Tony's Truth

28 Blue Dog Traitors

2009-11-09T20:21:00Z

Here are the "Blue Dog" Dems that voted for the terrible ObamaCARE bill... Watch them closely, see what "pay for play" they get in the way of PORK projects for their districts and re-election efforts. Also... google around and see how many were under ethics investigations, controlled by Nancy Pelosi, and where those investigations go... this was Chicago style politic-ing at its finest.

With the other programs pointed to as great successes, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, all grossly over budget and way beyond the scope of the original cost forecasts ( some by factors of 10x estimated costs) what makes any sane person think this will a)work b) come in at the cost they predict c) provide better coverage?

All these 28 must go!

Mike Arcuri (N.Y.)
Joe Baca (Calif.)
Marion Berry (Ark.)
Sanford Bishop (Ga.)
Leonard Boswell (Iowa)
Dennis Cardoza (Calif.)
Christopher Carney (Penn.)
Jim Cooper (Tenn.)
Jim Costa (Calif.)
Henry Cuellar (Texas)
Kathy Dahlkemper (Penn.)
Joe Donnelly (Ind.)
Brad Ellsworth (Ind.)
Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz.)
Jane Harman (Calif)
Baron Hill (Ind.)
Mike Michaud (Maine)
Harry Mitchell (Ariz.)
Dennis Moore (Kan.)
Patrick Murphy (Penn.)
Earl Pomeroy (N.D.)
John Salazar (Colo.)
Loretta Sanchez (Calif.)
Adam Schiff (Calif.)
David Scott (Ga.)
Zack Space (Ohio)
Mike Thompson (Calif.)
Charles Wilson (Ohio)

Proclamation of Morality - from Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern

2009-09-28T21:51:00Z

I have nothing to add... read on.

Proclamation of Morality

We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, "It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand" (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality" (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, "Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people" (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government...but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God" (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, "Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, "God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God" (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, "Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state" (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, "We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people...the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion" (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, "This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians" (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, "When you...exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God" (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, "The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible" (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior [i.e., the White House issued a national proclamation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Month];

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that "Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord," and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

Signed in the year of our Lord Christ Two Thousand and Nine.

First 500 pages... Health Care Destruction Bill

2009-08-29T06:57:00Z

Don't fall for all the distractions, the ridicule and the lies. Read the BILL it is very frightening and really shows how fundamentally the American system of health care, insurance and fundamental economics will be forever changed.

Contact your Representatives and let them know how you feel about this. We, as a country, cannot afford another 1000 page bill to go through congress without being read. Still another 500 pages to go. Here are a few items that standout below:

* Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!

* Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!

* Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)

* Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.

* Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.

* Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.

* Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

* Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)

* Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.

* Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)

* Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens

* Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.

* Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.

* Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.

* Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.

* Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.

* Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.

* Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll

* Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll

* Page 167: Any individual who doesn't' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.

* Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).

* Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.

* Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.

* Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."

* Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)

* Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.

* Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.

* Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.

* Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!

* Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.

* Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.

* Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!

* Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand

without government approval.

* Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.

* Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.

* Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.

* Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.

* Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).

* Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?

* Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.

* Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.

* Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment;

government dictates how your life ends.

* Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.

* Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

* Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.

* Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.

* Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.

* Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.

Is this okay with you?

2009-08-12T19:31:00Z

By Joshua Rhett Miller

FOXNews.com

The Office of Management and Budget is considering reversing a nine-year ban on using "cookies" to track users' preferences and interests on federal Web sites.

The shift in policy is being billed as a way for government to enter the 21st century and for federal agencies to use the same technology utilized on news sites, retail sites and social media networks. Online retailers, for example, use cookies to suggest items of interest based on previous purchases. If you recently bought a New York Yankees jersey, a Web site might recommend buying a book about Alex Rodriguez the next time you visit.

But some privacy advocates say changing the policy for federal Web sites is troubling. If you check out the FBI's Most Wanted List, they say, the government would know. If you want information from the CDC about pregnancy or AIDS, the government would know. Big Brother could quite literally be watching you.

"Without explaining this reversal of policy, the OMB is seeking to allow the mass collection of personal information of every user of a federal government website," Michael Macleod-Ball, acting director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative office, said in a statement. "Until OMB answers the multitude of questions surrounding this policy shift, we will continue to raise our strenuous objections."

Robert Siciliano, an author and Internet security expert, described cookies as the "cousin" to spyware -- software installed on a computer that tracks information about users without their consent.

"Now, cookies aren't spyware, but they're very close," Siciliano told FOX News. "Spyware, as we know, can be malicious and track everything we do -- every username, password and Web site we visit. The problem here is privacy advocates are concerned if government enables cookies on federal Web sites, then they could now merge into spyware. What's next?"

But Vivek Kundra, the nation's chief information officer, says citizens' privacy will remain a top priority, and he points out that no change has been made yet.

