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"A popular Government, without popular information, or the means
of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.
Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own
Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." --James
Madison, letter to W.T. Barry, 1822
Iwo Jima
Feb. 23, 1945
65 years
Those depending upon a benevolent government will find the same benevolence a sheep may find among a pack of wolves.
Jim Mullen
Without taxation, politicians would lose their power over the people... higher taxes result in
more control.
Keep it Ringing!
Blog
Washington Passes Secret Energy Tax
ALERT: It looks like the climate bill debate has already been decided by Washington and voters didn't even have a chance to say "NO!" A staggering $65 billion dollars has been transferred from the private sector to fund the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI.) RGGI is government created entity that is choking companies in the northeast with huge tax increases in the name of the environment. Our tax dollars are funding this secret climate initiative. Soon RGGI will expand to every state and stick you with astronomical energy prices.
Wall Street Journal Sizes up Obama
Obama Wants Change to Allow Thousands of Illegals to Stay in US
8-26-10
From The Washington Times
By Stephen Dinan
Saying Washington is hampered by "endless spending sprees, entangled tax structures and bureaucracy run amok," the top House Republican on Tuesday demanded President Obama fire his entire economic team and immediately submit a plan to cut spending to pre-stimulus 2008 levels.
"We've tried 19 months of government as community organizer. It hasn't worked. Our fresh start needs to begin now," Rep. John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, told the City Club of Cleveland in a broad speech laying out the economic argument House Republicans will take to voters this November.
He said the president must break with the economic team that, 19 months into his tenure, has failed to lower the unemployment rate — singling out Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Lawrence H. Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council. Read More...
8-25-10
Read my new article,
Progressive flimflam men
8-24-10
Wallis Admits to Soros Funding
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Jim Wallis, Obama's new spiritual advisor, has admitted that Sojourners has received funding in the past from liberal billionaire George Soros' Open Society Institute.
Last month, Marvin Olasky asked Wallis to admit his affiliations on the left when reported on the money from Soros in World magazine.
George Soros, one of the leading billionaire leftists—he has financed groups promoting abortion, atheism, same-sex marriage, and gargantuan government—bankrolled Sojourners with a $200,000 grant in 2004. A year later, here's how Jim rebutted a criticism of "religious progressives" for being allied with Soros and MoveOn.org: "I know of no connections to those liberal funds and groups that are as direct as the Religious Right's ties to right-wing funders."
Since then Sojourners has received at least two more grants from Soros organizations. Sojourners revenues have more than tripled—from $1,601,171 in 2001-2002 to $5,283,650 in 2008-2009—as secular leftists have learned to use the religious left to elect Obama and others.
8-23-10
Read my new article,
Obama's trolling and state bailouts
8-22-10
Does this sound like our Congress?
8-21-10
Obama drill ban could cost thousands of jobs
The deep water drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico could cost at least 23,000 jobs, according to a federal document that weighed the economic impact and alternatives to the drilling ban.
The six-month suspension would directly put 9,450 people out of work and indirectly affect nearly 14,000 other jobs, according to a memo from Michael Bromwich, the nation's top drilling regulator. The memo to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar outlined several options regarding the suspension of offshore drilling.
Salazar issued the moratorium in June, but it was struck down by a federal judge in New Orleans after oil and gas drilling interests said it wasn't justified following the Gulf oil spill.
The Obama administration issued a new moratorium July 13 - three days after the memo - that stressed new evidence of safety concerns. The White House hopes the revised ban will pass muster with the courts.
Some energy experts, engineering consultants and Gulf Coast leaders have joined to ask Salazar to change his mind. Drilling was safe before the BP spill, they said, and Gulf communities that depend on the industry were suffering unfairly.
Obama does not care about any oil company jobs. He is the front man for the lunatic-left of the environment movement which wants us to cease using any fossil fuels.
8-20-10
From Dave Gibson of
The group Judicial Watch has reported that the state of Colorado has been paying illegal aliens unemployment benefits since an official with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) ordered the agency to stop using software which screened out those in this county illegally.
8-19-10
Economy still tanking, Obama plays blame game
Nationally, new applications for unemployment benefits rose two weeks ago to their highest level in almost six months to 484,000. First-time claims rose while analysts expected claims to fall.
1.117 trillion Deficit for year with July 165 billion. The budget year ends 9-30-10. Obama touts all this as good news. No doubt it is good for his Marxist plan of creating a society solely dependent on government; Institutionalization of the U.S.
Obama providing 3 billion in housing aid to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets. They will pick 17 states for this bailout program. Yet another part of his plan to keep people dependent upon government, thus, buying votes in November. You can be assured the states will have the largest numbers of supporters for the Dems.
Trade deficit is 50 billion for June, signaling slower growth in the economy.
Company job openings dropped for second straight month and hiring isn’t likely to pick up any time soon.
Employers are laying off workers again as the economic recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November.
This was the third straight week that first-time jobless claims rose. The upward trend suggests the private sector may report a net loss of jobs in August for the first time this year. Initial claims rose by 12,000 last week to 500,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
This year’s deficit will surpass $1.3 trillion.
8-18-10
Obama brings in more actors
"We need to extend unemployment compensation benefits for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year, and have been looking for work ever since. Because she's eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she's doing what she never thought she'd have to do. Not at this point, anyway. She's turning to her father for support," Obama said in his speech at the White House on July 19th.
Of course, Leslie Macko of Charlottesville, Va., standing beside Obama is the poster child for liberals. She lost her job because she had been arrested for prescription drug fraud and is standing in line for more handouts from taxpayers.
Last week Obama used a teacher from West Virginia as an example of a need for more funding for school districts. The only problem was she was laid off due to declining enrollment, not from lack of funds.
This is all just more staging from the master manipulator, Barack Obama. Nothing is ever as this administration portrays. It is all socialist, Marxist, propaganda to leverage power and money.
8-17-10
Subject: Fw: [FWD: FW: Upcoming Taxes for 2011 !!!!]
Be sure to pass this along to all of your "progressive" friends/enemies
In just six months, on January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect.
They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves.
On January 1, 2011, here’s what happens... (read it to the end, so you see all three waves)...
First Wave:
Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.
These will all expire on January 1, 2011.
Personal income tax rates will rise.
The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).
The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.
All the rates in between will also rise.
Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.
The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
The 25% bracket rises to 28%
The 28% bracket rises to 31%
The 33% bracket rises to 36%
The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family.
The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income.
The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.
The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.
The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax.
This year only, there is no death tax. (It’s a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, there is a 55 percent
top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirement account, could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones. Think of the farmers who don’t make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money. Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don’t have the cash sitting around to pay the tax. Think about your own family’s assets. Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn’t make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million. Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash! That’s 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million! Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?
Higher tax rates on savers and investors.
The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.
The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.
These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave:
Obamacare
There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The "Medicine Cabinet Tax"
Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The "Special Needs Kids Tax"
This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.
There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.
Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. ( National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.
Under tax rules, FSA dollars cannot be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike.
This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave:
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise - the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.
The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.
According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.
Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000.
This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment.
In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.
There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.
The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.
Tax credits for education will be limited.
Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.
Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.
The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.
Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.
This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.
PDF Version Read more: <http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171>; http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171##ixzz0sY8waPq1
And worse yet?
Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!
One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!
Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort.
If you're retired? So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.
You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.
For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.
This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.
Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....
On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001,
as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."
- Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters.
- Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what is above.
MY ADDED COMMENT!
LAST but far from least – effective January 1, 2013 – sell a property – PAY A FEDERAL TAX of 3.8% on gross sales price. Doesn’t matter if you make a profit on sale – it is on GROSS not net.
Worse part of this from my perspective is as a new tax it is an “opportunity” that the government can continue to exploit. No guarantee that the 3.8% won’t be increased in later years – remember social security was never suppose to exceed 1%. And of course there is the second shoe – since the Federal government is applying this tax, why not the State government too? As a potential source of large bucks – it may be too attractive for States to resist.
Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book.
People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November! PLEASE VOTE THEM OUT!!!!
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”-Samuel Adams
8-16-10
Gallup: Disapproval of Obama Hits All-Time High
The percentage of Americans disapproving of how President Obama does his job hit an all-time high Monday, with half of all voters surveyed by the Gallup poll saying they disapprove.
The 50 percent mark was a jump from previous polls, which had showed Obama leveling off in the high 40s, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll. The new high certainly doesn’t bode well for Democrats in the midterm elections. Though Obama isn’t running, he is the face of the party.
The news comes as Democrats weigh the fallout from President Obama’s remarks Friday night in support of the mosque being built near the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Forty-two percent told Gallup they approved of the president's job performance.
From http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/obama-gallup-disapproval-all-time-high-mosque-democrats-midterms/2010/08/16/id/367611?s=al&promo_code=A83E-1
8-15-10
Think about this for a moment
8-14-10
This would explain much about this year's Congress, as well.
