The Coin in the Coffers

Pushy
Lawmakers say they will push for a statewide tax on carbon dioxide pollution. The Legislature’s Joint Energy Committee last week reviewed two draft bills that would raise the tax on gasoline by up to 88 cents per gallon. (VTDigger.org, 10/28/2015)

Another brilliant idea from Liberals who - make no mistake - are intent on undoing the Industrial Age. They say that the added cost to taxpayers will be offset because they will lower other taxes. 

You believe them, don't you?


House Speaker Job Requires Hats Ryan Has Never Worn (actual New York Times headline, 10/28/2015)

Hillary Clinton's Presidential Hat Ready (proposed New York Times headline, 10/28/2015)


Sober
U.S. student performance slumps on national exams: Fourth-graders and eighth-graders across the United States lost ground on the national mathematics tests, the first declines in scores since the federal government began administering the exams in 1990. Reading performance also was sobering: Eighth-grade scores dropped, while fourth-grade performance was stagnant compared with 2013, according to results released Wednesday. (Washington Post, 10/28/2015)

And the Liberal response will be: "We are not spending enough on education in this country."

The correct response should be: "Given the enormous amount of money we are spending on education in this country, teachers must be held accountable for these poor results."

The only result will be that teachers unions will increase their political contributions to Democrats who provide the shield that protect them from accountability. 

Source: Liberals Looking to Ban Hot Dogs

The Media is Fair, the Media is Even-Handed
As a Boss, Fiorina Could Be Warm One Day, Cold the Next (actual New York Times headline, 10/26/2015)

As a Boss, Hillary Was Wonderful, Each and Every Day (proposed New York Times headline, 10/26/2015)


Vitality
Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials that the Russians might be planning to attack those lines in times of tension or conflict. (New York Times, 10/26/2015)

Not to worry, as president, Hillary will just declare another Russian reset. Vlad cannot wait.

...and then there is this (NYT):
Adm. James Stavridis, formerly NATO’s top military commander and now dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, said in an email last week that “this is yet another example of a highly assertive and aggressive regime seemingly reaching backwards for the tools of the Cold War, albeit with a high degree of technical improvement.”

Recall Obama smugly saying to Mitt Romney that 'the 70s wants it foreign policy back.' Yet another example of our boy-wonder president getting it wrong.


Traffic Accident
Last Thursday, the union and Fiat Chrysler sealed a four-year deal that, over time, brings wages of entry-level workers into line with those of veteran employees. The two-tier wage system was not expected to be as big an issue at General Motors. More than 45 percent of Fiat Chrysler workers are entry-level, compared with about 20 percent at G.M. (New York Times, 10/26/2015)

Prediction: Fiat Chrysler will declare bankruptcy within three years; GM within five years. 


Bad Bern
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has denounced candidates who are overly poll-tested, a line of attack that has been used against Hillary Rodham Clinton in the past and one he had in his prepared text as a veiled reference to her at the Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Saturday night.

But Mr. Sanders’s campaign, flush with cash from low-dollar donors, has hired a pollster of its own, his senior adviser Tad Devine confirmed. Mr. Sanders has brought on Ben Tulchin, who polled for Howard Dean, the insurgent Democratic presidential candidate of the 2004 cycle. (New York Times, 10/26/2015)

Because that whole Howard Dean thing worked out so well....

Wait! We thought Bernie Sanders was an Independent

Rejection
Mr. Obama angrily rejected the idea that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is challenging American leadership by using fighter jets and missiles in Syria.

“If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally, is leadership, then we’ve got a different definition of leadership,” Mr. Obama said. He added later: “The fact that they had to do this is not an indication of strength.” (New York Times, 10/12/2015)

This is the essence of Obama's worldview: a strong military does not equate to strength. In a world of dangerous characters: ISIS, Putin, Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-whoever. Obama's weapon of choice to combat these dangerous foes is his own self-righteous oratory. How's that working for him?


Discouraged
CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate the first Democratic presidential debate this week, and unlike the previous Republican debate hosted by CNN, Cooper said he won't be encouraging confrontations between the candidates.

