The Right Stuff - 3/11/2009
By Don O'Nesky | 03/10/09 | 04:18 PM EDT | 0 Comments
Letterman On Obama's Tax Hikes
The late night comedy shows are beginning to notice that President Barack Obama loves raising taxes:
Seeds Of Failure
"President Obama isn't riding as high as he thinks," Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. "He's popular, though no more than is usual for a new president. His party is in charge on Capitol Hill, but its command of the Senate is fraying. And just last week, the faint outlines of a center-right coalition in opposition to Obama's policies - and increasingly to Obama himself - began to emerge. It's an embryonic grouping that may prove to be ephemeral. But maybe not," Mr. Barnes said.
"Obama's situation is the same as Bill Clinton's in 1993. Clinton had run for president as a moderate, just as Obama ran as a pragmatic, rather than an ideological, liberal. But both turned sharply liberal once in the White House. Clinton alienated the political center by promoting a government-run health care plan, gays in the military, and midnight basketball as a crime-fighting tool. Obama is doing the same - at least he's starting to - with his bid to enact the most far-reaching and costly set of liberal programs since the New Deal.
"If the political attitudes of Americans have been propelled to the left by the Obama campaign and the economic slump, as many liberals insist, the president should have little to worry about. But if America is still predominantly a moderate-to-conservative country, as I believe it is, then Obama may be fostering a stronger and more united gathering of opponents than he and his strategists imagine...
"Obama hasn't failed. He's been in office less than two months. But he is sowing the seeds of failure, both economically and politically. He doesn't quite own the economy yet, but he does own the stock market. It's a bet on the future. And so far the stock market has registered a resounding vote of no confidence in Obama's economic policies."
---Greg Pierce, Inside Politics
March 9, 2009
New Zealand: An Escape Plan Destination???
You know that is really sad? That you have to go all the way around the world in order to find a government that is willing to allow the private sector to bring itself out of economic crisis. This should be the United States. Should be, but won't be with anti-capitalist Democrats running the show. Thanks to our belief that America's greatness stems from government and that government exists to solve our problems .. all we are going to get is more government, more government, and more government. Any way you cut it, more government equals less freedom.
Things are different in New Zealand. The Prime Minister of New Zealand has decided to take the exact opposite approach. I've been saying for a while now. If you are making an escape plan. A good destination may well be New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has decided that the first thing his country is going to do is cut personal income taxes. Now a "cut" for New Zealand means lowering its top rate to 38% .. but hey, it's the concept that counts. If Barack Obama gets his way, that 38% rate will be lower than the top tax bracket in the United States at 39.5%. Add PresBOs other tax increases and the marginal rate on the job-producers in this country will reach 42% and above.
Key's next move will be to cut corporate tax rates. What?? Are we reading this correctly? Do we really have a leader of a country that actually wants to help the evil, filthy, criminal corporations? Imagine that. Another focus will be to chip away at government regulation of industries that drive away foreign capital. So while the United States is on the verge of nationalizing some industries, New Zealand is working on ways to deregulate in order to attract investment. There will also be a "line-by-line review" of every single government department (something that Barack Obama promised) and a cap on new spending. Over here across the pond the United States is increasing the size of its next budget by 8% and creating more government programs - the largest being a government healthcare system.
Watch New Zealand. They're going to show us how its done. They may have an advantage though. The majority of people in New Zealand may actually have a sense of self-worth and independence. That's helps.
---Neal Boortz, Nealz Nuze
March 9, 2009
The GAO, ICE, And Mohammad Atta
Last week the Government Accountability Offices (GAO) released a report calling for better oversight of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) state and local law enforcement training program. We agree that the program could use additional oversight, but the GAO report also recommends a fundamental rethinking of the program that defeats its original purpose.
Heritage analysts Jena Baker McNeill and Diem Nguyen explain:
"The report proposes that the program's objective should be to only address serious criminal activity and that officers who check the immigration status of those committing minor offenses are in violation of the spirit of the program. But GAO admits that such an objective is not required in the statute or the legislative history, and the law does not prevent 287(g) participants from inquiring into the immigration status of those apprehended for minor offenses.
"The fallacy of the GAO's suggested objective could not be clearer than in the example of Mohammad Atta. Atta, one of the September 11 hijackers, was pulled over in a minor traffic stop two days before the 9/11 attacks. Under GAO's proposed objectives, because Atta's traffic offense was minor, it would not have warranted an inquiry into his immigration status. But had the officer inquired into his immigration status-even though it was only a minor offense-they would have found he was in the country illegally and could have prevented his participation in the attacks, or perhaps prevented 9/11 all together."
---Conn Carroll, The Heritage Foundation
March 9, 2009
Slickness With A Straight Face
Clearly the Obama administration has not brought comfort to the markets in its initial weeks in office. The President and his team have also failed to bring clarity or coherence. Their massive agenda is not only ambitious, bold, and expensive, it is contradictory... Inconsistent is one thing; disingenuous is another. That, however, is the best way to describe the President's new budget proposal. It is also the genius of Barack Obama, because while he recently proposed a $3.6 trillion budget that would increase the federal deficit to $1.75 trillion, he harps (with a straight face) about making "hard choices where to spend and where to save." He talks about how this is "just the beginning of the cuts we're going to make" and about "fiscal discipline."
