Houston County Likely to Raise Property Taxes

President Obama has been mugged by reality regarding the war in Iraq.  Proof of this is the fact that, even though he has set a timetable for withdrawal, as many as 50,000 troops will stay even longer.  The Taliban beheaded an alleged American spy, leaving his body as a gift to Obama.  How's that hope and change stuff working for you?

 

Environmentalists are now using "reusable toilet wipes" instead of toilet paper.  It's like using a cloth diaper, which is worse for the environment than Pampers or Huggies.

 

Conservatives across the country are having symbolic "tea parties" to protest higher taxes and spending by the Obama Administration.  Thanks to environmental regulations, they can't actually put tea in bodies of water.

 

You have to read this Dilbert cartoon.

 

President Obama's budget will decrease charitable contribution deductions and redistribute wealth from rich to poor via a carbon tax.

 

We're still trying to figure out whether President Obama is ignorant or dishonest, this time on his statements regarding health care Tuesday night.

 

Clint Eastwood says that political correctness has made society humorless.  An example?  The mayor of Los Alamitos, California is going to resign after sharing an e-mail with a picture of watermelons planted on the White House lawn.

 

Reuters is just now figuring out what most of us already knew:  Obama is bringing back the era of big government.  Despite that, 59% of Americans still believe that government is the problem.

 

On a follow-up to something I mentioned yesterday, lobbyists are doing bigger business than ever.

 

The Senate attached to the DC Voting Rights bill measures on the Fairness Doctrine and on gun control.  The House will remove both.

 

An editorial from a Detroit newspaper (yes, there are still newspapers):  Obama can't win a war on business.

 

Lt. Gov. and candidate for Governor Casey Cagle supports the Sunday sales bill, but not Sunday sales.

 

The state Senate has passed the bill to prevent property assessment increases over the next two years.  While they're meddling in the ability of local governments to raise revenues, 19 members of the General Assembly haven't paid their own taxes.

 

Houston County commissioners warned yesterday that they might have to raise taxes next year.

Obama's New Tax-and-Spend Budget

President Obama issued his budget this morning, complete with almost $1 trillion tax hikes and a $1.75 trillion deficit.  Other features include up to $750 billion more for bank bailouts (despite the fact that 56% of Americans oppose more bank bailouts), significantly less money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a down payment on socialized medicine.

 

Obama thinks that he can cut the budget deficit and expand government by taxing the "rich," but even if he were to confiscate all of the income of the horrid evil filthy stinking rich it wouldn't come close to covering the budget deficit.  Obama's calls to end the Bush tax cuts will also raise taxes for people who aren't rich.

 

Despite the massive Omnibus Democrat Agenda Bill already signed into law, Obama has only begun to grow government.  He will fundamentally change the relationship between the people and the imperial federal government (czar to serf, or slave to master is the only question).

 

It is very telling when businesses are growing their government affairs departments in self defense.

 

The omnibus spending bill passed the House yesterday with 16 Republicans supporting it and 20 Democrats (including Jim Marshall) voting against it.

 

Obama's plan to cram down mortgages is going to hurt the housing market and make mortgages more expensive.

 

The Republicans are at risk of becoming the party of "no" (thanks to Dr. Greg Domin for sending that to me), which is why they are working on a major doctrinal shift.  Of course, Barney Frank says that Republicans didn't cheerlead for Obama in his speech Tuesday night because they were scared of talk radio.

 

The number of households with kids has reached a new low.  Unfortunately, the people having the most kids are the human parasites.

 

The latest target for environmentalists:  toilet paper.

 

Oil company executives are asking Congress to allow them to drill for oil and natural gas offshore.

 

Liberals are upset that there was an illegal immigrant raid in Washington State under the Obama administration.  They were hoping for some change.

 

The one good thing from Obama's speech Tuesday was a plan to cut farm subsidies.  Thanks to Democrats and Republicans alike (including Saxby Chambliss), it looks like that will probably continue to be funded.

 

Obama will seek a new assault weapons ban.  At least Senators Chambliss and Isakson are co-sponsoring legislation to allow residents of the District of Columbia to possess handguns.

 

Is libertarianism a sign of mental illness?

 

Octomom Nadya Suleman has gotten a $1 million offer to appear in a porn video.  Maybe then she'll be able to take care of her kids, proof of which the hospital may demand before they release the octuplets to her.  Too bad she declined the offer; now we'll still be paying for it.

