WHAT NOW?

Now that the arguments both for and against ObamaCare have been made, it is in the Supreme Court's hands.  Going into the fight, the law's supporters were cocky and arrogant.  Coming out the other side, it's a different story, to say the least (actually, the term "panic" seems to be the go-to phrase).  While we wait for the Court to make it's decision, I'd like to see some ideas from Republicans about what to replace the law with in the event it is struck down.

It is important to note that while oral arguments went badly for ObamaCare, oral arguments are only a small part of the overall process.  It may seem that the law went down in flames, but we won't really know for sure until the Court's session ends in June and they issue their verdict.  They vote today on the issue and will spend the next few months writing their opinions.   Keep in mind, too, that their vote today might not be the final verdict we see this summer.  Justices have been known to change their vote upon reading a particularly persuasive opposing argument.  So we really won't know for sure until the published opinions are released over the summer.  Anything released before then is mere speculation and should be regarded as such.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli is taking the brunt of the blame from the left for the judicial beating the law took over the last few days.  Poor guy.  His inability to defend the mandate's alleged constitutionality wasn't due to incompetence, it was due to the indefensible unconstitutionality of the mandate.  Simply dismissing talk of constitutionality out of hand as the left has consistently done is just not a convincing argument outside of the echo chamber. His stumbling over whether it was a tax or a penalty wasn't because he is too inept to figure out the difference, it's because he has been put in the difficult position of trying to, at times, make it not just both, but also neither.  I'd say he did a pretty damn good job, considering. 

The law, as conservatives have been saying for two years now, is fatally flawed.  That has now been made quite clear by the probing questions of the Justices that cut through to the constitutionality (or lack thereof) at the heart of the matter.  The question now is severability.  How do you strike down the mandate without causing an insurance industry "death spiral"?  How do they decide what stays and what goes (my favorite comment on it was Scalia's invocation of eighth amendment protections from cruel and unusual punishment in regards to having to read the bill)?

While we wait for the verdict of the court, due sometime this summer, Congressional Republicans need to take the opportunity to talk about their free market solutions in the event the law is struck down.  Having a series of small bills that would implement those solutions at the ready would be a wise decision as well, particularly since the White House has decided to forgo a contingency plan, preferring to keep all of their eggs in the ObamaCare basket. 

Any talk of a "comprehensive" republican approach should be shunned.  If we didn't want a 2,700 page monstrosity from the left, why in heaven's name would we want the same from the right?  Small, targeted bills that address health insurance issues point by point are the way to go, not colossal, byzantine laws that will require judicial intervention to interpret. 

The "goodies" former Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised us have already been rolled out, and lots of people have felt the benefits of them, particularly those with pre-existing conditions (like myself).  Many liberal pundits have  argued in support of the law by talking about the pain that would be felt if it was struck down.  But keeping the whole confusing, cumbersome, ever-more-expensive law because of a few perks is not a good idea. 

What we need to keep in mind is that striking down the law in toto won't create a vacuum, it will return us to the pre-obamacare system.  A system that was cheaper, and covered more people, by the way.  This doesn't mean republicans shouldn't have a game plan ready, though, because while ObamaCare made things worse, they weren't that great to begin with.  It should be obvious that among the solutions republicans need to offer is a continuation of the two most popular "goodies" - abolition of pre-existing conditions and an option for parents to keep their 26 year-old adult children on their insurance.  The costs for these perks will be passed on to the consumers who opt for them, of course - but then, you're only fooling yourself if you thought they weren't going to under ObamaCare. 

Republicans also need to start making the argument for severing the ties between health insurance and employment, as well as relaxing the regulations governing interstate commerce that keeps the more than one thousand insurance companies in this country from practicing in all fifty states.  Toss in a little torte reform and and a few other free market ideas, and the disastrously lumbering behemoth that was ObamaCare can be replaced with a consumer-oriented free market that can be tailored to each individual customer according to their needs, not government diktat.

Isn't it amazing that Congress wasn't allowed to read the bill before they voted for it, the president didn't bother to read it before he signed it, and now some members of the Supreme Court are calling reading it an eighth amendment violation?  Considering the way it was written, it seems even those who were tasked with writing it didn't bother read it.  But we're all supposed to be overjoyed and filled with gratitude for having to living under it.  Yeah, right.

 For all we know, the Court could decide to uphold the law. God forbid. But in the meantime, doesn't it make sense to be prepared if they don't?


Oh, and that lame spin from the left about the law's repeal being good for democrats and bad for republicans?  Wow.  Proof positive of democratic over reach and the downfall of Obama's signature achievement due to it's being unconstitutional is going to be bad for republicans, eh?  Boy, they really are freaking out over on the left, aren't they?  They must be tied up in knots to come up with such ridiculously twisted logic.  It's almost a little sad, isn't it? 

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WHAT NOW?

ATTACK OF THE DEBT TERRORISTS

The best way to defang a verbal attack is to own the label being applied.  The past few weeks have shown that the newest label for Tea Partiers is "terrorist".  Perhaps it's because the accusing liberals are struck with fear every time they realize the Tea Partiers really were elected with a mandate, refuse to back down and actually gain strength by standing strong against politics as usual.  Perhaps it's just political hackery at it's most base.  But when even the Vice President is using the smear (a charge he has since denied), you know it's gone mainstream.   Go figure - the tea party movement is all about defusing the debt bomb progressives from both parties have spent decades building, but they are the terrorists.  Huh. 

So I have a suggestion. For all you tea partiers who are offended by the slur (as was I at first), rethink your offense. Let's take it and make it work for us. They want to call us terrorists?  Well, okay.  Let's take a look at the movement first, and what motivated it on it's current...well, for want of a better word, jihad.  It really has its roots in the Bush administration, specifically those who voted out republicans in 2006 due to their RINO tendency to spend like a debutant with daddy's credit card.  The grumbling grew in the summer of 2008 when the TARP scheme was hatched and ushered in the age of Obama.  The movement really exploded in 2009 in the run-up to the passage of the failed nearly trillion-dollar "stimulus" bill and has established itself as a fiscal conservative David battling the Goliath of tax and spend Washington.  They dealt the beast quite a blow last November and gained some power as a result.  The victims of the Tea Party onslaught were strewn across both sides of the aisle then; the only common thread being their profligate, politics-as-usual ways. 

It might help to swallow the bitter pill of the terrorist label to know that you are, actually, in excellent company. 

The newly minted "Debt Terrorists" should release their manifesto:

Be warned, all you big spenders on Capitol Hill, your days are numbered. The agenda is clear. There will be no stopping until these demands are met:

1) Cut spending on a deep, meaningful, long term level

2) Cap spending levels by tying them to GDP

3) Balanced Budget Amendment

4) Reform Social Security (a good place to start is means testing)

5) Reform Medicare (means test here, too)

6) Repeal of the economy killing ObamaCare legislation

7) Rein in the out of control EPA and NLRB

8) Revamp tax code - lower it, flatten it out and get rid of the loopholes

If you do not give in to these demands, you will be replaced with someone who will in the next election.  If you think we're not as good as our word, consider the sixty-three who didn't come back in 2010.  We mean business.

Please note "create jobs" is not on the list. Why?  Because government doesn't create jobs it only creates the conditions to create jobs, that's why. But if the things on that list are done, jobs will follow.

If that is what the left calls "terrorism" these days, then terrorists we are. And if part of the jihad is having to stomp on Harry, Barry and Nancy's toes to get them to open their mouths and take the medicine We the People voted for last year, well so be it. 

The debt jihad has begun.

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ATTACK OF THE DEBT TERRORISTS

CONGRESSIONAL HYSTERIA

The democrats' keening over the debt ceiling debate has reached such a fever pitch that the sound is rapidly reaching dog-whistle decibels.  It's quite amazing, really. 

First was President Obama's warning to seniors that if he doesn't get the plan he wants, Gramma doesn't get her check (baseless fear mongering, at best).  Ah, the Chicago way.  As Capone said, you can get much father with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word alone.  (so whatever happened to that "lockbox", if there's no money for checks, Mr. President?) 

