Instapundit » Blog Archive » SOME ADVICE ON FUTURE “TEA PARTY” PROTESTS, from a media producer who attended the Overland Park aff…

February 22, 2009

SOME ADVICE ON FUTURE “TEA PARTY” PROTESTS, from a media producer who attended the Overland Park affair:

I attended the invigorating protest outside Congressman Dennis Moore’s Overland Park, Kansas office yesterday.

I hoped 10-15 souls might show up. I was thrilled to see hundreds. Here are some suggestions. I don’t really want my name used. Sadly, it could really hurt my business, which is already hurting.

As a professional media producer, here are my concerns:

1. Incoherent message - the signs were all over the place. There were lots of agendas. That’s fine. The color and signage look good on TV.

But, when it came to the microphone - the overall message was tepid and unsure.

2. Create a theme - like “We want Senator So-and-So to resign for voting for this bill.” Or, “We want the Stimulus Repealed!” “Start Over.” Have a definitive purpose to your Assembly. A central theme will also help public speakers to focus. And don’t be afraid to personalize this. Put it on your Senators, Congress people, and the President. That’s what they are doing to anyone who objects.

3. Speakers not prepared for the media - the organizer was asked to name some specific objectionable items in the stimulus. She couldn’t do it. I doubt many of us could.

If you are an organizer, or the “face” of the event - take an hour to prepare. You don’t need to know everything about the stimulus. Just find 2 or 3 things - hard facts - you can point to and credibly say - these are wrong, wasteful spending items. Or, these items grow government, not the economy. It is critical.

4. Pass out talking points, just in case Joe or Jane Protestor gets buttonholed by a reporter.

5. This is all about image. If we don’t present the media with a professional, organized and, unfortunately, scripted image, they are going to make their own, and it won’t be favorable.

6. Recruit some help to pack the area around people being interviewed for background. God love the guy in the crazy Uncle Sam suit, and we certainly need the Minute Men, but these folks will quickly become THE story because they are colorful or controversial i.e., Good TV. Welcome their support. Maybe give them a minute on the mic. But I recommend trying to pack in mainstream, boring looking, and diverse Americans around the camera. No offense to anyone. Anytime a TV camera comes out, a certain number and type of attention seeker will flock to it. Now is the time for Grandma and Grandpa, the Plumber, the Young Executive, and the Homeschooling Mom to flock to the camera as background. Don’t be shy. Remember, how do you want your cause to be presented by the media? As crazies? Or as Concerned Neighbors?

7. Have an Agenda and a Time. We’re going to Assemble at this Time. We’re going to have a Sign-In Table. We’re going to have a Sign-Making Area. We’re going to have speakers at 10:30. We’re going to March to the Senator’s Office at this time and demand she resign. We’re going to end with Chants, and a Call-to-Action for the next Protest. That, and Protestors want to know what’s going on. If they become unsure, they leave. Organization wins, and it also intimidates the opposition. And the opposition is going to start showing up.

8. Share the Day’s Agenda with the Media. You have to create your own press. The event in Overland Park was HUGE, but only one news station came out to cover it, and there’s not even a photo in today’s Sunday paper. Sell it to them. They love good stories.

That’s it. I hope this helpful. These things are only going to get bigger, and people need to realize that a great responsibility comes with this wonderful opportunity. Get a Message. And Get It Out.

via pajamasmedia.com

Posted via web from David's posterous

Time for a Tea Party | America's North Shore Journal

Time for a Tea Party

LOCATIONS:

Northeast

• Boston - Friday, February 27, 2009 noon, The Barking Crab Restaurant, 88 Sleeper Street, Boston
• Hartford, CT - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, State Capitol
• New York City - Saturday, February 28, 2009, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, City Hall Park, New York
• Philadelphia - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Independence Hall
• Washington D.C. - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 2:00pm White House on the Lafayette Square Park side
• Pittsburgh - ***May be postponed due to rain *** Friday, February 27, 2009 12 pm - 1 pm, Market Square

Southeast

• Atlanta - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm at the Georgia State Capitol Building ~ Downtown Atlanta Washington Street Exit
• Fayetteville - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Liberty Point Resolves Marker, downtown Fayetteville, Hay Street
• Asheville, NC - Friday, February 27 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, Pritchard Park, Corner of Haywood St. and Patton Ave.
• Columbia, SC - TBD
• Greenville, SC - Friday, February 27, 2009 6:00pm, on the banks of the Reedy River and on the walking bridge just west of Main Street
• Orlando - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm on Lake Eola across from Panera Bread
• Tampa - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Federal Courthouse, 801 N. Florida Ave., Tampa
• Gainesville FL - Friday, February 27, 2009 2:00pm - 6:00pm, Ale House, 3950 SW Archer Rd
• Fort Meyers Beach - Friday, February 27, 2009 11:30am - 1:00pm Bowditch Park, 50 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach
• Sarasota - Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:00pm - 1:00pm, Island Park and Marina Jacks, Bayfront Drive (41) and Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
• Nashville - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm Legislative Plaza
• Shelby County Alabama - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, entrance to Eagle Point Neighborhood, Highway 280
• Jackson, Miss - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:30pm, On the steps of the Capital Building in Jackson

Midwest

• Cleveland - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, 1 Public Square
• Chicago - Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am - 12:20pm at
  Daley Plaza Civic Center, 50 W Washington St.
• Lansing, MI - Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm - 1:00pm, State Capitol bldg
• St. Louis - Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am - 12:00pm The Steps of Arch, Wharf Street
• Springfield, MO - Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm, Lake Springfield Park
• Kansas City - Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:00am - 2:00pm J.C. Nichols Foundation, 47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway K.C. MO
• Wichita, Kansas - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:30am - 12:30pm, Farm Credit Bank Building, 245 N. Waco
• Omaha - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am - 12:00pm, Douglas County Courthouse, 16th and Farnam St, Omaha
• Davenport, Iowa - Saturday, February 28, 2009, 12:00pm - 1 pm, Corner of Brady & Locust Streets, Davenport

