How (and Why) Obama has Impeded Recovery

April 16, 2012 | Filed Under Alan Caruba, Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Taxes | No Comments

-By Alan Caruba

During and after his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama was hailed as the second coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt. History records that Roosevelt presided over the Great Depression, begun in the previous administration of Herbert Hoover who got most of the blame. Roosevelt’s policies extended it well beyond the normal recovery from a recession.

In his book, “Dupes”, historian Paul Kengor, wrote “Roosevelt won in a landslide in November 1932. To liberals and traditional Democrats everywhere, he was more than just a new face at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He was a kind of political savior at the most desperate time in their lives.”

Roosevelt was immediately assailed by the Communist Party USA as he launched his New Deal stew of programs intended to reverse the effects of the economic crisis. As Kengor notes, “No president had ever moved so far to the left, and so quickly, but it was not enough for the comrades.” They portrayed Roosevelt “as a warmonger bent on wreaking havoc on the poor USSR (Soviet Russia)” because they feared the U.S. might go to war against it.
Read more

Arrogant Democrats Think They Have Role to ‘Protect’ Titanic Wreck Site

April 15, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Nanny State, Senate, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Titanic sunk 100 years ago this year. The great ship went down in international waters as a vessel of British registry. When it went down the United States was barely a presence on the international stage. Yet now, 100 years later, American Democrats imagine they have the duty and power to control what will happen at the final resting place of over 1,500 passengers.

In their arrogance and led by the haughty and self-referential Senator John Kerry (D, Mass.), American Democrats are pushing Congress to pass legislation to make the wreck site of the Titanic off limits to further exploration.

Supporters of the Kerry arrogance claim that the Titanic’s final resting place should be afforded the same legal standing as a cemetery and James P. Delgado, director of maritime heritage at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says that he believes “there are people inside” the unexplored sections of the ship.

Few experts agree with this assessment, though. The Times notes that Hollywoodite James Cameron, who has been through the wreckage more than just about anyone, says he’s never once seen any evidence of bones or human remains.
Read more

Healthcare Death Panels Are Inevitable

April 12, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Britain, Budget, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Obamacare, President, Regulation, Socialism, Taxes, The Law, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Much was made of Governor Sarah Palin’s use of the term “government death panels” to lambaste Obamacare. Left-wingers and Democrats everywhere scoffed at the term and accused Palin of demagogy and even lying. But the fact is, government death panels of all sorts are inevitable once government takes over healthcare. In fact, once government takes over healthcare, all sorts of unscientific, non-health related nonsense creeps into your healthcare whether you like it or not and none of these decisions are made with your doctor’s advice or consent.

To understand this we have but to look to countries that already have government provided healthcare to see many incidents of the foolishness that is government control of medicine. Arbitrary decisions are made, people are told they are too old to bother with and treatments are too late to save the patient because of long wait times.

Worse, are the cases where government lackeys use non-medical criteria to replace medical considerations such as a recent case in Britain where a woman was told she can no longer get her healthcare because her travel distance makes her “carbon footprint” too big.
Read more

Who Pays?

April 11, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Frank Hyland, Government, Liberals, Taxes | No Comments

-By Frank Hyland

Effective the 1st of April, your nation achieved Number One status, but in a category that won’t make you pleased or proud: The U.S. now has the highest corporate income tax rate in the entire world as of that date. You’ve been hearing in the news recently a number of different views on this development. As I’ve watched the news, though, I first became more and more curious and then angrier and angrier. I may have missed it, but nowhere in the media, across the full political spectrum of Left to Right, have I heard or seen an explanation of the tax. The government has steered clear of an explanation. Some of them may believe that everyone already knows the details. Others, I really believe, hope that you don’t know the truth and never figure it out.