"Our main goal in revisiting the ban on using persistent cookies on Federal websites is to bring the federal government into the 21st century," Kundra wrote on a blog explaining the cookie policy. "Consistent with this Administration's commitment to making government more open and participatory, we want federal agencies to be able to provide the same user-friendly, dynamic, and citizen-centric websites that people have grown accustomed to using when they shop or get news online or communicate through social media networks, while also protecting people's privacy."

Because of privacy concerns, federal agencies have been prohibited from using Web-tracking technologies like cookies since June 2000 unless approved by the head of an agency due to a "compelling need," Kundra wrote in an earlier blog post.

"In the ensuing time," he wrote, "cookies have become a staple of most commercial websites with widespread public acceptance of their use. For example, every time you use a 'shopping cart' at an online store, or have a website remember customized settings and preferences, cookies are being used."

Not as Funny as I Thought at First

2009-08-10T20:13:00Z

Ten Top Trade-Ins Under Cash for Clunkers

1. Ford Explorer

2. Ford F150 Pickup 2WD

3. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 WD

4. Jeep Cherokee 4 WD

5. Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan

6. Chevrolet Blazer 4 WD

7. Ford Explorer 2 WD

8. Ford F150 Pickup 4 WD

9. Chevrolet C1500 Pickup 2 WD

10. Ford Windstar FWD Van

And the top ten new car purchases, subsidized by the American taxpayer, are mainly foreign vehicles:

Top Ten New Car Purchases: Cash for Clunkers

1. Toyota Corolla

2. Ford Focus FWD

3. Honda Civic

4. Toyota Prius

5. Toyota Camry

6. Ford Escape FWD

7. Hyndai Elantra

8. Dodge Caliber

9. Honda Fit

10. Chevrolet Cobalt

It is a violation of the World Trade Organization rules to enact a public subsidy program and skew it toward only domestically produced products, so the Congress has no choice but to extend the program to all comers. No choice, that is, but to not spend the money in the first place.

Cash for Clunkers will do wonders for the Japanese economy, but its impact on the US job situation is problematic. This unintended consequence is a great illustration of what happens when the blunt tool of government subsidy is applied to the fine tuning of a free market economy. Government planners keep getting it wrong. That's why socialism is such a bad idea.

So Obama can boast of a great success in taking American cars off the road and replacing them with foreign cars. Great going!

Thank Dick Morris for the Above (www.dickmorris.com)

Looking behind the curtain - Lies, Distortions and Bad Ideas

2009-08-03T14:52:00Z

President Obama may have to raise taxes to pay for public health care and the growing deficit, an eventuality that administration officials touched lightly on Sunday as they promoted an economy emerging from recession.

Take note that the common sense approach to lowering spending to more appropriately align with revenues is not an option for progressives. All the spending, and more, is "needed" for us to be a fair and just society.

With an expected deficit next year of $1.8 trillion, and spending still being planned for a $1 trillion, 10-year health care reform, officials say something will have to be done to prevent further erosion of the economy.

So that "something" is to take even more resources from the private, revenue generating, sector and put it into the non-revenue generating, unaccountable public sector via confiscatory tax policies.

"We will not get this economy back on track, recovery will be not strong and sustained, unless we ... can convince the American people that we're going to have the will to bring these deficits down once recovery is firmly established," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said on ABC's "This Week."

So a strong economy is dependent upon high taxes, not controlled spending?

Asked point blank whether it was right to suggest it is a matter of when, not if, taxes will be raised, Geithner responded, "It is absolutely right."

Do you believe that BHO ever really intended to cut taxes for 90% of Americans as he promised? If that was really his intention then he is a fool to think that he can provide all the hand out programs on less revenue. So you have your choice, Fool or Liar? Which is it?

But the president's team circling the Sunday morning news shows was quick to note that there are signs the recession is easing despite a persistent decline in job losses in the past six months.

Since they created a recession by declaring one, they believe they can eliminate it by declaring its end? The panic caused by the media and the talking heads pushed an otherwise sound economy, with "strong fundamentals" over the edge by eroding confidence, the single most important factor in maintaining consumer spending - the engine of our economy.

Administration officials say they hope to see positive economic growth before the end of the year, and credit the $787 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February with preventing recession from going into depression.

So if the 10% of the "stimulus" money that has made it out into the economy was enough to "kick start" growth again, then lets cancel the rest of it.... it is not needed and amounts to over half a trillion dollars! $5,000,000,000.00. The reality is that payback cash for supporters (along with the "Omnibus" bill is not helping our economy and paybacks don't get rescinded.

