Category Archives: Congress

Thank You Captain Obvious – Do We Really Need A Deficit Panel?

This past weekend the Obama administration worked incredibly hard [sarcasm included] to establish a deficit panel.  If any American doesn’t realize that we have an unprecedented deficit, they must be living in a cave or a bunker for 60 years.

Obama has named a Republican from the Reagan era, Alan K. Simpson and a Democrat from the Clinton era, Erskine Bowles to lead this new commission established to curtail the deficits that may wind up paralyzing this nation. 

The commission that Mr. Obama plans would have 18 members, 10 Democrats and 8 Republicans. The president would name one other Republican and three additional Democrats, none of whom would be administration officials or lawmakers. For the remaining 12 members, the leaders of both parties in the House and Senate each would choose three lawmakers.

The commission would try to recommend by December — after the midterm elections — how to balance the budget by the fiscal year 2015, not counting interest payments on the debt; those are projected to be nearly 3 percent of the gross domestic product that year, a size that most economists say is the maximum acceptable. Also, Mr. Obama wants a commission to propose longer term changes in revenues and the entitlement programs to rein in a debt projected to be 77 percent of the economy’s output by 2020. A supermajority of 14 of the 18 members would have to concur to reach a deal.

We definitely need to resolve our debt crisis and stop building our deficits taht will enslave younger generations to the government and other foreign investors.  However, I find this interesting since Obama is requesting a commission but he is in fact the one president who has spent more than all others combined in his first year.  He is also creating unsustainable budgets that could create disasterous results in the long-run.  Again, as Michelle Malkin aptly calls it, this is kabuki theater.  This is probably another ploy to appear as if he is working to help, but really has no intention of turning from his ideological partisanship of big spending, high taxing, big government.  None of this surprises me in the least now that Politico is reporting that he is already working on his 2012 campaign.

So far only 3 leading Senate Democrats have been named to the panel and the rest have yet to be named.  This is supposed to be a bipartisan panel, but the Democrats, along with Bowles will have the upperhand with 11 members to 9 Republicans. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has named Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois to the panel, which is charged with recommending spending cuts and possible revenue increases to bring the deficit to managable levels by 2015.

I trust the current crop of bureaucrats as far as I can throw them, and for a 5′ 0” tall female that’s a pretty short distance!  I’m not sure anybody in our congress knows how spending, business, or finances work from a real world perspective so this will be interesting to watch.

Who knows, maybe this is what Obama meant when he was talking about green shoots and new jobs (bigger government and more commissions that just add to the inefficiency and bureaucracy).

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Filed under Congress, Democrats, Government Spending, National Debt, Obama, Obama Administration, Republicans, Unemployment

Bernie Sanders Compares Global Warming Deniers to Holocaust Deniers

Bernie Sanders, the self-professed far left socialist from Vermont, compares global warming that’s right, I mean climate change, or whatever they have changed it to, to fit their agenda, deniers to Nazi sympathizers/Holocaust deniers.  The liberals are great at just cutting off debate by throwing carpet bombs at any opposition.  Slinging words like Nazi and racist as often as they do, has taken away from the seriousness of these words, and the American public is getting tired of it.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is comparing climate change skeptics to those who disregarded the Nazi threat to America in the 1930s, adding a strident rhetorical shot to the already volatile debate over climate change.

“It reminds me in some ways of the debate taking place in this country and around the world in the late 1930s,” said Sanders, perhaps the most liberal member of the Senate, during a Senate hearing Tuesday. “During that period of Nazism and fascism’s growth-a real danger to the United States and democratic countries around the world- there were people in this country and in the British parliament who said ‘don’t worry! Hitler’s not real! It’ll disappear!”

Correct me if I’m wrong Bernie, but wasn’t your far left idol, FDR, one of those individuals who ignored warnings about World War II until Pearl Harbor was hit? I also believe if there is anybody who is currently denying a war and acting like Neville Chamberlain it’s our very own President and many of you in Congress.

