Hey Harry, remember this speech you gave in 2006 on Senate floor?

Wow, is this anything like the manager's amendment just passed by your Senate, Harry?

Gotta love the bit about skipping the conference committee also. Harry and Nancy have decided they want to skip the conference committee.

Hat tip to Hot Air

CNN: Biased?

Now do not go accusing CNN of being biased, they are just...er, silly?

DGA beats RGA in 2009
Posted: January 4th, 2010 03:29 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Alexander Mooney

(CNN) – The Democratic and Republican Governor's Associations both said Monday that they had broken their own one-year fundraising records, though the GOP is headed into the New Year with the clear financial advantage.

The DGA raised just over $23.1 million in 2009, the organization announced, and currently holds $17.5 million cash-on-hand. The group says its cash-on-hand figure is nearly 12 times as much as it had during the same period in 2010.

Republicans meanwhile have $30 million in 2009, and begin 2010 with $25 million cash-on-hand. That record-breaking figure comes on the heels of gubernatorial victories for the GOP in Virginia and New Jersey.

The RGA is in a significantly healthier position than it was at this point in 2006, when the organization only had $4 million cash on hand.

Filed under: DGA • RGA

Call me silly, but I think the $30 million raised by the RGA is more than the $23.1 million raised by DGA.

Call me even more silly in thinking the RGA's cash of hand is $25 million is more than the DGA's $17.5 million.

I think the point the CNN goofs are trying to make is that the DGA has more cash on hand as they head into a year where they will get their butts whooped than the RGA had on hand in 2006 when they did get their butts whooped.

Hey CNN, how many people really care about that or that the RGA has a significant lead is money going into a year when things do not look good for the Dem governors?

Seriously, the headline does not meet the reality of today.

H/T Juston Johnson Twitter

Good times

Had a blast at yesterday's Cheddarsphere Christmas Party. Friends I have not seen since last year's party. It was good to see them again.

Best part about it was that I was able to sit most of time and sit through an entire Packer game. I was out knocking on doors before and after the event.

It is also kind of cool to sit through an entire Packer game and not sweat the outcome.

You gotta love this photo. Clay Matthews was just welcoming the third string Arizona quarterback to the NFL. Clay thought he would give the new guy a great big hug.

I do not know how Clay does not win Rookie of the Year. Tell me you do not love this guys enthusiasm.

2010: This year, we take our country back!

Hat Tip: Badger Blogger



Rise up America!

It is time for Democrats, Republicans and Independents to rise up and take their country back!

I actually spoke to a Democrat when I was out knocking on a few doors last night. He told me, this is not what he voted for. Yes, he voted for Obama and the rest of the liberals, but he did not think this was going to happen. He also told me he was appalled at the vote buying taking place.

I think it is great that some Democrats are waking up also.

TARP= Democrats slush fund

Yes, the Democrats will be pushing another stimulus bill. They, of course, will not call it a stimulus bill. Instead the President and the liberal Congress is calling it a "jobs bill".

Yes, the first stimulus at $787 billion was not enough of a failure, the Democrats now want another $100 billion of your money to create jobs.

Let's see. I thought the first $787 billion was for job creation, at least that is what we were told by the President and liberal criminals that run his Congress.

Of course, these liberal criminals in Congress are trying to fool the American people into believing that is really will not cost them a whole lot more money, because they plan on using TARP funds.

The Troubled Asset Recovery Program funds would be used to pay for not only an extension of unemployment insurance but also transportation and infrastructure projects. House leaders are discussing attaching this jobs bill to an omnibus appropriations bill.

Now surely the President would not along with this, would he? After all, President Obama certainly would not go back on words from last year's campaign, would he?

Candidate Barack Obama Sept 19, 2008

...this plan must be temporary and coupled with tough new oversight and regulations of our financial institutions, and there must be a clear process to wind down this plan and restore private sector assets into private sector hands after restoring stability to the system.

I have a sneaking suspicion that instead of winding down TARP as the President extolled last year is not going to happen. Instead, these TARP funds have now become a slush fund for Democrats to take and use the money how they wish.

Hallelujah, Mr. President, welcome to reality

I am not certain if I should be relieved or horrified. It appears a bit a reality has set in for our jiffy new President:

HONOLULU, Hawaii — President Obama declared for the first time on Saturday that a branch of Al Qaeda based in Yemen sponsored the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an American passenger jet, and he vowed that those behind the failed attack “will be held to account.”

Oh goody, the President finally has a clue.

Happy New Year!

Comments and Graphics - New Year Layouts - Photobucket

Kathy Carpenter for Kenosha Alderman District 5

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Congratulations Taxpaying Americans, you now own another major bank

Heck of a job, Timmy and Barry.

That is right, we just bailed out yet another bank. The nation now owns GMAC.

Now I know you must be thinking, haven't we already bailed out GMAC once?

Why, yes we have already bailed them out before.

In fact, this is the third time American taxpayers have bailed out GMAC. Last year, Bush's bailout gave GMAC $5 billion. President Obama then bailed them out again in May with $7.5 billion. Today, President Obama is bailing them out again with $3.8 billion.

