National Security Brief: Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Frank Gaffney: "False START"
President Obama announced last Thusday that he had concluded a follow-on to the 1989 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia. He characterized the cuts that it would make in the two nations’ nuclear arsenals as a major step towards his goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. In practice, however, the so-called “New START” accord will contribute primarily to the denuclearization of the United States and to making the world a more dangerous place. Accordingly, it would be more accurate to call it “False START.”
The first thing to note about the Obama treaty is that it confers real advantages on the Russians. For starters, the Kremlin will have to make essentially no cuts in the numbers of its deployed strategic launchers, whereas the United States will have to destroy several hundred of ours.
It is unclear at this writing whether such reductions by the U.S. will, as a practical matter, make it difficult – if not impossible – for America to preserve its strategic “Triad” of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles and long-range bombers. If so, there could be serious implications for strategic stability as the confidence of friends and foes alike in the robustness of our deterrent declines markedly.
What is clear, though, is that we will be obliged to cut back our arsenal to match the lower levels that the Russians can afford to maintain at the moment. The advisability of such a step would be debatable even if it produced a genuine equality between the two parties.
Unfortunately, the seeming equality thus established is deceptive in at least three respects.
Continue Reading...
Social Security Is Running Out of Money
Real Clear Markets
03/30/2010
Investors Business Daily.
Social Security's chief actuary reports that the social safety net will run a deficit for 2010, nine years earlier than predicted. Put down that big gavel, Madam Speaker, we're about to hit the iceberg.
No sooner had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, carrying the gavel used when Medicare was enacted, taken a victory lap around the Capitol Building after passage of the health care bill than did the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration report that his part of the social safety net had a big hole in it and would run a deficit for all of 2010.
Stephen C. Goss said that payments rose "unexpectedly" during the economic downturn as jobs disappeared and people feeling no hope and seeing little change opted to apply for benefits sooner than planned. Revenues also shrank due to fewer paychecks to tax.
Failure of the stimulus to keep unemployment under 8%, as the administration promised, has taken its toll on the entitlement. According to Goss, the administration expected a quicker, stronger recovery from the financial crisis. Officials foresaw an average unemployment rate of 8.2% in 2009 and 8.8% this year, though unemployment is hovering near 10%.
The 2010 shortfall is expected to be $29 billion, but it's still early. It could get bigger as the economy collapses under the weight of increased debt and deficits spurred on by the new taxes and economic disincentives of newly passed ObamaCare. Then, looming ahead, is the angel of economic death known as cap-and-trade.
Excerpt: Read more at realclearmarkets.com
Stupak considered himself pro-life and never once voting to de-fund Planned Parenthood? That is mind boggling to say the least. How could this man be considered pro-life and vote to fund Planned Parenthood? Shows that the Democrats like Stupak are Pro-Life in Name Only. They stand for nothing except the Democrat Party. Is Stupak a member of the Progressive House Democrat Caucus because he sure sounds like one?Shockingly, Bart Stupak was back-pedaling to explain to the Washington Times the secret videotape (now on YouTube here) from one year ago, where somebody caught him admitting he planned to betray pro-lifers all along. "STUPAK: If I'm given a clean shot, and I'm allowed to bring it up, and a rule comes up, and I'm allowed to have my amendment, and let's say we lose that 218 to 216, would I then vote for health care? Yeah, if it's a good bill, I would, because I want health care, and as long as I had a shot to vote my conscience, then I would feel comfortable. I've done all I could as one member to protect the sanctity of life.
PICKET: Then how come you didn't vote for Pence's amendment to de-fund Planned Parenthood back in 2009?
STUPAK: I don't think I ever voted to de-fund Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood does not do abortions.in my district...when they do it, there is a segregation of funds that go with it." In other words, Stupak believes we should pay Planned Parenthood's abortion doctors, abortion counselors, their rent, utility bills, and phone bills, so long as the money doesn't pay for abortions. (Huh?) Money is fungible. I've had enough. We're taking a stand.