The key question, neither asked nor answered that I know of, is, “Who pays the corporate income tax?” Under U.S. law, a corporation is a “person.” Corporations realize income, have expenses, and pay taxes just as individual people do. But wait a second — although GE, Exxon-Mobil, Apple, and Safeway food stores take in the income and have expenses — who actually pays the taxes? Do you think the corporations do? While some, including the administration, probably hope you think that Exxon-Mobil pays the tax every time you fill up at the gas pump, give it just a moment’s thought and pardon my methodical approach – The gas pump, itself, doesn’t pay taxes; the gas station owner pays individual income taxes just like you do; the Exxon-Mobil Corporation forwards money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as corporate income taxes. Where do they get those funds? They get them from you and from me, to put it simply. On many gas pumps nowadays, you’ll see a listing of the portions that make up the per-gallon price of gasoline. That listing came about in response to complaints about the amount of money in each gallon that goes to which recipient, including counties, states, and the federal government. That information is useful to you, too, but it’s a different issue. Nowhere on the pump does it tell you who actually pays the corporate income tax; nor does it tell you that you, in fact, pay them.
Read more

Petulant, Occupy Chicago Protesters Want Everything ‘Free’

April 10, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Chicago, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Liberals, Occupy Wall Street, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is the sort of thing that makes these idiotic Occupy whatevers… well, idiots.

Via Marathon Pundit, a cadre of comrades in the Occupy Chicago “movement” decided it would be a cool idea to have a “fare strike” and crash Chicago’s mass transit system in order to ride for free.

When Ruberry asked the gaudily masked nut what a fare strike was, he said that it means we pay “zero” to ride the bus and/or the train.

“It’s when a lot of people show up and say this is what we’re willing to pay for this public service,” he explained. “Today it was exactly zero.”

So, here’s a random question… how, exactly, do these morons think we can even have a mass transit system if no one even pays any fare to use them?
Read more

Are You In?

April 10, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, Ethics, Frank Hyland, Government, Liberals, President, Taxes | No Comments

-By Frank Hyland

Seemingly everywhere I go on the web these days, I encounter a political ad for the President’s reelection, asking me, “Are you in?” I don’t know if you feel as upset as I do. I can just imagine the responses that are coming in as disillusioned Americans click on the web banner and then go on:

Yeah, I’m in….I’m in debt up to my eyeballs!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in foreclosure thanks to you and Barney Frank!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in trouble with my bank for non-payment!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in default on my Student Loan!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in over my head on credit card payments!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in the Pawn Shop for the third time this week!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in my parents’ basement at the age of 31!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in envy of the menus at your White House parties!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in hock for more than I make in a month!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in awe at the number of trips on Air Force One!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in search of a job for over a year!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in contact with a debt collector over the phone!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in fear that my classmates will find out I’m broke!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in tears over my finances since you took office!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in my car, where I’ve lived since being evicted!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in shock every time I pull into a gas station!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in envy of the number of vacations you all take!
Yeah, I’m in…..I’m in a state of confusion as to whose side you’re on!

Please feel free to add to the list any and all of your own entries. And, like I will, take this list with you into the voting booth on November 6th.
Read more

Bankrupting America: Party in the GSA!

April 7, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

The General Services Administration has been in the news for some fairly questionable spending recently. Bankrupting America has uncovered some revealing footage surrounding the infamous conference in Las Vegas and the planning that went into it. Check out the fact sheet here.

Outing the Progressives & Liberal Democrats on the Ryan Budget

April 1, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Frank Salvato, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Paul Ryan, President, Republicans, Social Security, Taxes | 1 Comment

-By Frank Salvato

“We have a choice of two futures. We know the path we’re on right now. That’s the path the President is proposing: a debt crisis; no health or retirement security; a diminished future; a stagnant country; less jobs; less prosperity. That is not the America we know. We can choose this other path, but we have to make that choice. We can lift the crushing burden of debt off our children and grandchildren. And we can get this economy growing today. It is up to our generation to pick this path. The question is: will we do it or not.” – US Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Path to Prosperity (Episode 1).

This will be the question that the 2012 Presidential Election decides. Will we choose to remain a fiscally solvent and financially independent Republic of sovereign citizens? Or will be choose to complete the fundamental transformation of the United States of America from Constitutional Republic to nanny-state, Socialist Democracy? To me – and to most thinking Americans – the choice is clear: we would all like to remain as free and independent as possible. But there are factions in our country that would like to transform our country into something that it was never intended to be. And there are other factions that are so targeted on the retention of power that they would destroy our nation in that pursuit.