I know for a fact, from my own business, that the hope of Stimulus money has shut down projects that were already funded with private or other public sector monies. We had half a dozen project ready to start that all go on hold as clients hired grant writers and consultants to try to get a stimulus grant to fund their project instead of using on-hand cash or existing financing. In the construction sectors, the "shovel ready stimulus" is costing jobs right now and delaying projects that were slated for ground break as earlier as last March.

This is about control, and a group of elites who are convinced they know what is best for you and don't trust you to make your own decisions.

Obama - No Transparency

2009-07-21T17:42:00Z

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Monday pushed back its own deadline for devising new anti-terrorism policies.

The decision had been expected, as presidentially appointed task forces have failed to meet a six-month schedule for making policy recommendations on how terror suspects should be interrogated, held in custody or handed over to other countries.

Senior administration officials said Monday that the report on detention will be delayed six months and the report on interrogation and transfer policy will be delayed two months.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue on the record.

As the administration quietly acknowledged the delay, a task force sent Attorney General Eric Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates a preliminary report summarizing their legal goals for handling terror suspects in the future.

"Where appropriate, prosecution of those responsible must occur as soon as possible, whether in federal court or before a military commission," according to the five-page memo on detention policy sent to the White House.

"Justice cannot be done, however, unless those who are accused of crimes are proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that affords them a full and fair opportunity to contest the charges against them," the memo concludes.

The Obama administration has reached the halfway mark in its self-imposed goal to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by January 2010.

Six months after President Barack Obama signed the closure order, fewer than 20 of about 245 inmates have been transferred out of the U.S. military base in Cuba. Currently, there are 229 detainees at Guantanamo, and the administration, by its own clock, has six months more to remove them.

Government lawyers are reviewing each case individually and have so far finished the reviews of more than half of the detainees.

More than 50 suspects have been cleared for transfer to other countries. A senior administration official has said the Justice Department is considering prosecuting about 30 others in federal courts, and another 30 or so could face trial by military commissions. A final group will be held indefinitely without charge, subject to occasional judicial review, the administration has said.

Fed is buying our Treasury Notes...

2009-05-11T17:57:00Z

NEW YORK (Marketwatch) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of New York bought $3.51 billion in Treasurys maturing between 2026 and 2039 on Monday. The buyback is part of the central bank's program to keep borrowing costs lower and spur economic activity. Dealers offered $10.426 billion to be purchased. Ten-year note yields , which move inversely to prices, remained lower by 8 basis points to 3.21%. U.S. debt was supported by the Fed purchases and declining stock markets.

So there you go... when the world won't touch our "debt" we buy it back on our own? Crank up the printing presses and pay the bills. If you don't think this will lead to crippling inflation, the kind of inflation that destroys life savings and destroys real earnings, you are out of your mind.

Watch closely. If we did what the government is doing we would be arrested.

If Pelosi Were a Republican

2009-05-08T21:38:00Z

I will propose to you that if Nancy Pelosi was a Republican rather than one of the most liberal members of the Democrat Party the media would be campaigning for her resignation. Instead, they are providing her cover and barely mentioning the story in nightly news coverage. This is a corrupt pol who has funneled government projects to her husband's firm, demanded a larger personal jet for her travel, employs tax dodge schemes to shelter her enormous personal wealth and lies about her involvement in sanctioning torture while trying to toss gasoline on a witch hunt "special investigator".

This is the direction our national leaders are taking us? I'd rather be a serf.

From the A.P.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Friday that she was briefed only once about the "enhanced" interrogation techniques being used on terrorism suspects and that she was assured by lawyers with the CIA and the Department of Justice that the methods were legal.

Pelosi issued a statement after CIA records released this week showed that Pelosi was briefed in September 2002 on the interrogation methods. The briefings memo appeared to contradict the speaker's claims that she was never told that waterboarding or other enhanced interrogation methods were being used.

"We were not -- I repeat -- were not told that waterboarding or any of these other enhanced interrogation methods were used," Pelosi said on April 23.

The emphasis seems to be on "were used," even though she conceded in a statement released Friday that she was told they would be used.

"As I said in my statement of December 9, 2007: 'I was briefed on interrogation techniques the (Bush) administration was considering using in the future. The administration advised that legal counsel for both the CIA and the Department of Justice had concluded that the techniques were legal,'" she said.

But even that statement is at odds with the official record of the briefings recorded in the CIA memo dated to Sept. 4, 2002. That memo says Pelosi received a "briefing on EITs (enhanced interrogation techniques), including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities and a description of particular EITs that had been employed."

Pelosi noted that the media had reported this week that CIA Director Leon Panetta wrote in a cover letter accompanying the briefings memo that "the descriptions provided by the CIA may not be accurate."

Pelosi is fighting back against accusations that she and other Democrats are being motivated by politics in their attempt to establish an independent commission to investigate officials and lawyers involved with the Bush-era interrogation programs.

