Budget

ABC - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - NBC - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

ABC’s Diane Sawyer: ‘Protests Have Spread to 1,000 Countries’… Ooops, there’s only 195 Countries

October 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Showing that the people that sit in front of the cameras at the Networks aren’t really journalists, but are merely pleasant looking readers of Teleprompters, Diane Sawyer of ABC News sonorously informed readers that the Occupy-Whatever protests have now “spread to 1,000 countries.”

Speaking of Wall Street, we thought we’d bring you up to date on those protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement. As of tonight, it has spread to more than 250 American cities, more than a thousand countries — every continent but Antarctica.

Only there’s a small problem with that claim. There’s only 195 countries in the world.

The coverage of these disjointed, hollow, and pointless Occupy-Whatever protests have received is far more positive and extensive than the Tea Party protests ever got. This particular report is a perfect example of this bias.
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ABC’s Diane Sawyer: ‘Protests Have Spread to 1,000 Countries’… Ooops, there’s only 195 Countries”

Anti-Americanism - Banks - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - EPA - Ethics - Government - Health - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Regulation - Socialism - Stimulus - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Rep. Jan Schakowsky Thinks Gov’t ‘Creates Jobs’

October 10, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Recently Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D, Illinois 9th District), whose husband has been convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion, was interviewed by the far left website truthout.

You’ll remember truthout for its scoop back in 2009. It was truthout that was the first to report the big news that Karl Rove had been indicted. Unfortunately for this “news” site, Karl Rove was never indicted. That was a spot of bother, indeed, going to impugn the site’s veracity just a bit. You may also know that original editor, Marc Ash, was ousted from the site by a coup from within when it was discovered he was making $140,000 a year off the donors and left-wing foundations supporting the site. But he’s all for the downtrodden masses, ya know?

Now that we have established the forum upon which Schakowsky appeared, let’s look at some of the extreme things she said, shall we?
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Rep. Jan Schakowsky Thinks Gov’t ‘Creates Jobs’”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Ethics - Larry Sand - Liberals - Los Angeles - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

The Tragedy and Farce of American Schools of Education

October 10, 2011 by

-By Larry Sand

Education schools are nothing more than dumbed down, politically correct fad factories supported by the teachers unions.

If you ever wanted to have a complete file of Diane Ravitch’s inane union apologist utterances all in one place – here it is. As Part of NBC’s Education Nation, she and Harlem Children’s Zone’s President Geoffrey Canada duked it out for a half hour. (As I watched this, I recalled Steven Brill’s comment in Class Warfare, that American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten should become the next New York City Chancellor of Education because she’s “smart” and could fix public education by making the rank and file perform better. I would add that in the highly unlikely case of this happening, Ravitch could easily replace Weingarten as AFT president.)

Needless to say, Ravitch vehemently disagreed with Canada on just about everything. However, they did agree that we needed to train our teachers better. This, of course, is like agreeing that snow is white.

The schools of education in the U.S. are by and large an abomination. Richard Vedder, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, pretty well nails it in a recent article he wrote for the Chronicle of Higher Education. He says that:
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The Tragedy and Farce of American Schools of Education”

Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Peter Roskam - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

ILLINOIS IMPACT ALERT: How the Trade Agreements Will Affect Illinois’ Economy

October 10, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, Illinois 6th District)…

Next week, the House will vote on the long-stalled Colombia, Panama, and Korea Free Trade Agreements (FTA).These no-cost job-creating pacts will make it easier for American manufacturers to sell our products abroad and in turn create more jobs here. Note: If passed, these Agreements are expected to become law.

BY THE NUMBERS: What do these FTAs mean for Illinois? More American exports, more economic growth, more jobs

  • Exports directly support 145,903 jobs in Illinois (60,137 of those in the 6th District alone) in 650 companies – once the new FTA’s become law more markets will open, incentivizing local companies to grow and hire. (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Accessed 10/6/11)
  • Almost 25% of all manufacturing jobs in Illinois are dependent on exports. That is one in every four workers. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Accessed 10/6/11)
  • FTA’s will directly impact the engines of Illinois’ economy – small and medium businesses. These enterprises with less than 500 employees account for 15,170 of Illinois exporting firms, and generated over one-fifth of our state’s total merchandise exports in 2008. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Accessed 10/6/11)
  • Last year, Illinois exported over $48.4 billion worth of goods – new trade agreements will open up new markets to increase the amount of goods sold. (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Accessed 10/6/11)
  • Illinois has benefitted from trade agreements. For example, the U.S.-Chile agreement in 2004 grew Illinois’s exports to Chile by 400%. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Accessed 10/6/11)

