Conservative Happenings

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Desperate Dems Hide Behind Big Bird

by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2012

Mitt Romney sure ruffled a lot of feathers over his proposal to eliminate taxpayer funding for government-sponsored TV. As soon as the GOP presidential candidate singled out PBS for cuts during the presidential debate in Denver, the hysterical squawking commenced.

Left-leaning celebrities immediately erupted on Twitter. “WOW!!! No PBS!! WTF how about cutting congress’s stuff leave big bird alone,” Whoopi Goldberg fumed. “Mitt is smirky, sweaty, indignant and smug with an unsettling hint of hysteria. And he wants to kill BIG BIRD,” actress Olivia Wilde despaired. “Who picks on Big Bird!!! #bulliesthatswho,” actress Taraji Henson chimed in.

Social media activists called for a Million Muppet March on the National Mall to “show your support for Big Bird, Muppets, PBS and all that is good.” The grammar-challenged operatives of George Soros-funded Media Matters for America lectured “right-wing media” to be “more concerned with Americans having jobs insteading (sic) of obsessing whether or not Big Bird has one.”

Indignant PBS, which employs not-so-neutral debate moderator Jim Lehrer, issued a statement decrying Romney’s failure to “understand the value the American people place on public broadcasting and the outstanding return on investment the system delivers to our nation.” And President Obama, awakened from his beatdown-induced stupor, scurried the next morning to the safe confines of a campaign rally to mock Romney for “getting tough on Big Bird.”

The kiddie character kerfuffle is a manufactured flap that may play well to liberals in Hollywood and Washington. But beyond the borders of La-La Land, desperate Democrats who cling childishly to archaic federal subsidies look like cartoonish buffoons. Let’s face it: The Save Big Bird brigade is comically out of touch with 21st-century realities.

Via: Michelle Malkin

Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes

Obamacare law contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses

Taxpayers are reminded that the President’s healthcare law is one of the largest tax increases in American history.

Obamacare contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses.

Arranged by their respective effective dates, below is the total list of all $500 billion-plus in tax hikes (over the next ten years) in Obamacare, where to find them in the bill, and how much your taxes are scheduled to go up as of today:

Taxes that took effect in 2010:

1. Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new "community health assessment needs," "financial assistance," and "billing and collection" rules set by HHS. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,961-1,971

2. Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113

3. “Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105

4. Tax on Innovator Drug Companies ($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,971-1,980

5. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike ($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,004

6. Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399

Taxes that took effect in 2011:

7. Medicine Cabinet Tax ($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957-1,959

8. HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959

Tax that took effect in 2012:

9. Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Min$/Jan 2012): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957

Taxes that take effect in 2013:

10. Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013): Creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income: Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 87-93

Via: Americans for Tax Reforms

Pelosi, Sebelius are not representative of Catholic women, nine Catholic women write

PRINCETON, NJ, October 5, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) - According to some in today’s popular culture, being a “Catholic woman” is practically an oxymoron. In a newly-released book, nine women of faith seek to dispel that myth.

The book, Breaking Through: Catholic Women Speak for Themselves, is edited by Helen Alvaré, a Witherspoon Institute Senior Fellow in Princeton.

Alvaré recognized the need the “Catholic woman’s” story to be heard while observing popular culture and media increasingly treating the Catholic female as a split personality: a woman who, while she might say “yes” to the faith as a private source of comfort, should say “no” to its countercultural teachings on sex, contraception, marriage, child-rearing, and other ethical teachings of modernity.

In recent years the faithful Catholics, as well as hierarchy and canon lawyers, have tried to correct the perception that political figures like Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius are in good standing and representative of the typical Catholic female.

“But Catholic women themselves are in a different place,” stated Alvaré. “Faced with situations their grandmothers and even their mothers never imagined, they are faced with the question of whether a 2,000-year-old Church has anything to offer them at this moment in time. They are trying to make sense of the intersection of faith, modern science, and their contemporary, lived experience.”

Alvaré’s book attempts to show that the authentic Catholic woman’s life, while not being devoid of struggle and confusion, is lived quite differently than what is being portrayed by the popular culture.

Via: LifestyleNews

The Comeback of ‘President Teleprompter’

The euphoria of the clear Mitt Romney win over President Barack Hussein Obama at Wednesday’s first presidential debate requires a back-to-business blast of reality

Mitt won hands down and gave us the first positive sign that victory could be in sight. But getting there from here is going to be along a long, booby-trapped trail.

Truth is that anyone with something substantial to say could have done the same thing Romney did to President Teleprompter, who for four long years has been a moving target out on the campaign trail, if only because without the teleprompter there’s only ever been an empty suit.

