Posts Tagged ‘Congress’

FoxNews.com is reporting that a Senate panel investing the increasing threat of domestic terrorism, not from “ring-wing extremists,” but from homegrown jihadists, warned of a Fort Hood type scenario years ago.

More than a year before the massacre at Fort Hood, a Senate panel conducting an extensive investigation into the threat of homegrown terrorism warned that “radicalization” had spread beyond Afghanistan training camps to the United States and that lone wolves fueled by Internet propaganda would present a growing threat.The Senate committee report warned that the Internet was serving as a “virtual terrorist training camp,” and cited that as a contributing factor in the United States becoming more and more susceptible to homegrown extremists.

Though the report said that the lack of a “sympathetic audience” and presence of an integrated Muslim community historically has made homegrown terrorism less likely in the United States, it cited recent homegrown plots — like a foiled plot against Fort Dix, N.J. — as an “early warning” that the trend is reversing.

The “sympathetic audience” is now the political establishment and the mainstream media. More and more information is being released about the events leading up to the Fort Hood shootings, and the some of the media is suggesting the Major Hasan just snapped, still asking if this was preplanned, still trading carefully on the “terror” word.

“Radicalization is no longer confined to training camps in Afghanistan or other locations far from our shores; it is also occurring right here in the United States,” the report stated.

Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, said Hasan — particularly as a member of the U.S. military — would have made an “attractive candidate” for radicals overseas. If he was influenced by such elements, Baker said, Hasan would be more than just an “unhinged fellow” accused of going on a shooting rampage.

If so, the attack certainly did not follow the Sept. 11 model, where hijackers were recruited from overseas in the Middle East. As the 2008 report detailed, “the violent Islamist threat to the homeland has evolved and expanded.”

Imagine that, the enemy is changing tactics, and somehow we can’t. Jihadists can apparently only be Middle Easterners who hijack planes or blow up things in the war zone; they can’t be American, they can’t act alone, they have to fit the mold, otherwise we’re just stereotyping. Here’s a thought, read the evidence!

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News that it appears the “red flags” surrounding Hasan should have prompted an investigation.

“Certainly it’s worrisome if red flags were ignored, if behavior issues were not targeted for further review,” Collins said Tuesday. “This is something we have to have a no-holds-barred investigation of.”

“Everybody says this is going to create a lot of jobs. We feel strongly that it’s going to be in the three to four million range.”

Those were Christina Romer’s (Obama’s top economic advisor) words nine months ago in a February press conference, touting the $789 billion White House stimulus package. So where do we stand now? According to the Labor Department’s number this morning, that “the three to four million range” is actually how many jobs eliminated.

But these numbers are based strictly on unemployment claims, and are a little misleading. There millions of Americans who’s unemployment compensation has, and millions more who have settled for a part-time job.  So, in reality, the number of jobs eliminated is more like 14.5 million jobs gone or 17.5 percent.

How’s the $789 million working for you?

Well here we go. Apparently, the management of TWA, Delta, and other airlines who already have bans on laptops and other electronic devices in the cockpit can’t properly enforce their own policy; so Congress, America’s police force, is considering making it against the law. Yes folks, the two Northwest pilots who are now out of work and unlicensed would also be criminals if the legislation goes through.

In response to that incident, members of the Senate and House are actively considering legislation which would make it illegal for pilots to have any consumer electronics device in active use while they are flying a commercial plane. In a statement, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee, told the press: “We now understand from this flight at least that this can happen and there ought to be a more clear understanding by everyone in the cockpit that there is a national standard that would prohibit this and that they need to take it seriously.”

I wasn’t aware this was such a national catastrophe; they overshot the runway by 150 miles, they turned around, no one got hurt, right? Did I miss something?

But, like steroids in baseball, the college football playoff system, executive pay, and many more private business issues, Congress thinks we’re all morons and can’t manage ourselves without them. I guess next Congress will debate banning large backyard balloons.

From DailyFinance

Today on the House floor, Minority Leader Boehner said the GOP has it’s own health care reform bill. It’s about freaking time.

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, the American people have said that the number one thing they’re concerned about with regard to health care is the cost of health care.  And the Speaker’s 1,990-page government takeover of health care, raises the cost of insurance for America’s families and it will add to our already exploding debt.   The cost of the Speaker’s bill is now at $1.3 trillion and counting.  It’s a debt that’s going to be paid for by our kids and our grandkids.  And to make matters worse, it will increase taxes, impose job-killing mandates and cut seniors’ Medicare benefits.  There’s a better way.

