News for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. We seek to uphold the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited government, free markets, liberty & individual freedom. The ARRA News Service is an outreach of the Arkansas Republican Assembly. However, all content approval rests with the Editor. While varied positions are reported, our beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated by this blog, no paid ads accepted and no payments for articles. Note the posted Fair Use doctrine. -- Editor: Dr. Bill Smith [OzarkGuru] - editor/arranewsservice.com (Published Since July, 2006)
Twenty months in two minutes - Since Obama was elected
The road to Socialism and the man who would take us there.
Scott Johnson, Powerline: Can it be only twenty months or so that Obama has been in office as president? It feels more like twenty years. Ben Howe captures the essence of these months in a video he calls "The Socialist," with credits to himself as director, to Caleb Howe for post-production, to Karl Marx for the story, to the Sixties for the conception, and to Barack Obama starring as The Socialist.
Ben Howe: Every age seeks visionaries to leave, in the wake of their genius, a changed world – but rarely are they found without a few strikeout also-rans getting a crack first. In 2008, millions of Americans thought they had found the real thing.
Over the subsequent two years the nation moved inexorably – though rarely without battle – toward European-style socialism. Through the warring perspectives of a few powerful, deluded men and women who claim to know what’s best for you, we reached a national drama rife with both bureaucracy-creation and wealth destruction.
The Socialist moved from the halls of academia to the offices of ACORN to a pew in Chicago, and eventually all the way to the oval office, all the while spurred on by the heady early days of a culture-changing phenomenon in the making. In the midst of the chaos and mounting disasters, average American citizens began to object, eventually adding up to more than the sum of their parts in what has become a multi-front, 21st century clash of worldviews.
The video provides a graphic counterpart to Stanley Kurtz's political biography of Obama to be published on October 19. Kurtz's new book is Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism. Tags:Twenty Months, video, socialism, Barack Obama, Ben Howe, The Socialist, Nancy Pelosi, Joe biden, Karl Marx, share teh wealth, new debt, new taxes, new spendingTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bill Smith, Editor: Sometimes, it is best to just call out the enemy for who they are or call out a situation for what it is. Mark Alexander today in the following article has nailed another critical description of a term in today's political lexicon: "Poverty Pimp." However, I do not agree with Alexander that 90-plus percent of the black Americans vote in any election for the Democrats. This statistic might be true for blacks, whites and all others who are enslaved to government programs. Today, over 60% of black Americans are in the middle or upper class. In the next election, the issue will no longer be the election the first black American president. This time the election will be a referendum on what the Democrats (Congress, President, Czars and Department Administrators) have done in the last 22 months to wreck our economy and to increase unemployment, the national debt, federal spending, etc. In today's world we find President Obama in continuous campaign more and acting like the "Pimp-in-Chief." Americans, regardless of race, are awakened. Let's not get distracted in the 27 days by Democrat lies, distortions and dirty tricks. November is Coming! Focus - Get Out the Vote - it is time for the awakened electorate to be heard at the ballot box. Then we must continue to hold those elected accountable and to prepare for 2012 when we can retire another round of progressive elites. by Mark Alexander, The Patriot Post:
"The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would ... assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it." --Adam Smith
As a measure of community service, I round up my Boy Scout Troop periodically to meet with my friend, and Patriot Chaplain, Lurone Jennings, an inner-city community pastor.
We gather early on Saturday mornings to serve families who are struggling to make ends meet, most of them elderly and living in squalor. After cleaning around their shacks, providing meals and praying over those families, we always reconvene with Pastor Jennings for a time of fellowship.
Recently, I asked Lurone to explain what factors he thinks have contributed most to poverty in our city and nation. Without missing a beat, he said, "Poverty Pimps," referring to those who are elected to public office on the promise of a handout rather than a hand up -- this from a man who has devoted his life to serving those most irreconcilably ensnared by those pimps.
Handouts, of course, are a much easier sell than hand-ups, but the consequences in terms of human dignity and society are devastating. Promising to give a man a fish rather than encouraging him to take up fishing to provide for himself is one of the clearest philosophical delineations between the worldviews of contemporary liberals and conservatives.
Lurone explained that, while New Deal and Great Society liberals may have had good intentions, the net result of their socialist endeavors has been the institutionalization of poverty, and the victimization and enslavement of what has become the Left's most reliable constituency of any stripe or association: black folks.
These days, a candidate for office can count on receiving 90-plus percent of the black vote in any election, so long as he has that all-important "D" next to his or her name.
Generations of Americans have become accustomed to being given, or at least promised, fish caught by someone else. Today, Barack Hussein Obama and his socialist bourgeoisie have banked their entire political fortunes on classist rhetoric, promoting disparity in order to foster dependence.
Once was the time that the Democrat Party was the embodiment of individual responsibility and states' rights. But the party was led astray by "useful idiots" on the Left, and by the end of Franklin Roosevelt's reign, the Party had been turned on end.
Indeed, the most famous of former Democrats, when asked why he left that once-proud party, replied, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me." That, of course, was Ronald Reagan.
Now, the Democrat Party, with Obama and his Leftists cadres leading the charge, is determined to break the back of free enterprise and thereby ensure an impoverished voting majority. And they're well on the way to doing so.
The objective of Obama's "fundamental transformation of the United States of America" is to replace free enterprise with a "social democracy," which Merriam-Webster aptly defines as "1: a political movement advocating a gradual and peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism by democratic means; 2: a democratic welfare state that incorporates both capitalist and socialist practices."
Unfortunately, whether it's Marxist, Nationalist or Democratic Socialism, the terminus of statism is tyranny, for as Historian Lord John Acton noted, "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Eighteenth-century philosopher and political economist Adam Smith once wrote, "It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people." In his 1776 masterpiece on man and economy, "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," Smith set forth that Liberty and free enterprise go hand in hand, and that should any potentate of state attempt to centralize the economy, that would most certainly be the end of Liberty.
Today, we Americans, in this last "Shining City on a Hill," stand at the precipice separating Liberty from tyranny. In a few short weeks, we'll learn whether our nation is going to plant its feet firmly, shout "Enough!" and fight for the restoration of Essential Liberty, or be pushed yet another step closer to the abyss of totalitarianism.
With less than a month until the midterm referendum on the most menacing socialist agenda in U.S. history, I'm reminded of a pamphlet published in 1916 by an outspoken advocate for Liberty, William J. H. Boetcker. He entitled his tract "The Ten Cannots," and it fittingly contrasts the competing political and economic agendas of the right and left in this era: "You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves."
Indeed.