8-13-10
It's official...National Guard will not be allowed to stop illegal aliens
By Dave Gibson
During a Friday press conference, U.S. National Guard Bureau of Communications Jack Harrison announced that the 1,200 National Guard troops that are supposed to be sent to the U.S./Mexican border “will not be doing direct law enforcement.”
Harrison described their duty along the dangerous border to a reporter with CNS News, saying: “The two mission sets are criminal analysts and enter-identification teams.” He continued: “I can tell you that guardsmen will not be doing direct law enforcement on the southwest border.”
So, just as we suspected…the National Guard troops will be used as file clerks and observers, trained to retreat or step aside when drug and human smugglers invade this country.
Of course, we have seen this type of useless political window dressing before.
President Bush announced in 2006 that he was sending National Guard units to the Mexican border to assist with border enforcement.
However, before issuing the order, he placed a phone call to then- Mexican President Vicente Fox, to reassure him that he was not “militarizing the border.”
Bush made good on his promise to Fox with the hamstrung rules of engagement under which the Guardsmen were operating.
On January 3, 2007, an armed paramilitary group of six to eight men, crossed the border into the United States and over ran a National Guard post located near Sasabe, AZ. The Guardsmen from Tennessee quickly packed up their equipment, jumped back into their truck, and fled the scene. That sorry action by the Guardsmen clearly demonstrated what our president instructed them to do...NOTHING!
Tennessee National Guard spokesman Randy Harris told the Associated Press: "The soldiers did exactly what their mission was, to pull back if they're approached by armed personnel coming across the border."
In an award ceremony which was closed to the press, the Tennessee National Guardsmen involved were presented with achievement medals for their actions described their spokesman as a “tactical retreat.”
The office of then Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) released a report to the Associated Press which praised the Tennessee National Guard unit for fleeing the scene in the face of an armed incursion into the United States. The report said: "We see this as a triumph of the training, discipline, and professionalism of the Guardsmen performing their mission."
The current Guard deployment under Obama is scheduled to last up to one year, and promises to be just as pointless and embarrassing as the last.
8-12-10
Economy continues to tank, Obama persists in passing the buck and blaming others
Nationally, new applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to their highest level in almost six months to 484,000. First-time claims rose while analysts had expected claims to fall.
There are over 15 million unemployed Americans and many more underemployed. Young people are suffering the most from the liberal Democrats failed policies; especially young minorities and poor whites.
$1.117 trillion Deficit for the year with July at $165 billion. The budget year ends 9-30-10. Obama touts all this as good news. No doubt it is good for his Marxist plan of creating a society solely dependent on government. Institutionalization of the U.S. is his goal; that is where the votes are.
Obama provided 3 billion in housing aid to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets. They will pick 17 states for this bailout program. Yet another part of his plan to keep people dependent upon government, thus, buying votes in November. You can be assured the states will have the largest numbers of support for the Democrats.
The U.S. trade deficit was 50 billion for June, signaling slower growth in the economy.
Company job openings dropped for the second straight month and hiring isn’t likely to pick up any time soon.
8-11-10
Read my new article,
America tired of Obama's act
8-10-10
From Newsmax.com
Ground Zero Imam Travels on Uncle Sam’s Nickel
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 10:29 AM
Article Font Size
By: John Rossomando
The State Department will be footing the bill for Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial ground zero mosque, as he embarks on a tour of the Middle East.
Plans for the $100 million mosque have drawn strong criticism from 9/11 families, as well as prominent figures such as Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.
Rauf personally has become controversial because he refuses to acknowledge Hamas is a terrorist group and for his stated belief U.S. foreign policy partly was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
Read more...
8-9-10
POLITICO Breaking News:
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The House ethics committee has released formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), accusing her of three counts of violating the letter and spirit of House rules.
For more information...http://www.politico.com
8-8-10
The Death of Federalism
August 7, 2010 by Jerry McDaniel
Federalism is dead in America; its Constitution on life support. With Barack Obama in the White House and progressive democrats in control of Congress, the left’s centuries old goal of a consolidated government has finally been realized. With federalism gone, the Constitution becomes little more than an interesting historical artifact to be marveled at by historians and academicians. The experiment of enumerated powers and state sovereignty no longer has any relevance in American politics.
Read more...
8-7-10
Maxine Waters and her Freudian slip
Maybe now we can be rid of another corrupt,socialist, Democrat.
“And guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socializing, uh, uh… would be about basically about taking over the government running all of your companies.” --Maxine Waters
8-6-10
From onenewsnow.com
The cost of Kagan's confirmation
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, making her the fourth female to serve on the nation's highest court. The 50-year-old Harvard Law School graduate is scheduled to be sworn in Saturday (August 7). While Kagan's confirmation isn't a surprise for most, the possible backlash some lawmakers may face as a result of their vote could be. Read more...
8-5-10
From Immigration Reform Examiner
8-4-10
Read my article, Electoral College still under attack
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8-4-10
Sandra Statts, President of the Parkersburg, WV Tea Party, has announced the group will be hosting a Senate Candidate’s forum in the City Council Chambers, second floor of the municipal building, 1 Government square, on Market Street in Parkersburg, WV on August 9th, Monday, at 6:30PM.
John Raese, Lynnette McQuain, Kenneth Culp, Daniel Rebich, Harry Brunner, Jesse Johnson and possible more will be attending. Please don’t miss this chance to meet and learn about the candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate seat in WV held by the late Robert Byrd.
Remember, early voting starts on August 25th, so we need to get busy and vet these candidates. This is everyone’s chance to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hope to see you there!
8-3-10
Illegal immigrant who killed nun in DUI accident was released by feds in catch and release mania
8-2-10
John McCain's real record on amnesty and health care for illegals.
8-1-10
From Newsmax.com
Rep. King: Obama Must Confront Islamic Terror
Thursday, 29 Jul 2010 11:22 PM
Article Font Size
By: Ashley Martella
Rep. Peter King says the Obama administration coddles the country’s enemies with soft rhetoric that emboldens them to continue their terrorist ways.
“We have an unyielding enemy, an enemy that is vicious and bitter, an enemy which will resort to any tactics any time to achieve the goal of destroying us a society,” the New York Republican told a gathering at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The Obama administration won’t even use the term “Islamic terrorism” to address the source of the threat, he said.
“The enemy is Islamic terrorism,” King said.
The nine-term congressman credits CIA interrogations with helping prevent another terrorist attack after 9/11. But the Obama administration considered going after CIA attorneys who advised interrogators, he said.
“When you have Eric Holder, as one of first acts to say that he intends to have a criminal investigation of the CIA interrogators, who kept us safe for over seven years, this was exactly the wrong message to send to the enemy.
It also helps to demoralize our forces, the men and women who are on the front lines who have to get the job done,” King said.
As a consequence, terrorists feel free to inflict attacks such as the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre, as well as the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound airliner, and an attempted bombing in Times square, he said. Terrorists view even the failed attempts successes because they penetrated U.S. security, King said.
A native New Yorker, King said he strongly opposes to building a mosque only two blocks from the World Trade Center site, the location of the deadliest ever attack on U.S. soil.
7-31-10
If there is one thing Obama does well it is read from his Tele-Promter. It would seem the unemployment rate should be dropping if only for the speech writers he employs. His daily barrage of propaganda is wearing as thin as his lack of competent governance.
The growth of the economy has slowed to its weakest showing in nearly a year. The gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.4% from April to June, down from 3.7% the quarter before. Many economists say the growth is even slower now that a year ago.
Americans spend less, businesses are not restocking their shelves, and the government says the recession was a deeper hole to climb out of than previously known.
However, all this never fazes Super Mouth. He continues to take the country closer to the edge of the cliff while blaming everyone else for the lousy conditions he has created with his Marxist policies. His rants would do very well in Venezuela, let's hope they do not play in Peoria.
7-30-10
From One News Now
Irrespective of a presidential executive order and rule rewriting ordered by America's Health and Human Services secretary, healthcare reform does provide for tax-funded abortions.
ObamaCare 3The Congressional Research Service, a government agency, confirms that abortions can be funded under "ObamaCare." The president's executive order, reports CRS, "does not specifically address high-risk pools and the funds provided under Section 1101 of [the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]."
7-29-10
The "Disclose Act" is dead...for now.
7-28-10
From Freedom action.org
Senate defeats DISCLOSE act
War not over
See how your senator voted
Since the House had already passed it, the Senate vote on DISCLOSE was a nail-biter. Monday, President Obama made a last-minute plea. Senator Susan Collins came out against it, but her fellow Republican Senator from Maine, Olympia Snowe, was still uncommitted. Our friends at Tea Party Patriots sent out an alert Monday afternoon (which used the information from Freedom Action’s alert—thanks!) warning Tea Partiers that their First Amendment right to free speech and thus their participation in the election would be severely restricted by DISCLOSE. Tuesday, with the Senate vote scheduled for 2:45pm, Senator Snowe finally announced at 1:45 that she would vote No. With 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and proceed to the bill, it failed by 57 to 41. All the Republicans voted No, except for Senator John Ensign of Nevada who missed the vote. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut announced that he would vote Yes, but he also missed the vote. (Click
7-27-10
From Newsmax.com
A united Republican Party is spoiling President Barack Obama's attempts to impose new campaign finance rules designed to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling.
