The American Spectator : Braindead on Arrival

Text Size

Braindead on Arrival

By Peter Ferrara on 9.14.11 @ 6:09AM

Bad ideas in 2009 are even worse when cynically and wrecklessly reintroduced in 2011. Luckily, there's a GOP plan.

If President Obama's jobs plan is such a good idea, then why did he wait until the third year of his presidency to propose it?

Oh wait, he didn't actually. The so-called jobs plan Obama is trying to con the nation with now is the same plan of government spending, tax credits, and temporary measures he passed in his trillion dollar stimulus bill in his first month in office in February 2009, only half as large. And one half the effect of zero is still zero.

But not to worry, because President Obama's job's plan is not about your job, or the jobs of your friends and neighbors, or the jobs of your sons and daughters. It is about his job, and pinning the blame on the Republicans for the economy if they don't pass his silly "jobs" plan. Obama's American Jobs Act is not an economic plan, but a political plan for his reelection.

You see, America did not vote for a New Deal-sized Republican Congressional landslide in 2010 for the Republicans to pass still further increase in government spending and taxes. And he knows that. So he figures he has the Republicans cornered. If they vote for his increased spending and taxes "jobs" plan, their own voters will crucify them. And if they don't, Obama will run against them next year for standing in the way of his brilliant plan for economic recovery and jobs.

The Opposite of Tax Reform

Tax reform is supposed to involve closing loopholes and reducing rates. But President Obama's tax policies, starting with the 2009 "stimulus" and extended further in this latest "jobs" plan, is just the opposite. It involves creating new loopholes and increasing rates.

In the so-called American Jobs Act, the President proposes a new tax credit of $4,000 for hiring the long-term unemployed. He also proposes a tax credit for hiring veterans who have been unemployed for more than six months, and another tax credit for hiring the unemployed with service connected disabilities.

This echoes Obama's 2009 stimulus, which included over half a dozen new tax credits, such as the Making Work Pay tax credit, which grant those who qualify under the government's criteria an arbitrary reduction in their total income tax bill, or cash from the IRS if they don't pay income taxes. The president's so-called green energy policies also include a raft of new tax loopholes, which is what enabled General Electric to avoid paying any taxes last year on billions in profits.

The tax cuts that drive economic recovery, growth and jobs are permanent reductions in tax rates, particularly the marginal tax rate on the last dollar of investment, which allow producers to keep a higher percentage of what they produce. That expands the incentives for productive activity, such as investment, business startups and expansion, and job creation. Moreover, once the new, lower rate is established in law, it affects every economic decision throughout the economy, not just the dollar amount of any tax cut. This is what worked so spectacularly under Reaganomics.

Tax credits, by contrast, don't promote economic recovery, growth or jobs. They are just cash grants that do not change the fundamental incentives defined by the tax rates. Effectively, a tax credit is just another welfare check from the government, and the economy doesn't grow or boom based on increased welfare. Moreover, when the tax credit is financed by borrowing money out of the private sector, the economy gains nothing on net. Even worse is when the tax credit is financed by tax increases, which reduce incentives for investment, business start ups and expansion, and job creation, resulting in a reduction in the economy and jobs on net. This is why Obamanomics has not worked.

Indeed, Obamanomics involves precisely increases in tax rates, as Obama has already enacted under current law. He increased in the top tax rates for virtually every major federal tax for 2013. That is when the Obamacare tax increases become effective, and the Bush tax cuts expire. Obama has refused to renew Bush's cuts for the nation's small businesses, job creators and investors. The only important tax rate not scheduled to go up is the federal corporate tax rate, which is already virtually the highest rate in the industrialized world. That high rate sharply slashes the competitiveness of American businesses and employers in the global economy. Yet Obama continually proposes still more tax increases on American business.

These tax rate increases will have the opposite effect of tax rate cuts, and they are already discouraging job creation today, as businesses plan for the long term. Every thinking person can see the obvious failure of Obamanomics today. But just wait till that tidal wave of tax rate increases in 2013, when the failure will hunt you down, and punch you in the face.

And with these tax rate increases, we will have the complete opposite of tax reform with Obamanomics, new loopholes, in the case of GE leaving a multibillion dollar corporation with no tax liability, with higher rates.

Trashing Social Security Financing

Another central feature of the Obama jobs plan is to trash the financing of Social Security. The Making Work Pay tax credit morphed last year into a temporary, one year, two percent cut in the employee payroll tax. It didn't work to create jobs and economic recovery. But that seems to appeal to President Obama, who is always glad to double down on what doesn't work.

Page: 1 2 3 >

About the Author

Peter Ferrara is Senior Fellow at the Carleson Center for Public Policy, Director of Entitlement and Budget Policy for the Heartland Institute, and General Counsel of the American Civil Rights Union. He served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan, and as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under the first President Bush. He is the author of America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, now available from HarperCollins.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (128) | Leave a comment

The Bishop| 9.14.11 @ 6:34AM

If one wants to see how the Democrats/Progressive tax policy has enslaved and damaged good American citizens, one only needs to study the Joe Louis saga and his issues with the "progressive" tax system. (See http://www.mackinac.org/22.)

As Mr. Ferrara correctly points out, these "tax credits" do nothing for long-term economic benefit. Lowering the tax rates will stimulate the private sector and paradoxically, the U.S. Treasury will collect more revenue because of increased activity.

With respect to Joe Louis, a true American African-American hero, his story ought to serve as an example of how a tax policy enslaves in spite of the Emancipation Proclamation. It enslaves all races.

USSAlabama| 9.14.11 @ 10:26AM

I am so SICK of the term "African-American".

Nancy in NC| 9.14.11 @ 11:17AM

Can you imagine Obummer in Africa? He wouldn't last 20 minutes in Zimbabwe. Let's face it, most blacks have never been to Africa and have little understanding of the continent. As awful as slavery was, the chance of a life (and opportunity) is 100% higher here than Africa. All those who voted for Obama for the free handouts and "stash" would be up a creek in Africa. Don't work equals not eating, or being eaten.

The Democrats haven't returned the blacks to the plantation, but have made them pampered pets in many cases. And too many prefer the condition. Thank you LBJ for ruining this country, for blacks and whites.

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 5:29PM

Agreed on LBJ-- and Carter. Don't forget him, if we only could. Carter meant well, but so did the captain of the Titanic.
If Carter had been re-elected we might have been destroyed in a war.

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 5:52PM

This is what I wrote to Ken, Old Texican:
"By 2008-- before Obama was sworn in-- the government had become larger than it had under FDR and LBJ. I'm not writing that it was the fault of Mush 'n' Brainy, but 2008 was on their watch"

I forgot to include Carter. But more is the pity! In the eight years of Bush/Cheney's interregnum, the state grew larger than under FDR, LBJ, and Carter. Not to say it was their 'fault', they didn't want larger government; they did it to buy votes and gain support for the war effort. HOWEVER larger government was the result during their watch. My conscience is clear, I did not vote for Bush, his father, Dole, or McCain.
As for you? no one but you can say.

Redstateboy| 9.14.11 @ 11:52AM

Thank you Alabama!!! I've written about that many times in other venues.. Am I a Euro-American? Do we refer to Asians and Asia-Americans? People from Australia as: down-under Americans? it's almost as ridiculous as Blacks insisting on naming their children these outlandish, unprouncable, unspellable names! You wanna name your son or daughter some stupid name to you can have Yo-Indentity? Well then don't complain when they can't land a job interview!!! Think of that Johnny Cash song called: "A Boy Named Sue"

SpiralArchitect| 9.14.11 @ 12:07PM

I am so SICK of the term "African-American".

I am an American - American???

America land of the PC titles & entitlements. Disgusting.

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 5:32PM

'Black' will do just fine.

Buck Ofama| 9.14.11 @ 12:20PM

Then use "nigger".

SpiralArchitect| 9.14.11 @ 2:19PM

Right or wrong (the term), from my observations, only black people can say that w/o any objection.

Al Adab| 9.14.11 @ 3:48PM

Sprial:
Would not African-American refer not to a race but to a geographic origin? One born in Africa and naturalized would be an African-American. Egpyt and South Africa are African are they not? I stand with T. Roosevelt on this one, hyphenated Americans is nonsense.

Dan Hirsch| 9.14.11 @ 5:36PM

Wasn't Nelson Mandela African-American?

Good luck with that!

DTOM

Peppermint Tea| 9.14.11 @ 5:49PM

My favorite African American is Charlize Theron.

Al Adab| 9.14.11 @ 6:14PM

Not a bad choice at all.

