Rock the Vote on Health Care

Thank you Sherrod Brown

It's nice to see that you're not a liberal whore on the take like Ben Nelson.

No, you're a liberal slut who gives away for free.

Hey, it worked for Geitner

D.C.'s elected officials doled out tens of millions of public dollars in earmarks to groups that owed back taxes or weren't registered to do business in the District, that spent their money solely on salaries or on questionable "fiscal agents" and often co-mingled public funds, a damning new audit has found.

The city council handed out 154 earmarks worth nearly $48 million in fiscal 2009, but in a new report, Auditor Deborah Nichols concludes that the money went out with "no credible review process." It exposed taxpayer funds to groups that weren't registered to do business in the District, owed the public back taxes or spent the money on salaries, "administrative costs" or fringe benefits.

Nichols' investigation was prompted by revelations that Councilman Marion Barry, D-Ward 8, was steering money to women with whom he was romantically involved. But her 21-page audit casts a wider net and raises questions about the entire earmarking program.

More....

These guys aren't hurting in the Obama Economy

Main Street has had a tough year, losing jobs and seeing little evidence of the economic revival that experts say has already begun.

But K Street is raking it in.

Washington’s influence industry is on track to shatter last year’s record $3.3 billion spent to lobby Congress and the rest of the federal government — and that’s with a down economy and about 1,500 fewer registered lobbyists in town, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Many lobbying firms have escaped the worst of the corporate belt-tightening, thanks, in large part, to the ambitious agenda set out by President Barack Obama — who, ironically, came to Washington with a pledge to break what he considered the undue influence of special-interest lobbyists.

Plenty of sectors have scaled back their K Street spending, including traditional big spenders like real estate and telecommunications. But Obama’s push for legislation on health reform, financial reform and climate change has compensated for the grim economic times.

And that’s after Obama kicked off the year with a massive economic stimulus package — and every major business sector tried to get a piece of the action.

“Lobbyists love it ... when you’ve got an activist agenda like this, and you’ve got serious problems like this, and people want to do something about it,” said James Thurber, director of American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies.

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Sebelius Praises Abortion Accounting Trick in Senate Bill

Life in "Progress" State?

They called it Paradise
I don't know why
You call some place Paradise
Kiss it goodbye....

The Obama administration's new plan to give a boost to small businesses reflects continued trouble in that sector, which is facing new failures even as much of the nation's economy is stabilizing.

As credit lines have shrunk and consumers have cut back on spending, thousands of small businesses have closed their doors over the last year. The plight of struggling firms has been aggravated by the reluctance of banks to lend money, said Brian Headd, an economist at the Small Business Administration's office of advocacy.

"While bankruptcies are up, overall, small-business closures are up even more," Headd said.

California has been particularly hard hit. The latest data show small-business bankruptcies up 81% in the state for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, compared with the previous year. Filings nationwide were up 44%, according to the credit analysis firm Equifax Inc.

The actual number of small businesses in trouble is probably higher, experts said, because many owners file for personal bankruptcy rather than seek protection for the business.

Dennis McGoldrick, a bankruptcy lawyer in Torrance, said his clients are all stuck in similar situations -- capital is hard to come by, customers are tough to attract and debt is piling up.

"We can't keep up," McGoldrick said. "There's more people that want to come in every day than I can see."

Cecily McAlpine, who filed for bankruptcy protection for her Cold Stone Creamery franchise this spring, said the experience was humiliating but she had no choice.

Receipts at the fledgling Compton ice cream shop plunged dramatically during the recession, and by late 2008 she was paying her employees out of her pocket.

"When the refrigerator died, that was it; I'd just had it," McAlpine said. "That was the day I broke. I just started throwing stuff away."

What's so "progressive" about bankruptcy?

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Pets worse than SUV's

During my extensive dating life, I noticed a direct correlation between the number of cats a woman owned and how liberal their politics were.

What will these women do when the read this........

Man's best friend could be one of the environment's worst enemies, according to a new study which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle.

But the revelation in the book "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale has angered pet owners who feel they are being singled out as troublemakers.

The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year.

Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.

To confirm the results, the New Scientist magazine asked John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, to calculate eco-pawprints based on his own data. The results were essentially the same.

"Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat," Barrett said.

Other animals aren't much better for the environment, the Vales say.

Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares, slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.

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Who did he vote for? #1066

Activist Maurice Joseph Schwenkler, 24, pleaded guilty Monday to a second-degree misdemeanor for smashing windows at the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters last summer.

He received one year of probation and was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution for the Aug. 25 incident at the party headquarters at West Eighth Avenue and Santa Fe Drive, according to the Denver district attorney's office.

Schwenkler and an accomplice, who was never identified, took a hammer to 11 plate-glass windows. Police caught them in the act, and Schwenkler was arrested.

Smashed in democratic headquarter windows? In November, 2008, did Mo here vote for The Maverick or The Messiah?

Ooops! I forgot this tidbit of information.........

Anarchist websites across the country raised money for Schwenkler's $5,000 bail, and identified him as "a transgendered anarchist" using the name Ariel Attack. Authorities have consistently identified him as male.

