Federal budget deficit to exceed $1.4 trillion in 2010 and 2011

From Lori Montgomery of The Washington Post on July 24:

The federal budget deficit, which hit a record $1.4 trillion last year, will exceed that figure this year and again in 2011, the White House predicted Friday, providing fresh ammunition to Republicans who are hammering President Obama for all the red ink as they campaign to regain control of Congress in November.

The latest forecast from the White House budget office shows the deficit rising to $1.47 trillion this year, forcing the government to borrow 41 cents of every dollar it spends. Contrary to official projections, the budget gap will not begin to narrow much in 2011, because of an unexpectedly big drop in tax receipts.

White House budget director Peter Orszag said in a conference call with reporters that Obama is still on track to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. But the forecast provides no relief from the gloomy outlook that has been forcing Obama to consider deeper cuts to defense and non-security programs as well as additional tax increases. This week, the administration also repeated its intention to let tax cuts for the wealthy expire in January.

Read more.

Beware the lame duck

From Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post on July 23:

Barack Obama's considerable political capital, earned on Election Day 2008, is spent. Well spent, mind you, on the enactment of a highly ideological agenda of Obamacare, financial reform and a near-trillion-dollar stimulus that will significantly transform the country. But spent nonetheless. There's nothing left with which to complete his social-democratic ambitions. This would have to await the renewed mandate that would come with a second inaugural.

That's why, as I suggested last week, nothing of major legislative consequence is likely to occur for the next 2 1/2 years. Except, as columnist Irwin Stelzer points out, for one constitutional loophole: a lame-duck Congress called back into session between the elections this November and the swearing-in of the 112th Congress next January.

Leading Democrats are already considering this as a way to achieve even more liberal measures that many of their members dare not even talk about, let alone enact, on the eve of an election in which they face a widespread popular backlash to the already enacted elements of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda

That backlash will express itself on Election Day and result, as most Democrats and Republicans currently expect, in major Democratic losses. It is still possible for the gaffe-happy Republicans to blow it. When the ranking GOP member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee publicly apologizes to the corporation that unleashed the worst oil spill in American history, you know the Republicans are capable of just about anything.

But assuming the elections go as currently projected, Obama's follow-on reforms are dead. Except for the fact that a lame-duck session, freezing in place the lopsided Democratic majorities of November 2008, would be populated by dozens of Democratic members who had lost reelection (in addition to those retiring). They could then vote for anything -- including measures they today shun as the midterms approach and their seats are threatened -- because they would have nothing to lose. They would be unemployed. And playing along with Obama might even brighten the prospects for, say, an ambassadorship to a sunny Caribbean isle.

Read more.

The founders on health care

"The Constitution of this Republic should make special provision for medical freedom. ... Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution,

the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship

and force people who wish doctors and treatment of their choice

to submit to only what the dictating outfit offers."

-- Dr. Benjamin Rush, signatory of the Declaration of Independence

and surgeon general of the Continental Congress

Sen. John Kerry skips town on sails tax

From Gayle Fee and Laura Raposea of the Boston Herald on July 23:

Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.

Isabel - Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage - was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.

But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern.

Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven - like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau - for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners?

Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.

Read more.

Follow The Real Polichick on Twitter!

That's right, I've given in and joined the annoying ranks of Twitter: http://twitter.com/realpolichick.

There, you'll find links to my latest blog postings, so you don't have to check here for updates.

I just started tweeting tonight, and so far it's ... interesting. I find Twitter a very weird concept. But it is a way for me to connect with fellow political junkies, conservative bloggers and freedom lovers -- in other words, possible blog readers!

Follow me, and I'll follow you. What's your Twitter name?

Ariz. AG urges Obama for immediate action on border security

Letter from Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard to President Barack Obama on July 8:

"I am concerned that you may have misperceived the nature of the border threat, and in so doing, may have jeopardized the success of your well-intended initiatives. Your statement that our border has never been more secure, in part because we have more boots on the ground, misses a fundamental truth: Our border cannot be secure as long as the cartels are so deeply entrenched, so well-funded, and operate so brazenly. Until the cartels are dismantled, rampant trafficking of drugs, hwnans, guns and money across our border will persist."

Read the three-page letter below. Click to enlarge.

White House backs bill to collect employee pay information from businesses

From Penny Starr of CNSNews.com on July 22:

The Obama administration is backing legislation that includes regulations requiring U.S. businesses to provide to the government data about employee pay as it relates to the sex, race and national origin of employees.

