You must see this movie: Atlas Shrugged
Posted on 11 April 2011 | No responses
While you are waiting, you can read the book as well. It is available at Amazon.
Senator Sessions explains the budget process
Posted on 8 April 2011 | No responses
I have just seen the best explanation of what is really going on with the budget process. It is a shame that the media wouldn’t follow this theme and asks their Democratic friends some qualifying questions that Senator Sessions suggests in this video.
Hat tip to The Corner from this post.
Democrats: We can’t cut ANYTHING
Posted on 5 April 2011 | No responses
Does anyone else wonder whether there is even ONE serious Democrat in the Senate? To put it in perspective, consider this from Human Events:
Over the past three years, the Democrats have increased government spending by a jaw-dropping 88%, taking out increases for defense, homeland security, and veterans’ affairs. While the Democrats have drastically increased discretionary spending, the country has almost 10% unemployment, the budget deficit is $1.3 trillion and the nation’s debt is now $13.4 trillion.
Despite all of their profligate spending the past three years, they cannot seem to develop and interest in just 61 billion dollars in spending. To put it in perspective, the Federal budget in 2010 was a little over 3.4 trillion dollars. As a percentage of that budget, the Republicans are looking for a SYMBOLIC cut of 1.7%. And that is just too much for the Democrats to bear.
Imagine their response when we have to really start cutting. Pathetic.
Democrat/Union Civility? Death Threats.
Posted on 10 March 2011 | No responses
Radio Station WTMJ (620) in Madison have reported that Republican Senators are
receiving death threats since yesterday over their vote to reign in public sector unions.
Here is the text of one threatening email in its entirety:
Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.
WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in
the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me
have decided that we’ve had enough. We feel that you and the people that
support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing
with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand
for it any longer. So, this is how it’s going to happen: I as well as many
others know where you and your family live, it’s a matter of public records.
We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a
nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn’t leave
it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the
message to you since you are so “high” on Koch and have decided that you are
now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a
demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed
in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent.
This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won’t
tell you all of them because that’s just no fun. Since we know that you are
not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided
to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it’s
necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making
them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families
and themselves then We Will “get rid of” (in which I mean kill) you. Please
understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked
everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do. We feel
that it’s worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives
of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and
say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!
I find it amazing that for two years now, tea party activists have been accused of threatening violence
and racism with no evidence. They were called “teabaggers” in reference to a homosexual act because
many enlightened liberals including the President of the United States thought it was cool. Their motives
were questioned and their integrity questioned. And yet, all the violent acts are always on the other side.
I cannot wait to see this story his the evening news. Anyone want the over/under on whether
this story makes the New York Times or MSNBC?
Read the entire story here.
Union vs Non-Union States: Longhorns 17 – Badgers 1
Posted on 3 March 2011 | No responses
The public union debacle in Wisconsin is causing both the protesters and the media to cycle some demonstrably
false statistics to bolster their case. The longer term problem caused by this is when someone at for example
the New York times knowingly publishes false or misleading statistics, these falsehoods will be regurgitated
ad infinitum in liberal circles. Take thisexample from Iowahawk:
Case in point: Paul Krugman. The Times’ staff economics blowhard recently typed, re the state of education in Texas:
And in low-tax, low-spending Texas, the kids are not all right. The high school graduation rate, at just 61.3 percent, puts Texas 43rd out of 50 in state rankings. Nationally, the state ranks fifth in child poverty; it leads in the percentage of children without health insurance. And only 78 percent of Texas children are in excellent or very good health, significantly below the national average.
Is what Krugman says correct?
Luckily, there is data to answer this question via the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is an annual standardized test given to 4th and 8th graders around the country to measure proficiency in math, science, and reading. Participation is fairly universal; if you’ve had a 4th or 8th grader in the last few years, you’re probably familiar with it. Results are compiled on the NAEP website, broken down by grade, state, subject and ethnicity.
So how does brokeass, dumbass, redneck Texas stack up against progressive unionized Wisconsin?
2009 4th Grade Math
White students: Texas 254, Wisconsin 250 (national average 248)
Black students: Texas 231, Wisconsin 217 (national 222)
Hispanic students: Texas 233, Wisconsin 228 (national 227)
2009 8th Grade Math
White students: Texas 301, Wisconsin 294 (national 294)
Black students: Texas 272, Wisconsin 254 (national 260)
Hispanic students: Texas 277, Wisconsin 268 (national 260)
2009 4th Grade Reading
White students: Texas 232, Wisconsin 227 (national 229)
Black students: Texas 213, Wisconsin 192 (national 204)
Hispanic students: Texas 210, Wisconsin 202 (national 204)
2009 8th Grade Reading
White students: Texas 273, Wisconsin 271 (national 271)
Black students: Texas 249, Wisconsin 238 (national 245)
Hispanic students: Texas 251, Wisconsin 250 (national 248)
2009 4th Grade Science
White students: Texas 168, Wisconsin 164 (national 162)
Black students: Texas 139, Wisconsin 121 (national 127)
Hispanic students: Wisconsin 138, Texas 136 (national 130)
2009 8th Grade Science
White students: Texas 167, Wisconsin 165 (national 161)
Black students: Texas 133, Wisconsin 120 (national 125)
Hispanic students: Texas 141, Wisconsin 134 (national 131)
To recap: white students in Texas perform better than white students in Wisconsin, black students in Texas perform better than black students in Wisconsin, Hispanic students in Texas perform better than Hispanic students in Wisconsin. In 18 separate ethnicity-controlled comparisons, the only one where Wisconsin students performed better than their peers in Texas was 4th grade science for Hispanic students (statistically insignificant), and this was reversed by 8th grade. Further, Texas students exceeded the national average for their ethnic cohort in all 18 comparisons; Wisconsinites were below the national average in 8, above average in 8.
