Capitalism

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Elections - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - House of Representatives - Immigration/Immigrants - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Western Civilization

Rep. Brian Billbray: Rep. Gutierrez is Creating the Next Wave of Illegal Immigration

December 16, 2009 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Representative Luis Gutierrez (D, IL) will introduce another stab at “comprehensive immigration reform” this month and it’s been given another one of those Orwellian names that you know means the opposite of what it says in the title. Gutierrez is calling this mess the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, or the CIR ASAP — in other words Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP.

The simple fact of the matter is that, regardless of the name, this legislation will do nothing whatever to help our security or our prosperity. In fact it will damage both.

In his press release touting this bill, Gutierrez said the following:

“We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President,” said Rep. Gutierrez. “The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

This morning I spoke to Representative Brian Billbray in that nation’s capitol and found him chagrined by the whole thing. Billbray is the Chairman of the Immigration Reform Caucus and is from California’s 50th District which is situated in the San Diego County area.
Continue reading “

Rep. Brian Billbray: Rep. Gutierrez is Creating the Next Wave of Illegal Immigration”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Freedom - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

A Message to Senators Landrieu and Reid form the Louisiana Tea Partiers

December 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This past Saturday, hundreds of people gathered in the pouring rain in New Orleans, Louisiana, to tell Senator Harry Reid (D, Nev.) and Senator Mary Landrieu (D, Loius.). As you may know, Senator Reid was supposed to attend a fundraiser in New Orleans, but canceled his plans to attend when he started taking heat for “asking Republicans for the weekend off.” [The Hill Blog also covered this]

Once again we see Harry Reid’s hypocrisy. but the tea party folks won’t let him forget it! News is Reid is having trouble with his Nevada reelection bid, too. Wouldn’t it be grand if another Senate Majority Leader was Daschled!


Continue reading “

A Message to Senators Landrieu and Reid form the Louisiana Tea Partiers”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Rights - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Science, Smoking, Healthcare, All Prove Gov’t Can’t be Trusted

December 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Just sit back and let big daddy government show you the way. The Democrat Party is assuring us that they know better because they have science, educated people, doctors, all that “expertise” in their control and further more they “care” about us all and they want us to know that they’d never do anything to lead us astray.

If you feel like the con is about to begin, you are right.

Of course, we don’t need mere suspicion to divine that the Democrats are liars. We can look at what government and Democrats have already done in several related areas — science, smoking and healthcare — to prove that this newest attempt to “help” us is based on lies, smoke and mirrors.

Let us begin with science. In two areas we see the failure that Democrats perpetuate even with science as their justification: global warming and healthcare.

We are all by now familiar with the lies that global warming is based upon as revealed by the scheming to hide failure of the science that went on behind the scenes with the email correspondence of the “scientists” at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU). The science went from settled “consensus” to “ClimateGate” in only a matter of weeks. Yet governments all across the globe have based their policies on these lies. Total failure.
Continue reading “

Science, Smoking, Healthcare, All Prove Gov’t Can’t be Trusted”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Congress - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Elections - Family - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - Health - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - Republicans - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

TAPROOT: Christmas Candidate Forum

December 14, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Tonight I attended the TAPROOT Christmas event and listened to 15 Republican state-wide and DuPage County candidates all of whom came to address those gathered at the Hilton in Lisle to hear them speak. From Gubernatorial candidates, Senate candidates, judges and local county folks to… is it right to say Lt. Gubernatorial candidates? If so, it sounds odd… anyway, it was a whirlwind session of candidates and a good time was had by all.

If it could be said that there was a theme of the day then it had to be jobs and the economy. Every candidate had something to say about the subject that weighs so heavily on all of us.

15 candidates is a lot of folks to hear from and each got about 5 or 10 minutes to lay out their case and then a few minutes for questions. We were pleased to hear from two candidates for governor and there were quite a lot of candidates for Lt. Governor, as well, three in all. Three Senate candidates appeared, two Comptroller candidates, one Sec. of State candidate, one Congressional candidate, two judges and a DuPage County commission candidate.

