Saturday, June 30, 2012

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF THE OBAMACARE TAX

Rep. Ryan appeared on “Fox & Friends” Friday morning, and made a fascinating point about the “unintended consequences” of America’s freshly minted “tax penalty” hybrid. - John Hayward/Human Events Follow @Doc_0



Rep. Paul Ryan: The health care law will raise costs and blow a hole in the deficit

Reluctance in Some States Over Medicaid Expansion - New York Times
Who voted for the ObamaTAX?

Sharyl Attkisson double-taps Eric Holder on CBS

News: perjury, cover-up and retribution confirmed - Doug Ross

Fast and Furious: GOP says wiretaps revealed 'Gunwalking' early on - Sharyl Attkisson/CBS
Fast and Furious whistleblowers now supervised by ATF manager who allegedly threatened retaliation - Sharyl Attkisson/CBS

Thanks to heroes like Dodson and Forcelli, as well as true journalists like Sipsey Street Irregulars, Gun Rights Examiner and Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News, it will become increasingly difficult for vintage media to ignore the utter lawlessness of Eric Holder and his out-of-control DOJ.

◼ Meanwhile on CNN SOLEDAD O'BRIEN QUESTIONS WHETHER FAST & FURIOUS ACTUALLY HAPPENED - Breitbart

'SPOILED ROTTEN': HOW THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY LOST ITS SOUL TO PATRONAGE

"Spoiled Rotten" is Jay's debut book and presents a devastating and detailed look at how the Democratic Party sold its soul. This is no polemic, it's history -- fascinating, heartbreaking history. - John Nolte/Breitbart


It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Barack Obama entered the White House in January 2009 with all signs pointing toward major liberal policy reforms. He had campaigned unabashedly as a reformer, promising “change we can believe in,” and won the largest popular-vote majority of any Democrat in more than forty years. He had an outsize congressional majority in both chambers, dominated by the kinds of northern Democrats who had long been the prime movers of liberal reform. The Republican opposition was seemingly discredited, taking the blame for a terrible economy as well as a congressional faction of so-called conservatives who had spent money like drunken sailors during their years in the majority. To top it all off, his job approval upon entering office was nearly 70 percent, higher than that of any incoming president in decades.

Within twenty months it was all over. In November 2010 the country elected more Republicans to the House of Representatives than in any election since the 1940s. President Obama’s job approval had fallen below 50 percent, and his rating among the all-important group of independent voters who swing elections had dropped into the danger zone of the low forties. The new Republican majority in the House promised a return to the party’s role as a responsible steward of the economy and the federal budget, and the reform era of the Obama administration was well and truly finished.
How could this have happened? More at the link.Buy the book at Amazon.

ObamaCare Ruling: Pure Fraud and No Due Process

Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court decided that Americans have no right to due process. Indeed, the Court not only upheld a fraud perpetrated on the public — it became a willing participant. - Andrew C. McCarthy/PJM

...Had ObamaCare been honestly presented as a tax, or had the Court acted properly by striking it down as an illegitimate use of the commerce power and telling Congress that if it wanted to pass the bill as a tax it would have to pass the bill as a tax, our dire financial straits might have forced this much needed debate about the limits of congressional welfare power.

We have now lost that opportunity through fraud: fraud in the legislative action, and fraud in the judicial review. Due process would not allow this to be done to a criminal, but the Supreme Court has decided that Americans will have to live with it.

WSJ Chief Economist: 75% of Obamacare Costs Will Fall on Backs of Those Making Less Than $120K a Year



Now we know... “It’s a big punch in the stomach to middle class families.” - Jim Hoft/Gateway Pundit

In Sacramento, the appalling consequences of one party rule have become manifest.

From Bad to Worse - hjta.org

...The one party system under the Capitol Dome, that has resulted in all major decisions affecting the state budget being made in secrecy, out of public view, and behind closed doors, has come about as a result of the passage of Proposition 25 just two years ago. Backed by Democrats who hold a majority in the Legislature, the measure eliminated the two-thirds requirement to pass a budget that had been in effect since 1933. To gain public support, expensive political ads promised voters that lawmakers would be penalized with loss of pay if they failed to produce an on-time balanced budget.

Although the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association campaigned to expose Prop. 25 as a sham, the lure of “no budget, no pay” proved to be a powerful incentive to voters who approved the measure.

When, last year, the Legislature produced a budget that was in the opinion of paymaster, Controller John Chaing, out of balance, he withheld pay under the terms of Proposition 25. However, irate lawmakers went to court and prevailed -- the only agency entitled to make the determination as to whether or not the budget is balanced is -- wait for it -- the Legislature itself!

So, what Californians have unintentionally achieved with Proposition 25 is single party rule, with no penalties for failing to deliver a balanced budget -- unless, of course, one believes that lawmakers will voluntarily cut their own pay.... Much more at the link.

Smith was on her first international assignment, shooting a documentary on women's rights in Egypt as her final college project.

UK journalist assaulted in Tahrir Square: 'Please make it stop' - CNN

Amid the celebrations that greeted the declaration of a winner in Egypt's first freely elected presidential vote, a British student journalist was being sexually assaulted by a mob in Tahrir Square....

Her experience echoes the assaults faced by two prominent female reporters, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan and Egyptian-American columnist Mona Eltahawy, who has said her attackers were officers at a police station. One of Smith's friends, Callum Paton, told CNN the mob dragged Smith naked across the ground before another group of men stepped in to protect her....

Arab women, Muslim women were all around me, just crying, saying 'This is not Egypt! This is not Egypt! This is not Islam! These are thugs!' " she told CNN. She said she responded, "I know, I love Egypt, I know this is not Islam, it's OK.

"And they were stunned, 'cause they thought I was going to be so full of hate and so full of fear. But from the very beginning, I don't blame Egypt for this. This is not the workings of the Egyptian people. This is not representative...."

With Chief Justice John Roberts’ unthinkable decision to uphold Obamacare yesterday, all focus now shifts to repeal for conservatives. In order to repeal Obamacare, two things must happen: Republicans must retake the White House, and they must retake the Senate.

THE PATH TO 50 - Ben Shapiro/Breitbart

Contrary to popular opinion, Republicans don’t need a 60-vote majority to ram through an Obamacare repeal – as Ken Klukowski pointed out yesterday, “The only way to stop Obamacare now is with a one-page repeal bill that must be passed by the House and Senate. Because it would reduce the deficit you can pass it with 51 votes as a reconciliation bill in the Senate; you don’t need 60 votes.”

Republicans currently have 47 seats in the Senate. They only have 10 Senate seats up for re-election, as opposed to Democrats’ 23. Essentially, Republicans need to shift three seats from the Democrats and hold their own in order to win repeal, since the VP is the tiebreaker – although that assumes homogenous Senate Republican support for repeal.

Republicans essentially have four vulnerable seats; Democrats have up to ten. The question is how the Obamacare decision will play into these races – if Obamacare is unpopular in these states, that will certainly cut in Republicans’ favor. One thing is clear: swing-state voters do not like Obamacare.

...if Republicans can hold two of their four vulnerable seats and take five from the Democrats, they’ll have 50 votes – and the prospective Romney vice president will be the tiebreaker. That will be a difficult task. Repeal of Obamacare will come down to the wire – and in these states, every call, every canvassing, every vote will count.
It’s up to these swing state Americans to decide whether we all move further down the path toward nationalization of health care. The opportunity is at hand to repeal Obamacare. It’s an opportunity we can’t afford to blow.

Friday, June 29, 2012

[VIDEO] – Sarah Palin: Nancy Pelosi is a dingbat!



link - Via The Right Scoop

Poll shows negative reaction to Obamacare decision

The first poll conducted after the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s health care reform law shows bad news for Obama and his fellow Democrats. - Neil Munro/Daily Caller

Fifty percent of 650 Florida adults polled by SurveyUSA opposed the court’s decision to uphold the law. Only 39 percent supported the decision.