Southwest

• Austin - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am - 12 pm, Capitol steps
• Dallas - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am - 12 pm, Victory Plaza at the American Airlines Center
• Fort Worth - Friday, February 27, 2009 3pm to 7pm at the Cowtown Bar & Grill, 7108 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth
• Houston - Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am - 2:00pm, Fondren Green at Discovery Green Park, in front of Amphitheatre
• San Antonio - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am - 12 pm, Alamo Plaza
• Oklahoma City - Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am - 12:00pm, State Capitol Steps, Oklahoma City
• Tulsa - Friday, February 27, 2009 11 am to 1 pm, Veteran’s Park, 21st & Boulder
• Phoenix - Friday, February 27, 2009, 10:00am - 11:00am, State Capitol, 1700 W Washington St, Phoenix
• Tempe AZ - Friday, February 27, 2009 noon, Tempe Beach Park, west of the Mill Avenue Bridge

Rockies

• Denver - Friday, February 27, 2009 10:00am - 12:00pm Colorado State Capitol Building - West side steps 200 E. Colfax Ave.

West Coast

• Seattle - Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:15pm - 1:15pm, Westlake Park, 410 Pine St. by the big arch
• Portland - Friday, February 27, 2009 9:00am - 10:00am Pioneer Courthouse Square @ the corner of Broadway & Morrison (in front of the STARBUCKS), 715 SW Morrison St
• San Diego - Friday, February 27, 2009 9-10 am, Just north of the Star of India on San Diego Bay
• Sacramento CA - Friday, February 27, 12 Noon, California State Capitol, North Steps, L Street, Sacramento
• Los Angeles - Friday, February 27, 2009, 9:00am - 10:00am, Santa Monica Pier
• Orange County - Friday, February 27, 2009, 9:00am - 10:00am, Huntington Beach Pier

Here is a list of online resources for the growing revolt against the stimulus package, the proposed government fix for those not paying their mortgages, pork busting, and other government waste issues.

Tips for Tea Party Organizers on the Media. If you look no farther, please read this before you start organizing.

Twitter search

Pajamas Media American Tea Party Coverage

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Facebook:
Top Conservatives

American Tea Party

Nationwide Chicago Tea Party

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New American Tea Party

Pajamas’s Media

Sunlight Foundation

Citizens Against Government Waste

3,583 views Tags: economic stimulus plan, government pork, obama, tax revolt, taxpayer revolt, tea party, unpaid mortages

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Heritage New Media Partners, Inc. - NMA TV - Preteen pro-life speech goes viral

via nmatv.com

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NRA-ILA ::

Several Pro-Gun, Pro-Hunting Measures Advancing in Alabama!   Friday, February 20, 2009  

Four pro-gun, pro-hunting bills are currently making their way through the Alabama Legislature.

House Bill 362, sponsored by State Representative Craig Ford (D-28) is awaiting consideration by the House Commerce Committee.  This pro-gun bill states that no person or employer may prohibit a law-abiding citizen from possessing a firearm in a locked motor vehicle while parked on private property. 

House Bill 225 was passed unanimously yesterday by the House, 101-0.  It now moves to the Senate where it awaits a committee assignment.  Introduced by State Representative Marc Keahey (D-65), HB 225 would protect our Second Amendment rights by prohibiting any government agency from confiscating or regulating the lawful sale, possession, transfer, transport and carry of firearms during a state of emergency, such as occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Yesterday, House Bill 432 was passed by the House Judiciary Committee.  It now heads to the House floor for a vote.  This pro-gun bill, sponsored by State Representative Jack Page (D-29), would require that records relating to pistol permits would be kept from public disclosure and made available for law enforcement purposes only.

House Bill 328 successfully passed out of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee.  The bill now moves to the House floor for consideration.  HB 328, “no-net-loss” legislation, will ensure hunters in the state of Alabama that their vast hunting acreage will never decrease.  This bill requires that the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources maintain the level of available public hunting land that currently exists.  Simply stated, it requires that additional lands be opened to hunting if land that is currently open to hunting is closed.

Please continue checking your email and www.NRAILA.org for updates on these bills.  We will alert you when and if the need for action arises.

via nraila.org

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Michelle Malkin » “This is our house now:” ACORN mob begins breaking into homes

“This is our house now:” ACORN mob begins breaking into homes

By Michelle Malkin  •  February 20, 2009 09:25 AM

On Wednesday, I said prepare for lawlessness as ACORN’s civil disobedience mob steps up pressure for President Obama’s mortgage entitlement expansion.

Well, are you ready, Baltimore? (Hat tip - Jeff Quinton) ACORN’s troops are breaking the padlocks and breaking into homes. And this is just the start. Caution: OBAMACORN at work.

A community organization breaks into a foreclosed home in what they are calling an act of civil disobedience.

The group wants to train homeowners facing eviction on peaceful ways they can remain in their homes.

Derek Valcourt reports their actions are not without controversy.

Near Patterson Park, the padlock on the door and the sign in the window tells part of Donna Hanks foreclosure story.

“The mortgage went up $300 in one month,” said Hanks, former homeowner.

She says the bank refused to modify her loan and foreclosed, kicking her out of the house in September.

The community group ACORN calls Hanks a victim of predatory lending.

“This is our house now,” said Louis Beverly, ACORN.

And on Thursday afternoon, they literally broke the foreclosure padlock right off the front door and then broke into the house, letting Hanks back in for the first time in months.

Taxpayer-subsidized anarchy is on the way.

Mr. President? Mr. President?

via michellemalkin.com

Posted via web from David's posterous

Cartoons, Chimps, and Scared White People | QandO

Cartoons, Chimps, and Scared White People

Who is that poor, dead ape?

Yesterday, in a surprisingly foolish move, New York Post cartoonist Sean Delonas attempted to somehow use the story of the Unfortunate Chimpanzee Incident in Connecticut as a visual segue to some sort of commentary on politics.  Although, I’m not entirely sure what point was being made.

