Corruptocrat Charles Rangel (D-NY): GOD told me not to retire

Apparently, Rangel - rabid pro-abort - is spoken to often by God Almighty. Thee God. And apparently, Thee God is telling Rangel not to resign due to his tax evasion and ethics problems. This after he said that resigning would be UNAMERICAN!! So resigning due to corrupt behavior is both unAmerican and unChristian. I get the idea that Rangel doesn't know much about either. From CBS News: Rangel Dismisses Obama's Suggestion to Retire

...In an interview with CBS "Early Show" Anchor Harry Smith last week, Mr. Obama called the ethics charges "very troubling" and suggested the 80-year-old, 20-term Democrat should soon end his career.

...Speaking with reporters after an event in Harlem, Rangel rebuffed the suggestion, the Hill reports.

...Asked why he doesn't feel the need to resign, Rangel retorted, "Because I'm running for reelection," Politico reports.

And then he really went off the rails:

"How lucky you are when God tells you that you don't have to take a plea," he said.

As Doug Powers might say, "There’s soon to be an entire wing in the Nancy Pelosi Hall of Ecclesiastical Shame dedicated to Charles Rangel."

UPDATE: From Fox News:

UPDATE #2: Another related discussion"

Previously:
Video: Rush Limbaugh responds to Charlie Rangel's ethics charges
Video: Taxes are for the little people. Megyn Kelly on John Kerry, Charles Rangel
US Rep Charles Rangel (D): resigning my seat because of my corruption would be UNAMERICAN!!
Breaking: Charles Rangel charged with ethics violations
Pic of the day: Reuters lists corruptocrat Charles Rangel as a Republican
Video: MSNBC's David Shuster Accuses GOP of Racism for Calling Harlem Democrat Charlie Rangel 'Harlem Democrat' Charlie Rangel
Video: Real Member of Congress
Charles Rangle: "Mind Your God****** Business"

Palin: Fact-checking the Fact-checkers on the $3.8 Trillion Obama Tax Hike

You may or may not know this (if you get your news from the MSM you don’t), but when the Democrats pushed through that rescue package for the states unions, all $26 billion of it, they defeated 2 amendments offered by Republicans that would have extended some of the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003. They were soundly defeated. Yet, leading up to the midterm elections in 87 days, the MSM is putting doing yeoman’s work in framing a story that Democrats will keep the tax cuts for those making less than $250,000 annually. To this day, no plan exists for extending any of the cuts. Thus, citizens are being forced to fact check the fact checkers. And one such citizen is doing just that through her facebook page where she now has more than 2,000,000 fans:

Yesterday, PolitiFact.com fact-checked my statement about the coming $3.8 trillion Obama tax hike – the largest tax increase in history. They did such a bad job of it, however, that I feel compelled to fact-check the fact-checkers.

First of all, they claim that there are Democrat proposals which would “keep the tax cuts for individuals who make less than $200,000 and couples who make less than $250,000.”

Unfortunately for PolitiFact, no such proposal exists. They admit as much, by the way, when they state that “There are no formal congressional proposals yet to keep the Bush tax cuts in place, so we don’t have precise estimates from official sources like the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” That doesn’t stop them, though, from claiming I “confuse the issue” by “using numbers that assume all the tax cuts are going away. That is not the Democratic plan nor is it President Obama’s plan.”

Plan? What plan? There is no plan. All we have is smoke and mirrors based on an old Obama campaign pledge that if elected, he would exempt families making less than $250,000 a year from “any form of tax increases.” But this pledge was already watered down before he was even elected. First vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden lowered it to $150,000. Then campaign surrogate Gov. Bill Richardson lowered it even further to $120,000.

A few months after the inauguration, even that last promise disappeared in a puff of smoke. When asked to reaffirm the White House’s commitment to the campaign promise of no tax increases for families earning less than $250,000, Obama’s spin doctor David Axelrod declared the President had “no interest in drawing lines in the sand.”

The truth is that as of today, Democrats haven’t taken any action to extend any part of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for any income group – and in this case doing nothing equals hitting American taxpayers with a massive $3.8 trillion tax increase.

What we do know for certain is that the White House is more than willing to raise taxes on families with incomes of less than $250,000. Democrat Senator Max Baucus admitted as much during the debate about Obamacare when he stated that “One other point that I think it’s very important to make is that it is true that in certain cases, the taxes will go up for some Americans who might be making less than $200,000.”

PolitiFact doesn’t dispute the $3.8 trillion estimate of the cost of repeal of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. It admits that “Palin’s estimate of $3.8 trillion over 10 years is within a reasonable range, if you’re talking about all taxpayers.” And yet somehow it continues to argue that I’m wrong, based on a proposal it admits doesn’t exist which in turn is based on a phantom campaign pledge which Democrats have already broken anyway. I call that a “Pants on Fire” statement.

To prevent PolitiFact from making similar mistakes in future, it would be helpful if the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership finally mustered the courage to table their plans to let the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. Mr. President, publish your proposals, and we’ll duke it out. You can argue in favor of a multi-trillion dollar tax hike in an age of economic uncertainty and mass unemployment, and we’ll argue for fiscal sanity combined with serious spending cuts. I for one look forward to such a debate.

In the meantime I suggest the St. Petersburg Times hires a few extra staff to fact-check its fact-checkers. It might help it prevent being caught with its “pants on fire” again in the future.

- Sarah Palin

I'll state once again that the Bush tax cuts more than paid for themselves, and letting them sunset will be a tax increase and a great big one at that. Regarding those Bush tax cuts, a series of tax decreases were passed in 2001. But 2 things happened that walloped the economy: 1) the 911 terror attack, and 2) the dot-com bust. Here's what happened with federal revenues:

Note though that the economy recovered and revenues were edging up in 2003 when additional tax cuts were passed. Now look what happened after the 2003 tax cuts:

There's growth for you. So where's the 'cost' of these tax cuts? It is a figment of liberal economists' imaginations. Yet they continue to be demonized and blamed for part of the current deficit. They are not. It is overspending, rather than lower tax rates that are responsible for the deficits. Heck, even the Washington Post calls it a myth: Five myths about the Bush tax cuts

4. The Bush tax cuts are the main cause of the budget deficit.

Although the cuts were large and drove revenue down sharply, they are not the main cause of the sizable deficit that exists today. In 2007, well after the tax cuts took effect, the budget deficit stood at 1.2 percent of GDP. By 2009, it had increased to 9.9 percent of the economy. The Bush tax cuts didn't change between 2007 and 2009, so clearly something else is to blame.

