UN Small Arms treaty passes

Oftentimes, the UN gun grab articles out are boys who cried wolf. The reality is that there is a potential wolf, but it wasn't an imminent threat. Three things now we need to look for is this. Will Obama sign it? (probable) Will the Senate ratify it? (unknown) Will it survive SCOTUS? (unknown)


From the Washington Times

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday signed off on a sweeping, first-of-its-kind treaty to regulate the international arms trade, brushing aside worries from U.S. gun rights advocates that the pact could lead to a national firearms registry and disrupt the American gun market.
The long-debated U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) requires countries to regulate and control the export of weaponry such as battle tanks, combat vehicles and aircraft and attack helicopters, as well as parts and ammunition for such weapons. It also provides that signatories will not violate arms embargoes, international treaties regarding illicit trafficking, or sell weaponry to a countries for genocide, crimes against humanity or other war crimes.

The treaty itself is on the UN Website. Hopefully this Link goes directly to it

The danger is in the treaty itself. 

Ammunition/Munitions

Each State Party shall establish and maintain a national control system to

regulate the export of ammunition/munitions fired, launched or delivered by the

conventional arms covered under Article 2

(1), and shall apply the provisions of

Article 6 and Article 7 prior to authorizing the export of such

ammunition/munitions.

Article 4

Parts and Components

Each State Party shall establish and maintain a national control system to

regulate the export of parts and components where the export is in a form that

provides the capability to assemble the conventional arms covered under Article 2

(1) and shall apply the provisions of Article 6 and Article 7 prior to authorizing the

export of such parts and components

 

National Control System. It's very broad. It's intended to be broad and cover most firearms.

Each State Party shall take measures necessary to implement the provisions of

this Treaty and shall designate competent

national authorities in order to have an

effective and transparent national control system regulating the transfer of

conventional arms covered under Article 2

(1) and of items covered under Article 3

and Article 4.

6. Each State Party shall designate one or more national points of contact to

exchange information on matters related to

the implementation of this Treaty. Each

State Party shall notify the Secretariat, established under Article 18, of its national

point(s) of contact and keep the information updated

 

That sounds like registration (and eventual confiscation) to me. 

These are the Export Provisions. Keep in mind that many of our firearms and ammo are imported. Glock. H&K. Wolf ammo (yeah, I know, don't recommend it).

Export and Export Assessment

1. If the export is not prohibited under Article 6, each exporting State Party, prior

to authorization of the export of conventional arms covered under Article 2 (1) or of

items covered under Article 3 or Article 4,under its jurisdiction and pursuant to its

national control system, shall, in an objective and non-discriminatory manner,

taking into account relevant factors, including information provided by the

importing State in accordancewith Article 8 (1), assess the potential that theconventional arms or items:

(a) would contribute to or undermine peace and security;

(b) could be used to:

(i) commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law;

(ii) commit or facilitate a serious violation of international human rights law;

A/CONF.217/2013/L.3

13-27217

6

(iii) commit or facilitate an act constituting an offence under international

conventions or protocols relating to terrorism to which the exporting State is a

Party; or

(iv) commit or facilitate an act constituting an offence under international

conventions or protocols relating to transnational organized crime to which the

exporting State is a Party.

What we need to remember is to not make a mistake many on the right did with the Bush admin regarding the so called Patriot Act. I opposed it from the start. I was wary of the DHS. I did not trust an Obama, Hillary, Kerry, or John Edwards controlled government with those powers. I didn't trust Bush with them either. When passing laws, think of the results if the worst president in the world with the worst appointees would be enforcing them. Then ask if you still support it. If the answer is no, then it's a bad law. 

More Registration here. 

Record keeping

1. Each State Party shall maintain national records, pursuant to its national laws

and regulations, of its issuance of export authorizations or its actual exports of the

conventional arms covered under Article 2 (1).

2. Each State Party is encouraged to maintain records of conventional arms

covered under Article 2 (1) that are transferred to its territory as the final destination

or that are authorized to transit or trans-ship territory u

nder its jurisdiction.

3. Each State Party is encouraged to include in those records: the quantity, value,

model/type, authorized international transfers of conventional arms covered under

Article 2 (1), conventional arms actuallytransferred, details of exporting State(s),

importing State(s), transit and trans-shipmentState(s), and end users, as appropriate.

4. Records shall be kept for a minimum of ten years

This needs to be blocked in the Senate.

Obama pushes for tax increases to bailout his fubar fiscal policies

When it comes to budgets and spending, Peter Principle in Chief Obama hasn't earned the right to say anything. He hasn't shown the intelligence, ability, experience, trustworthiness, or record to say anything regarding spending. He broke Bush's records on spending, and now demands a tax increase to bail himself out.

From Yahoo

Claiming a mandate from his election romp over Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama announced on Friday that he had invited congressional leaders to the White House next week for talks on how to steer the battered economy away from a "fiscal cliff." Obama said he was open to compromise with Republicans—but that any final deal needed to raise taxes on the richest Americans.

"This was a central question during the election," the president said in brief remarks in the East Room of the White House. "It was debated over and over again, and on Tuesday night we found out that a majority of Americans agree with my approach.

"Our job now is to get a majority in Congress to reflect the will of the American people," Obama said. "I'm not wedded to every detail of my plan. I'm open to compromise. I'm open to new ideas. I'm committed to solving our fiscal challenges. But I refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced."

Boehner needs to tell Obama to go perform an unatural act on himself. Obama hasn't signed any budgets in forever. Push your budget, and make Obama veto it.

I don't like this comment. 

Republican House Speaker John Boehner, speaking shortly before the president's appearance, said he was looking to Obama "to lead" and that he had a short, "cordial" conversation with the president earlier this week about ways to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff.

"We both understand that trying to find a way to avert the fiscal cliff is important for this country," Boehner said. "And I'm hopeful that productive conversations can begin soon so we can forge an agreement that can pass the Congress."

He's not my leader. He's not my boss. The problem is that people treat a glorified executive director as a king. That's how we get stuck with this American Idol 'rockstar' crap instead of actual competence for once.

Both political parties are unacceptable on spending. Boehner needs to push through a balanced budget, and dictate to the Peter Principle in Chief. It's Boehner's job to lead the house, not defer to the Peter Principle in Chief.

No tax increases.Spending cuts. Those two things need to be non negotiable. Don't raise the debt ceiling anymore either.

Barack Obama enables outsourcing of auto industry (Chrysler)

I'll start out with saying this. I'm from a Ford family. I own and drive Fords. Always have, and probably always will. I'll also never own a foreign car. That includes foreign cars built here as profits go overseas. That also includes Big 3 cars built outside the US. Ford Fusion's in Mexico to me is the same as a Toyota. When my parents took advantage of cash for clunkers (mostly helped foreign cars) Fusions were out. No Mexican cars allowed. This goes beyond partisan politics here. I root for the Big 3 to do well - as long as the jobs stay in the US, particularly Michigan.

One of the biggest myths that gives Obama a good chance to hang on to win in Michigan (not if I have anything to say about it) and  Ohio is that he supposedly saves the auto industry. Bullshit. Romney wrote an editorial calling for reorganization and the NY Times editors gave it the headline "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." Here's the little secret. GM and Chrysler DID go bankrupt - even after the Bush and Obama bailouts. I'm going to repeat that. GM and Chrysler DID go bankrupt. They went to bankruptcy reorganization. Obama and Romney both aren't far apart on that. Romney supported loan guarantees, similar to Chrysler in 1979.  As a Big 3 supporter and owner, they could have been better on this, but they could have worse, like Bob Corker, Gary Ackerman, Michael Cupano, Richard Shelby, and Henry Waxman. Shelby I understand because his state had foreign car plants. I don't like it, but I understand it. Corker I don't get his deal with Saturn being from his state. Nissan has plants in Tennessee, so that's also an influence. With the dems, it's the progressive movement's religious jihad against the Automobile Industry in the name of global warming going back to Al Gore's push to ban the internal combustion engine. John Dingell, hardly a conservative, was pushed off of commerce chair because he supports the auto industry.