Appearing in order were:

I know, phew!
Continue reading “

TAPROOT: Christmas Candidate Forum”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Humor - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Rights - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston - Western Civilization

This Leftist Drivel is Why Journalism is Dying

December 13, 2009 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Today I have read a piece of “journalism” by a freelance writer whose Slate article shows me why the profession has fallen on such hard times. The piece on fast food drive thru windows is not only pretentious but it is filled with enough fluff to stuff a mattress and leaves the impression that the writer thinks it all resembles wit. It simply amazes for its vacuous nature. And, worse, it doesn’t even pay off fulfilling the premise of its headline. In fact, it is so ridiculous for its assumptions and its presumption of surety that one wonders if the writer had ever even seen a fast food drive up window or met anyone that would use one before putting pen to paper.

Upon reading this self-satisfied piece of nonsense, my first guess was that this guy is a New York metrosexual that never met an honest to God drive thru window customer in his life. Naturally, it turns out our writer friend, Tom Vanderbilt, seems to fit right in with the pretentiousness of his namesake, the Vanderbilts. I don’t know that he is actually related to that famous upper crusty clan whose name he shares but a look at his bio causes one to suspect that I was right with my first impression. He’s written for such bastions of real America as The New York Times, Harvard Design Magazine, and Smithsonian Magazine. He is, of course, from New York City.

With that sort of pedigree we can most assuredly assume he speaks for all of America, and not just the nose-in-the-air set that looks down upon the rest of us in “fly over country,” right? Dream on.
Continue reading “

This Leftist Drivel is Why Journalism is Dying”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - California - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - Founders - Frank Salvato - Free Trade - Freedom - History - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Religion - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law

American Liberty v. Obama’s Social Engineering

December 13, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

After the General Election of 2008 I made a conscious effort to give President Obama a chance. I wanted to give him an opportunity to be true to his word; to prove that he was committed to governing from the center. I also wanted to demonstrate that I was not of the same ilk as the Bush-hating, “he stole the election,” fact-ignoring Progressive malcontents that served to divide the country over the eight years of the Bush Administration. But now, a year after the election, and as we approach a full year of the Obama Administration, it has become abundantly clear that Mr. Obama has abandoned almost all of his campaign promises (but for his commitments to the SEIU) and is governing from the far Left. He has instituted a campaign of social engineering that can only be described as a direct threat to liberty.

Liberty
Liberty is defined as, “freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.” It was the single most motivating factor in the American Revolution and war for independence. Our Founders and Framers risked their lives to free the people of what would become our nation from the elitist tyranny of King George and his court, a tyranny that choked liberty – personal and societal – dead.

In addition to the limitations placed on religious freedom and freedom of speech, taxation was excessive and exploitative and it was imposed without representation. Many of the colonists believed the denial of direct representation in the British Parliament was an illegal denial of their rights, as colonists were considered Englishmen subject to the king’s rule. Thus the credo, “no taxation without representation,” served as the rallying cry for Patriots in each of the thirteen colonies as they coalesced into a movement toward American independence.

Continue reading “

American Liberty v. Obama’s Social Engineering”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - SEIU - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax

December 12, 2009 by

By Warner Todd Huston

The Associated Press reports the words of Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, who went to Washington D.C. to protest the so-called Cadillac healthcare plan tax currently in the Senate’s healthcare bill. “We should tax the millionaires, not teachers and bus drivers,” she told reporters.

This has been the constant refrain from Big Unions since Senator Max Baucus (D, Montana) included the taxing plan into his Senate version of Obamacare earlier this year. This 40 percent tax plan would kick in for any employee whose healthcare plan reaches $8,500 per year for individuals or $23,000 for families.