The Senate has scheduled an afternoon cloture vote on the bill, known as the Disclose Act. Democrats need 60 yes votes to proceed with the bill before it could even be put before the Senate for a final vote. But that's not likely to happen.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has announced that she'll oppose the Disclose Act, which would reveal the sources of election campaign advertising. But Collins opposes the proposal because she says the bill is tougher on corporations and other large donors than it is on labor unions.
"The bill would provide a clear and unfair advantage to unions, while either shutting other organizations out of the election process or subjecting them to onerous reporting requirements that would not apply to unions," Collins aide Kevin Kelley told CNN.com.
And on Tuesday, another Maine senator dashed the Democrats' hopes: Sen. Olympia Snowe announced that she also would vote no.
"I'm going to vote against it, because it's premature," she said. "We've had no hearing process and ability to build consensus."
Adding to the Democrats' woes is the fact that Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut, will be attending a funeral and won't be at the Capitol for the vote. Without those votes, Obama and his Democratic allies will be at least two votes shy of the 60 needed to move the bill forward.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has blasted the bill for the special treatment that unions would receive.
"The Disclose Act is a perfect example of Washington politics at its absolute worst, and at a time when the country can afford it least. Legislation that silences incumbent politicians’ critics and exempts their political friends should never be considered in America," chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue told FoxNews.com.
GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also says the bill would favor Democrats and restrict free speech.
The measure “seeks to protect unpopular Democrat politicians by silencing their critics and exempting their campaign supporters from an all-out attack on the First Amendment,” the Kentucky Republican said.
The House has passed a similar bill, with only two Republicans supporting it. The Senate version is being sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. The Disclose Act was drawn up in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in January that lifted the longtime cap on campaign finance spending.
The lawsuit that led to the high court's ruling was filed by Citizens United, which is outraged about the Disclose Act.
"Citizens who are members of other grassroots groups will be muzzled by this legislation for no reason other than that they belong to a group without the financial and lobbying muscle to exempt itself from this bill," said Citizens United leader David Bossie.
"This bill is nothing more than incumbent protection in its worst and most cynical form. The American people will not be fooled so easily."
Obama chided Republicans for their opposition to the bill on Monday. "You'd think that reducing corporate, and even foreign influence over our elections would not be a partisan issue," he said.
"But of course, this is Washington in 2010, and the Republican leadership in the Senate is once again using every tactic and every maneuver they can to prevent the Disclose Act from even coming for an up or down vote.
"We can't afford these political games . . . This is an issue that goes to whether or not we're going to have a government that works for ordinary Americans; a government by and for the people."
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
7-26-10
Read my article, Steinbrenner dies just to spite liberal politicians
7-25-10
From Townhall.com, Bob Gorrell
7-24-10
7-23-10
Read my new article, Liberalism is not a jobs program
7-22-10
7-20-10
7-19-10
Read my new article,
Government bailout of media will doom our Republic
7-18-10
7-17-10
POLITICO Breaking News:
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The Federal Election Commission has penalized Vice President Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign $219,000 for accepting over-the-limit contributions and a deeply discounted flight on a private jet owned by an embattled New York hedge fund, as well as for sloppy record-keeping, according to an audit report released Friday. Elizabeth Alexander, a spokeswoman for Biden in the vice president’s office, called the FEC-ordered repayment “relatively small,” and said "some repayment is commonplace after presidential campaign audits.”
For more information...http://www.politico.com
7-16-10
Quotas Hidden in Bank Reform Bill Will Cost Taxpayers Millions
Thursday, 15 Jul 2010 07:27 PM
By: David A. Patten
7-15-10
7-14-10
Federal budget gap over $1 trillion through June
7-13-10
Read my new article, Obama declares war on Arizona
7-11-10
7-10-10
From Washington Times, U.S. marks 3rd largest single-day of debt increase, $166 billion increase.
7-9-10
Read my new article on Obama's new slogan, more people to blame
7-8-10
7-7-10
See Bret Hume's commentary on NASA
9-1-10
Web shots from Restoring Honor Rally, from Sandra Statts, Parkersburg, WV Tea Partyhttp://news.webshots.com/slideshow/578483020BwDjQh
8-31-10
Washington Passes Secret Energy Tax
ALERT: It looks like the climate bill debate has already been decided by Washington and voters didn't even have a chance to say "NO!" A staggering $65 billion dollars has been transferred from the private sector to fund the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI.) RGGI is government created entity that is choking companies in the northeast with huge tax increases in the name of the environment. Our tax dollars are funding this secret climate initiative. Soon RGGI will expand to every state and stick you with astronomical energy prices.
RGGI is the nation's first mandatory greenhouse gas cap and trade regulating entity. This waste of tax dollars is responsible for "making an impact on climate change" in 10 Northeast states. Never mind that GLOBAL WARMING ISN'T EVEN REAL! The only impact RGGI has made so far is they have raised energy prices and created a slush fund for each member state. What exactly that money is being used for is unclear. Each state is capped on their carbon emissions and taxed if they use them up. RGGI added a 0.9% increase in energy prices in New England.
WASHINGTON CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO SECRETLY TAX ENERGY UNDER THE GUISE OF CLIMATE CHANGE!
The Beltway sense of entitlement is mind boggling. While everyday Americans struggle to pay the bills and live through the stress of the Recession, RGGI is rolling in the dough. RGGI Chief, Jonathan Schrag is living a life most of us could only dream of. In June, Schrag and his wife Kristen purchased a $2.2 million dollar loft in Manhattan. Schrag's posh condo is 2,000 square feet and has three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a nice view of the Manhattan skyline. Schrag's luxurious residence is only a five block walk to the RGGI headquarters. I guess he didn't want to risk creating a carbon foot print by driving to work.
OUR TAX DOLLARS ARE FUNDING LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLES FOR CROOKS
Schrag is paid to keep secrets. He has refused to disclose how much money he makes and the salaries of his employees. Schrag told New Jersey Watch Dog to get lost when they asked him to disclose RGGI's records. In the most recent public disclosure requests from the IRS Schrag declined to reveal how much everyone is paid in the organization. Most companies have to reveal to the IRS the salaries of their employees. RGGI is given special treatment because our government is backing their scheme.
Select Below to Tell Congress To Kill the Cap & Tax Conspiracy
FAX All Congressmen STOP Washington's Secret Energy Tax!
The corruptocrats in Washington are completely responsible for this gigantic waste of tax dollars. Everyday Americans work hard to earn money and provide for their families while Washington fat cats get paid to accomplish nothing! The crooks behind RGGI must be exposed and help accountable!
THIS IS A FIGHT WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE. YOUR FUTURE IS AT STAKE AND ALSO THE FUTURE OF YOUR FAMILY.
Tell Congress To Investigate RGGI NOW!
8-30-10
Wall Street Journal Sizes up Obama
A short article from the Wall Street Journal
A "deadly" article regarding Obama, at the Wall Street Journal, which today is the most widely circulated newspaper in America ..
Article from the Wall Street Journal - by Eddie Sessions:
"I have this theory about Barack Obama. I think he's led a kind of make-believe life in which money was provided and doors were opened because at some point early on somebody or some group took a look at this tall, good looking, half-white, half-black, young man with an exotic African/Muslim name and concluded he could be guided toward a life in politics where his facile speaking skills could even put him in the White House.
In a very real way, he has been a young man in a very big hurry. Who else do you know has written two memoirs before the age of 45? "Dreams of My Father" was published in 1995 when he was only 34 years old. The "Audacity of Hope" followed in 2006. If, indeed, he did write them himself. There are some who think that his mentor and friend, Bill Ayers, a man who calls himself a "communist with a small 'c'" was the real author.
His political skills consisted of rarely voting on anything that might be deemed controversial. He went from a legislator in the Illinois legislature to the Senator from that state because he had the good fortune of having Mayor Daley's formidable political machine at his disposal.
He was in the U.S. Senate so briefly that his bid for the presidency was either an act of astonishing self-confidence or part of some greater game plan that had been determined before he first stepped foot in the Capital. How, many must wonder, was he selected to be a 2004 keynote speaker at the Democrat convention that nominated John Kerry when virtually no one had ever even heard of him before?
He outmaneuvered Hillary Clinton in primaries. He took Iowa by storm. A charming young man, an anomaly in the state with a very small black population, he oozed "cool" in a place where agriculture was the antithesis of cool. He dazzled the locals. And he had an army of volunteers drawn to a charisma that hid any real substance.
And then he had the great good fortune of having the Republicans select one of the most inept candidates for the presidency since Bob Dole. And then John McCain did something crazy. He picked Sarah Palin, an unknown female governor from the very distant state of Alaska . It was a ticket that was reminiscent of 1984's Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro and they went down to defeat.
The mainstream political media fell in love with him. It was a schoolgirl crush with febrile commentators like Chris Mathews swooning then and now over the man. The venom directed against McCain and, in particular, Palin, was extraordinary.
