Economy/Finances

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Christianity - Democrats/Leftists - Islam - Liberals - President - Religion - RightPundits.com - Society/Culture - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Praise Allah For Obama’s Christian Holiday Tax

November 9, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

President Obama proposed a tax on your live Christmas Tree for this holiday season and at least one wag on Twitter said that it was a typical tax from a Muslim. Yes, the most Muslim-friendly president evah wants to tax Christians on their holiday fir. Nice.

Obama intended to initiate this tax of fifteen cents per live tree so that he could take that money and fund an advertising project for, uh, selling live Christmas trees. Yes, it’s that idiotic…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.

Budget - Business - California - Democrats/Leftists - Earmarks - Economy/Finances - Ethics - GOP - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Los Angeles - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Ripping Off California at the Speed of High Speed Rail

November 9, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

One of President Obama’s favorite go-to items to “stimulate” the economy is building new rail lines, especially high-speed rail. Many states have been smart enough to cancel the high-speed rail projects, but oh, not California. California’s project rolls inexorably onward. Still, California does help show the rest of the country why high-speed rail is a boondoggle that should be avoided.

The high-speed rail line that is being built between San Diego and San Francisco was initially sold to California voters as a $40 billion project with Prop 1A back in 2008. That’s a lot of cash, certainly, but its proponents said if it brings jobs to build it and improves the jobs situation in both cities after it’s built, it would be a good investment.

Prop 1A passed with just under 53% of the vote and was supposed to begin ferrying passengers by the year 2020. But now it has been found that the completion date and the $40 billion estimate both are, well, a bit off.
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Ripping Off California at the Speed of High Speed Rail”

Budget - Constitution - Selwyn Duke - Taxes

The Tax Plan that’s Better than Cain’s, Perry’s or Gingrich’s

November 9, 2011 by

-By Selwyn Duke

Bold tax reform is front and center this campaign season. First Herman Cain made waves and poll headway with his 9-9-9 tax plan, which involves national 9-percent taxes on personal and corporate income and a 9-percent national sales tax. Now Rick Perry has followed suit with a 20-percent flat-tax plan, and Newt Gingrich has gone 5 better, with a 15-percent flat proposal. And these ideas certainly haven’t fallen flat: tax reform is immensely popular among the Republican base.

Yet there has been criticism, too – at least of Cain’s plan, the only one around long enough to be criticized. Many are concerned about giving the feds another vehicle – a sales tax – through which to fleece us. Sure, 9-9-9 sounds good, but what is to stop it from becoming 10-10-10, then 11-11-11 and ending up as 30-30-30? Yet, national sales tax or not, this threat looms with any plan; what is to stop Perry’s 20 percent or Gingrich’s 15 from becoming 40? Remember, the one-percent income tax sounded good, too, in 1913, but consider what it has morphed into.

So, yes, this threat exists with any plan.

That is, except one.
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The Tax Plan that’s Better than Cain’s, Perry’s or Gingrich’s”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Blogging - Business - Capitalism - Censorship - Computers - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - FCC - Free Trade - Government - Inernet - Law - Liberals - Net Neutrality - President - Regulation - Senate - Technology - Warner Todd Huston

Video: Urgent – Tell Your Senator to Overturn FCC’s Illicit Net Neutrality Internet Power Grab

November 8, 2011 by

-By Seton Motley

From most appearances, the Senate will this week vote on Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.Res) 6 – the Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval of the Obama Administration Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s illegal Internet Net Neutrality power grab.

Only 51 votes are required for passage – which means only 4 Democrats are needed. There are 23 Democrat Senate seats up for reelection next year. A few of these folks aren’t running. The rest are – many in center or center-right states. Additionally, there are a few other Senators that should also be subject to Constitutional reason, and thusly contacted.
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Video: Urgent – Tell Your Senator to Overturn FCC’s Illicit Net Neutrality Internet Power Grab”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Liberals - Ohio - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Republicans - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Defeat of OH Issue 2 Means $1,468 More Per Taxpayer By 2015

November 8, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Matt Mayer of the Buckeye Institute has done the math on what a defeat of Issue 2 will cost Ohio’s taxpayers. Turns out it will cost taxpayers $1,468 more a year by 2015.