Of course, there is a fatal flaw in the Democrat’s assumptions of what this tax will do. As the AP reports, “The tax would raise some $150 billion over 10 years to help pay for the Democrats’ nearly $1 trillion health care bill.”
Continue reading “

Unions Again In DC Arguing Against ‘Cadillac Plan’ Tax”

Ann "Babe" Huggett - Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Europe - Free Trade - Liberals - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - UN

Put The Blame On Santa Claus

December 10, 2009 by

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett


The Copenhagen Climate Summit imploded on its second day over the lethal ‘Danish text” leak of the draft agreement, which further empowers First World nations over the developing and undeveloped nations, sidelines the UN and dumps the Kyoto Protocol. As the screaming developing nations let off CO2 like weenies on a grill amidst all the limos and private jets of the attendees, the Northern hemisphere is gripped in Winter’s snowy embrace while it is still Fall. Global warming is dead and it’s too late to switch back to the Global Cooling of the ‘70s. The only control freak Globalist thing left on their humanity hating agenda is Climate Change with which to bludgeon us into shivering serfs.

The Summit started off with the usual political correct nonsense of Christmas trees being banned since it is a socialist rich, post Christian environment where nothing as crass as trees sacrificed for bourgeoisie sentimentality is allowed. To paraphrase C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in the bizarro world of the socialist, it’s always Winter and never Christmas.
Continue reading “

Put The Blame On Santa Claus”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - Liberals - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Taxes

Why Google is a Monopoly — Presenting the Case before the Federalist Society

December 9, 2009 by

-By Scott Cleland

Federalist Society Forum:

“Is Google Monopolizing Something and If So What?”

National Press Club, Washington D.C., December 7, 2009
Remarks of Scott Cleland, President of Precursor LLC

Thank you for the opportunity to make the case that Google is: A monopoly and a digital information distribution bottleneck; andiIs engaged in pervasive, predatory, anti-competitive behavior that is seriously harming competition, the quality and choice of information, and consumers.

I believe it is not if, but when, the DOJ will be compelled by the facts and the harms to competition to file a Sherman Section 2 monopolization case against Google.

I will make four points in my opening remarks.
Continue reading “

Why Google is a Monopoly — Presenting the Case before the Federalist Society”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - Religion - Rights - Science - Security/Safety - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - UN - Warner Todd Huston

ClimateGate and the UN: New Red Scare over Green Lies

December 8, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Believe it or not, the UN just whined that climategate is the Russian’s fault. It appears that the United Nation’s position is that the obvious cover-up of the false doctrine that is global warming perpetrated by global warming “scientists” is not the fault of the lying scientists, but that of the assumed “paid” Russian hacker that hacked the globaloney scientist’s emails and exposed the cover-up to the world. Convoluted reasoning, no?

Remember when you were a child and your Mother discovered through hearing about it from the neighbors that you were doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing? Remember how instead of taking responsibility for your actions you cried that it wasn’t right that someone narced on you? Well, that is the same sort of childish, facile reasoning that the UN has employed to explain away this climaegate scandal.

Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a vice-chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), recently said that the hacked emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (CRU) were obtained and hyped by Russia in order to “destroy public confidence” in the “science” of man-made global warming… or is it now “climate change”? It’s hard to keep up with their constant name changing as they look for more sellable rhetoric.

Just like that kid that’s mad at getting caught but can’t see that he is at fault in the first place, the UN is now trying to get everyone to consider this as “hackergate” instead of climategate. Various UN folks are in essence telling us not to look “here,” but to instead look “over there.”
Continue reading “

ClimateGate and the UN: New Red Scare over Green Lies”

Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Jobs - Liberals - President - SEIU - Society/Culture - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

SEIU’s Calif. Vote Fraud

December 7, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Over the last few months we’ve talked about several instances of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) committing vote fraud in elections for in-home helathcare workers to chose a union. We have also reported on the shaky UHW election in Dec. of 2008. (Here, here, and here) Even with those instances extant we have more SEIU vote fraud to report.

The SEIU is still perpetrating fraudulent elections, intimidating union voters, and trying to strong-arm members into accepting SEIU dominance despite what they may want. Recently the Wall Street Journal had another story detailing the SEIU’s un-democratic actions.

Among other things, the Journal is reporting that SEIU officials working with its sister union, California’s UHW, have been threatening deportation to Hispanic union members that were considering a vote for a new union going by the name National Union of Health Workers (NUHW).
Continue reading “

SEIU’s Calif. Vote Fraud”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Thomas Brewton

Bunkum-Babbling Ben Bernanke

December 7, 2009 by

-By Thomas E. Brewton

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is a devotee of Keynesian economics, which is to say that he is incapable of learning from experience. Either he can’t comprehend that the Fed’s excessive fiat money creation always precedes bubbles of economic exuberance, or he insanely proposes to continue repeating the Fed’s cheap money policies, ever hopeful of a different result.

