Saturday, July 31, 2010

Deceit and denial upon our ramparts

From Greg Easley of the Canada Free Press on July 30:
To All Republicans: It is time to get real; time for a genuine epiphany. America is in dire peril at our own doing. We ask you to move right. Re-take your Oath of Allegiance to The United States of America followed by your Oath of Office to support and protect The Constitution of The United States. Get down on your hands and knees, kiss our Flag and pray for forgiveness for you crimes against America. Those who stand against our Nation will stand alone in the courts of American justice. Those who stand against our Nation will be cast aside in the voting booths of America and will stand alone and forgotten.

The majority of people in the United States, your voters, support these issues.
  1. Uphold and Protect The Constitution and The Bill of Rights.
  2. We want a smaller Federal government. Cut by at least 30%.
  3. A Balanced Budget. Citizens have to live within their means, so should governments. Our Federal government is too large. Its reach is too deep, usurping the rights of citizens, the States and the Federal budget is unsustainable.
  4. End the Corrupt Federal Reserve Bank. Return to the gold standard and/or a National Central bank.
  5. Support States Rights as defined by the Constitution. The Constitution only grants the Federal government 17 enumerated rights. The rest are granted to the States. Heed this law!
  6. A Strong Military. There is no substitute!
  7. Secure the Borders. No Amnesty! These people are illegal and have committed multiple crimes against America. There are 12 million of them. If they don’t like their own country, then they should go home, armed to the teeth and take it back, not invade our country out of convenience and timidity. They have no rights as illegals. That’s the law!
  8. English as the Official Language of the United States. One Flag “Old Glory”. “One Nation, Under God!”
  9. Resign from the UN. This organization is run by Marxists and is incapable of serving America’s interests or individual freedom.
  10. Energy Independence. Find it, drill it!
  11. Focus on job creation and business growth, tax reform, tax amnesty for corporations with offshore accounts, tort reform, getting unions out of our government and institutions. Kill AFTA!
  12. Congressional Term Limits with a national recall mechanism that only takes a few weeks for any Federal servant that refuses to keep their oath of office or obey the laws of our Nation or our States.
  13. Repeal the 16th Amendment. Replace the income tax system with the Fair Tax. Boost the economy by igniting business and repatriating oversees jobs. Everyone pays their fair share including illegals and criminals.
  14. Repeal the 17th Amendment. Let State Governors choose Senators to represent the States. This will ensure accountability to the people they serve; eliminate lobbyists, bribes, voter corruption and intimidation.
  15. Close the Dept. of Education. Education is a state responsibility not a Marxist play ground for corrupting our history and our children’s minds and souls.
  16. End Pork barrel spending. This is only paybacks, theft, bribery and corruption.
  17. End all bailouts of public institutions. End all financial and political support of: unions, media organizations, all voter groups like ACORN, student loan forgiveness for Congressional member’s children, unemployment support for foreign countries and bribes to foreign countries to get their support.
  18. Make lobbying a federal congressional member a felony.
  19. Fix Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Return all our money stolen by Congress.
  20. Pass a new law that requires every elected federal employee to provide the same proof of eligibility to each state Governor. To include a general medical statement of health, a certified birth certificate, income and tax returns, police arrest records, judicial rulings and military service records including awards and judgments.
  21. Repeal every single executive order and piece of legislation signed by Obama.
  22. Repeal or overturn all Federal laws or rulings outlawing prayer, religious activity or religious writings in all government, private or public domains, documents, currency, spaces, or institutions. The Constitution grants no authority to the Federal government over these issues. This is a States rights issue and should be voted on by the citizens of each state.
  23. Repeal or overturn all Federal laws or rulings regarding abortion or marriage. The Constitution grants no authority to the Federal government over these issues. This is a States rights issue and should be voted on by the citizens of each state.
  24. Repeal or overturn all Federal laws or rulings regarding education and health care. The Constitution grants no authority to the Federal government over these issues. This is a States rights issue and should be voted on by the citizens of each state.
  25. Reform all laws regarding campaign donations. Place equal limits on individuals and corporations. If you are doing a good job, you don’t need to waste millions of public or private dollars getting re-elected. Let the States participate by mandating town hall participation several times per year where appointed state representatives can meet with elected Congressional members to discuss legislation, national or state concerns. You were chosen to be the voice of the people that elected you, not judge and jury over our lives by some perverted sense of divine right. What we expect, demand and deserve from you is no less than we expect from our fireman, our soldiers, our teachers, our doctors or our clergy.
The first eleven items ensure a Republican victory in 2010 and 2012, to the extent that the progressive Democratic Party will be ineffective for at least 20 years. A Conservative victory is the only choice we have. The alternative is slavery for all. It is imperative that we take back the House of Representatives in November 2010. We look towards our future and forward to your allegiance.

Remember this guy?


Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.

The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.

Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.

I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.

The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.

Government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.

No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

--Ronald Reagan

Democrats call on Rangel to resign

From the Associated Press on July 31:
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday called ethics charges against Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel "very troubling" and said he hopes the longtime lawmaker can end his career with dignity. Several House Democrats went further, flat-out urging the New York congressman to resign.