In the meantime, let us stand firm against the Poverty Pimps, and, noli nothis permittere te terere (Don't let the bastards get you down)! Tags:poverty pimps, poverty, handouts, politicians, socialism, Democrat Party, Barack Obama, leftists, elitists, Obama administration, redistribution of wealth, Adam SmithTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The New York Times reports today, “As Obama administration officials put into place the first major wave of changes under the health care legislation, they have tried to defuse stiffening resistance — from companies like McDonald’s and some insurers — by granting dozens of waivers to maintain even minimal coverage far below the new law’s standards. The waivers have been issued in the last several weeks as part of a broader strategic effort to stave off threats by some health insurers to abandon markets, drop out of the business altogether or refuse to sell certain policies. Among those that administration officials hoped to mollify with waivers were some big insurers, some smaller employers and McDonald’s, which went so far as to warn that the regulations could force it to strip workers of existing coverage. . . . To date, the administration has given about 30 insurers, employers and union plans, responsible for covering about one million people, one-year waivers on the new rules that phase out annual limits on coverage for limited-benefit plans, also known as ‘mini-meds.’ Applicants said their premiums would increase significantly, in some cases doubling or more.”
Throughout the health care debate, Republicans pointed to the unavoidable consequences of Democrats’ attempts to insert more government into the health care system. In fact, the very week the unpopular health care bill passed, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell warned of “all the unintended consequences that will inevitably result from a 2,800-page bill that sets up dozens of federal boards and a thicket of new rules and regulations — regulations that we know won’t withstand their first contact with reality.” He continued, “When the White House was questioned about the glitches in the bill, they said the Secretary of Human Services was on the case. They said she’d issue a new regulation to correct the problem. But this is precisely what Americans are afraid of. This bill hadn’t even been law for 24 hours, and already they’re proposing regulations to cover over mistakes and errors. And we haven’t even seen the last of it.”
And this past week was the latest example. The Wall Street Journalreported last Thursday that “McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul.” It was obvious all along that the new mandates, regulations, and additional expenses in Democrats’ health care legislation could result in companies dropping their health coverage. And the WSJ story just confirmed those fears.
But the Obama administration treated the story as a PR challenge, rather than a flaw in the law itself. The Weekly Standard’s John McCormack reported that Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, “The McDonald's story is flat out wrong. . . . I’m sorry they weren’t more accurate in their reporting.” McCormack noted, “Sebelius suggested that McDonald's may in fact get a waiver from HHS that would enable the fast-food giant to continue offering limited benefits plans to its employees.” And today, the NYT reports that the Obama administration has now granted these waivers.
The American Spectator’s Philip Klein makes an important point about this. He writes today, “[B]y granting waivers to avert PR nightmares, like the news of McDonald's dropping coverage, it also adds another disturbing element to the ObamaCare regime. Those companies with the best access and lobbyists are in the best position to be granted a waiver. Bureaucrats can choose to apply a different set of rules to different businesses, and in some cases those rules can determine whether a given business survives. Thus, the waivers themselves are another example of the arbitrary nature of government power.”
So not only are the poorly thought out regulations and mandates in Democrats’ bill leading to the prospect of some Americans losing their health care coverage, the increased powers given to the government under this bill are now allowing the Obama administration to respond to play PR games with health coverage, picking winners and losers as it suits them.
Remember when Republicans were called alarmists for saying businesses would dump employees from their insurance plan. Well, we can already see that some of the "nation’s biggest employers are seriously considering cutting employee health care and paying the lower-cost penalties instead." The result is that the Obama's promise that "if you like the plan you have, you can keep it." You can't keep a healthcare program that your employer no longer provides! Speaker Pelosi said we’d have to pass this health care bill for people to find out what was in it, she knew what she was talking about. We are finding out everyday that this flawed Obamacare legislation needs to be repealed and replaced. Tags:Obamacare, government health care, lost benefits, Obama administration, Repeal ObamaCareTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Faisal Shahzad, the jihadist who tried to detonate a car bomb in New York’s Times Square, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. After his sentencing, Shahzad launched into a 10-minute tirade against America. Here are some excerpts from this follower of the “religion of peace”:
“Brace yourselves because the war with Muslims has just begun. Consider me the first droplet of the flood that will follow. The defeat of the U.S. is imminent and will happen in [the] near future.”
“We do not accept your democracy or your freedom because we already have Sharia [sacred Muslim] law. . . The past nine years, the war with Muslims has achieved nothing for the U.S., except for it has waken up the Muslims for Islam.”
“If I am given a thousand lives, I will sacrifice them all for the sake of Allah fighting this cause, defending our lands, making the word of Allah supreme over any religion or system.”
Apparently Mr. Shahzad didn’t get the memo. President Obama has repeatedly said that America is not and never will be at war with Islam. So what “war with Muslims” is Shahzad talking about? And all that hateful rhetoric about the defeat of America and dying for Allah doesn’t sound very tolerant or peaceful. What on earth could possibly motivate Shazhad to say those things?
Of course, I’m being sarcastic. This is a very serious issue, and Shahzad left no doubts about what motivated him. When the judge declared his sentence, he shouted “Allahu akbar” (“Allah is greatest”). Shahzad also declared himself a “proud terrorist.”
Thankfully, Shahzad failed in his attempt to wage jihad in Times Square. Nine years removed from 9/11, it’s easy to be complacent, to underestimate the evil we are fighting. The FBI re-created the bomb Shahzad attempted to detonate. Had he succeeded, the results would have been devastating, as you can see the video.
Obviously most Muslims are not engaged in jihad. But millions of Muslims worldwide embrace the narrative of Faisal Shahzad and other “holy warriors.” That narrative is that Islam is oppressed by the West and that a great upheaval is coming that will bring down America, Israel and all of Judeo-Christian civilization. This is what links the stories of murder and mayhem coming in every day from every corner of the world at the hands of Islamists.
Our political, media and academic elites are unable or unwilling to confront and defeat this onslaught. Some aren’t even sure Western Civilization is worth defending. ------------- Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families. This article also appeared in Human Events Bauer was a former Republican presidential candidate and served as President Ronald Reagan’s domestic policy adviser Tags:Faisal Shahzad, terrorist, terrorists, Islamic jihadist, Islamists, war, Muslims, video, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
House GOP Presses for No Earmarks in Post-Election Omnibus Spending Bill
By Republican Leader Press Office: House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and other members of the House GOP leadership joined Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and dozens of other House Republicans yesterday in sending a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging that no earmarks be included in the massive omnibus spending bill the Democratic majority appears likely to try to pass during a “lame duck” post-election session next month after the November elections:
“Earmark lists made available coincident with Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations Subcommittee markups include thousands of earmarks worth more than $3 billion. Due to the Republican earmark moratorium, all but the slightest fraction of these earmarks were requested by members of the majority….Taxpayers deserve to have appropriations legislation considered under an open and transparent process. At a minimum, taxpayers should be protected from thousands of unvetted earmarks, produced by a process driven by a spoils system, being stuffed into any end-of-year appropriations measure and shielded from review. Having made the decision to leave earmarks out of the final Fiscal Year 2006 spending plan, there is precedent for the majority taking such a step."