“Where was Obama tonight?” asked an ostensibly nonplussed Chris Matthews after the debate.
The guy who gave you the tingle up your leg was right there, Chris, only finally stripped of his Messiah image in the unforgiving light of inadequacy.

With his head-down, skulking demeanor you just didn’t recognize what millions with no blinders saw back in 2007.

As inadequate and diminished as presidential candidate Mitt Romney made him look, your president was just who he really is and has always been, the empty suit and empty chair determined to win reelection.

Via: Canada Free Press

Continue Reading...

BENCHED: DWS MIA IN DEMOCRATS' PR BLITZ

Have you noticed that we've seen a lot less of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz recently? Since getting caught misrepresenting her own statements caught on tape in early September, she seems to have been relegated to the back bench.

Wednesday night was the first presidential debate, and Democrats had their various surrogates on hand to talk to the media. Rep. Wasserman-Schultz gave interviews to Univision, 7 News Colorado, and what appears to be a pre-debate interview with an ABC affiliate. She'll appear on Bloomberg TV this Sunday and she has a new profile in Vogue of all places, but these are not the sort of prime communications assignments she has had in the past.

Currently, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz is on a DNC bus tour making stops in places like Parma, Ohio and Dubuque, Iowa along with Sandra Fluke. These are swing states, so the GOTV efforts there are important. Still, the assignment also has the effect of relegating Debbie to small gatherings of like-minded Democrats and appearances on local news affiliates.

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz's semi-retreat from the public eye seems to have begun in early September when a scandal erupted over some comments she attributed to the Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. She claimed, in front of a group of Jewish voters, that the ambassador had said Republicans were "dangerous" for Israel.

After the comments were published by Philip Klein at the Examiner, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz claimed she had never made them. At this point, Klein published his audiorecording of the statement, which clearly proved she had said exactly what he claimed. If that weren't bad enough, Oren denied "categorically" that he had ever said such a thing.

Within a couple days of the controversy, Politico piled on with a story suggesting that Wasserman-Schultz's future within the Democratic Party appeared hazy:

People close to Wasserman Schultz say she isn’t likely to serve a second term at the DNC. On top of that, her supporters have written her off as a candidate for statewide races in Florida. They also say she would be ill-fitted to serve in Obama’s administration. In short, her options are few.

For now, her only option seems to be riding the bus in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being thrown under it.

Via: Breitbart

Friday, October 5, 2012

Poll: Romney In Post-Debate Surge, Now Leads In Battleground States Florida, Virginia, Ohio…

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's widely-acknowledged victory in Wednesday's presidential debate has helped him to draw even or slightly ahead in several key swing states, according to polls released Friday

A poll by We Ask America found Mr. Romney leading President Obama by 3 percentage points in Florida and Virginia and by 1 point in Ohio, after polls have consistently shown the president leading over the past month.

The firm conducted a previous poll two weeks ago that showed Mr. Obama with 3-point leads in Florida and Virginia.

A poll released Friday by Rasmussen Reports also shows the president clinging to a 1-point lead in Ohio, but that Mr. Romney has overtaken him by 1 point in Virginia.

Rasmussen's previous polls in the state were conducted in mid-September and showed the president leading by a percentage point in Ohio and Virginia.

Via: Washington Times

Continue Reading...

FUZZY MATH?: CNBC DESCRIBES NEW UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS AS 'CONTRADICTORY'

As soon as ex-General Electric CEO Jack Welch fired off a tweet questioning today's just released "unbelievable jobs numbers," the media went into a frenzy talking about how "conservatives" were launching conspiracy theories. Well, that's handy for the media and the Obama campaign, but it's not just "conservatives" who are confused by a full 0.3% drop in unemployment when only 114k jobs were created.

CNBC is as confused as the rest of us:

Job growth remained tame in September, with the economy creating just 114,000 net new positions though the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent, the first time it has been below 8 percent in 43 months.

The report presented a slew of contradictory data points, with the total employment level soaring despite the low net number.

The falling jobless rate had been a function as much of the continued shrinking in the labor force as it was an increase in new positions.

On the air, CNBC seemed equally perplexed by the biggest one-time drop in the unemployment rate in 29 years!

ABC News' Chris Cuomo is also skeptical of the numbers:

That "not fixed" tag smells a little like sarcasm to me.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that the U-6, the longtime underemployment and unemployment number, remained fixed at a dismal 14.7%.

Via: Breitbart

Study: Green Cars Cause As Much Or More Pollution Than Gas Cars

Electric cars might cause as much or more pollution than conventional gas vehicles, according to researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

According to a study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, “the production phase of electric vehicles proved substantially more environmentally intensive” than the production process for traditional gas-powered cars.

