Crystal Clear
His answer is to make it crystal clear in the Constitution that corporations are not people, through his Saving American Democracy Amendment. (Bernie Sanders e-mail, 1/20/2012)
U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia has a simple solution for people who don't like all the political advertisements unleashed by the court's decision two years ago that ended limits on corporate contributions in political campaigns – change the channel or turn off the TV. (Huffington Post.com, 1/21/2012)
Scalia tells Bernie Sanders what to do! And, by the way, if corporations are not "people" does that mean that unions are not people either?
Ethics Violation
It was Mr. Gingrich who pulled the race into the gutter, where he found considerable support. He repeatedly called Mr. Obama “the greatest food-stamp president in American history,” and lectured a black questioner at Monday’s debate about the amount of federal handouts to blacks, suggesting their work ethic was questionable. (NYT, 1/22/2012)
It's always racism with Liberals. More than half the country opposes Obamacare? Racism! Obama's approval ratings below 50%? Racism! Gingrich wins South Carolina? Racism!
Got the Fever
The foreign minister’s statements, taken with other developments, suggests that the war fever over a quick confrontation at the strait is ebbing. There’s no progress yet on the core issue of Iran’s nuclear program, but the United States has clarified its “red lines” in the crisis, and Iran has indicated by its public response that it understands. (David Ignatius, Washington Post, 1/20/2012)
Post writer Ignatius tells us that the Iranians got the tough message sent by the U.S. and now - presumably - we do not have to worry about their nuclear weapons development program. Naivete can be charming......and deadly. We trust the Iranians at our own peril, a lesson learned from the North Koreans.
Tilted
Deborah Howell, Post ombudsman from 2005 through 2008, said at the end of her tenure that “some of the conservatives’ complaints about a liberal tilt [at The Post] are valid.” I won’t quibble with her conclusion. I think she was right. (Patrick B. Pexton, Washington Post, 1/20/2012)
The Washington Post vows that THIS time they are really going to examine the Obama record.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Mind Control
Fueled
Many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees, the Obama administration announced Friday in an election-year move that outraged religious groups, fueling a national debate about the reach of government.
In a concession, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said nonprofit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies will have one additional year to comply with the requirement, issued in regulations under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. (Townhall.com, 1/20/2012)
What if - RedStateVT wonders - President Santorum issued an executive order that all non-profit organizations would have to provide religious counseling to employees before paying for their free birth control? What would Liberals even say?
Piping Hot
“President Obama’s decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is a major setback for the American economy, American workers, and America’s energy independence,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said.
“The rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a missed opportunity to drastically turn this economy around. This pipeline would have created thousands of new jobs and helped to ensure our energy independence,” Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., lamented.
“This delay is just playing politics with American jobs and American energy security,” Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, pointed out. (from MichelleMalkin.com, 1/20/2012)
Dems weigh in on Keystone. Dems who want to keep their jobs, that is.
Trans-Ceremony
Massachusetts officially became the 16th state to treat transgender citizens as a protected class today as Governor Deval Patrick hosted a ceremonial signing of the groundbreaking rights bill.
As Colorlines is reporting, the law legally protects transgender individuals from discrimination in housing, education, employment and credit, in addition to providing additional civil rights and protections from hate crimes. (Huffington Post, 1/20/2012)
Frankly we just never got the whole protected class/hate crimes thing. There are already laws that protect people from discrimination. And there are already laws that protect citizens from crimes. To us, it seems like nothing more than finding new ways to slice and define the Liberal pie. Eventually ALL Liberals will fall into a pre-determined protected class.
Many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees, the Obama administration announced Friday in an election-year move that outraged religious groups, fueling a national debate about the reach of government.
In a concession, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said nonprofit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social service agencies will have one additional year to comply with the requirement, issued in regulations under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. (Townhall.com, 1/20/2012)
What if - RedStateVT wonders - President Santorum issued an executive order that all non-profit organizations would have to provide religious counseling to employees before paying for their free birth control? What would Liberals even say?
Piping Hot
“President Obama’s decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is a major setback for the American economy, American workers, and America’s energy independence,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said.
“The rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a missed opportunity to drastically turn this economy around. This pipeline would have created thousands of new jobs and helped to ensure our energy independence,” Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., lamented.
“This delay is just playing politics with American jobs and American energy security,” Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, pointed out. (from MichelleMalkin.com, 1/20/2012)
Dems weigh in on Keystone. Dems who want to keep their jobs, that is.
Trans-Ceremony
Massachusetts officially became the 16th state to treat transgender citizens as a protected class today as Governor Deval Patrick hosted a ceremonial signing of the groundbreaking rights bill.
As Colorlines is reporting, the law legally protects transgender individuals from discrimination in housing, education, employment and credit, in addition to providing additional civil rights and protections from hate crimes. (Huffington Post, 1/20/2012)
Frankly we just never got the whole protected class/hate crimes thing. There are already laws that protect people from discrimination. And there are already laws that protect citizens from crimes. To us, it seems like nothing more than finding new ways to slice and define the Liberal pie. Eventually ALL Liberals will fall into a pre-determined protected class.
Friday, January 20, 2012
You Can Find It Any Time
Taxing
It's Republican primary time so we have to have a national conversation about the tax filings of the contenders. (Precious little time was spent - by the way - on Bill Clinton's returns. You remember - the one where he deducted the donation of his used boxer shorts. Likewise, there was almost no discussion about the Obamas' stingy charitable contributions.)
Anyway, here is another way of looking at the question of Mitt Romney's taxes. Did he pay what the tax code said he was supposed to pay or did he break the law? If he paid what he was supposed to pay then this part of the discussion is over. Critics can then work to change the tax code so he is forced to pay whatever they think is the right amount. Put another way, do we want to elect a president who is dumb enough to pay MORE taxes than he is supposed to pay?
One more thing. Romney tithes ten per cent to his church. How much - we wonder - does Obama give to his?
LGBTQRSPWC
In South Carolina, Rick Santorum has fielded fewer questions on LGBT rights than he did in New Hampshire, but things got tense on Thursday when a transgender activist stormed his press conference in Mt. Pleasant.
Kneena Raheja, 20, yelled, "Mr. Santorum, you have spilled queer blood!" as the GOP presidential hopeful finished speaking, according to BuzzFeed. (Huffington Post, 1/19/2012)
This is what Republican candidates for president have to endure.
Banished
But he stays out of those halls, thanks to restrictions on his ability to lobby Congress until 2013. (NYT, 1/19/2012)
Former high-ranking Democrat Chris Dodd (who along with Barney Frank attempted to exculpate his own sins by burdening the country with the Dodd-Frank legislation) has become.....A LOBBYIST! Well that was fast. What we don't get in this puff piece by the New York Times are the insinuations of nefarious doings that we get when a Republican is outed as......A LOBBYIST!
Block and Tackle
A federal judge on Thursday blocked Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor to shut down when its license expires in March, saying that the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, which only the federal government can do. ...Vermont Yankee produces more than 70 percent of the electricity generated in the state... (NYT, 1/20/2012)
So for now at least, the lights will remain on in Vermont. Sales of candles will decline, but that should not hurt the local economy which will see the 600 jobs at Vermont Yankee preserved. Notwithstanding Governor Shumlim's protestations, we cannot help but think that he is secretly relieved. By publicly supporting the closing of the plant he maintains his credibility with Vermont's mooonbat Left. Further, the judge's decision gets him off the hook for figuring out how to replace almost 3/4s of the state's energy. On the downside, he can now focus full-time on state-run health care.
It's Republican primary time so we have to have a national conversation about the tax filings of the contenders. (Precious little time was spent - by the way - on Bill Clinton's returns. You remember - the one where he deducted the donation of his used boxer shorts. Likewise, there was almost no discussion about the Obamas' stingy charitable contributions.)
