12/17/09

ALG Condemns House for $154 Billion Bailout of Bankrupt States and Public Sector Unions

From: Americans for Limited Government

Contact: Robert Romano
Phone: (703) 383-0880

“Transferring bailout funds to public sector unions in bankrupt states is the final insult for American taxpayers, who are being straddled with an insane $12 trillion debt that cannot possibly be paid back.” – ALG President Bill Wilson

ALG Condemns House for $154 Billion Bailout of Bankrupt States and Public Sector Unions

December 17th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned members of the House of Representatives for voting in favor of what Wilson called “$154 billion bankrupt state boondoggle that is nothing more than a political slush fund for public sector unions.”

According House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s website, the bill (HR 2847) in total will cost $154 billion of taxpayer funds allocated from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

“The House has abandoned all sense of decency. No sooner than the banks pay back the TARP does Congress just take the money shell it out to bankrupt states and union bosses,” said Wilson.

“These are not loans to the states and public sector unions. They are Christmas gifts,” Wilson noted. “They will never be paid back. That $154 billion is gone. So much for TARP ‘paying for itself’—Congress has just poured it down the sewer of insolvency.”

The final vote in the House was 217-212 in favor of the $154 billion bailout.

Yesterday, in a letter Wilson urged members of the House to reject the bailout of state governments with taxpayer funds paid back by banks through the TARP.

Wrote Wilson, “Bailing states out of their own reckless decisions is as irresponsible as bailing out poor decisions by investment firms, or GSE’s like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I urge you to vote no on this legislation, which will raid TARP funds in a kickback to public sector unions that donated generously to your campaign coffers.”

This new $154 billion bill includes $48.3 billion in funds for highway construction unions and other infrastructure spending and another $23 billion for public education unions.

The $789 billion “stimulus” bill also contained $53.6 billion to bail out state and local governments.

Speaking on December 3rd in Washington, Obama announced the plan: “Next year we’re going to still have some of those challenges because usually state and local government revenues lag the recovery as a whole. They may need some more help from the federal government.”

Obama indicated the federal government had a responsibility to engage in deficit-spending on behalf of revenue-strapped states. “Frankly, because state and local governments generally don’t have the capacity to engage in deficit spending, some of that obligation falls on the federal government,” said Obama.

“Transferring bailout funds to public sector unions in bankrupt states is the final insult for American taxpayers, who are being straddled with an insane $12 trillion debt that cannot possibly be paid back,” Wilson said, concluding, “Never have the American people been so poorly represented by Congress.”

12/17/09

Nevada News & Views – December 17, 2009

By: Chuck Muth
Nevada News and Views

TODAY’S NN&V HEADLINES

  • Is Danny Tarkanian a Closet Gun-Grabber? (Chuck Muth) – A huge brouhaha has erupted in the Nevada GOP U.S. senate primary race over the discovery by Washington Times blogger Amanda Carpenter of this automated phone call which was delivered to Nevada voters back in 2006….
  • Assembly Republicans Follow Goedhart’s Lead, Will Take Pay Cuts (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Republican members of the state Assembly said today they are following through on a commitment made in January to take salary reductions equal to the pay cuts imposed on state employees as a result of the 2009 legislative session.
  • Heller Objects to Debt Limit Increase, Bill Narrowly Passes (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Congressman Dean Heller today led the opposition on increasing the national statutory debt limit by nearly $300 billion (H.R. 4314).
  • Embattled Lt. Gov. Krolicki Will Seek Reelection in 2010 (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, cleared earlier this month on charges that he mismanaged a college savings program while serving as state treasurer, said today he plans to run for reelection as lieutenant governor next year.
  • Cops Insist on Getting Paid for Dressing Themselves (Warner Todd Huston) – Here is another reason why unions need to be destroyed.

Click here to read these stories at the Nevada News & Views site!