ILLINOIS COMPANIES SPEAK OUT: These Agreements Will Help Local Companies Grow and Create Private-Sector Jobs
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ILLINOIS IMPACT ALERT: How the Trade Agreements Will Affect Illinois’ Economy”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Randy Hultgren - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Hultgren Statement on September Jobs Report

October 10, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Randy Hultgren (R, Illinois 14th District)…

Geneva, IL – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today released the following statement regarding the September unemployment report released by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“With this disappointing report the unemployment rate has been at or above 8 percent for 32 straight months, a level that President Obama said unemployment would never reach if the ‘stimulus’ was approved,” said Hultgren. “Even more discouraging is that only two out of the last 30 months have seen unemployment below 9 percent. This is a clear failure of the Administration’s deficit-spending, tax-hiking policies.

“I’ve heard over and over again from our small business owners that uncertainty, the threat of higher taxes, and more ‘stimulus’ proposals are not going to restore the confidence they need to start hiring and expanding again. To restore that confidence, House Republicans are focused on a pro-jobs agenda to eliminate onerous government regulations, cut government spending, and remove the threat of higher taxes. We invite President Obama and the do-nothing Senate to join us as we work to turn our economy around and get Americans working again.”

http://hultgren.house.gov/

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Government - Illinois - Republicans - Robert Dold - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Rep. Dold on the Pending Free Trade Agreements‏

October 10, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Robert Dold (Ill., 10th District)…

WASHINGTON, DC –U.S. Congressman Robert J. Dold (IL-10) released a video on the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea that President Obama sent to Congress for approval. Rep. Dold spoke about the positive implications these agreements will have on Illinois’ 10th District.

Dold also released this statement…
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Rep. Dold on the Pending Free Trade Agreements‏”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Jobs - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Remy’s Occupy Wall Street Protest Song (Making Fun While Having Fun)

October 9, 2011 by 1 Comment

Hilarious, but with a message…

As the Occupy Wall Street movement spreads like a, well, financial contagion through global markets, intergalactic Internet sensation Remy and Reason.tv give the movement its anthem.

Written and performed by Remy and produced by Meredith Bragg from Reason.tv.

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Conservatives - Illinois - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

Head of Chicago Tea Party Resigns

October 9, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

After the controversy over his recent legal troubles, Steve Stevlic of the Chicago Tea Party resigned from his post as head of that organization on Friday, Oct. 7.

On the Chicago Tea Party website, Stevlic thanked supporters and apologized for any trouble he may have caused the movement.
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Head of Chicago Tea Party Resigns”

Adam Andrzejewski - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - For The Good Of Illinois - Franklin Deleno Roosevelt - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Abuse: Union Leaders Pull Down Millions in Public Pensions in Illinois

October 9, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Andrew Thomason of the Illinois Statehouse News agency has a pair of stores on the criminal syndicate that is unions in the Land of Lincoln this week that have to be seen to be believed. In fact, these stories and the ones like them we’ve seen for the past several months in Illinois are proof positive that unions should be illegal for government employees.

In one story, Thomason reports the tale of Michael Johnson, a corrupt teacher out to milk the taxpayers dry by collecting $209,379.43 in pension benefits while at the same time also collected $324,785 from a separate Illinois pension fund. And so far this crook has already collected $1.1 million of our tax dollars on top of the $198,105 a year he makes for “part-time work” for the school district.

This is called double dipping. Johnson was able to do this because he worked at one job in Illinois education, “retired” from it, then took a second job in the same field. This means he gets two pensions to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, likely totaling up to millions by the time he dies. All paid for by the taxpayers of Illinois.
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Abuse: Union Leaders Pull Down Millions in Public Pensions in Illinois”

Banks - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Liberals - Michael Bresciani‏ - Nanny State - President - Regulation - Religion - Society/Culture - Taxes

Hey Kids – Let’s Meet on Wall St. for Weeks Long Whining Fest

October 9, 2011 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

Headlines are heralding Apple’s, Steve Jobs as someone who impacted and changed our lives. At the same time demonstrations and riots in Chile, South Korea and America make it apparent that the change had nothing to do with the development of character or the ability to discern the nature of economics, politics and honesty.

