Poll: Most See Unemployment Lingering For Years

In an unscientific poll by Business Journal, a large marjority see the current unemployment rate staying for several more years. 

More than two-thirds of those who responded (67 percent) said they believe it will take three years or more. The unscientific online survey was conducted between Dec. 21 and Dec. 27.  About 15 percent said "never" and about 13 percent said two years.  Only 5 percent believe it will happen in the next year.

One reader opined that, 

"The American economy will only recover once we realize that our economic problems reside in Washington and the state capitol. Mr. Obama and his supporters whether they be on Capitol Hill or the state legislature continue to cling desperately to the failed economic ideals of Keynes. Keynesian economics has never worked. When you looked at the failure of Keynesian economics along with the fact that Mr. Obama, his economic team, most of Congress along with many state legislators have never participated in western capitalism; i.e. owned a business, had to make a payroll, or produced anything of material value, it is obvious why the economy continues to remain in the tank."

My comment is that, Robert B is exactly correct. Until Washington and the local state capital politicians get their collecctive heads out of their a$$es, then relatively high unemployment will continue to linger...possibly as long as a decade. BUT, if the new GOP majorities can roll back the both the size and regulatory scope of big government (at least back to "medium" government) then the recovery will pick up steam.


Keynesian economics is a failed model. It has never, ever worked in any instance that it has been tried. Herbert Hoover attempted it in 1930-32 and failed. FDR's attempts in 1934-5 extended by the Great Depression by at least 7 more years. Mr. Obama's (and Reid/Pelosi's) attempt at Porkulus last year was devastating to the economy. Until we relent the chokehold government now has on buisness...this will continue to linger.

Our "Political Elite": Ezra Klein Edition

Those people who are our erstwhile "political elite" are often touted as being some of the best educated among us.  What's been discussed quite often lately is that these men and women aren't "educated" but are "credentialed."  What's meant by that is that they have the papers saying they are qualified, but really just don't have the knowledge that should be behind those little pieces of paper.  Here's a video that shows just that. 

Ezra Klein, works for the Washington Post, a newspaper that's often cited as one of the most influential news dailies in the country.  But as this video shows, this 26 year old political science major, who graduated from UCLA in 2007, you'd think that he'd actually know something about the Constitution...he doesn't have a clue.

"The Constitution is confusing because it was written more than a hundred years ago..."

And he's a "political scientist."?  That's what wrong, far too many of those who putatively believe they have the right to lead us, We The People, just don't have a clear understanding of our shared American history or the meaning behind the founding documents, The Declaration of Independence, the US Constutition...or the Federalist Papers.  Neo-Neocon says this,

"..MSM journalistic circles? I’m not just wondering because I disagree with his viewpoints. I’m wondering because I’ve noticed this trend towards extreme youth in journalism for quite some time, and consider it a very bad development.

It’s not that young people can’t write; they can. But their knowledge base is ordinarily composed of a roughly equal mix of youthful zeal, hubris, and ignorance, along with the book learning they’ve picked up in college. Except for some very rare cases (and I have no reason to believe that Klein is among them), their real-life experience—their hard-gained wisdom, you might say—is virtually nil."

But that seems to be pretty much what ALL of the "political elites" are like...a very thin educational resume...and they jump immediately into "government service" or "journalism."  They've no real experience in business meeting a payroll or more importantly in the military.  Just why do they consider themselves our "elite" is well beyond me.  Like Sarah Palin, I went to a state university and took a hell of a long time to finish because I paid for it myself, going only when I could afford to pay.

It's people like Klein who want  to be "movers & shakers" but really just don't have a clue...and that worries me.  These people want to run things but haven't a clue. It's time we start getting people who have real experience, who have actually done things accomplished concrete goals into Congress and our state legislatures, because if we continue the way we are, we'll have given away all of our freedoms and not have any idea where they went...

NY Cities Dumb Snow Removal Drivers

Via Ed Driscoll, here's video of the genius' who remove NY Cities snow...

Constitional Amendment

I received the following from one of my readers.  She asked me to pass it on...so here it is.

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this Email to a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."

For far too long, Congress has passed laws that specifically exempt themselves from the effects of those laws.  ObamaCare is a prefect example.  I, being a good sport, decided that all of my state legislators, as well as my Congressman and US Senators should get this email as well...so I sent it to them.  Please feel free to cut and paste and send it to all of your friends, acquaintances, etc., as well.

UPDATE:  INSTALANCHE!!!!!  Thanks Glenn!

Here's my own take on a possible 28th amendment: I hereby propose the following as the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the House of Representatives to more than four (4) consecutive, two (2) year terms to office.
2. No citizen of the United States shall be elected to the United States Senate for more than two (2) consecutive, six (6) year terms of office.
3. No citizen of the United States shall receive any retirement benefits from serving in either the United States House of Representatives or the United States Senate.
4. Congress shall not exempt itself from any laws of the United States of America, in whole or in part, nor shall any government agency, board, panel or appointed or elected group or person may exempt Congress, individually or collectively, from any law, regulation, policy or action which is applied to the citizens of the United States.
5. Congress shall be in session for a period of not less more than 90 60 consecutive days in the Spring, and 90 not more than 60 consecutive days in the Summer Fall of each year. Each sitting of Congress may be extended  once per session by the President for a period not to exceed 30 15 days. The Spring session shall start on the first Monday of March. The Summer Fall session shall begin on the first Monday in August. An additional 15 day session to begin on the 2nd Monday of November shall may be called by the President if so deemed necessary by declaration of a national emergency and voted so by a 2/3rds majority of the sitting Congress and may not be extended. session may not be extended unless a period of National Emergency is formally declared by the President. {This section I think is necessary to basically force Congress to actually work...in the past decade they generally only spend 2 1/2 days per week actually working in Washington, DC. Most often only from Tues afternoon to Thurs afternoon!}

UPDATE: 11-16-2010: I added the underlined part and changed it from 45 days to 15 to limit damage that a lame duck Congress could do...and on.

UPDATE: On Thanksgiving Day, I altered the the length of the sessions to 60 days, as I've come to the conclusion that having a "full-time" legislature, since that gives them far too much time to screw around with the country. Because, by having a full-time, year round legislative assembly, they ten to pass all sorts of crap that isn't necessary and merely becomes a way to spend/waste the people's money on useless and uncessary crap. Additionally, by mandating that a Fall session is to start in August, it would force Congress to actually work harder, as it limits the amount of time an incumbent would be able to actively campaign prior to each election day.

UPDATE:  It was pointed out to me in the comments below, that Section 5 should read "not more than 60 day" instead of "not less than".  My mistake, thanks for pointing it out.  Additionally, I inserted that the Prez may only extend each session once, for a 15 day period.

That was my original idea...though I'm not so sure that limiting the terms is the ideal solution.  The results of the last election would show that incumbents always win.  Though, what I'd rather see is each state redraw ALL their political districts geographically instead of politically.  It would force politicians to actually work harder as they wouldn't have "safe" seats, but would have to run in a far more balanced environment...though areas such as SanFran, CA would still be far, far left leaning. Limiting terms would have the collective effect of strengthening the congressional bureaucracy by making them more important because of simple longevity.  The "I know what I'm doing, Congressman..."attitude...

If you can possibly afford to do so, please hit the tip jar.  I and my wife, are among the millions of Americans who can only find part-time work...and it just doesn't pay the bills.

UPDATE 2:    From the comments, Steve White wrote:

Oh boy! Constitutional amendments! These are always fun, and they're surprisingly hard to write. I offer a few proposals.

My proposal for the 28th Amendment: (limits Kelo)

Private property shall not be taken by the United States, nor by the several states, for the express purpose of transfer to another private party.

