The Smoke Break

You want some brie with that whine?

No Privacy For Your Banking Activities

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If you aren’t yet concerned about Senator Christopher Dodd’s “regulatory reform” bill, S. 3217, the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, it’s time to gear up and make sure your unrepresenting representatives know this is anything but a way to restore or stabilize America.

Among its fast and loose partisan games with so-called federal financial “oversight’, one thing that will hit you right in the supposed privacy of your own home is one of the “responsibilities” that will be assigned to that nefarious Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.  This unaccountable group will be tasked with monitoring consumer financial patterns and, “implement and, where applicable, enforce Federal consumer financial law.” Specifically, they will have the authority to “gather information and activities of persons operating in consumer financial markets.”

What does this mean?  It means that every cent any individual deposits will be linked to the census-based personal address of each customer and to their deposit at the corresponding financial institution. And these unaccountable bureaucrats will be permitted to share this data with whomever they wish.

Yes, Virginia, when you deposit that gift of birthday cash from Auntie Em and later use your debit card to buy a mocha latte at Starbucks, the Feds will be tracking these transactions and can then sell that information to big businesses and Wall Street, making you a target for advertising and the like.  And not only does this lend itself to the federal government playing favorites with the private sector, forcing business in and out of geographic areas or to collapse altogether, it also contains enormous risk that all your personal data will fall into the wrong hands.

I don’t know what they’re drinking there in Dodd’s office, but common sense and true concern for American citizens ain’t it.

The Good Ol’ Oil Spill Solution

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This is one of the most amazing demonstrations I’ve ever seen.  These two men have come up with an effective, low-tech, ultimately low-cost solution to cleaning up the worst of the oil spill in the Gulf.

You have to see it to believe it.

But, of course, why do something so simple when you can spend billions of taxpayer dollars and escalate a climate of ecological fear instead?

Spin, Baby, Spin

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What they want you to believe: 

“President Obama didn’t accept a dime from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists during his presidential campaign,” spokesman Ben LaBolt said.

What really happened: 

BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Donations come from a mix of employees and the company’s political action committees — $2.89 million flowed to campaigns from BP-related PACs and about $638,000 came from individuals.

During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records.

There’s just nothing like the smell of hypocrisy in the morning, is there?

Let Us Marginalize

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In the latest of a string of reports and statements from those in the federal government, both FBI Director, Robert Mueller and former President Clinton recently donned their best Daddy Dearest ballcaps and issued statements warning about the dangers of “extreme” anger that might surface from the right.  Progressive liberal code for the Tea Party protests and in stereotypical hypocritical contrast, of course, to His Transparency’s excuse after the Fort Hood shooting, “We have seen, in the past, rampages of this sort.  And in a country of 300 million people, there are going to be acts of violence that are inexplicable.”

Both the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and the recent bust of the wacko Hutaree militia, not to mention the Islamic-raged Fort Hood shooter, have highlighted the fact that they do, indeed, walk amongst us.  But the dangers posed by a few, no matter what side of the political fence they ride, are no reason to tar the majority of Americans with the same brush of suspicion.  Nor does it show any kind of logic or reason to dismiss active Tea Party members because allegedly a whole lot of them happen to be white and work for a living, and while working manage to not only actually spend their money wisely but to save some of it, too.  (Where, exactly, do you think all that money spent on entitlements come from, anyway?)

Yet that big, broad brush is being swept gleefully as the left’s last, best hope to save its sorry political skin in articles by all sorts of media.  Based on a poll taken by CBS and the New York Times:

Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, and are no more or less afraid of falling into a lower socioeconomic class….

The 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than 45.

…while most Americans blame the Bush administration or Wall Street for the current state of the American economy, the greatest number of Tea Party supporters blame Congress.

This is simply a prelude to another gut-busting fight now surfacing, courtesy of the brave yet criminally-beleagured state of Arizona, who just last week made it a state crime to be in the country illegally.  Simply put, it reiterates federal law.  Federal law that goes so unenforced that some estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants have invaded Arizona, resulting in a massive crime wave that authorities believe includes the recent murder of rancher Rob Krentz. 

Those who would coddle blatant criminals are angrily protesting, including members of Congress like Arizona Democrat Representative Raul M. Grijalva, who need those beholden, dependent voters to hold onto their self-perceived power, but these protests bear no resemblance to the peaceful Tea Party rallies.  No, these are reminiscent of the liberal left’s protests against the Bush administration, only this time they come with swastikas painted on the windows of the Arizona state capital with refried beans. 

One attendee,  Bill Baker, was quoted as stating the obvious in a Washington Times article, “If I go to another foreign country, if I go to Mexico, I have to have papers.”  All together now:  “Duh“.   To expect the average American to except and embrace criminals here is insanity.

But that insane argument is exactly what is going to be the rallying cry for the November elections.  President Walking Eagle has thrown down the gauntlet by calling on his 2008 minions of “young people, African Americans, Latinos and women” to deliver for Democrats in November, as well as having the Justice Department “examine the civil rights and other implications” of the new Arizona law.  This is, of course, the same “Justice” department of BO cronies who didn’t bother to take the freebie conviction in the Black Panther voting precinct intimidation case and gave the Underoo Bomber Miranda rights. 

All of which is nothing more than continuing to use the race card to pit those raised to believe in entitlement against those who believe in earning their own way.

Bóg Predkosci, Kaczynski

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All sorts of thoughts went through my head when I awoke this morning to the news that Polish president Lech Kaczynski and 95 other members of Poland’s leadership had died in a plane crash.  The first is the sheer tragedy of the loss of so many lives, followed by the thought of that tragedy magnified by the fact that these lives were brightly shining lights in the world’s never-ending battle against tyranny.  As I look at their faces, I cannot help but see those of my own family and some of my friends, we who claim Poland as our ethnic heritage.  And it is the familiarity of the lines of those faces that finally bring the tears.

Such a small country with a complicated and too-often sad history, yet one that has yielded a strong and good people about whom it can best be said that they are survivors.  The fact that Kaczynski and his leadership were on their way to mark the anniversary of the still-unapologetic Russian massacre of some 22,000 Polish military officers in Katyn 70 years ago and that they, too, met their end on that very same “cursed” Russian soil in Smolensk does not go unnoticed.

Nor does the bitter thought that, although their positions within the Polish government will be quickly refilled, America has lost another contingent of allies; lovers of and fighters for liberty whom His Transparency treats with equal disregard and disdain in his dangerously misguided ideological attempts to level the global playing field.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Kaczynski a patriot.  Other world leaders directly referred to Kaczynski’s long fight for liberty and freedom.  Yet in his remarks about the deaths, President Walking Eagle could only bring himself to call Kaczynski a “distinguished statesman”.

Another such disconnect only deepends the sadness.

Dobranoc a bóg predkosci, patrioci.

Don’t Know, Don’t Care

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“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
(the Congressional oath of office; enacted in 1884)

 

This nauseating dose of unrepresenting representative is brought to you courtesy of Phil Hare, House Democrat from the 17th district of Illinois.

 

Felididades?

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DocO

Good day, Comrades.  Welcome to the United Soviet States of America.

His Transparency’s campaign promise to transform America, in part through health care “reform”, is our sickening reality after the Senate passed the “fixes” to their legislation demanded by the House, and the House in turn passed the Senate’s version of their demands, despite total opposition from Republicans and a number of Democrats.

Veep Biden commemorated the historic moment of the bill becoming law with the sound-bite of the day, “”This is a big f#@%*!g deal,” earning praise from his handlers and indulgent smiles from the left wingnuts.

Mr. Obama couldn’t resist ribbing his deputy, Biden said, telling those attending his morning briefing, “You know what the best thing about yesterday was? Joe’s comment.”

Biden said he quipped, “If you thought it was so good, why didn’t you say it?”

Apparently, Mr. Obama’s Press Secretary was equally impressed by the Vice President’s ability to articulate the momentousness of the occasion. Gibbs tweeted: “And yes Mr. Vice President, you’re right…”

Certainly Congress giving the federal government control over a full fifth of the private sector and of American citizens is cause for such silly celebrations.  It’s taken the progressives 100 years of plotting and scheming and slowly twisting the intentions inherent in the basic, good and moral nature of the average American citizen to coerce them to submit to the ideology of spreading the wealth, as was so clearly stated by Michigan Representative John Dingell (D) the other day:  “Let me remind you this has been going on for years. We are bringing it to a halt. The harsh fact of the matter is when you’re going to pass legislation that will cover 300 American people in different ways it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps that have to be taken to put the legislation together to control the people.”

 Yet even though the pigs are busy taking flight today, seems they are headed straight for the Democrat’s giddy poke in the form of taxes, both direct and indirect.

