NY Post: Christie seriously considering presidential bid after GOP prodding

It's not over until it's over. Christie still a "maybe"?

Excerpt: After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run -- and could make his decision next week, The Post has learned.

The announcement may come as soon as Monday, said sources familiar with Christie’s thinking.
The renewed consideration about a White House run came after prodding this week from some Republicans he idolizes, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and former President George W. Bush, sources said.

Read full NY Post article Here.

Democrat James Carville Says 80% of Democrats Are Politically Clueless

The words are straight from Carville's mouth. What we Republicans have known for years has now been verified by one of the leading Democrat operatives.

Excerpt: "Ideologies aren't all that important. What's important is psychology.

The Democratic constituency is just like a herd of cows. All you have to do is lay out enough silage and they come running. That's why I became an operative working with Democrats. With Democrats all you have to do is make a lot of noise, lay out the hay, and be ready to use the ole cattle prod in case a few want to bolt the herd.

Eighty percent of the people who call themselves Democrats don't have a clue as to political reality.
What amazes me is that you could take a group of people who are hard workers and convince them that they should support social programs that were the exact opposite of their own personal convictions. Put a little fear here and there and you can get people to vote any way you want.

The voter is basically dumb and lazy. The reason I became a Democratic operative instead of a Republican was because there were more Democrats that didn't have a clue than there were Republicans.

Truth is relative. Truth is what you can make the voter believe is the truth. If you're smart enough, truth is what you make the voter think it is. That's why I'm a Democrat. I can make the Democratic voters think whatever I want them to."

END QUOTE

Read full YAHOO News article here.

Chile's Social Security Lesson For The U.S.

The Ponzi scheme we have here in the USA called Social Security is in trouble and needs a complete renovation. Chile's system is alive and well and gives its citizens a vested interest in keeping government spending and inflation down.

I don't believe that there is any chance that a change such as this can be made with the Democrats and RINO's in control. Congress has used prior taxpayer deposits as slush funds for their pet projects and they want to continue using future monies in the same way. What we need is to elect Conservative Republicans who believe in the private economy as the savior of our economic prosperity.

Just think of the jobs that could be created by our capitalist economy with the infusion of trillions of dollars, rather than letting the money disappear into the government cesspool.

Excerpt: America's Social Security system will go bust in 2010. As political leaders scramble to save it, they've overlooked an obvious free-market solution that works. They need only look at Chile.

Pay-as-you-go social security systems destroy the link between contributions and benefits, between effort and reward. Everyone tries to minimize what he puts into the system while trying to maximize through political pressure what he can get out of it. That's why pay-as-you-go plans are going bankrupt all over the world.

Chile faced that problem in the late '70s. As secretary of labor and social security, I could have postponed the crisis by playing at the edges, increasing payroll taxes a little and slashing benefits a little. But instead of making some cosmetic adjustments, I decided to undertake a structural reform that would solve the problem once and for all.

José Piñera is Chile's former secretary of labor and social security and is co-chairman of the Cato Institute's Project on Social Security Privatization.

More by José Piñera
We decided to save the idea of a retirement plan by basing it on a completely different concept -- one that links benefits and contributions.

Chile allowed every worker to choose whether to stay in the state-run, pay-as-you-go social security system or to put the whole payroll tax into an individual retirement account. For the first time in history we have allowed the common worker to benefit from one of the most powerful forces on earth: compound interest.

Some 93% of Chilean workers chose the new system. They trust the private sector and prefer market risk to political risk. If you invest money in the market, it could go up or down. Over a 40-year period, though, a diversified portfolio will have very low risk and provide a positive rate of real return. But when the government runs the pension system, it can slash benefits at any time.

The Chilean system is run completely by private companies. We now have 15 mutual funds competing for workers' savings.

The whole working population of Chile has a vested interest in sound economic policies and a pro-market, pro-private-enterprise environment.

We guaranteed benefits for the elderly -- we told those people who had already retired that they had nothing to fear from this reform. We also told people entering the labor force for the first time that they had to go to the new system.

Today, all workers in Chile are capitalists, because their money is invested in the stock market. And they also understand that if government tomorrow were to create the conditions for inflation, they would be damaged because some of the money is also invested in bonds -- around 60%. So the whole working population of Chile has a vested interest in sound economic policies and a pro-market, pro-private-enterprise environment.

There have been enormous external benefits: the savings rate of Chile was 10% of gross national product traditionally. It has gone up to 27% of GNP. The payroll tax in Chile is zero. Of course we have an estate tax and an income tax, but not a payroll tax. With full employment and a 27% savings rate, the rate of growth of the Chilean economy has doubled.

Read full CATO article here.

EPA’s CO2 Regulations are What’s “Comically Wrong” - Backdoor Cap & Tax

The Obama administration and the EPA are enacting Cap & Tax by Executive fiat after failing to get Congress to pass the needed legislation. EPA funding for this effort should be withheld by the Republican House and Obama should be educated in the proper role of the Executive branch. That is the enforcement of the laws, not their creation. Where are the checks and balances that were written into the Constitution?

All we need are another 230,000 new bureaucrats to suck the taxpayers dry.

Excerpt: Earlier this week, The Daily Caller’s Matthew Boyle wrote that “The Environmental Protection Agency has said new greenhouse gas regulations, as proposed, may be “absurd” in application and “impossible to administer” by its self-imposed 2016 deadline. But the agency is still asking for taxpayers to shoulder the burden of up to 230,000 new bureaucrats—at a cost of $21 billion—to attempt to implement the rules.”

The figures come from the EPA’s recently filed court brief from litigation over the agency’s backdoor cap-and-trade policy—regulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The $21 billion per year—more than double the EPA’s annual budget—is just for paperwork and permitting to comply with the agency’s global warming regulations. The way the Clean Air Act is currently written, the endangerment finding would require that the EPA regulate sources or establishments that emit 100 or 250 tons or more of a pollutant per year, results in apartment buildings, schools, hospitals and churches falling victim to regulation.

The EPA is firing back because the agency proposed a tailoring rule that would amend the Clean Air Act so that only large emitters of greenhouse gas regulations will be hit by the regulations. Both industry and environmental activists are upset with the tailoring rule, Robin Bravender reports in Politico: “industry groups are challenging the tailoring rule in court, saying the EPA doesn’t have the Clean Air Act authority it says it has, while some greens say the EPA proposal is too permissive.” In other words, there are green groups who want everything under the sun regulated.

Even with the tailoring rule, the EPA is going to need many more bureaucrats and a lot more cash to regulate CO2. With the tailoring rule in place, more than 1,200 small businesses—including brick manufacturers, small municipal utilities, small coal mines, and small paper and pulp mills. Although smaller business may be protected, most would still be indirectly hit through higher energy costs.

Regardless of how the tailoring rule is applied, it would only be for six years- during that time the EPA will evaluate the threshold and work on a streamlined process to regulate smaller entities. In essence, it’s open fire on everything…regardless of size. And that’s not a joke.

Read the full Heritage article here.

