More AIG Bait-and-Switch Today

Here is more on President Obama's new medical plan for veterans.  We will get to this today.

 

Obama screwed up a speech yesterday by thanking himself when his teleprompter malfunctioned.  The guy is lost without a teleprompter.

 

The economy may be turning around, no thanks to the policies of the Obama administration.

 

The AIG bait-and-switch drama continues, as the government-appointed AIG CEO went to apologize to Congress for the bonuses.  Meanwhile, AIG staffers are actually defending their bonuses, saying that they deserve the money.  A lot of the fake outrage is over the executives who quit after earning their bonuses, but the point is that they earned them according to their contracts.  The Obama Administration, which claims that they didn't find out about the bonuses until this month, also had the teleprompter tell the empty suit that he doesn't want to "quell anger," but instead to "channel our anger in a constructive way."  Channeling it means using it to destroy capitalism.  We may get at least one good thing from this, though; Timothy Geithner might soon be out at Treasury Secretary.

 

While the fake outrage over the AIG bonuses is circulating, lost in the muck is the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives are also getting bonuses, and the Obama Administration is giving a Treasury Department job to the guy at Citigroup who drove that company into the ground.

 

Check out the class warfare language coming from people over these bonuses.

 

Thanks to the last eight years and even before that, there is no reason to take the Republican Party seriously when they talk about smaller government.  Remember, President Bush increased government spending by almost half in his second term alone, and the national debt hit $11 trillion Monday.

 

The Republicans were bad, but not this bad.  Obama's health care plan will probably end up costing $1,500,000,000,000 over the next decade, and his cap-and-trade program could cost $2,000,000,000,000, including a $144 billion burden on American families.

 

ACORN could be involved in the 2010 Census.

 

President Obama could be threatening the air superiority of the United States Air Force if he scraps the F-22 program.

 

Here's something else from the Obama administration I can agree with:  The United States signed a declaration calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality.

 

Forty percent of all babies born in 2007 were born out of wedlock.  That means that you are their baby-daddy.

 

Georgia government school teachers may be looking at furloughs next year as a part of the budget crunch, which should prevent layoffs.  Another casualty could be the amount of money that the state sends to hospitals for Medicare reimbursement.  Without paying customers, you have to crawl to government.

 

The state House is also looking to cut half of the money for the State Ethics Commission.  Read into this what you wish.

More AIG Bait-and-Switch

President Obama's poll numbers continue to drop, as people figure out that he's a liberal.

 

The bait-and-switch over the AIG bonuses continues, as the Senate Finance Committee wants to tax those bonuses, at a rate between 60% and 100%.  Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said that the AIG executives should commit suicide, and then changed his mind to say that they should repent.  Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe says that all of this is Washington's fault for bailing AIG out to begin with, which one analyst says is a waste of money.  Connecticut Democrat Chris Dodd, who had introduced an amendment to the "stimulus" bill to protect bonuses like these, is now trying to undo that policy.  The biggest problem, though, is the fact that the anger over these bonuses might hurt Obama's popularity.

 

The real systemic risk in the economy is Congress.

 

The CEO of General Motors says that bankruptcy would cause liquidation.  At this point, I say go for it.  Meanwhile, the CEO of Ford wants to raise gas prices again so they can sell more cars.

 

The American Legion is rightfully upset about Obama's plan to force wounded veterans to get their own private insurance to cover the bills for any combat injuries.

 

Many of the problems with earmarks come from the fact that government institutions are paying for lobbyists to get the earmarks for them.

 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says that people expect too much from government.

 

Vice President Joe Biden says that Obama inherited an economy worse than what FDR inherited.

 

Remember when Obama promised that Caterpillar would cancel job cuts if the "stimulus" bill passed?  Well it passed, and Caterpillar is laying off more workers.  All of those projects funded by the "stimulus" programs are going to cost more money because of a rule requiring all workers to be paid union, not market, wages.  Only 9% of non-union workers want to join a union.

 

With the continued failing of the liberal newspaper industry, Nancy Pelosi is appealing to the Justice Department to help save the San Francisco Chronicle.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is going web-only as they go under.

 

Today's stupid politician of the day is Florida State Senator Larcenia Bullard, who confused the term "animal husbandry" with marrying animals.  I wish I was kidding.