Republicans have outlined a plan to lower costs and expand access at a price our nation can afford.  This includes letting families buy health insurance across state lines, allowing small businesses to pool together and offer health insurance to their employees at much lower costs, just like big businesses and unions can today, giving states the tools to create innovative reforms that lower costs and ending junk lawsuits that contribute to high health care costs.  Given all that’s at stake, the American people deserve to see the Republicans’ smart, fiscally responsible plans debated here on the House floor side-by-side with the Speaker’s 1,990-page bill.   And I hope we will see that debate and a vote as soon as possible.

Buying across state lines, small business pooling, tort reform… brilliant. I wonder why it only took them ten months to write down the ideas of every conservative pundit in America.

Conservatives have a problem, and the NY-23 congressional race is only making it worse. Don’t get me wrong, I am pulling for Doug Hoffman, and if I lived in the district I’d certainly vote for him. But, there is the dilemma – stick with the GOP or go third party. The Republican Party has moved to the left, and conservatives are understandably feeling abandoned, after all there hasn’t been a real conservative candidate in over 20 years.

We must be careful though, we’ve been down this road before.

Remember, we all thought Bush 41 was going to be alright; he’d been the Gipper’s VP for eight years. But, that “no new taxes” campaign promise… I can still see those Saturday Night Live skits; Dana Carvey’s spot on, “it wouldn’t be prudent.” It was because of that broken promise many of us voted for Perot in 1992; good or bad, had we all stuck with 41, he’d have served a second term.

Here’s the problem, the Democrats own their base. The Republicans have sold theirs out. If you’re a liberal, you’re a Democrat; if you’re a socialist or a statist, you’re a Democrat. If you’re pro-choice, pro-union, pro-gun control, you’re a Democrat. If you’re a conservative, you might be a Republican, or a Libertarian, maybe Conservative Party member, or the American Conservative Party, or perhaps you’re a Constitutionist, or maybe you’re none of the above.

I know there are exceptions to the rule, Joe Liberman, Zell Miller, etc. The point is the Democrat Party has moved toward its money base, and the Republican Party has moved away from its. And yes, unfortunately, it is about the money.

You can say it’s about principal and not party, and to a certain degree, you’re right. But, at some point you have to look at party affiliation, it does serve its purpose. Without party affiliation there is no majority; without a majority there are no committee chairmanships; without committee chairmanships there is no agenda. If conservative groups write off the GOP, they must either find a way to band together into one major affiliation or risk remaining in the minority for another 40 years.

But then again perhaps the NY-23 election is a warning shot across the bow that turns the GOP ship around. I guess only time will tell.

In a 1775 letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote, “A constitution of government once changed from freedom can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.” How right he was.

Of Thee I Sing has posted a great article on the current statist crossroads where we sit, well worth the read.

Today, a new paradigm for America is being imposed upon us. New for America, but old, tattered and largely discarded where it has been imposed by repressive regimes elsewhere. Its basic premise is that everyone will produce and contribute to society to their full ability and will accept as the fruit of their labor only the earnings the government allows them to retain. It is, essentially, a redistributive philosophy of governance, whereby the government decides what you can keep of what you earn. Of course, one could argue, correctly, that a progressive income tax, which Americans have long accepted, does exactly that. But in America, when citizens acquiesce to such progressive forms of taxation they do so with the unwritten understanding that government will be responsible in limiting its appetite for funding, and will observe the powers reserved to the states and the people under the Constitution.

When government overreaches and establishes programs that require a modern form of tax farming that makes an art of taxing everything that national, state and local governments think they can get away with in order to impose state mandates to replace the free choice of its citizens, the people get restive and angry. And that state of mind leads them inevitably to use the one weapon that has always been available to them to curb government gluttony…the ballot box. Sadly, by that time, any damage done by this Congress will already be the law of the land.

Okay, I know I’m a day late on this, but so is Bloomberg; besides, Sunday is my family day. I have a wife and kids that need and deserve some Daddy time.

So, I read this this morning and literally laughed out loud. How is it that everyone except the establishment republicans saw this coming. Oh wait, I answered my own question.

Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) — Former Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava endorsed the Democratic contender for a vacant New York congressional seat over a Conservative backed by Republican leaders one day after she withdrew from the race.

Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman, yesterday announced she is supporting Democrat Bill Owens in his race against Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, in a Nov. 3 special election in New York’s traditionally Republican 23rd congressional district.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Scozzafava’s endorsement of Owens on its Web site. She didn’t return a message left at her campaign office, and her home voice mailbox was full. She appeared yesterday at a campaign event with Owens in Canton, New York, according to Jon Boughtin, an Owens spokesman.

So let’s recap, she gets the republican nod, campaigns on the GOP ticket, continually tries to explain how “she’s really a republican,” starts to fall behind, quits, then supports the Democrat, and now she’s not available for comment. Imagine that.

Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of the Washington-based Rothenberg Political Report, said in an interview that until Scozzafava suspended her campaign, there were “basically two Republicans in this race.”

“This significantly enhances the Republicans’ chances of holding the seat, but now with Hoffman,” Rothenberg said. “While everything I’ve seen leads me to believe Hoffman has the edge, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk.”

Scozzafava was closer to Democrats than Republicans on some issues, he said. Republican leaders in New York erred in selecting her to run for the seat because she wasn’t broadly acceptable to “the base” of Republican voters, said Rothenberg.

She wasn’t accepted, because she’s a LIBERAL. Even now, people are not understanding why grassroots organizations had a conniption. Conservatives have been without true representation for over 20 years.

White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said yesterday, “It’s rather telling when the Republican Party forces out a moderate Republican.” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” she said the party is “becoming more and more extreme and more and more marginalized.”

With all do respect Ms. Jarrett, you’re an idiot. First of all, Republicans didn’t “force out a moderate,” they flooded her with money. Voters selected someone they liked better, and like a spoiled six-year old Scozzafava quit because she was losing; she picked up her marbles, and went home. And also, the “party” is not”becoming more and more marginalized,” and that’s the problem. Voters can’t see a difference in the two power parties, and that’s why the “extreme” candidate is winning.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele endorsed Hoffman and said the party will offer him financial backing. Hoffman “shares Republican principles and will serve the interests of his constituents in Congress,” Steele said in a statement.

It must difficult to see through all that egg on your face.

In an effort to make government-run health care more appealing to those against it, the left is trying to change the name. Yesterday, Miss America (Nancy Pelosi) referred to the public option as the “consumer option,” and her colleague Debbie Wasserman Schultz called it the “competitive option.” Both suggesting the new moniker might help trick, err- suffice any doubters “among the public, consumers, or competitors.”

from the AP

“You’ll hear everyone say, ‘There’s got to be a better name for this,’” Pelosi said. “When people think of the public option, public is being misrepresented, that this is being paid for with their public dollars.”

I thought all government dollars were our public dollars? Oh, my mistake I forgot all dollars are really Congressional dollars.

As for having the votes to pass such a measure, both women said a public option would survive. They wouldn’t get into numbers of congressional supporters, but said it was simply a matter of picking which type of public option to pursue.

With all due respect, Madam Speaker, I have a suggestion; how about the failed option? No?  Give it three or four years, that name might grow on you.

I haven’t talked about this, because, frankly, I never felt there was much I could do about it, and there still probably isn’t, but this is about more than the 23rd NY congressional district. It’s about principal, it’s about freedom, and it’s about “We the People.”

Here’s a quick rundown. Back in June, Obama appointed John McHugh to Secretary of the Army. With that appointment, McHugh’s was up to a special election on 3 Nov, a week from tomorrow. New York state GOP nominated Dede Scozzafava, a liberal republican state assemblywomen to run on the GOP ticket. Grass roots conservatives had a cow. Here’s why, Scozzofava is a tax and spend, pro-union, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and basically pro-Democrat liberal.

Now, back to my point. Why is it that Michelle Malkin, Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin, Steve Forbes, Dick Armey, Mark Levin, and other conservative activists have lent support to NY-23 candidate Doug Hoffman? Perhaps because he’s conservative! He supports the 2nd amendment, he’s pro-life, supports the marriage amendment, smaller government and lower taxes – hmmm, sounds like he has the right ideas. But, Newt Gingrich and a few other brainwashed establishment republicans have a problem with Hoffman, because he’s third partier. Politico is reporting Newt was caught telling tea party organizer Lisa Miller “a vote for Hoffman would be a ‘mistake.’”

