All About the Bernies
Sanders generated national criticism this month when he referred to the Arizona shootings in a fundraising e-mail. A Newsweek magazine column cited Sanders as one of the 10 "worst offenders" of those trying to "cash in" on the shootings. (Burlington Free Press, 1/29/11)
Far Left Newsweek confirms that Bernie is one of the worst.
Rebound Interruptus
A U.S. district judge on Monday threw out the nation's health care law, declaring it unconstitutional because it violates the Commerce Clause and surely reviving a feud among competing philosophies about the role of government. (Foxnews.com, 1/31/11)
The much heralded Obama rebound goes flat.
Poly Sci Fi
“We have three branches of government. We have a House. We have a Senate and we have a President. All three of us are going to have to come together…” New York Senator Chuck Schumer.*
Democrat Schumer was widely ridiculed for this faux pas. Just kidding! He’s not a Republican, hence it is ignored. Sarah Palin anyone?
* Thanks to bobcod
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
RedStateVT Uncovers Proof of Media Corruption
First, we recall that the daily count of fallen American soldiers during the Bush presidency has disappeared from the media’s reporting. Proof positive is that President Obama has not yet been asked the question that reporters asked President Bush every five minutes: "Mr. President, can you name three mistakes that you have made?"
Milquetoast
And then there was Michele Bachmann. As the leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the House, the Minnesota Republican gave her own, unauthorized response to the State of the Union, live from the National Press Club, filmed by Fox News, broadcast live on CNN and telecast by the Tea Party Express. It had all the altitude of a punch to the gut. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 1/26/11)
No sooner does he swear off writing about Sarah Palin, Milbank has now found another strong conservative woman to obsess about: Michelle Bachmann. Why is he so afraid of women?
Accounting For
Their message was both reassuring and cautionary. On the one hand, said Stephen Barraclough, who manages BT, the company has ceased hemorrhaging money. It is cash-flow positive, he said (excepting interest payments)….(Burlington Free Press, 1/28/11)
Ahh, the Burlington Telecom farce continues. Still no indictments for the stolen money and lots of promises of good times to come. But, explain something to us……cash flow positive except for interest payments. Isn’t that the same thing as being debt-free, not counting your debts?
Milquetoast
And then there was Michele Bachmann. As the leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the House, the Minnesota Republican gave her own, unauthorized response to the State of the Union, live from the National Press Club, filmed by Fox News, broadcast live on CNN and telecast by the Tea Party Express. It had all the altitude of a punch to the gut. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 1/26/11)
No sooner does he swear off writing about Sarah Palin, Milbank has now found another strong conservative woman to obsess about: Michelle Bachmann. Why is he so afraid of women?
Accounting For
Their message was both reassuring and cautionary. On the one hand, said Stephen Barraclough, who manages BT, the company has ceased hemorrhaging money. It is cash-flow positive, he said (excepting interest payments)….(Burlington Free Press, 1/28/11)
Ahh, the Burlington Telecom farce continues. Still no indictments for the stolen money and lots of promises of good times to come. But, explain something to us……cash flow positive except for interest payments. Isn’t that the same thing as being debt-free, not counting your debts?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wonder World
The New Civility
A Spanish-language newspaper in Atlanta, El Nuevo, has published a doctored photo of new governor Nathan Deal in a brown Nazi uniform complete with a fake Hitler mustache. El Nuevo Georgia said its complaint with the Republican governor has to do with strong anti-immigrant rhetoric he used during the campaign last year. (Politicsdaily, 1/25/11)
Democrats expressed outrage at the actions of El Nuevo in light of the national cry for civility. Just kidding!
Concessions
As several of his own aides concede — especially those who have left the White House or are preparing to — Mr. Obama failed to rally the country behind his strategy for combating the most marked economic crisis since the Great Depression. His health care victory came at a tremendous cost. Foreclosures and a jobless rate of just under 10 percent seemed a symptom of national drift, downward. (NYT, 1/26/11)
Count us shocked to find this….in the New York Times.
State of Confusion
Beyond his welcome if vague support for reducing corporate tax rates in return for closing loopholes, Mr. Obama offered not a single new idea or spending cut. The bulk of his address was devoted to his familiar priorities that he said Republicans should spend more on. Green energy subsidies. High-speed rail! (WSJ, 1/27/11)
RedStateVT has no real issue if the government wants to throw a little money at green energy research. However, for Obama to endlessly harp on this as the job engine of the future is simply ridiculous.
Aliens Among Us
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is suing a restaurant company for $150,000 for selling him a sandwich containing an unpitted olive, the suit alleges. The olive caused Kucinich "serious and permanent injuries" as well as "pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment," according to a complaint filed in Superior Court in Washington, D.C.
In the 2008 campaign, Kucinich admitted that he believed he had once seen a UFO. (AOLnews, 1/26/11)
Always nice to see Democrats working on behalf of their main supporters: the trial lawyers.
Quick: for President, Dennis Kucinich or Sarah Palin?
A Spanish-language newspaper in Atlanta, El Nuevo, has published a doctored photo of new governor Nathan Deal in a brown Nazi uniform complete with a fake Hitler mustache. El Nuevo Georgia said its complaint with the Republican governor has to do with strong anti-immigrant rhetoric he used during the campaign last year. (Politicsdaily, 1/25/11)
Democrats expressed outrage at the actions of El Nuevo in light of the national cry for civility. Just kidding!
Concessions
As several of his own aides concede — especially those who have left the White House or are preparing to — Mr. Obama failed to rally the country behind his strategy for combating the most marked economic crisis since the Great Depression. His health care victory came at a tremendous cost. Foreclosures and a jobless rate of just under 10 percent seemed a symptom of national drift, downward. (NYT, 1/26/11)
Count us shocked to find this….in the New York Times.
State of Confusion
Beyond his welcome if vague support for reducing corporate tax rates in return for closing loopholes, Mr. Obama offered not a single new idea or spending cut. The bulk of his address was devoted to his familiar priorities that he said Republicans should spend more on. Green energy subsidies. High-speed rail! (WSJ, 1/27/11)
RedStateVT has no real issue if the government wants to throw a little money at green energy research. However, for Obama to endlessly harp on this as the job engine of the future is simply ridiculous.
Aliens Among Us
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is suing a restaurant company for $150,000 for selling him a sandwich containing an unpitted olive, the suit alleges. The olive caused Kucinich "serious and permanent injuries" as well as "pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment," according to a complaint filed in Superior Court in Washington, D.C.