The Bishop| 9.14.11 @ 2:21PM

I don't disagree, USSAlabama. I also think it's pretentious and deceptive. Of course, we can thank the plagiarized Roots and the mini-series of the same name for this obsession with Africa. However, having said that, it gets tedious explaining each time you use the term "black." So in the interest of the economy of time, I used the offending appellation.
Sincerely,
Irish-British-Hoosier-Arkansas American Bishop

BackToBasics| 9.14.11 @ 5:17PM

I had a couple friends in college who had student visas and they were from Africa. I remember walking in commons with one of them and he said hi to a group of black students who were American. Not only did they not say hello to him, they gave him an angry look. I asked him why they did this and he said that American blacks do not like the African blacks. He said they were envious of them and didn't like how studious most of the African blacks were.

I can only go by his word about the general tendencies but I did see the unfriendly looks they gave him myself. It was such a surprise to me that I never forgot it.

Jack in Wi.| 9.14.11 @ 11:54AM

There can be no possible solution to the fiscal mess this country is in until we close down these wars and end our worldwide empire. We have wasted many trillions of dollars on this worldwide welfare program. This money should have remained here not financing the Social Security systems of Israel Germany, the rest of Europe. Japan and Korea. For at least 20 years all this was unnecessary. Everything should have been closed down when the Soviet Union fell. These countries can well defend themselves. These resourses have be brought home now. We are bankrupt and we need to take care of our own country.

SpiralArchitect| 9.14.11 @ 12:11PM

"preventing layoffs of teachers, cops and firefighters."

Keep the core voters on 'your' side - there is nothing more to this rhetoric. There is no intent for jobs (creation) merely please the base as to ensure voter support.

SpiralArchitect| 9.14.11 @ 2:17PM

Want to see Ben Franklin refute Zero's proposal(s)?

http://www.americanthinker.com.....posal.html

Skippy| 9.14.11 @ 3:56PM

Especially the Israel part, eh Jack?
Israel!
They are why we suck, eh?
Say it with me again; Israel!
Sorry Jack, Islam is lame.

chuck| 9.14.11 @ 8:59PM

Jack(off) in WI just can't get past his hatred of Jews. Everything is Israel's fault.
So, Jack(off), is your real name Achmed, or maybe Mohamed?

Jack in Wi.| 9.14.11 @ 10:54PM

Israel is a big, big, expense and waste of money for the USA. I mentioned many other things as well. But the Israeli Lobby is one of the most worst and most corrupting lobbies in Washington. I could care less about the Middle East, Europe, Japan and Korea. They are all rich countries ,well able to pay for, and bleed for their own defense. If you boys love Israel so much give all your money to it and go join the IDF. Israel was always a terrible idea and it is only getting worse. It has never been able to survive on it's own. It has needed massive out side subsidies since it's founding. It is time for the world's worst welfare Queen to finally support itself, without sugar daddy Uncle Sam.

chuck| 9.15.11 @ 7:36AM

By far, vast majority of money spent, and wasted by the Feds is on domestic spending, not foreign aid, or national defense(which they are Constitutionally charged to provide). If you truly want to get this nation on a solid financial footing, you must get the spending for social programs under control. It's like having a $50,000 income, living in a $3 million home, driving BMW's around, then bitching at your wife because her make-up is busting the budget!
Your beef with Israel is not about money, you obviously have a problem with Jewish people. I've known people like you, there are plenty in the deep South, mostly older. They blame all their failures on blacks. It's ugly, and it's wrong, and it's time you took a good long look in the mirror, and decide what kind of person YOU want to be.

carnot| 9.14.11 @ 4:31PM

how do you know these countries can defend themselves?

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 8:23PM

"Israel Germany"

A new nation?

Intelligent Design| 9.14.11 @ 6:57AM

Obama is beyond being a failure. He's irrelevant.

Gary B| 9.14.11 @ 8:23AM

Intelligent Design,

I wish he was only irrelevant. While he does his hopeless clown act, his regulators are tearing the country in half. Everyone knows undoing regulations is nearly impossible, regardless who's in the White House.

Intelligent Design| 9.14.11 @ 9:17AM

He is irrelevant because he brings nothing to the table, has no substance, no understanding, no constructive ideas, no credibility, and no political power left. Members of his own party are running from him, and they will run faster as November 2012 approaches. I think 2/3 of voters are so disgusted that they can hardly wait to vote for "the other guy". When Obama speaks, nobody but the media is listening. The White House could use a cardboard silhouette with Obama's recorded message.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 11:12AM

I hope you are right, but irrelevant he is not - if only because the media is burning the candle at both ends in a Herculean effort to prop him up; after all, they agree with 100% of his policies.

On the one hand, I agree that many are fleeing from him - feckless, fickle independents are likely gone (at least until 2016, when, as predictably as the swallows to Capistrano, they'll return and vote Democrat), and many in his own party are distancing themselves such that sometimes I think his only two remaining reliable constituencies are blacks and the mainstream media. In my more sanguine moments, I think there is no way he will be re-elected.

On the other hand, I worry - for one thing, the mainstream media is still way more powerful than most conservatives want to admit. Regardless of the growth of conservative commentary out there, the mainstream media still represent a monolithic and relentless, pervasive influence on our culture. Not just the news but TV, film, most magazines and, of course, our education system, which continues to crank out useful idiots who believe that they are entitled to lush lifestyles on somebody else's dime just by virtue of the fact they were born and as long as they spout empty bromides about "tolerance," "diversity," "multiculturalism" and saving the planet.

Second, one reason many from his base are fleeing is because they perceive him to be too conservative!

And third, the Democrat Party's plan since LBJ has been to make every American dependent on the Party such that they will vote for the Party in perpetuity. I believe that the Party has achieved critical mass and that there's no turning back.

This country has lost its collective mind; I'm afraid we have tipped irrevocably away from individual responsibility and rationalism and toward the false consciousness of decadent self-gratification that we've convinced ourselves is the apotheosis of moral purity; the segment of the population that is drunk on Other People's Money seems to continue to swell, and these sots aren't about to accept "last call" at the bar by the people paying for the liquor.

We are literally insane. We are Rome in its final, decadent days. I mean, is Obama any saner than Caligula (granted, Caligula ruled relatively early on in the epoch of empire, but he was a harbinger of things to come).

I had a small dinner party at my house over the weekend with a relatively disparate group of people, and, although I shouldn't have been (I live in Vermont, after all), I was flabbergasted at the political comments. All of these people STILL think Obama is a fucking genius, a saint, the second coming of Christ. And their comments about Michele Bachmann - well, she's the new Sarah Palin, I guess. Of course there were also the requisite snipes at Cheney, Bush, Perry and everyone else with an "R" after his/her name (because all Republicans are greedy, bigoted, redneck MORONS, of course).

I've had it with these self-congratulating moral masturbators.

This country deserves what is is about to get. Unfortunately, not one of the nihilists and liberals who believe their deliberate destruction of this country confers moral superiority on them will every place the blame for our collapse where it belongs.

Tiddly| 9.14.11 @ 11:51AM

"Of course there were also the requisite snipes at Cheney, Bush, Perry and everyone else with an "R" after his/her name (because all Republicans are greedy, bigoted, redneck MORONS, of course)."

I am impressed by your good grammar. Writing "his/her" instead of "their" is something rarely seen today. It is the mark of an educated mind.

The obscenity is unnecessary, though.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 12:27PM

Well, thanks - win some, lose some, I guess.

I respect your objection to my use of the "f" word. however, it is simply a mark of my utter frustration with this mind set (and I am not averse to the judicious use of obscenity in writing; David Mamet comes to mind).

However, if you refer to the term "masturbators" as an obscenity, perhaps I should have referred to liberals' moral onanism, but I went for the alliteration.

And I don't think there's any other way to describe what these people do: they preen endlessly in the soft-hued, near-pornographic reflection of their own perceived moral superiority, spouting empty bromides repeatedly until they achieve a certain euphoric, self-satisfied catharsis that affects the real world not one iota, but makes everything right in their little realm of make-believe.

And what kills me is, just as lab rats will press the lever for cocaine until they kill themselves, liberals persist in this onanistic basking in their self-reflected glory without a care at all that the world they have created is falling apart around them.

JmsA| 9.15.11 @ 9:37PM

Keep it coming, Grzmlyk, you're doing just fine.

Buck Ofama| 9.14.11 @ 12:36PM

>The obscenity is unnecessary, though.
>All of these people STILL think Obama is a fucking genius...

You take issue with THAT? Grow up.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 1:08PM

No problem here.

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 2:38PM

"Of course there were also the requisite snipes at Cheney, Bush, Perry and everyone else with an "R" after his/her name (because all Republicans are greedy, bigoted, redneck MORONS, of course)."