The 2012 House Republican Budget Proposal, put forth by US Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), arguably the most fiscally responsible person inside the beltway, is a solid, common sense piece of legislation that some on the Right – and on the Left – are calling moderate in its goals. It simplifies the tax code, collapsing the current system of six tax brackets for individuals into two marginal rates of 25 percent and 10 percent, and ends deductions that benefit a relatively small class of mostly higher-income individuals. It also lowers the top corporate tax rate to 25 percent – competitive with the world average, while eliminating carve-outs and loopholes that have allowed some narcissistic corporations to avoid paying taxes altogether. It would also scrap the Alternative Minimum Tax that captures more and more of the Middle Class each and every year.
Read more

Good Teachers: Beware The Ides of March

March 31, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, California, Children, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Government, Corruption, Larry Sand, Liberals, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions, Unions | 2 Comments

-By Larry Sand

Julius Caesar came to a bad end on March 15th, the same date many good teachers were warned that they may be unemployed in June.

“Nearly 20,000 Teacher Pink Slips Statewide Show Drastic Need for More Education Funding” screamed the headline on the California Teachers Association website.

First, let’s straighten out the union spin. Typically when a person receives a “pink slip,” it means that they are fired. What some teachers actually received is a Reduction in Force (RIF) notice, which according to state law, must be sent to teachers by March 15th if there is the slightest chance that they will be laid off in June. School districts really don’t know in March what their budget will be for the next school year so they plan for the worst case scenario. It’s unheard of for all teachers who get the notices to actually be laid off, but some will, and they must be notified if there is any chance they will lose their jobs.

As a young teacher in New York City in 1975, I lost my 6th grade teaching because the city was in the midst of a fiscal swoon. A few thousand of us were laid off because we were the newest hires, not because we were the worst teachers. The union contract did not make any provision for getting rid of the poorest performers, just the newly employed. Fast forward 37 years and we are still doing the same stupid thing.
Read more

Comparison: Politico Lauds ‘Forceful’ Gov’t Obamacare Argument, Fox Notes it was Laughed At

March 27, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Health, Judges, Law, Liberals, Obamacare, President, Supreme Court, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The first arguments by the government in support of the already wildly over budget Obamacare law were heard at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday and there is an interesting lesson in media bias that can be seen in the reporting of the day’s presentation. The difference between how the government’s opening arguments was reported by Politico and Fox News is an instructive case of media bias.

First let’s look at how Politico’s Josh Gerstein and Carrie Budoff Brown reported how the government’s arguments were received by the court.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., representing the government, opened his argument Monday with a forceful and solemn plea to the court to grapple with the key questions in the case.

Well, “forceful,” and “solemn,” eh? That sure sounds like the government presented a serious and well-received argument, doesn’t it?

Now let’s see what Fox News had to say about those opening arguments.
Read more

No April Fool’s Joke: America Highest Corporate Tax IN THE WORLD!

March 27, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, President, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

In exactly one week before the United States has the highest corporate tax rate globally, the RATE Coalition has released a new video calling for a reduction in the corporate tax rate before the April 1 deadline when the United States will have the highest corporate tax rate at 35 percent.

Even in Washington’s polarized environment, a reduction in the corporate tax rate has bipartisan support from President Obama and the House GOP budget, both calling for significant reduction in the rate.

On April 1, the joke is on us. Having the highest corporate tax rate in the world is not a joke, and Congress and the Administration must agree on a solution to lower the rate in order to restore American competitiveness and allow U.S. business to compete in the global market and create American jobs.

Video courtesy of RATE: Reforming America’s Tax Equitably.

President Barack Obama’s Complete List of Historic Firsts

March 25, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Foreign Policy, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Nanny State, President, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Doug Ross has a great list (with links for further reading) of the destructive “firsts” that Obama has perpetrated in his first term. It’s well worth taking a look.