Senate appropriators' secret war against oversight - GAO Proposed Cuts Ignored

Like Coburn says, they are shooting the messenger. It seems that each time there is a report with recommendations to cut spending, both the Democrats and Republicans run for the hills. No one steps up and proposes specific bills to get the job done. Why not take the GAO list of savings and divvy it up among the Republican House members and have their staffs develop clear and concise bills for passage. I'm sure that many of the bills would pass the House and then the Senate Democrats in the Senate and Obama could take the lumps when they fail to pass them.

Excerpt: Seven months ago, the non-partisan Government Accountability Office released a landmark report identifying at least $200 billion in wasteful, duplicative, and fraudulent government programs. At a time when we’re bankrupt as a nation – our debt now exceeds the size of our GDP and we have no way to finance our long-term liabilities – the report was a treasure map of easy-to-find savings.

Yet, in the last seven months, Congress has failed to send a single cut identified by GAO to the president’s desk. Even worse, instead of cutting the spending identified by GAO, the Senate Appropriations Committee is now proposing to slash funding for GAO itself.

In the legislative branch appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012, GAO is singled out for excessively deep cuts and new, overly burdensome mandates that will consume the agency’s limited resources to no apparent benefit.

At a time when we need serious oversight to make smart cuts, the Appropriations Committee itself admits its proposal will hurt GAO’s ability to do oversight. The committee report concedes “it is evident that many of the services provided by the GAO will be curtailed due to reductions in staff and resources.”

The logic of the committee’s proposal is tough to decipher. Yet, it is clear shooting the messenger (GAO) won’t make the message go away. And the message coming from our citizens and the international financial community is this: if we want our economy to survive and recover we need live within our means. GAO’s recommendations are the place to start cutting, not GAO itself.

Read full Examiner article here.

White House Insider: Fast & Furious Going Critical, White House Concerned

With the Mexican Attorney General getting into the act, I don't see how the Fast & Furious scandal can be dropped by Issa. It is time for a special prosecutor.

Excerpt: They are crumbling in amongst themselves. The donors, as I have been repeating to you for months, are getting more agitated and concerned each day. The president is being cornered and he doesn’t appear to have much fight left in him. Don’t take that as me being confident though. That makes him more dangerous than ever. He still has his hardliners around him. They will not give this up. Jarrett will break him apart if needed. Too much money on the line. They owe people. Pulling the plug is not an option for them. And while we have been working up the primary challenge against the president in the fall, I am hearing those bastards have been attempting to install a 3rd candidate scenario to split the vote. Not just idle talk, but actual negotiations having taken place. If they pull that off, well, I don’t know. We had not prepared for that scenario. It’s a long shot for them, but it put a scare in me. In all of us. Let our guard down there.

More importantly at the moment though is Fast and Furious. The Solyndra thing was an unexpected surprise. Had nothing to do w/that but happy to see it out there. If it continues to get attention from the public that’s great. The more the merrier when it comes to scandals against this administration. I continue to see Fast and Furious as the much bigger deal for this White House though. That has everyone running interference at a level only seen when something very big and very dangerous to a president is hovering over an administration. You keep asking about Issa. At this point I don’t know. Information has been effectively shut down from his office. That either means a deal has been struck and some stooge will take the fall, or they are preparing to go all in on this thing. A Watergate type moment. At this point it’s one or the other. Holder has openly insulated himself and the president. Doing it so openly means he’s either very confident or very afraid. I am hoping its fear that is motivating him to cover his tracks right in front of everyone. Been told there is a memo, or was a memo, tying Fast and Furious directly to some kind of proposed gun control legislation or plan. Not certain how developed it was. Something that was pending . The memo is a direct link between the program and the gun control issue. An entire coordinated effort that required people to be killed. It is being talked about, but I have not seen it or spoken with anyone who has. So who knows? If it does exist and if Issa or someone comparable to him has it, then it implicates the administration at an entirely new level of corruption here. We’re talking about people marching on the White House and throwing them out on their ass. Either way, if Fast and Furious is to break out completely against this White House, it needs to happen soon, so we will have our answer either way.

Mexican attorney general: "Obama more involved in Fast & Furious than admitted!"

I wonder if the MSM can ignore the Mexican Attorney General. Bet it will.

Excerpt: President Barack Obama appears to be getting it from all sides regarding a government snafu dubbed Operation Fast and Furious. Besides both houses of the U.S. Congress and a number of public-interest groups investigating what is being characterized as a rogue federal law enforcement operation, Mexico's attorney general is infuriated over the allegations that the U.S. was behind the smuggling of weapons into Mexico that ended up killing her countrymen.

In a statement released by Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales, she called Operation Fast and Furious “an attack on Mexicans’ security.”

Morales told Mexican reporters that she is demanding a full and honest explanation from the United States government especially since evidence is being gathered that reveals the Obama administration was more involved in Operation Fast and Furious than top officials admitted in their sworn statements.

If what is being reported is true, U.S. Attorney General and other government officials may have committed perjury and/or obstruction of justice if it's proven they lied when testifying before House and Senate committees.

Read full article at Examiner.Com here.

Boeing Machinist Union, Violating SC Right To Work Law?

Good luck in having the NLRB investigating this charge against the union.

Excerpt: While ‘Project Gemini’ clearly shows that the company was interested in a second source of production in South Carolina because of “lower labor costs” and its “current hostage situation,” the problem with the union’s (and NLRB’s) entire evil corporate conspiracy theory is in the actual time line of events.

Very simply, the union’s (and NLRB’s) conspiracy theory falls apart when this is taken into account: The company that Boeing bought (Vought Aircraft) for what ultimately was chosen for the second 787 production facility was unionized at the time Boeing bought it—by the very same union, the International Association of Machinists.

In fact, as has been noted on several occasions, were it not for the South Carolina employees decertifying the Machinists’ union after Boeing bought the company, the union would have not likely have ever filed the charges against Boeing.

Thus far, both the media and the politicians who have latched onto the Boeing issue have remained suspiciously ignorant of a simple premise: If the Boeing employees had not decertified the Machinists in 2009, it is unlikely the union would have filed its charges against the company.

You see, if the employees were still represented by the union and the union would have filed charges against Boeing anyway, then it would have been possible for South Carolina employees to claim the union violated its duty of fair representation. [Remember, the problem with the union and NLRB's case is that the South Carolina work is additional work, not work taken away existing work in Puget Sound.]

On the other hand, since the union filed its charges after the employees decertified, it seems rather apparent that the union’s charges are in retaliation for South Carolina employees exercising their legal rights to become union free through decertification. If that is indeed the case, that is unlawful.

If the media or politicians (or the NLRB, for that matter) were truly interested in getting to the bottom of the Boeing matter, they would ask the following “yes” or “no” questions to the Machinists union:

Would you have filed the same charges against Boeing if the employees in South Carolina were still members of the Machinists’ union?

If the answer is “yes,” then you are admitting that your representation of South Carolina workers includes filing a charge that may ultimately cause their jobs to be eliminated?

If the answer is “no,” then you are admitting that the foundation of the charge filed against Boeing is in retaliation for the workers in South Carolina having voted the union out?

Are the reports true that union organizers continue to try to convince South Carolina employees to re-unionize by directly stating or inferring that the Machinists will drop its suit against Boeing?