Then came allegations that republicans are hoping for a default, which they can then somehow blame on President Obama (I'm not really clear on how that happens considering how well he polls against republicans on this issue but, like most things liberal, it requires a certain amount of blind faith, so just go with it).  Unfortunately, there are Tea Party members who don't want to raise the ceiling because they think either it is possible to avert surpassing the ceiling with spending cuts alone or that there won't be a default even if we pass the deadline.  Both of these notions are wishful thinking.  Period.  Something must be done, and it must be something that can pass BOTH houses of Congress, including the democratic majority in the Senate.  House Tea Partiers need to hold their noses and pass the Boehner bill and put it firmly in Harry Reid's court.  Once it passes the House, it's up to Reid to either table it or vote it down, and then he can deal with the fallout.  If, by some miracle it lands on Obama's desk, keep in mind that although the spending cuts are much smaller than hoped for, the tax increases Obama demanded aren't there at all and the ceiling increase is just as low as the cuts are; that's a win.  This bill will buy Congress six more months to debate real solutions, hopefully including entitlement reform and some seriously meaty cuts. 

Attempts have been made to play the race card in the debt wars, too - surprise!  But that's not the only fun we've been having with our calmer, gentler, less reactionary members on the left side of the aisle.  The Boehner plan, with its limited increase, would require another ceiling hike over the holidays, so of course the democrats have jumped on that one, too, claiming republicans hate Christmas or something stupid like that.  Speaking of gross exaggerations, check out these charts, which rebut the liberal argument that this debt crisis lies solely at the feet of the eeeevil Bush.  Just look at those numbers - nauseating, isn't it? 

Of course, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Shultz (or Debbie Downer, as I prefer) deserves a paragraph of her own for her unhinged, grossly false accusations.  How false?  Even liberal media are taking her to task on her lies.  From her accusations of Republicans hating women, seniors, and God only knows who else, to her allegations that republicans want to "literally drag us back to Jim Crow" (I'm not sure she knows what 'literally' means) or "throw us to the wolves", she's a real piece of work.  In fact, her rhetoric is so unhinged that, even as DNC chief, she isn't getting the kind of media play she was just a few short weeks ago.  My hometown newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel (hardly a conservative rag - we call it the "Slantinel"), even called her an embarrassment to her party.  Ouch!  The one thing I will say in favor of Wasserman-Shultz is that she was willing to do what no other democrat would - take ownership of the economy in the name of President Obama and the democrats.  Good on ya, Debbie.  (unfortunately, she thinks that's a good thing, because she thinks the economy is 'turning around'.  It seems high office does not necessarily denote high IQ)

But the pièce de résistance in this tour de force of hysteria comes from the one and only Queen Nan.  Ms Pelosi is sounding a bit, well.....unhinged (via Gretawire):

“What we’re trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget,” she said. “We’re trying to save life on this planet as we know it today.”

Good gracious.  Somebody needs a Xanax, stat!  Obviously clear heads are not prevailing if our Penelope Pitstop of the Hill is running around, arms flailing, shouting "Hey-elp!  Hey-elp!"  Sorry, Nanny P., Chugga-Boom and the Anthill Gang aren't members of Congress and they won't be riding to our rescue (although it does seem like Dick Dastardly has taken up residence in the White House and his good buddy Mutley is currently running the Senate).

It really seems all the democrats have to offer is demagoguery and derision.  Well okay then, guys - fair enough.  If you insist, the republican bills stink on ice and should never see the light of day.  Happy now?  Okay then, so WHERE'S YOUR PLAN????!

Quite frankly, put up or shut up.  Or better yet, both.

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CONGRESSIONAL HYSTERIA

OVERCOMING THE LINE IN THE SAND

The budget debate high drama last week was a real eye opener.  The resulting compromise - a smashing success all the way around when one considers how it seems absolutely no one is happy with it - not only temporarily postponed a potential economic disaster, it also drew a line in the sand.  The democrats made it perfectly clear that they are willing to send the country over the fiscal cliff in order to protect and fund Planned Parenthood.  The republicans managed to get a small concession in the banning of abortion funding for the Washington D.C. area only - something Reid et al bemoaned, even though they have enforced the ban in the past - without republican pressure.

Planned Parenthood claims no federal dollars are spent on abortions.  In that they don't send a bill to Washington for each abortion, okay, yes, the money isn't going straight to abortions; but in that they use the money they receive from taxpayers to pay doctor's and nurse's salaries and the electric bill that powers the suction machine, it certainly is.  Consider, for a moment, smoking in restaurants.  At first, regulations required a seperate seating area for smokers.  Eventually is became evident that even though the smokers were being quarantined, their smoke was not.  In fact, it was permeating every inch, as smoke is wont to do.  And so smoking in restaurants was banned entirely.   The federal funding of Planned Parenthood is like the smoke - it may not be directly used for abortions, but it is ending up that way in the long run by permeating every inch of the organization's day to day expenses.  Let's not forget that federal funding of abortions is barred, according to the Hyde Amendment.  No matter how "compassionate" it might be (it certainly isn't for the baby in question),  banned is banned, period.  Not one thin dime of taxpayer money should go to any enterprise that performs non-emergency abortions on demand.

The fact is, Planned Parenthood is a private enterprise.  It makes a profit each year, and may even be expanding in the near future.  As such, our federal government has no business subsidizing them for anything, let alone abortions. Perhaps PP should consider tapping their celebrity friends to assist them in a fundraising drive every year.  Hopefully some of them will donate not just their fame to the cause but actually put their money where their mouths are for a change.  In fact, online donations to PP since the budget battle have increased a whopping 500%.  See?  They don't need federal funding - just whip up some hysteria and voila! it's payday! 

Unfortunately, the furor with which this issue has been met by the left is, as usual these days, over the top to the point of cartoonish.  Republicans are coming to "kill women" according to Rep. Louise Slaughter.  The GOP is out to keep women from health care services, apparently out of nothing more than sheer spite and ideology.  You would think there were no other clinics or health care facilities in the US other than PP, wouldn't you?  It's almost as if, were PP to shut down tomorrow, there would no longer be any abortions available anywhere and Roe v. Wade would somehow, in a miraculously simultanious event, be reversed.

The hysteria has to stop.  The fact that we are giving more than $350 million a year to a private - and profitable - entity is reason enough to end the gravy train.  That it might, even indirectly, pay for abortions with taxpayer funds makes defunding even more imperative.  $350 million a year won't make a big dent in our debt, but when you add it in with other cuts and, most importantly, entitlement reform, it makes a tidy sum.  Much like environmentalists are always urging us to "do your part", no matter how small,  a whole bunch of littles add up to a lot.

The issue isn't access to abortions or women's health care - there are plenty of outlets for both with or without Planned Parenthood.  The issue is money.  Simply put, we don't have any.  And yet democrats keep insisting we continue to fund PP, a private organization, even when it means forty cents of every dollar we give them is borrowed.  It's time Planned Parenthood (and other crony corporations) was weaned from the public teat.

Defunding Planned Parenthood may not happen this year, but there's always 2012 and the potential of not just a Senate flip, but the White House, too.  Good things come to those who wait.

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OVERCOMING THE LINE IN THE SAND

TAKING HOSTAGES

The teacher's unions in Wisconsin are protesting Governor Scott Walker's proposed stripping of their collective bargaining rights.  This is due to the contract running out - it's the state's prerogative to not renew it, and it would basically turn Wisconsin into a right to work state overnight.  There is also a proposal in the budget that would require union members to contribute to their own pensions and health care plans like the rest of us.   Educators have gone so far as to do an illegal "sick-out" two days in a row.  Numerous districts have had to close schools for two days running because more than 40% of their teachers called in sick in protest.  Thousands of children are having their education neglected by their own teachers so that those teachers can go demand more special treatment at taxpayer's expense (and claim it's for the kids!). 
There were also students in attendance, many brought to the festivities by their teachers.  Let's hope they got their permission slips signed first!  This so-called "solidarity" is bogus because many of the students don't know why they are there or what they are protesting.  Being teenagers, they just jumped at the chance to play hooky and hang out with their friends at a rally:



Fox News commentator Mary Katherine Hamm put it best when host Stuart Varney asked if this behavior was causing public opinion to shift against unions:

"I think it is, and I don't think it helps unions to be skipping their jobs and coming out and getting paid to protest to get more taxpayer money while being paid taxpayer money.  I don't think that works for them. It's not a great argument."