 

There is a new topless coffee shop in Vassalboro, Maine.  That would never be allowed to exist in Georgia.

A Russian man died after 12 hours of a Viagra-fueled orgy.  At least it didn't take long for rigor mortis to set in.

 

The committee vote on the Sunday sales bill was delayed because not enough members showed up to vote.

 

The school voucher bill has cleared the committee.

Obama's Socialist Speech

Vice President Joe Biden, despite being in charge of the "stimulus" money, has trouble remembering what the website about the money is.  He also says that he will embarrass states who don't use the money the way that the Obama Administration wants.

 

Iran tested a nuclear facility today.  Expect the Obama Administration to do nothing, or if they're feeling particularly bold they may send Iran a letter telling them how angry the President is.

 

A little over a month into the Obama administration, they're already gradually working on socializing health care.  The more power government has over your health care, the lower quality of care we will get.

 

Something that's being skimmed over by much of the media from Obama's speech last night is the cap-and-trade legislation that Obama wants, which will be a huge tax increase on Americans.

 

Even the AP found plenty of holes in Obama's speech last night.

 

A Japanese energy commission last month challenged the notion that global warming is man-made.

 

A biotechnology company is offering free bottles of a memory enhancing drug to politicians to help them remember to pay their taxes.

 

As late as 2007 9% of borrowers were getting home loans of at least four times their annual income.  Any more questions as to why we're in this mess?

 

Only one-fourth of Americans want to continue bailing out the automakers.

 

Republicans are criticizing the earmarks in the omnibus spending bill, despite the fact that 40% of them are theirs.  Meanwhile, Harry Reid is defending earmarking, saying that lawmakers have a duty to direct spending.  The bill will also eliminate the D.C. school choice program.

 

At least one city is experiencing economic growth through the recession:  Washington, DC.  I wonder why?

 

President Obama's approval rating is below 60% for the first time, and his disapproval rate has doubled in the last month.  Is the honeymoon over?

 

Thomas Sowell has reached the point of despair regarding America's future.

 

Former Grand Kleagle of the KKK Senator Robert Byrd is criticizing President Obama for grabbing too much power by appointing czars for everything.

 

Tennessee's Democrat Governor is considering rejecting the money for unemployment that is in the "stimulus" bill.

 

Sales of Atlas Shrugged are way up this year.

 

The state House Appropriations Committee passed a budget for the rest of this fiscal year that includes some "stimulus" money.

 

One of the fundies' favorite pieces of evidence for claiming that Sunday alcohol sales are dangerous has been completely debunked.

 

The Houston County School System is considering raising taxes or cutting jobs in response to a budget deficit.

 

As our friend David Cranshaw points out, last week's weather proved the need for a severe weather alert system.

 

How pathetic a human being do you have to be to steal from your own grandmother?

Now Democrats Have to Fund Government

A satellite that was supposed to track carbon dioxide crash-landed in the ocean this morning, a waste of $273 million.  Meanwhile, there is so much snow in Oslo, Norway that they are dumping it into the sea.

 

House Democrats are proposing a brand new $410 billion spending bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the year.  That's an increase of 8% over last year's spending, and it has 9,000 earmarks from both parties worth $3.8 billion, which can't be digitally searched.  I guess they didn't get enough pork in the "stimulus" bill.

 

Consumer confidence dropped more than expected in what is an early referendum on the "stimulus" bill.  One bright spot in the economy:  granny panties.

 

USAToday has a story today that is exactly what I've been telling you for a couple of months now:  the recession is going to lead to plenty of new businesses.

 

More than ever, statements from politicians have the potential to sway the world's financial markets.  When Democrats open their mouths, they pull markets down.

 

According to one poll, people trust politicians more than business leaders on the economy.  They would be the ones who are looking to politicians rather than business leaders to make a living.

 

The House will consider the "cramdown" legislation on Thursday.  Meanwhile, ACORN will continue to steal houses for people who were foreclosed on because they think everyone has a right to housing.  The city of Houston, Texas is considering whether to pay up to $3,000 to people trying to buy a home through the city so they can pay off their credit cards and boost their credit scores.

 

Let the Obama worship continue:  this guy in the Tampa area has put up a "One Nation Under Obama" sign in front of his business.