So are we saving and investing in the future? Well, not if you consider the $787 billion "stimulus" package Congress just passed at Obama's urging or the massive budget he just proposed. Are we stimulating then? Not if you consider the massive tax hikes for the "rich" that Obama wants to fund his new programs. Perhaps the only thing we can say about Obama's plan is that it aims to redistribute. And it should do a damn fine job of spreading the misery around.
---Brett Joshpe, The American Spectator
March 9, 2009
Heartland Update: A Californian And An Environmentalist
This morning's breakfast had two very interesting speakers: climate skeptic Congressman Tom McClintock from California and Canadian author, columnist and environmentalist Lawrence Solomon. Solomon is a founder and managing director of the Energy Probe Research Foundation and is a strong advocate of renewable energy and written a book against urban sprawl.
When Congressman McClintock addressed the audience he emphasized that the actual threat of global warming is a big one, but not because of temperature and more so because of what the radical environmentalist movement can do to control the message and hurt the economy. He discussed the detrimental economic and environmental effects that the state's ethanol policy had on California and warned that California should not be the model for the rest of the country. He said:
"People love to watch events in California - in much the same way that people love to gawk at car wrecks. You feel guilty about it, of course, and you know you shouldn't stare, but you just can't help yourselves. But you do anyway and there's at least a respectable reason for it. When you drive by that wreck, you can tell your children, 'Kids, that's what happens when you don't pay attention when you drive.' And California's wreck is a good time to remind voters, 'Kids, that's what happens when you don't pay attention when you vote." The quote drew a resounding applause.
---Nick Lorris, The Heritage Foundation
March 9, 2009
Obama's Ideological Father
President Obama invariably asserts that he is seeking solutions for what ails the nation. He claims to be a pragmatist, a position confirmed by members of the press corps. But whether he realizes it or not, he has an ideological forebearer who has set the stage for this administration's agenda: Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci, while still in his twenties, organized the Italian Communist party in 1921 with his colleague Togliotti. Since this was four years after the Russian Revolution, Gramsci assumed Italians would welcome a Bolshevik convulsion of their own. But it didn't happen.
In reviewing the political landscape, Gramsci sought to explain why what seemed to him inevitable had not yet occurred. He found three explanations: Christianity, nationalism and charity. As he explains in his writing, the way to set the stage for a Marxist revolution was in coming to grips with these three conditions. As a consequence, Gramsci converted Marxist economic theory into a cultural battle -- as he saw it, a march through conventional and normative institutions.
The first stratagem was the assault on Christianity by arguing religion should not inform or be employed in public discourse. Gramsci realized that if religion were confined to private worship, its hold on Italians would dissipate. Hence his arguments relied on science (more accurately scientism) and material claims devoid of references to the Church and its historic antecedents. Second, Italians took great pride in their newly constituted nation fifty years old in the 1920s. Gramsci contended Italians were part of a grand global mission, merely one story in the narrative of mankind. He therefore cleverly attempted to transform national loyalty into an abstract identification with human rights by describing patriotism as an anachronistic and childish fetish. And last, Gramsci engaged in efforts to persuade Italians that the way, the only way, to express humanitarian concern for the poor or those left behind as the detritus of capitalism is through a government that can be benevolent and beneficent. For him, big government wasn't a temptation for tyranny but rather the adjudicator for life's unfairness.
Whether recognized by President Obama or not, the parallels are striking... The progeny of Gramsci are alive and well and now reside in the White House. They believe in big government, one worldism, distrust of religion, and a denial of American exceptionalism. Our leaders may not identify themselves as Gramscians and may even mock the designation, but make no mistake: Gramsci's DNA is in their bloodstream.
---Herbert London, Human Events
March 9, 2009
Once more, what do we call someone that talks like and acts like a Communist? Don O'Nesky
Late Freeze
Before Congress can move on to President Obama's budget -- you know, that gargantuan, $3.6 trillion re-imagining of the citizen's relationship to the state -- it must first finish funding last year's merely massive budget. As usual, Congress failed to pass its annual appropriations bills on time, and it has rolled up all of its overdue homework into what's known as an omnibus spending bill.
The 1,129-page bill would spend $410 billion to fund government operations through September of this year. The bill would increase domestic spending by 8 percent over last year, and it contains $8 billion in earmarked spending for local projects of questionable necessity. Senate majority leader Harry Reid tried to ram the bill through last week, but he couldn't get the 60 votes needed to proceed. Amidst much grumbling, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution to keep the government operating for five more days while lawmakers try to hammer out a deal.
That last point is important to note. Anyone who tells you that Congress must pass the omnibus to keep the government operating is bluffing. If necessary, Congress could pass a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund the government roughly at last year's levels through September, which is the end of the fiscal year. This is precisely what House majority leader John Boehner is pushing for, as it would constitute a spending freeze to slow the incredible pace at which the Democrats are running up the deficit...
Though we find their opposition to the omnibus cynical, we begrudgingly admit that we hope moderates in both parties work together to defeat the bill. Instead of rushing through a massive spending hike, Congress should enact a CR that essentially freezes spending at its current levels -- with all the new programs and bailouts coming down the pike, Republicans need to fight for every spending cut they can possibly get. If the moderates abandon this manageable option and settle for a "compromise" that makes only marginal, face-saving cuts, we'll know exactly what to expect from them in the coming years: not much.