Using their students as human shields isn't such a great idea, either.   HotAir's Ed Morrissey sums the issue up nicely:

Most of the students marching with their teachers had no idea of the finer points of Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to bring teacher pension contributions in line with the private sector, a position the union called “slavery” just a couple of months before conceding the point.  Nor do they understand the budget gap that Walker faces, or the nuances of economic policy, tax burdens, and growth policies.  All they know is what their teachers told them — and that speaks to political indoctrination conducted in public schools by activist teachers, and the inability of parents and communities to weed out inappropriate politicking in classrooms.

Why are parents and communities unable to weed out these politically motivated teachers?  Because unions make it nearly impossible to fire a tenured teacher, and our democratic leaders block any legislation that might tie the hands of their union cronies fundraisers.  And what do we get for it?  We spend more than 5% of GDP yearly on education, and in return we enjoy a global ranking of "average".  Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and  a seriously disheartening 25th in math. 

To add to the chaos, Wisconsin state senate democrats snuck out the back door, boarded a chartered bus and are currently holed up in a Best Western in Illinois.  Seriously, I kid you not.  I sure hope they aren't using their state credit cards for this little...junket. Cowards.  Meanwhile, back in Madison, the grownups republicans were unable to make a quorum to vote on the budget due to a complete lack of democrats and so were forced to go home. 

This is what one might call a "government shutdown".  You may have heard that term recently, because congressional democrats for some reason have been saying it's allegedly what republicans are planning on doing.    Please note that the only party either talking about or doing it is the one on the left side of the aisle.  Not only do they refuse to make the hard decisions, they refuse to allow anyone else to, either.  The democrats who fled to Illinois have announced their solidarity with the unions over the greater good of the state and have, with their dereliction and defection, effectively gone on strike and should be held accountable for their actions.

Our esteemed President has also weighed in on the subject - three guesses on which side he's taking!  The DNC also apparently has a horse in this race, because they are organizing their little guts out in the Madison community these days.  Twittering twit Michael Moore has also piped up, of course, likening Wisconsin to the New Cairo, and called Gov. Walker "Mini-Mubarak".  There are plenty of "Recall Walker" signs to support Moore's idea, but it's highly doubtful Walker will resign over this, so hopefully they aren't getting their hopes up too high.   Fascinating how they are all working together, no?  Obama, unions, and the DNC all in lockstep arm in arm - how cozy....

No doubt there will be more protests tomorrow, and the democratic delegation in exile doesn't seem too keen on growing backbones and coming back and dealing with the $3+ billion budget gap their state elected them to deal with any time soon.  How in the world are we supposed to get out of the looming fiscal ruin we are facing not just in individual states but nationally if no one is willing to make the cuts?

We are all going to get hit by austerity measures eventually - on both federal and state levels in most cases, and that has to include our heretofore untouchable union members.  To paraphrase President Obama, "they are our neighbors, they are our friends" - so maybe they should chip in and help shoulder the burden instead of hold us hostage, dontcha think?  You know, as neighbors and friends?   Obama says that this is an attack on the unions.  You bet! Public sector unions have become too powerful and too expensive.  Other states are watching this closely to see if they, too, can bust the unions and save themselves.  Bottom line, unions should not have the ability to shut down a government and hold it hostage until their demands are met.  That is what the mess in Wisconsin really boils down to. 

In order to work in a public position in Wisconsin you are required to join a union.  Once you join that union, you are required to pay dues to said union - they are automatically garnished from members wages.  And yet they call being asked to kick in for their own pensions to take some of the burden off the taxpayer "slavery".   Breaking the collective bargaining agreement will break the union stranglehold, allowing members to opt out if they so choose.  Considering how membership is already slipping nationally, no doubt the unions are really sweating this prospect.  It might mean losing untold numbers of members, which, of course, means fewer dues.  This translates into smaller donations to democrat fundraisers.  Unacceptable, in other words.

What originally started out as a small protest by teachers has blown up into a near revolt by the public unions and their democrat supporters.  They should proceed carefully, however because this could really backfire in a big way.  Disapproval of unions is on the rise, and these demonstrations and shutdowns could well be a tipping point, and not in their favor.  

Taking hostages is always a tricky proposition.  It's also usually a sign of desperation - something Walker and the GOP senators should keep in mind as the pressure is applied to them.  Time for a counter protest!

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TAKING HOSTAGES

NO GO LOGO

So, is it me, or does the new Democrat logo that Tim Kaine was all excited about the other day look remarkably like a target? Not to mention it's a little boring. At least Obama's logo had flair, not to mention there was a bit of a Pepsi-inspired pleasant subliminal connection to it. The DNC logo (and the website, really) is very...industrial looking. They should have stuck with the jackass. At least then they would be a moving target.


Just sayin'.

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NO GO LOGO

THE FIRST CASUALTY HAS SUCCUMBED

Well, Patriots, our first official ballot box victory has been entered into the books.  Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W-VA) has lost his primary.  Yup, the guy couldn't even get out of the gate.  Good job, W. Virginia voters!  All other Democrat defeats were lost in special elections.  This is the first primary loss for the November regular elections. With any luck, Benedict Arlen Specter will be next to suffer a primary defeat. 

Mollohan was defeated by state Sen. Mike Oliverio, who campaigned against Mollohan's Obamacare vote and some ethics questions that still hang over Mollohan's head from 2006.  An investigation was opened due to rapidly increasing wealth and questionable non-profits he was creating and funneling money to.   He stepped down from a few committees, but no findings were ever released.  Of course not - Nancy Pelosi took over and buried it.  Can't risk losing a seat, can we, Nan?  Mollohan views it as a victory, naturally. 

What do you think the odds are that this will finally wake the democrats up to what is happening?  MSNBC is already trying to blame Mollohan for running a bad campaign.  That's right, guys, you keep telling yourselves it is just a poorly run campaign:

Mollohan was first elected in 1982. He ran a relatively lethargic campaign until recent weeks, when he began airing TV ads calling Oliverio dangerously conservative and bad for business and labor.

Let's see, he's a 28 year incumbent, had the hubris to think that he didn't need to participate in something as lowly as a primary, probably didn't kick it into gear until after his numbers started to plummit, never bothered to explain his positions or views and went instead directly to the smear campaign.  Not to mention that right now, "dangerously conservative" just doesn't seem all that scary.  Actually...has it ever?  And, for the coup de gras, he invoked "labor".  Too bad he doesn't realize that only place unions seem welcome these days is in the halls of Congress.  Maybe you should have come home for your last few recesses, Congressman, and listened instead of lectured.

Perhaps this will finally get the message through that even fellow democrats are ticked off.  One wonders how many of those Tea Party democrats are behind this.  More than Mollohan and Congressional Dems expected, no doubt.

One corruptocrat down, forty or so to go!

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THE FIRST CASUALTY HAS SUCCUMBED

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

The far left in this country have been waging a war of words for decades, and their favorite tactic is changing meanings of words to suit their needs.  They are also fond of assigning labels, whether they are applicable or not.  They love to disparage their opponents by using the "scary words" - racist, fascist, extremist.  They know that people back down when they are called certain names, whether they apply to the situation or not. 