 

Chuck Schumer wants to force states to accept all of the "stimulus" money, and the strings that are attached to it.

 

Here is more on what the left could do to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine without actually bringing back the Fairness Doctrine.

 

In the name of "stimulus" the state of Washington sent $1 food stamp checks to 250,000 people.  I bet it cost more than $250,000 to print, process, and mail the checks.

 

Newspapers are getting federal grants for "internet training."

 

One California lawmaker wants to tax and regulate marijuana to raise more revenue for the state.

 

The state is going to furlough 25,000 workers, about half of them from the Department of Corrections.

 

Georgia will get its first $340 million from the "stimulus" on Wednesday.

 

The State Senate has passed a bill to crack down on illegal immigrants, including banning sanctuary cities in Georgia.

 

The Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee will vote on Sunday sales tomorrow.  For those of you who do not know what local control means, look at what just happened in Snellville.

Obama Suddenly a Budget Hawk, Will Raise Taxes

Courtesy of Darrell, this video should be mandatory viewing for every government school student every year and every voter before any election.

 

In a new Harris poll, Americans named President Obama as their #1 hero, beating Jesus Christ.

 

President Obama is bailing out state and local governments with your money, but he hasn't paid the bills for election events in Chicago or Philadelphia.

 

Obama's plans are already more expensive than the New Deal.  Despite trillions of dollars in new spending, Obama now wants to cut the budget deficit back to pre-bailout levels by raising taxes on the evil, horrible, greedy rich.

 

The Obama Administration isn't very happy about Rick Santelli's rant last week about the latest housing plan, but Santelli is sticking to his guns and going right back after Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs.

 

President Obama has scratched the idea of taxing drivers by the mile instead of with gas taxes.

 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to China to beg them to please keep buying our debt.

 

The Boston Globe is glorifying being unemployed.

 

A few Republican Governors, including Sonny Perdue, might reject some of the "stimulus" funds because of the new rules and regulations attached to them.  This huge spending bill will also give government a chance to "prove it can work."  The "tax cuts" in the bill will begin April 1, and $15 billion in Medicaid money will be paid on Wednesday, under the guidance of Vice President Joe Biden.

 

Seventy-three percent of Americans say that they're scared about the way things are going in the United States.  Hope and Change, people.

 

With the "stimulus" package passed, now the Democrats are likely to railroad through the omnibus spending bill to fund the rest of the federal government.

 

Obama's plan to modify loans has already been tried—and over half of the borrowers re-defaulted on their mortgages.

 

Check out how the House's T-SPLOST bill got porked up.

 

Due to the "stimulus" money coming to Georgia, Governor Perdue will probably drop the idea of taxing hospitals and health insurance companies to pay for Medicaid.

 

Local politicians are not very happy about the meddling that the state is trying to do in their budgets.

GOP Needs "Hip-Hop" Makeover?

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has a new idea for how to fund transportation.  He wants to tax you for the miles you drive rather than by the gallons of gas you buy.

 

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) wants to force a vote on banning the Fairness Doctrine.

 

Iran already has enough uranium to build a bomb.  Wonderful.

 

GOP Chairman Michael Steele says that the Republican Party needs a "hip-hop" makeover.  Maybe they should take some tips from these lines from President Obama's book, Dreams From My Father (Warning:  Very bad language).  Of course, it doesn't help when the latest standard for what makes a racist is opposition to the "stimulus" bill.

 

The New York Post gave a halfway apology for their editorial cartoon that got the race pimps upset.  The race pimps did not receive an apology, nor were they satisfied.

 

ACORN is breaking into foreclosed homes now to allow the former homeowner to move back in.

 

The new Governor of Illinois wants Roland Burris to step down from the United States Senate.

 

There was a candlelight vigil last night in memory of the guy who was shot by a member of the Warner Robins Police Department after he started shooting during a fight.

Obama Housing Plan Sparks Protests on Wall Street

We don't have much broadcast time today, but we will probably have more discussion of President Obama's new housing plan that rewards irresponsibility and punishes achievement.  This plan is already drawing a revolt on Wall Street, and even high school kids are questioning the plan.

 

The AP says that the Democrats are self-destructing over ethics.

 

The Federal Reserve downgraded the economic forecast for the year, even with the stimulus.  A lot of good it's doing.  Also, inflation is already starting to rise.

 

Apparently President Obama opposes the Fairness Doctrine.  There are other ways to do it, so that doesn't mean this is over.