These are simple “yes” or “no” questions that the media should have been asking since the outset of the NLRB’s prosecution of Boeing. Yet, while the Machinists may try to dodge answering the question as they have informally to this point (see here, here, and here), no serious questioner has asked the right questions—not the media, not the politicians, and not the NLRB…so far.

Eventually, the Machinists may be forced to answer the questions to the NLRB, as an unfair labor practice charge was filed with the ‘independent’ agency back in June. However, right now, it appears the NLRB may be stalling its investigation of the charge as it pursues its prosecution of Boeing.

Read full Redstate article here.

Obama Bumper Sticker

Health reform lawsuit appears headed for Supreme Court

Perhaps we will get a ruling prior to the November 2012 elections. One of my concerns with the lack of speed in this process is that Obama might have had another chance to fill a possible vacancy in the Court. That is less likely with this faster track to the Supreme Court. It is still not certain how the Court will rule, so it is imperative that control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency be captured by the Republicans in 2012.

Excerpt: The Obama administration chose not to ask the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to re-hear a pivotal health reform case Monday, signaling that it’s going to ask the Supreme Court to decide whether President Barack Obama’s health reform law is constitutional.

The move puts the Supreme Court in the difficult position of having to decide whether to take the highly politically charged case in the middle of the presidential election.

The Justice Department is expected to ask the court to overturn an August decision by a panel of three judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that found the law’s requirement to buy insurance is unconstitutional. The suit was brought by 26 states, the National Federation of Independent Business, and several individuals.

Since the ruling, the Justice Department had until Monday to ask the entire 11th Circuit to review the case. Administration lawyers didn’t file the paperwork by the 5 p.m. deadline, so the ruling would stand unless the Justice Department asks the Supreme Court to step in.

The petition isn’t due until November, and the administration could get an extension.

Read full POLITICO article here.

Facebook tracks you even after logging out

Sabato: Christie Could Win It All In 2012

Can Christie be the go to candidate in a field that no one candidate has been able to separate himself from.

Excerpt: Several leading Republican donors and fundraisers have been urging the popular governor to reconsider his decision not to run and to enter the GOP primary, Newsmax reported.

These Christie supporters note that significant GOP support has remained on the sidelines of the primary fight. Many leading fundraisers have yet to commit to any current primary contender, including front-runners Rick Perry and Mitt Romney.

Newsmax also learned that the effort to draft Christie culminated in a hush-hush powwow held in the past week with Christie and several notable Republican billionaires.

A source familiar with the meeting suggested that Christie seemed inclined to enter the race but said he needed more time.

Christie’s dramatic about-face from strict denials of any intent to throw his hat in the presidential ring should come as welcome news to many rank-and-file Republicans, he says. Indeed, Sabato believes that Republicans are not universally pleased with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as a whole "and are disappointed with how Texas Gov. Rick Perry has performed in the debates."

For his part, Perry has been taken to task over healthcare and immigration issues and is viewed by political insiders as having been consistently on the defensive during the debates.

Just weeks ago, Sabato opined there was no chance that Christie would run — because he had not formed an exploratory committee. Sabato now says, "Christie would have a lot of questions to answer if he joins the race — because he has been heard and seen on tape saying he would not run. Christie would have to explain what has changed his mind."

"He has been clear that for him it is family first," Sabato says. "He has shown no prior interest, but what makes him an "attractive candidate" is that "he is a Republican governor in a predominantly Democratic state."

Sabato points out that, given New Jersey's Democratic Party dominance, "Christie knows he faces an uphill battle when he goes for reelection in 2013."

"Christie may be feeling that this may be his best chance to run for president," Sabato says.

Best chance or not, Newsmax asks the pivotal question: If Christie runs, can he win the GOP nod?

“There's no question that Christie could potentially win the nomination,” Sabato says.

Read full Newsmax.com article here.

SURPRISE! TOP OF FORBES 400 ARE JOB CREATORS

It is interesting to see that Obama’s friend, George Soros, is the only non-job creating financier in the top ten. And the administration says that their rhetoric is not class warfare

Excerpt: Here is an interesting fact that members of the Obama administration should consider: although there may be a few financiers and hedge fund managers at the top of the Forbes 400 list (the list of the wealthiest people), most of the individuals on it have founded or run companies that have created and maintained tens of millions of jobs.

However, according to the Obama administration, they are neither “paying their fair share” nor did they earn their money on their own.

Bill Gates of Microsoft, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway and Larry Ellison of Oracle top the list. They are followed by two members of the Koch family, who own one of the largest private companies in America. Three of Sam Walton’s children are among the top 10. The eighth richest person on the list, Sheldon Adelson, runs casinos.

The only financier among the top 10 people on the Forbes list is George Soros.

Relative newcomers to the list also have started companies with large employee bases. This includes Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Micheal Dell of Dell and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft. These tech companies are part of the services sector that has created jobs and continues to do so as the U.S. manufacturing base keeps eroding.

These facts are particularly interesting when one considers the claim made by members of the administration that the wealthy are simply hoarding all the money and not “paying their fair share.

According to several economists, successful private sector entrepreneurs are more likely to achieve profitable job-creating conclusions with their investments than government entities because they have a genuine concern for the success of the venture.

Through prudent money management and gambling on winning investments, the wealthy are able to create a significant number of jobs. Perhaps it would then be in the country’s best interest to allow them to keep the money they earned so that they may continue to reinvest it in job-creating solutions:

Read full The Blaze article here.

Black Pastor Sues Obama & Democratic Party for Racism

Which party has been at the forefront in the battle for civil rights? History shows it is not the Democrats. Even today, the policies of the Democrat party are designed to keep minorities down and under their control. As seen in the recent defunding of the successful charter school program in DC, Obama and the Democrats have no interest in the education of children of the inner cities, and therefore, have no interest in elevating these minorities out of the cesspool of poverty.

Excerpt: Part of the lawsuit is to ensure the Democrat Party is portraying their history truthfully and factually. Rev. Perryman writes:

Modern-day Democrats must stop preaching that they are the compassionate party of black people and confess that it was their predecessors who started many of the racist practices that we are now trying to eradicate. History clearly shows two things: (1) that the roots of racism grew deep in the hearts and souls of the Democrats and (2) without the past efforts of the Radical Republicans and the Abolitionists, the Civil Rights Legislation of the sixties would not have been possible. Republicans laid the foundation for civil rights by passing legislation and instituting programs that Democrats’ were adamantly opposed to, such as:

1. The Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 to abolish slavery.

2. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 to give Negroes citizenship and protect freed men from Black Codes and other repressive legislation.

3. The First Reconstruction Act of 1867 to provide more efficient Government of the Rebel- or Democrat-controlled states.

4. The Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 to make all persons born in the United States citizens. Part of this Amendment specifically states “No State shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; or deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

5. The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 to give the right to vote to every citizen.

6. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to stop Klan terrorists to terrorized black voters, Republicans, white teachers who taught blacks, and Abolitionists.

7. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights and to prohibit racial discrimination in places of public accommodation.

8. Freedmen’s Bureau was a social program established by Republicans to feed, protect, and educate the former slaves.

9. The 1957 Civil Rights Act and the 1960 Civil Rights Act were signed into law by President Eisenhower who also established the U.S. Civil Rights Commission in 1958, a commission that was rejected by Truman during his administration.