The poll also showed that 51 percent of respondents expect health care costs to rise faster, and 47 percent believe quality will decline because of the decision and the law.

The poll showed that 83 percent of respondents were following the debate.

Those poll numbers are preliminary, and the court’s decision may end up boosting Obama in the 2012 election. But if they do remain stable, the decision pushes Florida’s 29 electoral votes toward Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s tally.

◼ BUT: Rasmussen: Obama gets polling bump from high court health ruling - The Hill
NO BOUNCE: POLL SHOWS OBAMACARE RULING DID NOT HELP OBAMA - Tony Lee/Breitbart

The poll also found the anti-Obama intensity among conservatives has increased since the ruling, while the ratings for the Supreme Court actually decreased.

Today’s results (July 1) are the same as they were just before the Supreme Court ruled on the health care law.

Reuters Poll: Obamacare Is Still Unpopular After High Court Decision - Newsmax

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Immediate Action Requested!

ACTION NEEDED: Contact members of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee (see below) and tell them you oppose Assembly Constitutional Amendment 21.http://www.hjta.org/

WHEN TO TAKE ACTION: Now. A bill radically amending the two-thirds vote protection provided by Proposition 13 is up for a hearing this Monday, July 2nd, at 1:30. Even if it's the weekend, please call anyway and leave a message!

WHY: Los Angeles Assemblyman Mike Feuer(916-319-2042) has introduced a bill, ACA 21, that lowers the two-thirds vote for local education parcel taxes from a two-thirds to a 55% vote.

This bill will make it easier for local politicians to increase your property taxes, already 14th in the nation, even higher! The money will go to fund education programs, despite the fact that at least 40% of the state budget already goes to education. Increasing taxes in the middle ofthe worst foreclosure crisis in 70 years is neither warranted or wise.

Call Mike Feuer (916-319-2042) and your representatives on the Committee and tell them to vote NO on ACA 21.
Henry Perea (Dem--District 31)
Chairman of the Committee
916-319-2031

Diane Harkey (Rep--District 73)
Vice-Chair of the Committee
916-319-2073

Jim Beall (Dem--District 24)
916-319-2024

Chuck Calderon (Dem--AD 58)
916-319-2058

Gil Cedillo (Dem--District 45)
916-319-2045

Nathan Fletcher (Rep--AD 75)
916-319-2075

Felipe Fuentes (Dem--AD 39
916-319-2039

Richard Gordon (Dem--AD 21)
916-319-2021

Brian Nestande (Rep--AD 64)
916-319-2064

‘Shame on you Barack Obama’



New Romney ad seeks to expose Obama lies and features Hillary Clinton saying ‘shame on you Barack Obama’

Obama's 'health care law'

CFRW President’s Message

Yesterday, Thursday, June 28, 2012 was a sad day for those being forced to purchase medical insurance. Never did we believe the Federal Government would be able to tax us into purchasing an item we did not want. All under the guise of the Government having the authority to tax their members. What will be forced to purchase next using this obscure law?

Those praising the passage of Obamacare did not read the fine print where a new agency will be put into place, a clearing house that will help us look for affordable insurance. Who will determine what is affordable? How many employees will it take? This is just one new agency; imagine when this debacle is fully implemented how many new agencies will be put into place. All of this on the back of middle America.

The gauntlet has been thrown down. We cannot afford to take time off this summer, we must put our boot on the road and work each and every day to elect Mitt Romney as President. Use your Facebook, Twitter, any and all electronic media and Letters to the Editor to remind the American public of this new tax being forced down our throats.

We WILL take back America, and with the Fourth of July just around the corner, today truly begins our fight for Independence and Freedom. We are Republican Women Federated, we are the activists, the life blood of this party, the defenders of our homes, we make things happen. We are women who will protect this nation. Stand tall, build our forces, and November 6th will be the true Independence Day for our nation and future generations to come.

ONE TEAM, ONE PURPOSE, ONE GOAL: MITT ROMNEY WILL BE PRESIDENT.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Carol Hadley
CFRW President

CFRW Capitol Alert: Governor Brown Signs the Budget

On Wednesday of this week Governor Brown signed the budget that our Democrat majority legislature sent to him on June 15th. As you will recall, the Democrats sent Governor Brown just a shell of a budget on time, in order to still receive their paycheck per Prop 25 rules. The rest of the budget sat in “trailer” bills, which the legislature passed at their leisure two full weeks after the constitutional budget deadline. These trailer bills contained the functionality of the budget and decide what the $96 billion spending plans looks like. The Governor has not yet disclosed his line-item vetoes; those are expected to be released next week. The budget still holds Governor Brown’s trigger cuts if the voters do not pass his tax measure come November. But this week the Democrats gave Governor Brown a leg up on the November ballot in one of the many trailer bills. Democrats changed the Elections Code to move constitutional amendments proposed by voter initiative to second position on the ballot, just below bond measures. Since the November Water Bond will likely get pushed back to another election, Governor Brown’s tax measure (a constitutional amendment proposed by voter initiative) will get top billing. Next on the ballot are statutory changes placed by the legislature and finally initiatives that do not make constitutional amendments (such as Molly Munger’s competing tax measure). Below is the Democrat’s reasoning for this elections change:

“The Legislature finds and declares that bond measures and constitutional amendments should have priority on the ballot because of the profound and lasting impact these measures can have on our state."

But now it looks like there might be some legal battles regarding this maneuver. Both Molly Munger and possibly the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association will look to sue in order to block Governor Brown’s tax measure from getting top billing on the ballot. It is a political belief that top spot on a crowded ballot is advantageous and with 11 qualified ballot measures, the ballot order will be very important. The Legislature goes on their summer recess next Friday. What perfect timing, no?

Senator Kehoe Is At It Again!

Earlier this year our Republican Women helped to defeat SB 1338 (Kehoe, D), a bill that would have allowed mid-level healthcare professionals to perform abortions. The CFRW sprang into action and called the Senate Health Committee members, urging them to vote no and protect women’s health rights! Two Democrats on the committee abstained from a vote, effectively killing the bill. We had a big hand in this victory! Now Senator Kehoe is at it again, by gutting a bill originally introduced as boat and water pollutant legislation and amending it to extend an abortion pilot project to 2014. Nurse practitioners, midwives and physician’s assistants will be learning to perform abortions. The new bill is SB 623 (Kehoe, D) and the CFRW OPPOSES this new, sneaky attempt by Senator Kehoe. This bill will be heard in the Assembly Health Committee on July 3rd. Please call these Assembly Health Committee members and tell them to VOTE NO on SB 623! ◼ Click HERE for a list of Assembly Health Committee members.

Republican National Convention

Attention all RNC delegates and alternate delegates! If you are a Republican Woman and also a delegate or alternate delegate to the RNC convention, we want to know! Please email your name and phone number to advocate@cfrw.org. Also if you are attending and need to connect with another Republican Woman to share a room with, we can help! We look forward to seeing all of our California Republican Women in Tampa!

Calling All Republican Women Candidates!

If you are a Republican Woman running for office in California or know of a local Republican Woman candidate, please let us know! We are compiling a list of Republican Women candidates for our website so that we can help our fellow Republican Women! Please email advocate@cfrw.org the name of the candidate, the office they are running for, their local RWF club, and their campaign website if applicable. Women In Numbers!

cfrw.org

Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.

In the midst of a fiery floor debate over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) quietly dropped a bombshell letter into the Congressional Record.

Darrell Issa Puts Details of Secret Wiretap Applications in Congressional Record - Roll Call

The wiretap applications are under court seal, and releasing such information to the public would ordinarily be illegal. But Issa appears to be protected by the Speech or Debate Clause in the Constitution, which offers immunity for Congressional speech, especially on a chamber’s floor.

Obama Contributor, Who Helped Enact Assault-Weapons Ban, Ran ‘Fast and Furious’

It was in July 2010, after his nomination as U.S. attorney, that Burke told the Arizona Capitol Times that he had “been working on homeland security and border enforcement issues” during the transition, and that there had “clearly been direction provided already by President Obama and Attorney General Holder as to what they want to be doing.”