"I'm always uncomfortable with that notion of setting people up in order to kind of promote some sort of a face off," Cooper said Sunday on CNN's "Reliable Sources." "Look, these are all serious people. This is a serious debate. They want to talk about the issues and I want to give them an opportunity to do that."

Cooper's suggested style is a departure from the GOP debate hosted by CNN and moderated by Jake Tapper in September. Before that debate, Tapper had said he was "trying to craft questions that, in most cases, pit candidates against the other." (washingtonexaminer.com, 10/12/2015)

Republican candidates are asked to spell the names of the every world leader, to critique Donald Trump and to confess their experiences with illicit drugs. But Democrats are serious people, so AC360 will take a different approach and allow them to "talk about the issues." Is he still mad at Republicans about that whole gay marriage thing?

There is no LIBERAL media bias. 


Sweaty
Other reporters and Clinton associates have remarked upon Clinton’s remarkable ability to not sweat, even when working the rope line on a hot Iowa day. “I don’t mean sweat because you’re nervous,” said host Tracy Clayton. “I just mean physically. I’m genuinely curious what your deodorant is.” (vanityfair.com, 10/2015)

Ann Coulter once noted that Republican candidates have to memorize the names of the past three leaders of Swaziland. The Clintons are asked about their underwear and deodorant choices.

There is no LIBERAL media bias. 


Civil Servant
“Good morning, ma’am,” a member of the uniformed Secret Service once greeted Hillary Clinton.
“F— off,” she replied. (nypost.com, 10/10/2015)

Meanwhile, the LIBERAL media takedown of Carly Fiorina is in full swing.


Feel the Burn
In Debate Preview, Bernie Sanders Criticizes Hillary Clinton for Iraq Vote (New York Times headline, 10/11/2015)

Bernie gets dirty!

It's Working! Health Insurance Premiums in Vermont Go Up Again!

The Best of the Best
Two great points recently from Rush Limbaugh: 
1-The U.S. military accidentally bombs a hospital in Afghanistan. Obama's name is never mentioned. Had the same thing happened when George Bush was president, Democrats would have called for him to be impeached!
2- Four Americans are killed in Benghazi and Democrats blame the killings on a video. Nine people are killed in Oregon and Democrats blame guns. 

Two great quotes from Ann Coulter's best seller Adios America:
1- Britain used to have an empire, meaning that it wiped out exotic diseases, ended tribal bloodshed, expanded literacy, and generally dragged primitive societies into the nineteenth century.
2- Perhaps we should consider qualifications (for immigration) more stringent than "lives within walking distance."


Reversal
Mrs. Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership represents a reversal of her earlier support for the agreement. She backed the pact while serving in the Obama administration, calling it the “gold standard” for trade deals during a trip to Australia in 2012. As a senator from New York in 2002, Mrs. Clinton described NAFTA as one of the accomplishments of her husband, former President Bill Clinton. (Wall Street Journal, 10/8/2015)

Question: Did Hillary Clinton "flip-flop" or did she "evolve?"

Answer: RedStateVT, why do you always ask this same question? Don't you know by now that Republicans flip-flop and Democrats evolve?

Here's another question, and it is a troubling one. Given what we have often heard from the likes of Eugene Robinson (Washington Post) and Charles Blow (New York Times) about those who oppose Obama, is Hillary Clinton a racist?


Headlines
Nobel Prize Awarded to Tunisian Coalition (New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Obama's Nobel Prize Repeat Thwarted by Tunisian Coalition (RedStateVT headline, 10/9/2015)

In Debate, Hillary Clinton Will Display Skills Honed Over a Lifetime (actual New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Setting Bernie Sanders Apart From the Field: A Palpable Sense of Conviction (actual New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)
Has Ted Cruz Done Anything Illegal? (possible New York Times headline, 10/9/2015)

Sturm und Drang

See Through
Hillary Clinton claimed Monday that she is the most transparent public official “in American history” on email during her town hall Monday on NBC. (freebeacon.com, 10/5/2015)

We get it! This was a joke from Hillary's SNL skit!

What? It wasn't from SNL?