Sanders’ reference to the Nazi threat is sure to enrage Republicans who are already skeptical of the science behind climate change. But Sanders wasn’t the only one throwing bombs at a hearing that was ostensibly about the EPA’s fiscal 2011 budget. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who has called global warming a “hoax,” is asking for an investigation into the science used in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the governing body on climate science.

Shouting down debate only proves that liberals are afraid that someone may find out that this was in fact the greatest hoax of our time; that their new beloved theology could be disproved by facts. The best form of democracy is healthy, civil debate, and I believe the American people want transparency on all issues that our government finds so important.

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Filed under Cap and Tax, Cap and Trade, Congress, Double Standards, Hypocrisy, Obama, Progressivism, Terrorism

Reform Immigration For America to March on DC (3/21/10)

Reform Immigration for America is another liberal outfit that is funded by the Tides Foundation/Advocacy Group much like ACORN.  They engage in community organizing, voter registration, and campaigning, among various other activities, and coming to a Capitol near you, they will be marching on DC for immigration ‘reform’ on March, 21, 2010.

The site makes no mention on undocumented immigrants until the 7th paragraph on their about page.  They prefer to call these undocumented workers immigrants because it sounds as though you are being racist or insensitive to say you are against ‘immigration.’ “How can you be against immigrants, your forefathers were immigrants?” Well, of course my forefathers were immigrants and I can even trace my roots back to the Mayflower, but that isn’t the point.  The point is not advocating amnesty for 12 million ILLEGAL aliens who came to this country without following our rules, our customs, and our laws.  I would think that if an individual wants to enter this country and truly wants to be American, he/she would enter the right way — believe me there are plenty of now legal immigrants who feel the very same way.

This organization would prefer to go after “rogue” immigration agents who “tear families apart.” I assume they mean ICE agents and others who work on behalf of the government finding illegals who decided they could cross a border, not be documented, get free health care, not pay taxes, and work  here without any repercussions.

Untargeted raids in workplaces and neighborhoods and rogue enforcement agents at all levels are terrorizing immigrant workers and dividing families without making us any safer and without fixing the real problems with our immigration system. Our out-of-date laws force many American families to remain separated for years – and in some cases, decades – because of backlogs and barriers to family unification in our immigration system.

RIA also goes after corporations who hire and exploit illegal immigrants for cheap labor.  I agree that these corporations need to be found and they need to be fined, however, you can’t have your cake and eat it too – both are doing things that are illegal and both need to be held accountable.  As I like to say, however, Illegal immigrants are really just undocumented Democrats to the liberals in our government and the other liberals in labor unions and elitist-run organizations.  The bigger question becomes: Who is really exploiting who?

Besides, my own personal feelings on the subject – it’s important to note that this rally is taking place and who knows maybe we will see some of our favorite Republicans attend; John McAmnesty and Lindsey Grahamnesty.

ACORN and SEIU are also in the thick of it.

On Saturday, over 400 community members, clergy, students and SEIU (Service Employees International Union) members crammed into Los Angeles offices of SEIU ULTCW (United Long Term Care Workers) for a Community Accountability and Planning Session on Immigration Reform.

Congressman Xavier Becerra and SEIU ULTCW Trustee Laphonza Butler were in attendance, hearing the stories, fears, and hopes of many in the crowd on why we need Immigration Reform.

And just to show how much a Democrat from California who attended an immigration reform meeting with SEIU loves this country – he laughs when the Pledge of Allegiance is suggested at the start of the meeting [from Gateway Pundit]:

We need to pay attention to the amnesty bill that has been brought up in Congress [watch both the Republicans and the Democrats] and make sure it doesn’t pass.  We need reform to make the system more efficient, but we don’t need amnesty and we certainly don’t need to continue making the problem worse.

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Filed under ACORN, Big Labor, Congress, Democrats, Illegal Aliens, Progressivism, Protests, Republicans, Unions

Is Maryland Ready For A New Day?

My twitter moniker and the name of this site have a lot to do with where I currently reside, and obviously that’s the crabbing state of Maryland.  In fact the little play on words is the fact that I, as well as so many others, are crabby in regards to the political situation facing us and the generations coming up behind us.

