Increased Medicare Costs?

Hum?

Who would have thought this would happen?

A government run health care plan price has increased in price by 50% since 2006?

Medicare is once again increasing in costs. That is even before Obamacare is voted on.

Good grief- Obamacare will cut benefits to Medicare recipients by at least $400 billion. Even so, costs to Medicare recipients is starting to really skyrocket.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The average monthly premium for a Medicare prescription drug plan will increase 11% next year - and it has increased 50% nationally since 2006.

Those figures make clear why shopping for the best Medicare Part D plan should be an annual chore for people who want to save money.

"Everybody needs to check their plan and make sure it's still right for them," said Tom Frazier, executive director of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups.

The same holds true for the Medicare Advantage plans run by private companies that are an alternative to traditional Medicare.

This makes total sense right in the middle of the ObamaCare debate right?

About a month ago, the Obama administration told our senior citizens that there would be no social security cost of living increase for the next two years. Our seniors have also been informed that in every version of ObamaCare, at least $400 billion has to be cut from their Medicare for the plan to be able to financially work. Now this. Their prescription drug costs are going up again.

When do our seniors catch a break?

In it to win it?

Interesting Facebook post from Governor Sarah Palin today:

Heading into December and Tuesday’s announcement of our nation’s strategy in Afghanistan, I ask the President to reassure us that the administration is in this War on Terror to win.

And I’ll pass along the following from Harold B. Estes, a 95-year-old member of the Greatest Generation: “I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you’re not in this fight to win, then get out.”

Thank you, Mr. President. Please tell us on Tuesday that America is in it to win.

I followed the link posted by the former governor and was amazed at this letter written to Congress.

You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president. You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes

McAlpin , FL

I think there is a legitimate question to be answered by our President.

Are we in it to win it or is the President just trying to buy himself some time?

Great foreign relations there, Mr. President

When even the NYT begins to question the President on foreign relations, then you know things are bad:

Mr. Obama’s own credibility is so diminished (his approval rating in Israel is 4 percent) that serious negotiations may be farther off than ever.

Peacemaking takes strategic skill. But we see no sign that President Obama and Mr. Mitchell were thinking more than one move down the board. The president went public with his demand for a full freeze on settlements before securing Israel’s commitment. And he and his aides apparently had no plan for what they would do if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said no.

An approval rating of 4% ??? Okay, now that is worse than President George Bush.

Now what exactly was accomplished in his Asia/China trip? Kind of tough to talk about our relationship with China, especially since they own us.

For Obama, going back home from a weeklong Asia trip with little more than hopes that he's laying groundwork for better cooperation could sour, fast, on Americans. He was elected in part because of his promises to restore the battered U.S. image abroad. But if the cost of that is too much listening and too little getting, the public could well grow impatient.

One sign, albeit small, that people are growing weary with Obama's pragmatic humility overseas: A mini-furor erupted in the U.S. when he bowed to greet the emperor of Japan in Tokyo on Saturday. Conservative commentators are calling it another instance of groveling before a foreign leader.

Pragmatic humility? Pragmatic humility does not sound like a good thing to me.

Take another bow, Mr. President. You are doing great.

Going Rogue #1

I have to tell you. I warms my heart to know that former Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin currently sits on top of the best sellers list.

The media attempted to destroy her life and there she is, right there on the front cover smiling at them.

New York Times Bestseller list

USA Today Bestseller list

What am I thankful for?

Hmm.

I am thankful for a healthy and happy family.

Thankful I got to see my parents a couple of months ago. Not thankful my family lives in Texas and I live here, especially when holidays roll around.

I am very thankful for a wonderful local Italian family who have taken me in as one of their own especially during the holiday season.

Very thankful that Americans have awakened to the dangers facing us under this new Obama administration.

What are you thankful for?

Who else cooks with a hammer?

Okay, fess up, who else cooks with a hammer?

I finished making chocolate suicide cake today and used my hammer while doing it.

I have to add crushed Heath bars in between each layer. Health Bars are the hardest candy ever! Had to use the hammer.

Republicans were blamed

Hat Tip Michelle Malkin

Over and over again, Republicans were blamed for murdering a census worker in Kentucky. At least it had to be our fault because we were objecting to the ACORN administering the census. The guy was a census worker with the federal government.

You see the entire theory was that because of the whole tea party movement, Republicans had turned into such an angry mob that we were now killing people. Glen Beck and Rep. Michelle Bachmann.

Check out this flaming lunatic's blog:

Despite fomenting by comments like Bachmann's "enough is enough" (as seen in the video at right), Sparkman's death having come on September 12 (the day which Beck had called for his "9/12 Movement" Teabagger protests in D.C.), and the letters scrawled on Sparkman's chest, there is not yet definitive evidence that the hanging was tied to the Bachmann/Beck movement, though the blogosphere is understandably abuzz about it today.

After tea partiers and Republicans were accused of murdering this census worker, law enforcement was pretty quick to state that this may have been a suicide.

That did not stop lunatics. Check out this guy's outrageous claims:

That's the detail that makes you stop and think. If this was a revenge murder for stumbling upon a meth lab or pot plantation, it's hard to understand why such a big deal would be made out of his census identification card. It's possible, I suppose, that anger at the feds in general could make a drug dealer murder a census worker. But the most worrying possibility - that this is Southern populist terrorism, whipped up by the GOP and its Fox and talk radio cohorts - remains real. We'll see.

This is the same lunatic that started the whole theory that Trig Palin is not Governor Palin's son. He has demanded the Governor take a paternity test, harassed the Palin family doctor and leads the entire Trig Truther movement. The guy still believes that Trig is actually Bristol's son and not Governor Palin's.

Rep Michelle Bachmann was pretty much called a murderer because she was part of instigating the revolt against the government.

The truth is out now, the guy killed himself. It appears the guy thought he was dying, so he killed himself and tried to make it look like murder so he family would get the benefits.

