Tea Party Already Changing Spending Culture in Washington

from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News. by Conn Carroll


Tea Party Already Changing Spending Culture in Washington: "

The 112th Congress has not yet been sworn in, but the Tea Party’s anti-business-as-usual mandate is already being felt on Capitol Hill. National Journal‘s Major Garrett reports:

About two weeks ago, Speaker-to-be John Boehner found himself in an odd conversation with a young Republican House member. Their talk may rank as the most compelling example yet that the huge midterm GOP victory will produce real change in Washington—not just change in the familiar political sense, but down-the-rabbit-hole change, in which the world as we understand it seems to disappear.

Boehner was trying to “lure” Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah onto the Appropriations Committee. Yes, lure. The 43-year-old, first-term lawmaker was hesitating over appointment to the vaunted panel, long regarded as one of the best perches in all of Washington. For most House members, Appropriations is the summa of committee assignments. A seat on the panel brings power, prestige, and lobbyists’ cash. It’s earmark heaven, too. Chaffetz said no.

And Chaffetz is not the only conservative lawmaker deciding to turn down the earmarking-factory that is the Appropriations Committee. More Garrett:

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan stopped his fellow Ohioan, Boehner, from even offering him a slot on Appropriations because he also wants to stay with Rep. Darrell Issa of California, who will chair Reform and Oversight, as well as to sit on the Budget Committee.

Michael Franc, a congressional scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told National Journal that at two separate orientation conferences—one at Harvard University and the other at Heritage—informal surveys of 49 of the 85 incoming GOP freshmen revealed not one who identified Appropriations as his or her No. 1 committee choice. “They all saw it as a foreign entity,” Franc said.

Jordan says that the leadership is having trouble finding freshmen willing to serve on Appropriations, an unheard-of circumstance that suggests, at least for the time being, that spending and the perks that historically have come with it are radioactive.

“It’s a testament to what I hope and believe is a culture shift,” said Jordan, who admitted that he steered clear of Appropriations in part to solidify his bid to lead the conservative Republican Study Committee—a hotbed of GOP antagonism toward appropriators.

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd saw this coming months ago:

I think the most striking thing about the minority party today is that a Republican can’t go home, and it is mostly because of this Tea Party crowd, can not go home and sell a piece a pork that they got from Washington. It is now … when you bring home something, saying “Hey I brought federal dollars home to this,” you are on the defensive.”

"

Has America Ever Been In Greater Peril?

from USACTION NEWS by Editor


Has America Ever Been In Greater Peril?: "

It has been besieged, not by cannon fire and muskets between brother and brother, but by a failed ideology that has swept the planet and is on the verge of collapsing almost every world economy.

By Ron Ewart at Canada Free Press

EXCERPTS:

America is not being conquered by another more powerful nation by the force of arms, America is disintegrating from within and the disintegration is being perpetrated by an elite group of traitors that are intent on destroying the most prosperous nation on Earth, by driving it into national bankruptcy. These traitors have been successful in dividing Americans between those that are self-reliant, responsible, productive and generous and those who have become hopelessly dependent on government. We fight amongst each other in a war of classes and are being diverted from the diabolical plans of the real enemy …… the move by this elite group of traitors towards a socialist utopia and an Absolute Democrat Monarchy, funded by the sweat, labor and tears of those who toil at honest, productive work.

America needs a symbol that all Americans can rally around, a symbol that instills the call of duty on each of our souls, a duty to save the last bastion of freedom on this Earth, before there is no one left that even remembers what freedom is all about, what price was paid to claim it and from whence it came.

Since the international symbol of distress is the nation’s flag flying upside down and since America is in distress like never before, we call on all Americans to turn the American flag that they are flying upside down, as a symbol of national distress. Those who don’t know the symbol will ask why and we will tell them, so that they too can join with those of us who, to the last man say, “we will not go quietly into the night!” And to all those who try to steal our liberty, dilute our sovereignty, blur our borders and sell America to the highest bidder, we say: “‘Tis an evil thing that you do and so yee shall sow, so shall yee reap.”