In a speech last week at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Leader Boehner said earmarks have become a symbol of the broken trust between the American people and their elected leaders. He noted an entire lobbying industry has been built around the practice, and vowed to press for reforms that will "end the earmark process as we know it."
Boehner's comments were echoed by Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-IN), who also joined Boehner in signing Rep. Flake's letter to Speaker Pelosi.
House Republican leaders have also called for an end to the practice of passing massive "omnibus" spending bills, arguing such bills make it too difficult to cut spending and too easy to shield spending projects from public scrutiny and debate. The GOP Pledge to America, which emphasizes the need to stop the job-killing spending spree in Washington, calls for immediate action on billions of dollars in spending cuts and a series of congressional reforms that would help fight unnecessary spending. Tags:US House, Republicans, GOP, stopping earmarks, earmarks, Democrat, Omnibus Spending bill, Lame Duck, post-electionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Congress Is On Recess But They Are Haunted By Obamacare & Reckless Spending Votes
Bill Smith, Editor: While the Congress is in recess except for pro forma sessions to prevent President Obama from making recess appointments, their record is haunting them as they return home. Democrats up for re-election are especially haunted by their votes for Obamacare and reckless spending. Note, being haunted has nothing to do with the news these days of witchcraft, but it has everything to do with their "dumb ass" (pun intended) decisions which is wrecking the greatest free economy in the world. While some Republicans have in the past danced the line with the progressive elitists on their agenda, they have been are also being called to accountability. The Republicans have been clearly reminded of the Party's conservative principles by the voices of the majority of Americans who are conservatives. For some Senators, it will take another two elections for them to face the voters over their votes.
Unfortunately, some liberal representatives and senators will be returned to Congress because the citizens whom they represent have already been drawn to receiving money provided through a myriad of government programs. This money is not really the "government's money" but is "other people's money" which has been taken or confiscated via taxation and fees or is being money borrowed from foreign countries like China and Saudi Arabia. And these confiscated or borrowed funds are in excess of the basic needs of government as established by the Constitution.
The constituents of these elected liberals have become like the former Roman mob. They are knowingly willing to sacrifice the individual freedoms and the economic future of generations, just as many of them have already done by sacrificed their children be it physically or mentally. For the mob, American exceptionalism is not one's ability to live free and independent but instead their envy and covetousness and the ability to take from others.
By casting off foundational principles and even common law as a basis for laws and rules based in Judeo-Christian principles like ten commandments, America is now faced with assaults on numerous levels. It is very evident that how a government handles and or mishandles "other people's money," is a major indicator of the pending rise or decline of that government. As Benjamin Franklin responded when asked which form of government have you given us, "A republic, if you can keep it." While Patriotic Americans still say the "Pledge of Allegiance with the words "Republic of the United States of America," the progressive elites and their mob followers are leaving the following pledge and the future of America lying on the floor of history to be trampled on:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
John Adams MMIV provides today's insights into Congress' actions and the fallout for Democrats due to their votes for ObamaCare and Reckless Spending:
ObamaCare: After Democrats rammed through their unpopular health care takeover through Congress over the objections of a majority of Americans in March, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) predicted, “By November, those who voted for health care will find it an asset, those who voted against it will find it a liability. . . . As people learn what’s actually in the bill, six months from now at election time this will be a plus because the parade of horribles — particularly the worry that the average middle-class has that this will affect them negatively — will have vanished and they’ll see that this will affect them positively.”
With the election less than a month away, though, Americans still don’t like Democrats’ monstrosity of a health care bill and Democrat candidates all across the country are having their eyes opened. The Hill reports today, “Healthcare reform is hurting the reelection chances of freshman Democrats in the House, according to The Hill/ANGA poll. A majority of voters in key battleground districts favor repeal of the legislative overhaul Congress passed this year. President Obama predicted in the spring that the new law would become popular as people learned more about it. But the poll shows Republicans strongly oppose it, independents are wary of it and a surprising number of Democrats also want it overturned.” In fact, 56% of those surveyed favored repeal of the health care law, and nearly 1-in-4 Democrats (23%) agreed. Democrat pollster Mark Penn notes, “Undecided voters wanted the healthcare law repealed by 49% to 27%.”
And Politico reports that ostensibly pro-life Democrats who voted for a health care bill with inadequate protections against government funding of abortions are finding that their vote is “haunt[ing]” them. “[Pennsylvania Rep. Kathy] Dahlkemper and other anti-abortion Democrats are at risk of becoming an endangered species in the House. She and others eventually signed on to the health reform law, endorsing an executive order that barred federal funding of abortions. But SBA List and other anti-abortion groups opposed the executive order, contending it was too weak. Now, SBA List is engaged in a multimillion-dollar attack on its former allies, replete with bus tours and billboards alleging that members ‘voted for taxpayer-funded abortion.’”
In a CNN piece analyzing how Democrats got to this point, Gloria Borger writes, “‘Health care seemed like a totally inside-the-beltway deal,’ says a Democratic pollster. ‘That went against [President Obama’s] own brand.’ And that's a dangerous thing for any leader, especially one whose persona was tied to a different way of doing business. After spending nine months debating health care, the Democrats had no choice but to try and pass something. Yet instead of going for a scaled-back version -- as then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had counseled -- they went for the whole thing. They won. But if there are any Democrats campaigning on the wonders of reform this cycle, they can all fit in one VW.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blasted Democrats for their arrogant approach to health care and many other issues in the Weekly Republican Address Saturday. “Over the past 19 months, we’ve witnessed something truly remarkable in Washington. We’ve seen a governing party basically tune out the American people who elected them and aggressively advance an agenda that most Americans vehemently opposed. In fact, the more Americans spoke out against government takeovers, government-run health care, wasteful spending, and debt, the more Democratic lawmakers seemed to dig in.”
And Democrats are now seeing the results of their stubborn push for a health care takeover that Americans opposed and which has so far resulted in higher health care costs, higher taxes, lost jobs, and cuts to Medicare. And in just the last couple of weeks, there has been a series of stories showing companies are likely to change or drop health care coverage because of the law, while insurers are telling consumers to brace for “whopping rate increases” thanks to the new mandates. This isn’t what Americans had in mind when they said they wanted health care reform. No wonder majorities in swing districts would like to see the Democrats’ law repealed.
Reckless Spending:The Washington Post reported yesterday, “The nation's economic future would be endangered if the government does not rein in budget deficits in the years ahead, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Monday, and Congress should consider new budgeting rules to try to make that happen. ‘One way or the other, fiscal adjustments sufficient to stabilize the federal budget will certainly occur at some point,’ Bernanke told an audience in Providence, R.I. ‘The only real question is whether these adjustments will take place through a careful and deliberative process . . . or whether the needed fiscal adjustments will be a rapid and painful response to a looming or actual fiscal crisis.’”