 

Until they got caught, the Administration had blocked sites like google from accessing the information at Recovery.Gov.  That's transparency.  (Thanks to Darrell, who brought this to my attention.)

 

Oops, there's a provision in the "stimulus" bill that will actually kill jobs.  Chuck Schumer has to fix it now.  Maybe if he had read the bill he would have known about it and he could have changed it before it passed.

 

According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the United States is a nation of cowards on racial matters.  The real cowards are people like Al Sharpton, who get offended if you sneeze the wrong way.

 

The acolytes of political correctness strike again.  Now, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus has changed the name of their "Soul Food Supper" to the "Heritage Dinner and Black History Celebration."

 

The Sunday sales bill was up before a Senate committee yesterday, and the thumpers were out in force.  They even set up their favorite straw-man, "family safety," to justify the continued encroachment on liberty.

Obama's New Housing Entitlement

President Obama is reportedly considering a "Swedish model" to save the banking industry, which would require temporary nationalization of the banks in order to clean up their balance sheets.  Even Alan Greenspan says that banks might "need" to be nationalized.

 

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal may turn down some of the "stimulus" money that would be coming to the state, based on any "strings" that may be attached.  This could run into trouble because of a provision built into the bill to take power away from conservative governors.

 

President Obama is already considering the idea of another stimulus package, even though his administration is having trouble spending the money that's already been appropriated because they don't have the manpower, and the new money is much larger than the annual budgets of many agencies that will receive "stimulus" money.  At least they have time to spend it, because only 23% of the money will be spent this fiscal year.

 

GM is requesting another $16.6 billion in loans to stay in business, with Chrysler requesting another $5 billion.  They will still be closing factories, laying off workers, and getting rid of some brands to save money.  They seem to be moving in the right direction, even claiming that they will be profitable and pay back the loans from the government by 2017, but they still say that bankruptcy will be too expensive.

 

President Obama has a new $275 billion plan to stop foreclosures, including doubling the amount of aid for Fannie and Freddie.  Another big entitlement, and yet more unanswered questions.

 

It looks like a prominent Muslim who started a TV network to promote a positive image of Muslims beheaded his wife in an honor killing.

 

A listener e-mail prompted me to do some googling about a recent push by states to assert their sovereignty under the 10^th Amendment.  It turns out that quite a few states have already passed so-called sovereignty resolutions, and the resolutions have been introduced in a number of other states, including Georgia.  A state Representative in Oklahoma has an excellent column about the resolution being considered there.  If you want to follow the state sovereignty movement, there are good blogs here and here to follow.

 

Rahm Emanuel may be the next member of the Obama Administration to have ethics problems.

 

Jim Marshall is back in Middle Georgia, long enough to say that he voted for the stimulus package because doing nothing wasn't an option.  He said the same thing about TARP; how'd that work out for you?  Local governments in Middle Georgia are already lining up for their pieces of the pie.

 

According to the White House, the largest amount of benefit in Georgia from the ODAB will be in Republican suburbs of North Atlanta.

 

In response to bimbo baby factory Nadya Suleman, a member of the State Senate has introduced a bill to regulate fertility clinics.

Perdue to Fund Property Tax Grants This Year

Reason.com has a place for you to request your part of the stimulus pie.

 

How about this line from a British newspaper?  "The president is popular for now – but while his stimulus package is being hailed as a victory, no one truly believes it will work."

 

Only 38% of voters think that the "stimulus" plan will actually help the economy.  Where's the mandate that the Democrats have been claiming?

 

This is another reason that nobody is taking Republicans seriously anymore:  members of Congress opposed the "stimulus" package, but now they're also bragging about the projects for their constituents that are in the bill.  To make matters worse, a number of Republican Governors have been supporting Obama all along because they wanted bailouts for their state governments.

 

China is trying to diversify out of the dollar.  They're tired of buying our debt that is worth nothing.

 

There might be a couple more cases on the Second Amendment to come before the Supreme Court.  These are worth keeping an eye on.

 

Obama is now going to use his teleprompter to help him out during press conferences.

 

California Democrat Congressman Henry Waxman wants to apply the Fairness Doctrine to the internet.  Liberal talk show host Bill Press supports the Fairness Doctrine because he wants to be heard.

