Gallup: Obama suffers huge Q3 drop in job approval

by Rossputin | 1:29 pm, October 21, 2009

http://www.gallup.com/poll/123806/Obama-Quarterly-Approval-Average-Slips-Nine-Points.aspx

 

Quoting from the article:

 

PRINCETON, NJ – In Gallup Daily tracking that spans Barack Obama’s third quarter in office (July 20 through Oct. 19), the president averaged a 53% job approval rating. That is down sharply from his prior quarterly averages, which were both above 60%.

In fact, the 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953. One president who was not elected to his first term – Harry Truman – had a 13-point drop between his second and third quarters in office in 1945 and 1946.

Have Americans lost all backbone (and sense of humor)?

by Rossputin | 11:14 am, October 21, 2009

In recent days, major retailers including Target and Walgreens have removed from their shelves a halloween costume which many (including me) think is clever and funny because of complaints by groups who support illegal immigrants.

The costume is of an “illegal alien”, that is from another galaxy, not another country.  It comes complete with a typical space alien mask, an orange jail-style jumpsuit saying “Illegal Alien”, and a large “green card” for the wearer to carry.

 

Over at Amazon.com, the item is “currently unavailable” and the picture has been removed from the primary listing.

The costume’s description says “He didn’t just cross a border, he crossed a galaxy!

Who wouldn’t think that’s at least a little funny?

So-called “immigrant rights activists”, that’s who.

Here’s some of a CNN story about the tempest in a teapot:

 

Jorge-Mario Cabrera, the director of communications for CHIRLA, said he initially thought the costume was a stab at harmless satire. But when he saw the Green Card, he realized it was an swipe at illegal immigrants.

“This was an ignorant attempt to poke fun at a small community,” said Cabrera.

Political satire and Halloween often merge. Costumes depicting former well-known political figures are often seen along side those depicting Batman or Wonder Woman.

To some, the attempted humor of the costumes falls flat.

Guillermo Iglesias said both of his parents were illegal immigrants in the United States. He felt the costumes were offensive because they depicted illegal immigrants as “not one of us.”

“I have a lot of illegal immigrant friends,” said Iglesias. “If I showed them that costume, it would really hurt them.”

So I repeat my question: Where has American backbone gone when “poking fun”, even if “ignorant” (which this costume isn’t), causes so much fear among some of America’s biggest companies that they back down due to complaints from people who represent non-American non-citizens?  Where is there a right for people never to feel “hurt”, particularly when the hurt is of their own imagination?

This nation is on the verge, in large part thanks to the Obama Administrations manipulation of the media and their plans to silence any and all media critics, of accepting politically-motivated censorship.  It’s antithetical to everything that this nation is supposed to stand for.  That is not to say this nation stands for offending people, but it certainly stands for the right to offend people without being banned, jailed, or flogged.

When interest groups, whether “minority” or otherwise, can coerce citizens and companies out of selling legal (and quite clever) products, it is yet the latest symptom of being well down the road to losing our Republic.

 

 

 

Obama’s Solons of Racial Politics Overrule Local N.C. Voters’ Decision

by Ben DeGrow | 8:19 am, October 21, 2009

Update, 12:30 PM: Rossputin also offers up some cogent thoughts on this outrageous story.
From a Washington Times story yesterday (H/T Red State), in which the Obama Justice Department overruled a North Carolina city’s popularly-approved decision to have nonpartisan local elections:
The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are [...]

Cast and Blast Event for Tom Lucero

by wesley | 7:13 am, October 21, 2009

This Saturday, Sportsman for Tom Lucero are putting on a Field Day and Freedom Forum of fly fishing and sporting clays for the Candidate for Congress from Colorado’s 4th District. Certified instruction for both will be available to anyone new to either sport. Where: The home of Stan and Sara Everitt When: Saturday October 24, [...]