The industry will survive, but it isn't what it was. At least 50,000 direct jobs were cut, not counting the suppliers. The Hummer was agreed to be sold to China. Saturn is gone. Pontiac is gone.

I'm not going to say that Romney is as good as Joe Knollenberg, Thad McCotter, or John Dingell when it comes to the domestic auto industry, but he's not a Corker. Obama isn't as bad as Waxman, but he's not Dingell - however there's one real nasty part of Obama's team and its reorganization demands regarding Chrysler. Obama put Chrysler under. foreign control and ownership - to a company that has never been able to break through in the US. Fiat.

From 2009 - Forbes.

Chrysler must become friends with Fiat pronto.
The U.S. government has threatened to suspend federal aid for Chrysler unless it secures a deal with the Italian carmaker within 30 days, senior administration officials told Forbes.

The repercussion of Obama forcing Chrysler to go to Fiat  is right here.

From Bloomberg news.

Fiat SpA (F) Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne set a target two and a half years ago to sell 6 million cars annually by 2014, a goal that analysts and industry observers at the time deemed impossible to achieve. They were right.

Marchionne, who runs both the Italian automaker and Chrysler Group LLC, has said he will revise his forecasts when the two companies announce third-quarter results tomorrow. Analysts estimate his sales target will need to come down by 15 billion euros ($19 billion).
“Marchionne was too optimistic in 2010,” said Giuseppe Berta, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan who has written several books on Fiat and has worked as a company historian. “Fiat and Chrysler can’t grow by self-propulsion to the famous 6 million-car target.” 

And here's the devil in the details.

Fiat’s problems are bigger than many rivals’ because its troubled home country accounts for half its sales in the region. Its plants in Italy, where car sales are on pace to plunge this year to the lowest level in more than three decades, are running at 50 percent of capacity, far below the 80 percent threshold typically considered profitable.
To counter the severe slump in European sales, Marchionne is considering building Chrysler models in Italy, including Jeeps, for export to North America. The Italian government is evaluating tax rebates on export goods to help Fiat. Marchionne may announce details of his plan as soon as Oct. 30, the people said.
“This makes sense on multiple levels” as it will boost plant utilization and would cap “Chrysler’s own potential, limiting the likely cost to Fiat shareholders of buying out the Chrysler minorities,” Stuart Pearson, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in London, said in a note to investors today. “However we see no quick answers, and fear debt could surprise negatively first,” said Pearson, who rates the stock underweight with a target price at 3.90 euros.

Jeeps built in Europe to be imported here? Jeeps outsourced? You got to be kidding me. That's an American icon. Keep in mind that it was Obama's demand that Chrysler goes to Fiat.

Romney's getting heat for his comments and ad about outsourcing, but Bloomberg's story here shows that he's not off the mark. GM and Chrysler DID go bankrupt under Obama, and Chrysler WAS put under foreign control with outsourcing, and Chrysler's manufacturing may very well go to Europe, if not necessarily China.  

If the Peter Principle in Chief Obama wins a second term thanks to being lucky that reorganization happened when he was CEO (so he can portray himself as the hero he isn't), he's not going to have to worry about this anymore. I expect Marchionne to announce the outsourcing to be official November 10th or so, no matter who wins. Election cover.

Dumb and dumber at it again (Feds micromanaging schools)

This may be one of the biggest money wasting items I've seen since the stimulus package. Only the nanny state thinks of this stuff.

From Todd Starnes at Fox News

A Florida school district is considering a plan to install surveillance cameras on cafeteria trash cans to monitor what kids are throwing away – after they discovered that students were tossing out their federally-mandated fruit and vegetables. The Lake County School Board said more than $75,000 worth of vegetables have been thrown in the garbage. The veggies and fresh fruit are party of the Obama administration’s policy to force schools to provide healthy produce in lunch rooms.

“It’s fairly specific recipe of what they would like us to serve,” Lake County School Board member Tod Howard told Fox News. “Unfortunately, much of it has to do with fresh fruit and vegetables and it seems to be going into the trash. And that’s not okay.” So Howard suggested the district attach security cameras to the trash cans to monitor exactly what is being thrown away. “It will also give us documentation so that we can go back to the federal government and say here’s what we are finding,” he said. “We do know there’s an issue.”

School districts across the nation are furious with the Obama administration’s orders. Some students have staged strikes while others have launched petition drives urging the federal government to change their policy. But Lake County is believed to be the first to actually videotape kids tossing their veggies – and that has some parents upset.

Dumb - Cameras used for surveillance to make sure kids are eating the vegetables. How much do they cost? How is this going to be enforced? Is it possible to enforce? Etc. In Howard's defense, he SAYS that it's for evidence to tell the feds that the policy doesn't work.

Howard called those concerns “conspiracy theories” and said they were not going to force kids to eat their vegetables.

“I don’t want anybody to be on camera at all,” he told Fox News. “This would be aimed directly into the trash can. By no means would any of our students be in the picture.” He said the cameras were meant to give the school district evidence they need to push back against the federal guidelines.

Surveillance cameras aren't needed for that. Take a picture of the trash bin and send it to the dipsticks at the federal government. While I'll take Howard at his word here, the feds may just tell them to do exactly what Howard said he doesn't want to happen in the era of Obamacare. That leads to dumber.

Dumber - The Feds. What the Hell are they doing involved in what should be local decisions in the first place?  We have school boards. They work for our local communities. We hire and fire them as voters, and also vote with our feet. While local school boards have their issues, they are a hell of a lot more qualified than some federal bureaucrat in DC. I thought "No child left behind" from Bush and Kennedy was bad and this is even worse. Whether the kids eat or do not eat their vegetables are not the feds business. It's mom's business, not the Peter Principle in Chief's business.

Outside of the eyes of the parents, whether kids eat their vegetables or not will be their decision. The nannies don't want to hear that, but that's just the way it was, is, and will be unless you have armed guards patrolling the lunchrooms enforcing that policy under criminal penalties. That's quite possible in the future as lines between public schools and prisons are blurring some in the post Columbine era of "zero tolerance." .

The federal government is neither smart enough, nor trustworthy enough to be involved in local school matters. 

Peter Principle in Chief "fouls" up the budget problems.

I'm frankly shocked that the US Government credit rating isn't at junk bond status right now. S&P sounded the warning alarm. This is what happens as a result of the combination of the Peter Principle with Obama, the biggest joke in the country with the US Senate led by Harry Reid, and a cowardly Republican house still living in 1995 and 1996 fears. In response to the S&P decision, Obama's yesman "economic advisor" didn't talk about spending less, but accused them of "amateurism". Are you f'ing kidding me? That's coming from the administration which is the embodiment of amateur hour in action. Dumb and Dumber. When 12 trillion isn't enough, there's a problem. Bailous, stimulus, Obamacare, and this.

Just as bad was Congress and the GOP house caving like this. This isn't 1995 or 1996. The same rules don't apply, there's no Okalahoma City bombing, and there is no balanced budget. The internet is bigger today. Obama isn't Bill Clinton and doesn't have the same effect on people as in 2008 now that the "we can elect a black president," "Bush fatigue", and the "stop the war" push is over. I'm no Clinton fan, but one thing I agree with him on is "A few years ago, this guy would be getting us coffee." That was the quote in 2008. Clinton was young when he was elected, but had 11 years of executive experience as governor, interrupted by a statewide defeat and comeback.

Obama on the other hand rose way beyond his level of incompetence. He didn't get to where he was at by what he knew. He only got there because he was a useful tool to influential power brokers. At Harvard Law, he was the president of law review, but had no articles published. None. Why? Anyone that went to law school knows that one of the expectations on law review is to write articles. That goes double for the person in charge. If he didn't write articles, how did he get there? From there, he was ACORN's attorney, and he then ran for state senate in a special election of 96.