TURN YOUR AMERICAN FLAG UPSIDE DOWN AND HELP SAVE AMERICA, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2011!

Will you be the first, the second or the third to turn your flag upside down? Let this symbol of distress sweep across America like a wind-blown prairie fire. Let it gain momentum like an avalanche that has been triggered off the slopes of a tall mountain.

FULL ARTICLE

RELATED ARTICLES:

Left just can’t understand the Constitution

Frances Fox Piven Rings in The New Year By Calling for Violent Revolution

Big Government Strikes Back

George Sauron’s Minions of Mordor

Blaming capitalism, the perpetual boogeyman of the left

Late-Stage Animal Farm

The Modern Left (Unmasked)

Democrats’ Policies Based on Dogma, Hopes, Dreams, not Reality

Obama’s Emerging Enabling Act

More people realizing Obama IS a socialist

The Enemy Within

Exposing Un-American Activities

Why Barack Obama doesn’t much care for Britain

Understanding the roots of Obama’s rage

Obama’s Destruction Of Capitalism

Barack Obama’s Surrogate Father

How Obama Thinks – and why we are in deep doodoo

Marxist Obama: Why The Media Has Been Silent

‘Is Obama a Socialist?’

America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution

Black liberation theology, Marxism and the 2nd killing of Christ

Obama’s Communist Mentor

Why Obama IS anti-business

Progressive Politics and Marxist Class Warfare

Conservatives Behind the Curve on Obama

Obama’s Radical Past – key to America’s radical future

The Marxist Roots of Obama’s Rage, Part One

The Marxist Roots of Obama’s Rage, Part Two

Weather Underground Manifesto – blueprint for the Obama revolution

Walter Williams on Leftists, Progressives And Socialists

"

New Laws Govern Guns, Web, Banks

from USACTION NEWS by Editor


New Laws Govern Guns, Web, Banks: "

New federal and state laws continue to pile up. Here’s a look at changes for 2011.

By MELANIE TROTTMAN And NATHAN KOPPEL at WSJ

EXCERPTS:

Among the most far-reaching pieces of legislation is the new federal health-care law which this year includes new taxes on drug makers, as well as lower prescription-drug costs for many seniors and restrictions on tax-free medical spending. The provisions come amid heated debate, with many lawmakers saying they hope to overturn the health-care law.

State legislators passed about 31,000 news laws in 2010, down slightly from the previous year. Many of those laws took effect at the start of this year, and many reflect the potential misuse of computers.

FULL ARTICLE

"

Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee: Not raising the debt ceiling beyond $14.3 trillion will cause "a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008"

from theblogprof by The blogprof


Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee: Not raising the debt ceiling beyond $14.3 trillion will cause "a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008": "Meet the new meme. Same as the old meme: we have to spend our way out of the recession. We have to spend money we don't have to keep from going bankrupt. blah, blah, blah. From ABC News via memeorandum: Goolsbee to Tea Party: 'Playing Chicken' With Debt Ceiling Vote is 'Insanity'. On the plus side, the tea party that the Democrats have said a million times is irrelevant is all of the sudden relevant:

President Obama's top economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee, warned today against 'playing chicken' with raising the country's debt ceiling, saying it would cause 'a worse financial economic crisis than anything we saw in 2008.'

'This is not a game. The debt ceiling is not something to toy with,' said Goolsbee, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, in an exclusive interview on 'This Week.'

'If we hit the debt ceiling, that's ... essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history,' he said. 'The impact on the economy would be catastrophic.'

Congress raised the debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion last February, but the federal debt is now at $13.9 trillion, meaning the ceiling will need to be raised again this spring to avoid pushing the country into default.