My proposal for the 29th Amendment: (limits recess appointments and balances that by limiting filibusters of nominees)

• Section 1. No recess appointment shall be made by the President under section 2 of Article II unless the Congress shall have adjourned for at least thirty days.
• Section 2. When a nomination made by the President under section 2 of Article II, which shall require the advise and consent of the Senate, shall not have been rejected by the Senate within one hundred and twenty days of nomination, such consent shall be considered affirmed.

My proposal for the 30th Amendment: (read the damned bills!)

• Section 1. Each bill considered by the Congress shall be available for public inspection, by usual and ordinary means, for at least five days prior to any final vote of passage in either House.
• Section 2. Each bill passed by the Congress shall be available for public inspection, by usual and ordinary means, for at least five days prior to being signed into law by the President, except when war or national emergency shall require immediate signature.
• Section 3. Each bill passed by the Congress into law shall be limited to a single subject, which shall be expressed in its title.
• Section 4. Each bill passed by the Congress shall identify by name the Representative or Senator responsible as principal sponsor for each provision, appropriation, emolument, or encumbrance within said bill; and no provision, appropriation, emolument, or encumbrance shall be considered law unless so identified.

My proposal for the 31st Amendment: (prevents the courts from meddling in foreign and military affairs, prevents courts from using foreign precedents, and limits the use of the 14th amendment)

• Section 1. The judicial power of the United States shall not extend rights or privileges provided to citizens by this Constitution to foreign enemies of the United States who shall fall under the military jurisdiction of the United States in time of war or military conflict; except as shall be agreed to by the United States under international treaty on the conduct of war
• Section 2. The judicial power of the courts established under Article III of this Constitution shall not be guided by any precedent or opinion by any court or tribunal established outside the United States; unless the United States, by two-thirds affirmative vote of the Senate, shall seek such an opinion.
• Section 3. The fourteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States shall not be construed to provide a benefit or emolument to foreign nationals who are found to be residing illegally within the United States or its territories.

My proposal for the 32nd Amendment: (Congress can't order states to spend money)
Congress shall make no law that requires any State to appropriate funds originating from that state, nor may it require any State to enact a tax upon its own citizens.

Any other good ideas? (cleaned it up and replaced the lined out items in "my" version for clarity)

Support To Repeal OBamaCare @ 60%

The BlogProf has a great post showing how ObamaCare Repeal is gaining steam.  According to a weekly tracking poll, support to repeal is now 60%. 

For the second time this month, 60% of Likely Voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the national health care law, while the number who expect health care costs to increase is at its highest level since August.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 49% Strongly Favor repeal of the plan. Thirty-eight percent (38%) oppose the law’s repeal, including 29% who Strongly Oppose repeal. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

BlogProf has a great history of the tracking poll going back to when it was passed.  Furthermore, the Washington Post will no longer post it's own poll results in the WaPo because...the country wants this horrendous law repealed...and the WaPo is part of Obama's Cheerleading Network. 

• 57% say the law will increase the federal deficit, while only 17% expect the plan to reduce the deficit
• 53% say the quality of health care will decrease under the new law
• 61% believe the law will cause health care costs to go up
• 55% say the law will be bad for the country

 

...and because when it rains it pours...74% of physicians currently practicing medicine and will either retire or turn to working part-time.

H/T InstaPundit

FCC to Regulate The Internet...

Here's an excellent story on just how badly government does things...

In January 1993, idle regulators at the FCC belatedly discover the burgeoning world of online services. Led by CompuServe, MCI Mail, AOL, GEnie, Delphi, and Prodigy, these services have been embraced by the computer-owning public. Users "log on" to communicate via "e-mail" and "chat rooms," make online purchases and reservations, and tap information databases. Their services are "walled gardens" that don't allow the users of one service to visit or use another. The FCC declares that because these private networks use the publically regulated telephone system, they fall under the purview of the Communications Act of 1934. The commission announces forthcoming plans to regulate the services in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity."


The FCC ignores the standalone Internet because nobody but academics, scientists, and some government bodies go there. So do the online services, which don't offer Internet access.

"Regulating the Internet would make as much sense as regulating inter-office mail at Michigan State University," says the FCC chairman. "The online services are the future of cyberspace."


The online companies protest and vow to sue the FCC, but the heavily Democratic Congress moots the suits by passing new legislation giving the commission oversight of the online world.

The FCC immediately determines that the lack of interoperability among the online systems harms consumers and orders that each company submit a technical framework by January 1994 under which all online companies will unify to one shared technology in the near future. The precedent for this are the technical standards that the FCC has been setting for decades for AM and FM, and for television. The online services threaten legal action again, and again Congress passes new legislation authorizing the FCC to do as it wishes. The online companies hustle to submit a technical framework. Microsoft wants in on the game, so it persuades the FCC to extend the framework deadline to July 1995.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, Tim Berners-Lee has invented the first Internet browser—"WorldWideWeb," he calls it. The Internet continues to creep along on campuses as a marginalized academic/scientific network used mostly for e-mail. A college student at the University of Illinois named Marc Andreessen helps write a more sophisticated graphical browser, which is released to little fanfare in 1993. When Andreessen leaves his graduate school program, he can't get a job in his field of computer sciences and takes a position as a night manager at a Taco Bell. He spends his spare time repairing broken Macintoshes.

 READ THE WHOLE THING.  The only things government regulation does is to strangle business.  If the FCC had grabed control of the internet in 1993...the above scenario is very well what could have happened.  It can still happen with the FCC at the helm....

World's Largest Army Assembles Every Year

“I would never invate the United States. There would be a gun behind every blade of grass.” Isoroku Yamamoto, Admiral, Imperial Japanese Navy

Apollo, over at Federalist Paupers makes a very good point.  Every single year, the world's largest army assembles for a few weeks each fall...and peacefully disbands with littler or no casualties. 

The state of Wisconsin has gone an entire deer hunting season without someone getting killed. That’s great. There were over 600,000 hunters.


Allow me to restate that number. Over the last two months, the eighth largest army in the world – more men under arms than Iran; more than France and Germany combined – deployed to the woods of a single American state to help keep the deer menace at bay.

But that pales in comparison to the 750,000 who are in the woods of Pennsylvania this week. Michigan’s 700,000 hunters have now returned home. Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia, and it is literally the case that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

What many in the comments fail to undestand the point the author is making is that if someone was stupid enough to invade the USA the resistence that would spring up from millions of men and women would make that of Afghanistan a pale echo in comparison. Furthermore, I believe his point is that every single year, literally millions of Americans with weapons far more accurate than what the military uses assemble and disperse with very few injuries.

Now, while infantry without apporpriate AT weapons doesn’t stand much of a chance against mechanized forces…snipers, in the numbers that are hinted at would make life nearly impossible for an occupying force. That I think is the point that both the author, and Yamamoto were trying to make.

Related:  The United States buys enough guns in three months to outfit the entire Chinese and Indian armies.

H/T InstaPundit

Pomplamoose & Success!

I found this band a couple of years ago on Youtube...and have been following them ever since.  I was honestly shocked to see them doing a Hunai commercial this Christmas season...so here's there cause...please, if you can afford to do so. Donate today.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas America...



this one is via the blogfather...these are from me...









...and a belated Happy Hanukkah...



Now if only we could have peace on earth and good will toward man...

111th Congress Most Productive Ever: JournoList Alive & Well: Media Talking Points

If there was ever any doubt that JourList (or it's successor) isn't up and running...the current talking points by the MSM that the 111th Congress is the most productive since the Great Society initiative of Johnson in the 1960's should put that to rest.  Pretty much every outlet from NBC to the LATimes is saying this almost verbatim. 