10. The 1964 Civil Rights Act which key Republicans pushed law through while key Southern Democrats like Al Gore Sr. debated against its passage. More Republicans (in percentages) voted for this law than Democrats.”

Parks says, “They are ashamed of their past and do not want Blacks to look under the hood of their history.”

Read the full Patriot Update article here.

More About Herman Cain, The Man

Herman Cain could be the breath of fresh air that the Tea Party is looking for.

Excerpt: Cain is certainly no stranger to adversity, having recently overcome Stage IV colon and liver cancer.

Even though he's known as the "pizza" candidate for his years as head of Godfather's Pizza, his background is much broader than that. After he graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in mathematics and a minor in chemistry in 1968, Cain landed a job as a ballistics analyst for the Department of the Navy, where he was responsible for the calculations that ensured battleship rockets hit their targets.

"It's not an easy thing to do," he said.

Cain later completed a master's degree in computer science and entered the business world where he led several companies--most recently Godfather's--and chaired the National Restaurant Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. His résumé--from mathematician and rocket scientist to restaurateur and now politician--isn't exactly a typical one for a presidential candidate. But Cain said that while his presidential run may look unlikely from the outside, it's actually part of his larger career trajectory of seeking out new ways to test himself.

"I'm bored if I don't have a challenge," he said.

Cain said the run for the White House is his toughest challenge yet--and it's been anything but boring. Despite the frustrations of running a national campaign, you can tell he's enjoying it. But it doesn't take much to get him riled up.

After a few caffeine-heavy refills at our corner table, I asked him about President Obama's new effort to raise taxes on the wealthy, and Cain just about blew a blood vessel--especially when I mentioned the part where Obama says it's about "math" not "class warfare."

"Can I be blunt? That's a lie," Cain said, before the sound of his voice began to rise noticeably higher. "You're not supposed to call the president a liar. Well if you're not supposed to call the president a liar, he shouldn't tell a lie. If it's not class warfare, it's highway robbery. He wants us to believe it's not class warfare, oh okay, it's not class warfare. Pick my pockets, because that's what he's doing!"

Cain paused, took a breath and looked at me.

"I'm not mad at you, I just get passionate about this stuff," he said. "I have to tell people because I get so worked up . . . . I'm listening to all this bullshit that he's talking about, 'fairness' and 'balanced approach' to get this economy going."

Read full YAHOO News report here.

49% Of Americans: Government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens

Now we know how many in the US can read and pay attention to what is going on in Washington DC. What amazes me is the disparity between the approval of Congress and that of the President, 31% vs 47%. I would think that they would be about even since they are all playing politics with the deficit problem. People want cuts and neither party wants to alienate anyone, even if it means saving this country.

Excerpt: Majorities of Democrats (65%) and Republicans (92%) are dissatisfied with the nation's governance. This perhaps reflects the shared political power arrangement in the nation's capital, with Democrats controlling the White House and U.S. Senate, and Republicans controlling the House of Representatives. Partisans on both sides can thus find fault with government without necessarily blaming their own party.

The findings are from Gallup's annual Governance survey, updated Sept. 8-11, 2011. The same poll shows record or near-record criticism of Congress, elected officials, government handling of domestic problems, the scope of government power, and government waste of tax dollars.

Key Findings:

82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

69% say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch of government, an all-time high and up from 63% in 2010.

57% have little or no confidence in the federal government to solve domestic problems, exceeding the previous high of 53% recorded in 2010 and well exceeding the 43% who have little or no confidence in the government to solve international problems.

53% have little or no confidence in the men and women who seek or hold elected office.

Americans believe, on average, that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, similar to a year ago, but up significantly from 46 cents a decade ago and from an average 43 cents three decades ago.

49% of Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.

Read full 9/26/11 Gallup poll results here.

Bilderbergers Skew Debates And Select The Candidates

The New World Order people, the Bilderbergers, have their hands in all facets of our electoral process. This article attempts to alert us to the possibility that the questioning at the Republican debates, is designed to eliminate certain candidates and provide talking points for Obama in his re-election bid.

Who would have thunk?

Excerpt: Within the GOP and amongst conservatives, there have been questions regarding how the GOP debates have been conducted. Many are concerned about the types of questions being asked by the moderators of the debates. There are also concerns that some of the candidates are not being given the same opportunities to present their views as the two ‘front runners.’ It is time to realize how the Bilderbergers are orchestrating the debates and the media coverage in attempting to control the outcome of the Presidential election of 2012 in much the way they have in past elections, both here and throughout the world.

Don’t we need to begin with their end in mind and work towards our present day? The Bilderbergers (and members of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission) are elitist, velvet thugs, who see themselves as the ‘house’ in the big casino of the American electoral system. To that end, they have infiltrated both major parties. Additionally, all media outlets are members of this band of gutless, unenlightened despots. They may not wear hooded sheets and burn crosses, but the fact that they are so secretive exposes them as conniving carpetbaggers and scalawags.

Their number one goal is to have our Agitator-in-Chief re-elected as President in 2012, but they are also pragmatic. Should he become vulnerable because our horrendous economy continues moribund, they have people in the bullpen within both parties to take up the cause, even if they haven’t declared their intention to run for President.

Their line-up within the GOP includes Romney, Perry, Huntsman, and possibly, Cain. They may not be full members, but they rub shoulders with those who are. Obviously, in following the money and media exposure, Romney and Perry are their ‘puppets-of-choice’ if Obama is unable to retain the crown of the office of the President. The reason why Romney feels he can arrogantly defend the indefensible ObamneyCare and Perry defends indefensible borders and placing illegal students ahead of students who are American citizens is that they are not accountable to the American citizen/voter.

Read full Canada Free Press article here.

PLF fights the EPA to protect a couple's dream

If this isn't reason enough to eliminate the EPA, nothing is. The Obama czars believe They have omnipotent powers to control the citizenry. Let us hope the Supreme Court protects us.

Obama Administration Set to Ban Asthma Inhalers Over Environmental Concerns

Every aspect of your lives is going to be controlled by the government if you do not stop voting for Democrat/Liberal/Progressives.

Excerpt: Asthma patients who rely on over-the-counter inhalers will need to switch to prescription-only alternatives as part of the federal government's latest attempt to protect the Earth's atmosphere.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma will need to switch by Dec. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.

The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.

But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. Epinephrine inhalers are available via online retailers for around $20, whereas the alternatives, which contain the drug albuterol, range from $30 to $60.

Er, industry also knew how to make low-flow toilets, which is why every toilet in my recently renovated rental house clogs at least once a week. They knew how to make more energy efficient dryers, which is why even on high, I have to run every load through the dryer in said house twice. And they knew how to make inexpensive compact flourescent bulbs, which is why my head hurts from the glare emitting from my bedroom lamp. They also knew how to make asthma inhalers without CFCs, which is why I am hoarding old albuterol inhalers that, unlike the new ones, a) significantly improve my breathing and b) do not make me gag. Etc.

Read the full Weekly Standard article here.

Chris Christie back in spotlight as Perry sags

Christie's entry into the race would certainly make it interesting.