Now, nearly a full 2 years into his first term, all of those gilded years leading up to the White House have left him unprepared to be President. Left to his own instincts, he has a talent for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. It swiftly became a joke that he could not deliver even the briefest of statements without the ever-present Tele-Prompters.
Far worse, however, is his capacity to want to "wish away" some terrible realities, not the least of which is the Islamist intention to destroy America and enslave the West. Any student of history knows how swiftly Islam initially spread. It knocked on the doors of Europe, having gained a foothold in Spain .
The great crowds that greeted him at home or on his campaign "world tour" were no substitute for having even the slightest grasp of history and the reality of a world filled with really bad people with really bad intentions.
Oddly and perhaps even inevitably, his political experience, a cakewalk, has positioned him to destroy the Democrat Party's hold on power in Congress because in the end it was never about the Party. It was always about his communist ideology, learned at an early age from family, mentors, college professors, and extreme leftist friends and colleagues.
Obama is a man who could deliver a snap judgment about a Boston police officer who arrested an "obstreperous" Harvard professor-friend, but would warn Americans against "jumping to conclusions" about a mass murderer at Fort Hood who shouted "Allahu Akbar." The absurdity of that was lost on no one. He has since compounded this by calling the Christmas bomber "an isolated extremist" only to have to admit a day or two later that he was part of an al Qaeda plot.
He is a man who could strive to close down our detention facility at Guantanamo even though those released were known to have returned to the battlefield against America . He could even instruct his Attorney General to afford the perpetrator of 9/11 a civil trial when no one else would ever even consider such an obscenity. And he is a man who could wait three days before having anything to say about the perpetrator of yet another terrorist attack on Americans and then have to elaborate on his remarks the following day because his first statement was so lame.
The pattern repeats itself. He either blames any problem on the Bush administration or he naively seeks to wish away the truth.
Knock, knock. Anyone home? Anyone there? Barack Obama exists only as the sock puppet of his handlers, of the people who have maneuvered and manufactured this pathetic individual's life.
When anyone else would quickly and easily produce a birth certificate, this man has spent over a million dollars to deny access to his. Most other documents, the paper trail we all leave in our wake, have been sequestered from review. He has lived a make-believe life whose true facts remain hidden.
We laugh at the ventriloquist's dummy, but what do you do when the dummy is President of the United States of America ?"
8-29-10
Obama Wants Change to Allow Thousands of Illegals to Stay in US
PHOENIX – A shake-up in immigration policy may lead to deportation proceedings being dropped for thousands of aliens who entered the United States illegally but are applying to stay in the country, officials said on Friday.
They said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) seeks to end deportation proceedings against detained illegal immigrants who have applications pending to become legal U.S. residents, if agents determine they have no criminal history and do not present a security threat.
The policy shift emerged from an internal memorandum ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton sent last week to the agency's principal legal adviser and a director of enforcement and removal operations.
The memo was published by the New York Times on Friday and confirmed to Reuters by officials.
Morton said the policy aimed to reduce the backlog in immigration courts, where authorities identified some 17,000 cases last year that could be eliminated if ICE dropped removal proceedings against illegal immigrants who had applied for legal status and were very likely to get it.
The issue of what to do with nearly 11 million illegal immigrants living and working in the shadows in the United States has become an increasingly hot topic in the run up to the midterm elections in November, where Democratic control of Congress is on the line.
President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats back a comprehensive reform of immigration policy to tighten border security, while allowing illegal immigrants in good standing the chance to learn English, pay a fine and get on a path to citizenship.
Republicans say that policy is effectively "amnesty" and likely to encourage more illegal entrants.
The Obama administration has made a priority of arresting and deporting illegal immigrants convicted of crimes, more than 167,00 of whom have been removed so far this year.
ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said the policy shift outlined in the memorandum sought to enable the agency to prioritize "the arrest and removal of criminal aliens and those who pose a danger to national security."
"ICE is not engaged in a 'backdoor' amnesty and has placed more people in immigration proceedings this year than ever before," he added.
Americans are most concerned about a stuttering economy and high unemployment in the run up to the November 2 midterm elections, when voters will elect 435 members of the House of Representatives and fill 37 of the 100 seats in the Senate.
But illegal immigration has also been a contentious issue.
The Obama administration last month successfully sued to block key parts of a tough state law in Arizona requiring state and local police during the course of an arrest to investigate the immigration status of people they suspected were in the state illegally.
The measure, which sought to curb illegal immigration and smuggling-related crime in the state bordering Mexico, was backed by a solid majority of voters both in Arizona and across the United States.
But it came under heavy fire from civil rights and Latino groups concerned that in practice it would lead to profiling, and in court the administration said it intruded on what should be a matter of federal policy.
8-28-10
"Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens." --Joseph Story, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Would it not follow, that the opposite could be the undoing of our Republic?
8-27-10
Tea Party fake
From the Patriot PostThe Tea Party has been so successful this election year that Democrats are resorting to political trickery. We're shocked -- shocked! A day before the primary in the Florida governor's race, GOP candidate Rick Scott touted the endorsement of the "TEA Party." As it turns out, the "TEA Party" was a shell group set up by leftists and funded in part by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL). The group ran its own candidates state-wide in an effort to siphon votes away from conservatives. "This is a new low for the fake political TEA party," said Tea Party activist Don Hensarling. But upon learning the real story, Scott rejected the endorsement -- and went on to win the primary against state Attorney General Bill McCollum. Similar Democrat political stunts have been uncovered in Nevada and Michigan, so be warned.
8-26-10
From The Washington Times
By Stephen Dinan
Saying Washington is hampered by "endless spending sprees, entangled tax structures and bureaucracy run amok," the top House Republican on Tuesday demanded President Obama fire his entire economic team and immediately submit a plan to cut spending to pre-stimulus 2008 levels.
"We've tried 19 months of government as community organizer. It hasn't worked. Our fresh start needs to begin now," Rep. John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, told the City Club of Cleveland in a broad speech laying out the economic argument House Republicans will take to voters this November.
He said the president must break with the economic team that, 19 months into his tenure, has failed to lower the unemployment rate — singling out Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and Lawrence H. Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council. Read More...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/24/boehner-obama-must-fire-entire-economic-team/
8-25-10
Read my new article,
Progressive flimflam men
8-24-10
Wallis Admits to Soros Funding
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Jim Wallis, Obama's new spiritual advisor, has admitted that Sojourners has received funding in the past from liberal billionaire George Soros' Open Society Institute.
Last month, Marvin Olasky asked Wallis to admit his affiliations on the left when reported on the money from Soros in World magazine.
George Soros, one of the leading billionaire leftists—he has financed groups promoting abortion, atheism, same-sex marriage, and gargantuan government—bankrolled Sojourners with a $200,000 grant in 2004. A year later, here's how Jim rebutted a criticism of "religious progressives" for being allied with Soros and MoveOn.org: "I know of no connections to those liberal funds and groups that are as direct as the Religious Right's ties to right-wing funders."
Since then Sojourners has received at least two more grants from Soros organizations. Sojourners revenues have more than tripled—from $1,601,171 in 2001-2002 to $5,283,650 in 2008-2009—as secular leftists have learned to use the religious left to elect Obama and others.
8-23-10
Read my new article,
Obama's trolling and state bailouts
8-22-10
Does this sound like our Congress?
"It would reduce the whole instrument to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please. Certainly no such universal power was meant to be given them." --Thomas Jefferson
8-21-10
Obama drill ban could cost thousands of jobs
The deep water drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico could cost at least 23,000 jobs, according to a federal document that weighed the economic impact and alternatives to the drilling ban.
The six-month suspension would directly put 9,450 people out of work and indirectly affect nearly 14,000 other jobs, according to a memo from Michael Bromwich, the nation's top drilling regulator. The memo to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar outlined several options regarding the suspension of offshore drilling.
Salazar issued the moratorium in June, but it was struck down by a federal judge in New Orleans after oil and gas drilling interests said it wasn't justified following the Gulf oil spill.
The Obama administration issued a new moratorium July 13 - three days after the memo - that stressed new evidence of safety concerns. The White House hopes the revised ban will pass muster with the courts.
Some energy experts, engineering consultants and Gulf Coast leaders have joined to ask Salazar to change his mind. Drilling was safe before the BP spill, they said, and Gulf communities that depend on the industry were suffering unfairly.
Obama does not care about any oil company jobs. He is the front man for the lunatic-left of the environment movement which wants us to cease using any fossil fuels.
8-20-10
From Dave Gibson of
The group Judicial Watch has reported that the state of Colorado has been paying illegal aliens unemployment benefits since an official with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) ordered the agency to stop using software which screened out those in this county illegally.
8-19-10
Economy still tanking, Obama plays blame game
Nationally, new applications for unemployment benefits rose two weeks ago to their highest level in almost six months to 484,000. First-time claims rose while analysts expected claims to fall.