Gulf Stream 'is not slowing down'
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News
March 29, 2010
Data came from the global network of Argo floats in the oceans (see picture at right)
The Gulf Stream does not appear to be slowing down, say US scientists who have used satellites to monitor tell-tale changes in the height of the sea.
Confirming work by other scientists using different methodologies, they found dramatic short-term variability but no longer-term trend.
A slow-down - dramatised in the movie The Day After Tomorrow - is projected by some models of climate change.
The research is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
The stream is a key process in the climate of western Europe, bringing heat northwards from the tropics and keeping countries such as the UK 4-6C warmer than they would otherwise be.
It forms part of a larger movement of water, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which is itself one component of the global thermohaline system of currents.
Between 2002 and 2009, the team says, there was no trend discernible - just a lot of variability on short timescales.
The satellite record going back to 1993 did suggest a small increase in flow, although the researchers cannot be sure it is significant.
"The changes we're seeing in overturning strength are probably part of a natural cycle," said Josh Willis from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
"The slight increase in overturning since 1993 coincides with a decades-long natural pattern of Atlantic heating and cooling."
Short measures
The first observations suggesting the circulation was slowing down emerged in 2005, in research from the UK's National Oceanography Centre (NOC).
Using an array of detectors across the Atlantic and comparing its readings against historical records, scientists suggested the volume of cold water returning southwards could have fallen by as much as 30% in half a century - a significant decline.
The warm surface water sinks in the Arctic and flows back southwards at the bottom of the ocean, driving the circulation.
However, later observations by the same team showed that the strength of the flow varied hugely on short timescales - from one season to the next, or even shorter.
But they have not found any clear trend since 2004.
(snip)
Fantasy and reality
Driven by Hollywood, a popular image of a Gulf Stream slowdown shows a sudden catastrophic event driving snowstorms across the temperate lands of western Europe and eastern North America.
That has always been fantasy - as, said Josh Willis, is the idea that a slow-down would trigger another ice age.
"But the Atlantic overturning circulation is still an important player in today's climate," he added.
"Some have suggested cyclic changes in the overturning may be warming and cooling the whole North Atlantic over the course of several decades and affecting rainfall patterns across the US and Africa, and even the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic."
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Excerpt: Read More at BBC
Why Does Financial Reform Punish Startup Companies And Angel Investors?
from the not-good-at-all dept
26 March 2010
It's amazing how badly politicians who know a little bit can screw things up. Apparently, Chris Dodd's financial reform bill contains a somewhat horrifying clause that would seriously harm the ability of startups to raise angel financing. Startups raising angel money are about as far from what caused the financial crisis as anything I can think of, and yet, the financial reform bill contains some ridiculous provisions:Under existing law, startup companies can raise money easily and quickly from "accredited investors" -- individuals with substantial wealth or income. There is no need for the companies or the investors to gain approval from any state or regulatory official.As someone who has raised a fair bit of money from accredited angels in the past, this proposal would be quite troubling. The idea that a company would need to wait four months before it can get the money it needs would kill a lot of startups. There is no evidence that the angel funding process has been problematic in any way. In fact, some might argue that it's one part of the financial system that works incredibly well. So why are politicians mucking with it?
All of this would change if Section 926 of the Dodd bill is included in any final reform legislation. That section would require, for the first time, companies seeking angel investment to make a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would have 120 days to review it. This would both raise the cost of seeking angels and delay the ability of companies to benefit from their funding.
The negative impact of the SEC filing requirement would be aggravated by the proposed doubling of the net worth or income thresholds required for investors to be "accredited."