Support for Education Reform Funds = Support for Bill Ritter’s Re-Election?

by Ben DeGrow | 6:43 am, October 21, 2009

Update, 10/24: Received a third pro-Obama Care email from Bill Ritter (and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet) today, still nothing on education reform …
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has a page set up where you can sign a petition to support the state’s effort to receive federal Race to the Top competitive grant dollars that support [...]

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold appeared on the Mike Rosen radio show (850 KOA), Tuesday 20 October

by CTBC Director | 5:56 am, October 21, 2009

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold joined Mike Rosen on 850 KOA between 11:00 – 11:30 on Tuesday’s show (October 20th) for an impromptu discussion on the most recent outrageous and unconstitutional Colorado Supreme Court ruling, which asserted the authority of the courts (vs. elected representatives) to decide on school funding levels.  The discussion continued with other examples of the Mullarkey [...]

So much for the post-racial presidency

by Rossputin | 2:56 am, October 21, 2009

Most of you will remember the notorious (if not as widely known as it should be) decision by the Dept. of Justice to drop charges against members of the Black Panthers who were intimidating voters at polling places in November.  That decision, by one Loretta King, is now followed by another decision of hers to overturn a free and fair vote by a North Carolina town in which the town decided to have non-partisan elections.

Mrs. King’s argument is that having non-partisan elections will hurt black people because if they don’t have a Democrat to vote for, they won’t know who to vote for.

King’s decision is remarkable for its racist condescension against the black residents of Kinston, NC, whom she apparently believes to be too stupid to figure out which candidate they like better.

Putting aside the issue that the town is small enough for most voters to actually know the candidates, but where is the justice or virtue in suggesting that people should be encouraged to vote simply based on party rather than taking whatever energy is required to learn about the issues and the candidates?

The Obama Administration is anything but the post-racial presidency we were promised.  It is a haven for using race as a hammer to try to get Democrats elected.  And it fits in perfectly with their strategy of manipulating every possible aspect of our society, not least the media, for that same end.

Make no mistake: Loretta King and the president she works for are dangerous power-crazed ideological zealots who care not a whit for the law, your freedom, or anything other than enhancing their own dystopian vision of America.  Americans, especially “independents” and “moderates” who voted for Obama are recognizing that elections have consequences.  All that’s left to wonder is how much of what we currently recognize as America will remain when these people are done.

The good news is that I believe Americans are waking up to all this, to senior Obama advisers who call Republicans “a**holes” and who extoll Mao Tse Tung, the worst mass murderer in history.  I believe Republicans have a real chance of taking back the majority in the House of Representives in 2010, something which would have seemed unthinkable just 6 months ago.  I just hope it’s not too late.

Health care without insurance, & know the price

by Linda Gorman | 1:30 am, October 21, 2009

(Originally posted on John Goodman’s Health Policy Blog)
Although Canadian health care is supposedly free, each year thousands of Canadians come to the United States instead. Many have spent so long waiting for care in Canada that they will pay out of pocket for US care in order to escape suffering or permanent debilitation or death.
About [...]

Limbaugh’s Certified Obama Criticizer takes a message to the ‘hood

by Rossputin | 12:39 am, October 21, 2009

This was some of the best 5 minutes of radio, I’ve heard in a long time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL-EvvyGnmg

El Marco: ObaMao Gear!

by elpresidente | 10:12 pm, October 20, 2009

The Obama-Mao connection grows. El Marco has an exclusive report on all the Obama gear–including the Obama-Mao items that are sure to be a holiday fave–over at Looking at the Left.

Colorado Supreme Court Usurps Legislature’s Role and Authority (again!), claims power to set ‘proper’ school funding amounts

by CTBC Director | 5:56 pm, October 20, 2009

The Colorado Supreme Court’s Mullarkey Majority continues its ongoing pattern of ignoring the clear letter and intent of constitutional law and usurping the proper role and authority of the Colorado General Assembly in its latest ruling (Lobato v. State of Colorado).  The Mullarkey Majority overturned lower courts that had held (correctly) that school funding decisions [...]