 

State employees are being told to expect more furloughs and possibly layoffs in the next fiscal year.

 

The reserves in the health care fund for Georgia state employees and teachers could be wiped out next year through budget cuts.

 

Senator Saxby Chambliss has some "concerns" about the "stimulus" plan.  He says that we're spending too much money.

Outrage Over AIG Bonuses

AIG gave bonuses to many of their top executives over the weekend, which really got guys like Barney Frank and President Obama angry.  This is very easy to demagogue into a class warfare issue, so the Democrats will do that.  Obama is even trying to stop the bonuses from being paid.  The fault for this lies not with AIG, but with government; AIG was contractually obligated to give these bonuses.  The Administration is even concerned about a bailout backlash, as the American people get angry about their money being on the hook for companies that can't stay afloat on their own.  Some of the companies who were bailed out are starting to say that they regret taking the money due to the strings attached to the government money.

 

People are starting to worry that the Obama administration has a problem with incompetence.

 

A group of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee say that the earth is just going through a natural climate shift as they try to figure out the natural forces that affect climate.  A columnist in Edmonton, Canada says that global warming is no longer happening, and a British Lord spoke before Congress against cap-and-trade saying that the right policy with regard to climate is to "have the courage to do nothing."  Of course, it is hard to make a real scientific case to the American people to stand up against the fear-mongering of the warmers considering that American adults don't even know basic science.

 

Ethanol might be in more trouble, so they're looking to government for another bailout.

 

Labor unions want the federal government to take control of private insurance plans.

 

The Obama administration is considering taxing employer-based health care plans.

 

Now that Obama owns this economy, he's saying that the economy is sound.  Reverse course on the fearmongering!

 

A woman who painted her car into a rolling tribute to President Obama isn't making the payments on the car.

 

Obama is going to have a big fundraiser next week.  If he actually gave a damn about the economy he'd take all the money raised and start a private charity.  He's also using his campaign army to drum up support for his big-government budget, and a bunch of far-left organizations are getting together to do the same thing.

 

Federal agents seized some shamrock seeds from people travelling from Ireland.  Apparently you need a permit to bring shamrock seeds into the United States.

 

Is Ayn Rand relevant?  Answer:  Yes.

 

According to a new study, old age begins at 27.

 

Rocket scientists can shoot down mosquitoes with lasers.  This sounds really cool.

 

A German company has introduced "Obama fingers."  They didn't realize it could be considered racist.

 

State Rep. Willie Talton has announced that he will pay his $30,800 in taxes due after the legislative session ends.

 

The Georgia Senate passed a law last week to fix some of the problems in identifying sex offenders.

Crossover Day: The Day After

The Chinese are worried about their investment in American debt.  They're concerned that too much debt will lead to inflation, which would make their investment a losing one.  At least they'll be comforted by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs saying that the United States is the safest investment in the world.  For those of you who remember Schoolhouse Rock, you'll enjoy this take on the national debt.

 

Obama's poll numbers are falling.  He's starting to take ownership of the economy, which is why all of a sudden, President Obama has decided to stop talking down the economy and start saying that it's "not as bad as we think."  His top economic advisor even said that the key to ending the recession is ending an "excess of fear," despite the fact that it was Obama and his cohorts in the navel-gazing media who talked the economy down to begin with.  The stock market has been moving up the last few days, but nobody is giving credit to the "stimulus" package; instead, there's a buzz that the mark-to-market rules might be changed.  Consumer confidence also increased, and the number of consumers who think that President Obama is doing a good job on the economy rose to 23%.

 

With all of the important things going on in the United States, Congress took time yesterday to honor Pi.

 

Obama administration incompetence continues, as they bumped a visit with the President of Brazil in favor of St. Patrick's Day and misspelled his name.

 

Obama's third choice for Deputy Treasury Secretary has withdrawn from consideration.

 

One of Obama's Justice Department nominees was a lawyer for Johnny Taliban.

 

Jonah Goldberg calls the fear mongering of the Obama administration "fundamentally undemocratic."  Actually, it's completely democratic.

 

Two lesbian married partners had a fight after one tried to use a turkey baster on the other.

 

A woman was injured during an act involving a sex toy and a reciprocating saw.

