Eric Holder wants new firearms ban

I would not expect anything less from a protege of the Butcher of Waco, Janet Reno. I would not expect anything less from someone who signed an amicus brief supporting a total ban on firearms in DC, spitting on freedom and the Constitution. I've opposed Eric Holder as AG for this reason.

Eric Holder runs his mouth to ABC here.

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

Wednesday Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Obama administration will seek to reinstitute the assault weapons ban which expired in 2004 during the Bush administration.

And the real definition of "assault weapon" is whatever the government goons decide it is. Let's keep in mind that Mr. Obama voted to ban .30-30 ammunition as a so called "cop killer" bullet.

Obama talks fiscal responsibility, but delivers a $1.75 trillion dollar deficit budget (With yet another bank bailout)

I've come to understand that whenever Obama promises something, it is time to expect the opposite. Nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to fiscal responsibility. This budget does not deliver whatsoever when it comes to that. I knew it was a joke when he talked about slashing the deficit in half in four years. That's unacceptable. It needs to be balanced. Period. This is going in the opposite direction.

From the AP

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is sending Congress a "hard choices" budget that would boost taxes on the wealthy and curtail Medicare payments to insurance companies and hospitals to make way for a $634 billion down payment on universal health care.

Obama's first budget, which will top $3 trillion, predicts the deficit for this year will soar to a whopping $1.75 trillion, according to administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity before the public unveiling of the budget Thursday. The huge deficit reflects the massive spending being undertaken to battle a severe recession and the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

As part of the effort to end the financial crisis, the administration will propose boosting the deficit by an additional $250 billion this year, enough to support as much as $750 billion in increased spending under the government's financial rescue program. That would more than double the $700 billion bailout effort passed by Congress last October.

How many bailouts does this make now? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is going on here? At least 2 trillion dollars have gone to the banks that screwed things up in the first place. They get rewarded for this junk. It also sounds as this new bailout is just a placeholder for yet another bailout.

There's also tax increases

The $634 billion down payment on expanding health care coverage would come from a $318 billion increase over 10 years in taxes on the wealthy, defined as couples making more than $250,000 per year and individuals making more than $200,000. The tax increase would occur by reducing the benefit the wealthy get on tax deductions. As one example, taxpayers in the current top tax bracket of 35 percent would see their tax deduction for every $1 given to charity drop from 35 cents to 28 cents.

The other half of the down payment on Obama's drive toward universal health care — $318 billion — would come from curtailing payments to hospitals and insurance companies under Medicare and drug payments under Medicaid.

The first one sucks, the second gets my guard up even more. I need more information to analyze what is meant by "curtailing payments," but I don't trust it, that's for sure.

The cost of the stimulus bill and the increased bailout support would push the deficit for this year to $1.75 trillion, nearly four times last year's record $455 billion and a percentage of the economy — just over 12 percent — not seen since World War II. The deficit is expected to remain around $1 trillion for the next two years before starting to decline to $533 billion in 2013, according to budget projections.

I think we all agree that Bush was not a fiscally responsible president. Obama exceeds Bush's fiscal mismanagement in spades. A 1/2 trillion dollar deficit is ridiciulous. $1.75 trillion is insane - and that is in addition to the "govenmental stimulation" package that was passed, along with the bailouts that the tag team of Bush and Obama both gave to us.

Then there is this:

The plan also contains a contentious proposal to raise hundreds of billions of dollars by auctioning off permits to exceed carbon emissions caps, which Obama wants to impose on users of fossil fuels to address global warming.

Are you f'ing kidding me? After this winter, we can use some global warming.

The last Bush budget sucked. This budget goes beyond sucking. It sucks on the level of former Lions GM Matt Millen. We have a tax increase for another bailout. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expected different results. The first bailout did not work. The newest bailout will not work and have the same effect as the old one. The tax increase irks me, but the bailout is what angers me the most.

However, saying "No" is not enough. There needs to be a counter budget that needs to be proposed and marketed. With the current membership in the screwed up organization known as Congress, it won't pass. However, it needs to be pushed into the minds of the public. The conservative wing of the GOP (Hensarling, Pence) need to go out and propose a balanced budget like they did in 2006. Unlike 2006, the GOP needs to embrace that budget and push that for a vote. If Pelosi fails (as she probably will) to allow a vote, run on that.