 

The Drug Enforcement Agency has a 106-plane fleet.  So why did they charter a private jet at taxpayers' expense for the head to fly to Bogota, Colombia?

 

This is what I call spreading the wealth:  a Miami banker willfully gave $60 million of his own money to his employees after selling majority control of the bank for nearly $1 billion.

 

Thanks to "protecting the kids" children can no longer enjoy things like dirt bikes and 4-wheelers.

 

This is your must-read of the day:  This is Why Government is Legalized Theft.

 

Governor Perdue will agree that the state will pay for the property tax grants this year because they now have the money thanks to the "stimulus."  Senator Johnny Isakson spoke to the General Assembly this morning, reminding them that this "stimulus" is a one-time-only deal.  It will provide a $530 million boost for the state's Medicaid program.

 

Young Republicans and Young Democrats got together this morning at the state Capitol to push for Sunday alcohol sales.

Obama to Sign ODAB Tomorrow; What Was the Rush?

GM and Chrysler are having some trouble negotiating a compromise with the United Auto Workers, which could cause a few problems for Obama, who has to decide either to spend a lot more money or to allow the automakers to declare bankruptcy, which they are considering.  There also won't be a "car czar" anymore.

 

A plurality of Americans opposes the Fairness Doctrine, but a majority thinks Congress will bring it back.  The Obama Administration isn't even taking a stand on the Fairness Doctrine anymore.

 

We're still figuring out what was in the ODAB that passed through Congress last week.  Christopher Dodd managed to get into the bill stiff limitations on executive pay for bailed-out firms.  The health care provisions, which are failing in Great Britain, could have scary effects for gun owners.  It also looks like welfare reform has been rolled back by this bill.  We might have known these before it passed had they actually taken the time to read the bill.

 

The Obama Administration is already trying to lower expectations in the stimulus bill.  People think that this thing is going to miraculously turn the economy around, even though a lot of the money won't even be spent until at least 2011.  The Administration's partners in crime at the Washington Post are already floating the idea of a second stimulus.

 

After spending $3.27 trillion in government money that will be stretched over the next ten years, all of a sudden Obama wants to address the debt.

 

The obligations of the federal government are already larger than the world's GDP.  In other words, there is not enough money in the world to pay off what the federal government owes.

 

Roland Burris lied.  He was asked for campaign money by Blago's brother before being named to Obama's Senate seat.

 

Lindsey Graham thinks that we may have to nationalize the banking industry.

 

A former astronaut says that "global warming[…]is being used as a political tool to increase government control."

 

Rapper T.I. gives us a glimpse into the minds of the Entertainment Tonight, American Idol electorate.  Warning:  ignorance abounds.

 

The founder of a television network promoting a positive image of Muslims has been arrested for beheading his wife.  Her "crime" was that she wanted a divorce.

 

Georgia will probably get $5.9 billion from the ODAB.

 

Sunday alcohol sales will be in committee on Wednesday.  Yesterday the AJC ran a story wondering if Sunday sales will be a boost to Georgia's economy.

 

Here's a column that showcases some of the things people are doing illegally to get their kids a good education, and makes the case for allowing them to do those things legally.

 

There are three bills in the General Assembly that would change graduation requirements and standards in Georgia.  How about just leaving it to local schools?

 

They might have lost their accreditation and $23 million in state funding, but the Clayton County School System can spend $70,000 to buy bus drivers uniforms to prevent terrorists from hijacking school buses.

 

A record number of students applied to the University of Georgia.  Why is it a surprise, then, that tuition continues to increase?

 

My alma mater, Mercer University, has a new "four-year pledge" to help more students graduate in four years.

ODAB Final Votes Today

The ODAB will come up for a vote today, in violation of a promise by the Democrats to give the public 48 hours to digest the bill before any votes.  Nancy Pelosi has a trip to Rome starting tonight, so that is more important than any promises.  With less than 24 hours to read the bill before the votes, at least one Democrat Senator thinks that nobody will read the final 1,071-page bill.  Who cares?  They just have to get this thing passed before any other positive economic indicators come out saying that we don't need this monstrosity.  They have to do it while people still think there's a crisis going on, because a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, right Rahm Emanuel?  It would also have been nice to have gotten it passed before a bunch of economists pointed out that there won't be any real stimulus in the bill and the Congressional Budget Office showed that the bill would actually hurt long-term economic growth.