In Chile youth are battling with police in protests for completely free education for everyone. In South Korea the method of demonstration is as corny as it get and includes, pants dropping, flag eating, throwing excrement and some gruesome shows of animal abuse.

On Wall Street the mood is far different. A clear direction or purpose seems to be lacking and there are as many reasons given for the demonstration as there are disgruntled whiners. It is hard not to see the Wall Streeter’s as Saturday Night Lives’ Doug and Wendy Whiner remade with a cast of thousands.

One complaint among the whiners that is almost universal is; that the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor. (Relative terms here in the U.S.) The Robin Hood mentality of the Obama administration seems to have taken root in the psyche of most demonstrators. Not only has the Obama thrust of wealth redistribution failed but reality shows must have tanked as well because, the Occupy Wall St. crowd is far removed from any known reality.
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Hey Kids – Let’s Meet on Wall St. for Weeks Long Whining Fest”

Budget - Congress - Economy/Finances - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Peter Roskam - Republicans - Taxes - Unemployment - Warner Todd Huston

Roskam Statement on September Jobs Report

October 9, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, Illinois 6th District)…

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chief Deputy Whip, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor released their September jobs report showing the national unemployment rate remains over 9 percent:

“This is yet another disappointing example that the White House’s policies need to change direction. It’s been over two and a half years since the stimulus first passed, yet trillions in debt later, unemployment is 9.1% – well above the 8% peak promised by this Administration.

“Republicans stand ready and willing to work with Democrats on commonsense solutions that remove barriers to private-sector job creation. We’ve recently passed numerous bills reforming excessive Washington-imposed regulatory practices that would kill jobs — though the Senate has yet to act on these job-saving measures or any of the dozen job-creating bills we’ve passed this year.

“It is a positive step forward that the White House sent the long-stalled pro-export trade agreements to Congress. I urge them to work with us on places where we agree, like the trade agreements, and eschew the tired playbook of proposing increasing taxes, regulatory madness, and more ‘stimulus.’”

http://roskam.house.gov/

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Republicans - Robert Dold - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Five Small Business Bills Supported by Rep. Dold Advance Through the Financial Services Subcommittee

October 9, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Bob Dold (Ill., 10th District)…

WASHINGTON, DC – In yesterday’s Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises, five bills that will empower small businesses advanced through the subcommittee. U.S. Congressman Robert Dold (IL-10) has co-sponsored each of these bills as they make it easier for small businesses to gain access to capital so they can expand and create new jobs.

“Small business is the backbone of our economy,” said Rep. Dold. “Two thirds of all net new jobs are created by small businesses. In order to help bring our economy back on solid footing, we need to create an environment in which small businesses can grow.

“Yesterday, five bills advanced through the Financial Services Committee that will help to do just that. These bills assist small business capital formation which has been restricted both by general economic conditions and by excessively restrictive, outdated, and burdensome regulations. Furthermore, this legislation is bipartisan and aligns with President Obama’s goal to cut the red tape that prevents small businesses from raising capital and going public.
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Five Small Business Bills Supported by Rep. Dold Advance Through the Financial Services Subcommittee”

Budget - Business - Children - Civil Rights Act - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Georgia - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Finger-Waving, Child-Like Protestors Refuse to Allow Left-Wing Congressman to Address Crowd

October 8, 2011 by 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is the funniest thing I have ever…

This is the funniest thing I’ve ever….

Seen in my life.

Seen in my life.

A bunch of child-like protesters in Atlanta, Georgia refused left-wing Congressman John Lewis — a civil rights icon to many — to be allowed to address the crowd this weekend. The whole scene is reminiscent of the worst, hackneyed, new agie-styled preschool program devised for 5-year-olds by one of the most idiotic leftists imaginable. But it makes for hilarious video entertainment.

Apparently these people decided that their “assembly” would employ pure democracy. But if there was ever a more annoying way to do it, I’ve never seen it.

A scraggly, bearded, hippie wannabe playing the part of the crowd’s conscience spoke to those gathered over a megaphone system. He would say a few words and the crowd would, like five-year-olds in a preschool class, repeat his words verbatim.