Mayer made a simple calculation by taking the $8 billion tax hike that a defeat of Issue 2 will usher in by 2015 and dividing that by the 5,448, 500 state tax returns filed in Ohio. He also took the initial $1.4 billion tax hike that will result if the unions win on Tuesday and found that each taxpayer will be stuck with an immediate $257 more in taxes next year.

The annual savings we calculated from SB5 once all contracts are negotiated would be nearly $1.4 billion per year (for details, see www.buckeyeinstitute.org/getthefacts).

In 2007, Ohio had 5,448,500 [tax] returns filed, so that would equate to a “tax” of $257 per return… That is [merely] the savings from SB5 enactment.

An additional wrinkle is that Big Labor/Democrats have essentially gone all in on higher taxes; meaning, if SB5 is repealed, that removes one option to reducing local government costs, which leaves two options–program/staff cuts and/or raising taxes… For example, Ohio’s 613 school districts currently project a collective deficit by 2015 of [approximately $8 billion]…

[Thus, without] SB5, taxes will have to go up … [at least] $8 billion just for [Ohio’s] 613 school districts by 2015, which is $1,468 per return.

So, Ohio, you have a choice. Vote Issue 2 down and stick yourself with needlessly higher taxes and give unions the ability to stick it to you further, or give your legislature — not union bosses — the power to control your state’s budget like they should.
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Defeat of OH Issue 2 Means $1,468 More Per Taxpayer By 2015″

Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Rod Blagojevich - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Abe Lincoln and His Convicted Felon Pal, Bill Cellini?

November 8, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is the kind of nonsense that we get with political influence peddling and corruption. A painting that now hangs in the new Lincoln library and museum in our state capitol has a ridiculous tie to long-time Springfield corruption king Bill Cellini, who was just last week convicted on charges of extortion and bribery.

Standing behind Lincoln whispering in his ear is a person that looks suspiciously like the corrupt Cellini.

According to The Southern, Bill isn’t the only Cellini memorialized in paint at the museum. His wife, Julie, is also in a scene depiction Civil War era Washington D.C. Mrs. Cellini is a key benefactor of the museum.
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Abe Lincoln and His Convicted Felon Pal, Bill Cellini?”

Budget - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - Elections - GOP - Government - House of Representatives - John Boehner - Mitt Romney - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

One Chance That a President Mitt Romney Wouldn’t Be So Bad

November 7, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

I cannot support Mitt Romney in this coming GOP primary. The one reason why can be summed up simply as this: he flip flops. Romney has more flip flops than a California beachfront. Mitt has been proven a man without anchor adrift in a sea of issues that push him and pull him with the tides. Even worse, maybe, is that he jumps from one ship to the other on those political tides with the sole purpose of scoring a political win. So, how could I say that such a rudderless sailor could be an OK president?

Well, there is one way that a shiftless Mitt Romney might be good for both the country and the conservative cause but it certainly isn’t because he cares at all about conservative issues. It isn’t that he’ll champion them himself, either. But think about this. What does an unmoored boat do but drift with the tide? This is where, if played correctly, Romney could actually work for conservatives.

In fact, a President Romney could be good for Congress no matter which side of the political divide is in control. And control is the word, too.

For far too long Congress has been slowly giving away its Constitutional powers to legislate. Through sloth and selfish re-election needs Congressmen have been allowing the courts to take an unconstitutional role in determining our legislation as well as standing aside as one president after another grabs power unto the executive branch that he wasn’t supposed to have — the latter of which both left and right have complained about for decades.
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One Chance That a President Mitt Romney Wouldn’t Be So Bad”

Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Jobs - Liberals - President - Regulation - Taxes - Tea Party - Warner Todd Huston

Death By Regulations: Has Obama Lost Senator Blanche Lincoln?

November 7, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Last year for the 2010 midterms Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln was in trouble with her reelection. Up until 2010 most felt her seat was a safe one but Democrat challengers pushed the sitting Senator to a runoff that she barely won. 55% of her constituents opposed her.

Lincoln welcomed the support of President Obama who cut an early ad for the Senator portraying her as a “populist crusader.” Still, Lincoln lost her her reelection bid to Republican John Boozman.

Obama may have come to Lincoln’s aide in 2010, but it doesn’t look like Blanche is returning the favor in 2012. Lincoln is leading a charge against the Obama administration’s regulatory orgy by taking the chairmanship of a new group called Small Businesses for Sensible Regulation.
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Death By Regulations: Has Obama Lost Senator Blanche Lincoln?”