 

Ted Kennedy will not be able to make the vote in the Senate, so it could be a very close cloture vote.

 

President Obama was caught in another lie about the ODAB when he claimed that Caterpillar would start rehiring people who had been laid off after the bill passes.

 

Two-thirds of voters say that they could do a better job on the economy than Congress is.  Count me among the majority.

 

In response to the demonization of private jets by the left, Cessna has a new ad campaign out defending their jets.  After all, they have to cut about a third of their workforce.

 

As if those fires burning in Australia weren't bad enough, now they have to worry about how much carbon is being emitted.

 

Bill Clinton wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine, while Democrat Rep. Maurice Hinchey might include it in a bill about radio and TV ownership later in the year.

 

Now Henrietta Hughes says she's not milking the system.  Yeah, right.

 

The President of the Georgia Association of Educators doesn't like the vouchers bill.  Why would he want to actually have to compete?

 

A student in Columbia County was arrested for taking pictures up his teacher's skirt.  He's a future sex offender.

 

The condoms business is booming during the recession.

Senate Republicans May Be Giving In As Economy Breaks

The conference report on the ODAB is out, all 1,434 pages of it, with more government growth and less of the fake tax cuts, which now will be only $13 per week.  The real cost of this thing, according to the CBO, will end up being $3,270,000,000,000 because most of the spending isn't temporary.  At least they're going to stick it to those rich CEOs who got bailed out, though!

 

Politically, it looks like this thing is going to sail to passage.  Mitch McConnell seems to be willing to let it go to a vote without a fight, and the Blue Dog Democrats (including Sanford Bishop and Jim Marshall) who are supposed to care about budgets and deficit spending all of a sudden have quit caring.  Arlen Specter's willingness to give in and vote for the ODAB leaves him with a higher approval rating among Democrats than among Republicans.

 

I told you yesterday about Henrietta, the woman who went to beg President Obama for a house, then ended up getting one from a generous wife of a Republican Florida state House member.  Well this isn't the first time she's been asking for government help.  Let's face it; the woman is hooked on government.  Just goes to show the addictive government is.

 

A new Rasmussen poll shows that 56% of Americans oppose more bank bailouts.

 

The economy might be starting to break, with retail sales ending a six-month drop in January and new jobless claims dropping slightly.  All of this without a stimulus, and despite the fact that we have a President, Congress, and media that are constantly telling us the economy is worse than it really is.

 

Liberals are upset that an Obama nominee for the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs might actually apply cost-benefit analysis before any knee-jerk increases in federal regulations.

 

The ethanol business is struggling, despite getting billions of dollars worth of subsidies from the federal government.  Maybe the market just doesn't want ethanol.

 

Liberal Senators want to use the outline from the Center for American Progress to impose what would be a "Fairness Doctrine on Steroids."  The Acting FCC Chairman would prefer to push "media diversity."

 

The federal government has built only 32 miles of the 700 mile border fence that was ordered by Congress in 2006.

 

Guess who's going to be paying the bills for the octuplets?

 

According to at least one Muslim cleric, Valentine's Day is worse than AIDS, Ebola, or Cholera.  The religious police in Saudi Arabia are even confiscating everything red.  I wonder if these weird beards know how ridiculous they look and sound…

 

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond says that we are witnessing the beginning of a Darwinian job market.  Isn't that how it always is?

 

Will Jack Kingston be running for Governor?  I'd rather see him run for Senate.

 

Hank Aaron might be declared the home run king again.

Obama-worshipping at Ft. Myers Pep Rally

Senator Tom Harkin wants to bring back the Fairness Doctrine now.  I still say bring it on.

 

State legislators in South Carolina are considering charging obese state employees more for health insurance.

 

House members will not get a pay raise next year.  They'll still keep their raise this year, though.

 

The price of a stamp will go up by two cents in May.

 

President Obama had another pep rally yesterday, and just wait until you hear the characters who showed up there.  Michelle Malkin has the videos of Henrietta, who begged the Messiah for a house, and Julio, who has worked at McDonald's for over four years and wants health care.  Since the pep rally, Henrietta has gotten an offer for a house and Julio has gotten some job offers.  My guess is that Henrietta won't be able to keep her house, and Julio won't keep a job either.

 

Warner Todd Huston wants to fire every government worker.

A member of the Missouri state House had to apologize for using the phrase "War of Northern Aggression."