In an orchestrated effort that included a statement by President Barack Obama and an event at the White House featuring Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, the president and his cabinet endorsed the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The House approved the act in 2009, but the Senate did not approve it. In the 111th Congress, both the House and the Senate have offered legislation that covers a wide range of workplace requirements and regulations, including training girls and women to become better at negotiating pay and benefits, and the establishment of a data base of U.S. workers’ pay in both the public and private sector.

At the White House on Tuesday, Biden was the keynote speaker at a Middle Class Task Force event where he told invited guests that the Obama administration is “on the right side of history” by passing legislation to ensure women are paid the same as their male counterparts.

“Women make up nearly half of all workers on U.S. payrolls, and two-thirds of families with children are headed either by two working parents or by a single parent who works,” Biden said.

“Yet, the workplace has, for the most part, not changed to reflect these realities – and it must. Closing the gender pay gap, helping parents keep their jobs while balancing family responsibilities, and increasing workplace flexibility – these are not only women’s issues, they are issues of middle class economic security,” he said.

Biden said Congress should pass the bill, which includes language requiring employers to provide information about employee pay. In Section 8 of the bill, entitled Collection of Pay Information by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, it calls for an amendment to Section 709 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

"(f)(1) Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall--

"(A) complete a survey of the data that is currently available to the Federal Government relating to employee pay information for use in the enforcement of Federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination and, in consultation with other relevant Federal agencies, identify additional data collections that will enhance the enforcement of such laws; and

"(B) based on the results of the survey and consultations under subparagraph (A), issue regulations to provide for the collection of pay information data from employers as described by the sex, race, and national origin of employees."

Read more.

South Florida charity rescinds honor to GOP's Lt. Col. Allen West

From David A. Patten of Newsmax.com on July 22:

A South Florida charity has withdrawn a high-profile fund-raising invitation to Lt. Col. Allen West, the prominent conservative locked in a tough race against incumbent Democrat Rep. Ron Klein in Florida's 22nd District.

West says politics influenced the charity's decision, and he is demanding a letter of apology to his wife.

"I was upset that I would have to convey the news to my wife Angela and our daughters, Aubrey and Austen, that we were being denied an honor," West told Newsmax in an e-mail on Tuesday. "I was angry that individuals would politicize and blackmail a charitable organization supporting a disease affecting American children."

West and his wife had accepted an invitation from the South Florida Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to be honored in the organization's South Florida Finest Couple fundraiser.

But West tells Newsmax that he received a call on Monday from the foundation’s executive director, informing him the charity had received complaints that he was scheduled to honored. West was told that major donors had complained it would "politicize" the event.

West was told that, if he did not step aside, it could cost the foundation up to $200,000 in donations. West consented and agreed not to participate in the event.

West now says he has an e-mail trail that proves the individual behind those complaints to the foundation was Klein's wife. He says she prodded prominent donors to voice objections.

Read more.

Reid to Senate Dems: Climate change bill will wait until autumn

From Darren Goode of The Hill on July 22:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will bring a limited package of oil spill response and energy measures to the floor next week, delaying action until at least this fall on a broader proposal that would impose greenhouse gas limits on power plants, senior Senate Democratic aides said.

Aides insisted Reid’s decision is a nod to the packed floor schedule the Senate faces before it leaves in two weeks for the August recess, and that he has not abandoned plans to try and bring up a broader climate and energy plan later in the year.

But other legislative priorities and election-year politics might scuttle the wider climate and energy plan altogether.

Reid discussed his plans with Senate Democrats at a Thursday meeting.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) described Reid as having delayed efforts to advance climate change legislation until after the August break.

"What he suggested is that we move forward on several bills to address energy and the oil spill and then continue to work on the climate piece when we get back," she said after the meeting in the Capitol.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said the energy provisions slated to move before the break are aimed at boosting deployment of natural gas-powered vehicles and funding home energy efficiency retrofits.

"There is a lot to do but we have to take the first step," she said.

She noted that "we don't have any Republican support to overcome a filibuster" on climate legislation at the moment.

Read more.

Rangel to face House trial on ethics violations

From Carol D. Loennig of The Washington Post on July 22:

A House ethics subcommittee announced Thursday that it found Charles B. Rangel, the powerful Democratic congressman from New York, violated congressional ethics rules and that it will prepare for an ethics trial, likely beginning in September. The committee said it will make the details of his alleged violations public on Thursday of next week.

Rangel has been under the ethics committee's microscope since early 2008, regarding reports and evidence that he may have used his House position to benefit his personal financial interests. Two of the most serious probes have focused on Rangel's failure to declare $239,000 to $831,000 in assets on his disclosure forms, and his effort to fundraise for a private center named after him at City College of New York using his congressional letterhead.