Source: Tech Dirt
After voting ‘yes’ on health care, ‘Stupak 11' requested $4.7 billion in earmarksExcerpt: Read more at reporting.sunlightfoundation.com
Sunlight Foundation
3/26/10
Anupama Narayanswamy and Bill Allison
A day after Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and ten other House members compromised on their pro-life position to deliver the necessary yes-votes to pass health care reform, the "Stupak 11" released their fiscal year 2011 earmark requests, which total more than $4.7 billion--an average of $429 million worth of earmark requests for each lawmaker.
Of the eight lawmakers whose 2010 requests were available for comparison, five requested more money this week than they did a year ago:Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and Rep. Charles Wilson, D-Ohio.The eleven members were the focus of high level pressure by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats because they threatened to vote against the health care reform bill, which passed the House on Sunday, March 21, by a seven vote margin. Granting earmark requests are one of the ways leadership can encourage members to vote their way.
UPDATE: CHANGE: Personal Income Drops Across the Country. “Personal income in 42 states fell in 2009, the Commerce Department said Thursday.” But it was up in Washington, DC!Friday, March 26, 2010
CBO report: Debt will rise to 90% of GDP
By David M. Dickson
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget will generate nearly $10 trillion in cumulative budget deficits over the next 10 years, $1.2 trillion more than the administration projected, and raise the federal debt to 90 percent of the nation's economic output by 2020, the Congressional Budget Office reported Thursday.
In its 2011 budget, which the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Feb. 1, the administration projected a 10-year deficit total of $8.53 trillion. After looking it over, CBO said in its final analysis, released Thursday, that the president's budget would generate a combined $9.75 trillion in deficits over the next decade.
"An additional $1.2 trillion in debt dumped on [GDP] to our children makes a huge difference," said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "That represents an additional debt of $10,000 per household above and beyond the federal debt they are already carrying."
The federal public debt, which was $6.3 trillion ($56,000 per household) when Mr. Obama entered office amid an economic crisis, totals $8.2 trillion ($72,000 per household) today, and it's headed toward $20.3 trillion (more than $170,000 per household) in 2020, according to CBO's deficit estimates.
That figure would equal 90 percent of the estimated gross domestic product in 2020, up from 40 percent at the end of fiscal 2008. By comparison, America's debt-to-GDP ratio peaked at 109 percent at the end of World War II, while the ratio for economically troubled Greece hit 115 percent last year.
"That level of debt is extremely problematic, particularly given the upward debt path beyond the 10-year budget window," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
For countries with debt-to-GDP ratios "above 90 percent, median growth rates fall by 1 percent, and average growth falls considerably more," according to a recent research paper by economists Kenneth S. Rogoff of Harvard and Carmen M. Reinhart of the University of Maryland.
Excerpt: Read more at Washington Times
Open Letter to Sen. Charles Schumer
by Don Boudreaux on March 24, 2010
Sen. Charles Schumer
Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
Dear Sen. Schumer:
Up-in-arms that the Chinese offer American consumers exceptionally good bargains, you propose legislation to pressure the Chinese to raise the prices of their exports. And, insisting that Congress pass your bill speedily, you warn that “every day we wait is a day we lose wealth.”
Let me see if I grasp your economics. Low prices – including low prices on many imports that American producers use as inputs in their own production – cause us to “lose wealth.” High prices, then, must cause us to gain wealth.
Okay! I get it! Now I understand that competition – which reduces prices – destroys wealth.
And technology! Man, that’s a big-time curse, given that it incessantly enables more and more outputs to be produced with fewer and fewer resources and workers and, thus, consistently pushes prices down.
No wonder we Americans are so poor and sub-Saharan Africans are so rich! We’re burdened with vast, open, competitive markets teeming with technology-laden producers, all of which combine to reduce the prices American consumers pay and, hence, (I now see) to deplete America’s wealth. In happy contrast, Chadians and Nigerians and other Africans are blessed with governments that severely restrict their abilities to trade, to compete, and to accumulate accursed price-lowering technologies.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Sen. Schumer for working to make America more like Niger! What would we do without your insight and courage?