Budget - Business - Conservatives - Elections - GOP - Government - Health - House of Representatives - Newt Gingrich - Obamacare - President - Selwyn Duke - Taxes

Will Newt Gingrich Win the Republican Nomination?

November 7, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Selwyn Duke

If slow and steady really does win the race, Newt Gingrich could well end up being the Republican nominee for president.

Thus far, this campaign season has been defined by flash-in-the-pan fortunes. Michele Bachmann was first out of the blocks and won the Iowa straw poll, but this seemed much like a house of straw when Texas governor Rick Perry entered the fray and became her Big Bad Wolf. But then he blew his own house down with a series of disastrous debate performances, allowing the Cain Train to pull into the station. This brings us to where we are now, with Herman Cain holding on to a slim lead over Mitt Romney – with a lot of voters still undecided. And should the bold businessman’s stock crash, where will a plurality of his support go?

The answer may surprise you. If polling is any indication, it’s not Tea Party caucus chairman Michele Bachmann or staunch states-rights standard bearer Rick Perry.

It’s Newt Gingrich.
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Will Newt Gingrich Win the Republican Nomination?”

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Liberals - RightPundits.com - Socialism - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Occupy Wall Street is an Un-American Movement, Period!

November 6, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

These Occupy goofs are not “the left’s Tea Party.” They are not looking to better America. In fact, they aren’t American at all. They want to tear down America. They hate America’s history, her principles, her laws, and her systems of jurisprudence and government.

These events are doused in violence, they feature rapes, theft, property destruction, they are fueled by dozens of anti-American groups such as anarchists, communists, socialists, union thugs, and disaffected America-haters.

This guy at Occupy L.A. is typical…

Read the rest at RightPundits.com.

Anti-Americanism - Anti-Semitism - Budget - Business - California - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Government - Liberals - Los Angeles - Public Employees Unions - Socialism - Taxes - Tea Party - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Occupy LA Video: ‘Get Rid of America and Everything it Stands For’

November 6, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Occupy Whatever movement — if it can be called a movement — is at its heart a hate-America movement. With each new video we see this more and more and this cretin at Occupy Los Angeles is just one more example.

An avowed communist, like so many of these people are, he feels that America is the chief evil of the world and needs to be destroyed.

This man wants America destroyed. He is not an outlier at these Occupy events. He is quite typical. And always remember, the U.S. Democrat Party is supporting these people. People that hate America are an important constituency as far as Democrats are concerned.

Transcript

… From the beginning the votes that they give us are for a very specific purpose, they give us these elections to put the stamp of legitimacy on the crimes and horrors that America commits around the world and the millions of people who’s lives it crushes, degrades, and murders.

You know that’s what this is and no good can come of this, nothing positive. You know I’m a communist, you know, look.

Nothing positive can come about unless you get rid of America and everything it stands for…

The Old Media establishment will not tell America of these people that make up such a large part of the Occupy events. But, oh, if there was just one guy at a Tea Party event supporting some hate-America movement the whole world would have seen it.

The Old Media has allowed these hatemongers at the Occupy events go unreported. They’ve avoided the rapes, allowed the thefts, the thousands of arrests, the property destruction, fires, broken windows, and general unruliness of the Occupiers have gone unreported.

It’s up to you, folks. Tell as many people as you possibly can what these Occupiers really are.
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Occupy LA Video: ‘Get Rid of America and Everything it Stands For’”

Barack Obama - Budget - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Government - House of Representatives - Liberals - New York - New York City - President - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston - Washington D.C.

New York Billboard Campaign: ‘Congress Must Cut $1.5 Trillion’

November 5, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Bankrupting America has started a new billboard campaign in both New York City and Washington DC urging the so-called “Super Committee” to cut $1.5 trillion from the federal budget this November.

As the supercommittee continues to meet behind closed doors, it’s important they remember what is at stake. Millions of Americans sit out of work, cost of living is rising, and uncertainty continues to hamstring a recovery. They must keep in mind that they’re not working in a vacuum. The policies enacted within the halls of Congress send ripples throughout the country and the world.

So we decided to place some high-profile reminders for the the members of the supercommittee – that Americans are still watching. We placed billboards in Times Square in New York City and in Washington D.C. telling the supercommittee we remember your promises of fiscal responsibility and commitment to place the federal government’s spending back on a sustainable path.