---Editors, National Review Online
March 9, 2009
Supreme Court Narrows Minority District Protections
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that minority voters don't qualify for a key protection of the Voting Rights Act unless they comprise a majority of voters in a district. The decision could have a significant impact on the 2010 round of redistricting. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits the dilution of minority voters' influence by either packing them into one district or spreading them thinly throughout several districts. The Supreme Court had left open for decades the question of just what districts were protected by the rule. In a 5-4 decision led by the conservative wing of the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the landmark civil rights legislation doesn't require states to draw "crossover" districts, which would include enough voters who would vote for minority candidates to allow the minority bloc to elect a minority candidate...
---Aaron Blake, The Hill
March 9, 2009
US Public Schools Teaching Children Pro-Islamic Propaganda
Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus and the 9/11 murderers were not Islamic Fundamentalists but simply a generic "teams of terrorists." That's the caliber of politically corrected crap many of our children are being taught in American public schools -- and it's past time all parents took serious notice. A five year study by Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research cites hundreds of such errors and distortions found in "28 of the most widely used social studies and history textbooks in the United States." Their book, The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion, examines the pro-Islamic disinformation they uncovered, including the assertion that Jesus was a Palestinian, not a Jew.
Ybarra claims that the textbooks also treat Islam with special privilege and tend not to criticize or challenge it, as they do Judaism and Christianity. He offers this example from the glossary of World History: Continuity and Change: "It calls the Ten Commandments "moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God," while the entry for the Koran contains no such qualifier in saying it is the "Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God."...
Obviously, Islamic advocacy groups the likes of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claim legitimate (and some perhaps not so) motivation to advance positive perceptions of Muslims to our populace, and easily dupe PC academics to do so blindly. But there's little reasonable doubt that such liberal naivety also paves the way for those with intent of a more pernicious nature. Be they simply advocating creeping Sharia law in America or perhaps proselytizing or actually laying down cover for the most vile of terrorist activity, such interests would be greatly served by a generation of minds filtered of Islam's darker side.
And then there are the more immediately focused concerns. Is it any coincidence that our kids are now being taught that Jesus was a Palestinian and Muslims had nothing to do with 9/11 and jihad is but a harmless struggle of the heart? With the media already working their blatant bias on the parents, mightn't such skewed instruction of our progeny spark cunningly orchestrated dinner conversation regarding America's foreign policy stance on a particular Mideast powder keg?...
Of course, public schools are hotbeds of such liberal idealism. And they're practically a second home to our kids. And, short our diligent oversight, teachers will invariably leave indelible leftie scars on a child's personal development. So now, more than ever, it's imperative we monitor school books, and stand up and scream at teachers, administrators, and superintendants should we discover any ideology beyond the sprinkling of liberal bias we reluctantly accept as inevitable.
Just as with curricular green globaloney, your best defense against scholastic Dhimmitude begins at home. Discuss what they're being taught, and be prepared to teach them the truth. Teach them about Jesus, or Israel, or both. Once they're old enough to understand, teach them about 9/11. Teach them about Sharia and jihad and oppressed women and terrorism and honor killings and barbaric execution methods. Teach them that only just and nurturing cultures deserve to be celebrated, not diversity itself. But above all, teach them how to recognize propaganda and to think for themselves.
---Marc Sheppard, American Thinker
March 9, 2009
End The Spending
In times like these, what's another $500 billion between friends? Or so it seems. The administration seeks another bailout, this one for the FDIC, and warns of peril otherwise. Where will it end? After a string of federal spending packages, the American Institute for Economic Research now estimates new federal bailout and spending commitments at $8 trillion. The list includes bank bailouts, auto bailouts, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae cleanups, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility and other "rescues" of troubled sectors.
It doesn't even include a "stimulus plan" filled to the gills with earmarks for such can't-do-without projects as a mob museum in Las Vegas. No project, it seems, is too small for a bailout or an earmark. All of it extends the hand of government across the economy... Federal money is pouring out so fast you'd think the economy had been hit by a nuclear bomb instead of battered by a housing downturn and weak corporate balance sheets. The economy can recover on its own, and there are signs it's doing just that. Cost-cutting, debt-repayment and productivity gains all restore the economy without government help.
But that's the opposite of what Congress is doing. In this time of supposed emergency where belt-tightening is expected, the big spenders in Congress are instead throwing themselves a party... It's got to stop, not only because the repeated splurges have caused Congress to lose all sense of what money's worth, but because it's likely to continue. In that spirit, we support House Minority Leader John Boehner's call for a spending freeze on Friday.
More uncontrolled spending will mean a weaker recovery, and our children and grandchildren will get stuck with the bill. Thanks to this Congress, they'll have the sad distinction of being the first generation ever without hope of doing better than their parents.
---Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
March 6, 2009
Obama Fumbled Brown Visit Because He's In Over His Head
After insulting Gordon Brown during the British prime minister's visit this week by ignoring protocol and cheaping out on the traditional gift exchange, the UK media has erupted in outrage. The Obama White House has now started to recognize the firestorm the new President created with our closest ally, and wants to assure the Brits that he meant no disrespect. Instead, Obama apparently wants to assure them that he's simply in over his head and floundering (via Radio Equalizer):..
"British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister. ... "A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy"... "The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda...