The one thing that Obama actually is good at besides sticking his nose in the air and running his mouth is campaigns. Chicago politics. He and Axelrod know what they are doing there. He got his first opponent kept off the ballot. That's Chicago politics. He was unopposed in 98 and 2002. In 2004 he ran for US Senate, and got lucky when there was a major mess on both party sides. The frontrunning dems had scandals on one side. On the GOP side. Maverick Peter Fitzgerald (despised by state GOP leadership for his corruption stances) decided not to run again. This was in the era of George Ryan. Ryan was the GOP version of Rod Blagojevich and went to prison. Typical Chicagoland politics. Jack Ryan won the nomination. Obama's people and media allies were leaking his supposed to be sealed divorce file which had a skeleton, and Ryan dropped out. Marylander Alan Keyes replaced Ryan and Obama won with 70%. He also that same year had a major speech at the 2004 DNC convention which set him up four years later. Friends in high places.

That's a real rapid and lucky rise for someone who until there was nothing more than a two bit state senator and ACORN's attorney. It's also a big jump from a two bit junior league less than one term senator to being the Peter Principle-in-chief. Tony Resko, Bill Ayers, and company taught him well.

Obama can campaign, and he can organize, but he doesn't know anything about budgets. He is showing his incompetence. He has no experience balancing budgets at an executive level. While in Congress, the budget increased every term. He voted for them. He voted for the Bailouts. He enacted the stimulus package. He signed budgets that shattered Bush's records. The Peter Principle in chief then sticks his nose up in the air and has the arrogance to lecture all of us on budgets. Boehner needs to screw civility tell him off in the matter what former Coach Bob Knight did to a media person who didn't get his facts straight. It won't happen.

Knight's quote - "I'll handle this the way I want to handle it now that I'm here. You F@%#ed it up to begin with, now just sit there or leave. I don't give a @%## what you do." This clown needs to be told to sit there or leave.

This deal obviously didn't work. The credit ratings are down. Markets are dropping. What is as bad as the deal is the fact that Boehner bragged about it like it was a good thing. What he should have said is that "We control one branch of government. The democrats control two. This is the least worst option that slowed growth of spending although it didn't make cuts. We wanted to avoid the default as we think this is the worst case scenario. In order to actually balance the budget, we need to get rid of Obama and Reid."

A balanced budget and actual cuts need to be pushed. Not "cuts in growth" over 10 years. Not 2008 levels. Balanced budget.

This is also going to be a big weekend in Iowa. August 13th is the day of the famous Ames Straw poll. This will likely start narrowing the field of declared candidates further. Nobody is running away with the nomination right now. After suffering for four years of the Peter Principle in chief, we need to make sure someone with actual experience and intelligence beyond American Idol Campaign styles and reading a teleprompter gets elected.

The Peter Principle in Chief isn't done fouling things up. Whoever takes over will have a gigantic mess to fix. Boehner needs to limit the damage as much as possible, and the rest of us need to keep pushing our reps that this deal wasn't acceptable, and we need to cut spending. ASAP. Now.

Obama's oil plan. If he follows through, a good small first step.

Are these encouraging signs or more commission/task force style of bullshit?

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration, on the defensive amid higher gasoline prices, on Saturday said it will pursue policies that could boost domestic oil production.

President Obama, in his weekly radio address, said his administration would expand drilling opportunities in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, speed up continuing evaluation of oil resources in the Atlantic and provide incentives to oil companies to develop energy on the leases they currently own.

In his weekly address, President Obama addresses the pain at the pump for Americans and how he plans to jumpstart domestic oil production. Video courtesy of NewsCore.

"These spikes in gas prices are often temporary, and while there are no quick fixes to the problem, there are a few steps we should take that make good sense," Obama said.

Republicans dismissed the president's measures and continued to criticize his administration over its oil and gas drilling policy, saying it has failed to encourage domestic drilling.

Calling the spate of initiatives "not terribly substantial," Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said "this reversal is striking since his administration has consistently blocked American-made energy."

Senior administration officials said the Interior Department will start to conduct annual lease sales in the Petroleum National Reserve, west of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. Lease sales had been conducted in this reserve before, but the sales were irregular, officials said. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, however, is "off the table," an official told reporters on a phone call Friday.

As Obama's a bald faced liar, I'll believe it when I see it. At worst, this is all talk and no action. At best, if this is a true flip flop, is an 18 month reprieve from the current disastrous policy and some half-assed support (as ANWR is blocked). Why 18 months? Does anybody think that Obama's support for high gas prices won't be back if he's re-elected?

However, as we all know, there's one issue that trumps everything among independent voters. No, it's not the mythical "fiscal conservative/social liberal" the media loves, nor the social conservative Reagan Democrat although there are examples of both of them. The issue that unites all of them is the economy. Period. It is going in the right direction or not. That's number one, two, and three. High gas prices are among the worst factors possible in the economy as it leads to big inflation - shipping costs, energy costs, commuting costs, and everything dependent on it.

Obama knows that. He may be an idiot on a lot of things, but not campaigning. There is not a long list of presidential incumbents losing (although elections have been mostly close the last 10 years.) Most of them since Reconstruction have something in common as a big issue. The economy.

1888 - Cleveland lost to Harrison (tariff issue)
1892 - Cleveland defeated Harrison (tariff issue)
1912 - Taft lost to Wilson, with help from Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose (economic splits among all three)
1932 - Hoover lost by 17% due to the depression.
1980 - Jimmy Carter was the worst president in my lifetime. He was swept out Hoover style.
1992 - Clinton defeated George HW Bush due to the recession. He probably would have even without Perot.

It's similar with governors when incumbents win. The only one to lose in my lifetime was Blanchard in 1990, right when a recession was about to hit. Before that, the last to lose was John Swainson nearly 50 years ago. While some who likely would have lost a 2nd term if they ran (Pierce, LBJ), most who run for a 2nd term win, even when the other party despises the incumbent. George W Bush won despite the economy, partly due to luck. John Kerry was literally every bad stereotype about democrats. Clinton benefited from the dotcom boom.

As for Obama's chances, it depends on the economy and the GOP opponent. If it's Romney, Trump, Palin, Newt, Santorum, or Roemer, I don't like our chances. Huckabee. Maybe (Hell of a communicator). Huntsman (despite my own problems with some of his stances), Pawlenty, or Daniels. Good odds. Daniels I think is the most electable as of now.

I think this is a pure election ploy at best. At worst, it's all bullshit, just like his record deficits while talking against them. Based on his track record, I'm not sold. He's lied way too many times to earn my trust.

Another trllion dollar deficit under Obama and Reid

So Bin Laden has been taken out. Great. The politicians didn't screw that up. I'll raise Obama's great of a 0% F- to a 20% F-, which is still a failure. That's amazing it wasn't screwed up because they are FUBAR-ing the deficit here. It's "fouled" up beyond all recognition.

From the AP

WASHINGTON – The government is taking in more tax revenue as the economy improves, but not nearly enough to keep the federal budget deficit from exceeding $1 trillion for a third straight year.

The deficit for April dropped to $40.5 billion, half the imbalance from the same month last year, the Treasury Department said Wednesday. Tax receipts were up 45 percent last month compared to the same month one year ago.

Still, the deficit is on pace to grow to $1.4 trillion in this budget year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That would be greater than last year's $1.29 trillion deficit and nearly match the record $1.41 trillion deficit hit in 2009.

Obama's legacy is record deficits. This trillion dollar boondoggle would be a record under Bush, who also sucked on this issue. Bush's last year in office had a 450 Billion dollar deficit. Obama talks a game on this with his nose up in the air, but is a absolute failure when it comes to fiscal responsibility, just as he was as a senator. Harry Reid is as bad or worse.

As for John Boehner, the house proposals aren't good enough. The Paul Ryan budget isn't good enough. Right now, from both a policy and PR standpoint, anything that isn't a balanced budget without raising taxes isn't good enough. Take a page out of Mike Pence or Jeb Hensarling's book and push a balanced budget and put pressure on the senate to get a vote. Stop being Bush Republicans on this.

Every time Obama runs his mouth on the debt, he needs to be called out. No more commissions. No more task forces. Just don't spend what you don't have. Balance the budget, or shut the Hell up.