As always, Breibart TV is on top of this...

Is it a coincidence when reporters and anchors all use the exact same words when describing the 111th Congress in such flattering and historic language? From network anchors in New York to local news across the country, where do they all get the same words?

So, the media hasn't stopped pitching the Obama Agenda...but they've forgotten that last month's election was a clear rejection of that agenda by voters.  Nearly all of the key "moderate" Democrats who voted FOR the "Stimulus Package," ObamaCare and Cap & Trade were kicked out of office.  Liberal revisionism is running rampant throughout the media.  Even Mr. Obama has been bitten with the revisionist bug.

Nowhere was that revisionism more evident than in President Obama's comments late Wednesday in lauding the just-ended 111th Congress, and in particular its lame-duck conclusion: "A lot of folks in this town predicted that after the midterm elections, Washington would be headed for more partisanship and more gridlock. And instead, this has been a season of progress for the American people. That progress ... is a reflection of the message that voters sent in November, a message that said it's time to find common ground on challenges facing our country." A few paragraphs later, it became clear that Obama wants us to believe that voters meant for congressional Democrats and Republicans to find that common ground so they can do more of what made the 111th Congress "the most productive two years that we've had in generations.

The 112th Congress' mandate is to rollback all of the "progress" made by the last Congress.  America doesn't want ObamaCare...and unlike claims immediately after it's passage, it hasn't grown more popular with time, was we, in the words of the former Speaker of  the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), "learn what's in it."  As recently as Dec 13, 2010, 56% oppose ObamaCare and want to see it voted down the incoming Congress. 

Rasmussen Reports has a poll out today showing opposition to President Obama's health plan at 56 percent, and support at 41 percent. That's the lowest level of support so far this year.

Those numbers are much higher among the elderly, upon whose backs it will be paid...and by the middle class as they see their insurance rates rise due solely to the mandates within the cumbersome legislation.   The number of exceptions being granted is higher and growing higher with every passing month.  HHS Secretary  has the power to grant companies exemptions to the provisions of this bill, and has already extended more than 100 so far. 

If you still harbor any illusions that ObamaCare is a carefully constructed solution to a complex problem, just open your eyes and look at how many people are winning exemptions from it.

At least 111 waivers have been granted from ObamaCare thus far, covering over a million Americans. A list of approved applications for waivers can be found here. Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin decided to get in touch with a few of these applicants, and received this comment from the financial vice president of the Local 802 Musicians Health Fund in New York: “We got grandfathered in, because things were moving so fast, and we need time now to prepare for the law.” Does that sound like the work of a responsible design team, spending over a trillion of our dollars with the greatest of care?

But this doesn't even count those for regious purposes...Muslims and the Amish...just to name two such groups.  Of  course many Unions are fully exempt from the provisions as well.  Here is a list of unions with more than 140,000 members now exempt from a provision in the health-reform law:

1. Bricklayers Local 1 of MD, VA and DC: 1,985 members
2. International Brotherhood of Trade Unions Health and Welfare Fund - Local 713: 861 members
3. Indiana Teamsters Health Benefits Fund, Local 1102: 500 workers
4. Amalgamated Welfare Fund: 1,384 members
5. Local 1102 Health & Benefit Fund: 4,642 members
6. Local 1102 Welfare Fund-- Lerner Employees: 245 members
7. Local 338 Affiliated Benefit Funds: 18,209 members
8. Operating Engineers Local 835 Health and Welfare Fund: 576 members
9. Texas Carpenters and Millwrights Health and Welfare Fund: 4,729 members
10. United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1445 New Hampshire: 148 members
11. Plumbers and Pipefitters Local No. 630 Welfare Fund: 1,166 members
12. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1000: 3,855 members
13. 1199 SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund: 4,544 members
14. Laundry and Dry Cleaning Workers Local No. 52: 1,547 members
15. Social Service Employees Union Local 371: 34,000 members
16. United Food and Commercial Workers Union (Mount Laurel, NJ): 4,100 members
17. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1459: 1,400 members
18. United Food and Commercial Workers and Participating Employers Interstate Health and Welfare Fund: 9,780 members
19. Laborers' International Union of North America Local Union No. 616 Health and Welfare Plan: 188 members
20. Service Employees Benefit Fund: 1,297 members
21. UFCW Allied Trade Health & Welfare Trust: 68 members
22. United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1995: 2,779 members
23. Asbestos Workers Local 53 Welfare Fund: 2 members
24. Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 123 Welfare Fund: 534 members
25. UFCW Local 227: 1,125 members
26. UFCW Maximus Local 455: 59 members
27. Local 25 SEIU: 31,000 members
28. UFCW Local 1262: 5,390 members
29. Local 802 Musicians Health Fund: 1,801 members
30. Transport Workers: 107 members
31. Service Employees International Union Local 1 Cleveland Welfare Fund: 520 members
32. Teamsters Local 522 Welfare Fund Roofers Division: 270 members
33. Cleveland Bakers Teamsters: 1,000 members
34. DC Cement Masons Welfare Fund: 225 members

Then there's the regulatory over-reach...the FCCs "Net-Neutrality" regulations, that gives the government the power to seize websites they feel are not "neutral."  The EPA's attempts to regulate into existence "Cap & Trade" that never made it out of the House...the list is lengthy, and the country does't want it.

But with the overt tilt of media bias...you'd never notice.  JournoList is alive and well.

UPDATE:  Instalanche!  Thanks, Glenn.  I straigntened up the post...to make sense.   Please feel free to look around and comment freely.

Prescott Square Apartments, Pikesville, Maryland

I live just outside of Baltimore, Maryland in a suburb called Pikesville.  It's nice place to live for the most part.  But the apartment complex I live in mystifies me most of the time.  With record numbers of construction workers out of work.  They only hire contractors who use illegal workers.

First it was the roofing contractor.  They were here for a week.  The only person on the crew working here who spoke ANY english at all was the foreman, and he only spoke broken english.  When I tried to ask them where they were from...they literally fled for the day.  I called/contacted the various agencies in the county before giving up and trying the local corrupt Congresscritter, John Sarbanes (son of the former Senator for Maryland, and "Senator" in waiting when Ben Cardin decides to retire)...nothing happened.

Now, the carpet is being  replaced...and once again, not one of the men doing the work can speak English.  As a cabinetmaker who hasn't worked regularly in two years, this really pisses me off.  I know carpet layers who are out of work, and this contractor is using illegals.  There are carpenters who can't find work, and all the crews I see...doing what little work there is, are illegals...it's well past time that we do something about this. 

I would like to see significant increases in the amounts of fines for employers who hire and use illegal workers.  Additionally, I'd like to see a secure border.  Fortunately, the DREAM Act was voted down, or we'd have a flood of ever more illegals coming north.  But, alas, none of these things will happen as long as unions and their Democratic party enablers see illegal workers as a resource (i.e. potential voters) to be exploited. 

CBS Continues With BDS

When will CBS end it's war with George W. Bush?  Here's the fake cover they showed on a news story recently on a revue of his new book.

Eventually, they're going to have to stop this...but then, they'd have to stop husting for the Obama socialist agenda as well...like that will ever happen.

H/T InstaPundit

UAW

Not content with destroying the the American auto industry, the UAW will launch an attempt to "organize" those "foriegn" companies building cars here.  Of course, the UAW has such a great track record with America's car companies...

a) Two of the three firms we've organized have already gone bankrupt!b) In the process they lost almost 34,000 jobs!
c) "The UAW was first to the table to make concessions and sacrifices that have helped Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group to emerge from the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, [King] said. Those concessions equate to between $7,000 and $30,000 per worker."
d) "The UAW now represents about 120,000 hourly workers at the Detroit 3, down several fold from even a decade ago because of plant closings and buyouts."
e) Unionize and the Obama administration will be on your side.