Establishment of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 enabled arbitrary and excessive inflation of the monetary base supplied to banks and other financial institutions. In every recession since 1913, especially the 1930s Depression and our current housing and subprime mortgage bust, Fed action made bubbles larger and more pervasive and made subsequent buble-bursts more devastating than they would have been otherwise.

Over a short six-year period preceding the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Fed doubled the lendable deposits of the nation’s banks. Other over-expansions of the money supply also led to the unprecedented inflation and high unemployment of the 1970s stagflation, to the 1990s dot.com boom-and-bust, and to the current collapse of housing and financial markets.
Continue reading “

Bunkum-Babbling Ben Bernanke”

Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - George W. Bush - GOP - Jobs - Journalism - Liberals - Media Bias - President - Republicans - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A Tale of Two Presidents: How Media Treated Bush’s Unemployment #’s Compared to Obama’s

December 4, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It never ceases to amaze me how differently the Old Media treats Republican presidents compared to how they treat Democrat Presidents during times of unemployment reporting. Today, in the vaunted era of Obama, the unemployment numbers for November 2009 have come out and it shows some of the highest unemployment numbers since the Great Depression. Despite that the Old Media seems to be playing this as a sign of optimism. Such optimism was decidedly not in the cards when that same Old Media was reporting rates during Bush’s years, however.

Let’s take two reports from The New York Times for example. One from September 7, 2002 in Bush’s first term and one from December 4, 2009, early in the Obama presidency.

In 2002, The New York Times reported Bush’s 5.7 percent unemployment rate, noting that it was a drop from 5.9 percent, with the following headline: Unemployment Fell in August, But Drop Is Called Insignificant.

For the Times, David Leonhardt started off on a sour note whilst reporting this drop in unemployment.
Continue reading “

A Tale of Two Presidents: How Media Treated Bush’s Unemployment #’s Compared to Obama’s”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Liberals - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Railroading Florida’s Rail Project

December 4, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Florida is right now at the vanguard of a new railroad project that could bring good news to those that care about solving bloated state budgets, common sense employment laws, and cutting the corruption that comes with unions by pushing for a non-union workforce with its proposed intrastate rail system. And the unions are incensed, naturally.

The new commuter deal would see the state buying 61.5 miles of CSX track, which would effectively sever that link from interstate commerce. Federal regulations require rail systems that cross state boundaries to employ union workers (and that is a law that should be overturned, too) but this new system would be entirely contained within the state of Florida. Since it is a intrastate project, this absolves Florida from being forced to employ a union workforce.

Additionally, the state is claiming that this is not a “railroad” project, but just another common transportation project and since the state of Florida is not forced to employ union workers on all transportation projects, it sees no reason to make an exception for the new commuter-rail line.
Continue reading “

Unions Railroading Florida’s Rail Project”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Capitalism - Chicago - Congress - Conservatives - Constitution - Economy/Finances - Frank Salvato - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - President - Society/Culture - Taxes

Is the Constitution Just a Grand Suggestion?

December 4, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

Listening to the John & Cisco morning radio program here on Chicago’s WIND AM 560 this morning, I was suddenly stopped dead in my tracks. One of the hosts, John Howell, asked Chicago Tribune editorialists Clarence Page about a contentious issue; whether candidates for the office of President of the United States of America should have to present proof of citizenship before being allowed to vie for the office. Mr. Page’s answer was not only a slight to the Constitution; it placed him firmly in the camp of the constitutionally illiterate.