You have to wonder about people sometimes.

Health Care boondoggle: Can you hear us now?

Ramussen shows that support for the healthcare boondoggle has fallen to a new low.

56% Oppose
38% Support

Since some of those that read this page think Rasmussen is a right wing pollster, I thought I would wait until there were additional polls out showing low support for the boondoggle.

A USA Today/Gallup poll out today shows support for the healthcare boondoggle is still down.

42% Oppose
35% Support

Partisan breakdown:

Democrats 76% support, 17% Oppose
Republicans 86% Oppose, 12% Support

Big Democrat problem
Independents 53% oppose, 37% support

Probably the most disconcerting news for Democrats is what Americans think of President Obama's handling of the nation's health care.

40% approve
53% Disapprove

In the meantime, Democrats in Congress and the President are in complete denial. A majority of Americans do not want the healthcare boondoggle. Why are they ramming this down our throats?

Budget

I got home about 45 minutes ago from a budget finance committee meeting. The meeting started at 5pm. So, long night. You will read some stuff in today's paper that has changed since the paper will printed.

Hang tight, for tomorrow's paper for more current information.

Why No One Expects a Strong Recovery by Jeb Hensarling and Paul Ryan

This is a good article in the Wall Street Journal, even if it is news that we do not want to hear.

One of the strongest factors promoting recovery from our 10 post-World War II recessions was an unshakable conviction that, regardless of the immediate trouble, the American economy is fundamentally strong. Based on this underlying confidence, recessions and recoveries roughly conformed to the principle of the bigger the bust, the bigger the boom, and vice versa.

Thus real growth in the four quarters following postwar recessions averaged 6.6% and 4.3% over the following five years. As the chief economist for Barclays, Dean Maki, said in this newspaper on Aug. 19, "You can't find a single deep recession that has been followed by a moderate recovery."

That may no longer hold. Since the current recession has lasted a record seven quarters—and has been marked by a near-record average GDP decline of 1.8% per quarter—we should be witnessing the start of a powerful and sustained recovery. Yet forecasts of a 2% recovery in growth are only one-fourth as strong as postwar experience suggests. Meanwhile, unemployment sits at a generational high of 10.2%.

The New Louisiana Purchase

Those people wondering if your political leaders are still for sale, look no further than Louisiana.

Harry Reid has bought Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu vote for healthcare reform. Of course, Harry Reid did not actually spend one thin dime of his own money, he used taxpayer money instead. Total cost to American taxpayers, $100 million for a health care reform bill that Americans do not want.

ABC

What does it take to get a wavering senator to vote for health care reform?

Here’s a case study.

On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”

The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

I am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.

Snuffaluffagus or Eeyore?

I am finally able to get caught up with some things after a busy week.

The week started off in a pretty interesting way. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett started of the week with a bang(kinda) announcing he was running for governor. Interestingly enough, there was no real bang.

Not even a week into the announcement, Mayor Barrett's announcement has already fallen off the radar screen. I do not care which side of the aisle you lean towards, all have to admit that Mayor Barrett's lack of enthusiasm is very apparent. Worse yet, the lack of enthusiasm state wide is even more apparent.

Maybe there are some democrats that are excited, but I have not really seen that yet.

I really got a kick out of Vicki McKenna's evaluation of the situation on Monday. She likened the lack of enthusiasm from the mayor to Snuffaluffagus. A few moments later, someone added Eeyore to the mix.

So which is it? Snuffaluffagus or Eeyore?

We all love Snuffaluffagus and Eeyore, but would you make either of them your governor?

Listen to Vicki's audio here.

Team McCain blew it

I originally posted this at Conservatives4Palin. I have since updated it for my home page.

Well, the moment has finally arrived. To those of us that are fans of Governor Sarah Palin, the year in exile has been tumultuous and long.

Governor Sarah Palin has been unleashed!

After watching and listening to numerous interviews over the last few days, the melting of Barbara Walters’ heart, the hysterics of certain McCain staffers and the dedication to conservatism with Rush Limbaugh, it is now clear that Governor Palin will not hide and will not head off into retirement quietly.

Governor Sarah Palin is part of America’s future, not just a stigma of America’s past.

Before we move into the future of this country and the dangers that lie ahead for America as we follow President Obama’s path, it's only fair to address the mistakes in the 2008 that brought us the President currently sitting in office.

I know that many in the McCain campaign are vehemently defending themselves and the mainstream media is all too happy to give them a platform to slam Governor Palin (see MSNBC, et al).

It's time for an honest reality check.

Team McCain blew it and they blew it bad.

Many of us sitting on the bottom rung of Team McCain at the grassroots level could easily look up the ladder and see that we had a big problem. Team McCain had a message problem and it grew as the election wore on.

Amazingly, today’s mainstream media is attempting to defend Team McCain and wondering why Governor Palin went “rogue”. Shouldn’t Governor Palin have just gone along with Team McCain’s messaging? When asked by interviewer Barbara Walters, Governor Palin said yes to Team McCain controlling the messaging and they lost anyway.

The message out of Team McCain was a problem from the top of the campaign all the way down to those of us on the grassroots level. The grassroots could clearly see the problem.

I stood a few feet away from a high level McCain policy adviser on October 31st, 2008 as Team McCain was making its last rounds, and asked a simple question. I asked the adviser to please give me a sixty second statement so I could explain Senator McCain’s health care policy. All I needed was a short simple answer about health care to give to the people that were calling our county GOP headquarters. The adviser managed to drone on for about 10 minutes without ever actually explaining McCain’s health care policy. Disappointed, I finally cut him off.

To this very day, I am willing to bet that not a single McCain adviser could clearly define McCain’s health care policy and make it coherent in a 60 second sound bite.