Of course, so does the Obama adminsitration as well...

via InstaPundit

Obama's News Conference

Here are some of the very difficult questions thrown to Mr. Obama during his news conference yesteday.



Of course, since he's been working so very hard, he's about to jet off to Hawaii for yet another vacation.  This man works less than I do...and I'm only working part time.  I just wish I could get such wonderful vacations on the public dime, just like he does.

But, since he's getting ready to begin fund raising for 2012, he's signaled that his views on homosexual marriage are "evolving."

With respect to the issue of whether gays and lesbians should be able to get married, I’ve spoken about this recently. As I’ve said, my feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this. I have friends, I have people who work for me, who are in powerful, strong, long-lasting gay or lesbian unions. And they are extraordinary people, and this is something that means a lot to them and they care deeply about.


At this point, what I’ve said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples have. And I think -- and I think that’s the right thing to do. But I recognize that from their perspective it is not enough, and I think is something that we’re going to continue to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward.

How's that for being wishy-washy?  Everytime homosexual marriage has gone up on referendum, it's defeated by 70% or more of the vote...just saying...he's "evolving."...right.

If This Is Economic Recovery, Where Are The Jobs?

Major media keeps talking about the recovery...and how the economy is one the road to recovery.  If this is the case...then where are the jobs?  My wife and I have been sending out an average of 50-60 resumes each, each week.  We've long since begun looking for employment outside of the metro-Baltimore/Washington DC area.  Yet, with well over 400 resumes out, collectively, we've only had one phone interview...that has yet to bear any fruit.

Think about that.  Just one phone interview.  We're both educated and have at least 10 years of management experience under our belts with 20 or so years of total industry experience (I have 20 years in restaurants, 10 years in cabinetry, my wife has 24 years in retail and 17 of that in management positions) yet, no-one is hiring.

We'd move just about anywhere, excepting the failed economic states of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Illinois or California...at our own expense, if only we could find work.  But, the Obama Adminstration wants to tell us that "all is well."



However, pretty much all the economic indicators are showing just the opposite...I'm worried, and you should be too.

How To Avoid Road Rage...

Here's how you too can avoid being the victim of road rage:



Personally, I find that would be a very effective method of deterance.

The Star Spangled Banner...

Watch this...

How Government Failure Caused the Great Recession

Here's an excellent explaination on just how government rules and regulations FUBAR'd the economy into near depression. 

By Mark J. Perry and Robert Dell

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Filed under: Government & Politics, Economic Policy

The banking crisis that began in August 2007 shocked markets and precipitated the Great Recession. To fully explain the banking crisis, one must account for its timing, severity, and global impact. One must also confront a startling historical contrast. If we define “banking crisis” to mean bank failures and system losses exceeding 1 percent of a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), we find that in the period 1875-1913, a period of marked expansion in international trade and capital flows comparable to the last three decades, there were only four banking crises worldwide.(1) By contrast, in the period 1978-2009, a period of much more extensive bank regulation, central bank intervention, government protection of depositors and other bank creditors, and government control of mortgage markets, about 140 banking crises occurred worldwide. Of these, 20 were more severe than any crisis from the earlier period of 1875-1913, in terms of total bank losses as a percent of GDP.

Leading financial economists such as Charles Calomiris have argued that a necessary condition for a banking crisis is government policy that distorts the micro-incentives of banks. Likewise, University of Chicago scholar Richard Posner has argued the banks that got into trouble during the recent crisis were simply taking “risks that seemed appropriate in the environment in which they found themselves.”(2)

But then why didn’t a banking crisis erupt sooner—say, in the recession years of 1990-1991 or 2001-2002? What changed in recent years that led to business risk-taking capable of wrecking the U.S. housing market and the U.S. banking system and other banking systems throughout the world? Further, why were prudent credit practices reasonably maintained in credit card and commercial mortgage securitization in recent years, but wholly abandoned in residential mortgage securitization?

Some economists have criticized securitization as an inherently flawed business model, particularly since the process of securitization involves a “long chain” of players with “information asymmetries.” The buyer of the mortgage or security typically knows less than the seller. But many of the financial institutions involved in subprime securitization (e.g., Citigroup) held portions of their own securitizations, and they have for decades been securitizing credit card loans without major debacles. Calomiris has observed that even during the subprime boom, banks aggregating credit card loans for securitization and investors in securitizations closely examined the identity of originators, their historical performance, the composition of portfolios, and changes in composition over time.(3)

Read the whole thing here...


H/T InstaPundit

The Coming Collapse in State Budgets...

Here's a report by 60 Minutes (holy shit! an alphabet news agency reporting something bad about government) on the coming collapse in a number of large state's budgets.



Ed Morrisey, formerly of Captain'sQuarters, now of HotAir.com's take is that,  

The “ride to the rescue” in Porkulus didn’t produce any improvement in behavior. Instead of either facing the music and making cuts in expenditures — especially in reducing bureaucracies — the states used the Porkulus bloc-grant funding to paper over their budget gaps and punt on the hard decisions. The federal government shouldn’t have borrowed money to provide that fig leaf the first time, and they won’t get an opportunity for Round 2 fig-leafism with a GOP House.


That leaves the states on their own to do what they should have done years ago — cut spending and press for pension reform in the public-union contracts. Will the states finally take control of their budgets? If they don’t, prepare for another collapse in the banking sector.

My question is will state and local politicians do what's right and finally reign in spending or will they scream for Uncle Sugar to bail them out like GM/Chrysler and the banks?  I'm betting they think the the Fed's will bail them out.

via InstaPundit

How To Beat A Speeding Ticket

I found this advice in how to beat a speeding ticket on  RestoreTheConstitution

If ticketed:

1. Ask for jury trail and exhibit enthusiasm for being able to participate in jury selection!

2. File for discovery: The tapes, the video, the ticket, the last 100 tickets written by the officer, his credentials, training, testing, qualifications, employment record PLUS those of all officers responding. You’ll need the records of the maintainence logs of the speed guns, plus the manufacturers instructions and training, et. Plus you need ten days possession to examine and test the equipment. They will have to give you most of it.

In about a month you will get a letter dismissing all charges. It’s not about public safety or speeding, it’s purely financial. If you hold up the system they will spit you out.

But first and formost be polite and don't admit any wrong doing. 

Here's a related video...don't talk to the cops!

Goliath Meets the Tea Partier

Without the Tea Party's intervention, this bill would have quietly sailed through both houses of Congress.  Now, with the GOP leaders in the Senate finally understanding that they must pay more than lipservice to the GOP platform of reduced government spending, but they actually have to follow through with it.  With the defeat in the primaries this year of just about every single "annointed" GOP candidate of the national party by upstart Tea Party candidates, the GOP leadership might just begin to understand that We The People won't stand for wasteful spending any more.  It has to stop now.

Don Surber's blog, via InstaPundit

ObamaCare Is Unconstitutional

The recent decision by the Federal District Court in Richmond, VA that declared the individual mandate in ObamaCare as unconstitutional will be the end of ObamaCare.  It's the most important piece of the whole house of cards.  Without it's rule that everyone, regardless of age, financial situation or good health, must purchase health insurance, none of the rest of the "reforms" can stand.  Health insurance companies will not be able to afford to cover everyone, regardless of "pre-existing" conditions without massive increases in insurance costs.