Drove revenues down sharply? I'm sure that one year blip had nothing to do with the dot-com bust or the 911 terror attack. Good grief - these people really do live in an echo chamber. The tax cuts more than paid for themselves. How else could government revenues grow even though the tax rates have been lowered? What do they think will happen when taxes increase? Let's for instance look at capital gains taxes. The rate was reduced to 15% in 2003 after the revenues have been sliding every year since 200 due to the dot com bubble bursting. You know what happened? Look here:

Now that's called paying for itself. From a few weeks ago, I had this: Exploding the myth that Bush tax cuts caused the deficit. Here's a graphic that I've seen thrown out by liberals many times:

That 'cost' of the Bush tax cuts is from someone's imgaination. As I mentioned in that prior post, note that 1) the Bush tax cuts that expire this year are accounted into the deficit in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2) spending increases are totally missing, and 3) So is the interest we pay on our growing debt. Matter of fact is that the FY 2007 federal budget - the last one put together by Republicans - was $2.7 trillion. Since Pelosi and Reid took over the federal budget is at $3.8 trillion. The deficit is entirely comprised of new Democrat spending since 2007.

The Shirley Sherrod you never knew, and perhaps don't want to

A couple of things. First, thank goodness for the internet, without which we wouldn’t get half the truth regarding stories the MSM peddles. Second, you won’t see any of this is the MSM. None. A classic case of MSM blackout. You see, the MSM is invested in Shirley Sherrod – the black Mother Teresa, so much so that they have effectively banned any further interviews with her after she went off the rails during a CNN interview with Anderson “teabagger” Cooper accusing Andrew Breitbart on the air of wanting to bring back slavery. Thus, this couple of stories just fit the narrative whatsoever. As in this story is the proverbial round peg that can’t be fit into their square template. First, from moonbattery: The Pigford Pig-Out

Zombie summarizes the 1999 Pigford v Glickman decision, by which 16,000 black farmers were handed $50,000 jackpots for making the extremely dubious claim that the USDA discriminated against them during the administration of the First Black President, Slick Willie Clinton.

Afterwards, other blacks saw all the free money flying around and wanted their piece of the pie. So in 2008, a junior Senator named Barack Hussein Obama sponsored a bill to reopen the case. Over 70,000 black farmers are expected to line up for the next round of handouts, for a total of 86,000 luxuriant rides on the gravy train, courtesy of tax slaves and their children.

Seated on a plush throne at the front of that train is our old friend Shirley Sherrod, the race-baiting bureaucrat the media has tried to pass off as the next Rosa Parks. She exploited the Pigford scam to collect a staggering $13 million of OUR MONEY for being "oppressed" just before she took her position at the USDA.

39,687 black farmers and 86,000 of them complaints. In the Obama world, those numbers actually make sense. But back to Sherrod, not only did she enrich herself via this scheme that can only be seen as some sort or reparation, she also apparently earned a living before that by being a slave master of the corporation that lead to the discrimination suits in the first place! From Counter Punch via Instapundit: The Other Side of Shirley Sherrod, Get a load of this first hand account:

The swirling controversy over the racist dismissal of Shirley Sherrod from her USDA post has obscured her profoundly oppositional behavior toward black agricultural workers in the 1970s. What most of Mrs. Sherrod’s supporters are not aware of is the elitist and anti-black-labor role that she and fellow managers of New Communities Inc. (NCI) played. These individuals under-paid, mistreated and fired black laborers–many of them less than 16 years of age–in the same fields of southwest Georgia where their ancestors suffered under chattel slavery.

…If confession is good for the soul, then Mrs. Sherrod took a first step toward her redemption by admitting the error of her ways in her earlier attitudes toward poor white farmers. Mrs. Sherrod says she began to see poverty as more central than race. So, should indigent black child farm laborers warrant less reflection by Mrs. Sherrod? What lessons does she have to share from her tenure as management when she had power over her own people working under deplorable conditions at the same New Communities, Inc.(NCI) identified in the current issue? Shirley Sherrod could have included this chapter of her history in the same confession speech. Justice and integrity require at least as much accountability from Mrs. Sherrod to the poor black farm workers of NCI as to the white farmers she came to befriend. This lack of full disclosure of the whole truth is a “sin of omission” that trivializes the suffering of poor black farm workers and exacerbates the offenses of NCI.

Shirley Sherrod was New Communities Inc. store manager during the 1970s. As such, Mrs. Sherrod was a key member of the NCI administrative team, which exploited and abused the workforce in the field. The 6,000 acre New Communities Inc. in Lee County promoted itself during the latter part of the 1960s and throughout the 70s as a land trust committed to improving the lives of the rural black poor. Underneath this facade, the young and old worked long hours with few breaks, the pay averaged sixty-seven cents an hour, fieldwork behind equipment spraying pesticides was commonplace and workers expressing dissatisfaction were fired without recourse.

The unfortunate story of Mrs. Annie Hawkins and her family in particular is instructive. Persuaded by NCI that their lot would be improved, the Hawkins family stole away from the Georgia plantation that they had called home. After suffering abuse meted out to them and others at NCI, Mrs. Hawkins sadly stated that, “We stole away from one plantation, but just ended up on another.” For her courageous role in demonstrations against the Sherrods and NCI management, Annie Hawkins and her family were fired and kicked out of the house that they were promised. ….