 

Some of the stuff that passed on Crossover Day yesterday:

 

Private contractors could be allowed to collect child support instead of only the government (think collections agents for deadbeat dads).

 

The House approved a new dolphin license plate.

 

The Senate passed a version of the stem-cell bill last night after having to take a recess to rewrite it at the last minute.

 

The House passed a bill to increase the limit on games of BINGO.

 

The Senate passed a tax ethics bill that would take action against any member who doesn't file their taxes, but only state taxes and only in the previous year.

 

Governor Perdue seems to like the stem-cell bill, but is not yet sure about the car title tax.

 

Erick Erickson said in today's Macon Telegraph what I've been thinking for most of this session:  the Republicans are becoming the establishment in Atlanta.

Crossover Day Updates

The State Senate passed what appears to be a toothless ethics bill to force members of the General Assembly to file (but not necessarily pay) their taxes.  It was sponsored by both Robert Brown and Eric Johnson, and passed unanimously.

 

The State House passed a bill to prohibit drivers under the age of 18 from using cell phones while driving.

 

The Senate temporarily tabled that ridiculously confusing stem cell research bill.

 

The House passed a bill to exempt from sales tax any goods and materials to be used to build a civil rights museum in Atlanta.

Crossover Day in the General Assembly

President Obama and Treasury Secretary and tax cheat Timothy Geithner have both received failing grades for their economic recovery efforts.  They're also receiving failing grades from wealth-producing oil companies, who are leaving the United States for Switzerland because their tax policies are better for business.

 

The number of billionaires in the world shrank from 1,125 last year to 793 this year, with their total wealth dropping from $4.4 trillion to $2.4 trillion.  I know you wealth envy types love this, but these are the people who create wealth for millions of other people as well.

 

Almost $30 million of your tax dollars from the omnibus spending bill are going towards preserving the Kennedy legacy in Massachusetts.

 

The British say that working with the Obama Administration is "unbelievably hard."  When you're on the same level as Bhutan in their minds, you're going to be neglected.

 

Obama is going to downgrade the Drug Czar from Cabinet-level status.  Good.  He is also looking at sending troops to the Mexican border to protect Americans from the drug cartel violence.  This should have been done immediately after 9/11, but I'm not holding my breath considering that the Justice Department is investigating a Sheriff in Arizona for enforcing immigration law and the far left is already not happy that there have still been a few immigration raids since Obama took office.

 

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford invoked the hyper-inflation of Zimbabwe to warn of what could happen if the federal government does not stop spending money that it doesn't have.

 

The Governor of Rhode Island put together a panel to review the state's tax code.  They returned with recommendations for cutting taxes, including eliminating the corporate income tax.  If they do this, then their neighboring states will not be happy.

 

Vice President Biden will be in charge of the RAT (Recovery Accountability and Transparency) Board.  Has there been a worse political acronym since CREEP?

 

A former union boss opposes the "card check" bill because it will create an "atmosphere of intimidation."

 

Forty-one percent of Americans now say that the threat from global warming is being exaggerated in the media.

 

Today is Crossover Day in the General Assembly, the last day for any piece of legislation to pass from one chamber to another.  There will be a number of tax bills, including one that would make changes to taxes on vehicles.  One bill that is not on the calendar is the school vouchers bill.  Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is the one to blame for this, and this is another reason that Casey Cagle comes out of this session looking very bad as a candidate for Governor.

 

Crossover Day means that news will be breaking throughout the day.  I will be making a post this afternoon after the show to reflect the new things that get voted on today, although it is possible that the House is done with the big stuff.  What we have as of now:

 

Georgia could become the first state in the country to allow for adoption of human embryos.

 

A jobs package has passed the House that would provide a tax credit for hiring unemployed workers.

 

The House has also passed a tax credit for people who buy a home in the next six months and has passed the vehicle tax bill that would eliminate the "birthday tax."

 

Bonuses for teachers newly certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards will be eliminated under a House bill that passed.

 

The Senate has seen the pulling of the autism bill and the passage of a bill requiring people to tell the truth to committees or sub-committees in the General Assembly.

 

The Senate has also passed a bill that would allow Atlanta residents to vote for a property tax increase to pay for more police and fire protection.  This is why it's not a surprise that North Fulton residents would want to re-create Milton County.