"He's somebody who's at the end of his career," Obama said in an interview that aired Friday on "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." "I'm sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens."

Obama, speaking on the issue for the first time, praised the 20-term Rangel for serving his constituents well but called the more than one-dozen tax and disclosure charges against him "very troubling."

It was hardly an endorsement for the veteran lawmaker, but fell well short of the calls for resignation Rangel received on the eve of the House's August recess. As House Democrats headed home, they wrestled with how to handle the matter in their districts ahead of the midterm elections.

Republicans, meanwhile, raced ahead with plans to make Rangel the face of corrupt Washington under the rule of Democrats who had vowed to clean up Congress.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Support, learn about 10th Amendment on 10-10-10

The Tenth Amendment Center and WeRefuse.com are hosting four conferences in the next few months to inform citizens about the 10th amendment.

The 10th Amendment reserves states the rights that are not granted to the federal government or not prohibited in the Constitution to states.

The Nullify Now! daylong events will be held Sept 4 in Fort Worth, Texas; Oct. 10 in Orlando, Fla.; Oct. 23 in Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Jan. 29 in Phoenix.

The groups tout the Orlando conference as the biggest 10th Amendment event, being fittingly held on Oct. 10 -- 10-10-10.

Speakers at the Orlando event include Thomas E. Woods, author of "Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century"; Jim Babka, president of Downsize DC; Tom Mullen, author of "A Return to Common Sense"; and Phil Russo, co-host of the Tea Party Patriots Live radio show and emcee of the conference. Tickets are $8.99 but will cost $17.98 if bought after July 31.

What: Nullify Now! 10th Amendment Summit -- 10-10-10
When: Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, 1500 Masters Blvd., ChampionsGate, Fla.
For more information: Click here.

The Letter

This letter was sent to Glenn Beck last June. It's still great today.
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me.

The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now.

You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Filibuster reform is short of needed votes

From Alexander Bolton of The Hill on July 28:
Senate Democrats do not have the votes to lower the 60-vote threshold to cut off filibusters.

The lack of support among a handful of Senate Democratic incumbents is a major blow to the effort to change the upper chamber’s rules.

Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate are pushing for filibuster reform at the start of the new Congress next year.

Five Senate Democrats have said they will not support a lowering of the 60-vote bar necessary to pass legislation.

Another four lawmakers say they are wary about such a change and would be hesitant to support it.

A 10th Democrat, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), said he would support changing the rule on filibusters of motions to begin debate on legislation, but not necessarily the 60-vote threshold needed to bring up a final vote on bills.

Senate Republicans say memo seeks 'amnesty'

From Jeanne Meserve of CNN on July 30:
Washington (CNN) -- Senate Republicans have an internal memo from the Department of Homeland Security that they say shows the Obama administration "conspiring" and "scheming" to allow millions of illegal immigrants to stay and work in the United States.

At issue is an 11-page memo prepared for the head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services entitled, "Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform." It was obtained by Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, who said the intent of the memo is "to find very secret creative ways to unilaterally circumvent the law and have a backdoor to amnesty."

The memo says, "The following options ... used alone or in combination ... have the potential to result in meaningful immigration reform absent legislative action."

It lays out how to reduce the threat of removal for many illegal immigrants through administrative and regulatory changes, characterizing one as "a non-legislative version of amnesty."

So, where is this memo? Right here.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Panel hits Rangel with 13 alleged ethics charges

From Larry Margasak and Laurie Kellman of the Associated Press on July 29:
WASHINGTON — House investigators accused veteran New York Rep. Charles Rangel of 13 violations of congressional ethics standards on Thursday, throwing a cloud over his four-decade political career and raising worries for fellow Democrats about the fall elections.

The allegations — which include failure to report rental income from vacation property in the Dominican Republic and to report more than $600,000 in assets on his congressional financial disclosure statements — came as lawyers for Rangel and the House ethics committee worked on a plea deal.

One was struck, people familiar with the talks said, but Republicans indicated it was too late.

The deal between the lawyers will have little meaning if the committee members don't approve it, and Republicans said at the proceeding they were insisting on going forward with a trial. The panel is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

"Mr. Rangel was given multiple opportunities to settle this matter. Instead, he chose to move forward to the public trial phase," said Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama, the senior Republican on the ethics panel

Chairman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., has made clear that she wants the committee to be unanimous — leaving little chance for agreement without Rangel capitulating on virtually all counts.

Many Democrats had urged Rangel to settle the case to avoid the prospect of televised hearings right before November congressional elections that will determine which party controls Congress next year.

However, as Friday's public airing of the charges drew nearer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seem resigned to the case proceeding.

"The chips will have to fall where they may politically," she told reporters. Pursuing ethics cases against House members is "a serious responsibility that we have," she said.

Obama the Olympian

This shouldn't have had me laughing so hard today, but I was rolling when I read this in my e-mail:

The International Olympic Committee stunned the world this morning when it awarded U.S. President Barack Obama a gold medal for men's skiing. Even though the president has never skiied, an IOC spokesman said, "Barack Obama has gone downhill faster than anyone this year."

