I wonder if anything will be done.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated federal
law by campaigning for President Obama on the taxpayers’ dime, but now
that initial violation has the Democratic National Committee and an HHS
aide in the spotlight for related alleged infractions.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
NAACP LEADER: BLACKS DOING WORSE UNDER OBAMA
From a Meet the Press interview. Actually it is "far worse."
TROUBLE GETTING "DEATH PANELISTS"
From the Washington Post.
Jonathan Gruber was one of the Obama administration’s key advisers during the health-care reform debate. As the economist who conceived the ideas at the heart of the Massachusetts health-care law, he is arguably the intellectual godfather of the Affordable Care Act.
All of which would make him a natural fit for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, the new, 15-member panel that has the authority to reduce Medicare doctors’ reimbursements and pilot new ways to deliver high quality care for less. There’s just one tiny problem: Gruber has absolutely no interest in serving on the panel. “No way,” he says without pause. “Maybe if it was a part-time gig. But full time? I can’t see it.”
It’s not just Gruber. Obama’s former health policy advisers worry that other top health economists, those in hot demand in academia and in the industry, won’t be interested in a federal job where the compensation is low, the political controversy high and the ultimate payoff unclear.
Jonathan Gruber was one of the Obama administration’s key advisers during the health-care reform debate. As the economist who conceived the ideas at the heart of the Massachusetts health-care law, he is arguably the intellectual godfather of the Affordable Care Act.
All of which would make him a natural fit for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, the new, 15-member panel that has the authority to reduce Medicare doctors’ reimbursements and pilot new ways to deliver high quality care for less. There’s just one tiny problem: Gruber has absolutely no interest in serving on the panel. “No way,” he says without pause. “Maybe if it was a part-time gig. But full time? I can’t see it.”
It’s not just Gruber. Obama’s former health policy advisers worry that other top health economists, those in hot demand in academia and in the industry, won’t be interested in a federal job where the compensation is low, the political controversy high and the ultimate payoff unclear.
REPEAL THE HOLLYWOOD TAX CUTS
Hollywood should not get special tax breaks. They should be treated like other fat-cats. Just because you are Democrat support group does not mean that it deserves special tax treatment.
It's no coincidence that much of the Democrats' base doesn't have to worry about taxes much, either because they work for nonprofits and public entities that don't pay taxes, or because they live off government benefits, or because they work in industries -- like the motion picture and recording industries -- with a long history of shady accounting and favorable tax treatment. Republicans, if they're smart, can nonetheless teach them that tax increases do, in fact, hurt.
It's no coincidence that much of the Democrats' base doesn't have to worry about taxes much, either because they work for nonprofits and public entities that don't pay taxes, or because they live off government benefits, or because they work in industries -- like the motion picture and recording industries -- with a long history of shady accounting and favorable tax treatment. Republicans, if they're smart, can nonetheless teach them that tax increases do, in fact, hurt.
DEMOCRAT SENATE CRONYISM
Senator Max Baucus (D, Montana) is taking care of his friends and Obama allowed this cronyism into fiscal cliff legislation.
“Baucus’ Finance Committee passed a bill
in August extending 50 expiring deductions and credits for favored
industries. At Obama’s insistence, the Baucus bill was cut and pasted
word for word into the cliff legislation…
Pick any one of the special-interest tax
breaks extended by the cliff deal, and you’re likely to find a former
Baucus aide who lobbied for it on behalf of a large corporation or
industry organization.”
MISREPRESENTING THE ARAB SPRING
Should the US continue to spend billions helping an Egypt governed by the Muslim Brotherhood or not? Some scholars still have a romantic view of the Arab Spring of 2 years ago when others saw that a great new society would never come out of those events.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
FAMILY HIDING FROM STALIN
A Russian family hid for 40 years in the forests. An amazing story.
Things had only got worse for the Lykov family when the atheist Bolsheviks took power. Under the Soviets, isolated Old Believer communities that had fled to Siberia to escape persecution began to retreat ever further from civilization. During the purges of the 1930s, with Christianity itself under assault, a Communist patrol had shot Lykov's brother on the outskirts of their village while Lykov knelt working beside him. He had responded by scooping up his family and bolting into forest.
Things had only got worse for the Lykov family when the atheist Bolsheviks took power. Under the Soviets, isolated Old Believer communities that had fled to Siberia to escape persecution began to retreat ever further from civilization. During the purges of the 1930s, with Christianity itself under assault, a Communist patrol had shot Lykov's brother on the outskirts of their village while Lykov knelt working beside him. He had responded by scooping up his family and bolting into forest.
SARAH PALIN
I am not fan of Sarah Palin but when a facebook page advocating the assassination of her gets over 3,000 likes, I think there is something seriously wrong with the left.
OBAMA ECONOMY
The media seems focused on the great news of 7.8% unemployment, but when you see graphs like this one, you have to wonder how well off workers really are.