 

President Obama has overturned the Bush administration's offshore drilling plan.

 

Republicans and Democrats are now statistically tied in the generic Congressional ballot for 2010.

 

I know I'm behind on this, but we might talk about that bubble-headed welfare-sucking single mother of fourteen who had the octuplets last month.

 

President Obama has a new catchphrase.

 

A zoo is offering tickets to watch the animals have sex.

 

An Indian company is going to launch a soft drink made of cow urine.

 

There's a new bill in the General Assembly that would freeze property assessment increases for the next two years.  Meanwhile, Governor Perdue says that there is no way for the state to pay for the property tax grants, and that they were "ill conceived" to begin with.

 

The scumbag in charge of the Peanut Corporation of America sent e-mails ordering shipments of products with salmonella.  Let this guy rot in jail.

 

The uptight prudes who are angry over Georgia State University having experts in oral sex and male prostitution have backed off.  I guess they realize how ridiculous they look.  Another lawmaker is defending them under the guise of "academic freedom."

 

Another bill in the state Senate would allow evidence of whether or not people are wearing a seat belt at the time of a crash in a trial.

 

More "stimulus" pork:  $300 million for the government to buy "green" cars, including glorified golf carts and $30 million to save a mouse, plus a much longer list courtesy of Senator Tom Coburn.  Senator Carl Levin might throw in a tax break for GM in conference, despite the fact that it has not been debated in either the House or the Senate.  The White House might also push to get all the spending cut from the Senate bill back into the Conference bill, which has no Republican input.  The apparent new size is $789 billion with less in "tax breaks," but I guarantee it'll end up larger than that.  Here's another column showing why it won't work.

 

Bankers are in front of Congress today defending the bailout.

 

Here's a question nobody else is asking:  Has Barack Obama's Presidency already failed?

Obama's Horrible Press Conference

Here, again, is the cloture vote on the ODAB that occurred yesterday.  The three Republicans to vote with the Democrats were Snowe, Specter, and Collins, who are now targets for primaries from conservatives.  Of course, they had to lie to justify their votes, and there's still no proof that any jobs will be created, but who's keeping track?  Obama is acting like he's back on the campaign trail, though, in the way that he is trying to sell this thing, including going back to the old campaign talking points of McCain not knowing how many houses his wife has.  In the Senate, Harry Reid is threatening lawmakers with the idea of no President's Day recess if they don't get the ODAB finished and on Obama's desk in time and Chuck Schumer says that you don't care about the pork in the ODAB.  By the way, wait until you hear about the scary provisions that get Big Brother into your health care.

 

We'll also have some coverage today of the miserably bad Obama prime-time press conference last night.  It was bad in both substance and style (he was off a teleprompter, after all), but at least he got a chance to throw Joe Biden under the bus.  And why the hell were the Huffington Post and liberal talk show host Ed Schultz even present at the press conference?  Here's the transcript, by the way.

 

The Obama Administration put out their new financial rescue plan (TARP 2), which will put taxpayers on the hook for up to another $2 trillion.  Here are some of the juicier tidbits of Treasury Secretary and tax cheat Timothy Geithner's speech this morning.

 

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wants to have a panel on to investigate the Bush Administration.  Any legislative time spent doing that is not spent on borrowing from our children's futures.

 

A combination of enforcement and the bad economy is forcing illegal immigrants to leave the United States.

 

Despite getting a bailout, GM is still fighting to avoid bankruptcy, including laying off 10,000 workers (now that they won't go to the jobs bank).  Of course, the taxpayer isn't even the first creditor that would need to be paid off

 

There are political reasons for Obama wanting the Census to be controlled in the White House rather than in the Commerce Department, as it should be.

 

A panel of federal judges has ordered that tens of thousands of California inmates be released to ease overcrowding.

 

State House Democrats want to gain an extra $1 billion in sales taxes by changing the collection mechanism.

 

Peanut farmers are worried that prices might be too low this year, after the largest crop on record last year.

 

State Senator Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody) wants to investigate grade inflation statewide.  Education Secretary Kathy Cox was not surprised by the fact that grade inflation exists.