1.117 trillion Deficit for year with July 165 billion. The budget year ends 9-30-10. Obama touts all this as good news. No doubt it is good for his Marxist plan of creating a society solely dependent on government; Institutionalization of the U.S.
Obama providing 3 billion in housing aid to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets. They will pick 17 states for this bailout program. Yet another part of his plan to keep people dependent upon government, thus, buying votes in November. You can be assured the states will have the largest numbers of supporters for the Dems.
Trade deficit is 50 billion for June, signaling slower growth in the economy.
Company job openings dropped for second straight month and hiring isn’t likely to pick up any time soon.
Employers are laying off workers again as the economic recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November.
This was the third straight week that first-time jobless claims rose. The upward trend suggests the private sector may report a net loss of jobs in August for the first time this year. Initial claims rose by 12,000 last week to 500,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.
This year’s deficit will surpass $1.3 trillion.
8-18-10
Obama brings in more actors
"We need to extend unemployment compensation benefits for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year, and have been looking for work ever since. Because she's eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she's doing what she never thought she'd have to do. Not at this point, anyway. She's turning to her father for support," Obama said in his speech at the White House on July 19th.
Of course, Leslie Macko of Charlottesville, Va., standing beside Obama is the poster child for liberals. She lost her job because she had been arrested for prescription drug fraud and is standing in line for more handouts from taxpayers.
Last week Obama used a teacher from West Virginia as an example of a need for more funding for school districts. The only problem was she was laid off due to declining enrollment, not from lack of funds.
This is all just more staging from the master manipulator, Barack Obama. Nothing is ever as this administration portrays. It is all socialist, Marxist, propaganda to leverage power and money.
8-17-10
Subject: Fw: [FWD: FW: Upcoming Taxes for 2011 !!!!]
Be sure to pass this along to all of your "progressive" friends/enemies
In just six months, on January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect.
They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves.
On January 1, 2011, here’s what happens... (read it to the end, so you see all three waves)...
First Wave:
Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief
In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families.
These will all expire on January 1, 2011.
Personal income tax rates will rise.
The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed).
The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent.
All the rates in between will also rise.
Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.
The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:
The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
The 25% bracket rises to 28%
The 28% bracket rises to 31%
The 33% bracket rises to 36%
The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family.
The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income.
The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child.
The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level.
The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax.
This year only, there is no death tax. (It’s a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011, there is a 55 percent
top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirement account, could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones. Think of the farmers who don’t make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money. Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don’t have the cash sitting around to pay the tax. Think about your own family’s assets. Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn’t make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million. Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash! That’s 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million! Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?
Higher tax rates on savers and investors.
The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011.
The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011.
These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave:
Obamacare
There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The "Medicine Cabinet Tax"
Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).
The "Special Needs Kids Tax"
This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children.
There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education.
Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. ( National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year.
Under tax rules, FSA dollars cannot be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike.
This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave:
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes
When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise - the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.
The major items include:
The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year.
According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear.
Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000.
This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment.
In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses.
There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.
Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.
The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.
Tax credits for education will be limited.
Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.
Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.
The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed.
Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA.
This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.
PDF Version Read more: <http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171>; http://www.atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171##ixzz0sY8waPq1
And worse yet?
Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!
One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . the dupes, er, dopes, who backed this administration will be astonished!
Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort.
If you're retired? So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get.
You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.
For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse.
This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance and it's only part of the tax increases.
Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....
On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001,
as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."
- Joan Pryde is the senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters.
- Go to Kiplingers and read about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Number 3 is what is above.
MY ADDED COMMENT!
LAST but far from least – effective January 1, 2013 – sell a property – PAY A FEDERAL TAX of 3.8% on gross sales price. Doesn’t matter if you make a profit on sale – it is on GROSS not net.
Worse part of this from my perspective is as a new tax it is an “opportunity” that the government can continue to exploit. No guarantee that the 3.8% won’t be increased in later years – remember social security was never suppose to exceed 1%. And of course there is the second shoe – since the Federal government is applying this tax, why not the State government too? As a potential source of large bucks – it may be too attractive for States to resist.
Why am I sending you this? The same reason I hope you forward this to every single person in your address book.
People have the right to know the truth because an election is coming in November! PLEASE VOTE THEM OUT!!!!
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquillity of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”-Samuel Adams
8-16-10
Gallup: Disapproval of Obama Hits All-Time High
The percentage of Americans disapproving of how President Obama does his job hit an all-time high Monday, with half of all voters surveyed by the Gallup poll saying they disapprove.
The 50 percent mark was a jump from previous polls, which had showed Obama leveling off in the high 40s, according to Gallup’s daily tracking poll. The new high certainly doesn’t bode well for Democrats in the midterm elections. Though Obama isn’t running, he is the face of the party.
The news comes as Democrats weigh the fallout from President Obama’s remarks Friday night in support of the mosque being built near the site of the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Forty-two percent told Gallup they approved of the president's job performance.
From http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/obama-gallup-disapproval-all-time-high-mosque-democrats-midterms/2010/08/16/id/367611?s=al&promo_code=A83E-1
8-15-10
Think about this for a moment
"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground that 'all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power, not longer susceptible of any definition." --Thomas Jefferson, Opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank, 1791
8-14-10
This would explain much about this year's Congress, as well.
http://www.americansocialistvoter.com/demsocofamerica.htm
The Socialist Party of
America announced
in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently
belong to their caucus.
This admission was recently posted on Scribd.com:
Q: Who are these members of 111th Congress?
A: See the listing below
Co-Chairs
Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)
Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)
Vice Chairs
Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)
Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)
Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Senate Members
Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)
House Members
Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)
Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)
Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)
Hon. Madeleine Bordallo (GU-AL)
Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)
Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)
Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)
Hon. André Carson (IN-07)
Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)
Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)
Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)
Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)
Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)
Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)
Rep. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)
Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)
Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)
Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)
Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)
Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)
Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
Hon. John Hall (NY-19)
Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)
Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)
Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)
Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)
Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)
Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)
Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)
Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)
Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)
Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)
Hon. George Miller (CA-07)
Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)
Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)
Hon. John Olver (MA-01)
Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)
Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)
Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)
Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)
Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)
Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)
Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)
Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-47)
Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)
Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)
Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)
Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)
Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)
Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)
Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)
Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)
Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)
Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)
8-13-10
It's official...National Guard will not be allowed to stop illegal aliens
By Dave Gibson
During a Friday press conference, U.S. National Guard Bureau of Communications Jack Harrison announced that the 1,200 National Guard troops that are supposed to be sent to the U.S./Mexican border “will not be doing direct law enforcement.”
Harrison described their duty along the dangerous border to a reporter with CNS News, saying: “The two mission sets are criminal analysts and enter-identification teams.” He continued: “I can tell you that guardsmen will not be doing direct law enforcement on the southwest border.”
So, just as we suspected…the National Guard troops will be used as file clerks and observers, trained to retreat or step aside when drug and human smugglers invade this country.
Of course, we have seen this type of useless political window dressing before.
President Bush announced in 2006 that he was sending National Guard units to the Mexican border to assist with border enforcement.
However, before issuing the order, he placed a phone call to then- Mexican President Vicente Fox, to reassure him that he was not “militarizing the border.”
Bush made good on his promise to Fox with the hamstrung rules of engagement under which the Guardsmen were operating.
On January 3, 2007, an armed paramilitary group of six to eight men, crossed the border into the United States and over ran a National Guard post located near Sasabe, AZ. The Guardsmen from Tennessee quickly packed up their equipment, jumped back into their truck, and fled the scene. That sorry action by the Guardsmen clearly demonstrated what our president instructed them to do...NOTHING!
Tennessee National Guard spokesman Randy Harris told the Associated Press: "The soldiers did exactly what their mission was, to pull back if they're approached by armed personnel coming across the border."
In an award ceremony which was closed to the press, the Tennessee National Guardsmen involved were presented with achievement medals for their actions described their spokesman as a “tactical retreat.”
The office of then Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) released a report to the Associated Press which praised the Tennessee National Guard unit for fleeing the scene in the face of an armed incursion into the United States. The report said: "We see this as a triumph of the training, discipline, and professionalism of the Guardsmen performing their mission."
The current Guard deployment under Obama is scheduled to last up to one year, and promises to be just as pointless and embarrassing as the last.
8-12-10
Economy continues to tank, Obama persists in passing the buck and blaming others
Nationally, new applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to their highest level in almost six months to 484,000. First-time claims rose while analysts had expected claims to fall.
There are over 15 million unemployed Americans and many more underemployed. Young people are suffering the most from the liberal Democrats failed policies; especially young minorities and poor whites.
$1.117 trillion Deficit for the year with July at $165 billion. The budget year ends 9-30-10. Obama touts all this as good news. No doubt it is good for his Marxist plan of creating a society solely dependent on government. Institutionalization of the U.S. is his goal; that is where the votes are.
Obama provided 3 billion in housing aid to unemployed homeowners facing foreclosure in the nation’s toughest job markets. They will pick 17 states for this bailout program. Yet another part of his plan to keep people dependent upon government, thus, buying votes in November. You can be assured the states will have the largest numbers of support for the Democrats.