Yes, he’s historic, alright.

First President to Preside Over a Cut to the Credit Rating of the United States Government
First President to Violate the War Powers Act
First President to Orchestrate the Sale of Murder Weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels
First President to issue an unlawful “recess-appointment” while the U.S. Senate remained in session (against the advice of his own Justice Department).
First President to be Held in Contempt of Court for Illegally Obstructing Oil Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
First President to Defy a Federal Judge’s Court Order to Cease Implementing the ‘Health Care Reform’ Law

There are dozens more at Ross’ page, so go check it out at http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2011/06/president-barack-obamas-complete-list.html.

OWS Scummery in a Rockin’ Tune: I Don’t (AKA The Occupier)

March 25, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Jobs, Liberals, Music, Occupy Wall Street, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

I Don’t, a new song by Glen Shulfer, is a sharp critique of the scummery that IS the Occupy Wall Street “movement.”

Lyrics

Well, I don’t have to pay for my food and rent
cause I get everything from the government.
No I don’t. Honey, I don’t. Don’t you know, no, no, no I don’t.
All I want is to get my share from every stingy millionaire. Cause baby I don’t.
Read more

Obamacare Versus the U.S. Constitution

March 25, 2012 | Filed Under Alan Caruba, Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Commerce Clause, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Obamacare, President, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Alan Caruba

In a nation where Congress has already determined how much water your toilet tank can hold and whether you can purchase a 100-watt incandescent light bulb, the assertion of federal power is now so great and so unbounded that a case concerning the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), brought by 26 states will decide whether, in fact, there are any rights or powers left to the states.

What many Americans do not know is that the United States of America is composed of separate and sovereign republics, each with its own constitution. What has occurred, however, has been the erosion of states’ rights and with that, the gradual distortion of the nation’s central instrument of governance, the Constitution, to mean anything Congress wants it to say.

At the very heart of the Obamacare case the Supreme Court will hear Monday through Wednesday, March 26 through March 28, is the question of whether the federal government can coerce the states under the threat of withholding funds—in this case for Medicaid.
Read more

Does Any Reporter Have the Courage to Ask Obama These Questions?

March 25, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Dr. Don Boys, Elections, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Republicans, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

I have not tried to disguise my disagreement, distrust, disgust, and dissatisfaction with President Obama. While McCain would have taken America over the cliff, he would have done so at 65 miles per hour while Obama has done it at 100 miles per hour. Whatever the speed, we have gone over the cliff and are about to smack the bottom. This administration is the most incompetent, inefficient, irresponsible, immoral, and inept in U.S. history.

The only positive thing I saw in Obama’s election was that it was obvious proof that we are not a racist nation–except for the 93% of Blacks who voted for him because he was black (well, half black). Additionally, the pathetic insecure whites who voted for him for the same reason–color, not convictions or character is absolute proof of racism.

I thought that his election would remove the race card and we could all discuss, debate, and disagree in a civil, educated, and even gracious way. But that was not in the cards, but what is always in the cards is the race card that bigots pull out at every opportunity, especially when they can’t answer Conservatives. And frankly, even if his election were sufficient proof that we are not bigots, the results were not worth it. I would rather be thought of as a bigot than live in a totalitarian, socialist (Communist) state.
Read more

Growing Opposition, Conservatives Call for Prop. 29’s Defeat

March 24, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, California, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Government, Corruption, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Two new voices have joined the growing chorus calling for the defeat of next June’s ballot initiative Proposition 29, a nearly $1 billion annual spending binge that threatens to cast California deeper into insolvency.

David Spady of Americans for Prosperity, a non-profit conservative political advocacy group, and Nick Johnson, of conservative website Red County, penned columns last week calling for the defeat of Proposition 29, the so-called California Cancer Research Act.