Pelosi is just one of 65 lawmakers who received 40 briefings dealing with the subject. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., for instance, was repeatedly briefed, as was Rep. Jane Harman, D-Valif., who took over Pelosi's spot on the House Intelligence Committee.

In addition, from the beginning of the program in 2002 until it became public in the fall of 2006, the House held 13 votes to authorize intelligence funding at which time no one objected or demanded changes to any intelligence programs.

The briefings took place in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. At the time, the CIA was getting actionable intelligence that helped disrupt several terrorist plots.

Lawmakers apparently didn't want to stop that. But when it became public, Pelosi and others shifted gears and started criticizing a program they had known about for years, claimed GOP strategist Brad Blakeman.

"Either the speaker has a veracity problem or an incompetence problem and it could be both," Blakeman told FOX News. "The fact of the matter is she was briefed and she was hoping that the top secret nature of these briefings would shield her from this information coming out."

Blakeman added that he trusts the notes made at the briefings more than Pelosi's memory.

Justice Department officials are not likely to recommend criminal charges against the three Bush administration lawyers who the wrote the memos approving the interrogation methods, but two could face disciplinary action from their state bar associations.

AP Fact Checks Obama 100 Day Speech

2009-04-30T12:42:00Z

WASHINGTON -- President Obama turned the page on 100 days in office with an iffy boast about job creation and claims of fiscal prudence that are hard to square with his spending.

Obama spoke with abundant confidence about his chances for achieving the big-ticket items on his agenda despite economic calamity:

-- His assertion that his proposed budget "will cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term" is an eyeball-roller for many economists, given the uncharted terrain of trillion-dollar deficits the government is negotiating.

-- He promised vast savings from increased spending on preventive health care in the face of doubts that such an effort, however laudable it might be for public welfare, can pay for itself, let alone yield huge savings.

-- He pitched a remedy for Social Security's long-term crisis that analysts say won't fix half the problem.

Obama held a prime-time news conference Wednesday and addressed citizens at an Arnold, Mo., high school, using both events to review progress at the 100-day mark and look ahead.

A look at some of his claims:

OBAMA: "We began by passing a Recovery Act that has already saved or created over 150,000 jobs." -- from news conference.

THE FACTS: This assertion is dubious on several levels. For starters, the U.S. has lost more than 1.2 million jobs since Obama took office, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even if Obama's stimulus bill saved or created as many jobs as he says, that number is dwarfed by the number of recent job losses.

But Obama's number is murky, at best. The White House has not yet announced how it intends to count jobs created by the stimulus bill. Obama's number is based on a job-counting formula that his economists have developed but have not made public. Until that formula is announced --probably in the coming week or so -- there's no way to assess its accuracy.

Whatever the formula, economists who study job creation say it will require some creative math. That's because Obama has lumped "jobs saved" in with "jobs created." Even economists for organizations that stand to benefit from the stimulus concede it probably is impossible to estimate saved jobs because that would require calculating a hypothetical: how many people would have lost their jobs without the stimulus.

___

OBAMA: "We must lay a new foundation for growth, a foundation that will strengthen our economy and help us compete in the 21st century. And that's exactly what this budget begins to do. It contains new investments in education that will equip our workers with the right skills and training; new investments in renewable energy that will create millions of jobs and new industries; new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses, and new savings that will bring down our deficit." -- news conference.

"I've personally asked the leadership in Congress to pass into law rules that follow the simple principle: You pay for what you spend, so that government acts the same way any responsible family does." -- in Missouri.

THE FACTS: While the budget does set a roadmap for achieving the president's goals, it says nothing about how to pay for his health plan, expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the next 10 years. And while the deficit, under the plan, would drop to $523 billion in 2014, it achieves it with unrealistic assumptions, such as projections that spending in Iraq and Afghanistan will amount to only $50 billion a year.

___

OBAMA: "Number one, we inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit....That wasn't me." -- in Missouri.

THE FACTS:

Congress, under Democratic control in 2007 and 2008, held the purse strings that led to the deficit Obama inherited. A Republican president, George W. Bush, had a role too: He signed the legislation.

Obama supported the emergency financial bailout package in Bush's final months -- a package Democratic leaders wanted to make bigger.

To be sure, Obama opposed the Iraq war, a drain on federal coffers for six years before he became president. But with one major exception, he voted in support of Iraq war spending.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years, even accounting for his spending reduction goals. Now, the deficit is nearly quadrupling to $1.75 trillion.

___

OBAMA: "I think one basic principle that we know is that the more we do on the (disease) prevention side, the more we can obtain serious savings down the road. ... If we're making those investments, we will save huge amounts of money in the long term." -- in Missouri.