I recently attended a tea party in front of Governor Martin O’Malley’s mansion, and the sentiment was a passionate one shared by everyone standing there on that cold, wintry night; we are tired of one party rule in Maryland, the gerrymandering, and the corruption.  This wasn’t the only time I have experienced this sentiment in the blue state of Maryland – after I attended a town hall held by Ben Cardin on the health care debate, I asked several people if they had ever done anything like this and 99% said NO.  They had never protested, they had never been politically active, and many were too scared to speak out about their principles because the state was so liberal.  I have discovered there are many conservatives, maybe even more so than liberals who are living in blue states – but gerrymandered districts or those who stay quiet and don’t vote allow for one party rule.

There is one particular individual who has been in office for 28 years (the same age as me!) He is over 70 years old and continues to make comments that are offensive and lack common sense. I am talking about the  House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer.  It would be a tough road to hoe running against such an established politician when he already brings home the bacon to district 5 and holds senior positions, however, it isn’t impossible.  Steny Hoyer has made a lot of slip-ups recently, whether it is being tied to Nancy Pelosi, authoring an article that called protesters un-American, saying “it’s good for people to make money because then they can pay taxes”, or showing us how out-of-touch he really is when stating he didn’t believe in a pay freeze for members of Congress.  Comments and actions such as the ones Steny is making, show the public that he has always been about himself; a partisan politician that wants to stay in power for as long as possible.  Acting in such a manner during a time of unpredictability and hardship in the lives of so many Americans gives people pause come election time.

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Now is the time when people are truly looking for change and for politicians that stand on principle.  I know that politicians and principle may seem like an oxymoron to many, but there is one candidate who is as down-to-earth, as honest, and as charismatic as anybody I have met even in national politics recently.  His name is Charles Lollar.  Charles has the uncanny ability to speak off the cuff and from the heart.  He has a passion and a desire to serve the people of Maryland and not his own interests.  He has a wonderful family, is a marine in the reserves who served in Kosovo – and most attractive of all – he has worked in the private sector for most, if not all, of his life.

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If you are interested in changing things in Maryland or if you are at least willing to give somebody who is fresh and still has their integrity intact, a chance, please check out Charles’ site or help donate to the Money Bomb so we can dump Steny.  Any help – even if it is just getting the word out to others would be greatly appreciated.  Charles is an up and comer that people need to watch – Trust Me!

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Filed under Congress, Constitution, Establishment, Tea Party

Children of the Political Corn

What is it with liberals and their childish, spoiled behavior?

I was recently at a rally in downtown Annapolis last Wednesday night, held by several organizations to get the state of Maryland back on the side of the people rather than under the thumb of one-party rule.  Several liberals who were protesting the event decided they would start acting up and what better way to act up than to scream racist at every individual who walks by? What good does that do anybody and for what reason? Why is it the liberals who are always pointing out the differences in people rather than what unites us and makes us equal?

These ‘children’ outside of the rally started whining to the police officers that broke up the chaos.  It immediately turned into the blame game – heaven forbid any one of them act like grown-ups, apologize, and let it go. This tends to be the norm from what I have observed from liberals; spoiled children who want everything their way and have no concern for those around them as long as they get what they want.

I like the following analogy; Veruca Salt is to Oompa Loompas as Liberals are to public policy.  I can hear them now: “But, Daddy, I want an Oompa Loompa NOW!” They want immediate gratification like a 5 year old in a toy store, throwing a temper tantrum if an adult says ‘NO,’ in hopes that the parent will eventually kowtow to the child (which has unfortunately become the norm in society).

Liberals want policy NOW – they don’t tend to read the bills, but because they sound nice, based on the game of semantics (loved by every liberal politician), they think that 2,000 page bureaucratic nightmares will create some type of Utopia in America. 

The problem I have with Veruca Salt is her attitude problem and the sheer fact that she doesn’t even know what is involved in caring for an Oompa Loompa because she doesn’t know what it is; but because this new and exotic creature sounds and looks cool – she has to have it! She could wind up killing the poor thing because she doesn’t know what to do with it once she gets it or there could be tons of unintended consequences, and somebody inevitably is always left cleaning up the mess. 