Paul Ryan: The American people have one last chance



link - HotAir
“Absolutely,” said Ryan. “There are 21 taxes in this bill, 12 of which hit people making less than $250,000 per year. That in and of itself is a violation of the President’s promise not to tax people making less than $250,000.”

Ryan said that the way the President and Congressional Democrats sold this bill has been proven false by the Supreme Court ruling. “I agree with the dissenting opinion that they rewrote this law calling it a tax,” said Ryan.

“We have a law that we have one more chance to repeal, and that’s this November election,” Ryan continued. “That’s basically what the Supreme Court did; they raised the stakes of this election. We have one more chance – and that’s basically what they said. The people of this country are going to be the final arbiters of this.”
For one reason or another, I’m sure many of us will be bristling with Chief Justice Robert’s mandate-permitting opinion on ObamaCare for some time to come, but everybody’s been discussing at least one key takeaway from his decision that I thought very profound:
Members of this Court are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our Nation’s elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.

Democrats now must defend a tax increase to justify the Obama-care law.

Chief Justice Roberts Is A Genius - whitehouse12.com

Chief Justice Roberts actually ruled the mandate, relative to the commerce clause, was unconstitutional. That’s how the Democrats got Obama-care going in the first place. This is critical. His ruling means Congress can’t compel American citizens to purchase anything. Ever....

Next, he stated that, because Congress doesn’t have the ability to mandate, it must, to fund Obama-care, rely on its power to tax. Therefore, the mechanism that funds Obama-care is a tax. This is also critical. Recall back during the initial Obama-care battles, the Democrats called it a penalty, Republicans called it a tax. Democrats consistently soft sold it as a penalty. It went to vote as a penalty. Obama declared endlessly, that it was not a tax, it was a penalty. But when the Democrats argued in front of the Supreme Court, they said ‘hey, a penalty or a tax, either way’. So, Roberts gave them a tax. It is now the official law of the land — beyond word-play and silly shenanigans. Obama-care is funded by tax dollars. Democrats now must defend a tax increase to justify the Obama-care law.

Finally, he struck down as unconstitutional, the Obama-care idea that the federal government can bully states into complying by yanking their existing medicaid funding. Liberals, through Obama-care, basically said to the states — ‘comply with Obama-care or we will stop existing funding.’ Roberts ruled that is a no-no. If a state takes the money, fine, the Feds can tell the state how to run a program, but if the state refuses money, the federal government can’t penalize the state by yanking other funding.

Therefore, a state can decline to participate in Obama-care without penalty. This is obviously a serious problem. Are we going to have 10, 12, 25 states not participating in “national” health-care? Suddenly, it’s not national, is it?

Ultimately, Roberts supported states rights by limiting the federal government’s coercive abilities. He ruled that the government can not force the people to purchase products or services under the commerce clause and he forced liberals to have to come clean and admit that Obama-care is funded by tax increases.

“We need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys [the whistleblowers] and take them down.”

Issa, Grassley demand answers about Fast and Furious whistleblower retaliation, cover-up - Matthew Boyle/Daily Caller

House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley are asking the Department of Justice’s internal investigator to hold accountable anyone who retaliated against or threatened to retaliate against Operation Fast and Furious whistleblowers.

In a Friday letter to the DOJ’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Grassley and Issa said they’re now concerned retaliation is much more likely following Thursday’s votes to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal and civil contempt of Congress.

“We just learned that ATF senior management placed two of the main whistleblowers who have testified before Congress about Fast and Furious under the supervision of someone who vowed to retaliate against them,” they wrote before describing how senior political figures have made dangerous threats before.

Grassley and Issa said that in early 2011, right around the time Grassley first made public the whistleblowers’ allegations about Fast and Furious, Scot Thomasson – then the chief of the ATF’s Public Affairs Division – said, according to an eyewitness account: “We need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys [the whistleblowers] and take them down.”

Thomasson also allegedly said that: “All these whistleblowers have axes to grind. ATF needs to f—k these guys.”

Obama Contributor, Who Helped Enact Assault-Weapons Ban, Ran ‘Fast and Furious’

It was in July 2010, after his nomination as U.S. attorney, that Burke told the Arizona Capitol Times that he had “been working on homeland security and border enforcement issues” during the transition, and that there had “clearly been direction provided already by President Obama and Attorney General Holder as to what they want to be doing.”

Robin of Berkeley: The Road to Hell

While trying to change the world may seem harmless enough, in reality it is playing with fire. - Robin of Berkeley/American Thinker ◼ robinofberkeley.com

...the Bay Area, and all of California, is going to hell in a hand basket. California dreams big, as in a Dream Act of funding the tuition of illegal aliens -- all while the state goes belly up. But everyone knows that Berkeley is Berkeley and San Francisco is San Francisco. The country expects lunacy from these parts.

But what is so troubling is that the left's shenanigans are no longer confined to experimental locales, like Berkeley. With Obama and the left seizing power, ridiculous and even dangerous schemes are being foisted on the mostly unknowing public.... More at the link.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

National Federation of Republican Women Disappointed by U.S. Supreme Court's Ruling On Healthcare

Today the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the mandate for Obama Care shows that we, as RepublicanWomen, must take the lead and work HARD to be sure we elect Mitt Romney, President and elect our Republican candidates to Congress and Sacramento! We are all Republican women and it is now up to us to be ensure Obamacare is repealed! Working together we will be victorious!"
Roseann Slonsky-Breault
President CFRW - Northern Division ◼ cfrwnd.org
Looks to Romney, Republicans to Repeal Overreaching Law, Enact Real Reform

Rae Lynne Chornenky, president of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“The National Federation of Republican Women is extremely disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Obama's healthcare law, particularly the individual mandate provision. The only way to reverse course and repeal this overreaching, unprecedented, burdensome law is to elect a Republican president and Republicans to the U.S. Congress this November.

“Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has pledged that, if elected, he will immediately work to repeal Obamacare and to enact real healthcare reform. Americans don't want a one-size-fits-all big government system dictated by government bureaucrats. They want common sense reform based on the free market -- reform that increases choice and access, while keeping costs low.

“The final chapter on Obamacare has yet to be written. Voters have the opportunity to send a clear message to Washington this fall, and the NFRW and its members will be working between now and Election Day to ensure that today's ruling is just a footnote, and not the grand finale.”

Founded in 1938, the NFRW has thousands of active members in local clubs across the nation and in several U.S. territories, making it one of the largest women’s political organizations in the country. The grassroots organization works to promote the principles and objectives of the Republican Party, elect Republican candidates, inform the public through political education and activity, and increase the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government.

For more information about the NFRW, visit ◼ nfrw.org.

The Democrats Now Own Obamacare

Roberts got Obamacare off on a technicality and turned it into a tax collection/IRS issue.- Robert M. Goldberg/American Spectator

All the happy talk about pre-existing condition coverage will fade. Now the question will be: Who voted to raise taxes on the middle class? On medical device companies? On the dividends of retirees? All for something that Congress does not have power to require people to buy? Are you serious?

When premiums rise, costs explode, government hands out Solyndra like contracts on the one hand while cutting Medicare benefits on the other, when new treatments are denied and things go wrong it's the Democrats that people will blame.

The Liberal Coup - Artur Davis/National Review

USDA suggests food stamp parties, games to increase participation

While spending on the food stamp program has increased 100 percent under President Barack Obama, the government continues to push more Americans to enroll in the welfare program.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has embraced entire promotional campaigns designed to encourage eligible Americans to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps.

A pamphlet currently posted at the USDA website encourages local SNAP offices to throw parties as one way to get potentially eligible seniors to enroll in the program.

“Throw a Great Party. Host social events where people mix and mingle,” the agency advises. “Make it fun by having activities, games, food, and entertainment, and provide information about SNAP. Putting SNAP information in a game format like BINGO, crossword puzzles, or even a ‘true/false’ quiz is fun and helps get your message across in a memorable way.”