For the first time, the Federal government attempted to mandate the everyone in this country MUST participate, through threat of taxation/fines, in an economic activity under the commerce clause of the US Constitution.  This is clearly outside the scope of the federal government, and this ruling clearly shows that the government's case was badly flawed to begin with.

START Is A Bad Treaty

It's pretty easy to see why Mr. Obama is pushing the new START treaty so hard.  It does to the American nuclear arsenal what his economic policies have done to the American economy.  Pretty much guts it.  Here is exactly WHY it's such a bad treaty:

• It forces the U.S. to reduce its stockpile of nuclear weapons, and makes our existing nuclear arsenal unreliable
• It gravely reduces the ability of the U.S. to defend itself by banning the use of missiles to shoot down incoming missiles
• It compromises our sovereignty by creating a Bilateral Consultative Commission---which could open the U.S. up to more restrictions without Senate approval
• It requires sharing missile defense secrets with Russia---who could then use that intelligence against us, or share it with rogue nations
• It abandons the "trust but verify" monitoring deal with Russia, undermining our ability to know what kind of missiles they are developing and testing
• It forces the U.S. to eliminate as many as 150 delivery vehicles, even though they may be used for transporting conventional weapons, so it harms other military actions---and it allows Russia to ADD more than 130!
• It does nothing to address the danger of nuclear terrorism, ignoring the threats we face from Iran and North Korea

All of these have the cumulative effect of reducing the deterrent capability of our Nuclear arsenal.  While no sane person really has a desire to use these weapons, they do have the ability to deter anyone from using them against us.  By radically reducing our nuclear arsenal, and down-grading that which remains, we, as a nation  become less able to defend ourselves from much smaller nations, such as Iran  which is rapidly building it's own nuclear arsenal.   While they don't have the ability to reach the US directly, Iran can reach most of Europe.  Additionally, they have begun basing missiles in Venezuela that CAN reach the US...no imagine such missiles equipped with nuclear weapons...ones that can reach an arc as far north as Virginia and as far west as Arizona...literally  millions of American lives would be at stake...and with the banning of a missile defense system...those people would be under the power of a country that has set itself at war with the United States since 1979.

 

Urge your Senators to vote against the new START treaty today.  This treaty should be voted on in a hurried manner...not for any reason.  Look what happened when we had to have Congress hurry and vote on ObamaCare...only too late have we seen just what a mess THAT is. Playing with our national defense shouldn't be hurried.  Vote quickly on this treaty is wrong.

Reason TV: The Greates Threat To Free Speech

Here's a great video on the biggest threat to freedom of speech...via InstaPundit.

It's Gonna Snow! (reprise)

Here's a piece that I wrote last year about this time.  Right now out side, it's the first snow fall of the season...and as expected, people are driving batshit crazy...since in Maryland they don't really know how drive in perfect conditions, but when it's less  than perfect...it gets...batshit crazy!

Here in Maryland, at the merest hint of snow, people panic. They rush out to the grocery store and buy 24 rolls of toilet paper, 5 gallons of milk and 10 gallons of water...why? I haven't a clue. If we get flurries, businesses and schools close. Forget driving, you're taking your life into your hands by getting out on the roads. They're aren't the best of driver in perfect weather..."oh leaf blew across the road, must hammer on my brakes!", or my favorite...getting to the top of the freeway on ramp only to see some moron has STOPPED! because "he can't merge into traffic".


This weekend it MIGHT snow, yet the grocery stores are noting an increase in people purchasing staples to weather out the looming blizzard. (we're expecting flurries!) Having grown up in Florida, before I moved back north, I could count on the thumb of one hand the number of times I'd driven in the snow.

That was the year my daughter was born in north Florida, we had a genuine winter storm. It lasted a good 24 hours and arrived on December 23, 1989. Where I lived in Tallahassee, we received six inches of snow. SIX! IN FLORIDA NO LESS! What's even funnier, is where my parents lived, in Panama City on the Gulf Coast, they got eight...I have some great pictures of the rug rat in a too big snow suit lumbering around the front yard...my neighbor, spent most of the day making a snowman. Of course all the kids on the street had their picture taken next to it.

I had a blast that night (at the time I was managing a Dominos Pizza) I made far more money pulling people out of ditches "...oh honey, let's go look at all the pretty liiiights..." (picture airhead saying this). Now , you'd expect that in Florida, but here in Maryland, where is does indeed snow every winter...you get much the same reaction. I was lucky, I lived in Michigan for several years and took the trouble to learn how to drive in snow...my prescription? Find a large empty parking lot and do donuts, etc to learn how my truck acted on slippery pavement. That thought doesn't seem to have occurred to many people here though.

So, living off of a rather busy road, I'm genuinely looking forward to the antics of my neighbors this weekend. It should be highly amusing!

The Great Recession

Here's a small picture of just how the 20 largest (population) states are weathing the Great Recession.

I live in Maryland...and I'm only working part-time as a bartender for a catering company.  Once upon a time, America used to add jobs to the economy...now, because of over regulation and a huge burden of government...very few states are adding jobs.

Dr Strangebarry...

What we'll face once Iran has the bomb...which will happen within the next year.  Thanks for being firm Barry.



But more tellingly, here is what candidate Obama had to say about missile defense (remember he sold out the Poles, Czechs and eastern European allies to Putin for "help" with preventing Iran gaining a nuclear weapon...which they haven't and won't deliver upon) while he was still campaigning.

Now that terrorist, or specifically Al Quieda aquiring a nuclear weapon is more and more likely, we have the NY Times teaching all about what to do in a nuclear blast. 

The advice is based on recent scientific analyses showing that a nuclear attack is much more survivable if you immediately shield yourself from the lethal radiation that follows a blast, a simple tactic seen as saving hundreds of thousands of lives. Even staying in a car, the studies show, would reduce casualties by more than 50 percent; hunkering down in a basement would be better by far.

But a problem for the Obama administration is how to spread the word without seeming alarmist about a subject that few politicians care to consider, let alone discuss. So officials are proceeding gingerly in a campaign to educate the public.

“We have to get past the mental block that says it’s too terrible to think about,” W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said in an interview. “We have to be ready to deal with it” and help people learn how to “best protect themselves."

Officials say they are moving aggressively to conduct drills, prepare communication guides and raise awareness among emergency planners of how to educate the public.

An InstaPundit reader says this...but Glenn has a plethora of links as well...

Regarding your post on government recommendations for nuclear survival:


I am quite impressed to see anyone on the left actually studying and contemplating how best to handle a disaster and how best to release this valuable information.

It wasn’t too many years ago the newly formed Department of Homeland Security under then Secretary Ridge released a memo that stated how best to handle a disaster. That memo had numerous items listed included important things like keeping water and food supplies sufficient for at least 72 hours since that was the earliest you should expect help from the Federal Government.

Unfortunately that memo also included the, very accurate and potentially life saving I might add, information about keeping duct tape and plastic on hand (which online also referenced nuclear fallout I think)

It was pilloried by those on the left and it became the joke of the year. Everyone from Senator Reid to most liberal Congressmen and The Daily Show on down to Letterman and Leno ripped into this recommendation for days if not weeks. Oh they had some fun.

Unfortunately instead of helping to improve and support public safety and responsibility they chose to make political points.

A year and a half later Katrina hit. Hardly anyone in the primarily liberal districts hardest hit had ever heard the first 10 or so items on that list (if I recall it was 15 or so). They certainly didn’t have food or water stocks and how were they to know help would take at least 72 hours! If only the Government had let them know!!! Wait, they did but the left chose politics rather then reinforce the factual information in that memo. Lives could have been saved.

So to see Democrats putting public safety over scoring political points is quite a pleasant (if not a little tardy and a bit hypocritical) surprise.

