Monday, December 3, 2012

Sessions: Obama's 'Secret' Plan 'Increases Spending by More than $1 Trillion'


Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, is releasing a statement this evening that claims President Barack Obama's "secret" plan "increases spending by more than $1 trillion above the current baseline."
"In other words," Sessions adds, "spending will increase $1 trillion above the already projected growth after enactment of the Budget Control Act as part of the last debt deal. It achieves not one dollar in net spending reduction or debt reduction, and it continues the country on a dangerously unsustainable debt path."
The senator's comments come in response to a series of interviews Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner conducted on the Sunday morning talk shows. The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee is also basing his remarks on reports of details of President Obama's proposal, which he narrows down to these bullet points:
The President proposes growth over and above the BCA baseline, which already calls for spending growth every single year. Specifically, President calls for:
· More than $170 billion in stimulus spending, including $26 billion for extended unemployment benefits, $50 billion for transportation spending, and $90 billion for an extension of the payroll holiday (which is considered on-budget spending)
· The elimination of the $1.2 trillion sequester (half of the spending cuts exchanged in 2011 for the $2.1 trillion in previous debt limit increase) without corresponding spending cuts, resulting in a $1.2 trillion spending increase
· The unpaid-for ‘doc fix’ or Medicare reimbursements ($394 billion)
· Only $600 billion in mandatory ‘savings’ primarily achieved through further reductions in provider payments beyond those in the President’s health law, which do nothing to enhance the long-term sustainability of entitlement spending
Via: Weekly Standard

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EPA Continues Crackdown On Glass Manufacturing


The Environmental Protection Agency continued its crackdown on the glass manufacturing sector Monday.
The nation’s largest glass-container manufacturer has agreed to spend an estimated $37.5 million on reducing pollutant emissions after reaching a settlement with the EPA and the Department of Justice. The settlement was the fourth to result from EPA’s initiative to regulate glass manufacturers, which began in 2011.
Owens-Brockway Glass Container, headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio, and a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois (O-I), must also pay a combined $1.45 million to the federal government and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Equality.
“This agreement will significantly reduce the amount of air pollution, known to cause a variety of environmental and health problems, from the nation’s largest manufacturer of glass containers,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The settlement, the latest in a series of agreements with the glass manufacturing sector, addresses major sources of pollution at facilities located in four states and will mean cleaner air for the people living in those communities.”

Sunday, December 2, 2012

THE BIG FAIL: Putting The Pedal To The Metal


Geithner Takes The Wheel From Thelma And Louise In Flirting With Going Off The Fiscal Cliff


the_big_failToday, Secretary Of The Treasury Tim Geithner Couldn’t Promise That Obama And The Democrats Wouldn’t Send The Nation Off The Fiscal Cliff. FOX’s CHRIS WALLACE: “Last question, can you promise that we will not go over the cliff?” TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER: “No, I can’t promise that. That’s a decision that lies in the hands of the Republicans that are now opposing increases in tax rates. If they recognize the reality that we can’t afford to extend those tax rates, then we have the basis for an agreement that will be very good for the American people.
.
” WALLACE: “And the president bears no responsibility? It’s all up to the Republicans?” GEITHNER: “Chris, ask yourself this question: why does it make sense for the country to force tax increases on all Americans because a small group of Republicans want to extend tax rates for two percent of Americans? Why does that make any sense? There’s no reason why that should happen. We can’t afford those tax rates. That’s like the deep tragic lesson of the last decade. We can’t afford them, so we’re not going to get through it – we’re not going to the end now without a recognition from Republicans of that basic reality. And that’s going to be the responsible thing to do. And my judgment is they are going to do it because there’s no alternative to that.” (Fox’s ” Fox News Sunday,” 12/2/12)