It went something like this:

Anorexic Hippie Megaphone Guy: “We have someone here…”
Dirty, Ground-Sitting Hippie Crowd in Unison: “We have someone here…”
Anorexic Hippie Megaphone Guy: “Who would like to address the assembly…”
Dirty, Ground-Sitting Hippie Crowd in Unison: “Who would like to address the assembly…”

So, Anorexic Hippie Megaphone Guy explains to the crowd that they don’t “use clapping” in their “assembly” because clapping can “prevent someone else who is addressing the assembly from being heard.” So, to “signal approval” the crowd is instructed to raise their hands and wiggle their fingers. I swear I saw this on Barney the Dinosaur show.
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Finger-Waving, Child-Like Protestors Refuse to Allow Left-Wing Congressman to Address Crowd”

Alan Caruba - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Environment - EPA - Liberals - President - Taxes

The EPA Gets Caught in a Big Fat Lie

October 8, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Alan Caruba

The notion that the Environmental Protection Agency uses “science” to justify their regulations is false, just like most of the claims they issue on various aspects of the nation’s environment. Their favorite scam is to estimate the number of deaths they will prevent with some new draconian regulation.

The EPA is the American equivalent of the Gestapo, a ruthless enforcement agency with a very Green agenda that is opposed to the use of many beneficial chemicals, every form of energy, and the right of people to be left alone.

At the top of its list of priorities is the destruction of the nation’s economy with special attention to all forms of energy production. Manufacturing anything comes next, followed by afflicting the nation’s vast agricultural sector. The EPA insists that dust is a pollutant. You can’t farm without generating DUST.
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The EPA Gets Caught in a Big Fat Lie”

Adam Kinzinger - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Regulation - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Kinzinger Applauds House Passage of Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent U.S. Cement Plant Closings and Save Jobs

October 8, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R, Ill. 11th District)…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-11), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, applauded the House passage of H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011. Kinzinger is an original co-sponsor and says the bill would protect domestic cement manufacturing and tens of thousands of American jobs.

Watch Congressman Kinzinger’s remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 2681:
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Kinzinger Applauds House Passage of Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent U.S. Cement Plant Closings and Save Jobs”

Banks - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Jobs - Liberals - RightPundits.com - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Occupy Wall Street: Idiots on Parade

October 7, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The dregs of humanity have been infesting Wall Street for days, now. But what do they want? They don’t really know.

This is really a sad, sad end to the extremist left-wing movement in America. It started with a bang in the 1960s where, rabble or no, they at least knew what they wanted. It is ending with a whimper as pampered halfwits shuffle around in a perpetual state of agitation with no actual cause to support…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Free Trade - GOP - Government - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Why Isn’t Obama’s Teacher Lie National News?

October 7, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

During the latest campaign appearance disguised as a presidential press conference, President Obama uttered one straight out lie that stands out above the rest of them. To help sell his “jobs bill,” Obama claimed to have met a Boston-based teacher named Robert Baroz and intimated that Baroz had no job despite his excellent teaching credentials. The problem is, neither claim is true. Obama simply lied. So, where is the national Old Media to pin Obama to the wall over this out right lie?

During his presser, Obama introduced teacher Baroz into the national discussion of his “jobs bill.” Obama claimed to have met Mr. Baroz and lamented that Baroz was out of work.

I had a chance to meet a young man named Robert Baroz. He’s got two decades of teaching experience. He’s got a master’s degree. He’s got an outstanding track record of helping his students make huge gains in reading and writing. In the last few years, he’s received three pink slips because of budget cuts. Why wouldn’t we want to pass a bill that puts somebody like Robert back in the classroom teaching our kids?

