Welcome To Waffle House

In perhaps the clearest indication that Marco Rubio is running for President in 2016, he has recently sent a letter to President Obama explaining why the border need be secured before new measures are discussed to provide a pathway to citizenship.

Is this the same Rubio who was championing comprehensive immigration reform...last year?  You know before walking away from it.

Look, I get it.  Signing onto a bill with Chuck Shumer because the Chamber of Commerce or someone told you to is easy to do.  They throw easy smiles, warm hand shakes, and the promises of lots of campaign cash for future...aspirations.  However, you may want to dial 804 real quick and check in with Eric Cantor because being unsure about immigration reform is perhaps more deadly than being pro-immigration.

Instead of having a principled approach that says "immigrants have always been a part of our country and I have no problem with that" you appear to have a nasty political disease called poll-itis.  I realize that for many in the Republican Party immigration is a hard issue.  I understand that allowing in millions more workers will dampen wages for the same working class that should be in our camp, but historically this really isn't any different than times before.

We had immigrants with crazy religious ideas who thankfully mostly settled in Pennsylvania.  You know...the Quakers.  We had thugs of all kinds come over from Ireland and Italy and if this offends you take a look at your own history and the crime we brought over.  It is what it is and like now, all the new folks...dampened wages for those who were already here.

I am not nearly as scared of immigration as some of my colleagues are.  After all, Jesus was an illegal immigrant, running from the persecution of King Herod.  Was he as bad as the folks crossing the Texas border?  Was he any different?  I know, I know...now the Evangelical Christians will be mad too, but I will find solace in Bishop Olsen's commentary on the immigration question.

However, regardless of my personal opinion on the issue, one thing I know is that serving up policy at the waffle house of believing this, that, or the other thing based on the poll of the day is a turn off with both regular and primary voters.  It is not leadership.  It isn't Presidential.

If Senator Rubio is serious about being the Savior of the Republican Party that Time magazine declares him to be he might want to figure out issues before polling and/or move the polls in the direction he leads on, rather than holding his finger to the wind.

Rick Perry: Forgetful Or Felon?

I am not sure even where to go with this, but I do have to ask, how far has the Republican Party fallen that an indicted sitting Governor of Texas can run for President with any credibility.

As the video notes the mugshot was a "smirking sitting Governor of Texas."  While I get the legal strategy of smiling for the camera so you can now sell campaign t-shirts I am disappointed he takes these charges so cavalierly.

Again, as Stewart's clip notes this isn't a political hit job except that it was a Republican judge who appointed the Republican special prosecutor.  That's right.  The special prosecutor in this case is Michael McCrum was appointed Assistant US Attorney by George H.W. Bush.  In every situation related to this case I can find, Democrats have recused themselves from the case.

I am not a lawyer and to date have not played one on TV or in the movies, but this is the same Governor who couldn't even remember which agencies he wanted to eliminate in a debate a few years ago.  Rick Perry likes to talk about Texas being open for jobs, but he fails to mention the repeated implication of crony capitalism that stains his administration again and again.

This might be an interesting case to see go forward as Mr. Perry always shoos away questions about Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas.  We also get to find out if Mr. Stewart is right.  Is Rick Perry re-branding and going from "forgetful doof to felon."  In the meantime, the Republican Party needs to admit we have better options than this guy or we are all losers.

Are You Ready For Some Obamacare?

As the NFL season gets ready to descend upon us, I can almost hear the yelp of "Are you ready for some football?"  Unfortunately for the White House and Democrats on the campaign trail though, they should be worried about Obamacare and based on their silence on the issue I am guessing they are.  So are you ready for Obamacare...because it is about to get fun?

(1) You realize that premiums, which have already started going north, are headed for big bumps in 2015.  You get to see them come September 1 when open enrollments begin for folks.  Part of the original political plan to re-elect the President in 2012 was to have all the Obamacare goodies show up early and delay the pain, but the pain starts this year and keeps getting good through 2018 when Cadillac healthcare plans start getting taxed.  Hard.

According to Price-Waterhouse-Coopers, Arkansas, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are all on pace for premium increases between ten and fifteen percent.  Louisiana may be on pace for twenty percent hikes.  I am guessing these will not be good tidings for US Senate candidates in Arkansas, Iowa, or North Carolina.

Premiums will likely go up even further given many of the participants who signed up for coverage, are not paying for it.  The system does not work when healthy young people do not sign up and pay for their coverage.  Maybe they are figuring out that Mr. Obama sold the proverbial pipe dream.