We're going from the bad to the worse, and it's time for this to be stopped.

Mark Schauer Campaign Fined $6000

From the AP

LANSING, Mich. -- A campaign committee related to U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer says it will pay a $6,000 fine in a settlement with Michigan election officials over fundraising in 2006 state Senate races.

The Democrat from Battle Creek's state Senate campaign committee says it signed the agreement Friday. Michigan's Senate Democratic Fund political action committee will return $202,000 to Schauer's campaign and the money will be paid to the state.

The contribution was challenged by Senate Republicans in 2006. Republicans said Schauer's contribution to the political action committee exceeded the annual $20,000-per-person limit.

A Secretary of State spokeswoman said the state has not yet received the signed agreement or the money and won't consider the case closed until all parties sign off.

They replace Tim Walberg with this weasel?

Obama finally gets one right?

The Communications Guru is crying in his beer with Dangerously Incompetent Stabenow and Tom "John" Athans if this is true. Obama (As of now) opposes the political censorship known as the "fairness" doctrine. From Politico:

Until now, the Obama administration has remained mum when it comes to the Fairness Doctrine.

But now, White House spokesperson Ben LaBolt tells Fox News that "as the president stated during the campaign, he does not believe the Fairness Doctrine should be reinstated."

Indeed, that was candidate Obama's position last June.

Hopefully he doesn't flip on this issue.

Obama's 1100 page "stimulus" package passed

$787 Billion dollars spent by government in an attempt to "stimulate" the economy. Government, lead by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi, are trying the Keynesian trick to spend into prosperity. This is on top of the $160 Billion dollars last year from Bush, Reid, and Pelosi last year. Instead of "Change" from Obama, we get an extreme form of the worst parts of Bush's presidency - Big government spending. From the Prescription Drugs act to No Child Left Behind, to the stimulus packages, to the bailouts. This spending is on top of the bailouts we have seen passed by Bush, Reid, Pelosi, and Obama.

Already the democrats are spinning opposition to this as a support of the policies of the past eight years. That is an absolute crock of bullshit! I repeat. Bullshit. Aside from the dollar amounts, the Obama fiscal policies, so far, are no different from the policies of Bush since 2002. Meet the New Boss, worse version of the old boss. Change? REAL change would be a balanced budget, which hasn't been delivered since Gingrich and Armey ran the house.

You can read how bad this bill is over at Thomas. http://thomas.loc.gov HR1 is the bill, and the version that passed came from conference committee.

Apart from all the pork and regulations that are in this bill, is another issue that is often overlooked. This bill is almost 1100 pages. The GOP Caucus complained that they couldn't read the bill in time. My attitude is this. If I can't read the bill, I'm voting no, period, because I can't sign off on something I did not have enough time to read. I'm not going to assume anything, especially with government. Now, let's just say for the sake of argument that everyone had a couple of days to look it over. 1100 pages is stil an extremely long document. Does it take that many pages to "stimulate the economy?" (Regardless whether or not you agree with the premis) Anything that's 1100 pages has a lot of stuff in small print, and it takes a long time to read. I could MAYBE do it in a full day, and that's if I skim the bill and not fully read it. I've seen parts of it, and that Health Care records portion and government micromanagement that I mentioned in a previous post is more than enough for my opposition to it, even without the price tag and budget deficit.

We've gone from "Borrow and Spend" of the Bush years to "Borrow more and spend more" of the Obama years. This needs to stop and stop quick. It's time for Republicans to go back to the 1994 playbook and stick to it for longer than seven years this time.

Joe Hune for State Senate

The worst kept political secret in Livingston County is out. It is official. Former state Rep Joe Hune is now running for State Senate in 2010. The 22nd District covers all of Livingston and Shiawassee Counties, as well as a small portion of Ingham County. Valde Garcia, the incumbent is termed out in 2010.

Barring a major shock (such as Hune turning into an Obama clone in the next two years), I will be voting for Joe in the primary. The major reason is that when it comes to fiscal responsibility, Joe can be counted on.