Worker protest at New Communities eventually garnered some assistance from the United Farm Workers Union in nearby Florida in the person of one of its most formidable organizers, black State Director, the late Mack Lyons. The September 28, 1974 UFW newspaper El Malcriado, page two, reported on the worker’s strike (“Children Farm Workers Strike Black Co-op” www.farmworkermovement.org/ufwarchives) and the UFW stepped in to protect black farm workers from exploitation by NCI. Fearful of both UFW efforts to unionize NCI’s labor force and scrutiny by the Georgia State Wage and Hour Division, the Sherrods and NCI management hastily issued checks in varying amounts to strikers to makeup ostensibly for minimum wage differentials. It is bitter irony that the Sherrods have succeeded in being awarded $300,000 following a discrimination lawsuit, while Mrs. Hawkins and other impoverished NCI black laborers whom NCI exploited were never adequately compensated for their “pain and suffering”.

While it is true that loan discrimination and relentless creditors can be cited for the eventual demise of New Communities Inc. in 1985, NCI’s unfair labor practices and poor leadership, were equally, if not more, to blame. Ask Shirley Sherrod about this part of her history. I know this story well, for I was one of those workers at NCI.

Read the rest, including writer Ron Wilkins’ bio. If his account is to be believed, it is devastating to the Sherrod narrative. Why is it then that you don’t see Wilkins interviewed by every MSM outlet? CNN? MSNBC? ABC, NBC, CBS? Hello? Bueller???

Previously:

Liberals kneecap Chris Matthews, force anchor to reshoot entire show due to lack of liberal bias

CNN's Anderson Cooper: On second thought, I shouldn't have let Shirley Sherrod racist smear of Andrew Breitbart go unchallenged

Howard Dean, MSM caught (again) in repeated lie that FoxNews caused Sherrod to be fired

Jon Stewart on Sherrod controversy: Breitbart may have been the most honest person involved in this mess
Video of CNN Host Calling for Crackdown on 'Bloggers' in Wake of Sherrod Incident: 'Something’s Going to Have to be Done Legally'
MSM meme: FoxNews caused the Shirley Sherrod episode. The reality: FoxNews didn't show video or mention Sherrod until after Obama fired her - Part 2
Good grief: Shirley Sherrod's story in her speech about the lynching of a relative is NOT TRUE? Not so fast...
Video of Sherrod: "We Must Stop The White Man And His Uncle Toms ..."
MSM meme: FoxNews caused the Shirley Sherrod episode. The reality: FoxNews didn't show video or mention Sherrod until after Obama fired her
Obama puts Shirley Sherod away in an undisclosed location. Or is it the MSM?
Howard Dean: Fox News “racist” because Barack Obama is afraid of Glenn Beck or something
Detroit MSM comes out shooting for Andrew Breitbart in regards to Shirley Sherrod. They are wrong to do so and here's why
Video of CNN Host Calling for Crackdown on 'Bloggers' in Wake of Sherrod Incident: 'Something’s Going to Have to be Done Legally'
Fired USDA bigot Shirley Sherrod owes Andrew Breitbart an apology
MSM painting fired USDA official Shirley Sherrod as a saint, but she's still a racist bigot
Fired USDA bigot official Shirley Sherrod says that Breitbart website ought to be shut down
Fired USDA bigot Sherrod: Obama is not a black man
Video: CNN interviews USDA bigot that was fired for racist remarks at NAACP dinner
USDA bigot resigns after video released of her telling NAACP that she wouldn't help white farmer
Video: Breitbart releases vid showing NAACP rewarding racism, bigotry

New Policy Allows Pledge of Allegiance at Massachusetts School District

When I was going through elementary school back in the 70s, the Pledge of Allegiance was standard operating procedure every single morning. And that was a decade after the SCOTUS took it upon itself to pull prayer from public schools after it exist there for hundreds of year going back to the days before the Founding Fathers and authors of the US Constitution were even born. In any case, did you know that some school districts ban the Pledge altogether? I know I shouldn’t be shocked by such news, but this just didn’t sit well with me at all. From FoxNews via memeorandum:

Students at Massachusetts high schools in Arlington can rejoice -- they'll be allowed to recite the Pledge of Allegiance this fall.

Nearly two months after deadlocking on a proposal by senior Sean Harrington, the Arlington Public School Committee unanimously approved a new pledge policy on Tuesday night that allows principals at each school to determine how the pledge will be recited each day.

"Yes, the policy has been changed," Arlington High School Principal Charles Skidmore told FoxNews.com in an email. "All principals in the district must ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance is said every school day in all classrooms."

In June, Harrington appeared to have won his fight to bring the Pledge of Allegiance back into Arlington High School, but Skidmore, offered to allow students to recite the pledge before school begins and in the school's foyer instead of inside the classrooms, as 17-year-old Harrington had hoped.

...Harrington presented school officials with a petition signed by 700 people, along with letters of support from lawmakers including Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn. But the request to have the pledge recited failed when the committee's vote ended in a 3-3 tie.

"I was really heartbroken," Harrington told Fox News Radio in June. "It's hard to think that something so traditional in American society was turned down."

This is where we're at in this country: students have to fight to be able to say the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, yet those same public schools will encourage and arrange abortions for students during school time without telling the parents.

Stimulus: New York playground costs taxpayers $7.4 million

Exhibit A for liberal stimulus. And I mean that literally as this boondoggle has been 5 years in the making and is the crown jewel of liberal research. No jungle gym. No monkey bars. No slides. No seasaws. But they do have liberals right there on site called “play associates.” And no – I didn’t make that up. From the New York Times via HotAir headlines:

The playground has been five years in the making, a result of tons of research in progressive learning theory and child-development research, as well as $7.4 million in financing. In smaller, portable versions, it has been tested and tweaked after trial tours all over the city.

The playground’s entrance is guarded by an iron sea serpent. 

Instead of monkey bars and jungle gyms, there are fountains with canals of cascading water that can be dammed in infinite ways, or transformed into a network of rivers. There is an engaging set of lifts and pulleys. Play is proctored and interaction fostered by a staff of city workers trained as “play associates.”

Imagine that - children like to play with water. They needed research to tell them this.

“From this playground,” (city park commissioner) Mr. Benepe said, “will come the next generation of architects and engineers. Maybe the next mayor or City Council speaker.”