The reference to writing  the next stimulus bill seems to me to be a clear reference to Pres. Obama.  He is, after all the guy the guy who’s been out pushing for the thing since day one.  They guy who tried to get Republicans and Democrats together to vote for it a bipartisan fashion.  The number one cheerleader.  He is inextricably linked in the public’s mind with the stimulus bill.  We even call it the Obama Stimulus Bill.  So, who, then are we supposed to think this cartoon is referring to?  Who else could we reasonably infer it refers to?

Now, Obama isn’t the first president who’s been the butt of Chimp references.

He is, however, the first president whose racial heritage includes centuries of invidious comparisons to the great apes.

Which is a shame, actually, because for reasons entirely unrelated to his race, Pres. Obama has a physical feature that is perfect for comparison to a chimp.  His ears.

Chimpy McHaliburton Bushitler

I mean, have you seen them? They are Ferengi-class ears. Lyndon Johnson’s soundhorns were practically unnoticeable by comparison.  Sarah Palin may be able to see Russia from her place in Alaska, but with those satellite dishes Mr. Obama carts around on his skull, I bet he hears the occasional Da, and Khorosho! from the bowels of the Kremlin while sitting in the Oval Office.  I don’t think Mr Obama is Jesus, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to learn that he does hear it every time a sparrow falls.

But, irrespective of the comedy gold that could be mined from Pres. Obama’s unfortunate auricular appendages, and unlike Mr. Bush, who had some relatively chimp-like expressions, a major newspaper can’t make those same references to any African-American, much less the president of the United States, and expect to elide past the deserved criticism for it.

How then could the cartoonist possibly be blind to the possible inferences that would be drawn?  And for that matter, what of the vaunted “layers of editors” the mainstream media employs?  The cartoon didn’t raise any red flags in the mind of the Page 6 Editor?  the Op/Ed Editor?  The Managing Editor?

Apparently not.

I simply can’t believe that the staff of a major newspaper were blissfully unaware that even an oblique Obama/chimpanzee reference would be…troublesome.  And even if they did, you’d think the dead president reference might raise a red flag or two in the publisher’s suite, wouldn’t you?

Combining that into the dead chimpanzee president has to be almost the apex of bad judgment by a major media outlet.

But, once the cat was out of the bag, the Right couldn’t leave it alone.  Instead, the defenders of the cartoon jumped in with their explanations.  Her, for example, is John Hinderaker at Powerline:

Readers of the Huffington Post and–who else?–Al Sharpton construe the cartoon as a possibly racist attack on President Obama…There are several problems with this critique. Most obviously, Obama didn’t write the “stimulus” bill. If anyone is being called a chimp, it is Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

And yet, we don’t call it the Pelosi-Reid Stimulus Bill, do we?  How terribly odd.  This defense of the cartoon is little short of obtuse.

And Post Editor-n Chief Col Allen isn’t any more convincing.

“The cartoon is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut,” Allan said in a statement. “It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. Again, Al Sharpton reveals himself as nothing more than a publicity opportunist.”

I yield to no man in my contempt for Rev. Sharpton, but this is terribly lame.  How, in fact, does this broadly mock the stimulus effort.  It can’t be a reference to the bill itself.  that bill, unfortunately, is not only not dead, it is now the law of the land.  From a political point of view, the passage effort was successful.  And why the reference to the person who “wrote” the stimulus bill?  That person–if not the actual writer, the primary cheerleader for it–is comfortably ensconced in the Oval Office, savoring his victory on this issue, and moving on to mortgage relief.

The only part of Mr. Allen’s statement with which I agree is that it is, in fact, “is a clear parody of a current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee”.  But to what end?  If we assume that it is not a reference to the president, then what, exactly is it about?  And why do so many people seem to think it is a reference to the president?  Why is there no label on the dead ape so that we can know what it is supposed to represent?

"Hi There, Eric. I Can't Help But Notice You're Black. Let's Talk About How Black You Are."

You see, the thing about one-panel political cartooning is that it takes an extraordinary amount of talent to provoke a complicated train of thought from a single, hand-drawn picture.  You have to be clear, concise, and often humorous, and make a clear, polemical point in one panel. Somehow, the average person thinks the point is entirely different from what Mr. Allen says it is.  And that is, as our Soviet friends used to say, “no coincidence.”

Yesterday morning, before this thing had blown into a full-scale brou-ha-ha, The guys at the Opie and Anthony Show had seen it, and they had their producers out on the street, showing the cartoon to the morning commuters on 57th Street in NYC, and asking them, “What do think this cartoon means?”

What they got was a collection of nervous mumbles that amounted to, “Uh, I don’t really know.”  “I can’t say.”  “Er, uh, I can’t talk right now”.  Oh the passersby had time to read it, but when given the chance to express an opinion about it publicly, all of the sudden it was to dense for them to take in, or they had pressing engagements elsewhere.

Which is an interesting reaction, considering Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech on race, coincidentally given yesterday.

“Though the nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards,” Holder said.

“Though race-related issues continue to occupy a significant portion of our political discussion and though there remain many unresolved racial issues in this nation, we average Americans simply do not talk enough with each other about race.”

The funniest response to that came from a  Jeff Emanuel piece at RedState, which was titled, “Hi There, Eric. I Can’t Help But Notice You’re Black. Let’s Talk About How Black You Are.”

Well, we probably don’t talk enough about race.  We don’t have those frank exchanges of racial views.  Indeed, we don’t even have humorous public statements about race, even tangentially. Because all it takes is for Dom Imus to say something on the radio like, “That’s some nappy-headed hos right there,” and he’s done. Al Sharpton comes around with a group of lusty, gusty fellows to demand your firing, as soon as he hears about it.  And you lose your livelihood, because he’ll get it.

If you’re white, there’s no upside to having a talk about race.  You run the risk of accidentally or unknowingly saying something insensitive, at which point the best thing that can happen to you is that you’ll be publicly reviled as some sort of bigoted troll.  Why take the risk?

Is that cowardice, or simply the result of a prudent calculation of risks and benefits?