The problem with this little tale of woe? Firstly President Obama did not meet teacher Baroz. Robert Baroz did attend a Rose Garden press conference last September with a few other teachers, but the closest he ever got to the president was Baroz’ front row seat during the event. The two never came face to face, never shook hands, never actually met. Baroz saw Obama up at the lectern and Obama may have noticed Baroz sitting in the audience. That hardly makes for a meeting.
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Why Isn’t Obama’s Teacher Lie National News?”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Heritage Foundation - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

In Pictures: How Much the Top Earners Already Pay in Taxes

October 7, 2011 by

America has heard a lot of talk about the “Buffett Rule” — President Barack Obama’s plan to make the tax code more “fair” by permanently raising taxes by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, with most of the burden falling on families and businesses earning more than $250,000 per year. But if he wants to talk about “fairness,” he should look at how much top income earners already pay in taxes, as the chart below shows:

In a new paper, Heritage’s Curtis Dubay explains that the supposed “fairness” of the new rule is anything but fair:

To President Obama, it is “fair” to raise taxes on families and businesses earning more than $250,000 a year by raising their income tax rates and limiting their deductions. That must also mean he believes that they currently pay too little in taxes.

Yet the data show the highest-earning families and businesses already pay the lion’s share of the federal income tax burden. According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of income earners—those earning more than $380,000 in 2008—paid more than 38 percent of all federal income taxes while earning 20 percent of all income. The top 10 percent ($114,000 and above) earned 45 percent of income and paid 70 percent of all taxes. At the same time, the bottom 50 percent of income earners—those earning less than $33,000—earned 13 percent of all income and paid less than 3 percent of federal income taxes.

Read more of Dubay’s paper, “The Buffett Rule: Fair to No One,” at Heritage.org.

Budget - Chicago - Cook County Board - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Property Taxes - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A Note About Morrison’s Bid for Cook County Board of Review

October 7, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last cycle this website did not support Mr. Morrison for the first district seat on the Cook County Board of Review. There was a big reason for this. Morrison was a heavy supporter, donor and voter for Democrats prior to suddenly launching his campaign as a Republican.

Morrison gave a lot of money to Democrats, voted as a Democrat, and supported them where he lived in Chicago’s 19th Ward (See Morrison’s campaign donation and voting history here). This made me very, very wary that he was merely a Democrat plant attempting to steal away a GOP seat. It looked like a typical, left-wing, dirty trick that we are so used to seeing from unprincipled Democrats.

Morrison, however, denies he is a Democrat. He says he supported Democrats and voted Democrat in the 19th Ward because there weren’t any viable Republicans in his area to help support his business interests.
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A Note About Morrison’s Bid for Cook County Board of Review”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Money - Peter Roskam - Regulation - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Roskam Applauds FTA Passage In Ways & Means Committee And Passage of Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act

October 7, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, Ill)…

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Peter Roskam, Chief Deputy Whip and member of the House Ways & Means Committee, issued the following statement after the long-stalled Colombia, Panama, and Korea Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) passed out of the Ways & Means Committee today. Roskam has traveled to South Korea, Panama, and Colombia in support of these three agreements:

“Today was an important step forward to implementing no-cost job creating policies. These pro-export policies will open up more markets for American products to be sold, and in turn create more American jobs. Furthermore, they will be important strategic tools for our foreign policy. Republicans have been advocating for these commonsense policies for years. With unemployment at 9.1% nationally, Washington has to be embracing commonsense solutions that remove barriers to private-sector job creation.”
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Roskam Applauds FTA Passage In Ways & Means Committee And Passage of Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act”

Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Tom Cross - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross: Reforming Chicago and Cook Co. Pension Boards‏

October 7, 2011 by

From Illinois GOP House Leader Tom Cross…

In a speech at the City Club of Chicago this afternoon, Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross announced that he filed a bill that will help give more accountability to taxpayers by reconstituting the City of Chicago and Cook County pension boards. The bill, which will be sponsored by Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) in the Senate, will also require pension boards statewide to refer any suspected fraud to the local authorities.

“Recent media reports have unveiled abuses in the Chicago Pension systems that were not reported to the proper authorities for punishment or investigation. We believe these matters should have and still should be reported to law enforcement. We mandate that in our bill,” said Cross. “We also believe the pension boards in the City of Chicago and Cook County need a fresh start—that’s why we are seeking reconstitution.”
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Ill. GOP House Leader Tom Cross: Reforming Chicago and Cook Co. Pension Boards‏”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - GOP - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Mitch McConnell - President - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Senate Dems Prove They are NOT Interested in Working With Republicans

October 6, 2011 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, has just proven that while Obama runs around the country on campaign appearances claiming that he wants to work with Republicans to “pass this bill,” his party has no interest whatsoever in actually doing so. Reid is trying to pass new rules to prevent Republicans form being able to have their say on what is going on in the Senate right now.