THE BIG FAIL: Obama’s Campaign Towards The Fiscal Cliff


The Election Is Over, But Obama Is On The Campaign Trail In Pennsylvania Nearly A Month Before The Thelma And Louise Democrats Plunge Us Over The Cliff

the_big_fail
Today, Obama Will Be In Pennsylvania For A “Campaign-Style” Event Meant To Increase Pressure On Congress To Reach A Deal On The Fiscal Cliff. “Administration officials said Obama will hit the road this week for a campaign-style series of events with ordinary Americans, including a visit to a toy manufacturer in suburban Philadelphia on Friday. That trip and others will be aimed at increasing pressure on Congress to reach an agreement on heading off a series of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that are scheduled to begin in January.” (David Nakamura and Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Obama Public Relations Effort Aims To Avoid ‘Fiscal Cliff,’” The Washington Post , 11/27/12)

AS OBAMA HITS THE ROAD TO PENNSYLVANIA, HIS FELLOW DEMOCRATS IN D.C. ARE STARTING TO SING THE SAME TUNE ON GOING OFF THE CLIFF

“Call Them The Cliff Jumpers. A Growing Bloc Of Emboldened Liberals Say They’re Not Afraid To Watch Defense Spending Get Gouged And Taxes Go Up On Every American If A Budget Deal Doesn’t Satisfy Their Priorities.” (Seung Min Kim, “Fiscal Cliff: Will They Jump?,” Politico, 11/25/12)
The Washington Post Headline: “Democrats Threaten To Go Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ If GOP Fails To Raise Taxes.” (Lori Montgomery, “Democrats Threaten To Go Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ If GOP Fails To Raise Taxes,” The Washington Pos t , 7/15/12)
The Washington Post ‘s Greg Sargent Reports That White House Meetings About The Fiscal Cliff Have Conveyed A Willingness “To Go Over The Fiscal Cliff If Necessary.”“I’m told that representatives of major unions and progressive groups met privately this morning with senior Obama administration officials at the White House – and were pleased with what they heard. Things can always change at a moment’s notice. But attendees at this meeting came away convinced – for now – that the White House firmly believes it has the leverage in the fiscal cliff talks, and has no intention of budging on the demand for higher tax rates from the rich or on other core priorities. Indeed, one person at the meeting – which included people from the AFLCIO, AFSCME, SEIU, MoveOn and others – came away convinced that the White House would ultimately prove willing to go over the fiscal cliff if necessary, rather than give ground on core demands, though this is not by any means a desired option and isn’t being discussed as a strategic possibility.” (Greg Sargent, “Reasons To Be Encouraged About Fiscal Cliff’s Endgame,” The Washington Post ‘s The Plum Line , 11/23/12)

Pelosi Won’t Support First Amendment Rights Of Catholic Hospital In Her District


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(CNSNews.com) -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is Catholic, indicated on Friday that she supports forcing St. Mary’s Medical Center, the oldest continuously operating hospital in her San Francisco-based congressional district, to provide health plans to its workers that cover sterilizations, contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs free of charge even though the Catholic faith says this Catholic hospital may not do so because these things are intrinsically immoral.
"We are committed to furthering the healing ministry of Jesus," says the hospital's mission statement.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius--who, like Pelosi, is Catholic--issued the sterilization-contraception-abortifacient mandate as a regulation under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have repeatedly argued, including in numerous lawsuits, that the regulation violates the First-Amendment-guaranteed right to the free exercise of religion by Catholics and Catholic institutions.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama touted the regulation in many stump speeches during the recent campaign, saying that health plans would now be required to provide women with cost-free contraception.
The Catholic bishops of the United States unanimously endorsed a statement in June declaring the regulation an "unjust and illegal mandate." Many of the bishops had letters read to parishioners at Sunday Masses saying of the regulation: "We cannot--we will not--comply with this unjust law."
Bill Cox, head of the health care alliance that oversees St. Mary's, said the mandate is an "egregious encroachment by the federal government on the constitutionally protected authority of the church."
At the Capitol on Friday, CNSNews.com asked Pelosi: “Should St. Mary’s hospital, which is a Catholic institution in San Francisco, should it be required by the administration to provide its workers with a health plan that covers sterilization and contraception and abortifacients and [other] things that it disagrees with?”
Pelosi said, “I support the action taken by the president--the compromise, I think, is a reasonable one.”