 

Coming up later in the Senate is an embryonic stem cell bill.

Grocery Tax Dead in Georgia

Right now, President Obama's budget doesn't have the votes to pass in the Senate, mainly due to the biggest tax increase in American history, cap and trade.

 

The EPA is already preparing for cap and trade by considering requiring factories to report their amount of carbon dioxide emissions.  Remember, environmentalism is all about control.

 

Some Democrat Senators are considering opposing "card check" now that it actually has a chance of becoming law.  It's not that they don't support allowing unions to spread their influence by intimidation, it's that they don't want to be held accountable when it destroys jobs.  Harry Reid says that Republicans opposed to the bill are just saying no to everything.

 

Nancy Pelosi uses the United States Air Force as her own private airline.

 

The federal budget deficit has reached a record $765 billion in 5 months, and Congress has spent about $1 billion per hour since Obama became President.

 

James Carville wanted Bush to fail in 2001, so why can't I hope for Obama to fail in 2009?

 

A current leader in the Taliban in southern Afghanistan was at Gitmo.

 

One of the good things that President Obama said (although it is not the job of the President to say it) is that he wants more charter schools.  Here's a story about successful charter schools in Los Angeles.

 

In the latest vote of no confidence for the Obama economic team, 53% of Americans think that the United States will enter a depression within the next few years.  Even Democrats are starting to panic because the "stimulus" bill was not a magic bullet that is helping the economy now.

 

Some banks that received bailout money want to give it back because of the federal demands on them.

 

The omnibus spending bill passed the Senate last night with 8 Republican supporters, but without the D.C. school choice provisions and with automatic pay raises for members of Congress.  Even though he'll sign it, after this bill President Obama says that he expects change in the earmarks process.

 

Two more lobbyists have gotten waivers to join the Obama Administration, including one from pro-illegal alien interest group La Raza.

 

Harry Reid claims that the Fairness Doctrine is a "ghost that doesn't exist" and that nobody wants it to come back.

 

Good news:  the grocery tax hike is dead.

 

The General Assembly passed this year's budget thanks to the bailout from the federal government.

 

The Houston County School Board has put off their vote on the FY2010 budget until the end of the month.  David Cranshaw might be by to discuss it with us today.

Card Check Bill in Congress

President Obama, talking about stem cell research, says that he wants to remove politics from science.  Too bad that doesn't apply when talking about global warming, which is more about politics than science.  Also, there is a very easy way to remove politics from science:  stop regulating and funding science and leave it to the private sector.

 

Democrats are pushing the card check bill in both houses of Congress starting today.  Fears over card check led analysts to downgrade Wal-Mart stock from "buy" to "hold," acknowledging the fact that card check will significantly increase labor costs and end up costing up to 600,000 jobs in the United States economy next year.  The only chance to kill this is in the Senate, where a few Democrats might oppose it.

 

Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter is pushing an amendment to eliminate automatic pay raises for members of Congress.

 

For the second time in 6 days, Senators voted yesterday to keep their pork in the omnibus spending bill.

 

Obama had a big speech this morning on education, in which he pushed for "accountability" in education and, of course, more big government plans.  The only real "change" would be getting government out of education.

 

Why should taxpayers subsidize bad decisions?

 

Who will actually pay for cap-and-trade?  Here's a hint:  Obama will still claim that he cut their taxes.

 

A Somali Islamic terrorist group is set to merge with al-Qaida.

 

Obama's call to talk to the moderate wing of the Taliban is useless hippie psycho-babble because there are no "moderate" members of the Taliban.

 

President Obama is considering a second "stimulus" package, and so is Nancy Pelosi.  These peoples' lust for big government will never be satisfied.

 

The number of students applying to state colleges is increasing, fueled largely by HOPE students, while the University System's budgets are dropping.

 

A state legislator is working on stopping a federally-funded expansion of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.  Do you think this same legislator will turn down the federal money for the Montezuma Airport?

 

This ridiculous bill to reimpose the full state sales tax on groceries will probably get a vote in the State House on Thursday.  The sponsor, a South Georgia Republican, needs a primary challenger to kick him out of office.