MUTHS TRUTHS

  • The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that “Las Vegas police are ordering tougher standards for driving, including restricting officers from driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit except for vehicle pursuits.” Wait. What? Does this mean we ALL get to drive 20 mph over the speed limit? Or are some people more equal than others when it comes to non-vehicle pursuit traffic laws?
  • A self-described volunteer for the American Heart Association is sending an email around to legislators calling on them “to support a tobacco tax increase during a special session as an alternative to cuts in tobacco prevention and cessation programs.” Why do these smoke-Nazis think the government, rather than the individual smoker, should be responsible for the smoking behavior of the individual smoker. If a smoker wants a “cessation program,” let that individual smoker pay for it. Why should other smokers who don’t want to quit pay for those who do?
  • Yet another Executive Committee member of the Clark County Republican Party has quit. Jim Jonas said in his resignation letter that he was checking out after members at last week’s “Black Thursday” emergency meeting chose someone for the Audit Committee who was neither a member of the Executive Board or even the Central Committee itself. I think the current count of board members to resign since last week now stands at ten. How many could even be left?
  • California Rep. Tom Campbell “may be rethinking his decision to run for governor,” Political Diary reports, thanks to anemic poll numbers in a competitive GOP primary there. Campbell is also very pro-choice on abortion. What’s that have to do with Nevada? Well, his campaign guru is one James Fisfis – the same guy running Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Danny Tarkanian’s campaign and who is attacking pro-life Republican candidate Sue Lowden. Anything for a buck, Jamie?

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

  • “There is a new name for a moderate Republican, it’s called a Democrat.” – Nye County conservative activist Pat Kerby
  • “What (Republican U.S. senate candidate Danny Tarkanian) has going for him is name recognition. Let’s face it; if this guy’s name was Danny Smith, he wouldn’t be in this race.” – David Damore, associate professor of political science at UNLV, Tarkanian’s alma mater
12/17/09

Financial News Update – 12/17/09

20 senators demand probe of health-care vote ‘threat’

Roach: Fed May Cause Another Crisis

Nancy Pelosi skeptical of new space funding

Speaker Pelosi to shield vulnerable members from controversial votes

Less Health Care for More Money

Sorkin: Powerful Few Saw Crash Coming

U.S. pledges billions; China says climate pact is doubtful

President Obama: Federal Government ‘Will Go Bankrupt’ if Health Care Costs Are Not Reined In

U.S. National Debt Tops Debt Limit

Obamacare In The Senate: Middle Class Taxes And Drug Reimportation

Unconstitutional Mandate Attacked from the Left

Live at Copenhagen: How to Make a Bad Climate Deal Worse

Video: Copenhagen Cheers as Chavez Condemns Capitalism

An Executive Order Debt Commission Doesn’t Cut It

Video: Doctors Explain Why Obamacare is Wrong for America

Small Business Is Not Better Off Under Obamacare

Thumbs down: Nebraska pro-life group responds to Demcare abortion “compromise;” Update: Nelson says he can’t support cloture now

Attention: ACORN is hiring!

The witlessness and un-wisdom of Ben Bernanke

SCARY HARRY HIDES THE HEALTH BILL!

BIG SCARE: OBAMA WARNS USA ‘WILL GO BANKRUPT’ WITHOUT HEALTH BILL

Union pulls back on supporting Dem health care bill

Congress Travels More, Public Pays

Climate talks deadlocked as clashes erupt outside

Flag-Waving Communists & Socialists March in Copenhagen to Stop Global Warming

Summit veering towards ‘farce’

Climate summit erupts in ‘deafening applause’ for Hugo Chavez

New jobless claims rise unexpectedly

House approves $290 billion increase in debt limit

Obama signs $1.1 trillion spending bill

House approves $155 billion for ‘jobs’

Greenspan warns of threat from record deficit

Howard Dean: I would vote NO

$100B GLOBAL WARMING GIVE AWAY

Voting For Obamacare Will End Ben Nelson’s Senate Career

There Is a Difference… No Republicans Vote For “Son of Stimulus”

Obama to Fly to Copenhagen in Blizzard to Talk Global Warming Junk Science

Breaking: Russians Accuse Brits of Manipulating Global Warming Data

Hillary Clinton Promises $100 Billion to Poor Regimes to Fight Global Warming Junk Science (Video)

As Democrats Dither – China Gobbles Up Oil & Gas Reserves In Canada & Gulf of Mexico

Chavez Tells Copenhagen Summit “Capitalism Is the Road to Hell” – Gets Standing Ovation

Dem Wields Filibuster Threat

ACORN’s Use of Federal Funds to be Probed

SurvivalBlog:

The Dollar Bubble

Gulf petro-powers to launch currency in latest threat to dollar hegemony

More countries at risk of default.