Reid has deployed the rarely used “nuclear option” to prevent Republicans from being able to employ a move called a motion to suspend the rules. Reid wants to stop Republicans from offering amendments after cloture to bills under consideration.

Senate Republican Leader wanted to use this motion to bring Obama’s jobs bill to a vote. Harry Reid, Obama’s man in the Senate, is desperate to prevent Obama’s jobs bill from coming to a vote.
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Obama’s Senate Dems Prove They are NOT Interested in Working With Republicans”

Budget - Business - Chicago - Cook County - Cook County Board - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Liberals - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Cook County: Incompetent Stroger Appointee Fired Over Million$ in Tax Discrepancies

October 6, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

I did not vote for Toni Preckwinkle to become the Cook County Board President, but I have to say she has made a few tough decisions that one would not expect from a common Chicago Machine Democrat. In another one of those good moves, Preckwinkle sacked the Cook County Comptroller for her incompetent work with accounting for the county’s tax revenue among other failures.

Cook County Comptroller, Constance Kravitz, was another one of those oh, so wonderful appointees of the dismal Todd Stroger, the previous failure that sat in Preckwinkle’s chair. Kravitz was struggling to make ends meet at $165,000 tax dollars annually, so I can see why it was so hard for her to get her facts straight at work. It’s a lot of pressure to be living at such subsistence pay, you know?

Kravitz was at two strikes before Preckwikle lowered the boom. Not only had Kravitz badly bungled the accounting of tax revenue, being off by a whopping $90 million, but her reports detailing which county employees had taken their furlough days and which hadn’t were a complete mess.
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Cook County: Incompetent Stroger Appointee Fired Over Million$ in Tax Discrepancies”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Socialism - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions In for Anti-American, Anti-Capitalist ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protests

October 6, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Looks like the Unions are now endorsing the unwashed masses infesting… er, investing Wall Street.

CNN has the story…

Wall Street Protests Grow After Unions’ Endorsement

Wall Street protests swelled Wednesday to their largest numbers yet, after local unions pledged support to a third week of demonstrations against income inequality, corporate greed, corruption and a list of other social ills.

Thousands meandered from lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park — considered a rallying point for the largely leaderless group — to Foley Square near City Hall.

The crowd then looped back to the park, punctuating a 19-day protest that promotes a wide, if not ambiguous, range of messages.

Causes range from social awareness to radical change in America’s financial and political systems, while other participants appeared content to simply get caught up in the spirit of demonstration.

Still, while the fledgling movement has struggled in its definition, demonstrators appear steadfast in their general criticism of the country’s wealthiest 1% and its purported influence….

These fools really don’t even have much of a point to these protests. They have a mish-mash of stale, socialist/communist/anti-American blather and boilerplate left-wing nonsense, but no coherent purpose.

But that unions have joined them is more proof of how un-American unions have become.
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Unions In for Anti-American, Anti-Capitalist ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Protests”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Peter Roskam - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Roskam Introduces Bill for Permanent Cap Gains Limits

October 6, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, Ill)…

Roskam Introduces Legislation to Permanently Cap Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Rates at 15%

Broad coalition of American job creators send letter in support; impending tax-hike would hit seniors, businesses, investors of all sizes

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL), Chief Deputy Whip and member of the Ways & Means Committee, introduced legislation today to permanently cap the Capital Gains and Dividend Tax Rates at 15% to avoid an impending tax hike that would particularly affect American businesses, seniors, and investors of all sizes. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), member of the Senate Finance Committee, is introducing companion Senate legislation.
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Roskam Introduces Bill for Permanent Cap Gains Limits”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government, Ill. County - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

Village of Palatine Attempts to Hide Millions in Accrued Village Sick and Vacation Time Balances‏

October 6, 2011 by

From the Palatine Tea Party…

Village of Palatine Attempts to Hide Millions in Accrued Village Sick and Vacation Time Balances
(Palatine, Illinois) – The Village of Palatine went out of its way to hide employee sick time and vacation time balances when we attempted to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain employee balances.