 

We have the name of another tax cheating state legislator.  Senator Lester Jackson (D-Savannah) says that he hasn't paid $15.78 going back to 2002.

 

Houston County schools will probably furlough some employees as a part of cutting $2.25 million from their budget.  Despite the fact that school boards across the state are having to cut their budgets, a house bill to require testing of student fitness has passed the State House.

Obama "Too Tired" To Do His Job

The reason that President Obama skimped on giving a welcome to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was that he was "too tired" to do it right.  Man up, Barack.  By the way, how long will it be until the media stops accepting the incompetence being shown by the Obama administration?

 

Obama was asked by the New York Times whether he is a socialist.  He got defensive, and ultimately denied the charge.  Too bad he's been endorsed by, and associated with, socialists for his entire political career.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is inviting President Obama to get on the path to socialism (he's way ahead of you, Hugo!), and he called the United States a "murderous, genocidal empire."

 

Some Republicans are finally saying that it's time to let some banks fail, including possibly Citigroup, which Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) described as a "problem child".  They're also saying that the government should stop giving GM any money, which now House Minority Leader John Boehner says needs to have a restructuring plan before they get any more federal money.  Where was this during the campaign?

 

Iran is not only close to producing a nuclear weapon, they have also successfully tested a possible delivery system that could reach Israel if they wanted.  North Korea also appears to be working on a missile system.

 

Private sector jobs are on the decline, but the number of government jobs continues to increase.  Maybe that's why a new Rasmussen poll shows that over one-third of voters believe that you can't earn a living in the United States without government help.

 

Despite the fact that the American people and especially businesses have no faith in the Obama economy, Obama continues to say that the economic "crisis" is a time of "great opportunity."  Under Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, it's a great opportunity for government to grow.

 

Here's something the mainstream, uppity, navel-gazing media won't remember:  a majority of Democrats wanted President Bush to fail in August 2006.

 

Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe asks the same question I've been asking for a while:  Where's Global Warming?

 

Illegal immigrants could take up to 15% of the jobs that would allegedly be created by the Omnibus Democrat Agenda "stimulus" Bill.

 

Stupid government tricks:  a Minnesota state agency is offering "Islamic mortgages" so Muslims don't have to pay interest, Pennsylvania will spend over $173,000 to teach liquor store workers to be nice (is that stimulus?), and San Francisco will spend $122,575 for a "Healthy Penis" program.

 

Georgia is the biggest "loser" in the omnibus spending bill, receiving only $10 per capita in spending.

 

The Mexican drug cartels that have led the State Department and many colleges to warn tourists about traveling to Mexico have also invaded Atlanta.

 

Some bills to cut taxes in Georgia will be on the House floor this week without the original proposal to phase out the corporate income tax, as will a bill to revive the state sales tax on groceries.  A lot of bills will come up this week because Thursday is crossover day.

 

State tax revenues were down almost 35 percent last month, which many are blaming on the fact that people are rushing to file their taxes and get their refunds.

 

Here's another column attacking school vouchers.  These really are getting tiresome.

 

More details have come out on that asinine kindergarten "raise your hand" vote Thursday in the State Senate that would have required that state Senators pay their taxes.  It turns out that tax cheat and Minority Leader Robert Brown wanted to have a roll call vote, and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle says that the bill shouldn't have been allowed to come to the floor for a vote at all.

 

My alma mater, Mercer University, now has a Distinguished Professor of Capitalism.

 

I had to post this quote that Stephen in Perry sent me:

 

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.  The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.  When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.  You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

-- Dr. Adrian Rogers

Obama's Nominees Dropping Like Flies

Treasury Secretary and tax cheat Timothy Geithner's pick to be his deputy has withdrawn from consideration.  Did she pay all of her taxes?  Geithner also went before the House Budget Committee to defend the Obama budget, which is based on deception and bait-and-switch, and criticize the Bush tax cuts.  I bet those tax cuts (and his tax evasions) were good for his personal economy.  Here's why Obama's tax hikes will end up hurting the middle class (who depend on those filthy, stinking, horrible, evil rich people for jobs), and why he is already hurting the stock market.

 

Barney Frank wants to find who is responsible for the financial crisis and throw them in jail.  Look in the mirror, Barney.  It was government, and even the New York Times called this in 1999 when your boyfriend at Fannie Mae was decreasing lending standards.