Specifically, the study found that electric car factories can emit more toxic waste than gas-burning car factories. And greenhouse gas emissions rise exponentially if coal is used to produce the electricity necessary to charge “green” vehicles, according to the study.

The researchers compared the overall life-cycle impact of petrol or diesel-powered cars and electric vehicles and concluded that the latter can significantly damage the climate.

“The global warming potential from electric vehicle production is about twice that of conventional vehicles,” the report said. “It is counterproductive to promote electric vehicles in regions where electricity is primarily produced from lignite, coal or even heavy oil combustion.”

Batteries and electric motors are composed of minerals like nickel, copper and aluminum, which are toxic.

The authors of the study acknowledged, however, that “a more significant reduction in global warming could potentially be achieved by increasing fuel efficiency or shifting from petrol to diesel.”

Via: The Daily Caller

TRICKLE-DOWN GOVERNMENT: JOBS NUMBERS INFLATED BY PUBLIC SECTOR HIRES

Cash-strapped state governments and the federal government added thousands of jobs in July, August and September, boosting overall jobs numbers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced today that it had revised jobs numbers for July and August upwards, with revised gains coming from public sector jobs.

According to the BLS, government jobs grew 18,000 in July, 45,000 in August, and 10,000 in September, accounting for nearly 17% of total gains. Those government increases reverse the trend of recent years, in which public sector jobs had been cut while the private sector had experienced modest job growth.

Update: In addition, the revisions meant that instead of shrinking by 28,000 jobs in July and August, as previously reported, state and federal governments grew by 63,000 across the same period--a net shift of 91,000.

The total number of jobs added in September was 114,000, according to the BLS--well below the monthly average in recent years, and far below the July jobs increase, which had been described as good.

Economists had predicted a rise of 111,000 to 113,000 jobs--but that rise would have meant a rise in the unemployment rate from 8.1% to 8.2% (Update: given long-term labor force trends).

With the large revisions from the BLS--revising private sector jobs down, and public sector jobs up--the modest rise in September jobs coincided with an unusually dramatic drop in the unemployment rate, causing some experts to greet the new numbers with puzzlement.

Government jobs are an important part of the explanation.

Via: Breitbart

Head Scratching: Unemployment Ticks Down, Harry Reid Blames Republicans for Obstructionist Tactics

This morning’s release of the recent jobs report numbers report this morning shows the lowest unemployment in 44 months and predictably, the Left is celebrating the news. But even though unemployment has dipped below eight percent, one prominent Democrat is slamming Republicans for obstructionist tactics that he claims contributed to this still high number.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) issued a series of tweets this morning reacting to the latest jobs report and most of his comments were positive. But amidst hiscelebratory tweets about the economy being “on the right track,” he said, “We could move faster if Republicans dropped obstruction, yet Sen. McConnell said his ‘single most important’ goal was defeating Pres. Obama.”

Shortly after that statement, he tweeted, “It’s time for Republicans to put politics aside, and put the middle class first.”

It’s curious that in the midst of this seemingly good news, Reid would throw Republicans under the bus for getting in the way and not allowing them to “move faster.” Reid must have forgotten that for ¾ of Obama’s first term in office, Democrats had control of Congress: translation, Obama and the Democrats possessed the ability to pass, i.e. ram through, legislation to help with the dismal unemployment number, which, for the majority of Obama’s administration, was above eight percent.

Also, while Reid has cause to celebrate more Americans in the workforce, he also fails to realize or is simply ignoring that a 7.8 percent unemployment rate is still way above the less than six percent unemployment that President Obama promised we would see in 2012.

Via: Red Alert Politics

Report: Soldiers Urged Not To Engage Taliban At Night So Sleeping Locals Are Not Disturbed

Reports indicate U.S. soldiers and British Royal Marines have been urged to show "courageous constraint" by not shooting Taliban members spotted planting IEDs.

The reason? Shooting them might disturb the locals.

This news comes out on the heels of an investigation into the death of Royal Marine Sergeant Peter Rayner, whom witnesses say watched the Taliban plant IEDs at night but was ordered not to engage them. Families of other soldiers and Royal Marines are telling stories of how their loved ones were not allowed to use mortars or night illumination when they came across Taliban members in an area full of IEDs.

The reason given was that "the sound of shooting 'might wake up and upset the locals.'"

This is not "courageous restraint" -- this is appeasement.

Via: Breitbart

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Have you noticed that we've seen a lot less of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz recently? Since getting caught misrepresenting her own statements caught on tape in early September, she seems to have been relegated to the back bench.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Reports indicate U.S. soldiers and British Royal Marines have been urged to show "courageous constraint" by not shooting Taliban members spotted planting IEDs.

Popular Posts