Of course, this messaging problem started early, long before Governor Palin was on the ticket and continued all the way through the election last year. Steve Schmidt, for all of his defensive babbling right now, had the McCain message heading along the wrong path for a long time.

Still, to this day, Mr. Schmidt cannot admit the real problems with the campaign. By the summer of last year, Senator John McCain was already defined as President George W. Bush. Team Obama got that message out early and often and John McCain could never shake that label.

Then Governor Palin was added to the ticket, and the messaging problem got worse. I believe that Team McCain recognized immediately that there was an energy surrounding Governor Palin. Many folks were inspired back into the political fight. Instead of guiding Governor Palin and allowing her to define herself with their guidance, they shut her down and the media quickly defined her as unqualified. Big mistake.

This was one of many epic failures by Steve Schmidt’s Team McCain. Both candidates on the GOP had now been defined by the mainstream media and Team Obama.

Probably the biggest messaging problem for Team McCain was on the economy. The economy was the problem that was first and foremost on America’s mind when heading to the polls. A clear and concise message was needed. Americans never got a clear and concise message from Team McCain.

Can anyone honestly remember Team McCain’s message on the economy? After the McCain debacle of calling the economy strong, the messaging battle on the economy was lost immediately. What I fail to understand is why Team McCain never recognized that the strongest positive message on the economy from all the candidates was Governor Palin's. Only one of the four candidates could relate to the average economic problems of Americans. Only one of the four candidates actually ran a state that is financially stable. Only one of the four candidates had ever written a budget. Only one of the four candidates had lived without healthcare coverage and has small business experience.

Team Obama’s message on the economy was clear, concise and simple. “95% of Americans will get a tax cut under my plan”.

Amazingly, Team McCain never figured out what a great campaigner Governor Palin actually is. In the last several days alone it has become painfully obvious that the problem was the ineptitude of the elitists running the McCain campaign. Team McCain never recognized the power of the average American and what they expect from their government. Governor Palin is an average American and can relate to our problems.

Americans live in a fast paced world and they like their news in short, precise sound bites. In an interview with Barbara Walters, Governor Palin managed to do on her own, what the entirety of the Team McCain did not last year. Governor Palin was asked about unemployment and the economy by interviewer Barbara Walters and the Governor gave a simple yet powerful answer on what she would do about the economy.

"I would start cutting taxes and allowing our small businesses to keep more of what they are earning, more of what they are producing, more of what they own and earn so that they could start reinvesting in their businesses and expand and hire more people," she told Walters. "Not punishing them by forcing health care reform down their throats; by forcing an energy policy down their throats that ultimately will tax them more and cost them more to stay in business. Those are backassward ways of trying to fix the economy."

In a short, concise 39 second message Governor Palin managed to state what she would do and smack President Obama on healthcare reform and the atrocious cap and trade bill. It's that simple.

It's time for Team McCain to admit they blew it on messaging so we can all move on. For the past year Team McCain has blamed Governor Palin. Governor Palin was not the problem, letting your opponents define your campaign was the problem. Losing control of the message was the ultimate mistake and that happened long before Governor Palin joined the ticket.

Surely Team McCain must know this by now. Americans are clamoring for a conservative option (not a Democrat-lite option) and we need to give it to them. Governor Palin has recognized this. Less than 24 hours after the release of her book, Governor Palin was forming a message that Americans can embrace. It is time to move on to 2010.

Added:
Even as bad as things went at the elite level of the McCain campaign, locally and statewide, things could not have been more organized. The state made sure we had everything we needed on the local levels. The volunteers arrived by the hundreds at our local office. Even though I have not seen things run better for the GOP in the state of Wisconsin, we still needed a clear and concise message from the top of the ticket. A great disservice was done to John McCain and Sarah Palin the moment we lost the message war.

Voters reject him, President Obama embraces him

I do not understand it. Voters have rejected Loophole Louie twice now. Even though the voters have made it pretty clear they do not want Louis Butler sitting in a judicial seat, twice now, the Democrats in charge have overridden the will of the people and placed Loophole Louie into a judicial seat anyway.

Wall Street Journal

As consolation prizes go, Louis Butler can't complain. After being twice rejected by Wisconsin voters for a place on the state Supreme Court, the former judge has instead been nominated by President Obama to a lifetime seat on the federal district court. If he is confirmed, Wisconsin voters will have years to contend with the decisions of a judge they made clear they would rather live without.

Judge Butler served on the state Supreme Court for four years, enough time to have his judicial temperament grow in infamy. Having first run unsuccessfully in 2000, he was appointed by Democratic Governor Jim Doyle to the seat vacated by Justice Diane Sykes in 2004. But after serving four years, voters had seen enough of his brand of judicial philosophy, making him the first sitting justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in four decades to lose a retention election last year.

continued...

Clearly the Democrats are not listening to the people. They are ignoring the will of the people when it comes to taking over the healthcare industry, car companies, energy policies and banks.

We Wisconsinites just need to learn that the Democrats are smarter than us and just let them have their way.

Where did our tax dollars go?

Remember "3 to 4 millions jobs saved or created"?

Remember "transparency"?

Remember the promise of accountability?

All of this is what we were told about spending $787 billion on the stimulus.

Now we have the person heading the stimulus who will not verify that Obama's numbers of 1 million jobs created from the stimulus as being accurate.

Politico

The chief federal oversight official for the stimulus program said in a letter Wednesday that he can’t certify whether the number of jobs “created or saved” by stimulus funds is accurate.

Recovery Board Chairman Earl Devaney was responding to a request for information by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In a letter to Issa dated Nov. 17, Devaney wrote, “Your letter specifically asks if I am able to certify that the number of jobs reported as created/saved on Recovery.gov is accurate and auditable. No, I am not able to make this certification.”

Continued...

Cut taxes?

