Commission To Study Reparation Proposals For African-Americans Act (HR 40)

In other words, "reparations." That's right, Congress will be looking into ways to make people who have never owned a slave pay money to people who have never been slaves. If there was ever a sure-fire way for permanently damaging race relations, this is it.

I know, there are many blacks out there who blame their own personal conditions on the injustices of the past, but that is a cop-out. Many prominent African-Americans made successful lives despite the history of the United States. Here are a few: Barack Obama, Thurgood Marshall, Jesse Jackson, Bryant Gumbel, Tiger Woods, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Beyonce, etc. There is no reason why other blacks cannot be as successful. Blaming past slavery is nothing more than coming up with an excuse for personal failure in present.

This proposal is two things: 1) An attempt to act on white guilt and 2) an attempt at further socialist redistribution of wealth.

The problem is that those of us born after the Baby Boom have no white guilt to give.

Here is the executive summary of HR 40

To acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865 and to establish a commission to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on living African-Americans, to make recommendations to the Congress on appropriate remedies, and for other purposes.

So, why should I pay for something I am not responsible for? Before anyone goes out and says that my white skin makes me responsible, let me first say that my ancestors hail from Amherstburg, Ontario, the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad. In other words, my ancestors helped freed slaves find safety in Canada. If ancestry makes one responsible for slavery, ancestry also absolves one if one's ancestors opposed slavery.

If this abomination somehow manages to pass, it will be just like any other spending bill. Money will be apportioned, then spent and then be gone. The people who recieved and spent that money will then be back in line demanding even more money.

This reparations bill will be nothing more than a foundation for a new welfare system. That will guarantee racist attitudes for a long time to come.

You can access the bill text on-line here:

Commission To Study Reparation Proposals For African-Americans Act (HR 40)
OpenCongress.org
January 6, 2009

Fact Checking Obama's Claims About The Pork Spending (Stimulus) Bill

Okay, all is not well with the Obamanation. Here are some facts that have been checked by the Associated Press and have been found wanting:

OBAMA: "My bottom line is, are we creating 4 million jobs?" he told the news conference. He said in Indiana, "The plan that we've put forward will save or create 3 million to 4 million jobs over the next two years." THE FACTS: Job creation projections are uncertain even in stable times, and some of the economists relied on by Obama in making his forecast acknowledge a great deal of uncertainty in their numbers. The president's own economists, in a report prepared last month, stated, "It should be understood that that all of the estimates presented in this memo are subject to significant margins of error." Beyond that, it's unlikely the nation will ever know how many jobs are saved as a result of the stimulus. While it's clear when jobs are abolished, there's no economic gauge that tracks job preservation.

In the long run, this bill will cause a loss of jobs. The money to pay for this massive spending must come from somewhere. Ultimately, it will come out of our economy and hurt our ability to create jobs.

OBAMA: "They'll be jobs building the wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars that will lower our dependence on foreign oil and modernizing our costly health care system that will save us billions of dollars and countless lives." THE FACTS: The economic stimulus bill would allocate about $20 billion to help hospitals and doctors transition from paper charts to electronic health records for their patients. Research has shown that in some instances, electronic record keeping can eliminate inappropriate services and improve care, but it's not a sure thing by any means. "By itself, the adoption of more health IT is generally not sufficient to produce significant cost savings," the Congressional Budget Office reported last year.

Only proven technology leads to new job creation. Unproven technologies rely on government subsidies to continue, like wind farms that need government dollars to remain on-line. Again, this will lead to fewer jobs in the long run.

OBAMA: "I've appointed hundreds of people, all of whom are outstanding Americans who are doing a great job. There are a couple who had problems before they came into my administration, in terms of their taxes. ... I made a mistake. ... I don't want to send the signal that there are two sets of rules." ... Obama previously acknowledged he "screwed up" in making it seem to Americans that there is one set of tax compliance rules for VIPs and another set for everyone else. Yet his choice for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, achieved the post despite having belatedly paid $34,000 to the IRS, an agency Geithner now oversees. That could leave the perception that there is one set of rules for Geithner and another set for everyone else.