Bill Nelson asks me: What next
for the Gulf and our nation?

I received an e-mail from Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., today. Here's what Bill says:
Dear Jennifer,

Now that BP has at least temporarily stopped oil gushing from its Gulf well, we can all breathe of a bit of a sigh of relief -- but not for long.

We need to see what happens with the relief well expected to be done in August. And even then, our work will only have begun.

That’s why I want to hear from you now. I’d like to know what you think the country’s priorities should be regarding the Deepwater Horizon spill. Please take a minute and fill out the survey below.

I’ll share the results with you in a couple of weeks and use your feedback going forward. Just indicate your top three among the following priorities:

Find out whether there’s a lot of oil from the Gulf spill beneath the surface, and what the long-term threat might be.
Provide tax breaks for small businesses hurt by the spill and for employers who hire workers displaced by it.

What would you pick? Click here to make your selection.

Dems launch effort to equate GOP
with far right Tea Party candidates

What is the influence of the Tea Party and its candidates on the Republican Party?

Uhh, I hope very influential! We are the people! The point of the Tea Party movement is to influence ALL politicians and to remind them to listen to their constituents!

From Jon Ward of The Daily Caller on July 28:
Democrats have said they are running against George W. Bush this fall, or at least his policies. But on Wednesday, they’ll announce that they’re really running against the Tea Party.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine will argue at a morning news conference that “the positions espoused by the Tea Party [are] the governing platform of the Republican party,” according to a DNC official who relayed details of the rollout ahead of time to The Daily Caller.

Kaine’s tack is a swipe at House Republicans for not offering more specifics of how they would govern if they retake the House. But it’s also an attempt to force the GOP to own proposals by Rep. Paul Ryan — the Wisconsin Republican who is one of the few Republican lawmakers to propose a sweeping plan to tackle entitlements — combined with an effort to taint the GOP with some of the more radical positions taken by a few insurgent Republican candidates, notably Rand Paul and Sharron Angle, the GOP nominees for Senate in Kentucky and Nevada.

“The Tea Party is now the most potent force in Republican politics,” the DNC official said. “While GOP leaders are still promising to hold town halls and online forums to develop a contract of their own, it’s already clear what that agenda will be based on what self-professed Tea Party adherents have said they stand for and the Republican adoption of the Tea Party.”

Updated health care system chart

Republicans on the Senate Joint Economic Committee released July 28 an updated version of this chart.

(Click to enlarge.)

What do you think: Is the new version easier to understand?

Florida leads nation in foreclosures
in first half of 2010

From the Associated Press on July 29:
— Florida led the nation in foreclosures in the first six months of the year, according to new data released this morning.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metropolitan area received more foreclosure-related warnings in the first half of this year than any other, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said.

Florida accounted for nine of the top 20 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates.

The latest data echo broader, national foreclosure trends.

Households across a majority of large U.S. cities received more foreclosure warnings in the first six months of this year than in the first half of 2009, the firm said.

The trend is the latest sign that the nation's foreclosure crisis is worsening as homeowners battling high unemployment, slow job growth and an uneven rebound in home prices continue to fall behind on their mortgage payments.

In all, 154 out of 206 metropolitan areas with at least 200,000 residents posted an annual increase in foreclosure activity between January and June, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

13 ways to spend $1 trillion

From Kevin McCormally of Kiplinger on July 21:
The figure is almost incomprehensible: $1,000,000,000,000. One trillion dollars. That’s a dozen zeros.

The Congressional Budget Office reports that during the first nine months of fiscal 2010 -- which ends September 30 -- the federal government spent $1 trillion more than it took in. That’s another $1 trillion added to a total national debt that stood at just over $13 trillion as of the Fourth of July. (On the bright side, the trillion-dollar nine-month deficit was about $80 billion less red ink than flowed during the same period last year.)

Not so long ago, the idea of a “trillion” anything was so farfetched that it evoked a comic response similar to what the use of the word “gazillion” does today. The 1960s comment attributed to then Senate minority leader (and ever-vigilant deficit hawk) Everett Dirksen -- “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money” -- seems downright quaint today. (In 1965, the national debt was a paltry $317 billion.)

But, seriously, how much is $1 trillion? To help you wrap your head around that mind-boggling number, and to try to put deficit spending into perspective, consider what $1 trillion will buy, expressed in terms we can all understand:

$1 Trillion Would Buy:
The 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI wins Kiplinger’s Best in Class honors for cars in the $20,000-to-$25,000 price range. At a sticker price of $24,500 each, $1 trillion would let you drive away with a fleet of Jettas equivalent to 30% of all the cars already on U.S. highways. (The total U.S. car fleet is more than 135 million, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, excluding trucks and SUVs.)

$1 Trillion Would Buy:

According to the National Association of Realtors, the national median price for existing single-family homes in May was $179,400. There are about 80 million detached, single-family homes in the U.S., according to the NAR and the Census Bureau.


A lesson from the grave

Click to enlarge.



 
Header PS Brush by pinkonhead.com