This makes to much sense:

To address the highest unemployment levels since 1983, Palin said she would cut taxes. "I would start cutting taxes and allowing our small businesses to keep more of what they are earning, more of what they are producing, more of what they own and earn so that they could start reinvesting in their businesses and expand and hire more people," she told Walters. "Not punishing them by forcing health care reform down their throats; by forcing an energy policy down their throats that ultimately will tax them more and cost them more to stay in business. Those are backassward ways of trying to fix the economy."

Watch the video.

The disgrace of Stimulus reporting

I am certain many of you have already heard, the disgrace of the falsified and ignorant reporting for the money spent in stimulus funds.

These guys cannot get the reporting right. Congressional districts that do not exist reporting stimulus jobs. Jobs that do not exist. Overreporting by tens of thousands of jobs.

Check out this report for Wisconsin. Where did these congressional districts come from?

Even better, why is Con 2 getting such a majority of money? Madison? I want proof that Doyle actually created 8,000 jobs in Madison.

Votes by Tom Barrett

I found a nifty little tool here. This link provides insight into Mayor Tom Barrett's voting record during his time in Congress.

Typical liberal tax raiser and spender here.

Again?

Could someone get the President to stop doing this?

Americans do not bow to royalty. We never have.

H/T James T.




Up next, Robert Gibbs will deny that this was a bow.

Way to go County Executive Kreuser

Thank you, Jim Kreuser!

Taking the bull by the horns, County Executive Jim Kreuser vetoed the insurance raise the county board supervisors gave themselves this week.

Thank you Jim Kreuser for taking no chances at letting this travesty against Kenoshans get through.

Kenosha News

“I am exercising the county executive’s veto authority in the spirit of the shared sacrifices made by most of our Kenosha County employees to help us address an anticipated $5 million deficit for 2010,” Kreuser said in a news conference in his office.

Board Chairman Joe Clark, alongside Kreuser at the news conference, said he agreed the veto was the most expedient way to undo the board’s actions, which he opposed.

My guess is that this will be a gigantic campaign issue this year.

County Executive Jim Kreuser did the right thing.

Obama: First Pacific President?

I do not know what that means.

President Obama declares himself the "First Pacific President".

Declaring himself “America’s first Pacific president” (a description that somehow ignored Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, two Californians), Mr. Obama previewed many of the themes that will shadow him during his weeklong trip, which will also include stops in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul.

Someone tell me what that means?

Are we moving Washington to the west coast?

Does that mean we will continue to hand over American jobs to the other side of the Pacific Ocean?

Oh...I do know what this means:

But at every turn of his address, Mr. Obama projected a more conciliatory America, which is trying to break from the past.

It means, the apology tour continues!

Why are we bringing terrorists to America?

Thank you President Obama. Terrorists are on their way to America and we have invited them here.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. prosecutors plan criminal trials for five men accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, and military tribunals for five others held at the Guantanamo Bay prison.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, self-described mastermind of the attacks, and four others will be tried in New York federal court. Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday he expects to order prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the five cases.

Let me get this straight. KSM has admitted to plotting the death of thousands of Americans and we are bringing him here so he can make his case in front of the entire world as to why Americans deserved it???

Why are these guys being given all of the rights of a US courtroom?

AG Eric Holder has promised that this event will be on TV for the entire world to see.

The defense lawyers for the terrorists will get to put our CIA officers, military officers and politicians on the stand.

With this move, the President of the United States has actually put Americans on trial.

Oh my!

Wisconsin economic climate compares to California?

You know that your state is in serious financial trouble if your state is being compared to California.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, issued the following statement today responding to claims made by Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Michael Morgan about Pew's study, Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril.

"Pew's report is factually accurate and fair. Wisconsin was highlighted in our report because it exhibits many of the same fiscal warning signs seen in California, as documented by widely accepted, publicly available data.

"The facts are clear. Wisconsin, like California and the eight other states Pew profiled, faces serious fiscal challenges. In reaching this conclusion, Pew relied on data from respected sources including the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the U.S. Census Bureau and experts in both academia and government.

"Our report states that California's budget problems are in a league of their own. But Wisconsin has had persistent budget shortfalls -- the state has had a negative general fund balance from fiscal years 2002 to 2008, according to its own Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. Additionally, Wisconsin has used short-term fixes to meet budget challenges, such as relying on its transportation funds to cover day-to-day operating expenses.

continued...

Hey, don't yell at us

Once again, I normally try to stay away from local issues, but this latest kerfuffle has exploded in Kenosha.

Kenosha county residents are furious at their county board supervisors over sticking taxpayers for health care insurance. They are not angry at all of them, but most of them.

Read the KNews story from Wednesday:

Kenosha County supervisors opted Tuesday to beef up, rather than cut, their health insurance, and to retain a new $64,000-a-year admissions coordinator for Brookside Care Center.

The County Board spent most of its time on these matters as it headed toward adopting a $201.7 million 2010 budget. The budget passed 24-3, with Doug Noble, Rob Zerban and Bob Haas voting against it, decrying the health insurance move.

continued...

Apparently, there is quite a bit of heat on the county board supervisors. Charlie Sykes had a field day on his radio show on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the KNews put out this article:

A movement is already under way to reconsider a more generous health insurance package that the Kenosha County Board voted to give itself Tuesday.

Supervisor Jennifer Jackson, one of the proponents in a 14-13 vote to strip supervisors of the requirement to contribute to their insurance premiums, will make a motion to reconsider the matter, County Board Chairman Joe Clark confirmed Wednesday afternoon.

continued...

Somehow, there is some confusion out there about who voted for this and who did not. I received a phone call from a gentleman who was quite upset over this. He said his friend told him is was the "guy from the 5th district" that initiated the increase in benefits. He knew he lived in the 5th district so he looked up the information on the internet and came up with my name.

I explained to him that I am the alderman of the 5th district, not the county board supervisor of the 5th district. The caller was a pretty nice fellow, but it was clear he was upset.