The U.S. trade deficit was 50 billion for June, signaling slower growth in the economy.
Company job openings dropped for the second straight month and hiring isn’t likely to pick up any time soon.
8-11-10
Read my new article,
America tired of Obama's act
8-10-10
From Newsmax.com
Ground Zero Imam Travels on Uncle Sam’s Nickel
Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 10:29 AM
Article Font Size
By: John Rossomando
The State Department will be footing the bill for Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the controversial ground zero mosque, as he embarks on a tour of the Middle East.
Plans for the $100 million mosque have drawn strong criticism from 9/11 families, as well as prominent figures such as Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich.
Rauf personally has become controversial because he refuses to acknowledge Hamas is a terrorist group and for his stated belief U.S. foreign policy partly was responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
Read more...
8-9-10
POLITICO Breaking News:
-----------------------------------------------------
The House ethics committee has released formal charges against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), accusing her of three counts of violating the letter and spirit of House rules.
For more information...http://www.politico.com
8-8-10
The Death of Federalism
August 7, 2010 by Jerry McDaniel
Federalism is dead in America; its Constitution on life support. With Barack Obama in the White House and progressive democrats in control of Congress, the left’s centuries old goal of a consolidated government has finally been realized. With federalism gone, the Constitution becomes little more than an interesting historical artifact to be marveled at by historians and academicians. The experiment of enumerated powers and state sovereignty no longer has any relevance in American politics.
Read more...
http://illinoisconservative.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/the-death-of-federalism/
8-7-10
Maxine Waters and her Freudian slip
Maybe now we can be rid of another corrupt,socialist, Democrat.
“And guess what this liberal will be all about? This liberal will be all about socializing, uh, uh… would be about basically about taking over the government running all of your companies.” --Maxine Waters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrA9zj94NuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcMJwhB3Zs
8-6-10
From onenewsnow.com
The cost of Kagan's confirmation
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, making her the fourth female to serve on the nation's highest court. The 50-year-old Harvard Law School graduate is scheduled to be sworn in Saturday (August 7). While Kagan's confirmation isn't a surprise for most, the possible backlash some lawmakers may face as a result of their vote could be. Read more...
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1114954
8-5-10
From Immigration Reform Examiner
Head of ICE receives unanimous no-confidence vote from own agents…accused of de facto amnesty
8-4-10
Read my article, Electoral College still under attack
******
8-4-10
Sandra Statts, President of the Parkersburg, WV Tea Party, has announced the group will be hosting a Senate Candidate’s forum in the City Council Chambers, second floor of the municipal building, 1 Government square, on Market Street in Parkersburg, WV on August 9th, Monday, at 6:30PM.
John Raese, Lynnette McQuain, Kenneth Culp, Daniel Rebich, Harry Brunner, Jesse Johnson and possible more will be attending. Please don’t miss this chance to meet and learn about the candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate seat in WV held by the late Robert Byrd.
Remember, early voting starts on August 25th, so we need to get busy and vet these candidates. This is everyone’s chance to separate the wheat from the chaff. Hope to see you there!
http://www.parkersburg-wv.com/
8-3-10
Illegal immigrant who killed nun in DUI accident was released by feds in catch and release mania
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/2/illegal-immigrant-killed-nun-released-by-feds/
8-2-10
John McCain's real record on amnesty and health care for illegals.
8-1-10
From Newsmax.com
Rep. King: Obama Must Confront Islamic Terror
Thursday, 29 Jul 2010 11:22 PM
Article Font Size
By: Ashley Martella
Rep. Peter King says the Obama administration coddles the country’s enemies with soft rhetoric that emboldens them to continue their terrorist ways.
“We have an unyielding enemy, an enemy that is vicious and bitter, an enemy which will resort to any tactics any time to achieve the goal of destroying us a society,” the New York Republican told a gathering at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
The Obama administration won’t even use the term “Islamic terrorism” to address the source of the threat, he said.
“The enemy is Islamic terrorism,” King said.
The nine-term congressman credits CIA interrogations with helping prevent another terrorist attack after 9/11. But the Obama administration considered going after CIA attorneys who advised interrogators, he said.
“When you have Eric Holder, as one of first acts to say that he intends to have a criminal investigation of the CIA interrogators, who kept us safe for over seven years, this was exactly the wrong message to send to the enemy.
It also helps to demoralize our forces, the men and women who are on the front lines who have to get the job done,” King said.
As a consequence, terrorists feel free to inflict attacks such as the Fort Hood, Texas, massacre, as well as the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound airliner, and an attempted bombing in Times square, he said. Terrorists view even the failed attempts successes because they penetrated U.S. security, King said.
A native New Yorker, King said he strongly opposes to building a mosque only two blocks from the World Trade Center site, the location of the deadliest ever attack on U.S. soil.
7-31-10
If there is one thing Obama does well it is read from his Tele-Promter. It would seem the unemployment rate should be dropping if only for the speech writers he employs. His daily barrage of propaganda is wearing as thin as his lack of competent governance.
The growth of the economy has slowed to its weakest showing in nearly a year. The gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.4% from April to June, down from 3.7% the quarter before. Many economists say the growth is even slower now that a year ago.
Americans spend less, businesses are not restocking their shelves, and the government says the recession was a deeper hole to climb out of than previously known.
However, all this never fazes Super Mouth. He continues to take the country closer to the edge of the cliff while blaming everyone else for the lousy conditions he has created with his Marxist policies. His rants would do very well in Venezuela, let's hope they do not play in Peoria.
7-30-10
From One News Now
Irrespective of a presidential executive order and rule rewriting ordered by America's Health and Human Services secretary, healthcare reform does provide for tax-funded abortions.
ObamaCare 3The Congressional Research Service, a government agency, confirms that abortions can be funded under "ObamaCare." The president's executive order, reports CRS, "does not specifically address high-risk pools and the funds provided under Section 1101 of [the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]."
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=1105538
7-29-10
The "Disclose Act" is dead...for now.
Congress listened to you and dumped this bad bill, but make no mistake the liberal Democrats will breath new life into this "incumbent retention" act". It is designed to give Big Labor uncontrolled access to media and spend millions to defeat Republicans, while limiting spending by businesses. We should always understand, the more high-minded the name picked to sugar coat bad legislative poison, the worse the Bill will be for our liberty.
Let's not take our eyes off the crooks, this will be revived!7-28-10
From Freedom action.org
Senate defeats DISCLOSE act
War not over
See how your senator voted
Since the House had already passed it, the Senate vote on DISCLOSE was a nail-biter. Monday, President Obama made a last-minute plea. Senator Susan Collins came out against it, but her fellow Republican Senator from Maine, Olympia Snowe, was still uncommitted. Our friends at Tea Party Patriots sent out an alert Monday afternoon (which used the information from Freedom Action’s alert—thanks!) warning Tea Partiers that their First Amendment right to free speech and thus their participation in the election would be severely restricted by DISCLOSE. Tuesday, with the Senate vote scheduled for 2:45pm, Senator Snowe finally announced at 1:45 that she would vote No. With 60 votes needed to invoke cloture and proceed to the bill, it failed by 57 to 41. All the Republicans voted No, except for Senator John Ensign of Nevada who missed the vote. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut announced that he would vote Yes, but he also missed the vote. (Click
http://freedomaction.org/index.php/take-action
7-27-10
From Newsmax.com
United GOP Thwarting Obama's Campaign Finance Bill
A united Republican Party is spoiling President Barack Obama's attempts to impose new campaign finance rules designed to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling.
The Senate has scheduled an afternoon cloture vote on the bill, known as the Disclose Act. Democrats need 60 yes votes to proceed with the bill before it could even be put before the Senate for a final vote. But that's not likely to happen.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has announced that she'll oppose the Disclose Act, which would reveal the sources of election campaign advertising. But Collins opposes the proposal because she says the bill is tougher on corporations and other large donors than it is on labor unions.
"The bill would provide a clear and unfair advantage to unions, while either shutting other organizations out of the election process or subjecting them to onerous reporting requirements that would not apply to unions," Collins aide Kevin Kelley told CNN.com.
And on Tuesday, another Maine senator dashed the Democrats' hopes: Sen. Olympia Snowe announced that she also would vote no.
"I'm going to vote against it, because it's premature," she said. "We've had no hearing process and ability to build consensus."
Adding to the Democrats' woes is the fact that Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent Democrat from Connecticut, will be attending a funeral and won't be at the Capitol for the vote. Without those votes, Obama and his Democratic allies will be at least two votes shy of the 60 needed to move the bill forward.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also has blasted the bill for the special treatment that unions would receive.
"The Disclose Act is a perfect example of Washington politics at its absolute worst, and at a time when the country can afford it least. Legislation that silences incumbent politicians’ critics and exempts their political friends should never be considered in America," chamber President and CEO Thomas Donohue told FoxNews.com.
GOP Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also says the bill would favor Democrats and restrict free speech.
The measure “seeks to protect unpopular Democrat politicians by silencing their critics and exempting their campaign supporters from an all-out attack on the First Amendment,” the Kentucky Republican said.
