Make your voice heard

A tax on plastic bags: What’s next?

Starting on January, 1st 2010, Washington, D.C. will require businesses that sell food or alcohol to impose a 5 cent tax on each plastic bag used by a consumer. At first, you might think this will lead to an increased grocery bill, but it will actually lead to a larger shopping bill in general.

According to the article, any store which sells food must impose the tax. That means that supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, bakeries, and larger retailers will also be charging for bags, since they sell food. Sure, you can buy reusable bags to avoid the 5 cent tax, but are you going to bring the bags into nearly every store you visit? » read more

Eric Massa versus Dick Cheney

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) has challenged former Vice President Dick Cheney to a debate. Massa’s challenge came as he complained about being sick of Cheney “kicking us in the shins,” and saying that he “suffers from a horrible case of political Tourette’s”. The most telling part of his rant came when he decided to present himself as Barack Obama’s political bodyguard:

“I don’t want the president being diverted from his mission on this, having to deal with Dick Cheney. I want Dick Cheney debate me, anywhere, anytime, anyhow. And let’s see how he stands up to the truth.”

He doesn’t want the President to be diverted by Dick Cheney. Does that mean that he’s afraid the President would some how be swayed by Cheney’s argument, or intimidated into doing the right thing? Well, if that’s the case, have no fear because Eric Massa is here! By the way, if Eric Massa thinks Barack Obama could be so easily “diverted” by the comments of a private citizen, then what does that say about his perceived leadership skills? » read more

Another day, another $3.8 billion

The U.S. Treasury just gave another $3.8 billion to GMAC, which hopes to one day make a profit again. For those of you following at home, this latest infusion is on top of $12.5 billion distributed previously, for a grand total of $16.3 billion.

I know there are a lot of people who would defend this latest expenditure as being “necessary”. Here’s a question for those people: What about small businesses and medium-sized companies that have had to close their doors? Where’s their bailout? » read more

Barack Obama: The new Neville Chamberlain

I recently had a discussion with someone about the Republican party. He told me that he had been a registered Republican for years, but left the party while George W. Bush was President. We both agreed that George W. Bush had strayed from various Republican principles, such as fiscal conservatism, and were generally unhappy with his performance. The propensity of the Bush Administration to run-up the deficit and the national debt were maddening, but with most things, there were accomplishments that were not fully appreciated.

George W. Bush’s greatest achievement was helping to keep the United States safe after 9/11. Critics like to take aim at Guantanamo Bay, the Patriot Act, and The War on Terror in general, but his success in keeping the country safe cannot be disputed. There were attempts to attack the U.S. since 9/11, which were thwarted, and I’m sure there were many more attempts which were stopped early on in the planning process. For that, we owe the Bush Administration our gratitude. » read more

We need whole body imaging scanners

It’s hard to believe there are still some who believe we don’t need whole body imaging scanners. You would think that the attempted terrorist attack that nearly killed 300 passengers would have been enough to convince people. I know that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano believes “the sytem worked,” but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The terrorist who attempted the latest attack was allowed to fly, despite being on a terrorist watch list, and he had displayed some questionable behavior. There was more than enough reason to be suspicious, but “the system” failed. The only things that saved the 300 passengers on that plane were a poorly trained terrorist and a brave passenger. » read more

Sheldon Whitehouse’s ingnorant rant: Who is really a member of “the lunatic fringe”?

If you are in Washington, D.C. and talk about the simpleton from Rhode Island, you might automatically think of Patrick Kennedy. However, we can’t forget that Rhode Island has another simpleton in D.C.: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. In case you think my categorization is merely a partisan shot, it isn’t. While I disagree with other Democratic politicians, I wouldn’t question their intelligence. I would just recognize the fact that we see the issues differently. With Senator Whitehouse, there is a certain shallowness to his thinking, tinged with hyper-partisanship, and a heaping helping of smarminess.

There have been many comments over the years which reinforced my opinion of him, but his latest speech on health care reform illustrates his failings perfectly:

“Voting ‘no’ and hiding from the vote are the same result. Those of us on the floor see it. It was clear the three of them who did not cast their yes votes until all 60 Senate votes had been tallied and it was clear that the result was a foregone conclusion. And why? Why all this discord and discourtesy, all this unprecedented destructive action? All to break the momentum of our new young president.