Keep your promise. Check out the billboards below.

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New York Billboard Campaign: ‘Congress Must Cut $1.5 Trillion’”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Daniel Clark - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Government - Jobs - Liberals - New York City - President - Socialism - Taxes - Unions

The Second Man: Libs Reveal Their Anti-Truth Bias

November 5, 2011 by

-By Daniel Clark

You can tell a liberal is trapped when he pulls out the trusty fill-in-the-blank evasion that White House press secretary Jay Carney used when discussing the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations: “One man’s mob is another man’s democracy.”

This time-tested rhetorical tactic has often been used by liberals to shield their positions from examination, by denying the very existence of an objective reality. “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom-fighter,” they’ll say. “One man’s pornography is another man’s poetry.” Simply by asserting that there are differing opinions, they declare the issue to be effectively nullified.

The fundamental flaw in these arguments is that the theoretical Second Man in each example is demonstrably wrong. Considering his track record, one would have to conclude that he’s either a liar, or else an ignoramus unable to discern fact from fiction, or right from wrong. An Islamic terrorist who wants to force the rest of the world to submit to his beliefs is not a freedom fighter. Larry Flynt is not just a modern-day Robert Frost in a puddle of drool. The fact that somebody might take contrary positions on matters like these does not elevate those contentions to equal footing with the truth.
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The Second Man: Libs Reveal Their Anti-Truth Bias”

Anti-Americanism - Anti-Semitism - Budget - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Freedom Works - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - President - Senate - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Reject the Occupy Wall Street Haters!

November 4, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As each day passes we see more of the violence, theft, property destruction and anti-Semitism of these Occupy-Whatevers. We are learning that these Occupy events are run by ACORN, big labor and various anti-American groups such as communists, socialists, and what have you.

Worse there are instances of rape going on at these events and the Occupiers refuse to help the victims find justice by involving the police.

So, why are Democrats and the Old Media still falling all over themselves in love with these haters at the Occupy events?

Well, one group tired of the hate is Freedom Works.
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Reject the Occupy Wall Street Haters!”

Budget - Business - California - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Ethics - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Los Angeles - Regulation - Taxes - Transparency - Warner Todd Huston

Ballot Measure Boondoggle – High Speed Rail Costs Balloon to $100 Billion

November 4, 2011 by

By Steve Maggi

Nearly $100 billion. That’s what High Speed Rail is now going to cost California taxpayers – more than double the costs initially promised by the proponents of Prop 1A, which contained the initial taxpayer financing for the project.

2033. That’s when the HSR project is now expected to be completed – 13 years after it was initially supposed to be completed.

So, in the three short years since voters were sold this bill of goods, the costs have gone up $50+ billion and the time to complete the project has doubled. How could that be? Maybe the cost of labor has skyrocketed, despite unemployment being in double digits? Or maybe the cost of purchasing land for the tracks has dramatically increased, despite the real estate market being down? Or – just maybe – the special interests that pushed High Speed Rail didn’t give voters all the facts when they sold this program in 2008.
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Ballot Measure Boondoggle – High Speed Rail Costs Balloon to $100 Billion”

Alan Caruba - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Coal - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Electric - Energy - Ethics - Government - Jobs - Liberals - Natural Gas - Nuclear Power - Oil - President - Regulation - Solar - Taxes

Killing Energy, Killing Jobs, Killing America

November 4, 2011 by

-By Alan Caruba

America has been under attack since Barack Obama took the oath of office on January 20, 2009. The primary target has been the nation’s ability to generate energy for electricity and transportation, without which this nation will slide into Third World status and economic decline.

This appears to be the goal of this administration from the President to his Secretaries of Energy and Interior, to his Director of the Environmental Protection Agency. There is no other rational explanation for what they are doing.

We are days away from the latest Environmental Protection Agency assault in the form of the “MACT” rule allegedly to reduce mercury and other emissions that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says will reduce electricity generation in America by about 81 gigawatts in the years ahead. A recent Wall Street Journal editorial said “this could compromise the reliability of the electric system if as much as 8% of generating capacity is subtracted from the grid.”
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Killing Energy, Killing Jobs, Killing America”

Budget - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Liberals - Ohio - Pensions - Public Employees Unions - Scott Walker - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Ohio, Vote YES on Issue 2

November 2, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A few days ago the Cincinnati Enquirer came out in support of Issue 2, which will enact Senate Bill 5 — a reformation of how the Buckeye State deals with government unions.