According to Reuters, “President Barack Obama on Monday said the United States was facing an ‘untenable fiscal situation’ and would have to get serious about tackling its federal deficit.” The President is right, but it’s been his White House and his party in Congress that have pushed for and enacted deficit spending at historically high levels. Indeed, the Reuters story notes, “The U.S. budget deficit is forecast at a record $1.47 trillion in the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2010.”
And it all started barely a month after Obama took the oath of office when he signed the $817 billion stimulus bill. Recall that Democrats sold it as emergency legislation that would hold unemployment around 8% and create 4 million jobs. Unfortunately, today, the unemployment rate is still 9.6% andover 3.3 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus was signed in February 2009. And a new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that “[o]ver two-thirds of Americans believe that President Obama's signature stimulus bill was a waste,” according to The Hill.
But the tide of red ink only rose from there. Just this spring, Democrats passed over $200 billion in new deficit spending on extensions of unemployment benefits and other legislation. Republicans repeatedly insisted that while unemployment benefits should be extended to help those out of work, Democrats must find a way to pay for it. In the end, though, Democrats chose to ignore these warnings and they rammed a bill through anyway, adding another $34 billion to the deficit in July.
The Wall Street Journal editorialized, “Democrats are simply spending much more, sending outlays as a share of GDP above 25% for the first time since World War II. The White House now says outlays will be higher in 2011, at 25.1% of GDP, than at the height of the stimulus in 2009 and 2010. This is an ironic tribute to the degree to which Democrats on Capitol Hill have been increasing spending willy-nilly below the media radar. The 111th Congress is the most spendthrift in a century outside of World Wars I and II.”
When President Obama was a senator from Illinois, he once said in a speech, “Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.”
What other conclusion can one come to given Democrats’ track record on spending and debt than that it has been “a failure of leadership,” as Obama once said? Even, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell admitted in July, that Republicans underestimated "how committed Democrats are to spending money we don’t have. . . . They just don’t seem to appreciate the fact that by adding to the national debt, they’re increasing the long-term burden on everyone — the unemployed, the employed, and our children and grandchildren who will have to pay for it.” [Sam Adams MMIV is a pen name for an un-named beltway source.] Tags:Us Congress, Democrats, Senators, Representatives, Obamacare, reckless spending, United States of America, Republic, RepublicansTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama's Tax Piracy - Tax Hikes To Drive a Second Collapse?
Bill Smith, Editor: Today, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air commented on Peter Ferrara's new book: "President Obama Tax Piracy: Broadside No. 17." In the past, most people would have skipped a book with with economics and facts for a mindless but enjoyable novel providing momentary enjoyment. But TEA Party Patriots, listeners of Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and numerous other conservative talk show hosts, and the memberships of varied conservative organizations and groups have evidenced a growing concern with both the on going and the pending progressive elitists' socialist agenda for America. People are not only reading, they are looking for substance to educate themselves and others very quickly. The comments today by Morrissey interwoven with charts and words by Ferrara should wet your appetite for Ferrara's new book being released in paperback. It costs less than one of those "evil" large greasy burgers and fries. I know it's tough to choose; so, as an example I am ordering everything: the book, the burger and the fries. by Ed Morrissey, Hot Air: Congress left Washington without addressing the massive tax hikes that will come at the end of the year as the tax-rate reductions of 2001 and 2003 expire. Absent action on Capitol Hill, those increases will take $4 trillion out of the economy over the next ten years — and even if the lower tax bracket reductions get extended, $700 billion of capital will get redirected from the private sector to Washington. How will that impact economic growth in the US? Peter Ferrara argues that it will create not just a double-dip recession, but a second economic collapse — one worse than what we experienced in 2008.
In his new treatise published by Encounter for its Broadsides collection, Broadside No. 17: President Obama’s Tax Piracy, Ferrara notes that Barack Obama has chosen the opposite strategy in economic policy from both John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, especially the latter. Reagan cut taxes, especially on capital gains and dividends, and broke down regulatory hurdles. Obama wants not only to raise taxes on those who have the most capital, he wants to make it harder for them to use it as well, quoting a similar analysis by Arthur Laffer:
[W]hen the U.S. economy comes to 2011, the train’s going to come off the tracks. . . . The tax boundary that will occur on January 1 , 2011 tells me that GDP growth in 2010 will be some 6 percent to 8 percent higher than GDP growth in 2011 . A year on year decline from trend of some 6 percent to 8 percent in 2011 growth would represent a larger collapse than occurred in 2008 and early 2009 .
Ferrara includes this helpful and rather cheerless chart to emphasize what Laffer predicts as we hit the “tax boundary”:
On top of that, and in large part because of it, the government won’t see the revenues it expects, either:
President Obam’s budget projects that his tax increases on “the rich” (singles making more than $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000) would raise $678 billion in increased revenue during the next 10 years. The ObamaCare legislation projected another $210 billion from the increased payroll taxes on those workers for a total of nearly $1 trillion. But these tax increases won’t raise anywhere near the revenue projected. Obama will be lucky if this tax piracy doesn’t result in less revenue. . . .
The projections of higher revenues from the other tax rate increases all fail to take into account the negative incentive effects discussed above and the counterproductive interactions from all those effects. Since we know from experience that those incentive effects are powerful and real, the result at a minimum will be less revenue than expected, if not less revenue overall.
This is the problem of static analysis on tax policy. It assumes that the changes in tax policy sets up no other incentives or changes any behavior. Of course it does, though, as do even threatened changes. Ferrara believes that the economy may actually look better than it is this year because capital holders are moving gains and income into 2010 to avoid higher taxes next year. After we hit the tax boundary, all the incentives go the other direction, and that means negative growth across the board.
President Obama’s Tax Piracy gives a worst-case scenario to be sure, but even a milder version of the predicted reaction would be ugly indeed. Ferrara backs up his argument with plenty of data and analysis for a 49-page treatise, the format of the impressive Broadside series. He reviews the results of policy changes in tax law and regulatory expansion and retraction over the past 50 years and draws clear policy implications from all. We have been down both roads before, and often enough to have a map to the destinations of each.
Ferrara’s book will be released in the next couple of weeks, but do yourself a favor and pre-order a copy The price makes it affordable to almost everyone, and also will be released in Kindle format, which I highly recommend. Tags:Barack Obama, tax, piracy, increased taxes, economic collapse, Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, Peter Ferrara, book, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Red Herring Politics: Anointed Elites Imposing Their Own Notions
The following article by Thomas Sowell touches on a couple examples of "red herrings" being run out "dirty politics" style by the left wing elitists who wish to distract voters from the truth of the current situation. Democrat liberals elitists cannot be entrusted with either the truth or with government. We are now seeing attacks from Delaware to California. By attacks we mean "red herring" actions. They are not discussing the truth of a particular situation but the false narrative created as a distration. Unfortunately, the lame stream media and cable networks including Fox News buys into reporting these red herrings as something newsworthy thus the continue to propagate lies.
by Dr. Thomas Sowell: In an election year, this is the time for an "October surprise"-- some sensational, and usually irrelevant, revelation to distract the voters from serious issues. This year, there are October surprises from coast to coast. There are a lot of incumbents who don't want to discuss serious issues-- especially their own track records.