What is the point of even having a debt ceiling based on Gollsbee's rationale? How about STOP SPENDING MONEY THAT WE DON'T HAVE???? As I have pointed out many times in this blog, the FY 2007 federal budget - the last one put together by Republicans - was $2.7 trillion. Since Pelosi and Reid took over, the federal budget is at $3.8 trillion. The deficit is entirely comprised of new Democrat spending since 2007. This is the result of Pelosi's promise and lie to the American people (Good news: National Debt Has Increased $5 Trillion Since Nancy Pelosi Vowed, 'No New Deficit Spending'):

Note that the deficit was decreasing for 4 consecutive years until Pelosi, Reid and then Obama got their hands on it.Just roll the budget back to 2007 levels. Good grief already! More from Outside the Beltway

"

Shocker: NY sanitation union supervisors holed up in car getting drunk during snow storm

from theblogprof by The blogprof


Shocker: NY sanitation union supervisors holed up in car getting drunk during snow storm: "First, the news broke that the generously paid NY sanitation workers were incompetent at removing snow. Then it got worse - it was a purposeful snowjob by union bosses to try and bilk more money from the taxpayers: Shocker: NY Sanitation workers targeted specific neighborhoods for non-service. They were simply driving through the street NOT plowing:

The New York Post has been all over this:

• VIDEO OF A SNOWPLOW THAT MAY HAVE BYPASSED AN ICY STREET
• STORM'S BABY NIGHTMARE
• BAD NEWS 'BARES'
• BULL-DOZER 'FOLLOWING ORDERS'

But somehow, it got even worse yesterday as union supervisors were caught getting drunk while holing up in parked snow plows waiting it out rather than doing their jobs. From the New York Post: Sanit bigs boozed amid snow chaos: witnesses

A group of on-duty Sanitation supervisors is under investigation for allegedly buying booze and chilling in their cozy department car for hours Monday night after the blizzard stranded a bus and three snowplows blocks away.

The city Department of Investigation is probing the incident after witnesses said four snow blowers blew off their duties to get blitzed, buying two six-packs of beer from a Brooklyn bodega. The workers then walked five blocks to their car, which was in 20 inches of snow in the middle of 18th at McDonald avenues near the F train entrance, passing the stuck bus and idle plows on 18th Avenue between Third and Fourth streets.

The four remained in the idling sedan until morning -- then told their bosses they could do nothing about the blizzard because they had run out of gas, one witness said.

'They just sat in their car all night with the heat running,' the witness said.

Customers who saw the group buying beer at the Ocean Mini Mart at 3917 18th Ave. in Kensington shouted at the workers.

'They were saying, 'How can you do this? You should be outside!' ' a witness told The Post.

But the Sanitation team was unmoved.

Of course they weren't. It's not like they have to actually perform to compete against anyone. this is the predictable result of running a monopoly rather than a free market service.

"

Video: TSA photocopies credit cards and other personal documents

from theblogprof by The blogprof


Video: TSA photocopies credit cards and other personal documents: "The TSA is not only stripping every traveler of their 4th amendment rights as well as their pants. They are now photocopying credit cards and other personal documentation that can easily be used to steal your identity.

Related: Porn addict applies at TSA

Related again: TSA refuse to identify themselves!

The ruling class might as well use our taxpayer dollars to put up signs at airports that read 'give up all rights all ye who enter here,' similar to the one they put up at the Auschwitz concentration camp that was coded in Newspeak:

'Work will set you free,' which was Newspeak for 'the only exit from here is the chimney'

"

Wikileaks: Iranian Rockets Can Reach Israel in 12 Minutes

from The Gateway Pundit by Lady Liberty


Wikileaks: Iranian Rockets Can Reach Israel in 12 Minutes: "

Iran has test-fired a the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range that puts Israel within reach, back in July 2008. (Novinite)

According to leaked Wikileaks documents, the Iranian Regime has rockets that can reach Israel in 12 minutes and Hezbollah now has 40,000 rockets that can reach all of Israel.

The JTA reported:

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told a U.S. Congressional delegation in November 2009 that the Islamic Republic has over 300 missiles that can reach the Jewish state in up to 12 minutes, according to the cables released on Sunday.