Perhaps a Council Speaker that will approve another victory mosque at ground zero, which in 20 years will be the same hole it has been for the last 9. Give kids water to play with, and perhaps they can be indoctrinated into moonbattery. By the way, did I mention this playground was funded with your money? Not just the New York taxpaying shlubs, but you:

The playground was financed with federal money through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Mr. Benepe said, with construction costing $4.3 million and $3 million more used to relocate a water main that was under the parcel, which was functioning as a parking lot. The Rockwell Group has raised an endowment fund to maintain the playground.

What do you think the chances a $7.4 million playground will come to Rochester, MI? It's for the children!

Video of Lindsey Graham (R-SC): Jesus's ‘Golden Rule’ Inspired His Vote For Pro-Abortion Kagan Or Something

What kind of crackpottery is this, you might ask? It's the Lindsey Grahamnesty variety, that's what:

Via CNS News via memeorandum. Plenty of choice headlines associated with the above RINO, including:

• Smitty over at The Other McCain: Lindsey Graham Sadly Abdicated His Elected Responsibility. "You see, Senator Graham, the confirmation process is about getting people in place who understand and support the Federal Constitution. Starting from the document and its ideals, and moving on a path towards Elena Kagan, you should have realized that there was a “Bridge Out” sign on the road."
• Allahpunidt: Lindsey Graham: My vote for Kagan was inspired by Jesus. "Come on now: As much as you may hate him, surely a little respect is owed here for having the sheer balls to invoke Christian teachings to justify a vote that many grassroots righties are bristling at. It’s bad enough that he’d cross the aisle to support Kagan — but then to bring JC onstage for a celebratory high-five? Audaciously audacious!"
• Creative Minority Report: Graham Voted for Kagan Because of...Jesus? "Lindsey Graham is saying that Jesus' Golden rule inspired him to vote "yes" for partial birth abortion zealot Elena Kagan. What? Maybe he should've also read the part of the Bible that says something like "Thou Shall not Kill.""
• Dan Riehl: Senator Opie Graham Cites Golden Rule As Inspiration For Kagan Vote . "Did you ever get the feeling that if he uttered a swear word, Lindsey Graham's Mother would rush in and wash the dumb, Opie-haired SOB's mouth out with soap? Because I do. I think the man was born to wear a bow-tie, too. There are few politicians I'd like to see just go away, more than I'd like to see Senator Opie Graham disappear."
• Michelle Malkin: Who Inspired Lindsey Graham to Vote for Elena Kagan's Confirmation? "There’s soon to be an entire wing in the Nancy Pelosi Hall of Ecclesiastical Shame dedicated to Lindsey Graham" 

Nothing is more perverse than ungodly men, in the generic sense, invoking Jesus in justifying madness.

Multimillionaire Hillary Clinton donates $10 to flood relief efforts in Pakistan to set an example or something

Since Bill the Zipper left office in disgrace, he and Hillary have amassed more than $120 million, effectively cashing on on the Clinton presidency. But even with such huge wealth, Hillary chooses to be generous with other people's money, not her own. But this episode is embarrassing to say the least, yet Clinton is apparently proud of her sacrifice of $10. From The Hill:

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton texted a $10 donation to flood relief efforts in Pakistan on Wednesday, saying she is leading by example and pressing Americans to donate money.

“I just texted a contribution myself, because we know from our own experience, particularly in Haiti, small donations can add up to make a big difference,” Clinton told reporters.

“Americans have always shown great generosity to people facing crises worldwide. So I urge Americans to join this effort and send some much-needed help to the people of Pakistan.”

$10 from a multimillionaire many times over. Great Generosity. Good grief.

By the way, I had this on Hillary not long ago: Fiscal discipline: Hillary Clinton still begging supporters to retire campaign debt as Clintons spend $3-$5 million on Chelsea’s wedding

Recovery Summer: 131,000 Lose Job In July, MSM Still Claims Recovery! Obama Job Deficit Stands At 7+ Million

How's hopey changy doing? Not so well. Seems we're going the wrong way.

The US lost net jobs in July for the second month in a row.The announcement comes right after Obama has been barnstorming through the Midwest touting the supposed success of his stimulus boondoggle. As usual, al Reutres put the best spin on that they could:

U.S. employment fell for a second straight month in July as more temporary census jobs ended while private hiring rose less than expected, pointing to an anemic economic recovery.

Non-farm payrolls fell 131,000, the Labor Department said on Friday as temporary jobs to conduct the decennial census dropped by 143,000. Private employment, considered a better gauge of labor market health, rose 71,000 after increasing 31,000 in June.

Hey - where was this private jobs is a better gauge business a few months ago when job growth was touted even though they were almost exclusively public sector? It's almost like al Reuters is coordinating with Obama:

Last months numbers, by the way, were even worse than they told us they were:

In addition, the government revised payrolls for May and June to show 97,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

I guess such information only works one way - to make Obama look as good as possible. In the bigger picture, Obama promised that 3.5 million NEW private-sector jobs will be created by the $1.2 trillion stimulus bill ($800 billion + interest over 10 years since the US is bankrupt) by 2010. Instead, 3 million jobs have been lost. Here is what has been happening with Biden's 3-letter word last year:

January US jobs lost: 598,000 jobs
February US jobs lost: 706,000 jobs
March US jobs lost: 742,000 jobs
April US jobs lost: 545,000 jobs
May US jobs lost: 345,000 jobs
June US jobs lost: 467,000 jobs
July US jobs lost: 247,000 jobs
August US jobs lost: 216,000 jobs
September US jobs lost: 263,000 jobs
October US jobs lost: 190,000 jobs
November US jobs lost: 11,000 jobs
December US jobs lost: 85,000 jobs
January US jobs lost: 20,000
February US jobs lost: 30,000
March US jobs lost: -162,000
April US jobs lost: -290,000
May US jobs lost: -431,000
June US jobs lost: 125,000
July US jobs lost: 131,000

Total US jobs lost under Obama: 3,838,000 jobs

3.7+ million fewer jobs to lose, and that's neglecting the corrections that were made to the jobs numbers from last year that showed even bigger losses. Recall that the stimulus package was supposed to stop the unemployment rate at 8%! A crisis could become a calamity? Remember that? Here's how that looks (via Michael's Comments):

Note that the blue lines are the numbers that Obama's team came up with. So the actual unemployment rate is not only worse that what would happen with porkulus, but even worse than was predicted without it. And the jobs picture:

The stimulus bill was and is a fraud perpetrated by Obama on the American people to pay back his union hacks that got him elected.Nothing more, nothing less.