The gay, lesbian and transgender protest group Denver Bash Back characterized Schwenkler as one of its "friends and comrades."

Does that change your original answer?

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Lib Reporter Connolly: White House Gave Sen. Dodd Sweetheart Deal To Help Him Win Re-Election

DeMint Challenges Democrats on Rules Changes in Reid Health Bill

Life in "Progress" City

From the "progressive" city of Chicago, where there hasn't been a conservative in city government since Al Capone was an honest businessman.........

The City of Chicago will be shutting down early for the Christmas holiday, as part of Mayor Daley's plan to save the cash-strapped city money.

City Hall, public libraries, health clinics and most other city offices will be closed on Christmas Eve as those city workers are being forced to take the day off without pay.

Police and Fire Department operations are not affected and will remain fully staffed. Any other worker needed to provide for the public's safety will also be on the job.

As part of the 2009 budget, three reduced-service days were planned for 2009: Aug. 17, the Friday after Thanksgiving; and Christmas Eve.

The city expects to save $8.3 million.

"Every dollar we save from these measures helps to save jobs, and in the long-term, maintain services for Chicagoans," Mayor Daley said in a statement. "This plan relies on most of our civilian employees to be part of the solution to our very serious budget challenges. I want to thank them again for their efforts."

So let me make sure I've got this right. The way "progressives" handle a budget deficit is to limit the very services the residents were told were necessary to fund with their tax dollars?

Huh?

What's so "progressive" about a city government not doing it's job?

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Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Super Trailer)

I assumed that this movie was a satirical look at the notion of Intelligent Design.

Was I wrong.

This is actually a very sober look at how science "community" has snubbed dissent and can be applied to the global warming scam and the health care debate.

I would encourage you to watch.

Want to know why AARP endorsed ObamaCare? See this video!

Detroit in RUINS! (Crowder goes Ghetto)

ObamaCare and Mission Creep: Why health care reform will end up covering much more than you think.

Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World

Animal Farm

One of the common misconceptions about the democratic party is that they are the representatives of the underclass.

But if that's the case, maybe some "progressive" out there can explain how it is that congressional democrats are killing the DC voucher program; a wildly popular and effective program for DC's poor children to receive liberty from the slavery known as DC Public schools.........

On Sunday the Senate approved a spending bill that phases out funding for the five-year-old program. Several prominent Senators this week sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid pleading for a reconsideration. Signed by Independent-Democrat Joe Lieberman, Democrats Robert Byrd and Dianne Feinstein, and Republicans Susan Collins and John Ensign, it asked to save a program that has "provided a lifeline to many low-income students in the District of Columbia." President Obama signed the bill Thursday.

The program's popularity has generated long waiting lists. A federal evaluation earlier this year said the mostly black and Hispanic participants are making significant academic gains and narrowing the achievement gap. But for the teachers unions, this just can't happen. The National Education Association instructed Democratic lawmakers to kill it.

"Opposition to vouchers is a top priority for NEA," declared the union in a letter sent to every Democrat in the House and Senate in March. "We expect that Members of Congress who support public education, and whom we have supported, will stand firm against any proposal to extend the pilot program. Actions associated with these issues WILL be included in the NEA Legislative Report Card for the 111th Congress."

Senator Dick Durbin, who heads the subcommittee that oversees funding, has been saying for the better part of a year that he's open to supporting the program's continuation if certain conditions were met. In retrospect, this looks like bad faith.

Earlier this year, Mr. Durbin said the local D.C. Council needed to sign off on the program before Congress could reauthorize it. The council did exactly that, sending Congress a letter expressing solid support for the scholarships. Senator Durbin then said he wants participating schools to administer the same exams to voucher students that D.C. public school students take. Done, said proponents.

The program's supporters now feel they've been had. "Durbin has engaged in that classic game of moving the goal posts," says Kevin Chavous, a former D.C. council member and one of many local Democratic leaders who back school vouchers. "He's just been less than honest. He's made promises to colleagues and school leaders—like Michelle Rhee, our schools Chancellor—saying, 'All I need is this.' But the reality is that they've been finding reasons not to support the program."

The voucher program is closed to new students. "It's duplicitous and shameful," says Mr. Chavous. Strong language. But if you're a kid in D.C. trying to escape its awful schools, maybe not strong enough.

Babs Boxer once demanded that she be addressed as "senator". I suggest that she be addressed as Snowball, one of the Animal Farm characters.

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Whitehouse on Health Care Opponents

It's a bad day

Months ago, I asked a friend of mine whether democrats truly believed that their agenda was good for America or was it all about power to them.

After seeing this health care debate and the ensuing result, it's clear to me that these people are just plain delusional. I truly believe that these clowns believe they cannot do anything to harm the capitalistic juggernaut that pays for all their fancies and whims.

Clue phone to democrats. That golden goose you keep raping will die eventually.

Here's a prediction I'll back up with money. After this passes, 1) Insurance premiums will go up faster than they have been 2) More companies will be dropping coverage 3) This will create a permanent pox on job creation and, probably most importantly, 4) not increase the quality of medical care for anyone.

But for liberals, they got their pony.

Congratulations.

Bill Kristol Rips Obamacare and Democrats Vote Buying