The most common example is, of course, the claims that the Tea Parties are racist.  There is no proof of this, but repetition brings on a sense of truth.  If they scream it loud enough and long enough, people will believe it.  Alan Colmes said today that just because there wasn't video of the alleged racial and homophobic slurs doesn't mean they didn't happen.  Actually, Mr. Colmes, that's exactly what it means.  With hundreds of cameras, several in the hands of the alleged "victims" themselves, the fact that there is no video proof whatsoever is in reality proof that the incident never occurred.  And yet the narrative continues.

Today on Fox and Friends, actress Aisha Tyler was part of a panel discussing political topics.  She is obviously an intelligent, informed woman (she has a degree in political science), but she said something that really irritated me, and it's something that definitely needs to be addressed.

One of the other guests commented that the current administration was fascistic.  Ms. Tyler took offense to that term, and stated that fascism is a strictly right-wing policy and so cannot be used to describe the current left-wing administration.

Let's take a look at what Merriam Webster has to say about the definition of  "fascism":

1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition


2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control

I have checked other dictionaries, but have not seen a single entry that states that fascism is a right-wing only term. The premise that the Nazi's were right-wingers has sprung up in acedemic circles and is being taught in our universities - Ms. Tyler's thought process is most likely due to her poli-sci degree.  Why has fascism (and nazism) been assigned to the right?  (via Free Republic):

According to a popular misconception, the Nazis must have been on the political right because they persecuted communists and fought a war with the communists in Russia. This specious logic has gone largely unchallenged because it serves as useful propaganda for the left, which needs ``right-wing'' atrocities to divert attention from the horrific communist atrocities of the past century. Hence, communist atrocities have received much less publicity than Nazi war crimes, even though they were greater in magnitude by any objective measure.

One also wonders if this attempt to demonize Nazism and make it a right-wing contrivance is because, unlike the atrocities perpetrated in the name of communism, the effects of nazism were photographed and documented for posterity.  It is difficult to whitewash the horrors of the Nazi socialist state because the entire world was inundated with those horrific images.  If that photographic evidence had not existed, would fascism still be considered a bad thing today?  Communism, on the other hand, has remained in the shadows, because the communist dictatorships never allowed such information to be disseminated.  Western cameras were not allowed into the gulags and firing lines.  Documentation was destroyed, redacted or remains classified to this day.

But the history of the past century has been grossly distorted by the predominantly left-wing media and academic elite. The Nazis have been universally condemned -- as they obviously should be -- but they have also been repositioned clear across the political spectrum and propped up as false representatives of the far right -- even though Hitler railed frantically against capitalism in his infamous demagogic speeches. At the same time, heinous crimes of larger magnitude by communist regimes have been ignored or downplayed, and the general public is largely unaware of them. Hence, communism is still widely regarded as a fundamentally good idea that has just not yet been properly ``implemented.'' Santayana said, ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' God help us if we forget the horrors of communism and get the historical lessons of Nazism backwards.

The left is revising history yet again in their attempt to portray the Nazis as right-wingers, but if you check out the real history, you will find that they were socialists - the term "nazi" stands for National Socialist Workers Party.  Socialism is most definitely NOT a right-wing ideology.  The Nazis ruled from a strong central government that regulated both the economy and society with an iron fist, and they were assuredly in firm control of the press.  One need look no further than the death camps and all of the accounts of dissenters disappearing in the night to verify the "forcible suppression of opposition", and Hitler easily comes to mind when the topic of brutal dictators comes up.

The left also uses corporatism in their argument that the Nazis and Mussolini were right-wingers, but, again, this doesn't fly.  Our past few administrations are perfect examples of corporations benefitting from both sides of the political spectrum, but with this administration there might be a little buyer's remorse happening.  The left is just as arm-in-arm with corporations as the right, but there are one or two major differences between them.  The republicans are pro free market capitalism, and aren't really interested in government control of corporations - Bush-era bailouts didn't come with the strings of governmental control.   The left's bailouts come with strings so thick and unbreakable that they could be used as cables on the Golden Gate bridge.  Under Obama, Pelosi and Reid, the federal government is becoming more and more entwined with and calling the shots more and more often for corporate America.  The left also has something the right does not - the "power of persuasion" of it's union minions.  Power they have been wielding quite effectively over the past year or so.

Hitler was vehemently anti-capitalism, because he felt that the capitalist system favored the Jews.  Our current administration is anti-capitalism because of their quest for the perfect socialist utopia.  The reasons may be different, but the end result is the same - the destruction of the free market economy and the slide into socialism.

For those who scoff at the socialist label, I offer this definition of state socialism, which could also be considered "european-style" socialism:

an economic system with limited socialist characteristics that is effected by gradual state action and typically includes public ownership of major industries and remedial measures to benefit the working class

We have allowed the left to hijack our history and turn it on it's head.  Up is down, left is right, and disinformation rules.  We must take back the narrative and set the record straight.  So the next time you hear someone call you a fascist because you lean right, set them straight.    Keeping silent allows their version to become the accepted reality.  Standing up to them will be a hard fight, but it's one worth winning, and it's one that most definitely CAN be won. 

Our quest over the next few years isn't just to take our country back politically, it's to restore our history, and teach it to our kids.  We must restore the true meaning of names and labels and thus strip the liberals of their power.  Always remember - "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

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WHAT'S IN A NAME?

IT'S TIME TO PARTY!

Happy Tax Day.  Today, across the country, people are gathering to protest the taxation and radical left tilt of the current administration.  The tea parties, despite all of the media furor over alleged racism and violence, are exciting, energetic, downright friendly events.  It is always surprising that they are portrayed in the press as angry, hostile mobs. 

But are they a violent, fringe mob?  All evidence so far points to no. This, however, is the narrative the neoPravda media, good lapdogs that they are, have decided to go with, whether due to personal bias or adherence to party talking points.  The democrats' Alinsky based tactics require the demonization of opposition, and so, good radicals that they are, they are following the instructions to the letter.  It's a sad  illustration of their lack of creativity that they are resorting to the usual old, tired accusations of racism and stupidity.  People, you really need to freshen it up a little bit.  Recheck your Alinsky Rule #7 - "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag."  Even radical activists get bored.

After eight years of Bush is stoooopid and the past two years of any dissent from the current radical agenda being called racist, it is definitely time for them to try something else.  It is a sad day when being called a racist is a joke or, God forbid, a badge of honor due to it's absurdity.  These days you just aren't a tea partyer worth your salt if you haven't been called a racist at least once.  Their overplayed, tattered race card is disintegrating before their eyes, but what else have they got?  They certainly can't argue the merits of their plans - if they could, their master-orator-in-chief would have managed to make the health care bill one of the most popular pieces of legislation in recent history, given that he has been desperately trying to sell it for well over a year now. 

The blatant lies about taxation that they have been attempting to disseminate are literally laughable.  They are now dealing with an electorate that is wide awake and paying attention to every little thing they are trying to do.  The usual lies just don't seem to work anymore.  The electorate are also managing to put all of the disparate pieces of the agenda together and thus envision the entire scope of the "transformation" Pelosi, Reid and Obama are attempting.  As with most arrogant foes who buy their own press, the lefties have completely underestimated their opposition and so are continuously being caught off guard by them and their grasp of what is happening.  Tea partyers have even managed to turn around the "teabagger" epithet:



The radical left have now found themselves in quite a dilemma.  They have carefully nurtured a narrative, but those rotten teabaggers have failed to prove their theory.  No matter how they goad, poke, and provoke conservatives, they refuse to sink to the level they are being accused of.  So now the left find themselves having to funlfill the narrative themselves and then blame the tea party for their antics.  An interesting idea, but one that always seems to backfire.  The recent blatant advertising for anarchists and other liberal allies to "crash" the tea parties is a perfect illustration of their desperation.  A putz named Jason Levin set up a website calling for radicals to infiltrate and subvert the tea party.  Apparently those stoooopid teabaggers are refusing to show their true racist, homophobic, mouthbreather sides, so the lefties are determined to do it for them.  Levin, however, is experiencing a bit of blowback.  He is a middle school teacher, and he is being investigated by the school board for using school computers to create and monitor his website.  He is also being investigated for possible attempts at identity theft (via Fox News):

“Some other thoughts are to ask people at the rally to sign a petition renouncing socialism. See just how much info you can get from these folks (name address, DOB, Social Security #). The more data we can mine from the Tea Partiers, the more mayhem we can cause with it!!!!” he wrote.