THE FACTS: It sounds believable that preventing illness should be cheaper than treating it, and indeed that's the case with steps like preventing smoking and improving diet and exercise. But during the 2008 campaign, when Obama and other presidential candidates were touting a focus on preventive care, the New England Journal of Medicine cautioned that "sweeping statements about the cost-saving potential of prevention, however, are overreaching." It said that "although some preventive measures do save money, the vast majority reviewed in the health economics literature do not."

And a study released in December by the Congressional Budget Office found that increasing preventive care "could improve people's health but would probably generate either modest reductions in the overall costs of health care or increases in such spending within a 10-year budgetary time frame."

___

OBAMA: "You could cut (Social Security) benefits. You could raise the tax on everybody so everybody's payroll tax goes up a little bit. Or you can do what I think is probably the best solution, which is you can raise the cap on the payroll tax." -- in Missouri.

THE FACTS: Obama's proposal would reduce the Social Security trust fund's deficit by less than half, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

That means he would still have to cut benefits, raise the payroll tax rate, raise the retirement age or some combination of these measures to deal with the program's long-term imbalance.

Workers currently pay 6.2 percent and their employers pay an equal rate -- for a total of 12.4 percent -- on annual wages of up to $106,800, after which no more payroll tax is collected.

Obama wants workers making more than $250,000 to pay payroll tax on their income over that amount. That would still protect workers making under $250,000 from an additional burden. But it would raise much less money than removing the cap completely.

___

OBAMA: "My hope is that working in a bipartisan fashion we are going to be able to get a health care reform bill on my desk before the end of the year that we'll start seeing in the kinds of investments that will make everybody healthier." -- in Missouri.

THE FACTS: Obama has indeed expressed hope for a health care plan that has support from Democrats and Republicans. But his Democratic allies in Congress have just made that harder. The Democratic budget plan that Congress passed Wednesday gives Democrats the option of denying Republicans the normal right to block health care with a Senate filibuster. The filibuster tactic requires 60 votes to overcome, making it the GOP's main weapon to ensure a bipartisan outcome. The rules set by the budget mean that majority Democrats could potentially pass health care legislation without any Republican votes, sacrificing bipartisanship to achieve their goals.

Reid's Bipartisan Joke

2009-04-28T12:48:00Z

bi·par·ti·san
Pronunciation: bī-ˈpär-tə-zən, -sən, -ˌzan, chiefly British ˌbī-ˌpär-tə-ˈzan\
Function: adjective
Date: 1895
: of, relating to, or involving members of two parties ; specifically : marked by or involving cooperation, agreement, and compromise between two major political parties

"For this bipartisan process to take root, Republicans must demonstrate a sincere interest in legislating," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a letter Monday to GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. "Rather than just saying no, you must be willing to offer concrete and constructive proposals."

So according to the Democratic Leadership if you don't roll over and support our agenda you are being partisan, and since we don't have either the moral authority or the support of the majority of Americans, we are going put rules in place that make it impossible for the opposition to have any influence on the current budget and national health care debate. We will dump republican principals of representative government and dump simple majority rule on you. We know best and the only sensible thing for you to do is agree with us.

We are abandoning what makes America great: freedom, personal responsibility, opportunity, open and honest debate of ideas and plans...

This "procedural maneuver" will "fast track" nationalized health care and eliminate the public debate.

This is un-American and must be stopped.

Call your representative in the Senate and promise them a pink slip if they support "fast tracking" of Obama's agenda.

Colorado Springs Tea Party - Video

2009-04-16T02:10:00Z

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Right-Wing Extremist ... Are you one? Read the whole DHS report

2009-04-15T20:10:00Z

Here is the complete "de-classified" report. I am not paranoid, just a pragmatic realist. Read this your-self and make your own call.

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

I just got back from the Tea Party in Colorado Springs. There was at least 2,000 people there of all races, political biases and generations. There was a large contingent of Vietnam era veterans holding signs asking if their service and patriotism makes them some kind of threat. I saw Veterans with tears in their eyes as a 5 year old boy lead us in the singing of our national anthem. These are not "extremist" These are the bread and butter, lunch bucket Americans that made (and keep) this country the greatest country the world has ever seen.

Colorado Springs Tea Party - 4-15-2009

When the government starts a campaign to suppress, intimidate and label those who do not share the core beliefs of the current "ruling class" they pour gasoline on the fires of discontent that are currently smoldering in the masses that feel their government no longer represents them.

If belief in limited government, the right to keep and bear arms, the sanctity of life, the enforcement and defense of our national boarders and that you know best how to dispense of the fruits of your labor make you a "right wing extremist" then sign me up!

I have no problem being in the company of Washington, Jefferson, Paine, Franklin, Adams, Madison and Monroe...