Unlikely
Unlike his father, who said on television that he had no idea Mr. Harper-Mercer cared so deeply about guns, his mother was well aware of his fascination. In fact, she shared it: In a series of online postings over a decade, Ms. Harper, a registered nurse, said she kept numerous firearms in her home and expressed pride in her knowledge about them, as well as in her son’s expertise on the subject.

She also opened up about her difficulties raising a son who used to bang his head against the wall, and said that both she and her son struggled with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder....Ms. Harper and Christopher’s father, Ian Mercer of Tarzana, Calif., divorced in 2006 and were separated years earlier. Mr. Mercer told CNN last week that he thought the nation should change its gun laws, saying the massacre “would not have happened” if his son had not been able to buy so many handguns and rifles. (New York Times, 10/6/2015)

No, actually Mr. Harper, the massacre would not have happened if your ex-wife had exhibited a modicum of common sense and kept your mentally ill son away from firearms. By the way, where were you while this was happening?


Mistaken
Russia squared off with Turkey and its NATO allies, calling the air incursion on Saturday an innocent mistake because of foul weather — a claim American officials rejected. News services said late Monday that a second airspace violation might have been committed on Sunday, but that report could not be immediately confirmed. (New York Times, 10/6/2015)

RedStateVT has always believed that the gravest danger that Barack Obama poses to America is in the area of foreign policy. Yes, he has and will continue to screw up things domestically; saddling future generations with Obamacare, strangling business with draconian regulations, failing to protect our borders and (today) opening the doors of the jails to free drug dealers. All of these things can be fixed, more or less. But it is Obama's weak-kneed approach to dealing with the geo-political challenges faced by every president that puts America most at risk in ways from which it will be hard to recover. The world's bad actors see in Obama a naive wimp. And accordingly they steamroll over him and over American interests. A new president and a strong Republican Congress can undo Obama's domestic disasters. But how do you get the Ukraine back? How do you get the Russians out of Syria?

Worse, Obama thinks he is getting it right. Witness:
Mr. Obama believes his Syria policy—the one that did nothing as 250,000 people were murdered; the one that did nothing as his own red lines were crossed; the one that allowed ISIS to flourish; the one that has created the greatest refugee crisis of the 21st century; the one currently being exploited by Russia and Iran for geopolitical advantage—is a success. (Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, 10/5/2015)


Discouraged
Parents, teachers, classmates, friends and others are in the best position to pick up on these clues, but they often dismiss or ignore them. So “see something, say something” strategies, like those developed in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, can help encourage people to speak up, Dr. Meloy said. (New York Times, 10/7/2015)

Of course, "see something, say something" is not to be employed when a kid name Mohammed brings a box to school with a lot of wires coming out of it. 


Shapeless
The group trying to persuade Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to enter the presidential race is set to broadcast an unusual commercial on national television in which Mr. Biden recounts how his life was shaped by the 1972 car accident that claimed the life of his first wife and their daughter and nearly killed his two sons.

The haunting, mostly black-and-white commercial from the group, Draft Biden, features audio from a speech he gave at Yale University’s commencement in May, just days before his elder son, Beau, died of brain cancer. (New York Times, 10/7/2015)

OK, we'll say it. We have hesitated up til now, giving Joe Biden and his supporters the space to grieve over the death of the VP's son. Now they have crossed the line and we are forced to say what some of you are, no doubt, thinking: The idea that Biden is deserving of the presidency because his son died tragically is just creepy. Of course, it fits in perfectly with the Liberal playbook: the part about the glorification of victims.


Pow Wow
Dartmouth College has removed the new director of its Native American Program after tribal officials and alumni accused her of misrepresenting herself as an American Indian. (Wall Street Journal, 10/5/2015)

On the other hand, Elizabeth Warren - another fake American Indian - remains a venerable figure at her old employer, Harvard Law. Heck, she might even be the next VP!

Yeah Right

Gravity
Many mass killers gravitate to violent video games, as do many young men in general, though this could be more a symptom of their isolation than a cause of their violence. (New York Times, 10/4/2015)

Mental illness, video games and guns equal mass killings.


Duel
Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, in Dueling Speeches, Focus on Transgender Rights (New York Times headline, 10/4/2015)

Republicans had better get busy or they are going to lose the transgender vote in the next election!