In the 2008 campaign, Kucinich admitted that he believed he had once seen a UFO. (AOLnews, 1/26/11)
Always nice to see Democrats working on behalf of their main supporters: the trial lawyers.
Quick: for President, Dennis Kucinich or Sarah Palin?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Down on the Corner
Exposed
They have to swear allegiance to a balanced budget, dangerously low taxes, cutting (trivial) waste, fraud and abuse from the budget, the sacredness of even microscopic life, the innocence of mankind in the cooking of the planet, the inviolability of the 18th-century Constitution, meeting the challenges of globalism with even more localism and a furious rejection of the lessons of Keynes - even when those lessons are successfully applied. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 1/25/11)
Cohen’s laugher today is about a spate of fringe Republican candidates mulling a run at the presidency in 2012. As usual it is disingenuous at best. Consider that the Democrats regularly give us the likes of Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich as “serious” candidates. But buried in Cohen’s ravings is his view of Republican orthodoxy. Yes, Republicans do believe in the “sacredness of even microscopic life.” Once again we are reminded that the best way to expose liberals is to let them talk.
Encore?
While most midterm presidents use the State of the Union to take credit for their achievements to date, Mr. Obama is constrained by the facts that unemployment remains above 9 percent, that his signature domestic achievement — the expansion of health insurance coverage — remains unpopular with nearly half the country, and that prospects for withdrawing many troops from Afghanistan later this year remain uncertain at best. (NYT, 1/23/11)
And what grade, we wonder, would the President give himself now?
What's in a Name?
With Mr. Obama planning to call for “investments” of tax dollars in specific areas like education, infrastructure and technology, Republicans insisted that “investment” was just another name for spending that the nation can ill afford. (NYT, 1/24/11)
We suspect that Obama is still suffering from that “smartest guy in the room syndrome” wherein he believes he can con others. His problem now, however is that people – including the opposition – know him.
They have to swear allegiance to a balanced budget, dangerously low taxes, cutting (trivial) waste, fraud and abuse from the budget, the sacredness of even microscopic life, the innocence of mankind in the cooking of the planet, the inviolability of the 18th-century Constitution, meeting the challenges of globalism with even more localism and a furious rejection of the lessons of Keynes - even when those lessons are successfully applied. (Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 1/25/11)
Cohen’s laugher today is about a spate of fringe Republican candidates mulling a run at the presidency in 2012. As usual it is disingenuous at best. Consider that the Democrats regularly give us the likes of Al Sharpton and Dennis Kucinich as “serious” candidates. But buried in Cohen’s ravings is his view of Republican orthodoxy. Yes, Republicans do believe in the “sacredness of even microscopic life.” Once again we are reminded that the best way to expose liberals is to let them talk.
Encore?
While most midterm presidents use the State of the Union to take credit for their achievements to date, Mr. Obama is constrained by the facts that unemployment remains above 9 percent, that his signature domestic achievement — the expansion of health insurance coverage — remains unpopular with nearly half the country, and that prospects for withdrawing many troops from Afghanistan later this year remain uncertain at best. (NYT, 1/23/11)
And what grade, we wonder, would the President give himself now?
What's in a Name?
With Mr. Obama planning to call for “investments” of tax dollars in specific areas like education, infrastructure and technology, Republicans insisted that “investment” was just another name for spending that the nation can ill afford. (NYT, 1/24/11)
We suspect that Obama is still suffering from that “smartest guy in the room syndrome” wherein he believes he can con others. His problem now, however is that people – including the opposition – know him.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Easy Wind
No Pretense
Olbermann dropped any pretense of journalistic objectivity, and he became a hero to liberals battered by the popularity of Fox News Channel and its conservative commentators. (AOLnews, 1/21/11)
Eventually the truth comes out.
No Pillow
Does permitting a prisoner to walk in circle eights for one hour a day constitute exercise? Is not being allowed pillows or sheets a form of mistreatment? These questions may lie at the heart of a formal complaint lodged this week by the lawyer defending accused WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning, an Army private who is being held in military custody at Quantico, Va. (AOLnews, 1/21/11)
No fluffy pillow for suspected traitor Manning. (Has his lawyer considered the fact that he is not helping the "gays in the military" argument with his mincing complaints?) If Manning is convicted, just wait. He’ll likely spend the rest of his life breaking rocks.
Olbermann dropped any pretense of journalistic objectivity, and he became a hero to liberals battered by the popularity of Fox News Channel and its conservative commentators. (AOLnews, 1/21/11)
Eventually the truth comes out.
No Pillow
Does permitting a prisoner to walk in circle eights for one hour a day constitute exercise? Is not being allowed pillows or sheets a form of mistreatment? These questions may lie at the heart of a formal complaint lodged this week by the lawyer defending accused WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning, an Army private who is being held in military custody at Quantico, Va. (AOLnews, 1/21/11)
No fluffy pillow for suspected traitor Manning. (Has his lawyer considered the fact that he is not helping the "gays in the military" argument with his mincing complaints?) If Manning is convicted, just wait. He’ll likely spend the rest of his life breaking rocks.
Friday, January 21, 2011
East of Ginger Tree
To Quote the Gipper
In her first State of the State address, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley promised to make the "tough but right decisions" to overcome challenges that include budget shortfalls of close to $1 billion…Haley also reiterated the familiar themes of smaller government and spending reform that helped her become South Carolina's first woman governor.
At the state house in Columbia on Wednesday evening, Haley echoed Ronald Reagan's sentiment that "as government expands, liberty contracts." The role of government, she said, is "to secure the rights and freedoms of our people." It was "never intended to be all things to all people." (Politicsdaily.com, 1/20/11)
Why are all the kick-a** governors either Republicans like Haley and Christie or Democrats acting like Republicans (see Andrew Cuomo). Note to the Left: another ethnic woman conservative!
Story Time
This is the story of four ambitious professional women and a maid. The women are Amy Chua, Meg Whitman, Sonia Chang and my wife. They don't share a single maid but a common theme, one true for most hard-charging professional women: Domestic help has been critical in their success as workers and mothers… And in America today, domestic help usually means an immigrant, often here illegally. (Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post, 1/20/11)
RedStateVT doesn’t know about you, but we don’t hear from Schumacher-Matos nearly enough. He provides much needed comic relief and solidifies our views. The theme of this story is: professional women who want to get ahead need to hire an illegal immigrant as a maid!