World Losing Faith in Debt-Laden UK

The True Danger Lurking Behind 0.00% Treasury Yields and the 1-3-6 Rule Part I

The Return of Gold and Silver Eagle Rationing

Airlines in Deeper Trouble than Forecast

EU/IMF Revolt: Greece, Iceland, Latvia May Lead Way

Bond Price Crash is Surest Bet in Town

Poll Reveals Trauma of US Joblessness

12/17/09

Precedents of the Senate

Hat Tip: Kim Priestap

From Sen. McConnell’s office.

Precedents of the Senate

‘There is precedent for a Senator being beaten with a cane here in the Senate. If mistakes were the rule, the caning of Senators would be in order. Fortunately for all of us, it is not’

WASHINGTON, D.C.U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the Majority’s decision earlier today to change the precedents of the Senate:

“The plain language of the Senate precedent, the manual that governs Senate procedure, is that unanimous consent of all members was required before the Senator from Vermont could withdraw his amendment while it was being read.

“Earlier today, the majority somehow convinced the parliamentarian to break with the long standing precedent and practice of the Senate in the reading of the bill.

“Senate procedure states clearly, and I quote: under Rule 15, paragraph 1, and Senate precedents, an amendment shall be read by the clerk before it is up for consideration or before the same shall be debated unless a request to waive the reading is granted.

“It goes on to state that, quote, ‘the reading of which may not be dispensed with, except by unanimous consent, and if the request is denied, the amendment must be read and further interruptions are not in order.’

“You may have heard that the majority cites an example in 1992 where the chair made a mistake and allowed something similar to happen. But one mistake does not a precedent make.

“For example, there is precedent for a Senator being beaten with a cane here in the Senate. If mistakes were the rule, the caning of Senators would be in order. Fortunately for all of us, it is not.

“It’s now clear the majority is willing to do anything to jam through a 2000-page bill before the American people or any of us has had a chance to read it—including changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

12/17/09

Chuck Muth’s News & Views – December 16, 2009

By: Chuck Muth
Citizen Outreach

BLUE, 98! BLUE, 98!

“In an effort to win her over, the Post reported that Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was given a ‘one-on-one briefing on details of the emerging Democratic compromise.’

“Wait. What? The Ds gave Snowe a secret briefing on what is in the bill?

“Harry Reid is calling the plays on health care like an NFL coach holding a big white card in front of his face so the opposition can’t read his lips. If this is really the biggest thing since Social Security, why not have a meeting of ALL the members of the U.S. Senate and let them in on the secret? And why is it a secret anyway?”

Rich Galen, Mullings.com, 12/16/09

REID USING MAFIA-STYLE PERSUASION TECHNIQUE

“In a phone call this morning to KKOH News Radio in Reno, Senator John Ensign (R-NV) reported that Democratic senators who want to vote against the current health care reform bill are being threatened by the Senate Majority Leader.

“Ensign told the northern Nevada radio audience that his colleague, Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV), is so desperate to get the 60 votes he needs to pass the bill, that opposition Democrats are being threatened with the loss of key programs in their states if they do not support the bill. Reid threatened one Democratic senator with the closure of an Air Force base in his state, if he did not vote in favor of the bill, Ensign said.

“According to Ensign, in addition to threats, Reid is making ‘backroom deals’ with Democrats to secure their votes, similar to the one he made with Mary Landrieu (D) of Louisiana. She was promised $300 million of additional funding for her state if she cast the deciding vote to take the bill into debate on the Senate floor, where it is now.