The House has passed a similar bill, with only two Republicans supporting it. The Senate version is being sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. The Disclose Act was drawn up in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in January that lifted the longtime cap on campaign finance spending.
The lawsuit that led to the high court's ruling was filed by Citizens United, which is outraged about the Disclose Act.
"Citizens who are members of other grassroots groups will be muzzled by this legislation for no reason other than that they belong to a group without the financial and lobbying muscle to exempt itself from this bill," said Citizens United leader David Bossie.
"This bill is nothing more than incumbent protection in its worst and most cynical form. The American people will not be fooled so easily."
Obama chided Republicans for their opposition to the bill on Monday. "You'd think that reducing corporate, and even foreign influence over our elections would not be a partisan issue," he said.
"But of course, this is Washington in 2010, and the Republican leadership in the Senate is once again using every tactic and every maneuver they can to prevent the Disclose Act from even coming for an up or down vote.
"We can't afford these political games . . . This is an issue that goes to whether or not we're going to have a government that works for ordinary Americans; a government by and for the people."
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
7-26-10
Read my article, Steinbrenner dies just to spite liberal politicians
7-25-10
From Townhall.com, Bob Gorrell
7-24-10
Frustrated at the Justice Department's lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law, a Republican congressman introduced a bill demanding that the attorney general also take action against so-called "sanctuary cities," which discourage immigration enforcement.
Rep. Duncan Hunter's bill is the latest step as lawmakers seek to inject themselves into the debate and force their colleagues to take a stand on the contentious Arizona law. One of those moves failed Wednesday when Republicans tried, but failed, to have the Senate vote on blocking the government's lawsuit against Arizona.
Mr. Hunter's bill, for which he started soliciting co-sponsors Wednesday, would stop the Justice Department from pursuing its lawsuit against Arizona until Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. submits a plan to Congress outlining how he would bring sanctuary cities into compliance with federal law.
From Newsmax.com
Rep. Duncan Hunter's bill is the latest step as lawmakers seek to inject themselves into the debate and force their colleagues to take a stand on the contentious Arizona law. One of those moves failed Wednesday when Republicans tried, but failed, to have the Senate vote on blocking the government's lawsuit against Arizona.
Mr. Hunter's bill, for which he started soliciting co-sponsors Wednesday, would stop the Justice Department from pursuing its lawsuit against Arizona until Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. submits a plan to Congress outlining how he would bring sanctuary cities into compliance with federal law.
From Newsmax.com
7-23-10
Read my new article, Liberalism is not a jobs program
7-22-10
The General Motors Company said it will acquire auto finance company AmeriCredit Corp. for a $3.5 billion, a deal which allows the automaker company to expand loans to customers with poor credit and offer more leases.
Without a financial power, GM will not be able to acquire a lot of customers with lease deals and financing for buyers with subprime credit. Chris Liddell, vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Motors Co., said AmerCredit’s share of GM sales won’t likely surpass around 10%, but that the added business will allow GM to target consumers previously out of reach.
Gee, I wonder what could go wrong with this deal. Let’s see, Taxpayers own 60% of GM and better be ready to write checks for $billions more. Unions will continue to demand a greater ownership and more benefits that drove the company into ruination in the first place. Now, GM wants to sell automobiles to people who cannot afford them with subprime lending using taxpayers to bail them out again.
This all comes after GM was bailed our using taxpayers' money, then used taxpayers’ money to pay back loans from taxpayers, which of course, they never paid back at all. However, the investors holding stock in the original company got stiffed. Yes, that’s correct, Obama stole their money.
Socialism gives me a headache.
Without a financial power, GM will not be able to acquire a lot of customers with lease deals and financing for buyers with subprime credit. Chris Liddell, vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Motors Co., said AmerCredit’s share of GM sales won’t likely surpass around 10%, but that the added business will allow GM to target consumers previously out of reach.
Gee, I wonder what could go wrong with this deal. Let’s see, Taxpayers own 60% of GM and better be ready to write checks for $billions more. Unions will continue to demand a greater ownership and more benefits that drove the company into ruination in the first place. Now, GM wants to sell automobiles to people who cannot afford them with subprime lending using taxpayers to bail them out again.
This all comes after GM was bailed our using taxpayers' money, then used taxpayers’ money to pay back loans from taxpayers, which of course, they never paid back at all. However, the investors holding stock in the original company got stiffed. Yes, that’s correct, Obama stole their money.
Socialism gives me a headache.
7-20-10
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin announced Tuesday morning that he will run for the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd. The state legislature passed a bill Monday scheduling a special election for Nov. 2.
Gov. Joe Manchin (D) appointed his former general counsel Carte Goodwin as an interim Senator, for the seat with a promise, no doubt, not to oppose Manchin and be the dutiful aide and hand Manchin the ball.
Manchin is a cinch at winning the seat and will bring the Dems back in total control of the Senate. Tuesday was technically the day they had 60 votes with the swearing in of Goodwin. At least Manchin has been vocal about his opposition to the Cap and Trade legislation because of the devastating effect it would have on WV. Let us hope Goodwin can maintain the firewall until Manchin takes over. We shall then see how much power Harry Reed can exert over the West Virginia governor.
Gov. Joe Manchin (D) appointed his former general counsel Carte Goodwin as an interim Senator, for the seat with a promise, no doubt, not to oppose Manchin and be the dutiful aide and hand Manchin the ball.
Manchin is a cinch at winning the seat and will bring the Dems back in total control of the Senate. Tuesday was technically the day they had 60 votes with the swearing in of Goodwin. At least Manchin has been vocal about his opposition to the Cap and Trade legislation because of the devastating effect it would have on WV. Let us hope Goodwin can maintain the firewall until Manchin takes over. We shall then see how much power Harry Reed can exert over the West Virginia governor.
7-19-10
Read my new article,
Government bailout of media will doom our Republic
7-18-10
7-17-10
POLITICO Breaking News:
-----------------------------------------------------
The Federal Election Commission has penalized Vice President Joe Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign $219,000 for accepting over-the-limit contributions and a deeply discounted flight on a private jet owned by an embattled New York hedge fund, as well as for sloppy record-keeping, according to an audit report released Friday. Elizabeth Alexander, a spokeswoman for Biden in the vice president’s office, called the FEC-ordered repayment “relatively small,” and said "some repayment is commonplace after presidential campaign audits.”
For more information...http://www.politico.com
7-16-10
Quotas Hidden in Bank Reform Bill Will Cost Taxpayers Millions
Thursday, 15 Jul 2010 07:27 PM
By: David A. Patten
Buried deep in the bowels of the massive financial-regulation bill the Senate passed Thursday are massive race- and gender-employment provisions that will cost countless millions to enforce and appear to duplicate other civil-rights initiatives already in place.
More importantly, all private financial institutions doing business with the federal government will be affected by them, sources tell Newsmax.
Opponents say the provision was put in the bill to help garner political support for its passage. They object that it was inserted with almost no discussion or debate, and call it a "power grab."
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as chief of staff for former President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, tells Newsmax that the rules represent a "dramatic change in employment legislation."
Four members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently penned a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and several other leading senators, objecting to the new fair-employment regime in the Dodd-Frank legislation now headed to the president's desk.
"The likelihood that it will in fact promote discrimination is overwhelming," the letter states.
Section 342 of the bill calls for an "Office of Minority and Women Inclusion" to be established in each of 29 federal bureaus and offices.
The regulations appear to go beyond ensuring that discrimination in hiring decisions does not occur. Instead, they require assurance of "fair inclusion." Furchtgott-Roth says it will pressure companies to find and hire minorities even if one hasn't applied for a specific job.
The bill's affirmative action provisions — some suggest they are de facto quotas — would apply not only to the 29 federal agencies but also to all "financial institutions, investment banking firms, mortgage banking firms, asset management firms, brokers, dealers, financial services entities, underwriters, accountants, investment consultants, and providers of legal services" who do business with them.
Moreover, the law also applies to those firms' sub-contractors "as applicable."
Furchtgott-Roth says that means financial firms seeking to do business with the government will have to verify the racial and gender composition of their subcontractors — including office-cleaning crews, paper-shredding vendors, office-party catering firms — if they want to do business with the government.
Each Office of Minority of Women Inclusion will have an executive-level director, and support personnel, who will set standards to increase "participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the programs and contract of the agency."
Each office director is required to recommend the termination of any contractor who refuses to show good faith in efforts to comply with the Section 342 standards.
Among the federal agencies affected:
* The 10 offices of the Department of the Treasury.
* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
* The Federal Housing Finance Agency
* Each of the 12 Federal Reserve regional banks
* The Federal Research Board
* The National Credit Union Administration
* The Office of Comptroller of the Currency
* The Securities and Exchange Commission
* The newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
If each of those offices employs just 10 people, each of whom meets the average federal compensation level of $200,000 including salary, benefits, and office-space cost, the program would cost $58 million a year in staffing and office space alone.