Study: American Households Hit 43-Year Low In Net Worth


WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – The median net worth of American households has dropped to a 43-year low as the lower and middle classes appear poorer and less stable than they have been since 1969.
According to a recent study by New York University economics professor Edward N. Wolff, median net worth is at the decades-low figure of $57,000 (in 2010 dollars). And as the numbers in his study reflect, the situation only appears worse when all the statistics are taken as a whole.
According to Wolff, between 1983 and 2010, the percentage of households with less than $10,000 in assets (using constant 1995 dollars) rose from 29.7 percent to 37.1 percent. The “less than $10,000″ figure includes the numerous households that have no assets at all, or “negative assets,” which is otherwise known as “debt.”
According to a new NYU study, middle and lower-class household net worth has fallen to a 43-year low. (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)Over that same period of time, the wealthiest 1 percent of American households increased their average wealth by 71 percent.
As noted by Daily Finance, from 1983 to 2010 the share of total wealth held by the richest 10 percent of American households increased from 68.2 percent to 76.7 percent. Meanwhile, all the rest of Americans lost financial ground.
An August Pew Research Center study found that many in the middle-class are divided on how they believe his gap widened.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

WASHINGTON PROPOSES $1 TRILLION BAILOUT FOR DELINQUENT STUDENT LOANS


A possible $1 trillion bailout is coming—and soon.

America’s now-nationalized student loan industry just reached a value of $1 trillion, according to Citigroup, growing at a 20 percent-per-year pace. Since President Obama nationalized the industry (a tacked-on provision of the Obamacare bill), tuition has gone up 25 percent and the three-year default rate is at a record 13.4 percent.
Ron discussed this problem last night with Larry Kudlow:
With many young people unable to pay their loans (average graduating debt is about $29,000), Citigroup and others are speculating that this industry might be ripe for a bailout.
To pay off all the current defaults, Citigroup says it would cost taxpayers $74 billion. However, this number doesn’t include those who will default in the coming years, and, when the government rewards the defaulters, it will encourage more borrowers not to pay their debts.
And liberals in Congress have proposed forgiving all student loans via “The Student Loan Forgiveness Act 2012,” costing taxpayers $1 trillion.
Adding another $1 trillion dollars to the national debt isn’t exactly “forgiveness” for young people—it’s prolonging the payoff. In fact, student loan bailouts are a catch-22 for young people because they’re going to be held accountable for paying off the national debt and interest payments.
A student loan bailout will also be rewarding higher education bureaucrats for a diminished product. A college degree used to mean that a person would add on average $1 million to their income over their lifetime. Today a college degree only guarantees an average $300,000 in added income over a lifetime.
The answer isn’t a bailout. The student loan industry must to be returned to the private sector. Would a private lender ever invest $100,000 of their money in a student that had no plan? No.
It’s not about limiting access to college; it’s about making sure students have a well-thought out plan for their future before investors put a $100,000 stake in their education. College should be about specializing in a trade rather than defaulting to general studies that won’t lead to a job.
A civics education is important, but why would an employer hire someone with no applicable work skills, especially in a slow economy?
If we wish to end the incentives for bailouts, we need to hit higher education in the purse. Endless government money and bailouts won’t get our students jobs, and it won’t fix the problem.
Ron Meyer is the press secretary and a spokesman for American Majority Action. Celia Bigelow is the Campus Director for the same organization. Learn more at AmericanMajorityAction.org.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

CONGRESSMAN: OBAMA'S TAX INCREASES FUND GOVERNMENT FOR EIGHT DAYS


President Barack Obama has proposed raising taxes on the rich to put America's fiscal house in order, but critics say federal spending is so massive that the wealthy don't have enough money to cover the nation's unprecedented debt.