As the blogfather is want to say...read the whole thing.

Dukakis After Dark: Vintage SNL

Here's a clip from ancient history...1988.



via Ed Driscoll

�CHANGES ARE COMING ----

 The following was sent to me...by a reader.  He didn't write it, but the facts within it are correct...and frightening.

 

Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come

1. The Post Office. Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.
2. The Check. Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with checks by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.�
3. The Newspaper. The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.
4. The Book. You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages. I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.�
5. The Land Line Telephone. Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes�
6. Music. This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalog items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."�
7. Television. Revenues to the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.�
8. The "Things" That You Own. Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider.   In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.�
9. Privacy. If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits. And "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again. All we will have that can't be changed are Memories.�

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

The United States is rapidly becoming the very first "post-industrial" nation on the globe. All great economic empires eventually become fat and lazy and squander the great wealth that their forefathers have left them, but the pace at which America is accomplishing this is absolutely amazing. It was America that was at the forefront of the industrial revolution. It was America that showed the world how to mass produce everything from automobiles to televisions to airplanes. It was the great American manufacturing base that crushed Germany and Japan in World War II.

 

But now we are witnessing the deindustrialization of America . Tens of thousands of factories have left the United States in the past decade alone. Millions upon millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in the same time period. The United States has become a nation that consumes everything in sight and yet produces increasingly little. Do you know what our biggest export is today? Waste paper. Yes, trash is the number one thing that we ship out to the rest of the world as we voraciously blow our money on whatever the rest of the world wants to sell to us. The United States has become bloated and spoiled and our economy is now just a shadow of what it once was. Once upon a time America could literally out produce the rest of the world combined. Today that is no longer true, but Americans sure do consume more than anyone else in the world. If the deindustrialization of America continues at this current pace, what possible kind of a future are we going to be leaving to our children?

 

Any great nation throughout history has been great at making things. So if the United States continues to allow its manufacturing base to erode at a staggering pace how in the world can the U.S. continue to consider itself to be a great nation? We have created the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world in an effort to maintain a very high standard of living, but the current state of affairs is not anywhere close to sustainable. Every single month America goes into more debt and every single month America gets poorer.

 

So what happens when the debt bubble pops?

 

The deindustrialization of the United States should be a top concern for every man, woman and child in the country. But sadly, most Americans do not have any idea what is going on around them.

 

For people like that, take this article and print it out and hand it to them. Perhaps what they will read below will shock them badly enough to awaken them from their slumber.

 

The following are 19 facts about the deindustrialization of America that will blow your mind....

• The United States has lost approximately 42,400 factories since 2001. About 75 percent of those factories employed over 500 people when they were still in operation.
• Dell Inc., one of America's largest manufacturers of computers, has announced plans to dramatically expand its operations in China with an investment of over $100 billion over the next decade.
• Dell has announced that it will be closing its last large U.S. manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem , North Carolina in November. Approximately 900 jobs will be lost.
• In 2008, 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide. So how many of them were manufactured inside the United States ? Zero.
• According to a new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, if the U.S. trade deficit with China continues to increase at its current rate, the U.S. economy will lose over half a million jobs this year alone.
• As of the end of July, the U.S. trade deficit with China had risen 18 percent compared to the same time period a year ago.
• The United States has lost a total of about 5.5 million manufacturing jobs since October 2000.
• According to Tax Notes, between 1999 and 2008 employment at the foreign affiliates of U.S. parent companies increased an astounding 30 percent to 10.1 million. During that exact same time period, U.S. employment at American multinational corporations declined 8 percent to 21.1 million.
• In 1959, manufacturing represented 28 percent of U.S. economic output. In 2008, it represented 11.5 percent.
• Ford Motor Company recently announced the closure of a factory that produces the Ford Ranger in St. Paul , Minnesota . Approximately 750 good paying middle class jobs are going to be lost because making Ford Rangers in Minnesota does not fit in with Ford's new "global" manufacturing strategy.
• As of the end of 2009, less than 12 million Americans worked in manufacturing. The last time less than 12 million Americans were employed in manufacturing was in 1941.
• In the United States today, consumption accounts for 70 percent of GDP. Of this 70 percent, over half is spent on services.
• The United States has lost a whopping 32 percent of its manufacturing jobs since the year 2000.
• In 2001, the United States ranked fourth in the world in per capita broadband Internet use. Today it ranks 15th.
• Manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is actually lower in 2010 than it was in 1975.
• Printed circuit boards are used in tens of thousands of different products. Asia now produces 84 percent of them worldwide.
• The United States spends approximately $3.90 on Chinese goods for every $1 that the Chinese spend on goods from the United States .
• One prominent economist is projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.
• The U.S. Census Bureau says that 43.6 million Americans are now living in poverty and according to them that is the highest number of poor Americans in the 51 years that records have been kept.

So how many tens of thousands more factories do we need to lose before we do something about it?

 

How many millions more Americans are going to become unemployed before we all admit that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands?

 

How many more trillions of dollars are going to leave the country before we realize that we are losing wealth at a pace that is killing our economy?

 

How many once great manufacturing cities are going to become rotting war zones like Detroit before we understand that we are committing national economic suicide?

 

The deindustrialization of America is a national crisis. It needs to be treated like one.

 

America is in deep, deep trouble folks. It is time to wake up

 

Airport Health Care

Senate Earmarks

Here is a list of Senate earmarks.  If your Senator has taken out earmarks please call them and demand that they drop their corrupt practice.

Cochran (R-MS) 230

Wicker (R-MS) 199
Murray (D-WA) 172
Harkin (D-IA) 152
Reid (D-NV) 129
Menendez (D-NJ) 123
Feinstein (D-CA) 121
Lautenberg (D-NJ) 120
Lincoln (D-AR) 114
Inouye (D-HI) 113
Schumer (D-NY) 106
Johnson (D-SD) 105
Landrieu (D-LA) 104
Specter (D-PA) 103
Pryor (D-AR) 96
Levin (D-MI) 93
Stabenow (D-MI) 91
Boxer (D-CA) 90
Brown (D-OH) 87
Grassley (R-IA) 86 -hypocrit signed the anti-earmark pledge
Bingaman (D-NM) 86
Durbin (D-IL) 86
Akaka (D-HI) 83
Wyden (D-OR) 83
Cardin (D-MD) 79 - this one is mine...he's up for reelection in 2012...we'll rememer this you corrupt...
Merkley (D-OR) 79
Gillibrand (D-NY) 79
Bond (R-MO) 78  -  another hypocrit
Bennett (R-UT) 76 -  paying off his supporters...this is why he was voted out.
Casey (D-PA) 76
Udall (D-NM) 73
Reed (D-RI) 70
Kerry (D-MA) 69
Cantwell (D-WA) 69
Hagan (D-NC) 69
Voinovich (R-OH) 68 - retiring corrupt politician
Klobuchar (D-MN) 68
Rockefeller (D-WV) 67
Dodd (D-CT) 66
Mikulski (D-MD) 65 -  my senator, she campaigned as a fiscal conservative who saved US money...right
Tester (D-MT) 65
Lieberman (ID-CT) 64
Hutchison (R-TX) 63 -  she's up for reelection soon...we'll remember this one.
Burr (R-NC) 63 -  The North Carolina Tea Party needs to have a chat wit this one...
Baucus (D-MT) 62
Dorgan (D-ND) 60
Warner (D-VA) 60
Webb (D-VA) 58
Franken (D-MN) 58
Collins (R-ME) 57  - Ms. Collins is up for reelection in 2012, if I'm not mistaken.
Leahy (D-VT) 56
Murkowski (R-AK) 55  - This woman was rejected by her party...but believes she too important...
Whitehouse (D-RI) 55
Kohl (D-WI) 54
Conrad (D-ND) 52
Vitter (R-LA) 48 -  Mr. Vitter, we need to have a chat.
Cornyn (R-TX) 45 - ditto
Snowe (R-ME) 44 - ditto
Nelson (D-FL) 43 - he's up for reelection in 2 years
Chambliss (R-GA) 42
Crapo (R-ID) 41 - hypocrit
Risch (R-ID) 41 -  ditto
Bennet (D-CO) 40
Brownback (R-KS) 39 -  he's not in Kansas any more...and perhaps he should be, permanently
Carper (D-DE) 39
Begich (D-AK) 37
McConnell (R-KY) 35  -  Mr. McConnell is part of the problem and not part of the solution
Roberts (R-KS) 35 - ditto
Sanders (I-VT) 33
Shelby (R-AL) 32 - Addicted to earmarks
Inhofe (R-OK) 32 -  not serious about ending corruption in our political system.
Shaheen (D-NH) 32
Alexander (R-TN) 30  -  Mr. Alexander is another one who isn't part of the solution...and needs to go.
Udall (D-CO) 30
Lugar (R-IN) 29 -  time to retire this one.
Graham (R-SC) 27 -  RINO who needs to have a serious primary challenge in 2012.
Thune (R-SD) 26 -  needs primary challenge.
Isakson (R-GA) 24 - ditto
Nelson (D-NE) 23
Sessions (R-AL) 21 -  ditto
Bunning (R-KY) 21 - ditto
Ensign (R-NV) 20 - ditto
Gregg (R-NH) 13 -  ditto
Barrasso (R-WY) 4 - ditto
Enzi (R-WY) 3 - ditto
Hatch (R-UT) 1 - ditto, though he's going in the right direction....though 1 earmark is 1 too many
Bayh (D-IN) 1 -  ditto
Corker (R-TN) 1 -  ditto
Brown (R-MA) 1 - ditto
McCain (R-AZ) 0 -  these are where the GOP needs to be.  the zero earmark zone
Feingold (D-WI) 0
Kyl (R-AZ) 0
DeMint (R-SC) 0
Coburn (R-OK) 0
McCaskill (D-MO) 0 - though she's now afraid after her Dem colleague was slaughtered at the polls...
Johanns (R-NE) 0
LeMieux (R-FL) 0
Manchin (D-WV) 0 -  he's up for reelection for a full term in 2012...he barely won this time around...
Coons (D-DE) 0 -  he's not had enough time to begin his corruption...
Kirk (R-IL) 0

While the $8 billion dollar price tag of these earmarks is literally a drop in the bucket compared to the $1,200,000,000,000.00 Senate/Congressional Omnibus spending bill, it's not Congress' money they're spending it's our money they are using to pay off corrupt supporters who have bought their votes. That's the issue here. These earmarking Senators are bought and paid for and this is how they pay off their campaign donations by wasting your money on earmarks
These are some of the "pressing issues" our corrupt politicians are wasting our money on...during the most acute recession since the great depression, 70 years ago...Call your senators and congressmen and voice your opinion, they obviously didn't pay attention to last month's election results.


H/T Jamiewearingfool

UPDATE: via Jamie Dupree's Washington Insider, here are links to the earmarks themselves: 

EARMARKS PART 1 - How about a 98 page list of earmarks for Labor & Health programs? http://is.gd/iKI18



EARMARKS PART 2 - Then there is the 90 page list of Transportation & Housing earmarks http://is.gd/iKIgU

EARMARKS PART 3 - There is the short four page list for Military Construction http://is.gd/iKIoq

EARMARKS PART 4 - Here is the 16 page list of earmarks for Interior/Environment programs http://is.gd/iKIt2

EARMARKS PART 5 - Check out the 3 pages of Homeland Security earmarks from FEMA, etc http://is.gd/iKIAQ

EARMARKS PART 6 - And add in the 11 pages of earmarks for Agricultural programs (pdf) http://is.gd/iKIIW

EARMARKS PART 7 - Also the five pages of earmarks in the Financial Services bill (pdf) http://is.gd/iKIRb

EARMARKS PART 8 - And there are 29 pages of earmarks from Commerce/State/Justice programs http://is.gd/iKJ4X

EARMARKS PART 9 - And don't forget the 23 pages of Energy & Water project earmarks http://is.gd/iKJiU

Mr. Dupree comments,

When you take a long look at those earmark numbers, you can see that more Democrats are up on the high end in terms of earmarks, with a lot more Republicans down here on the low end of the scale. The projects include the usual smattering of things that make some lawmakers go nuts, like $300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. "I'm not making it up," said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who again took to the floor on Tuesday to denounce the thousand of earmarks in this bill from both parties."The American people said just 42 days ago, 'Enough!'" said McCain. "Are we tone deaf? Are we stricken with amnesia?"

That there are any Republicans at all is damn near criminal.  Here's what America voted against and these bastards have utterly forgotten the lesson.  It's time to toss all  the rat bastards out.

POLL: DC Elites Hate Palin

Politco.com is reporting on new poll they commissioned that, get this, shows that the so called "DC Elites" don't like Sarah Palin.  Imagine that...the "elites" don't like her because she's not one of them and has the temerity to oppose them and their corrupt practices.  This bullshit is what the Tea Party movement opposes most.  The cliqueishness that is what comprises our nation's capital.  The following paragaphs from the article show just how out of touch Washington "insiders" are with the rest of the country: 

79 percent of Washington elites believe Palin is a “negative influence in national politics” while just 15 percent find her to be “a breath of fresh air.” Outside the nation’s capital, however, more than twice as many believe she has had a positive impact on politics, while 50 percent see her as a negative influence.

“Palin is a populist-oriented phenomenon drawn heavily from lower middle-class voters, but she also deliberately comes off as anti-intellectual and anti-Washington, so it is no surprise she does not play in the Beltway,” said Mark Penn, CEO of the polling firm Penn Schoen Berland, which conducted the survey for POLITICO. “Elites almost everywhere are turned off by her and some of the very things she does that attracts her core support.”

Washington elites’ low opinion of Palin was also clear when those surveyed were asked who is “most likely to win” the Republican nomination in 2012.

Former Massachusetts GOP Gov. Mitt Romney is by far the Washington elites’ prediction, as 30 percent believe he is most likely to win the nomination. Palin is the next closest among Washington elites but trails Romney by 19 percentage points. Following Palin are former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee at 6 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Mississippi GOP Gov. Haley Barbour, both of whom were picked by 5 percent of D.C. elites.

Our ruling elites have chosen Mit Romney and Mike Huckabee (both of whom are RINO's) as the "annointed" GOP front runners.  The main problem is neither is capable of actually winning an election outside of their home states.  Mr. Romney has the huge weight of MassCare (the ObamaCare of Masschusetts that's already $60 billion dollars in the hole)  which is the template for ObamaCare, hanging around his neck.  Mr. Huckabee's track record of governing in Arkansas was well to the left of Bush (43)'s "compassionate conservative" doctrine of big government solutions to his state's problems.  Neither possible candidate can win the GOP nomination, but they've been tapped by our "betters" as the "party's" choice for 2012.

I'm not sure Mrs. Palin can win a general election at the moment, not without a massive makeover, one the MSM will do it's utmost to contrdict, as she's been smeared since she entered the national picture more than 2 years ago.  However, the course she's charted, one  that opposes pretty much everything the current president is doing, polls well with the "great unwashed masses" when her name isn't mentioned.  By the same token, either Romney or Huckabee would be more of the same if they were elected in 2012.  There wouldn't be an appreciable change from "Democrat lite" that Mr. Bush was in his last 2 years of office.