Vows
(Hillary Clinton) vowed to do more to curb violence against transgender people, particularly African-American women, and urged the military to reverse its policy and allow transgender Americans to serve in the armed forces. “Having the world’s strongest military, she said, “doesn’t just mean having the best-trained forces or the biggest arsenal.” “It means,” she added, “being a leader on issues like this.” (New York Times, 10/4/2015)

Because there is NOTHING that is going to cause America's enemies to pause more before challenging us than knowing that our military is "transgender-friendly." 

Patton weeps.


Vastly
Mr. Biden, in talking about how the vast majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, appeared to deliver an off-the-cuff line. “There are homophobes still left, most of them are running for president, I think,” he said. (New York Times, 10/4/2015)

Wow, a "vast majority" of Americans support gay marriage. We wondered what constitutes a "vast majority." So we did a Google search. It took .00002 seconds and yielded the following:

....support for same-sex marriage has steadily grown. Based on polling in 2015, a majority of Americans (55%) support same-sex marriage, compared with 39% who oppose it. (pewforum.org, 7/29/2015)

Oh, according to the New York Times, a "vast majority" is 55%. In the good old days, that would have been described as "slightly more than one-half." Now, when you have a political agenda, the definition changes. 

Blame Game

RIP
Mr. Harper-Mercer collected handguns and rifles, and he regularly went to a shooting range with his mother, said neighbors in Torrance, Calif., where the two lived until moving to Oregon in 2013. ....“She said, ‘My son is dealing with some mental issues, and the roaches are really irritating him’.... (New York Times, 10/3/2015)

Where have we heard this before? If you said: Sandy Hook, you would be correct. Adam Lanza's mother, knowing full well that he had serious mental health issues, nonetheless tried to bond with him over guns. It killed her and some twenty-six others. Nancy Lanza knew her son was sick, allowed him access to guns and even went shooting with him. The truth is that her incomprehensibly poor judgment was a major - if not the major - cause of the Sandy Hook killings. And now Laurel Harper appears to have acted in a similarly irresponsible manner and once again we have a terrible tragedy. 

Blame the guns if you want, we blame the moms. 

Get Ready to Blame the Gun

Ding-a-Ling
Other emails suggest the secretary of state’s lack of technological prowess. In one, Mrs. Clinton tells Ms. Abedin that she cannot turn on her phone’s ringer. (New York Times, 9/30/2015)

One of the Bush presidents - we don't remember which one - once expressed surprise at the technology of a grocery store price scanner. To Liberals this was proof that he was unfit to be president. They now say what?


Assigned
In oral history interviews released on Wednesday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy talked about how Scotch helped him get subcommittee assignments in 1963. (New York Times, 9/30/2015)

Why does the New York Times continue to report news that every American already knows?


Below Norm
Ms. Richards does make a lot of money relative to the rest of the American work force. Her pay puts her in the top 1 percent of all earners in the United States. But her salary is actually on the low side when it is compared with executive pay at other large nonprofits. When compared with the pay for hospital executives running nonprofit health care organizations of similar budgets, it is actually well below the norm. (New York Times, 10/1/2015)

So the head of Planned Parenthood is a 1 percenter! Where are Liz Warren and Bernie Sanders railing about outrageous executive pay? Are Liberals outraged that the head of a non-profit healthcare company is making all that money? You know the answer. 


Recovery
About two months of emails from the start of Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state are missing, and federal officials haven’t been able to recover them. (Wall Street Journal, 9/30/2015)

Honest mistake, probably.


Scrutiny
For starters, it’s implausible that a majority of Democrats would ever investigate Hillary Clinton on their own, no matter what she’d done or hidden or lied about, because of the dominant incentive to defend their partisan interests. Republicans will scrutinize Hillary whenever they can because they have different incentives. Both postures are comparably partisan. Neither precludes the committee from finding out the truth—a goal both parties once claimed. (David Harsanyi, thefederalist.com, 10/1/2015)

Is the Benghazi investigation political? Of course it is. Harsanyi explains why that is not an issue. Well done!