I listened patiently and then explained to him that we have no control over what benefits the county board gives themselves.

Your city aldermen had nothing to do with this! None of us voted for this.

Alderman do not receive any healthcare benefits and they never have received them. City aldermen have not received any pay increases since 1988. The per diem did increase in 1992 from $50 a month to $100 a month, but that is the last time anything has changed as far as pay for aldermen.

For about 20 years, the city aldermen have not given themselves a raise.

Even though I do not speak for all of the city's alderman, it is a virtually certainty that none of us will request a pay increase this year either. That would be shear foolishness on our part, especially after watching this debacle.

I can understand people being upset about this. I am upset too. I pay taxes also.

If you are upset, call your county board supervisor and let them know where you stand.

The Hillbuzz buzz

For the forth time in the last couple of days, I have listened or read about the Hillbuzz boys writing on President Bush. The Hillbuzz boys are giant fans and friends of the Clinton family. Big fans of Hillary Clinton.

During last year's election, there was a huge change in attitude on this website. These guys immediately recognized that the treatment by the lefties of Governor Sarah was precisely the same treatment that the Hillary Clinton had received. The Hillbuzz boys were right during last year's election.

We know absolutely no one in Bush family circles and have never met former President George W. Bush or his wife Laura.

If you have been reading us for any length of time, you know that we used to make fun of “Dubya” nearly every day…parroting the same comedic bits we heard in our Democrat circles, where Bush is still, to this day, lampooned as a chimp, a bumbling idiot, and a poor, clumsy public speaker.

Oh, how we RAILED against Bush in 2000…and how we RAILED against the surge in support Bush received post-9/11 when he went to Ground Zero and stood there with his bullhorn in the ruins on that hideous day.

We were convinced that ANYONE who was president would have done what Bush did, and would have set that right tone of leadership in the wake of that disaster. President Gore, President Perot, President Nader, you name it. ANYONE, we assumed, would have filled that role perfectly.

Well, we told you before how much the current president, Dr. Utopia, made us realize just how wrong we were about Bush. We shudder to think what Dr. Utopia would have done post-9/11. He would have not gone there with a bullhorn and struck that right tone. More likely than not, he would have been his usual fey, apologetic self and waxed professorially about how evil America is and how justified Muslims are for attacking us, with a sidebar on how good the attacks were because they would humble us.

continued...

This is pretty amazing.

Not just Rasmussen anymore

A couple of weeks ago, a Rasmussen Poll showing the GOP ahead in the generic poll was trashed by a commenter. Rasmussen was a GOP pollster, so it could not be believed.

Well I'll be jiggered...Another respectable pollster just came out today showing virtually the same results as Rasmussen.

Gallup


The biggest change taking place is with independents. The change has flipped Independents to a 22 point advantage for the GOP.

Funny, Rasmussen comes out today with another poll showing the GOP with a 23 point advantage among independents.

I agree with Gallup and Rasmussen. The elections are a year away and it really may not last for the GOP. It is going to a lot of hard work to stay on an upward path for the GOP.

Clearly, next year's elections will rise and fall on the independent vote, not the partisans from either side.

Thank a Veteran today!

To all of America's veterans...Thank You.

My favorite veteran: Dad

Great Op-ed from Detroit News on ObamaCare

When even the liberal newswriters at the Detroit News are pounding you, perhaps the liberals should start listening:

The narrow margin that carried the Nancy Pelosi/Barack Obama health care bill to victory in the House late Saturday should inform the Senate as it finalizes its own plan.

The bill passed 220-215 with one Republican siding with the majority and 39 mostly moderate and conservative Democrats joining opponents. This is an economy busting bill devised and passed by liberal Democrats who largely ignored appeals for moderation.

A measure that will impact every American and greatly rework the nation's health care system should not be rammed through in such a divisive way. The Senate's task is to scale back the expense and scope of the bill to something more palatable to the broadest number while favoring less disruptive, incremental change at a time when the economy can ill afford higher taxes and deeper deficits.

Concerns and questions about the bill were waved away by the House majority. But they must be forthrightly dealt with by the Senate.

Above all else is the cost. Democrats estimate the cost at $1.2 trillion over the next decade, but have worked feverishly to repress credible, contrary estimates that the true expense will be $2 trillion or more. The plan will levy taxes for 10 years to pay for six years of benefits, suggesting that in the second decade the annual costs will explode.

Continued...

Gov. Palin in WI: Don't let anyone tell you to sit down and shut up!

I posted this early in the morning on Conservatives 4 Palin:

First of all, let me start with how Governor Palin looked tonight. We all know that she is a beautiful woman, but that does not come close to describing how she looked. She was stunningly beautiful tonight. Maybe better than I have ever seen her look when I have seen her in person.

She had on a two piece pink business suit on. Not really pink, but a fuchsia, close to a red color. Very tan and nowhere near as thin as she was immediately after her resignation. To me, that was a little too thin.

The Governor wore her hair down, with the sides pulled back. Her hair has grown quite long over the last year. It looked fantastic.

As far as the numbers geeks are concerned, there were probably around 5,000 people there. The speech lasted about 35 to 40 minutes.

Most importantly, her smile was back bigger and brighter than any have seen in a while. To me, the most striking part of her appearance was her eyes. She has the glimmer back and her eyes were dancing around the room. She looks healthy, happy and full of life.

As she stepped to the microphone when the cheering began to die down, the Governor’s first thoughts were on America’s military forces. After asking all of our current military and veterans to stand, she asked for a moment of silence. She told us that during the moment of silence she would be saying a prayer and invited us all to do the same. After the moment of silence for the soldiers currently serving at Fort Hood, she immediately thanked our military personnel for their service to a raucous round of applause and cheers for our military.

The Governor then spoke briefly about her attachment to the state of Wisconsin. I believe she stated that one of her grandfathers was born in Chippewa Falls and her father went to school with Jerry Kramer (a Packer football star in the early 60’s).