The state agency is investigating whether this is a hint at identity theft, and whether it is appropriate behavior for a public school teacher. It also will investigate charges that Levin used school computers during school hours to work on his Web site. Levin works at Conestoga Middle School's media lab and teaches 6th, 7th and 8th graders about computers and technology.

Do they really not realize how their tactics hurt their own cause?  Is this man really willing to steal people's identities in order to ruin their lives simply because they hold a different political philosophy?   Have we really sunk so low in this country?  When did the tenets of free speech and tolerance get stricken from the left's list of ideals?  These people are having conniptions about tea partyers metaphorically putting Nancy Pelosi on the firing line, as in, getting fired, not incitements to violence as the left attempts to paint it, but they have no problems with trying to destroy the lives of common Americans, whether it be through violence, threats or identity theft and exploitation. 

It almost seems that the anger directed at the movement is because of their refusal to live up (down?) to the expectations of the left.  Let's not forget, too, that lefties expect screaming invective and violence at rallies because that is the norm for them.  The fact that the tea parties, with crowds numbering in the thousands, are peaceful must just boggle the progressive mind.  How is it that they are managing to get their point across without burning flags, smashing windows and torching cars?

And so the lefties continue to push their narrative as best they can.  Unfortunately for them, camera phones are everywhere, and there is just no proof to back up their argument.  They are still trying to milk the allegations that the n-word was hurled not once, not twice, but fifteen times during the Congressional Black Caucus' symbolic march through the protesters the day health care passed.  Rep. Jessie Jackson, Jr. had not one but two video cameras panning the crowd as he walked, as well as numerous mainstream media cameras and the literally hundreds of camera phones in the audience, and yet there is not even a single instance of racist invective caught on film.  There is no doubt whatsoever that if such footage existed, it would be all over the news, even now, nearly a month later.

Tea partyers, be careful out there today.  Keep an eye out for protesters, and don't sign any petitions today - Jason Levin has made every petition suspect now.  But don't let these attempts to discredit and intimidate keep you from assembling.  Continue to prove the left's narrative wrong - be passionate but respectful, enthusiastic but controlled.  Isolate the infiltrators and show them for what they are.

If you go to an event, please send me your pictures and stories. Let's show the world that democracy in action can be peaceful.

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IT'S TIME TO PARTY!

PROGRESS

Just when it all starts getting to be too much and it seems like we're fighting a losing battle, a poll like this comes out.

The message is getting out there, even though sometimes it seems like it isn't.  The press is doing all they can to paint the Tea Parties as fringe and idiotic, but it just isn't working. 

As for our 'betters' in Congress, not only would  45% of Americans prefer random people chosen from the phone book to replace their them, but their desperate ploy to make anyone who disagrees with them and their agenda seem stupid, out of touch and ignorant of the issues isn't getting any traction, if this latest  poll  is anything to go by.

Most of the polls these days show that a majority of Americans are against the agenda that is currently being foisted upon them, so it really is mind boggling how they expect to win reelection with their current tactics.  One can only assume that they have convinced themselves that Americans really are so stupid and in possession of such poor short term memories that their insulting, degrading tactics won't come back to haunt them in November.

This most recent poll must really be insulting to our esteemed members of Congress.  After all, if the Tea Partyers are as stupid, braindead and uninformed as our representatives in Washington keep saying they are, then what does this new poll say about them?

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PROGRESS

(YET ANOTHER) OBAMA HEALTH CARE SPEECH

I'm sitting here trying to listen to Obama's speech to the Democrat Caucus, but I'm having a hard time.  I keep bursting out in laughter.

The line that really got me?  Obama claiming that the bill is "middle of the road".

Needless to say, the bs is flowing fast and thick at this meeting.  The meeting is basically a pep rally for The One to encourage the troops to vote for this mess.  Now that demon pass is not an option, they are going to have to suck it up and vote for the toxic Senate bill.

The meeting was also most likely a ruse to get the dems out of their offices and in a closed meeting so that they didn't have to face their constituents, who have stormed the Capitol to have their voices heard. 

Finally, a moment of truth from the Deceiver-in-Chief:

"Now, is this bill perfect?  Of course not.  Will this solve every single problem in our health care system right away?  No."

But it will tax us right away, so at least there's that....Oh boy, here's the liberal guilt push:

"If you honestlly believe, in your heart of hearts, in your conscience, that this is not an improvement over the status quo, in spite of all the information that's out there that says that without serious reform efforts like this one, people's premiums are going to double over the next five, ten years; that folks are going to keep on getting letters from their insurance companies that their premiums just went up 40 or 50%, if you think that somehow it's okay that we have millions of hard working Americans who can't get health care, and that it's alright, it's acceptable, in the wealthiest nation on earth that their children with chronic illnesses that can't get the care that they need, if you think that the system is working for ordinary Americans rather than the insurance companies, then you should vote no on this bill.  If you can honestly say that, then you shouldn't support it." 

One minor point, Mr. President - I know the image of sick kids is always an effective liberal tool to conjure up votes, but, um, didn't you take care of the uninsured children problem last year with the expansion of SCHIP?   Or is that program working as well as most other government agencies, and thus the uninsured kids?  I know it's hard to say no to sick kids - which is why SCHIP passed last year.  Sorry, Mr. President, those human shields have already been used. 

Oh, and, as for the increasing premiums, one of your own has disabused us of the notion this bill will fix that problem, as has the CBO.

Oh, and more people would have health insurance if they had a JOB!!!  It's going to be hard to get jobs for the millions of people who are out of work, so how about untying insurance from employment?  Another thing that might help is dropping state line rules and allowing the free market to work it's magic.  But those are republican ideas, so obviously they won't work and shouldn't even be considered.

There is only one other part of the speech that I agree with, aside from the moment of truth:

You're here to represent your constituencies, and if you think your constituencies honestly wouldn't be helped, you shouldn't vote for this."

Amen, brother.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the big vote....

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(YET ANOTHER) OBAMA HEALTH CARE SPEECH

DEMON PASS NOW THE RULE

The House voted 222-203 to use demon pass on Sunday's upcoming health care vote today.  A few dems who said they were no votes on Obamacare voted yes on the use of the Slaughter Solution, but it's anybody's guess as to whether they will keep their word on Sunday and vote no or not. 

This is bad, bad news, since many fence-sitting dems seemed to be more concerned about the process than the content or cost of the bill.  Apparently the process wasn't as worrisome as first thought.  With any luck, they will realize the error of their ways come November, but, in the meantime, we will have to deal with the repercussions of their actions.

If they pass this monstrosity with demon pass on Sunday, and it ends up going to Obama for a signature, there are still a few things that can be done.

Namely, lawsuits.

There are a number of suits being prepared.  Mark Levin's Landmark Legal Foundation is preparing to file suit against the federal government if they pass the health care legislation through deem and pass. 

But wait, there's more....

Idaho passed legislation last night that would require the state attorney general to file suit against the federal government because of the individual mandate.

Virginia was the first state to pass legislation against the federal government over the health care legislation.  On March 11, 2010 they passed a bill opposing the individual mandate, arguing that insurance is a good and the federal government has no right to force their citizens to buy a good of any kind.

Thirty-six other states have filed legislation to challenge Obamacare - .Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Missisippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Four more states have indicated an intent to file - Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, Utah.

It may only be symbolic, but the fact that 38 states are preparing to sue the federal government over a piece of legislation could easily be viewed as a consitutional crisis.

It's a bit surprising that Texas wasn't on any of those lists, but, then again, they seem to prefer to seceed altogether. 

