on cost of oil and gas exploration by over a million dollars

by Mr. Bob | 8:00 am, February 4, 2009

Colorado Story of the day yesterday Hat Tip to Rocky Mountain Right,

The Associated Press broke a story yesterday that would seem to indicate that Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, in its zeal to to drive up energy costs by attacking the state’s oil & gas industry, knowingly provided false budget projections to the state legislature:

Ritter’s staff’s estimate was $7000. Costs are coming in now at more than a million dollars.

“This is a major breach of trust,” said McNulty(Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch), who said he was assured by state budget officials last year that any initial enforcement of new oil and gas regulations would not require a substantial increase in state spending.

“We have rules on how we balance the budget. I don’t know how they can run a bill that hid more than a million dollars in costs,” said Brophy, R-Wray.

A state official stressed that the department didn’t know last year what any legislation would cost because the rules were still being developed.

On Tuesday, the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee approved a bill that would require state agencies to submit financial estimates with legislation. Rep. Jim Kerr, R-Littleton, said he and other lawmakers voted for the oil and gas bill last year without knowing the true cost.

This was either an outright lie to get a bill to pass the house or complete incompetancy, you choose. …either way it is expensive to have incompetent liars in office.

Liberals show their true colors in Rosen robbery

by Rossputin | 2:40 am, February 4, 2009

The following is a slightly modified version of a comment I posted on the Rocky Mountain News web site in response to an article about radio talk show host Mike Rosen’s losses in the Bernie Madoff pyramid scheme. Or, more precisely, in reaction to comments made to the article. A much shorter letter has been submitted to the Rocky for their consideration for publication.

I can’t believe how repulsive so many of you “liberal” commenters are. Not only are you simply mean (probably due to jealousy) but you also clearly have no understanding of what happened to Rosen or Agile.

I have no connection to Agile in any way, for the record.

Investors gave them money in order to try to create some combination of increased returns and diminished risk versus standard stock or bond market investments.

Agile then looked for what I presume it believed to be the best places to accomplish those goals.

Madoff’s fund seemed like one of those places…and not just to Agile. Madoff had apparently taken in over $50 billion from all over the world. In the late 1980′s his firm was one of the most active in terms of shares traded on Wall Street and he was one of the highest-paid guys on the street. Indeed, Madoff was Chairman of the Board of Nasdaq for about 4 years starting in 1990.

In other words, there were very few people who didn’t think Madoff was Midas.

No doubt there were very early signs that Madoff, or at least his associates, were doing something shady. That’s the first place where the SEC has a hell of a lot of explaining to do…and Rosen has none to do. Furthermore, one Harry Markopolos “spent nearly a decade trying to blow the whistle” on Madoff, according to the Boston Herald, but was ignored by the SEC. This article is a great read:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/01/08/the_whistleblower/

Basically, Rosen was robbed by Madoff, along with thousands of others Madoff robbed. It wasn’t Rosen’s fault, nor Agile’s. Very few people would have passed up the chance to invest with Madoff. Luckily for me, I never got the chance.

You seem to think that conservatives like Rosen had this coming. First of all, that’s ridiculous because this was not a case of a free market run amok. Madoff was a criminal and what he was doing was not something permitted in any market, free or otherwise. Nothing that Rosen supports would allow behavior such as Madoff’s. Indeed, those of us who understand markets know that a rules-based system is absolutely critical. In fact, I wrote a story for my web site on this very topic. The link, if you care is:

http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/12/as-if-people-weren-t-already-dismayed-ab

And the relevant paragraphs:

It’s a shocking story, and while some liberals might claim some glee at seeing any “capitalist” go down, the bottom line is that capitalism is not a system of “anything goes” and any real capitalist hopes that Madoff, if guilty, spends the rest of his live in prison and loses any assets he has left. Indeed, even (or especially) for those of us who argue for limited government regulation and interference in markets, prosecution of fraud is a legitimate and important role of government.

Bernie Madoff has done more damage to the economy (and probably not just the American economy) than General Motors could ever have done. GM executives are dunces, failures, and pawns; Madoff is an unforgivable deceiver and destroyer of a system he had long pretended to support and celebrate. May he rot in hell, if there is such a place.

It’s only liberals who believe that fundamental rules are relative, changing with time, place and culture.

And it’s only liberals who believe that Mike Rosen, just because they disagree with him about politics, is an Enemy in the strongest sense of the word.