Governor Palin then began to tell a story of a conversation she and one of her friends in Alaska had a few weeks ago. Her friend had picked up a couple of the relatively new $1 dollar gold colored coins. They were discussing what was missing off of the front of the coins. Those four little words that have gotten America through her most troubling moments, “In God we trust”. As she observed; those four little words have been pushed off to the side of the coin. No longer prominently displayed on the face of the coin but those words have now been hidden on the outer edge of the coin. As she observed, this is kind of where we, as a Nation, have shoved God in our own lives. She even stated that she had kind of done that with her own pro life movement. Yes, she was always pro-life but it was not really something she prominently displayed until she became pregnant with Trig.

Oh boy, when she talks about Trig, her entire persona just lights up. You can tell this woman is completely in love with that little boy. Governor Palin admitted that she was afraid before Trig was born on how she would handle a little boy with special needs. She also mentioned how she and Todd chose to work through the problems together.

The governor also spoke briefly about Bristol and the choices she had to make and the love and joy that Tripp has brought to their lives. Clearly, Governor Palin is very proud of her daughter and her grandson that is almost a year old. Governor Palin stated that people make mistakes but a beautiful child came as a result of that mistake. A mistake is no reason to take a life.

There were plenty of religious references that would send the lefties into spasms. It was rather refreshing to see someone speak of their religious beliefs at a political event. She even read John 16:13 to the crowd: "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative..."

To my fellow pro-lifers, this passage makes sense to all of us. The governor’s speech was so passionate and so full of love for all of God’s children. As she stated many like to call us “anti-freedom or anti-abortion”, but the truth is that we are “pro-children.”

Something else to make the liberal heads spin, she then progressed into the health care reform bill. Questioning why it is that lawmakers will not take the time to read the bill. Governor Palin also spoke of the need for Speaker Pelosi to allow an amendment to bar American taxpayers from having to pay for abortions.

This line of speaking brought us to my favorite line that the Governor stated this evening: Abortion is NOT health care.

Personally, this was my favorite line. These words are so very true. A baby is not something simple like a wart that you can just have removed; it is a life and that life should not be treated like every other health issue. (The whole wart analogy was mine, not the governor’s. I did get her point, though.)

Governor Palin spoke at length about the Pope, John Paul II. Pope John Paul II had a real passion for life. Wisconsin is pretty heavily Catholic and the crowd went nuts each time she referenced some of the passionate words the Pope spoke in on the issue of life.

The governor even spoke about “panels” of bureaucrats making health care decisions for the elderly. The governor also promised that health care rationing is coming if this health care bill is passed in its current form. You could see the light dancing in her eyes as she spoke of the “panels of bureaucrats.” That was fun to watch.

The Governor also spoke about the real “change we can believe in” when it came to advances made by Wisconsin’s pro-life movement. Earlier in the evening we had seen some charts showing that Wisconsin’s abortion rates have gone down by over 50% in the last fifteen years.

The speech was simply fantastic and advanced the “right to life” movement. The speech was well organized and easy to follow. It ran the span of life, beginning in the womb and moving all the way up to fighting for the life of our elderly and those that cannot take care of themselves.

This was probably the most passionate and heartfelt speech I have ever seen the Governor give. She stayed on the point that we must continue to fight for life. All life is worth fighting for; from pre-born stages and all the way to up to our elderly.

Governor Palin left us with these words: "Don’t ever let anyone tell you to sit down and shut up!”

Not to worry Governor, I am not the sit down and shut up kind of person.

Great news to all of you Sarah Palin fans out there... the governor is rested, looks great, fired up and ready to rock. Her book tour is going to be a lot of fun. I cannot wait to see her again at a book signing.

PS. I chose to follow the rules and placed my cell phone in the car before the event started. Wisconsin Right to Life had asked us not to bring our cell phones or any photographic or video recording devices into the event. I felt it would be disrespectful to these guys to bring in my cellphone so I could Twitter and blog during the event. Sorry.

Sarah was awesome. She talked about life at all levels, also about healthcare and protecting the elderly. She talked about panels of bureaucrats making decisions for us, more later

Getting ready to head up to the Sarah palin event. Very excited. Will try to Blog as I can.

Melt the Phones

Call your congressman, even if you think he will be voting "no" tomorrow on the health care garbage.

Once you have done that, call the rest of the Wisconsin delegation also.

Here is a list for the entire House.

Call them all!

Obama's economy now

Obama is busy dithering with healthcare reform, promising to spend trillions more on a program that will take more freedoms from the average American.

I will be waiting to hear from President Obama today about his being all of Bush's fault.

Of course, it has taken a few months for folks to figure that this is Obama's economy. President Obama and the Democrats bought this economy with a $787 billion failed stimulus package.

Remember, the stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment under 8%.

10.2%

After Obama's claim of saving and creating 1 million jobs with stimulus funds a week ago, today's unemployment numbers came out telling the real story.

Massive jump in unemployment.

10.2%!

Crap, this is not good!

Prayers for Victims and families at Fort Hood

I have heard all kinds of blithering excuses. They are all crap.

The soldier that did this was upset that other soldiers called him names.

It was Bush's fault because he stressed out the military too much.

It was Obama's fault because he had not pulled the troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan yet.

All of that is crap. It is not Bush's fault. It is not Obama's fault. It is not his fellow soldier's fault.

Even more frustrating is the media's portrayal of this guy as Palestinian. He was an American, born in this country.

Say a prayer for the families and friends of everyone involved. Our soldiers and their families need our support more than ever tonight.

More faked numbers by Obama admin on stimulus

These lies are not funny anymore.

Obama admin claims to have saved 935 jobs at Southwest Georgia Community Action Council:

President Barack Obama's economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan. Trouble is, only 508 people work there.

508 people?

Apparently if a person gets a raise with stimulus money, that counts as a job that was created or saved.