The additional aid for GMAC underscores both its struggles and its importance to the administration's efforts to revive the auto industry. GMAC, which already has taken $12.5 billion in direct federal aid along with other forms of government support, is the largest lender to General Motors and Chrysler dealerships and to their customers.

Treasury said that it will increase its stake in GMAC to 56 percent from 35 percent. The government also will hold about $14 billion in what amounts to loans that GMAC may eventually repay. The government plans to appoint four of the company's nine directors.

Okay, so the lists of major assets that the American people now own:

Freddie Mac
Fannie Mae
GMAC
AIG
CitiGroup
General Motors
Chrysler

You must also be thinking that this is just another loan, we will eventually get paid back by GMAC, right?

Well, not exactly...

The government is investing $3.8 billion in GMAC, increasing to $16.3 billion the total direct aid that the company has taken from taxpayers. In exchange, Treasury received securities, including preferred shares, that require the company to make regular interest payments. Both GMAC and Treasury said they expect the aid will eventually be repaid.

The government also announced Wednesday that it will exchange $3 billion of these preferred shares for common shares of GMAC stock which do not pay interest and will not be repaid, though they can be sold for a profit if the company's share price increases.

What? We demand preferred shares of stock, so the bill will be repaid and then immediately turn around and exchange $3 billion to common stock ensuring that we will not be repaid.

So we just handed $3 billion taxpayers dollars to GMAC with no intent of recovering that money for the American people?

Heck of a job, Timmy and Barry!

Then Obama's Treasury Department has the nerve to say this:

"These actions fulfill Treasury's commitments made in May to GMAC in a manner which protects taxpayers to the greatest extent possible," Treasury said in a statement.

How in the world do these nitwits have the nerve to make this type of statement?

You just gave away $3 billion in tax dollars to GMAC and told them they do not have to repay it! How does that little move protect taxpayer?

By the way, you have got to love Obama's transparent government that once again dumps this on the people during a holiday when they are not paying attention!

Oh my goodness, my head is hurting again!

"Heck of a job, Barry"

You would think that the mockery of our President and his unenthusiastic reaction to a terrorist on US soil, came from a Republican.

You would think that the person making statements like the following is far right wing radical:

Instead of modernity, we have airports where security is so retro that taking away pillows and blankies and bathroom breaks counts as a great leap forward.

If we can’t catch a Nigerian with a powerful explosive powder in his oddly feminine-looking underpants and a syringe full of acid, a man whose own father had alerted the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, a traveler whose ticket was paid for in cash and who didn’t check bags, whose visa renewal had been denied by the British, who had studied Arabic in Al Qaeda sanctuary Yemen, whose name was on a counterterrorism watch list, who can we catch?

You may be as shocked as I was when reading this op-ed. A liberal's liberal wrote this. Maureen Dowd.

Top 10 most corrupt politicians in America

Judicial Watch has been known to go after both Republicans and Democrats over the years.

This year, it is no different.

What is amazing is the very same characters screeching in the 2006 election "culture of corruption" are now equally as corrupt or in some cases even worse.

Who can ever forget Nancy Pelosi's screeching for months on end about the "culture of corruption" in 2006?

About Tom DeLay, Pelosi stated "The criminal indictment of Majority Leader Tom DeLay is the latest example that Republicans in Congress are plagued by a culture of corruption at the expense of the American people."

Tada!

Now looky here...Guess who's names are at the top of the list of most corrupt politicians in America?

That is right... President Barack "most transparent government evah" Obama, Speaker Nancy "screeching" Pelosi, Timothy "tax cheat" Geithner and US Top Cop AG Eric Holder.

See for yourself.

1. Senator Chris Dodd (D)
2. Senator John Ensign (R)
3. Rep. Barney Frank (D)
4. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner (appointed by Democrat President Obama)
5. Attorney General Eric Holder (appointed by Democrat President Obama)
6. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D) and Senator Roland Burris (D)
7. President Barack Obama (D)
8. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D)
9. Rep. John Murtha (D), Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D), Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D), Norm Dicks (D), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), C.W. Bill Young (R), Todd Tiahrt (R)
10. Rep. Charles Rangel (D0

Where are the media elitists?

Heads would have rolled.

If this were a Republican Senator, the media elitist would have howled in complete hysterics demanding the resignation of the Republican Senator.

This would have been front page news across this nation, if it were a Republican.

Instead, many of the media are making excuses, claiming the Senator was not slurring his words.

The Senator at the head of the awful Senate Heath Care bill was drunk and making a speech on the Senate floor. See for yourself:



I cannot believe the lengths the media is going in order to protect the healthcare bill, all Democrats and this President.

It is just staggering.

Pitifully stupid comment from head of DHS on terrorist

I know that throughout this nation's history, many a politician has made a pitifully stupid statement.

Today's pitifully stupid comment grand award goes to DHS head Janet Napolitano:

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the thwarting of the attempt to blow up the Amsterdam-Detroit flight this week demonstrated that "the system worked."

This woman is the head of Department of Homeland Security. So how safe do you feel now?