Anyway, here is another way of looking at the question of Mitt Romney's taxes. Did he pay what the tax code said he was supposed to pay or did he break the law? If he paid what he was supposed to pay then this part of the discussion is over. Critics can then work to change the tax code so he is forced to pay whatever they think is the right amount. Put another way, do we want to elect a president who is dumb enough to pay MORE taxes than he is supposed to pay?
One more thing. Romney tithes ten per cent to his church. How much - we wonder - does Obama give to his?
LGBTQRSPWC
In South Carolina, Rick Santorum has fielded fewer questions on LGBT rights than he did in New Hampshire, but things got tense on Thursday when a transgender activist stormed his press conference in Mt. Pleasant.
Kneena Raheja, 20, yelled, "Mr. Santorum, you have spilled queer blood!" as the GOP presidential hopeful finished speaking, according to BuzzFeed. (Huffington Post, 1/19/2012)
This is what Republican candidates for president have to endure.
Banished
But he stays out of those halls, thanks to restrictions on his ability to lobby Congress until 2013. (NYT, 1/19/2012)
Former high-ranking Democrat Chris Dodd (who along with Barney Frank attempted to exculpate his own sins by burdening the country with the Dodd-Frank legislation) has become.....A LOBBYIST! Well that was fast. What we don't get in this puff piece by the New York Times are the insinuations of nefarious doings that we get when a Republican is outed as......A LOBBYIST!
Block and Tackle
A federal judge on Thursday blocked Vermont from forcing the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor to shut down when its license expires in March, saying that the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, which only the federal government can do. ...Vermont Yankee produces more than 70 percent of the electricity generated in the state... (NYT, 1/20/2012)
So for now at least, the lights will remain on in Vermont. Sales of candles will decline, but that should not hurt the local economy which will see the 600 jobs at Vermont Yankee preserved. Notwithstanding Governor Shumlim's protestations, we cannot help but think that he is secretly relieved. By publicly supporting the closing of the plant he maintains his credibility with Vermont's mooonbat Left. Further, the judge's decision gets him off the hook for figuring out how to replace almost 3/4s of the state's energy. On the downside, he can now focus full-time on state-run health care.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Whatever
The Press Vets Romney
Here is what the state-controlled media focused on yesterday as they work diligently to introduce Mitt Romney to the public: his tax rate and polygamy. Yes, that is correct. Apparently the 15% tax rate that Romney paid is not high enough for Liberals (even though it is the legal rate for investment income). No mention was made that the money that was taxed at 15% had ALREADY been taxed at a higher rate as earned income. Likewise, no mention was made that Romney did not take a salary as Massachusetts governor. Then - after swatting him around on these issues - they turned to polygamy as practiced by radical Mormons (but not Romney). Harry Reid - another Mormon, but a Democrat - was not discussed. Nor were the radical beliefs of some Muslims.
Meanwhile here is what the honorable press did NOT discuss about Obama - the Democrat presidential candidate: the shady Chicago real estate deal wherein the Obamas bought a strip of land next to their Chicago mansion at a reduced price from a convicted felon. Nor was there any discussion about the fact that Obama's college and law school transcripts have never been released - notwithstanding that this is demanded of every Republican candidate. We can only guess that he must not have done very well and releasing them would shatter the story the press has advanced that Obama is extraordinarily brilliant.
Full Voice
As Mr. Obama moves toward a full-throated campaign, delivering a State of the Union address on Tuesday and inching closer to directly confronting his Republican challenger, a majority of independent voters have soured on his presidency, disapprove of how he has dealt with the economy and do not have a clear idea of what he hopes to accomplish if re-elected. (NYT, 1/18/2012)
Soured, disapproving and unclear. Sounds like three strikes!
Of Shovels...and Jobs
The American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s main lobbying group, has begun a multimillion-dollar lobbying and advertising campaign promoting the pipeline. Jack N. Gerard, the group’s president, was unusually harsh in his remarks on Mr. Obama’s decision. “How can you say you are for jobs and reject the largest shovel-ready project in America today?” Mr. Gerard said at an energy forum on Wednesday afternoon. “Mr. President, what are you thinking?” (NYT, 1/19/2012)
To be fair, Obama says that more time is needed to study the potential issues associated with building the pipeline. But wait, what is this?:
Keystone XL has been planned for years and only became a political issue after the well-to-do environmental lobby decided to make it a station of the green cross. TransCanada filed its application in 2008, and State determined in 2010 and then again last year that the project would have "no significant impacts" on the environment, following exhaustive studies. The Environmental Protection Agency chose to intervene anyway, and the political left began to issue ultimatums and demonstrate in front of the White House, so President Obama decided to defer a final decision until after the election. (WSJ, 1/19/2012)
So the issue HAS been studied and a verdict rendered!
Calling Chevy Chase
Vice President Joe Biden had his “oops” moment Wednesday speaking in a 49er-crazed San Francisco when he told a crowd at a city political fundraiser that “the Giants are on their way to the Super Bowl.” (SFGate.com, 1/19/2012)
We cannot wait until Biden hits the campaign trail!
Here is what the state-controlled media focused on yesterday as they work diligently to introduce Mitt Romney to the public: his tax rate and polygamy. Yes, that is correct. Apparently the 15% tax rate that Romney paid is not high enough for Liberals (even though it is the legal rate for investment income). No mention was made that the money that was taxed at 15% had ALREADY been taxed at a higher rate as earned income. Likewise, no mention was made that Romney did not take a salary as Massachusetts governor. Then - after swatting him around on these issues - they turned to polygamy as practiced by radical Mormons (but not Romney). Harry Reid - another Mormon, but a Democrat - was not discussed. Nor were the radical beliefs of some Muslims.
Meanwhile here is what the honorable press did NOT discuss about Obama - the Democrat presidential candidate: the shady Chicago real estate deal wherein the Obamas bought a strip of land next to their Chicago mansion at a reduced price from a convicted felon. Nor was there any discussion about the fact that Obama's college and law school transcripts have never been released - notwithstanding that this is demanded of every Republican candidate. We can only guess that he must not have done very well and releasing them would shatter the story the press has advanced that Obama is extraordinarily brilliant.
Full Voice
As Mr. Obama moves toward a full-throated campaign, delivering a State of the Union address on Tuesday and inching closer to directly confronting his Republican challenger, a majority of independent voters have soured on his presidency, disapprove of how he has dealt with the economy and do not have a clear idea of what he hopes to accomplish if re-elected. (NYT, 1/18/2012)
Soured, disapproving and unclear. Sounds like three strikes!
Of Shovels...and Jobs
The American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s main lobbying group, has begun a multimillion-dollar lobbying and advertising campaign promoting the pipeline. Jack N. Gerard, the group’s president, was unusually harsh in his remarks on Mr. Obama’s decision. “How can you say you are for jobs and reject the largest shovel-ready project in America today?” Mr. Gerard said at an energy forum on Wednesday afternoon. “Mr. President, what are you thinking?” (NYT, 1/19/2012)
To be fair, Obama says that more time is needed to study the potential issues associated with building the pipeline. But wait, what is this?:
Keystone XL has been planned for years and only became a political issue after the well-to-do environmental lobby decided to make it a station of the green cross. TransCanada filed its application in 2008, and State determined in 2010 and then again last year that the project would have "no significant impacts" on the environment, following exhaustive studies. The Environmental Protection Agency chose to intervene anyway, and the political left began to issue ultimatums and demonstrate in front of the White House, so President Obama decided to defer a final decision until after the election. (WSJ, 1/19/2012)
So the issue HAS been studied and a verdict rendered!