MEXICAN ILLEGALS
According to the WSJ illegal immigration from Mexico is drying up. Everything from the struggling Obama economy which has dried up jobs to the improving economy in Mexico is reversing the flow of Mexican workers. There may be more opportunity in Mexico than in the US.
Between 2005 and 2010, 1.4 million Mexicans migrated north of the border, fewer than half as many as in the previous five-year period. Meanwhile, the number of Mexicans and their children who returned to Mexico between 2005 and 2010 rose to 1.4 million, about double the number who went home between 1995 and 2000, the report said. These trends suggest the return flow to Mexico surpassed arrivals to the U.S. in 2010 and 2011, the report adds.
Between 2005 and 2010, 1.4 million Mexicans migrated north of the border, fewer than half as many as in the previous five-year period. Meanwhile, the number of Mexicans and their children who returned to Mexico between 2005 and 2010 rose to 1.4 million, about double the number who went home between 1995 and 2000, the report said. These trends suggest the return flow to Mexico surpassed arrivals to the U.S. in 2010 and 2011, the report adds.
HILLARY ON BENGHAZI
Jonah Goldberg feels her testimony was full of "untruths."
But just to be clear, Clinton lied and is still lying. When asked about the claim that the attack was sparked by a protest over a video, she responded, "I did not say ... that it was about the video for Libya."
That's simply untrue. When she stood by the caskets of the four Americans killed in Libya, she directly blamed an "awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with." Afterward, she reportedly told the father of Tyrone Woods, the former Navy SEAL who was killed in the attack, "We will make sure the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted." Why tell the man that if the video had nothing to do with it?
But just to be clear, Clinton lied and is still lying. When asked about the claim that the attack was sparked by a protest over a video, she responded, "I did not say ... that it was about the video for Libya."
That's simply untrue. When she stood by the caskets of the four Americans killed in Libya, she directly blamed an "awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with." Afterward, she reportedly told the father of Tyrone Woods, the former Navy SEAL who was killed in the attack, "We will make sure the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted." Why tell the man that if the video had nothing to do with it?
SURTAX ON GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Column at USA Today on having federal government officials pay a surtax on their incomes after leaving the federal government.
. . .we see the "revolving door" in almost all industries and sectors of government, and it's a corrupting influence on both government and industry. So, for example, ObamaCare architect Liz Fowler left government for a high-paying Big Pharma job, while top Obama Administration officials are looking for high-paying K street lobbying jobs. How high-paying? "Salaries for former Obama cabinet officials could start at $1 million while former assistants and special assistants can make more than $500,000 and $300,000, respectively." Likewise, in 2011, a few months after approving a controversial merger involving Comcast, Republican-appointed Federal Communications Commission member Meredith Attwell Baker left to take a high-paying job at . . . Comcast.
In short, I propose putting a 50% surtax -- or maybe it should be 75%, I'm open to discussion -- on the post-government earnings of government officials. So if you work at a cabinet level job and make $196,700 a year, and you leave for a job that pays a million a year, you'll pay 50% of the difference -- just over $400,000 -- to the Treasury right off the top. So as not to be greedy, we'll limit it to your first five years of post-government earnings; after that, you'll just pay whatever standard income tax applies.
. . .we see the "revolving door" in almost all industries and sectors of government, and it's a corrupting influence on both government and industry. So, for example, ObamaCare architect Liz Fowler left government for a high-paying Big Pharma job, while top Obama Administration officials are looking for high-paying K street lobbying jobs. How high-paying? "Salaries for former Obama cabinet officials could start at $1 million while former assistants and special assistants can make more than $500,000 and $300,000, respectively." Likewise, in 2011, a few months after approving a controversial merger involving Comcast, Republican-appointed Federal Communications Commission member Meredith Attwell Baker left to take a high-paying job at . . . Comcast.
In short, I propose putting a 50% surtax -- or maybe it should be 75%, I'm open to discussion -- on the post-government earnings of government officials. So if you work at a cabinet level job and make $196,700 a year, and you leave for a job that pays a million a year, you'll pay 50% of the difference -- just over $400,000 -- to the Treasury right off the top. So as not to be greedy, we'll limit it to your first five years of post-government earnings; after that, you'll just pay whatever standard income tax applies.
Monday, January 28, 2013
ABORTION
Pretty selfish justification of aborting one of his children.
Also media ignored massive pro-life march in Washington, D.C.
And the Chicago Tribune wonders where all the children are without mentioning abortion. No one seems to want to discuss the demographic collapse that America will see in the coming decades.
Also media ignored massive pro-life march in Washington, D.C.
And the Chicago Tribune wonders where all the children are without mentioning abortion. No one seems to want to discuss the demographic collapse that America will see in the coming decades.
OBAMA & HAGEL
Bob Woodward analyzes why Obama picked Chuck Hagel to head up the Department of Defense.
The two share similar views and philosophies as the Obama administration attempts to define the role of the United States in the transition to a post-superpower world.
This worldview is part hawk and part dove. It amounts, in part, to a challenge to the wars of President George W. Bush. It holds that the Afghanistan war has been mismanaged and the Iraq war unnecessary. War is an option, but very much a last resort.