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Source: Read more like this at Cafehayek
As Long as We're Passing Out Piles of Cash, Why Not $900M for Hamas? [Andy McCarthy]We are on record of not agreeing with a lot of the policies of the last few years of the Bush Administration and their reckless spending of our tax dollars. We agree with NRO's comments:
Various la-la land conservatives and moderates assured us that Obama, despite a career spent in the Left's fever swamps, is really a "pragmatist" who would govern from the center. They pooh-poohed us knuckle-draggers who doggedly pointed to his radical intimates, like Hamas-apologist Rashid Khalidi. I wonder what they're thinking today as Obama takes time out from destroying the economy to send $900M from the mint's busy printing press to Hamas.
Excerpt: Read More at NRO
The UNRWA is effectively an arm of Hamas in Gaza (and elsewhere). In its second term, the Bush State Department was reckless in enabling Palestinian terrorists on its utopian quest for Middle East peace. As in so much else, Obama is taking that parlous policy and multiplying it by a hundred.Congressman Pence has once against stood up for what is right and all of us need to be doing the same thing when it comes to Israel. We need to find out who in Congress continues to support Israel and who is standing with Hamas against Israel. Once that list is confirmed, we will publish and let everyone know who Stands with Israel and who is Against Israel. We already have threee names who are against Israel -- Obama, Biden, and Hillary Clinton. There will be more.
Paying respect to the Constitution and its clauses is no longer necessary. And not just the Constitution. The rules of procedure which have restrained the occasional bouts of inanity (as well as insanity) in Congress are similarly abused. "There ain't no rules here," said Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida, "we're trying to accomplish something … all this talk about rules … . When the deal goes down, we make 'em up as we go along." Mr. Hastings has experience in making it up as he goes along; he was thrown off the federal bench for taking bribes and judged unfit to be a judge. That's when he drifted into Congress, where standards are not so high.Socialist Democrats are openly admitting they want to control the people and don't care how they obtain their goals. They didn't even read the bill because this morning according to AP this new healthcare bill did not cover the gap in healthcare for children:
Under the new law, insurance companies still would be able to refuse new coverage to children because of a pre-existing medical problem, said Karen Lightfoot, spokeswoman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the main congressional panels that wrote the bill President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday.It is pretty bad when the Committee that wrote part of the bill left out such a major issue that we believe both sides could agree. This is what happens when you ram through a bill so rapidly and get no input from the other side of the aisle.
For as long as the political fight took over the past year, the abbreviated review process on the health care legislation currently pending on President Obama’s desk is unquestionably going to result in some surprises — as happens with any piece of mashed-up legislation — both for the congressmen who voted for it and for the American people.
One such surprise is found on page 158 of the legislation, which appears to create a carve out for senior staff members in the leadership offices and on congressional committees, essentially exempting those senior Democrat staffers who wrote the bill from being forced to purchase health care plans in the same way as other Americans.
SOLD: Obama Trades Airport Grants for Stupak's Vote3/23/2010
Obama Administration Awarded Hundreds of Thousands in Airport Grants to Stupak’s District Two Days Before Vote Was this Yet Another Backroom Deal to Force Obama’s Bill Down the American People’s Throats?
Three airports in the district of infamous fence-sitting and ultimately kowtowing Democrat Bart Stupak were awarded $726,409 in grants by the Obama Administration just two days before a vote on Obama and Pelosi’s government takeover of healthcare.
Did Stupak compromise his supposed principled stand against taxpayer funding of abortion in exchange for taxpayer dollars for pet projects?
Alpena County Regional Airport received a $85,500 grant, but had only 7,519 passenger boardings in 2008 (the most recent year for which there is information) according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. Alpena County Regional Airport serves fewer passengers than even the late Rep. John Murtha’s famous “Airport for Nobody.”
Delta County Airport has even less customers than that, but still received a $179,209 grant.
Chippewa County International Airport received a $461,700 grant, but had only 13,733 passenger boardings in 2008.