In an interview with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) said President Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy would only generate enough revenue to fund the federal government for eight days.
"The president’s plan to increase taxes on the upper two percent covers the spending by this federal government not for eight years, not for eight months, not for eight weeks but for eight days. Eight days only," said Mr. Price. "It’s not a real solution. So, again, I’m puzzled by an administration that seems to be more interested in raising tax rates than in gaining economic vitality."
The problem is that the rich don't have enough money to put so much as a dent in America's $16 trillion national debt. "If the IRS grabbed 100 percent of income over $1 million, the take would be just $616 billion," writes John Stossel. "That’s only a third of this year’s deficit. Our national debt would continue to explode."
Still, Mr. Obama's supporters persist in proposing tax hikes on the wealthy. On Sunday, billionaire Warren Buffett proposed a minimum tax for America's top earners. "We need Congress, right now, to enact a minimum tax on high incomes. I would suggest 30 percent of taxable income between $1 million and $10 million, and 35 percent on amounts above that."
There's just one problem with such an approach, says author Mark Steyn:
If you took every single penny that Warren Buffett has, it'd pay for 4-1/2 days of the US government. This tax-the-rich won't work. The problem here is the government is way bigger than even the capacity of the rich to sustain it. The Buffett Rule would raise $3.2 billion a year, and take 514 years just to pay off Obama's 2011 budget deficit.
Indeed, even Mr. Buffett seems to concede that he and the president's "soak the rich" proposals are more an act of political theater designed to generate an emotional response than serious solutions: Mr. Buffett told Matt Lauer he believes his proposal would boost the "morale of the middle class." 

Monday, November 26, 2012

ObamaCare's Insurance Exchange Nightmare


When the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare as a tax last summer, President Obama may have thought he could breathe a little easier. But now with the implementation of the law, Obama is just beginning his war with the states that refuse to implement ObamaCare exchanges needed for the legislation to work properly or at least, quickly.
The Obama administration faces major logistical and financial challenges in creating health insurance exchanges for states that have declined to set up their own systems.

The exchanges were designed as the centerpiece of President Obama’s signature law, and are intended to make buying health insurance comparable to booking a flight or finding a compatible partner on Match.com.
Sixteen states — most of them governed by Republicans — have said they will not set up their own systems, forcing the federal government to come up with one instead.

Another five states said they want a federal-state partnership, while four others are considering partnerships.

It's a situation no one anticipated when the Affordable Care Act was written. The law assumed states would create and operate their own exchanges, and set aside billions in grants for that purpose.
Essentially, states denying the exchanges forces the feds to do the work, as they should considering it is a federal law that balloons state budgets.
The work of beginning to implement the exchanges comes just in time for the fiscal cliff. Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor have hinted ObamaCare may be on the table as a negotiating piece for a deal.
The president’s health care law adds a massive, expensive, unworkable government program at a time when our national debt already exceeds the size of our country’s entire economy. We can’t afford it, and we can’t afford to leave it intact. That’s why I’ve been clear that the law has to stay on the table as both parties discuss ways to solve our nation’s massive debt challenge.

Meanwhile, the majority of Americans still despise ObamaCare and want it repealed.
Fifty percent (50%) of Likely U.S. Voters favor repeal of President Obama’s national health care law, while 44% are opposed to repeal, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Via: TownHall

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Friday, November 23, 2012

Obama will fire 20,000 Marines so he can give $6 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars to Muslims for ‘green’ energy


There are many things Obama hates, but only two things he really loves: Green energy and Muslims. And finally he’s found a way to put both together at the same time. And it will only cost U.S. taxpayers $6 billion dollars.

FrontPage Magazine  20,000 Marines are to be fired and the money is being used for Obama’s Green Energy companies and his Muslim empowerment program. 

Sure for that $6 billion, we might not have to fire those 20,000 Marines that Barry Hussein has decided to get of, and we wouldn’t have to cut their healthcare, the way his Center for American Progress has pushed him to do… but Muslims with Green Energy count more.

Now this U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Partnership for a Sustainable Energy Future is not supposed to be limited to just Muslims, but considering that it’s been announced with the leaders of two Muslim governments, one of them that of his favorite country, Indonesia, this looks like another expensive bout of Muslim pandering.



Wednesday, November 21, 2012

MSNBC President: 'This Channel Has Never Been the Voice of Obama. Ever.'