Hey Grz, THAT if nothing else will keep me voting for the 'R' party.
LOL.
Keep 'em coming. Those posts, I mean. Laser sharp as always, sir.

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 8:30PM

"Of course there were also the requisite snipes at Cheney, Bush, Perry and everyone else with an "R" after his/her name"

Reagan was popular- he won 49 states in '84. But Bush was/is unpopular for good reason.

Simon Templar| 9.14.11 @ 2:55PM

Grzmlyk, as usual, your comments illuminate this web site. I always enjoy reading them.

You are like one of those prophets of the old testament living in the wilderness of the 'desert' of Vermont warning Israel to clean up its act or face doom and wrath.

People better heed your words.

The strange thing is we can turn this around just as the people of old Israel could have done if they exercised the courage and will to do so.

This battle is not going to be easy and is going to require we start thinking out of the conventional thinking boxes in which conservatives have typically placed themselves. We are seeing some of this but more has to be done.

Take the expolsion of conservative web sites and conservative Internet TV web sites, for example.
The new, Breitbart citizen journalism, is another.
Of course, the Tea Party, something none of us could have predicted on Nov 3, 2008.

This is why it is so very important to not underestimate the opposition and just sit back. We have to keep it going and not stop. I do believe we can stop this wrath coming.

I used to live in Vermont. I understand your frustration and what you are going through there. It is a wonderful state, spectacular in it's beauty but unfortunately overun with liberal New Yorkers. Hang in there, buddy.

Keep writing. You should consider writing books and publishing them on the internet. Just a suggestion. Maybe a road trip out of Vermont for a week and out to the Hinterlands will help as well.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 3:54PM

You are very kind, Margie and Simon.

You are correct, Simon, about transplanted New Yorkers (and others) occupying what used to be a conservative state (Vermont): Only one of the folks I had at my dinner party was a native Vermonter - one was originally from Jersey, two from Philly, two from Ohio and me - I'm originally from another liberal bastion: Chicago.

I try not to despair, and you are right that there are developments, like conservative media and the Tea Party, that give me a ray of hope. But here are two things that take the wind out of my sails:

1) I think Obama will not be reelected, which means we'll have a GOP president. I'm guessing that, whichever Republican is elected, he/she is going to have to genuflect before the bureaucracy, because the bureaucracy now dwarfs the presidency.

This is the true unseen hand in governance today: the lobbyists, the permanent DC staffers and the legions of government workers and departments that only know expansion, only know the gravy train of socialism.

Even if we had a Republican president who sincerely wanted to fight the status quo, it would be like Mick Jagger trying to execute an open-field tackle on Shaquille O'Neal. The Shaq wouldn't even break his stride as Jagger bounced off.

And we're in such deep doo-doo that no GOP president is going to be able to turn the tide in four years; we're in fiscal free fall, and even if there is hope for America, it's going to get worse before it gets better. And that means that the fickle, feckless independents will vote Democrat in 2016 and whatever dent we DO manage to make in the nanny state will soon be forgotten as the Socialist Party of America takes back the reins of power in 2017.

2) The other issue is - and it pains me to say this - but conservatives have already lost the culture war in this country.

Every institution continues to march ever further leftward in order to prove that it is sensitive, or that it celebrates diversity or that its primary reason for existence is not profit, but to save humanity and the planet.

I can only conclude they do this because their focus groups tell them that is what the public - us - wants.

So, in order to ingratiate themselves with customers, businesses continue to become more and more progressive.

Perfect example: I just heard that Wal-Mart - which just won a significant victory in a class-action lawsuit that charged it discrminated against women in its employment practices - is using that victory not to continue its sane, reasonable employment practices, but to cave in cravenly to political correctness.

It just announced an initiative that will make left-wing feminists happy to shop there: Over the next five years, Wal-Mart said it will buy $20 billion in goods and services from female-run businesses in the U.S. alone. Earth to Wal-Mart: THIS is discrimination.

It also plans to double the amount of money it pays women-owned suppliers overseas. Earth to Wal-Mart: This means you are now prejudiced against male-owned suppliers overseas.

But why should lovely, newly-chastened Wal-Mart stop there? It's offering educational services to women as well!

It plans to train 60,000 women working in factories that supply products to Wal-Mart and other buyers. It also plans to teach life skills, like financial literacy and punctuality, to 200,000 overseas and another 200,000 low-income women here in the U.S.

Excuse me, didn't Wal-Mart start out as a conservative bastion? Wasn't Sam Walton an in-your-face businessperson who stood his ground in order to defend his business model - a busines model that was based on the purely capitalist principle of high volume and low prices?

Well, that Wal-Mart is dead and gone.

And what is all of this feel-good bullshit going to do? It's going to drive up prices at Wal-Mart. Oh well, good bye old business model. Hello "vanity premiums."

Because Wal-Mart doesn't want to provide cheap prices to people who shop for bargains anymore; no, Wal-Mart's new raison d'etre is to make middle-class women and others with disposable incomes and "social consciences" happy to shop there, and, if its customers have to pay an extra 20% for everything in the store, it's a small price to pay so that they can feel good about themselves.

The fact that this is Wal-Mart's strategy - presumably its trying to grow its business - means that this is what the largest retailer in America has concluded that America wants. And if America wants this, that means conservatives have lost the culture war. Game, set and match.

Wal-Mart is not alone - it's just a very current example of the inexorable leftward march that's happening all over in this country.

And don't get me started on the imminent government takeover of academia - of course that's a fait accompli; 99% of the colleges in this country now have but one major: Socialism. Funny how they're so good at teaching the first rule of Socialism: What's yours is mine. But they never teach the second rule of Socialism: In order to survive, the parasite of socialism requires a host of capitalism (i.e., evil profits). And socialism always, always, always, ends up sucking the host dry until both entities die. Even Lenin had no illusions about that.

So you see why I'm not optmistic about our future.

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 5:00PM

Gryz,

The gullible, the uninformed, misinformed, and the purposely willfully ignorant will perhaps always say,

"I will always love the false image I had of you."
Ashleigh Brilliant.

I don't know who this Ashleigh Brilliant is, but she nailed it.
There will always be the lost, who will go along with what the t.v. tells them to~ those who are pleased to follow "The View" rather than reality.

My own family, sadly, holds mostly to this view. I'm the good old black sheep~ and you can imagine what our get togethers are like, so I can relate.

Now that we have moved 2 states away, I am sure that absence will indeed make the heart grow fonder. I'm also a Christian, and they're not. All these years they rejected my stance on the Bible. Now that they are having troubles of their own~ who is it that they want to turn to for help and comfort and advice and prayer? Yep. That awful Bible believing Christian conservative!!
LOL. One of them suddenly wants to come live with us now in their time of need, but honestly~ I need to keep my sanity.

This one in particular has lived off of my Parents for decades, making their lives unbearable, yet they have seen fit to enable this one, no matter how they are disrespected and spat upon. This is what false Liberal guilt does to a soul, and it is truly sad to behold.

Do I want that living with us? NO way.

Hey, as to Wal-Mart, as I read what you were posting about what they're doing, I was thinking, well let them. If that's what they want to do with their money~ they just one-upped the stupid woman who sued them.
Is that like heaping burning coals on her head so to speak?
I wondered if they are kow-towing or doing it with a big smile!!
I don't know, Gryz. It's a free country!
Next up- maybe the men will sue for getting less money than the women.

This reminds me of once in NYC, I had hailed a cab to work, from the west side to the east. This time, I wasn't going to allow the driver to go the way he wanted to go, which would be more money out of my pocket.
Well, wouldn't you know, there happened to be a huge traffic jam. This guy was cursing me and yelling at me and blaming me for this.
So, what did I do? We pulled up to the curb and I asked him to wait a second. He looked at me and said, "yeah, right. You won't be back." I went to the ATM and took out a couple of bills, walked back over to him and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, thank you for your trouble today."

His mouth literally dropped open, and he was dumbstruck.
Hey~ I gave the guy a change from the ordinary grind of the city.
Was I kow-towing? Nope. It was for a purpose. It set both of us free. LOL.

Don't give up hope.. I struggle with it each day. I'm so much like you, as I see things for what they truly are, too.

We are a nation that is struggling to strengthen what remains, and we must depend upon God as individuals, not look to what the rest of the World is doing, keep our focus, do what we each can to save our republic, and if we must~ go down FIGHTING.

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 5:14PM

I forgot to say that I had Obama in mind with ref. to that "brilliant" quote.

No matter what, some will never wake up.

Simon Templar| 9.14.11 @ 5:48PM

Margie, that was awesome. Tears came to my eyes. You are a gem.