How is that possible?

I don't know.

Here is another one:

About two-thirds of the 14,506 jobs claimed to be saved under one federal office, the Administration for Children and Families at Health and Human Services, actually weren't saved at all, according to a review of the latest data by The Associated Press. Instead, that figure includes more than 9,300 existing employees in hundreds of local agencies who received pay raises and benefits and whose jobs weren't saved.

How is that possible?

I don't know. It is Obama math?

Don't ask questions, just go with it, okay?

The Obama administration defends themselves:

But officials defended the practice of counting raises as saved jobs.

"If I give you a raise, it is going to save a portion of your job," HHS spokesman Luis Rosero said.

I briefly caught some former white collar criminal, on Neal Cavuto, who used to cook the books for different corporations. His take was that the Obama administration is cooking the books on job numbers. He said that when he used to cook the books, he started off with the amount of money he needed to show that they made and then they would make up numbers and back their way into those numbers.

The Obama administration is doing the same thing. The Obama administration believes they need to show that 1 million jobs were created or saved, so they are cooking the books to make it look like it actually happened when it did not.

Apparently all of the trash talk from Obama about fixing Wall Street and trashing corporations does not apply to his own administration.

We put people in jail who cook the books at big corporations, but no problem cooking the books when it comes to job numbers.

We are being fed garbage and yet there are still some in America that continue to eat the garbage.

Obama in Wisconsin

All the rumors last week after Lawton dropped out of the governor's race was that Obama was coming to Wisconsin on Nov. 4th and the Dems might announce their big candidate for governor this week, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Oh please, oh please...Let Tom Barrett stand with President Obama today and announce his run for governor! Of all the days, let today be the day!

After the President got slobberknockered yesterday, proving his coattails are dangerous, the timing could not be more perfect for Tom Barrett to announce today. The timing could not be more perfect for Scott Walker that is.

Right out of the gate

Got up this morning and turned on the computer. The first article out of the gate was from CNN:

Election not a referendum on Obama

Second article out of the gate, NY-23 was a referendum on Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty.

Oh good grief.

Of course, Obama campaigned for both the NJ and VA governor's candidates and he is not the loser, right?

Obama's "grab a mop" political strategy loses

I mean pretty much everywhere.

The liberal spending policies of President Obama were soundly rejected today.

In Virginia, a state that went for Obama last year by a pretty big number last year, got wiped out. Republicans swept everything. McDonnell, a real conservative, clobbered his opponent. The Republicans also won all of the down ticket seats. For those 3 new Democrat members of Congress that won last year...perhaps they should rethink their loyalty to Pelosi and Obama. The 3 districts they won last year voted overwhelmingly for the Republican this year. They are in trouble.

Republicans also expanded their lead in the Virginia assembly. They already controlled the House of commons by 10 seats, they expanded their seats by at least another 5, at least...maybe more.

In NY-23- the conservative candidate lost. Goes to show that you cannot run and win an election in two weeks. The GOP cannot nominate a Democrat for the seat and expect the Democrat to win by calling herself a Republican. My guess is that a decent Republican will be picked next year in a primary that all the conservatives can rally around. Handpicking candidates is not the way to go. There was plenty of time for a primary, they should have held one. The Republican vote was split.

Lesson from NY-23...The GOP cannot run Democrats with a "r" label and just expect them to win. Dede was no moderate Republican, she was a democrat with an "r" after her name. Now the Republicans in that district can nominate their own candidate and rally around one person instead of two people. Too many Republicans voted for Dede yesterday out of loyalty and it cost them big by handing another seat to the Democrats.

In Pennsylvania, the Republicans swept the liberals out of controlling the PA courts. Of the 7 court seats up for grabs, Republicans won 6 of them.

(By the way, this should be a shoutout to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign...We do not want politicians picking our judges, we would rather vote on them ourselves! Letting big shot politicians pick our judges is not Democracy, you fools!)

Now, the big one... New Jersey! President Obama was in NJ campaigning on Sunday in a strong democrat state. There is a reason they call the state Blue Jersey. The idea that his candidate lost is a huge referendum on Obama's policies. Corzine had endless amount of money to spend, Christie was limited to public funds.

Perhaps the President will wake up and realize that his "get a mop" strategy of campaigning is pathetic. Clearly Americans did not buy into this.

Today's elections, a referendum on President Obama?

Are today's election a referendum on President Obama?

I am kind of with Dana Milbanks on this today...it depends on who you ask.

Of course, if you ask President Obama and the Democrats in NJ, they are trying to sell the idea that it is a referendum on President Bush.

All of those tax increases by Governor Corzine in NJ, making NJ one of the highest taxed states in America, were all Bush's fault. President Obama and Governor Corzine are just mopping up after President Bush.

"That crisis didn't start under Jon’s watch. It wasn't a consequence of Obama policies, or Corzine policies," Obama said. "This crisis came about because of the same kind of lax regulation, the same kind of trickle-down economics, that the other guy's party has been pushing for years."

Obama said he and Corzine are mopping up an economic mess left by their predecessors, painting Republicans as do-nothing politicians starved for ideas.

"Don't stand there and say, 'How come you're holding the mop that way?'" he said. "Why don't you grab a mop? We don't need politicians who point fingers."

Obama implored his supporters to vote on Election Day.

"We don't need politicians who point fingers."

I cannot even believe the President said this. No President in American history has spent more time pointing backwards than this President.

Pointing fingers, Mr. President?

OBAMA'S ENTIRE CAMPAIGN FOR THE PRESIDENCY AND HIS PRESIDENCY HAS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN A FINGER POINTING GAME!

Obama is not God

I know the reality has sunk in with a lot of people recently, but I guess I am confused why so many people fell for it.

Last year, hundreds of stories were being highlighted by the mainstream media about all of the Republicans that supported Obama. Team Obama was on cloud 9.