Another bullshit commission/task force from Obama

One of my favorite sayings is "Talk is cheap." That goes double in politics. I don't care what most politicians say what they are going to do. I care about what they have done.

Obama's record on fiscal matters is horrific. He's now pulling the same stuff with gas prices. As the famous line from the Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime goes - Same as it ever was.

Here's his classic method of operation.

1. Politician does a piss poor job on an issue for years.
2. Same politician talks a good game about needing to fix the piss poor job that he has done.
3. Same politician forms a commission or task force or other do nothing measure.
4. The press will buy into politician's task force/commission because that's a good story.
5. Nothing gets done to fix the piss poor job, but the politician can pat himself on the back and say he's doing something.
6. Repeat on other issues.

That's Obama's MO. Like the budget.
1. Obama talks a game in 2009 after signing record deficits.
2. Obama claims a new awakening in early 2010. It was bullshit then.
3. More cheap talk in June 2010
4. Obama talks about deficit again in October

What's happened since? He won't even accept the Paul Ryan budget, which frankly isn't good enough. Now he's spreading his bullshit from budgets to gas prices.

From the AP.

LOS ANGELES – President Barack Obama said Thursday that the Justice Department will try to "root out" cases of fraud or manipulation in oil markets, even as Attorney General Eric Holder suggested a variety of legal reasons may be behind gasoline's surge to $4 a gallon.

"We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of the American people for their own short-term gain," Obama said at a town-hall style meeting at a renewable energy plant in Reno, Nev.

And we have this gem from the story.

There's not much Obama can do to affect the price of gasoline in short term, something he acknowledged in his remarks. Gas prices have risen steadily as a result of tensions in the Middle East and northern Africa and rising demand from China and other emerging economies.

Given that no evidence has yet surfaced of actual fraud or price manipulation in oil markets, Obama's remarks appeared, at least in part, as more of an attempt to assuage public anger over rising gas prices.

So this whole thing is a crock. There's admittedly no evidence except a politician running his mouth. This isn't new. Speculators. Unrest. Increased demand. Supply artificially stopped thanks to big government in some areas. That's how it was in the past, is now, and will always be unless things change.

This is a long term problem years in the making. Obama has a long piss poor record on this. Unlike some, I'm not giving him a free pass for his record as a senator. For the last six years, he could have helped on this. Not only didn't he help, he LIKES high gas prices. It's easier for the Chicago Machine to support social engineering to move people to the city and increase their revenue and their power. Screw global warming. Screw a perceived and unreal threat to polar bears and/or caribou. It's time to put America first and start thinking of energy as a national security and economic issue. That means we need to take advantage of what we have. We need an all of the above America first energy policy and that includes both fossil fuels and non fossil fuels.

Talk is cheap, and when it comes from Obama, it's worth about as much as Bill Clinton's promises.

Obama to focus on deficit? Where was this the last six years?

Leave it to the AP to spew this

WASHINGTON – Preparing for political life after a bruising election, President Barack Obama will put greater emphasis on fiscal discipline, a nod to a nation sick of spending and to a Congress poised to become more Republican, conservative and determined to stop him.

As I said in January, Obama's new awakening on fiscal matters is absolute bullshit. We had a record deficit since then.

Or as I said in 2009, Obama lecturing about Debt is like the Detroit Lions talking about winning.

This emphasis on "fiscal discipline" is from the clown who spend a crapload of money as a senator and as the resident of the white house the last two years. Bush was bad on fiscal matters. I called him out back then and supported the Pence plan as an alternative back in 2006. Obama makes Bush look about as fiscal conservative as Ron Paul. He's shattering the records with his budgets, bailout votes, and stimulus packages. If there's a poster boy for fiscal mismanagement, it is Barack Obama.

The president has signaled that at the start of the new year, he will speak more directly to the country about the financial choices ahead. "If we're going to get serious about the deficit, then we're going to have to look at everything: entitlements, defense spending, revenues. ... And that's going to be a tough conversation," he said.

It's one that will be framed by a bipartisan debt commission, whose ideas this December will give Obama political cover on where to suggest unpopular cuts.

Taxes. Of course. That's what Obama wants. He sure as hell isn't going to cut entitlements or his stimulus spending.

Obama says the most frustrating part of his presidency is that he had to keep spending money and adding to the deficit in his first six months in office "to save the economy." He has from the start called deficit reduction a goal, but one that had to get bumped in favor of sparking the economy.

Bullshit. Keynesian Economics is, was, and always will be a failure. It leads to stagflation, as proven during the Carter years. As for his suggestion on Commissions, they are also a joke. Always was, is, and will be. Federal Commissions are a bunch of politicians and has-been politicians with big egos who get together, run their mouths, and give themselves status to beltway people to get their bad policies passed. Look for tax increases to be proposed, pressure to come to the reps because of the commission being the ones to push this, and no real good solutions from them.

It's not that hard. Don't spend what you don't have. It takes 4th grade math to figure that out. It doesn't take a commission. It doesn't take a summit. It takes representatives to do their jobs and pass a balanced budget without tax increases. It's then the idiot in chief's job to sign that and not be an idiot anymore. It's not that hard. Even a caveman can do it.

Feds give us another 1 trillion deficit. Good job guys.

Mr. Obama is so fiscally leftist, he makes George W Bush look moderate on fiscal matters. It's not just Obama though. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi deserve just as much blame, as do Carl Levin, Stabenow, Gary Peters, Mark Schauer, John Dingell, Sander Levin, Bart Stupak, Dale Kildee, and John Conyers.

From the AP

The Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the deficit for the 2010 budget year that ended Sept. 30 will total $1.29 trillion. That's down by $125 billion from the $1.4 trillion in 2009 — the highest deficit on record.

I thought the Jimmy Carter years proved that Keynesian economics don't work. Apparently, not. George W Bush believed in it too, and Obama believes in it on steroids.

There's more.

The Obama administration is projecting that the deficit for the 2011 budget year, which began on Oct. 1, will climb to $1.4 trillion. Over the next decade, it will total $8.47 trillion. Deficits of that size will constrain the administration's agenda over the next two years and will certainly be an issue in the 2012 presidential race.

How the hell is this government going to afford health care? Are we going to have more bailouts? Stimulus bills that didn't do a damn thing?

It's time for less spending, less government and more freedom. What needs to happen is for the GOP to push for a balanced budget without tax increases if they get past the house. There doesn't need to be a "reduction" in growth of the deficit. That's a halfway job which is worthless. Balanced budget or bust.

If Obama vetos it, send it back to him until he signs it or shuts down the government.

Bush league border security from Obama

When it comes to border security, I don't know who is worse. George W Bush or Barack Obama. Both of them did and are doing an atrocious job at border defenses. I missed this awhile back, but to think this will help is a joke.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a $600 million border security that will put more agents and equipment along the Mexican border.

Obama signed the bill in the Oval Office alongside Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The measure will fund the hiring of 1,000 new Border Patrol agents to be deployed at critical areas along the border, as well as more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. It also provides for new communications equipment and greater use of unmanned surveillance drones.

1000 agents. What a crock. Just the state of Texas alone is almost 1000 miles east-west. New Mexico, Arizona, and California aren't small states either. Let's not forget the Canadian border either. I don't want to just pick on Obama here either. This is the same type of crap we got from George W Bush on this issue.

It's not just Mexican workers crossing the borders. Besides illegal day laborers (depressing our own wages), we have MS-13 gangbangers from El Salvador and Zetas gangbangers (mostly ex Mexican army) from the Mexican border towns coming across. Worse, Hezbollah terrorists are crossing through the Nogales Arizona border. and coming up to Dearborn. They go to Mexico, then cross the Southern border, and arrive here. The unsecured border largely contributes to the gang violence on both sides of the border, especially on the Mexican side.

Worse, Arizona has had enough, passed their own law (parts I support, parts concern me, but I understand it) on this because the feds refuse to do their jobs, and the feds are suing them for it, and will probably win based on the Supremacy Clause.