Calling Chevy Chase
Vice President Joe Biden had his “oops” moment Wednesday speaking in a 49er-crazed San Francisco when he told a crowd at a city political fundraiser that “the Giants are on their way to the Super Bowl.” (SFGate.com, 1/19/2012)
We cannot wait until Biden hits the campaign trail!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Day Or Night
Propeller
Even as student enrollment declined by 18%, Vermont's education revenues jumped from $850M in 1999 to $1.5B in 2011 - propelled by a convoluted funding mechanism that has fueled increasing staff levels. While enrollment has been falling, the report found that, from 1999-00 to 2009-10, teaching positions increased by 3.1%, and administrative staffing levels increased by 22% from 2000-01 and 2009-10. (VTGOP.com, 1/9/2012)
Anytime that you hear Liberals talk about how the country needs to "invest more in....(fill in the blank)" you can almost certainly bet that they are paying off their donors. You can also bet that the money will be wasted. And so RedStateVT calls for government to invest LESS in education, green jobs and infrastructure!
Depth Charge
Mr. Gingrich is correct that food stamp program participation is at record levels but he ignores the depth of the recession inherited by Mr. Obama when he took office. (NYT, 1/17/2012)
So Gingrich was right after all! (Except it is all Bush's fault).
Laughing Boy
The notion that Obama wants to turn the United States into a “European-style entitlement society” is laughable. It’s not even a fair description of Europe, which boasts of some highly productive and innovative capitalist economies. (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 1/15/2012)
From Great Britain to Greece, their citizens take to the streets to protest (and commit violence) whenever their governments threaten to cut - however slightly - their government goodies. The highly productive and innovative capitalist economies that Dionne is referring to (but does not name) include Germany which has reduced its entitlement obligations.
Even as student enrollment declined by 18%, Vermont's education revenues jumped from $850M in 1999 to $1.5B in 2011 - propelled by a convoluted funding mechanism that has fueled increasing staff levels. While enrollment has been falling, the report found that, from 1999-00 to 2009-10, teaching positions increased by 3.1%, and administrative staffing levels increased by 22% from 2000-01 and 2009-10. (VTGOP.com, 1/9/2012)
Anytime that you hear Liberals talk about how the country needs to "invest more in....(fill in the blank)" you can almost certainly bet that they are paying off their donors. You can also bet that the money will be wasted. And so RedStateVT calls for government to invest LESS in education, green jobs and infrastructure!
Depth Charge
Mr. Gingrich is correct that food stamp program participation is at record levels but he ignores the depth of the recession inherited by Mr. Obama when he took office. (NYT, 1/17/2012)
So Gingrich was right after all! (Except it is all Bush's fault).
Laughing Boy
The notion that Obama wants to turn the United States into a “European-style entitlement society” is laughable. It’s not even a fair description of Europe, which boasts of some highly productive and innovative capitalist economies. (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post, 1/15/2012)
From Great Britain to Greece, their citizens take to the streets to protest (and commit violence) whenever their governments threaten to cut - however slightly - their government goodies. The highly productive and innovative capitalist economies that Dionne is referring to (but does not name) include Germany which has reduced its entitlement obligations.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
That Thing They Do
Land of the Free
RedStateVT is constantly reminded by Liberals that the U.S. is the ONLY civilized nation in the world that does not have free health care for its people.....or some such variant. (Of course, as we have noted previously, someone always has to pay for "free" but that is another story.) Yet when RedStateVT asks which country they would like to emulate that provides better, faster, cheaper health care, they never have an answer and usually say something like: Bush lied.
And, by the way, we will NOT accept "Cuba" as an answer!
Outrage (The Selective Kind)
As the Obamas return from another million dollar vacation and word leaks out about their million dollar Halloween party, we can only ask: Where is the outrage from the Occupy crowd?
Vows
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, declared that “we have to realize that our schools are not an employment program” and vowed to press for the speedy establishment of a statewide teacher evaluation system. (NYT, 1/16/2011)
He took on public employee unions. Now he appears willing to take on the teachers' union. On the negative side, he raised taxes. Overall, however, we give Cuomo credit for recognizing where the fundamental problems lay and attempting to cure them.
Air Time
Yes, in the Bush years the air was also thick with accusations that the Constitution was being "shredded." We now know that the professed concern for the Constitution was fake. We know it was fake because the same Bush claims of executive authority in war that provoked such apoplexy in our pundits, professors and politicos have for the most part been embraced by Mr. Obama—all to the distinct sound of silence. (William McGurn, WSJ, 1/17/2012)
RedStateVT is constantly reminded by Liberals that the U.S. is the ONLY civilized nation in the world that does not have free health care for its people.....or some such variant. (Of course, as we have noted previously, someone always has to pay for "free" but that is another story.) Yet when RedStateVT asks which country they would like to emulate that provides better, faster, cheaper health care, they never have an answer and usually say something like: Bush lied.
And, by the way, we will NOT accept "Cuba" as an answer!
Outrage (The Selective Kind)
As the Obamas return from another million dollar vacation and word leaks out about their million dollar Halloween party, we can only ask: Where is the outrage from the Occupy crowd?
Vows
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, declared that “we have to realize that our schools are not an employment program” and vowed to press for the speedy establishment of a statewide teacher evaluation system. (NYT, 1/16/2011)
He took on public employee unions. Now he appears willing to take on the teachers' union. On the negative side, he raised taxes. Overall, however, we give Cuomo credit for recognizing where the fundamental problems lay and attempting to cure them.
Air Time
Yes, in the Bush years the air was also thick with accusations that the Constitution was being "shredded." We now know that the professed concern for the Constitution was fake. We know it was fake because the same Bush claims of executive authority in war that provoked such apoplexy in our pundits, professors and politicos have for the most part been embraced by Mr. Obama—all to the distinct sound of silence. (William McGurn, WSJ, 1/17/2012)
We are still awaiting the thoughtful Liberal who reflects, and then announces: maybe we were unfair toward Bush...
Monday, January 16, 2012
Exegesis
Reworked
A few years ago, for instance, Germany’s budget deficit was higher than Spain’s, but the competitiveness of the German economy far outpaced that of its southern neighbor. A major reason is that Germany had spent the better part of a decade reworking its inflexible labor market and revising a costly and cumbersome social safety net. Those changes have helped turn Germany into the economic powerhouse it is today. (NYT, 1/16/2012)
So the Germans figured out how to avoid economic Armageddon. Meanwhile Democrats continue pushing the U.S. toward the precipice:
By a state deadline on Tuesday, these volunteers, many of them Democrats and union supporters, say they will submit at least 720,000 names on petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker, the Republican who curtailed collective bargaining rights for public workers, leading to a face-off in this state. (NYT, 1/16/2012)
Bottom Feeding
The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday accused Republicans — three times — of “obstructionism on steroids," which he blamed for Congress’s rock-bottom approval ratings this year.
“I would hope that they understand that everything doesn’t have to be a fight,” Reid said of the GOP on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “Legislation is an art of working together … and I hope that the tea party doesn’t have the influence this year that they had in the previous year.” (Politico.com, 1/15/2012)
Reid, of course, is widely admired for his bipartisan approach to passing Obamacare. Just kidding!
Say It Loud
“I want to hear from them — do they support Dr. King and the New South movement? Do they appreciate Dr. King’s legacy?” Jackson told POLITICO. “These candidates talk about free enterprise, but do they understand that there would be no Boeing plant in South Carolina if blacks and whites couldn’t work together? That you couldn’t have CNN with a segregated Atlanta, or a Disney World in a segregated Florida?” (Politico.com, 1/16/2012)
In a nation with black congressmen, governors, mayors, CEOs, coaches - indeed with blacks in leadership roles throughout American society - one-trick-pony Jesse Jackson proves once again that he is a walking anachronism. Oh, and there is an African American president as well.
A few years ago, for instance, Germany’s budget deficit was higher than Spain’s, but the competitiveness of the German economy far outpaced that of its southern neighbor. A major reason is that Germany had spent the better part of a decade reworking its inflexible labor market and revising a costly and cumbersome social safety net. Those changes have helped turn Germany into the economic powerhouse it is today. (NYT, 1/16/2012)
So the Germans figured out how to avoid economic Armageddon. Meanwhile Democrats continue pushing the U.S. toward the precipice:
By a state deadline on Tuesday, these volunteers, many of them Democrats and union supporters, say they will submit at least 720,000 names on petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker, the Republican who curtailed collective bargaining rights for public workers, leading to a face-off in this state. (NYT, 1/16/2012)
Bottom Feeding
The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday accused Republicans — three times — of “obstructionism on steroids," which he blamed for Congress’s rock-bottom approval ratings this year.