At least if he meant to snub Brown, it would suggest a certain competence at this brand of diplomacy. Instead, we're told that the Obama White House and their staff are just a bunch of incompetents who got in over their heads. Which is, of course, the point we made continuously over the last two years.
---Ed Morrissey, HotAir.com
March 7, 2009
When The Obvious Just Wouldn't Do
My friends Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki take on the question of how David Brooks, Christopher Buckley, and David Gergen were able to conclude during the election that Barack Obama was other than a left-liberal, a view all three, to their credit, have already abandoned. Peter suggests that the answer lies in the cluelessnes of the elite, and I think there is something to this... Whatever the motivation, the desire of many to believe that Obama was a moderate was really just a triumph of wishful thinking and a desire to believe that was true, rather than any actual facts."...
---Paul, PowerLine Blog
March 6, 2009
Let The Inquisition Start With Frank
Congressman Barney Frank says he wants some of those responsible for our current financial meltdown to be prosecuted. And we couldn't agree more. First up in the court dock: Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. Even by the extraordinarily loose standards of Congress, it takes some chutzpah for someone such as Frank to suggest that he'll seek prosecutions for those behind the housing and financial crunch and for what he called "a strongly empowered systemic risk regulator."
For Frank, perhaps more than any single individual in private or public life, is responsible for both the housing market mess and subsequent bank disaster. And no, this isn't partisan hyperbole or historical exaggeration... It's hard to say why Frank did all this. It could be his close ties to the Neighborhood Assistance Corp., a powerful housing activist group based in Boston, which controls billions in loans. Or that he received some $40,100 in campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie from 1989 to 2008. Or that he has been romantically linked to a one-time executive at Fannie during the 1990s.
Whatever the case, his conflicts are obvious and outrageous, and his refusal to countenance reforms of Fannie and Freddie contributed mightily to today's meltdown. If you're looking for a culprit in the meltdown to prosecute, no one fits the bill better than Frank.
---Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
March 6, 2009
Good News From Iraq
New water purification system provides water, optimism for the people of Samarra
FORWARD OPERATING BASE BRASSFIELD-MORA, SAMARRA, Iraq - The Government of Iraq has completed installation of a new water purification system on the Rassassi Canal, bringing clean drinking water and optimism to hundreds of needy families in the area. "Success is everywhere, and the insurgents know it," said Farhan Ra'ad Thamer, a local citizen. "The Golden Mosque is being rebuilt, the pilgrims are visiting, the water and power systems are being repaired, the farmers are farming -- the government is beginning to take care of us," he continued. Muhammad Maged Soluman, director general of water for Samarra, oversaw a team of Iraqi contractors who performed maintenance work on an existing water purification system and the construction of a new one. "This project has been a great success," said Soluman, "but it is only the beginning. We will continue our efforts until all the people of Samarra have the water they need." While the installation of a new water unit is good news for the people, much work remains to repair the destruction caused over the course of the last six years. Samarra currently receives only 2,000 cubic liters of water per hour. Nearly double that amount is required to bring clean water reliably to the entire city. As construction of the nearby Jalisia Power Station nears completion, the electrical grid in eastern Samarra will be dramatically improved, making continued operation of the water units more reliable, and the installation of new units a possibility. "The people in Samarra are very excited about all the improvements being made," said local citizen Munther Jasim al-Abasi. "The security is good, and the children are going to school without fear."
ISF arrest four suspected criminals
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Security Forces arrested four suspected criminals with warrants during operations in the Yarmouk neighborhood of northwest Baghdad. Iraqi Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division, reported arresting the suspected criminals for participation in the development and placement of magnetic improvised explosive devices.
Iraqis assume responsibilities of FOB Iskan
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKAN, Iraq - Soldiers, Iraqi Police and power plant workers gathered to transfer authority of Forward Operating Base Iskan from Coalition forces to the Ministry of Electricity during a ceremony. The ceremony officially turned over the responsibilities of the FOB to the Ministry of Electricity and signified that the Iraqi government has the capability to secure the Musayyib Thermal Power Plant. Al Abd Al-Ameer Al-Yasseri, the General Director of Operations at the Ministerial Presidency and Lt. Col. Steven Miska, commander, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, both spoke about what it meant to transfer the responsibility for FOB Iskan over to Iraqi officials. "This transfer of authority reinforces the Iraqi government's independence and demonstrates the capabilities of the Iraqis," said Miska.
"The Iraqis have come to a point where they can stabilize security on and around the FOB " said Capt. Bradley Kinser, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander, 1st Bn., 2nd Inf. Reg. The Musayyib Thermal Power Plant is located on FOB Iskan. The power plant provides power to the majority of Babil Province and 25 percent of the electricity to Baghdad. Security for the plant will be one of the major responsibilities for the Ministry of Electricity. The last attack by ant-Iraqi forces on the FOB happened around late October 2008, when a mortar attack occurred and left many Iraqis without electricity. The power plant had stopped generating electricity in 2003 due to anti-Iraqi forces' activities. Coaltion forces maintained the security on the FOB, while the Iraqis fixed and continued to work in the power plant. Approximately 1,600 employees work at the power plant.