Will Stupak come clean about this apparent backroom deal for his vote?
Call Stupak’s district office at (989) 356-0690 and ask.
Learn more at http://gopcodered.com/
The Truth About President Obama's Medicare Claim During Health Care Bill SigningMarch 23, 2010
The health care bill has caused a lot of confusion. We wanted to clear up a bit of that, courtsey of Whip Eric Cantor's office. See below:
Just prior to signing the Dem health care bill, President Obama claimed that there would be no cuts in “guaranteed benefits” for seniors - despite massive cuts to the overall Medicare program.
President Obama: “I want seniors to know, despite what some have said, these reforms will not cut your guaranteed benefits.” (Remarks Made At Signing Ceremony, 3/23/10)
Fact Check: The Senate Bill + Reconciliation Bill + Rules Manager’s Amendment = $528.5 Billion in cuts to Medicare (CBO Letter To Speaker Pelosi, 3/20/10)
Source: http://www.gop.gov/blog/10/03/23/the-truth-about-president-obamas
Forty words to repeal 2,400 pagesWhen you read this, you realize that the Republicans who led the fight against Democratcare and are still fighting are not from the Northeast part of the country or the west coast, they are from rural America not from the large cities of New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent03/22/10 1:57 PM EDT
Republican Rep. Steve King has filed a bill to repeal Obamacare.
This is its entire text:
Effective as of the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted.
Cong Steve King is from Northwest Iowa, attended Northwest Missouri State, and started his own construction companyDay after day these men along with many other men and women of the House and Senate fought with everything they had against insurmountable odds because the Democrats outnumbered Republicans by so many seats after losses in 2006 and 2008. The Republicans have not rolled over but have stood up and fought.
John Boehner is a lifelong resident of SW Ohio, graduate of Xavier University, and is currently the Congressman for the western part of Southwest Ohio and Miami County where we grew up
Eric Cantor was born in Richmond VA, graduate of William and Mary Law School, and represents parts of Richmond and the Shenandoah_Valley
Mike Pence is from the Columbus, IN, a graduate of Indiana Law School and represents the eastern part of Indiana around Muncie, east of Indianapolis to the Ohio border,
Paul Ryan is from Janesville, WI, received his degree from Miami University of Ohio, and represents counties in southeastern Wisconsin
The Hangover: Fallout From Health Care Vote Already Plaguing House Dems
Widespread Public Discontent, Comparisons to Trillion-Dollar 'Stimulus' Trip Up Dems' Hoped-For Victory Lap
Washington, Mar 22 -
House Democrats are already beginning to bear the fallout from President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) reckless crusade to force a massive government takeover of health care through Congress without the support of the American people. As House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) stated yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press, “Never in the history of our country have we made such a big, momentous decision on a purely party line vote.” Now we know why. Instead of taking a victory lap, Democrats are already going into “damage control” mode for all their arm-twisting, sweetheart deals, and go-it-alone governing, and it’s already being compared to the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus.’ House Democrats who supported this job-killing bill must now ask themselves whether it was worth it to side with party leaders and liberal special interest groups at the expense of their taxpaying constituents. This is not what the American people wanted out of health care reform, and they will continue to say so loudly and clearly. That’s why Republicans will fight to repeal this massive government takeover of health care and start over with solutions that focus first on lowering costs.