They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one.” » read more

Ben Nelson sells his health care vote to Harry Reid

Senator Ben Nelson “negotiated” some changes to the Senate Health bill that have were needed to gain his support. One change stipulated that federal money wouldn’t be used to pay for abortions, while the others are nothing but freebies for Nebraskans. Here’s a brief summary:

Nelson secured full federal funding for his state to expand Medicaid coverage to all individuals below 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Other states must pay a small portion of the additional cost. He won concessions for qualifying nonprofit insurers and for Medigap providers from a new insurance tax, and was able to roll back cuts to health savings accounts.

“I know this is hard for some of my colleagues to accept and I appreciate their right to disagree,” Nelson told reporters at the Capitol, of the many changes made at his behest. “But I would not have voted for this bill without these provisions.” » read more

Tom Harkin talks about the road to single-payer health care

I’d like to thank Senator Tom Harkin for being honest about the Democrat’s plan to ram a single-payer system down the throats of the American people. In a comment aimed at his progressive colleagues, Harkin compared the current Senate health care bill to building a house:

“What we are buying here is a modest home, not a mansion. What we are getting here is a starter home. It’s got a good foundation: 30 million Americans are covered. It’s got a good roof: A lot of protections from abuses by insurance companies. It’s got a lot of nice stuff in there for prevention and wellness. But, we can build additions as we go along in the future. It is a starter home. Think about it in that way,”

» read more

Socialism, climate change, and hypocrisy

Hugo Chavez spoke at the climate summit in Copenhagen and was greeted by loud applause. Here is an excerpt from his speech, which sums up his over all message:

We could say that there is a ghost lurking. To paraphrase Karl Marx there is a ghost running through the streets of Copenhagen. And I think that ghost is silent, somewhere in this room, amongst us. Coming through the corridors and underneath. And that ghost is a terrible ghost and nobody wants to name him or her. It’s capitalism. Capitalism is that ghost. Nobody I don’t think wants to name it. Capitalism. I’ve also been struck by some of the signs outside this conference. One sign in particular that reads, “Don’t change the climate … change the system!” I particularly liked that one and would add to that by saying that by changing the system, we could save the planet. The destructive model of capitalism is eradicating life.

» read more

“Jobs for Main Street Act” contains welfare payments

The House narrowly approved a “jobs” bill by a narrow vote margin of 217 to 212. The “Jobs for Main Street Act” will provide $50 billion for local governments, and another $50 billion for infrastructure projects. There’s little doubt that most of this money will find its way into the pockets of the unions that support the Democratic party, but that’s another story.

The most sickening item in the bill is a $1,000-per-child tax credit for people with little or no income. Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing more than using the tax code to provide more welfare payments. Does it really make sense that someone who pays just $800 in taxes could see a $5,000 “tax refund”? The Earned Income Credit is bad enough, but then it is exacerbated by this additional payment. » read more

Copenhagen: Why not have a teleconference?

Dennis Miller makes an excellent point in this video. If the individuals attending the climate summit in Copenhagen really cared about global warming, why wouldn’t they make it a teleconference? Cancel the private jets, limos, and other energy sapping activities. Of course, they would lose their vacation and glitzy surroundings, but at least the whole world wouldn’t have to know that they are hypocrites.

If the organizers of the summit decide to take this advice and have a teleconference next time, it will be in good hands. Before he was a friend of the global warming industry, Al Gore was the self-proclaimed creator of the internet. Who better to handle such a daunting task?

Barack Obama thinks the federal government will go bankrupt without health care reform

Yes, you read the title of the post correctly. Barack Obama believes that without health care reform, the federal government will go bankrupt. Here is an excerpt:

The president said that the costs of Medicare and Medicaid are on an “unsustainable” trajectory and if there is no action taken to bring them down, “the federal government will go bankrupt.”