When asked if vetting candidates for national office, specifically the presidency, wasn’t something that all Americans could agree upon, Mr. Page replied:

“You can never please some people, as you can see. I know Liberals who believe John McCain should be challenged because he wasn’t born in the US, because he was born in the Panama Canal Zone and…ah…they will point to different constitutional loopholes…ah…that they say would disqualify him. I remember George Romney, Mitt’s Dad…ah…went through the same thing…ah…back in the 60s. As far as I’m concerned, why can’t Madeleine Albright be a good president even though she wasn’t born a citizen? Or the governor of Michigan right now? This is the kind of thing…folks are kind of groping for any reason to disqualify a president or presidential candidate that they don’t like and…ah…I just find it to be a specious debate…I think we’ve got more important issues to worry about…maybe that’s just me (laughter).”

Continue reading “

Is the Constitution Just a Grand Suggestion?”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - GOP - Illinois - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Illinois Policy Institute Update

December 4, 2009 by 1 Comment

Nothing to See Here, Folks…
The leaked e-mails of the Climategate scandal have been nothing short of stunning—except, of course, to the true believers in the White House. You can watch Obama’s press secretary Robert Gibbs in full denial mode by clicking the image above. Meanwhile, stay tuned for our newest report, set for release next week, which shows the direct consequences of cap and trade schemes for Illinois.

That Better Be Some Spicy Hot Sauce!
In 2008, Illinois state government spent $7,875 on “bird testing,” $20,692.24 on “subscriptions” for the Governor’s office, $3,770 for golf carts, $2,822 on hot sauce, and $280 on soy crayons – all funded by Illinois taxpayers.
Continue reading “

Illinois Policy Institute Update”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Jobs - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Obama Job Summit: Another Manufacturer Opts Out of U.S.A.

December 3, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

With President Obama carrying on his “jobs summit” this week blaming business for “not hiring enough workers,” it is interesting to see the reaction of at least one major U.S. business to the Obama administration’s actions during this economic downturn.

On November 11, David N. Farr, Chairman, CEO and President of Emerson Electric Co., announced at the Baird 2009 Industrial Conference in Chicago that President Obama has succeeded in chasing his multi-billion dollar industry right out of the U.S.A. Why? Onerous regulation, high taxes, and the over $1 trillion Obama debt should be reason enough for any business to consider shutting down U.S. facilities and seeking greener pastures overseas says Farr.

The federal government is “doing everything in [its] manpower [and] capability to destroy U.S. manufacturing,” says David Farr, chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric Co., in a presentation at the Baird 2009 Industrial Conference in Chicago Ill., on Nov. 11. In comments reported by Bloomberg, Farr added that companies will continue adding jobs in China and India because they are “places where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do something. I am not going to hire anybody in the United States. I’m moving. They are doing everything possible to destroy jobs.”

During his slide show on the state of Emerson’s business, Farr noted that the “unprecedented job loss experienced in this recession will result in a much slower U.S. recovery” and the federal government is making matters worse. The slide reports that the job loss this time is by many magnitudes worse than previous recessions. Noted are job losses from several recessions: 1980 with 1 million jobs lost; 1982 with 2.8 million; 1990 with 1.5 million; 2001 with 2.7 million. Finally Farr notes that we’ve seen a whopping 7.3 million lost thus far (and climbing) in this 2008-2009-2010 recession.
Continue reading “

Obama Job Summit: Another Manufacturer Opts Out of U.S.A.”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Computers - Democrats/Leftists - Free Trade - Google - Inernet - Liberals - Net Neutrality - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology

Critical Gaps in FCC’s Proposed Open Internet Regulations

December 3, 2009 by

-By Scott Cleland

Like the FCC’s National Broadband Plan task force identified seven critical gaps in the path to the future of universal broadband, the FCC should resolve six identified “critical gaps” in the FCC’s proposed open Internet regulations before moving forward to regulate the Internet for the first time — by dictating Internet access pricing, terms and conditions or dictating what services which businesses can and cannot offer on the Internet.

Here are six critical gaps in the FCC’s proposed open Internet regulations:

Credibility Gap: The FCC isn’t “preserving,” but changing the Internet by regulating it for the first time.
Continue reading “

Critical Gaps in FCC’s Proposed Open Internet Regulations”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - House of Representatives - Illinois - Republicans - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Americans for Prosperity: U.S. House Candidate Joe Walsh Signs No Climate Tax Pledge

December 2, 2009 by

8th District Congressional candidate Joe Walsh has signed the AFP no tax pledge…

CHICAGO-The Illinois chapter of the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP-IL) today applauded U.S. House candidate Joe Walsh (8th District) for signing the group’s “No Climate Tax Pledge.” By doing so, Walsh joins over 285 lawmakers and candidates on the federal, state and local levels pledging to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue.”

