News Blog for social, fiscal & national security conservatives who believe in God, family & the USA. Upholding the rights granted by God & guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, traditional family values, "republican" principles / ideals, transparent & limited "smaller" government, free markets, lower taxes, due process of law, liberty & individual freedom. Content approval rests with the ARRA News Service Editor. Opinions are those of the authors. While varied positions are reported, beliefs & principles remain fixed. No revenue is generated for or by this "Blog" - no paid ads - no payments for articles.Fair Use Doctrine is posted & used. Blogger/Editor/Founder: Bill Smith, Ph.D. [aka: OzarkGuru & 2010 AFP National Blogger of the Year] Contact: editor@arranewsservice.com (Pub. Since July, 2006)Home PageFollow @arra
One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
is that you end up being governed by your inferiors. -- Plato
(429-347 BC)
Rep. Shelly Berkley (R-NV) is a Nevada Democrat who is now running for the U.S. Senate. Interestingly, she lists on her House website all the Caucus she belongs to but fails to mention she is a member of the House Democrat Caucus. But as depicted above Shelly is mired down in corruption and Ethics Violations.
It is amazing how this lady has used a makeup makeover for her campaign. I guess "kidney corruption" pays off. Below are two photos. Her photo on her Senate campaign site and her "official" previous congressional photo. Recommendation for Nevada voters: DON'T VOTE For Berkley!!
Tags:Nevada, corruption, kidneys, bribery, ethics violations, Shelly Berkley, Editorial cartoon, AF BrancoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Isn't it time to send the UN to Geneva and cut the U;S. contribution from 24% to 6%.
Bob Morrison and Ken Blackwell
Ken Blackwell and Bob Morrison, Contributing Authors: It is beyond reason. The inmates clearly have control of the asylum. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rant before the UN General Assembly in New York this week would better have been delivered in Stockholm. The famous Stockholm Syndrome was named for the way some hostages began to identify with their terrorist captors. It was offered as a psychological disorder.
In New York, at the UN, this psychological disorder is the new order of business. Ahmadinejad called for a new world order. Of what? A rule of a UN world body dominated--or at least held hostage by--the Terroristans that make up an increasing number of the members of the General Assembly.
The UN was founded to test the idea of collective security. Every member of the General Assembly had to declare war on Nazi Germany in order to gain admission to the new world organization, in 1945. Why must they have declared war on Nazi Germany? Because any government that did not see the Nazis as hostile to world peace could not be trusted to engage to work for world peace, could not be trusted to recognize rising threats to peace. Nazi Germany was thereby branded an international outlaw regime.
But how to explain Ahmadinejad's oh-so-respectful reception at the UN? He has openly called for the destruction of other UN members--namely the United States and Israel. He represents a regime that made war on the United States as long ago as 1979. When the Iranians invaded the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in that year -- and held our people hostage for 444 days, they were violating the oldest rules of diplomacy. A nation's embassy in a foreign capital is sovereign territory of that nation. Invading and occupying our Embassy was, under centuries of international law, no different than invading and occupying Tallahassee, Florida or Olympia, Washington.
Admadinejad's regime invented suicide bombing. They put in motion the truck bomb that crashed through the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983. That night, 241 U.S. Marines and Navy Corpsmen were murdered in their sleep. By Ahmadinejad's minions.
Ahmadinejad's regime sent thousands of their own children - - boys as young as 10 years old - - to their deaths in the decade-long war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The Mullahs of Tehran gave the boys plastic keys to wear around their necks as they marched them through Iraqi minefields. Those were the keys to "paradise."
If there is any regime on earth that comes close to Nazi Germany in its brutality, in its savagery, it is surely the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The UN has proclaimed Iran to be a violator of international nuclear non-proliferation agreements. The UN has sent arms inspectors to Iran for decades. The IAEA regularly reports that Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon.
So what does the UN do about it? One hundred twenty UN members recently traipsed off to Tehran for a "non-aligned summit." And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon traipsed with them.
What can this mean? The UN stares at the illegal and menacing Iranian nuclear weapons program -- in the words of Martin Luther--like a cow staring at a new door. They are totally dumbstruck.
Worst of all is this invertebrate Obama administration. Ahmadinejad holds court, calls for a new world order based on terrorism, is applauded in the UN General Assembly--and our delegation walks out! That'll show them!
There is not a tenet of the UN that Ahmadinejad has not flouted -- and he gets applauded for it. The Russians have an expression that fits here: When you go to dine with the devil, make sure you take a long spoon. What was this week's grim charade but a show of sympathy for the devil?
America and her allies won World War II against the Nazis. We defeated this enemy of mankind in just three and a half years. But here we are in the Age of Obama--paying New York City cops to protect this terrorist, Ahmadinejad. New York City will doubtless bill the State Department for police overtime. Maybe we won World War II because we were only paying for one side of the war.
Isn't it time to send the UN to Geneva and cut the U;S. contribution from 24% to 6%. Mr. Obama does not think the U.S. is any more "exceptional" than the Greeks or the British.
Very well, Mr. President, then let's scale back our UN dues to an unexceptional 6%. That may be the only thing that gets the attention of these dumbstruck UN delegates who cheer America's sworn enemy.
------------------------- J. Ken Blackwell is a conservative family values advocate. Blackwell is a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and a visiting professor at Liberty University School of Law. Bob Morrison is a Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the Family Research Council. He has served at the U.S. Department of Education with Gary Bauer under then-Secretary William Bennett. Both are contributing authors to the ARRA News Service. Tags:Ken Blackwell, Bob Morrison, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iraq, speech, UNTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama Contol of Free Speech: If they don't accept Obama's excuses for the failing economy and the weakened state of America and keep writing about Obama could move to "Kill the Internet." Tags:Barack Obama, executive order, the Internet, kill switch, excuses, propaganda, controlling news, stopping free speech, free speechTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
By Ken Blackwell, Contributing Author: If voters knew how America's economy would look after two terms of President Barack Obama's administration, Mitt Romney would win in a landslide.
