The Colorado recall was about more than gun control

There was much more going on in Tuesday's recall elections Colorado than an up and down vote on Second Amendment Issues. We may be looking at a bipartisan rebellion against a problem that afflicts both parties: lawmakers passing laws that make them feel virtuous but which are either ineffectual or actually make life worse for the voters. It was arrogance and overreaching that deposed the leader of the Colorado State Senate and a female Hispanic Democrat from a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 24 percent.

As Glenn Reynolds noted after the Newtown mass shooting, what we really need is a waiting period for laws.

After every tragedy, legislation gets rushed through that's typically just a bunch of stuff that various folks had long wanted all along, but couldn't pass before. Then it's hustled through as a "solution" to the tragedy, even though close inspection usually reveals that the changes wouldn't have prevented the tragedy, and don't even have much to do with it.

Legislators like news stories that praise them for responding to the media's cry to Do Something! They also know there are seldom stories about how the media' preferred solution had unintended consequences because the media shares the political class's bias that all problems need a government solution-preferably the federal government, but state governments will do. Perhaps on Tuesday in two Democrat leaning districts voters rejected this approach. 

Could this be possible?  Consider how Public Policy Polling got burned in this recall election. 

Via: American Thinker

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Obama and Putin Tag Team no match for American Patriotism

Arrogant, but completely Marxist that two of the world’s top egos would turn around and blame American exceptionalism

Other than in their own ego-inspired imaginations, neither Barack Obama nor Vladimir Putin is too big to fail,  especially when braggadocio notwithstanding, they fall backwards into their own propaganda trap.

Both preside as presidents over soft tyrannies, one ruling what is left of a country that ruled with the brutal fist of Communism for 70 long years; the other who sees forced Marxism on an unwilling Republic as the fastest ticket to malcontent retribution and lifetime power.

Don’t fall into the trap that Obama and Putin are sworn enemies,  or that the more ‘manly’ Putin has trumped Obama and is on America’s side.  Both Obama and Putin work toward the same end: the elimination of America as world super power and the last place for freedom lovers to run to on Mother Earth.

Even the most cunning of Marxists politicians leave telltale signs for the masses they regard as dumbed down and asleep.  In this case, you don’t need a Colombo to see the giveaway signs.  Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin both use the same descriptions in deliberately undermining the USA.  It’s all that “American exceptionalism”, don’t ya’ know.

How arrogant, but completely Marxist that two of the world’s top egos would turn around and blame American exceptionalism for the ills they attribute to the USA.

Via: Canada Free Press

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Obama picks former acting budget chief Zients as economic adviser

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama has chosen former acting budget chief Jeffrey Zients to replace Gene Sperling as his top economic adviser, marking a shakeup in his advisory team while the White House struggles to gain traction for its economic agenda.

Sperling, a longtime economic adviser to Obama and to former President Bill Clinton, will stay through the fall to help with what are expected to be contentious talks with Congress about the budget and the U.S. debt ceiling. Sperling steps down on January 1.

Zients, a familiar figure at the White House, served two stints as acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, but was passed over for the top job.

"I am certain that in Jeff's hands we will continue to have strong leadership of our economic policy team and his advice will be critical as we keep moving this country forward and building an economy where everyone who works hard can get ahead," Obama said in a statement on Friday.

The president has tried to boost his public emphasis on jobs and the economy with tours this summer focused on housing policy and making higher education more affordable, but his message has been eclipsed largely by the attention in Washington on potential U.S. military strikes againstSyria.

Sperling, who worked on tax reform and job creation measures during his White House tenure, was "was central to designing policies to help support the housing recovery and was a driving force behind our manufacturing agenda and our efforts to attract jobs and investment to the United States," Obama said.

Via: Reuters

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California lawmakers approve measure to allow driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants

In the waning hours of the 2013 legislative session, the Assembly on Thursday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses.

The surprise 55-19 vote moved California a signature away from putting into law a measure that immigrant advocates have sought fruitlessly for years, with past attempts thwarted by legislative vote and gubernatorial veto.

“This is a moment, members,” sponsor Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, said in closing remarks on the Assembly floor, “that years from now you’re going to look back on.”

In a statement released shortly after the vote, Brown signaled he will sign the bill.

“This bill will enable millions of people to get to work safely and legally,” Brown said in the statement. “Hopefully, it will send a message to Washington that immigration reform is long past due.”

Earlier Thursday, the state Senate resuscitated the left-for-dead bill on a 28-8 vote and returned it to the Assembly, marking an apparent reversal: Alejo had said Wednesday that he would defer action on the measure until January.

Via: Sacramento Bee

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Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/13/5732492/california-lawmakers-approve-measure.html#storylink=cpy

Doug Schoen: Obama Opts to Delay and Diffuse

In Tuesday’s address President Obama didn’t change any minds. And he certainly didn’t offer any answers to the litany of questions from congressmen, senators, commentators and everyday Americans that have been posed since the President came out in support of a military strike in Syria.