No, the only time we talk about race, is when some buffoon like Sean Delonas makes a public faux pas that can’t be ignored.  And I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Tags: New York Post, racism, Sean Delonas

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 21:51 and is filed under Culture, Dale Franks, Race. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Michelle Malkin » Arlen Specter jeered by taxpayers

It’s about time. KDKA reports Turncoat Caucus Sen. Arlen Specter was met with jeers at a Pa. press conference. Betrayal of core fiscal conservative principles has consequences.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter was greeted with jeers at a press conference in Cranberry Township.

Conservatives are fuming after Specter cast the deciding vote that led to the passage of President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.

Specter, 79, acknowledges his run for re-election will be tough.

He says he’s not completely happy with Obama’s plans but he points out that he was able to cut the price tag by over $100 billion and he says he was able to increase the amount of tax cuts.

Even so, Specter acknowledges the Republican Party’s conservative wing will attempt to unseat him in next year’s primary race.

Maybe Sen. Specter can dial up the president, who can stroke his ego and call him a patriot again to make him feel better.

via michellemalkin.com

Posted via web from David's posterous

Brilliant Samuel Adams quote

Samuel Adams: It does not take a majority to prevail. What it takes is an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.

via tcunation.com

Posted via web from David's posterous

Rush to Wait by Thomas Sowell on National Review Online

Rush to Wait
A 1,000-page bill passed in two days sat unsigned on the president’s desk for three.

By Thomas Sowell

The big story last week was the incredible congressional rush to pass a bill that was more than 1,000 pages long in just two days — after which it sat on the president’s desk for three days while the Obamas were away on a holiday. There is the same complete inconsistency in the bill itself. Despite the urgency in President Obama’s rhetoric, as well as in Congress’s haste in passing a bill which few — if any — members had time to read, much less consider, most of the actual spending will take place next year at the earliest. Not even the most Alice-in-Wonderland actions will arouse the suspicions of those who have what William James once called “the will to believe.” Nowhere was that will to believe greater than in the election of Barack Obama to be president of the United States, not on the basis of any actual accomplishment, but as the repository of hopes and symbolism. His supporters among the voters and in the media are not going to stop believing now. It will take a lot more than blatant inconsistency for the faithful to lose faith. It may take catastrophe — and there may well be catastrophe. For some, even catastrophe under Obama can be blamed on George W. Bush. After all, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term in 1940, after two terms in which the unemployment rate never fell below 10 percent and was above 20 percent for 21 consecutive months. FDR also inspired the will to believe — and he also had Herbert Hoover on whom to blame all the country’s troubles. It may seem strange, to those who never lived through those times, that someone could be president of the United States for eight straight years and nevertheless escape responsibility for mass unemployment by blaming his long-departed predecessor. But we may yet see a rerun of that scenario in our own time. Nothing in the amateurish way the current administration has begun suggests that they have mastered even the mechanics of governing, much less the complexities of the huge national problems looming ahead, at home and abroad. The multiple Cabinet nominees withdrawing before their nomination can come to a vote in the Senate are just one example of this amateurism. Another example was the secretary of the Treasury holding a much heralded unveiling of his recovery plan, only to publicly embarrass himself and the administration when his speech made painfully clear that there is no plan, but only pious hopes. The plunge in the stock market after his speech suggests how much confidence he inspired. There is far more to fear from this administration than its amateurism in governing. The urgency with which it has rushed through a monumental spending bill, whose actual spending will not be completed even after 2010, ought to set off alarm bells among those who are not in thrall to the euphoria of Obama’s presidency. The urgency was real, even if the reason given was phony. President Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, let slip a valuable clue when he said that a crisis should not go to waste, that a crisis is an opportunity to do things that you could not do otherwise. Think about the utter cynicism of that. During a crisis, a panicked public will let you get away with things you couldn’t get away with otherwise. A corollary of that is that you had better act quickly while the crisis is at hand, without congressional hearings or public debates about what you are doing. Above all, you must act before the economy begins to recover on its own. The party line is that the market has failed so disastrously that only the government can save us. It is proclaimed in Washington and echoed in the media. The last thing the administration can risk is delay that could allow the market to begin recovering on its own. That would undermine, if not destroy, a golden opportunity to restructure the American economy in ways that would allow politicians to micromanage other sectors of the economy the way they have micromanaged the housing market into disaster. — Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. © 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

via article.nationalreview.com

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Under the gun - Los Angeles Times

Editorial

Under the gun

Orange County supervisors should have Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' back in a fight about concealed-weapons permits.

February 17, 2009

» Discuss Article    (22 Comments)

Orange County supervisors were looking for someone to transform the sheriff's office when they hired an outsider last year to replace disgraced Sheriff Michael S. Carona. Now they're complaining that the new sheriff isn't sensitive to the culture of Orange County. If by "culture" they mean concealed-weapons permits handed out to people who have no legitimate need to carry guns on the streets, then yes, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is not one to honor tradition, and we admire her for that.

Among Hutchens' first announcements as sheriff was that she would systematically review the county's 1,000 active permits and require their holders to have a reason for packing a gun -- aside from a desire to do so. That could include a job such as owning a jewelry store, or a history of having been threatened or harassed. Times have changed, and so has Orange County. It is no longer an outpost of cattle ranches and lima-bean fields; it's a diverse metropolitan area, and it should operate like one.

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Hutchens, a retired division chief from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, spent her career in a county with three times the population of Orange County's but with about one-third the number of concealed-weapons permits. She brings a new sensibility to the Sheriff's Department, sorely needed after Carona gave permits to friends and political donors. One of these, Carona's former martial-arts instructor, was sentenced to six months in prison after making a dangerous fool of himself on a golf course by drawing his gun in a dispute about a wayward fairway shot.

County supervisors have been pressured by the permit holders who stand to lose their privileges. But considering that this amounts to about 500 people in a county of 3 million, the board should not interpret the carrying of guns to be a venerated part of Orange County culture. Hutchens' staff has worsened tensions by acting inappropriately during board meetings on the gun issue, at one point directing security cameras toward the notes of two supervisors, and in another case sending text messages that poked fun at the people there. Hutchens has apologized and launched investigations; more important, she must assert control over her staff's conduct, just as she has asserted authority over gun permits.