If I was president (which will never happen), I'd start by closing and phasing out most of the bases abroad that aren't needed (Germany), and reassigning to border control. While we law abiding citizens have to go through all this TSA crap at airports, the misnamed Patriot Act, and other so called security measures, MS-13 waltzed across our border. That needs to stop ASAP. No immigration reform until border security. Those should be separate bills because those are separate issues.

As for immigration reform. No amnesty (Reagan's biggest mistake). No path to citizenship for illegals. Go home first. Revoke the incorporation papers of those who knowingly hire illegals. Those who follow the rules should get first crack at a path to citizenship and/or visas. I have no problem with LEGAL immigration and it should be encouraged. Illegal immigration is unacceptable and the tolerance for that by our government needs to end.

Reality to Mr. Obama - Talk is cheap.

This comes from the "You got to be kidding files." Money talks, BS walks.

From the AP

RACINE, Wis. – Sensitive to election-year resentment over big government, President Barack Obama declared Wednesday he intends to get "our debt and our deficits under control." With fears alive of a double-dip recession, Obama warned that he won't slash spending at the expense of the economic rebound.

"We got it moving again," Obama said of the economy to his town hall audience in this Midwestern city, where unemployment tops 14 percent. "We now have to, in a gradual way, reduce spending ... but do so in a way that doesn't hurt people. And that is a challenge."

The debt is hurting people. It weakens our dollar, increases inflation, increases costs, weakens our country's economic leverage, and wastes taxpayers money in interest.

As far as reducing spending, Obama hasn't done jackshit except do what he does best. Run his gigantic mouth. This is the Joker who just ram-rodded a takeover of healthcare, a trillion dollar stimulus bill that benefits government, not people, and as a senator with McCain and Bush, pushed for a bailout of big banks helping his buddies at Goldman Sachs. This is in addition to the regular budget which double's Bush's record deficits. Bush absolutely sucked on this issue, and Obama makes him look almost like Mike Pence, who actually is good on this issue. That's not an easy thing to do.

"How do we get government spending under control? That's a legitimate question," Obama said. "And whether you're a Democrat, an independent, or a Republican, all of us should be worried about the fact that we have been running the credit card ... Somebody's going to have to pay that back."

It's an easy answer. Stop spending all the damn money you don't have, dumbass.

He promised that the matter would be a priority for him over the next couple of years, with help from a commission studying how to reduce costly safety-net programs. Still, the president defended as essential both the unprecedented stimulus spending and the massive aid given to big banks and auto companies.

Commissions? We don't need any commissions on this. Commissions are a joke. They are a bunch of has been politicians who call themselves "statesmen", who push for the same old crap to give cover to our elected polls when they follow the recommendation.

This does sound familiar. Obama ran his mouth on this awhile back too. Let's go back to January, when I wrote on this then.

1-26-2010 - Obama's new awakening on fiscal matters is absolute bullshit

Bluntly titled, and true. His awakening on fiscal matters is absolute bullshit. He talked about commissions then too. This was also before the health care fiasco.

Balancing the budget isn't hard. Paying off the debt with stimulus is harder, but doable with something that Washington does not have. Discipline. Put me in charge, and I'll balance the budget in the first year. I'll pay off the damn debt in 10 years.

If I can do it, the so called experts should be able to do it. Don't count on it. They aren't as smart as me and you.

Halfway jobs get halfway results. Asian Carp passes the barrier

I said back in February that a halfway job is absolute disaster. Well, now the carp passed the barrier and has a clear shot to Lake Michigan. Obama listened to his Chicago puppet masters instead of doing the right thing. It's time to close the locks and minimize the damage by these invasive species.

Picture's at the Free Press

Federal and state officials in Illinois said this afternoon that they found a live bighead carp in Lake Calumet, 6 miles from Lake Michigan, in an area near where a poisoning operation that ended June 4 took place.

Several members of Congress were notified today of the find. The creature, found by commercial fishermen looking for carp as part of wider carp hunting missions, was 34.6 inches long and weighed just under 20 pounds.

This is the first time anyone has found an Asian carp, live or dead, beyond an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lockport. The nearest carp to the barrier was a dead one found last December after a massive poisoning of the shipping canal.

But the Army Corps of Engineers said it has no plans to close any locks in response to the fish find. There are no locks that can be closed between Lake Calumet and Lake Michigan.

Lake Calumet sits between T. J. O’Brien Lock and Dam and Lake Michigan. The find was made in the northwest corner of the lake near Harborside Golf Course.

Officials said earlier this month they had found no evidence of the two Asian carp species thought to have breached the electric barrier.

Lake Calumet is a murky lake in southern Chicago near the Indiana border, between the I-90 and I-94 freeways, a few miles west of Whiting, Ind., in a heavily industrial area. The Cal-Sag Channel, an arm of the shipping canal, runs into the lake.

As I wrote in February.

The entire Michigan delegation united on this issue. That alone tells you how big of a deal this is. Just about everyone is on board except Obama not wanting to hurt his big money buddies in the concrete jungle of Chicago.

Intermittent lock closures are a joke. If you have a squirrel getting in your bird feeder, you don't take the baffle off of the feeder one week a month. The squirrel will get through. It's what they do. If you want to keep deer out, you don't put up a five foot fence. They will jump it. For once I agree with Granholm. Close this down, get rid of the bottomfeeders, and then open it up.

How big of deal is this? Gigantic. This up to 100lb fish gets 40% of its bodyweight each day. This will starve out the fish in our great lakes. Trout. Salmon. Perch.Whitefish. Walleye. This is a $4Billion dollar industry, and these carp are a major threat to that economy. I don't want to lose our fishing to a damn carp of all things.

Not only are the Great Lakes at risk, but so are the inland waters. Most, if not all of the rivers and streams in Michigan are connected to the Great Lakes. In Livingston County, the Huron River eventually flows to Lake Erie. The Red Cedar and Looking Glass Rivers flows eventually via the Grand River to Lake Michigan. The Shiawassee River flows eventually into Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron. The carp likely wouldn't go this far inland with the dams, but they could cause some problems flowing upstream in those rivers near the coast. That'll hurt the economy even more.

Take em out of the Illinois Waterway.

Time is money. Time is not on our side. It's time Obama stand up to his Chicago puppet masters and close the locks.

Brighton again takes a stand against Big Government

I'm more of a pitchforks and torches kind of guy than I am a tea party guy, but this will have to do.I'd estimate about 750 there.

Once again, count on Brighton to take a stand against Big Government, much as we did last September. With the punk in chief railroading the debtor's prison health care deform billthrough Congress, now is the time to fight.

It was a good turnout for a weekday event that started right after the day shift ended. It wasn't like it was when national tea party express came through Brighton, but it was a good event anyway. Joe Hune spoke there and did a good job as usual. I saw Bill Rogers and Cindy Denby there in the background as well.

I could have done without seeing the Lyndon LaRouche booth and their violation of Godwin's Law, but at any event, there will be a few of those types showing up.

Overall, a message was sent. Less government and more freedom. Those that don't support that need to be fired.

How to modify and/or repeal Obamacare - Don't get mad. Get even.

"He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue! That's the Chicago way" - The Untouchables

I'm not into the Chicago way, but I am Irish by blood, and we never stop fighting, either in politics or other matters. I'm not interested in online petitions. They are a waste of time. I'm interested in getting this damn thing modified and better yet repealed.

The problem with politics is patience and short memories. Most people don't have any patience, or follow politics enough to have long memories. There is a way to repeal Obamacare, and it's much harder than just having votes. It's a long process, and it will take years. It took 10 years just for the ugly gun ban to expire, and that's only with a sunset provision. Obamacare CAN be repealed, but it won't be easy.

Assuming Obama will veto a repeal, it will take 67 senators, and 292 representatives to repeal this completely. It is unlikely there will be a repeal until at least 2012 if that punk Obama gets the firing he deserves. It will take a majority in congress for any good reforms to see the light of day in committee. In addition to that, we have redistricting in 2011 which redraws the congressional boundaries. In most states, the state legislature and governor draws the districts. I don't like that system, but it is what it is, and we need to use that to our advantage.