And let's not forget how Obama went on a tirade about lobbyists in John McCain's campaign and yet Obama himself appoints lobbyists to his own staff.

Anyone else think that there aren't two set of rules here?

OBAMA: "We also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression." THE FACTS: This could turn out to be the case. But as bad as the economic numbers are, the unemployment figures have not reached the levels of the early 1980s, let alone the 1930s — yet. A total of 598,000 payroll jobs vanished in January — the most in nearly 35 years — and the unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 from 7.2 percent the month before. The most recent high was 7.8 percent in June 1992. And the jobless rate was 10.8 percent in November and December 1982. Unemployment in the Great Depression ranged for several years from 25 percent to close to 30 percent.

When we do reach the unemployment levels of the 1930's, it won't be because of the Bush Administration and the economy growing tax-cuts they enacted. It will be because of the socialist policies the Dems are trying to force down our throats right now.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

FACT CHECK: Examining Obama's Job, Pork Claims
Calvin Woodward
Associated Press via Yahoo News
February 10, 2009

Debbie Stabenow Wants 'Hearings' For Fairness Doctrine Censorship

Check out this exchange between Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and radio host Bill Press:

BILL PRESS: Yeah, I mean, look: They have a right to say that. They’ve got a right to express that. But, they should not be the only voices heard. So, is it time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine? SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s called something else — I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves. I mean, our new president has talked rightly about accountability and transparency. You know, that we all have to step up and be responsible. And, I think in this case, there needs to be some accountability and standards put in place. BILL PRESS: Can we count on you to push for some hearings in the United States Senate this year, to bring these owners in and hold them accountable? SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I have already had some discussions with colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen. Yep.

First, it is a well-known fact that attempts to bring back censorship under the guise of a "Fairness Doctrine" are nothing more than attempts to squelch the opposition's point of view.

But even more interesting is that Stabenow want hearings on the issue.

I say: "Bring it on!"

I'll bet that Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Monica Crowley and Mark Levin will have a five-way fist fight to see who will be the first to march into those hearings and rake those Senators over the coals.

The conservative talk radio hosts who do show up and testify will expose every hypocrisy and every double-standard people like Stabenow hold. For example, why does Stabenow want "fairness" brought to talk radio but is perfectly willing to allow programs like Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King and newspapers like The Washington Post and New York Times, to continue to be biased towards the leftist-liberals?

That is exactly the type of hypocrisy that would be highlighted during these hearings.

Further, talk radio hosts will bring to the fore-front many stories that television and print media largely ignored. For example, why did the media give Obama a pass for his relationship with the racist Reverend Jeremiah Wright but came down so hard on Sarah Palin for her main-stream religious views? Why was Obama not fully vetted by the media while an Army of reporters stormed Alaska looking for any dirt they could find?

These and other issues will come to light if Stabenow really does hold these hearings.

I say: "Let's do it! Let's start peeling back the onion!"

It would be one of the best things to happen in America in a long time.

You can access the transcripts and a video on-line here:

Sen. Stabenow Wants Hearings On Radio 'Accountability'; Talks Fairness Doctrine
Michael Calderone
The Politico
February 5, 2009

Obama: More Concerned About Terrorists' Rights Than Justice For Americans

This story speaks for itself. Most of the families that met Obama on Friday, February 6, 2009, have said that the meeting was more window dressing than anything else.

You see, these were families of victims of the USS Cole attack and of the 9/11 attacks. They want to know why Obama favors terrorists' rights over justice for terrorists' victims and their families.

From Lara Jakes at Town Hall:

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama will discuss his plans for Guantanamo Bay with the terror victims' families. Many of those families disagree with the president's plan to close the detention center. ... Obama is now reviewing the system, and likely to scrap it, to make sure the 245 suspects who remain there are given international and U.S. legal rights.

Like I said, this story speaks for itself.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Obama Concerned About Justice For Terror Suspects
Lara Jakes
TownHall.com
February 6, 2009

The Fierce Urgency Of Pork: Charles Krauthammer Column Could Kill Stimulus Bill

This column is amazing. Not for what it says or who wrote it. But for the fact that it was published in the uber-liberal Washington Post.