Video of Howard Dean: Yup - ObamaCare mandate is unconstitutional

Well, yeah - we knew that already. It's refreshing to hear it from a lib though. Perhaps he did what many others don't - actually read the Constutution:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ed Morrissey comments:

Who benefits from the mandate? Well, Dean’s right that insurers do, but without the mandate and with the federal requirement to issue health insurance to all comers, the risk pools will get very expensive indeed. Health insurers operate on a thin margin as is (traditionally between 2-6%), and adding higher risk without balancing it out with healthier subscribers means higher costs. Either insurers will have to hike rates or offer fewer services — and if the government blocks them from either or both options through further coverage mandates and price controls, they’ll simply go out of business.

That’s the reason why the mandate is key to the bill’s survival. Without it, Congress has to go back to square one.

As per Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution, Congress has absolutely no authority whatsoever to even go back to square 1. They should be doing what the Constitution compels them to be doing, and just healthcare isn't one of their responsibilities.

Right to Life of Michigan unlikely to back RINO Snyder. UNLIKELY?

From The Detroit News:

Right to Life of Michigan -- which helped boost Republican John Engler into the governor's seat three times in the 1990s -- will likely not endorse GOP nominee Rick Snyder in his November bid, officials said Thursday.

Right to Life, which opposes abortion and embryonic stem cell research, is traditionally a much-sought after endorsement for GOP candidates. Its backing can give a boost through mailings, advertising and pressing its more than half a million supporters to vote for one candidate over another.

"If he maintains his position on embryonic research, I doubt (he will be endorsed)," said Larry Galmish, Political Action Committee chairman for Michigan Right to Life.

Snyder was the only one of the five GOP gubernatorial candidates in the primary to support embryonic stem cell research. He opposes abortion but would allow it in cases of rape or incest.

What's with the 'likely?' They're actually thinking about it? If he tells them what they want to hear, will they endorse them then? And let's get this clear - Snyder is pro-abortion. It's not just embryonic stem cell research. It's not just abortion in the cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. If that is all it was, as tragic and unjust as some of those are, that would be one thing. But there's unfortunately more and it points to Snyder being an all-out pro-abort. As they say - follow the money. Let's look at the data:

1. His adviser, pro-abort John Weaver, is to McCain what Rove was to Bush, and left the GOP for a time to be a Democrat adviser
2. Weaver and his other adviser, John Yob, tend to only work for pro-abort 'moderates'
3. Snyder gave money to John Dingell (D), who is a big pusher of ObamaCare that includes taxpayer funded abortions, on several occasions
4. Snyder gave money to IMP-PAC,a group that can be boiled down to a single primary issue - abortion-on-demand in the GOP platform
5. Dodged the question of when life begins entirely in Ann Arbor March 26, 2010

Item #4 is perhaps the most damning. From OpenSecrets.org, Snyder was a regular, rather than a one-time, donor to John Dingell (D-Detroit), a big pusher of ObamaCare, giving him thousands of dollars over almost 10 years. Why? If that wasn't bad enough, Synder has dumped a lot of his substantial fortune into to the group Its My Party Too, or IMP-PAC, a branch of the "Republican Leadership Council," a group of moderates. From Townhall:

... I am also concerned about Steele's association with Christine Todd Whitman and the Main Streeters (as recently as today, Whitman urged the GOP to abandon social conservatism).  Along with Christine Todd Whitman and John Danforth, Steele is a National Co-Chair of the Republican Leadership Council.  ... Their website has this to say about their mission:

"RLC-PAC's vision is a Republican Party that is unified by the basic tenets of fiscal responsibility and personal freedom, but that allows for diverse opinions on social issues by its members..."

If you boil down the essence of the IMP-PAC, it comes down to this: they want abortion on demand as part of the GOP platform. If in fact Snyder is pro-life as he says (except for rape, incest, when the life of the mother is in danger, and when scientists want to gut babies for their cells), then why give money to IMP-PAC?

¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. - Matthew 7 (NIV)

Audio of liberal Lynn Samuels: Obama hates black people

She says Obama only like his type of black people:

via Radio Equalizer on YouTube

Competence: Postal Service loses $3.5 bln in 3rd quarter, Fannie Mae loses $1.2 bln, social security in the red for first time

With numbers like these, what confidence does anyone have that ObamaCare will be any different? In fact, since the Post Office is about to start rationing your mail by not delivering on Saturdays, why would we think that the government takeover of healthcare won't lead to the same thing? You won't be surprised to learn that the Post Office is in dire straits because of entitlements. From al Reuters:

The U.S. Postal Service reported a quarterly net loss of $3.5 billion on Thursday and said it will likely have a cash shortfall going into 2011.

The agency, which delivers nearly half the world's mail, has reported net losses in 14 of the last 16 fiscal quarters.

Revenue in the third quarter that ended June 30 fell $294 million to $16 billion from a year ago, while expenses were $789 million higher at $19.5 billion, due largely to higher workers' compensation costs and retiree health benefits.

"Given current trends, we will not be able to pay all 2011 obligations," said Joseph Corbett, the agency's chief financial officer.

Cash flow seems on track to handle 2010 operations, Corbett said, but it is uncertain whether sufficient liquidity will be in place for 2011 after the agency must make a $5.5 billion payment on Sept. 30 to prefund retiree health benefits.

That's the end result of overpromising with our money. On the plus side, at least the Post Office is a constitutional allowable function of the federal government (Article 1, Section 8). Fannie Mae is not. From Bloomberg: Fannie Mae Seeks $1.5 Billion From U.S. Treasury After 12th Straight Loss

Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company operating under federal conservatorship, is seeking $1.5 billion in aid from the U.S. Treasury Department after a 12th straight quarterly loss.