 

Twenty states have already introduced Tenth Amendment resolutions.  This is nice, but how many of them would actually take them seriously?  (Thanks to Darrell for the tip here)

 

Al Gore still refuses to debate the actual science behind the global warming thing.

 

Next in the bailout line, the FDIC will borrow $500 billion (that doesn't exist) from the Treasury Department.

 

It's not just Rahm Emanuel anymore:  now Hillary Clinton says to "never waste a good crisis."

 

Over 1 in every 10 Americans is now on food stamps.  Consider them permanent Democrat voters.

 

Cramdown passed the House yesterday.

 

If you like the idea of government-run health care, check out the death sentence they're giving cancer patients in Great Britain.  Here's a wonderful column on the dangers of government health care.

 

Pat Toomey will run against Arlen Specter again.

 

Republicans in the House tried to strip all earmarks out of the omnibus spending bill, along with enacting a spending freeze.  It failed on a mostly party-line vote.  On the Senate side, Republicans are showing some muscle, as they thwarted a cloture vote last night.

 

Homeless people in DC, thanks to government, have cell phones.

 

The "card check" bill, which Vice President Joe Biden supports, would cost the economy another 600,000 jobs in 2010 if it passes.

 

Nancy Pelosi supports the back-door effort to impose the Fairness Doctrine.

 

It looks like the battle over the Georgia Power bill will go for naught, since the Obama Administration is trying to kill nuclear power.

 

Members of the Georgia School Boards Association did a hatchet-job on the school vouchers bill, claiming that vouchers lack accountability.

 

The strippers tax passed the Senate Finance Committee yesterday.

 

The Macon Police Department had seminars for business owners on robbery prevention.  Nobody showed up for them.  I guess they were busy keeping their businesses from being robbed.

 

Here's the story on the members of the State House who haven't paid their taxes, and on the failed attempt at accountability on the part of State Senator Eric Johnson.

22 Georgia Lawmakers Haven't Paid Taxes

Over 8.3 million mortgages in the United States are underwater.

 

GM's auditors are raising the possibility of bankruptcy, saying that they doubt that the company can continue operations.

 

CAIR and another radical Islamist front group are placing ads on public transit buses urging people to convert to Islam.

 

A college student in Connecticut gave a class presentation on why law-abiding citizens should be able to carry their concealed weapons on places like college campuses.  His teacher called campus police on him.

 

At least one town says that it is receiving "stimulus" money that it doesn't want, doesn't need, and can't use.

 

The British are upset because they think that President Obama snubbed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his visit to Washington.  Obama's parting gift to Brown was 25 DVDs.

 

The vote on the cramdown bill is today.  It looks like the Blue Dogs will support it.

 

Obama worship has spread to Nickelodeon.

 

New York City is trying to build a wind farm.  The project is wrapped up in red tape because they are concerned about bats.  It doesn't matter; "renewable energy" will never replace oil.

 

The newest thing to blame for global warming:  burping worms.

 

Here is one person who personifies the real American mindset.

 

Check out some of the earmarks that Georgia will get in the omnibus spending bill.  If you want the full list, look through this database, courtesy of Taxpayers for Common Sense.

 

The number of state legislators who haven't paid their taxes is up to 22, and 3 of them actually have liens or are having their wages garnished.

 

The Sunday sales bill died in committee yesterday.  This is, and should be, a campaign issue for every Republican in a primary next year.  At least they showed up this time.

 

Speaker Glenn Richardson wants to be able to perform marriages.

 

The State House voted yesterday to require voters to prove their citizenship and not to double the homestead exemption for property owners.

 

The State Senate voted Tuesday to allow low-risk sex offenders to get off the sex offender registry.

 

Some hospitals say that they might close if state Medicaid payments are cut.  They need more paying customers.

 

Congressman Sanford Bishop might be in trouble over this stuff in the Muscogee County Junior Marshall's program.  He got the earmark for the program, his stepdaughter was paid as an administrative assistant even though she lives in Lithonia and works in Fulton County, and now we find out that money intended for Bishop's step-son-in-law actually went to Bishop's wife.