Government agencies expect taxpayers to pay their expenses, but when asked to view the data the answer is met with clear opposition. The Village tried to hide behind HIPPA law as their excuse. We then appealed the Village’s decision with the Illinois’ State Attorney and won. (click here for pdf document). Based on the 2009 W2’s, the sick time balance is approximately 9 million dollars and the vacation time balance totals approximately $687,000.
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Village of Palatine Attempts to Hide Millions in Accrued Village Sick and Vacation Time Balances‏”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Frank Salvato - Government - Liberals - President - Taxes

The Idea of the ‘Fair Share’

October 5, 2011 by

-By Frank Salvato

We’re hearing an awful lot about the “wealthy” paying “their fair share” where taxes are concerned. Pres. Obama and his Progressive and liberal Democrat brethren have perfectly coordinated their talking points to affect a campaign of undefined and reckless class warfare against the productive class, doing so for the sole purpose of political gain. Expectedly, Mr. Obama presents a Janus face: denying out of one mouth that he is utilizing class warfare; demonizing the producers out of the other.

In announcing his new, but all too familiar, deficit reduction plan on September 19th, Mr. Obama said:

“This is not class warfare, it is math…All I’m saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay their fair share in taxes…We can’t just cut our way out of this hole… It is only right we ask everyone to pay their fair share…We can’t afford these special lower rates for the wealthy. We can’t afford them when we are running these big deficits… Middle class taxpayers shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to argue against that…”

Of course, an honest man would admit that the federal government is spending way, way, way beyond its means. An honest man would admit that the federal government has gone far, far, far beyond its constitutional mandate in providing special interest programs that would be better suited for private sector benevolence organizations. An honest man would acknowledge the fact – the fact – that the federal government, now hijacked by the political correctness of Progressivism, has ventured into social engineering via its “social justice” campaign and departed, to a great degree, from the vision of federal government established by our Founders and Framers.

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The Idea of the ‘Fair Share’”

Budget - Business - Congress - Free Trade - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - Illinois - Jobs - Peter Roskam - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Roskam Discusses Excessive Cement Regulations at Stakeout

October 5, 2011 by

From the office of Rep. Peter Roskam (R, Ill)…

Roskam: “…if the Cement MACT proposal goes into place, with certainty, it will have an adverse impact on job creation.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, Congressman Peter Roskam, Chief Deputy Whip, gave the following remarks at the GOP leadership stakeout

“Well as you’ve heard there’s two types of actions being taken up this week and next week by the House of Representatives. The good news is the White House seems to get one of those. That is this notion of the expert opportunities for American manufacturers to get into markets abroad. As someone who has traveled to South Korea, and to Panama, and to Colombia it is without question clear to me – and I think most folks on Capitol Hill – that those opportunities are inextricably linked to our long-term prosperity.

Where the White House doesn’t seem to get it and where there’s an opportunity maybe to change their minds is on these two issues that you’ve heard described: Boiler MACT and Cement MACT. We’ve had two job creators in here for the past day or so. They are Brad Slabaugh with Hilltop Basic Resources and Karl Watson of CEMEX USA. Both of which described situations that if the Cement MACT proposal goes into place, with certainty, it will have an adverse impact on job creation. With certainty, it will have an adverse impact on cement kilns here in the United States. We can do better. The Administration needs to join us to turn this situation around quickly.”

http://roskam.house.gov/

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Fox Business Network - Fox News - George W. Bush - GOP - Government - Liberals - Media Bias - Regulation - Republicans - Stimulus - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Fox News 15th Anniversary: Mr. Fox, Neil Cavuto, Hits Chicago

October 4, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Fox News is 15 years-old this year. Not quite sweet 16, but for a cable news organization, especially one that started out in so few homes, 15 was all it took to dominate the news biz. And that is pretty sweet, indeed.

To celebrate the big one five, Neil Cavuto, of the aptly named Your World With Neil Cavuto, took his show on the road. Neil’s Monday broadcast was beamed to the world on a beautifully sunny Chicago afternoon from an open-air veranda at Trump Tower overlooking the Chicago River.

Between broadcasting his Your World and his Fox Business Network program Cavuto, I was pleased to be invited to attend the set and to have a few words with the big guy, himself.

Cavuto is one of the original Fox men having been with the network since the beginning. In fact, he’s not just an on air news reader, he’s the only air personality that is also a Fox executive having served to help program the business coverage for Fox News. He has also been an important part of the creation of Fox Business Network.
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Fox News 15th Anniversary: Mr. Fox, Neil Cavuto, Hits Chicago”