DHS Report is Alarming

2009-04-15T13:50:00Z

The report from DHS' Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines right-wing extremism in the U.S. as:

"...divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

So those who believe that our Constitution was well conceived and sufficient to guarantee our liberties, those who adhere to the 10th amendment and believe in states rights over a lumbering federal government, those who have strong moral convictions concerning the sanctity of life are lumped in with the KKK, neo-fascists and other racist groups by our own employees! The same group of jackbooted goons who refused to call an Islamic Extremist Terrorist act what it is, and settle for "man made disaster" now have lumped any and all Patriots into a class of dangerous "right-wing extremist".

The "Governing Class" = Pure Corruption

2009-04-13T13:23:00Z

This list came across my desk today from my father out in California. He is always looking out for good content for my blog and I think this one is worth re-posting. I am amazed that these people, this "ruling class", this above the law oligarchy continues to get sanction for their actions via the "seal of approval" of their constituency.

$34,000: the amount of federal taxes that Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner (D) failed to pay during his employment at the International Monetary Fund despite receiving extra compensation and explanatory brochures that described his tax liabilities.

$75,000: the amount of money that the head of the powerful tax-writing commit tee, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), was forced to report on his taxes after the discovery that he had not reported income from an off shore rental property. His excuses for the failure started with blaming his wife, then his accountant and finally the fact that he didn't speak Spanish.

$93,000: the amount of petty cash each Congressional representative voted to give themselves in January 2009 during the height of an economic meltdown..

$133,900: the amount Fannie Mae "invested" in Chris Dodd (D-CT), head of the powerful Senate Banking Committee, presumably to repel oversight of the GSE prior to its meltdown. Said meltdown helped touch off the current economic crisis. In only a few years time, Fannie also "invested" over $105,000 in then-Senator Barack Obama.

$140,000: the amount of back taxes and interest that Cabinet nominee Tom Daschle (D) was forced to cough up after the vetting process revealed significant, unexplained tax liabilities.

$356,000: the approximate amount of income and deductions that Daschle (D) was forced to report on his amended 2005 and 2007 tax returns after being caught cheating on his taxes. This includes $255,256 for the use of a car service, $83,333 in unreported income, and $14,963 in charitable contributions.

$800,000: the amount of "sweetheart" mortgages Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) received from Countrywide Financial, the details for which he has refused to release despite months of promises to do so. Countrywide was once the nation's largest mortgage lender and linked to Government-Sponsored Entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Their meltdown precipitated the current financial crisis.

$12,000,000: the amount of TARP money provided to community bank OneUnited despite the fact that it did not qualify for funds, and was "under attack from its regulators for allegations of poor lending practices and executive-pay abuses." It turns out that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a key contributor to the Fannie Mae meltdown, just happens to be married to one of the bank's ex-directors.

$23,500,000: The upper range of net worth Rep. Allan Mollohan (D-WV) accumulated in four years time according to The Washington Post through earmarks of "tens of millions of dollars to groups associated with his own business partners."

$2,000,000,000: ($2 billion) the approximate amount of money that House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is earmarking related to his two son's lobbying efforts. Craig Obey is "a top lobbyist for the nonprofit group" that would receive a roughly $2 billion component of the "Stimulus" package.

$3,700,000,000: ($3.7 billion) not to be outdone, this is the estimated value of various defense contracts awarded to a company controlled by the husband of Rep. Diane Feinstein (D-CA). Despite an obvious conflict-of-interest as "a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms ."

$4,190,000,000: ($4.19 billion) the amount of money in the so-called "Stimulus" package devoted to fraudulent voter registration ACORN group under the auspices of "Community Stabilization Activities". ACORN is currently the subject of a RICO suit in Ohio.

Let the Record Speak for Itself - Video

2009-04-11T14:47:00Z

Any Chance to Attack the Second Amendment

2009-04-09T13:02:00Z

-- Richard Poplawski, 23, product of a broken family, expelled from high school and dishonorably discharged from the Marines, killed three policemen in Pittsburgh.

-- Jiverly Wong, 41, a former crack addict who told co-workers "America sucks", blockaded his victims in a civic center in Binghamton, N.Y., and shot 13 people, discharged his two weapons a total of 97 times before taking his own life.

-- Robert Stewart, 45, a three-time divorce and high school dropout with "violent tendencies" went on a rampage in a nursing home in Carthage, N.C., where his estranged wife was employed.

-- Lovelle Mixon, 26, a paroled felon, and child rapist, shot four cops in Oakland, Calif. -- before eventually being shot himself.

-- Michael McLendon, 28, child of divorce, living with his mother and boycotting family funerals because he hated his relatives, killed 10 relatives and their neighbors in Samson, Ala.