... Fannie Mae has accrued more than $148 billion in consecutive losses since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Treasury seized Fannie Mae and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac, the biggest sources of U.S. mortgage funding, in 2008 as souring subprime loans pushed the companies to brink of collapse. Including today’s request, Fannie Mae has drawn $86.1 billion in aid. The growing tally has helped spur the Obama administration to solicit proposals to fix the companies, and prompted some lawmakers to demand their closure.

“Congress must act to end this taxpayer-funded bailout,” said Representative Jeb Hensarling, in a statement after today’s earnings were announced. The Texas Republican is the lead sponsor of legislation to abolish the companies.

Freddie Mac hasn’t yet disclosed second-quarter results.

Of course they haven't. As for social security, again an unconstitutional government program, the Washington Times has this: Social Security in the red this year

Social Security will pay out more this year than it gets in payroll taxes, marking the first time since the program will be in the red since it was overhauled in 1983, according to the annual authoritative report released Thursday by the program's actuary.

Do you get the feeling that Obama is not only rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but pouring water into the lifeboats too boot?

Gibbs totally blows off Missouri voter that voted 71.1% to repudiate ObamaCare, calls vote "NOTHING!"

This is another example of what I wrote about 2 days ago: Predictable: 67% of Political Class Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction, 84% of Mainstream Disagrees. The political ruling class doesn't get it, and the chasm that exists between the real world that we live in and their imaginary bubble world is growing by the day. After Missouri voter soundly repudiated ObamaCare, (Awesome: Missouri voters overwhelmingly reject ObamaCare (71%) - that 71% included both Republicans and Democrats meaning the one thing both party voters outside the ruling class can agree on is that ObamaCare is not for them - clueless US Senator from Missouri Claire McCaskill yesterday said that she gets the message, but that those that voted to repudiate ObamaCare are too stupid to know better. Of course, she put it in political terms without using the word stupid, but the point is the same:

“People “don’t realize” how beneficial the “mandate” for health care will be.”

Turns out that, predictably, Robert Gibbs is just as tone-deaf. From The Hill via memeorandum: Gibbs dismisses Missouri vote against federal health insurance mandate

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs flatly dismissed Missouri's vote Tuesday rejecting a key part of the healthcare law.

Gibbs said Missouri’s vote approving a ballot initiative to exempt residents from the new law requiring individuals to buy health insurance was “of no legal significance.”

Asked what it means that voters in Missouri would vote against the federal mandate, Gibbs said: “Nothing.”

Isn't it great that the ruling class holds voters in such high regard?

Video: Sen. Jim DeMint Blasts Pelosi, Obama for Ignoring the U.S. Constitution

They're not the only ones of course. Even Republicans have been guilty of skirting our founding document. Nonetheless, the kind of moonbattery that passes muster these days is so far outside constitutional bounds that it's hard to fathom how it is even considered much less voted on and signed into law. Here's Demint on the House floor:

Relatedly, I had this post back in April: Judge Napolitano: "Congress Spends More Time Avoiding And Evading The Constitution Than Upholding It"

The Constitution is now simply a stumbling block to what congresscritters want to do. They go through contortions that make a pretzel seem simple by comparison to argue, if in fact you can call it that, that their actions are constitutional. When asked about the constitutionality of ObamaCare, legislators had no answer. Many tried and fell flat on their faces. Some Democrats have given answers to such a challenge in a way that can only be labeled as 'stupid.' Some, like Sen. Merkley claim that two words - General Welfare - let them do whatever they want thus rendering the rest of the Constitution irrelevant. John Conyers claimed a nonexistent "good and welfare" clause, among other clauses he couldn't name. And then there was Phil Hare, who said“I don’t worry about the Constitution on this”. Of course he doesn't. Pelosi had a better answer: "are you serious?" That was it. Sen. Leahy says that nobody questions such authority (I beg to differ). Sen. Warner totally dodged the question by talking about telephones. Sen. Mary Landrieu dodged the question altogether instead referred the questioner to constitutional lawyers! Sen. Blanch Lincoln claimed that the U.S. Constitution charges Congress with "the health" of the people. Pro-life traitor Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska), who traded the lives of unborn babies for 30 pieces of silver, can't even answer that question before he was re-asked by CNS News. And Sen. Bob Casey is not sure if there's 'a specific Constitutional provision'. Don't you all feel much better now about the Constitutional competence of our lawmakers now? The White House, of course, claims no 'legitimate' constitutional concern. Obama himself said that he doesn't really care how things get done as long as they do. So who's left to defend our founding document? The courts. Unfortunately, the same politicians that have abdicated their oath to uphold the constitution have been appointing activist judges to do the same.

By the way, Napolitano above started his discussion with references to Clyburn. He had more on him in this video that I posted several times before (here and here). It's a must-see video, so I'm posting it again below:

Recovery Summer: Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Climb to Three-Month High

Well, at least one thing is recovering this summer - jobless claims. From Bloomberg via memeorandum:

More Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment insurance last week, indicating firings remain elevated as the recovery moderated.

Uh - what recovery?

Initial jobless claims climbed by 19,000 to 479,000 in the week ended July 31, the most since April and exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped, while those getting extended payments rose.

A cooling economy means employers will resist taking on more staff in coming months, raising the risk consumer spending will weaken further. The jobless rate rose last month as payroll increases weren’t large enough to keep up with gains in the labor force, economists forecast a government report tomorrow will show.

“There really is no upside momentum in the labor market, and that’s a critical long-term determinant of where the economy is going,” said Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. “People just aren’t getting jobs.”

His deficit overspending is responsible for the unemployment rate being what it is. Obama promised that 3.5 million NEW private-sector jobs will be created by the stimulus bill by 2010. Instead, almost 3 million private-sector jobs have been lost. And that is a cause-effect relationship. The only sector that made out is government:

The solution? Why more unemployment benefits of course utilizing money that doesn't exist. Michigan's own do nothing Senator Debbie Stabenow weighed in on the unemployment extension:

How about Democrats just stop screwing the economy so that people can get jobs already.