Excerpt: With the party’s front-runner sagging, Chris Christie is reconsidering pleas from Republican elites and donors to run for president in 2012, two Republican sources told POLITICO.

The New Jersey governor has indicated he is listening to big-money backers and Republican influence-makers, and will let them know in roughly a week whether he has moved off his threat-of-suicide vow to stay on the sidelines of a presidential race that remains amorphous heading into the fall, the two sources said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s candidacy has failed to clear a basic bar with elites and some donors, and his shoddy debate performance in Orlando has only highlighted the window for someone who Republicans searching for a Mitt Romney alternative can rally around.

Christie’s potential candidacy has been an increasingly fevered fantasy of a certain cadre of some media and business elites — mostly based in New York, with a smattering of California technology and entertainment players — since last summer. That’s when he showed up at a Sun Valley conference hosted by the investment banker Allen and Co. and wowed the crowd, including Rupert Murdoch, with what many in attendance described as a nimble mind and a speaking style that was both articulate and blunt-spoken.

But after months of going out of his way to end the speculation, Christie started indicating he would at least think about getting in during the past week, the sources said, a period in which he held an event with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels — who has strongly indicated he’d like to see another entry to the field — and had a meeting with a group of major New York donors.

Read full POLITICO article here.

Herman Cain wins GOP Florida straw poll

I think that Floridians saw in Mr. Cain, an intelligent man with common sense solutions, and he is the only candidate who has never been a politician.

Excerpt: Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 straw poll here Saturday, delivering a blow to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s front-runner status and a victory for a candidate who has struggled to transform his grass-roots popularity into strong showings in national polls.

“Tonight’s winner is Herman Cain,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced. “It shows you something: The road to the White House comes through Florida, and it pays to spend time here.”

Mr. Cain received 37 percent of the more than 2,600 votes cast.

“Thank you to the Republican voters for this incredible honor of being named the winner of the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida today,” Mr. Cain said. “This is a sign of our growing momentum and my candidacy that cannot be ignored. I will continue to share my message of ‘common-sense solutions’ across this country and look forward to spending more time in Florida, a critical state for both the nomination and the general election.”

The two national front-runners — Mr. Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — placed second and third. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, meanwhile, landed in fourth place; Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was in fifth place; and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sixth. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann finished last. (See the poll results here.)

Read full Washington Times article here.

Uncertainty slows (crushes) economic rebound

As many have said, either Obama is not that smart and just doesn't get it, or he is intentionally trying to destroy our economy in accordance with his Clower and Piven teachings. I'm beginning to think it is a little bit of both. As Albert Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." You have to be a little insane to follow Clower and Piven.

Excerpt: Economic uncertainty, we believe, is a principal reason consumers are saving more, but spending less. Not knowing what the future holds probably also explains why businesses have stashed trillions, rather than investing, loaning or spending.

Business plans give entrepreneurs and investors reasonable expectation of profit.

"[Y]ou have to know what your expenses are, and you have to have some idea of what your revenues are going to be," explains CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder. "Right now people are very concerned about taxes because the president keeps talking about raising taxes," Mr. Puzder adds.

Taxes are only the beginning. There is uncertainty about how many of the hundreds of potential new regulations the Environmental Protection Agency will impose and what form they will take, what new unionization changes may come from the National Labor Relations Board and myriad other government regulations that may – or may not – be imposed, increasing business costs. Then there is the 2,000-page Obamacare health care law's ambiguous mandates and countless regulations yet to be written by unaccountable bureaucrats.

"It's very difficult to model the costs because the bill was so complex, and it's very difficult to find people who understand it," Mr. Puzder says, no doubt echoing sentiments of CEOs across the nation.

This is an example of the magnitude of uncertainty: The potential increase in health care costs alone for a solitary company, CKE Restaurants, was estimated by experts to range from $7 million to $35 million a year. (The final guess was about $18 million in added costs, or twice what CKE spent last year in adding new restaurants.)

Is it prudent for companies to expand or hire when facing such uncertainties, or for consumers to commit to large purchases not knowing their jobs are secure?

Read full Orange County Register article here.

Hispanic Univision is currently the fifth-largest network in primetime

What ever happened to the "melting pot" and the requirement for assimilation into our culture that our immigration laws require. This is destroying our society.

Excerpt: Hispanic television is now a large industry in the U.S. In the last year its total audience continued to grow and now rivals non-Hispanic television in many of the nation's largest markets. With 1.9 million viewers, Univision is currently the fifth-largest network in primetime audience in the U.S.. In total viewers, Univision lags behind its English-language counterparts (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC),though it has closed the gap substantially in recent years. Univision is tapping into a growing market --in February 2011, the number of Hispanic households with TV sets increased 3.1% from the previous year. During the 2010-2011 television season, Univision was the only major U.S. television network to grow its average primetime audience among 18-49 year olds - they achieved 8% growth from the season before. For the same demographic group, among the English-language networks, Fox lost 4%, CBS lost 8%, ABC lost 9% and NBC lost 14% over the same period.

Read full Pew Research Center article here.

John Stossel Exciting Schools

Saw John Stossel's program about schools on FOX and thought it was excellent. This article is a part of that episode and is very informative.

Excerpt: School spending has doubled over the past 30 years. Yet what do we get? More buildings and more assistant principals -- but student learning? No improvement. If you graph the numbers, the spending line slopes steeply, while the lines for reading, math and science scores are as flat as a dead man's EKG.

Why no improvement? Because K-12 education is a government monopoly, and monopolies don't improve.

And yet I'm happy to announce some good news: Cool things are starting to happen in classrooms.

I was surprised to meet kids who said they like school. What? I found school boring. How can it be that these fourth-graders tell me that they look forward to going to school and that math is "rockin' awesome"?

Those kids attend one of those new charter schools. Charters let them escape the bureaucracy of regular schools, including, often, teachers union rules. These schools compete for kids because parents can always choose another school. That makes them better.

Because of that attitude, people who try to start charter schools often find that bureaucrats make it hard. But in one city, most kids now attend charters. How did that happen?

It happened because when Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, it also destroyed the school system. Some school reformers thought that might be a blessing.

"It was probably one of the worst school districts in the country," said Paul Pastorek, former Louisiana state superintendent of education. The state faced a choice: Rebuild the old system or build something new. It built something new. Opening charters became easy. Today, most kids in New Orleans attend charter schools, and test scores are better.

Competition drives schools to try different things in order to succeed. It's similar to what happens with consumer goods -- computers, refrigerators, cars -- that get better every year.

If charter schools do this well, imagine what a really free and competitive system -- one without compulsory tax financing and bureaucratic chartering procedures -- could do.

Our kids deserve a free market in education.

Read full Townhall article here.

Unmasking An Obama Gimmick: Manipulating Data To Spur Higher Spending

Graphs can lie depending on the scale and assumptions.

Read Hot Air article here.

Scandal #3 For Obama White House…

Chicago politics at its finest. Will Obama end up behind bars like Rod Blagojevich? I think not!