This year's October surprise that is getting the biggest play in the media is the revelation that California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman once employed a housekeeper-- at $23 an hour -- who turned out to be an illegal immigrant. It is great political theater, with activist lawyer Gloria Allred putting her arm protectively around the unhappy-looking woman.
But why anyone should be unhappy at getting $23 an hour for housekeeping is by no means clear. Maybe she is unhappy because Meg Whitman fired her when she learned that her housekeeper was an illegal immigrant, despite false documents that indicated she was legal when she was hired. What is Meg Whitman supposed to be guilty of? Not being able to tell false documents from real ones? Is that what voters are supposed to use to determine who to vote for as governor of California? A far more important question is whether voters can tell false issues from real ones.
October surprises are especially phony when they are used on behalf of someone with a long track record in government, like Jerry Brown, who has held government jobs ranging from state attorney general to mayor of Oakland to governor of the state. What did Jerry Brown do the last time he was governor? That ought to tell us a lot more than whether Meg Whitman is a document expert. She is not running for a job as a document expert.
One appointment by Governor Jerry Brown ought to tell us a lot about his ideology. His most famous-- or infamous-- appointment was making Rose Bird chief justice of the California supreme court. She over-ruled 64 consecutive death penalty verdicts and upheld none. Apparently no judge or jury could ever give a murderer a trial perfect enough to suit Rose Bird.
To hear Rose Bird and her supporters tell it, she was just "upholding the law." But, fortunately, the California voters saw right through that pretense, and realized that she was doing just the opposite-- imposing her own personal opposition to the death penalty in the guise of interpreting the law. No California chief justice appointee had ever been voted off the bench by the voters before Rose Bird, but she was roundly defeated when 67 percent of the voters voted against her in a confirmation election required by California law.
Two of her like-mind colleagues on the California supreme court were likewise voted off the bench. They, too, were appointed by Governor Jerry Brown. The question is not whether you are for or against the death penalty. If you don't like the death penalty, you can vote to repeal it. But it is not the job of judges to deprive the voters of their right to choose the laws they want to live under.
This is part of a much larger arrogant political ideology, in which anointed elites impose their own notions, in utter disregard of the laws passed by the people's elected representatives.
At one time, Governor Jerry Brown was riding high in the Democratic Party, and was considered a rising prospect for that party's nomination for President of the United States. Then something happened that told us all what kind of man he was.
There was an infestation of Mediterranean fruit flies out in California's agricultural heartland in the interior valleys. Despite being urged to allow spraying of insecticide out in the valleys, to nip the infestation in the bud, Governor Brown pandered to the environmental extremists and refused. The net result was that the "Med flies," as they were called, spread from the valleys out into cities and towns as far west as the San Francisco Bay Area. Faced with a major political disaster, Jerry Brown finally authorized spraying -- over a vastly larger area than when he was first asked. That fiasco spared us a Jerry Brown administration in Washington.
No wonder his supporters have sprung an October surprise about Meg Whitman's housekeeper. They need a distraction from his record.
------------- Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social commentator, and author of dozens of books. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago and degrees from Columbia University and Harvard University. He is a retired professor of Economic and presently is a Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Note: This article was received via multiple emails and the article is provided for educational purposes. Tags:Thomas Sowell, red herring, politics, distraction, California, Meg Whitman, Jerry Brown, anointed elites To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
William Warren Tags:Elections 2010, Obama Administration, Political Cartoons, Rahm Emanuel, White House, William WarrenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
New Senate polls show GOP leads in Arkansas and Colorado
by John Ruberry, Marathon Pundit: While there is no "slaughter rule" in politics, you have to wonder if it would apply in the Arkansas US Senate race. Okay, I'm over-dramatizing things a bit, but Democrat Blanche Lincoln is the incumbent--and she is trailing her Republican challenger, John Boozman, 55 percent to 37 percent, according to the latest Rasmussen poll.
In Colorado, another Democratic incumbent, Sen. Michael Bennet, trails his Republican challenger, Ken Buck, albeit by just eight percentage points, 50 to 42 percent. That poll comes from a new McClatchy-Marist poll.
Coming to your town: The Great Correction. Tags:Colorado, Michael Bennet. Senate, gop, Republican, Ken Buck, politics, Blanche Lincoln, John Boozman, Arkansas, politics, Rasmussen, polls, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
NRCC Airs Its First Ad in Arkansas Congressional District 1
NRCC : The NRCC takes on long time D.C. liberal political operative Chad Casey in its newly released ad.
Tags:NRCC, politics, ad, Arkansas, Chad Causey, AR-01, 2010 electionTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
"The House Hasn't Adjourned Before Sept. 30 In An Election Year Since 1960."(Jonathan Allen And Jake Sherman, "House May Adjourn By End Of Week," Politico, 9/20/10)
DEMS LEAVE TOWN WITHOUT PASSING A BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS BILLS, STOPPING THE UPCOMING TAX HIKE OR HOLDING ETHICS TRIALS
"They Never Passed A Budget Or Any Of The Dozen Appropriations Bills That Fund The Government. In Addition -- And Perhaps More Important On The Campaign Trail -- They Didn't Vote To Stop Expiring Bush Tax Cuts On Employment, Investment Or Inheritance Income."(Jonathan Allen, "The Huddle," Politico, 9/30/10)
Dems Are Skipping Town Without Producing A Budget, Voting On The Tax Hike, Or Dealing With Two "Embarrassing" Ethics Scandals. "A deeply unpopular Congress is bolting for the campaign trail without finishing its most basic job - approving a budget for the government year that begins on Friday. Lawmakers also are postponing a major fight over taxes, two embarrassing ethics cases and other political hot potatoes until ... the Nov. 2 elections."(Andrew Taylor And Laurie Kellman, "Congress Punts Tough Choice Until After Election," The AP, 9/29/10)
DEMOCRATS DECIDED CAMPAIGNING WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LEGISLATING
USA Today Editorial: "[L]awmakers Moved To Adjourn Late Wednesday After Failing To Address Just About Every Other Pressing Problem The Nation Faces."(Editorial, "Departing Congress Leaves Piles Of Unfinished Business," USA Today, 9/29/10)
USAT: "All Of Which Leads To The Question: Don't These Much-Honored Lawmakers Have Any Work To Do? The Answer Is: Plenty, But They Are Often More Interested In Keeping Their Jobs Than Doing Them."(Editorial, "Departing Congress Leaves Piles Of Unfinished Business," USA Today, 9/29/10)