In her first State of the State address, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley promised to make the "tough but right decisions" to overcome challenges that include budget shortfalls of close to $1 billion…Haley also reiterated the familiar themes of smaller government and spending reform that helped her become South Carolina's first woman governor.
At the state house in Columbia on Wednesday evening, Haley echoed Ronald Reagan's sentiment that "as government expands, liberty contracts." The role of government, she said, is "to secure the rights and freedoms of our people." It was "never intended to be all things to all people." (Politicsdaily.com, 1/20/11)
Why are all the kick-a** governors either Republicans like Haley and Christie or Democrats acting like Republicans (see Andrew Cuomo). Note to the Left: another ethnic woman conservative!
Story Time
This is the story of four ambitious professional women and a maid. The women are Amy Chua, Meg Whitman, Sonia Chang and my wife. They don't share a single maid but a common theme, one true for most hard-charging professional women: Domestic help has been critical in their success as workers and mothers… And in America today, domestic help usually means an immigrant, often here illegally. (Edward Schumacher-Matos, Washington Post, 1/20/11)
RedStateVT doesn’t know about you, but we don’t hear from Schumacher-Matos nearly enough. He provides much needed comic relief and solidifies our views. The theme of this story is: professional women who want to get ahead need to hire an illegal immigrant as a maid!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
You Say Hello
Pants on Fire!
First, let’s be clear: Despite all the right-wing rhetoric, Social Security is not going bankrupt. That’s a lie! The truth is that the Social Security Trust Fund has run surpluses for the last quarter century. Today’s $2.5 trillion cushion is projected to grow to $4 trillion in 2023. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, experts in this area, say Social Security will be able to pay every nickel owed to every eligible beneficiary until 2039. (Bernie Sanders, Politico.com, 9/1/10)
For years, politicians and policymakers have reassured the American public that the Social Security system, which sends monthly checks out to 53 million beneficiaries, is safely solvent -- and will be for decades to come. But federal spending and income data from the Treasury Department reveal that the Social Security program is already deep in the red, with outlays exceeding payroll tax revenues by $76 billion in 2010 alone. (Daily Finance.com, 1/19/11)
So RedStateVT asks which seems more logical: that unlike every other single entitlement program, Social Security is flush with cash, or like every other single entitlement program, Social Security is broke and only propped up with government IOUs?
Don’t tell Burlington!
City workers in Berkeley, Calif., who want sex-change surgery, won't get money from their health insurance providers, but they could soon receive funding for the procedure from taxpayers. The City Council votes Tuesday night on a resolution to set aside $20,000 annually for gender-reassignment surgery for city employees, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The procedure is not covered by Berkeley's health insurance providers, Kaiser and Health Net. (Politicsdaily.com, 1/19/11)
Proof positive that Berkeley, in fact, resides in an alternate universe.
First, let’s be clear: Despite all the right-wing rhetoric, Social Security is not going bankrupt. That’s a lie! The truth is that the Social Security Trust Fund has run surpluses for the last quarter century. Today’s $2.5 trillion cushion is projected to grow to $4 trillion in 2023. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, experts in this area, say Social Security will be able to pay every nickel owed to every eligible beneficiary until 2039. (Bernie Sanders, Politico.com, 9/1/10)For years, politicians and policymakers have reassured the American public that the Social Security system, which sends monthly checks out to 53 million beneficiaries, is safely solvent -- and will be for decades to come. But federal spending and income data from the Treasury Department reveal that the Social Security program is already deep in the red, with outlays exceeding payroll tax revenues by $76 billion in 2010 alone. (Daily Finance.com, 1/19/11)
So RedStateVT asks which seems more logical: that unlike every other single entitlement program, Social Security is flush with cash, or like every other single entitlement program, Social Security is broke and only propped up with government IOUs?
Don’t tell Burlington!
City workers in Berkeley, Calif., who want sex-change surgery, won't get money from their health insurance providers, but they could soon receive funding for the procedure from taxpayers. The City Council votes Tuesday night on a resolution to set aside $20,000 annually for gender-reassignment surgery for city employees, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The procedure is not covered by Berkeley's health insurance providers, Kaiser and Health Net. (Politicsdaily.com, 1/19/11)
Proof positive that Berkeley, in fact, resides in an alternate universe.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Gather Round
Be Quiet While We Berate You
I could go so far as to observe that Palin almost seemed to portray herself as a collateral victim. Surely a former governor of Alaska - who served the better part of an entire term - would never seek to give the impression that she views any conceivable event, no matter how distant or tragic, as being All About Sarah. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 1/17/11)
Flat-out blamed by the Left for the Arizona shootings, the Left counsels Sarah Palin not to respond.
Striking
No one has suggested that his use of a hallucinogenic herb or any other drugs contributed to Jared L. Loughner’s apparent mental unraveling that culminated with his being charged in a devastating outburst of violence here. Yet it is striking how closely the typical effects of smoking the herb, Salvia divinorum — which federal drug officials warn can closely mimic psychosis — matched Mr. Loughner’s own comments about how he saw the world, like his often-repeated assertion that he spent most of his waking hours in a dream world that he had learned to control. (NYT, 1/18/11)
No one has suggested it? Well then let RedStateVT be the first to suggest that the use of hallucinogens was a contributing factor.
I could go so far as to observe that Palin almost seemed to portray herself as a collateral victim. Surely a former governor of Alaska - who served the better part of an entire term - would never seek to give the impression that she views any conceivable event, no matter how distant or tragic, as being All About Sarah. (Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 1/17/11)
Flat-out blamed by the Left for the Arizona shootings, the Left counsels Sarah Palin not to respond.