Meghann Silverthorn for Douglas County School Board

by Julian Dunraven | 5:23 pm, October 20, 2009

By Julian Dunraven, J.D., M.P.A.Honorable friends:This election cycle, the People’s Press Collective has fielded one of its own as a candidate. Meghann Campos Silverthorn, a long time writer for the PPC and Slapstick Politics, is campaigning to serve…

Competition is key to real healthcare reform

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 5:00 pm, October 20, 2009

Part One of the Capitalist Manifesto for Healthcare Reform: Boosting competition.  Adapted from a piece originally published by Jimmy Sengenberger in the Regis University Highlander newspaper.

President Obama is right.  When it comes to healthcare, the status quo is unacceptable.  Too many people are without access to affordable health coverage, and millions of people are uninsured through no fault of their own.  We need change.  But President Obama’s government answer is not the way to go.

Capitalism has been the engine of prosperity for this country going back to its founding.  As such, I am now proposing that Congress and the President consider the “Capitalist Manifesto for Healthcare Reform,” several specific, free-market fixes for the healthcare problem.  The most critical aspect of reform, and the starting point, must be increased competition—something else President Obama claims to favor.

Putting You in Control: There’s a basic principle in economics that isn’t talked about all that much, but it stands true thanks to human nature: If someone else—a middleman—is putting up most of the cash for something people really want—or need—they’re going to get it more.  You’re not worried about the cost—someone else is paying.  This is exactly what happens with healthcare.

Government regulation and policies have essentially mandated a third party-based system that forces the consumer to work through health insurance companies, HMO’s, employers and other middlemen that pay the supplier.  84% of all personal healthcare spending is made through private health insurance, the government or other private expenditures that are not directly from the patient.

Encouraging the third-party system are tax exemptions for employer-provided health insurance that the millions of self-employed and small business owners and workers who pay on their own do not receive.  Own a big business?   Congrats—you get a nice little tax exemption for healthcare!  Run that mom-and-pop shop down the street, or your own home-based business?  Tough.  As Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi would put it, “No tax exclusion for you!”

These government incentives, policies and regulations put in place, in large part by the federal tax code, do nothing more than exacerbate the problem.  Because of the third-party-payer system, health providers aren’t competing for individual consumers—they’re contending for large corporations like Target and Cisco.  The problem here is that individuals are separated from the cost, driving up prices (premiums), and thus taking away decision-making authority of the patient.

Not a day goes by where we don’t see commercials for Geico, AllState and other car insurance companies competing over who provides the best service at the lowest price—competition absent from healthcare because of the third-party system.  To fix this, the government must equalize the healthcare tax exemption across the board so that everyone, not just middlemen and big business, will benefit from it.  That means small businesses as well as individuals, all of whom will then be far more equipped to go out and find an affordable health insurance plan for themselves, their families, and their employees—plans that are right for them.

We should also examine the other policies and regulations that encourage the third-party system.  As a result of both of these decisive actions, costs will go down.  Making these adjustments to the current system would open up the market to increased competition by allowing consumers to shop around on their own, decreasing costs substantially while maintaining high quality.

Expand the Sphere of Competition: In his recent speech to Congress on healthcare, President Obama acknowledged the extensive concentration of business in the health insurance industry.  As he pointed out, “75 percent of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies.  In Alabama, almost 90 percent is controlled by just one company.”  While there are some issues with the calculation of these numbers, he is generally correct—the market is highly centralized and void of real competition.  Another fundamental reason for this problem is again government-created: the inability to purchase health insurance plans across state lines.

Thanks to the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, which granted states the ability to use licensing laws to prevent trade with insurers in other states, John in Colorado cannot purchase a plan from a company licensed in Arizona; instead, he must buy a plan from a firm in his state.  Health insurance is largely regulated by the states, which require that any plan an individual insurance purchaser wishes to buy must comply with all of that state’s regulations.  This advantages both insurers and regulators in maintaining psuedo-monopolies in their respective states, in turn hurting consumers, who have few lower-cost options available to them.