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 7:44PM

Thanks, Simon, but YOU are the gem around here.

Never stop shining.

Trinacria| 9.14.11 @ 6:03PM

Tune in next week, folks, for another riveting episode of Trifling Trivia From Margie's Personal Life, sponsored by Ambien.

Write a book, honey. Time and place...

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 8:51PM

Hey, then don't read my posts, doofus. BTW~ that was you posting as "God" the other day in that thread, was it not??
Fess up.

chuck| 9.14.11 @ 9:01PM

I bet he was posting as God. I'm thinking God doesn't need this jackass speaking for Him.

Jesus Christ| 9.16.11 @ 2:13PM

Margie,

Hast thou no faith? Dost thou not believe in me? I can turn water into wine and raise from the dead but I can't post a comment on the American Spectator?

Yea, I say unto thee, whosoever believes in me shall have life everlasting; whosoever doesn't is on thine own.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 11:12PM

I'm not sure I understand your point, Margie:

How is Wal-Mart's decision to cave in to political correctness and out-liberal the liberals a victory for conservatism? Because Wal-Mart is doing it with a smile on their face?

My point was that if a traditionally conservative company like Wal-Mart becomes politically correct, it is a victory for liberalism, not conservatism. I'm not questioning their right to do that, I'm drawing the conclusion that Wal-Mart's decision to do so is pretty convincing evidence that the culture war is over and liberalism has won. Which I believe.

I could say the same about the conduct of Warren Buffet, or Bill Gates or GE or GM or Goldman Sachs or the entire advertising industry - or even British Petroleum, which flabbergasted me a few years ago when it launched a huge ad campaign touting wind and solar energy - and pixie dust and fairy wings. This was utterly foolhardy on BP's part. They should have stood their ground and talked about the advantages of petroleum products - which they eventually went back to doing.

But Wal-Mart used to be a bellwether for common sense. How is its decison - which is not going to cost Wal-Mart, it's going to cost its customers - something for conservatives to cheer?

So if I want to achieve victory over my liberal friends, I just become more liberal than they are? I'm seriously confused.

Margie| 9.15.11 @ 1:06AM

First of all, Wal-Mart hasn't been a conservative co. since Sam Walton died.. they've been progressively Liberal.

And I didn't say it was a victory for conservatism. I said I WONDERED if they're doing it with a smile on their face.. in such a way. They probably are doing it to prevent future lawsuits.
They're a liberal co. and they're constantly demonized. Why? Because they're non-union.
They're as liberal as B.P. but they're demonized by the media.

LOL~ kinda like what you do with your Liberal friends by pretending to be on their side.
Wal-Mart and BP will always be demonized because of what kind of co. they are, and not what kind of co. policies they put forth.
They can be supportive of "Gay Rights", but they can't be the "wrong kind" of co. (Non-Union Retailer and Big Oil).

I'm not so sure this is going to hurt the consumers unless the consumers perceive Wal-Mart & B.P. to be bad co.'s.

And how can they be a bad co. if they "help women and the environment?" By doing these things, they get back to the business of doing business.
They're taking care of the problem that was foisted upon them.

Grzmlyk| 9.15.11 @ 10:06AM

But I don't pretend to be on my friends' side. That has NEVER happened.

Bottom line: Both the fact that I'm treated like a leper for my views, and Wal-Mart and BP move ever further leftward in order to appease customers, proves my thesis: Conservativism has lost the culture war.

Margie| 9.15.11 @ 1:16PM

Grz,

In order to hang out with them you are pretending to some extent, because if you opened your mouth and said what you really believed, you know they'd boot you.

You know this, and it's why you keep silent.

I am rejected by my own family because I refuse to keep my stance quiet. I refuse to allow myself to be pretend friends with anybody.

And this World is in the power of the evil one, so says the Bible~ so the so called culture war has been lost since the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden.

Bottom line: Companies do what they have to do to survive. And I can't fault them, really.

Margie| 9.15.11 @ 1:20PM

And before you say they couldn't boot you because you were in your house, then they'd walk out.

But they'd boot you out of their lives otherwise.

I'm not attacking you here, just speaking truthfully, and you know it.

I've long since discovered that it matters more to me that I'm true to myself and God~ Whom I really want to please~ than it does to have faux friends.

In truth, I know they hate me because of my beliefs~ they don't share them, so I find people who do.

Anthony| 9.14.11 @ 3:14PM

Grzmlyk my Vermont neighbor, What, no comments from your libertard friends about how global warming caused Irene to demolish the green state of VT? No George Bush pushed Irene towards VT?, or Dick Cheney?
I have a lefty friend who has a place up there, he said the damage is unbelievable. I saw some of it when I traveled to Lake George a few weeks ago.
I said to my lefty friend, it could not have happened to a more deserving state.
He blamed global warming, but not George Bush or Dick Cheney. Perhaps you should invite my friend to your next dinner party, he's only half an idiot, unlike some of your VT friends.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 4:07PM

Oh yes, Anthony, I got the full global warming two-step: One of these friends is a 50-something ex-hippie who is now an engineer who makes - what else - "green" buildings. Oh yeah. She started in just as soon as she parked her Prius outside my house.

I don't know what to do - all of the people I come into contact with are liberals; I've done a lot of public relations work for Silicon Valley high tech companies, and I'm in the arts, and I am the ONLY person I know who thinks liberalism is a disease. All of my friends, colleagues, peers and co-workers think liberalism is their ticket to secular heaven.

I changed the subject quickly - I didn't wait for the comments, which were sure to come, about how George Bush steered Irene toward Vermont, or how Bush got Dick Cheney to fire up the Halliburton hurricane machine in order to devastate the area.

But my "green" friends really should be happy that Irene destroyed large swaths of Vermont. Being good Keynesians, I'm sure they subscribe to the "broken windows" fallacy - that if you destroy property, it means an economic boom, because you have to hire people to come and replace the windows and fix the property.

I guess that puts them in a quandry - to hate Bush and Cheney for devastating people's lives or to worship Bush and Cheney for "fixing" the economy.

I'm surprised liberals don't explode from their own internal contradictions.

Al Adab| 9.14.11 @ 5:22PM

GRZ:
Do you or any of the others like Ken or Margie know what became of Gill O'Teen? Haven't heard from him in a long while.

Margie| 9.14.11 @ 7:45PM

No, I don't Al, sorry.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 11:14PM

Hi Al Adab:

No, now that you mention it, I haven't heard from him in a while; although I'll often go several days without posting. Life tends to intrude.

Hope he's ok!

Redstateboy| 9.14.11 @ 3:24PM

Grzmlyk... ever think of leaving the People's Republic of Vermont? I escaped 12 years ago from that Gulag - the People's Republic of New York and live in Tennessee.. That'd be EAST Tennessee (there's a difference) It's Conservative Nirvanna where the occassional Liber-ul rears his/her ugly head and they're looked upon as freaks, deviants, traitors - basically your accurate description.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 4:08PM

Yes, I've thought of leaving Vermont. Tennessee is on the list, actually. I've been there and love it. But I have some roots here, and you know how it is.

Skippy| 9.14.11 @ 3:59PM

Grym,
Throw those pieces of shit out!
Why do they eat your food?
Who let them in?
Where's your spine?
I have liberal friends, but put up with none of their BS.
At my house, if you talk politics, be ready to meet the man of the house.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 4:14PM

Well, to be fair, it was pot luck and they brought a lot of the food.

Skippy, with one exception (a lesbian, as it happens), I am literally the ONLY conservative I know.

I would be persona non-grata, both personally and professionally, if I revealed the extent of my leanings - although I never pretend to agree with their inanities. Once your name is registered with the "tolerance police," you won't have to worry about anyone coming to your house - except the jack-booted thugs from the EPA or the IRS.

I don't know what it means to meet the man of your house - do you get into fistfights? With your friends?

You cannot argue with a liberal - have you seen the trolls here? The mind of every liberal is the mind of a troll- they believe they are morally and intellectually superior and that they are GOOD and you are EVIL.

carnot| 9.14.11 @ 4:41PM

yes...but....if not now...soon...they will be unemployed....

Dan Hirsch| 9.14.11 @ 5:46PM

Grm;

But you can always INNOCENTLY ask their opinion on some of their many impossible contradictions. If you just patiently ask enough questions, remaining plainly curious, it shouldn't be too hard to maneuver them into a corner from which rational thought is the only escape.

Since you aren't anti-social, you might make a little progress. Few remember that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar...

DTOM

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 10:51PM

Have you ever tried this? You cannot lead people to rationality that easily, my friend; if you could, this world would be a very, very different place.