In March, Rangel reluctantly stepped down as chair of the powerful Ways and Means committee -- a week after the ethics committee ruled in a separate case that he had broken congressional gift rules by accepting trips to Caribbean conferences that were financed by corporate interests. The panel said at the minimum Rangel's staff knew about the corporate backing for the 2007 and 2008 trips -- and the boss was therefore responsible.

Rangel said Thursday that he welcomed the opportunity to respond to the allegations. "At long last, sunshine has pierced through this cloud that has been over my head for more than two years," he said when asked about the panel's decision.

Sources familiar with the case said Rangel could have avoided this showdown by accepting the findings of the subcommittee. As required by House rules, Rangel was briefed on the allegations against him in recent weeks, and denied them.

Read more.

Make mine freedom

This cartoon is from 1948.

Sure, our system of free enterprise isn't perfect. But before we throw it away for some imported double-talk, let's turn the clock back a few years to see what it's done for us.

Working together to produce an ever-greater abundance of material and spiritual values for all -- that is the secret of American prosperity.

New Black Panthers, you're free to go -- not so fast, Arizona

From Ann Coulter on Human Events on July 14:

So I guess all that hysteria about the Arizona immigration law was much ado about nothing. After months of telling us that the Nazis had seized Arizona, when the Obama administration finally got around to suing, its only objection was that the law was "pre-empted" by federal immigration law.

With the vast majority of Americans supporting Arizona's inoffensive little law, the fact that Obama is suing at all suggests that he consulted exclusively with the craziest people in America before filing this complaint. (Which is to say, Eric Holder's Justice Department.)

But apparently even they could find nothing discriminatory about Arizona's law. It's reassuring to know that, contrary to earlier indications, government lawyers can at least read English.

Instead, the administration argues, federal laws on immigration pre-empt Arizona's law under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.

State laws are pre-empted by federal law in two circumstances: When there is a conflict -- such as "sanctuary cities" for illegals or California's medical marijuana law -- or when Congress has so thoroughly regulated a field that there is no room for even congruent state laws.

If Obama thinks there's a conflict, I believe he's made a damning admission. There's a conflict only if the official policy of the federal government is to ignore its own immigration laws.

Read more.

Mugshots

What do they all have in common? (Click to enlarge.)

Connie Mack to Tallahassee: Don't do immigration

From Lesley Clark of The Miami Herald on July 15:

Cape Coral Republican Rep. Connie Mack is warning legislators in Tallahassee against pursuing an immigration law like Arizona's, saying it "strikes a severe blow to individual freedom and the principles that make our nation strong.

"I believe strongly that the new immigration law in Arizona that is set to take effect on July 29, 2010 is a large step in the wrong direction. Like most Americans, I strongly believe that we must secure our borders and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

"The Arizona immigration law, however, strikes a severe blow to individual freedom and the principles that make our nation strong. It puts some Americans at risk of losing their freedoms and having to prove their citizenship while others stand little or no chance of being affected. It is the wrong approach to addressing our nation’s immigration problems."

Read more.

Job killers vs. job creators

From Newt Gingrich on Human Events on July 21:

The campaign this fall can be boiled down to a simple choice: job-killers versus job-creators.

With so many Americans out of work, candidates will win decisive victories if they can show their opponent's policies will kill jobs and their policies will create jobs.

Governing is about having the right principles, policies, processes and people.

Successful leaders hold principles that work in the real world, and these principles lead them to the right policies. And because they are determined to measure results, they develop processes that work. Finally, with the right principles, policies, and processes, they look for people who are driven, practical, and experienced to get the right things done the right way.

Unfortunately, under the Pelosi-Reid Congress and the Obama presidency, government has become a job-killing system thanks to a set of principles, policies, processes and people that are completely disconnected from reality.

Read more.

Obama allies boosting Crist in Florida

From Jim Meyers on Newsmax.com on July 20:

Democratic allies of President Barack Obama are coming to the aid of independent Senate candidate Charlie Crist even though he will square off against a Democratic opponent in November’s general election.

The Florida governor has recently brought several Democratic operatives into his campaign, including a pollster and consultant, The Wall Street Journal is reporting today.

Also, Alfredo Balsera, a member of Obama’s national finance committee in 2008 and a leading presidential adviser on Latino outreach, is now advising Crist and is planning to host a fundraiser next month that will bring together mostly Obama supporters.