Excerpt: According to the just-published Daily Beast report:
The issue of LightSquared and the OMB’s interest in testimony came to light last week when The Daily Beast reported that Gen. William Shelton, the four-star general in charge of the Air Force Space Command, told House lawmakers in a classified briefing that he felt pressured by the White House to change his testimony on LightSquared. Shelton ultimately rejected the White House suggestions and delivered his own testimony last week.

On Monday, a second witness, Anthony Russo, director of the National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, told The Daily Beast that he too was asked by the OMB to insert the 90-day timeframe into his testimony before the House Science Committee, but he refused. The hearing originally was scheduled for Aug. 3, then rescheduled for Sept. 8.
What is now clearly evident is the Lightsquared scandal is another example out of many similar occasionswhen the Obama administration has shown itself actively engaged in the very same pay-to-play scenario that landed Barack Obama’s fellow Chicago politician Rod Blagojevich behind bars. And in the case of Lightsquared, it was a backroom deal that put the very security of the United States at risk.

Will Congressional investigators and American voters be willing to forgive Barack Obama for these repeated offenses?

We think not.

Read full Ulsterman Report here.

Will Scandal Drive Obama Off the 2012 Ticket?

Congressional inquiries come and they go; what makes the Issa investigations any different? Everyone knows that Chicago politics has taken hold in Washington DC and that the "actors" are smart enough to make it almost impossible to indict or convict. In any event, it will take so long that the elections will be over before anything can get done. The best we can hope for is for the scandals to be vetted in the MSM; little chance prior to the election. Republicans have to nominate a candidate that cannot fail in the November elections. Right now Romney appears to be the only one. Let us hope a new star arises before the nomination process is final

Excerpt: As a result, the press gave the great American republic an untried, unknown, and, it is becoming more and more frighteningly clear, incompetent figure as president. Under Obama, America's foreign policies are a mixture of confusion and costly impotence. They are increasingly bypassed or derided; the great approach to the Muslim world, symbolized by the Cairo speech, is in tatters. America's debt and deficits are a weight on the entire global economy. And the office of presidency is less and less a symbol of strength.

To the degree the press neglected its function as watchdog and turned cupbearer to a styrofoam demigod, it is a partner in the flaws and failures of what is turning out to be one of the most miserable performances in the modern history of the American presidency.

A tipping point appears to have been reached in the last month or so. The myth of Obama has ended. There is now open talk from the media that Obama cannot win in 2012.

Just as Democrats don't want a pariah at the top of the ticket, many in the media do not want to continue plugging what is obviously a failed candidate. The protective shield that existed is being dismantled. The press is more interested in saving what credibility they have left, rather than justifying an increasingly indefensible and broken presidency.

Investigative reporting, so obviously missing when Obama was The Next Coming, is likely to be cranked up. The media will fully cover any official investigations. Furthermore, entrepreneurs within their ranks and within the internet community are likely to focus on filling in the blanks in Obama's missing past.

The attraction of being the next Woodward or Bernstein is strong. Now that it is acceptable to attack, if not destroy, the fallen hero, look for lots of new information to come out. The chance to "change history" is an overpowering incentive for cub and seasoned reporters.
This is a very dangerous time for the president. Two of his two biggest supporters have incentives to remove him from office.

Any investigations are likely to be real. That does not mean that President Obama is not getting a fair shake. His problem is that justice, for all the wrong reasons, will be getting a fair shake. That is usually fatal for politicians under investigation.

Read full American Thinker article here.

Measuring Teacher Effectiveness: Credentials Unrelated to Student Achievement

This study that took 2 decades of information from the Florida school system disclosed the following:

While not mentioning unions, the study refutes most of the evaluation techniques and seniority rules set forth in most union contracts.

By stating that it is imperative to weed out the chaff prior to tenure being granted, it also makes a case for eliminating tenure.

Money is not the most important factor in student learning, the quality of the teaching and the teacher is. Our Federal government thinks that it can dictate minimum test scores and throw money at the system and improve student performance. This study refutes that hypothesis.

Excerpt: The Florida Study

As with most previous research, we found no relationship between a teacher’s earning a master’s degree, certification, or years of experience and the teacher’s classroom performance as measured by student test scores. Though we found that some pedagogy course work was related to teaching effectiveness, the magnitude of the effect was mild: even very detailed information about the teacher’s preparation in college told us very little about how effective that teacher would be in the classroom.

The Current System

In making decisions on pay, promotion, and tenure, U.S. public schools today do not seriously consider measures of how well a teacher performs in the classroom. Instead of distinguishing between the observed performances of teachers, the current system differentiates teachers by the number of advanced degrees that they hold and their years of experience in the classroom.

Teachers must acquire a certification, the vast majority of which are gained by graduating from a college of education. Once a candidate earns a teaching position, however, that teacher no longer undergoes serious evaluation. The evaluation system relies on infrequent and superficial observations of a teacher’s performance, often during a single class period (or less) at a time known by the teacher in advance. Consequently, nearly all teachers are classified as effective: an analysis of 12 large school districts in four states by the New Teacher Project found that in districts using a binary evaluation system (i.e., with only two ratings: “satisfactory” or “not satisfactory”), over 99 percent of teachers received the thumbs-up rating. Even districts that used broader evaluation distinctions ranked 94 percent of teachers in one of the top two tiers of effectiveness and deemed just 1 percent “unsatisfactory.”[1]

The vast majority of public school systems pay teachers uniformly, according to a salary ladder built on only two key factors: advanced degrees and experience. In American public schools, the single-salary schedule has a long history that actually predates the rise of teachers’ unions as a political force: as early as 1918, about 65 percent of American urban school systems reported that they had established a salary schedule.[2] Today, single-salary schedules based entirely on these two factors are the norm nationwide.

Conclusion:

Modern research on teacher quality makes clear that the factors used to determine a teacher’s compensation tell us little to nothing about how well the teacher will perform in the classroom. That consistent finding has (or should have) enormous implications for the future of the current system. The results of an employment policy based entirely on credentials uncorrelated to student achievement are obvious: we see wide variation in the quality of public school teachers.

The structure of the current system is simply indefensible, given modern research findings. There is nothing inherently wrong with relying on proxies for effectiveness when making employment decisions. However, when those proxies fail to differentiate meaningfully between the most and the least productive workers, they should be jettisoned. This is certainly the case with our public schools, where wide variation in teacher quality persists among those who have passed through the usual screens and earned the recommended degrees.

Just how much does teacher quality vary? An early study by Stanford University economist Eric Hanushek estimated that the difference between being assigned to one of the system’s best teachers and one of its worst is about an additional grade level’s worth of proficiency at the end of the school year.[6] Similar variations in teacher quality have been found in Tennessee,[7] New Jersey,[8] Chicago,[9] Florida,[10] and other unnamed school districts across the country.

Most parents, teachers, and school administrators surely won’t find it surprising that teachers are not identically effective. What to do?

The findings of our research and other studies suggest that public schools should revise their employment systems so that they prioritize measures of the teacher’s actual effectiveness in the classroom. School systems should develop comprehensive evaluation systems that utilize quantitative (e.g., test scores) as well as qualitative (e.g., classroom observation) measures of teacher effectiveness. The results of these evaluations should be used to determine which teachers are retained in the classroom, how much a teacher is paid, and whether the teacher receives job protections in the form of tenure.