Omnibus Spending Bill

Show to just how tone deaf the Democratic leadership in Congress, they have introduced an Omnibus spending bill the fund the federal government until October of 2011 (Fiscal 2011) that shoots past $1,200,000,000,000.00.  All of which will be funded...by bonds, you've got it, we'll have to BORROW the money!  Included in that bill are 6488 earmarks used as payoffs by corrupt politicians that total $8.3 billion dollars.  While that's basically chump change, it's corrupt chump change in a time we should be looking at fiscal austerity.

This is the bill that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid refused to bring to floor before the election because they feared what the public's reaction would be...as if losing 7 seats in the Senate, and 64 in the House weren't bad enough.  They were afraid that the tsunami would have been worse if the public had been able to peruse this bill before hitting the polling booth.

The $1.2 trillion bill, released on Tuesday, includes more than 6,000 earmarks totaling $8 billion, an amount that many lawmakers decried as an irresponsible binge following a midterm election in which many voters demanded that the government cut spending.
"The American people said just 42 days ago, 'Enough!' . . . Are we tone deaf? Are we stricken with amnesia?" Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading earmark critic, said on the Senate floor, flipping through the 1,924-page bill as he pounded his desk.

The bill includes $18 million for two nonprofits associated with deceased Democrats, the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Rep. John P. Murtha; $349,000 for swine waste management in North Carolina; and $6 million for a rural Iowa school program named after Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

 While Mitch McConnell has agreed to a moritorium on earmarks...

the legislation includes provisions requested this year by McConnell, including $650,000 for a genetic technology center at the University of Kentucky, according to an analysis of the bill by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog.

That's the height of hypocrisy...even for a jaded GOP leadership that no one in this country trusts.  On the plus side, John Boehner did release this: 

"If President Obama is truly serious about ending earmarks, he should oppose Senate Democrats' pork-laden omnibus spending bill and announce he will veto it if necessary. This bill represents exactly what the American people have rejected: more spending, more earmarks, and more big government. Republicans strongly oppose this last-ditch spending spree, a smack in the face to taxpayers at a time when we're borrowing 40 cents of every dollar we spend. Senate Democrats even go so far as to plow more than $1 billion into implementing ObamaCare, despite a growing national revolt against this job-killing health care law. . . .Senate Democrats should stand down so we can get to work on cleaning up Washington's fiscal mess"

The need to stop Washington’s job-killing spending binge may be lost on Senate Democrats, but it will be a top priority for the new Republican majority in the House. We have already banned earmarks and made a pledge to America to end the practice of omnibus bills like this disgrace and cut spending to pre-‘stimulus,’ pre-bailout levels. Instead of making reckless spending decisions in the waning days of the lame-duck session, Senate Democrats should stand down so we can get to work on cleaning up Washington’s fiscal mess.

What the GOP leadership must emphatically remember, the country didn't choose the Republican Party because we like an trust them, they were chosen because "they suck a little bit less" than the Democrats.  Here's some of the pork in the Senate version

• $247,000 - Virus free grapes in Washington State
• $413,000 - Peanut research in Alabama
• $125,000 - Fishery equipment for the Guam Fisherman’s Cooperative Association
• $349,000 - Swine waste management in North Carolina
• $277,000 - Potato pest management in wisconsin
• $246,000 - Bovine tuberculosis treatment in Michigan and Minnesota
• $522,000 - Cranberry and blueberry disease and breeding in New Jersey
• $500,000 - Oyster safety in Florida
• $400,000 - Solar parking canopies and plug-in electric stations in Kansas
• $165,000 - Maple syrup research in Vermont

Here's John McCain on the floor of the Senate, commenting about this bill.

 

 Basically, what it comes down to is this Democratically led Congress is telling America, and the just past election results, a resounding "fuck you."  They obviously haven't been listening, much less paying attention to what We The People want out elected representatives to do.

It's well past time to put an end to "lame duck" sessions, unless there is a pressing national emergency.  It's only been in the past 30 or so years that lame duck sessions have become the norm, and that norm has only been in the past 12 or so years.  Prior to the early 1980's, lame duck sessions were only called when pressing issues needed attention.  This Congress, and it's leadership, has ignored the will of the people long enough.  I believe that they don't think that we will remember what they've done in two years.  I don't think that they are taking the Tea Party movement seriously enough.  2012 is coming, and we WILL remember.

H/T Instapundit as always

UPDATE:  Congressman John Sarbanes answered with this:

Thank you for contacting me about deficits and the national debt. The national debt is a serious problem that requires our attention; I agree that we must act decisively to right our present fiscal course.

The irresponsible fiscal policies of the last decade left our nation on precarious fiscal footing as we slid into the worst recession in a generation. The impact of these policies cannot be reversed immediately and, without sustained economic growth, draconian spending cuts and tax increases will be required. That is why there has been general consensus among economists and policy experts that in the near term, as a response to the recession, targeted tax cuts and government spending are a desirable form of economic stimulus. Although balanced budgets must be an essential piece of any long-term economic strategy, the responsible use of short-term stimulus provides a much-needed "shot in the arm" for our struggling economy.

As the economy returns to sustainable growth, and once we have pushed closer to full employment, we must take a serious look at all elements of spending and tax revenue in order to return to fiscal responsibility. Last year, we made progress by enacting a statutory Pay-As-You-Go law to ensure that non-emergency spending or tax cuts are fully paid for elsewhere in budget. Pay-Go was applied during the 1990s and, along with strong economic growth, helped us achieve the budget surpluses of that decade. But the law was allowed to expire in 2002. I am also encouraged by the President's decision to create a national commission to make independent recommendations to the Congress about policies to get our fiscal house in order. The Commission's recommendations include tough choices about entitlements, tax revenue, and discretionary spending. Although I do not agree with every aspect of this proposal, these recommendations serve as a starting point as we begin to debate a comprehensive deficit-reduction package in the coming months. Make no mistake, enacting measures that will truly improve our fiscal condition will require shared sacrifice and real tradeoffs between government services and tax policy. I will come to this debate with the perspective that our budget policies should reflect our nation's values— ensuring opportunity and strengthening communities, promoting private enterprise and innovation, and sharing the costs of government equitably. I look forward to your continued input on this issue and I will keep your views in mind when the Congress considers relevant measures.

Again, I appreciate hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me about other issues of concern to you in the future.

Sincerely,

John Sarbanes
Member of Congress

and I...being an angry Tea Partier answered him thusly: 
message dated 12/15/2010 6:01:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, md03ima@mail.house.gov writes:

"The irresponsible fiscal policies of the last decade left our nation on precarious fiscal footing as we slid into the worst recession in a generation. The impact of these policies cannot be reversed immediately and, without sustained economic growth, draconian spending cuts and tax increases will be required."

But when Nancy Pelosi took up the Speaker's gavel in 2006, she said she would be a good steward of "The Peoples" money...yet on her watch, and yours, you have added 1/3 to the national debt, with over $4 trillion dollars added in the past 23 months. How can you justify wasted 1 trillion on 'stimulus' that was now acknowledged by the White House to be an abject failure? How can you justify a two year average deficit of $1.4 trillion dollars per year? Answer that, without political wishy washyness and explain in simple language how...

Richard A. Vail
Pikesville, MD 21208
ravail136@aol.com
http://thevailspot.blogspot.com/

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.--Thomas Jefferson

 

It's time to find a candidate who can oppose this sort of political corruption and do so while not being "captured" by the corrupt Washinton DC system.