“I just think it is a mistake for the conservative movement to think splitting in the special election is a smart idea,” Gingrich said. “If we give that seat to the Democrats, shame on us.”

With all do respect Mr. Speaker, did you look at Scozzafava’s record, her whole record? What would a vote for her would be giving up?

Asked why he chose to back Scozzafava, who supports abortion rights, same sex marriage and has ties with local labor leaders, Gingrich responded, “Let’s just start with she is the nominee of the local party. My bias is to be for the nominee of the local party, and I don’t second guess the local party.”

Perhaps you should second guess the local party when it nominates a candidate who doesn’t fall in line with the party platform. Some have said the GOP is the open party, the tent party, the party that allows all candidates, the party that support all opinions, the party that positions itself for all Americans. Well, some may be right; perhaps it is the tent party, the all inclusive party, and because, it’s now the MINORITY party. It’s not about party Mr. Speaker, it’s about principals.

Gingrich also argued that Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman, stands a better chance of winning the seat over Hoffman, who is trailing in public polls.

“In the last poll that came out yesterday, she is well ahead,” he said. “And she is much more likely to beat the Democrat than Hoffman because Hoffman doesn’t live in the district.”

“He’s never won an election in the district,” Gingrich said of Hoffman, “[Scozzafava] represents the biggest county in the district. She actually knows the local issues, and Hoffman has says publicly he doesn’t know the local issues.”

Oh, I didn’t realize he was behind in the polls;  there is certainly no way he can win now. Does the name Virginia Shapard ring a bell, Newt? Oh, and he doesn’t know the local issues; by that don’t you mean he doesn’t know the pork? Isn’t this a national seat?

Mr Speaker, an old buddy of mine once gave me an analogy about a pan of brownies. He asked if a wanted a pan of brownies. Sure, why not, right? Well, what about if I swapped out a few chocolate chips, for something else – let’s say a byproduct of Alpo. They still look like brownies, probably smell like brownies. But, in reality, they’re full of crap. Well, apologies Mr. Speaker, but the grassroots conservative movement has a pretty good nose, and you sir, the NY GOP are peddling brownie, and them ain’t chocolate chips.

See the YouTube video here.

The rule of law is the very fabric of a free and civil society. Lev Rex is Latin for “law is king” and represents a fundamental principle upon which the American experiment rests. Central to our consideration is the stability conferred to the general public by the rule of law. For it is the absence of arbitrary law that enables individuals to make rational decisions regarding their futures and fortunes. Lex Rex is the sure foundation upon which a free and civil society can be and has been built.

But reverse the order, make “king is law” the rule and what results is the personification of arbitrariness!  If the ruler makes, rather than follows and enforces the law, then freedom and civility are destroyed. The random, unsure nature of this type system provides no certain principles upon which to base rational decisions. This presents businesses with incalculable risks, discourages investment and job creation. (Not to mention the deleterious effects of the rulers now being the focus of business rather than the customer.) Clearly, the common man benefits under the rule of law.

Now, for the really uncomfortable part.

President Barack Hussein Obama has appointed dozens of so called “czars” accountable only to himself. Neither the voters nor their elected representatives have had any voice in their selection, confirmation or, indeed, in whether the positions even ought to exist! This is the act of a Sovereign, a King and not a president. A president’s job is to act as chief protector of the citizen’s freedom by enforcing the particulars laid down in the constitution of the U.S.A.

F. A Hayek in his classic “The Road To Serfdom” describes how a free democratic people become enslaved. First a “crises” is seized upon to make political capitol. Then come the inevitable debates resulting in political stalemate. Finally a leader emerges promising to “change” the state of affairs if given enough power (temporarily, of course.) Authority is gradually concentrated until all opposition is squelched. The fact that this sounds like today’s headlines should be cause for alarm and action!

What can possibly result from appointing czars but an administration and governance reflective wholly of the president’s personal will? Where are the representatives of the people? The congress is being marginalized and the will of the citizen is becoming less and less relevant.

There is no easy or politically correct way to state it so I’ll just be blunt. Our free and civil society cannot survive the consolidation of power now taking place under Barack Hussein Obama. This situation represents nothing short of Rex Lex. The king is law. Only America doesn’t have a king…or do we?