“Despite Reid’s claims otherwise, Ensign reiterated that the health care reform debate has not been open, and Republican opponents have been barred from discussions, meetings and amendment development.”

Kelly Anderson Wright, Examiner.com, 11/16/09

CRIST’S HEFTY LEAD VANISHES IN THIS AIR

“Voters are apparently paying attention to Florida’s U.S. Senate race and that is good news for candidate Marco Rubio who is now tied in a dead-heat with Charlie Crist who has squandered his lead by acting like a Democrat and showing zero leadership on important issues.

“According to the Rasmussen Report, ‘A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely GOP Primary voters finds Crist and Rubio each with 43% of the vote. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided.’”

Republican strategist/blogger Chris Ingram

OH, SHOOT…PARACHUTE, THAT IS

“A total of $95,000 in government support for new exhibits and video equipment at Aviation Trail Inc.’s parachute museum has been appropriated from federal funding for museums… The museum details the development and history of parachutes and the people who used them. . . . The project will add TV touch-screens that will show film footage of parachutes in use…”

Dayton Daily News (OH), 12/11/09

WHAT THE HECK, IT’S ONLY MONEY

“The Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance overpaid more than $30 million in jobless benefits this year, a figure state officials attribute to both fraud and human error. . . . (T)he state is facing a nearly $2 billion budget shortfall and will likely borrow money from the federal government to prop up the unemployment insurance fund. . . . (T)he majority of the cases cited for overpayment are a result of human error.”

Baltimore Business Journal, 12/11/09

ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS TO PROSECUTE NAVY SEALS

“A former military lawyer now serving in Congress called the court martial of three Navy SEALs who captured a terrorist suspected of killing four Americans ‘absolutely ridiculous.’

“Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) served four years in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps and served as the special assistant U.S. attorney at Fort Hood, Texas, prosecuting all civilian crimes at the post. He later taught constitutional and criminal law at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He believes the SEALs case represents a larger systemic problem.

“The SEALs are accused of allegedly abusing terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed by supposedly punching him and then lying about the incident. Abed is the reported architect of the murder of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004, the bodies of whom were burned and hanged from a bridge.

“’Never before in the history of this country, as much as now, does somebody [in the military] have to wonder is this going to get me thrown into Leavenworth for the rest of my life?’ Rooney told CNSNews.com. ‘Certainly, we want to take the high road, and we want to have the highest standards…(but) court martialing three SEALs for maybe or maybe not punching some guy in the stomach without any kind of corroborating evidence I don’t think is sending the right message.’

“…The government has not produced evidence for the defense, the defense attorneys said. However, (accused SEAL Matthew) McCabe’s attorney, Neal Puckett, told CNSNews.com on Tuesday that he has an unconfirmed report that the evidence is in the mail. Puckett said he has not yet received it.”

CNSNews.com, 11/16/09

MUTH’S TRUTHS

Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, is throwing a hissy fit over a gay Republican organization, GOProud, co-sponsoring next year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC, scheduled for February 18-20.

The conference is hosted annually by the American Conservative Union (ACU) whose longtime chairman is longtime conservative David Keene – both of for whom I once worked (is that tortured grammar, or what?).

Some of the gay guys, while staunch fiscal conservatives, hold different points of view on such issues as gay marriage (it should be a state issue), domestic partner benefits and Bill Clinton’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy regarding gays in the military. And homo-hostile social conservatives such as Mr. Fischer aren’t even willing to tolerate that such views to be held, let alone communicated at a conservative conference where, one would think, freedom of expression and ideas would be welcomed.

So Mr. Fischer is stomping his feet, holding his breath and throwing a temper-tantrum. And joining him is Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel who is reportedly “drafting a letter to be signed by top social conservative leaders pledging to boycott CPAC if they permit GOProud’s sponsorship of the event.”

How, um….intolerant?

Now, times and money are tight. So my organization, Citizen Outreach, wasn’t planning on co-sponsoring CPAC this year. However, Chairman Keene, if any of your co-sponsors back out and boycott this upcoming CPAC because you stand your ground and allow GOProud to proudly continue as a co-sponsor – we’ll be glad take one of their spots.