In the 2008 campaign, President Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle that the “notion of no coal . . . is an illusion.” He noted that he favors a cap-and-trade system “[s]o if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.”
While Obama did not get to implement cap-and-trade, he found other ways to shut down coal burning power plants.
In the name of a rigidly anti-prosperity ideology, Obama's administration, through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is continuing its war on jobs and reliable sources of energy. And like most onerous regulations, the true costs are not immediately visible.
As announced by Lisa Jackson, the chief EPA Administrator, three new regulations for air emission standards have been announced, which will cost American consumers more than $13 billion per year. Also, according to estimates by the Senate Republican Policy Committee, other rules dealing with coal ash and air could cost an additional $90 billion annually.
Obama's claim to have an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy is a ruse. Instead, his administration seems determined to extend our economic recession, while government bureaucrats find creative ways to make energy too expensive.
More than 2,000 employees of the coal industry were laid off this year, and that industry expects 10,000 more layoffs in direct and related jobs. In addition, as reported by Human Events, leaked documents from the Obama administration estimates that one rule on water quality requirements will be responsible for an additional 7,000 fired workers.
The new regulations are so extreme that, in effect, they require all new power plants must be powered by natural gas, an imperfect fuel. This may make the natural gas lobbyists who work with the Obama administration happy, but the incredible amounts of methane expanded natural gas would not please environmentalists.
In 5 months, natural gas prices have increased by 52%, with the Obama administration's rules largely to blame. According to Reuters data, as demand is expanding globally, natural gas is quickly approaching a price which is $2 more than the same per unit, which results in higher energy prices for cash-strapped consumers who already heat their homes with natural gas.
Even though industry has been able to dramatically decrease noxious pollutants from coal over the past 40 years, Obama's heavy-handed rules have slashed coal production by one-third. In my state of Ohio, the coal industry has been devastated by drastic EPA regulations.
As you can see from this map, 175 fully-functional coal burning plants are being retired across the country, which puts further strain on our outdated energy grid while putting thousands of employees out of work.
Environmentalist groups aligned with the Administration, such as the Sierra club, are happy to see coal burning plants shut down, and have nearly 400 more plants targeted. But with the Administration's emphasis on efficient "green energy" such as solar panels, they would not want to see the recent Heritage Foundation study which shows such a switch would increase a family's $200/month energy bill to $700.
President Barack Obama is playing favorites with sources of energy, while destroying jobs and hurting consumers. America is in desperate need of a new direction on energy policy.
--------------- Ken Blackwell is a conservative advocate. Blackwell is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council. He is the co-author of the new bestseller: The Blueprint: Obama’s Plan to Subvert the Constitution and Build an Imperial Presidency. He is Executive Vice President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies and a contributing author to the ARRA News Service. Tags: Ken Blackwell, Barack Obama, Abandoned Power Plants, EPA, lost jobs, jobs To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama Claims Woeful Results Were The Best That Could Have Been Expected
And the Words Are Excuses
Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept 28, 2012
Congress is not in session! But campaigning all over the U.S is in progress.
Thus we are focusing on a must read editorial in today's The Wall Street Journal. It focuses on the failures of President Obama’s economic policies. Something that the most TV networks, with the exception of FoxNews, are NOT prone to do
The editorial opens by noting an exchange where former President Bill Clinton, making the case for Obama, is lecturing CBS’ Bob Schieffer that “I don’t know a single serious economist who believes that as much [economic] damage as we had could have been healed [in four years].”
The WSJ editors responds, "Well, let’s see. We can think of several serious people who said we could heal the economy in four years. There’s Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Christina Romer, Jared Bernstein, Mark Zandi, and, most importantly, President Obama himself.”
The editorial explains, “Mr. Obama told Americans in 2009 that if he did not turn around the economy in three years his Presidency would be ‘a one-term proposition.’ Joe Biden said three years ago that the $830 billion economic stimulus was working beyond his ‘wildest dreams’ and he famously promised several months after the Obama stimulus was enacted that Americans would enjoy a ‘summer of recovery.’ That was more than three years ago.
“In early 2009 soon-to-be White House economists Ms. Romer and Mr. Bernstein promised Congress that the stimulus would hold the unemployment rate below 7% and that by now it would be 5.6%.
"Instead the rate is 8.1%. The latest Census Bureau report says there are nearly seven million fewer full-time, year-round workers today than in 2007. The labor participation rate is the lowest since 1981.
“So it has gone with nearly every prediction the President has made about where the economy would be today. Mr. Obama promised that the deficit would be cut in half in four years, but the fiscal 2012 deficit (estimated to be above $1 trillion) will be twice the 2008 deficit ($458 billion).
Back to The Journal, the editors reflect, “There’s nothing unusual about candidates making grandiose promises that don’t come true. . . . The bad faith wasn’t then. It’s now. Mr. Obama really believed that government spending would unleash a robust recovery in employment and housing—an ‘economy built to last.’ Now that this hasn’t happened and with the Congressional Budget Office predicting a possible recession for 2013, Team Obama claims these woeful results were the best that could have been expected. The problem with this line is that every President who has inherited a recession in modern times has done better.Under Mr. Obama, measured on the basis of jobs, GDP growth and incomes, this has been by far the meekest recovery from the past 10 recessions.”
The WSJ's concludes: “When campaigning to be President in 1960, John F. Kennedy denounced slow growth under Eisenhower and Nixon and said ‘We can do bettah.’ Growth was 7.2% in 1959 and 2.5% in 1960. Since the recession ended under Mr. Obama, growth has been 2.4% in 2010, 1.8% in 2011 and, after Thursday’s downward revision for the second quarter, 1.7% in 2012.
“Mr. Obama is running for re-election trying to convince Americans that an economy limping at less than 2% growth, 8% unemployment, real incomes down 5.7% since the recovery began, and deficits of more than $1 trillion is the best we could achieve. We liked it better when he stood for hope and change.”