Congress should do what it is granted by the Constitution and mandate that every state recognize insurance licenses of other states.  According to the CATO Institute, “Letting individuals and employers purchase health insurance from out of state could reduce the number of uninsured Americans by as many as 17 million, or one-third of the most-cited estimate of the number of uninsured.”  An individual state’s regulations, as CATO points out, need not be changed and can be enforced in the other states.

But what about states’ rights, you say?  If ever there were an area where the feds can play a legitimate role, it’s this.  The Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly grants Congress authority to regulate interstate commerce.  What was one of the big reasons they did this?  Because each state had its own tariffs between states under the Articles of Confederation—basically the same thing as these obstructionist regulations.

By asserting its rightful authority to break down barriers to insurance purchasing across state lines via repealing McCarran-Ferguson, Congress and the President will strike a considerable blow to insurance market concentration, truly boosting the “choice and competition” that Obama likes to talk up.  If done alongside dismantling the third-party system, we will see costs begin to lower for everyone—all without a massive, trillion dollar government overhaul.

Missing Child – Denver

by Mr. Bob | 4:23 pm, October 20, 2009

#redco #amberalert #dpd #denver

MISSING CHILD
Have you seen this child?
Ghassane Elmouhaddar
Age: 12 DOB: 11/12/1996
Sex: Male
Race: White
Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 95
Missing From: 100 blk. S. Monoco Pkwy.
Missing Since: 10/19/09
Details:The missing juvenile was last seen at 3:25
P.M. on 10/19/09 leaving his house with his razor
scooter. The scooter is silver in color. He plays in
the 100 blk of S. Monoco Pkwy. He was last seen
wearing a long sleeve Bronco hoodie, orange in
color with blue sleeves and black jeans. He was
wearing white and black sneakers. Anyone with
information on the location of the child should call
the Denver Police Department at 720-913-2000.
DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT
Missing Persons Unit
720-913-2000
Colorado 10/20/2009

Balloon Obama Cartoon

by Ben DeGrow | 3:27 pm, October 20, 2009

Americans for Limited Government award-winning cartoonist William Warren gets a well-deserved chuckle for this spot-on visual political commentary: Sadly, no hope of getting a refund of taxpayer-funded services for that one. If you need a refresher, check out PPC’s Balloon Boy coverage.

State Treasurer Fundraising Update: Stapleton’s Advantage Even Greater

by Ben DeGrow | 10:53 am, October 20, 2009

Last Thursday, in quickly responding to the release of fundraising numbers in Colorado’s state treasurer’s race I wrote:
Stapleton’s GOP primary rival J.J. Ament — who won out over Stapleton in our most recent survey of Colorado’s political temperature — brought in a very respectable $86,000. No cash-on-hand amount was reported, but clearly he is behind [...]

Headlines of the Day – the world is upside down

by Mr. Bob | 8:12 am, October 20, 2009

#tcot #obamacare #teaparty #redco

Top White House Official Says Obama Team ‘Controlled’ Media Coverage During Campaign

White House Communications Director Anita Dunn is seen in a video from January talking about how the Obama campaign exercised absolute “control” over media coverage.

____________________
Health Care Bill will put Planned Parenthood inside public schools.

“School-Based Health Clinics,” H.R. 3200 will authorize Planned Parenthood, as a “sponsoring facility,” to run a clinic during school hours on the grounds of public schools, with absolutely no accountability either to parents or school administrators.
____________________

Health Care Bill finally available for viewing but it will go behind closed doors for adjustment of course. American People not invited.

Democrat majority has released the 1,500-plus Baucus health care bill…a week after passing it in committee.