“Stop me if you’ve heard this joke before,” writes Spady in Flash Report. “Liberal politician with pet cause and bureaucracy-building desire packages up his or her idea, tells voters they can achieve some laudable goal ‘for free’ and takes it to the ballot. First Five Commission. Stem-cell research. High-speed rail. And now the latest in this sad line of ballot-box boondoggles: Proposition 29.”
Read more

Dear Conservatives: Romney Isn’t One of Us But We Still Hold The Power If…

March 22, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Budget, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Elections, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, House of Representatives, Liberals, Mitt Romney, President, Republicans, Ronald Reagan, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Romney is not conservative. Anyone that says he’s conservative is only trying to convince themselves and is willfully ignoring not only Romney’s entire executive record when he was governor of Massachusetts, but ignoring all the tell-tale signs that his current conservative-tinged campaign rhetoric is just a show to get the nomination. Romney doesn’t mean a word of what he says. But we still hold the power to force him to stay on a more or less conservative path if he wins the White House.

How can I say Romney is basically lying to us?

Well, his executive record aside — which is clearly center left, not conservative — let’s not take my word for it all. Let’s take the word of his advisers.

On CNN on March 21, for instance, senior Romney campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom was asked about Romney’s strategy in the general should he get that far. Fehrnstrom was asked if there is a concern that the other GOP candidates have made made Romney “tack so far to the right that it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election.”

“Well, I think you hit a reset button for the Fall campaign everything changes,” Fehrnstrom replied. “It’s almost like an Etch-A-Sketch, you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again.”

That’s right. Fehrnstrom is directly saying that all Romney’s conservative rhetoric today will be quickly jettisoned and he’ll be back to his moderate, center left ideals when he’s comfortably set up as the GOP nominee. This should surprise no one. There have been a lot of other things that shows Romney isn’t a conservative. His staunch support for Romenycare and his constant lies about how he never advocated it for a national model is another example.
Read more

Fox Business Network Special Report: Gas Price Shock!

March 22, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Capitalism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Energy, EPA, Ethics, Fox Business Network, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Media, Oil, President, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The price of gasoline getting you down, bunkie? I don’t blame you because it is hitting us all hard in the wallet. Oh, there’s lots of finger pointing, to be sure. The left wants to blame the Republicans sold out to the oil industry, the right blames Obama for refusing to allow us to explore for and go after our own sources of energy because he is sold out to the disastrously failed “green energy” sector.

But there are more than American politics at work in the wildly rising costs of gasoline. China, Europe, the Mid East, they all have a hand in this situation, not to mention the commodities market and the buyers, sellers, and speculators there.

It is definitely not as simple as just blaming either of our political parties.

So, just what the heck is going on here? Tune in to the Fox Business Network tonight and find out.

On Thursday at 7 PM Central Time, FBN’s Gerri Willis presents her special report, The Willis Report: Gas Price Shock. Willis explores the rising cost of gas and oil in the United States and will examine the key influences causing the spike in gas prices enlisting a panel of experts to offer solutions along the way.

Guests will include: Gulf Oil CEO Joe Petrowski; AAA Expert Robert Sinclair; Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Robert Bryce; Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R-ND); Dr. Michael Burgess (R-TX), among others.

Tune in to Fox Business Network on Thursday March 22nd, 7:00 PM/CT and find out what is going on.
Read more

VIDEO: Jeff Semon, For Mass. 7th Congressional District

March 21, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Elections, GOP, Massachusetts, Republicans, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

In the last of my Challenger Series of videos made at CPAC this year, we have Jeff Semon. He is an impressive and serious young candidate for U.S. Congress from the Bay State, Massachusetts. He’s running to take the seat held by big-time lib Ed Markey.

Semon has been campaigning hard and says that in his opinion the voters in the 5th CD aren’t nearly as liberal as Markey is.

Incidentally, Semon is the fellow that created www.krugmaniswrong.com/ to nail extremist, left-wing NY Times columnist Paul Krugman to the wall.

See if you agree that Semon is an impressive candidate…

Welfare, Not Work: Obama Shuts Down Minority Business Agency

March 20, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Business, Capitalism, Chicago, Democrats/Leftists, Detroit, Government, Government, Corruption, Jobs, Liberals, Los Angeles, New York City, President, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Hosannas. Obama has finally cut some federal spending. But noting which agency he shut down is sort of emblematic of his whole welfare/big government-pushing presidency.