To be honest, I can understand why somebody under 30 still acts like Veruca Salt.  Perhaps they are too sheltered, perhaps they have never experienced hard times, perhaps they still believe that Utopias exist, or perhaps they just haven’t worked long enough to owe the government.  Those who I don’t understand, and feel have no business acting that way, are adults, especially politicians who have a hand in running our country — Case in point: Chuck Shumer.

Chuck Shumer is the epitome of egotistical elitist; a snob so to speak, who would seemingly say anything or stoop to any level just to remain ‘powerful’ in regards to the political arena.

Growing up in Connecticut and living around the limousine liberal elite has taught me that these individuals are nothing more than empty vessels floating along a shallow river of condescension and entitlement.

Chuck Shumer isn’t the only liberal to carry this haughty attitude – it certainly became patently obvious during his BFF, Martha Coakley’s campaign. Their hatred of average Americans is transparent, unlike the healthcare coverage on CSPAN that was promised by Obama’s administration.

I have to wonder, how intelligent or even how mature these politicians think they are when calling their peers names like tea-baggers? Do they believe that calling individuals perverted terms makes them look like pillars of the community? Do they think it makes them sound more intelligent and credible? If that is the case, they are sadly mistaken, because to most it makes them look like bitter, immature, adolescents; the same adolescents currently running amok in our government and spending money like a 16 year old with Daddy’s credit card.  These are the very same congress critters who have been in the majority since 2006 and were running our economy into the ground during the stock market crash. 

It’s easy for Americans to place blame on one individual like George Bush for the disaster called our economy in 2008, but guess what? Congress has more influence over the economy and over the regulations and oversight of the market than the president.  And guess who was supposed to be in charge of those two things when this crisis hit? The liberals, yes, that’s correct, and I dare ask anybody who disagrees to look it up. 

Speak of the devil, Barney Frank would like to change the rules in case Scott Brown wins Teddy Kennedy’s seat today… who cares about all the little people of America who elect these individuals that turn out to be wannabe dictators, right?

I don’t care if you were the valedictorian of your class at Harvard take the cotton out of your ears and stick it in your mouth – The American public no longer wants to hear what you have to say, we just want you to start listening! 

I think it’s time to take a look at some of the best quotes illustrating liberal arrogance in recent history:

Chuck Shumer: Then the flight attendant came by again and told Schumer that everyone on the flight was waiting for him to turn off his phone. He asked to finish his conversation but was told he could not; he then hung up and, according to the aide, he argued about the rule banning him from speaking on the phone.

When the flight attendant walked away, the aide told Politico, Schumer turned to Gillibrand and referred to the woman as a “bitch.”

New York Sen. Charles Schumer, who famously hammered then-Sen. Alfonse D’Amato for calling him a “putz-head” in their hot 1998 campaign, was accused Thursday of stepping into the gutter himself after he sent out a fundraising e-mail in which he called Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown a “far-right tea-bagger.” 

Obama: “You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

John Kerry: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.” 

Harry Reid:  “My staff tells me not to say this, but I’m going to say it anyway, in the summer because of the heat and high humidity, you could literally smell the tourists coming into the Capitol. It may be descriptive but it’s true.” 

Don’t forget that Harry also thinks the only reason Barack Obama was electable was his “light skin” and lack of “negro dialect.”

Chris Matthews: Video of Chris Matthews saying that all of the “teabaggers” are white, while talking with Mark McKinnon.

Matthews said, “they’re all white, all of them, every single one of them is white.” Mark McKinnon agreed with Matthews saying “I think that’s a fair characterization, predominately no question.”

Barney Frank: In this view, the role of the great majority of Americans is simply to buy the products produced, work happily for their wages, and leave all of the significant economic decisions to the capitalists.