In an interview with the Huffington Post, MSNBC president Phil Griffin tries to push back against the notion that his channel has become a mouth-piece for President Barack Obama.
"This channel has never been the voice of Obama. Ever," Griffin tells Michael Calderone of the Huffington Post.  But, Calderone writes, "Griffin acknowledges that his hosts are more likely to agree with Obama on policy matters than with Republicans, but rejects comparisons to Fox News."
"People want to talk about Fox. Fox is the voice of the Republican Party," says Griffin to Calderone.
Griffin does, however, acknowledge to the left-leaningHuffington Post that many folks working at MSNBC have a "progressive sensibility."
"We hire smart people with a progressive sensibility. ... I tell them to go think for themselves. We don't have talking points," says Griffin.
The MSNBC president pledges to make sure Obama keeps "his campaign promises."
"We're going to hold Obama to his campaign promises," says Griffin. "And the fact is, there are many things that some of our hosts support him on. But basically, we have a standard, whether it's the war on terror or getting out of Afghanistan: Is he going to live up to his campaign promises?"
And Griffin compliments his employees for being "really smart" and not going "over the top" during the 2012 presidential campaign.
"What I really believe is we analyzed this election in a really smart way and we didn't go over the top,"Griffin tells Huffington Post. "We weren't just shilling for Obama. We were really smart. And people are responding to that now."

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Two More Stimulus-Backed Solar Companies Announce Layoffs


A pair of foreign-owned solar companies that benefited from a combined $84 million in Energy Department tax credits have announced they will lay off employees.
One of the companies, German-owned SolarWorld, was integral in the fight for tariffs against the importation of Chinese photovoltaic solar panels. The other, Chinese company SunTech, blamed those tariffs for its own layoffs.
Both companies benefited from the Energy Department’s stimulus-funded Advanced Energy Manufacturing (48C) Tax Credit. The 48C credit is worth up to 30% of the cost of manufacturing qualifying green energy projects.
Both companies announced this week that they will shed some employees. SolarWorld, which announced a 47% revenue decline in the third quarter, blamed a potential 37 layoffs at its Oregon plant on “illegal” Chinese trade practices.
SunTech said the U.S. International Trade Commission’s 35.95% tariff on Chinese solar panels was partially responsible for the 50 impending layoffs at its Arizona production facilities.
While heavy Chinese subsidies do reduce the cost of solar panels from that country, Heritage’s Derek Scissors warned against replicating those policies in testimonybefore the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June.
“The U.S. boasts a far better energy and environmental record than China,” Scissors explained, “and moving in China’s direction would be very risky.”
SunTech and SolarWorld are the latest additions to a long list of taxpayer-backed green energy companies that have gone bankrupt, laid off workers, or otherwise hit dire financial straits.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A LITTLE TIME OFF TO RECHARGE AND REDESIGN


UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!!

TAKING A VACATION AFTER  AN INCREDIBLY LONG AND DEPRESSING ELECTION SEASON. BUT DON'T FRET, I WILL BE BACK BIGGER AND BETTER THAN BEFORE WITH A NEW DESIGN AND NEW FEATURES THAT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Romney: I’ve Only Written A Victory Speech…


 (CNN) – Hours before the polls closed Tuesday, GOP nominee Mitt Romney told reporters on his plane that he's so confident in a win he's only prepared a victory speech.
"I've only written one speech at this point," Romney said, adding the text of that address was 1,118 words long.

Saying "intellectually" he's felt he was going to win the election for a long time, Romney said his final campaign stops in Ohio and Pittsburgh Tuesday gave him an emotional jolt as well that victory is within his grasp.
As for any campaign regrets, Romney said he had few.
"I'm very proud of the campaign we've run," Romney said, adding that "no campaign is perfect."
"I am very pleased. I feel we have put it all on the field. We left nothing in the locker room," the candidate said.

Voter Turnout Up for GOP, Down for Dems, So Far in Ohio ...