Here it is in PDF form. But don’t invest too much time reading it.Because in its typically non-transparent way, it’ll be melded, molded, and amended behind closed doors:

HERE ARE SOME MORE HIGHLIGHTS

__________________

Florida Dept of Health draws up plans of who should receive care AND WHO SHOULD NOT in the event of an epidemic. ..Death Panel’s Anyone?
When Utah tested a similar plan in late August, the drill revealed difficulties that Florida clinicians and patients are likely to encounter. Utah family physician Pete DeWeerd had to tell a mock patient’s mother that her 7-year-old daughter, who had cerebral palsy and was suffering from the flu, would be turned away from the hospital and likely die. “I don’t like to tell you this,” he said he told her, “it feels unfair, but our list is our list is our list.” He added: “It was awful. You get a huge lump in your throat.”
__________________
Justice concludes black voters need Democratic Party

A Town in North Carolina voted to make local elections non-partisan (as in leave the party affiliation aside). The Obama administration swooped in because people “of color” might be fooled into voting for a Republican. Apparently according to the Justice Dept, Black people are not smart enough to handle voting on ideas, they need that party affiliation so they can continue unabated towards hope and change into the same ole thing.

Ed Perlmutter’s Health Care Solution: Raise Taxes, More Government

by Ben DeGrow | 6:09 am, October 20, 2009

As the political stomach turns … My Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter wants to raise taxes (H/T Complete Colorado) on investments to pay for government health care. As if that will do anything but further slow down America’s economic engine and further erode your personal medical freedoms.
Don’t just get angry. Put your support behind one of [...]

The Denver Ballot

by RMR | 3:11 am, October 20, 2009

If you live in Denver, you will be receiving your mail-in ballot soon if you have not already. The ballot in this off-year is sparse but offers some clear-cut choices.

All Denver voters will be choosing an at-large member for the Denver Public Schools board. One of the candidates, union-backed Christopher Scott, is a vehement opponent of charter schools as the Colorado Charter Schools blog spells out:

Both of these existing charter schools have been approved to replicate their existing programs in other parts of the district. Clearly, everyone in Denver sees the benefit of having independently-operated, successful charter schools. Right?

Not according to at-large Board of Education candidate, Christopher Scott, who seems to liken public charter schools to the plague. Forget that parents are flocking to these schools across the state with more than an estimated 35,000 on waiting lists for the more than 160 charter schools operating this school year.

One could think that Mr. Scott doesn’t like public charter schools because he’s aligned with the teacher’s union, but in Denver the teacher’s union has started an innovation school called Math and Science Leadership Academy.

This race is hardly partisan, with Mayor John Hickenlooper backing Scott’s opponent Mary Seawell.

The other major issue on the ballot that all Denver voters will have to decide on is Initiative 300, a bone-headed move to "fight illegal immigration" by impounding your car if you forget your driver’s license and opening you up to extensive fines. Initiative 300 is intended "give teeth" to a weaker version of the law already on the books that has been most notable so far for forcing a Iraq War veteran who forgot to renew his license to pay $4,000 in fines. From KDVR:

Brian Furman spent the past 13 months on dangerous duty in Iraq. He just got back, stationed at Buckley Air base. He says he didn’t realize his Missouri driver’s license had expired while he was in Iraq, until a Denver Police officer pulled him over for a broken headlight.

The officer impounded Furman’s car under a law passed by voters last summer. It allows police to impound a car if the driver is not carrying a license and requires them to pay a $2500 bond plus hefty storage fees in order to get the car back.

Furman argues, he was under a grace period to renew his license and the court dropped all charges. But the city still refuses to release the car. And Furman says they told him unless he comes up with nearly $4000, they are going to sell the car next month.

Christopher Scott and Initiative 300 both deserve a "No" vote.

The bright side of the high cost of Obamacare

by Rossputin | 1:52 am, October 20, 2009

Over at TownHall.com yesterday, Dick Morris had an article explaining just how the currently most likely version of Obamacare will tax essentially everybody in America.

Here’s the article’s final paragraph:

 

These costs make a mockery of Obama’s oft-repeated pledge to avoid any tax increase that would impact those making under $250,000 a year. He finances about half of his health care plan on the backs of the elderly by cutting Medicare and inducing scarcity and the other half by premium taxes and insurance purchasing mandates on the middle and lower middle class.