CA public servants scatter as salaries are to be made public

Shocking news from California - public servants re being paid ridiculously high salaries hidden from public view! That's right - many parts of California do not make public salaries available to said public that pays for them. Isn't that one of the absolute requirements for serfdom? The state controller has told all public entities to make salaries public information. A panic is ensuing. From Dan Riehl: California Dreamin' Turned Nightmare As Public Salaries Revealed?

It caused a mini-firestorm when one city released its public payroll data. One can only imagine what will happen if the whole state complies with the State Controller. When do the lawsuits with various reasons for why they can't do it begin? 5, ...4, ...3 - I have a feeling, it won't be too long. If the people pay the salaries, why shouldn't they have a right to know what they are? Sounds reasonable to me.

 Of course, but it doesn't sound reasonable to the overpaid public servants living high on the hog. From the AP: Calif. controller: Disclose municipal salaries 

California's controller is ordering all cities and counties to start reporting the salaries of elected officials and public employees.

How is that not standard operating procedure?

Controller John Chiang said Tuesday he will post the information on his website beginning in November.

The directive comes after revelations that the Southern California city of Bell paid three of its top administrators a total of $1.6 million a year. Part-time City Council members were paid nearly $100,000 a year.

Currently, local governments must report only general figures about revenue and expenditures to the state controller's office.

Chiang says more detailed reporting will ensure that excessive pay does not escape public scrutiny and accountability.

When the light gets turned on, watch the cockroaches scatter.

Video: Granholm caught on tape bragging about forced unionization of private babysitters by executive fiat, bilking $millions to fill union coffers

5 months and change to go before hurricane Granholm leaves Michigan to be run by either a douchebag or a turd sandwich. Her 8 years have been an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions. Anyone screwing up a state as bad as Granholm has screwed up Michigan will be accused of having Granholmed it. That includes the sad episode of violating the 13th amendment and enslaving private babysitters for the benefit of unions. She has denied having anything to do with it, but now a video has surfaced where she is caught bragging about the illegal maneuver that has been challenged in court. From the Mackinac Center for Public Policy: The Granholm-AFSCME Partnership

Just for background, I first reported months ago on nothing short of an outright power and money grab in Michigan (but mostly money). The Democrats, at the behest of Granholm, have by fiat created a shell corporation out of whole cloth, the defunded but somehow still operational Michigan Home Based Child Care Council (MHBCCC), that forces union dues out of private babysitters to fill union coffers that will then be used to elect more puppet Democrats that give even more power and money to the unions, rinse, repeat, etc in perpetuity. The need for the Democrats is clear as the Granholm administration has been an abject disaster putting the Dems on defense in 2010. The recent ObamaCare takeover of healthcare won't help them either come November. The MHBCCC is just another appendage of the liberal movement, bilking taxpayers out of money that will be used for liberal advocacy. Thing is, the MHBCCChas been defunded! So how is it still running? Kathy Hoekstra of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy did some digging:

How is this not outright fraud again? Rush Limbaugh even picked up on this not long ago:

As I have reported before, and the Detroit Free Press begrudgingly admits, the 'union' doesn't provide collective bargaining to private babysitters. Or healthcare. Or... well... anything. Zip. Zero. Nada. They are simply collecting $3.7 million and returning no services in return. Nor can any of the babysitters get a hold of any union officials. Not even collective bargaining as the private babysitters negotiate directly with individual parents. And they set their own working hours. And they set their own working conditions. What's next for Michigan, force-unionizing the unemployed because they get a check from the government? Fortunately, a suit has been filed with the help of the Mackinac Center and has made it's way to the MI Supreme Court.

Previously:
More on babysitter forced-unionization in Michigan - unions collect dues by fiat, but don't offer collective bargaining, or anything else
The Liberal Lansing State Journal (!) Urges Granholm To Stop Force-Unionizing Private Babysitters
MSM finally noticing that Michigan is force-unionizing private babysitters, bilking taxpayers for $millions
Video: Rush Limbaugh on forced unionization of private MI babysitters by executive fiat
Michigan forcing unionization of private babysitters through a zombie government group that was defunded but still runs
Michigan tries to force-unionize private babysitters to bilk taxpayers out of $millions to fill union coffers - part 4
MI DHS defends in court trying to force private babysitters into union to fill coffers with $million in dues. DHS declines to address merits.
Michigan tries to unionize private babysitters to bilk taxpayers out of $millions to fill union coffers. Power grab challenged in court
Michigan Woman Threatened With Jail For Watching Neighbors Kids - Part 2
Michigan Woman Threatened With Jail For Watching Neighbors Kids

L.A. pensions to consume a THIRD of city's general fund by 2015. A warning for what a Bernero governorship would look like in Michigan

One third of the city's general budget in will be swallowed up to pay public servants NOT to work. And in only 5 years to boot. If you just project out what the end result will be of such idiotic policies, there will come a day when 100% of the budget will go to paying public servants not to serve and there will be no money at all for police or firefighters or other essential services. This is what happens when you elect a union puppet to run your city. In LA's case, mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was a union puppet and after being elected immediately hired thousands of public workers as his own 'stimulus' plan. Public workers that will now be taking a constitutionally guaranteed pension on the public dime at an early age. Just a glimpse of what a Virg Bernero governorship would look like for Michigan. From the LA Times via memeorandum:

The cost of retirement benefits for Los Angeles city employees will grow by $800 million over the next five years, dramatically eroding the amount of money available for public services to taxpayers, according to a report issued Tuesday.

It begs the question of who serves whom. It's almost like these local governments are set up to serve the employees of those local governments, rather than the taxpayers.

In a bleak assessment delivered to members of the City Council, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said pensions and health benefits for current and future retirees would jump from $1.4 billion next year to at least $2.2 billion in 2015.

Those costs remain a fraction of the city's overall annual budget, which is currently $18.8 billion. But more troubling is the fact that retirement costs are consuming an increasingly large portion of the general fund, which pays for basic services such as parks and public safety.

By 2015, nearly 20% of the city's general fund budget is expected to go toward the retirement costs of police officers and firefighters, who now have an average retirement age of 51. ...