COMPARISONS TO TRILLION-DOLLAR ‘STIMULUS’ INSTEAD OF SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
“No major entitlement program has become law in such partisan fashion. In 1935, more than half of the minority Republicans in Congress joined Democrats to create Social Security. And in 1965, nearly half of minority Republicans joined Democrats to launch Medicare. Both parties had skin in each game.” (Chicago Tribune editorial, 3/22/10)
Dem Pollster: “They’ve Totally Divided The Country.” “By moving the package with Democratic votes alone, ‘they’ve totally divided the country,’ and it will be difficult for Obama to calm voters before November, said Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster who worked for former President Clinton.” (The Boston Globe, 3/22/10)
“… But it's hard to benefit politically just because things don't turn out as bad voters feared. Consider last year's economic stimulus package… Obama and Democrats have received little credit for their rescue effort…” (Los Angeles Times, 3/22/10)
“Obama’s Powers of Persuasion … Have Been Ineffective.” “Health care legislation as the public understands it is unpopular. Voters do not view Obama's handling of the health care issue favorably. His overall disapproval rating is higher than his approval rating for the first time in his presidency. It will be difficult to change this dynamic before November, especially since Obama's powers of persuasion over the last year have been ineffective in changing public opinion on several issues.” (Slate, 3/21/10)
“VOTERS ARE FURIOUS,” REGISTER RECORD DISAPPROVAL WITH CONGRESS
“Voters Are Furious … A Year of Bitter Haggling and Legislative Maneuvering.” “The initial blush of President Barack Obama's health care triumph immediately gives way to a sober political reality… Voters are furious. They hate Washington. They also detest incumbents. They're concerned most about the economy. And unemployment that's hovering near 10 percent. They're also split over whether Obama's health plan is good for a nation with enormous budget deficits and climbing debt.…Democrats face a public fed up with Washington and disappointed by a president elected to change it. A year of bitter haggling and legislative maneuvering may feed into the argument — successfully stoked by Republicans — that Democrats have failed to fix Washington. That's the reason some Democrats now worry about losing control of Congress.” (Associated Press, 3/22/10)
Record Disapproval of Congress, More Americans Think Reform Will Hurt Than Help. “The confusion over reform - and the long-running health care debate - has not endeared Congress to the American public. The legislature’s overall approval rating was near an all-time low. Just 14% of Americans said they approve of the way Congress is handling its job, while 76 percent - the highest figure ever - said they disapprove. Approval of Congress has dropped 16 points during the past year. As has been the case throughout the health care debate, more Americans think the reform bill will hurt them (35 percent) than say it will help them personally (20 percent).” (CBS News, 3/22/10)
Case Closed: Majority of Americans Oppose The Bill, Say It’s Too Much Government, And Will Increase Costs and Deficits. “A majority of Americans have a dim view of the sweeping health care bill passed by the House, saying it gives Washington too much clout and won't do much to reduce their own health care costs or federal deficits, according to a new poll released Monday. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 59 percent of those surveyed opposed the bill, and 39 percent favored it. … In addition, 56 percent said the bill gives the government too much involvement in health care; 28 percent said it gives the government the proper role and 16 percent said it leaves Washington with an inadequate role. On the question of costs, 62 percent said the bill increases the amount of money they personally spend on health care; 21 percent said their costs would remain the same and 16 percent said they would decrease. The poll's results about the bill's fiscal impact were particularly stark: 70 percent of respondents said they believed deficits would go up because of the bill; 17 percent felt they would stay the same and 12 percent said they would go down.” (CNN, 3/22/10)
DEMS GO INTO “DAMAGE CONTROL,” BUT IS IT TOO LATE?