The law offers sheriffs broad leeway in determining what constitutes a legitimate reason to carry a gun; we think Hutchens is bringing the correct balance to this matter. The supervisors courageously sought radical change in the sheriff's operations. The easy part of that was hiring Hutchens; the harder part is sticking by her when change becomes uncomfortable.

via latimes.com

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State Sovereignty Update

State Sovereignty Update

February 17th, 2009 · No Comments ·

Now that most of the state legislatures are back in session, we’re starting to see some progress on the passage of state sovereignty bills. It looks like at least 22 states have bills in some stage of development. About half are in the process of being drafted, several are in committee or out for debate and the pack is being led by Arizona, Oklahoma and New Hampshire where the bills have strong support and will likely be voted on within a matter of weeks. As yet none have passed into law, but we may see that happen in some of the most active states fairly quickly.

The Arizona bill is interesting because it actually cites New York v. US in the text of the bill, pointing out one of the 10th Amendment cases which is often cited in arguments for state nullification of federal mandates. It seems to have a lot of support and a realistic chance of passage.

Oklahoma’s sovereignty bill which passed their House last session but got stalled in the Senate came out of the rules committee last week with unanimous support and should move forward quickly. It may run into problems in the state Senate again because it is more evenly split between Democrats and Republicans than their House of representatives is.

As demonstrated in the recently introduced Michigan resolution some of the bills target a much more specific threat. Michigan’s bill asserts 10th Amendment rights, but does it in the context of reiterating and guaranteeing protection of the right of the citizens to own firearms, taking a stand against possible gun seizures from the federal government. The Montana resolution was introduced at the same time and is largely the same with the same focus on gun rights.

State Representative Dan Itse, author of the New Hampshire sovereigny resolution appeared on the Glenn Beck show on Fox News over the weekend to explain the bill. Although New Hampshire’s bill is one of the most radical, he stressed that it was not about secession from the union, but about reasserting state control, saying “This isn’t about withdrawing from the union. The happiest resolution of this resolution would be a renewed union within the confines of the Constitution.” But he went on to make the key distinction that the New Hampshire bill actually makes the claim, based on the writings of Jefferson and Madison, that if the government fails to obey the Constitution then it has effectively negated itself and dissolved the union formed by that document. Itse said, “If the general government nullifies the Constitution, how do you withdraw from something which does not exist?”

Oklahoma State Representative Jason Murphey wrote an editorial for the Edmond Sun explaining his state’s sovereignty bill and linking it specifically to the unfunded mandates and massive spending in the so-called Stimulus Bill, linking this issue to the efforts of some governors to block federal spending within their states. He notes that it is “is going to be important for the state to refuse to participate in new inappropriate federal programs such as the apparent expansion of the welfare program included in the stimulus bill.” And also expresses the widespread concern that much of the money in the stimulus is intended to benefit the Democratic party’s political allies, pointing out that “we can expect the federal government to reflect the desires of powerful special interests, liberal politicians and their support groups like ACORN — the possible recipient of $2 billion because of the stimulus bill.”

A lot of crazy claims about the sovereignty movement are still circulating, many of them seemingly generated to advance their own interests by Ron Paul supporters involved in his Campaign for Liberty. But the truth is that, contrary to their assertions, this is not a movement for secession from the union and the sovereignty bills are generally not arising out of grassroots efforts from far-right groups like C4L.

Rather, these resolutions are originating from inside legislatures and from established state politicians, specifically in response to concerns about unfunded mandates and excessive burdens placed on the states by the federal government. The expense and partisan character of many of the elements of the stimulus bill is increasing concern and helping to motivate legislators to pass these state resolutions as are federal efforts to limit the constitutional rights of individuals on a nationwide basis. While the 10th Amendment is central to their argument, legislators are more concerned about retaining power they see being gradually eroded by the federal government than more abstract issues of Constitutional rights.

Dave Nalle has worked as a magazine editor, a freelance writer, a capitol hill staffer, a game designer and taught college history for many years. He now designs fonts for a living and lives with his family in a small town just outside Austin where he is ex-president of the local Lions Club. He is on the board of the Republican Liberty Caucus and Politics Editor of Blogcritics Magazine. You can find his writings about fonts, art and graphic design at The Scriptorium. He also runs a conspiracy debunking site at IdiotWars.com.

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State Sovereignty Movement Quietly Growing

State Sovereignty Movement Quietly Growing

February 5th, 2009 · 46 Comments · History, Local Issues, Politics, Rights and Liberty

You may not have heard much about it, but there’s a quiet movement afoot to reassert state sovereignty and stop the uncontrolled expansion of federal government power. Almost half of the state legislatures are considering or have representatives preparing to introduce resolutions which reassert the principles of the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution and the idea that federal power is strictly limited to specific areas detailed in the Constitution and that all other governmental authority rests with the states.

In the version of this bill being considered in Washington state, they appeal to the authority of James Madison in The Federalist who wrote:

“”The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.”

The founding fathers believed in a balance between state and federal power. This state sovereignty movement clearly arises from the belief that the balance of power has tilted too far and for too long in the direction of the federal government and that it’s time to restore that lose balance.

The emergence of this movement is a hopeful sign of the people asserting their rights and the rights of the states and finally crying “enough” to runaway government. With the threat of increasingly out of control federal spending, some of these sovereignty bills may stand a fair chance of passage in the coming year.

There’s a lot of excitement about these bills, but there are also a lot of misconceptions, with people claiming that some states have already declared sovereignty and that the movement is much farther along than it really is. Contrary to popular rumor, none of the states has actually enacted a sovereignty law yet. Some have come close. Oklahoma’s bill passed their lower house overwhelmingly but stalled in the Senate last fall and is being held over for consideration in the new year.

Contrary to the fantasies of some extremists, these sovereignty bills are not the first step towards secession or splitting up the union, nor are they an effort to block collection of the income tax, appealing though that might be. For the most part, they are not so much political statements of independence as they are expressions of fiscal authority directed specifically at the growing cost of unfunded mandates being placed upon the states by the federal government. Despite the movement picking up steam as he came to office, the target of these bills is not President Obama, but rather the Democrat-dominated Congress whose plans for massive bailouts and expanded social programs are likely to come at an enormous cost to the states.