Also Reads:
New York Post: "The New Normal" by James Pethokoukis - "Even a talker as talented as President Obama can’t do the impossible: Persuade Americans that the three-year-old economic “recovery” is anything other than pathetic. Growth is sinking back toward the recession red zone and unemployment’s firmly stuck at over 8 percent for 42 straight months. It’s no wonder a new Gallup poll finds 75% of us “dissatisfied” with the direction of the country. Or that a CNN survey finds that twice as many Americans (39%) think the economy is still mired in recession than think it recovering (19%)."
Tags:the economy, Barack Obama, excuses, Wall Street Journal, WSJTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
This is not advertising. Allegedly the phone is free :) Was not going to share this "enthusiastic promotion" but the video has had over a million hits in 2.5 days. And, I don't know how much longer the promotion will run ;) Share it with your friends.
Is this evidence Obama buying votes? A vocal protester outside of Romney rally explains how Obama gives all minorities free phones and that is why they should vote for him. Cleveland Ohio, September 26, 2012. Tags:free phones, for minorities, vote Obama, scandal, videoTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Tags:Media, media bias, liberal media, Barack Obama, polls, editorial cartoon, William WarrenTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Phil Kerpen, Contributing Author: The national debt weighs heavily on the public consciousness, and for good reason. In 2008, the federal government added $458 billion to the national debt, at that point that largest annual deficit in history. Under President Obama, the deficit has been upwards of $1 trillion – more than twice the previous record – not once, but every year for four years running. Americans know that we cannot continue on our present fiscal course. But, unfortunately, the concern over the debt has diverted attention from its own underlying cause, the explosion in federal spending, and allowed Obama to pretend that his proposed tax hikes are part of the solution.
Obama assures us that his budget is a “balanced approach” – even if though it fails to ever achieve balance. There is really nothing balanced about Obama’s tax-and-spend budget, which anticipates continuing the record that has already won him the title of the biggest government spender in world history.
Obama has taken federal spending up from its normal, postwar average of 20 percent of the economy up to an elevated 24.4 percent over his four years in office. His never-balancing budget anticipates spending jumping to 30 percent of the economy by 2027, 40% by 2040, 50% by 2060, and 80% by 2080. Obviously, that level of spending will mean steeply higher taxes and gigantic deficits as far as the eye can see.
So when Obama tries to score political points by suggesting that the deficit problem can be solved with higher taxes – just the millionaires and billionaires paying a little bit more – he is obscuring the real problem, which is out of control government spending. He’s obscuring it because he intends to make it much worse.
If tax increases could actually be part of a plan to eliminate the deficit and get our fiscal house in order, most Americans would support them. This fact, confirmed by polling and focus groups, has spurred the ubiquitous Democratic talking point demanding the unbalanced “balanced approach.” But in reality tax increases would not help eliminate the deficit; they will make it worse.
Congress will spend every penny they get their hands on – and then some. A study of over 60 years of data by economist Richard Vedder found that for every dollar in higher taxes Congress takes in, they spend $1.17. In other words, sending Congress more money just encourages them to spend it all and borrow even more, driving deficits higher, not lower. And you can be certain that higher taxes will not go to deficit reduction as long as President Obama is there signing every bloated spending bill Congress puts on his desk, as he’s done for the past four years.
A recent poll from Resurgent Republic showed that a majority of Americans understand this well. Asked whether the revenue from a tax hike will go primarily to new spending or to deficit reduction, voters said new spending by a 62 to 38 margin. And 69 percent of independents know that any new tax revenue will be spent.
Economy 'Sluggish,' 'Far Weaker Than Previously Believed' -- The President Still Want Tax Hikes?
Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept 27, 2012
Congress is not in session!
The AP reports today, “The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, held back by the severe drought that reduced farm production in the Midwest. The growth rate was lowered from a previous estimate of 1.7 percent, the Commerce Department said Thursday.” AFP called the data “far weaker than previously believed” and economist Chris Williamson told CNNMoney, “The 1.3% increase in GDP was the weakest since the third quarter of last year and one of the weakest seen since the recovery began three years ago.” CNNMoney added, “Growth is still frustratingly slow, and economists often say the economy needs to expand at least 3% a year to bring the unemployment rate down significantly.”
Given yet another set of disappointing economic numbers, it just reinforces the folly of Democrats’ desire to raise taxes now. When he signed the last full extension of tax rates, President Obama said that “tax rates for every American were poised to automatically increase on January 1st" and allowing that to happen “would have been a blow to our economy just as we're climbing out of a devastating recession.” The president was right when he signed that extension in December 2010, and clearly, things haven’t improved since then.
So why are the president and Democrats now so adamant about raising taxes? In July, 51 Senate Democrats voted for a massive tax hikes. And The Wall Street Journal editors observed, “Mr. Obama is demanding tax increases, not tax cuts, and large increases at that.”
After the Democrats voted again for a tax hike, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said, “After nearly four years of spending and debt, millions of Americans are still struggling amidst the slowest recovery in modern times, and the economy is flat on its back. And they want to raise taxes. . . . [T]wo years ago, Democrats agreed that the higher taxes they’re now fighting for would hurt the economy. At a time when economic growth was 3.5 percent, 40 Democrats voted to keep rates where they were on the grounds that it was the best thing for jobs.”
Bath Tub Politics: With growth as low as 1.3% now, do Democrats still think it’s the time to raise taxes? Or are they just floating their tax boat in the Reid - Obama election "bathtub." Now that we addressed the Dems' desire for MORE Taxes, let's see if anyone considered any cuts in the Continuing Resolution passed last week. I don't mean cuts to needed services, but how about cuts to any and / or wasteful service? To save you, straining your fingers and brains seeking if there were cuts, they were none. Below is an interesting "bath tub" infographic by Bankrupting America:
Click Image To Enlarge
Tags:Washington, D.C, Economy, sluggish, weaker, Democrats, higher taxes, no cuts in spending, Bankrupting AmericaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Progressives "breaking windows" and dragging down our economy and reducing American's standard of living.
One year ago tomorrow, ARRA News addressed the EPA's effort to gut energy sources: "EPA will shut down these plants by imposing a ground-level ozone rule (the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). It is estimated that the cost of this rule will amount to $130 billion."