Nancy Pelosi: Out of touch and calling the middle class (making up the majority of the tea party protests) “Astroturf” & wealthy: What we want is a new direction. In fact, in the President’s initiative – in the Recovery and in the Budget – 95% of the American people get a tax cut. This is a tax cut for the great middle class. This initiative is funded by the high end – we call call it astroturf, it’s not really a grassroots movement. It’s astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class.
Barbara Boxer: “Do me a favor,” she said, “could say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am?’ It’s just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I’d appreciate it, yes, thank you.”

More from that exchange:

Boxer: “Sir, they passed it. They passed it. Now, also, if that isn’t interesting you to we’ll quote John Grant, who is the CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta.” [She goes on to read quote.]

Alford: “Madam Chair, that is condescending to me. I’m the National Black Chamber of Commerce and you’re trying to put up some other black group to pit against me.”

Boxer: “If this gentlemen were here he would be proud that he was being quoted.”

Alford: “He should have been invited!”

Alan Grayson: If you get sick, America, the Republican health care plan is this: Die quickly. That’s right. The Republicans want you to die quickly if you get sick.

Now, that brings us back around to the Massachusetts Senate race, which will give us a new Senator tonight:

The public can choose a cookie cutter liberal with a bad attitude like the ones referenced above, or a new face, with new ideas, who stands for more than entitlement to a seat and his own ego.

People like Shumer and Coakley are New England elites with law degrees; you don’t need to be a genius or a lawyer to hold a seat in our government; in fact the founding fathers never intended for that in the first place.  Scott Brown may have graduated from law school but he’s spent years serving our country in a more important capacity, as a leader; as a member of our armed services.

Martha Coakley is a special interest, union loving, lobbyist kow-towing, big spending, big government, entitled, limousine liberal.  I’m tired of the same old same old and it’s time for a change, especially in a liberal hot-bed like Massachusetts.  (I can at least spell the state correctly, unlike Martha and her staff). 

Martha Coakley’s new slogan is open mouth, insert foot.  She is quickly replacing Joe Biden as Obama’s Czar of Gaffe. 

Martha Coakley states that there aren’t terrorists in Afghanistan, just weeks after 8 CIA agents were killed by terrorists in that very country.  She believes in freedom of religion, but thinks devout Catholics shouldn’t work in emergency rooms, she spelled Massachusetts wrong in an ad she recently placed on air, adding an extra ‘E’ at the end, and we can’t forget the push heard round the world, when her aide pushed down a conservative reporter and she stood there and did nothing. My personal favorite is of course the double standard – Martha flew down to DC just a week before the special election in MA, to meet with the real fat cats for a fundraiser, some of which were lobbyists from the health care industry – where’s the outrage liberal friends?…crickets*

Martha as of late has also tried to air attack ads painting Brown as a UPS truck driver who will ship jobs overseas, offending not only UPS, but truck drivers, along with Obama’s comments this weekend that anyone can afford a truck… Excuse me sir, but that’s not true – at least not for a majority of people who are jobless at the moment – maybe your liberal elite buddies can afford such luxuries but not the average American just trying to make a living. 

Coakley has also aired an ad using the old World Trade Center as a connection to greed and of course back to Bush, Republicans, and Scott Brown.  The only greed I have seen are the rich Democrats who basically run the hedge funds and Wall Street… a lot of these individuals are part of that ‘evil’ 1% who pay top dollar for CPAs to find loopholes in the tax code.  Stop blaming everything on Republicans when Democrats are evenly split on commercial bank contributions and take the cake when it comes to hedge funds and Fannie & Freddie.

Martha should just quit while she’s… behind… painting herself as disconnected and completely detached from the people.  As recently as yesterday, she told a radio station the American public is basically too stupid to know enough about health care.

I’m getting so tired of the name calling, the fear mongering, and the condescending attitudes of the Democrat party.  It’s time to usher in a new era of principled, uncorrupted individuals.  It’s high time we give some new faces the chance to turn around a ship that’s headed for an iceberg. We need people who understand that serving in this great country means serving their constituents and not themselves.  We need people who have worked in the private sector or don’t feel that they deserve a seat just because it was held by a late senator of the same ideology.  We need people who want to put government back on the side of the people.  I don’t want anymore career politicians and neither should you – let’s start electing grown-ups with standards. 