For decades, Ohio has been on an unsustainable path of rapidly increasing public-sector benefits. SB 5 would give the people we choose to manage our money, our safety and our schools greater flexibility in benefits and work rules for public employees, bringing them closer in line with what comparable workers receive in the private sector. That could relieve the pressure to raise taxes and thus help, not hurt, middle-class Ohioans.

This is an important bill not just for Ohio, but for the whole country. What Ohio is trying to do (and what Governor Walker of Wisconsin has already done) is to take away the power of un-elected union bosses from determining how the state’s budget will be spent. Ohio is trying to take back the reins of making policy, allocating tax money, and making rules for employment from the union thugs that now have control over it all.

This new rule that states such as Ohio and Wisconsin are struggling to pass is not a war against the middle class, nor even necessarily a war against the idea of unions themselves. It is a move toward fiscal responsibility and the democratic process.

These new reforms must pass now or our states will necessarily go bankrupt for all the unfunded liabilities and unfair goodies handed out to government union members.

Pass issue 2, Ohio.
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Ohio, Vote YES on Issue 2″

Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Jobs - Liberals - President - Regulation - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Obama’s Regulations So Far Cost Us $84.8 Billion And Climbing Weekly

November 2, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a lot of talk about the high cost of regulations (in fact, a lot of talk from me about them). But how do you put a number on that cost? Well Sam Batkins of the American Action Forum has been keeping a running tab not only on the high cost of the regulations themselves but also the man hours it takes Americans to implement them and the cost is staggering.

Every Friday Batkins reviews that week’s new regulatory onslaught, makes his calculations and thus far Obama’s regulatory juggernaut is costing Americans $84.8 billion bucks. But that isn’t the last of what it will cost Americans. In order to implement these regulations, to make sure business and individuals are following the rules, it will cost Americans 88.2 million annual man hours to do the paperwork, file the reports, and follow the Internet-based reporting procedures in order to satisfy the rules.

Imagine this burden of worker’s time wasted just to make sure we follow regulations! It is obscene.
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Obama’s Regulations So Far Cost Us $84.8 Billion And Climbing Weekly”

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Budget - Business - Conservatives - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Jobs - Liberals - Michael Bresciani‏ - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

People, President, Prophet, Pope – VS – Anarchy, Unrest and Tons of Dope

November 2, 2011 by

-By Rev Michael Bresciani

One of America’s most well known news commentators gave a summary of how America got into its present troubles only last night. There is no need to name or quote the man because almost all commentators and pundits are mouthing the same spiel.

He said the people began to adopt a “do your own thing philosophy” in the sixties, what followed was a dip in morals and there was a rise in dependence on government for money, medical care and everything else, that in short time created the present, ‘nanny state.’

It all sounded good until he offered what has become the standard answer to resolve the problem of our dying society. As you might expect, it was a return to self reliance, invigorating businesses to grow, and cut the spending. With lots of nodding, assent and general agreement those on his panel were in full and unfettered agreement with him.
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People, President, Prophet, Pope – VS – Anarchy, Unrest and Tons of Dope”

Anti-Americanism - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Free Trade - Government - House of Representatives - Jobs - Liberals - Nancy Pelosi - NLRB - Pensions - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Pelosi: Boeing Plant Should Unionize or be Shut Down

November 1, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

The now thankfully former Speaker of the House Nancy “San Fran Nan” Pelosi said in a recent interview that a Boeing plant in South Carolina should either unionize or be shut down by the iron fist of government. So much for America being the land of the free, eh?

Pelosi appeared on CNBC with hostette Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo asked about the famed Boeing plant being harassed by Obama’s union-sold National Labor Relations Board.

“Do you think it’s right that Boeing has to close down that plant in South Carolina because it’s non union?” Bartiromo asked. “Yes” insisted the former Speaker.

A flat out “yes.” No equivocation.

Lachlan Markay notes that the workers at the Boeing plant in question overwhelmingly voted not to join a union.
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Pelosi: Boeing Plant Should Unionize or be Shut Down”

Alan Caruba - Anti-Americanism - Budget - Climate Change - Democrats/Leftists - Environment - Liberals - Nanny State - Socialism - Taxes

Global Warming: An Obituary

November 1, 2011 by

-By Alan Caruba

I used to write obituaries when I was a young journalist and I daresay they are one of the best read sections of any newspaper. We have arrived at a time when the obituaries for global warming (now falsely called climate change) are increasing.

