Monthly Archives: April 2012

Another Reason Cutting The Federal Budget Could Be Done Without Dire Consequences

Posted on by
Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino

Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yesterday’s U.K. Mail Online posted a story about a five-day conference for the Public Buildings Service’s western region that was organized by four GSA employees. The conference was held at at the M Resort Spa and Casino in Henderson, Nevada. Three hundred people attended the conference. The cost of the conference was $820,000.

General Services Administration chief Martha Johnson has submitted her resignation to the White House. She has also fired two deputies and suspended other career federal employees.

The article reports:

‘As the agency Congress has entrusted with developing the rules followed by other federal agencies for conferences, GSA has a special responsibility to set an example, and that did not occur here,’ the inspector general concluded in its report.

Public Buildings Service chief Robert Peck and Johnson’s top adviser, Stephen Leeds, were forced out. Four GSA employees who organized the five-day conference for the Public Buildings Service’s western region have been placed on administrative leave pending further action, a White House official said.

That is the sort of spending that could easily be cut out of the budget without any of the dire consequences the Democrats keep screaming about if the budget is cut.

 

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Some Of The Truth Comes Out

Posted on by

Yesterday Mother Jones posted a story that should give all of us pause in trying to find the truth in the case of the murder of Trayvon Martin. It seems that some of the information we have been given by the major media has been seriously edited.

The article at Mother Jones posted an example of really bad reporting by NBC:

According to the Today show, here’s what George Zimmerman said to a 911 dispatcher as he was trailing Trayvon Martin last February:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

Mother Jones posted the full transcript:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy — is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

I think this changes the story signficantly.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Why The Senate Is Not Planning To Pass A Budget

Posted on by

Going on the record in an election year is not always a fun process. An article in today’s Washington Free Beacon points out some of the hazards to the Democrats that bringing a budget to the floor of the Senate would bring.

The article points out:

Pursuing a budget resolution would trigger an open amendment process—often called a “vote-a-rama”—comprising 50 hours of debate and dozens of votes on individual amendments offered by Senators.

That would allow Republicans to force simple majority votes, not subject to the standard 60-vote requirement, on individual aspects of the health care law as well as a measure to partially defund the new federal apparatus it created.

That would put Obamacare in serious jeopardy. The House of Representatives has already repealed the unpopular bill, and the Supreme Court may do the same to Obamacare’s key components.

“With the Supreme Court decision at hand, Obamacare is back in the news again, and it’s still unpopular,” one GOP Senate aide told the Free Beacon. “How many Democrats in swing states want to run, essentially, on voting multiple times to support it?”

If the current members of the Senate (in either party) do not have the courage of their convictions, it is time to elect members of the Senate who do. This is ridiculous.

There have already been provisions of Obamacare that Congress has repealed–the House has already repealed the entire bill, but the Senate has not. One of the tax provisions in Obamacare has been repealed by both Houses of Congress, Community Living Assistance Services and Support Program (CLASS Act) has been repealed by the House, and the repeal of IPAB (appointed death panels) has also won support in both parties.

Legally, the Senate is required to pass a budget, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

I Guess For Democrats Math Class Is Hard

Posted on by
Similar triangles for Pythagoras' theorem

Similar triangles for Pythagoras' theorem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A friend of mine regularly receives fund-raising letters from various Democrat campaigns. There was one letter recently received that had both of us rolling on the floor laughing.

The fund-raising appeal begins:

I love math. Always have. Sometimes, when I visit schools in Minnesota, I prove the Pythagorean Theorem, right there on the chalkboard.  

The letter then goes on to explain that the Democrats have more Senate seats to defend this year than the Republicans so they need more money. So far, so good. But then, this person who says that he (or she) routinely proves the Pythagorean Theorem on the blackboard states:

X = President Romney. Y = a Republican Senate. X + Y = Z. Solve for Z.

Wow. I hope that is not the Theorem he is proving on the blackboard because there is a major problem with it. X + Y = Z–it is not the Pythagorean Theorem. Actually, the Theorem is A² + B² = C². Whoops!

I guess Barbie was right–math class is hard.

Enhanced by Zemanta

The Next Battle In The Healthcare War

Posted on by

On Thursday, Matt Sheffield posted an article at CNS News about the next step in the war over Obamacare. Although it is not at all a sure thing, there are many people who feel that the Supreme Court will strike down the law as unconstitutional because it requires all Americans to purchase a product whether they want to or not. Mr. Sheffield points out that the left is already preparing for the next battle. He cites some recent statements by left-leaning pundits:

If the Supreme Court strikes down the individual mandate in Obamacare, the result will be higher insurance premiums and, “we’ll just blame Republicans for it,” says Democratic strategist Bob Beckel, appearing on the Wednesday edition of Fox News’ The Five.

…Andrew Koppelman, writing in Salon today, asserted that the arguments against the individual mandate amount to nothing more than “silliness,” and said the “silly” arguments “nonetheless seemed to sometimes move Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito.”
 
…Steven Rosenfeld, writing at AlterNet, says Republicans “don’t want to fix our broken healthcare system.” He writes: “The Republican Party again showed its petulant, “party-of-no” face on Tuesday as lawyers representing 26 red states and conservative think-tanks told the U.S. Supreme Court that nobody should be forced have health insurance—even if people carrying insurance end up subsidizing the defiantly uninsured who get ill.
 
The Supreme Court is expected to release its decision sometime in June or July. Prepare for healthcare to be a major issue during the 2012 election. Be ready to listen carefully as very little of what you hear may actually be true.
 
 
 
 
Enhanced by Zemanta

This Is Not Even Remotely Surprising

Posted on by

One of the agendas of the Obama Administration is to find a way to invalidate the Second Amendment. Fast and Furious did not work (even before it was discovered that they were the ones selling the guns) and various court cases have not been successful. But, they haven’t yet given up.

Breitbart.com reported today that Vice-President Biden stated on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the shooting of Trayvon Martin should spark a national debate over gun control. Really?

The story at Breitbart points out that we don’t yet have all of the facts on this case. The author reminds us that if Zimmerman shot in self-defense, the gun laws saved his life. If Zimmerman did not shoot in self defense, he violated already existing gun laws–we don’t need more!

The article reminds us:

Beyond that, Biden’s bizarre notion that concealing and carrying guns doesn’t provide additional security is plainly nonsensical. Misuse of guns is always an issue – but as a general rule, of course carrying a gun makes you more safe than not carrying one. John Lott has pointed out clearly in More Guns, Less Crime:  “Concealed handgun laws reduce violent crime for two reasons. First, they reduce the number of attempted crimes because criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves. Second, victims who have guns are in a much better position to defend themselves.” This is called common sense, and the data backs it up.

The call for stricter gun laws is generally made by those who do not understand that the right to bear arms is part of what makes the United States Constitution work. Tampering with that right would be a huge mistake.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Sometimes History Is Amazing

Posted on by
 
Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan.

Official Portrait of President Ronald Reagan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

March 30, 1981, was the day that President Reagan was shot. The Daily Caller posted a very interesting article on the shooting on Friday. It seems that sometimes a small decision can have a lot of impact.

The article at the Daily Caller reported that after the assassination attempt on President Reagan, Mike Deaver felt responsible for the injuries to James Brady. It seems that as they were leaving the hotel, one of the reporters asked a question and Mr. Deaver moved Press Secretary Brady closer to the reporter to answer the question. Mr. Deaver felt that he had put the Press Secretary in the line of fire and was responsible for his getting shot.

Later, Mr. Deaver talked to the neurosurgeon that had operated on the Press Secretary.

The article tells the story:

The doctor listened, thought about it. When Deaver had told his story, the doctor asked, “How tall are you?”

Deaver was startled. “I told him, ‘I’m five foot nine.’ ”

And the neurosurgeon said, “Jim Brady is six feet tall. And if he’d stayed there where he had been before you moved him Ronald Reagan would be dead. Because Brady took the bullet that would have killed Reagan.”

If it had been Deaver standing where Brady was, the bullet would have gone over his head and hit the president.

As it was, we came very close the losing a great President. If Mike Deaver had not wanted to let the Press Secretary answer the question, we probably would have lost Ronald Reagan in that incident. There is a very good book written about the events of that day called Rawhide Down written by Del Quentin Wilber. I strongly recommend it.

Enhanced by Zemanta