“I would hope that they understand that everything doesn’t have to be a fight,” Reid said of the GOP on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “Legislation is an art of working together … and I hope that the tea party doesn’t have the influence this year that they had in the previous year.” (Politico.com, 1/15/2012)
Reid, of course, is widely admired for his bipartisan approach to passing Obamacare. Just kidding!
Say It Loud
“I want to hear from them — do they support Dr. King and the New South movement? Do they appreciate Dr. King’s legacy?” Jackson told POLITICO. “These candidates talk about free enterprise, but do they understand that there would be no Boeing plant in South Carolina if blacks and whites couldn’t work together? That you couldn’t have CNN with a segregated Atlanta, or a Disney World in a segregated Florida?” (Politico.com, 1/16/2012)
In a nation with black congressmen, governors, mayors, CEOs, coaches - indeed with blacks in leadership roles throughout American society - one-trick-pony Jesse Jackson proves once again that he is a walking anachronism. Oh, and there is an African American president as well.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Change Of Plans
Revealing
Two longtime Republican congressmen have acknowledged that their names appeared on a list of House members who received special loans through a Countrywide Financial program that set off a Congressional inquiry into whether the disgraced mortgage firm granted special treatment to politically connected clients. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
Only the New York Times could write an article about Countrywide Financial loans to politicians and NOT mention its loan to Democrat Christopher Dodd WHO WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE! As a public service, RedStateVT reminds readers:
...it was revealed that Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) got a sweetheart deal on his Washington, D.C., townhouse directly from Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of troubled subprime-mortgage lender Countrywide Financial. Participating in the “Friends of Angelo” program saved Dodd about $75,000 on his mortgage, and raised more than a few eyebrows about whether Dodd should be accepting such hefty gifts from entities he’s tasked with overseeing and regulating. (Nationreview.com, 1/29/2009)
Essences
That was the essence of the “Southern strategy” that Republicans, beginning with Richard Nixon, used to urge white voters to defect from a Democratic Party that supported civil rights. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
The Republican Party opposed civil rights? Well, the Times has a short memory. Here is how voting in the House of Representatives broke down for the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Dems - 152 (59%) and Repubs - 138 (78%). So actually, Republican support was stronger. And then there is this:
On the critical vote to end the filibuster by Southern Democrats, 71 senators voted to invoke cloture. With 67 votes needed, 44 Democrats and 27 Republicans joined together to bring the bill to a final vote. Of those voting “nay,” 80 percent were Democrats, including Robert C. Byrd and former Vice President Al Gore’s father, who was then a senator from Tennessee. Again, it is clear that the civil rights bill would have failed without Republican votes. (www.capitalgainsandgames.com, 12/7/2009)
The fact-checker for the New York Times is obviously still on vacation.
Failing Grade
A country spending twice as much per capita on education as it did in 1970 with zero effect on test scores is not underinvesting in education. It’s mis-investing. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 12/8/2011)
Have we not quoted Krauthammer yet this year? Shame on us!
Two longtime Republican congressmen have acknowledged that their names appeared on a list of House members who received special loans through a Countrywide Financial program that set off a Congressional inquiry into whether the disgraced mortgage firm granted special treatment to politically connected clients. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
Only the New York Times could write an article about Countrywide Financial loans to politicians and NOT mention its loan to Democrat Christopher Dodd WHO WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE! As a public service, RedStateVT reminds readers:
...it was revealed that Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) got a sweetheart deal on his Washington, D.C., townhouse directly from Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of troubled subprime-mortgage lender Countrywide Financial. Participating in the “Friends of Angelo” program saved Dodd about $75,000 on his mortgage, and raised more than a few eyebrows about whether Dodd should be accepting such hefty gifts from entities he’s tasked with overseeing and regulating. (Nationreview.com, 1/29/2009)
Essences
That was the essence of the “Southern strategy” that Republicans, beginning with Richard Nixon, used to urge white voters to defect from a Democratic Party that supported civil rights. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
The Republican Party opposed civil rights? Well, the Times has a short memory. Here is how voting in the House of Representatives broke down for the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Dems - 152 (59%) and Repubs - 138 (78%). So actually, Republican support was stronger. And then there is this:
On the critical vote to end the filibuster by Southern Democrats, 71 senators voted to invoke cloture. With 67 votes needed, 44 Democrats and 27 Republicans joined together to bring the bill to a final vote. Of those voting “nay,” 80 percent were Democrats, including Robert C. Byrd and former Vice President Al Gore’s father, who was then a senator from Tennessee. Again, it is clear that the civil rights bill would have failed without Republican votes. (www.capitalgainsandgames.com, 12/7/2009)
The fact-checker for the New York Times is obviously still on vacation.
Failing Grade
A country spending twice as much per capita on education as it did in 1970 with zero effect on test scores is not underinvesting in education. It’s mis-investing. (Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 12/8/2011)
Have we not quoted Krauthammer yet this year? Shame on us!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Crying Out
Battle of Nerves
Reprehensible behavior, combat veterans and military experts say, is an ever-present risk when troops in their teens and early 20s are thrown into nerve-racking battle for months at a time. And if there are weaknesses in their leadership or breakdowns in discipline, that behavior can easily spill over into acts that might be considered war crimes. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
It is now undeniable: the New York Times is THE most dishonestly biased publication masquarading as an objective purveyor of news in the country. Under an Obama presidency, soldiers urinate on enemy corpses and we get this: a nuanced analysis of the psychological stress of war. Under a Bush presidency, soldiers abuse enemy prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison and we get journalistic outrage, calls for Bush, Cheney Rumsfeld, Rice, and various others to resign or be impeached, calls for investigations, court martials, tribunals, demands for reparations, release of prisoners, etc, etc.
Channeling
Not that President Obama won’t have enough money to buy a channel of his own, if he wants one. So far, the president is behind Mitt in the billionaire donor sweepstakes, but he is still doing fine, thank you very much. So well, in fact, that a spokesman for the re-election campaign has been forced to denounce the idea that Obama will raise $1 billion. There’s that number again. (Gail Collins, NYT, 1/14/2012)
This is what qualifies for balance in the New York Times: Collins writes a fifteen paragraph op-ed column decrying Super PACs and billionaire donors to Republicans. To be fair she includes one paragraph about Obama's billionaire donors. But, of course, she fails to name them. So we will. Last time around Obama counted on the support of billionaires including Jobs, Buffett, Lewis and Soros.
Reprehensible behavior, combat veterans and military experts say, is an ever-present risk when troops in their teens and early 20s are thrown into nerve-racking battle for months at a time. And if there are weaknesses in their leadership or breakdowns in discipline, that behavior can easily spill over into acts that might be considered war crimes. (NYT, 1/14/2012)
It is now undeniable: the New York Times is THE most dishonestly biased publication masquarading as an objective purveyor of news in the country. Under an Obama presidency, soldiers urinate on enemy corpses and we get this: a nuanced analysis of the psychological stress of war. Under a Bush presidency, soldiers abuse enemy prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison and we get journalistic outrage, calls for Bush, Cheney Rumsfeld, Rice, and various others to resign or be impeached, calls for investigations, court martials, tribunals, demands for reparations, release of prisoners, etc, etc.