“A diplomatic resolution is always preferred over military action, but what would that resolution entail, and who will broker it?” Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a statement after the speech.

Sen. Pat Toomey said that, “the president’s presentation today leaves a lot of unresolved questions. I will continue seeking more answers before deciding whether to support a military intervention in Syria.”

Indeed, President Obama did not make the case that any military strike would have any consequential impact on degrading the chemical weapons the Syrians have now acknowledged exist. 

And he didn’t make a specific case about what a military strike would achieve beyond speaking in generalities about the arguable serious need to retaliate in kind for the chemical attack that occurred on Aug. 21st.

Via: Newsmax

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[CARTOON] A “Transparent” Environment

Via: California Political Review

Sen. Lee on Obamacare: ‘Morally Unacceptable...to Allow This Law to Continue to be Implemented'

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Mike Lee (R.-Utah), who has been a leading advocate for Congress to prohibit funding for Obamacare, told CNSNews.com on Thursday that it would be “morally unacceptable” for Congress to vote for the funding to allow Obamacare to continue to be implemented.

Lee also said he believes that Obamacare, as the administration is planning to implement it, violates the freedom of religion by forcing individuals to buy health insurance plans that cover abortion-inducing drugs even if doing so is against the teachings of their faith.

Lee’s assertion on funding Obamacare, and thus allowing the administration to continue to implement it, came in response to a question about whether he believed it was morally acceptable for Congress to vote to give the administration the money to implement an Obamacare regulation that will force Christians and other Americans to buy coverage for abortion-inducing drugs or to provide Americans with subsidies they can use to buy health plans that cover abortions.

Via: CNS News

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HOT DEBATE: Juan Williams and Michelle Malkin Battle Over Obama’s Handling of Syria

Malkin Fights Juan Williams on Hannity Over Syria: ‘Rodeo Clown’ Obama Completely ‘Incompetent’

By Josh Feldman, Mediaite.com

Michelle Malkin got into a shouting match with Juan Williams on Sean Hannity‘s show over Syria and President Obama‘s handling of the situation. Williams was astounded at the sudden isolationist turn both Hannity and Malkin have taken, while Malkin slammed Obama as an “incompetent” “rodeo clown.”

Hannity confronted Williams about the supposedly moderate rebel forces in Syria. Malkin drew attention to the people being attacked by the rebels, while Williams argued it’s hard to control who people will elect when you get involved in their affairs. Hannity cried, “Then stay out of it!” Williams asked, “You’re an isolationist all of a sudden?”

Malkin shot back, “It’s called patriotism.” She said that beyond the “moral muddle” of helping enemies of America, the majority of Americans doubt that the “rodeo clown in the White House” know “what the hell they’re doing,” calling the Obama team “incompetent.” Williams told Malkin, “Because of your hatred of Obama, you’re turning your back on America!”

Via: Fox News

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[VIDEO] Dems Blast Tea Party 'Anarchists'-- But Admit 'Many of the Public Is Against Obamacare'

(CNSNews.com) - Following a meeting Thursday with Republican congressional leaders, four Senate Democrats stepped up to the microphones on Capitol Hill to express their disgust with tea party conservatives who "seem to live in an alternative universe (and) keep demanding the impossible," in the words of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The Democrats marginalized conservative Republicans, using adjectives such as "rabid," "anarchists," "willful," "extreme," and "guerrilla" to describe tea party attempts to pass a continuing resolution that funds all of government, except for the health care law that passed without a single Republican vote.

Via: CNS News

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A Puzzled Ed Schultz Marvels: 'It Amazes Me That People Don't Love Obama'

A perplexed Ed Schultz on Friday couldn't fathom why Americans have failed to "love Obama." The MSNBC anchor highlighted a new poll showing that the President only has a 45 percent approval rating. Schultz marveled, "I just cannot believe this number. Seriously."

The confused host sputtered, "It amazes me that people don't love Obama...It just amazes me he can't get above 50 percent when it comes to a favorable view of the economy." [MP3 audio here. See video below.] Schultz also took time to trash Ronald Reagan, the man who won 49 states in his 1984 reelection bid.

Schultz tried to convince his viewers that the economy is in fantastic shape. Perhaps it's headlines such as this one from the liberal New York Times that are stopping Americans from truly "loving" Obama: "Many Rival Nations Surge Past the U.S. in Adding New Jobs."

Times writer Nelson Schwartz in June wrote:

[C]ontrary to the widespread view that the United States is an island of relative prosperity in a global sea of economic torpor, employment in several other nations has bounced back more quickly, according to a new analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Via: Newsbusters

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Decisiveness Overrated? White House Thinks Yes

President Barack Obama’s Syria strategy may not have been particularly decisive, but that’s not a bad thing, according to the White House.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney defended his boss Thursday after a blistering few weeks of criticism in Congress and elsewhere over his handling of the Syria crisis.