---Multi-National Corps - Iraq
The late night comedy shows are beginning to notice that President Barack Obama loves raising taxes:
Seeds Of Failure
"President Obama isn't riding as high as he thinks," Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. "He's popular, though no more than is usual for a new president. His party is in charge on Capitol Hill, but its command of the Senate is fraying. And just last week, the faint outlines of a center-right coalition in opposition to Obama's policies - and increasingly to Obama himself - began to emerge. It's an embryonic grouping that may prove to be ephemeral. But maybe not," Mr. Barnes said.
"Obama's situation is the same as Bill Clinton's in 1993. Clinton had run for president as a moderate, just as Obama ran as a pragmatic, rather than an ideological, liberal. But both turned sharply liberal once in the White House. Clinton alienated the political center by promoting a government-run health care plan, gays in the military, and midnight basketball as a crime-fighting tool. Obama is doing the same - at least he's starting to - with his bid to enact the most far-reaching and costly set of liberal programs since the New Deal.
"If the political attitudes of Americans have been propelled to the left by the Obama campaign and the economic slump, as many liberals insist, the president should have little to worry about. But if America is still predominantly a moderate-to-conservative country, as I believe it is, then Obama may be fostering a stronger and more united gathering of opponents than he and his strategists imagine...
"Obama hasn't failed. He's been in office less than two months. But he is sowing the seeds of failure, both economically and politically. He doesn't quite own the economy yet, but he does own the stock market. It's a bet on the future. And so far the stock market has registered a resounding vote of no confidence in Obama's economic policies."
---Greg Pierce, Inside Politics
March 9, 2009
New Zealand: An Escape Plan Destination???
You know that is really sad? That you have to go all the way around the world in order to find a government that is willing to allow the private sector to bring itself out of economic crisis. This should be the United States. Should be, but won't be with anti-capitalist Democrats running the show. Thanks to our belief that America's greatness stems from government and that government exists to solve our problems .. all we are going to get is more government, more government, and more government. Any way you cut it, more government equals less freedom.
Things are different in New Zealand. The Prime Minister of New Zealand has decided to take the exact opposite approach. I've been saying for a while now. If you are making an escape plan. A good destination may well be New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has decided that the first thing his country is going to do is cut personal income taxes. Now a "cut" for New Zealand means lowering its top rate to 38% .. but hey, it's the concept that counts. If Barack Obama gets his way, that 38% rate will be lower than the top tax bracket in the United States at 39.5%. Add PresBOs other tax increases and the marginal rate on the job-producers in this country will reach 42% and above.
Key's next move will be to cut corporate tax rates. What?? Are we reading this correctly? Do we really have a leader of a country that actually wants to help the evil, filthy, criminal corporations? Imagine that. Another focus will be to chip away at government regulation of industries that drive away foreign capital. So while the United States is on the verge of nationalizing some industries, New Zealand is working on ways to deregulate in order to attract investment. There will also be a "line-by-line review" of every single government department (something that Barack Obama promised) and a cap on new spending. Over here across the pond the United States is increasing the size of its next budget by 8% and creating more government programs - the largest being a government healthcare system.
Watch New Zealand. They're going to show us how its done. They may have an advantage though. The majority of people in New Zealand may actually have a sense of self-worth and independence. That's helps.
---Neal Boortz, Nealz Nuze
March 9, 2009
The GAO, ICE, And Mohammad Atta
Last week the Government Accountability Offices (GAO) released a report calling for better oversight of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) state and local law enforcement training program. We agree that the program could use additional oversight, but the GAO report also recommends a fundamental rethinking of the program that defeats its original purpose.
Heritage analysts Jena Baker McNeill and Diem Nguyen explain:
"The report proposes that the program's objective should be to only address serious criminal activity and that officers who check the immigration status of those committing minor offenses are in violation of the spirit of the program. But GAO admits that such an objective is not required in the statute or the legislative history, and the law does not prevent 287(g) participants from inquiring into the immigration status of those apprehended for minor offenses.
"The fallacy of the GAO's suggested objective could not be clearer than in the example of Mohammad Atta. Atta, one of the September 11 hijackers, was pulled over in a minor traffic stop two days before the 9/11 attacks. Under GAO's proposed objectives, because Atta's traffic offense was minor, it would not have warranted an inquiry into his immigration status. But had the officer inquired into his immigration status-even though it was only a minor offense-they would have found he was in the country illegally and could have prevented his participation in the attacks, or perhaps prevented 9/11 all together."
---Conn Carroll, The Heritage Foundation
March 9, 2009
Slickness With A Straight Face
Clearly the Obama administration has not brought comfort to the markets in its initial weeks in office. The President and his team have also failed to bring clarity or coherence. Their massive agenda is not only ambitious, bold, and expensive, it is contradictory... Inconsistent is one thing; disingenuous is another. That, however, is the best way to describe the President's new budget proposal. It is also the genius of Barack Obama, because while he recently proposed a $3.6 trillion budget that would increase the federal deficit to $1.75 trillion, he harps (with a straight face) about making "hard choices where to spend and where to save." He talks about how this is "just the beginning of the cuts we're going to make" and about "fiscal discipline."
So are we saving and investing in the future? Well, not if you consider the $787 billion "stimulus" package Congress just passed at Obama's urging or the massive budget he just proposed. Are we stimulating then? Not if you consider the massive tax hikes for the "rich" that Obama wants to fund his new programs. Perhaps the only thing we can say about Obama's plan is that it aims to redistribute. And it should do a damn fine job of spreading the misery around.