The October 25th edition of The Wall Street Journal sports an editorial titled “The Post-Global Warming World” commenting on the fact that the 17th annual United Nations-sponsored climate change conference in November is likely to be an even greater flop than recent ones. Few, if any, nations will sign on to the huge hoax of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) to save the world from burning to a crisp.

Considering the long years of media-driven drivel about global warming, the hoax should have been over by now, given the exposure in 2009 of thousands of emails between the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conspirators and growing body of evidence that everything they asserted was a great steaming pile of horse manure.

If there was ever a reason for the U.S. to stop funding the U.N., this is it.
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Global Warming: An Obituary”

Budget - California - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Ethics - Government - Liberals - Los Angeles - Regulation - Taxes - Transparency

$200 Million of Calif. Taxpayer’s Money Spent With No Accountability

October 31, 2011 by 2 Comments

-By Stephen Kruiser
Voter-Approved First 5 LA Program Spends $200 Million of Taxpayers Money without Oversight

As the Los Angeles Times reports, a recent independent audit of the First 5 LA Commission revealed massive problems with the agency, including lack of accountability, spending oversight or competitive bidding. First 5 LA is part of a statewide program created in 1998 by Prop 10, a measure which was supposed to use funds from a tobacco tax to promote health and education of young children. According to the audit, it’s not exactly fulfilling its mission. From the Times:

An audit by Harvey M. Rose of San Francisco found First 5 LA’s commission was unable to monitor money that was being spent “since monthly programmatic expenditures are not presented relative to a budget.” Auditors also concluded the agency was overstaffed while under-spending on programs for children.

So, First 5 LA is spending too much on public employees and not enough on kids. Not to mention doling out $200 million without a competitive bidding process and operating with such a lack of oversight that there’s no way to determine if the agency has signed agreements “for inappropriate purposes or with unqualified vendors or grantees”. Sounds like standard operating procedure in California, which has seen similar accountability and oversight problems with other initiative-created agencies as well.

And yet, former pro Tem and career politician Don Perata is pushing another measure – the so-called California Cancer Research Act – to create yet another unaccountable bureaucracy with six political appointees that can spend nearly a billion each year, including millions on staff salaries and pensions and overhead. With huge budget problems and public pension costs spiraling out of control, the last thing California needs is another big-spending bureaucracy with no oversight or accountability.

The measure is slated for the June 2012 ballot in California.

Anti-Americanism - Barack Obama - Business - Capitalism - Democrats/Leftists - Ethics - Government - Health - Journalism - Liberals - Media - Media Bias - Mexico - Newspapers - Obamacare - President - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Alter: Obama is ‘Honest’ and ‘Free of Scandal’

October 31, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

When does a columnist write something so utterly absurd that his credibility is forever damaged? I am not sure how to answer that in general terms, but I think at least one journalist answered the question for his own, now thoroughly destroyed veracity. Jonathan Alter of Bloomberg has written one of the most ridiculous, least reality-based assessments yet of the short White House tenure of Barack Obama.

Alter put on his strongest rose-colored glasses and penned an uproarious piece headlined, “The Obama Miracle, a White House Free of Scandal.”

In his Bloomberg piece Alter claimed that Obama is “honest” and falsely asserted that his White House has been “free of scandal.” In fact, some of the incidents that Alter himself notes, and immediately dismisses, carry at least a whiff of scandal — if not untruthfulness.

Naturally, Alter ignores far more than he reports on Obama scandals but he also misses the biggest reason why Obama seems to him to have a scandal free presidency. The Media refuses to call anything Obama does a scandal!
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Alter: Obama is ‘Honest’ and ‘Free of Scandal’”

Budget - California - Children - Education - Larry Sand - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Teachers Unions - Unions

CTA Dons Victim Guise and Joins OWS Crowd

October 31, 2011 by

-By Larry Sand

It’s almost Halloween and the California Teachers Association, a rich and powerful outfit, is in costume as one of the “99%ers” – protesters who claim to be have-nots

A couple of weeks ago United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten made sympathetic statements about the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now the California Teachers Association has jumped in with a full endorsement and suggestions on its website as to how teachers and others can get involved in OWS activities.