There is ALWAYS an escape from rational thought. And that is the first refuge of a liberal. I've been there. I've tried it. I had one friend - an otherwise charming woman - cornered and she simply admitted she was a hypocrite - cheerfully. Did that give her an "aha" moment? It did not.

People who are liberals are highly adept at avoiding rational thought.

Alan Brooks| 9.14.11 @ 8:27PM

"All of these people STILL think Obama is a fucking genius, a saint, the second coming of Christ."

Not ALL of them. Some of them are so pleased BushCheney isn't president anymore, they are willing to give Obama a chance.

Grzmlyk| 9.14.11 @ 10:46PM

Obama's had a chance, fool - he's been president just about as long as JFK was, and look at the impression HE made (of course JFK's actual performance left one hell of a lot to be desired, but, well, I'm guessing you drink liberally from the Camelot Kool-aid).

You know how much you hate Bush/Cheney? Now multiply that a thousandfold and you will get a sense of how I feel about your worship for an utter piece of shit.

Then again, it takes one to love one, I guess.

Nancy in NC| 9.14.11 @ 11:20AM

Actually his speeches sound like recorded messages for 2009 or 2910. Has he said anything different in three years? He is truly a broken record, and a bad recording at that.

Unfortunately he has his following: Marxist, socialist, malcontents, the lame and lazy. Hopefully they won't show up in 2012, but don't rule out ACORN and fradulent voting procedures. Obummer doesn't want to lose his throne and will do everything possible to retain it. We cannot sit on our laurels.

Mimi| 9.14.11 @ 7:03AM

Thanks Peter for the info on the " PASS IT NOW
HURRY,HURRY BILL"....sounds like more wasteful, do nothing spending bill !
You laid out a brilliant road map for the GOP House.....That alone should get us a good start on the mountains of challenging repair work needed for the next administation.
One thing is for sure...the deliberate destruction of this nation MUST STOP...1/2 the country is now poor, and were sick and darn tired of walking down a boarded up MAIN STREET!

saleboter| 9.14.11 @ 7:05AM

Fool me once ........

Brian Mc| 9.14.11 @ 7:15AM

We are drowning and DC is trying to decide how far our head should be held under water. Income Tax is veiled socialism and the IRS is an insult to, and an assault on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Pull us from the damned drowning pool where we are thrown sponges one moment and bricks, the next. Or, must we do it ourselves?

Lawrence Boccardi| 9.14.11 @ 7:18AM

This is criminal. More money to save teacher's jobs, is just postponing the inevitable. Local taxation cannot prevent any teacher layoffs, when this bundle is exhausted. Infrastructure spending?? All these contarcts will be awarded under the constricts of the Davis-Bacon act, a depression era tactic to protect union construction jobs. It mandates that wages, under these contracts, be paid at the prevailing wage of tha local area, read UNION wages here. Few non-union employers can or will participate in these bid processees, because if they were to increase their employee wages to "prevailing wage rate", it is impossible to return those wages to their earlier levels. O is just buying more union votes for the 2012 election. He does not have a drop of statesman blood in his marxist body.

Timothy L. Pennell| 9.14.11 @ 7:37AM

That's a very interesting story, but it misses the point. The only relevant part of his "Plan" is the Hiring of Teachers and the Refurbishing of Schools.
"We need a CIVILIAN FORCE that is just as large, and just as well Financed, as the Military one." Sieg Heil!
Dictatorship 101.
Assad has one. Ahmahandajob has one. Mugabe has one. The Extra Chromosomed, soon to be DEAD, Hugo Chavez has one.
"Mr. President, we are your Army, And we are ready to March for you. We need to TAKE OUT these Sons a Bitches, and bring back a Fatherland where we can belong." Sieg Heil! James (I'm a little drunk) Hoffa Jr.
"You are the only Civilian Force. The ONLY Civilian Force that is big enough to blah, blah, blah............" Joe Biden.
Armies need to be PAID.
The 2009 Stimulus/Slush Fund money, went MAINLY, to States, to keep their State Employee Unions gainfully employed. Union Members working = Union Member paying Dues. Union Member paying Dues = Kickbacks to the Democrats, in the form of Campaign Contributions. (Money Laundering)
Tax Credits. Job Training. Payroll Tax Cuts. All, Nickels and Dimes. Window Dressing. Hussein's "Plan" is to do what he did the first time.
Once he gets his hands on that cash, nobody can stop him. He will funnel that money back to his Civilian Force. All around the Country, States are laying off their Public Employee Union Member, because there's no more money. Obama will dole this money out, again. He has to. That's all he's got. He can't create Jobs, or help Businesses. He's never HAD a job, and he's spent most of his adult life, Terrorizing and Extorting Businesses.
I think that he'd LIKE to do this through the back door, but if he can't, no matter.
He asks for money to "Hire Teachers (Union), and put (UNION) Construction Workers back to work. He says he wants to Refurbish Schools, but, that can't be done until Summer. The plan is to give them the Money, NOW, for, if they take the money, they are prohibited from laying off any Teachers. Capiche?
If you think that I might be mistaken?
Remember who was sitting next to Michelle Antoinette. She, of the $10 Million in our Tax Dollars. spent on all of her Shared Sacrifice VACATIONS.
Richard Trumpka.
He fooled us once. So, shame on you.
Fool us TWICE?
Wake up.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 7:59AM

Bravo, its his last, best attempt to refinance his minions for the upcoming election. It isn't going anywhere, his own party concedes it isn't going anywhere. The farther this poser gets backed into the corner the mosre desperate he is going to get.

Brian Mc| 9.14.11 @ 8:45AM

Well said, Tim.

Pecos Pete| 9.14.11 @ 9:06AM

TLP: Agreed.

PattyMor| 9.14.11 @ 7:58AM

All the spending and taxation is bad enough, but the worst is creating a new "right" to sue if you are unemployed and don't get hired. Now what company in their right mind would interview anyone that is unemployed with this legal cudget held over your head? Its another perverse incentive to keep people unemployed and poor which makes you dependent on the Gov'ment.

Buck Ofama| 9.16.11 @ 1:57AM

If these whining assh0les have the "right" to sue for not being hired, then I demand the right to sue the Chief Petty Officer for the following complaints:

(i) Gross incompetence;
(ii) Narcissism and self-aggrandizement at MY expense;
(iii) Intention infliction of emotional distress;
(iv) Criminal malfeasance involving sweetheart deals for GM and Solyndra;
(v) Generally being a muslim-loving, goat-fvcking asshole.
(vi) National embarrassment in his apology tour, bowing, groveling, and sucking arab dicks.

Von Mises Jr.| 9.14.11 @ 8:01AM

The Republicans should call this what it is: "The Money Laundering Bull."
The first quarter of the 2009 Stimulus went to save teachers and police pensions for two additional years.
Another large portion went to companies such as Solyndra where the money was handed out to crony capitalist and bundlers, and disappeared.
The tax cuts in the Stimulus were mostly tax credits given to those who pay no taxes. I got a Small Business Tax Rebate for a company he helped bankrupt. Excuse me if I forgot to say "Thank You."

Anthony| 9.14.11 @ 8:10AM

Obozo is going the way of N.Y 9. The Muslim Marxist, married to " all this for a flag" bitch, will soon be back in Kenya.
What distruction this empty suit has wreaked upon America. He should be arrested for crimes against humanity for the destruction he and the D party have unleashed against America.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 8:23AM

I know two loyal Demo-socialists who are mid-level party workers and they are totally scared to death of what a hosing they are going to get in 2012 due to this POS in the white House. You know they did whatever ballot box stuffing they could and there was still a wide margin. This guy will go down in history as the most incompetent, under qualified, and overall worst president in US history and Jimmy is off the hook once and for all.

Mimi| 9.14.11 @ 8:30AM

N.Y. 9...." Chickens come home to Roost"....REPEAT Nov.2010, ACT No. 1
Maybe NOW the SANE Dems will take a march up to the Whitehouse....to have a nice talk....repeat history of Nixon resignation.....Surely some Dems are not suicidal!

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 9:04AM

If this is an indication of a key NY district going south on him, he just kissed Florida goodbye.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 9:05AM

They have to get Rubio on this ticket somehow.

Al Adab| 9.14.11 @ 11:24AM

Do not underestimate what the unions, ACORN, SEIU and AARPan accomplish. After all they stole the NV election for Reid. It is all about electoral votes and Fla is a main player. They will stop at nothing to secure those votes. Ohio is also decisive. Be on alert.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 11:46AM

Never underestimate evil. His has his "move it into the streets" card to play. This guy can and will do a lot more damage if he thinks he's a goner.
If he's defeated and cornered, what he will do in the last two months of his Presidency will be something for the history books. Next year is going to be one that historians will long remember. This is going to get beyond ugly.