Romney Money Bomb: $2.8 Million $3.2 Million 4.3 Million After Ruling And Climbing.

◼ Now it's up to you, America - If you haven't yet, you know what to do... at mittromney.com via ◼ Ace of Spades

Oh, and we need the Senate too:
MA-SENATE (Current hold, leans R, most vulnerable seat for us) ◼ DONATE
VA-SENATE ◼ DONATE
OH-SENATE ◼ DONATE
FL-SENATE ◼ DONATE
ND-SENATE ◼ DONATE
MT-SENATE ◼ DONATE
NM-SENATE ◼ DONATE

In CA: ◼ Emken: DONATE ◼ Roberts: DONATE

◼ UPDATE: "As of this morning, we have raised $4.3 million with 43,000 donations online," spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. - The Hill

"The Supreme Court may have found ObamaCare constitutional, but it remains just as disastrous for job creators as the day the law was passed. ObamaCare is a job killer — it raises taxes, cuts Medicare and puts government between patients and their doctors," Saul added.

Let’s mandate that every adult in America with an income over $80,000 a year has to buy a Chevy Volt or pay a fine.

Make it a 5-year recurring requirement, with the vehicle selected according to the preferences of environmentalists and unions. Use the IRS to gather the necessary data and enforce the requirement. It’s just a tax – why not? - HotAir

....Why can’t Congress tell us the size of house we are allowed to buy, require us to buy it, and fine us if we don’t? Congress would just be taxing us by doing this. Why can’t Congress mandate that we pay for two weeks of vacation at the tourist hotspots approved by Congress, and fine us if we don’t? Why can’t Congress order us to pay for college and fine us if we don’t? Buy furniture, buy certain types or brands of food, use a certain minimum amount of electricity or natural gas; get tattoos, buy a minimum amount of clothing each year – or buy only a maximum amount of clothing, and use only a maximum amount of electricity or natural gas – why can’t Congress require any or all of these things via a Tax-Mandate?

This is a very serious question. If nothing in the US Constitution or legal precedent can be held to stop Congress from levying an unequally applied health-insurance purchase mandate, then what could stop Congress from levying any other unequally applied purchase mandate? The same things that would stop a lawn-care or makeup purchase mandate should have knocked down the health-insurance purchase mandate.

It is deeply saddening to see the torture of our law and our idea of law in this instance. Congress did not, in fact, write a tax; Congress wrote and intended to write a mandate. SCOTUS has done great harm by so dangerously enlarging the effective definition of a “tax” – and by assuming the privilege of telling Congress what Congress actually did when Congress meant to frame a mandate. The difference between purchase “mandate” and “tax” is a very real one from every perspective of government and law, and SCOTUS has irresponsibly elided them....

21 tax increases in Obamacare: costing more than $675 billion over the next 10 years

21 tax increases
The high court’s ruling leaves in place 21 tax increases in the health-care law costing more than $675 billion over the next 10 years, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. Of those, 12 tax hikes would affect families earning less than $250,000 per year, the panel said, including a “Cadillac tax” on high-cost insurance plans, a tax on insurance providers, and an excise tax on medical device manufacturers.

“This is a clear violation of the president’s pledge to avoid tax hikes on low- and middle-income taxpayers,” said a statement from the panel, which is chaired by Rep. Dave Camp, Michigan Republican.
Obama’s pledge against any form of tax increase on Americans making less than $250,000 a year “was thrown out the window” when he signed the healthcare law - Forbes
Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes - Americans for Tax Reform

California governor signs new budget relying heavily on tax hikes

A series of automatic cuts including fewer weeks of public school will be triggered if voters reject income and sales tax increases - The Guardian

Democrats passed 21 budget implementing bills on a majority vote intended to satisfy the governor's demand for deeper cuts to close a $15.7 billion deficit, and Brown signed the main bill in the courtyard of his Capitol office just hours before a midnight deadline. His staff was expected to detail line-item vetoes Thursday.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN THE FACTS OF WHY CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING SO MUCH IN TAXES - hjta.org

Small Business on Obamacare: No Reason to Hire or Invest

Small business owners, who have been waiting for the court’s decision on Obamacare before making decisions on hiring and investment now say the decision raises more questions than it answers.-CNBC

The Supreme Court ruled that the government can require that most Americans have health insurance, and require that individuals pay a penalty for not having insurance, which, according to Chief Justice John Roberts, “may reasonably be characterized as a tax.”

“This decision sustains the uncertainty they currently have,” says Steve Caldeira, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “The impending costs of health care do not give business owners confidence to open that extra store or to hire more people and create the economic output our country needs.”

Jim Amos, CEO and chairman of Tasti D-Lite, a frozen yogurt franchise that operates in 14 states as well as globally, is certain of one thing: The ruling will hinder growth in the franchise space. “It’s going to force franchisees to shift workers to part-time to avoid the 50-employee threshold,” he said. “It will keep new owners and new openings on the sideline.”

...Employers are going to now essentially be taxed for every employee, said Barry Sloane, CEO of Newtek, a small-business lender and business service provider. “I think what just occurred was that the older population just got a wealth transfer from younger, healthier people that otherwise would not have paid for health care. It’s unlikely that this will make it less expensive for everyone.”

REPUBLICAN REACTIONS TO THE SUPREME COURT’S OBAMACARE DECISION

Updated - John Hayward/Human Events
More

ERIC HOLDER CHARGED WITH CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS: 255 – YES, 67 – NO

The House on Thursday cited Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for contempt of Congress in a historic vote weighted with political significance, though it does little to break the stalemate over his decision to withhold documents... - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times
Following nearly two hours of on-floor debate and months of investigation, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to charge Obama Attorney General with Contempt of Congress. Many Democrats staged a walk out protest just prior to the vote – while other Democrats voted with their Republican counterparts in favor of the contempt charge. - Ulsterman
Members of Congress believe Eric Holder to be involved in an ongoing cover-up regarding the failed and deadly Fast and Furious gunrunning operation that saw deadly weapons willingly sold to known criminals by the Obama government. Some 2000 such weapons were allowed to “walk” across the border into Mexico – without the knowledge of Mexican authorities. These weapons have since been used in crimes both in the United States and Mexico. U.S. border agent Brian Terry was killed with one of these weapons. Hundreds of Mexican civilians were killed with these weapons.

Following President Obama’s order to his Attorney General to NOT disclose documents to Congressional investigators, Republicans indicated they had no choice but to proceed with the contempt charge against Eric Holder. The circumstances of Barack Obama’s use of Executive Privilege is similar to that invoked by Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal of the 1970s.

Following the contempt vote, House Republicans introduced and then passed legislation allowing for a special counsel to independently investigate the Operation Fast and Furious scandal. The parallels to Watergate grow ever closer…
Not above the law: Holder first U.S. Attorney General to be voted in Contempt of Congress - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
17 Democrats joined Republicans in voting for contempt. One member voted present, and 110 members did not vote.

The House votes on two separate items:
1: Whether to hold Holder in contempt and then refer him to the DOJ
2: Authorization to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to sue the DOJ in federal court [TK]

30% of conservatives are NOT registered to vote

PLEASE MAKE SURE EVERYONE YOU KNOW IS REGISTERED TO VOTE - Wallbuilders

The Democrats who created ObamaCare without even reading it need to be retired. Help us defeat Democrats who supported it.

Contribute to the National Republican Congressional Committee
Donate to Mitt Romney's campaign
DONATE now and help the fight for #FullRepeal: Republican National Committee (RNC) (GOP)

“Fundraising for @MittRomney ticks up to $300k since decision came down. #FullRepeal,” Ms. Saul wrote on Twitter. - DONATE TODAY. (UPDATE: Over a million, and counting...)