“The one thing elected officials should all be able to agree on is that global warming shouldn’t be used as an excuse to hike taxes on citizens and businesses,” said AFP-IL State Director Joe Calomino. “We encourage all of Illinois’ elected officials and candidates for elected office to sign.”
Continue reading “

Americans for Prosperity: U.S. House Candidate Joe Walsh Signs No Climate Tax Pledge”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - House of Representatives - Liberals - Nancy Salvato - President - Senate - State Government - Taxes

The Turkey That Is Obamanomics

December 2, 2009 by

-By Nancy Salvato

Thanksgiving day progressed in somewhat the usual manner, sleeping in; savoring our coffee; reading the news; putzing around on the computer; and at least one of us (me) working out in anticipation of moderating the inevitable consequences of splurging on an inordinate amount of really good food. Soon, though, we found the afternoon getting away from us and realized we needed to pick up the pace. Our newly allotted time-frame no longer permitted enough time for us to take our dogs, Reilly and Coulter, for a long walk. With the promise that we’d take them to the forest preserve with us the following day, we grabbed the dishes we’d prepared earlier, leaving the pups to their own devices, soon to arrive at our destination.

After exchanging hugs and kisses, we got down to the business of setting out the food and carving the turkey. Sitting around the dinner table, we gave thanks for our family, friends, the meal before us and voiced our hope that the soldiers spending this Thanksgiving away from their loved ones would be kept safe in the months to come. Then, in what seemed like an inordinately short amount of time – in contrast to the time it took to plan and prepare the meal – we toasted to each other and plowed through the turkey, stuffing and other fixings, eventually chasing it all down with dessert. Now we were ready to play games.
Continue reading “

The Turkey That Is Obamanomics”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Free Trade - Freedom - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Senate - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Unions a Danger to Good Government

December 1, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

What happens when a private sector union gets far too many benefits to the point where the business for which its membership works goes under or whose existence is threatened? Punishment. Unions either take a reduction of benefits or pay — or both — and cuts in time or jobs in order to right the ship and keep the business afloat occur. Just like punishment comes to businesses that make bad business decisions, private employee unions also realize punishment for overreach. At the risk of losing the whole enterprise both for unions and owners, the market serves to correct excess.

Unfortunately, there is no such corrective for union overreach for government employees. These unions rarely face any punishment for excess. And therein lies the reason that unions are antithetical to good government.

Of course, we’ve discussed this theme many times here at the blog over the past few years. But to buttress the discussion I’d like to relate some statistics. The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk recently took a look at the most current reports from labor and found that 12.4% of the American work force is made up of union members. But he notes that, while union membership has fallen to 7.3% of private sector jobs, it has risen to a never before seen 37.6% unionization of government employees — and this number is growing. Government workers now make up 51% of all unionized workers in the USA.
Continue reading “

Unions a Danger to Good Government”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Dan Scott - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Energy - Liberals - President - Science - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Technology

Who’s Next Under The Bus?

December 1, 2009 by

-By Dan Scott

Since the Climategate story has been broken over a week ago, we have begun to see the cracks in the AGW edifice. George Monbiot, an AGW proponent has called for the resignation of Phil Jones from the IPCC. Source The emails implicated Phil Jones, Michael Mann and Stefan Rahmstorf in a scheme to rig the Peer Review process to only allow pro-AGW papers through while banning anything remotely unfavorable regardless of any inconvenient facts. Both Messrs. Monbiot’s and Zorita’s desire to toss the high profile offenders under the bus are purely self serving, since the sacrifice of Jones, Mann and Rahmstorf is merely a means to claim isolated individual overzealousness in an attempt to distract the public from the real issue regarding the wholesale scientific fraud of AGW.