Furchtgott-Roth says the real cost of Section. 342, however, will be its impact on the financial sector.
The additional expenses and inefficiencies sustained by the companies that do business with the specified agencies would make them less competitive, she says.
The broad expansion of affirmation action programs in the bill went largely unnoticed, even after Furchtgott-Roth published an article on RealClearMarkets.com titled "Gender Quotas in the Financial Sector?"
"The new Offices of Women and Minorities represent a major change in employment law by imposing gender and racial quotas on the financial industry," Furchtgott-Roth wrote.
Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Employment Policy, noted the tortuous legal history of quotas, and said the Dodd-Frank provisions are "broad and vague, and are certain to increase inefficiency in federal agencies."
Moreover, she calls the establishment of the minority offices "a troubling indictment" of current law.
"Women and minorities have an ample range of legal avenues already to ensure that businesses engage in nondiscriminatory practices," she writes. "By creating these new offices, Congress does not believe that existing law is sufficient."
All Cabinet-level departments already have Offices of Civil Rights and Diversity, she noted. The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission already oversee fair-hiring practices.
"With the new financial regulation law," writes Furchtgott-Roth, "the federal government is moving from outlawing discrimination to setting up a system of quotas. Ultimately, the only way that financial firms doing business with the government would be able to comply with the law is by showing that a certain percentage of their workforce is female or minority."
The four civil rights commissioners say in their letter than "some legislators" add affirmative action provisions to major legislation under consideration to garner political support to get a bill passed.
The commissioners' letter states that, "like several major bills that have passed or may pass the 111th Congress, the Dodd-Frank bill includes a section on race and gender that even those who pride themselves on keeping up with national affairs may have failed to notice. It's not hidden, but in a document that is almost 2,000 pages long, nothing can ever be as accessible as we would like it to be."
Furchtgott-Roth writes that "the issue deserves careful debate — rather than a few pages slipped into the financial regulation bill."
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
More importantly, all private financial institutions doing business with the federal government will be affected by them, sources tell Newsmax.
Opponents say the provision was put in the bill to help garner political support for its passage. They object that it was inserted with almost no discussion or debate, and call it a "power grab."
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who served as chief of staff for former President George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, tells Newsmax that the rules represent a "dramatic change in employment legislation."
Four members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently penned a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and several other leading senators, objecting to the new fair-employment regime in the Dodd-Frank legislation now headed to the president's desk.
"The likelihood that it will in fact promote discrimination is overwhelming," the letter states.
Section 342 of the bill calls for an "Office of Minority and Women Inclusion" to be established in each of 29 federal bureaus and offices.
The regulations appear to go beyond ensuring that discrimination in hiring decisions does not occur. Instead, they require assurance of "fair inclusion." Furchtgott-Roth says it will pressure companies to find and hire minorities even if one hasn't applied for a specific job.
The bill's affirmative action provisions — some suggest they are de facto quotas — would apply not only to the 29 federal agencies but also to all "financial institutions, investment banking firms, mortgage banking firms, asset management firms, brokers, dealers, financial services entities, underwriters, accountants, investment consultants, and providers of legal services" who do business with them.
Moreover, the law also applies to those firms' sub-contractors "as applicable."
Furchtgott-Roth says that means financial firms seeking to do business with the government will have to verify the racial and gender composition of their subcontractors — including office-cleaning crews, paper-shredding vendors, office-party catering firms — if they want to do business with the government.
Each Office of Minority of Women Inclusion will have an executive-level director, and support personnel, who will set standards to increase "participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the programs and contract of the agency."
Each office director is required to recommend the termination of any contractor who refuses to show good faith in efforts to comply with the Section 342 standards.
Among the federal agencies affected:
* The 10 offices of the Department of the Treasury.
* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
* The Federal Housing Finance Agency
* Each of the 12 Federal Reserve regional banks
* The Federal Research Board
* The National Credit Union Administration
* The Office of Comptroller of the Currency
* The Securities and Exchange Commission
* The newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
If each of those offices employs just 10 people, each of whom meets the average federal compensation level of $200,000 including salary, benefits, and office-space cost, the program would cost $58 million a year in staffing and office space alone.
Furchtgott-Roth says the real cost of Section. 342, however, will be its impact on the financial sector.
The additional expenses and inefficiencies sustained by the companies that do business with the specified agencies would make them less competitive, she says.
The broad expansion of affirmation action programs in the bill went largely unnoticed, even after Furchtgott-Roth published an article on RealClearMarkets.com titled "Gender Quotas in the Financial Sector?"
"The new Offices of Women and Minorities represent a major change in employment law by imposing gender and racial quotas on the financial industry," Furchtgott-Roth wrote.
Furchtgott-Roth, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Employment Policy, noted the tortuous legal history of quotas, and said the Dodd-Frank provisions are "broad and vague, and are certain to increase inefficiency in federal agencies."
Moreover, she calls the establishment of the minority offices "a troubling indictment" of current law.
"Women and minorities have an ample range of legal avenues already to ensure that businesses engage in nondiscriminatory practices," she writes. "By creating these new offices, Congress does not believe that existing law is sufficient."
All Cabinet-level departments already have Offices of Civil Rights and Diversity, she noted. The Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission already oversee fair-hiring practices.
"With the new financial regulation law," writes Furchtgott-Roth, "the federal government is moving from outlawing discrimination to setting up a system of quotas. Ultimately, the only way that financial firms doing business with the government would be able to comply with the law is by showing that a certain percentage of their workforce is female or minority."
The four civil rights commissioners say in their letter than "some legislators" add affirmative action provisions to major legislation under consideration to garner political support to get a bill passed.
The commissioners' letter states that, "like several major bills that have passed or may pass the 111th Congress, the Dodd-Frank bill includes a section on race and gender that even those who pride themselves on keeping up with national affairs may have failed to notice. It's not hidden, but in a document that is almost 2,000 pages long, nothing can ever be as accessible as we would like it to be."
Furchtgott-Roth writes that "the issue deserves careful debate — rather than a few pages slipped into the financial regulation bill."
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7-15-10
"I want an American character, that the powers of Europe may be convinced we act for ourselves and not for others; this, in my judgment, is the only way to be respected abroad and happy at home." --George Washington
7-14-10
Federal budget gap over $1 trillion through June
With three months to go in the budget year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion revealing the reckless, irresponsible spending of Obama and this Congress.
The only thing more irresponsible is the reporting of this disaster by the main stream media.
The AP reports the news as if they are a White House information center charged with the responsibility to repeat Obama propaganda and lies.
The AP report states this deficit shows the lasting impact of the recession on the government finances and spins that it is down from last year's $1.09 trillion for the first nine months.
They further report that Republicans have held up legislation to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless because of its effect on the deficit. The truth, of course, is Republicans don't have the votes to hold up anything. Democrats completely control Congress.
The AP follows the White House talking points by crying that Republicans and a few Democrats have blocked more spending on job creation and other efforts. The truth is, government spending is the cause of much of the unemployment and distressing econonic developments.
The only thing more irresponsible is the reporting of this disaster by the main stream media.
The AP reports the news as if they are a White House information center charged with the responsibility to repeat Obama propaganda and lies.
The AP report states this deficit shows the lasting impact of the recession on the government finances and spins that it is down from last year's $1.09 trillion for the first nine months.
They further report that Republicans have held up legislation to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless because of its effect on the deficit. The truth, of course, is Republicans don't have the votes to hold up anything. Democrats completely control Congress.
The AP follows the White House talking points by crying that Republicans and a few Democrats have blocked more spending on job creation and other efforts. The truth is, government spending is the cause of much of the unemployment and distressing econonic developments.
7-13-10
Read my new article, Obama declares war on Arizona
7-11-10
The International Monetary Fund becomes the latest in calls for the United States to make a stronger effort to curb its budget deficits.
The IMF said that in addition to cutting government spending, the Obama administration will have to consider raising taxes to reduce the U.S. deficit to a manageable level.
In the past weeks China, the European Union, along with several others have said Obama's spending is unsustainable.
Make no mistake, he plans on monumental increases in taxes to pay for his irresponsible, wasteful spending on Social Justice programs and the repayment to unions and other supporters and contributors. It's all part of his redistribution of income and wealth plan.
The IMF said that in addition to cutting government spending, the Obama administration will have to consider raising taxes to reduce the U.S. deficit to a manageable level.
In the past weeks China, the European Union, along with several others have said Obama's spending is unsustainable.
Make no mistake, he plans on monumental increases in taxes to pay for his irresponsible, wasteful spending on Social Justice programs and the repayment to unions and other supporters and contributors. It's all part of his redistribution of income and wealth plan.
7-10-10
From Washington Times, U.S. marks 3rd largest single-day of debt increase, $166 billion increase.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/7/us-marks-3rd-largest-single-day-debt-boost/
7-9-10
Read my new article on Obama's new slogan, more people to blame
7-8-10
"An unlimited power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy; because there is a limit beyond which no institution and no property can bear taxation." --John Marshall
7-7-10
See Bret Hume's commentary on NASA