These are all tragic stories and are now being used by advocates of scrapping the Second Amendment to further their cause. Their cause is to disarm the American citizenry. In 3 of the above 5 shootings, an armed citizen could have stopped the maniacs with a single well placed shot. In the other two situations, there were already laws the prohibit ex-felons and those dishonorably discharged from owning firearms.

Like the lies being told about American guns flooding into Mexico, these tragedies are being used by a corrupt fascist crusaders to further a cause that will not make law abiding citizens safer but will make the criminals and disturbed more free to rape, rob, murder and steal.

Our Second Amendment rights are not there to allow for "sporting" uses only. They are their to protect us from violence, both from the criminal element and from our own government. Our Second Amendment rights are our only guarantee of our right to revolution against a government that no longer adheres to the Constitution of the United States of America. Read the Constitution, revolution is one of our rights. As our government continues to run roughshod over the Constitution I expect they will take greater steps to try to emasculate the Second Amendment under the momentum that such vile acts as mentioned above create.

Do not fall for it. A honest, law abiding and armed citizen like me might very well be the only thing standing between a criminal or a deranged person and you.

Immigration Part Two – What Causes Illegal Immigration?

2009-04-08T14:30:00Z

The questions of the causes of illegal immigration are seldom addressed with level heads. One side would have you ignore the causalities entirely and focus solely on the criminal and security aspects of illegal immigration. The other side would have the debate steered entirely toward philosophical discussions of concepts such as “racism”, “bigotry”, “social justice”, and a more nebulous “fairness”. There is a bonafide ideological schism between the conservative and liberal points of view; each viewpoint can be backed up with a logical argument. It is when the arguments become specious, when straw men are set up to make disconnected points, when the causal factors of the current problem are not addressed that the argument is relegated to brash name calling and a counterproductive hatred is nurtured that assures the root causes will never be adequately addressed.

I will assert that the prime cause of illegal immigration is a byproduct of the beauty and genius of the Constitution of the United States of America: Freedom and Opportunity. These are the very foundations of our country and who in their right mind would not want Freedom and Opportunity?

Little Background
My ancestors fled lands that lacked opportunity (jobs, education, and even food) for America. In many respects they, like the Mexican immigrant of today, were economic refugees. They left with dreams of providing a better life for their posterity than they had. They worked hard. They faced opposition. They sacrificed, struggled, failed and started over. The first generation got by, the second generation got some education and joined the trades, the third generation went to college and became professionals: The American Dream. The primary difference in my family’s story and that of today’s immigrant is that there was no governmental “safety net” and the concept of the “welfare state” was still a distant nightmare. They came and succeeded or failed on their own effort, determination, sacrifice, deferred gratification and faith. When things got hard they doubled their efforts; everyone pitched in, when failure was too much to compensate in some other way, family, community and church filled the gap.

The Cause
So a desire for opportunity and freedom is the core cause of illegal immigration. The flip side of this is a lack of opportunity in their home country. The increased governmental services available today in the U.S.A. (food stamps, healthcare, housing subsidies, free public education) are an additional inducement that encourages illegal immigration. A lack of enforcement at the employer level also encourages illegal immigration.

Conclusion
The fact that there is a mass of humanity that wants to be part of the American Dream should be celebrated; it is a testament to the enduring values that made America great. Managing immigration in a sustainable way, integrating immigrants into non-hyphenated American society, giving boot-strap opportunity to all who are willing to earn their own way is the implied responsibility of all the free people of the world.

Immigration - Introduction Part One - What is Legal and Illegal Immigration?

2009-04-07T13:40:00Z

Immigration is one of the most miss-understood, hot-button, polarizing issues in American Politics. There are a number of understandable reasons for this,; fear, ignorance, culture, economics, religion… and there are a number of nefarious and exploitative reasons as well.   I propose that the issues surrounding immigration have been, and continue to be, exploited by those on both the right and the left of the American spectrum for the sole means of garnering control, expanding power and enriching their person.

Immigration - Introduction

There are two types of immigration, legal and illegal. Legal immigration consists of all forms of systematic processes by which one receives official sanction for permanent residency in the United States (LPR – Legal Permanent Residency). Since the last major decline in legal US Immigration in 1992, an approximate average just over 1-million individuals receive legal residency annually. There are three classes of legal immigrants: 1) Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens 2) Refugees and Asylees 3) “Other” which makes up less than 10% of legal immigration .

There are bureaucratic diversity numbers, preference classes and special legislative classes of legal immigrations. The 1990 Immigration Act put annual limits of 416,000 to 675,000 individuals for family sponsorship, employment and diversity. Family-sponsored immigrants must be unmarried sons or daughters and their children; spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents and their children; married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and their spouses and children; and brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens aged 21 and over, and their spouses and children. (Whew! That is a boatload of family classifications!)