My home state of Florida is stepping up to the plate, too.  The attorney general, Bill McCollum, has sent a letter to the National Association of Attorneys General:

"I invite you to join me in preparing a legal challenge to the constitutionality of whatever individual mandate provision emerges, immediately upon the legislation becoming law."

Sunday's vote does not mean the end of this 'debate'.

Oh, and you'd better gird your loins - The One is saying the Slaughter rule is so nifty that they might just use it on immigration "reform" and other goodies.

It has been said that Mr. Obama has told House democrats that his presidency is at stake.  Because when you really get down to it, it's always about Obama, isn't it?

There is the faint hope of a silver lining to all of this, and it all depends on the Supreme Court.  With any luck, the fact that there is no provision allowing the feds to force the public to buy goods nor pass laws by 'deeming' them passed, that more than half of the states are preparing to file lawsuits, and that the majority of the American people are vehemently against this bill will weigh heavily in their decision. 

It looks like this mess is going to pass, even though Senate Republicans are preparing a flood of amendments to slow things down.  Reid only needs 51 though, and he most probably has it.

We can only hope that the legal challenges stave off the taxation that will start immediately, and that the Supreme court will hear the cases and find in our favor.  Hopefully the remaining 12 states will file their own legislation along with the rest, but counting on California, Oregon, Vermont and Hawaii is probably not a wise move.

All we can do now is watch democrats flip and flop like fish in the sun as they are threatened and bribed for the final vote.
.

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DEMON PASS NOW THE RULE

SUNSHINE = DEMON PASS

There is a new term for Rep. Louise Slaughter's unconstitutional solution to the democrat's health care dilemma.  Pelosi called it a "deem and pass" rule.  When you say that quickly, it sounds like "demon pass" - which is quite fitting, really, and seems to be sticking.   What more perfect name for a bill straight from the depths of Hell that has been served up by the queen succubus herself?  For those who don't know what a succubus is, it is a demon who takes female form to fornicate with men.  The only difference with my reference is that it will be the entire US population that will be getting screwed, not just the men.

Demon pass is in the process of being covered up, too - it's that distasteful.  Democrats are out on the talk circuit saying there will be a vote for health care, and whatever the public may have heard otherwise is sheer propaganda on the part of Fox News, Glenn Beck, and other lying right-wing radical propagandists. 

Their arguments just don't pass the sunshine test, though.  Speaking of sunshine, did you know that it's "Sunshine Week" on Capitol Hill?   It really is starting to feel more and more like we have all been unceremoniously dumped right in the middle of the Bizzarro world, doesn't it?  Nothing makes sense anymore, and the irony is so thick right now that I'm surprised there hasn't been a magnetic pole shift.

"During Sunshine Week, which focuses on the importance of open government and freedom of information, Congress is taking action to make the government more accountable, transparent and responsive to the American people," reads a fact sheet distributed to House Dems' offices, and which was provided to Hotline OnCall by an incredulous Dem aide.
"The public's right to know what its government is doing is fundamental to a thriving democracy and critical to empowering the American people to play an active role in their government, and to giving them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger," the document reads.

The glaring hypocricy of this statement is staggering.  House democrats are in the process of passing a bill that no one has read by the entirely inappropriate means of attaching it to yet another bill that no one has been allowed to read (and don't forget the other bill included in the mess for good measure) and 'deeming' it passed instead of actually voting to pass it.  The only vote will be for approval of the rule that allows this travesty to occur.  The bill is chock full of smoke and mirrors, and the people out touting the bill are shamelessly lying through their teeth and being caught at it on a regular basis.   The bill itself is a deception of monumental proportions, from it's cost to it's effect on the American people, economy and health care system

This ridiculous attempt at touting transparency isn't really unexpected, though, if you think about Pelosi's modus operandi.  You can pretty much assume that anything out of her mouth is the exact opposite of reality, so her campaign to appear to support 'sunshine' and 'transparency' really means we should brace ourselves for more deception, substerfuge and shady dealings.  Apparently the democrats think that we are still believing whatever they say, no matter how insane it may be.

When, exactly, does this all go from bad behavior to tyranny?  In my personal opinion, the line is getting pretty blurry. 

Methinks the public will be doing a little 'demon pass' themselves.  Come November, they will 'deem' this administration an abomination and will 'pass' on reelecting them.

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SUNSHINE = DEMON PASS

THE BATTLE IN TEXAS

I mentioned in my post The Revision of Pride that there is a battle brewing in Texas over classroom textbooks.  The battle is heating up, and, at least so far, the conservatives are winning.

Here's a little backstory for anyone who isn't up on the subject.  For the past few decades, the textbook publishers have been catering to the demands of California's board of education, because California bought the most textbooks of any state in the nation.  That certainly explains a lot about the liberal trend in the classroom, doesn't it?  Unfortunately for California, their budget woes have translated into fewer new textbook purchases.

However, what is unfortunate for California is quite fortunate for the rest of us.  Texas has since replaced California as the leading textbook purchaser for the nation.  This means the state of Texas can now make demands of the publishing companies, much as the state of California did, and those changes may well effect textbooks everywhere.  And demand, they are!

The Texas Board of Education is in the process of debating and voting on changes to curriculum, and the battle between liberal and conservative board members has been heated, but, so far, the conservatives are winning:

Conservative members had their way in the 11-4 vote, which came one day after several Democratic board members walked out, claiming the proposed standards dilute the contribution of minorities to American history and culture. The debate, which picked up again Friday morning, ended with only a single Democrat voting to support the new standards.

The fact that the liberals walked out should come as no surprise.  If we have learned anything from the past year+ of liberal rule it is that the only acceptable compromise is full capitulation to their demands.  Anything less is unacceptable.  The fact that there was one democrat who voted for the changes is cause for hope, though, and that democrat should be given credit for agreeing that learning about American exceptionalism is more important than the cultural significance of hip-hop music. 

The main liberal argument is that there isn't enough minority representation.  There were many minority contributions to the creation and preservation of this Union, but let's face it - back in the 1700's, whether in America or Europe, minorities didn't have much voice.  Happily, those wrongs were righted and became the freedom we enjoy today, but it doesn't take away from the basic facts of life.  This country was founded by a group of white men.  This is not a travesty - it just is what it is. 

Does that mean that our kids shouldn't learn about people like Frederick Douglass, Dolley Madison or Sojourner Truth?  Of course they should - they helped shape this country and should be remembered for their contributions.  But should our Founding Fathers be replaced by Famous Amos and Mary Kay?  I personally believe that the black community in America has contributed far more than just a cookie maker (wildly successful entrepreneur though he may be) and hip-hop, and it is a disservice to them to relegate their portion of history to those narrow confines.

As a woman, I feel that the suffrage movement should also be discussed, if not in depth, at least touched upon.   Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the many other thousands of women who risked life and limb in their nearly 100 year battle to win the priviledge of voting for all of us is something that has been lost to the girls of today.  Teaching our children about what they went through is important as a reminder that some sacrifices are worth it, and everyone deserves dignity and a voice.

This battle in Texas is so important, because the education we give our children dictates where we are headed as a country.  The California years, when they dictated the curricula, lead us down the path of collectivism and european socialism.  History lessons are based on feelings and impressions, not hard fact.  Our children are being taught to relate history into how they feel about an event, not the factual repercussions of it.    

The liberals swept themselves in to victory in 2008 because that election was enabled by the subtle decades-long indoctrination of our youth (who are now beginning to reject that flawed reality).  It's time to turn it around, and the Texas board of education has become the front line in the battle. 

The tide is turning, though, the tide is turning.  To keep it turning, we have to learn from the opposition.  The main tactic that has worked so well for them has been their role as the 'squeaky wheel'.  Their protests, lawsuits and generally irritating tactics have served them well.  We are learning their lessons, but we are only applying them to the federal realm.  As Tip O'Neill once said, "All politics is local".   Yes, we need to keep the pressure on the apparent federal socialist revolution that is taking place before our eyes, but we also need to apply that same pressure locally - most especially our school boards and PTA. 