Sometimes, someone writes a column that is so hard-hitting, so to-the-point that it cannot be ignored for long. You won't hear about this column on any of the left-leaning television networks, but you should read it and take to heart what it says.

Charles Krauthammer writes:

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe." -- President Obama, Feb. 4. Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

That's just for starters. Krauthammer rightly asks about why we should be scared into passing this "pork spending" bill.

The column goes on to describe all of the unethical and outright illegal conduct that the Obama administration has been trying to legitimize, as exampled by Timothy Geithner and Tom Daschle's tax avoidance problems.

More:

And yet more damaging to Obama's image than all the hypocrisies in the appointment process is his signature bill: the stimulus package. He inexplicably delegated the writing to Nancy Pelosi and the barons of the House. The product, which inevitably carries Obama's name, was not just bad, not just flawed, but a legislative abomination. It's not just pages and pages of special-interest tax breaks, giveaways and protections, one of which would set off a ruinous Smoot-Hawley trade war. It's not just the waste, such as the $88.6 million for new construction for Milwaukee Public Schools, which, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, have shrinking enrollment, 15 vacant schools and, quite logically, no plans for new construction. It's the essential fraud of rushing through a bill in which the normal rules (committee hearings, finding revenue to pay for the programs) are suspended on the grounds that a national emergency requires an immediate job-creating stimulus -- and then throwing into it hundreds of billions that have nothing to do with stimulus, that Congress's own budget office says won't be spent until 2011 and beyond, and that are little more than the back-scratching, special-interest, lobby-driven parochialism that Obama came to Washington to abolish. He said.

Now, in the words of the racist Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama's "chickens have come home to roost." Clearly, Obama lied to America in order to get the votes. But what is really insulting here is that Obama expected to get away with it. Apparently, he expected America to forget about his promises and statments. Instead, Obama forgot about the Internet that he so masterfully used to come to power.

Read on:

The Age of Obama begins with perhaps the greatest frenzy of old-politics influence peddling ever seen in Washington. By the time the stimulus bill reached the Senate, reports the Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical and high-tech companies were lobbying furiously for a new plan to repatriate overseas profits that would yield major tax savings. California wine growers and Florida citrus producers were fighting to change a single phrase in one provision. Substituting "planted" for "ready to market" would mean a windfall garnered from a new "bonus depreciation" incentive. After Obama's miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell -- and that this president told better than anyone. I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

Two and a half weeks. That would make a great name if someone ever made a documentary about the disaster that Barack Obama is shaping up to be.

This column that Charles Krauthammer wrote is a classic for the ages. It is right up there with the fable about the emperor who wore no clothes.

You can access the complete column on-line here:

The Fierce Urgency Of Pork
Charles Krauthammer
The Washington Post
February 6, 2009

And you might also want to read why this spending bill will mean more inflation for the rest of us:

Why 'Stimulus' Will Mean Inflation
George Melloan
Wall Street Journal
February 6, 2009

Democrats Looking To Establish "National Emergency Centers"

Are those anything like "Relocation Camps?" Or maybe "Work Camps" or "Re-education Centers?" That may be a bit on the paranoid side, but certainly something to keep in the back of your mind as you read about Rep. Alcee Hastings' (D-FL) latest bill submitted to the House of Representatives. Submitted as HR 645, it is sub-titled the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act.

It seems inoccuous at first glance, but you really need to read the bill to see some pretty unsavory language, language that could be used for purposes other than what the stated intention of the bill is.

For example, from Section 2 of HR 645:

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure-- (1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster; (2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders; (3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and (4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Item #4 is what bothers me the most here. The language used there is extremely vague. Whereas Section 6 of HR 645 defines the terms "closed military installation," "emergency," "major disaster," and "military installation," it does not define the term "appropriate needs." In fact, nowhere in the bill does it even hint at what these "appropriate needs" might be.

You can use your imagination and decide what this could mean under certain circumstances.