Conservatives shouldn’t be afraid of dissenting conservative views.

SURVEY SAYS!

Should Senate Republicans pull out all the stops and use every “trick in the book” to block Senate passage of the Democrats’ heath care reform bill?

  • Yes
  • No

To cast your vote in today’s online survey, click here!

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“Realize that the doctor’s fight against socialized medicine is your fight. You can’t socialize the doctors without socializing the patients.”

Ronald Reagan.”

12/17/09

A Christmas Poem for the Troops

From: Michael P. White – Oath Keepers

Please remember our brothers and sisters still serving in harms way this Christmas…

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts…

To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said, “Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.”
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son..”

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
“Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let’s try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

In God We Trust

12/17/09

Links to Visit – 12/17/09

Gateway Pundit – Fistgate X: Kevin Jennings’ Suggested Reading For Kids Included Sick Book That Romanticized Rape of a 13 Year-Old – Media Silent

Gateway Pundit – 12 National Orgs Co-Sign Letter to Congress- Demand Jennings Be Fired

Lorie Byrd – A Sad, Strange Twitter Story

Feed Your ADHD – Muhammad, the Night Before Christmas

Michael Rubin – Iran’s Missile Test (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Moe Lane – And they wonder about the NatSec trust gap. (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

JammieWearingFool – Michael Moore Threatens to Eat Connecticut (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Mark Krikorian – ‘There Went Out a Decree from Caesar Augustus . . .’ (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

JammieWearingFool – Milblogs Go Silent (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Lorie Byrd – What Barack Obama, Glenn Beck and Others Want for Christmas

The New Editor – Michael Moore calls for ‘Boycott of Connecticut’

The Anchoress – King, Bridegroom Self-Immolating Lover

Daily Mail – ‘Four-year campaign of abuse from parishioners’ forces vicar and his family from their home (Hat Tip: Bookworm Room)

Daily Mail – You wouldn’t want this on your toast: 100-year-old pat of butter found at Scott’s Antarctic base (Hat Tip: Bookworm Room)

Bookworm Room – The Communist cat is out of the climate change bag

Andrea Shea King – U.S. military bloggers go silent ‘Commands not only failing to support, but acting against’ writers

The 912 Project – Report: Democrats threaten Nebraska, U.S. Strategic Command (National Security) to EXTORT healthcare takeover votes!

Ace of Spades – Gee That’s a Real Nice Air Force Base You Got There Senator Nelson (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

New Zeal – Communists Aim to Step Up Pressure on Healthcare (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Warner Todd Houston – Rep. Brian Billbray: Rep. Gutierrez is Creating the Next Wave of Illegal Immigration (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Director Blue – Officials in Southern California prepare for inevitable nuclear attack, thanks to SmartPower™ policies of Obama, Clinton and Holder (Hat Tip: Larwyn)

Atlas Shrugs – Time’s Taqiya: The Magazine Feature Story on Islam’s “Soft” Revolution

Atlas Shrugs – BOMBSHELL: Climategate hits keep on Comin: Russia Admits to Manipulating Data

Atlas Shrugs – Obama Shields Fort Hood Jihadi, Major Muslim Hasan

Atlas Shrugs – White House Blackmails Nelson on Military Base Closure to Ram Socialized Medicine Through

Family Security Matters – Pam Meister – Illinois Residents Prepare to Meet Their New Neighbors: Terrorists from Gitmo

Michelle Malkin – Meet Philly’s community service thugs: “A band of brigands”

Michelle Malkin – SEIU shenanigans in Massachusetts

Michelle Malkin – Milbloggers rally around CJ Grisham

Gateway Pundit – Breaking: Russians Accuse Brits of Manipulating Global Warming Data

Gateway Pundit – Obama to Fly to Copenhagen in Blizzard to Talk Global Warming Junk Science

Gateway Pundit – Hillary Clinton Promises $100 Billion to Poor Regimes to Fight Global Warming Junk Science (Video)