It has become increasingly common for Congress to pass legislation which dictates policy to the states, but which comes without adequate federal funding and the expectation that the cost of these programs, which the states had no real say in approving, will come out of state budgets. This has been a long-term problem with Medicaid and Medicare, but the unfunded mandate which stirred up the most ire recently was the No Child Left Behind program. More concern has been raised with the recent reauthorization and expansion of the SCHIP program which has a history of requiring more expenditure than is provided for in the federal budget.

The text of the bill proposed in Arizona makes the clearest statement of the intent to block unfunded mandates:

“That this Resolution serves as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”

and

“That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.”

What this movement is most similar to is the Nullification Crisis of 1832 where the State of South Carolina asserted that it had the right to nullify the authority of federal laws within its borders. In this case the states are not asserting anything as broad as the Doctrine of Nullification, but are merely reasserting the limits which the 10th Amendment places on federal authority, specifically as it applies to spending, the idea being that they don’t have to pay for federal mandates if their legislators choose not to.

Not all of the bills fall within these limitations. Missouri’s bill actually goes somewhat further and does assert the right fo the state to negate federal law, specifically in reference to the proposed federal Freedom of Choice Act, which some fear would bar states from passing laws regulating abortion. New Hampshire’s bill actually goes so far as to lay out a very strongly worded variant of the Doctrine of Nullifcation which specifies acts by the federal government (many of them currently being proposed in Congress) which would effectively negate the Constitution and the authority of the federal government within their state. Hawaii’s proposed sovereignty bill comes very close to being an actual act of secession, based on native tribal rights.

As things stand right now it looks like Oklahoma, Washington, Hawaii, Missouri, Arizona, New Hampshire, Georgia, California, Michigan and Montana will all definitely consider sovereignty bills this year. They may be joined by Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Alaska, Kansas, Alabama, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania where legislators have pledged to introduce similar bills. Twenty states standing up to the federal government and demanding a return to constitutional principles is a great start, but it remains to be seen whether legislatures and governors are brave enough or angry enough to follow through. As the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress push for more expansion of federal power and spending that may help provide the motivation needed for the sovereignty movement to take off.

Dave Nalle has worked as a magazine editor, a freelance writer, a capitol hill staffer, a game designer and taught college history for many years. He now designs fonts for a living and lives with his family in a small town just outside Austin where he is ex-president of the local Lions Club. He is on the board of the Republican Liberty Caucus and Politics Editor of Blogcritics Magazine. You can find his writings about fonts, art and graphic design at The Scriptorium. He also runs a conspiracy debunking site at IdiotWars.com.

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Guardsmen to conduct urban training at Arcadia in April

2/17/2009  Email this article • Print this article  The primary phase will be done Saturday, April 4, when convoys will be deployed from Carroll to Arcadia. Pictures of a suspected arms dealer will be shown in Arcadia, and soldiers will go door to door asking if residents have seen the suspect. ... The drill will culminate in the apprehension of the suspected arms dealer. Guardsmen to conduct urban training at Arcadia in April By BUTCH HEMAN Staff Writer The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia. The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company. Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate. Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer. The primary phase will be done Saturday, April 4, when convoys will be deployed from Carroll to Arcadia. Pictures of the arms dealer will be shown in Arcadia, and soldiers will go door to door asking if residents have seen the suspect. Soldiers will knock only at households that have agreed to participate in the drill, Kots noted. "Once credible intelligence has been gathered," said Kots, "portions of the town will be road-blocked and more in-depth searches of homes and vehicles will be conducted in accordance with the residents' wishes. "One of the techniques we use in today's political environment is cordon and knock," Kots explained. "We ask for the head of the household, get permission to search, then have them open doors and cupboards. The homeowner maintains control. We peer over their shoulder, and the soldier uses the homeowner's body language and position to protect him." During this phase of the operation, troops will interact with residents and media while implementing crowd-control measures and possibly treating and evacuating injured persons. The unit will use a Blackhawk helicopter for overhead command and control, and to simulate medevacs. The drill will culminate in the apprehension of the suspected arms dealer. Alpha Company will conduct a review of the drill on Sunday, April 5. A meeting to give residents more information and accept volunteers will be held 7 p.m. Monday, March 2, in the Arcadia American Legion hall. Kots said the exercise will replace Alpha Company's weekend drill for April. "We have a lot of extended drills this coming year," he added. In addition to surveillance, searching and apprehension, the exercise will also give the troops valuable experience in stability, support, patrol, traffic control, vehicle searches and other skills needed for deployment in an urban environment. "This exercise will improve the real-life operational skills of the unit," said Kots. "And it will hopefully improve the public's understanding of military operations." The pre-drill work with residents is as important at the drill itself. "It will be important for us to gain the trust and confidence of the residents of Arcadia," said Kots. "We will need to identify individuals that are willing to assist us in training by allowing us to search their homes and vehicles and to participate in role-playing." "We really want to get as much information out there as possible, because this operation could be pretty intrusive to the people of Arcadia."

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State Sovereignty Update

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Tax troubles for president's chief of staff

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL
Tax troubles for president's chief of staff
Emanuel's rent-free Washington residence draws questioning

---

Posted: February 17, 2009
9:47 pm Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Rahm Emanuel

There could be tax troubles on the horizon for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly has lived rent-free in Washington for five years but hasn't paid taxes on the imputed income, according to reports.

He's the latest in a growing list of President Obama's nominees to have been involved in tax issues.

WND columnist Phyllis Schlafly writes that several of "Obama's major nominees are mired in political embarrassment. Three withdrew their names from consideration, one sneaked through confirmation because senators were still intoxicated with the Obama honeymoon, and Obama plans to use a waiver so the Senate will approve the fifth."

"Funny thing," she continued, "Americans don't seem to like it when government officials evade the taxes the rest of us pay, especially when they evade more taxes than most Americans' entire tax bill. Apparently, that doesn't seem to bother Obama."

According to the New York Post, the nondisclosure of free rent in a home owned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., apparently isn't all that's being questioned about Emanuel's arrangements.