Though there is much work to be done, several school systems have begun developing and adopting rigorous evaluation systems for their public school teachers with the hope of using their results to inform employment decisions. Over the last several years, researchers have used variants of a technique known as “value-added” analysis to study the extent to which teacher quality varies. Essentially, this procedure measures how much an individual teacher contributes to his or her student’s test scores after accounting for factors that the child brings into the classroom. Research utilizing the value-added approach consistently finds that teacher quality is the most important factor within a school’s control for boosting student performance. Students with nearly identical backgrounds will perform quite differently on standardized tests, depending on the teacher to whom they were assigned.

Taking into account measures of a teacher’s effectiveness has an enormous effect on the public school system. For instance, New York City’s use of a new evaluation system when making tenure decisions this year led to a dramatic decrease in the number of teachers receiving those job protections. School systems across the country should continue moving toward emphasizing direct measures of teachers’ performance, rather than credentials, to identify and compensate the best teachers.

Over the last two decades, we have learned two important lessons about public school teachers: teacher quality varies dramatically; and almost nothing we know about a teacher before he or she enters the classroom accurately predicts how successful that teacher will be. Now heavily documented through empirical research, these findings should point us toward a fundamental transformation of our system for evaluating public school teachers.

Read full Manhattan Institute report here.

More from The Grey Haired Brigade (political comment)

They like to refer to us as senior citizens, old fogies, geezers, and in some cases dinosaurs. Some of us are "Baby Boomers" getting ready to retire. Others have been retired for some time. We walk a little slower these days and our eyes and hearing are not what they once were. We have worked hard, raised our children, worshipped our God and grown old together. Yes, we are the ones some refer to as being over the hill, and that is probably true. But before writing us off completely, there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration. In school we studied English, history, math, and science which enabled us to lead America into the technological age. Most of us remember what outhouses were, many of us with firsthand experience. We remember the days of telephone party-lines, 25 cent gasoline, and milk and ice being delivered to our homes. For those of you who don't know what an icebox is, today they are electric and referred to as refrigerators. A few even remember when cars were started with a crank. Yes, we lived those days.

We are probably considered old fashioned and out-dated by many. But there are a few things you need to remember before completely writing us off. We won World War II, fought in Korea and Viet Nam . We can quote The Pledge of Allegiance, and know where to place our hand while doing so. We wore the uniform of our country with pride and lost many friends on the battlefield. We didn't fight for the Socialist States of America , we fought for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." We wore different uniforms but carried the same flag. We know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, America , and America the Beautiful by heart, and you may even see some tears running down our cheeks as we sing. We have lived what many of you have only read about in history books and we feel no obligation to apologize to anyone for America.

Yes, we are old and slow these days but rest assured, we have at least one good fight left in us. We have loved this country, fought for it, and died for it, and now we are going to save it. It is our country and nobody is going to take it away from us. We took oaths to defend America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that is an oath we plan to keep. There are those who want to destroy this land we love but, like our founders, there is no way we are going to remain silent.

It was the young people of this nation who elected Obama and the Democratic Congress. You fell for the "Hope and Change" which in reality was nothing but "Hype and Lies." You have tasted socialism and seen evil face to face, and have found you don't like it after all. You make a lot of noise, but most are all too interested in their careers or "Climbing the Social Ladder" to be involved in such mundane things as patriotism and voting. Many of those who fell for the "Great Lie" in 2008 are now having buyer's remorse.

With all the education we gave you, you didn't have sense enough to see through the lies and instead drank the 'Kool-Aid.' Now you're paying the price and complaining about it. No jobs, lost mortgages, higher taxes, and less freedom. This is what you voted for and this is what you got.

We entrusted you with the Torch of Liberty and you traded it for a paycheck and a fancy house. Well, don't worry youngsters, the Grey Haired Brigade is here, and in 2012 we are going to take back our nation. We may drive a little slower than you would like but we get where we're going, and in 2012 we're going to the polls by the millions.

This land does not belong to the traitor in the White House nor to the likes of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It belongs to "We the People" and "We the People" plan to reclaim our land and our freedom. We hope this time you will do a better job of preserving it and passing it along to our grandchildren. So the next time you have the chance to say the Pledge of Allegiance, Stand up, put your hand over your heart, honor our country, and thank God for the old geezers of the "Grey-Haired Brigade."

~Author, Anon. Grey-Haired Brigade Member

John Fund Discusses Obama's And Democratic Chances In 2012

Texas Lady

A Texas trooper stopped an elderly lady just outside of Austin. He asked for her driver's license, proof of insurance and registration. In the paper work he found a conceal carry permit. He asked if she had a weapon.

She said, "I have a .45 in the glove box."

He asked, "Any other weapons?"

She said,"Yes, a 9mm Glock in the console and a .38 Special in my purse."

The Trooper asked, "Lady, what are you afraid of?"

She said,"Not a damn thing." ...

TEXAS BABY!!

The Tale of Two Jobs Plans - Obama and Ryan

The President has a stimulus plan that doesn't have a chance of passing; pure political. Ryan has a plan that doesn't have a chance of passing. Obama's has been tried to the tune of $1 Trillion. Let's give Ryan's a shot. We may have to wait until after the 2012 elections to get anything done. No Republican plan will ever get through the Democrat Senate and President.

Excerpt: Rather than take a stab at making government bigger, Ryan says in a new video that there’s a better path forward–pro-growth tax reform that makes the tax code fairer, competitive, and simpler, all of which will help unleash the creative power of America’s private sector. In an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation, Ryan explained why the tax code is so desperately in need of reform:

[The tax code] penalizes all those qualities that make us great and make our economy grow–saving, investing, risk taking. It penalizes those things.

It’s basically a crony capitalist creation, where Congress has decided to put itself in the role of picking and choosing winners and losers in the economy through the tax code.

When you carve out all these preferences to benefit one industry or business over others, you have to raise tax rates higher than you otherwise would have to, which makes it harder for the economy to grow, for businesses to become created.

Ryan says that the tax code has become “an economic incumbent protection plan” that ultimately leads to higher taxes across the board, leaving the United States less competitive in the global economy. His solution? Level the tax code playing field:

What we want to do is get all the social engineering and crony capitalism loopholes out, so we can lower the tax rates and let businesses keep their money in the first place–let people keep their money in the first place–and that way the determining factor of whether a business succeeds or fails will be based upon merit, will be based upon achievement, will be based about innovation, will be based upon whether they’re pleasing customers or not, and not whether they have access to people in Congress or the federal government.

Read the full The Foundry article here.

Bill Whittle: Rich Man, Poor Man - Are The Poor Really Poor?

ABC News Obtains Explosive White House E-Mails on Solyndra Loan

Later on the White House, after Obama previously traveling to Solyndra and taking credit for it, blamed it on Bush, saying his administration was about to fast track the loan. Here is the Republican response: "Republicans pushed back hard against this version of events, unearthing internal Energy Department emails that indicate the panel evaluating the loans had made the unanimous decision to shelve Solyndra's application two weeks before Obama took office."

Obama at his Saul Alinsky best, lying at its best to obfuscate.