  • Turns out that some kids with pre-existing conditions will have to wait.  Another four years.  The iron-clad guarantee of coverage for everyone with pre-existing conditions won’t kick in until then.  Notes the Associated Press:  “Full protection for children would not come until 2014, said Kate Cyrul, a spokeswoman for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee…. That’s the same year when insurance companies could no longer deny coverage to any person on account of health problems.”
  • No one is safe from the tax increases baked into the legislation.  Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) admitted: “One other point that I think it’s very important to make is that it is true that in certain cases, the taxes will go up for some Americans who might be making less than $200,000.”
  • There is no relief in sight for the jobless, who are going find more company in the unemployment line as the largest private corporations are forced to pay more in taxes.  Caterpillar said it would cost the company at least $100 million more in the first year alone. Medical device maker Medtronic warned that new taxes on its products could force it to lay off a thousand workers. Now Verizon joins the roll of businesses staring at adverse consequences and AT&T has announced that retiree benefits will be impacted.  And don’t expect a expansion of small businesses since it looks quite likely that staying small and on the federal dole (meaning, every taxpaying American is paying for it) will be the preferred choice to keep small business costs from skyrocketing.
  • There’s a requirement that businesses include the value of the health care benefits they provide to employees on W-2s, beginning with W-2s for 2011. 
  • Make no mistake, no matter what your income, you’ll pay double the penalty for nonqualified distributions from health savings accounts, to 20%, beginning in 2011.
  • No matter how much you make, there’s a limit on the amount that employees can contribute to health care flexible spending accounts.  A meager $2,500 a year.
  • A ban on using funds from flexible spending accounts, health reimbursement arrangements or health savings accounts for the cost of over-the-counter medications goes into effect starting in 2011.
  • Take a hike.  The floor goes up from 7.5% on itemized deductions for medical expenses to 10%, beginning in 2013. (Those age 65 and over are exempt from the cutback, but only through 2016.)
  • Even though the excise taxes for “Cadillac plans” will be directly paid by the insurance company, economists of all persuasions expect those costs to be passed along to policyholders.  Meaning, your premium is going to go up.  
  • Expect your cost to go up to pay a big portion of the numerous fees that the health care bill will impose on the pharmaceutical industry ($27 billion from 2011 through 2019), on medical-device manufacturers ($20 billion from 2013 through 2019) and on health insurance providers ($60.1 billion from 2014 through 2019), and on indoor tanning services (a 10 percent excise tax).

But hey, Hugo Chavez is happy now.  Felididades!  He calls it “a miracle” that represented a major “success” for His Transparency.  Above all, what Castro found “really incredible” was that it had taken the United States “234 years” to pass such legislation, “something that Cuba was able to do half a century ago.”

Now while all of this is going on, perhaps one of the biggest pigs of all is about to come flying in.  This year, the system will pay out more in Social Security benefits than it receives in payroll taxes, an important threshold it was not expected to cross until at least 2016, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Oops.

Feeling a little sick?  You have an appointment scheduled.  On November 2nd.

Dividing With Flexible Definitions

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It would be funny if it were not so dangerous to realize that according to the progressive liberal Democrats, under Obamacare someone up to the age of 26 is considered a child but some honest-to-god children with pre-existing conditions won’t be allowed coverage until 2014.  Yet a 15-year old girl, who is unable to drive, drink, vote, or sign a legal contract can give her consent for an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. 

True story:

The girl attends Ballard High School in Seattle which has a teen health clinic inside. The clinic is run by Swedish Medical Center and administered by the King County Health Department.

According to the girl’s mother, who did not want to give her name, her daughter was given a pregnancy test at the school clinic which was positive. She was then told by the nurse that she could have an abortion at a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic without her parents’ knowledge.

The girl then called a taxi, which picked her up at the school and drove her by herself to Planned Parenthood. The mother says once at the clinic a Planned Parenthood worker discouraged her daughter from informing her parents. She claims the worker told her that if she kept quiet the procedure would be free, but if she told her parents they would have to pay for the abortion.

The mother acknowledges she signed a consent form at the beginning of the school year giving the school permission to administer health care off campus. She assumed that meant in cases of emergency. Nowhere on the form is abortion mentioned.

A King County Health official would not speak about any of the details surrounding the case, but did say that no laws were broken. In Washington State a girl of any age can get an abortion without her parent’s being notified. It’s one of 15 states without either parental consent or parental notification laws.

And some wonder why entitlement mentality derangement syndrome is so pervasive in our society.  We let children believe they are mature and experienced enough to make their own, personal decisions like get pregant and abort an unborn baby, yet allow them to demand we continue to take care of them when they become adults and should be taking care of themselves.  I see this as a “divide and conquer” strategy of progressives, designed only to destroy the family and I can only imagine the anger and hurt that has occurred within the family in the above story because of this ideology.

A Jury Of His Peers

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Does any of this sound familiar?

“…accused of engineering a kickback scheme with two attorneys, accepting bribes from an attorney who argued a case before him, having a corrupt relationship with bailbondsmen and helping them with their business, lying to the FBI and Senate, and not telling the truth in his own bankruptcy filing.”

Could be any number of unrepresenting representatives currently scutting around the corridors in Washington or Obama appointees, couldn’t it?  Instead, it is federal Judge Thomas Porteous of New Orleans who was so accused by a 4-article impeachment vote in the Nuthouse last Thursday.  Included in that august voting body is Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL).  Hastings was a federal judge in Florida and was removed from the bench by the Senate in 1989 but later won a seat in Congress and has served there since 1993.

Justice is alive and well in America.

Quote Of The Day

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“Democratic leaders should be asking themselves just how they have gotten to the point that their strategy is to amend a law that doesn’t exist yet by passing a bill without voting on it.”

Yuval Levin (National Review Online)