I say this bill needs to die. The last thing I will ever want is to be put into some "relocation center" (concentration camp) just because some bureaucrat says I have to go. I cannot think of one single scenario where that would ever be a requirement for me or my family. Not one.

You can access the full text of HR 645, as submitted by Rep. Alcee Hastings, on-line here:

National Emergency Centers Establishment Act
OpenCongress.org
January 22, 2009

Socialism? The Current Proposal From The Democrats Is Outright Marxism!

You are not going to believe this, but read it for yourself:

Congress will consider legislation to extend some of the curbs on executive pay that now apply only to those banks receiving federal assistance, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said. “There’s deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Washington news conference today. He said the compensation restrictions would apply to all financial institutions and might be extended to include all U.S. companies.

Yes, if you read all the way to the end of that clip, you saw the words: "to include all U.S. companies."

That's right. The Dems are now proposing Soviet-style control on how much money you could potentially make.

Think this is just some leftist idle chat? Read on:

Mr. Frank seems to be in synch with the Obama administration in his plans for executive compensation. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last month that he might try to extend to all U.S. companies a restriction that prohibits bailout banks from taking a tax deduction of more than $500,000 in pay for each executive. The Troubled Assets Relief Program legislation enacted in October seeks to give companies receiving aid under the $700 billion bailout a number of incentives to curb what it calls excessive executive pay. Mr. Geithner said he would consider “extending at least some of the TARP provisions and features of the $500,000 cap to U.S. companies generally.”

Yes, our current tax-evading Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, said that.

Any of you libs out there still want to whine about the Dems being referred to as "socialists?" Maybe you are right. This latest proposal puts them in league with the Marxists.

There is an old saying: "With the first link, the chain is forged."

This idiotic proposal the Dems are making is that first link.

Wake up, America!

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Barney Frank: TARP's Comp Curbs Could Be Extended To All Businesses
Neil Roland
Financial Week
February 3, 2009

Excellent On-Line Essay: Blue-State Bailout Blues

By Jay Henderson over at American Sentinel.

So, which states are the first in line to ask for federal bailouts? Those states with the largest entitlement spending programs. They are New York, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois.

From Jay's on-line essay:

There is a dangerous tipping point in politics. When 50.1% of the voters pay no taxes but expect and rely on "entitlements" from the government, then they will tax to infinity the remaining 49.9% of the polity. The Blue States now begging for bailouts give us a good look at what happens as that tipping point approaches. The rush for Federal bailout bucks began in November, led by California and New York. In early January, Democratic governors from Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio pitched their case to the Obama transition team, proposing a $1 trillion bailout of state governments. The needy Blue States of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and California provided 134 Obama electoral votes last November - - more than half of his total. Other states on the bailout list include Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, 47 more Democratic electoral votes. The political pressure on the Obama administration is obvious.

Your tax dollars, money you need to take care of your own family, are going to go for paying off political allies and propping up socialist entitlement programs that are destined to bankrupt those who fund them, no matter how many ways they are taxed.

But of interesting note here is that those states are also among the wealthiest in terms of per capita income:

Ironically, the governors travelling to Washington with begging bowls represent some of the wealthiest states in the U.S. Measured in terms of per capita income, they include New Jersey (ranked number 2), Massachusetts (ranked number 3), New York (number 4), California (number 7), and Illinois (number 16), as of 2007 statistics. Per Capita Personal Income By State. How can this be? Well, these same states are at the forefront of "entitlement" spending and social engineering projects.

Finally:

While Red State America, sustained by blue collar, working class, and small business taxpayers, is called upon to bail out the wealthy but profligate Blues - - the Congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration are planning to expand or adopt the same kinds of "entitlement" spending programs and social engineering projects that are breaking the backs of Blue State taxpayers. Because they work so well, right? This is a chilling insight into our national future - - if we don't derail the Obamacrat train.

So, who is going to bailout the small businesses, blue-collar workers and the working class when the U.S. government bankrupts itself by wasting trillions of dollars on the same foolish programs that bankrupted the states that are looking for bailout dollars?