ODAB Cloture Vote Successful

Here is the link to what will be the official roll call vote for the cloture vote held this afternoon on the Omnibus Democrat Agenda Bill.  The bill will pass the Senate tomorrow.  However, remember that this bill is much different than the House's version (except for the price tag).  The two bills must be reconciled by the House-Senate Conference Committee, and then be voted on again.  This is where the real opportunity to kill the bill lies.  The fact that there had to be a compromise from the House version to push the Senate version through with just three Republicans shows that there is discontent.  Depending on what the bill looks like after the Conference, the three mushy Republicans who supported the bill today might not support what comes from Conference.  There is also some room, perhaps, to pick off a few Democrats, especially in the House.  I know today's vote was frustrating, but the work is not finished.  There are still plenty of chances to kill this thing.  Don't get frustrated, keep up the phone calls, and we can still kill this thing.  After all, I am running America by communicating with you folks.  I may be the bogeyman, but you are the ones who do the real work when it comes to stopping bad legislation.

Kill The Bill!

Today is, again, "Kill the Bill" day.  The compromise that was partially negotiated by a few moderate Republicans comes up for the important cloture vote at about 5:30 today.  Keep calling Snowe, Specter, and Collins (links are to contact pages for the three Senators).  Hopefully we can get two of the three to stay strong and oppose this thing, even though Specter writes in the Washington Post today his reasons for supporting the ODAB.

 

The National Education Association doesn't like the compromise bill either, due to cuts that were made from education from the House version.  They're still getting billions of dollars, though.  No sympathy from me, but I do hope that they can pull a moderate Democrat or two to oppose it "for the children."

 

Some of the amendments to the ODAB that were considered would have made sure that none of the bill would result in new permanent spending programs (it failed) and banned the use of money in the bill for ACORN (it also failed).  One amendment that Harry Reid won't even allow on the floor of the Senate would require citizenship verification for any business that would receive money under the ODAB.

 

Republican Senator Richard Shelby got it right when he said that this bill will put the United States on "a road to financial disaster."  His Republican colleagues are seeing some political hope of their own in their opposition to this monstrosity, even though Democrats are (rightly) turning the "it spends too much" argument back at them, except Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who says that the federal government was on a "starvation diet" under President Bush.  Even Joe Biden knows that this thing could backfire on the Democrats, and there is a 30% chance that they could fail.  By the way, here are some examples of what is a trillion dollars.

 

Sixty-two percent of voters polled say that they would prefer more tax cuts and less government spending as an economic stimulus.

 

President Obama's rhetoric of hope and change has become doom and gloom, and the press isn't willing to call him on it.  Maybe that's why his approval ratings are dropping so quickly.  Even the far left is starting to turn because he wants to fight Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan.

 

The Congressional Budget Office sees the recession ending around the middle of the year without the ODAB.

 

The New York Times is calling those Republicans who want to vote for the ODAB "patriotic."  If that is the standard now, then I'm proud to be unpatriotic.  Does anybody else remember when dissent was patriotic?

 

We won't get the plan on the revamp of TARP until tomorrow, but there are a few things we can expect.  While Geithner is working on revamping it, Goldman Sachs wants out of the TARP plan, and Wells Fargo is cancelling a corporate junket (which will require paying huge cancellation fees), despite being forced into TARP.  The taxpayers are now on the hook for $9.7 trillion thanks to bailout programs, which would include $50 billion for mortgage modifications.  That's enough money to pay off 90% of all mortgages in the country.

 

The Republican Party is suing the federal government in an attempt to get McCain-Feingold overturned.

 

President Obama has taken control of the 2010 census away from the Commerce Department because he doesn't trust his Republican nominee to the office.

 

Obama signed an Executive Order last week that would require union labor on federally funded construction projects.  That'll just cost us more money.

 

Yemen released 170 members of Al-Qaida after they signed a pledge not to return.  It's a look into the future without Guantanamo Bay.

 

Fifty-four percent of voters say that the media hype the dangers of global warming.

 

Now women are dreaming of having sex with President Obama, including New York Times blogger Judith Warner.  This is just getting ridiculous.

 

There are a bunch of columns that are must-reads today.  Here's how government caused the financial crisis, and Bush had nothing to do with it at all.  Then you get some important lessons from Canada (for those of you looking forward to nationalized health care).  Finally, here is why greed is good, despite the fact that wealth envy is a great American tradition.

 

Obama hit his head getting into Marine One.  Moron!  Idiot!  Fool!  (I'm just applying the Bush standard here)

 

Macon is the #1 market in the country for daytime television.  This is not something to be proud of.