---Brett Joshpe, The American Spectator
March 9, 2009
Heartland Update: A Californian And An Environmentalist
This morning's breakfast had two very interesting speakers: climate skeptic Congressman Tom McClintock from California and Canadian author, columnist and environmentalist Lawrence Solomon. Solomon is a founder and managing director of the Energy Probe Research Foundation and is a strong advocate of renewable energy and written a book against urban sprawl.
When Congressman McClintock addressed the audience he emphasized that the actual threat of global warming is a big one, but not because of temperature and more so because of what the radical environmentalist movement can do to control the message and hurt the economy. He discussed the detrimental economic and environmental effects that the state's ethanol policy had on California and warned that California should not be the model for the rest of the country. He said:
"People love to watch events in California - in much the same way that people love to gawk at car wrecks. You feel guilty about it, of course, and you know you shouldn't stare, but you just can't help yourselves. But you do anyway and there's at least a respectable reason for it. When you drive by that wreck, you can tell your children, 'Kids, that's what happens when you don't pay attention when you drive.' And California's wreck is a good time to remind voters, 'Kids, that's what happens when you don't pay attention when you vote." The quote drew a resounding applause.
---Nick Lorris, The Heritage Foundation
March 9, 2009
Obama's Ideological Father
President Obama invariably asserts that he is seeking solutions for what ails the nation. He claims to be a pragmatist, a position confirmed by members of the press corps. But whether he realizes it or not, he has an ideological forebearer who has set the stage for this administration's agenda: Antonio Gramsci. Gramsci, while still in his twenties, organized the Italian Communist party in 1921 with his colleague Togliotti. Since this was four years after the Russian Revolution, Gramsci assumed Italians would welcome a Bolshevik convulsion of their own. But it didn't happen.
In reviewing the political landscape, Gramsci sought to explain why what seemed to him inevitable had not yet occurred. He found three explanations: Christianity, nationalism and charity. As he explains in his writing, the way to set the stage for a Marxist revolution was in coming to grips with these three conditions. As a consequence, Gramsci converted Marxist economic theory into a cultural battle -- as he saw it, a march through conventional and normative institutions.
The first stratagem was the assault on Christianity by arguing religion should not inform or be employed in public discourse. Gramsci realized that if religion were confined to private worship, its hold on Italians would dissipate. Hence his arguments relied on science (more accurately scientism) and material claims devoid of references to the Church and its historic antecedents. Second, Italians took great pride in their newly constituted nation fifty years old in the 1920s. Gramsci contended Italians were part of a grand global mission, merely one story in the narrative of mankind. He therefore cleverly attempted to transform national loyalty into an abstract identification with human rights by describing patriotism as an anachronistic and childish fetish. And last, Gramsci engaged in efforts to persuade Italians that the way, the only way, to express humanitarian concern for the poor or those left behind as the detritus of capitalism is through a government that can be benevolent and beneficent. For him, big government wasn't a temptation for tyranny but rather the adjudicator for life's unfairness.
Whether recognized by President Obama or not, the parallels are striking... The progeny of Gramsci are alive and well and now reside in the White House. They believe in big government, one worldism, distrust of religion, and a denial of American exceptionalism. Our leaders may not identify themselves as Gramscians and may even mock the designation, but make no mistake: Gramsci's DNA is in their bloodstream.
---Herbert London, Human Events
March 9, 2009
Once more, what do we call someone that talks like and acts like a Communist? Don O'Nesky
Late Freeze
Before Congress can move on to President Obama's budget -- you know, that gargantuan, $3.6 trillion re-imagining of the citizen's relationship to the state -- it must first finish funding last year's merely massive budget. As usual, Congress failed to pass its annual appropriations bills on time, and it has rolled up all of its overdue homework into what's known as an omnibus spending bill.
The 1,129-page bill would spend $410 billion to fund government operations through September of this year. The bill would increase domestic spending by 8 percent over last year, and it contains $8 billion in earmarked spending for local projects of questionable necessity. Senate majority leader Harry Reid tried to ram the bill through last week, but he couldn't get the 60 votes needed to proceed. Amidst much grumbling, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution to keep the government operating for five more days while lawmakers try to hammer out a deal.
That last point is important to note. Anyone who tells you that Congress must pass the omnibus to keep the government operating is bluffing. If necessary, Congress could pass a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund the government roughly at last year's levels through September, which is the end of the fiscal year. This is precisely what House majority leader John Boehner is pushing for, as it would constitute a spending freeze to slow the incredible pace at which the Democrats are running up the deficit...
Though we find their opposition to the omnibus cynical, we begrudgingly admit that we hope moderates in both parties work together to defeat the bill. Instead of rushing through a massive spending hike, Congress should enact a CR that essentially freezes spending at its current levels -- with all the new programs and bailouts coming down the pike, Republicans need to fight for every spending cut they can possibly get. If the moderates abandon this manageable option and settle for a "compromise" that makes only marginal, face-saving cuts, we'll know exactly what to expect from them in the coming years: not much.