Channeling
Not that President Obama won’t have enough money to buy a channel of his own, if he wants one. So far, the president is behind Mitt in the billionaire donor sweepstakes, but he is still doing fine, thank you very much. So well, in fact, that a spokesman for the re-election campaign has been forced to denounce the idea that Obama will raise $1 billion. There’s that number again. (Gail Collins, NYT, 1/14/2012)
This is what qualifies for balance in the New York Times: Collins writes a fifteen paragraph op-ed column decrying Super PACs and billionaire donors to Republicans. To be fair she includes one paragraph about Obama's billionaire donors. But, of course, she fails to name them. So we will. Last time around Obama counted on the support of billionaires including Jobs, Buffett, Lewis and Soros.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Measured Up
Mission Work
Private equity's impact on job creation has come to forefront over the last week of the Republican presidential candidate primaries, as critics took aim at Mitt Romney's Bain Capital career. Never in my memory have we had a political issue that so distorts reality in favor of emotion in an effort to gain office on an issue that has nothing to do with economic policy in this country. Private equity is a non-issue because capitalism is about generating returns for capital. If you work outside of government, that is your mission. (Thomas J. White, American Banker, 1/12/2012)
At least someone understands the capitalist model. Unfortunately, those that work FOR government apparently do not.
Meritorious
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, directly confronting leaders of the teachers’ union, proposed on Thursday a merit-pay system that would award top performers with $20,000 raises and threatened to remove as many as half of those working in dozens of struggling schools.
Bloomberg (rebounding from his dismal Occupy performance) proposes education initiatives and how do teacher union officials and Democrats react?
...the union’s president, Michael Mulgrew, conspicuously declined to applaud during education-related moments of the speech and declared afterward that the mayor was living in a “fantasy education world,” proposing ideas that he did not have the power to put into effect. The city’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, called the education proposals “needlessly provocative,” and the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, said the mayor was taking “a lone ranger approach to education.” (NYT, 1/12/2012)
Remember this the next time that Obama and Liberals talk about the desperate need to invest in "education." Teachers unions are a massive fund-raising arm of the Democrat party who do not want accountability for their performance.
Looking Good
“We think the fundamentals of the expansion going forward still look good,” Timothy F. Geithner, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told his colleagues when they gathered in Washington in December 2006....The transcripts of the 2006 meetings, released after a standard five-year delay, clearly show some of the nation’s pre-eminent economic minds did not fully understand the basic mechanics of the economy that they were charged with shepherding. The general consensus on the board, summarized by Mr. Geithner, was that problems in the housing market had few broader ramifications.... “We just don’t see troubling signs yet of collateral damage, and we are not expecting much,” he said at the September meeting. (NYT, 1/12/2012)
Where have we heard that name before? Oh, yes, isn't he the current Treasury secretary?
Here is another thing that we recently learned about the Geithners:
...Ann Dunham (mother of Barack Obama) was working on a microfinance program for the Ford Foundation that was overseen by Peter Geithner, the father of Timothy Geithner, the current U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.... (Where's the Birth Certificate, Jerome R. Corsi Ph.D.)
The reason for Obama's loyalty to an ineffective Treasury secretary?
Fun Facts
One-third of the total US debt has been accumulated since President Obama took office. (Fox News, 1/13/2012)
Private equity's impact on job creation has come to forefront over the last week of the Republican presidential candidate primaries, as critics took aim at Mitt Romney's Bain Capital career. Never in my memory have we had a political issue that so distorts reality in favor of emotion in an effort to gain office on an issue that has nothing to do with economic policy in this country. Private equity is a non-issue because capitalism is about generating returns for capital. If you work outside of government, that is your mission. (Thomas J. White, American Banker, 1/12/2012)
At least someone understands the capitalist model. Unfortunately, those that work FOR government apparently do not.
Meritorious
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, directly confronting leaders of the teachers’ union, proposed on Thursday a merit-pay system that would award top performers with $20,000 raises and threatened to remove as many as half of those working in dozens of struggling schools.
Bloomberg (rebounding from his dismal Occupy performance) proposes education initiatives and how do teacher union officials and Democrats react?
...the union’s president, Michael Mulgrew, conspicuously declined to applaud during education-related moments of the speech and declared afterward that the mayor was living in a “fantasy education world,” proposing ideas that he did not have the power to put into effect. The city’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, called the education proposals “needlessly provocative,” and the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, said the mayor was taking “a lone ranger approach to education.” (NYT, 1/12/2012)
Remember this the next time that Obama and Liberals talk about the desperate need to invest in "education." Teachers unions are a massive fund-raising arm of the Democrat party who do not want accountability for their performance.
Looking Good
“We think the fundamentals of the expansion going forward still look good,” Timothy F. Geithner, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told his colleagues when they gathered in Washington in December 2006....The transcripts of the 2006 meetings, released after a standard five-year delay, clearly show some of the nation’s pre-eminent economic minds did not fully understand the basic mechanics of the economy that they were charged with shepherding. The general consensus on the board, summarized by Mr. Geithner, was that problems in the housing market had few broader ramifications.... “We just don’t see troubling signs yet of collateral damage, and we are not expecting much,” he said at the September meeting. (NYT, 1/12/2012)
Where have we heard that name before? Oh, yes, isn't he the current Treasury secretary?
Here is another thing that we recently learned about the Geithners:
...Ann Dunham (mother of Barack Obama) was working on a microfinance program for the Ford Foundation that was overseen by Peter Geithner, the father of Timothy Geithner, the current U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.... (Where's the Birth Certificate, Jerome R. Corsi Ph.D.)
The reason for Obama's loyalty to an ineffective Treasury secretary?
Fun Facts
One-third of the total US debt has been accumulated since President Obama took office. (Fox News, 1/13/2012)
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Apotropaic
Conflict Resolution
About two-thirds of Americans now believe there are “strong conflicts” between rich and poor in the United States, a survey by the Pew Research Center found, a sign that the message of income inequality brandished by the Occupy Wall Street movement and pressed by Democrats may be seeping into the national consciousness. (NYT, 1/12/2012)
So critics of Obama and the Democrats WERE right. Liberals HAVE been engaging in class warfare. "Seeping into the national consciousness?" Well with the non-stop drumbeat of the state-controlled media, how could it not?
Merit-Based
Santorum's political limitation is that his theme is a cultural one--or, more specifically, a countercultural one. His arguments are not without merit, and there is a considerable amount of rot in America's dominant culture. But that culture would not be dominant without the assent of most Americans. (James Taranto, WSJ, 1/12/2012)
The quote above comes from James Taranto, a WSJ columnist who we very much enjoy reading. RedStateVT does, however, take exception to Taranto's point here that most Americans assent to the cultural rot in America. First, let's define "cultural rot." Simple definition: the Kardashians. More broadly it refers to the rampant depiction, and glorification of immorality including drug use, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, profanity, pornography and illegitimacy in society. Make no mistake, the vast majority of Americans deplore these things. So why does it exist? Why is it dominant? Because those who produce it and/or tolerate and promote it control the avenues through which it is disseminated. And those avenues are the airwaves, the frequencies, the ink and even the schools. Academia and the media are not - Hillsdale College and Fox News being among the few exceptions - run by conservatives or even moderates. Liberals dominate here and so the entire country suffers from their cultural excesses.
You're Fired!
Talking about insurance providers, he (Mitt Romney) said: "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn't give me a good service that I need, I want to say I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me." (Ann Coulter, 1/11/2012)
RedStateVT tends to ignore it when the Huffington Post and the Liberal media splash some seemingly shocking quote from a conservative across the top of their mastheads. One hundred per cent of the time it is something taken out of context. So when Mitt Romney said that he likes to fire people, Liberals cited that as proof positive that he is a heartless capitalist. Turns out he just wants to get what he pays for...like anyone else.
About two-thirds of Americans now believe there are “strong conflicts” between rich and poor in the United States, a survey by the Pew Research Center found, a sign that the message of income inequality brandished by the Occupy Wall Street movement and pressed by Democrats may be seeping into the national consciousness. (NYT, 1/12/2012)
So critics of Obama and the Democrats WERE right. Liberals HAVE been engaging in class warfare. "Seeping into the national consciousness?" Well with the non-stop drumbeat of the state-controlled media, how could it not?