Romney: 'If We Want to Get Rid of Obamacare, We're Going to Have to Replace President Obama'



"Let's make clear that we understand what the Court did, and did not do," Romney said in Washington, D.C., according to a rough transcript of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's statement. "What the Court did today was say that Obamacare does not violate the Constitution. What they did not do was say that Obamacare is good law or that it's good policy." - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

Romney added: "Obamacare was bad policy yesterday. It's bad policy today. Obamacare was bad law yesterday. It's bad law today."

This presidential election is "a choice," Romney said. "You can choose whether you want to have a larger and larger government, more and more intrusive in your life, separating you and your doctor, whether you're comfortable with more deficits, higher debt that we will pass onto the coming generations. [Or] whether you're willing to have the government put in place a plan that potentially causes you to lose the insurance that you like or whether instead you want to return to a time when the American people will have their own choice in health care, where consumers will be able to make share choices as to what kind of health insurance they want."

"This is the time of choice for the American people," Romney said.

Romney concluded: "Help us. Help us defeat Obamacare. Help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive and is killing jobs across this great country."

WOMEN: What Obamacare Will Mean To Your Wallet

Women need to know the truth. Your insurance premiums are going up, your taxes are going up, and the quality of healthcare for all of our families WILL GO DOWN, now that Obamacare has been upheld. If families don’t comply with the new government regulations, the I.R.S. will chase you down and inflict a fine…or a “tax.” In other words, it is more crucial than ever that we vote out President Obama and his administration to protect the futures of our families. - The Kitchen Cabinet

Every woman in America with a paycheck, a child, or a prayer for the future…MUST VOTE OUT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. This is not an Election..It’s An EMERGENCY.

21 tax increases

The high court’s ruling leaves in place 21 tax increases in the health-care law costing more than $675 billion over the next 10 years, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. Of those, 12 tax hikes would affect families earning less than $250,000 per year, the panel said, including a “Cadillac tax” on high-cost insurance plans, a tax on insurance providers, and an excise tax on medical device manufacturers.

“This is a clear violation of the president’s pledge to avoid tax hikes on low- and middle-income taxpayers,” said a statement from the panel, which is chaired by Rep. Dave Camp, Michigan Republican.

SUPREME COURT RULES: OBAMACARE STANDS...Mandate survives as a tax

DNC DELETED TWEET: 'TAKE THAT MOTHER******S!'
'it's constitutional. Bitches.' - Politico via Drudge
In 5-4 decision, Supreme Court rules Obamacare constitutional - Neil Munro/Daily Caller
SUPREME COURT RULES: OBAMACARE STANDS...Mandate survives as a tax... - NYT
Chief Justice Roberts joins left of the Court... - National Journal
'It is not our role to forbid it, or pass upon its wisdom or fairness'... - CBS
.PDF OF OPINIONS
The court reinforces that individuals cant simply refuse to pay tax... - Washington Post
FLASHBACK: Obama: Mandate is Not a Tax... - ABC
VIDEO...
Justices Find Fault With Medicaid Expansion... - Wall St. Journal
Stocks Fall 1% After Health Ruling; Banks Sag - CNBC
Lawmakers Walk Back Celebratory SCOTUS Health Care Tweets - National Journal
This Election Just Became About Obamacare - Weekly Standard
HOUSE GOP INSTANTLY ANNOUNCES REPEAL VOTE FOR WEEK OF JULY 9... - Politico
Speaker Boehner: 'Ruling underscores the urgency of repealing this harmful law in its entirety'... Speaker.gov
MCCONNELL: 'Sold to American people on a deception' - senate.gov
PELOSI: 'WE MADE HISTORY'... - National Journal
CALCULATOR: What doe$ ruling mean FOR YOU? - Washington Post
DNC: 'IT'S CONSTITUTIONAL. BITCHES'... - Politico
DNC DELETED TWEET: 'TAKE THAT MOTHER******S!' - Twitchy
Sarah Palin: 'Obama Lies, Freedom Dies'... - Business Insider
Virginia Attorney General: 'Dark Day for American Liberty'... - NBC Washington
Rubio: IRS to 'come after' uninsured... - Politico
Romney: Supreme Court ruling on health law wrong - AP

REACTION:
Tax fraud - neoneocon
Chief Justice Roberts writes an opinion limiting the commerce power and the spending power. - Althouse
Obama imposes huge tax on the American middle class. - Althouse
To the Voting Booth! - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
Romney raises over $100,000 in less than an hour after SCOTUS ruling - HotAir
“Fundraising for @MittRomney ticks up to $300k since decision came down. #FullRepeal,” Ms. Saul wrote on Twitter. - Politicker (UPDATE: Over a million...)
WHITE HOUSE INSIDER: OBAMACARE …”Now we are truly ready to fight.” A longtime D.C. political operative considers today’s Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare a good thing in the fight to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. - Ulsterman
Obamacare Upheld- What This Means For Conservatives: Obama Owns Biggest Middle Class Tax Hike In History - Wake Up America
Fournier: Roberts Labels Obama a Tax-Raiser... - National Journal
Cuccinelli: "Dark Day for American Liberty" - NBC Washington
GOP governors vow to ignore Obamacare - Washington Examiner
How right I was: “IRS The New Health Care Enforcer” - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player'Incredible Irony': Court Has 'Declared Obama to Be a Monumental Liar' - Susan Jones/CNS ◼ The Good News In The Obamacare Decision Michael James barton/National Review
The mandate is upheld as a tax, using the coercive — but not unlimited — power that Congress has always possessed. This is a distinction with a very big difference. Had Obamacare been upheld under the Commerce Clause, then our Constitution would have been a dead letter without limits on congressional power. We still have our Constitution.
Chief Justice Roberts Admits Young People Are A 'Targeted' Class - Ron Meyer/CNS
"The individual mandate's regulation of the uninsured as a class is, in fact, particularly divorced from any link to existing commercial activity. The mandate primarily affects healthy, often young adults who are less likely to need significant health care and have other priorities for spending their money. It is precisely because these indi­viduals, as an actuarial class, incur relatively low healthcare costs that the mandate helps counter the effect of forcing insurance companies to cover others who impose greater costs than their premiums are allowed to reflect...."
Scalia/Kennedy/Thomas/Alito: Commerce Clause Doesn't Give Government the Power 'To Regulate All Private Conduct' - Pete Winn/CNS ◼ Chief Justice Roberts’s Folly - National Review via @ByronYork
The Court has failed to do its duty. Conservatives should not follow its example — which is what they would do if they now gave up the fight against Obamacare. The law, as rewritten by judges, remains incompatible with the country’s tradition of limited government, the future strength of our health-care system, and the nation’s solvency. We are not among those who are convinced that we will be stuck with it forever if the next election goes wrong: The law is also so poorly structured that we think it may well unravel even if put fully into effect. But we would prefer not to take the risk. It now falls to the Republicans, and especially to Mitt Romney, to make the case for the repeal of the law and for its replacement by something better than either it or the health-care policies that preceded it.
Congressional Republicans: ObamaCare in Our Court Now - PJM ◼ 21 tax increases
The high court’s ruling leaves in place 21 tax increases in the health-care law costing more than $675 billion over the next 10 years, according to the House Ways and Means Committee. Of those, 12 tax hikes would affect families earning less than $250,000 per year, the panel said, including a “Cadillac tax” on high-cost insurance plans, a tax on insurance providers, and an excise tax on medical device manufacturers. “This is a clear violation of the president’s pledge to avoid tax hikes on low- and middle-income taxpayers,” said a statement from the panel, which is chaired by Rep. Dave Camp, Michigan Republican.
It Now Falls to Congress - Roger Pikon/Real Clear Politics ◼ Obama Wins the Battle, Roberts Wins the War: The chief justice’s canny move to uphold the Affordable Care Act while gutting the Commerce Clause. - Slate

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Jon Voight: Save our America from disastrous-agenda'd Obama; Cross party-lines to elect Mitt



Actor, Jon Voight, remarked at Republican Jewish Coalition event in Los Angeles on the significance of crossing party-lines (if necessary) in this presidential election to save America from the anti-Zionist, Obama Administration's potential second-term- through electing Gov. Mitt Romney to the White House.