Carney said the American people “appreciate a president who doesn’t celebrate decisiveness for decisiveness’ sake.” He also said Americans like that Obama is open to “new information” and adjusts his course accordingly.

Carney said that in the end, the president will deserve credit if the diplomatic initiative with Russia to get Syria to give up its chemical weapons arsenal succeeds.

Carney brushed off criticism from the Syrian rebels that simply taking Assad’s chemical weapons does not hold him accountable for the gassing of his citizens.

And he reacted strongly to Vladimir V. Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times, which ripped Obama for calling America “exceptional.” But Carney didn’t go so far as to say the president was “insulted,” as Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, did earlier Thursday.

“We’re not surprised by President Putin’s words. But the fact is that Russia offers a stark contrast that demonstrates why America is exceptional,” Carney said.

“Unlike Russia, the United States stands up for democratic values and human rights in our own country and around the world. And we believe that our global security is advanced when children cannot be gassed to death by a dictator,” he said.

Carney said Russia “is isolated and alone in blaming the opposition for the chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21.”

And he said that there’s “a great irony” in Putin placing an op-ed “because it reflects the truly exceptional tradition in this country of freedom of expression. And that is not a tradition shared in Russia.”

That said, Carney sought to keep the pressure on Russia to deliver on its proposal with a verifiable, timely destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Russia “has put its prestige and credibility on the line in backing this proposal to have Syria, the Assad regime, give up the chemical weapons that until two days ago it claimed it did not have [and] turn them over to international supervision with the purpose of eventually destroying them.”

Via: Roll Call

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Colorado flood: "Wall of water" flattens out in Boulder

A "wall of water," predicted by the National Weather Service flattened out early Friday morning.

But the flash flood warning for Boulder County continues until 6 a.m. and more rain is expected during the night.

Separately, the NWS has also issued a flood emergency for the Big Thompson Canyon and the town of Loveland, as rain continued to fall there as well. NOAA reported that the Big Thompson River at Drake is more than 4 feet above its flood stage of 6 feet.

Larimer County officials, including Sheriff Justin Smith, warned residents of the Big Thompson Canyon on Twitter and other social media to seek higher ground and the weather service extended the flash flood warning until 8 a.m.

The NWS said in a statement that the floodwaters will continue to rise until sunrise. At 10.55 feet, the Big Thompson was running higher than it did during its deadly flood in 1976 — 9.3 feet.

Meanwhile, Fort Collins city officials closed bridges after a late-night surge on the Poudre River, after water began topping Seaman Reservoir in the Poudre Canyon. The city warned residents to stay clear of the river.

In Boulder, officials announced before midnight that they were tracking a large "wall of water, containing debris and vehicles," as it made its way down Emerson Gulch from the Fourmile burn area .

Gabi Boerkircher, a Boulder spokeswoman, said a drainage gulch at the edge of the Four Mile burn scar that was holding a large amount of water has burst, and released a 30-foot wall of water carrying debris including vehicles.

At 12:30 a.m. Boerkircher said the surge of water seemed to have flattened to between 6 and 7 feet deep. Shortly after that, spokeswoman Sarah Huntley told 7News that the flow in the creek had started to slow.

The surge of water knocked out area sensors monitoring the creek.

She said it is unknown if anybody has been trapped in that debris as it makes its way down to Boulder Canyon.

Via: Denver Post

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Krauthammer Op-ed: The Fruits Of Epic Incompetence

The president of the United States takes to the airwaves to urgently persuade the nation to pause before doing something it has no desire to do in the first place.

Strange. And it gets stranger still. That “strike Syria, maybe” speech begins with a heart-rending account of children consigned to a terrible death by a monster dropping poison gas. It proceeds to explain why such behavior must be punished. It culminates with the argument that the proper response — the most effective way to uphold fundamental norms, indeed human decency — is a flea bite: something “limited,” “targeted” or, as so memorably described by Secretary of State John Kerry, “unbelievably small.”

The mind reels, but there’s more. We must respond — but not yet. This “Munich moment” (Kerry again) demands first a pause to find accommodation with that very same toxin-wielding monster, by way of negotiations with his equally cynical, often shirtless, Kremlin patron bearing promises.

The promise is to rid Syria of its chemical weapons. The negotiations are open-ended. Not a word from President Obama about any deadline or ultimatum. And utter passivity: Kerry said hours earlier that he awaited the Russian proposal.

Why? The administration claims (preposterously, but no matter) that Obama has been working on this idea with Putin at previous meetings. Moreover, the idea was first publicly enunciated by Kerry, even though his own State Department immediately walked it back as a slip of the tongue.

Take at face value Obama’s claim of authorship. Then why isn’t he taking ownership? Why isn’t he calling it the “U.S. proposal” and defining it? Why not issue a U.S. plan containing the precise demands, detailed timeline and threat of action should these conditions fail to be met?

Via: Washington Post

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