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Blue-State Bailout Blues
Jay Henderson
American Sentinel
February 4, 2009

Other links here:

Next Federal Bailout May Go To States; Democratic Governors Seek $1 Trillion
FoxNews.com
January 3, 2009

Facing Shortfalls, States Seek Emergency Aid From Washington
Keith B. Richburg and Ashley Surdin
Washington Post
November 16, 2008

Local Zeroes: Cities And States Are Facing Big Budget Deficits
The Economist
November 13, 2008

Bailed Out Bank Of America Hands $2 Million To Voter-Fraud Organization

Let's see: Corporate conferences, remodeling rest rooms, paying out bonuses to employees. Any of that done by a bank that received bail-out funds causes the Dems to scream bloody murder.

But, if a bank that received bail-out funds donates to an organization that actively engages in voter-fruad, well, the Dems are okay with that.

From Amanda Carpenter at Town Hall:

Bank of America, one of the many banks to benefiting from a government bailout, is giving more than $2.1 million directly to the controversial interest group ACORN that engaged in fraudulent voter registration activities in the 2008 election. The January 29 Chronicle of Philanthropy [subscription only] reported Bank of America's Charitable Foundation is giving the interest group $2,155,000 "for efforts to prevent foreclosures and educate people about finances and purchasing homes." The gift is being made in four separate allocations, most of them going to Chicago--the city President Obama hails from. ACORN endorsed Obama in the 2008 presidential election and actively worked to elect him by conducting various get-out-the-vote activities. In the process of those activities ACORN submitted hundreds of fraudulent voter registration forms to local election offices. Two of the grants, one for $2 million and another for $85,000 are being made to a Chicago ACORN corporation. Another, for $20,000, is being given to a Las Vegas chapter. And, $50,000 is being gifted to ACORN in Miami.

Notice that the lion's share went ot the Chicago-based chapter? Looks like Obama may be paying off his political allies using taxpayer dollars.

You can access the original article on-line here:

Bailed Out Band Of America Gives $2M To ACORN
Amanda Carpenter
TownHall.com
February 2, 2009

Taxes? Dems Want To Raise Them But Not Pay Them

If there is anyone out there who still thinks that the Democrats are some sort of paragon for ethics reform, please send me an email. There is a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like you to buy.

First Timothy Geithner and now Tom Daschle. What is it with Dems and their refusal to follow the same rules that Joe and Jane Average American have to follow? Why do the Democrats assume that they are somehow better than the rest of us and therefore don't have to abide by the same laws we do?

Daschle owed $128,203 dollars in back taxes and was working on avoiding having to pay them.

Writing for Town Hall, Kevin Freking has the following:

Tom Daschle's former Democratic colleagues were rallying to his defense after he met behind closed doors with the Senate Finance Committee to discuss problems with back taxes and potential conflicts of interest, but lawmakers promised he will face more questions.

The Dems are rallying to his defense, but would they have done the same thing if Daschle were a Republican? No. That would require integrity.

More:

Those questions will focus on tax issues, such as the $128,203 in back taxes and $11,964 in interest that he paid last month, said the aide. Daschle will also be questioned about the potential conflicts of interests he would face because he accepted speaking fees from health care interests, said the aide, who asked not to be identified because the aide was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Daschle also provided advice to health insurers and hospitals through his work at a law firm. Daschle began the day apologizing for his failure to fully pay his taxes from 2005 through 2007. He capped it off that way as well after meeting with the committee behind closed doors.

Once again, the Dems have shown us the hypocrisy that dominates thier logic. They have one very low standard for themselves and one very high standard for everyone else. People are beginning to notice.

But it won't matter. The Dems are not in the habit of listening to the American people. They simply go their own way regardless of how unethical or illegal their actions are.

The parting shot:

Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted the Geithner nomination in saying she suspected tax problems would not prevent Daschle from becoming the next health secretary. "If the guy who is overseeing the IRS can get away with a tax problem, how are you going to hold up the health and human services secretary over taxes?" she asked.

The answer is: Geithner never should have been confirmed to begin with.

You can access the complete article on-line here:

Daschle Faces More Questions In Nomination Bid
Kevin Freking
TownHall.com
February 3, 2009