Pecos Pete| 9.14.11 @ 9:12AM

Anthony: I hope that King O moves ALL of his family to Kenya in January 2013.

tsd| 9.14.11 @ 8:19AM

It is time we close all the ivy league schools that we are told educate our leaders.... why you ask? These institutions create these snobs who by they're actions prove they have less math skills than a 3rd grader. They give out PHD's in economics to morons who do not understand you cannot spend more than you have. They say they educate people on the constitution and the law, the same people who seem to always want to violate it! It is time to hold them accountable and show these over educated morons a bit of wisdom by cutting they're funding. All these highly educated people from our ivy league schools, without a ounce of common sense and no wisdom... what good are they???

TexasJayde| 9.14.11 @ 9:50AM

why would the obamessiah want to move to kenya, a third world country at best? with his retirement package as president, he will continue to inflict himself on us into the forseeable future, making money on speeches at the marxist universities and books to be written by ghost writers. he will also be inciting gubmint lackeys to riot and otherwise cause civil disruption. why would he want to miss all that fun?

TexasJayde| 9.14.11 @ 9:53AM

he will make millions in the process a la billy joe jim bob clinton. that should make his wife, otherwise known as The Klingon, very happy.

Nancy in NC| 9.14.11 @ 11:28AM

I'm with you. Anyone paying the big bucks to send a kid to Harvard or Columbia has a wet brain. They imported their brand of socialism long ago and have indoctrinated several generations of losers in the media and the education system. The so called "elite" are just a bunch of whiny losers that feel entitled to tell the rest of us what to do and think. Many have others tout their intelligence while the rest of us look upon them as the fools they really are. Valerie Jarrett may think Obama is the smartest man in the world, a combination of Einstein and Socrates, but I have yet to see the proof. He's only a product of a culture that tells everyone how wonderful they are, without any accomplishments. How else did he win a Nobel Peace Prize?

Gary B| 9.14.11 @ 8:31AM

Wouldn't it be great if the House passed a bill right now requiring the rollback of all of Obama's job-killing, anti-drilling, EPA thuggery regulations and then blamed the Democrats for blocking it? Wouldn't it be nice if Republicans had brains enough to do the simplest things to defend themselves - and us? Excuse me... there's a wall nearby; I need to bang my head against it.

Mimi| 9.14.11 @ 8:35AM

Gary....BUCK-UP....we will see some very interesting days ahead!!

Jason Brutus Kane | 9.14.11 @ 8:52AM

I agree this is the same financial nonsense as the stimulus, only smaller and certainly with the same zero sum results. Nothing temporary will turn our national bankruptcy around.

I suggest two things immediately. First Taxes. A flat tax rate for individuals of 15%, deductions only for mortgage interest on mortgages of $500,000, on earnings up to $5000,000. Then a rate of 40% on earnings over $500,000 and no deductions.

Also corporations would be taxed at a rate of 15%, no deductions. They would also pay the salaries, annually increased by the dollar amount of raises granted to each company's top 10 employees, of jobs shipped over seas as tax for 25 years.

Second, restructure the welfare system.
That means drug testing at random. Positive test: no public housing: no medicaid until a clean test which tests would be mandatory and monthly; Children removed from the home.

All able bodied recipients would have to work for 40 hours a week in their communities. All local governments have "projects" they need done. Sure it is likely hot, dirty work, but it needs to be done. It would be a "work for welfare" system. Don't show up and you are docked. Make it just like a job sick days maybe 7 the first year, 5 days vacation the first year. You see what I doing. I am offering exercise, training in responsibility and the pride felt when a job is finished.

Limit what can be bought with food stamps to meat, vegetables, eggs, surplus cheese, bread, and fruits. Period. Nothing else.

I predict we see fewer jobs shipped overseas, more hiring, and rapid diminution in the number of democrat welfare slaves.

And yes, lots of revenue from lower taxes.

Tired Taxpayer PRM| 9.14.11 @ 1:15PM

RULE !: When government is the problem, more government is NEVER the answer.

“I suggest two things immediately. First Taxes. A flat tax rate for individuals of 15%, deductions only for mortgage interest on mortgages of $500,000, on earnings up to $5000,000. Then a rate of 40% on earnings over $500,000 and no deductions.”

Why the rate increase on incomes over 500,000? Tax the evil rich? While I would prefer a consumption tax, if you have to have a flat income tax then make it flat over all incomes. Any progressive income tax is socialism, straight out of the Marxist handbook.

“Also corporations would be taxed at a rate of 15%, no deductions. They would also pay the salaries, annually increased by the dollar amount of raises granted to each company's top 10 employees, of jobs shipped over seas as tax for 25 years.”

You do realize that corporations do not pay any corporate tax, right? They raise their prices to cover the tax and their customers pay the tax. Cut the corporate tax rate to zero. Also, it is none of your business what a corporation pays it’s executives unless you are an owner (stock holder). The more rules you impose the less a corporation can compete. Remove the bad regulations and bad tax policies and corporations will hire here in the US.

“That means drug testing at random. Positive test: no public housing: no Medicaid until a clean test which tests would be mandatory and monthly; Children removed from the home.
All able bodied recipients would have to work for 40 hours a week in their communities. All local governments have "projects" they need done. Sure it is likely hot, dirty work, but it needs to be done. It would be a "work for welfare" system. Don't show up and you are docked. Make it just like a job sick days maybe 7 the first year, 5 days vacation the first year. You see what I doing. I am offering exercise, training in responsibility and the pride felt when a job is finished.
Limit what can be bought with food stamps to meat, vegetables, eggs, surplus cheese, bread, and fruits. Period. Nothing else.”

This all sounds wonderful but it would do nothing to reduce welfare. Making welfare recipients work for their stipends would only swell the ranks of ACORN. Would you like to see all of the welfare “workers” out registering “new” voters (all democrats, of course) and making sure everyone votes on election day, not to mention all of the new opportunities for voting fraud. All paid for by your tax dollars. Please see rule 1 above. How about if we eliminate Medicaid (charity hospitals), public housing (live with your family) and welfare (get a job). Any of the absolutely necessary assistance can be done by charities or the local state.

“I predict we see fewer jobs shipped overseas, more hiring, and rapid diminution in the number of democrat welfare slaves.”

I see more jobs shipped overseas, less hiring and a rapid increase in the number of democrat welfare slaves. After all, why should they work at a real job when they can just fudge a few elections to make sure their manna from heaven keeps coming? How about getting government out of the welfare business altogether? Let the charities and churches do it.

“And yes, lots of revenue from lower taxes.”

Until we get the government out of the way there will not be lots of revenue from lower taxes. There will be lots of rent seeking, tax avoidance and crony capitalism.

Be careful when you wish for more government, you may get it.

Sorry for the long winded reply but until and unless we conservatives change our way of thinking we may win a few battles but we will always lose the war.

RULE !: When government is the problem, more government is NEVER the answer.

Redstateboy| 9.14.11 @ 8:53AM

what infuriates me most about Hussein and his minions is what Dolts they think we are! Hussein did say his would be the most transparent Administration and he's right - this 2nd Porkulus is SO transparent - more money for his public sector union employees so as to funnel more union dues to the DNC!
Solyndra!!! 535 Million dollars from Porkulus I GONE!! This one word: "Solyndra" should be shouted at Hussein and any Slave Party toady advocating Porkulus II.

black knights 1802| 9.14.11 @ 8:58AM

Is anyone really surprised at what this president submits as a way to improve the economic plight of the United States? This guy is not and never was a free market capitalist. I am not so sure he even took an economics course in his first year at college. If he did, I would like to see his grades. Oh, that’s right we are not allowed.

I would be willing to bet a bag of Dunkin Donuts he never read Milton Friedman’s “Free to Choose”. No, he was too busy reading Saul Alinsky’s instructions on how to organize in order to destroy a thriving economy.

November, 2012 can not come soon enough for me.

Nancy in NC| 9.14.11 @ 11:34AM

Milton Freidman??? I think he prefers Karl Marx.

Dick Nome| 9.14.11 @ 11:39AM

His economics education is all Karl Marx and Saul Alynski. Goodness knows what he was taught in madras and later while in Indonesia. His tutors were all Marxists.

Louis Jenkins| 9.14.11 @ 8:59AM

Pass this jobs bill, now!!

If nothing else, the Commander n Thief will mesmerize his constitutients, otherwise known as zombies, into voting for the bill. The rest of us, well, we'll have to shoot those zombies in head to get some relief.