Striking
No one has suggested that his use of a hallucinogenic herb or any other drugs contributed to Jared L. Loughner’s apparent mental unraveling that culminated with his being charged in a devastating outburst of violence here. Yet it is striking how closely the typical effects of smoking the herb, Salvia divinorum — which federal drug officials warn can closely mimic psychosis — matched Mr. Loughner’s own comments about how he saw the world, like his often-repeated assertion that he spent most of his waking hours in a dream world that he had learned to control. (NYT, 1/18/11)
No one has suggested it? Well then let RedStateVT be the first to suggest that the use of hallucinogens was a contributing factor.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Tale of Two Times
For years, Illinois, like so many states, pretended that it had not fallen off a budgetary cliff. It was spending too much and taking in too little revenue, but every year it would kick its problems into the next. Unable to pay its bills, it finally accepted reality last week and raised taxes on incomes and businesses — a first step toward getting its house in order. (NYT, 1/16/11)
The dismal fiscal situation in many states is forcing governors, despite their party affiliation, toward a consensus on what medicine is needed going forward. The prescription? Slash spending. Avoid tax increases. Tear up regulations that might drive away business and jobs. Shrink government, even if that means tackling the thorny issues of public employees and their pensions. (NYT, 1/17/11)
Kudos to (some) Democrats for adopting Republican remedies to fix the problems of their states. They appear to “get it” even if the New York Times – contrary to its own reporting – does not.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Warbling of a meadow lark, moonbats in Vermont
The state of Vermont has ended a years-long legal dispute with a man who has been fighting for the right to display a reference to one of the Bible's most famous passages on a vanity plate. The state won't ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision that said Shawn Byrne of West Rutland must be given the license plate "JN36TN," a reference to John 3:16. In a settlement dated Monday, the state also agreed to pay Byrne's $150,000 in legal fees and allow other Vermonters to have religious-themed license plates. (Burlington Free Press, 1/15/11)
RedStateVT wonders if Vermont would have spent $150k fighting this if the applicant wanted a license plate with an atheist theme, or a Muslim-inspired theme. Meanwhile, see below for more Vermont justice.
A man whose light sentence for child sex abuse generated national controversy in 2006 is seeking release from prison. Mark J. Hulett appeared in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Friday to satisfy a condition in his sentence that he obtain approval from the court prior to going free. Judge Michael Kupersmith said the matter should be decided by the Corrections Department and referred it back to them, Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said. The case drew heated public comment in 2006 after Hulett was convicted of sexually assaulting a pre-teen girl repeatedly between 2001 and 2005 and was sentenced to 60 days by now-retired Judge Edward Cashman. The judge justified the sentence on the grounds that Hulett, of Williston, was not eligible for sex offender treatment in prison and could access services more promptly in the community. After public outcry, the sentence was revised to three to 10 years. (Burlington Free Press, 1/15/11)
Three years for raping a child for four years.
RedStateVT asks……
The Left wanted to blame the Arizona murders on right-wing political rhetoric. Now with that discredited they want to talk about gun control. Lost in all this is the apparently indisputable fact that the killer was a pothead. Why don’t we talk about the role of marijuana in these killings? Seems that there is much more to talk about than right-wing hate speech. Of course, that would upset terribly all those on the Left who are working hard….to legalize pot.
RedStateVT wonders if Vermont would have spent $150k fighting this if the applicant wanted a license plate with an atheist theme, or a Muslim-inspired theme. Meanwhile, see below for more Vermont justice.
A man whose light sentence for child sex abuse generated national controversy in 2006 is seeking release from prison. Mark J. Hulett appeared in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Friday to satisfy a condition in his sentence that he obtain approval from the court prior to going free. Judge Michael Kupersmith said the matter should be decided by the Corrections Department and referred it back to them, Chittenden County State's Attorney T.J. Donovan said. The case drew heated public comment in 2006 after Hulett was convicted of sexually assaulting a pre-teen girl repeatedly between 2001 and 2005 and was sentenced to 60 days by now-retired Judge Edward Cashman. The judge justified the sentence on the grounds that Hulett, of Williston, was not eligible for sex offender treatment in prison and could access services more promptly in the community. After public outcry, the sentence was revised to three to 10 years. (Burlington Free Press, 1/15/11)
Three years for raping a child for four years.
RedStateVT asks……
The Left wanted to blame the Arizona murders on right-wing political rhetoric. Now with that discredited they want to talk about gun control. Lost in all this is the apparently indisputable fact that the killer was a pothead. Why don’t we talk about the role of marijuana in these killings? Seems that there is much more to talk about than right-wing hate speech. Of course, that would upset terribly all those on the Left who are working hard….to legalize pot.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Doctor, Doctor Give Us the News
The other side (Republicans) believes that people have a right to keep what they earn, and that taxing them to support others, no matter how needy, amounts to theft. That’s what lies behind the modern right’s fondness for violent rhetoric: many activists on the right really do see taxes and regulation as tyrannical impositions on their liberty. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 1/13/11)
The really really really smart Krugman (he has a PhD you know) has dug himself a pretty deep hole, but keeps digging nonetheless. Never mind the now thoroughly discredited economic policy he espouses (more stimulus!). It seems that he was early into the “Arizona shooting is Republicans fault” libel, now also thoroughly discredited. But instead of lying low, Princetonian Krugman comes back with this embarrassingly simplistic boilerplate: “Republicans are mean.” This qualifies as meaningful analysis? If the Times has any shred of journalistic integrity left, they would put Krugman on sabbatical.
For the record, no honest Republican would deny that we have a moral obligation to help the poorest, the neediest and the sickest among us. Republicans also believe in personal responsibility. Social policy must get the balance between the two right.
And now a word from another doctor:
The origins of Loughner's delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Krugman's? (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 1/12/11)
The really really really smart Krugman (he has a PhD you know) has dug himself a pretty deep hole, but keeps digging nonetheless. Never mind the now thoroughly discredited economic policy he espouses (more stimulus!). It seems that he was early into the “Arizona shooting is Republicans fault” libel, now also thoroughly discredited. But instead of lying low, Princetonian Krugman comes back with this embarrassingly simplistic boilerplate: “Republicans are mean.” This qualifies as meaningful analysis? If the Times has any shred of journalistic integrity left, they would put Krugman on sabbatical.
For the record, no honest Republican would deny that we have a moral obligation to help the poorest, the neediest and the sickest among us. Republicans also believe in personal responsibility. Social policy must get the balance between the two right.
And now a word from another doctor:
The origins of Loughner's delusions are clear: mental illness. What are the origins of Krugman's? (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 1/12/11)
Friday, January 14, 2011
Small Change
What Democrats want is for Republicans to stop saying bad things about Obama and to stop resisting his agenda. They say they want civility in politics (after eight years of behaving abominably toward Bush and Cheney), but what they really want is their way. Now – instead of winning the battle of ideas in the public forum - they want to use the actions of a lunatic as the catalyst for Republican disarmament. Apologies for the military metaphors…..
Live from Slovakia
The Bradley Manning Support Network is a more recent creation, launched in 2010 by "cyberactivist" Mike Gogulski, a resident of Slovakia who renounced his American citizenship in 2008. The Support Network has been collecting donations for Manning's defense since July. (AOLNews.com, 1/13/11)
If ever two fellas deserved each other it’s Manning and Gogulski. Of course, as Manning sits in solitary confinement at a military prison, one can’t help but wonder if he wishes he had simply followed Gogulski’s lead and left town.
Live from Slovakia
The Bradley Manning Support Network is a more recent creation, launched in 2010 by "cyberactivist" Mike Gogulski, a resident of Slovakia who renounced his American citizenship in 2008. The Support Network has been collecting donations for Manning's defense since July. (AOLNews.com, 1/13/11)
If ever two fellas deserved each other it’s Manning and Gogulski. Of course, as Manning sits in solitary confinement at a military prison, one can’t help but wonder if he wishes he had simply followed Gogulski’s lead and left town.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Winter's Day
The Real World
With sales rising and promising new vehicles on the way, the automakers are solidly positioned for future profits. But in the past, Detroit has tended to reward workers in good times, only to demand givebacks when fortunes changed. (NYT, 1/13/11)
Well, yeah, this is the way it works….. Welcome to capitalism.
RedStateVT Asks
Jared Loughner, the accused killer, is accountable for his own actions. His politics are confused at best, and he clearly has mental health problems. That is what most liberals are saying. (E.J. Dionne Jr. Washington Post, 1/13/11)
Question: Does Dionne not have a fact-checker or is he just lying outright?
Quote of the Day
The tea party itself got help from history—the arrival of a clarifying event, the sovereign debt crisis of 2010. Simultaneously in the capitals of Europe, California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and elsewhere it was revealed that fiscal commitments made across decades, often for liberally inspired social goals, had put all these states into a condition of effective bankruptcy. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 1/12/11)
With sales rising and promising new vehicles on the way, the automakers are solidly positioned for future profits. But in the past, Detroit has tended to reward workers in good times, only to demand givebacks when fortunes changed. (NYT, 1/13/11)
Well, yeah, this is the way it works….. Welcome to capitalism.
RedStateVT Asks
Jared Loughner, the accused killer, is accountable for his own actions. His politics are confused at best, and he clearly has mental health problems. That is what most liberals are saying. (E.J. Dionne Jr. Washington Post, 1/13/11)
Question: Does Dionne not have a fact-checker or is he just lying outright?
Quote of the Day
The tea party itself got help from history—the arrival of a clarifying event, the sovereign debt crisis of 2010. Simultaneously in the capitals of Europe, California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and elsewhere it was revealed that fiscal commitments made across decades, often for liberally inspired social goals, had put all these states into a condition of effective bankruptcy. (Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 1/12/11)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Ship of Fools
The 66% Solution
With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois’s State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state’s income tax rate….the tax increase… won no Republican support in a state capital controlled by Democrats….(NYT, 1/12/11)
Democrats claim to love the middle class, but will consistently vote to drive it to penury.
Selective Recall
Sanders pointed to threats and acts of violence against Democratic elected officials there before Saturday's shooting that killed six people and severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, saying no one should be surprised such a tragedy occurred. "Have right-wing reactionaries, through threats and acts of violence, intimidated people with different points of view from expressing political positions?" Sanders wrote. (Burlington Free Press, 1/12/11)
Sanders added: “My constituents will recall that I also objected when threats and vitriol were directed against President Bush and Vice-President Cheney.” Just kidding! The Colonel never said that!
With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois’s State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state’s income tax rate….the tax increase… won no Republican support in a state capital controlled by Democrats….(NYT, 1/12/11)
Democrats claim to love the middle class, but will consistently vote to drive it to penury.
Selective Recall
Sanders pointed to threats and acts of violence against Democratic elected officials there before Saturday's shooting that killed six people and severely wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, saying no one should be surprised such a tragedy occurred. "Have right-wing reactionaries, through threats and acts of violence, intimidated people with different points of view from expressing political positions?" Sanders wrote. (Burlington Free Press, 1/12/11)
Sanders added: “My constituents will recall that I also objected when threats and vitriol were directed against President Bush and Vice-President Cheney.” Just kidding! The Colonel never said that!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Lone Gunman
Other supporters argued that Ms. Palin was hardly the first person to use violent metaphors in speaking about politics, pointing to Barack Obama’s statement during the 2008 presidential campaign that said, “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.” None of Ms. Palin’s top aides responded to requests for comment. (NYT, 1/10/11)
After essentially speculating for fifteen paragraphs about whether conservatives were to blame for the Arizona shooting, the New York Times finally lets this slip. Well, thanks for the truth in journalism….we guess.
In this debate (smear campaign?), we particularly like the commentators who have noted that the Left never wants to “jump to conclusions” when there is a Muslim-inspired terrorist act. But when a lone lunatic (McVeigh, Loughner, etc.) comes along, they jump away.
As usual, we turn to George Will for insight:
A characteristic of many contemporary minds is susceptibility to the superstition that all behavior can be traced to some diagnosable frame of mind that is a product of promptings from the social environment. From which flows a political doctrine: Given clever social engineering, society and people can be perfected. This supposedly is the path to progress. It actually is the crux of progressivism. And it is why there is a reflex to blame conservatives first. (George Will, Washington Post, 1/11/11)
After essentially speculating for fifteen paragraphs about whether conservatives were to blame for the Arizona shooting, the New York Times finally lets this slip. Well, thanks for the truth in journalism….we guess.
In this debate (smear campaign?), we particularly like the commentators who have noted that the Left never wants to “jump to conclusions” when there is a Muslim-inspired terrorist act. But when a lone lunatic (McVeigh, Loughner, etc.) comes along, they jump away.
As usual, we turn to George Will for insight:
A characteristic of many contemporary minds is susceptibility to the superstition that all behavior can be traced to some diagnosable frame of mind that is a product of promptings from the social environment. From which flows a political doctrine: Given clever social engineering, society and people can be perfected. This supposedly is the path to progress. It actually is the crux of progressivism. And it is why there is a reflex to blame conservatives first. (George Will, Washington Post, 1/11/11)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Idlewild
At The Beginning
Let's begin by being honest. It is not partisan to observe that there are cycles to violent rhetoric in our politics. In the late 1960s, violent talk (and sometimes violence itself) was more common on the far left. But since President Obama's election, it is incontestable that significant parts of the American far right have adopted a language of revolutionary violence in the name of overthrowing "tyranny." (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 1/10/11)
It was inevitable that WaPo opinion writers would tie the tragic Arizona shootings to the Right. Dionne – attempting to be fair, but really being duplicitous – acknowledges violent leftwing rhetoric (and actions) way back during the 60s. Here are two problems with his logic (don’t ask us why we continue the quixotic task of correcting Dionne’s aberrant thought processes).
First, there has been no organized, widespread right-inspired violence like we had during the 60s. Nothing. No lynchings, no burnings, no bombings. (And don’t mention lone crackpot Timothy McVeigh as representative of anything or anybody but his own distorted worldview, just like the Arizona assassin). Second, Dionne curiously skips from the 60s over to Obama. Now think for a minute….who was president before Obama and what was the rhetorical language from the Left during that time? If you said “George Bush” and “angry and violence-laden” you are correct!
Wag The Dog
Gay-rights proponents are cheering and some conservatives are up in arms after the State Department said it would replace the words "mother" and "father" on U.S. passport applications with gender-neutral terms. Instead of "mother" and "father," the forms will read "parent one" and "parent two." Politicsdaily.com, 1/8/11)
Once again the gay agenda wags the dog of hundreds of years of civilization.
Let's begin by being honest. It is not partisan to observe that there are cycles to violent rhetoric in our politics. In the late 1960s, violent talk (and sometimes violence itself) was more common on the far left. But since President Obama's election, it is incontestable that significant parts of the American far right have adopted a language of revolutionary violence in the name of overthrowing "tyranny." (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 1/10/11)
It was inevitable that WaPo opinion writers would tie the tragic Arizona shootings to the Right. Dionne – attempting to be fair, but really being duplicitous – acknowledges violent leftwing rhetoric (and actions) way back during the 60s. Here are two problems with his logic (don’t ask us why we continue the quixotic task of correcting Dionne’s aberrant thought processes).
First, there has been no organized, widespread right-inspired violence like we had during the 60s. Nothing. No lynchings, no burnings, no bombings. (And don’t mention lone crackpot Timothy McVeigh as representative of anything or anybody but his own distorted worldview, just like the Arizona assassin). Second, Dionne curiously skips from the 60s over to Obama. Now think for a minute….who was president before Obama and what was the rhetorical language from the Left during that time? If you said “George Bush” and “angry and violence-laden” you are correct!
Wag The Dog
Gay-rights proponents are cheering and some conservatives are up in arms after the State Department said it would replace the words "mother" and "father" on U.S. passport applications with gender-neutral terms. Instead of "mother" and "father," the forms will read "parent one" and "parent two." Politicsdaily.com, 1/8/11)
Once again the gay agenda wags the dog of hundreds of years of civilization.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Monster Mash
The Only Trouble Is
President Obama went to a busy window-manufacturing plant near here on Friday to promote his economic policies and his new team of advisers as the monthly jobs report reflected only modest employment growth. “We will not rest until we have fully recovered from this recession,” the president told workers. (NYT, 1/7/11)
RedStateVT watched the President make this address. It was boilerplate stuff that you would typically see from any president, Democrat or Republican. What struck us, however, were Obama’s comments that his administration had been focused for the past two years on job creation and helping businesses grow. While we are certainly glad that Obama is focused on these issues now, it is deceitful for him to say that they were priorities in the past.
How Indeed?
Amid the repeal debate, Democrats and the media are behaving as if they have no knowledge of Congress's habits or the history of government health-care programs over the last half-century. Entitlements are always sold as modest and "paid for," then years later everyone suddenly discovers that they are "unaffordable" without digging deeper into the pockets of the middle class. How do you think Medicare and Medicaid got to their current pass? (WSJ, 1/8/11)
Democrats want more and more government entitlements without ever explaining how to fix the broken ones we already have.
President Obama went to a busy window-manufacturing plant near here on Friday to promote his economic policies and his new team of advisers as the monthly jobs report reflected only modest employment growth. “We will not rest until we have fully recovered from this recession,” the president told workers. (NYT, 1/7/11)
RedStateVT watched the President make this address. It was boilerplate stuff that you would typically see from any president, Democrat or Republican. What struck us, however, were Obama’s comments that his administration had been focused for the past two years on job creation and helping businesses grow. While we are certainly glad that Obama is focused on these issues now, it is deceitful for him to say that they were priorities in the past.
How Indeed?
Amid the repeal debate, Democrats and the media are behaving as if they have no knowledge of Congress's habits or the history of government health-care programs over the last half-century. Entitlements are always sold as modest and "paid for," then years later everyone suddenly discovers that they are "unaffordable" without digging deeper into the pockets of the middle class. How do you think Medicare and Medicaid got to their current pass? (WSJ, 1/8/11)
Democrats want more and more government entitlements without ever explaining how to fix the broken ones we already have.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Juan Williams Will Now Accept Your Apologies
The NPR executive who sparked a public outrcy in October by firing journalist Juan Williams is resigning from her job, the organization announced Thursday. Ellen Weiss resigned as senior vice president for news on the same day that NPR's board of directors completed its independent review of the dismissal of Williams. The directors recommended new internal procedures for personnel decisions and disciplinary action.
The board expressed confidence in CEO Vivian Schiller's leadership but voted to forgo her 2010 bonus because of "concern over her role in the termination process." Schiller drew criticism in November for saying Williams should keep his feelings about Muslims between him and "his psychiatrist or publicist" -- comments that she later apologized for. (Foxnews.com, 1/7/11)
A bit surprised to see this item, given that the uproar seemed to have settled down. But then again, there’s some new Repubs in town and NPR might be getting a little worried about their funding…..
The board expressed confidence in CEO Vivian Schiller's leadership but voted to forgo her 2010 bonus because of "concern over her role in the termination process." Schiller drew criticism in November for saying Williams should keep his feelings about Muslims between him and "his psychiatrist or publicist" -- comments that she later apologized for. (Foxnews.com, 1/7/11)
A bit surprised to see this item, given that the uproar seemed to have settled down. But then again, there’s some new Repubs in town and NPR might be getting a little worried about their funding…..
Thursday, January 6, 2011
A Brand New Day
Yesterday
How divided are Democrats right now? With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party's speaker nominee in nearly a century. (Washington Post, 1/6/11)
Why it seems like only yesterday that the media was falling all over itself to herald the selection of Pelosi as Madame Speaker…
Change You Can Believe In
Jubilant Republicans took control of the House on Wednesday and installed Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio as the new speaker before pushing through an overhaul of House rules intended to expedite their drive to dismantle the new health care law, cut federal spending and provide the tax cuts they see as a way to jump-start the economy. (NYT, 1/5/11)
Healthcare, spending, taxes. Sounds about right.
The Empire Strikes Back
“We need radical reform, we need a new approach, we need a new perspective,” said Mr. Cuomo, who was giving his first State of the State address. “And we need it now.” The speech was emphatically pro-business and centrist.....The new governor mentioned the word “tax” or “taxes” 21 times, mostly to denounce them and promise to lower them. “What made New York the Empire State was not a large government complex,” he said. “It was a vibrant private sector that was creating great jobs in the state of New York.” (NYT, 1/5/11)
OK, RedStateVT knows that it is dangerous to jump on the Andrew Cuomo bandwagon. We expect to be disappointed down the road, but for now at least, he is saying all the right things. And, by the way, unlike President Obama he is saying them right from the start. It took two years and a political drubbing for Obama to start talking about jobs and taxes.
Come On Down To Our Boat, Baby
He (Howard Dean) said liberals, like him, share one thing with the right-leaning tea party movement: a desire to change the way business is done in Washington. But that has not happened under Obama, said Dean, an unsuccessful candidate for president in 2004. (Burlington Free Press, 1/6/11)
Welcome aboard, Howard!
How divided are Democrats right now? With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party's speaker nominee in nearly a century. (Washington Post, 1/6/11)
Why it seems like only yesterday that the media was falling all over itself to herald the selection of Pelosi as Madame Speaker…
Change You Can Believe In
Jubilant Republicans took control of the House on Wednesday and installed Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio as the new speaker before pushing through an overhaul of House rules intended to expedite their drive to dismantle the new health care law, cut federal spending and provide the tax cuts they see as a way to jump-start the economy. (NYT, 1/5/11)
Healthcare, spending, taxes. Sounds about right.
The Empire Strikes Back
“We need radical reform, we need a new approach, we need a new perspective,” said Mr. Cuomo, who was giving his first State of the State address. “And we need it now.” The speech was emphatically pro-business and centrist.....The new governor mentioned the word “tax” or “taxes” 21 times, mostly to denounce them and promise to lower them. “What made New York the Empire State was not a large government complex,” he said. “It was a vibrant private sector that was creating great jobs in the state of New York.” (NYT, 1/5/11)
OK, RedStateVT knows that it is dangerous to jump on the Andrew Cuomo bandwagon. We expect to be disappointed down the road, but for now at least, he is saying all the right things. And, by the way, unlike President Obama he is saying them right from the start. It took two years and a political drubbing for Obama to start talking about jobs and taxes.
Come On Down To Our Boat, Baby
He (Howard Dean) said liberals, like him, share one thing with the right-leaning tea party movement: a desire to change the way business is done in Washington. But that has not happened under Obama, said Dean, an unsuccessful candidate for president in 2004. (Burlington Free Press, 1/6/11)
Welcome aboard, Howard!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Get On Board
Crash Landing
A lineup of legislation is waiting this year like planes stacked up on a runway in a snowstorm. Supporters hope bills that had slim hopes when Douglas was in office will be cleared for takeoff with Shumlin at the helm. Advocates for decriminalization of marijuana, physician-assisted suicide and single-payer health care are all among those looking at the new legislative session with the idea that this could be their year. (Burlington Free Press, 1/4/11)
Not the state’s $150 million deficit or job creation in Vermont. This is what Vermont’s moonbats now want to focus on: dope, murder and government-run healthcare. Pray for us.
To The Victors
Even before the speaker's gavel is passed at noon from Nancy Pelosi to John Boehner, it would appear that the Republicans are determined to form just as arrogant and overreaching a majority as the one they defeated. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 1/4/11)
Maybe we missed it, but we don’t recall Milbank referring to Pelosi and Reid as “arrogant and overreaching” when they were trumpeting the agenda that he agreed with.
A lineup of legislation is waiting this year like planes stacked up on a runway in a snowstorm. Supporters hope bills that had slim hopes when Douglas was in office will be cleared for takeoff with Shumlin at the helm. Advocates for decriminalization of marijuana, physician-assisted suicide and single-payer health care are all among those looking at the new legislative session with the idea that this could be their year. (Burlington Free Press, 1/4/11)
Not the state’s $150 million deficit or job creation in Vermont. This is what Vermont’s moonbats now want to focus on: dope, murder and government-run healthcare. Pray for us.
To The Victors
Even before the speaker's gavel is passed at noon from Nancy Pelosi to John Boehner, it would appear that the Republicans are determined to form just as arrogant and overreaching a majority as the one they defeated. (Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 1/4/11)
Maybe we missed it, but we don’t recall Milbank referring to Pelosi and Reid as “arrogant and overreaching” when they were trumpeting the agenda that he agreed with.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Four Days In
What Indeed
Of all the new governors, John Kasich, Republican of Ohio, appears to be planning the most comprehensive assault against unions. He is proposing to take away the right of 14,000 state-financed child care and home care workers to unionize. He also wants to ban strikes by teachers, much the way some states bar strikes by the police and firefighters. “If they want to strike, they should be fired,” Mr. Kasich said in a speech. “They’ve got good jobs, they’ve got high pay, they get good benefits, a great retirement. What are they striking for?” (NYT, 1/4/11)
We love teachers, but one of the shibboleths of the Left is that they are overworked and underpaid. Not true and Kasich dares to speak it. Good for him.
Christie Cuomo
Salary cuts for New York State employees will begin at the top, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Monday. Mr. Cuomo said he would give back 5 percent of his $179,000 salary, or $8,950, in order to “lead by example” as the state grapples with its huge budget deficit. (NYT, 1/3/11)
Back-to-back good days for Cuomo.
The Kitchen Sink
"The reckless Republican repeal of health care is a budget busting bailout for insurance companies that will kill jobs, raise Americans' taxes, and deny critical care to women and children. It is unconscionable that Republicans plan on ramming the bill through the House without exploring the disastrous impact repeal will have on Americans," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the outgoing chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. (Foxnews.com, 1/4/11)
So a symbolic vote (for now) to repeal Obamacare will blow the budget, destroy job-creation, raise taxes and put women and children at risk all the while helping the evil insurance companies. Why didn’t Miller add that it would weaken America’s image in the eyes of foreign countries, increase global warming and destroy the hard-fought rights of union workers? No need for a thoughtful discussion, might as well wrap together all the Left’s issues.
Of all the new governors, John Kasich, Republican of Ohio, appears to be planning the most comprehensive assault against unions. He is proposing to take away the right of 14,000 state-financed child care and home care workers to unionize. He also wants to ban strikes by teachers, much the way some states bar strikes by the police and firefighters. “If they want to strike, they should be fired,” Mr. Kasich said in a speech. “They’ve got good jobs, they’ve got high pay, they get good benefits, a great retirement. What are they striking for?” (NYT, 1/4/11)
We love teachers, but one of the shibboleths of the Left is that they are overworked and underpaid. Not true and Kasich dares to speak it. Good for him.
Christie Cuomo
Salary cuts for New York State employees will begin at the top, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Monday. Mr. Cuomo said he would give back 5 percent of his $179,000 salary, or $8,950, in order to “lead by example” as the state grapples with its huge budget deficit. (NYT, 1/3/11)
Back-to-back good days for Cuomo.
The Kitchen Sink
"The reckless Republican repeal of health care is a budget busting bailout for insurance companies that will kill jobs, raise Americans' taxes, and deny critical care to women and children. It is unconscionable that Republicans plan on ramming the bill through the House without exploring the disastrous impact repeal will have on Americans," said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the outgoing chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. (Foxnews.com, 1/4/11)
So a symbolic vote (for now) to repeal Obamacare will blow the budget, destroy job-creation, raise taxes and put women and children at risk all the while helping the evil insurance companies. Why didn’t Miller add that it would weaken America’s image in the eyes of foreign countries, increase global warming and destroy the hard-fought rights of union workers? No need for a thoughtful discussion, might as well wrap together all the Left’s issues.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Gadda da Vida
Hot Air
Despite mounting evidence that the greenhouse gas buildup in the Earth's atmosphere is causing runaway changes to the climate – NASA this month declared 2010 the hottest year on record – several pollsters say the American public isn't listening. In a recent survey, Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, found that the number of people in the United States who believe in global warming fell from 71 percent to 56 percent between 2008 and 2010. Just 34 percent of the public thinks there's scientific agreement on climate change, down from 47 percent two years ago. (Politico.com, 12/31/10)
Once again we defer to Ronald Reagan who famously said: “the people usually get it right!”
Also
Shame on Politico who anointed Gloria Allred one of 2010’s “Best Supporting Actors” for her despicable act of exposing Meg Whitman’s housekeeper who lied about being in this country legally.
Crackdown
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will seek a one-year salary freeze for state workers as part of an emergency financial plan he will lay out in his State of the State address on Wednesday, senior administration officials said. The move will signal the opening of what is expected to be a grueling fight between the new governor and the public-sector unions that have traditionally dominated the state’s political establishment. (NYT, 1/2/11)
RedStateVT has never been a fan of la familia Cuomo, but we are beginning to be impressed. It speaks volumes when a Democrat is prepared to crack down on unions. From overtime abuses, to pension scandals to snow removal slowdowns, union leaders have violated the public trust and must be held accountable.
They love it, they love it not….
Democrats, who in many cases looked on the law (Obamacare) as a rabid beast best avoided in the fall elections, are reversing course, gearing up for a coordinated all-out effort to preserve and defend it. (NYT, 1/2/11)
Dems just can’t seem to make up their minds, can they?
Despite mounting evidence that the greenhouse gas buildup in the Earth's atmosphere is causing runaway changes to the climate – NASA this month declared 2010 the hottest year on record – several pollsters say the American public isn't listening. In a recent survey, Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, found that the number of people in the United States who believe in global warming fell from 71 percent to 56 percent between 2008 and 2010. Just 34 percent of the public thinks there's scientific agreement on climate change, down from 47 percent two years ago. (Politico.com, 12/31/10)
Once again we defer to Ronald Reagan who famously said: “the people usually get it right!”
Also
Shame on Politico who anointed Gloria Allred one of 2010’s “Best Supporting Actors” for her despicable act of exposing Meg Whitman’s housekeeper who lied about being in this country legally.
Crackdown
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will seek a one-year salary freeze for state workers as part of an emergency financial plan he will lay out in his State of the State address on Wednesday, senior administration officials said. The move will signal the opening of what is expected to be a grueling fight between the new governor and the public-sector unions that have traditionally dominated the state’s political establishment. (NYT, 1/2/11)
RedStateVT has never been a fan of la familia Cuomo, but we are beginning to be impressed. It speaks volumes when a Democrat is prepared to crack down on unions. From overtime abuses, to pension scandals to snow removal slowdowns, union leaders have violated the public trust and must be held accountable.
They love it, they love it not….
Democrats, who in many cases looked on the law (Obamacare) as a rabid beast best avoided in the fall elections, are reversing course, gearing up for a coordinated all-out effort to preserve and defend it. (NYT, 1/2/11)
Dems just can’t seem to make up their minds, can they?
Saturday, January 1, 2011
RedStateVT Announces 2010 Cheney Award Winner
RedStateVT announces the winner of the 2010 Cheney Award, our 2nd annual presentation of this honor. The Cheney Award is given annually to the individual who – in our opinion – has done the most to preserve and promote the values of American liberty, strength and exceptionalism. The award honors Vice-President Dick Cheney for his service to and defense of this great country.Receiving consideration for the 2010 award were Sean Hannity, the Tea Party, Paul Ryan, and Boston journalist and radio show host Howie Carr along with Sarah Palin who was also on last year’s short list. The winner (also a runner-up last year) is Dick Morris.
Morris was a dynamo - writing books, appearing almost nightly on television and blogging relentlessly – all in service of the opposition to the Obama agenda. It seemed at times that he was out to single-handedly defeat Obamacare. Begging, pleading and exhorting the American people to write their Congressmen, make phone calls and send in donations for advertising, he did it all.
At election time, it was Morris who did the heavy lifting, traveling the country and analyzing the local races that the media did not have time for. It was Morris who realized that the Republicans had an extraordinary opportunity to win back the country and slow the socialists in their tracks. And so – as with healthcare – he was relentless in taking on the fight. While some may say that Morris over-promised (control of the Senate and a 100 House seat pick-up) we applaud his zeal and his vision.
RedStateVT is pleased to honor Dick Morris as the 2010 Cheney Award recipient.
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