Morris is exactly right, but he misses an important political point (which I’m sure he realizes, but it just wasn’t his emphasis at the time).  I’d like to try to make that point here:

 

I’m glad that Obamacare will heavily tax people of moderate incomes because it’s only this sort of reality that will stop Americans from believing they can simply “soak the rich” to get everything they want. We’ve had far too many years of liberals getting away with saying that our tax system isn’t “progressive” enough or that the Bush tax cuts were “for the rich” even though they resulted in the most steeply “progressive” (i.e. punishing of success) tax code in our nation’s history.

I’m also glad because it shows as nothing else can that there is no such thing as a free lunch and that any government run health care plan will be outrageously expensive and subject to political shenanigans.

Indeed, the only reason there’s even a small chance of stopping this train wreck is that it will tax everybody. Even many Democrats (outside of unions and outside of Boulder, Berkeley, and Manhattan) will push back against this disaster-in-waiting. Democrats who are not in extremely safe seats will have a lot to think about before deciding how to vote on Obamacare. My guess is that for many in Congress a vote for it is a vote to end one’s own political career.

The health care reform death spiral

by Brian Schwartz | 1:30 am, October 20, 2009

James C. Capretta has a fine description of what economists call the “death spiral” that results from requiring insurers to issue policies to everyone (guaranteed issue) at prices that do not reflect their health risks (community rating). It’s happened in states, and it can happen nation-wide:
Insurance death spirals occur when regulators force insurers to offer [...]

The $250 Obamacare bribe

by Rossputin | 1:27 am, October 20, 2009

Does the Obama Administration truly really believe they can buy off American senior citizens to get their support for a government takeover of the American health care system by sending them $250 checks?

That is certainly the implication as Congress is preparing to spend about $14 billion to appease seniors, veterans, the disabled, and retired railroad workers who, for the first time since the 1975 introduction of automatic Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (“COLA”s) based on the Consumer Price Index will not receive a COLA in 2010.

Social Security recipients got an enormous 5.8% COLA increase last year, the biggest since 1982, because of the temporary spike in energy prices. Because COLAs are made effective with December payments, the calculation is done based on the average of third quarter (July, August, and September) data. In 2008, the third quarter CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners) registered its highest quarterly value ever, causing the large COLA increase for the year. If the calculation had been done with fourth quarter data instead, there would have been no COLA in 2008 because of the rapid deflation in the last three months of last year.

The fact that Social Security payments aren’t dropping is the same as retirees getting a raise because the cost of living is dropping.  If the system were set up to truly capture cost of living changes, Social Security payments would drop for 2010, given that the CPI is down 2.1% for the third quarter of 2009 versus 2008.  (Colorado will probably become the first state to lower its minimum wage for that very reason.) However, the system is designed to “protect” recipients against drops in payments.

Simultaneous with the news that tens of millions of senior citizens won’t be getting their annual “raise”, the Obama Administration has clearly noticed, as Gallup reported a few weeks ago, that senior citizens are the age group most opposed to Obama’s health care “reform” plans. And it’s a maxim in politics that someone’s likelihood of voting is proportional to his age. Thus, politicians take the old folks’ views seriously.

Apparently trying to kill two birds with one stone, Obama wants to send $250 payments to about 57 million Social Security recipients, buying seniors’ votes with your children’s future earnings.

I can’t imagine that the average senior who believes that Obamacare will be a disaster for the American health care system can be bought off for $250, nor that the average senior wouldn’t react to the proposal as an insult to his or her intelligence and integrity.

The head of the AARP, the senior citizen-targeted lobbying arm of the Obama Administration, said “Without relief, millions of older Americans will be unable to afford skyrocketing health care and prescription drug costs, as well as other basic necessities.”  Will one $250 payment take care of skyrocketing health care costs?  Will one $250 payment fool your grandmother into voting for health care “reform” which she knows will cost, as bank robbers once demanded, “your money or your life?”