House Dems' campaign chief urges candidates to steer clear of convention

Democrats have been ruling out attendance this year at a rather steady clip. - FOX

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is facing a tough re-election fight, was among the latest to decide against attending the once-every-four-years affair.
She joined a growing roster of party figures skittish about showing their faces in Charlotte, which will host what will effectively be the biggest tribute to President Obama since the inauguration.

DEMOCRATS BAD BET COMES DUE TOMORROW

Tomorrow, at around 10:30am EDT, the Democrat-left-media complex will launch the most aggressive and sustained attack on the institution of the Supreme Court in the history of our Republic. When the Court throws out at least some portion of ObamaCare tomorrow, President Obama and his partisans on the left and in the media will effectively declare war on the third co-equal branch of government and seek, in every possible way, to undermine the legitimacy of the Court. - Mike Flynn/Breitbart

The discontent on the left is palpable. They bet their dreams of a "permanent majority" on Obama and lost badly. They have encumbered the economy with so much policy uncertainty that the economy is stagnant and will likely give rise to another historic loss for the party in November.

If we've learned anything about Obama in the past three and half years, it's that he doesn't take defeat well. Neither he nor his allies on the left and in the media will be able to admit that they got health care so disastrously wrong. They cannot admit that their signature achievement is existentially unpopular with the voters. So, they, as always, will look for others to blame. It wasn't some vague "partisan" or "corporate" interests that killed ObamaCare. It was defeated by Democrat hubris.

Tomorrow, Obama will kick off his reelection campaign, not against Romney, but against the Supreme Court. Democrats will attack not the GOP House, but judicial review and the very checks and balances that have sustained our Republic for more than 200 years.

Four House Dems back measure to place Holder in contempt

At least four Democrats say they will vote Thursday in favor of placing Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. - The Hill

Democratic Reps. John Barrow (Ga.), Collin Peterson (Minn.) and Nick Rahall (W.Va.) will all vote in favor of contempt in addition to Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah) when the measure comes to the House floor on Thursday.

The vote is expected to generally be a party-line vote, but one report by Fox News on Wednesday said as many as 20 Democrats could break with President Obama and support the measure.

Republicans are moving forward with the vote because they say Holder has refused to hand over documents dealing with the Justice Department’s handling of the botched “Fast and Furious” operation.
In announcing his decision, Barrow critized Holder for withholding the documents.

“While Republicans and Democrats argue over the scope of the people's right to know what happened, the attorney general has decided to withhold relevant documents,” Barrow said.

“The only way to get to the bottom of what happened is for the Department of Justice to turn over the remaining documents, so that we can work together to ensure this tragedy never happens again.”

Green company creates three jobs in three years, gets another $80 million from DOE

Department of Energy officials gave a New Hampshire-based biofuel company access to $80 million for a Michigan project that has already fallen short of job creation expectations, despite receiving another $40 million in state and DOE subsidies. - - Joel Gehrke/Washington Examiner @Joelmentum

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Norm Solomon concedes Congressional race, Dan Roberts Will Challenge Jared Huffman for Congress in November

Second District Congressional candidate Norman Solomon is conceding defeat, paving the way for a November run-off election pitting Democrat Jared Huffman against Republican Dan Roberts. - Times Standard

According to a press release from Solomon's camp, he currently trails Roberts by 172 votes with 1,000 ballots remaining to be counted in Sonoma County, making it “numerically very unlikely” he will overtake Roberts and move on to November.

...According to the California Secretary of State's Office, with nearly all votes counted, Huffman leads the dozen candidates vying for the newly formed 2nd District seat with 38.1 percent of the vote, followed by Roberts with 15 percent of the vote and Solomon with 14.7 percent.

Roberts Will Challenge Jared Huffman for Congress in November - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
Solomon Concedes - The Journal
__________________
danrobertsforcongress.com

Issa to Obama: Either you’re involved in Fast and Furious or your executive privilege claim is unjustified

In a letter obtained by The Daily Caller, House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa pressed President Barack Obama directly on his assertion of executive privilege over documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. - Matthew Boyle/Daily Caller

“[Y]our privilege assertion means one of two things,” Issa wrote to the president in a letter dated June 25. “Either you or your most senior advisors were involved in managing Operation Fast & Furious and the fallout from it, including the false February 4, 2011 letter provided by the attorney general to the committee, or, you are asserting a presidential power that you know to be unjustified solely for the purpose of further obstructing a congressional investigation.”

Issa said Obama’s assertion of executive privilege “raised the question” about the veracity of how the “White House has steadfastly maintained that it has not had any role in advising the department with respect to the congressional investigation.”

Issa to Obama: Check - Protein Wisdom

In his letter, the Attorney General stated that releasing the documents covered by the subpoena, some of which he offered to the Committee hours earlier, would have “significant, damaging consequences.” It remains unclear how — in a matter of hours — the Attorney General moved from offering those documents in exchange for canceling the contempt vote and ending the congressional investigation to claiming that they are covered by executive privilege and that releasing them — which the Attorney General was prepared to do hours earlier — would now result in “significant, damaging consequences.”

Contempt vote will put focus on Atty. Gen. Eric Holder's record - LA Times
GOP Rejects White House Appeal on Holder Contempt Vote - ABC

A congressional GOP aide who asked not to be identified also told ABC the offer was essentially the same as what Holder had presented Issa at the Capitol a week ago: A promise to make a compilation of documents available if the committee ends its investigation and takes contempt off the table. That offer was flatly rejected again today.

Issa's Right: Tougher Gun Laws Fast And Furious Goal - IBD
Issa: Obama executive privilege claim is cover-up or obstruction - Washington Times

Lefty blogger: Obama is the "ultimate cynic, a dishonest, highly reactionary social and corporate ladder climbing con artist."

The Source of Barack Obama’s Power to Trick Us Comes from Our Willingness to Be Tricked - nakedcapitalism.com

...His narcissism, and the post-modern ironic sense of self-awareness of how his narrative is put together and tended, is his defining character trait. It’s not just that he’s a liar. Lyndon Johnson was a liar, but LBJ lied us into a war in Vietnam as well as a war on poverty. FDR lied all the time, for good and ill. Obama’s entire edifice is based on lying almost entirely to help sustain his image, with almost no interest in sound policy-making. Obama understands the threat of climate change, but like the exceptional con artist he is, what happens to others he does not know, or what happens in the future, is irrelevant to him. He understands banking, and war, and women’s issues, and corruption and Citizens United. Like a great con artist, he has studied his mark, the American voter, and specifically the Democratic voter, and he undersands which buttons to push.

Many criticize Obama, with the idea that he doesn’t understand, and if only he understood, he would change his mind. This is part of his false narrative of hope and change....

44% Would Vote for Candidate Who Promised to Oppose All Tax Increases

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% would now vote for the candidate who promised to oppose all tax increases, the highest level of support since the start of 2011. - Rasmussen

POLLS: Obama slips in Ohio... Romney ahead in Virginia

Obama leads Mitt Romney 47 percent to 44 percent in the Buckeye State, according to the latest poll by the Democratic-leaning firm PPP. But that's down from a seven point lead that he maintained in the last two PPP surveys of the state. - POLITICO
Virginia Poll: Romney 48, Obama 43 - Weekly Standard

A new poll from We Ask America shows Mitt Romney leading Barack Obama in Virginia, a key swing state Obama won in 2008. Of the 1,106 likely voters in Virginia polled, 48 percent support Romney, with just over 43 percent supporting Obama and nearly 9 percent remaining undecided.

Climate Carnival in Rio

Ms. Henny-Penny is sure to spoil the Doomsayers' fun. - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator Online on 6.26.12

"I'm in Rio for the carnival," said the voice on the telephone. It was Henny-Penny.

"You're a few weeks late," I said.