Our children are literally our future, and we need to be as aware of that fact as the liberal/progressives have been.  We need to fight them tooth and nail for the hearts and minds of our children.  The Texas fight is just the beginning, but what a beginning it is!

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THE BATTLE IN TEXAS

HEALTH CARE HUSTLE

The health care intervention summit can be summed up thusly:

The Democrats spoke for a total of 5 hours 46 minutes and the Republicans were allowed to speak for 1 hour 50 minutes...and the Republicans still won.

Pelosi told a whopper, but Harry Reid was determined to outdo her. 

Obama got testy but still managed to avoid the subject he was being grilled on.  "We can have a debate about process or we can have a debate about what the American people need right now."  Translation:  "How dare you call me out on that - stay on topic!"  (Saul Alinsky translation - the ends justify the means - it doesn't matter how we got here; what matters is that we're here.)

All in all, it was sort of fun - in a really excruciatingly boring way.

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HEALTH CARE HUSTLE

OBAMACARE 3.0 Updated

Our illustrious President has come out with his version of a health care compromise bill.  I'm not really sure where the compromises are, since the republicans weren't involved in it's creation, but whatever.  I guess the compromise will come on Thursday, when the republicans are expected to accept his offering without question.

Someone needs to get the democrats a dictionary, because they just don't understand what 'compromise' means (Among other things, like 'consensus', 'transparency', and 'fiscal restraint').

The President assures us that this new behemoth, which includes all of the unsavory little tidbits of the Senate bill - including abortion funding, plus a few from the House version - including a public option, will come in under $1 trillion.  Better yet, it will 'save' $100 billion over 10 years. 

The word 'tax' is used 35 times.  I'm sure in a good way, though.

 And what does the Congressional Budget Office say?

Nothing.  They can't score this mess because, as usual, it is light on facts and concrete numbers.  So where did the numbers the White House is touting come from?  My guess would be where all the other fuzzy numbers this administration has attempted to foist on us came from  - Obama's nether regions.

Yet again the Chicago Mafia are threatening reconciliation.  I have to say that this is really getting boring.  If you're going to do it, just do it already.  Otherwise, shut up about that silly, empty, career-ending threat.

BTW - What ever happened to the 'hard pivot' to jobs and the economy?  Did I miss it?  Or are they sticking to that lame meme that fixing the health care system will fix the economy?  If so, um, how, exactly?  Just wondering....

Now they are floating the possibility that the Meddler-in-Chief will use an Executive Order to regulate and control insurance rates.  Goody.  Nothing like a bunch of career politicians deciding fair market prices for an entire industry - that always works out great, right?

This new ObamaCare proposal is a joke, but at least it is a joke that we can finally pin directly on Obama.  Thursday's summit is a joke, too, and an exercise in futility to boot.  Reconciliation is a joke - if they could have done it, believe you me, they would have by now.   And Obama attempting to regulate the insurance industry through executive order is a joke.

Hmmm.  That's an awful lot of jokes - so why am I not laughing?  Are you?


UPDATE:  So, once Obama turns our health care system into Canada's, where will the Canadians go?

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OBAMACARE 3.0 Updated

THE SILVER LINING OF ANGER

There are some interesting polls out today from Rasmussen.  I have mentioned before that I like Rasmussen because they poll likely voters, instead of just adults.  It gives a more accurate snapshot of electorate leanings.

According to Rasmussen,75% of Americans are somewhat angry with the current government policies.    Out of that 75%, 45% are very angry.  Just 19% are not very (11%) or not at all angry (8%).  I have to admit I'm a little surprised that there are even 8% not at all angry.   Considering those people are likely to vote, it makes requiring current events tests before voting seem more imperative than ever....

Broken down by party, 89% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats and a jaw-dropping 78% of independents are ticked off.   That's right, sisters, you are definitely not alone!

These numbers represent an overall anger at Washington in general; it is not party specific at all.  There is great discontent will any incumbent.  Agendas and voting records will be sharply scrutinized this election cycle.  If you have been fiscally irresponsible with taxpayer money, your days are most likely numbered, whether there is a D or an R after your name.

The question is how it will happen - primary challenges, D's turning to R's and vice versa, or Independent (TEA) party surprise wins. 

And therein lies the silver lining.  The American people, after decades of allowing our politicians to ride roughshod over us and our Constitution, are going to be set straight.  Americans are rediscovering their country, their roots, their heritage and their pride.  We are throwing off the Progressive yoke we have been harnessed to and returning to the core beliefs that have helped make this country the greatest superpower in history.

The more polls I see with results like this, the more I realize we are in for an exciting, surprising, potentially revolutionary election cycle.  The American people have woken up and are getting ready to flex their long dormant muscles and remind the elitist career politicians entrenched in Washington who is really boss.

I can't wait!

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THE SILVER LINING OF ANGER

BUDGETING REALITY

Our government is spending us into the poor house.  Not just you and me, but our children and grandchildren.  Once again we are being fed the Keynesian line that we have to spend our way out of this recession.  Well, the democrats have been in power and spending like it's Monopoly money since 2007, with the amounts really racheting up once Obama took office and they truly had free rein. 

Last year VP Joe Biden tried to sell us on spending money to keep us from going bankrupt.  My nine year old, upon hearing Biden's theory said, "That's silly!  Everyone knows you can't spend more money if you run out of money!  He's crazy!"  That's my little sunshiny ray of hope for the future!  Too bad our government can't grasp something a nine year old sees as basic common sense.

This is now the longest recession since the Great Depression, which I find rather telling.  It is widely accepted now that FDR's New Deal - massive government spending and intrusion into the free markets - crippled the recovery in the 1930's.  Unfortunately, our current administration is using the New Deal as their road map through our present crisis (and oh so cleverly called it the 'New New Deal'), which is most likely why this recession is dragging on into it's third year, when most recessions last 8-12 months. 

That is the problem with Progressive revisionist history.  Their habit of changing history to suit their political ends sets us all up for disaster.  If you don't learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.  Unfortunately, we are in for a harsh lesson if our government continues on this path - something they seem determined to the point of obsession with continuing.

President Obama offered his budget for 2011 today.  Apparently his talk about discretionary spending freezes next year was just more hot air, because his 2010 budget was for $3.6 trillion, and his 2011 budget is for $3.8 trillion.  How did he manage to put in a spending freeze and yet still increase the budget by $200 billion (while simultaniously bragging about cutting $20 billion, to boot)?   What's even more mind-boggling is that people are actually going to buy that line he's selling.  Another amazing thing is the short turnaround on this broken promise.  Usually a few months pass between the lie being sold and the reality coming to light.  This one only took a week.  The only thing transparent about this administration these days is it's dishonesty and spin.

Apparently, there is $100 billion in jobs stimulus in there somewhere - a nice little trick.  They wanted to create a whole new stimulus package, but, when the idea went over like a lead balloon with the public, they just snuck it in, as is becoming standard operating procedure with this administration.  Unfortunately, we need job growth now, not some time in 2011. Interesting timing on that one, too.  Congressional dems need to have something to bring to voters by this summer or they risk losing reelection - this plan wouldn't help them.  Which means that the 2011 job plan is solely to assure that The One can get reelected.  Every rat dem for themselves, eh?  I guess Congressional dems are betting it all on the stimulus bill creating jobs over the summer.  Good luck with that!

This budget, like most everything else this tax and spend administration has passed so far, is bloated and ridiculously expensive, with the added bonus that it will add $1.6 trillion to our already out of control deficit.  Oh, goody.  What are we up to now?  About $600,000 per household?

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty wrote an op-ed today in Politico.  I encourage you to read it.  It certainly starts out with a bang:

The U.S. attorney general recently announced that the Justice Department is beefing up its efforts to fight financial fraud such as Ponzi schemes. Good. The agency should start by reviewing the spending habits of the federal government, which is running the largest Ponzi scheme our country has ever seen.