I hope that Massachusetts does the right thing in electing Scott Brown – it’s time that people vote based not on party affiliation but on trust and who they believe will be honest, sincere, and do the best job. 

Good Luck to Scott, Massachusetts, and to America!

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Filed under Boxer, Congress, Democrats, Double Standards, Establishment, Frank, Health Care, Hypocrisy, MSM, Obama, Pelosi, Progressivism, Protests, Tea Party

Ben Nelson’s Bribery Flip-Flop?

Ben Nelson was another Democrat senator on the fence for the Senate Health Care bill. He was up in the air based on his pro-life stance and the abortion mandates being slipped into the bill.

There have been reports that Ben Nelson was apparently offered somewhere between $300-$500M worth of earmarks for his state of Nebraska.

The White House and Democratic Leadership in the Senate has told Senator Nelson they will close every military base in Nebraska — a threat that is not credible, really — but they have also offered Senator Nelson between $300 million to $500 million in earmarks, according to key hill health care operatives. These hundreds of millions will be available for whatever he wants to spend them on in Nebraska.

Earlier, as mentioned above, there was a report that the White House and other Democrats were threatening to close Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. 

A Nelson aide has not only discredited the AFB threat, but has also stated the earmark bribery is an erroneous report.

As the Senate health care debate enters crunch time, the pressure from all sides continued to grow today, with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., right in the middle.

His spokesman quickly dismissed a report by conservative columnist Michelle Malkin that Nelson was even being threatened with “closure of an air force base,” presumably Offutt Air Force Base, which is south of Omaha and home of U.S. Strategic Command. Malkin also said Nelson has been promised a “bribe bigger than Sen. Landrieu’s.”

That’s a reference to Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat and one of the last holdouts on the vote to begin the health care debate. The legislation includes a provision to increase Louisiana’s Medicaid funds that Landrieu says is worth $300 million.

I wonder who we should believe? Another politician or people legitimately concerned about the future of the country? Excuse me if I’m not ready to concede that the bribery is false, given the fact that so many politicians seem to have lost all sense of decency, integrity and any connection to the people they supposedly represent.

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Filed under Congress, Corruption, Democrats, Health Care, ObamaCare

While You Were Out: A $447B Omnibus Chock Full of Earmarks Passed

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Just when you thought the government couldn’t spend any more the House passes the second Omnibus of the year, full of 5,912 earmarks – for ‘jobs,’ I’m sure.

The omnibus is a little different from normal since it rolls 6 spending bills into 1 in order to pass this massive earmark legislation as quickly as possible. The House only passed the bill by a 221-202 vote with no Republican support and 28 Democrats who dissented.

The Hill reports:

The spending bills in the package are the ones for: the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development departments; the Commerce and Justice departments and federal science funding; financial services and general government agencies; the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education departments; military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs; and the State Department and foreign operations.

Congress has a Dec. 18 deadline to get the conference report signed into law to avoid a government shutdown. A continuing resolution, which allowed government to operate without approved funding after the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, expires on that date.

GOP members raised concerns that the bills will contribute to a 12 percent discretionary spending increase over last year.

Democrats contend that this bill will help the economy and create those much heralded and almost legendary ‘jobs’ they love to tout.

An example of delusion:

“The country is struggling to overcome the longest and deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.).

“The bill before us today is one of the key measures Congress will pass this year to help address those problems and provide relief for millions of hardworking Americans caught in a struggle for economic survival,” Obey added in a statement.

I am still trying to figure out how much spending needs to take place in order for the economy to revive itself – and more than that, I’m trying to understand how government can revive anything when they produce nothing and get a majority of their revenues through taxes – the same people they are trying to ‘help.’

Here is a list of some of the thousands of earmarks (it should be noted that this is chock full of Democrat and Republican goodies):

If you want to see what your lawmakers are up to, here is a list of the bills that will be included in this Omnibus, and a link that lets you check out what’s in each part. These are all pdf files.

* Transportation & Housing – http://bit.ly/7jSVIv

* Commerce, Justice, Science – http://bit.ly/7pAWlc

* Financial Services – http://bit.ly/5nq65O

* Labor, Health, Education – http://bit.ly/5RJ1rn

* Military Construction & Veterans – http://bit.ly/5vMLpu

* State Department & Foreign Aid – http://bit.ly/7oEYgX

Five of the six bills have earmarks (there are none in the foreign aid bill) and by my count, there are 5,912 in all, with Labor at 1810, Transportation at 1548 and Commerce at 1515.

If you want to search for earmarks in your state, here is a little trick to find them more quickly: search by using comma, space, and the two letter abbreviation for your state.

If you want to see some of the earmarks from the first omnibus you can look here.

As an FYI, this bill was immediately passed to the Senate today after it passed the House.  Reid is hoping to pass this bill before the weekend, however, there may be good news since it has been delayed by various Senators.  Melt the phones if you are concerned about the superfluous spending!

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Filed under Congress, Government Spending, National Debt

Grateful That My Name Isn’t Babs: Mikulski & Boxer The Epitome of “Huh?”

Babs Mikulski and Babs Boxer, two Democrat females from Maryland and California respectively have said some interesting things this past week, which should make everyone go “Huh?”

Barbara Boxer earlier this week equated the amendment to continue the ban of federal funded abortions to denying men Viagra.  Now, I’m not quite sure if it is just me, but I don’t really see how these two are comparable.  On the one hand you have an actual disorder; erectile dysfunction, on the other, you have pregnancy, which I don’t find to be a disorder.  (Spare me mother’s health, rape/incest – those are already covered). 

Barbara Mikulski created an abortion amendment that would call abortion preventative care, placing it in the Senate Health Care bill, which would invariably dump the federal funding ban on abortion.

As the Senate prepares for a possible vote today on the Mikulski amendment to the Senate version of the government-run health care bill, it is drawing more opposition. Americans United for Life joins the National Right to Life Committee in condemning the amendment for calling abortion preventative health care.

As LifeNews.com reported yesterday, NRLC condemned the Mikulski amendment because it would essentially define abortion as preventative care and could persuade private insurance plans to define abortion as such and provide coverage of it.

AUL staff attorney Mary Harned has released her own analysis of the amendment and concurs with NRLC that it presents problems.

“The Mikulski amendment, in pertinent part, requires group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance to provide coverage for and not impose cost sharing requirements on ‘preventative care’ for women ‘as provided for in comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),'” she explained.

I would like to ask both Babs’ what they deem preventative care.  I would assume that prevention starts before an individual gets pregnant, i.e. birth control and sex, however, that may just be my naiveté.  Abortion is legal, I’m not sure why it needs to be included in an insurance plan, especially if Americans don’t want to pay for it or agree with it based on moral and religious grounds.  How is a mandatory inclusion of abortions in a government health care system constitutional?  It would seem that forcing all citizens onto a plan that covers abortions would violate first amendment rights for those who are opposed based on religious beliefs. 

To make matters even worse, Mikulski recently stated that health care is a female issue.  Is this just another Democrat showing her true intolerant and segregated beliefs? Mikulski is my Senator, so I have many opinions (not good) about how she operates and what she stands for.  Health care is a human issue, not an individual group’s issue – but here we go again: liberals grouping people by class, race, gender and religion… Stop the insanity.

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Filed under Boxer, Democrats, Health Care, Progressivism

The DC Disease of Cronyism: Hillary’s Pollster Gets $6M in Stimulus Funds

Hillary Clinton’s pollster, Mark Penn, received funds for two of his firms from the recent stimulus bill.  The same bill that was supposed to put jobless Americans back to work.  The evidence that this bill was merely a pay off to all of DC’s cronies continues to pile up. 

Mark Penn received nearly $6 million in funds (From the New York Daily News):

Hillary Clinton pollster Mark Penn is looking at some pretty sweet numbers – namely $6 million in federal stimulus contracts awarded to two firms he controls.

The Hill newspaper reported Wednesday that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus package helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global PR firm headed by Penn.

The Obama administration awarded the contracts to Burson-Marsteller to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television.

A portion of the funds also went to Penn’s polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, according to federal records.

Please save the moral equivalency – this is rampant on both sides of the aisle and the corruption needs to be stopped!

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Filed under Corruption, Democrats, Government Spending, Obama Administration, Republicans, Stimulus

Big Labor = Big Corruption; Jimmy Hoffa Would Be So Proud

It’s time to clean house!  I’d like to see a sweeping investigation into any and all big labor unions, “non-partisan” taxpayer funded groups, lobbyists, and major corporations that donate to politicians. 

Union bosses are still acting much like mafia characters, and some would argue that’s what they in fact are.  A union boss is admitting to using/exploiting his union members as political activists.   

An interesting admission by James A. Williams, president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades in Philadelphia, can be seen in an interview he did with the Philly Inquirer. It is an admission that confirms one of the things that anti-union folks have been saying for years, but one union officials are loath to admit.

While discussing the hard economic times, the Philly Inquirer asked how the recession was affecting the union. In his answer President Wilson admitted that his union uses out-of-work members for “political events.” Wilson mentioned that they lower dues to $1 a month after a member has been out of work for more than six months, but that isn’t just the kind hearted union looking out for its members. No, the union expects something in return for that lowering of dues. 

Would exploitation and quid pro quo be considered commendable by the bleeding heart liberals?  Union leadership has always been in the business of lining their own pockets and achieving their own objectives, no matter who gets stepped on along the way, including their own members.

Obama has long been a union advocate, as are many other Democrats.  Unions became part of the Democrat voting block after FDR focused his efforts on creating certain groups that could be used for votes.  Big labor, since that time, has been a large contributor to the DNC.  Obama has spoken at the UAW, SEIU, and AFL-CIO conventions numerous times and most recently this past week.  The latest push for union control of ports and the fact that Obama supports easing the rules of union organizing should give anyone pause. 

President Obama gave a corker of a campaign speech yesterday at the AFL-CIO convention in Pittsburgh, promising to deliver on his promise to ease the rules for union organizing. If you want to know what this means in action, consider the current Teamsters play to control California ports. 

[…]

The American Trucking Association sued to block the rule, and with good cause. Federal law has long pre-empted state and local regulation of interstate trucking “prices, routes and services,” for the reason that international and interstate trade depend on uniform regulation. The courts have recognized this, and even the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the new port rule had likely violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which led to a court injunction earlier this year. Trial on the merits of the rule has been set for next year. 

[…] 

Unionization would give the Teamsters enormous bargaining leverage over work rules and pay, sharply raising the cost of moving goods, as well the power to shut down ports in a strike. Some 32 trade groups, from farm organizations to the National Retail Federation, signed a recent letter to Mr. Oberstar opposing the legislation. The response of shippers would be to divert cargo to Mexico or Canada, or pass through an expanding Panama Canal for ports on the Gulf or East Coasts. California doesn’t need more reasons for business to flee the state. 

For a group who continues to point their finger at George Bush and the Republicans for the current state of the economy, it sure seems as though they would prefer the economy to stay stagnant and hand it over to big labor and government, two of the causes for our hardships now. 

An example of the sheer lack of morals and utter corruption that has corroded big labor for quite some time is the recent conviction of Jaime Enrique Feliciano, a 50 yr. old man sentenced to 25 years in prison for child molestation, possession of child pornography and the intent to manufacture child pornography.  So who is Feliciano?  He was the former district president of the California SEIU, a proud partner of ACORN.

It’s time to wake up and take control of our country again.  These big labor organizations and large non-profits that are acting as arms to the government, doing their bidding, need to be disbanded and swept clean.  People on both sides should be sick and tired of the corruption, the ponzi schemes, the pay-to-play politics, and the lack of consideration for the people of America.

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Filed under ACORN, Big Labor, Corruption, Democrats, Double Standards, Economy, Establishment, Obama, Unions