Goal 1 - Take the committee chairs. Take the gavels away from Pelosi, Waxman, and company. That takes a majority.
Goal 2 - Take a fillibuster proof majority in the senate
Goal 3 - Take the presidency and/or veto proof majority
Goal 4 - Get rid of the damn thing, and a bunch of other bad laws passed over the last century.

What can we do now, here in 2010?

A. The obvious point, vote Republican in federal races. It doesn't stop there though.

B. If you are in a swing state, a republican state, a republican county, or republican congressional district - fill out the census form. This is the quickest and easiest way to help. The more strength in Livingston County here, the more the borders contract in the district, as we don't have to expand Mike's district. This is about 2012. It does no good to take the house back in 2010, and lose it in 2012 with redistricting. Don't boycott this in Michigan. The price may be Thad McCotter or Mike Rogers being redistricted out of a congressional seat.

C. Make sure republicans are elected in Gubernatorial, State Representative, and State Senatorial races. In 2010, all of them are up for election in Michigan. These races determine the 2012 congressional districts in redistricting.

D. Research. Find out the competitive seats, and send money or use time to help these candidates. Some people don't have money. Others do. Some have some time that can be used for stuffing envelopes, walking doors, etc. All of that is important. Some are easier pickings than others. John Conyers for example is in a district that votes 85% democrat every year. The Gary Peters, Mark Schauer, and Bart Stupak districts voted for Bush. Don't forget defense either. Thad McCotter had a close race in 2008, winning with 51%. He needs support as well.

E. Know the district. Some districts are bad for certain types of candidates. Scott Brown is the Massachusetts senator. He won't be with us on everything, but it's Massachusetts. We have to take what we can get there.

All of the house congressional elections are up in 2010. So are many senators. Here's the senate races, all 36 of them. We need +9 to take control. I think there's a good chance of that in 2012. 2010 it is a long shot.

Alabama - Richard Shelby - I don't like him, and would like to see him primaried, but I'll take his committee vote. He's probably safe.

Alaska - Lisa Murkowski - I'd keep an eye on this one. Murkowski won with 48% last time.

Arizona - John McCain's running again. He has a primary challenger in JD Hayworth. I'd rather see someone besides either of them, but if I have to pick one of the two, I'd reluctantly pick Hayworth.

Arkansas - Blanche Lincoln. She's vulrunable and is one of the best shots for a pickup.

California - Barbara Boxer - Longshot, but possible. I just hope the nominee isn't Carly Fiorina who ran Hewlett Packard into the ground.

Colorado - Michael Bennett - He was appointed after Ken Salazar left for an administration post in the Obama admin. This is a good chance for a pickup.

Connecticut - Chris Dodd is retiring. This is an open seat. It won't be easy, but it's worth a fight.

Delaware - Mike Castle isn't my type of republican, but like Shelby, I'll take his committee vote.

Florida - Marco Rubio has a good chance of wrapping up the primary here against stimulus loving Charlie Crist. He needs support in the general election as well.

Georgia - Johnny Isakson should be safe.

Hawaii - Daniel Inouye is probably safe, but if there is any year to battle the dems, this is it. He's 86 years old this year.

Idaho - Mike Crapo - Safe

Illinois - Open seat as Roland Burris isn't running. This is a possible pickup despite its democrat leanings. Between Blago's troubles, Burris's troubles, and the fact that the dems nominated a 34 year old banker with a questionable past, we have a shot here. Mark Kirk isn't my favorite, but he won the primary, and I'll take the committee vote, and right now, that's the first step.

Indiana - Evan Bayh is retiring. This should be a pickup unless the GOP is stupid.

Iowa - Chuck Grassley is about as safe as one gets in Iowa, which is never safe for either party.

Kansas - Open seat. As long as the infighting isn't too bad, we should keep this, whether Jerry Moran or Todd Tiahrt wins the primary.

Kentucky - Open seat as Jim Bunning is retiring. Keep an eye on this one. Kentucky isn't as republican as one thinks once you get past the presidential level.

Louisiana - The question here is whether David Vitter cleaned up his troubles. If I'm Vitter, I'm making this election about Pelosi and Obama and Melancon. This will be tough.

Maryland - Barbara Mikulski is probably safe, but if there's any year to fight, it's this one.

Missouri - Roy Blunt vs Robin Carnahan. I'm not a Blunt fan, but I'm even less of a Carnahan fan. I'll take his committee vote.

Nevada - Harry Reid is in big trouble.

New Hampshire - Judd Gregg is stepping down and this will be our toughest defense.

New York - Both Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand are up. I'll like to see someone pick off one of these. It's unlikely, but if any year is the year, this is it. Schumer is one of the brains behind the operations, so it's worth a shot just to get him scared.

North Carolina - Richard Burr is up and has a tough defense. He won with 51% last time.

North Dakota - Byron Dorgan isn't running. I wouldn't take this seat for granted, but we need to make sure its ours.

Ohio - George Voinovich is retiring, and I'm not unhappy about that. Rob Portman is the likely nominee for the GOP. This will be a tough defense. Nothing in Ohio is easy.

Oklahoma - Tom Coburn should be safe.

Oregon - Ron Wyden is about as safe as it gets in Oregon, but that state isn't unwinnable with the right candidate. Bush almost won it in 2000.

Pennsylvania - Arlen Sphincter, I mean Specter is getting double flanked. The dems are running Joe Stesak against him in the primary, and Pat Toomey (who won a democrat leaning seat himself) is showing he has more strength than the pundits thought. This needs to be a pickup

South Carolina - Jim DeMint should be safe.

South Dakota - John Thune may have a tough race, but should be safe unless Herseth runs.

Utah - Bob Bennett has primary troubles, but that seat should stay Republican.

Washington State - Patty Murray will be tough to beat, but this is the year to try. Slade Gorton won there a few times so it is possible to win there.

Wisconsin - Russ Feingold usually finds a way to survive, but now's the time to go for it.

A veto override majority isn't possible in 2010, but is there enough to take the senate? Possible. It's worth a shot.

The house is a better shot. If we get the seats that went for Bush in 2000, let alone 2004, we get the house back. There's dozens of districts that fit that profile, three of which here in Michigan. Gary Peters. Bart Stupak. Mark Schauer. Also off the top of my head in the Midwest. Three of them in Indiana. Joe Donnely. Brad Ellsworth's open seat, and Baron Hill. In Ohio, Steve Driehaus, Charlie Wilson, Zach Space, Mary Jo Kilroy, and John Boccieri. That's just in three states.

I can't forget the state house and state senate side as well. Again, it goes to redistricting. We need to keep the state senate, and it won't be easy. What should be:

St Senate (have 22-16 advantage)
Defenses:
St Senate 7 (Outer Wayne County)
St Senate 11 (Central and Northern Macomb)
St Senate 12 (NE Oakland, including Pontiac)
St Senate 13 (Eastern Oakland)
St Senate 17 (Monroe, part of Washtenaw and Jackson County)
St Senate 19 (Calhoun/Jackson Counties)
St Senate 20 (Kalamazoo, part of Van Buren)
St Senate 25 (Lapeer, St Clair)
St Senate 29 (Grand Rapids)
St Senate 34 (Muskegon and North of there)
St Senate 36 (Northeast Michigan)

Targets for pickup:
St Senate 6 (Livonia, Westland, Redford)
St Senate 10 (Sterling Heights, Roseville)
St Senate 26 (Eastern Genesee, North Central Oakland)
St Senate 31 (Thumb, Bay County)
St Senate 38 (UP, if Casperson runs)

St House (we need to win 13 seats, I listed 29 targets)
Defenses:
House 19 - Livonia
House 30 - Northern Sterling Heights
House 43 - Waterford
House 51 - Southern Genesee County
House 61 - Portage, Western Kalamazoo County
House 63 - Part of Kalamazoo and Calhoun Counties
House 71 - Most of Eaton County
House 78 - Southern Berrien County
House 80 - Van Buren County
House 81 - Most of St Clair County
House 85 - Shiawassee and part of Clinton County
House 94 - Rural Saginaw County
House 97 - Clare, Gladwin, Arenac, Rural Bay County.
House 99 - Isabella and part of Midland County