MS. H-P: I don't mean that Carnival, I mean the annual Doomsayers' Carnival, where they get together to stroke their chins and proclaim disaster for the planet if everyone doesn't adopt their political agenda. They do it every year and their prescription is always the same.

ME: I'm surprised that you're welcomed there since you resigned as founder and Recording Secretary of the Holy Order of The Sky Is Falling, then denounced it and its pontiff, Al Gore. Now you're a leading global warming skeptic.

MS. H-P: I'm not being welcomed by the delegates. I'm here as the climate correspondent of an important publication, The Egg Layers' Gazette. My boss, the farmer, is giving me the week off to do it.

ME: So what's on the conference agenda?

MS. H-P: The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, will propose several things that will take our taxpayers' breath away, along with their money. One proposal would have industrialized countries transfer about $2 billion a year to non-industrialized ones. Another would be a new Carbon Tax that would cost U.S. taxpayers $250 billion a year by 2020. A third "reform" in the name of establishing a new "Green World Order" would result in price increases for most anything derived from agriculture, fishing, forestry, and other kinds of land and water use. All these endeavors would be reorganized, according to the Moon plan, in order to "contribute to a more level playing field between established 'brown' technologies and newer, greener ones."

Along with all this, there would be new global social spending programs to provide nearly everything free for those put out of work in fossil fuel industries, including "access to nutritious food, health services, education, training, retraining and unemployment benefits."

ME: Sounds as if it will create a new class of people dependent upon their government.

MS. H-P: That's right.

ME: I thought these conferences were made up of scientists.

MS. H-P: Some have been trained as scientists, but a lot of these depend upon grants from governments and foundations which promote global warming (now called "climate change") and expect the subsidized scientists to do the same.

Most of the those attending are seconded by their home countries (many of them non-industrialized) to the United Nations, which would oversee this One World operation. They are the authors of these plans and this is their carnival.

ME: Haven't they been pushing similar stuff for about a decade?

MS. H-P: Yes, but China and India haven't agreed to any of it because they don't want their economic growth thwarted. So far, the U.S. has said it won't sign on unless they do. Even if that were to happen, I can't imagine the U.S. Senate ratifying such a radical treaty in an election year. On the other hand, if Obama is re-elected and brings with him a strengthened Democrat majority in the Senate, next year it may be Katie, bar the door!

ME: Still, the alarmists have quite a cheering section.

MS. H-P: They sure do. The Sierra Club and its allies profess to be concerned about the environment. The specific concerns -- spotted owls and such -- are just devices for pushing their real agenda, which is to reduce industrial production and get us all used to having a lower standard of living.

You see, they really believe that the planet's resources are finite; that we have overused them and overpopulated the world it and that we must now go in the opposite direction.

ME. Some carnival. I hope it will prove as fruitless as all the previous ones.

MS. H-P: Even though I'm here as a journalist, you can bet I'll be working behind the scenes to make sure of it.
_______________
Mr. Hannaford first met Henny-Penny several years ago when she was touting global warming.

YOU CAN’T AFFORD BARACK OBAMA

It’s grimly amusing to note that Barack Obama’s “gifts” and personal appearances perfectly capture the overall theme of his presidency: you can’t afford to accept what he wants to “give” you. - John Hayward at Human Events

...The President, you see, is accustomed to enjoying the hospitality of filthy rich crony capitalists and Hollywood stars, not small towns that would exhaust a significant portion of their annual budgets to cover the cost of a single visit from the immense royal entourage. The town council briefly considered “disinviting” the President, but it was pointed out that they hadn’t really “invited” him in the first place. If your small town wins the booby prize of an Obama visit, there’s not much you can do except grin and raise taxes to pay for it.... More at the link.

Obama campaign email warns contest entrants not to use the minibar - Daily Caller

President Barack Obama’s Monday evening campaign email warned supporters not to “break in to [sic] that minibar” if the recipient wins a trip to have dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama. Contestants can enter the contest by donating $3 to the campaign.

The warning comes on the heels of reports that the “free” dinners, which the campaign says include travel and lodging expenses, are valued at $4,800 and could end up costing winners hundreds of dollars in taxes.... “And don’t forget,” she concluded, “I see the hotel bills, too, so don’t break in to that minibar.”

“You have an important role as a member of the president's national security team, and no administration should be expected to investigate itself impartially on such a grave and sensitive matter in the midst of an election"

GOP senators press Holder for special prosecutor into potential national security leaks - FOX

“The numerous national security leaks reportedly originating out of the executive branch in recent months have been stunning,” according to a copy of the letter to Holder, signed by more than 30 GOP senators and obtained by Fox News. “If there were ever a case requiring an outside special counsel with bipartisan acceptance and widespread public trust, this is it.”

Among the concerns about the leaks are recent news reports regarding the United State’s drone attacks in the Middle East.

Their letter points out the recent New York Times story about the drone program and its list of human targets states the reporting involved interviews with "three dozen of [President Obama's] current and former advisers."

DEMS OUT OF CASH: MAY CANCEL CONVENTION KICKOFF



Democrats Cancel Speedway Event At Charlotte Convention - Bloomberg via Drudge

The move comes as party planners are grappling with a fundraising deficit of roughly $27 million, according to two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss internal party politics. With a party ban on direct contributions from corporations, the host committee has raised less than $10 million, well short of its $36.6 million goal, said one of the people.

Monday, June 25, 2012

“This is presidential activism in an unprecedented scale. The president is issuing decrees as if he was the king."

Is the Federal Government Overstepping Boundaries? DHS Ordered to Stop Assisting Arizona and DOJ Sets Up Hotline to Report Police Officers - Hannity/FOX

Also following the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying that the DHS has been “directed not to respond to the scene of a state or local traffic stop or a similar law enforcement encounter upon the requests from state and local police officers for assistance in enforcing immigration laws unless the individual meets DHS enforcement priorities – is a convicted criminal, has been removed from the US previously and reentered unlawfully or is a recent border crosser.”

Jay Sekulow, from the American Center for Law and Justice, said on Hannity tonight, “This is presidential activism in an unprecedented scale. The president is issuing decrees as if he was the king … The Supreme Court says that one provision is constitutional, White House says well we’re just going to suspend our relationship, enforcement relationship with the state of Arizona, which by the way has the most difficult border control issue of any state in our union.”

Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson, Jr. weighed in on the issue, saying, “Now in essence the federal government has put out a wanted poster … for law enforcement in the state of Arizona...."

Obama's Infrastructure Charade

Demanding Republican funding for projects that will never be "shovel ready." - James Piereson/Spectator

Jeffrey R. Liebman, a former Obama administration official, authored a prominent article in the June 22 issue of the Wall Street Journal lambasting Republicans in Congress for blocking President Obama's plans to spend billions of dollars on infrastructure projects to create jobs for the unemployed. As he writes, "Congress has failed to act on the president's plan to put construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads, bridges, and airports."

This is a charade. The day is long past when spending on public works and infrastructure can pull the economy out of recession in a timely way. By the time such spending is ready to come on line, the recession is likely to be long past....

Urban Decay: Decline In Obama's Chicago Clue To His Second Term

Another weekend of violence in the president's hometown, now run by his former chief of staff. If you want to see the fruits of a presidential second term, look at the decline of his city. - IBD

...Chicago was the political incubator for a community organizer who would become president. It is where President Obama sat in the pews on Sunday listening to the liberation theology of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright for two decades. Its liberal academia provided an educational haven for the likes of the former bomb-wielding terrorist Weatherman William Ayers, who was host to Obama's first fund-raiser.

Now the wheels are wobbly, and Chicago has become one of those overtaxed and overregulated places where growth has stalled. Chicago doesn't work so well anymore, having succumbed to the consequences of decades of urban liberalism, and neither does the country to whom it gave Rahm Emanuel, White House adviser David Axelrod and President Obama...