Merit-Based
Santorum's political limitation is that his theme is a cultural one--or, more specifically, a countercultural one. His arguments are not without merit, and there is a considerable amount of rot in America's dominant culture. But that culture would not be dominant without the assent of most Americans. (James Taranto, WSJ, 1/12/2012)
The quote above comes from James Taranto, a WSJ columnist who we very much enjoy reading. RedStateVT does, however, take exception to Taranto's point here that most Americans assent to the cultural rot in America. First, let's define "cultural rot." Simple definition: the Kardashians. More broadly it refers to the rampant depiction, and glorification of immorality including drug use, alcohol abuse, promiscuity, profanity, pornography and illegitimacy in society. Make no mistake, the vast majority of Americans deplore these things. So why does it exist? Why is it dominant? Because those who produce it and/or tolerate and promote it control the avenues through which it is disseminated. And those avenues are the airwaves, the frequencies, the ink and even the schools. Academia and the media are not - Hillsdale College and Fox News being among the few exceptions - run by conservatives or even moderates. Liberals dominate here and so the entire country suffers from their cultural excesses.
You're Fired!
Talking about insurance providers, he (Mitt Romney) said: "I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn't give me a good service that I need, I want to say I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me." (Ann Coulter, 1/11/2012)
RedStateVT tends to ignore it when the Huffington Post and the Liberal media splash some seemingly shocking quote from a conservative across the top of their mastheads. One hundred per cent of the time it is something taken out of context. So when Mitt Romney said that he likes to fire people, Liberals cited that as proof positive that he is a heartless capitalist. Turns out he just wants to get what he pays for...like anyone else.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Captivate The Hearts Of Men
Just for fun RedStateVT recently read "Where's the Birth Certificate" by Jerome R. Corsi. Loyal readers know that we have generally steered clear of the so-called "Birther" controversey, but what better way to get educated? Because Liberals love credentials, academic and otherwise, it is worth noting that Corsi received a Ph.D. from Harvard. Liberals may also remember that Barack Obama attended Harvard Law School.
In any case, rather than debate the question of whether Obama was born in this country, we will simply summarize several points found in the book of which we were not previously aware.
--Obama was born six months after the marriage of his parents.
--His mother left Hawaii for Washington state within weeks of Obama's birth leaving her husband behind.
--Barack Obama Sr. was already married to a Kenyan woman when he married Ann Dunham.
--Because his father was a Kenyan and because Kenya had not yet gained its independence from Great Britain, Obama was a dual citizen of the U.S. and the United Kingdom at the time of his birth.
--Supporters of Obama's presidential bid were the original "Birthers" questioning the eligibility of opponent John McCain. McCain was born to military parents in the Panama Canal Zone.
--Barack Obama Jr. was registered in school in Indonesia as Barry Soetoro taking the last name of his mother's second husband.
--The name of the hospital in Hawaii in which Obama was first said to have been born was Queen's Medical Center. Later he was said to have been born at a different hospital, Kapi'olani Hospital.
Rest assured that by the time Mitt Romney becomes the Republican presidential nominee, the ever-vigilant state-controlled media will have examined every e-mail and every receipt they can get their hands on and interviewed every chambermaid and landscaper who ever came in contact with him. It was never so with Obama.
In any case, rather than debate the question of whether Obama was born in this country, we will simply summarize several points found in the book of which we were not previously aware.
--Obama was born six months after the marriage of his parents.
--His mother left Hawaii for Washington state within weeks of Obama's birth leaving her husband behind.
--Barack Obama Sr. was already married to a Kenyan woman when he married Ann Dunham.
--Because his father was a Kenyan and because Kenya had not yet gained its independence from Great Britain, Obama was a dual citizen of the U.S. and the United Kingdom at the time of his birth.
--Supporters of Obama's presidential bid were the original "Birthers" questioning the eligibility of opponent John McCain. McCain was born to military parents in the Panama Canal Zone.
--Barack Obama Jr. was registered in school in Indonesia as Barry Soetoro taking the last name of his mother's second husband.
--The name of the hospital in Hawaii in which Obama was first said to have been born was Queen's Medical Center. Later he was said to have been born at a different hospital, Kapi'olani Hospital.
Rest assured that by the time Mitt Romney becomes the Republican presidential nominee, the ever-vigilant state-controlled media will have examined every e-mail and every receipt they can get their hands on and interviewed every chambermaid and landscaper who ever came in contact with him. It was never so with Obama.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Because We Say So
RedStateVT turns today to local Vermont news where a Burlington Free Press story discusses the death of an armed robber at the hands of a store clerk. For those of you who do not follow local Vermont stories, this type of crime happens ALL THE TIME here, the state being plagued with abusers of prescription drugs.
Here is what we learned of the deceased burglar:
- Her autopsy indicated that she was "acutely intoxicated with cocaine."
- She wielded a knife during the burglary.
- She was the mother of four children ages 9 months to 19 years.
No doubt this poor soul had a tough life, but no doubt she made some really bad decisions along the way. Getting hooked on drugs was one. Getting pregnant at age 15 (she was 34 when she died) was another. Continuing to have children was yet a third.
But here is the kicker to the BFP story:
"The Attorney General’s Office also intends to review the Vergennes case. Attorney General William Sorrell has said his office could levy charges against the clerk, or ask a grand jury to consider whether charges are warranted."
Yes, you read that correctly. The AG is considering charges against the clerk who subdued a knife-wielding drug addict. Only in Liberal America. Years ago, the clerk would have received a commendation on the steps of City Hall from the mayor. Not any more.
Liberals have found a new class of victims: armed drug addicts.
Here is what we learned of the deceased burglar:
- Her autopsy indicated that she was "acutely intoxicated with cocaine."
- She wielded a knife during the burglary.
- She was the mother of four children ages 9 months to 19 years.
No doubt this poor soul had a tough life, but no doubt she made some really bad decisions along the way. Getting hooked on drugs was one. Getting pregnant at age 15 (she was 34 when she died) was another. Continuing to have children was yet a third.
But here is the kicker to the BFP story:
"The Attorney General’s Office also intends to review the Vergennes case. Attorney General William Sorrell has said his office could levy charges against the clerk, or ask a grand jury to consider whether charges are warranted."
Yes, you read that correctly. The AG is considering charges against the clerk who subdued a knife-wielding drug addict. Only in Liberal America. Years ago, the clerk would have received a commendation on the steps of City Hall from the mayor. Not any more.
Liberals have found a new class of victims: armed drug addicts.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Proof Positive
No Regrets
On a late fall morning, the president hosted a breakfast for a handful of members of Congress who had lost their seats: Kathy Dahlkemper, from Pennsylvania; John Spratt, the House budget chairman, from South Carolina; Jim Oberstar, the House Transportation Committee chairman, from Minnesota; and Melissa Bean, from Illinois. All were from moderate middle America districts. Over breakfast in the Roosevelt Room, they told Obama that unless he acted quickly, he was going to end up like them in 2012 -- out.
This group, too, was struck by Obama's lack of regret. "In retrospect, we can look back and say we could have done things differently, but I had a very ambitious agenda," Oberstar recalled Obama saying. "In the end, this is for the greater good of the country." He seemed entirely sure he knew what was best for the country; he seemed to think that he was a better judge than the public. (from "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor as quoted in the Huffington Post, 1/6/2011)
A Democrat confirms what those on the Right have been saying for years about the mindset of the modern Liberal.
Encouragement
Congress allowed a grant program important to the solar power industry to expire at the end of the year. The program encourages private investment in solar power, is credited with creating thousands of jobs and should be renewed. (NYT editorial, 1/7/2012)
Only the New York Times could write an editorial advocating more government subsidies for solar power.....and not mention Solyndra.
Noted
RedStateVT has been watching Liberal commentators giggle over the past several days about how "unpresidential" the Republican challengers to Obama look and - by contrast - how very presidential Obama appears. Well we will note first that any politician is going to have an advantage standing at a podium with the presidential seal or stepping off of Air Force One. Second, there is nothing particularly presidential about the primary process itself. It tends to be an extended food fight. Obama certainly did not stand out for his gravitas while slugging it out with Hillary Clinton.