According to RNC officials, turnout is up in GOP Geauga County, Ohio where John McCain won with 57% of the vote and down in Athens County, the home of Ohio University and where Obama won with 67% in 2008. Early vote in Geauga? 125% of 2008. Athens? Down 10% from 2008.

SHOT: GOP county turnout up

• Plain DealerGeauga election chief predicts 80 percent voter turnout today
• Geauga County early vote was 125% more than 2008 early vote
• McCain won Geauga County with 57% and Bush got 60% in ‘04
CHASER: Dem county turnout down

• WOUBAthens County Election Officials: Morning Voter Turnout Low
• Athens County early vote was 10% less than 2008 early vote
• Obama won Athens County with 67%
Via: Fox News

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Federal Job Corps Vans Used to Bus Voters in Wisconsin


Media Trackers has found federal Job Corps vans being used to bus voters to at least one polling location in the City of Milwaukee. A van with federal plates and driven by a Job Corps employee was seen pulling up to the small polling station at the Clara Barton Elementary School in urban Milwaukee shortly after 1:00 pm on Tuesday. A Job Corps administrator inside the polling place said the federal vans had brought approximately 125 Job Corps participants to the poll as of early afternoon.
 
The administrator declined to give his name. The Job Corps is a division of the United States Department of Labor, a cabinet level agency that reports directly to President Obama, who is up for re-election today and who has campaigned hard in Wisconsin in recent days.
 
Poll workers inside the location struggled to handle the extra traffic created by the Job Corps participants brought in from a nearby training facility. A number of them were first time voters who had to be registered using Wisconsin’s same-day registration procedure. At one point a poll worker had to be asked by an unidentified election observer to confirm that a would-be registrant actually lived in the precincts served by the polling location.

Via: Media Trackers


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SPECIAL FORCES AND NAVY SEALS HEAD TO POLLS, COUNTER BLACK PANTHER PRESENCE


In 2008, union thugs and members of the New Black Panthers showed up at certain polling places in Ohio and Philadelphia to intimidate Republican voters. To be clear, they didn't say they were there for that reason. Rather, they said they were there to be sure everyone got to vote (wink, wink, nod, nod.)

Members of the New Black Panthers plan to be in Philly again today for the same reasons, ubiquitously, and union thugs will be joining them where possible.
Enter Retired Navy Captain Benjamin Brink, who is sending out "former and retired Special Forces and SEALS" to balance out the presence of the union thugs and New Black Panthers in Philly and elsewhere. Brink's goal is to be sure Romney supporters aren't intimidated into leaving the polls without voting, and to accomplish it, his slogan is "Get Out the Vet."
IMPORTANT: Brink makes it clear that the Special Forces and SEALS are not being sent to engage "intimidators" but to observe and report voter intimidation by Obama's thugs. In this way, those taking part in Brink's "Get Out the Vet" will be able to aide police and other officials on the ground whose personnel are simply spread too thin.
Here's the bottom line: Voters who may have otherwise been intimidated by union thugs or the presence of the New Black Panthers will certainly be encouraged when they see their polls flanked by heroes of the U.S. military: heroes driven not by the revenge Obama can't quit talking about, but by "Love of Country."
God bless Benjamin Brink and the Special Forces and SEALS that stand with him today. 


Middle Cheese: GOP Counties Turned Out for Early Voting


Middle Cheese checks in:
Just a brief report from the Big Cheeses at Team Romney about Ohio early/absentee voting: Obama is under-performing in Kerry-Obama counties, and Republicans are outperforming in McCain 08 counties. As of yesterday, in swing Hamilton County, there are 1,000 fewer Democrat and 800 more GOP early/absentee votes than at this point in 08. Ohio Republicans will turn out. But the key to a Romney victory in OH will be independent voters, who favor Romney by double-digits over Obama in 21 of the last 24 public opinion polls.
Via: National Review Online

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Philly Poll Workers Only Cover Face In Obama Mural, Leave Logo And Quote Visible…


Of course it is illegal to campaign inside a polling place.
Via RNC Deputy Communications Director, Tim Miller:
Update:

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