Excerpt: Newly uncovered emails show the White House closely monitored the Energy Department's deliberations over a $535 million government loan to Solyndra, the politically-connected solar energy firm that recently went bankrupt and is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

The company's solar panel factory was heralded as a centerpiece of the president's green energy plan -- billed as a way to jump start a promising new industry. And internal emails uncovered by investigators for the House Energy and Commerce Committee that were shared exclusively with ABC News show the Obama administration was keenly monitoring the progress of the loan, even as analysts were voicing serious concerns about the risk involved.

"This deal is NOT ready for prime time," one White House budget analyst wrote in a March 10, 2009 email, nine days before the administration formally announced the loan.

"If you guys think this is a bad idea, I need to unwind the W[est] W[ing] QUICKLY," wrote Ronald A. Klain, who was chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, in another email sent March 7, 2009. The "West Wing" is the portion of the White House complex that holds the offices of the president and his top staffers. Klain declined comment to ABC News.

============================================================

White House ON THE RECORD reaction to ABC News' WH Emails on Solyndra Loan

In reaction to the ABC story, White House spokesman Eric Schultz told FBN:

"This loan guarantee was pursued by both the Bush and Obama Administrations. Private sector investors - who put more than $1 billion of their own money on the line - also saw great potential in the company. As the Department of Energy has made clear, they have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies helped would succeed, but we can't stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America's leadership in the global economy. While we are disappointed by this particular outcome, we continue to believe the clean energy jobs race is one that America can, must and will win. The question we, as a country, have to ask ourselves is: are the jobs of the future going to be created here in the United States are elsewhere?"

Read full FOX Nation report here.

Panic Sets in After Obama Suffers Stunning Rebuke in Special Elections

I've posted before that I could not understand how the Jewish vote could be so heavily Democrat. It appears that many Jewish people in NYC are wondering the same thing. They now know that a vote for Obama is a vote for Hamas and a Palestinian State carved out of Israel.

Excerpt: Republicans have scored an upset victory in a House race that became a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic policies.

Retired media executive and political novice Bob Turner defeated Democratic state Assemblyman David Weprin in a special election Tuesday to succeed Rep. Anthony Weiner, a seven-term Democrat who resigned in June after a sexting scandal.

With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, Turner had 54 percent of the vote to Weprin's 46 percent in unofficial results.

"We've been asked by the people of this district to send a message to Washington," Turner told supporters after the landmark win. "I hope they hear it loud and clear. We've been told this is a referendum. Mr. President, we are on the wrong track. We have had it with an irresponsible fiscal policy which endangers the entire economy."

Weprin did not immediately concede.

The heavily Democratic district, which spans parts of Queens and Brooklyn, had never sent a Republican to the House. But frustration with the continued weak national economy gave Republicans the edge.

Turner has vowed to bring business practicality to Washington and push back on spending and taxes.

The race was supposed to be an easy win for Democrats, who have a 3-1 ratio registration advantage in the district.

he defeat came as Republicans trounced Democrats in another special House election Tuesday, in northern Nevada, where Republican Mark Amodei led Democrat Kate Marshall, 56 percent to 39 percent almost from the start.

In both contests, the GOP pulled ahead by linking the Democratic candidate to Obama and his handling of the economy. Both Republican contenders urged voters to “send a message” to the president.

Read full FOX Nation report here.

Newt Gingrich at the Tampa CNN/Tea Party Express Debate

Communist Goals In 1963 - America Is Being Destroyed From Within

Found this Communist agenda and put my comments in red.  It is very worrisome to find that many of the problems that Conservatives see in our society and our governmental solutions were listed as the primary goals of the Communist party in the 60's.

Your comments on where you think we stand on these issues would be appreciated.

Communist Goals (1963) Congressional Record--Appendix, pp. A34-A35 January 10, 1963 

Current Communist Goals EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Thursday, January 10, 1963 . 

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America. 

At Mrs. Nordman's request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following "Current Communist Goals," which she identifies as an excerpt from "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen: [From "The Naked Communist," by Cleon Skousen] 

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. Not done

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. Not done

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.  Obama 

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.  Obama & GE 

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. ???? 

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.  ???? 

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.  Done 

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. No, thanks to Reagan 

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. Tests stopped 

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. Done 

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) Obama and Soros agenda 

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. Done 

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.  In process, Pledge of Allegiance  

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. ???? 

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.  Democrats closing in 

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. Affirmative action and lack of voter IDs 

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.  Well on the way 

18. Gain control of all student newspapers. ???? 

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. ???? 

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions.  MSM bias 

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. Hollywood done, TV News in process 

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."  In process 

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."  In process 

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. Done 

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. Done 

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." Done 

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch." In process 

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." Final stages 

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.  Obama's  and many Democrats' opinion 

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."  Democrats are forging ahead on this 

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. Not done 

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.  Obama's intention 

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. ???? 

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.  Abolished in 1975 

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.  Not done, but with Holder in charge, who knows 

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.  Success 

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. ???? 

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].  Partially accomplished 

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. ???? 

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.  Done 

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.  Hillary's It Takes A Village, DYFS 

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems. Unions 

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. ???? 

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.  US ceded control to Panama 12/31/99 and now managed by Hong Kong company. 

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike. Obama attempting to cede authority to UN

My 9-11 Experience

Most of you remember where you were on 9-11, and most likely have an interesting story to tell.  Well, here is mine.

I left for work a little late that morning and got a later train out of Summit, NJ.  As the train passed Newark, I looked across the Meadowlands and saw one of the World Trade Towers on fire.  I called my wife, who was still at home, and asked her to turn on the TV and see what was going on.  I was still wondering as the train went into the tunnel under the Hudson River.  When I left the train and arrived outside Penn Station in NYC, all the people were standing in the street in horror at what they were seeing.  My phone rang and my frantic wife told me that the second tower, which I was then staring at, had been hit by another plane, that it was a terrorist attack and I should get out of the city immediately.

Sometimes my being stubborn overrules common sense, and since I worked in the Empire State Building and was one of the primaries on our office evacuation team, I proceeded over 33rd street.  I noticed that people were streaming out of the building, so I asked one of the police officers what I could do.  He told me the building was closed and would be until further notice and that I should go home.

At Penn Station again, while many people were taking any train available to anywhere, I waited 20 minutes for the next train out to Summit.  Needless to say I picked the largest structural pole to stand behing while I waited.  As luck would have it, my train left on time.  Later on I found out that it was the last train out before Penn Station was closed down.

Traveling through the Meadowlands again,  all eyes were on the trade center, one building was no longer there, and the second collapsed before we reached Newark.  My emotions were a mixture of sorrow, dread, fear and anger all mixed up in one.  Most of those trying to call home had no reception since much of the apparatus had been on top of the towers.  A man sitting near to me, who still had reception, was trying frantically to reach his wife who worked in one of the towers.  Thankfully as we reached Summit, she called and told him she was alright.

I arrived home to see my family glued to the TV and very happy to see me come through the door.

My family was much luckier than many in the tri-state area.  One of my son's friends brother was working in one of the towers and didn't make it out.  That tragedy is enough, but many fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles were lost that day to an Islamist terrorists group that has no regard for the sanctity of life.

Let us forever remember.