So essentially these public 'servants' will be paid not to work for a far longer period of time than they got paid to work. And this is fair to the taxpayer... how??? And their pensions are constitutionally guaranteed. As Santanasaid, "For every dollar you're paying into your pension systems, you're not paying into libraries, parks and various other city services." Thus, I have a solution to both LA's problem of growing entitlements.

1. Immediately rescind any healthcare benefits after retiremnet. Pensions are guaranteed by the CA constitution (just like in MI). Healthcare is not.
2. Immediately switch all new employees into a defined contribution plan like the private sector has been doing for some time. There is absolutely no reason to put taxpayers on the hook for public servants' paycheck when they no longer work for those taxpayers.
3. Tax pensions. In fact, tax them at a rate that will keep the pension fund afloat. When the unions get socked with such a tax, the switch to defined contributions will be quite easy.

Problem solved! Michigan would do well to follow those 3 suggestions as well, albeit #2 applies only to teachers. As for the Democrat gubernatorial candidate, he wants to do for Michigan what Villaraigosadid for LA, and should take on this campaign slogan:

Good news: Obama-owned GM donating $$$ to lawmakers' pet projects

It's bad enough that Obama has directed GM to go in a specific direction on technology ignoring everything else: Top auto supplier CEO: Government too focused on electric vehicles, "ignoring" other technologies. Apparently, there is no end to government interference once they get their tentacles around you. Now that Obama has nationalized banks, student loans, GM and Chrysler, healthcare, he's well on his way to establishing his own caliphate that will in turn feed his every political desire. Which brings us to today's news via The Washington Post:

When General Motors went through bankruptcy last year, it suspended its political donations. Now that it's owned by the U.S. government, it's donating to lawmakers' pet projects again.

The carmaker gave $41,000 to groups associated with lawmakers, the vast majority of it -- $36,000 -- to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the company reported on a disclosure form last week. ...

"We've always given to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation as far back as anyone can remember," said Greg Martin, GM spokesman. "Our commitment remains unabated, and we continue to be a proud supporter of their work to advance economic development in communities throughout the U.S."

... The U.S.. government n.ow has a 60 percent stake in the reformed company.

It's of course chump change for now, but look for the donations to ramp up - to Democrat causes of course - at the same time that GM owes we the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Hope and change? Not so much anymore...

Totalitarian Hell: Portland lemonade stand shut down, needs $120 license to operate

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. -C.S. Lewis

$120 is a whole lot of lemonade to sell to satisfy moral busybodies in liberal localities. Do they have nothing better to do than harass children trying to sell lemonade for a quarter? If you think this is something new, think again. A similar situation cropped up in the People's Republic of California almost exactly one year ago: Video: Police shut down 7 year old girl's lemonade stand! Hey kid - you got a permit? From The Oregonian via memeorandum:

It's hardly unusual to hear small-business owners gripe about licensing requirements or complain that heavy-handed regulations are driving them into the red.

So when Multnomah County shut down an enterprise last week for operating without a license, you might just sigh and say, there they go again.

Except this entrepreneur was a 7-year-old named Julie Murphy. Her business was a lemonade stand at the Last Thursday monthly art fair in Northeast Portland. The government regulation she violated? Failing to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.

Turns out that kids' lemonade stands -- those constants of summertime -- are supposed to get a permit in Oregon, particularly at big events that happen to be patrolled regularly by county health inspectors.

Good grief. Speaking of permit derangement syndrome, last year I wrote a post regarding California officials trying to shut down prayer meetings at a pastor's home because he didn't have the proper permit! I kid you not! Get more detail on that story here: California Pastor Threatened With Fines For Holding Bible Study In Own Home!

John Stossel of 20/20 fame has this last year with the California lemonade stand that was scuttled:

In Tulare, California, officials shut down seven-year-old Daniela Earnest’s roadside lemonade stand. She was trying to raise money to send her family to Disneyland. But the city code enforcer didn’t like the fact that Daniela’s stand was near a busy intersection. And horrors, the lemonade stand didn’t have the proper permits! 

The entrepreneurial little girl even appealed her own case before the town council. They rejected her appeals. But at least someone felt that she deserved praise: a local radio station gave her four free passes to Disneyland in exchange for 30 glasses of lemonade.

There’s no business that’s too small for government to torture.

Indeed. This is why keeping any government limited is essential in preserving freedom and liberty. Due to some law of nature that I can't yet pin down, there appears to be a finite amount of liberty, and its just a matter of who possesses it - you or the government. I side with the former over the latter. Here was a video from my prior post from last year:

More from Creative Minority Report, The Moderate Voice, Another Black Conservative, American Spectator, Townhall and Don Surber

Sen Claire McCaskill to constituents: 71% of Missouri residents that voted against ObamaCare are too stupid to know better!

This is another example of what I wrote about yesterday: Predictable: 67% of Political Class Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction, 84% of Mainstream Disagrees. The political ruling class doesn't get it, and the chasm that exists between the real world that we live in and their imaginary bubble world is growing by the day. After Missouri voter soundly repudiated ObamaCare, (Awesome: Missouri voters overwhelmingly reject ObamaCare (71%) - that 71% included both Republicans and Democrats meaning the one thing both party voters outside the ruling class can agree on is that ObamaCare is not for them - clueless US Senator from Missouri Claire McCaskill said that she gets the message, but that those that voted to repudiate ObamaCare are too stupid to know better. Of course, she put it in political terms withouit using the word stupid, but the point is the same:

From Gateway Pundit:

71.1% of Missouri residents rejected O-Care on Tuesday:

On Wednesday Liberal Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) lectured Missouri about their misguided vote saying…

“People “don’t realize” how beneficial the “mandate” for health care will be.”

In other words, we don't understand. And she does. And it's good for us. This is ruling class thinking. Of course, the average tea party protester knows more than she does regarding ObamaCare because we have actually read the bill. Have you, Senator? This is an absolute statist, nanny attitude that McCaskill has, snearing at her own constituents like they were little children that don't know what's good for them. We know, and it's not liberalism! We The People don't want ObamaCare and it's totally unconstitutional to boot!