Make a point to read the entire article linked above. It is the difference between arguing based on facts and “making stuff up”.
The Cops Draw the Lines Clearly in Wisconsin
Posted on 25 February 2011 | No responses
First, watch this video:
Now think for a moment. Notice he says, “I know who you work for” to the Governor. And who would that be? Seems to me it’s the people of Wisconsin who elected him on this platform.
And he says that he works for “all of these people here.” Which is to say, the unions.
Pretty much sets it up, right? The cops have sided with the unions against the people of Wisconsin. He says it himself.
Unions against the Taxpayers
Posted on 24 February 2011 | No responses
This video from Minnesota Majority sums up what is at stake with the battle between the unions and taxpayers in several states. Hat tip to Powerline!
NJ Dems nix toll hike on due to Christie tunnel veto
Posted on 18 February 2011 | 1 response
So the story starts with Chris Christie cancelling the tunnel project due to cost overruns that the state cannot afford.
I am a commuter to New York and frankly that project didn’t real;y make sense to me as it was going to drop passengers
at Macy’s, two blocks from Penn Station. I also never understood why the state would accept this project when all cost
overruns were to be born by the state which in the end was all risk for NJ for what should have been a federal project given
that this is the northeast corridor and the tracks are owned by Amtrak. Either way, it was cancelled by Christie.
Along comes the NJ Senate (From the Wall Street Journal):
The state Senate voted Thursday to roll back a portion of a planned highway toll increase meant to help pay for a new rail tunnel into New York that Gov. Chris Christie canceled over cost concerns.
“This bill is extremely simple — no tunnel, no toll increase,” said Sen. Nick Sacco of North Bergen, a bill sponsor.
What is the issue? Christie said he would use the toll tax increase to cover the cost of road construction which has EXPLODED all
over the state due to the stimulus. Democrats wants to be seen as “cutting the tolls”. Fine with me. The tunnel was ill conceived and
shouldn’t be New Jersey’s problem. Much as the New Jersey Turnpike frankly amounts to a passthrough roadway and the second lane
project is a waste of money. So Christie should cancel our part of that project as well and fix our local roads with our transportation
budget.
And the Democrats can take credit for the turnpike cancellation as well. I do find it really interesting that the only time a Democrat
can cut anything is when they think they can poke a stick in the eye of a Republican. It probably feels good to them but it comes across
as a sorry joke to the rest of us.
“We will continue to operate as we have previously.”
Posted on 1 February 2011 | 1 response
ObamaCare is formally declared unconstitutional, thereby reinforcing both the separation of powers and the federal character of our national government. How does the Obama administration respond?
“We will continue to operate as we have previously,” a senior administration official said.
Do we need any other evidence that Obama and his minions believe they are kings rather than mere men?
Sheila Oliver’s two Jerseys: The one we live in and her Union and Pac purchased NJ
Posted on 31 January 2011 | No responses
I came across an article entitled “A Tale of Two New Jerseys” written by Sheila Oliver on mycentraljersey.com. It was immediately obvious that that the article was a hit piece on Governor Chris Christie. For example, the writer rants as follows:
It’s been painfully clear throughout Gov. Chris Christie’s first year in office that we are living in two very distinct and separate New Jerseys.
In Christie’s New Jersey, he thinks he can say, “Buck up and deal with my painful budget cuts,” and working- and middle-class families will simply fall in line without missing a beat. In the other New Jersey — the reality the rest of us live in — families are paying more for less and systematically being forced out of their way of life.
Yet, in his annual State of the State address last week, the governor touted what he perceives to be a record of progress and vowed more of the same.
And one of my favorites:
Meanwhile, property taxes are going up all over the state as the effects of the governor’s record cuts in state aid play out. The result has been reduced services and widespread police, firefighter and teacher layoffs.
Eventually we must ask ourselves: When does fiscal prudence trump the public’s safety and well being?
My answer to the Assembly Speaker is that since we really haven’t see serious fiscal prudence out of the Assembly in 12 years, it would be hard to know if the governor’s policies are hurting people. I think people in the state have been much harder harder hit by businesses moving out and with them jobs. By soaring property taxes literally from the time Jim McGreevey took office until Corzine left. All Democrats and Oliver didn’t seem to care then. But what are Oliver’s real motivations?
One might look no further than her campaign contribution reports to figure that out. Of the $93,200 she reported to have raised for her last general election campaign, $52,100 came from explicit union contributors. 80% of those appear to be government employment unions. But that isn’t all. Most of the rest of the contributions are from business pac’s requiring heavy state interaction as well as political and ideological organizations. How much came from individual contributors? $3,900. That is all of 4.1845% of her total contributions.
So the next time assemble speaker Oliver wants to lecture you on Two New Jerseys and fiscal prudence? Ask her which group she is shilling for today because it isn’t the citizens of New Jersey (at least not 96% of the time).