He also reportedly told the lawmakers, led by Ike Skelton (D-Mo.),that he was preparing Israel’s military for a major war against Hamas, saying that “I’m preparing the Israeli army for a major war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite.”

Ashkenazi told the delegation that the threat from Hamas and Hezbollah is more acute than the Iranian threat, due to their proximity to Israel. Iran funds both Hamas and Hezbollah. He predicted that the next big war for Israel would be either in Gaza or Lebanon.

He also said that Hezbollah has over 40,000 rockets capable of reaching all of Israel, and that Hamas could hit Tel Aviv.

"

Oil Climbs Above $92 a Barrel – Gas Could Rise Above $5 a Gallon by 2012

from The Gateway Pundit by Lady Liberty


Oil Climbs Above $92 a Barrel – Gas Could Rise Above $5 a Gallon by 2012: "

Thanks Barack.

Oil climbed to above $92 a berrel today.

The former President of Shell announced last week that gas prices could likely rise about $5 per gallon by 2012.

Reuters reported:

Oil extended a rally above $92 a barrel on Monday, spurred by expectations that a global economic recovery is gathering strength and as market bulls set their sights on $100 a barrel.

U.S. crude was trading 77 cents higher at $92.15 a barrel by 1108 GMT (6:08 a.m. ET), just off a session high of $92.20, its highest since October 2008. It settled at $91.38 on Friday, marking an annual gain of around 15 percent and the highest year-end price since 2007.

Brent was up $1.20 a barrel at $95.95, off an intraday peak of $96.04, also the highest since early October 2008.

Trade was thinned by a public holiday in the United Kingdom but could take direction later on Monday from a survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) -- a measure of U.S. national factory activity.

It was expected to show a slight expansion in the manufacturing sector, reinforcing the view the economy in the world's largest oil consumer is expanding and therefore driving up energy demand.

Despite the surge in prices, the Obama Administration is still blocking new drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

"

It’s Worse Than We Thought… Now Card Companies Are Mocking Obama

from The Gateway Pundit by Lady Liberty


It’s Worse Than We Thought… Now Card Companies Are Mocking Obama: "

Things are worse than we thought.

Even card companies are mocking Obama and Joe Biden.

Here’s a birthday card that is selling in St. Louis. The outside has a picture of the president and vice president.

And, the inside says, “For a really fun Birthday-

Thought I’d send in the Clowns.”



– Ouch! –

There was only one left in the rack.

Tomato Cards is the manufacturer.

"

Russia to Lay Off 200,000 Federal Employees, Cuba to Lay Off 1,000,000 Federal Employees, Obama Hires 25,000 More Federal Employees

from The Gateway Pundit by Lady Liberty


Russia to Lay Off 200,000 Federal Employees, Cuba to Lay Off 1,000,000 Federal Employees, Obama Hires 25,000 More Federal Employees: "

Even the commies get it.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced today that he would reduce the number of federal employees by 20% or roughly 200,000 in the next two years.

RIA Novosti reported, via Drudge:

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed on Monday a decree reducing the number of federal officials by 20% until 2013, the Kremlin press service said.

According to the decree, the number of federal officials is to be reduced by 5% in 2011 and 2012 and then by 10% in 2013.

The number of federal officials in Russia almost doubled in the past five years from around 600,000 in 2005 to over 1.1 million in 2010.

The decree follows the instruction made by Medvedev in June. The measure could save up to 40 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) out of the Russian federal budget.

Cuba also recently announced that the government would lay off nearly one million federal employees. In the country’s most significant reforms since Raul Castro succeeded his brother Fidel in 2008, the country is laying off 500,000 workers by April and is expected to cut another 500,000 to 800,000 in three years.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration continues to expand government.

At least 25,000 federal employees were hired since Obama moved into the White House.

That’s pretty sad… When communist Cuba and Russia are more reformist than our far left president.

"