---Editors, National Review Online
March 9, 2009
Supreme Court Narrows Minority District Protections
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that minority voters don't qualify for a key protection of the Voting Rights Act unless they comprise a majority of voters in a district. The decision could have a significant impact on the 2010 round of redistricting. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits the dilution of minority voters' influence by either packing them into one district or spreading them thinly throughout several districts. The Supreme Court had left open for decades the question of just what districts were protected by the rule. In a 5-4 decision led by the conservative wing of the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the landmark civil rights legislation doesn't require states to draw "crossover" districts, which would include enough voters who would vote for minority candidates to allow the minority bloc to elect a minority candidate...
---Aaron Blake, The Hill
March 9, 2009
US Public Schools Teaching Children Pro-Islamic Propaganda
Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus and the 9/11 murderers were not Islamic Fundamentalists but simply a generic "teams of terrorists." That's the caliber of politically corrected crap many of our children are being taught in American public schools -- and it's past time all parents took serious notice. A five year study by Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research cites hundreds of such errors and distortions found in "28 of the most widely used social studies and history textbooks in the United States." Their book, The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion, examines the pro-Islamic disinformation they uncovered, including the assertion that Jesus was a Palestinian, not a Jew.
Ybarra claims that the textbooks also treat Islam with special privilege and tend not to criticize or challenge it, as they do Judaism and Christianity. He offers this example from the glossary of World History: Continuity and Change: "It calls the Ten Commandments "moral laws Moses claimed to have received from the Hebrew God," while the entry for the Koran contains no such qualifier in saying it is the "Holy Book of Islam containing revelations received by Muhammad from God."...
Obviously, Islamic advocacy groups the likes of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claim legitimate (and some perhaps not so) motivation to advance positive perceptions of Muslims to our populace, and easily dupe PC academics to do so blindly. But there's little reasonable doubt that such liberal naivety also paves the way for those with intent of a more pernicious nature. Be they simply advocating creeping Sharia law in America or perhaps proselytizing or actually laying down cover for the most vile of terrorist activity, such interests would be greatly served by a generation of minds filtered of Islam's darker side.
And then there are the more immediately focused concerns. Is it any coincidence that our kids are now being taught that Jesus was a Palestinian and Muslims had nothing to do with 9/11 and jihad is but a harmless struggle of the heart? With the media already working their blatant bias on the parents, mightn't such skewed instruction of our progeny spark cunningly orchestrated dinner conversation regarding America's foreign policy stance on a particular Mideast powder keg?...
Of course, public schools are hotbeds of such liberal idealism. And they're practically a second home to our kids. And, short our diligent oversight, teachers will invariably leave indelible leftie scars on a child's personal development. So now, more than ever, it's imperative we monitor school books, and stand up and scream at teachers, administrators, and superintendants should we discover any ideology beyond the sprinkling of liberal bias we reluctantly accept as inevitable.
Just as with curricular green globaloney, your best defense against scholastic Dhimmitude begins at home. Discuss what they're being taught, and be prepared to teach them the truth. Teach them about Jesus, or Israel, or both. Once they're old enough to understand, teach them about 9/11. Teach them about Sharia and jihad and oppressed women and terrorism and honor killings and barbaric execution methods. Teach them that only just and nurturing cultures deserve to be celebrated, not diversity itself. But above all, teach them how to recognize propaganda and to think for themselves.
---Marc Sheppard, American Thinker
March 9, 2009
End The Spending
In times like these, what's another $500 billion between friends? Or so it seems. The administration seeks another bailout, this one for the FDIC, and warns of peril otherwise. Where will it end? After a string of federal spending packages, the American Institute for Economic Research now estimates new federal bailout and spending commitments at $8 trillion. The list includes bank bailouts, auto bailouts, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae cleanups, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility and other "rescues" of troubled sectors.
It doesn't even include a "stimulus plan" filled to the gills with earmarks for such can't-do-without projects as a mob museum in Las Vegas. No project, it seems, is too small for a bailout or an earmark. All of it extends the hand of government across the economy... Federal money is pouring out so fast you'd think the economy had been hit by a nuclear bomb instead of battered by a housing downturn and weak corporate balance sheets. The economy can recover on its own, and there are signs it's doing just that. Cost-cutting, debt-repayment and productivity gains all restore the economy without government help.
But that's the opposite of what Congress is doing. In this time of supposed emergency where belt-tightening is expected, the big spenders in Congress are instead throwing themselves a party... It's got to stop, not only because the repeated splurges have caused Congress to lose all sense of what money's worth, but because it's likely to continue. In that spirit, we support House Minority Leader John Boehner's call for a spending freeze on Friday.
More uncontrolled spending will mean a weaker recovery, and our children and grandchildren will get stuck with the bill. Thanks to this Congress, they'll have the sad distinction of being the first generation ever without hope of doing better than their parents.
---Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
March 6, 2009
Obama Fumbled Brown Visit Because He's In Over His Head
After insulting Gordon Brown during the British prime minister's visit this week by ignoring protocol and cheaping out on the traditional gift exchange, the UK media has erupted in outrage. The Obama White House has now started to recognize the firestorm the new President created with our closest ally, and wants to assure the Brits that he meant no disrespect. Instead, Obama apparently wants to assure them that he's simply in over his head and floundering (via Radio Equalizer):..
"British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister. ... "A well-connected Washington figure, who is close to members of Mr Obama's inner circle, expressed concern that Mr Obama had failed so far to "even fake an interest in foreign policy"... "The American source said: "Obama is overwhelmed. There is a zero sum tension between his ability to attend to the economic issues and his ability to be a proactive sculptor of the national security agenda...