The other reason that you liberals who are glad to see what happened to Rosen are idiots is that a huge number of Madoff’s investors were liberals, including large numbers of Jewish organizations and high-net-worth individuals as well as many colleges, universities and foundations. And as if your liberal friends didn’t lose enough money directly, Madoff was also a huge contributor to Democratic politicians.

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?last=Madoff&first=Bernard

Mike Rosen was robbed. It’s only a modern “liberal” who checks out a crime victim’s political party registration before deciding whether he feels sympathy for the victim or glee for the perpetrator. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.

The ugly truth about the “stimulus”

by Rossputin | 1:47 am, February 4, 2009

I got this jaw-dropping list of what’s really in the so-called “stimulus” bill from the National Taxpayers Union blog, who credited it as follows: “This excellent round-up was provided by Senator Tom Coburn’s office.” The longer this stuff is exposed to the light of day, the harder it will be for Democrats to support it. If we could peel off even one or two Senate Dems and keep all the Republicans (not an easy task with RINOs like Maine’s Snowe and Collins), the bill could implode. I’m not predicting that will happen, but it seems more possible every day. And if it does happen, I’m under no illusion that the idea of a massive Keynsian boondoggle will die. Instead, it will be re-worked and come back slightly smaller but just as stupid and it will then pass, condemning our children to higher taxes and less liberty for the foreseeable future.

Here goes…I hope you have a strong stomach:

Wasteful Spending Provisions

* $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient
* A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film
* $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program
* $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship)
* $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters
* $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters
* $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees
* $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD’s
* $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs
* $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system
* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities
* $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion
* $75 million for “smoking cessation activities”
* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges
* $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI
* $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction
* $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River
* $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas
* $6 billion to turn federal buildings into “green” buildings
* $500 million for state and local fire stations
* $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service lands
* $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities
* $1.2 billion for “youth activities,” including youth summer job programs
* $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service
* $412 million for CDC buildings and property
* $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
* $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service
* $5.5 million for “energy efficiency initiatives” at the VA “National Cemetery Administration”
* $850 million for Amtrak
* $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint
* $75M to construct a new “security training” facility for State Dept Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies.
* $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems
* $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations.
* IDEA, Part B State Grants: Formula grants to assist the States in meeting the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.
* IDEA Infants and Families: Formula grants to the States to assist them in making early intervention services available to children with disabilities aged birth through 2 and their families.
* State Medicaid Bailout: $87.7 billion Through 3 different mechanisms, the bill would provide additional federal funds to state Medicaid programs over the next 3 years. This is nearly $70 billion more than the governors asked President Obama for in December, and should be a loan to be repaid by the states.

Bad Policy

* Eliminates fees on loans from the Small Business Administration, thus pushing private capital toward unproductive businesses and away from productive businesses.
* Increases the definition of “youth” for certain summer job programs from age 21 to age 24.
* $160 million to the Job Corps program at the Dept. of Labor, but not for job programs – rather, to construct, alter or repair buildings.
* Requires a government study on the impact of minimum wage laws on the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
* $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization (slush) Fund to bailout the States by providing billions of dollars for “education” costs of any kind.
* $47.843 billion is appropriated for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energy development and energy conservation/efficiency. Not one dollar is appropriated to make fossil fuels more affordable in the near future. More than $6 billion of these funds go to environmental clean ups.
* Increases eligibility for “weatherization” assistance to households 200 percent above the poverty level.
* The “Making Work Pay” credit of $500 to every individual making less than $75,000 (or $1000 to couples making $150,000 or less) would pay people whether they are productive or not – akin to welfare.
* The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – food stamps) would temporarily suspend the 3-month limit for non-working adults to receive SNAP benefits, thus giving incentives not to find a job.
* Installs government as the creator of broadband deployment regardless of whether the specific local/regional market can sustain it.
* Funds new “green jobs” job-training program without eliminating inefficient job-training programs or consolidating duplicative job-training programs.
* $890 million to the Social Security Administration without any provisions to reduce improper payments, or any plan to increase solvency of the trust fund.

Expand Medicaid & SCHIP, pay higher insurance premiums

by Brian Schwartz | 12:30 am, February 4, 2009

From the Colorado Health Institute’s Pueblo Insurance Study:
Where there are lower income households and more people over age 65, there will be a higher percentage of the population on Medicare, Medicaid and CHP+, resulting in providers needing to shift more costs to commercial payers. In 2005, Pueblo had 41.7% of its population enrolled in these [...]