The New York Times: "The Last Day Of The Brief September Session Was As Notable For What Did Not Get Done As For What Did. Neither chamber voted on the expiring Bush-era tax cuts as Democrats skipped a politically treacherous debate and Republicans slammed them for it." (David M. Herszenhorn, "Congress Wraps Up Session Early As Midterm Races Loom," The New York Times, 9/29/10)
The Boston Globe "The House And Senate Adjourned Last Night, Leaving The Central Pocketbook Issue To Be Decided After The Nov. 2 Midterm Elections -- and just weeks before the tax cuts are set to expire. That indecision injects more uncertainty into whose taxes will go up, and by how much." (Matt Viser, "Middle Class Tax-Cut Issue Backfiring On Democrats," The Boston Globe, 9/30/10)
Democrat Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA): "It Is Both A Political And A Governmental Mistake ... To Me, It Is A Classic Example Of What's Wrong With Washington.''(Matt Viser, "Middle Class Tax-Cut Issue Backfiring On Democrats," ibid
The Wall Street Journal: "Congress's Adjournment ... Will Leave Many Major Issues Unresolved, Including The Fate Of Tax Cuts Enacted Under Former President George W. Bush, Which Expire At The End Of This Year."(Janet Hook, "Lawmakers Head For Exits,"The Wall Street Journal, 9/30/10)
Politics Daily "Although endangered incumbents were eager to leave Washington to concentrate on campaigning in their home districts, members of both parties left town frustrated that Democratic leaders had not held a vote on the Bush tax cuts before adjourning." (Patricia Murphy, "Congress Adjourns Until Elections, Punts On Tax Cuts And Spending," Politics Daily's"The Capitolist" Blog, 9/30/10)
Politics Daily "In a display of just how much disagreement Democrats had within their own caucus, 39 House Democrats joined the House Republicans late Wednesday in an effort to force congress to vote on the cuts before leaving town. (Patricia Murphy, "Congress Adjourns Until Elections, Punts On Tax Cuts And Spending," ibid
DEMS DIDN'T WANT TO VOTE ON "CONTROVERSIAL" ISSUES, INCLUDING THE TAX HIKE
"With Their House And Senate Majorities On The Line, Democratic Leaders Called Off Votes And Even Debates On All Controversial Matters."(Andrew Taylor And Laurie Kellman, "Congress Punts Tough Choice Until After Election,"The AP, 9/29/10)
Pelosi Was Called In To Cast The Deciding Vote To Adjourn Without Voting On Their Tax Hike. "The vote was so close, 210-209, that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who rarely votes on day to day legislation, had to cast the tie breaking vote on the adjournment resolution." (Simmi Aujla, "Democrats Rebuke Leaders On Adjournment," Politico, 9/29/10)
Dems Were So Split On Wanting To Vote On The Tax Cuts That Pelosi Had To Take The "Unusual Step Of Voting To Break A Tie." "In a display of just how much disagreement Democrats had within their own caucus, 39 House Democrats joined the House Republicans late Wednesday in an effort to force Congress to vote on the cuts before leaving town. Democrats won the 210-209, but only after Pelosi took the unusual step of voting to break a tie." (Patricia Murphy, "Congress Adjourns Until Elections, Punts On Tax Cuts And Spending," Politics Daily's"The Capitolist" Blog, 9/30/10)
"Thirty-Nine Democrats, Many Of Them In Tight Races, Broke Ranks Wednesday To Vote Against Adjourning The House, A Direct Rebuke To Democratic Leaders' Decision Not To Hold A Tax Cut Vote Before Adjourning For Elections."(Simmi Aujla, "Democrats Rebuke Leaders On Adjournment," Politico, 9/29/10)
Some Dems Were "Anxious" About Leaving Without Voting On Whether Or Not To Extend The Bush Tax Cuts. "However, some Democrats were anxious about leaving town without voting on legislation to extend the Bush tax cuts. Senate Democrats decided last week to put off the issue until the lame-duck session. House leaders followed suit, in part because of divisions among Democrats over whether to extend the tax cuts for all taxpayers or, as President Barack Obama has proposed, only for families with less than $250,000 annual income. In a sign of the political jitters surrounding the tax cuts, 39 Democrats joined Republicans Wednesday in voting against a routine motion to adjourn ..." (Janet Hook, "Lawmakers Head For Exits," The Wall Street Journal, 9/30/10)
"According To The Senate Historian, This Week's Adjournment Is The Earliest Pre-Election Exit Since 1960.(Janet Hook, "Lawmakers Head For Exits," The Wall Street Journal, 9/30/10) Tags:failure, govern, government, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, DemocratsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
By Campbell Robertson, New York Times: [Excepts] BRYANT, Ark. — That Democrats are in trouble is hardly news these days, at least in most places. They are certainly in trouble here, from Congressional representatives to state legislators to officeholders whose power stops at the town limits.
But Democrats in Arkansas, who have long dominated state and local offices despite the state’s essentially conservative electorate, have not been in this much trouble for as long as anyone can remember, at least anyone who was not around during Reconstruction. “It is a very big deal,” said Rex Nelson, who was a press secretary for former Gov. Mike Huckabee and political editor of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “This has never happened, not in my lifetime.”
The Democrats’ trouble runs from top to bottom. In poll after poll, Blanche Lincoln, the senior senator, is trailing her Republican challenger, John Boozman, the state’s lone Republican congressman.
The Democrat running for Congress in the central part of the state, a district that has been in the party’s hands for 92 of the last 100 years, is also running far behind, and there is a better than even chance that a Republican could take the first Congressional district in the northeastern part of the state, too, which would make him the first Republican in that seat since 1875.
The state legislature, while it will remain in Democratic control, could have the largest number of Republicans ever. Even the historically ho-hum races for offices like lieutenant governor and land commissioner . . . . A state-wide wave of Republican victories would be shocking, but even if that does not happen . . . many are surprised by the mere fact that there are so many tough races at all.
Arkansas has been something of a political outlier over the last few decades. It is a mostly Southern state, with a mostly conservative Southern outlook but without the Southern shade of red. The state has voted for Republican presidents, but eight of its last 10 governors have been Democrats, and the state has sent exactly one Republican to the Senate in the past 130 years . . . Three of its four representatives in the United States House are Democrats, as are 99 of its 135 state legislators.
. . . Students of Arkansas politics point out the state’s long tradition of rural populism, the slow development of its suburbs and a run of uncommonly adept Democratic politicians . . . Arkansas also has a smaller percentage of black residents than other Southern states, where Democrats must court black voters and rural white voters with equal zeal, leading to messages that are at times so divergent as to be contradictory.
But this political science may soon become political history. The question is whether this is a singular tremor in an anti-establishment year or an earthquake. . . . The answer may lie somewhere in the first Congressional district, among the cotton and soybean fields of the Mississippi delta. Ms. Lincoln got her political start here, and her successor, a reliable Blue Dog, will be leaving the seat after 14 years. But the Democrat running to replace him, Chad Causey, is now in a fight for survival against his Republican opponent, a farm report broadcaster named Rick Crawford.
. . . “They really want to be Democrats, their fathers and grandfathers were Democrats,” . . . “But the Democratic Party has left the state.” This falling-out goes back before 2008, on issues like abortion, but 2008 is when the divorce was made formal: John McCain won the state by double the margin of victory that George W. Bush had in 2004 (Mark Pryor, a Democrat, won his Senate seat with nearly 80 percent of the vote that same year). . . . But the complaints were mainly fiscal, about the “giveaway money” that the Democrats — and Republicans, and anybody in Washington for that matter — seemed to be handing out.
While many of the farmers bristled defensively when the topic of agricultural subsidies was raised in this context, one even suggested heretically that he would be open to a reduction in subsidies — farms in the district received nearly $6 billion in subsidies after the past 15 years — just to get spending under control. Other farmers said they would vote against Ms. Lincoln because of her vote for the health care bill, even though she is in a position to help them as the chairwoman of the Senate agriculture committee.
The frustration — and it is more frustration than Tea Party-style anger — runs that deep. . . . [Full Article] Tags:Arkansas, politics, 2010 Elections, democrats, republicans, political changeTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Socialist protesters and paraphernalia dominated Saturday's (10-2-2010) left-wing protest rally in Washington, DC. The so-called "One Nation" rally was led by labor unions as an attempt to counter Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally, which took place in DC on 8-28-2010. They obviously didn't get it since Restoring Honor was about our Nation turning back to God and their attempt is to trun to a failed "ism"s which has led in the past to millions of deaths.
You will love how they cleaned up after their socialist rally (H/T Doug Ross):
Tags:socialist, Left-wing, protest rally, Washington, D.C., One Nation, communism, trashTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Ron Russell: Obama puts his personal feelings above those of most Americans. England under Churchill was our great friend in the darkest days of WWII, but this president, this son of Kenya, has spit on the beloved English leader. I would suggest that when the Republicans take by the U.S. House this fall that the bust be placed in the new Speakers Office until such a time that Obama is kicked from the Oval Office. Tags:Churchhill Bust, Winston Churchhill, Barack Obama, U.S., England,To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Fed will likely undertake a very large quantitative easing program sooner rather than later, if the economic data doesn’t get markedly better in the very near future.
This QE2 will need to be far more aggressive than most expect, for there is not going to be a QE3. It is essentially the last chance the Fed has. It will want to eradicate any doubt about its ability to work; it is, in essence, the nuclear option.
The measure could be as much as $750 billion to $1.5 trillion. And expect far more aggressive purchases than in QE1.
Mortgage-backed securities, the root cause of the economic collapse, will be the cornerstone of the purchases, thereby allowing a possible 10 percent to 15 percent increase in home prices, which would do wonders for the flat-lined economy.
Credit card-backed paper will be on the tab as well as some auto loans to keep the administration happy.
Sadly, with credit still unavailable to the “middle class” due primarily to poor fiscal policy and economic leadership, the Fed will have to dramatically increase the money supply in order to spur spending. It will work, but it’s going to be complicated.
So Mr. Trugman believes this quantitative easing will work, but that it has to be huge to spur spending. He fails to ask the simple question: will such an aggressive program be worth the benefit?
But others are arguing that thequantitative easing will have no effect at all. Marketwatch reports:
A new round of Federal Reserve purchases of bonds would have little impact on markets or the economy, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said in a speech on Wednesday.
Speaking in London, Kocherlakota on Wednesday outlined several reasons why buying government bonds wouldn’t make a major impact. For one, banks already have nearly $1 trillion in excess reserves. “QE gives them new licenses to create money, but I do not see why they would suddenly start to use the new ones if they weren’t using the old ones,” he said, according to a copy of the text he was due to deliver.
As to the first round of quantitative easing by the Fed, Kocherlakota cited an academic study showing that the $1.5 trillion purchase of agency debt, agency mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries by the Fed between Jan. 2009 and March 2010 reduced the term premium on 10-year Treasury's relative to 2-year Treasury's by about 40 to 80 basis points, which in turn led to a slightly smaller fall in the term premia of corporate bonds.
Kocherlakota estimates a new round of QE would have a more muted effect, because financial markets are functioning much better than they were in early 2009. “As a result, the relevant spreads are lower, and I suspect that it will be somewhat more challenging for the Fed to impact them,” he said.
So Trugman says this aggressive quantitative easing will work, but Kocherlakota says it won’t. In reality, who knows? The real problem is that there is so little discussion of the risks and costs involved. Marketwatch explains the risk in one sentence: "Kocherlakota also said that the impact of quantitative easing is to shift the interest rate risk on bonds from investors to taxpayers."
So the real impact of this quantitative easing will be to socialize risk. The Fed risks creating further moral hazard. The Fed risks producing interest rates that are too low, which will create more bubbles. The Fed is going to create distortions in the market system. But despite these risks, there is no guarantee of success.
I applaud Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota’s efforts to restore reason and common sense to our ineffective and inefficient monetary policy. Tags:Michael E. Newton, The Path to Tyranny, Capitalism, Economics, Federal Reserve, Stimulus spending | Tagged stimulus, capitalism, economics, Economic, Business, Inflation, Federal Reserve System, Money supply, Quantitative easing, United States Treasury security, Monetary policy, Federal Reserve, Kocherlakota To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday to require television stations and cable companies to keep commercials at the same volume as the programs they interrupt.
The House has passed similar legislation. Before it can become law, minor differences between the two versions have to be worked out when Congress returns to Washington after the Nov. 2 election.
Ever since television caught on in the 1950s, the Federal Communication Commission has been getting complaints about blaring commercials. But the FCC concluded in 1984 there was no fair way to write regulations controlling the “apparent loudness” of commercials. So it hasn’t been regulating them.
This reminds me of the federal instructions to change all the street signs in New York City. It’s not like there’s anything more pressing in the country than television commercials. Tags:Congress, TV, commercials, television commercials, sound controlTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
William Warren: Tags:Democrats, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un, Marxism, North Korea, Political Cartoons, William WarrenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Bankrupting America: Has government spending gotten personal for you? Then do something about it. Send this video to your Congressman. Together we can tell Washington that the public has spoken: Political stripes no longer matter on this issue, we're fed up with government overspending.
Numbers don't lie. And we've got our finger on the public pulse! Seven out of ten voters say government spending is too high and 68% say spending is affecting them personally, according to a ten-state poll we sponsored. Our fans told us they love the infographics we made to visualize the poll's key findings. So we made a video taking the graphics to the next level. Watch this video for a visualization of the key findings from our bipartisan poll (conducted by the Tarrance Group and Hart Research).
Pence Supports Boehner Call to End Earmarking As We Know It
“It’s past time for Congress to make the hard choices that are necessary to break Washington’s spending addiction.”
Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, released the following statement after House Republican Leader John Boehner said, in a speech today at the American Enterprise Institute, that it is time to “end earmarking as we know it and bring fundamental change to the way in which Washington spends taxpayers’ money:”
“Earmarks have become emblematic of everything that is wrong with spending in Washington D.C., and I am proud to stand with Leader Boehner in calling for an end to earmarking as we know it.
“House Republicans made a strong statement when we agreed to a one-year moratorium on all earmarks. As we go forward, closing the ‘favor factory’ is just one of the steps that Republicans will take to reform how Congress spends tax dollars. It’s past time for Congress to make the hard choices that are necessary to break Washington’s spending addiction, and ending earmarks as we know them is a step in the right direction.”
Tags:Mike Pence, John Boehner, earmarks, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct. 1, 2010 - Rahm Emanuel Leaves White House
The big news in Washington, is Rahm Emanuel stepping down as White House Chief of Staff to return to Illinois to run for Mayor of Chicago. One wonders if Chicago is doomed to remain a political cesspool with the return of Emanuel. Obama said about Emanuel's leaving that "I will miss him dearly." Pete Rouse, age 62 and a longtime stealth adviser of Obama will become the new Chief of Staff. David Axelrod, Obama senior adviser, has already signaled that he will be leaving as well.
Congress is in recess. However, the Senate reconvened briefly for a pro forma session at 11:30 AM today. The Senate will hold a series of these sessions throughout the recess to prevent President Obama from making recess appointments. As identified yesterday, this was on the insistence of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. It apparent that the American people cannot trust the current president to do things properly. This procedure needs to be enforced in the the upcoming years.
Presently, the Senate will also hold Pro Forma sessions on: October 5 at 11:00 AM, October 8 at 11:30 AM, October 12 at 10:00 AM, October 15 at 10:00 AM, October 19 at 12:00 PM, October 22 at 1:00 PM, October 26 at 12:00 PM, October 29 at 11:30 AM, November 1 at 9:00 AM, November 4 at 9:00 AM, November 8 at 12:00 PM, November 10 at 9:30 AM, and November 12 at 10:00 AM.
Congress will not reconvene in full force for legislative business on Monday, November 15th at which time an expected "Lame Duck" War will commence. Ousted Democrats may seek to impose their agenda on America in spite of the fact that the American people will be sending a clear message that they are unhappy with the liberal progressive agenda of big government, increased spending, increased taxation, and intrusion on individual freedoms.
The democrats agenda is very clear by the fact that before leaving on recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed cloture on the motions to proceed to 3 bills: a bill to promote natural gas and electric vehicles (S. 3815), a bill Democrats named the “Paycheck Fairness Act” (recall that they named “card check” the “Employee Free Choice Act”) (S. 3772), and a food safety bill that expands the FDA’s regulatory powers (S. 510). There was no effort to support extending tax relief which is due to expire.
On Wednesday, President Obama was in Iowa to again attempt to sell his policies, particularly his unpopular health care law. In a backyard discussion, a woman expressed her concerns to the President about his health care bill. Obama assured her, “[T]here’s nothing in the bill that says you have to change the health insurance that you’ve got right now.” He went on to say, “[I]f you’ve got health care through your employer, that’s not going to change, except to make it a little bit safer and more secure.”
But The New York Times reports today, “The Principal Financial Group announced on Thursday that it planned to stop selling health insurance, another sign of upheaval emerging among insurers as the new federal health law starts to take effect. The company, based in Iowa, provides coverage to about 840,000 people who receive their insurance through an employer.” So in the very same state the President assured an audience that if they get their health insurance through their employer, “that’s not going to change,” two days later, the NYT is reporting that 840,000 people in that state will no longer be able to get the exact same plan they had.
The NYT adds, “Principal’s decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market, like the business of selling child-only policies. State regulators say some insurance companies are already threatening to leave particular markets because of the new law.”
Indeed, the NYT notes that just yesterday, “McDonald’s recently asked federal officials for an exemption to rules that would ban the kind of health plans many of its restaurant workers have, because the existing policies sharply limit coverage.” As reported yesterday, The Wall Street Journal broke the story, pointing out, “The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers' health plans as the law ripples through the real world.” According to the WSJ, McDonald’s dropping its insurance plans could affect “nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers.”
Just last week, The Washington Post reported, “Some of the country's most prominent health insurance companies have decided to stop offering new child-only plans, rather than comply with rules in the new health-care law that will require such plans to start accepting children with preexisting medical conditions after Sept. 23.” As The Post noted, “Three insurers - WellPoint, Cigna and CoventryOne - all cited uncertainty in the health insurance market for their decisions. That incertitude and the resulting decision of other insurers to drop their child-only plans, according to WellPoint spokeswoman Kristin Binns, ‘has created an unlevel competitive environment.’”
Today’s New York Times story adds, “At the Principal Financial Group, the company’s decision reflected its assessment of its ability to compete in the environment created by the new law. . . . More insurers are likely to follow Principal’s lead, especially as they try to meet the new rules that require plans to spend at least 80 cents of every dollar they collect in premiums on the welfare of their customers. . . . “It’s just going to drive the little guys out,” said Robert Laszewski, a health policy consultant in Alexandria, Va. . . . Mr. Laszewski is worried that the ensuing concentration is likely to lead to higher prices because large players will no longer face the competition from the smaller plans.”
Of course, this isn’t what Democrats promised when they were trying to sell their health care bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said last year, “In fact, one of our core principles is that if you like the health care you have, you can keep it.” Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the Finance Committee chairman who had a hand in writing the bill, said, “Folks who are satisfied with their current health insurance coverage could keep it. People would not be required to change health plans.” And another senator heavily involved in crafting the health care law, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), said, “I say at the outset, if you like what you have, you get to keep it, choose your doctor, hospital, choose the insurance program you have.”
But Americans were rightly skeptical of these unrealistic promises, and they were very clear that this wasn’t the kind of health care reform they were looking for. Yet Democrats arrogantly rushed the bill to passage. The bill was so poorly thought out that companies are already asking for waivers from some of the innumerable mandates in the bill so that tens of thousands of their employees won’t lose their health coverage.
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said, “Along with most Americans, the entire Republican conference opposed this legislation. We listened to the public and argued strenuously against its passage at every opportunity. . . . And since its passage, our arguments against this bill have been repeatedly vindicated, even as the Administration’s many promises about the bill have been called into question again and again.” Today’s news is just one more broken promise capping six months of stories showing the American people and Republicans in Congress were right all along in opposing Democrats’ health care law.
November is Coming! Beware of the Democrat attack machine trying to derail the projected tidal wave projected to remove many progressive liberal elites from power. Remember, when Democrats are projected to loose, their attack machine attempts to paint everyone with tar in hopes of discouraging voters so as to retain their control. Big lies often work even though they are not morally right. It is time to remain committed to electing conservatives to help stop Reid, Pelosi and Obama train before they totally destroy the American economy.
Tags:Washington, D.C., US Senate, recess, Rahm Emanuel, White House, health care, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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