At least if he meant to snub Brown, it would suggest a certain competence at this brand of diplomacy. Instead, we're told that the Obama White House and their staff are just a bunch of incompetents who got in over their heads. Which is, of course, the point we made continuously over the last two years.
---Ed Morrissey, HotAir.com
March 7, 2009
When The Obvious Just Wouldn't Do
My friends Peter Robinson and Todd Zywicki take on the question of how David Brooks, Christopher Buckley, and David Gergen were able to conclude during the election that Barack Obama was other than a left-liberal, a view all three, to their credit, have already abandoned. Peter suggests that the answer lies in the cluelessnes of the elite, and I think there is something to this... Whatever the motivation, the desire of many to believe that Obama was a moderate was really just a triumph of wishful thinking and a desire to believe that was true, rather than any actual facts."...
---Paul, PowerLine Blog
March 6, 2009
Let The Inquisition Start With Frank
Congressman Barney Frank says he wants some of those responsible for our current financial meltdown to be prosecuted. And we couldn't agree more. First up in the court dock: Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. Even by the extraordinarily loose standards of Congress, it takes some chutzpah for someone such as Frank to suggest that he'll seek prosecutions for those behind the housing and financial crunch and for what he called "a strongly empowered systemic risk regulator."
For Frank, perhaps more than any single individual in private or public life, is responsible for both the housing market mess and subsequent bank disaster. And no, this isn't partisan hyperbole or historical exaggeration... It's hard to say why Frank did all this. It could be his close ties to the Neighborhood Assistance Corp., a powerful housing activist group based in Boston, which controls billions in loans. Or that he received some $40,100 in campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie from 1989 to 2008. Or that he has been romantically linked to a one-time executive at Fannie during the 1990s.
Whatever the case, his conflicts are obvious and outrageous, and his refusal to countenance reforms of Fannie and Freddie contributed mightily to today's meltdown. If you're looking for a culprit in the meltdown to prosecute, no one fits the bill better than Frank.
---Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
March 6, 2009
Good News From Iraq
New water purification system provides water, optimism for the people of Samarra
FORWARD OPERATING BASE BRASSFIELD-MORA, SAMARRA, Iraq - The Government of Iraq has completed installation of a new water purification system on the Rassassi Canal, bringing clean drinking water and optimism to hundreds of needy families in the area. "Success is everywhere, and the insurgents know it," said Farhan Ra'ad Thamer, a local citizen. "The Golden Mosque is being rebuilt, the pilgrims are visiting, the water and power systems are being repaired, the farmers are farming -- the government is beginning to take care of us," he continued. Muhammad Maged Soluman, director general of water for Samarra, oversaw a team of Iraqi contractors who performed maintenance work on an existing water purification system and the construction of a new one. "This project has been a great success," said Soluman, "but it is only the beginning. We will continue our efforts until all the people of Samarra have the water they need." While the installation of a new water unit is good news for the people, much work remains to repair the destruction caused over the course of the last six years. Samarra currently receives only 2,000 cubic liters of water per hour. Nearly double that amount is required to bring clean water reliably to the entire city. As construction of the nearby Jalisia Power Station nears completion, the electrical grid in eastern Samarra will be dramatically improved, making continued operation of the water units more reliable, and the installation of new units a possibility. "The people in Samarra are very excited about all the improvements being made," said local citizen Munther Jasim al-Abasi. "The security is good, and the children are going to school without fear."
ISF arrest four suspected criminals
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Security Forces arrested four suspected criminals with warrants during operations in the Yarmouk neighborhood of northwest Baghdad. Iraqi Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army Division, reported arresting the suspected criminals for participation in the development and placement of magnetic improvised explosive devices.
Iraqis assume responsibilities of FOB Iskan
FORWARD OPERATING BASE ISKAN, Iraq - Soldiers, Iraqi Police and power plant workers gathered to transfer authority of Forward Operating Base Iskan from Coalition forces to the Ministry of Electricity during a ceremony. The ceremony officially turned over the responsibilities of the FOB to the Ministry of Electricity and signified that the Iraqi government has the capability to secure the Musayyib Thermal Power Plant. Al Abd Al-Ameer Al-Yasseri, the General Director of Operations at the Ministerial Presidency and Lt. Col. Steven Miska, commander, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, both spoke about what it meant to transfer the responsibility for FOB Iskan over to Iraqi officials. "This transfer of authority reinforces the Iraqi government's independence and demonstrates the capabilities of the Iraqis," said Miska.
"The Iraqis have come to a point where they can stabilize security on and around the FOB " said Capt. Bradley Kinser, the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander, 1st Bn., 2nd Inf. Reg. The Musayyib Thermal Power Plant is located on FOB Iskan. The power plant provides power to the majority of Babil Province and 25 percent of the electricity to Baghdad. Security for the plant will be one of the major responsibilities for the Ministry of Electricity. The last attack by ant-Iraqi forces on the FOB happened around late October 2008, when a mortar attack occurred and left many Iraqis without electricity. The power plant had stopped generating electricity in 2003 due to anti-Iraqi forces' activities. Coaltion forces maintained the security on the FOB, while the Iraqis fixed and continued to work in the power plant. Approximately 1,600 employees work at the power plant.
---Multi-National Corps - Iraq
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