Today, the reality has hit. Barack Obama is not God.

In Iowa:

Interviews with voters across Iowa offer a window into how the president’s standing has leveled off, especially among the independents and Republicans who contributed not just to his margin of victory in the caucuses here but also to the optimism among his supporters that his election would be a break from standard-issue politics.

Now that the political realities have hit the President, he has reverted back to the same rhetoric he carried throughout his campaign when times got tough...He blamed Bush. Don't think that the regular folks out there do not notice, they do notice and it has gotten deep:

As a candidate, Mr. Obama soared, several people said in interviews, but as a president, he often has come across as cautious, tentative and prone to blame his troubles on others.

“I think he was more presidential when he was running for office than he is now,” said Paul Johnson, 58, a student legal services lawyer at Iowa State University. “He seems more subdued, which is probably a result of having to actually deal with the issues on his plate as opposed to just rallying the troops to vote for him.”

Mr. Johnson and his wife, Kathy, are loyal Democrats, but Mr. Obama was not their first, second or third choice during the Iowa caucuses that opened the party’s primary on Jan. 3, 2008.

...

Boy, have they ever noticed that he cannot stop blaming Bush:

John Sager, a retired electrical engineer, said he was so impressed by Mr. Obama last year at the United Auto Workers hall in Marshalltown that he allowed his name to be promoted on a list of Republicans supporting Mr. Obama before the Iowa caucuses.

“He gave a fairly decent presentation, but that’s what it turned out to be — a presentation,” said Mr. Sager, 77. “I don’t think he should keep hiding behind the fact that he inherited all these problems.”

Quite frankly I do not believe any man can live up to the hype that the media built around Obama. The media set the President up to fail miserably. No man could live up to the god status they placed on President Obama.

Wow- Dems paying for third party robocalls

Apparently the Dems do not feel they can honestly win in New Jersey, so they have started paying for third party robocalls.

Of course, the Dems denied it until they got caught, then called it an innocent mistake.

The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon.

Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp. A disclaimer at the end says it was paid for by Victory ’09, “a project of the NJDSC” (Democratic State Committee), and gave the committee’s Trenton address.

Continued...

I am a little curious as to why the head of the Dem Party in NJ knew nothing about the calls when it is his committee that bought and paid for them.

I suppose it is possible he did not know, but doesn't someone have to sign off on these???

Since when does America negotiate with terrorists?

Hat tip: Kate Wagner, Twitter

ISLAMABAD – The emboldened Taliban movement in Afghanistan turned down an American offer of power-sharing in exchange for accepting the presence of foreign troops, Afghan government sources confirmed.

"US negotiators had offered the Taliban leadership through Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil (former Taliban foreign minister) that if they accept the presence of NATO troops in Afghanistan, they would be given the governorship of six provinces in the south and northeast," a senior Afghan Foreign Ministry official told IslamOnline.net requesting anonymity for not being authorized to talk about the sensitive issue with the media.

continued...

I am not sure how reliable this source is. We shall see.

Feel like getting drunk?

Hey, it is not my idea of a good time, but there is someone out there suggesting it:


David Harsanyi RealClearPolitics

The King James version of the Bible runs more than 600 pages and is crammed with celestial regulations. Newton's Principia Mathematica distilled many of the rules of physics in a mere 974 pages.

Neither have anything on Nancy Pelosi's new fiendishly entertaining health-care opus, which tops 1,900 pages.


So curl up by a fire with a fifth of whiskey and just dive in.

But drink quickly. In the new world, your insurance choices will be tethered to decisions made by people with Orwellian titles ("1984" was only 268 pages!) like the "Health Choices Commissioner" or "Inspector General for the Health Choices Administration."

You will, of course, need to be plastered to buy Pelosi's fantastical proposition that 450,000 words of new regulations, rules, mandates, penalties, price controls, taxes and bureaucracy will have the transformative power to "provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending . . . ."

It's going to take some time to deconstruct this lengthy masterpiece, but as you flip through the pages of the House bill, you will notice the word "regulation" appears 181 times. "Tax" is there 214 times. "Fees," 103 times. As we all know, nothing says "affordability" like higher taxes and fees.

The word "shall" - as in "must" or "required to" - appears over 3,000 times. The word, alas, is never preceded by the patriotic phrase "mind our own freaking business." Not once.

To vote for the bill, a legislator must believe a $1 trillion price tag is "revenue neutral," or that it alleviates any of the pain higher costs bring to the average American. This would require alcohol.

Continued...

I am not sure if I have ever heard of this writer. I would be laughing my head off if it were not for the fact that this stuff is so true.

Calling it Masterfleece Theater... What a riot!

Yes, Professional Baseball Teams are getting stimulus funds

I heard this on Friday from Vicki McKenna.

Stimulus money to be used on D-Backs, Rockies facility

The Salt River Tribe will use federal stimulus money to help it build a $100 million Spring Training complex to house the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, who are planning to leave Tucson and move to the new facility in 2011.

The Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community is due to receive $22.6 million in the form of a tax-exempt loan from the federal government. Anthony Farese, tribe treasurer, told the Business Journal in Phoenix the amount to be used for the baseball complex was yet to be determined. The community intends to pay for the rest of the construction itself.

By the way, even though Obama will claim that jobs were created here, that will be a false assumption.

This facility was going to be built anyway. Now all of America, their children and their children's children will be paying for it.

Clinton: US taxes everything

Yes, we know Hillary. The US taxes everything...really that is no reason to brag!

“Maybe that’s the case; maybe they’re not gettable. I don’t know... As far as we know, they are in Pakistan,” Clinton told senior Pakistani newspaper editors in Lahore, AFP reported. “The percentage of taxes on GDP (in Pakistan) is among the lowest in the world... We (the United States) tax everything that moves and doesn’t move, and that’s not what we see in Pakistan,” she said.