I’m not an economist, but that seems like a bit of an exagerration to me. The President’s comments about Medicare and Medicaid also make me wonder why we would want to expand Medicare enrollment to those ages 55 to 64. If we already have a massive federal program facing serious financial challenges, then why would we want to expand it? Wouldn’t we just be making a bigger problem for ourselves? » read more

Joe Lieberman is in, but is Roland Burris out?

Now that it looks like the Senate health care bill is moving away from Medicare expansion, Senator Joe Lieberman says he can support the bill. This is good news for Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is trying to be everything to everyone in order to patch together 60 votes, but things might have just become a little more difficult.

Illinois Senator Roland Burris has indicated that he will not vote for a bill if it doesn’t achieve “the goals of a public option.” Notice that he doesn’t specifically insist on a public option, merely the goals that he believes a public option would achieve. Still, it makes you wonder how many votes might be lost in this attempt to appease Joe Lieberman, and there lies the problem. » read more

The health care balancing act: Be afraid, be very afraid

It looks like Senate Democrats might be close to dropping an idea to expand Medicare for those between 55 and 64. It would be dropped in order to bring Senators like Joe Lieberman on board, but one has to wonder how progressive Democrats will react to this decision.

You would think that progressives would vehemently oppose any changes to Medicare expansion. The scary part will happen if progressives are fine with the decision to drop the expansion. If they go along with the idea, then read carefully: The bill will be guaranteed to contain even bigger costs and give-aways. » read more

Time “Person of the Year”: The finalists

Time magazine is set to announce its “Person of the Year” on Wednesday. So far, here are the finallists: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Barack Obama, General Stanley McChrystal, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and the Chinese worker. Not much to choose from, is there?

If we were choosing based solely on cool names, I’d go with Usain Bolt. After all, what’s cooler that a sprinter named Bolt? If I had to guess, I’d say Barack Obama will be the winner. I’m not saying he deserves it, but he is the darling of the media. Plus, he didn’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, but look how well that turned out for him!

Barack Obama gets tough with “fat cat bankers”

Barack Obama met with 12 “fat cat bankers,” who he largely blames for the recession. After criticizing them for risky behavior which contributed to the nation’s economic problems, he said,

“And so I urged these institutions here today to go back and take a third and fourth look about how they are operating when it comes to small business and medium-sized business lending,”

» read more

The Obama Limbo: How low will his approval rating go?

A new Rasmussen poll finds that Barack Obama’s approval rating continues to fall. Just 24% of Americans strongly approve of the job he is doing, while 42% strongly disapprove. When you combine those who strongly approve and somewhat approve, the number rises to only 44%. The same poll also found that 40% of Americans approve of the current health care plan, while 56% oppose the plan. So, what does all this mean?

For one thing, it illustrates that the President’s popularity is sinking steadily, and that Congressmen will not be cast aside for disagreeing with his administration. When the $787 billion stimulus bill was passed, I had the feeling that the President’s popularity helped suppress some dissent. The President will not have that luxury in the near future. » read more

Barack Obama on 60 Minutes

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Barack Obama appeared on 60 Minutes and discussed Afghanistan, health care, and “fat cat bankers” who receive exclusive blame for all that is wrong in the world. The majority of the interview dealt with Afghanistan, and the President mentioned that the decision to send more troops isn’t popular, but is necessary. I agree, but it’s also fairly easy to see that he attempted to make it more popular.

The President stated that the success of the tropp surge will begin to be known in December of 2010, with a reduction of forces to begin in July of 2011. Barack Obama states that a deadline is needed to make a point to the Afghan people, to drive home the point that the United States will not have an open-ended commitment. I agree, but of course, there’s no mention of how many soldiers will return home, or a final date to fully withdraw. » read more

Is the Google Phone on the way?

There are rumors circulating that a Google Phone (possibly named Nexus One) could be on the way by January 2010. The phone will run Android 2.1 and be manufactured by HTC, but will carry the Google name.

The phone could be a game-changer in many ways. For one thing, the phone will be unlocked, so it can be used on both AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s network. It will also be sold in retail locations, and with the iPhone’s exclusivity agreement with AT&T about to expire, it could open up a potentially interesting competition. As for features, it will have a touch screen, two microphones, and voice-to-text, for those who don’t like typing on a touch screen. » read more