So, this thinking goes, the U.S. role in the world must be carefully scaled back — this is not a matter of choice but of facing reality; the military needs to be treated with deep skepticism; lots of strategic military and foreign policy thinking is out of date; and quagmires like Afghanistan should be avoided.
The two share similar views and philosophies as the Obama administration attempts to define the role of the United States in the transition to a post-superpower world.
This worldview is part hawk and part dove. It amounts, in part, to a challenge to the wars of President George W. Bush. It holds that the Afghanistan war has been mismanaged and the Iraq war unnecessary. War is an option, but very much a last resort.
So, this thinking goes, the U.S. role in the world must be carefully scaled back — this is not a matter of choice but of facing reality; the military needs to be treated with deep skepticism; lots of strategic military and foreign policy thinking is out of date; and quagmires like Afghanistan should be avoided.
ISLAMIC RADICALISM IN NORTH AFRICA: A VIEW FROM INDIA
From the Times of India.
A major Obama achievement is supposedly Gaddafi’s overthrow in Libya. Yet a line of direct causality runs from Gaddafi’s overthrow to the rise of Al Qaida in Mali and attack in Algeria.
Obama triumphalism over Gaddafi’s overthrow looks comic after the disastrous consequences in Mali and Algeria. The US media hail Hilary Clinton as a great Secretarty of State. Why? For exiting from Iraq leaving behind a Shia sectarian government, not an inclusive democracy? For exiting from Afghanistan after failing in all strategic goals? For promising to close down Guantanamo and not doing so?
The author goes on to call the U.S. a "fiscally-bankrupted" nation.
A major Obama achievement is supposedly Gaddafi’s overthrow in Libya. Yet a line of direct causality runs from Gaddafi’s overthrow to the rise of Al Qaida in Mali and attack in Algeria.
Obama triumphalism over Gaddafi’s overthrow looks comic after the disastrous consequences in Mali and Algeria. The US media hail Hilary Clinton as a great Secretarty of State. Why? For exiting from Iraq leaving behind a Shia sectarian government, not an inclusive democracy? For exiting from Afghanistan after failing in all strategic goals? For promising to close down Guantanamo and not doing so?
The author goes on to call the U.S. a "fiscally-bankrupted" nation.
COMPARING ESTONIA AND BRITAIN
From the National Review. Estonia is booming and Britain is not and there are graphs to show how each tackled their economic problems. Unfortunately the U.S. seems to be following the path of Britain.
The British government’s austerity policy has entailed increasing taxes from the pre-austerity level, while continuing to increase government spending, too. Meanwhile, Estonia has tried to close its budget gap by defining austerity as cutting government largesse. U.K. politicians seem to believe that austerity applies only to the private sector, while their Estonian counterparts believe it applies to both firms and state
The British government’s austerity policy has entailed increasing taxes from the pre-austerity level, while continuing to increase government spending, too. Meanwhile, Estonia has tried to close its budget gap by defining austerity as cutting government largesse. U.K. politicians seem to believe that austerity applies only to the private sector, while their Estonian counterparts believe it applies to both firms and state
OBAMA'S ATTITUDE IN HIS 2nd TERM
From the Telegraph. (And The New Republic is a liberal magazine.)
The New Republic piece is a compelling read, and is aptly headlined: “Barack Obama is not pleased.” It paints a portrait of a president, in his own words, who appears deeply partisan, sneeringly dismissive of his political opponents, bitterly angry at his adversaries for standing in the way on issues such as the budget, and completely lacking in any humility. If this is Obama at the start of his second term, one can only imagine what he’ll be like three years from now.
The New Republic piece is a compelling read, and is aptly headlined: “Barack Obama is not pleased.” It paints a portrait of a president, in his own words, who appears deeply partisan, sneeringly dismissive of his political opponents, bitterly angry at his adversaries for standing in the way on issues such as the budget, and completely lacking in any humility. If this is Obama at the start of his second term, one can only imagine what he’ll be like three years from now.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
SENATOR MENENDEZ
Thursday, January 24, 2013
LIBERAL HYPOCRISY
I think we will see more of this--the left criticizes big banking and then cuts deals with them. If a conservative group had signed such an agreement, the left would be raising the roof.
CONSERVATIVES & LIBERALS
Conservatives are more willing to listen to liberal views. Liberals don't want to listen to conservative views.
Bill O'Reilly tonight highlighted findings that liberals on the internet tend to be less tolerant of opposing views than conservatives. Democrat Kirsten Powers agreed with this sentiment, relaying from her own personal experiences engaging with liberals and conservatives, surmising that the former tend to be less tolerant because they are used to controlling the media.
Bill O'Reilly tonight highlighted findings that liberals on the internet tend to be less tolerant of opposing views than conservatives. Democrat Kirsten Powers agreed with this sentiment, relaying from her own personal experiences engaging with liberals and conservatives, surmising that the former tend to be less tolerant because they are used to controlling the media.
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