“The Cruel Reality.” “The cruel reality: What's good for a president isn't necessarily what's good for his party. And things not turning out as badly as people feared has rarely worked as a comprehensive political strategy.” (ABC’s The Note, 3/22/10)
“Lengthy and Rancorous Debate Has Inflicted Considerable Damage” on Democrats. “The lengthy and rancorous debate has inflicted considerable damage on the president and his party. It helped spark the grass-roots ‘tea party’ movement and generated angry town hall meetings last summer that led to some opponents painting Obama as a socialist and a communist for advocating a greater government role in the health-care industry. … But there is a major difference between this health-care battle and the debates that preceded passage of Social Security and Medicare. Although there was opposition to those measures -- conservative opponents called Medicare socialized medicine -- in the end they passed with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities.” (The Washington Post, 3/21/10)
“Damage Control.” “After healthcare vote, Democrats turn to damage control. … The party now must live or die with its landmark legislation in hundreds of congressional districts across the country… ‘Given that Democrats have basically lost the healthcare messaging fight for the last year, I'm not sure why we should think they will begin to win over the next seven months,’ said Charlie Cook, one of Washington's leading election handicappers.” (Los Angeles Times, 3/22/10)
HOUSE DEMS ALREADY COPING WITH MISGUIDED VOTE FOR UNAFFORDABLE, JOB-KILLING BILL
House Democrat: “I Feel Like I Am Walking The Plank.” “Obama May Pay Price By Pushing ‘Political Chips’ on Health Care. Still, Obama’s victory leaves him depleted. ‘There has been a large ‘opportunity cost’ that the president and the Democratic Party have paid for going down this road,’ said William Galston, a onetime domestic policy adviser to President Bill Clinton. Obama is unlikely to find either Democratic or Republican willingness to work on issues of mutual concern. … Said Representative Baron Hill, an Indiana Democrat, ‘I feel like I am walking the plank.’” (Bloomberg, 3/22/10)
“Casting Votes … For Their Own Political Extinction.” “But House Democrats, who have endured months of draining debate and attacks from tea party activists … more relieved than overjoyed — and many may have been casting votes, on a warm spring night, for their own political extinction. … But even Sunday’s stunning comeback victory couldn’t paper over the reality that congressional Democrats, who face a potentially devastating backlash in the midterms, won’t enjoy the benefits…” (Politico, 3/21/10)
RENEWED SCRUTINY OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL MANDATES, SWEETHEART DEALS, AND BROKEN PROMISES
“Pelosi Will Have To Answer For … Legislative Shortcuts.” “Yet going forward, Pelosi will have to answer herself for some of the legislative shortcuts taken in her fierce ‘damn the torpedoes’ march toward final passage.” (Politico, 3/22/10)
Where Are The Lower Premiums? “Legal and Political Fights Loom for Democrats. … Attorneys general in three states — Virginia, Florida and South Carolina — have indicated they will file legal challenges to the measure, on the grounds that it violates the Constitution by requiring individuals to purchase insurance. … Republicans also expect to take advantage of the fact that while the health bill may ultimately help contain rising premiums, it is unlikely to actually bring the cost of health insurance down, and certainly not in the short term.” (The New York Times, 3/22/10)
“A Protracted And Messy Fight in the Courts.” “Attorneys general in 12 states poised to challenge healthcare bill. Attorneys general from at least 12 states say they will challenge the constitutionality of the healthcare reform bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday night. … The threatened action suggests the controversial measure is about to move from the legislative realm into what could become a protracted and messy fight in the courts. The attorneys general say they will sue once President Obama signs the bill into law.” (The Christian Science Monitor, 3/22/10)
Source: Republican Leader Boehner
Obama's EPA stifles new energy gainsObama is against offshore drilling for the United States but he didn't hesitate to help his benefactor, George Soros. This report from Brett Baier from Fox News details the the $2 billion dollar investment in Brazil for their offshort drilling. Nice payback to Soros who is heavily involved in Brazilian oil production.
Examiner Editorial March 19, 2010
It would be simpler if President Obama leveled with energy industry officials and the American people and admitted he's doing everything in his power to suffocate this country's ability to find and develop critically needed new energy supplies. But instead of being honest about it, Obama hides behind misleading rhetoric about the wonders of "green" energy, even as his minions erect a multitude of new bureaucratic roadblocks to the development of the oil and natural gas resources needed to keep American homes heated, factories humming, and laptops processing. These new resources could also create millions of new jobs, generate trillions of dollars in tax revenues, and spark economic expansion in rural areas like western Pennsylvania and upstate New York that have known only decline for generations.