Another Landmark Day for Colorado Citizens Fighting for Open Government

by Ben DeGrow | 10:31 pm, February 3, 2009

Today was another landmark day in the struggle for open, transparent government spending in Colorado. On CBS4 Denver, the Associated Press reports:
About 30 people turned out at the state Capitol Tuesday to show their support for a bill from Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, which originally would have required such reports to be posted monthly [...]

Liberty On The Rocks Denver February 4 Meeting

by elpresidente | 9:09 pm, February 3, 2009

Liberty on the Rocks Denver meeting tomorrow night, February 4, at the Uptown Tavern.

538 E. 17th Avenue

Food, Drinks, and Liberty!

Daschle goes down, with irony

by Rossputin | 3:47 pm, February 3, 2009

After the expected approval of tax-dodger Tim Geithner (Treasury Secretary) and the shameful approval of self-dealing Eric Holder (Attorney General), and the news that Obama’s selection for “performance czar” (not sure what that is, but probably doesn’t have to do with Viagra) withdrew herself from consideration for not paying taxes, finally an big name nominee goes down.

Tom Daschle, health-care-socializer-in-chief has withdrawn from the process to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. And well he should have. Daschle owed over $120,000 in taxes for not properly declaring the use of a car and driver on his income taxes. Pretty ironic for a guy who campaigned with this ad:

His $140,000 make-up check to the IRS from a month ago was the least of the reasons that he shouldn’t have had the job. More importantly is his role as unregistered lobbyist for several health care firms in recent years. And of course his book in which he calls for something like a Federal Reserve Bank of Health Care…a great idea as we see how great the Fed is for the economy.

Some interesting reactions to the withdrawal:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqFjMUQtdonFR1wGtPit4238J0cAD964AF2G5

Nothing more needs to be said. Good riddance to Tom Daschle.

Freedom Isn’t Free

by right witch | 2:21 pm, February 3, 2009

I recently overheard someone declare “America has become a nation of cowards”. The thought lingered in my mind like a bad taste in one’s mouth. Upon further reflection, I had to consider whether America’s unconditional acceptance of various cultures, lifestyles and backgrounds had become more highly valued than the notion of protecting our freedom as [...]

Ritter administration lied to legislature about cost of oil & gas regulations

by RMR | 1:41 pm, February 3, 2009

The Associated Press is breaking a story that would seem to indicate that Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, in its zeal to to drive up energy costs by attacking the state’s oil & gas industry, knowingly provided false budget projections to the state legislature:

The Department of Natural Resources told lawmakers in 2007 that pending state oil and gas regulations could cost less than $7,000 to enforce the first year, while an internal department estimate put the cost at more than $1 million, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

State legislators aren’t too happy about this monumental scam:

"This is a major breach of trust," said McNulty, who said he was assured by state budget officials last year that any initial enforcement of new oil and gas regulations would not require a substantial increase in state spending.

"We have rules on how we balance the budget. I don’t know how they can run a bill that hid more than a million dollars in costs," said Brophy, R-Wray.

The Department of Natural Resources and Ritter’s office are denying any wrong-doing in this fiasco. The fact of the matter is that Ritter’s administration has betrayed the confidence of the public and of the legislature. The buck stops in the governor’s office and no matter how much he would like to pretend otherwise, when members of his administration lie to lawmakers to try to push through his favored legislation he is ultimately the one accountable.

Dems: do (pay taxes) as I say, not as I do

by Captain Arapahoe | 1:16 pm, February 3, 2009

The latest revelations of yet another prominent Democrat cabinet appointee failing to pay his taxes (“Daschle steers into tax trouble,” RMN 1/31/09, p.25) leads one to ask:  “Are there any Obama cabinet picks who actually DO pay their taxes?” Is it any wonder our economy’s in trouble?  Heck, $48k here (Geithner’s unpaid taxes), $140k there [...]

RMA 2.0: Rocky Mtn Blogs Radio Show #12

by elpresidente | 11:18 am, February 3, 2009

**NOTE: New time and extended format–Every Tuesday–next show February 3, 8:30 pm.

The Blog Talk Radio version of the Rocky Mountain Alliance. A weekly discussion about politics–national, state, and local–featuring RMA members bloggers led by featured host and producer Joshua Sharf, with rotating co-host duties from Ben DeGrow of Mount Virtus, Randy Ketner of Night Twister, and Michael Alcorn of Best Destiny.

**February 3 lineup–Daveed Gartenstein-Ross from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Mike Saccone of the Grand Junction Sentinel.

Last week (all shows archived): Guests included elections expert Jan Tyler and State Sen. Greg Brophy.

Next week–TBD.