Pickup targers:
House 1 - Grosse Pointes, part of Detroit
House 20 - Plymouth
House 21 - Canton
House 23 - Far Downriver
House 24 - St Clair Shores, Harrison Twp
House 25 - North Warren (Had it as recently as 2000)
House 26 - Royal Oak (almost had it in 2004, shockingly)
House 31 - Clinton Twp, Mt Clemens
House 32 - Northern Macomb, pt of St Clair
House 37 - Farmington Hills (Rocky won there three times)
House 39 - Commerce, West Bloomfield (Dave Law and Marc Shulman won there)
House 52 - Western Washtenaw County
House 55 - Western Monroe County, part of Washtenaw County
House 56 - Eastern Monroe County
House 57 - Most of Lenawee County
House 64 - Part of Jackson County
House 65 - Part of Jackson County and part of Eaton County.
House 67 - Most of Ingham County outside East Lansing and Meridian Twp. Includes South Lansing.
House 70 - Montcalm and part of Ionia County
House 75 - Part of Grand Rapids
House 83 - Sanilac County and part of St Clair County
House 84 - Tuscola and Huron Counties
House 91 - Part of Muskegon County
House 101 - Leelanau, Benzie, Mason, and Manistee Counties
House 103 - Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco Counties
House 106 - Crawford, Oscoda, Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, and Presque Isle Counties.
House 107 - Emmet, Mackinac, and Chippewa Counties
House 108 - Dickinson, Menominee, and Delta Counties
House 110 - Western UP.

This in 2010 lays the groundwork for getting rid of that 2300+ page monstrosity known as Obamacare. It starts with redistricting, stopping the bleeding, and then taking the state legislatures and governorships, as well the US House and US Senate to get ready for 2012, and then getting rid of this crap in 2013.

The big government health care reform (deform) bill passes - comply or spend five years in prison

Forget tea parties. I want a torches and pitchforks party. I'll bring the beer. We'll need lots of it with this piece of trash passed. This needs to be repealed immediately after Mr. Obama signs this - unless the courts strike this, or parts of this down. Here's the bill, all 2310 pages of it. It's a long read, nearly 1000 pages longer than War and Peace.

It was a party line vote in Michigan. All the dems voted for this. All the Republicans voted against this. It's no secret all the crap that from this senate bill which was moved to the house. There's still procedural battles and this will probably end up in the courts. Supposedly, Bart Stupak had an agreement with Obama about an executive order on abortion language. I'll believe it when I see it.

How bad is this bill?  I've decided to take another look at this 2310 page monstrosity. First rule of thumb, if a bill is 2310 pages, most reps have not read it, and it's bad news. War and Peace is 1440 pages. Atlas Shrugged is 1200 pages. This bill is nearly twice as big, and on much bigger pages, and the same small print. There's plenty of small print there. Page 119

SEC. 222. PREMIUMS AND FINANCING.

(a) Establishment of Premiums-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall establish geographically-adjusted premium rates for the public health insurance option in a manner--

(A) that complies with the premium rules established by the Commissioner under section 113 for Exchange-participating health benefit plans; and

(B) at a level sufficient to fully finance the costs of--

(i) health benefits provided by the public health insurance option; and

(ii) administrative costs related to operating the public health insurance option.

(2) CONTINGENCY MARGIN- In establishing premium rates under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include an appropriate amount for a contingency margin.

(b) Account-

(1) ESTABLISHMENT- There is established in the Treasury of the United States an Account for the receipts and disbursements attributable to the operation of the public health insurance option, including the start-up funding under paragraph (2). Section 1854(g) of the Social Security Act shall apply to receipts described in the previous sentence in the same manner as such section applies to payments or premiums described in such section.

(2) START-UP FUNDING-

(A) IN GENERAL- In order to provide for the establishment of the public health insurance option there is hereby appropriated to the Secretary, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $2,000,000,000. In order to provide for initial claims reserves before the collection of premiums, there is hereby appropriated to the Secretary, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as necessary to cover 90 days worth of claims reserves based on projected enrollment.

(B) AMORTIZATION OF START-UP FUNDING- The Secretary shall provide for the repayment of the startup funding provided under subparagraph (A) to the Treasury in an amortized manner over the 10-year period beginning with Y1.

(C) LIMITATION ON FUNDING- Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing any additional appropriations to the Account, other than such amounts as are otherwise provided with respect to other Exchange-participating health benefits plans.

This is Government here.Administrative costs are quadrupled. This is the home of the  $400 hammer and $600 toilet seat.

And page 126:

SEC. 225. PROVIDER PARTICIPATION.

(a) In General- The Secretary shall establish conditions of participation for health care providers under the public health insurance option.

(b) Licensure or Certification- The Secretary shall not allow a health care provider to participate in the public health insurance option unless such provider is appropriately licensed, certified, or otherwise permitted to practice under State law.

(c) Payment Terms for Providers-

(1) PHYSICIANS- The Secretary shall provide for the annual participation of physicians under the public health insurance option, for which payment may be made for services furnished during the year, in one of 2 classes:

(A) PREFERRED PHYSICIANS- Those physicians who agree to accept the payment rate established under section 223 (without regard to cost-sharing) as the payment in full.

(B) PARTICIPATING, NON-PREFERRED PHYSICIANS- Those physicians who agree not to impose charges (in relation to the payment rate described in section 223 for such physicians) that exceed the ratio permitted under section 1848(g)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act.

(2) OTHER PROVIDERS- The Secretary shall provide for the participation (on an annual or other basis specified by the Secretary) of health care providers (other than physicians) under the public health insurance option under which payment shall only be available if the provider agrees to accept the payment rate established under section 223 (without regard to cost-sharing) as the payment in full.

(d) Exclusion of Certain Providers- The Secretary shall exclude from participation under the public health insurance option a health care provider that is excluded from participation in a Federal health care program (as defined in section 1128B(f) of the Social Security Act).

Conditions to participate. Here's a question. How many doctors are going to say screw this and not participate?


Page 149:

SEC. 312. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS EMPLOYEE AND DEPENDENT COVERAGE.

(a) In General- An employer meets the requirements of this section with respect to an employee if the following requirements are met:

(1) OFFERING OF COVERAGE- The employer offers the coverage described in section 311(1) either through an Exchange-participating health benefits plan or other than through such a plan.

(2) EMPLOYER REQUIRED CONTRIBUTION- The employer timely pays to the issuer of such coverage an amount not less than the employer required contribution specified in subsection (b) for such coverage.

(3) PROVISION OF INFORMATION- The employer provides the Health Choices Commissioner, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of the Treasury, as applicable, with such information as the Commissioner may require to ascertain compliance with the requirements of this section.

(4) AUTOENROLLMENT OF EMPLOYEES- The employer provides for autoenrollment of the employee in accordance with subsection (c).

(b) Reduction of Employee Premiums Through Minimum Employer Contribution-

(1) FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES- The minimum employer contribution described in this subsection for coverage of a full-time employee (and, if any, the employee's spouse and qualifying children (as defined in section 152(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) under a qualified health benefits plan (or current employment-based health plan) is equal to--

(A) in case of individual coverage, not less than 72.5 percent of the applicable premium (as defined in section 4980B(f)(4) of such Code, subject to paragraph (2)) of the lowest cost plan offered by the employer that is a qualified health benefits plan (or is such current employment-based health plan); and

(B) in the case of family coverage which includes coverage of such spouse and children, not less 65 percent of such applicable premium of such lowest cost plan.

(2) APPLICABLE PREMIUM FOR EXCHANGE COVERAGE- In this subtitle, the amount of the applicable premium of the lowest cost plan with respect to coverage of an employee under an Exchange-participating health benefits plan is the reference premium amount under section 243(c) for individual coverage (or, if elected, family coverage) for the premium rating area in which the individual or family resides.