Another issue is "the work Emanuel tossed the way of DeLauro's husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg."

Get the latest on all the Washington shenanigans. "Welcome to Obamaland: I Have Seen Your Future and It Doesn't Work"

The Post said while Emanuel was living in the rent-free arrangement, he also served as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which gave Greenberg several polling contracts, paying him $239,000 in 2006 and $317,000 in 2008.

The report said Emanuel has explained the living arrangements as "hospitality" between colleagues, and that's why it never appeared on his financial-disclosure forms.

But the Post suggested that over five years, the rent could have been worth more than $100,000.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed despite not paying taxes on time, Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle withdrew his name over unpaid taxes and proposed Chief Performance officer Nancy Killifer withdrew over similar problems.

Schlafly noted Daschle's tax problems involved $146,000 that went unpaid. But larger than the money was the response to such misbehaviors.

"Even after it became publicly known that Daschle had failed to pay all his income taxes, Obama defiantly declared that he was 'absolutely' standing by Daschle," she wrote.

After Daschle took his own name out of the running, Obama admitted he made a "mistake" in the selection. But he didn't admit a similar misjudgment over Geithner, who paid about $35,000 past due after being nominated to the post.

In Killifer's case, she reportedly failed to pay required employment taxes on her household employee.

Also, while the issue didn't involve taxes, Obama's first pick for secretary of commerce – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson – proved an embarrassment because of his involvement in an alleged pay-to-play scheme.

The Washington Post and New York Daily News suggested that at a minimum, the gift rules for members of the U.S. House may not have been met by Emanuel's extended use of free housing.

And according to reports in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Democrat Al Franken, whose challenge to incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman remains unresolved, also had tax issues during his campaign.

Franken's campaign manager, Andy Barr, said the candidate's accountant worked with California officials during the campaign to sort out whether he paid taxes on earnings in the state between 2003 and 2007.

Franken previously left unpaid workers' compensation and disability premiums in New York.

via worldnetdaily.com

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She's not just going to hell.....she's got a first class ticket!

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI received Nancy Pelosi, one of the most prominent abortion rights politicians in America, and told her Wednesday that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development." The U.S. House speaker, a Catholic, was the first top Democrat to meet with Benedict since the election of Barack Obama, who won a majority of the U.S. Catholic vote despite differences with the Vatican on abortion.

On his fourth day in office last month, Obama ended a ban on funds for international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option — a sharp policy change from former President George W. Bush's Republican administration.

The Vatican's attempts to keep the Pelosi visit low-profile displayed its obvious unease with the new U.S. administration. Benedict and Bush had found common ground in opposing abortion, an issue that drew them together despite their differences over the war in Iraq.

Wednesday's meeting, in a small room off a Vatican auditorium after the pope's weekly public audience, was closed to reporters and photographers.

The Vatican also said — contrary to its usual policy when the pope meets world leaders — that it was not issuing either a photo or video of the encounter, claiming the meeting was private.

A short statement from the Vatican said the pope "briefly greeted" Pelosi and did not mention any other subject they may have discussed besides abortion.

In their 15-minute meeting, the Vatican said Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.

Benedict said all Catholics — especially legislators, jurists and political leaders — should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development," the Vatican said.

Pelosi, for her part, did not even mention the pope's allusion to abortion.

In a statement issued by her office, Pelosi said it was with "great joy" that she and her husband Paul met with Benedict.

"In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church's leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father's dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel," Pelosi said.

"I was proud to show His Holiness a photograph of my family's papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren," said the California congresswoman, who has often expressed pride in her religious heritage.

Pelosi is the third person in line in U.S. government, after Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden.

The treatment of Pelosi echoed the Vatican's earlier treatment of Geraldine Ferraro, a Catholic who was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1984. The Vatican did not disguise its irritation at Ferraro's position that she opposed abortion but also opposed outlawing it.

Pope John Paul II's meeting with Ferraro in 1985 was never officially announced and — like the Pelosi audience — no photo was released.

While some Vatican officials under Benedict have been openly critical of the Democrats and Obama over abortion — former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke has said the Democrats risk becoming a "party of death" — Benedict has cautiously welcomed Obama's new administration.

Still, a number of bishops in the United States have questioned Pelosi's stance on abortion, particularly her theological defense of her support for abortion rights.

The question of how much religion should influence American politicians came to the forefront with the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic to become U.S. president, and has continued to this day.

A number of American lawmakers who support abortion rights attended Benedict's Mass in Washington last April, including Pelosi and Sen. John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate in 2004.

During the 2004 campaign, several U.S. bishops questioned whether Kerry should receive Communion because of his stand on abortion. But no American priest or bishop tried to deny Kerry Communion. At the April 2008 papal Mass, Kerry took Communion from a priest far from the papal altar.

Pelosi also had meetings with Italian leaders in the past few days, including Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

via news.yahoo.com

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You know, she's pretty funny.....for a racist.

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Michelle Malkin » More scenes from Mesa: “I need a beachfront condo, Mr. President!”

More scenes from Mesa: “I need a beachfront condo, Mr. President!”

By Michelle Malkin  •  February 18, 2009 04:20 PM

I love this. At the Mesa AZ protest against President Obama today, KFYI listeners brought signs telling Santa Obama what they wanted from the savior-based economy. Hats off to KFYI’s Bruce Jacobs and J.D. Hayworth. Reader Al Swanson sent these priceless pics.

Dude, where’s our bailout?

Amen, brother:

Posted in: fiscal stimulus

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YouTube - Follow the Money: How Fannie Mae Bought the Democrat Party

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YouTube - Explosive Video, Fannie Mae CEO calling Obama and the Dems the "Family" and "Conscience" of Fannie Mae

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Democrats (socialists) covering up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mess THEY created!

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Hot Air » Blog Archive » Obama administration no longer issuing denials on Fairness Doctrine

Obama administration no longer issuing denials on Fairness Doctrine

posted at 12:00 pm on February 15, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Remember when the Left laughed at conservatives’ concerns over the Fairness Doctrine? Barack Obama already said he opposed the reimposition of the FCC rule, they said.  After all, Obama’s campaign gave this definitive statement in June 2008:

“Senator Obama does not support re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters,” said press secretary Michael Ortiz in an e-mail to B&C late Wednesday.