January 20–Guests included Todd Shepherd, Independence Institute and Mark Hillman, Colorado Republican National Committeeman.

January 13–State Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango (HD 59) and State Senator Mike Kopp, SD 21, R-Littleton.

January 6–CU Regent Tom Lucero, chairman of the successful Amendment 54 campaign and a candidate for CD 4 in 2010.

December 30–RMA took a look back at a dismal year in their 2008 year-in-review.

December 23–Joshua and fellow commentators (including yours truly) hosted Jim Pfaff of Americans for Prosperity Foundation and Opinion Times. Pfaff discussed the AFP Colorado report “Keeping Colorado Competitive” and bridging the Christian/libertarian gap.

On December 16 we hosted State Rep. Kevin Lundberg (District 49), and discussed the Salazar appointment as the Secretary of the Interior in the Obama cabinet.

The December 12 edition featured Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier.

**Bookmark the new RMA Radio home page, with embedded player and calendar of upcoming shows and featured guests.

Stream the show live, or play/download the podcast at your convenience.

I’ll update co-host and guest info for each episode as it becomes available. Stay tuned . . .

RMA’s shows are archived–if you missed any of them, be sure to check out the archive page to stream or download, or scroll down this page a bit, for the embedded archive player.

Change We Can Believe In – Machine Poltics?

by Mr. Bob | 8:21 am, February 3, 2009

This is a change, having a president not skewered for the behavior of his friends? GREAT blog post at The Great Illuminator

HolyCoast is reporting that the NewYorkTimes is calling for Daschle to step aside!.. We will see if he obeys the holiest paper in the nation from the Left’s point of view.

First it was Bill Richardson withdrawing his nomination for commerce secretary because of “pay-to-play” awarding of millions in state contracts to contributors. He didn’t do it.

Then Timothy Geithner is nominated for secretary of the treasury (who heads the IRS) and he missed paying thousands in taxes. He’s sorry.

Now Tom Daschle is nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, the consummate insider who earned millions in the last two years helping health industry companies grease Washington, also neglected to pay over $140,000 in taxes. He’s sorry.

UPDATE< DASHCLE WITHDRAWS NOMINATION>

And of course, let us also not forget (Obama supporter and Illinois Democrat powerhouse)Dem Governor Blago getting caught red-handed offering up Obama’s vacated Senate seat in a “pay-to-play” controversy that got him impeached. He didn’t do it.

What has been the Obama administration’s reaction to some of this?

Blago: “I was not aware of what was happening”

Geithner: “Service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed.”

Daschle: “The White House believes nobody’s perfect.”

Richardson: “Although we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson’s decision, I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration.” READ THE REST AT The Great Illiminator

The stock market has little hope for Obama

by Rossputin | 2:02 am, February 3, 2009

For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to financial markets (which is probably somewhere between 0% and 2% of my readers), I’d like to point out that the Dow Jones was not only down 9% in January, but it’s down 17% since the election of The Chosen One.

Here’s the LINK for a chart of a few days before the election up to the end of January. (Click on the word LINK above.)

Financial markets aren’t taken with the charisma of the Obamessiah. They don’t see hope for profits or any change for the better.

Instead, they see with the clear vision of the aggregation of business people and investors who recognize the dead hand of government growing larger, with a longer reach, than ever. They see government spending which would make FDR blush and which will likely never be turned back because, as Ronald Reagan said, there is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program. And these Democratic changes aren’t intended to be temporary.

As the “stimulus” bill brings us socialized medicine, massive debt, payoffs to corrupt organizations like Acorn, fealty to the dangerous cult of Algore and the hoax of man-made global warming, and while the NY Attorney General threatens criminal charges for employees receiving bonuses down 44% from the year before, the stock market clearly sees our capitalist system flopping around like a just-gutted fish that squirmed briefly out of the fish-monger’s hands before dying on the floor.

A chart by the Heritage Foundation makes a dramatic point, even if it’s not entirely fair to compare the stimulus bill, which would probably be money spent over several years, to one year’s expenses for a family:

As I’ve said in prior notes, markets don’t lie…at least not for long. This market’s verdict is already loud and clear and my guess is that the market is a better sale with the Dow at 8,000 than a buy. Why would you want to own part of an American corporation with a government completely dominated by people who hate not just oil companies and banks, but also free trade, low taxes, and the most essential requirement of a successful free-market economy: Profits.

As Steve Moore and others have mentioned, we’re living “Atlas Shrugged”. The looters are firmly in charge. There’s one important difference between the situation in the book and the situation in America today: In the book, the public were as socialist as their government. I don’t believe that’s the case in our nation in 2009. The Democrats are getting this stuff done behind screams of panic, while people are distracted by a serious recession, without any debate or any input from Republicans. On the bright side, it will create a huge political liability for the Democrats in coming elections. But the downside, which is much larger, is that those elections are far too distant to prevent the Democrats doing tremendous and likely permanent damage to what used to be the economic engine and envy of the world.

It’s certainly true that the economic downturn began during the Bush presidency. But the market lows have happened since the election and soon enough this will be Obama’s recession despite the media’s attempts to block for him.

People get the government they deserve. And for electing that government, the American population is seeing their retirement savings, their employment prospects, and the prospects for a better life for our children shredded.

Hope and Change? Not according to one of the few measures that answers honestly and really matters.

No Violence in Iraqi Election – Iraqi Forces take lead in security

by Mr. Bob | 11:53 am, February 2, 2009

This is awesome news. Further proof that claiming Victory in Iraq was not premature last year.

Throughout Iraq, Iraqi security forces, backed up by U.S. and coalition troops, helped ensure safety Jan. 31 as Iraqi citizens voted during provincial elections.

By the end of the day, there were no reports of anyone killed or of major violence. More than 14,400 candidates competed for 440 seats in 14 of 18 Iraqi provinces during the elections.

Results will be tallied in the coming days to see who will fill the seats in the provincial legislatures. It will then take about two months for the newly elected officials to be seated.

Provincial governments make and pass laws relevant to their region based on the views and services of the people who elected them. They can be compared to the responsibilities of state governments in the United States. READ THE REST

Too Funny Not to Share

by Mr. Bob | 11:16 am, February 2, 2009

From IowaHawk, The Pelosi GTxi SS/RT From Congressional Motors

In Denver Area? Come to Feb 3 Event on Worst U.S. Supreme Court Rulings

by Ben DeGrow | 6:04 am, February 2, 2009

Interested in a lively and informative presentation and discussion of some of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions in our history, and ideas for the federal judiciary to get back on a more Constitutional path? Are you still looking for something to do this Tuesday evening (February 3) and live in the Denver area?
Well, here’s [...]

Kim Strassel: Socialized medicine is already here

by Rossputin | 2:28 am, February 2, 2009

Everyone needs to read this very important article by Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal:

see “Democratic Stealth Care“, WSJ, 1/30/09
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123327719403931465.html?

Dems support high taxes…just not for themselves

by Rossputin | 1:28 am, February 2, 2009

How typical. Just as do-gooder liberals show their true colors by blue states being routinely less charitable (as a percentage of income) than red states, now we have the second liberal Obama cabinet nominee tax dodger.

First it was Tim Geithner, now Treasury Secretary, who didn’t pay over $30,000 in self-employment tax. At any other time, Geithner never would even have made it to a vote of the full Senate. But since he’s the guy already burying the country with this cluster-f**k of a bailout, Senate Democrats decided he was absolutely necessary. Maybe so they will have a fall guy when all this Keynsian “stimulus” fails to stimulate anything other than the growth of government and our national debt.

Now, it’s Tom Daschle, the proposed Secretary of Health and Human Services, a guy who’s had lots of income from the health/medical industry as an unregistered lobbyist and clearly shouldn’t be considered for the job, who has tax problems. On January 2nd, Daschle paid $140,000 to the IRS. No, that’s not a typo. He told Obama and the relevant Senate Committee about the payment and the problem two days later…meaning he lied to Obama during the vetting process.

According to the Washington Post, the leftist organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, is soft-pedaling Daschle’s “oversight” and his obvious conflicts of interest by saying: “”Daschle is the quintessential Washington story. You leave a powerful position, and you leverage it to make a fortune. He is not alone . . . [and] it would be hard for Obama to fill his administration without ever turning to someone like that. That said, these are the kind of Washington insiders that Obama campaigned against.” Can you imagine such a soft tone if this were a Republican appointee?

Obama’s nominees are proving yet again that Democrats favor high taxes as long as they’re primarily on others. Geithner and Daschle are tax cheats who should be scorned, not confirmed.

How Deep is This Recession? Is It Really the Worst Crisis in 70 Years?

by Ben DeGrow | 10:11 pm, February 1, 2009

At American Thinker, Randall Hoven uses some firsthand research of federal statistics to turn down the volume on the alarm of economic “crisis”. Hoven shows that while the current recession has not yet quite reached its peak, on several major measures it’s not as bad as several others since World War Two:

So simply going by [...]

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