(2) From a practical perspective, not that Mr. Obama is Mr. Practical, he just doesn't get it.  Mr. Obama likes to blame President Bush for a number of issues, but does nothing to correct them.  The economy was bad when Obama was first inaugurated, but he has had the opportunity to correct that.  Instead he has gone out of his way with legislation like Obamacare to discourage employers from employing people.  If you want an improving economy, you do that by helping people get jobs that match their skill set, not by raising the cost of job creation which is exactly what Obamacare does.


(3)  Obamacare supporters keep crying every time a court strikes down requirements that do not allow conscience objections when people who do not want to pay for abortion are forced to...there seems to be no connection between the idea that if you want me out of your body, don't ask me to pay for your body.

In the meantime, Mr. Obama and Company have shown that they have zero understanding that we elected him President, not Emperor, and because of that have zero interest in paying for others' abortions, limiting the size of our sodas, or his wife's inability to allow school bake sales.  Obamacare is one more example of an administration run amok gleeful with its own happy juice of how great they are.

(4) The constitutional law professor we elected should be in for an interesting Supreme Court term, if not this year, then next, as the question of state exchanges gets worked out.  The fact is you had to pass the bill to see what was in it as then Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously quipped.  Unfortunately, the bill was passed and then created by a group of teenagers apparently who either did not understand combinations of equal protection laws, the implications to the tax code, or how healthcare really works.

(5) Finally, returning to Mr. Obama's practicality issue - he missed the boat on keeping your doctor.  You will remember his famous promise that if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.  Meanwhile, because of Obamacare regulations, networks have not gotten bigger, but smaller.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the only participant in the marketplace gutted ten of the state's twenty-six hospitals from its coverage.  Two in five of you are probably out of luck when it comes to local care if you live in New Hampshire.

So as football season starts, so does the political football season.  This one should be pretty rough and tumble, but on this one, the Xs and Os were designed by the President so while we as a nation lose it is because of the game plan designed by the coach.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield

hat ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dpuf

at ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dpuf, N

at ever happened to Obamacare -- the unpopular healthcare bill that was to be the Republicans big weapon as they battled for control of the Senate this fall?   For sure, the Affordable Care Act has been pushed to the sidelines by the chaos in Iraq, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the surge in Central American minors across our border, the Veterans Administration scandal, the pestilential virus rampaging across the computers of the federal government, and so much more…
Now, the GOP should circle back. There are nine Senate seats described as “toss-ups” by Real Clear Politics, and Obamacare could move the needle in some of those races. The ACA is still a political stink bomb, with Kaiser Family Foundation polling showing only 37 percent of the country views the law favorably – one of its lowest ratings since it passed in 2010.  Some 53 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the ACA - up a shocking 8 points since June.
Related: Insurers Say Obama’s ‘Fix’ Is Driving Up Premiums
Democrats understandably have neglected to highlight Obamacare on their campaign sites. Instead, for example, North Carolina’s Kay Hagan implores visitors to “Take a Stand Against the Koch Brothers,” which must confuse the uninitiated. Bruce Braley, running in Iowa, focuses on veterans’ issues and the farm bill. Nary a word on Mr. Obama’s legacy issue.

IG: Obamacare’s Medical Device Tax Not Bringing In...

According to a federal report issued Tuesday, Obamacare’s controversial medical device tax isn’t bringing in nearly as much cash as expected. The Treasury inspector general for tax administration found that the...