Obama's New Housing Plan

President Obama has issued his new housing plan that would require homeowners to show proof of income and financial need before they become eligible to have their mortgage modified.  The plan might have some trouble doing what is advertised due to the strict restrictions.  The modifications are essentially the same thing that the banks were doing that caused the mortgage meltdown to begin with.  The other part of the Obama housing plan, the so-called "cramdown" bill, will be voted on tomorrow in the House.

 

Treasury Secretary and tax cheat Timothy Geithner calls Obama's budget "remarkably fiscally responsible," even though it is more liberal than the one proposed by Maxine Waters and the Democrat "progressive" caucus last year.  He also lied about the big-spending ways of the Bush Administration.  Republicans criticized the Obama Administration of cooking the books in making their budget, and even Democrats are balking at some of the tax provisions of the Obama budget.

 

With a few banks failing across the country, the FDIC says that the insurance fund could be out of money by the end of the year.  In response to that, the FDIC has imposed a fee on banks.  Does anybody else see the problems with this?

 

The next bailout might be of government pension plans.  The bailouts have already failed to do what they were supposed to do, so why do we keep doing it?

 

The California Air Resources Board has determined that oil-based fuels have smaller carbon footprints than ethanol or other biofuels.

 

Half of the hospitals in the country are losing money.  They need paying customers.

 

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), who is hell-bent on socializing medicine, wants to start taxing workers on their employer-based health insurance programs.

 

Democrats pulled the DC Voting Rights Act from consideration in the House because the Blue Dogs would have opposed it since pulling the 2^nd Amendment rights from the bill.

 

The federal "stimulus" money will make up for most of Georgia's budget shortfall, and Governor Perdue will accept all of the money including the unemployment money.  Business owners, your state unemployment taxes are going to rise in a few years.

 

Peach County's school board unwittingly showed what would be the benefit of the school vouchers bill this week.

 

One of the state legislators who have not paid their taxes is Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown (D-Macon).  Senator Eric Johnson has introduced a new ethics bill in response to the non-payers.

 

The state Senate passed the bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote.

 

The Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee is supposed to vote on the Sunday sales bill at 4:00 this afternoon.  Maybe they'll man up and actually have the vote.  At least one member of the committee has received drunk dials encouraging him to support the bill.

 

The state House overwhelmingly passed their version of the T-SPLOST yesterday, setting up a battle with the Senate.  I still don't see a way to reconcile the two bills.

 

If you want a way to pay homage to President Obama in your home, try these Obama votive candles.

Stock Market Drops are Obama's Fault

Another Obama nominee has problems with paying his taxes.  This time it's US Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk.

 

President Obama has an idea of how to reform health care:  community health centers.  Basically, let's put a federally-funded Grady in every city for people like Michelle Obama to dump their patients on.

 

Obama has his international crisis in Iranian nukes.  He's willing to scrap our missile defense system in exchange for help from Russia dealing with the Iranians.  Russian President Dmitry Medvedev laughed at Obama in response.

 

The Federal Reserve is going to start lending money to try and get more car, education, and credit card lending moving.

 

President Obama claims that he is already creating jobs from the stimulus package.

 

David Brooks claims to have just discovered what most of us have known for over a year:  Barack Obama is a liberal.  Brooks is either horribly naïve of just ignorant.

 

I'm not the only one blaming Obama for the continually dropping stock market; now CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer is calling it "amateur hour" at the White House, and Investor's Business Daily says that capital is on strike.  As a result of Obama's threatened tax hikes, upper-income taxpayers are looking for ways to get their income below $250,000 so they can actually keep the money that they earn, because the Obama Administration is going to try and track their money overseas to make sure they can tax it no matter where it goes..  The Wall Street Journal now declares this as officially the Obama Economy, and Reuters points out that the bailouts and partial nationalizations could lead to a double-dipping recession.

 

Speaking of bailouts, the CEO of Bank of America says that they made a mistake in asking for government help in their acquisition of Merrill Lynch.  Also, AIG, despite getting $150 billion in taxpayer dollars, is suing the federal government over a $306 million tax bill.

 

The Senate voted 63-32 to save all of their favorite earmarks in the omnibus spending bill (thanks to Dr. Greg Domin for this one).  Here's the full roll call vote.

 

Some left-wing activist groups want to impose affirmative action on charitable contributions.