Crist “has successfully courted top Democrats — including some with close ties to President Barack Obama and the White House — to work on his campaign, even though two Democrats are making serious bids for the Senate seat,” The Journal disclosed.

Read more.

Ban on deep-water drilling adds insult to injury

From Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., in an editorial for The Washington Post:

By now, everyone no doubt realizes that I am not a fan of the pace at which the federal government has worked to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Sadly, federal officials were slow to act and overly bureaucratic. They have never really understood the urgency of the situation down here. I'm not raising a question of motive; it's simply a function of the federal government being a slow-moving albatross. The only way to attack a crisis like this is with the urgency of a military mind-set.

Even after the well is finally capped, the damage done to our environment, to the Gulf of Mexico, and to our marshes, wetlands and beaches will take years to repair. There is another type of damage from this spill: its human impact. Thousands of lives, businesses and families are reeling.

Against this backdrop, the federal government unwisely chose to add insult to injury by decreeing a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the gulf. This ill-advised and ill-considered moratorium, which a federal judge called "arbitrary" and "capricious," creates a second disaster for our economy, throwing thousands of hardworking folks out of their jobs and causing real damage to many families. Now this federal policy risks killing 20,000 more jobs and will result in a loss of $65 million to $135 million in wages each month.

To ensure that such a disaster does not happen again, should the federal government increase oversight, or require additional and better equipment or on-site federal inspectors, or even temporarily pause drilling at specific rigs for additional reviews? Of course. Could it? Of course. But by simply stopping all deepwater drilling, federal officials appear more interested in ideology and scoring political points -- as they have done with the misguided cap-and-trade legislation -- at the expense of Americans who derive their livelihood from the energy industry.

Let's be clear: This moratorium will do nothing to clean up the Gulf of Mexico, and it is already doing great harm to many hardworking citizens. The effects will extend well beyond Louisiana. Since the moratorium was announced, America has already lost two rigs to foreign countries. More drilling companies are negotiating right now to work elsewhere. Every time we decrease our level of production, we make America more dependent on foreign sources of energy.

Read more.

New NASA symbol

Illegal immigration costs U.S. $113 billion a year, study finds

From Ed Barnes of FoxNews.com:

The cost of harboring illegal immigrants in the United States is a staggering $113 billion a year -- an average of $1,117 for every “native-headed” household in America -- according to a study conducted by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

The study, a copy of which was provided to FoxNews.com, “is the first and most detailed look at the costs of illegal immigration ever done,” says Bob Dane, director of communications at FAIR, a conservative organization that seeks to end almost all immigration to the U.S.

FAIR's opponents in the bitter immigration debate describe the organization as "extremist," though it is regularly called upon to testify before Congress.

Groups that support immigration reform immediately attacked FAIR's report and pointed out that it is the polar opposite of the Perryman Report, a 2008 study that found illegal immigration was actually a boon to the American economy. It estimated that illegal immigrants add $245 billion in Gross Domestic Product to the economy and account for 2.8 million jobs.

The FAIR report comes as President Obama moves immigration reform to the top of his agenda, and it is likely to be a rallying point for those who oppose the president. At a speech Thursday at American University in Washington, D.C., Obama argued that the entire immigration system is broken and needs sweeping reforms. Among the changes he said are needed is "a path for [farm] workers to earn legal status," which the president's critics called an opening for a new amnesty program.

FAIR's report argues that there are two choices in the immigration debate: “One choice is pursuing a strategy that discourages future illegal migration and increasingly diminishes the current illegal alien population through denial of job opportunities and deportations. The other choice,” it says, “would repeat the unfortunate decision made in 1986 to adopt an amnesty that invited continued illegal migration.”

The report states that an amnesty program wouldn’t appreciably increase tax revenue and would cost massive amounts in Social Security and public assistance expenses. An amnesty “would therefore be an accentuation of the already enormous fiscal burden,” the report concludes.

Read more.

McCollum to push Arizona-style immigration law in Florida

From David A. Patten of Newsmax on July 18:

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, locked in a tight race for the GOP nomination for Florida governor with political upstart Rick Scott, says he will help introduce an Arizona-style immigration law in the Florida legislature.

In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, McCollum said the proposed law would mandate that Florida police officers must investigate when, in the course of their normal duties, they develop a reasonable suspicion that a suspect may be illegal.

“I am working with, and do support that, in working with a legislator here in Florida who is a chairman of a key committee, to draft a law for the next session of the legislature, and will take some key elements like that from Arizona law, and make it part of Florida law,” McCollum told Newsmax.TV’s Kathleen Walter in an exclusive interview.

Read more, plus watch the interview.