The proposed $250 payment would be roughly equal to a 2% COLA…but would come from the general budget and add directly to the deficit. President Obama, demonstrating his lack of understanding that there is no Social Security Trust fund, said that he “is committed to ensuring that the $13 billion cost of the proposal does not reduce the solvency of Social Security….” Social Security is already a single-digit number of years away from insolvency. At that point, payments to beneficiaries will have to be partly paid from income tax revenue rather than payroll tax revenue. The idea that paying the nearly $14 billion for this political payoff out of general revenue now is somehow beneficial to our national financial health is like saying that it’s cheaper to owe someone money if you carry your wallet in your left pocket than in your right.

Not surprisingly, the measure (S.1685) is being pushed by socialist Bernie “Robin Hood” Sanders (I-VT), who said “For 2010, the least we can do is to provide seniors with a modest increase in their benefits…”  If “we” are the citizens, does “the least we can do” mean that we should add to future generations’ debt in order to increase seniors’ retirement payments when we’ve all lost much of our retirement savings AND when the cost of living is substantially lower than it was last year?

While it’s the Democrats pushing this particular plan, Republicans are failing to take the moral high ground, which also happens to be the most economically and politically rational position.  Rather than forcefully opposing this obvious bribe – which most senior citizens should find somewhere between silly and offensive – House Republican Leader John Boehner simply said he’d support it if it came from unspent “stimulus” funds. My suggestion for Rep. Boehner: Call this bribe what it is and trust that senior citizens are wiser than you give them credit for.

Some Republicans also seem to think they need to bribe the seasoned citizens, such as North Carolina’s Walter Jones, who has introduced a measure to provide an “emergency” cost of living increase…as if Social Security isn’t going bankrupt fast enough. Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA) has a similar proposal. If anything, the Republicans proposals are even worse than Sanders’ because they would add to the Social Security benefit for purposes of all future calculations. Even the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says “These proposals are costly. A 3 percent increase would cost $15 billion to $20 billion annually in Social Security benefits in 2010 and beyond.” You know a redistribution of wealth is a bad idea when even a liberal think-tank says “the case for a Social Security COLA in 2010 is weak.”

The moral hazard of Obama’s attempted health care payoff is enormous. Social Security COLAs have been a matter of formula rather than politics for more than 3 decades.  If this goes through, the opportunity for future shenanigans expands dramatically, and you can bet any future shenanigans will make $14 billion look like peanuts.

A pleasant surprise, editorials in several usually liberal newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Kansas City Star, are critical of the handout. Still, if I had to bet on it, I’d bet it passes. Politicians in both parties seem to think that senior citizens are gullible and greedy.  I think they’re not…which is not to say the checks will go uncashed.

In the meantime, the Democrats are courting one of the most massive electoral defeats in this nation’s history in 2010… which is why they’ll try something this transparent and desperate. Instead of going along with it, the GOP should pounce, aggressively arguing against this bribe and yelling from every rooftop “We trust American senior citizens not to sacrifice our nation’s health care system in return for a $250 check from their grandchildren.”

“60 minutes, Larry King, we’re ready!”

by Amy Oliver | 7:48 pm, October 19, 2009

Transparency Czarina Amy Oliver Cooke showed COST, not one but two, very pretty, 4-color glossy brochures from the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF).  Ms. Cooke received them when HCPF Director Joan Henneberry presented her “if money weren’t an object what would your department want” list to the Long Term Fiscal Stability Commission of which our [...]

Ask local candidates about transparency

by Amy Oliver | 3:24 pm, October 19, 2009

My friend and colleague Ben DeGrow, blogger extraordinaire at Mount Virtus, asked his city council candidates about their stance on transparency at the local level.  According to Ben, two agreed to allow their answers to be posted on his blog and those two candidates seem very supportive of opening the books to taxpayers.   After reviewing [...]

El Marco: Media Bias, Corruption Protested

by elpresidente | 3:16 pm, October 19, 2009

El Marco of Looking at the Left files an extensive report on the protests that took place Saturday across the country against bias and corruption in the MSM that was, SHOCKER, ignored by the media. Wait, you didn’t hear about the protests? Photo by El Marco Dinah Lord has an after-action report on the protests [...]