On Friday, the Department of Commerce announced that it would be shutting down all five regional offices of the Minority Business Development Agency, an agency that was created by Richard Nixon to help develop minority businesses.

The administration claims that it will be saving around $30 million per year by eliminating the offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush is not too happy about the decision.
Read more

Fox Business Network Covering Illinois Primary Tonight at 7PM

March 20, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Capitalism, Economy/Finances, Elections, Fox Business Network, GOP, Illinois, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Republicans, Rick Santorum, TV, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

If you’re looking for some expert commentary on the Illinois primaries, Fox Business Network will be providing up-to-the-minute coverage tonight anchored by the inimitable Neil Cavuto. The coverage will kick off at 7PM and will feature Jeff Flock here on the ground in Chicago.

FBN’s Neil Cavuto has been covering the primaries quite extensively. Cavuto has even chided his rival cablers for practically ignoring the primaries, saying that he has been surprised at how “competitors drop the ball” on their coverage. He feels viewers deserve more.

I see rival networks giving a perfunctory, ‘So and so won this primary,’ and then they’re back to a Teflon commercial, or they’re running a seven-year-old special, and I think I owe my viewers more. I think that they deserve more. People are into this. And we as a financial network owe it to (our viewers to) be into this ourselves.

For his part, reporter Jeff Flock provided some of his analysis on the GOP filed from which Illinois will choose this primary election day.

“If you are a deficit hawk there is not much difference between the three front runners. Romney, Santorum and Gingrich all push lower taxes, spending cuts and changes to the Social Security and Medicare programs,” Flock said. “All would, by most economist’s measures, add trillions to the deficit over the next decade. Only Ron Paul’s plan would cut the deficit over time.”

Flock says that Romney will appeal quite a lot to the business class.
Read more

American Cancer Society Attacks Me by Name Over California Tax Grab?

March 19, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Budget, California, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, GOP, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, Los Angeles, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | 7 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Oddly enough, a coalition of big tax hikers in California, including the American Cancer Society, has attacked me by name for daring to write about Proposition 29, a California ballot measure that will appear on this year’s ballot. Prop 29 will force Californians to foot the costs of nearly a billion dollars in new and unnecessary spending on the airy claim that the funding will somehow cure cancer and stop kids from smoking. Sounds a bit like Obama’s claims that his election would lower sea levels, stop global warming, make the U.S. beloved again, and put a unicorn in every garage, doesn’t it?

The accusation leveled against me is that I am “in bed with Big Tobacco.” Naturally, these left-wingers don’t bother with any proof. They just hang the claim out there and leave it at that. If I am working with Big Tobacco, I have to say that their checks are late. I didn’t even get a cool Joe Camel T-Shirt, the ingrates! (In case they pull down the page, I have a screen shot saved here)

But imagine. This coalition of deep-pocketed, big government-loving entities is coming after me by name. Seriously. Have you ever heard of billion dollar groups like these attacking a single blogger like this? It truly is a new world.

I certainly have written about Prop 29 many times over the last year, that I admit. But another hilarious line used against me in essence calls me a carpetbagger for doing so:
Read more

Wash. Post: Obama the Failed and Hard-Edged Partisan President

March 19, 2012 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Eric Cantor, Ethics, GOP, Government, Government, Corruption, Health, House of Representatives, John Boehner, Liberals, Obamacare, President, Republicans, Stimulus, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Washington Post did an amazing thing over the weekend. It published a story that highlights the critical failure of the President to achieve what could have been a signature success in his first term, that of achieving a budget compromise with the GOP.

The Post, usually a paper with a center left perspective, really took Obama to task for creeping up to a compromise with GOP House Leader John Boehner but then abruptly pulling away, jettisoning the nearly accepted compromise, and slamming the GOP with his left-wing ideology instead of reaching the agreement that was just within his grasp.