Pressured
The left’s centuries-old mission is to increase social harmony by decreasing antagonisms arising from disparities of wealth — to decrease inequality by increasing government’s redistributive activities. Such government constantly expands under the unending, indeed intensifying, pressures to correct what it disapproves of — the distribution of wealth produced by consensual market activities. But as government presumes to dictate the correct distribution of social rewards, the maelstrom of contemporary politics demonstrates that social strife, not solidarity, is generated by government transfer payments to preferred groups. (George Will, Washington Post, 1/6/2012)
New year, same old brilliance from George Will.
On a late fall morning, the president hosted a breakfast for a handful of members of Congress who had lost their seats: Kathy Dahlkemper, from Pennsylvania; John Spratt, the House budget chairman, from South Carolina; Jim Oberstar, the House Transportation Committee chairman, from Minnesota; and Melissa Bean, from Illinois. All were from moderate middle America districts. Over breakfast in the Roosevelt Room, they told Obama that unless he acted quickly, he was going to end up like them in 2012 -- out.
This group, too, was struck by Obama's lack of regret. "In retrospect, we can look back and say we could have done things differently, but I had a very ambitious agenda," Oberstar recalled Obama saying. "In the end, this is for the greater good of the country." He seemed entirely sure he knew what was best for the country; he seemed to think that he was a better judge than the public. (from "The Obamas" by Jodi Kantor as quoted in the Huffington Post, 1/6/2011)
A Democrat confirms what those on the Right have been saying for years about the mindset of the modern Liberal.
Encouragement
Congress allowed a grant program important to the solar power industry to expire at the end of the year. The program encourages private investment in solar power, is credited with creating thousands of jobs and should be renewed. (NYT editorial, 1/7/2012)
Only the New York Times could write an editorial advocating more government subsidies for solar power.....and not mention Solyndra.
Noted
RedStateVT has been watching Liberal commentators giggle over the past several days about how "unpresidential" the Republican challengers to Obama look and - by contrast - how very presidential Obama appears. Well we will note first that any politician is going to have an advantage standing at a podium with the presidential seal or stepping off of Air Force One. Second, there is nothing particularly presidential about the primary process itself. It tends to be an extended food fight. Obama certainly did not stand out for his gravitas while slugging it out with Hillary Clinton.
Pressured
The left’s centuries-old mission is to increase social harmony by decreasing antagonisms arising from disparities of wealth — to decrease inequality by increasing government’s redistributive activities. Such government constantly expands under the unending, indeed intensifying, pressures to correct what it disapproves of — the distribution of wealth produced by consensual market activities. But as government presumes to dictate the correct distribution of social rewards, the maelstrom of contemporary politics demonstrates that social strife, not solidarity, is generated by government transfer payments to preferred groups. (George Will, Washington Post, 1/6/2012)
New year, same old brilliance from George Will.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Harp Unstrung
Really Truly
The 2010 reform law gives Americans a truly competitive health insurance market. In the past, insurers could get away with huge premium hikes because there was little transparency or accountability. People saw their insurance rates rise but had little way of knowing whether the increase was justified. In a market where consumers had little information, prices and insurance-company profits soared. (Kathleen Sebelius, Washington Post, 1/5/2012)
RedStateVT's health insurance premiums increased in 2012 by 57.46214% This is not a misprint. When we questioned the increase, we were told that it was because of the new health insurance law.
Fashioned
As Mr. Santorum’s standing in the race for the Republican presidential nomination has been energized by his strong showing in the Iowa caucus, so too has the scrutiny of his activities since leaving the Senate. When he left office he was not especially wealthy, but records show he wasted little time fashioning a lucrative post-government career based largely on income from businesses that had benefited from his work in Congress. (NYT, 1/6/2012)
As one Republican candidate after another has surged in the polls, the New York Times has had to work overtime to dig up dirt. Inevitably, it is Rick Santorum's moment. His sin? He had a career (and made lots of money!) after he left government. Frankly, we are much more concerned about politicians who get rich WHILE in office. How about it Mr. Reid?
The 2010 reform law gives Americans a truly competitive health insurance market. In the past, insurers could get away with huge premium hikes because there was little transparency or accountability. People saw their insurance rates rise but had little way of knowing whether the increase was justified. In a market where consumers had little information, prices and insurance-company profits soared. (Kathleen Sebelius, Washington Post, 1/5/2012)
RedStateVT's health insurance premiums increased in 2012 by 57.46214% This is not a misprint. When we questioned the increase, we were told that it was because of the new health insurance law.
Fashioned
As Mr. Santorum’s standing in the race for the Republican presidential nomination has been energized by his strong showing in the Iowa caucus, so too has the scrutiny of his activities since leaving the Senate. When he left office he was not especially wealthy, but records show he wasted little time fashioning a lucrative post-government career based largely on income from businesses that had benefited from his work in Congress. (NYT, 1/6/2012)
As one Republican candidate after another has surged in the polls, the New York Times has had to work overtime to dig up dirt. Inevitably, it is Rick Santorum's moment. His sin? He had a career (and made lots of money!) after he left government. Frankly, we are much more concerned about politicians who get rich WHILE in office. How about it Mr. Reid?
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Embattled Illusions
Recess Time
Republicans had attempted to block the president from installing nominees they opposed over the long break by holding “pro forma” sessions over the holidays, in which members of both chambers — usually those who live in states close to the Capitol — gavel in for minutes or even seconds before gaveling out to try to meet the definition of holding a Congressional meeting. Senate Democrats had taken similar steps to block President George W. Bush from making what are known as recess appointments, which can last up to two years. Until Wednesday, the tactic had prevented two administrations from putting their choices in place without Senate confirmation.
The action by Mr. Obama immediately sparked questions of what constitutes an actual Congressional recess, the legality of Mr. Obama’s move and the future of the Congressional confirmation process. (NYT, 1/5/2012)
Democrats had used a similar process to try to thwart Mr. Bush's recess appointments late in his term when they controlled both the House and the Senate. Prodded by West Virginia's Robert C. Byrd, who has since died, Majority Leader Harry Reid kept the Senate in pro forma session. Some advisers urged Mr. Bush to ignore the Senate and make recess appointments anyway, but he declined. Now Mr. Reid is supporting Mr. Obama's decision to make an end run around a Senate practice that he pioneered. (WSJ, 1/5/2012)
Where to begin? Reid hypocritical. Bush principled. And where are the Liberals who screamed about Bush and Cheney running roughshod over the Constitution?
Head, Hands and Feet
But many researchers have reached a conclusion that turns conventional wisdom on its head: Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. The mobility gap has been widely discussed in academic circles, but a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion toward center stage. (NYT, 1/5/2012)
Astute readers know that these stories are a staple of state-controlled media reporting during Republican administrations (the legions of homeless during the Reagan years, spiraling poverty in the Bush years, etc.) So what is going on here? Why the stories under Obama?
Allow RedStateVT to explain.
Obviously the blame does not accrue to Obama. Instead the objective is to "document" the inequities in the American system as it now works so that Obama and the Democrats can build the case for more wealth redistribution. This is another part of the "fundamental transformation of the country" that Obama talked about at his inauguration. Yes, we were listening.
Republicans had attempted to block the president from installing nominees they opposed over the long break by holding “pro forma” sessions over the holidays, in which members of both chambers — usually those who live in states close to the Capitol — gavel in for minutes or even seconds before gaveling out to try to meet the definition of holding a Congressional meeting. Senate Democrats had taken similar steps to block President George W. Bush from making what are known as recess appointments, which can last up to two years. Until Wednesday, the tactic had prevented two administrations from putting their choices in place without Senate confirmation.