America’s Fiscal Crisis: Speech at the SOC Rally

by Jimmy Sengenberger | 3:00 pm, October 19, 2009

On Saturday, September 19th, Seng Center radio host Jimmy Sengenberger spoke at the “Save Our Constitution” Rally, organized by the Council for Wise Public Policy.  His topic was on the U.S. Federal Debt, an issue near and dear to him as a member of the next generation of Americans that will be required to “clean up after the mess of the previous generation of governance.”  The speech has garnered wide praise from most viewers and those who attended the rally.  And now, you can watch for yourself!

The entire address, titled “America’s Fiscal Crisis,” is now available on YouTube.  Just click on the below links to watch the speech, which is divided into two parts.

America’s Fiscal Crisis Part I
America’s Fiscal Crisis Part II

Comments are more than welcome!  E-mailed Jimmy at Jimmy@SengCenter.com or post on the site!  As always, please be respectful in your remarks.

Tune in LIVE to Seng Center every Thursday night from 6-8pm MTN online at krcx.org, official website of KRCX 93.9 Regis University.

Purging Conservative Ranks of the Disingenuous

by Mr. Bob | 1:46 pm, October 19, 2009

#tcot #redco #teaparty #libertarian

READ THE ARTICLE

Hat tip to El Presidente

Michael Moore defines Business and Government Collusion as Capitalism – Definition FAIL

by Mr. Bob | 1:14 pm, October 19, 2009

#tcot #teaparty #gop #redco #capitalism
Definition of Capitalism from multimillion dollar socialist Michael Moore isn’t actually Capitalism. What he seems to be disgusted about is collusion between government and business…HEY MIKE…we on the right hate that too and your Democrats are worse or just as bad about this than the Republicans are.

It is of course his solutions which are confusing…..more government…less free market? This will not fix anything, only make it worse. John Stossel addresses it today at Real Clear Politics.

From John Stossel

Michael Moore is confused.

His new movie, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” begins by suggesting that all was well until Ronald Reagan became president and cut the top 90 percent income tax rate. Everything was downhill from there.

Moore declares capitalism evil, but he’s never clear about what “capitalism” means. Considering how much time he spends documenting the cozy relationship between business and government, I thought he might mean “state capitalism.” (on a side note, this is also something the tea party goers are protesting against)

But then he uses the term “free market” as a synonym for what he doesn’t like.

What does the free market have to do with businesses manipulating government and strong-arming Congress for bailouts? Moore properly condemns both. READ THE ARTICLE for John’s conclusions, which are homeruns…as usual.

Great News and a Great Belwether? Marco Rubio Surging Close in Florida

by Ben DeGrow | 8:15 am, October 19, 2009

If there’s one 2010 race outside Colorado I’m following more closely than any other, it’s the Florida Republican Senate primary — a battle for the soul of the party between left-of-center governor Charlie Crist and conservative state legislative leader Marco Rubio. Despite being a huge underdog, Rubio has shown a lot of momentum. Red State’s [...]

Arvada City Council Candidates Respond to Financial Transparency Idea

by Ben DeGrow | 8:08 am, October 19, 2009

All politics is local, right? Mail ballot municipal elections already are underway, so late last week I decided it was finally time to ask the Arvada city council candidates on my ballot what they think of the idea of detailed financial transparency. Below I’ve pasted the message I emailed to the two at-large candidates and [...]

« go back — keep looking »

Featured Posts

• Judge Rules Americans Can Be Forced to Testify Against Themselves

  In order to protect our rights, our security must be protected. In order to protect our security, our rights must be invaded. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

• World Economic Forum in Switzerland: Global Elites Celebrating Hypocrisy
• SCOTUS decision on warrantless GPS surveillance produces an expected friend of privacy
• You didn’t want your Fifth Amendment rights, anyway, did you?
• Keynesian Economists Finally Catch Up and Agree: China to Have Hard Landing
• The Beauty of Private Property—from China?
• Regime Uncertainty, Regulatory Surge, and Unemployment Numbers