Many Republicans are likely glad that Boehner’s reaching out to the president was slapped away by a hard-core, left wing hand, but the facts on the ground are — at least according to the WaPo — that it was Obama that torpedoed the compromise, quite despite his lies that it is the partisan GOP what done the dirty deed.

the Post describes the situation back in July of 2011. John Boehner the establishment Republican and leader of the House had crept into the White House through a side door that the media could not see. He brought with him the Tea Party-linked Eric Cantor, a “good sign” that the GOP was ready to compromise, says the Post.
Read more

A Failing Grade for America’s Educational System

March 19, 2012 | Filed Under Alan Caruba, Budget, Children, Education, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions | Comments Off

-By Alan Caruba

Back in 2001 I wrote a four-part series on “The Subversion of Education in America” and more than a decade later not much has improved. The causes are easily identified. One is federal control and the other is the National Education Association (NEA) which, despite its name, is a union.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey became a nationally known figure when he took on the teacher’s union for the way contracts with generous pension and health benefits were bankrupting the State. Other civil service contracts also came under review for the same reason.

A recent headline in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye. “No-Child Law Faces Wave of Opt-Outs” reported that “Twenty-six more states asked to be excused from key requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, an exemption that would curb the education law’s impact considerably.” If the Obama administration grants waivers to all the new applicants, three quarters of the statesRead more

Rick Santorum’s Illinois Rally

March 17, 2012 | Filed Under 1st Amendment, Budget, Chicago, Conservatives, Constitution, Cook County, Elections, Free Speech, Freedom, GOP, Government, Illinois, President, Republicans, Rick Santorum, Senate, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

-By Warner Todd Huston

Rick Santorum visited Illinois last night stopping at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb, for a 7PM rally that drew over 2,000 people who came to hear the presidential primary candidate speak.

The place was packed with all the gym bleachers filled and most of the balcony seating also filled, not to mention standing room only on the gym floor. The capacity seating of the place was 2,500, but one is tempted to think that they allowed a bit more than capacity to rally for Rick.

An array of elected officials and long-time activists appeared to support the candidate. The crowd was energetic and Santorum signs were waved enthusiastically at many moments during Rick’s address.

On the dais before Sen. Santorum took the podium were such notables as Al Salvi and his wife Kathy, former Illinois politician Penny Pullen, State Rep. Tom Morrison, and New York Times writer Brad Thor.

Senator Santorum took the stage to raucous applause and gave a speech laden with allusions to the founding fathers, the economy, and religious freedom. He also bashed President Obama over Obamacare and his abject failure to fix this economy.
Read more

Seattle Teachers Union Seeks to Ban Teach For America

March 14, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, California, Children, Education, Larry Sand, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions | 1 Comment

-By Larry Sand

Teachers unions, known for fighting to keep pedophiles in the classroom, try to get rid of good teachers in Seattle.

Last week, I wrote about the particularly egregious case of a teacher in Rochester, NY who sent sexually charged emails to her principal and was subsequently jailed for ignoring a restraining order. Upon her release, she returned to the classroom, and in short order was accused of fondling her middle school students. But due to her union’s pressure tactics, the school board cannot get rid of this tenured teacher.

Across the country in Seattle, we now have a situation where it would appear that the local teachers union may have success in getting six teachers removed from the district.

Pedophiles? Of course not. They are talented Teach For America teachers who have received good reviews from their principals. In what could be a new low for teachers unions – and that’s really saying something – it would appear that through heavy pressure from the Seattle Education Association, the Seattle School Board may terminate the contracts of the six teachers for absolutely no good reason.
Read more

Religion and the 2012 Elections

March 13, 2012 | Filed Under Alan Caruba, Barack Obama, Budget, Catholicism, Christianity, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Elections, Ethics, Government, House of Representatives, Liberals, Mitt Romney, President, Religion, Taxes | Comments Off

-By Alan Caruba

The one thing that Presidents from Washington through to modern times have held in common was the belief that religion was a central component of the life of the republic.

Calvin Coolidge, President from 1923 to 1929, said “Our government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government. There are only two main theories of government in our world. One rests on righteousness and the other on force. One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword. One is exemplified in the republic; the other is represented by despotism.”

