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).

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.

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!

The Connecticut Republican Primary – Is Linda McMahon Really The Best Choice?

Vince McMahon’s wife, Linda, will officially be entering the political “ring” in the state of Connecticut, as a Republican.  She plans on winning the Republican primary and eventually defeating disgraced Senator Chris Dodd.  All of this initially sounds like great news since the McMahon’s are such a famous family and have built up the WWE, in the state of Connecticut.  However, there are recent findings that show Linda McMahon has given money to the DNC as well as to Rahm Emanuel of all people!

As for Linda McMahon, conservatives may find her political donation record more than troubling. She donated an astounding $15,000 to the Democratic National Campaign Committee between the years of 2006-2007. She also has donated $7,800 to Rahm Emanuel, the same Emanuel who is President Obama’s chief of staff and leading the charge on the Obama administration’s liberal agenda. It may only be a matter of time before McMahon is labeled a political opportunist.

Red FLAG! RINOs are just as much a problem in our government as are radical liberals with no morals or integrity.  This is not a one-sided issue, and those of us who stand for accountable government and despise elitism are not very happy with this situation. 

The public in Connecticut will easily be fooled by the star power of Linda McMahon and her husband.  Unfortunately, Connecticut is also fooled by pedigree and money.  Many of my friends, growing up in Connecticut, are drawn to other elitists and consider their education, mannerisms, the way they speak, how much money they have, etc. to be the most important aspects of running for political office.  Let’s hope that begins to change in 2010!

Some other candidates: 

Rob Simmons seems to be good man and was the first to officially announce his bid for the Connecticut seat, but I’m not sure whether he has the pull or charisma that is needed to now defeat Linda McMahon in the primaries.  He is a believer in small government, accountability, fiscal responsibility, and honesty, unfortunately, he has already held a seat in Congress and may be viewed as a Washington insider – something nobody wants to be labeled these days.

Peter Schiff will also be running in the primaries against Linda and Rob, as well as two other gentlemen.  Peter Schiff can come off very blunt and opinionated, but he was the one person who predicted the crash of 2008.  Peter Schiff is a proponent of Austrian economics and has run an investing company in Darien, CT, for quite some time.  I would trust Peter Schiff on financial issues any day, probably over any other person running; nationwide!  The only issue is where he stands on other issues.  Peter Schiff was Ron Paul’s economic advisor during his 2008 run, so it is my understanding that he is more a Libertarian than a Conservative or a Republican.  As long as he knows the constitution, stands by it, and fights for smaller government and fiscal restraint, he has my vote.

I just hope that the primaries are conducted in a respectful way and there is an agreement made in advance that none of the candidates will dig up major dirt on anybody else.  This is the opportunity of a lifetime for the Republicans – to beat a life-long career politician; Dodd. Connecticut could use a good Republican to change the mentality of the state.  Don’t screw it up guys!

Democrats: “Who’s Crying Now?”

I have Journey’s song playing in my head after Joe Wilson’s outburst Wednesday night.  Joe Wilson exclaimed “You Lie!” regarding President Obama’s assertion that illegal aliens would not be covered in any health care legislation, however, under all but one version of the health care bills, illegal aliens would in fact be allowed to partake in the system (no proof of documentation required).

This is something that was discovered several weeks ago by those citizens who actually took the time to read through the bills as they became available to the public.  There were other provisions in the draft legislation that also raised various red flags. 

The AP, of all publications, ran a mostly objective fact check on the President’s speech and found that he most certainly lied regarding that issue as well as various others.   

People could argue day and night over the issue of right and wrong and the appropriateness of Joe Wilson’s remarks.  There will always be those who agree with the timing of his remark and those who do not.  It’s just that simple.  Don’t cloud the issue of health care by demonizing a politician and distracting the American public when plenty of politicians have done the same thing in other forums.

I find it incredibly hypocritical to hear President Obama call Sarah Palin a liar, because she made complete sense in her recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, continue to blame Bush for everything, and state that Republicans do not have solutions, but feign outrage when somebody shouts out at a specific part of legislation that has been blatantly falsified, and all hell breaks loose. 

I also find it funny that during various State of the Union addresses by then President Bush, the Democrats would interrupt him as a raucous crowd, applauding their own social security obstructionism:  

2005:

2006:

 

(H/T Gateway Pundit)

I have to wonder in wild amazement how Democrats can be so blind to their history of doing the same things that they get so riled up about.  I realize that there are hypocrites on both sides of the aisle, but give it a rest.  How many times did specific liberal politicians give an interview during Bush’s term in office stating that he was a liar?  How many times did Democrats like Harry Reid make disparaging remarks about the support of our troops by stating that the War was lost?  What about Nancy Pelosi’s recent CIA accusation, where she called them liars?  I could go on, but I’ll leave it there.  The selective outrage of the liberal wing of the Democrat party is astounding, if not so pathetic.

Uniting Against RINOs

This post is really just a plug for a new website that has been created for Independent Conservatives who are tired of Republicans In Name Only (RINO).  Those who would easily sell out their own family for corporate funding, lobbies, and their own power-hungry nature. 

As many recall a couple month ago, Mark Kirk (R-IL) voted for Cap and Trade in the House of Representatives.  He, along with 7 other Republicans, voted for the bill that made no mention of coal, nuclear energy, or our own oil resources.  The bill was a monstrous mechanism to control the lives of Americans and tax the middle class, however, the Cap and Traitors, whom are aptly named, went ahead and voted against their principles and their constituents. 

Mark Kirk is now trying to run for the open Senate seat that Roland Burris and Blagojevich tainted recently.  I could care less if the person who wins the seat is a Democrat or a Republican, as long as they stand on principle and not on power and greed.  It’s time for the establishment to be sent packing and Mark Kirk is the epitome of the problem in DC. 

To check out the site Republicans United Against Mark Kirk For US Senate – click here.

Hands Off My Radio

On Friday of last week the new FCC Chief Diversity Officer stated that he intended to create a new type of fairness doctrine which would require private radio to fund public radio.  Private radio stations would have to pay a fee of 100% of their operating budget to their public competitors who would pay nothing.  In essence private radio would pay 2x it’s budget and hope that it makes 201% of it’s original operating budget, which probably will not happen.

An operating budget is usually set based upon estimates that are either from history or known costs that have an 85% chance of occurring.  No company expects to make 100% x it’s operating budget, but at least some percentage above their costs/budget that will provide the organization a profit.  This new regulation would drive businesses out of the communications/media industry, and I have to believe this is on purpose. 

Net Neutrality, the Fairness Doctrine, Hate Crimes Legislation, Localization, Cass Sunstein, who believes in regulating free speech if deemed untrue (by his own opinion), and now a brand new FCC diversity panel that was created right after Obama’s inauguration, will create some type of ban on conservative views one way or another.  A new type of fairness doctrine will be created, it will just be under another name.  It will be one of those alternatives that tricks people through semantics as Saul Alinsky stipulates in rule 12.

Mark Lloyd, newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer of the Federal Communications Commission, has called for making private broadcasting companies pay licensing fees equal to their total operating costs to allow public broadcasting outlets to spend the same on their operations as the private companies do.

[…]

“Federal and regional broadcast operations and local stations should be funded at levels commensurate with or above those spending levels at which commercial operations are funded,” Lloyd wrote. “This funding should come from license fees charged to commercial broadcasters. Funding should not come from congressional appropriations. Sponsorship should be prohibited at all public broadcasters.”
 
Along with this money, Lloyd would regulate much of the programming on these stations to make sure they focused on “diverse views” and government activities.

I also wonder if many have heard of the performance tax?  This is another idea coming out of Washington in connection with the record label companies that would require local radio stations to pay a tax on any and all music played.  Many radio stations play a variety of music, provide local traffic updates, news, and other information, all of which could find itself on the chopping block if this tax is passed.  It’s estimated that this tax would cost local radio stations anywhere from $2-7B annually.  Radio stations already pay fees to purchase music, as well as use online streaming, but record labels are not satisfied because they are still seeing a decline in their sales now that everything has gone digital. 

In short, the money would flow out of your community and into the pockets of the record labels – the great majority of which are foreign-owned. The record labels would like for you to think this is all about compensating the artists, but in truth the record labels would get at least 50% of the proceeds from a tax on local radio.

This is beginning to sound more like that wonderful idea; cash for clunkers.  I thought we were supposed to pump money into our own economy and not into foreign ones to see a real recovery?  So I was curious to see what party was looking to levy this tax on our radio stations – it comes as no surprise that the tax and spend party and the party who is backed by the liberal music industry believes this performance tax to be a good idea.  But I must give credit to several Democrats and the Republicans who are attempting to stop this idea from passing: 

There are currently two bills pending in Congress that would levy a performance tax on local radio – H.R. 848, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14) and S. 379, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Your members of Congress need to hear that you strongly oppose these bills.

Additionally, anti-performance tax resolutions have been introduced in the House and Senate in support of local radio. In the Senate, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced S. Con. Res. 14, and in the House, Reps. Gene Green (D-TX-29) and Mike Conaway (R-TX-11) introduced H. Con. Res. 49. Both are known as the “Local Radio Freedom Act.” Encourage your senators and representative to cosponsor these resolutions.