Dr. Bill Smith, ARRA News Service, said at that time:
"Many people, especially in rural America, are about to experience a rude awakening with serious reduced access to energy. Why? Because as Frank York discusses below, under President Barack Obama, "the EPA is going to gut the coal industry by shutting down 20% of the plants by 2012." . . . "How many blackouts or brownouts will occur because of EPA’s over regulation? How many jobs will be lost? How many families will be destroyed? These are the unseen consequences of shutting down coal plants." And the liberal / socialists in control of the Obama administration and the EPA, do not care. There goal is to "break as many windows as possible."
Fortunately, the EPA rule was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. And, noted on August 25, 2012 in an update to the previous referenced article:
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia [pdf copy] rejected an EPA rule known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The rule was supposed to have gone into effect at the beginning of 2012, but the same court had previously stayed its implementation on procedural grounds. Last week’s ruling is the first to address CSAPR on its merits.
CSAPR governed emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from Midwestern coal-fired power plants, many of them Electric Cooperatives, and other sources. SO2, along with oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and others is a precursor of acid rain, which causes widespread environmental damage not only in the states where the sources are located, but also those downwind.
Today, ARRA News received a response to last month's court's decision permanently rejected an EPA rule known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)which shutdown many Electrical Cooperatives. It was via an email from Mel Coleman, CEO, North Arkansas Electric Cooperative:
"This is good news for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative members because the proposed rule was expensive, impractical and ignored just how far we’ve come in reducing power plant emissions. In fact, cooperatives across the country have reduced emissions by about two-thirds since the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990 and we are committed to developing the most cost-effective ways to build on that progress while keeping your electric bill as affordable as possible.
"So, while we support common-sense, balanced environmental policies that protect health and the environment and maintain affordable and reliable electric service; we believe that this specific proposal by the EPA was neither balanced nor equitable.
"While I welcome the Court’s ruling, I believe that it only underscores the need for a more coherent federal environmental policy."
"If Lisa Jackson and President Obama’s real goal is to turn America into a Third World nation, they’re doing an excellent job so far. Imagine what four more years of Obama in the White House and Jackson at the EPA will mean for us. Get your survival food, propane tanks, and water purifiers ready. Obama and Jackson are breaking as many windows as they can."
Regardless of the court's decision stopping the implementation of the EPA's CSAPR, York's comment remains relevant today. It is most unfortunate, that the Obama administration has placed radial liberals, progressives, in the varied agencies whose efforts appear to be the destruction of both our economy and the standard of living and the comfort of Americans.
Americans have the opportunity to take back their country from the progressives at the polls on November 6th. The evidence is clear, we do not need another four more years of radical Obama minions carrying out the distorted Obama agenda behind closed doors and through department regulations. Time to stop Progressives "breaking windows" and dragging down our economy and reducing American's standard of living. Tags:EPA, CSAPR, coal plants, reduced energy, breaking windows, EPA abuse, Obama administration, Mel Coleman, NAECTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Deerly Beloved: Ryan Talks Hunting and Marriage in OH
Tony Perkins, FRC Action Update: Paul Ryan is in the hunt for more than the vice presidency. This week, the Wisconsin Congressman didn't let campaign season get in the way of his state's deer season. After a rally in Ohio, the avid sportsman stopped by a local Bass Pro Shop to buy his daughter, Liza, some hunting gear. "My daughter she's been hunting with me for years, watching me, but she's old enough this year to hunt on her own," he told reporters. Ryan, who's never shied away from his love of the outdoors, told a cheering Pennsylvania crowd last month, "Hey, I'm a Catholic deer hunter. I am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion."
Yesterday, he stuck to that theme, bonding with Buckeyes over their homegrown values. Asked by a Latino woman what the GOP could do better to win over Hispanic voters with the message of life, marriage, and religion freedom, Rep. Ryan said apologetically, "Our rights come from nature and nature's God, not from government. That notion, that idea produces liberty and freedom and free enterprise and opportunity and social mobility... The things you talk about like traditional marriage and family and entrepreneurship--these aren't values that are indicative to any one person, or race, or creed, or color. These are American values, these are universal human values." If Paul is as good at keeping Republican messaging on target as he is at hunting, he'll be too busy to use his bow after November 6. Tags:Republican, candidate, vice-president, Paul Ryan, election 2012, deer hunting, marriage, campaigning, election, 2012, FRC Action, Tony PerkinsTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Senate Republicans File Amicus Brief in Suit Over Unconstitutional Recess Appointments
The President’s decision to circumvent the American people by installing his appointees at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was continuing to hold sessions, and without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate, is an unprecedented power grab,” Sen. McConnell said. “We will demonstrate to the Court how the President’s unconstitutional actions fundamentally endanger the Congress’s role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell announced today that he and 41 of his Senate colleagues filed an amicus brief in a challenge (Noel Canning v. NLRB) to the constitutionality of President Obama’s so-called “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January. The case is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The suit is being brought by Noel Canning, a local, family-owned business in Washington State that bottles and distributes soft drinks. The company is challenging the NLRB’s determination that it must enter into a collective bargaining agreement with a labor union.
The President’s decision to circumvent the American people by installing his appointees at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was continuing to hold sessions, and without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate, is an unprecedented power grab,” Sen. McConnell said. “We will demonstrate to the Court how the President’s unconstitutional actions fundamentally endanger the Congress’s role in providing a check on the excesses of the executive branch.”
The 42 Senate Republicans retained former Assistant to the Solicitor General Miguel Estrada to file the amicus brief. Mr. Estrada is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group. Tags:U.S. Senate, republicans, Amicus Brief, law suit, Noel Canning, Noel Canning v. NLRB, NLRB, small business, unions, unionization, Obama appointmentTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Ozarks Missing A Shinning Star - Andy Williams Dies At 84
ARRA News Service: - Moon River* legend and lover of the Ozarks Mountains, Andy Williams is dead at age 84. His spokesperson said, "Williams passed away last night (Tuesday) at home in Branson, Missouri following a year long battle with bladder cancer." Any Williams was a mid-westerner having been born and raised in Iowa. Below is a brief bio:
Wikepedia - Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer who recorded eighteen Gold - and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owned the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, named after the song "Moon River", with which he is closely identified.
Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa, the son of Jay Emerson and Florence (née Finley) Williams. Williams graduated from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. He had three older brothers – Bob, Don, and Dick. . . .
In June 1991, Williams' brother Don invited him to the small Ozarks town of Branson, Missouri. Don Williams at the time was the manager for entertainer Ray Stevens, who had just opened a theater in Branson. While attending Stevens' show, Williams was encouraged by numerous Branson guests to open a venue in the town. This led Williams to build his own theater in Branson in time for the 1992 season, eventually opening on May 1, 1992. as the Moon River Theater. The name came from a song he made famous from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. It went on to become the first theater ever to be featured in Architectural Digest, and also won the 1992 Conservation Award from the State of Missouri.
On September 25, 2012, Williams died at the age of 84, having suffered from bladder cancer for a year. Williams is survived by his wife Debbie and his three children, Robert, Noelle and Christian.
Fellow conservative blogger Bill Holland was a friend of Andy Williams. Holland shared today, "During my time in Branson I had the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with Andy. You could not find a Kinder, Gentler Person. He was Refreshing, and sometimes a little Silly but always in the best of Mood's. He Will be Missed. His Family, Debbie, Robert, Noel, and Christian and Andy will be in my Prayers...Sing Andy Sign, as I'm sure you will."
Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy remembered Williams in a statement: "Andy Williams' smooth voice and casual style turned the songs he sang into timeless classics and made him one of America's top pop singers. As host of his own weekly variety series, The Andy Williams Show, he helped put both established and emerging talent in front of American audiences. Williams was the first host of the live Grammy Awards telecast and hosted the show for seven consecutive years, beginning with the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in March 1971 at the Hollywood Palladium. The entertainment industry has lost a giant piece of its living history today, but Williams' legacy will forever be enshrined in the annals of music and television. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and all who will miss this American treasure."
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* Williams’ biggest hit was the Oscar-winning “Moon River” from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which ultimately became the song most associated nd performed by him. Tags:Andy Williams, dies, Branson, Missouri, Ozarks, Moon River, 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. - Sept 26, 2012
Congress is not in session!
Today, Washington Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler has caught President Obama in another outlandish claim (euphemism for LIE) from his interview with “60 Minutes.” This time, Obama is claiming that “90 percent” of the current deficit is the fault of the policies of President Bush.
Kessler explains, “CBO’s errors in forecasting played a large role in the demise of the projected surpluses. CBO had kept counting on a gusher of capital gains revenue — and then obviously failed to predict the recession of 2008. But Obama’s policies also played a big role during his presidency.”
After doing some calculations, Kessler writes, “Clearly, a huge part of the deficit problem — about half — stems from the recession and forecasting errors.But Obama’s policies represent a big chunk as well. . . .Moreover, an important part of Obama’s legacy — the health-care law — has not even taken full effect yet.”
In the Weekly Republican Address last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, detailed how Obama’s policies would continue to make things even worse. “To pay down the debt requires a surplus Under the President’s 10-year budget, there is never a surplus. The single lowest annual deficit is $543 billion. The annual deficit in the 10th year grows to $652 billion. Despite $1.8 trillion in new taxes, his budget increases our spending and debt every year, adding $11 trillion to the debt overall.”
Kessler concludes, “[A]t some point, a president has to take ownership of his own actions. Obama certainly inherited an economic mess, and that accounts for a large part of the deficit. But Obama pushed for spending increases and tax cuts that also have contributed in important ways to the nation’s fiscal deterioration. He certainly could argue that these were necessary and important steps to take, but he can’t blithely suggest that 90 percent of the current deficit ‘is as a consequence’ of his predecessor’s policies — and not his own. . . .Four Pinocchios Tags:Washington Post, Fact Check, 4 Pinocchios, Barack ObamaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
by Poya Osgouei, Heritage Foundation: When Taxmageddon hits on January 1, 2013, the financial devastation will be immense. Heritage Foundation experts strongly oppose the liberal plan to allow such massive tax hikes during this tough economy.
Taxmageddon will affect all Americans. Here are five consequences we can expect on January 1:
$494 billion in tax increases resulting from expiring tax cuts and the introduction of new Obamacare taxes;
$3,800 in new taxes on the average American household in 2013 alone;
A huge hit to low-income Americans as Taxmageddon falls primarily on middle- and low-income Americans;
Even slower job creation, resulting from the new taxes on work and investment, will prevent many unemployed Americans from finding new work; and
Uncertainty that will harm and slow down families, businesses, entrepreneurs and investors in making critical economic decisions.
The August jobs report is the latest in a series of gloomy jobs reports. Well under projections, the economy added a paltry 96,000 new jobs in August, and July and June employment was revised downward. Most alarming were the nearly 400,000 workers who left the workforce in August, bringing the labor force participation rate to its lowest point in 30 years. GDP growth is also showing a trend of deceleration…
The mounting evidence shows that the economy cannot withstand a major tax increase in a few months. Rather than continue to subject the economy to Taxmageddon’s crippling uncertainty, Congress should take that burden off of America’s job creators now. Until it does so, we can expect further troubling economic data, including weak job numbers.
The below letter to the editor is by Robert "Bob" McDowell, Jr. He is a Professional Engineer and Geologist with over 50 years experience in creating drilling prospects, supervising drilling, well completion, production operation, and pipeline design for oil and gas including repair of problem wells. McDowell is a conservative and active in the Oklahoma Republican Assembly.
Bob McDowell
By Bob McDowell: As things continue to surface on the happenings in the Middle East and North Africa area where the majority is Islam, we are finding that we have been blatantly lied to by the Obama administration. And, it is my opinion that we still have not learned the entire factual truth of the events of the last few months. As we are nearing the most important election in decades, if not at least a century, we need to be fully informed of just what has been going on behind the scenes in the National Capital and in the far flung operations.
First, it has become obvious, and admitted, that the uprisings in Libya, Egypt, and the nearby area, were carefully orchestrated by the 'Muslim Brotherhood' and bin Laden camps to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks on our nation. It has developed that the rulers of Libya and Egypt sent communications to the Department of State indicating that attacks were, in fact, in the planning stages, and for several months back.
And yet, reports have come to me that the Ambassador to Egypt ordered that the Marine guards be allowed only ONE round of ammunition. Further, information has come to me, not verified but possibly accurate, that the Ambassador to Libya was actually of homosexual persuasion. If that is true, it would potentially explain the savage treatment of him, and his body after his death, by the mob as homosexuality is punishable by death under Muslim law. It has been reported that he had requested additional security but it was denied. It is questionable why he was in the part of the Libya which is controlled by Al Qaida verses being in the Capital: Tripoli. That whole situation carries a strong smell in my opinion.
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, there was a little reported attack on an air base, by 15 to 19 terrorists, wearing uniforms of the USA forces. The attackers destroyed seven vertical take-off jets including five Harriers that are irreplaceable because they are out of production. Killed in the action were two Marines including the unit commander. The media story has been that the attack was aimed at British Prince Harry who was also serving there in the British forces.
In my opinion, these enemy forces are becoming more aggressive, and successful, for of several reasons. One is their belief that we are weak and lack mental aggressiveness to pursue the course of action. This belief is also strengthened because of their perception that we are insulting them by appointing women to high offices, including Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, her chief assistant Huma Abedin (a known Muslim and daughter of the founder of the 'Muslim Sisterhood' and wife of former Congressman Wiener, a Jew), and Ambassador Anne Patterson to Egypt. In the Muslim community, women are considered to be vastly inferior and not permitted to drive, have money, work outside the home, or go in public without family male companion and covering from the simple head scarf to the complete burqa. Thus there is a lack of respect on their part for our representatives.
In my opinion, President Obama should have immediately given the citizens as much truth as was known. The he should have issued notice that the U.S. was closing our embassies and consulates and recalling all of our diplomatic representatives> Then he should have cut off ALL foreign aid to those nations which do not respect international diplomatic law and protocol. It has been reported that Egypt alone has been receiving over one billion dollars per year in U.S. foreign aid. We should also recall ALL military equipment given to them over the years, and suspend any shipments to us from them including the small amount of oil now coming from them. This last action would not really effect us since most of our imports come from nations on the American continents now. Tags:Bob McDowell, Oklahoma, Middle East, opinion, letter to editorTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama Administration Called Out For 'Permanent Spin' Over Lybya Attack
Bill Smith, Editor: U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin (AR-02), a commissioned military officer, is very concerned about National Security. Today, Griffin sent a message to his constituents and others. He did not a request for money or advancing his own opinion but calling to the readers' attention the following upcoming October 1st Weekly Standard article which addresses the Obama Administration Being Called Out For 'Permanent Spin' Over Lybya Attack. Unfortunately, today President Obama continued the spin in a feckless speech before the UN today. You may read more on this editor's opinion of Obama's Speech here.
UN Ambassador Susan Rice
Permanent Spin by Stephen F. Hayes, Weekly Standard: For nine days, the Obama administration made a case that virtually everyone understood was untrue: that the killing of our ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, was a random, spontaneous act of individuals upset about an online video—an unpredictable attack on a well-protected compound that had nothing do to with the eleventh anniversary of 9/11.
These claims were wrong. Every one of them. But the White House pushed them hard.
Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, appeared on five Sunday talk shows on September 16. A “hateful video” triggered a “spontaneous protest . . . outside of our consulate in Benghazi” that “spun from there into something much, much more violent,” she said on Face the Nation. “We do not have information at present that leads us to conclude that this was premeditated or preplanned.”
On This Week, Rice said the consulate was well secured. “The security personnel that the State Department thought were required were in place,” she said, adding: “We had substantial presence with our personnel and the consulate in Benghazi. Tragically two of the four Americans who were killed were there providing security. That was their function, and indeed there were many other colleagues who were doing the same with them.”
White House press secretary Jay Carney not only denied that the attacks had anything to do with the anniversary of 9/11 but scolded reporters who, citing the administration’s own pre-9/11 boasts about its security preparations for the anniversary, made the connection. “I think that you’re conveniently conflating two things,” Carney snapped, “which is the anniversary of 9/11 and the incidents that took place, which are under investigation.”
Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong. Intelligence officials understood immediately that the attacks took place on 9/11 for a reason. The ambassador, in a country that faces a growing al Qaeda threat, had virtually no security. The two contractors killed in the attacks were not part of the ambassador’s security detail, and there were not, in fact, “many other colleagues” working security with them.
The nature of the attack itself, a four-hour battle that took place in two waves, indicated some level of planning. “The idea that this criminal and cowardly act was a spontaneous protest that just spun out of control is completely unfounded and preposterous,” Libyan president Mohammad el-Megarif told National Public Radio. When a reporter asked Senator Carl Levin, one of the most partisan Democrats in the upper chamber, if the attack was planned, Levin said it was. “I think there’s evidence of that. There’s been evidence of that,” he responded, adding: “The attack looked like it was planned and premeditated, sure.” Levin made his comments after a briefing from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, agreed. “This was not just a mob that got out of hand. Mobs don’t come in and attack, guns blazing. I think that there is a growing consensus it was preplanned.” And according to CNN, Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy “has said that the attack appeared to be planned because it was so extensive and because of the ‘proliferation’ of small and medium weapons at the scene.” Not only was the attack planned, it appears there was no protest at all. Citing eyewitnesses, CBS News reported late last week: “There was never an anti-American protest outside the consulate.”
So we are left with this: Four Americans were killed in a premeditated terrorist attack on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, and for more than a week the Obama administration misled the country about what happened.
This isn’t just a problem. It’s a scandal.
If this were the first time top Obama officials had tried to sell a bogus narrative after an attack, perhaps they would deserve the benefit of the doubt. It’s not.
On December 28, 2009, three days after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate explosives in his underwear aboard an airliner over Detroit, President Obama told the country that the incident was the work of “an isolated extremist.” It wasn’t. Abdulmutallab was trained, directed, and financed by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a fact he shared with investigators early in his interrogation.
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The above Weekly Standard article recommended by Rep. Tim Griffin was shared for educational purposes under the Fair Use Doctrine. Tags:Rep. Tim Griffin, Lybia Attack Obama administration, permanent spin, Stephen F. Hayes, Weekly StandardTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Obama's UN Appeasement Speech & Democrats Blame GOP for Obama's Failure
Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept 25, 2012 President Barack Obama spoke before the United Nations (UN) today. However, he failed in even his willingness to meet with any leaders from other countries present for the UN session. However, Obama did find time to be, in his words, "eye candy" on "The View."
Readers can read and view President Obama's speech here. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News, responded that Obama's speech reminded him of UK's Prime Minister Nelville Chamberlain. Chamberlain's speeches and actions evidenced an "appeasement foreign policy" in regard to the dealing with Germany's ruthless leader.
Obama's weak appeasement speech does not lend itself to protecting American and its allies. The statements by the ruthless leaders of Iran, Egypt, and other Muslim countries define openly their willingness to seek the annihilation of Israel and their willingness to strike American bases in the Middle East, Americans abroad, and targets in the United States. These statements and actions by Middle-East leaders evidences an extreme disdain for the weak appeasement foreign policy of both President Obama and the Obama administration.
Congress is not in session. The Senate held a pro forma session today at 9:30 A.M.
Interesting, the Democrat Senators are opting to continue a distortion of the truth by blaming their failures and those of Barack Obama on Republicans for" wanting Obama to fail." And for the moment they have focused on Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Below are some news reports on the situation.
Big Government’s Ben Shapiro took Democrats to task yesterday for one of their favorite distortions. He wrote, “Back in December 2010, two full years into Barack Obama’s presidency, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) remarked, ‘Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term.’ He was speaking after two years of Obama ramming through exponential spending increases, Obamacare, and a feckless foreign policy that had crippled United States policy in the Middle East. He also stated that he didn’t want Obama to fail, but to change.
“Yet now the left uses McConnell’s words to show that Republicans were the true obstacle to Obama’s success. The truth is that Obama’s legislative success is the single greatest obstacle to his presidential success – his policies have been disastrous. But the media and the Democrats want to blame ‘partisanship’ rather than the President. So they lie about McConnell’s statement. Instead of placing it in the context of two years of Obama experience in steamrolling Republicans, they pretend that McConnell said it at the outset of the Obama presidency.”
Shapiro summarized: “McConnell never said what Democrats attribute to him, and he never said it when they said he said it. They need to misdirect from Obama’s failed record, and so they’ll twist and turn McConnell’s words to achieve their own ends.”
And, The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler notes both President Obama and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the number two Democrat in the Senate, both attempting this rewrite of history recently. Obama told “60 Minutes,” “When I first came into office, the head of the Senate Republicans said, ‘my number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president.’ Now, after the election, either he will have succeeded in that goal or he will have failed at that goal.” And in a speech on the Senate floor last week, Durbin said, “It was no surprise, because the senator from Kentucky, who just spoke, announced at the beginning, four years ago, exactly what his strategy would be. He said, his number-one goal was to make sure that Barack Obama was a one-term president.”
On Fox News last night,Brit Hume corrected Obama’s distortion saying, “President Obama's latest ‘60 Minutes’ interview suggests why he so often uses a teleprompter. Without one, he says the darndest things. For example, Mr. Obama claimed that Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell had said he wanted to make him a one-term president quote – ‘...when I first came into office.’ In fact, McConnell did not say that until October of 2010 nearly two years into the Obama term. And McConnell added -- quote – ‘I don't want the president to fail; I want him to change.’”
In his analysis of these quotes, Kessler writes today, “Generally, Democrats suggest that McConnell believed that no problem is bigger than getting rid of Obama, but it is clear that he is speaking in a political context — that the goals of Republicans could not be achieved unless Obama is defeated in race for reelection. A case in point: the health care law could not be overturned unless Obama is defeated. Moreover, McConnell goes on to say that he does ‘not want the president to fail’ and cooperation was possible ‘if he’s willing to meet us halfway on some of the biggest issues.’ McConnell in fact cited an extension of the Bush tax cuts — and Obama did strike such a deal shortly after the midterm elections.”
“There is no doubt,” Kessler concludes, “that McConnell said he wanted to make Obama a one-term president. But he did not say it at the start of Obama’s term; instead, he made his comments at the midpoint, after Obama had enacted many of his preferred policies. " Tags:Barack Obama, UN, Speech, appeasement, Nelville Chamberlain, Senate Democrats, Blaming Republicans, Mitch McConnellTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
A.F. Branco, Legal Insurrection! The Obama flag: stripes that run due to the failing policies and missing leadership of the missing occupant of the Obama empty chair.
Tags:empty chair, Stripes that run, flag, Barack O Obama campaign, economy, $16 Trillion Debt, Foreign Policy, Fuel Prices, AF Branco, political cartoonTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Canada Being Forced To Look Elsewhere Due To Presidential Keystone Blockage
What type actions would the leaders of China demand from the leaders of America to keep loaning money to the United States? Could blocking the XL-Pipeline be one of those actions? Before one can seek answers they must postulate questions. Below is an article, that may lead readers to consider that the actions of the Obama Administration are beyond their falsely claimed environmental concerns. ~ Dr. Bill Smith, Editor, ARRA News.
"The veto of Keystone was a wake-up call for the Canadian government and the Canadian people." ~ former ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney
by Dan Healing, Friends of the Chamber of Commerce: U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to veto the Keystone XL pipeline has fundamentally changed the way Canadians and their leaders see free trade and that's a good thing, says the former ambassador to the United States.
In a panel discussion at the Global Business Forum, Derek Burney said Canada should be expanding trade ties with the rest of the world and it's disappointing that it hasn't done more in the 25 years since the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed.
"I think that the veto of Keystone was a wake-up call for the Canadian government and the Canadian people," he said.