Ronald Reagan echoed this view saying, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.”
Read more

Defense Vs. Dependency: ‘Safety Net’ Isn’t so Safe

March 10, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, Congress, Daniel Clark, Democrats/Leftists, Ethics, Government, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Regulation, Socialism, Taxes, Welfare | Comments Off

-By Daniel Clark

During the 1990s, when liberal politicians raided our military budget in order to fund their favored domestic initiatives, they referred to it as reaping the “peace dividend.” Their argument was that with the Cold War over, much of the money being used to maintain the world’s most powerful military could better be used elsewhere.

When war was thrust upon us a decade later, we were woefully under-equipped to handle it, and it’s no wonder why. The Pentagon budget, rather than being increased or cut based on its own merit, had been forced to directly compete for dollars with the pet projects of those politicians who get to determine the winners and losers. Once budget debates were framed in that way, any new military spending could be demagogued as the taking of food from the mouths of the poor.

Today, President Obama is proposing a return to the “peace dividend” model, despite the fact that we are far from being at peace. Even with commitments remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan, a crisis roiling in Iran, chaos reigning throughout the Middle East, and the deployment of a small number of American soldiers to Uganda, the president plans to decimate our nuclear arsenal, and dramatically reduce our numbers of ships, planes, and active military personnel. Meanwhile, he has proposed another $3.8 trillion budget for 2013, whose deficit will surely top the trillion-dollar mark yet again, his highly optimistic GDP projections notwithstanding.
Read more

School Choice: Time to Move Forward

March 9, 2012 | Filed Under Budget, California, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Ethics, Government, Corruption, Larry Sand, Liberals, Public Employees Unions, Taxes, Teachers Unions | Comments Off

-By Larry Sand

As evidence mounts that the government/union education monopoly is failing our children, 2012 should see ramped up efforts to advance school choice.

Last week, Education Week published “What Research Says About School Choice,” in which nine scholars analyze the results of various studies concerning “school choice” – the quaint notion that parents should be able to choose where to send their kids to school. The report boasts no ecstatic claims, nothing about lions and lambs, no Hallelujah moments – just a sober look at the 20 year-old movement to end mandatory zip code school assignments. Some of the findings:

Among voucher programs, random-assignment studies generally find modest improvements in reading or math scores, or both. Achievement gains are typically small in each year, but cumulative over time. Graduation rates have been studied less often, but the available evidence indicates a substantial positive impact.

Among voucher programs, these studies consistently find that vouchers are associated with improved test scores in the affected public schools. The size of the effect in these studies varies from modest to large. No study has found a negative impact.

A third area of study has been the fiscal impact of school choice. Even under conservative assumptions about such questions as state and local budget sensitivity to enrollment changes, the net impact of school choice on public finances is usually positive and has never been found to be negative.

Also last week, the California Charter School Association released its second annual “Portrait of the Movement: How Charters are Transforming California Education.” Not a sales pitch or compilation of cherry-picked data data, the CCSA report is an honest look at California’s 900 plus charter schools which educate about 400,000 students. A few of its many findings:
Read more

Barack Obama’s Costly Broken Promises

March 5, 2012 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Budget, Democrats/Leftists, Government, Corruption, Liberals, President, Taxes, Warner Todd Huston | Comments Off

Candidate Barack Obama regularly flipped positions for political gain, perhaps learning an unfortunate lesson that flip-flopping has no costs. However, as taxpayers are learning, President Obama’s broken promises have very real costs.

As the president took office, his advisers released an analysis that promised his stimulus bill would prevent the unemployment rate from rising over 8 percent. Obviously it has not. For example, in October 2009 the rate was 10.0 percent, 2.1 percent above the rate promised by the president. That 2.1 percent translates into 3.3 million more workers out of work that month than the president promised. Using the average hourly earnings in that month, the lost jobs in November translated to $11.2 billion in lost wages in one month alone.

Obama’s failed promise to reduce the deficit totals: $1,090,700,000,000

For that amount of money we could pay for: