Some GOP Governors Sell Out for Stimulus Money

Way to drop the ball, Republican governors.  While our stalwart members in the house united in opposition and with even John McCain saying not to expect GOP support for it in the Senate, some Republican governors seem to just want to make sure they get their piece of the pie. 

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, scheduled meetings in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state's share of the package.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist worked the phones last week with members of his state's congressional delegation, including House Republicans. Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, the Republican vice chairman of the National Governors Association, planned to be in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate to approve the plan.

Not all of them are selling out though.  My two favorite governors are still standing strong:

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he wasn't sure whether he would accept the approximately $3 billion his state would be in line for.

Technorati Tags: Sarah Palin,Charlie Crist,Bobby Jindal,Haley Barbour,Stimulus,Governor,GOP,Republicans

Obama Administration Welcomes Union Bosses Back to the White House

No really, I mean literally.

“Appearing with Mr. Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. drew applause when he flung another dart at former President George W. Bush, telling labor officials among those in the audience, “Welcome back to the White House.”

I think it’s important for workers to have the right to organize and try to get as much as they can from their employers, but we have way too many laws that tilt the balance unfairly towards the unions.  Obama evidently disagrees, despite the fact that the government recently had to bail out two major automakers in large part because of ridiculous union demands they had to pay for.

Technorati Tags: Union,UAW,Barak Obama

Obama Fires AIDS Chief

One of the things that Bush did that doesn’t get a lot of media attention is his work to combat HIV.  You don’t hear much about it, probably because it doesn’t fit into the lefty media’s narrative that Bush is a soulless monster. 

For some reason, the day after taking office, Obama fired Dr. Mark Dybul, the guy Bush put in charge of his 48 billion dollar plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR).  This wasn’t some political hack that got fired either, he’s an openly gay physician.  My guess is that either Obama has some crony he has in mind for the position or is simply going to scrap the program, or at least significantly downgrade its role so he can come up with his own plan.

Technorati Tags: Mark Dybul,HIV,AIDS,Barak Obama

We Don’t Care How, Just Spend It!

The Democrats evidently don’t care what the 800 billion dollar stimulus money ends up being spent on, they just want it spent.

"If the house is burning, you're not going to worry about which hose you grab, so long as you get water on the fire," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., one of the chief authors of the House package as chairman of its appropriations committee.

What happens when the hose you grab ends up spewing gasoline all over the fire?  They really buy into this Keynesian nonsense that if you just spend enough government money, all our economic woes will just disappear. 

Technorati Tags: Democrat,Stimulus,David Obey

Congratulations Michael Steele

Michael Steele is now the RNC chair.  He’s seemed rather moderate to me so I did some research on his positions.  The only thing I adamantly disagree with him on is Affirmative Action (he’s for it).  Other than that he’s pro-gun, pro-life, and anti-taxes.  Here’s a rundown of his positions on most issues.

Technorati Tags: Michael Steele,RNC

McCain Working on Alternative Stimulus Package

Hopefully this means the Republicans plan on voting against the Stimulus bill currently being pushed by the Democrats.  If they have an alternative, they can vote against it without looking like they just don’t want to do anything.

Technorati Tags: McCain,Stimulus,Senate,Republicans

Obama Administration Starting “Middle Class Tax Force”

The irony is palpable.  We have an administration whose every action so far has been to try and eliminate the middle class in this country now forming a task force to try and stop what they themselves are responsible for.  If it keeps going, it won’t be long until we have only two classes of people in this country: the government, and those dependent on it.

The large and robust middle class of this country were not created by any government policy other than one of general economic freedom.  As the dems take away that economic freedom you’ll see the middle class go with it.

Technorati Tags: Obama,Biden,Middle Class,Economy

SCHIP Expansion Passes

So the infamous SCHIP expansion will finally make it through now that Bush isn’t there to veto it.  Now children in families making up to 40k a year will be eligible.

How much did it cost?  Only 33 billion dollars.  Don’t worry though, it’s going to be funded through increased taxes on tobacco products.

Sec. 701) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase excise tax rates on cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers and tubes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco. Imposes a tax on floor stocks of tobacco products (other than certain cigars and cigarette papers and tubes), reduced by a $500 tax credit. Requires payment of such floor stock taxes on or before August 1, 2009. Extends the floor stock tax to articles located in a foreign trade zone on any tax increase date.

Damn, I feel guilty now for quitting smoking.  The message from the government is crystal clear: it’s now our patriotic duty to smoke.  Come on, do it for the kids!

Technorati Tags: SCHIP,Tobacco,Taxes

Dems Mad About Wall Street Bonuses

What planet do these people live on? Wherever it is I want to go, because evidently there you can throw money at people with no oversight about how it’s spent and they automatically do the right thing with it.

That’s the problem with just about every liberal plan ever devised: they assume that human beings are going to suddenly stop behaving in the way that human beings always do. Newsflash: people are greedy. Instead of trying to change that, why not just come up with policies that harness it?

Technorati Tags: Bailout,Wall St.,Bonuses

Blago’s Finally Gone

While it certainly comes as no surprise, it feels good to see someone so damn annoying get the boot.  They should probably put him on suicide watch.  He’s so far detached from reality, I don’t think he’ll be able to take it as his fantasy world falls apart.

Technorati Tags: Blagojevich,Impeachment

One Out of Four People Got Teary-eyed During Obama’s Inauguration

I believe it.  I’m not ashamed to admit I was one of them, but mine weren’t tears of joy…

Technorati Tags: Inauguration,Obama

Stimulus Bill Goes to the Senate

I have to say, I don’t have much hope that the Republican senators will stand as strong against the stimulus bill as the House Republicans did.  My prediction is that there will be some minor changes made to it to make them feel better; afterwards it will still be crap and they will still vote for it.

Technorati Tags: Senate,Republicans,Stimulus

Fun With Numbers!

This is why I rarely give any credence to polls presented by the media.  The headline for this story states: “Most NYers say gov did weak job choosing senator.” 

The actual numbers were Excellent: 6%, Good: 27%, Fair: 33%, Poor: 29%.  So in reality most New Yorkers think the choice was Fair.  In order to make it look bad they chose to invent their own category, “Weak,” by combining Fair and Poor.  No one polled was asked if they thought the choice was “Weak,” just Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. 

So yes, technically most New Yorkers thought the choice was either Fair or Poor (62%) compared to Good (27%) or Excellent (6%), but let’s look at some other ways the same results could be stated. 

“Most New Yorkers say gov did fairly good job picking senator.”  See, I invented my own category, Fairly Good by combining Fair and Good (60%) which is more than Poor (29%) or Excellent (6%).  I could invent yet another category, Great, by combining Fair, Good, and Excellent (66%) compared to Poor (29%).

Technorati Tags: Poll,Gillibrand,Patterson,Senator,Governor

Thanks Ford!

Ford is still refusing to take federal bailout money.  Not only is it admirable that they’re not using the public’s tax money to keep themselves afloat, it’s also a good business decision.  If they really want to sell more Fords, they should start making commercials right now stressing the fact that they decided to tough it out while their competitor’s took the easy way out.  It fits right into the Ford tough thing.  I’ve always bought Fords, mainly because my father-in-law sells them, but now I’d buy one even if he didn’t.

Technorati Tags: Ford,Bailout

Congratulations House Republicans!

Technorati Tags: Stimulus,House of Representatives,GOP,Republicans

Amazingly, not a single Republican voted for the so called Stimulus bill.  To have voted for this abomination with all the extra unnecessary crap it contains would have been downright idiotic.  Of course it passed anyway, but at least the Republicans held their ground; good job guys.  Let’s see if the GOP senators can keep up the good work (I wouldn’t bet on it).

Big Whoop

Technorati Tags: Obama,Republicans

There’s a lot being made about how Obama has been meeting with House Republicans.  Wow, Obama has been meeting with Republicans!  He really is setting a new tone of non-partisanship.  George Bush never did that!  Oh wait, yeah he did.

Russia Successfully Intimidates Obama

Russia has decided not to deploy its missiles on the Polish border and point them at NATO allies.  Why this sudden turnaround you might ask?  I’d imagine it had something to do with a phone call Obama had with Medvedev after which this statement was made:

"The implementation of these plans has been halted in connection with the fact that the new U.S. administration is not rushing through plans to deploy" elements of its missile defence shield in eastern Europe, Interfax quoted an unnamed official in the Russian military's general staff as saying.

Yet in the very first paragraph of the same news story containing that quote, this ridiculous conclusion is drawn:

Russia has halted plans to deploy missiles near the Polish border, a Russian news agency quoted the military as saying on Wednesday, in the clearest sign yet Moscow is seeking better ties with the new U.S. administration.

It has nothing to do with the new administration other than the fact that they backed down where Bush wouldn’t.  If Bush had made those assurances to Russia, the result would have been the same.

Technorati Tags: Russia,Obama,Missile Defense

Israel Bombs Palestinian Tunnels

Israel seems serious about keeping the pressure up this time. That’s the beauty of a unilaterally declared cease fire: they haven’t violated any kind of deal forced on them by other countries.

Obama Gives Interview on Muslim TV

News Flash for Obama: the Middle East didn't like us very much even before we liberated Iraq and Afghanistan.  All of the terrorist attacks came before that, remember?  He can kiss their asses all he wants, but unless we all suddenly convert, or at the very least shut down Hollywood and stop being tolerant of homosexuals, I don't think it's going to do much good.

Blagojevich Trying To Prove His Innocence on Talk Shows

Blagojevich thinks that he can go over the heads of the state legislators and sway public opinion of himself so much that they wouldn't dare remove him from office.  Good luck with that.  From what I've seen, I don't think it's going to work.

 

He just won't shut up about not being able to call witness at the impeachment trial.  How stupid does he think people are?  An impeachment hearing is not a criminal trial.  Don't worry Rod, that will come soon enough and you can call all the witnesses you want.

Gillibrand Anti-Amnesty

Of course this piece from the Daily News tries to make that somehow a bad thing.

 

Isn't it racist to say that anyone who is against illegal immigration is not a friend to Hispanic people?  Wouldn't that statement imply that all Hispanics are illegal aliens?  It never ceases to amaze how the left can get away with the most blatant stereotypes. 

Hamas and Fatah Meet

The mere fact that it's a major news story that the two major Palestinian political factions actually met and had talks says a lot about the hopes for peace talks between Hamas/Fatah and Israel. 

Obama Wants to Allow States to Set Stricter Emissions Standards

Wait a minute, I thought keeping the car companies from going out of business was important to the economy?  Didn't we just dump a bunch of money in their laps for that very purpose?  Now Obama is going to let states set higher emissions standards then even the EPA recommends, possibly costing car companies billions of dollars.

 

Let me just say, I have no problem with states deciding things on their own.  I just wish Obama would be more consistent.  He's trying to get waivers for states that want to set stricter emission standards than the EPA recommends.  Great, next should be waivers to states who want to set stricter limits on protecting human life than Roe v. Wade recommends.

McCain Opposes New "Stimulus" Plan

For those of you who thought that McCain would have been no better than Obama, here's your first proof otherwise.  Granted, he doesn't oppose the stimulus per se, just that it doesn't emphasize tax cuts enough and is full of pork.  That's probably the most opposition you can ask from anyone at this point.  No one wants to be the guy who opposed the stimulus while the economy tanks. 

So China Manipulates Its Currency, Don't We?

I'm not an economist, so I'm a little confused about this.  Obama's pick for Treasury secretary said that China manipulates its currency to keep it low and ensure that it has cheap exports and generate trade surpluses.  Do we not also pursue policies to ensure the value of our own currency is where we want it?  Is the fact that China has a state run economy a surprise to anyone?  This guy really sounds like he's trying to blame China for our own inability to climb out of the recession we're in. 

 

That seems like a cop out to me.  Anything China did to us, we allowed to happen and have only ourselves to blame.

FDA Approves First Stem Cell Research Trial

Hopefully this clears up the myth that George W. Bush banned stem cell research.  He didn't, he just didn't force people who are morally opposed to it to indirectly support it by using their tax money to federally fund it.  This also proves that private enterprise can successfully make scientific breakthroughs even without forcing tax payers to subsidize them. 

Patterson Picks Gillibrand for Senate

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand is going to take Hillary's place in the Senate.  Don't know much about her but from what I've read, I already like her. 

 

She's a Blue Dog so of course the lefty Dems don't like her.  She voted against the 700 billion dollar bailout.  She also supports gun ownership rights.  She's probably the best democrat conservatives could have dared to hope for to be appointed.

Awww, Terrorists Think Guantanamo Violated Human Rights

I don't understand how anyone can print this drivel without feeling like a complete and utter tool. So the Taliban feels as though Guantanamo was an affront to human rights? The same Taliban that refuses to let women attend school? The same Taliban that arranges the marriages of prepubescent girls? The same Taliban that stones prostitutes and homosexuals to death?

I really don't give a damn what the Taliban thinks is a violation of human rights and no one else who actually cared about human rights would either. Was Guantanamo a bad idea? Probably so, but please let's not lose perspective here. Are we really going to give credence to the complaints of people responsible for the repression of an entire society and try and equivocate that with what went on at Guantanamo?

TV Media Pissed They Weren't Allowed to Televise Obama's Second Swearing In

First a little background: In case you missed it, Chief Justice John Roberts misspoke when he was reading the oath that Obama had to repeat to become president. Later Roberts came to the White House to apologize and do it again. Some print media were allowed to observe, but no cameras. Now I guess some say this raises even more controversy.

Give me a break. Not having a video of Obama's swearing in is a controversy? So... I'm going to go ahead and ask the obvious: what about all the presidents who took the oath before video even existed? Are their oaths now under question as well? If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court isn't a good enough witness, who is? This is just another case of the media acting like a bunch of crybabies when they don't get what they want.

Wow! Evidently No One in China Opposes the Death Penalty

BBC News decided to run a story with some reactions to the recent sentencing of three men to death in China for being involved in a company that sold tainted milk that resulted in the death of six babies. They have reactions from five people (including a British expat), not a single one is opposed to the death penalty. So the notoriously left bent BBC couldn't find a single reaction that offered an opposing viewpoint? This makes me wonder if perhaps they are capitulating to the Chinese government in some way. Especially after reading that the Chinese government has a team of propagandists that flood blogs and news sites to post pro-government comments.

For the record, I do believe the death penalty is justified in some cases and this may have even been one of them, but this is just as bad as if they published only opnions against the death penalty. At best it shows they were too lazy to find an opposing viewpoint, at worst it means they were too scared to to risk their business interests in China by publishing something against the government.

Good Riddance to COPA

The Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal yesterday on the Child Online Protection Act, basically ending the law.  COPA provided penalties to online companies who allowed a child access to pornographic material without some kind of age verification. 

 

I'm glad to see it go.  Of course kids shouldn't be looking at pornography, but we shouldn't trade our free and (almost) unregulated access to information to absolve parents of their supervisory duties.  By all means, put all the blockers in the world on publicly owned computers to limit whatever access you want, but please don't start limiting what type of information people can offer.

 

Personally, I think pornography is unhealthy even for adults, but I certainly don't think that means the government should make it illegal anymore than they should outlaw tobacco or trans fats.  Of course this law had nothing to do with totally outlawing pornography, but once the precedent is set that the government has the right to limit what's offered on the internet, it's only a matter of time before they start moving in on other areas.  "Hate speech" would probably be next on their list.

Great Pro-Life Video

Very coy pro-lifers. They're probably hoping that since Obama is virtually uncriticisable at the moment, maybe that will extend to this video as well.

So He's Really Going Through With It

I honestly thought this would be another case of Obama paying lip service to the left, then backing down when faced with the reality of the situation, but it looks as though he really is going to close Gitmo within the year.

A draft prepared for Obama's signature states that the closing "would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice."

To state that it furthers the interests of national security is laughable. Someone please explain how setting terrorists free or shipping them to holding centers in the U.S. does anything but the exact opposite of furthering national security.

This has always been a tough issue. The U.S. attempted to use Guantanamo to get around providing the detainees basic judicial rights. While some would argue that they shouldn't be afforded the same rights as U.S. citizens because they aren't citizens, I disagree. I believe our founders came up with a Bill of Rights not because we deserved some kind of special treatment for being Americans, but because they believed that all human beings deserved those basic rights.

That being said, I think setting these terrorists free is too dangerous an option and I hope Obama takes his time and figures out something better to do with them.