Gateway Pundit – As Democrats Dither – China Gobbles Up Oil & Gas Reserves In Canada & Gulf of Mexico

Gateway Pundit – Tea Party Movement Now More Popular Than Dem or Republican Parties

Gateway Pundit – Chavez Tells Copenhagen Summit “Capitalism Is the Road to Hell” – Gets Standing Ovation

Gateway Pundit – Leftists Attack Global Warming Denier Live During FOX News Interview (Video)

The Wall Street Journal – Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones

News Channel 9 – Drunk 4-Year-Old Dressed in Drag Steals Christmas Presents (the title alone is worth a link – heh…)

Fox News – White House Gets Involved in FBI-DHS Dust-Up

Fox News – Iran-Backed Militants Hack U.S. Drones

Fox News – Drug ‘Boss of Bosses’ Dies in Mexico Gunbattle

The Radio Patriot – MEN OF THE HOUR: MIKE FLYNN AND SAUCY JACK

The Radio Patriot – ANDREW BREITBART – THE DEMOCRAT-MEDIA COMPLEX DRAGON SLAYER

The Radio Patriot – BOMB THROWERS AND SPEECH SQUELCHERS

12/17/09

Nevada News & Views – December 16, 2009

By: Chuck Muth
Nevada News and Views

TODAY’S NN&V HEADLINES

  • Race-Baiters ‘r Us Issues Nevada Legislative “Report Card” (Chuck Muth) – The far-left goofballs over at PLAN (Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada) released a “racial equity” report card yesterday, ostensibly based on how some 18 bills in the last legislative session adversely affected “communities of color.”
  • Don’t Let Up! Government Health Care Can Be Stopped! (Rep. John Shadegg) – Today, yet another wave of Tea Party Americans came to the U.S. Capitol to fight a government takeover of health care. Now, the focus is on the Senate.
  • Govt Healthcare Will Give Us ALL Pay Cuts (Warner Todd Huston) – If Obamacare should pass many millions will lose their healthcare and will be forced into government healthcare. According to the CBO at least 10 million will lose their insurance in short order. The CBO is likely lowballing the number, too.
  • Drip, Drip, Drip of Tax Hikes Killing Job Creation (Lorraine Hunt-Bono) – The year was 1955. A nine story Riviera Hotel opened as the tallest building in Las Vegas. The historic Moulin Rouge debuted as the first racially integrated hotel. Liberace became the highest paid entertainer earning $50,000 a week and my family opened a small pizzeria on Fremont Street.
  • 17,900 Retail Jobs Slashed Since 2007 in Nevada (Retail Association of Nevada) – Since peaking in December 2007 at 147,400 positions, retail jobs in Nevada have declined steadily, totaling only 129,500 as of October 2009. The loss of 17,900 positions represents a 12.1-percent decline in retail employment.
  • Gibbons Seeks Input from State Employees on Ways to Balance Budget (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – Gov. Jim Gibbons today asked state employees to weigh in on ways to balance the budget after sending a memo to top agency officials seeking even tougher budget cutting scenarios than those outlined earlier this month.
  • Governor Seeks Bigger Budget Cutting Scenarios from State Agencies (Sean Whaley/Nevada News Bureau) – In a sign that the Gibbons administration is concerned Nevada’s fiscal crisis may worsen further before it gets better, a memo to state agency officials sent out today seeks even tougher budget cutting scenarios than those outlined earlier this month.

Click here to read these stories at the Nevada News & Views site!

SURVEY SAYS!

Should Senate Republicans pull out all the stops and use every “trick in the book” to block Senate passage of the Democrats’ heath care reform bill?

  • Yes
  • No

To cast your vote in today’s online survey, click here!

MUTHS TRUTHS

Another One Bites the Dust

The “Black Thursday” resignations from the Executive Board of the Clark County Republican Party continue, as Steven Sanson, representing District C on the board, called it quits in a press release late last night.

“The acting Chairman, Bob Ruckman has made personal attacks, false allegations, and has turned or attempted to turn party members against each other,” Sanson wrote. “I would rather work on positive projects that will bring Nevadans together to work to advance the cause of our great state.”