We have corroborating proof regarding the rigged Peer Review process from the personal account of Vincent Gray, PhD. His experience shows any paper with unfriendly AGW leanings were sent to file 13. It should be noted that another famous hurricane researcher by the same last name, Professor William Gray lost his funding for Hurricane research because of his stance against AGW. There is no denying the obvious when it comes to being politically incorrect regarding AGW. Science was supposed to be a debate of theories, not the suppression of facts to support the theory du jour.
Continue reading “

Who’s Next Under The Bus?”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Congress - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Elections - Health - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

10th District, Robert Dold: Government Run Health Care is Bad Medicine‏

November 30, 2009 by

From the Dold campaign…

The end of 2009 is almost here, and as Election Day, February 2nd, quickly approaches, it is time to look forward to electing a new Congressional leader who will bring your concerns and ideas to Washington. I believe that healthcare, an issue at the forefront of our minds this election season, needs to be reformed the right way—without a government takeover.

The current Democrat-backed health care plan will increase government health expenditures by an estimated $1 trillion over a ten year period. While the consequences of the enormous bill will affect us on a national level, it will also make things worse for Illinois. A recent report released by the Illinois Policy Institute revealed the nationalized health care plan will lower economic growth by costing Illinois 169,000 jobs, impose $57 billion in costs for Illinois taxpayers to bear, and shrink our state’s economy by 5.1 percent.
Continue reading “

10th District, Robert Dold: Government Run Health Care is Bad Medicine‏”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama: King of All Statists

November 30, 2009 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Almost 40% of William Howard Taft’s cabinet officials were from the private sector. Ike had nearly 60% of his appointees sporting private sector experience. Reagan had about 55% and George W. Bush about 53%. Even FDR and Truman had half their cabinet officials with private sector experience.

And Obama?

Less than 10%.

That means that only about 7% of Barack Hussein Obama’s cabinet appointees ever worked in the private sector. So is it any wonder that Barack Obama has become the president responsible for an unprecedented bloating of the federal government and a take over of power on a scale never before seen?

Nick Schulz published a great graph revealing the private sector experience of the appointees of every president since 1901. (Also heard Jerry Agar talking about this over the weekend on Chicago’s WGN)

Remembering that Barack Obama himself never held a real job his whole life the fact that he surrounds himself with government hacks, placemen, and hangerson yet is expected to be the one to fix the private sector economy and, well, we can see why he is failing so miserably. He has no life experiences to draw on and neither does anyone he’s asked to advise him.

No wonder America is on the fast track to socialism.
Continue reading “

Obama: King of All Statists”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Education - John Armor - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - Taxes

Little Barry Goes to School

November 30, 2009 by

-By John Armor

It has been almost a year that little Barry What’s-His-Name, the Kenyan- Indonesian-African-American lad has been going to school as President of the United States. This is an interim Report Card to his political parents, the voters of the United States.

English Comprehension: Barry has the most extraordinary ability to speak in English than all but a small handful of students who have ever attended this school. However, this ability to speak in complete sentences, using words that seem appropriate to the subject at hand, is coupled with a near total lack of content in those speeches. A+ for delivery, F for content. As Benjamin Franklin observed, “Here comes the Orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason.”

Social Studies: With Barry’s approval, one of his confederates, Little Harry Reid, spent $300 million to purchase the one-time services of Little Mary Landrieu to vote yes to put the Health Care Bill on the floor in the Senate. But, it turned out that Little Mary thought it was only $100 million. They paid 200% more than Little Mary was willing to go for. C for sizing up the situation. F for acting appropriately. As Oscar Wilde said, “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.”

Continue reading “

Little Barry Goes to School”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Congress - Conservatives - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - House of Representatives - Illinois - Republicans - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

10th District: Bob Dold Supports Bank Bailouts

November 28, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Of the Republicans running for the 10th District seat, Bob Dold is one of four, the others being Beth Coulson (the party favorite), Bill Cadigan (endorsed by former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger), and Dick Green.

Dold recently participated in a short phone conversation with Jeff Berkowitz of the Public Affairs Show the upshot of which seems to show that Dold supports the Bush/Obama bank bailouts.