Stunning in its mendacity, CTA issued a press release (H/T Mike Antonucci) which announced its “support of the nationwide ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement for tax fairness and against corporate greed.” It goes on to say, “…a stable tax structure begins with everyone paying their fair share.”
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CTA Dons Victim Guise and Joins OWS Crowd”

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

Weekly Republican Address 10/29/11: Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL)

October 30, 2011 by

Rep. Bobby Schilling delivers this week’s address on House Republicans’ Plan for America’s Job Creators. We know that government must get out of the way of small businesses to let do their job. That’s why we’ve passed bill after bill to reduce burdensome regulations and grow our economy–but the Democratic-controlled Senate refuses to acknowledge them. We can do more, and we can’t wait for the Senate and the President to work with us. Visit http://jobs.gop.gov to see our plan, and see the bills stuck in the Senate at http://majorityleader.gov/jobstracker.

Anti-Americanism - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Communism - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Jobs - Liberals - New York - New York City - Socialism - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Occupy Wall Street Kitchen Staff Tired of ‘Freeloaders’?

October 29, 2011 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently some of the folks slaving away to cook politically correct meals for the participants of Occupy Wall Street are sick and tired of working themselves to the bone for homeless people, criminals, and other freeloaders who are eating their food. This is called being mugged by reality.

It is also pretty darn funny.

The New York Post reported that volunteer kitchen staff at Occupy Wall Street are angry about working 18-hour days to feed the protesters but are being taken advantage of by the local homeless people and criminals. And they are going on a work slow down to protest at their protest.

For three days beginning tomorrow, the cooks will serve only brown rice and other spartan grub instead of the usual menu of organic chicken and vegetables, spaghetti bolognese, and roasted beet and sheep’s-milk-cheese salad.

The menu as reported by the Post sounds… um… tasty, sort of. I’d rather have a pizza from Godfathers.
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Occupy Wall Street Kitchen Staff Tired of ‘Freeloaders’?”

Budget - Business - Congress - Conservatives - Economy/Finances - GOP - House of Representatives - Jobs - Paul Ryan - Republicans - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Saving the American Idea: Rejecting Fear, Envy and the Politics of Division

October 29, 2011 by

This week, Representative Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) made an important speech at the Heritage Foundation.

Full Text

Thank you so much, Ed, for that kind introduction.

We’re here today to explore the American Idea, and I can’t think of a better venue for this topic. The mission of the Heritage Foundation is to promote the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

These are the principles that define the American Idea. And this mission has never been timelier, because these principles are very much under threat from policies here in Washington.
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Saving the American Idea: Rejecting Fear, Envy and the Politics of Division”

Anti-Americanism - Banks - Budget - Business - Capitalism - Congress - Conservatives - Democracy - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - EPA - Ethics - Financial Reform - Free Trade - Freedom - GOP - Government - Government, Ill. County - House of Representatives - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Jobs - Liberals - Policy - President - Public Employees Unions - Regulation - Republicans - Senate - Taxes - The Law - Unemployment - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Business Roundtable: Regulations Are Killing Business

October 28, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On Friday I attended an informative business roundtable meeting of Chicago-area small businessmen who came together to discuss how government intervention and its avalanche of regulations are killing jobs and businesses not only in Illinois, but nation wide. Some of the stories were chilling, to say the least. These trials go to show how anti-business the most famously capitalist country in the world has become. No wonder we can’t get out of this second great depression!

The event was held at the headquarters of The Rabine Group in Schaumburg, Illinois. The Rabine Group is a group of nationwide companies that specializes in driveway paving, roofing, and other contracting work. The company is headed by owner and CEO Gary Rabine.

Filling out the panel was Moderator, Brian Kelly of Bulk Lift International; Gary Rabine, The Rabine Group; Garrett Patten, Patten Industries; Randy Truckenbrodt, Randall Industries, Inc, and Former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger, Rauschenberger Partners.

The panel began with some of the regulatory horror stories experienced by the panel. Each story illustrated how government stands in the way of job creation, small business, and expansion, and how government is not working hand-in-hand with small business but actually fosters an inimical relationship. The panel showed how the oppressiveness of these regulations actually tempts business to break laws just to be able to carry on with business.
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Business Roundtable: Regulations Are Killing Business”