Drunken Sailor| 9.14.11 @ 9:55AM

Louise,

I agree but even his zombies can't vote for the bill because not a single Democrat has even put it on the floor yet. Seems even they are scared of it and no one wants to attach their name to it.

George S| 9.14.11 @ 9:47AM

On the heels of yesterday's congressional elections, it is safe to say that no Democrat in the House will be very anxious to do anything that even remotely smells Obama.

Melvin| 9.14.11 @ 9:48AM

"!Eric Holder/Congress, isn't anyone awake?" This is White Collar Crime. This money wasn't a loan, it was stolen through fraud. 550 billion dollars just doesn't evaporate into thin air. This is the same way that banks were pressured by Congress with Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to make high risk loans to those who could not pay the loans back.
Except in this case fraud was the intent from the beginning. Typical Chicago corruption, the very type that got Obama where he is today. Tony Rezko financial dealings with Obama are still thanks to a complicit media who refuses to do any investigative reporting largely unanswered.
Obama knows that he is a one term pony. So therefore the Chicago money men are pretty much sneaking out of the restaurant with the tax payers getting stuck with a 528 billion tab.
People, 500 billion dollars plus just doesn't disappear without a trace. Even if this deal was legit, Solyendra would at least have some physical assets somewhere other than just an empty office.
Since the politicians and the media are calling the Tea Party extreme, well,maybe they should be, because Washington D.C. is full of Brooks Brothers White Collar Criminals stealing money excuse me getting loans and moving the money offshore.
The Death Panels are going to decide who can get advanced health care or not in order to bring the high cost of medical care down, but Obama doesn't even give a second glance to 528 Billion dollars evaporating into thin air. The foolish man still utters, "Still it was a good plan a start." I guess Obama is correct in one respect. Stealing 528 Billion through White Collar Crime is indeed a good start.

TexasJayde| 9.14.11 @ 10:01AM

melvin, i've been wondering why absolutely no one has screamed about the fraud perpertrated by the obama cronies. we the people need to see some company officials frogmarched to jail for very public trials followed by very public hangings.

Melvin| 9.14.11 @ 10:28AM

This is the conundrum that the taxpayers are in. All three branches of government have been compromised with corruption in it's various forms.
There is no branch of government that we can trust. And we someone does try to blow the whistle, they're publicly denigrated and financially destroyed by the very same government that was supposed to protect them.
The Gun walker scandal is a prime example. This scandal reaches all the way to the White House, and the Justice Department, and Holder has the nads to say, "What Fast and Furious, gun walker scandal, isn't that some movie or somehtin, I don't know of any such thing."
The whole damn Country knows this lousy SOB is lying through his teeth.

Redstateboy| 9.14.11 @ 10:03AM

uh.... Melvin.... Solyndra wasn't 528 "Billion" it was 535 Million dollars.

Melvin| 9.14.11 @ 10:22AM

Hmmm. let me see what my savings balance says. Do ya think just maybe, if so lunch is on me.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 10:11AM

This Solyendra thing is going to hang around his neck like a concrete necktie. This is just getting started. The Muslomarxist stole 500 Mil of taxpayer money and the media isn't going to save him this time. Its gonna break wide open before 2012.

Rmm| 9.14.11 @ 11:20AM

Melvin:
Fact check, make that millions not billions.

Melvin| 9.14.11 @ 11:43AM

I throw myself prostrate before the mercy of the court, I stand corrected, well get me a new set of eyeglasses. I was reading this morning and read it was billions, and indeed it is millions.
I guess by the time it is all said and done with, it might end up being billions.

Redstateboy| 9.14.11 @ 11:55AM

If it makes ya feel any better (or worse) Melvin... that's 1.783 Million dollars for every Man, Woman and child in the United States.

Thank you Hussein! May I have Another!?!!?

Anthony| 9.14.11 @ 9:49AM

The moto of the R party starting today should be Lagasse, lagasse, tour jour lagasse.
Obozo and the D party are being rejected all across this nation. We need to send them all packing.

Dave| 9.14.11 @ 9:54AM

What's analyzed in this column is right on target. The so-called jobs bill isn't about jobs; it's about keeping Barry and Michelle's vacation calender operating for another four years.

Thanks to Mr. Ferrara for the insight. And special thanks to the many within talk radio who correctly I.D.'d this scam weeks before the First Pie Hole was opened in front of that joint session.

If the Limbaugh's, Levin's and others act as kind of a Paul Revere with a microphone, let's hope this time around the sleeping citizens pay heed to the warnings and don't just dash to the bedroom windows and shout out ...

"HEY, SHUT THE HE-L UP. PEOPLE ARE TRYIN' TO GET SOME SLEEP HERE!"

We'll see.

Kent Lyon| 9.14.11 @ 9:55AM

Actually, Obama is just like FDR: An economic illiterate whose ideas and policies are purely political and damaging to the economy across the board. Morganthau, FDR's Treasury Secretary, admitted as much--at least that nothing they had done had worked--in his Congressional testimony in 1938. Obama, or anyone in his administration, has yet to admit that, but it's as true of Obamanomics as it was of the New Deal (actually, Raw Deal). In Keynes' words, only a half-wit would believe Obamanomics. Obama's misfotune is to live at a time when the public may not be so easy to fool, and Obama's capacity to buy the electorate as FDR did with his programs (those were the days when local political bosses would give out social security checks on election days, and only after the recipient marked his or her ballot for the machine candidate, for example) is more limited. Just as with FDR (the economy began to take off the moment he died), the only act that will spur economic recovery is Obama's departure from the Oval Office.

1ConservativeUSA| 9.14.11 @ 10:42AM

No negotiations with Obama. He's proven himself to be idiotic.

The GOP House, indeed, has come up with plans and solutions, but because it lacks messaging savvy, the general public hardly notices.

Its time for all conservatives to learn and use these important communication skills, and go on the offensive to promote their free market and limited government based solutions; educate and inspire Americans.

I see progress in this endeavor, but we need to be better. The liberals have messaging and the media playbook down to a science.

davelnaf| 9.14.11 @ 10:57AM

It is quite sad that this far left-wing ideologue managed to lie and cheat his way up the political ranks until he made it to the WH and once there revealed himself to be the first anti-American president. Any conservative that has crossed paths with someone like him knew instinctively what Obama had it in him to do.

But Obama’s real and lasting legacy will be that he helped the country reduce the size of government by crippling his party and thus relegating it to the radical fringe. The Democratic Party’s pretense of moderation will be gone pretty soon, along with its political clout; but at what a price.

Mike D.| 9.14.11 @ 11:12AM

They have pretty much exposed and outed themselves in this go-around, and that includes the media, unions, and the rest. No more pretenses about what they are and stand for and that in itself in the long run will their undoing. All the stones have been turned over and the light shown on them for what they are and stand for. They threw the kitchen sink in to get this guy elected and that included their well crafted camo-pretenses which they have used up. That whole anti-American party is hanging on the line like laundry and they are going down with him. Its fun to watch, the more they defend and cover for this guy, the worst the fall will be. It ain't over by a longshot, but they made their big gamble with this guy and rolled snake eyes. This guy was their big push for the final act and he become nothing more than Marxist Plutonium, i.e., Radioactive!

no name| 9.14.11 @ 2:38PM

This bill should be voted in immedately! So we can see whats in it. The shovel ready jobs are waiting, men are standing with shovels in hand at this very moment, sweating, nervously looking around waiting for the word to start. Ohh hell... what the F(Biden)k am I thinking? I must hve been brain washed, thank God I am over that. The bad news is the current administration never will be, not with monkey poop for brains. They are doomed and so are we unless we throw the lying bastards out next election.

ABNCP| 9.14.11 @ 3:20PM

Obama's agenda has been in place since he was identifed and set on his course by the Soros cabal.
That agenda is to destroy traditional America and do as much damage to this nation as possible while he is in office. There is no possible way his policys can be looked at in any other way. Every policy he has succeded in getting passed through Congress or put in place by exectuive order, or ordered by one of his agencies, EPA etc. is intended to ruin this nation. Of course when he was elected as the WON, the Democrat Party's hubris completely believed he would be President for eight years. His first big mistake was turning over his platform to Reid and Polosi (Dumb and Dumber). He had to do that because he had no idea how to manage anything and take the actions any CEO is responsible for. It remains to be seen how much more damage this group can do before November 2012. But this was all planned, count on it.