Obama recently paid his hometown, where he maintains a residence, a visit. As Wayne Allyn Root, writing on FoxNews.com, noted, 35 were injured and seven killed in gun battles with the president home that weekend. Included in that violent mess was a 16-year-old girl. Three of the murder victims were killed in one hour on Sunday morning. It was the third weekend in a row with gunshot murders and injuries in the double digits....

Study calls for probing of political corruption in more than 60 suburbs - Chicago tribune

The study counted about 1,200 separate taxing bodies in the Chicago region, including 540 in Cook County alone, which Blanchard said often operate with very little oversight.

The report identified six common patterns of corruption in the suburbs: officials with ties to organized crime; nepotism and patronage; police officers aiding criminals; kickbacks and bribes to public officials; large construction projects benefiting elected officials, their families and friends; and outright theft of public funds.

The study documented criminal convictions as reported by news media, as well as reports of what Simpson said were conflicts of interest.

As the most recent instance, Simpson cited a Tribune investigation this month that found the construction of a sports stadium in Bridgeview benefited political insiders while helping to nearly triple residents’ property tax bills.

Chicago area pension plans in debt by $27.4 billion - Funds accrue $27.4 billion shortfall between 2001 and 2010 - Chicago Tribune

The debt from 10 Chicago-area pension plans swelled more than 600 percent to $27.4 billion between 2001 and 2010, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan Civic Federation. That's $8,993 for each man, woman and child in Chicago, according to the report.

The shortfall comes on top of more than $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities at the state level, driving the cost up to nearly $15,000 per Chicagoan, the report shows.

Anonymous Donor Agrees To Cover Costs For Obama Campaign Stop In NH

Durham officials say they didn’t mean to raise a ruckus, but they didn’t have the money budgeted for police, fire and EMS services needed for President Obama’s visit, and the Obama for America campaign said they wouldn’t pay. - boston.cbslocal

Willing to Spend Others $$$...Not his Own??? - Sodahead

◼ Flashback: Dear President Barack Obama: Please pay up. City tries again for reimbursement from Obama campaign - State-Journal Register
Springfield Mayor Frank Edwards this week sent a letter asking the president to help see that the city is reimbursed for the expense associated with hosting Obama’s presidential campaign stop in Springfield in the fall of 2008.

“The confusion seems to lie with whether the White House itself or the Secret Service is responsible for the $55,458 payment,” Edwards wrote. “As you know, sometimes only the executive himself can cut through such inter-departmental differences of opinion.”

Obama introduced his running mate, Joe Biden, at the Old Capitol in August 2008. About 160 police officers and nine civilians helped provide protection for Obama’s visit, according to an invoice from the city.

The city usually charges for providing police and fire protection at political events.

I was surprised and struck by the numbers, they were larger than I expected.

FBI Tracking 100 Suspected Extremists In Military - NPR

"So going back to the question that was asked, the right course for America is to drop these lawsuits against Arizona and other states that are trying to do the job Barack Obama isn't doing."

Romney says immigration law has become a 'muddle' - AP

The Arizona Immigration Decision: Surveying the Full Spectrum of Media Headline Spin - Doug Ross

(A) sampling of headlines from a variety of news sources which I've listed in order, from the most liberal spin to the most conservative. Check out the difference between Fox News and Fox News Latino....

EXCLUSIVE -- GOV. JAN BREWER: OBAMA ADMIN 'ASSAULT ON ARIZONA' CONTINUES - ben Shapiro/Breitbart

“I believe that this Supreme Court unanimously upheld the section that it is the heart of the bill,” she said. “It’s a victory for the rule of law and the 10th amendment.”

By the same token, Brewer recognized the threat implicit in the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to suspend cooperation with Arizona state authorities via 287(g) task force agreements. “This continued assault on the state of Arizona in regards to illegal immigration has been totally unfortunate,” Brewer said. “The bottom line is that the feds need to step up and do their job and secure our border so we can work on other issues that are a result of the borders not being secured.”

Brewer was deeply upset at the new round of federal pressure on Arizona.

Jan Brewer: Arizona to enforce 'show me your papers' policy ASAP - LA Times
Obama gains power and pressure for enforcement - Washington Times
Arizona’s Partial Victory is Trap for Obama - Commentary Magazine

Stockton, CA faces midnight deadline to avert bankruptcy... UPDATED

If Stockton, home to a population of 292,000 about 85 miles east of San Francisco, fails to win concessions in the talks to close a $26 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, City Manager Bob Deis will soon seek protection from creditors with a rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing. - Reuters

On Tuesday evening the city council will vote on a so-called pendency plan budget crafted by Deis to guide the city's finances during bankruptcy proceedings.

The plan would suspend $10.2 million in debt payments and reduce spending on employee compensation and retiree benefits by$11.2 million. It will also probably trigger rating agencies to further downgrade the city....

Stockton's finances collapsed along with its housing market, and despite slashing $90 million in spending in recent years and cutting a quarter of positions across its agencies, the city's finances cannot shake recurring deficits due to weak revenue.

Stockton's financial troubles have been compounded, according to city officials, by generous pay and benefits for city employees and retirees and the city taking on too much debt when it enjoyed a home-building boom in the early part of the last decade that transformed it into a distant bedroom community for the San Francisco Bay area... More at the link.

UPDATE: ◼ Stockton, Calif. to take up bankruptcy budget plan - Reuters

A bankruptcy filing by Stockton is a "high-probability event," Gregory Lipitz, a vice president and senior analyst at Moody's, said on Monday.

NFRW SURVEY OUT JULY 1

The National Federation Of Republican Women's Public Relations Committee is putting the final touches on an in-depth, anonymous survey that will be used to gather data from Republican women, particularly members of the National Federation of Republican Women and female delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention.

The survey questions will be available with a link on the NFRW website ◼ www.nfrw.org starting July 1 for all NFRW members and other Republican women to participate. The survey will cover a wide range of topics and issues that are relevant to this year's critical elections. The NFRW will release the resulting data to the media after the Republican National Convention in Tampa in an effort to provide an accurate analysis of Republican women's values, opinions and backgrounds, and will continue to publicize the results throughout the fall.

"The survey is a very important tool in the NFRW's efforts to dispel the myths and outright lies that are being perpetuated this year about the Republican Party and women," NFRW President Rae Lynne Chornenky (AZ) says. Instructions on how NFRW members can access and participate in the survey will be forthcoming. ◼ Via nebraskagop

Invitation from Lake County

Dear Ladies - The Lake County RWF would like to extend an invitation to all the Clubs in the North West Region to join us on July 14th for a very special luncheon. Our speaker is going to be Professor John Yoo who will be speaking to us about the Health Care Bill and the Supreme Court. A ruling should come down any day now and no matter the out come, Professor Yoo's experience in constitutional law will be indispensable. Please circulate our flyer and join us. If you have any questions or need directions, please e-mail me or call 707-279-2219.

Hope to see you there, Maria Barnes, Lake County RWF President

SCOTUS says that only federal government can traditionally enforce federal law, no matter how burdensome to Arizona; and SCOTUS says that states can’t carry out federal laws.

SCOTUS: Constitutionality of Arizona Immigrant Law - No Quarter

Supreme Court upholds key immigration status check provision of Arizona law - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

The Court struck the provisions dealing with state criminal penalties and other provisions which imposed procedural requirements on illegals in the state. Among the provisions the Court struck is the one requiring that a person be detained if the police officer believes the person is removable...

But the Court upheld, for now, the provision requiring a check of immigration status for persons otherwise detained. The Court left open the possibility of additional legal challenges after the law goes into effect. So expect more litigation....

The net-net? The federal government did better than many expected, particularly on section 6. I don’t think many people thought state criminal sanctions and other state requirements would survive.

Section 2(B) remains in effect for now, which politically is a lot more palatable, because the immigration status check only takes place after a lawful detention. But there will be more litigation once the law is put into effect and applied.

Scalia dissented in part, and would have upheld the entire statute as a valid exercise of Arizona’s sovereignty... More at the link.