 

There's a new theory about global warming:  it's temporarily on hold.

 

State House Republicans say that the school voucher bill probably will not pass in their side of the General Assembly.

 

The League of Women Voters doesn't like the idea of requiring new voters to prove citizenship in order to register.

 

This afternoon Governor Perdue will announce his new, post-stimulus budget.

 

Georgia has the highest probation rate in the country.  This is probably due to the fact that we rank 42^nd among states in personal liberty.  The same study showed that 1 in every 31 adults in the United States is in some phase of the corrections system.

 

The University System of Georgia is finally going to work with the rest of the state government and furlough their employees.  They will also probably raise tuition.

 

The General Assembly might not take a three-month recess after all.  They know what their handout is now, so why bother waiting when there are some candidates who need to start raising money?

 

The GBI is looking into a possible pay-for-play scandal involving Congressman Sanford Bishop.

 

The Warner Robins City Council, if granted an increase in the hotel/motel tax, will build a welcome center at I-75 and Russell Parkway.  There used to be one at I-75 and Watson Boulevard, but they tore that down.

Snow in March; Global Warming?

Radio legend Paul Harvey passed away Saturday at the age of 90.  May he Rest in Peace.

 

Scandals continue to dog the Obama transition, as his new "urban czar" appears to have been engaged in pay-for-play while the borough president in the Bronx and his chief vetter might have his own tax problem.  Is anybody not wondering whether now-announced HHS Secretary-designee Kathleen Sebelius has paid all of her taxes?

 

President Obama is trying to sell his budget by calling any critic a "special interest."  Since when has financial responsibility been a special interest?  The budget also wants to end tax breaks for oil and natural gas and use the additional tax revenue for "renewable energy."  He also includes a down payment on socialized medicine, and he wants to do all of this without requiring a cloture vote.

 

From the omnibus spending bill, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer got $8.5 million in earmarks, including $280,000 to help tobacco farmers compensate for a drop-off in smoking after decades of liberals attacking tobacco companies.  Despite the 9,000 earmarks, Obama will sign the spending bill in violation of his campaign promise.

 

The "stimulus" bill might have bailed out the states, but this bailout, like the one for banks, AIG, and the automakers, still won't be enough to save the states.

 

The Hill has a breakdown of Obama's tax plans, between his budget and the ODAB, by what effect it will have on a few different tax brackets.

 

NASA's climate chief (and Al Gore's favorite scientist), James Hansen, is calling for civil disobedience in a huge global warming protest today at the very environmentally-unfriendly Capitol Power Plant.  By the way, how did you enjoy the snow-in-March effects of global warming yesterday?  Nancy Pelosi won't be able to make the protest because of the snow.

 

Incomes, the savings rate, and consumer spending were all up in January, and Reuters gives the credit to government while continuing the doom-and-gloom in the economy.

 

Mitt Romney won the CPAC straw poll, which shows what is on everybody's minds:  the economy.

 

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan lays out the Republicans' road to economic recovery.

 

Card check isn't as bad as we all originally thought; it's worse.  Arlen Specter might still vote for it.

 

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that Iran has the material to make a nuclear weapon.  What's Obama going to do about it?

 

AIG lost $61.7 billion in the 4^th quarter of last year, and they were rewarded with another $30 billion in your money.

 

Bankers are tired of being trashed by the Obama administration.  I just wish they had pointed out the poisonous effect of the Community Reinvestment Act.

 

Larry Kudlow says that President Obama has declared war on investors, entrepreneurs, businesses, and more.  Basically, he has declared war on the productive class.

 

Roland Burris, playing the race card, says that he will not resign from the Senate.

 

An Ohio woman was ticketed for breastfeeding while driving.

 

According to one CNN host, it is unfortunate that adultery is dropping during the recession.

 

The Messiah worship is getting out of hand when a Republican strategist says that watching an Obama speech is like sex.

 

The General Assembly's session is already more than halfway over, and they still have a lot of things to deal with before they finish the session.

 

We talked about this a few weeks ago with State Senator Jeff Chapman, but finally the raw deal that the taxpayers of the state of Georgia are getting in the Jekyll Island deal is starting to get some traction.

 

Kids at one school in Macon were required to memorize an "Obama rap" for a Black History Month program.