(3) MINIMUM EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION FOR EMPLOYEES OTHER THAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES- In the case of coverage for an employee who is not a full-time employee, the amount of the minimum employer contribution under this subsection shall be a proportion (as determined in accordance with rules of the Health Choices Commissioner, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of the Treasury, as applicable) of the minimum employer contribution under this subsection with respect to a full-time employee that reflects the proportion of--

(A) the average weekly hours of employment of the employee by the employer, to

(B) the minimum weekly hours specified by the Commissioner for an employee to be a full-time employee.

(4) SALARY REDUCTIONS NOT TREATED AS EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS- For purposes of this section, any contribution on behalf of an employee with respect to which there is a corresponding reduction in the compensation of the employee shall not be treated as an amount paid by the employer.

(c) Automatic Enrollment for Employer Sponsored Health Benefits-

(1) IN GENERAL- The requirement of this subsection with respect to an employer and an employee is that the employer automatically enrolls such employee into the employment-based health benefits plan for individual coverage under the plan option with the lowest applicable employee premium.

(2) OPT-OUT- In no case may an employer automatically enroll an employee in a plan under paragraph (1) if such employee makes an affirmative election to opt out of such plan or to elect coverage under an employment-based health benefits plan offered by such employer. An employer shall provide an employee with a 30-day period to make such an affirmative election before the employer may automatically enroll the employee in such a plan.

(3) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS-

(A) IN GENERAL- Each employer described in paragraph (1) who automatically enrolls an employee into a plan as described in such paragraph shall provide the employees, within a reasonable period before the beginning of each plan year (or, in the case of new employees, within a reasonable period before the end of the enrollment period for such a new employee), written notice of the employees' rights and obligations relating to the automatic enrollment requirement under such paragraph. Such notice must be comprehensive and understood by the average employee to whom the automatic enrollment requirement applies.

(B) INCLUSION OF SPECIFIC INFORMATION- The written notice under subparagraph (A) must explain an employee's right to opt out of being automatically enrolled in a plan and in the case that more than one level of benefits or employee premium level is offered by the employer involved, the notice must explain which level of benefits and employee premium level the employee will be automatically enrolled in the absence of an affirmative election by the employee.

SEC. 313. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS IN LIEU OF COVERAGE.

(a) In General- A contribution is made in accordance with this section with respect to an employee if such contribution is equal to an amount equal to 8 percent of the average wages paid by the employer during the period of enrollment (determined by taking into account all employees of the employer and in such manner as the Commissioner provides, including rules providing for the appropriate aggregation of related employers). Any such contribution--

(1) shall be paid to the Health Choices Commissioner for deposit into the Health Insurance Exchange Trust Fund, and

(2) shall not be applied against the premium of the employee under the Exchange-participating health benefits plan in which the employee is enrolled.

Basically, we have an 8 percent payroll tax.

Page 143...

SEC. 301. INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY.

For an individual's responsibility to obtain acceptable coverage, see section 59B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 401 of this division).

And what does section 401 say? Page 167...

SEC. 59B. TAX ON INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT ACCEPTABLE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.

`(a) Tax Imposed- In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of--

`(1) the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over

`(2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer.

It's a 2.5% of your income that is fined. This is a penalty. This is a penalty fine disguised as a tax and should be challenged. The penalty for not paying the fine/tax is a trip to prison. I wrote about it here in November of 2009. Sections 7201 and 7203. They are already law, part of the Internal Revenue Code.

7201 - Attempt to Evade or Defeat tax. Felony. $100,000 fine. 5 years in prison.

7203 - Willful failure to file return, supply information, or pay tax. Misdemeanor. $25,000 fine. 1 year in prison.

There's also a surcharge. Page 197.

SEC. 59C. SURCHARGE ON HIGH INCOME INDIVIDUALS.

`(a) General Rule- In the case of a taxpayer other than a corporation, there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax imposed by this subtitle) a tax equal to--

`(1) 1 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $350,000 but does not exceed $500,000,

`(2) 1.5 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $500,000 but does not exceed $1,000,000, and

`(3) 5.4 percent of so much of the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer as exceeds $1,000,000.

I wonder how many sole proprietors, partnerships, and LLC's are going to be out of business with this. Those aren't corporations, but are a large number of businesses.

The Attorney General has more access. Eric Holder I don't want near medical records. I don't want John Ashcroft there either for that matter. Section 1651

SEC. 1651. ACCESS TO INFORMATION NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.

Section 1128G of the Social Security Act, as added by section 1631 and amended by sections 1632 and 1641, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection;

`(d) Access to Information Necessary To Identify Fraud, Waste, and Abuse- For purposes of law enforcement activity, and to the extent consistent with applicable disclosure, privacy, and security laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Privacy Act of 1974, and subject to any information systems security requirements enacted by law or otherwise required by the Secretary, the Attorney General shall have access, facilitation by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, to claims and payment data relating to titles XVIII and XIX, in consultation with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or the owner of such data.'.

I have to relook at the HIPPA laws, but things are in bills for a reason. My guard's up, and while I don't see a wolf yet, there's a potential one.

Here's a potential wolf.

SEC. 3121. NATIONAL PREVENTION AND WELLNESS STRATEGY.

`(a) In General- The Secretary shall submit to the Congress within one year after the date of the enactment of this section, and at least every 2 years thereafter, a national strategy that is designed to improve the Nation's health through evidence-based clinical and community prevention and wellness activities (in this section referred to as `prevention and wellness activities'), including core public health infrastructure improvement activities.

`(b) Contents- The strategy under subsection (a) shall include each of the following:

`(1) Identification of specific national goals and objectives in prevention and wellness activities that take into account appropriate public health measures and standards, including departmental measures and standards (including Healthy People and National Public Health Performance Standards).

`(2) Establishment of national priorities for prevention and wellness, taking into account unmet prevention and wellness needs.

`(3) Establishment of national priorities for research on prevention and wellness, taking into account unanswered research questions on prevention and wellness.

`(4) Identification of health disparities in prevention and wellness.

`(5) A plan for addressing and implementing paragraphs (1) through (4).

`(c) Consultation- In developing or revising the strategy under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the following:

`(1) The heads of appropriate health agencies and offices in the Department, including the Office of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, the Office of Minority Health, and the Office on Women's Health.

`(2) As appropriate, the heads of other Federal departments and agencies whose programs have a significant impact upon health (as determined by the Secretary).

You see, government has a major stake now in health care. Tax money in spades is going towards that. In addition, my experience in Lansing showed me that one of the biggest big government statist lobbies in the business is the public health lobby. It's like out of the movie Demolition Man. Anything that is in their opinion, bad for you, must be outlawed or taxed. We see what's happening with tobacco right now. They pushed to go against firearms in the 1990's with lawsuits against firearms manufacturers. Gubernatorial candidate Virg Bernero pushed for a "pop tax" while in the state senate. (soda's for you on the East Coast, Cokes for you in the South). Granholm had a "meatout" day proclaimed last Saturday. While I'm not to worried about the "meatout" day, since it was just a mouth running, I am concerned about a "meat tax" in the future. The argument will be "50% of our payments are going towards Obesity. Tax carbs and meat to pay for it."

This ain't over with Obama's signature. It's just getting started. I'm not referring to the torches and pitchforks party we need in Washington to repeal this. I'm referring to big government trying to take control of every aspect of our lives.

And howabout this to get Mary Landrieu's vote.

CHAPTER 2--SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS FOR LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, AND ALABAMA

SEC. 321. PURPOSE.

Grants under this chapter shall be for the purpose of modernizing, renovating, repairing, or constructing public school facilities, including, where applicable, early learning facilities, based on the need for such improvements or construction, to ensure that public school facilities are safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date.

What the hell does that even have to do with health care?

There's plenty more that's bad there. All 2300+ pages of this. This isn't Fox News reporting. This isn't Rush Limbaugh reporting. I don't watch TV News or listen to talk radio. All of this is straight from the bill itself. Primary sources.

This needs to be repealed at best, and modified at worst. We can start with stopping the bleeding with getting rid of the democrats, and then firing Obama's sorry ass in 2012.