"(Prime Minister Stephen Harper) has had a sea change in terms of his attitude about China and that has been provoked by the situation with Keystone."
Burney added Canada's trade with the United States has fallen as a percentage of total exports and stands to fall further as the American fiscal probalems multiply.
"As the prime minister has observed, we cannot allow ourselves to be a captive market for exports of energy or anything else to a single market, especially one that's into a prolonged slump," he said.
He said Canada should be trying to free up trade with countries that are expected to grow, such as Brazil.
Karen Harbert, president and chief executive of the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the U.S.Chamber of Commerce, said Harper was correct when he said approving the pipeline designed to bring oilsands crude to the Gulf Coast was "obviously, a no brainer."
She said Canada and the United States are so closely aligned that they are almost family members.
"You know, you treat your friends really well, you know, sometimes you treat your enemies even better than your friends, but the people you sometimes leave behind and who are afterthoughts are your family," she said.
Harbert said she admires Canada for lower corporate tax rates and its energy regulatory regime.
"You actually have some certainty in your permitting process," she said. "Our's is completely open ended and Keystone is the result of that."
Leonard Waverman, dean of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, asked if Canada could wind up relying too much on China if it switches its exporting emphasis there.
"The old adage is that when the U.S. sneezes, Canada gets a cold. But China could have a heart attack. It's not a long-term, stable, innovative economy," he pointed out.
Burney replied that Canada could easily double its energy exports to China and it would still be a very small percentage of the total, adding that anyone involved in exporting must be prepared to take on risk.
Addressing the $15.1-billion bid by the China National Offshore Oil company for Nexen Inc., Burney said Canada needs foreign capital to develop its resources but that doesn't mean it can't use its "leverage" to negotiate terms for issues such as dispute resolution, vitally important when dealing with a country with a very different political system.
----------------- Dan Healing originally wrote this article for the Calgary Herald and it was shared by the Friends of the U.S Chamber of Commerce who shared the article with the Editor, ARRA News Service. Tags:Keystone Pipeline, Oil, Canada, United States, China, President ObamaTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Fact Check: Obama Misleads on Medicare, Taxes, and Regulations
by Lachlan Markay, The Foundry: During a Sunday evening interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” President Obama made numerous factually inaccurate or misleading claims.
Specifically, Obama claimed that he has not raised Americans’ taxes, that he has not raised costs for Medicare beneficiaries, and that he has imposed fewer regulations than his predecessor. The first two claims are false, and the third is highly misleading.
Obama: “You can’t ask me to…ask seniors to pay more for their Medicare.”
Fact: Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare will raise Medicare costs for many seniors.
Obamacare’s Medicare Advantage cuts will force more seniors into traditional Medicare plans, according to Medicare’s chief actuary Richard Foster:
The new provisions will generally reduce [Medicare Advantage] rebates to plans and thereby result in less generous benefit packages. We estimate that in 2017, when the MA provisions will be fully phased in, enrollment in MA plans will be lower by about 50 percent (from its projected level of 14.8 million under the prior law to 7.4 million under the new law).
The result will be higher out-of pocket costs for many Medicare recipients, since traditional Medicare plans, unlike MA, don’t cap out-of-pocket costs. “Seniors leaving the private plans would still have health insurance under traditional Medicare,” the Associated Press noted, “but many might face higher out-of-pocket costs.”
The AP confirmed these findings in a report last week:
…if you are lucky enough to be financially comfortable in retirement, odds are you’ll pay higher premiums under President Barack Obama’s plan. It’s not just the 1 percent who’ll feel the pinch.
And take note, baby boomers: The Medicare you get won’t be quite as generous as what your parents’ generation enjoys. A higher deductible here, a new co-payment there, and the tweaks add up.
Whether or not the administration’s approach is wise policy, the fact is that many seniors will be paying more for their Medicare benefits.
Indeed, the White House has been very frank about the effects of its MA cuts. “I’m sure that some of those additional benefits have been nice,” said White House health care official Nancy-Ann DeParle. “But I think what we have to look at here is what’s fair and what’s important for the strength of the Medicare program long term.”
Obama: “I haven’t raised taxes. I’ve cut taxes for middle class families by an average of $3,600 per typical family.”
Fact: Obamacare will raise taxes on millions of Americans, including many below the poverty line.
“Nearly 6 million Americans — significantly more than first estimated— will face a tax penalty under President Barack Obama’s health overhaul for not getting insurance, congressional analysts said Wednesday,” the Associated Press reported last week. “Most would be in the middle class.”
Nearly 80 percent of those forced to pay Obamacare’s mandate tax will make five times the federal poverty rate or less – about $55,000 for individuals and $115,000 for households – in 2016, the year CBO examined.
About 600,000 Americans below the poverty line – incomes of $12,000 for individuals and $24,600 for families of four, CBO’s projection for 2016 – will be subjected to this tax.
What’s more, the mandate tax is only one of a slew of Obamacare tax hikes.
Obama: “I’ve issued fewer regulations than my predecessor George Bush did during that same period in office.”
Fact: Obama’s major regulations dwarf Bush’s in cost and quantity.
Heritage’s Red Tape Rising report spelled out the disparity in simple terms:
During the three years of the Obama Administration, a total of 106 new major regulations have been imposed at a cost of more than $46 billion annually, and nearly $11 billion in one-time implementation costs. This amount is about five times the cost imposed by the prior Administration of George W. Bush.
While Obama focuses on all rules issued by federal agencies, the more relevant measure – regulations that will actually have a significant impact on economic growth – shows Obama has wielded a much heavier regulatory hand than his predecessor. Tags:fact check, individual mandate, medicare, Medicare Advantage, Obamacare, red tape rising, regulation, tax hikes, taxesTo share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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Rep. Shelly Berkley (R-NV) is a Nevada Democrat who is now running for the U.S. Senate. Interestingly, she lists on her House website all the Caucus she belongs to but fails to mention she is a member of the House Democrat Caucus. But as depicted above Shelly is mired down in corruption and Ethics Violations.