“He considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible,” said Ortiz.

As our friend Jim Geraghty reminds us, all of Barack Obama’s statements come with an expiration date.  Today, Chris Wallace interviewed David Axelrod and asked him directly about the Fairness Doctrine — and suddenly the White House adviser got a lot less definitive:

WALLACE: Will you rule out reimposing the Fairness Doctrine?

AXELROD: I’m going to leave that issue to Julius Genachowski, our new head of the FCC, to, and the president, to discuss. So I don’t have an answer for you now.

That’s hardly a denial, as Politico’s Michael Calderone notes:

Lester Kinsolving, the conservative radio host, has twice asked Robert Gibbs about it in the briefing room, and each time, the press secretary didn’t reveal the administration’s position.

Last week, I reached out to press office staffers in order to find out if the administration’s position is the same as in June, and have not yet received a response.

If Obama’s position on the Fairness Doctrine is the same as during the campaign — and I have no reason to believe it isn’t — stating such clearly would quickly silence a lot of conservative critics who assume the Democratic president is going to try and reinstate the defunct policy. Otherwise, the Fairness Doctrine chatter on the airwaves isn’t likely to die down.

It’s an easy question.  Does this administration believe in free speech or government censorship?  Their sudden inability to provide a clear answer, when they had no problem giving such assurances eight months ago, does not bode well for the answer.

I’d like to say I told you so to all of those who accused us of paranoia, but the window on that ability to do so on the airwaves looks like it’s about to expire — like all of Obama’s campaign promises.

The American media should be ashamed of themselves on this issue.  They pose as the defenders of the First Amendment and free speech.  Why are Chris Wallace and Michael Calderone the only MSM people pursuing this?

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This Has To Give You A “Warm Fuzzy” | QandO

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A prescient Goldwater editorial | cynics and skeptics

A prescient Goldwater editorial

Barry Goldwater wrote this guest editorial in 1937 for the Phoenix Gazette. It is included in the wonderful book Pure Goldwater by John Dean and Barry Goldwater Jr.

Guest Editorial: “A Fireside Chat with Mr. Roosevelt” (June 19, 1937)

My friend: You have, for over five years, been telling me about your plans; how much they were going to do for me; how much they were going to mean to me. Now I want to turn around and ask you just what have they done that would be of any value to me as a businessman and a citizen?

Your plans, if I recall 1932 correctly, called for economy in government and a reduction in taxes. In five years you have spent more than this government of ours spent in its entire history before 1932. In five years my taxes have increased over 250 percent and I fear greatly that “I ain’t seen half of it yet.”

You had the very commendable plan of bettering the conditions of the working man. Have you done that? Well, I wonder. True, hours are shorter, which is fine, but wages, well wages have been raised hourly but the working man is working less hours due to an industrial condition that your plans alone have caused, so the working man is making the same, or a little less, than he did before. The worst thing about your labor plan has been you have turned over to the racketeering practices of ill-organized unions the future of the working man. Witness the chaos they are creating in the eastern cities. Witness the men thrown out of work, the riots, the bloodshed, and the ll feeling between labor and capital and then decide for yourself if that plan worked.

You were confronted with a staggering number of unemployed when you took over in 1932. You immediately set up boards numerous enough to tax the entire run of the alphabet to name them in an effort to stamp out this evil. But in spite of your plans we still have just about as many unemployed in our midst as we did back in 1932.

Somewhere in your planning you thought it necessary to jump down the throats of everyone in business and where has it gotten you? No place. Instead of the businessman having confidence in you today, he distrusts you and fears your every utterance.

Now you are going to prime the pump—but are you? Isn’t that money really going to prime a few votes? Will it get into the channels of business or will it get into weak districts?

Now, these are but a few of the things that go through my mind as I think of you. I, as a businessman and citizen, am very interested in the queer antics of those in Washington. I would like to know just where you are leading us. Are you going further into the morass that you have led us into or are you going to go back to the good old American way of doing things where business is trusted, where labor earns more, where we take care of our unemployed, and where a man is elected to office because he is a good man for the job and not because he commands your good will and a few dollars of the taxpayer’s money? I would like to know because I like the old-fashioned way of being an American a lot better than the way we are headed now.

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Stimulus II? Ponder This …. | QandO

Stimulus II? Ponder This ….

You’ve just witness the unimaginable - Congress passes a 789 billion dollar pork-laden spending bill disguised as a “stimulus” bill and they may be contemplating “Unimaginable II”:

Despite the enormous size of the $787 billion stimulus plan, some economists worry that it won’t make a big enough dent in unemployment and that lawmakers will have to work on another stimulus in short order — something members of Congress are loathe to discuss.

“That’s possible,” said Alice Rivlin, a former Clinton administration budget director. “I think the economy is getting worse quite rapidly and this may not prove to be enough.”

And why is that, Ms. Rivlin? Why might it not be “enough”?

The stimulus got “less stimulative,” Rivlin said, as it passed through the Senate and some of the things that offered “the biggest bang for the buck” were scaled back, such as more money for food stamps.

*Gasp*

You mean it was exactly what those mean old Republicans said it was - more relief than stimulus. More social spending than jobs? That, in fact, any stimulative part of the bill was watered down or eliminated in favor of special interest spending on programs which are either years in the future or will provide no immediate jobs with which to help get the economy moving?

You mean, despite all the rhetoric and nonsense to the contrary by Obama and the Dems, we are on the road to repeating the mistakes Japan made that brought them their “lost decade”?

No kidding?

And I doubt many would call Ms. Rivlin a right-wing reactionary economist spouting Republican talking points, would they?

So now that the Dems have fulfilled their 40 year social program spending spree, it appears they may now try to actually stimulate the economy with a few more hundred billions of your great, great, great grandchildren’s money.

More future theft.

“Son of Stimulus”, coming to a wallet near you soon?

~McQ

Tags: stimulus

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