He's absolutely right - this is a gigantic Ponzi scheme.  Except instead of taking the money of investors who volunteered their money in hopes of getting rich quick, our money is being taken from us against our will, and it isn't just our money - it is generational theft.  As yet unborn children and grandchildren will be paying for this for decades, if not longer.  If Bernie Madoff deserved to go to jail for stealing $50 billion, what should be the sentence for $1.3 trillion?   This budget will cause us to have a deficit that exceeds our GDP by October 2011. 

That is sheer insanity.

At this point, I am at a loss as to how to get them to rethink their ways.  We protest, they ignore.  We call in, they shut off the phones.  We send letters and emails and get form letters in return, reassuring us that our "representatives" will do what they feel is best, no matter what the majority of Americans want.  All we can do is continue to protest, call and write, and, of course, VOTE. 

But just voting in 2010 is not enough.  We need a Six Year Plan.  The House is up for reelection every two years, but the Senate only reelects one third of their body every two years.  It would take three election cycles to clean house, and that is exactly what we need to do - clean house.  We need to keep our eyes on the prize - we need to keep our memories sharp and vote out any incumbents who have voted to rob us and our posterity of our hard earned money.  Not just this year, but until every last one of those lying, corrupt thieves are gone. 

A revolution was fought in this country because of taxation without representation.  If our elected officials in Washington refuse to listen to the will of the majority of the people and insist on implimenting an unpopular agenda, they are no longer representatives. 

We went to war in 1776 over a penny tax imposed upon us by a tone deaf monarch and his arrogant, overreaching government who refused to hear the concerns of those being taxed.  Adding insult to injury, the tax money was to be spent back in England, so the taxpayers saw no direct benefit from the increase.  We are now being subjected to trillions in taxes, passed in bills that we are not allowed to read by "representatives" who are only interested in their own political gain and are doling out the money from their giant slush fund to donors and cronies.  Our tone deaf, arrogant government, when faced with the fears of the people, belittle, demonize and dismiss.

Thomas Jefferson had it right - When the people fear their government, there is tyranny.  When the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Our public servants have lost their fear.  It's time to remind them who is the boss.  We fired the warning shot with Scott Brown's election.  They have decided to double down and try to fool us again on the campaign trail with more false promises and spin. 

They will not reform, so they must be removed. 

It's time to remind them that this is a government of the People, by the People and FOR the People.

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BUDGETING REALITY

STATE OF THE YAWN-ION

Boy, was the State of the Union speech boring last night.  Even his own people couldn't stay awake.  Well, except for Nancy Pelosi, who was doing her annoying jack-in-the-box/seal clap routine. Granted, political speeches generally are boring, but this one was particularly so because it was just a rehash of every other speech he has given for the past year.

I guess you could say that speaks to his convictions.  Unfortunately, even his own party is starting to reject his agenda - after all, he may not be up for reelection this year, but they are. 

He has offered to listen to other ideas for health care reform.  Okay, how about the many options the Republicans have offered up that are languishing in committees in both Houses?  The problem with them is that they don't require a massive new bureaucracy and entitlement, so the democrat leadership aren't interested.

He blames Bush and the Republicans and literally in the next sentence calls for bipartisanship.  Nice.

He calls for spending freezes because of our faltering economy - to start next year.  What about this year, champ?  We're hurting now.

He mentions Cap and Trade, too.  Great....more billions spent on 'science' that is looking more and more dubious with every passing day.  He argues that green jobs will stimulate the economy.  I think Spain would argue with that - for every green job they created, they lost 2.2 regular jobs.  Yeah, that will help - help make us nostalgic for the good old days of 10% unemployment....

He barely mentioned foreign affairs or the two wars we are waging.  I suppose national security isn't important enough to rate more than 5 minutes.  Perhaps he didn't want to dwell on it and risk alienating our enemies.  Wouldn't want to offend the terrorists, now would we? 

All in all, it was the same old schtick.

He is going to continue to ram his agenda down our throats, he is going to continue to bankrupt the country and risk massive inflation by printing money to pay for his agenda, and he is going to continue to ignore the fact that there are people out there in the world who want to kill as many of us as possible.

The only new thing was his announcement to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'.  As a free society, everyone has a right to be who they are, and if you are gay and want to fight and possibly die for your country, so be it.  No one should have to pretend to be something they're not, especially when you put your life on the line every day.  Our military fights for the freedom of all Americans, so all Americans should be able to join the ranks.

For those who are wary of the gayification of the military, rest assured - I'm pretty sure the more flamboyant characters won't be signing up and sashaying to the front lines wearing guyliner, platform boots and sparkly glamoflage.  There have been gays in the military throughout history, and there are gays in our military now.  As a free society, if they want their peers to know their orientation, they should be allowed to speak about it without fear of reprisal.  The stigma of homosexuality isn't what it was 20 years ago - most young people these days have known at least one gay person - and, as I said earlier, it's their country, too, and if they want to serve it, they should be allowed to do so.

So aside from 'don't ask, don't tell', the speech was pretty much the same old, same old.    Dear Leader is hell bent on bankrupting our children and forcing us all to be subservient to the Nanny State.

I have to say it's actually a little bit of a relief that he has decided not to 'pivot' and head back to the center.  That means the republicans are pretty much guaranteed to take the House come November, and possibly make the Senate a 50/50 split.

Now that's a state of the union I can get behind!

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STATE OF THE YAWN-ION

POLITICAL FREEZE

The President is expected to propose a freeze on discretionary spending in his State of the Union tomorrow.  The pundits are having a field day, trotting out campaign video of Candidate Obama lambasting John McCain for suggesting the same thing and crowing about another example of liberal hypocracy. 

Yes, yes, it's hypocritical, but that is just a little minor side issue.  The bigger issue is what is and isn't being cut and how much is really coming off.

The freeze will basically keep discretionary spending at 2010 levels until 2013.  What is not being mentioned is how much funding went up in the past year under the democrats.  Much like stores are accused of jacking up prices before declaring a sale, our federal government has jacked up spending before demanding a freeze.  To the tune of about 12%.  That should keep them until the freeze is over (then prepare for another huge increase to make up for three years of no increases).

So who doesn't make the cut, you ask?  Well, the military, for one.  This actually comes as quite a surprise.  Not that the Pentagon couldn't afford to trim $30 or $40 billion, but usually the military is the first place liberals go to make cuts - deep ones.  All entitlements are exempt, of course.  Too bad they won't rescind the Welfare reform repeal they legislated last year.  The reforms of the 1990's were so successful because states were no longer getting paid to increase their welfare rolls.  Welfare became a fiscal burden to the states instead of a subsidy bonanza - they couldn't afford it anymore, so they cut programs.  Obama, Pelosi and Reid have reinstituted those payoffs to states for increasing their rolls with the passage of the stimulus bill.  How about cutting that? 

The other objectionable 'mandatory' spending item is international aid.  Now, for emergency situations like Haiti, I think a certain amount of aid is necessary.  However, Obama pledged $900 million to Hamas last year, for example, to help them rebuild after the latest skirmish with Israel.  No money was pledged to Israel, but Hamas, a terror group that has been previously unrecognized by our government because of it's stance against Israel, is offered nearly a billion dollars.  That money will most likely go to rebuilding their depleted munitions stores instead of infrastructure and aid to it's citizens.  I say every terrorist for themselves - cut the payout.

Any and all international aid not related directly to emergency circumstances should be halted immediately.  The rest of the world may feel the pinch of a few years without (or reduced) American aid, but it gives us a chance to save ourselves.  The world economy is sinking.  We are the strongest swimmers out there, but we are being dragged down by all of the hangers on.  It's time to focus on saving ourselves first, so we can then help everyone else.   A three year pinch is a heck of a lot more desirable to tanking the economy that drives the globe.

So don't get caught up in the hypocrite hype.  There are much bigger (and more expensive) issues at stake.  We need more than just politically expedient freezes.  We need deep, meaningful cuts.  It's time to get to the red meat.

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POLITICAL FREEZE