The idiotic MBT "Surcharge" that replaced the "Services tax" - Joe opposed.
The tax on insurance premiums - Joe opposed.
The bad gimmick budget - Joe opposed
The MBT, Services Tax, and Income Tax - Joe Opposed.

Joe has a history of opposing tax increases and poor budgets. This goes back to when even his party ran the house. When Speaker Johnson wanted the fee increases, Joe voted against them. We talk about government having to live within our means. Joe is consistent on those issues, and is also solid on the other issues as well.

This is an easy vote for me.

Pork Bill passes the Senate

Right now, the only hope that this thing gets less offensive is if we take a long look at HR1 and see the crap in it and get that out to our lazy reps who oftentimes do not actually read the bill. Maybe some of the worst crap, like the ACORN funds, health care takeover, and various "Bridges to nowhere" can get cut out in conference. I don't expect it.

Go to Thomas and see the real thing for yourself and how bad this thing is.

This is the "change" provided by the Obama administration and the post 2006 Congress. They spend so much that they make the Bush and 2002-2006 Republicans look like true fiscal conservatives. We've gone from fiscal leftism to blatent socialism.

Where's the 1994 Republicans when we need them.

Census taken over by Chicago-style goons like Obama and Rahm Emmanuel

One of the looming figures of 2010 is on the horizon, the US Census, particulary relating to the counting of the people. The census figures lead to redistricting, and who gains and loses seats. The right way - and really only logical way - to go is with an actual head count of individuals. What the democrats want is to go with "sampling" - a guess, so they can add more individuals in their pet areas so they can have more districts. The census is also used as the data for government spending.

Obama nominated Judd Gregg as Commerce Secretary, but that puts him in control of the census, right? Wrong! Nope, the control isn't with the commerce department, but in the white house itself.

The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.

The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to funding the census.

Gregg, New Hampshire’s senior senator, voted in committee and on the floor for a 1995 Republican budget that envisioned the elimination of the Commerce Department. Of even more concern to black and Hispanic leaders, Gregg battled President Clinton over a request for “emergency” funding for the 2000 census.

Now I think politics needs to stay out of the census itself with a straight up headcount, but with Rahm running it, that won't happen. Chicago style corruption is now going nationwide.

More bad stuff from the Obama Pork bill

Say Goodbye to medical privacy. The government is now in charge thanks to Obama and Tom Dasshole's handywork.

Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.

Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.

But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”

"Guide" decusions? Monitoring of treatments. Oops, this costs too much, kill em off.

Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)

So, the power is left in the hands of a political hack. It gets worse.

The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.

Elderly Hardest Hit

Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.

Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).

The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.

In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.

That's in the "economic stimulus" package. This isn't a separate bill, but is snuck into a "rescue" package. That is what is done with horrible plans that can not stand up to scrutiny. The crap is hidden in someone dressed up to be "better" and gets passed without people knowing about it. It happened with the Patriot Act and it is happening here. When there is tough times and a crisis is sold, Congress bends the public over and gives them a collective screwing and that is what is happening here.

This fascist bill needs to die and die now. The last people I want to know my medical history or running any treatment is the government.

Judge Latrielle Retires

I heard this rumor for awhile. Judge Latrielle is a good judge and I was hoping he'd stay on until his term is done, but I am not surprised by this.

The Argus Reports.

Stanley J. Latreille, Livingston County's longest-serving Circuit Court judge in recent history, plans to leave the bench in early April after a 26-year run.


Latreille announced his resignation Wednesday, and has set April 3 as a tentative date for his last day on the bench.

He said he will consider serving as a visiting judge and providing mediation, but doesn't plan to practice law.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm will make an appointment to fill Latreille's seat after a candidate review period. The appointed judge will serve until the statewide election in 2010, and will have to run at that time to fill the rest of Latreille's term through Jan. 1, 2013, Granholm spokeswoman Megan Brown explained.

The process is expected to take several months.

Brighton-based attorney Michael Hatty said he will apply for the post.

Granholm gets to appoint a Circuit Judge. Among Democrats, we could do a lot worse than Mike Hatty. I would not be unhappy if that is her pick. We'll see who she picks.