Employment Preferences are in five categories; priority workers; professionals with advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability; skilled workers, professionals (without advanced degrees), and needed unskilled workers; special immigrants (e.g., ministers, religious workers, and employees of the U.S. government abroad); and employment creation immigrants or “investors.” The employment preference limit is equal to 140,000 plus any unused family preferences from the previous year.

Refugees and asylees who adjust to LPR status are exempt from preference and diversity annual numerical limits. The number of persons who may be admitted to the United States as refugees each year, as defined by the Refugee Act of 1980, is established by the President in consultation with Congress. The ceiling on refugee admissions was set at 70,000 each year from 2003 to 2008. There is no numerical limit on the number of persons who can be granted asylum status in a year.

Refugees are eligible to adjust to legal permanent resident status after one year of residence in the United States. Asylees must also wait one year after they are granted asylum to apply for lawful permanent residence.

Diversity immigrants are nationals of countries with low rates of legal immigration to the United States. The annual Diversity limit has been 50,000 since 1999. Nationals of countries with more than 50,000 numerically limited admissions during the preceding five years are excluded from participating in the Diversity Program. The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) calculates Diversity limits for six broad world regions using data collected by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The limits are calculated annually using a formula based on immigrant admissions during the preceding five years and the population total of the region. The maximum limit per country is 3,850.

All that DHS legalese to say that approximately 1,000,000 people may legally immigrate to the United States per year and get on the road toward naturalization.   Under the current legal regime, immigration should account for just over 20% of annual population growth. In 2008, according to the CIA World Fact Book, the U.S. birth rate was 14.18 per 1000, up 0.14% from the previous year. The roughly equates to 4,250,000 new U.S citizens per year. Or in other words, 1 in 5 new residence of the U.S. can be a foreign-born immigrant.

Illegal Immigrants are those who do not follow the established legal path to residency in the United States, or in other words have broken U.S. law to move to the United States. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has removed all their statistics relating to illegal immigration.

There are many heavily biased websites that have loaded statistics designed to support their positions and/or refute the “other sides” positions. These statistics are dubious at best. Estimates of illegal immigrants living in the United States range from 12 million to over 30 million.   One way of looking at this is there are most likely 2 to 3 individuals who migrate to the United States illegally for every individual who legally migrates; or 2 out of every 7 individuals (28%) of all population growth in the United States can be attributed to illegal immigration.

Many prefer the terms “undocumented workers” or “undocumented aliens”. This political correctness is heavily centered on the “pro-alien” side of the isle, and I feel it is inauthentic, overly sanitized, removes the onus of one’s illegal action from the actor, and is counter productive to finding a legal pathway toward citizenship. It the balance of this series on immigration we will label immigrants and immigrant issues with the following:

•   Illegal Immigrant – one who is living and/or working in the U.S.A without following the legal pathway to residency.
•   US Citizen with Illegal Immigrant Parents (C.L.I.P)
•   Legal Immigrant – one who is living and/or working in the U.S.A and has followed the legal pathway to residency.

Your ongoing input and feedback is welcome. I will post all opposing and agreeing view points under the following conditions: comments are civil, any quoted statistic is cited.

1 - 2008 Yearbook of Immigration from the Department of Homeland Security

Did Barack Obama Delcare the End to "American Exceptionalism"?

2009-04-06T13:10:00Z

American exceptionalism (def. "exceptionalism") refers to the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among developed nations in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins. The roots of the term are attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, who noted that the then-50-year-old United States held a special place among nations, because it was a country of immigrants and the first modern democracy.

Barack H. Obama's resent speech in Europe (France specifically), he declared that "In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world." In his defense, he also went on to tell the French that Europe often inappropriately places blame on America for all the world's ills and that we should all just "get along" (my paraphrase). This speech, which you can read in it's entirety online or catch some YouTube footage, was another teleprompter success, but in substance was very revealing in as much as it further reveals Obama's deep held distaste for American Exceptionalism.

This basic fallacy, that Europe is the World Leader, is the antithesis of the doctrine of American Exceptionalism that, during the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama claimed to believe in. The evidence strongly leads toward the fact that the Europeans can not even provide cohesive leadership for Europe, let alone the World. If you don't believe in the moral superiority of the American Ideal, then you can not defend it. If you don't believe in the supremacy of the US Constitution, that you are sworn to uphold and defend, you can not promote and propagate the very fundamental principals that it embodies.

This conciliatory, ass-kissing may make "The World" love us again, but it will be a superficial love lacking in substance and respect. As the world's last remaining superpower we have an obligation, even a moral imperative, to lead from a position of strength and rightness. Obama's European Vacation was a quantum leap backwards for American interest and American global leadership.