Oldefarte| 9.14.11 @ 4:37PM

Shazam an editorial/conversation about Obama, who is the ultimate DEMOCRAT [as in IT'S THE DEMOCRATS, STUPIDS]. Speaking of which, see the following [I'm not endorsing Perry, just thought this editorial was informative]: '..... Michael Savage Novel 'Abuse of Power' Reflects News of Today Tuesday, September 13, 2011 04:50 PMBy: Henry J. Reske and Ashley MartellaTexas Gov. Rick Perry is the best candidate in the Republican presidential field not only because of his conservative principles but also because he can win in 2012, author and radio talk show host Michael Savage tells Newsmax.TV.When asked who his choice is among the Republican candidates for president, the controversial talk show host said, “Only Perry.”“The reason is I’ll get 60 to 70 percent of my conservative principles from Perry, I’ll get 30 to 40 percent out of [Mitt] Romney and I’ll get less than that out of the others,” he said. “That does not mean that [Herman] Cain isn’t a great guy — he is, he’s not electable, can’t win. Ron Paul is a terrific guy, great ideas, can’t win. So, therefore I go with who can win. Who can win? It’s Perry, Perry, Perry.”Savage, whose first work of fiction, “Abuse of Power,” came out today. He also has written four best-selling nonfiction political books, and he anchored his first foray into fiction writing on his own experiences.“It’s based upon my being banned in Britain,” he explained during the exclusive Newsmax interview. “I’m the only member of the American media not allowed to enter Britain. They put me on a list with murderers, terrorists, killers, which was astonishing. I’m still on that list, can’t get off the list no matter how hard I’ve tried. We’ve spent $400,000 legal fees, won’t work.“So I thought if I fictionalized the story of a media figure who was smeared by a left-wing smear machine and then banned from the American media, banned from Britain and turned it into a thriller, it would become a movie and maybe people would pay attention to the abuse of power that actually goes on at the highest levels of government.”Turning back to politics during the interview, Savage said it would be unwise to count out President Barack Obama.“I think that the opposition is underestimating his machine,” he said. “I think his machine is very deadly. Witness what [Teamsters President James] Hoffa just said. Notice there has been an orchestrated campaign against the tea party. The tea party is the American middle class. As I’ve said on my show many times, do you know anyone on welfare in the tea party? I don’t. The tea party are taxpayers, middle-class people.“Who declared war on them? The Congressional Black Caucus started it two weeks ago and now Jimmy Hoffa Jr. says they want war, take them out. This is taking from the highest corridors of power. It’s coming from [former Obama aide David] Axelrod in my opinion. I think they are trying to stir up insurrection in this country. They want civil discord; they want a riot or riots, because as [former White House chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel famously said, we’ve never seen a crisis that we haven’t been able to utilize. Okay. They’re not to be counted out yet, in my opinion.”
Savage also alleged that the race card has been used in the campaign for “a month and a half now.“Every other word out of [Rep.] Maxine Waters mouth or one of the other members of the Congressional Black Caucus is that the white people are racists, the people in tea party are basically racist and Nazis. This is crazy rhetoric coming out of a party. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “And for Jimmy Hoffa Jr. to say take them out, this is a declaration of war.”
Savage was referring to recent comments that Waters made at a town hall meeting that “the tea party can go straight to hell.”......'

Oldefarte| 9.14.11 @ 4:52PM

Hate to be declared elongated once again, but thought e veryone would also enjoy this:
'.....It’s Time for Hillary Now That Obama Has Lost Jewish Support Wednesday, September 14, 2011 11:48 AMBy: Wayne Allyn Root...It’s all over for Mr. Obama. He is a one-term president, destined to go down in the record books as the man who presided over a second Great Depression, the destruction of the middle class, and the loss of America’s Triple A credit rating. The proof is found in the historic, almost unimaginable, GOP victory in Anthony Weiner’s old Congressional district in Queens. Yes, I said Queens — as in New York City. Heavily Democratic, heavily liberal Jewish, Queens, New York. The center of blue-collar white Democratic Party power. Republican Bob Turner pulled off one of the biggest upsets in U.S. political history there last night. He became the first Republican elected from this district since 1923.There are no excuses. In a district that is 40 percent Jewish and filled with Orthodox Jews, a 70-year-old Catholic Republican upset a Orthodox Jewish Democrat from a prominent Queens political family. Democrats pulled out every stop. Big labor campaigned day and night for the Democrat. Former President Bill Clinton and popular New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo lent their voices to get-out-the-vote robo-calls to Democratic voters. And none of it mattered. The Jews have abandoned Obama. The average voter doesn’t understand the “inside baseball” of politics. But here is the “Monarch Notes” of the GOP’s historic victory. First, the anger of white middle-class voters toward Obama is boiling over across the country. If Obama has lost Jewish support in Queens, he’s lost support from white middle-class voters everywhere. Second, Obama’s mishandling of the economy is destroying the middle class, and even lifelong Democrats in Queens are feeling the pain (and clearly seeing Obama’s incompetence). But this picture is incomplete.Here’s the big reason for this historic GOP victory that few outside New York understand: This race really was about much more than the economy or jobs. Sure, those issues were a constant backdrop. But in the end, it was about common-sense issues for Jewish voters: Israel and the Mosque at Ground Zero. Jewish voters are outraged at how Obama has treated Israel; disgusted with Obama’s support of the Palestinians, led by terror groups; and shocked by the support of both Obama and the losing Democratic Congressional candidate for the Mosque at Ground Zero. The heroes of this once-in-a-century historic upset are former New York Mayor Ed Koch and the Republican Jewish Coalition, both of whom worked hard to spread one simple but powerful message to Jewish voters: “Send a message to Obama that Israel is America’s best friend, and you do not accept the way Obama has treated Israel.” The Jewish voters of Queens were told by Koch and the Republican Jewish Coalition that there was only one way to send this message — elect a Republican congressman for the first time in modern history.Message sent. Game. Set. Match.But it wasn’t just Obama who heard the message. It was Hillary Clinton too. Hillary now knows Obama is weak and vulnerable . . . among Democrats. And among Jewish Democrats who have loyally voted Democrat their entire lifetimes. If the Jews have abandoned Obama, turn out the lights and close the door behind this president.This political pundit predicted on Fox News Channel over 18 months ago that Hillary Clinton would challenge and defeat President Obama in a presidential primary in 2012, once voters experienced the carnage wreckage of the economy under a socialist president. I believe Hillary is weighing her options at this very moment. She now knows that blue-collar white Democratic voters across America have broken with Obama. The Jews are the final straw that broke the camel’s back. It is now clear that in places filled with white blue-collar voters — like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas — Hillary could defeat Obama in a presidential primary — just as I predicted 18 months ago. Only one thing is holding Hillary back from a decision to jump into the race. I believe she is concerned with political strategy. She now knows she can defeat Obama in a Democratic primary. Her only concern is the loss of black voters for the general election. If black voters see Hillary as a backstabber of their beloved Obama, and sit on their hands for the 2012 general election, Hillary cannot possibly defeat her Republican opponent. That is the debate now raging in Hillary’s camp of political advisers. Her question is simple: Is there a way to defeat Obama but still retain the support of black Democratic voters for the general election?
If Hillary and her advisers can come up with a positive answer, she will soon announce that she is running against the incumbent Democratic occupant of the White House for president of the United States......'

Intelligent Design| 9.14.11 @ 8:09PM

Obama is a broken record and a total failure. Once again his plan is to redistribute income. Temporary tax credits (supposedly) paid for by permanent tax increases will not result in business expansion or job creation. But they will result in more economic decline, lower actual tax revenues, and even higher national debt. Obama's absurd, redundant, useless and counterproductive plan is dead-on-arrival. Obama is beyond failure; he is irrelevant. Two-thirds of the voters know that, and can hardly wait for November 2012 to get here, in order to toss Obama and his fellow socialist demagogues in the administration and the Senate into the garbage truck of history.

Kingofthenet| 9.14.11 @ 9:28PM

Asimov sums up the Tea Party for me: “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”

Simon Templar| 9.15.11 @ 1:29AM

I like this one more and it sums it up even better,

Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn’t so.
--Ronald Reagan

Jesse| 9.14.11 @ 11:40PM

Denise| 9.14.11 @ 11:42PM

Beth| 9.15.11 @ 12:04AM

RECKLESSLY. Not "wrecklessly," unless you are making up a word to describe him doing something without wrecks - which is, I would say, the precise opposite of what you meant.

POST American| 9.15.11 @ 3:53AM

---------------------FINAL WORD-----------------------

Bush/ Clinton/ Bush Jr. /Obama
-----the cardboard 4 Musketeers of our now finishing off, carefully planned, sedulously shepherded and advanced, Globalist RED China set up, sellout and TREASON OP.

------------------------Keep goin' kiddies!

-----------------------Everything's just DANDY!

-------------------------JUST KEEP A GOIN'