The action by Mr. Obama immediately sparked questions of what constitutes an actual Congressional recess, the legality of Mr. Obama’s move and the future of the Congressional confirmation process. (NYT, 1/5/2012)
Democrats had used a similar process to try to thwart Mr. Bush's recess appointments late in his term when they controlled both the House and the Senate. Prodded by West Virginia's Robert C. Byrd, who has since died, Majority Leader Harry Reid kept the Senate in pro forma session. Some advisers urged Mr. Bush to ignore the Senate and make recess appointments anyway, but he declined. Now Mr. Reid is supporting Mr. Obama's decision to make an end run around a Senate practice that he pioneered. (WSJ, 1/5/2012)
Where to begin? Reid hypocritical. Bush principled. And where are the Liberals who screamed about Bush and Cheney running roughshod over the Constitution?
Head, Hands and Feet
But many researchers have reached a conclusion that turns conventional wisdom on its head: Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. The mobility gap has been widely discussed in academic circles, but a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion toward center stage. (NYT, 1/5/2012)
Astute readers know that these stories are a staple of state-controlled media reporting during Republican administrations (the legions of homeless during the Reagan years, spiraling poverty in the Bush years, etc.) So what is going on here? Why the stories under Obama?
Allow RedStateVT to explain.
Obviously the blame does not accrue to Obama. Instead the objective is to "document" the inequities in the American system as it now works so that Obama and the Democrats can build the case for more wealth redistribution. This is another part of the "fundamental transformation of the country" that Obama talked about at his inauguration. Yes, we were listening.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Troubled Track
In Which RedStateVT Breaks Its 2012 Resolution Not To Write About Paul Krugman
Deficit-worriers portray a future in which we’re impoverished by the need to pay back money we’ve been borrowing. They see America as being like a family that took out too large a mortgage, and will have a hard time making the monthly payments. This is, however, a really bad analogy in at least two ways. First, families have to pay back their debt. Governments don’t — all they need to do is ensure that debt grows more slowly than their tax base. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 1/1/2012)
Here's the problem with Krugman's "grow the tax base faster than the debt" solution: He and his fellow Liberals are constantly reducing the tax base by increasing the number of people dependent on government. If 50% or so of all Americans don't pay ANY taxes, then the other 50% have to pick up a larger share. Surely a PhD could figure that out.
One More Thing
But right now, other things matter more. We need more, not less, government spending to get us out of our unemployment trap. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 1/1/2012)
It occurs to us that Liberals should be reminded that they are naive to think that politicians - given access to more taxpayer dollars - are going to behave responsibly. More dollars in the hands of politicians are only going to lead to more payoffs to supporters (unions and teachers in the case of Democrats) and more waste (see Solyndra). THAT is why RedStateVT argues for austerity.
Wagering
President Obama's campaign has boasted that it will have as much as $1 billion to spend this campaign year, and you can bet his super PACs will come out swinging at the GOP nominee as soon as that choice is clear. (WSJ, 1/4/2012)
Sen. Bernie Sanders will be a guest on The Colbert Report tonight to discuss his Saving American Democracy Amendment. Bernie’s amendment to the Constitution would reverse a Supreme Court ruling that lets corporations spend unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money to influence elections. (Sanders.enews, 1/3/2012)
Guess we will have to wait and see if the Colonel's outrage extends to Obama's super PAC....
Deficit-worriers portray a future in which we’re impoverished by the need to pay back money we’ve been borrowing. They see America as being like a family that took out too large a mortgage, and will have a hard time making the monthly payments. This is, however, a really bad analogy in at least two ways. First, families have to pay back their debt. Governments don’t — all they need to do is ensure that debt grows more slowly than their tax base. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 1/1/2012)
Here's the problem with Krugman's "grow the tax base faster than the debt" solution: He and his fellow Liberals are constantly reducing the tax base by increasing the number of people dependent on government. If 50% or so of all Americans don't pay ANY taxes, then the other 50% have to pick up a larger share. Surely a PhD could figure that out.
One More Thing
But right now, other things matter more. We need more, not less, government spending to get us out of our unemployment trap. (Paul Krugman, NYT, 1/1/2012)
It occurs to us that Liberals should be reminded that they are naive to think that politicians - given access to more taxpayer dollars - are going to behave responsibly. More dollars in the hands of politicians are only going to lead to more payoffs to supporters (unions and teachers in the case of Democrats) and more waste (see Solyndra). THAT is why RedStateVT argues for austerity.
Wagering
President Obama's campaign has boasted that it will have as much as $1 billion to spend this campaign year, and you can bet his super PACs will come out swinging at the GOP nominee as soon as that choice is clear. (WSJ, 1/4/2012)
Sen. Bernie Sanders will be a guest on The Colbert Report tonight to discuss his Saving American Democracy Amendment. Bernie’s amendment to the Constitution would reverse a Supreme Court ruling that lets corporations spend unlimited and undisclosed amounts of money to influence elections. (Sanders.enews, 1/3/2012)
Guess we will have to wait and see if the Colonel's outrage extends to Obama's super PAC....
Monday, January 2, 2012
Closing Time
Bright and Shiny
While the economic picture in the United States has brightened recently with more upbeat employment figures, Europe remains mired in a slump. (NYT, 1/2/2012)
Preparing for Obama's reelection campaign, the New York Times announces that the U.S. economy is squarely on the rebound. Job growth came in the "shovel-ready green energy" sector.
The Case
The country obviously needs more jobs. Mr. Obama needs to lay out the case that industry, with government help, can create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs without incurring environmental risks — by upgrading old power plants to comply with environmental laws, retrofitting commercial and residential buildings that soak up nearly 40 percent of the country’s energy (and produce nearly 40 percent of its carbon emissions) and promoting growth in new industries like wind and solar power and advanced vehicles. (NYT, 1/2/2012)
Speaking of those green energy jobs! What the country needs - according to the Times - is more Solyndras.
While the economic picture in the United States has brightened recently with more upbeat employment figures, Europe remains mired in a slump. (NYT, 1/2/2012)
Preparing for Obama's reelection campaign, the New York Times announces that the U.S. economy is squarely on the rebound. Job growth came in the "shovel-ready green energy" sector.
The Case
The country obviously needs more jobs. Mr. Obama needs to lay out the case that industry, with government help, can create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs without incurring environmental risks — by upgrading old power plants to comply with environmental laws, retrofitting commercial and residential buildings that soak up nearly 40 percent of the country’s energy (and produce nearly 40 percent of its carbon emissions) and promoting growth in new industries like wind and solar power and advanced vehicles. (NYT, 1/2/2012)
Speaking of those green energy jobs! What the country needs - according to the Times - is more Solyndras.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
RedStateVT Announces 2011 Cheney Award Winner
Loyal readers know that every year at this time RedStateVT selects one individual to receive our coveted Cheney Award. Given to the person who has done the most to preserve and promote the values of American liberty, strength and exceptionalism, the award honors former Vice-President Dick Cheney for his service to and defense of this great country. Past winners have included Glen Beck and Dick Morris. Of course each year there is a strong field of contenders and 2011 was no exception. Representative Paul Ryan, author and commentator Mark Steyn, and media watchdog Brent Bozell were among the names we considered and all are certainly deserving. One person in particular stood out for her dogged pursuit of the scandals and hypocrisy of the Obama administration and the Democrat party. Her best seller – Culture of Corruption – illustrates in shocking and gory detail the corruption of the Chicago political machine which gave us Obama. You cannot read the book and ever again view Obama as the above-the-fray visionary and savior that the media writes about. He is a product of Chicago in all its political grime. Of course, we are talking about author and commentator Michelle Malkin.
Malkin did the hard work digging into the dirty details and connecting the dots of Chicago politics: who scratched whose back, why and what the payback was. She was at it first and continues to this day with her latest column reminding us of – what else – the Obama scandals. Listen to her on her television appearances and several things come through: her detailed recitation of the corrupt dealings of the Obama-Chicago nexus and her absolute outrage that they are getting away with it. For her passion and her advocacy, Michelle Malkin is the winner of the 2011 Cheney Award from RedStateVT.
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