(snip)
This week, it's Lisa Jackson, Obama's Environmental Protection Agency head, putting another pillow over the face of the energy industry: A "comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health." Her agency will spend $1.9 million on the first year of the study and unspecified amounts in the years thereafter. Hydraulic fracturing is when water and minute amounts of nontoxic chemicals are injected deep underground into rock formations to free previously unreachable stores of oil and gas. The technology opens up immense natural gas resources like the Marcellus Shale area of economically blighted rural regions of western Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and West Virginia.
Jackson forgot to mention "concerns" about hydraulic fracturing come only from environmental groups seeking to stop all uses of fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas. Jackson's announcement followed the Washington premiere of the anti-fossil fuel "GasLand" propagandamentary produced by some of these same groups. Two more facts Jackson didn't mention: Never in the 60-year history of hydraulic fracturing has it been linked to a single proven public health threat to water quality; and the EPA has already studied hydraulic fracturing, most recently in 2004, when it found no threat. Clearly, this new study is about stopping fossil fuel development, not protecting public health.
Excerpt: Read more at the Washington Examiner
Obama Surrenders Gulf Oil to RussiaWe were shocked last month to learn that Interior Secretary Salazar was putting offshore drilling on hold but we should have expected that with this Administration. What we did not expect was Salazar freeing up water for the Central Valley of California in what looks to be an exchange for Yes votes for their Congressmen.
The Obama administration is poised to ban offshore oil drilling on the outer continental shelf until 2012 or beyond. Meanwhile, Russia is making a bold strategic leap to begin drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. While the United States attempts to shift gears to alternative fuels to battle the purported evils of carbon emissions, Russia will erect oil derricks off the Cuban coast.
Offshore oil production makes economic sense. It creates jobs and helps fulfill America's vast energy needs. It contributes to the gross domestic product and does not increase the trade deficit. Higher oil supply helps keep a lid on rising prices, and greater American production gives the United States more influence over the global market.
Drilling is also wildly popular with the public. A Pew Research Center poll from February showed 63 percent support for offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Americans understand the fundamental points: The oil is there, and we need it. If we don't drill it out, we have to buy it from other countries. Last year, the U.S. government even helped Brazil underwrite offshore drilling in the Tupi oil field near Rio de Janeiro. The current price of oil makes drilling economically feasible, so why not let the private sector go ahead and get our oil?
The Obama administration, however, views energy policy through green eyeshades. Every aspect of its approach to energy is subordinated to radical environmental concerns. This unprecedented lack of balance is placing offshore oil resources off-limits. The O Force would prefer the country shift its energy production to alternative sources, such as nuclear, solar and wind power. In theory, there's nothing wrong with that, in the long run, assuming technology can catch up to demand. But we have not yet reached the green utopia, we won't get there anytime soon, and America needs more oil now.
Excerpt: Read The Full Article
Salazar puts expanded offshore drilling on holdAll of these articles point to the tanking of the domestic oil and gas production causing the loss of thousands of jobs. As we have mentioned before, we have to wonder if this is done on purpose to eventually nationalize oil and gas production in the United States.
The Interior secretary says a 'headlong rush' by Bush officials to open new areas to exploration 'torpedoed renewable energy.'
February 11, 2009Jim Tankersley
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration put the brakes on a push to expand oil and gas drilling off America's coasts Tuesday and promised to speed development of offshore wind farms.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced he will extend public comments for six months on a last-minute proposal by the Bush administration to open swaths of the California, Alaska, Atlantic and Gulf coasts for drilling.
Excerpt: Read More at Los Angeles Times
According to Think Progress, “NRA: Practice Range” is billed as a “network of news, laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resource” for the organization.The National Rifle Association released a new app on Sunday that includes a gun range equipped with coffin-shaped targets, and the option for players to simulate using a military-grade sniper rifle.
The app includes what it calls “9 true to life firearms,” and allows players to download an MK-11 sniper rifle setting for 99 cents. The rifle can shoot 750 rounds per minute.
Raw Story (http://s.tt/1ypIy)
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