And the beat goes on….

Time for the Biennial Abortion Contortion Contest

OK, at the moment the Nevada GOP has two front-runners in a virtual tie for the right to go up against Harry Reid next year: Sue Lowden and Danny Tarkanian.

Jon Ralston reported yesterday afternoon in Flash that Lowden “confirmed that she voted in 1990 for that pro-choice referendum” and “also acknowledged she supported Roe v. Wade in the early 1990s…but has become more persuaded over the years that it violates the 10th Amendment.”

For his part, Tarkanian is on the other extreme of the issue, declaring on his campaign website that he opposes making an exception for abortions due to rape.

Meanwhile, Sharron Angle is just sitting out there off the coast, treading water and raising money, waiting for the “right” time to strike.

This is gonna get ugly.

A Tax by Any Other Name Still Smells Like Municipal Waste

In a letter to state employees yesterday asking their input on ways to deal with the never-ending budget crisis, Gov. Jim Gibbons posed the following question:

“I have pledged to not raise taxes. Should Nevada impose a fee on raw municipal waste to promote recycling, create green jobs and renewable energy, and make Nevada less attractive to those states proposing to send us their waste?”

OK, let’s get the easy part out of the way.

Supporting a new tax on raw municipal waste, even if you try to call it a “fee,” would be a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge that Gov. Gibbons made to the people of Nevada when running for governor in 2006. It’s not a gray area. It’s not debatable. But it’s also not something Gov. Gibbons has actually proposed, so let’s cut him a little slack (very little) at this point for raising the possibility.

But the other aspect of this question is interesting. In essence, the governor is suggesting that Nevada serve as a repository for out-of-state waste and charge a hefty premium for the service in order to alleviate our budget crunch.

Now where have I heard that before?

OTHER NEWS & VIEWS

  • Steve Sebelius asks “What do liberal do now?” that Harry Reid and Barack Obama have so watered down their socialized medicine bill to the point that the far left has little left to cheer.
  • Jon Ralston discusses Sue Lowden and the abortion issues in greater detail in his column today.
  • The Brian Sandoval for Governor campaign is taking on some criticism….but is defended at the end of the story by a rather unlikely conservative strategist who we all know and….love?
  • Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman takes the first step toward a possible gubernatorial run as an independent.
  • In a newspaper headline right below “Sun Rises in East Today,” you’ll find this about Las Vegas’ $69 million budget shortfall: “Unions balk at pay cut plan.”
  • Mike Zahara is all over CityCenter’s ties to a “Muslim extremist entity.”

TUBE TIPS

Sam Shad’s guests today on the Nevada Newsmakers program: Brian Krolicki, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. The program airs on KRNV-TV Channel 4 at 12:30 pm in Reno and on Cox Cable Channel 123 at 4:30 pm and 11:35 pm in Las Vegas.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

  • “Are you getting a bonus this year? Most Nevada businesses have had to forgo that luxury just to keep our doors open and our employees at work. . . . The State of Nevada could be facing at least a $50 million dollar general fund deficit for 2010, and still no attention has been given to the amount of money spent on state employee perks that public employee unions insist upon.” – Keystone Corporation, 2/16/09
  • “Gov. Jim Gibbons has demonstrated exceptional leadership during his military service, his private-sector life and his political career. These unprecedented economic times require an experienced leader like Gov. Jim Gibbons.” – Former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich (R-Nevada) endorsing Gibbons for re-election yesterday
  • “Gov. Jim Gibbons since October has been donating 6 percent of his monthly pay to the Nevada Educational Gift Fund, said Dan Burns, Gibbons’ spokesman. . . . Earlier this year, lawmakers rejected Gibbons’ recommendation to cut state worker salaries by 6 percent…(but) Gibbons stuck to his 6 percent proposal…. Only one lawmaker so far has taken a voluntary pay cut. Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley, wrote a check to the state for $526.65, representing a 6 percent pay cut, according to records obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal.” – Reno Gazette-Journal, 12/16/09
  • “(The Brian Sandoval gubernatorial campaign is) focused on what they should be doing right now: Go out and raise money, raise money, raise money. They want a fundraising number so high and insurmountable that Republican supporters will say, ‘You can’t beat Brian Sandoval.’ ” – Chuck Muth, Las Vegas Sun, 12/16/09
12/17/09