Dold told Berkowitz that he thinks government needs the “ability to make sure that we’re stabilizing the banks.” Now, a conservative would far more likely say that no bank or business is “too big to fail” and that the only way to truly stabilize the banking system is to let banks that make bad choices suffer the consequences of their choices, not buoy them up and give them free money from the taxpayers so that they are insulated from those bad choices.
Continue reading “

10th District: Bob Dold Supports Bank Bailouts”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - History - Republicans - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Jim Dodge for Comptroller: First Video Commercial

November 25, 2009 by

“Jim Dodge has the qualifications,” says the commercial. But the funniest part is that it ends saying, “we can vote for a blast from the past or begin a new, winning chapter for Illinois Republicans.”

Why is that last bit funny? Because it is a slap at Judy Baar Topinka, the former, former of the Illinois Good ‘ol Boy GOP network, who is also running (again) for a state-wide office, this time comptroller.

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Campaign Finance - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

A State Pensioner That Thinks He’s Blameless For Pension Mess

November 25, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune printed a letter to the editor that perfectly describes the disconnect that state workers have between their pensions and the political process. These state workers stare wide-eyed in faux innocence pretending that they themselves, as individuals, are wholly innocent of the mess that is our state pensions are currently in.

But the truth is, the financial ruins that our states are in ARE the fault of state workers. It is their fault directly and without question. Their protestations of innocence is a lie. Sadly, it is a lie they tell themselves and they believe it.

Here is what former state employee Earl Shumaker of Sycamore, Illinois wrote to the Chicago Trib:
Continue reading “

A State Pensioner That Thinks He’s Blameless For Pension Mess”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Communism - Congress - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Free Trade - Freedom - House of Representatives - Illinois - Liberals - President - Socialism - Society/Culture - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Stimulus Stimulated Much of Nothing in Illinois

November 25, 2009 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune has an interesting story that shows that Obama’s $787 billion stimulus really didn’t do much by way of creating any new jobs in Illinois. Though Obama is counting “jobs saved” as some sort of success story, the fact is few jobs have been created and nothing will be sustainable after the stimulus money runs out.

Jobs “saved” apparently means that stimulus money went to keep a job that might otherwise have been lost. But the problem with calling it a job saved is that once the stimulus runs out that same job will still be on the chopping block.

Then there is the other thing to realize: none of these “jobs” are real, useful, and economically real jobs. They are but government handouts given to people with government jobs. The fact is not a single one of these faux jobs “created” by the Obama stimulus is in the private sector. They are all in government and government does not create wealth, it does not grow an economy. All government does is take tax money from one pocket and shift it to another pocket. None of these “jobs” are worthy of being called new jobs.
Continue reading “

Stimulus Stimulated Much of Nothing in Illinois”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Frank Salvato - House of Representatives - Liberals - President - Senate - Society/Culture - Taxes

Have Democrats Been Marginalized Within Their Own Party?

November 25, 2009 by

-By Frank Salvato

We have heard a lot over the past year or so about how President John F. Kennedy wouldn’t be able to garner his political party’s nomination for the presidency in today’s Democrat Party. An examination of his political platform and the principles he embraced would today place him on the right side of the aisle. So, why is it that in just under fifty years the political ideology of the most revered Democrat to hold office in modern times is shunned by the party he served? It’s because his party – the Democrat Party – isn’t the party of Democrats any longer.

Sure, there are still some issues that Democrats view in the same light they did back in the 1960s. Democrats are more prone to being anti-war than their Conservative counterparts. They still believe in a larger role for government in the private sector. And they still believe that government has a significant role to play where poverty and the disenfranchised are concerned. Many, like Kennedy – and Roosevelt before him – also continue to believe in a strong national defense, although they still possess a great deal of concern about the “military industrial complex.”

But today’s Democrat Party agenda, while holding to these core issues, has evolved into a completely different political party, complete with a foreign – as in not of the Democrat Party of old – agenda. In fact, many a Democrat has come forward to espouse, “It isn’t your Dad’s Democrat Party anymore.”

Continue reading “

Have Democrats Been Marginalized Within Their Own Party?”