Several GOP campaign sites go light on Obamacare too. Thom Tillis in North Carolina broadcasts Kay Hagan’s close ties to President Obama, while David Perdue in Georgia emphasizes his business background. Joni Ernst, running neck in neck for the Iowa seat, brags on her front page, “I grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm, so in Washington I’ll know how to cut pork.” Some local color.
Other Republicans are following the expected playbook. Scott Brown, campaigning for the New Hampshire seat held by Jeanne Shaheen, goes all in against Obamacare. Ditto Republican Cory Gardner, running an uphill battle against Mark Udall in Colorado, who notes that 335,000 Coloradans lost their policies because of the ACA.
Bill Cassidy, with a light lead against Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, charges that Obamacare is causing that state’s premiums to rise. But Cassidy lists it fifth of five issues, after amnesty, purportedly “illegal” travel expenditures and other missteps by the incumbent.
While local issues vary, Republicans should double down, and remind voters how much they dislike the ACA. Why?
Related: So Far, Obamacare’s Hospital Reform Isn’t Working
1. Big premium hikes are slated for 2015. Because the country erupted in outrage over the millions of policies cancelled under Obamacare, which made a lie of the president’s vow, “If you like your insurance you can keep it,” the White House reversed course and allowed people to maintain existing coverage. As a result, the Obamacare exchanges were starved of the healthier people needed to pay for the sick and poor previously without insurance. Insurers are now planning to raise premiums.
According to PwC Health Research Institute, the average premium increase request for 2105 in North Carolina is 10.8 percent; in Iowa the hike is 11.5 percent. Many in Louisiana are looking at almost a 20 percent increase, and in Arkansas nearly 12 percent. That’s big, unpleasant news for Democrats.
2. Critics claim the Obama administration is fudging the ACA enrollment numbers. The White House trumpeted that 8 million Americans had signed up for Obamacare, but that total has been shrinking. Aetna, one of the program’s biggest players, reports that of their 720,000 enrollees, only about 600,000 are paying for their coverage, a number they expect will drop to about 500,000 by year-end. Other insurers indicate fall-off as well.
3. People are angry about the narrower choices of doctors and hospitals available to them.  In New Hampshire, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield was the sole insurer participating in the marketplace; it eliminated 10 of the state’s 26 hospitals from its network. According to Politico, such is the uproar about shrinking choices that “since the beginning of 2013, more than 70 bills have been introduced in 22 states to clarify the network rules, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.” In California, more than one group has sued Anthem Blue Cross, charging that the insurer misrepresented the scope of its doctor network.
Related: Up to 300,000 Could Lose Obamacare on Federal Exchange
4. The ACA was constructed incompetently. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled illegal the federal subsidies paid to Obamacare enrollees in states that have not set up their own exchanges -- a stark reminder of how badly the healthcare bill was implemented. This and other unintended consequences are excellent arguments for significantly overhauling the ACA – an undertaking that might be possible under a Republican Senate but that has little or no hope otherwise.
5. Obamacare highlights the president’s imperial tendencies. Mr. Obama has single-handedly changed the ACA some 24 times, delaying important provisions such as the employer and individual mandates. The president has rigged the rollout of the ACA to political advantage, putting off the most painful aspects of the bill and front-loading the goodies. Republicans should remind voters we have yet to encounter, for instance, the 40 percent Cadillac tax, which has been pushed back until 2018, but which is expected to raise as much as $214 billion by 2023.
6. Obamacare undermines job creation. The ACA has been the most important of a number of White House policies that have discouraged job creation at a time when the country is struggling to put people back to work. At last tally, there were 92 million adult Americans who are not working (like stay-at-home moms), are unemployed, retired or disabled. The workforce participation rate is at a decades-long low. This is unsustainable, and Obamacare is not helping. Companies have limited their hiring and also the number of hours their employers work because of the bill and have faced increased uncertainty. Meanwhile, because of the ACA, Americans no longer need to work to get health benefits – maybe a good thing for individuals, but not for a country whose safety net must be funded by an ever-greater workforce.
In short, there’s still meat on the bones of the Obamacare carcass; Republicans running for office should get out their knives and forks.
- See more at: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/08/20/6-Reasons-Obamacare-Can-Win-Senate-GOP#sthash.9It4kWMD.dp

Watch...The Knives Are Sharp

Wow liberals get their feelings hurt quick.

Today's Washington Post had a hit piece by Petula Dvorak about Bob McDonnell and what a sleeze he is for"flaying Maureen" on the stand during his public corruption trial.

Now, I have next to no sympathy for Maureen or Bob.  That's right, Bob, not Governor.  He lost the honorific by being the knucklehead he clearly was according to lots of testimony and I am not saying so now, I said so back in January.

Unlike Ms. Dvorak, I don't rally behind people who are jerks simply because they have a D or an R after their name - something that drives me nuts.  That being said, I thought I would bring up Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Where are Ms. Dvorak's columns complaining about Bill and how he has treated Hillary?  It seems what is good for Republicans, should be good for Democrats, but then I am assuming an unbiased media.  One that actually looks to report facts and not opinion.

Again and again, Ms. Dvorak chooses to flay Bob McDonnell, no sympathetic figure, but has no time to consider Mr. Clinton and the fact that he had been accused of sexual assault - something far worse than complaining about her spending habits; misused his office in his relationship with Monica Lewinsky to include causing a Secret Service alert while being serviced by Ms. Lewinsky, and who continues his relationships according to a recent book.

Ms. Dvorak, where is your outrage?  I don't mind you raising the temperature on Mr. McDonnell, but are you readying the grill for the heir apparent to The White House on the Democratic ticket?

When Your Lovers Don't Love You

Politicians tend to know they are in trouble when even their friends are telling them they stink.  That is the case for President Obama who this week finds himself with his former friend, Barney Frank, calling him a liar and his polls showing only 40% of his citizens approve of his administration.  Worse, the polls come courtesy of none other than NBC News.  Wowzers!

It will be interesting to see how these numbers change with the President about to take another exorbitant vacation to Martha's Vineyard while the rest of us worry about our children, jobs, and our last hopes of retirement.

Our "cool" President seems to have lost the tune on the dance floor.  He was the cool geek...the know it all who was also cool when he was elected and then re-elected, but from Obamacare to foreign policy to the perfect mix of domestic and foreign policy, his immigration debacle, President Obama has shown he was the right guy to talk about policy.  From afar.  His ability to get things done ranks up there with the guy in his mom's basement cooking up the perfect PC.

Congratulations America.  You chose, but you chose poorly.  You believed a guy who told you everything you wanted to hear.  You get to keep, you will have, and it will cost you nothing.  Well, wants always have costs and the question was will you ask others to pay for it or do you still want something for nothing.  Unfortunately, you now have nothing for something.

Audit Trail

Ever get audited by the Internal Revenue Service?  Pretty much on demand, you have to produce receipts, bills, bank statements, etc.

Meanwhile as the IRS scandal continues, it appears they are not usbject to their own rules.  The IRS has reported to Congress that they have lost the hard drives containing the emails between Lois Lerner and Democratic Members of Congress regarding who should and shouldn't receive tax exempt status.

Is that a joke?  In an investigation that has been ongoing for years, the IRS just now realizes it does not have the hard drives in question that can refute Republican assertions.  This is no longer about simply violating ethical standards, but is bordering on criminal obstruction.

The other thing it should be doing is forcing Republican hands.  At this point since the IRS does not want to play ball, you need to swallow your pride and your business tax breaks and respond just as forcefully as the Administration is.  Stop funding the IRS.

We talk all the time about reforming the tax code, but the answer is no longer to reform the tax code, but to end it.  Now is the time for a flat tax.  Yes, I am ready to give up my mortgage interest deduction.  Yes, I am willing to give up my deduction to charitable entities.  (Realize of course charitable entities are only charitable, if the IRS says they are, an issue at the crux of this situation.)  I will give up the deduction for being a parent.  What about the marriage tax...don't worry about it!  If you go to a flat tax and everyone is taxed at the same rate, it shouldn't matter if you are straight, gay, or somewhere in between when it comes to taxation issues.

The problem with the tax code is not only that it is too arcane for most people to understand, but it is all about picking favorites.  If you are married we will lower your taxes slightly - because we like married people.  If you invest in this industry or that one - we will lower you taxes because we want people to risk their money in areas they normally wouldn't.

Since the IRS can not find basic hard drives to tell us who did what, where, and when, close up shop.  I am tired of hearing excuses from these morons.  Let the bureaucrats and accountants and tax lawyers fund, ahem, honest work.  It is now time for the IRS to get audited.

Where's The Danger?

In 2010, Vice President Biden said that Iraq would be one of the Obama Administration's great accomplishments because of the safety it had created and that the warlords who had fought for hundreds of years would be happy partners who would give up their weapons to settle things around a meal.  (I guess Vice President Biden was also doing the polling for the Eric Cantor campaign too.)

While we have dithered as the international dilettantes this Administration has proven to be, Iraq has been overrun by Islamic militants who are returning sharia law to the land and doing so in force.

Meanwhile where is America?  America is busy re-patriating Islamic militants to the region in exchange for a would be deserter.  Mrs. Clinton said there was no danger to America.  I wonder what America she is talking about.  The one where she says people do not need identification to vote, but do require identification to buy her book and have it signed or the one where Americans had to be evacuated from Iraq.

What is sad is this did not have to happen, but again the dillentant President created this course.  He slammed his predecessor's victories in the region and now faces a worst case scenario where Iraq's police and soldiers lie on the side of the road decapitated.  These are the peace loving people that Obama has again and again sided up with in his foreign policy plans for the region.

The question will come up, why should I care?  It's Iraqis killing Iraqis, but this type of rage doesn't quietly subside.  It will go on and on until this rebellion is put down.  the danger is real and is facing us.

Mrs. Clinton in a recent interview said there was no danger to America.  She is wrong.  The danger is clear to many of us that it is in The White House.  The danger is in Massapequa, or whereever Mrs. Clinton calls home these days.  The danger is close to home.  The danger is thousands of miles away too, but the danger is here.  It is amongst people who put politics above policy where the danger is and 2014 looks to show us this in all too real images.

The Man Who Would Be King...

So, the man who would be king...might still be Governor.  I will leave the dissection of Eric Cantor's loss to others and the resulting leadership scramble that will ensue.

Maybe I am wrong, but I suspect Eric Cantor is not done in politics.  I realize he lost a race that no one has ever lost before.  I realize that he could manage a waffle house with his ridiculous number of stances on immigration, but Eric Cantor despite being wrong on a number of issues is exceptionally likable.  While we all know he was pursuing becoming the first Jewish Speaker of the House of Representatives - an idea Republicans should have liked - he is not a soon to be former Member of Congress.  What is he to do?

If I were he, I would swallow my pride and endorse Dave Brat.  I would spend my next several months working my tail off for Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th Congressional District, not because you like the man, but because there is a path to redemption and part of that redemption will be making sure the district doesn't go D.

The district shouldn't go D based on the gerrymandering that happens regularly from both parties, but Cantor should ante up and bring that rolodex of fundraising home and help Mr. Brat out.  Why you ask.

Easy...there is no clear cut favorite to run for Governor of Virginia right now.  I know, I know.  That race is three years away.  (In point of face, it is about twenty to twenty-four months away.)  The point being now is the time to show we disagreed, I lost, I learned my lesson, but I can still be effective.  Again, this will be a tough pill to swallow, but if he were to get through it, he has a potential.

After the stinging defeat in 2013 of every statewide seat going Democrat for the first time in twenty-four years, Republicans do not have a clear cut and obvious choice to get back on top.  Eric Cantor is still relatively young, still has his fundraising rolodex, and will likely learn from this defeat.

The question is would he be happy as Governor?  While it isn't Speaker, it does create an interesting situation in 2020 should a Democrat be elected in 2016.  Cantor had already been on a number of Veep shortlists so could he end up in the Cabinet or another position.  I would argue more than possible.  The man who would be king, might still be....

Do Second Race Cards Trump?

Elections are always fun for me.  Maybe it is the wannabe political science major in me coming out.  (No, no polysci - economics.  When I was picking a major the first George Bush was losing an election because he didn't understand basic economics kind of like a current President so I chose economics.)

In any case, intra-party elections might be the most fun.  I always enjoy how we call them family squabbles where we all come together at the conclusion of the race because that only occassionally happens and usually is the result of some other back room deal.

In any case, it is fun to watch Charlie Rangel complaining about a primary opponent using his race to further his cause given Charlie Rangel has made a career of using his race to further his cause (himself).  It is even more fun to watch President Clinton come to Rangel's defense, as the "first black President" and President Obama, the first black President, sitting on the sidelines.

It is also telling that a major union in the city is staying out of the primary.  When a party owns a seat it is usually shocking to see groups stay out of a race, but particularly with a Member of Congress who is as powerful as Charlie Rangel arguably is, or was.  I am not here to tell 32BJ SEIU how or who to support in the race, but I do find it interesting.

I should also note I hate using ethnicity to curry votes.  Are minorities telling me they can not represent me because I am white?  That is a silly thought and pubescent politics.  If you are a woman or black or brown or green you can represent me....IF...we are in alignment on issues.  Issues matter, not the color of your skin.

Senator Tim Scott is black, but would better represent my views than Charlie Rangel.  It isn't that Charlie is black, it's that he isn't for an honest, fair tax code, he supports abortion on demand, and I am not convinced of his support for Israel.  It doesn't mean Congressman Rangel is a bad guy, it just means he doesn't represent me well.

To the original point though, for a guy who has used his race in his Harlem district for years to stay in Congress for over forty years, I find it entertaining to watch him complain about others playing the same game when the district changes underneath him.

Illness

The sickness continues.

I am not sure how else to describe what I saw earlier in the Washington Times, but depravity and illness.  Mostly mental.

A non-profit group in Washington, D.C. - The DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) - offered a small momento to those who contributed on an ongoing basis to their needs.  A necklace with a small hanger attached.

I guess I am silly enough to first wonder how much difficulty the IRS gave this group in establishing it as a non-profit.  Groups aimed at educating on the Constitution or balanced budgets can't seem to get non-profit status, but I bet it wasn't too hard for this group aimed at removing rights from those waiting to be born.

Part two though is why?  Why would you use a symbol of death as a sign to point to as something positive.  How did your world end up so upside down that you consider ending another life, usually for your own self advancement, a good thing?

At what point to people consider that they are celebrating the taking of an innocent?

With tens of millions killed since Roe v. Wade took over the landscape, why is it we celebrate the coat hanger?  Would we do this with the Nazi swastika?  Would we celebrate Joseph Stalin killing millions of his countrymen as a positive?  Of course not.

I say of course not because NPR would run sad documentaries outlining the carnage of Stalin today, but they remain deafeningly silent on the slaughter committed year after year in the United States.  They wring their hands over the death penalty of convicted criminals, but waste no breath on the death penalty against children.

Where is the ACLU?  They stand ready to defend those incarcerated from the evils of prison wardens who deny prisoners cable television, but do they defend those victims of Kermit Gosnell?

Truly, there is an illness in the land and it can be found in an organization that would solicit and accept donations from citizens to kill their neighbors.  I wonder when we will find a cure.





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Broken We Stand

In 2008 the Republican Party decided it would nominate a moderate - John McCain.  In 2012 we were told again that a moderate - Mitt Romney - was the only way to go.  You remember the record, right?  Zero for two?

Now in Virginia, the Republican party establishment wants to nominate Ed Gillespie, to be the nominee for the US Senate.  Why?  A great article over at Deo Vindice sells the point perfectly.

Are there not enough career politicians floating around?  I am blown away that anyone could seriously believe this is the way to go, to hire a campaign hack to run for office.  Where is Karl Rove when you need him?  (I'm joking.)

It is a scary thought, but at some point the Grand Old Party is going to have to find something to stand for and what is stands for can not just be the same big business that is currently buying the Democratic Party.  If there is no difference between the candidates, why am I even voting?

As the blog notes, why should conservatives or even Republicans vote for Mark Warner II?  Ed looks more than happy with Terry McAuliffe and Bill Clinton.  (I take back my previous question.  Republicans should vote for Ed so that he can steer state business, courtesy of the taxpayers, to Republican businessmen, instead of to Democrat businessmen.  What was I thinking?)

The point is the GOP needs to figure out who and what they are?  What do they care about?  At this point I am not sure and am increasingly surprised by the things that come out of their mouth, but it is time Republicans figure out and who and what they are.  It is time to know where we are on government spending, taxes, national defense and civil rights, and the various wars on drugs, poverty, and so forth.  It is time for the Republican Party to stand up for something other than big business.

I mean today the House Ways and Means Committee announced a tax reform bill to day that included a two hundred page summary.  Let me repeat that...a TWO HUNDRED PAGE SUMMARY.  Are you kidding?  How about a tax form that asks income and engages a flat tax.  That is reform.  Instead we are still playing favorites games to decide which business should benefit from government involvement.

I pray the GOP will learn before they become a permanent minority without any rights.

Emminent Domain or Imminent Doom

What's theirs is theirs and what's yours is theirs.

Welcome to big government.  If you think it can't happen, think again.

In Colorado, the local government is horrified that a middle aged couple would use an existing road and a snowmobile to get to property they own and they plan to fix their fears, by condemning the property and taking it from them.

You thought it was only big bad banks that could take things from you.  Think again!  In this story, the couple is having their property the prize in an eminent domain legal battle.  According to legal experts, normally eminent domain is used to provide the government access to land which isn't theirs for purposes of economics development.  In this case though, the government simply wants the land to preserve open space.

I would hate to argue whether or not a land owner has the right to use his or her land as they see fit, but in this case the Barrie family does not even have designs on expanding or trying to do the economics development thing on their property.  The picture from AP also shows the complete smog and problems with overgrowth in an area....except it is only their house and they just want to be able to access it which requires a snowmobile.

Egad!  Again, the sky is falling.

This should be an environmentalists dream come true.  An unheated cabin with a solar panel to power a single light.  Instead, they movement shows what they are really about.  Controlling what you can and can not do.  This is embarrassing and I fault the US Forest Service on this one too.  Year after year, we have ridiculous wild fires caused by their ineptitude and poor management because they play politics instead of science when it comes to the controlled burning of undergrowth.

For those who thought Obamacare was just a blip on the screen, you should be very afraid.  The permutations of having a Congress that can tell you where to live and what to buy are mind boggling and do not belong in a Constitutional Republic, though to echo Ben Franklin, I'm not sure that's what we have any more.

And The Headaches Are About To Begin...

So if Chris Christie thought it was bad earlier this month, I think the headache is about to be a full blown migraine with the report this afternoon that not only did Christie know about the George Washington Bridge closings that have caused the initial headaches, but that he ordered them.  Woops!

As I noted before, the Republican Party would have done well before they anointed another moderate as the party fave for President.  This appears to be exactly what is was first reported to be...political bullying by a guy who thought he could get away with it.

Fear not, Governor Christie, MSNBC loves you, or used to when you were useful to them slamming the conservative principles that Republican candidates should be carrying.  Instead, you are just another self serving jerk who set back not only yourself, but Republican efforts to keep people aware of the issues of Benghazi, Obamacare, and so forth.  So much for leadership...

Blood On The Hands Of The Righteous

As seems to be my case, I am bringing you music on an anniversary.  I realize this isn't Friday night, but it deserves remembrance.  This anniversary I speak of course was the use of force by the 1st British Parachute Regiment that killed 14 and wounded many more peaceful protestors in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

The protestors were all Catholics who were participating in a civil rights protest against the internment of Catholics in the  region.  While a British investigation ensured, most considered it a white wash of the situation.

Many critics of the situation suggested that the indiscriminate force of the British troops at the time led to an influx of new recruits to the Irish Republic Army and increased violence in the region, not lessening it as had been hoped.  As Irish Catholics felt increasingly distanced from their government and unsure that justice would come, they fled into the organization that contributed to terrorism as much as it fought oppression.

As Bono notes put your "hands in the air, the praying kind" and pray for no more war, no more hurt, and  a way to peaceful solutions to these problems.

Rising Stars Burning Out Fast

A few years ago I was told Bob McDonnell, the 71st Governor of Virginia, was a possible candidate for Vice-President on a Mitt Romney ticket.  Just a few years later, I am told that Chris Christie is the 2016 nominee for President.  A few days ago, everyone realized neither is going to happen and these two are just two more fallen stars in the American GOP.

Again and again, we see corruption and asinine behavior from those who are supposed to be the prime players in the GOP farm club...the candidates who will restore the Republican party in the near future.

Instead, one is indicted by federal prosecutors for corruption and the other appears to have misused his office to pay back political opponents by shutting down roads, DMV offices, and ultimately who knows what else.

I apologize to all my friends in the Republican Party, but the McDonnell defense that I just did what everyone else did, doesn't cut it.  I get that we are the stupid party.  I'm even accepting of that.  I am not willing to lower my standards though so that I can become the Evil party...the party where it is okay to take from one person who works to give to someone who doesn't; the party where it is okay to kill a baby, but not a convicted murderer [for the record, both are wrong]; the party which says spotted owls are more important than humans.  When did it become okay for Republicans to lower their standards to that of their opponents Governor McDonnell?

You were one of the first people I talked to when I was appointed by Governor Gilmore to an advisory board.  If I had known you were so hard up for cash, I wouldn't have wasted your billable hours.

As for Governor Christie, you have campaigned twice on "getting things done," but now you just sound like the blowhard bully you cry that you aren't.  You were the knucklehead who ran his mouth until someone would bloody your nose and guess what.  Folks in New Jersey seem lined up to return the favor to you.

If the charges against McDonnell and potentially Christie, weren't so serious, I would laugh, but instead the "bright stars" of the Republican Party have burnt out...

Forty-one and counting...

On the anniversary of the legalization of abortion, Roe v. Wade, I wonder how our President will mark the anniversary.  Two years ago he chose to attempt to argue the economic value of killing children before they are born.

Once again I am embarrassed for a man who says one thing and then does another. He talks about everyone having a right to healthcare, but then argues for the economic incentives of allowing children to be killed in utero rather than being healthy, responsible citizens who contribute to society. While 50,000,000 plus children have been killed since Roe v. Wade we wonder aloud about why we have a society that doesn't support public education, a society that does not teach humanities or protection of our natural resources.  Is it any surprise that motorists continue to litter highways when our culture defends the throwing away of human lives?  Again and again you see cases where either mothers will throw away their child's life, will subject themselves to brutal acts of barbarism to kill their own children.  Are we then surprised when fathers have no connection to the sexual act that creates children.  Sorry ladies, your sexual revolution has not given you equality with men in a positive manner, you have simply let men off the hook for their reproductive actions by endorsing a path of personal ease.

According to the CDC, 85% of all abortions are performed on unmarried women.  Again, the sexual revolution has allowed you your rights to multiple partners, but it hasn't led to a happier family.

Additionally, this week was also about celebrating Martin Luther King's legacy towards equality.  What equality is there when black women are nearly five times more likely to have an abortion than a white woman?  What equality is there when a Hispanic woman is nearly three times more likely to have an abortion than a white woman?  These statistics show a pattern of genocide of two races in the United States.  If this weren't about sexual "rights" we would be horrified by the numbers.

And for those who are ready to parade Hillary Clinton and the democratic party, let's be clear, they could care less about your sexual rights.  Abortion is simply an easier path to checkbook independence.  Abortion for white, protestant women is clear from the statistics with seventy-five percent of respondents saying "having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities."  I suspect there is no comment to the idea that an abortion will interfere with that child's future work, school, or other responsibilities.

Unfortunately, we are not at fifty million lost lives and counting.  This is the forty-first anniversary of a decision that shows a country's indifference towards its most unprotected.  Forty-one years and counting...

No Guns or Life In New York

I was taught that in America, we live in a Constitutional Republic.  You will forgive me when some days I think we actually live in a pseudo-monarchy.

In the Northeast, you have the Kennedys.  In Arkansas and later New York, you have the Clintons.  Jeb Bush may have represented Florida, but Texas clearly belongs to the Bush clan.  And returning to New York, you have the Cuomos.  Unfortunately, the latest governor of the State of New York does not have his father's same understanding of abortion.  Perhaps, he was too busy campaigning for his dad, Mario Cuomo, on Sundays to learn his catechesis on life and perhaps he was just too busy in law school to understand freedom of speech and the 2nd Amendment.

Recently, during a radio broadcast, Governor Cuomo stated that people who are pro-life and pro-2nd Amendment "have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are."

The Governor is showing that speech is limited in New York and might be why people are leaving his state.  America is supposed to be the land of the free, a land that is open and strong enough to support dissenting opinion, without trampling it.

While Governor Cuomo tried to walk his statements back, can you imagine the outcry if Rick Perry had said those who support abortion aren't welcome in Texas?  Can you imagine the outcry if someone argued that those who don't support gun owner rights should leave the country?

It is amazing to me that anyone would utter these phrases in America, but perhaps discourse really has gotten that bad.  If that is the case, I guess New York really doesn't have any life left.

Miracles Do Happen

People ask all the time do miracles still happen and I would have to say they do.  In their Sunday, 12 January 2014 editorial, USA Today's editorial board criticizes the President for his attack on the Little Sisters Of The Poor.

While I missed the original editorial in my post on the subject, it is clear that we see things similarly. As their line notes "nuns and birth control just don't mix."

I did not realize the disparity, but as USA Today notes, the government is losing 95% of its cases.  In nineteen out of twenty cases, courts are issuing stays to non-profits from having to comply against their consciousness.  When President Obama says the American people want this, I think me might just be incorrect.  Worse for Obama and Co. is this statement:

In several cases, even if the government wins, the whole exercise will not result in a single woman getting a single free contraceptive, because under a different law, the insurers themselves are exempt. So what exactly does the administration hope to gain?

It shows the militant nature of those against the policy that they would rather pick a fight with nuns than simply allow them to care for the elderly poor as they have done for years.

...And Now The Christie Situation Is Really Explained.

As if things couldn't get any worse for Chris Christie, now this, a bit of humor for your morning from the one man in America who seems to be able to simplify complex political calculations into ten minute segments which are all too easily digested by the American public.

Chris Christie has enjoyed his image of rough and tumble street Governor for quite a while and now when that same image makes it clear he is a "petty" bully, he seems to find religion.

As I noted yesterday, this situation is his own fault and all the complaining about the media covering it is for naught.  The media has its story and when the New Jersey legislature begins considering impeachment hearings, no one should be surprised.  Congratulations Governor Christie, you have saved Mr. Obama...again.