Uncle Obama’s Extortion Racket

By: Nancy Morgan
Right Bias

Uncle Obama has gotten ahold of your credit card. And he’s amassing charges on it that – you – not he – are liable for. You can call the fraud line, you can call the police, you can call any politician or government agency, and they will all tell you the same thing. Shut up and pay up.

Since misery loves company, you might feel better knowing that you’re not the only one being extorted. Uncle Obama and his buddies have the credit and debit cards of every man woman and child in America. And they’re charging up a bundle. So far, each of us has a $38,000 tab that we are personally liable for. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, which by the way, isn’t melting.

Yesterday, Uncle Obama actually got the limit on your credit card increased. Yup. The House of Representatives voted to increase the overall debt limit, meaning the amount of money they can charge in your name has expanded. This, despite the fact that our national debt now exceeds the statutory debt limit that the Democrats approved last February as part of the cutely entitled Recovery Act. Which, by the way, didn’t work. But the intentions were good.

For the 7 million Americans without jobs, this is not good news. Not to worry. The media assures us folks that Uncle Obama is going to take care of everything.

Just look at all the things he’s doing for us. The House yesterday approved an additional $155 billion of our tax dollars for “shovel-ready” construction projects and money to avoid layoffs of teachers, police and other public employees. Of course the small print says that in order to get any of this money you better belong to a union or be employed by the federal government. If you’re Joe Blow or Suzy Homemaker you’re just plain out of luck.

Maybe you’ll sleep easier knowing that the one billion dollar charge on your credit card last Wednesday will go to preserving tropical forests overseas. Or that the $3 billion charge last month will help the Palestinians in their fight against Jewish ‘occupiers.’ Or that your hard earned money will soon be at work aborting babies in our nation’s capitol. After all, we must do our bit to save Mother Earth, and who are we to disagree with the experts who tell us that abortion is a kick ass way to do this?

Whatever you do, don’t worry your head about the charges that are in the works for your almost worthless credit card. The increased energy charges on all of our bills in the coming months will probably only amount to a few thousand dollars for each of us. And they are totally necessary to keep the earth from melting. There is a consensus on this, so just can your objections.

If you start to get overwhelmed, you can cheer yourself up by watching the excellent use Uncle Obama has made of your money. Tune in to GM’s latest edgy video of The Volt dancers as they whirl and cavort in some artists’ idea of how to promote automobiles that are environmentally friendly. And if you would rather eat than support politically connected fat cats at GM and a select group of sensitive artists, then you’re probably one of those flat earthers, totally unworthy of any of Obama’s largesse.

Still worrying? Just stop right now. Uncle Obama has provided a great opportunity for any hungry American with mouths to feed. All you have to do is snitch on your tax-cheating neighbor. New legislation stipulates that you’ll be able to appropriate a larger percentage of any taxes the government recovers based on your tip. But before you turn in your former boss or neighbor, check to make sure they aren’t one of the federal employees that owe a cool $3 billion in unpaid taxes. I think they’re exempt.

For all the diehards out there that still worry about running up bills you can’t pay, take heart. Uncle Obama has assured us that if we hurry up and agree to let the government take over health care, then we won’t go bankrupt. Just make sure you don’t get sick for 3 years till it kicks in.

For all the ‘deniers’ out there, just quit worrying about all the unauthorized charges Uncle Sam is making on your credit card. Sit back and relax. Take advantage of the 24/7 media coverage of how the great Tiger Woods has fallen. Schadenfreude is an excellent panacea. And if you’re in luck, the commercials will be louder than the network programming. Since Congress has just ruled this a no-no, you can call yourself a lawyer and make like the government. You can extort your way to unearned wealth.

Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com
She lives in South Carolina