Perhaps Secretary Napolitano did not notice that nothing was thwarted. A terrorist managed to get on a plane headed to the US. He managed to smuggle explosives on board. While over US soil, the terrorists attempted to blow up the plane. The explosive was faulty.

Nothing was thwarted.

Oh my goodness, my head hurts.

Where is President Obama?

A attack, even if it failed, by a terrorist on US soil is a serious event. This is something we can all agree on.

Where is our President?

I know he is on vacation. We have all heard about the his workout at a military base and golf outing. We hear that President Obama is on conference calls and is monitoring the situation.

Imagine for a moment if this were President Bush's reaction. All hell would have broken loose. The media would have launched themselves into complete hysterics over the President's lack of attention to the terrorist attack.

There has been no official statement from President Obama or the Department of Homeland Security.

Nothing. Nada. Zippo.

As typical of the lame stream media, they are making excuses for the President. One idiot even goes so far as to say this is Obama's strategy. What a pant load that excuse is.

This was an attack on the US, not Israel, Iraqis, or Afghans. This attack was on the United States. This is the second one in our country on Obama's watch.

Geez, when will this President and his administration get a clue? No apology tours will fix this. Calling terrorists attacks, "man-caused disasters", will not fix this. The man caused disasters are getting out of hand, don't you think?

A simple statement reassuring Americans from the President of the United States, when there is a terrorists attack on US soil is all that is needed here. It has been 48 hours and the President is too busy golfing.

PS. Edited to add...The media is not really helping President Obama's case with statements like this:

But once at the Marine base, Obama had one thing on his mind. According to a pool report, the president exited his SUV and headed without pause for the course.

Hmm... Golf is a priority and the only thing on his mind. Terrorist attack on US soil, not so much.

An act of terrorism over Detroit

Er...I am sorry. My title should read "A man-caused disaster over Detroit".

CNN

A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight.

The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the senior official who is familiar with the investigation.

The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ignited a small explosive device Friday, shortly before a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, made its landing in Detroit, Michigan.

Other reports state that this guy did have ties to the terrorist organization al-Queda.

Here are the facts that we do know.

1. Security failed and this guy managed to get on a plane to the United States

2. The terrorist was successful in igniting a device strapped to his body. The terrorist act succeeded, but the device failed

Merry Christmas

Luke 2
Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem
1Now in those days a decree went out from (A)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of (B)all [a]the inhabited earth.

2This was the first census taken while [b]Quirinius was governor of (C)Syria.

3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because (D)he was of the house and family of David,

5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

7And she (E)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And (F)an angel of the Lord suddenly (G)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10But the angel said to them, "(H)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a (I)Savior, who is [c](J)Christ (K)the Lord.

12"(L)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14"(M)Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men [d](N)with whom He is pleased."

In complete defiance of the American people...

You would think that we live in a democracy, but the Democrats have proven today that this is no longer a democracy and we do not have a representative government. We now have an imperialistic government, determined to do as they please, and tax the commoners to do their bidding.

Before we get in trouble with our new King Obama and his court jesters, we better say this first:

Long live King Obama! All hail his court jesters!


If we truly had representative government, the healthcare bill would not have passed in the House or the Senate.

If was truly a good bill for the American people, the people would have recognized this and supported it.

If this was truly a good bill there would have been no need for backroom deals.

If this were truly a good bill, there would have been no need to buy votes with taxpayer funded goodies.

If this were truly a good bill, there would have been no need to cast votes under the cover of darkness, while America sleeps.

If this were truly a good bill, there would have been plenty of bi-partisan support.

The Democrats and a desperate President have defied the will of the people and rammed this down their throats.

A few minutes after the vote was taken, I scanned the poll numbers as proof of the Democrats defiance of the will of the American people. Now this is not a single poll, but an average of all the latest poll numbers.

The Democrats will try to explain away, make excuses, etc... for their defiance, but the proof is right here:

Double click to enlarge



As we all gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of the real King of Kings, remember this moment and say a prayer for the country you know and love. She is in trouble and we have very little time to right the ship and regain our freedom from our government.

Perhaps it wasn't a surrender

Yeah, I heard all the normal blather from folks yesterday about Mitch McConnell caving in and allowing the healthcare vote to take place at 8:00am on Christmas Eve instead of voting at 7:00pm. I know conservatives were upset by the change in the voting time.

I had hoped that Mitch McConnell would at least get something for allowing the vote to be moved up by several hours.

Kudos, Mitch McConnell.

Byron York has the scoop. Apparently McConnell did have a plan to force difficult votes for the liberals in an election year.

There's no doubt that McConnell, with just 40 Republican votes, holds the weak hand in negotiating with Reid. But according to the source, in exchange for agreeing to hold the vote on Christmas Eve morning instead of evening, McConnell got Reid to agree to hold a high-profile debt-limit vote next month -- just before the president's State of the Union address -- instead of burying the issue later, as Democrats had wanted. In addition, McConnell got Reid to agree to showcase a number of deficit-related Republican amendments, forcing Democrats to vote on issues they had hoped to avoid.

The Senate has still not voted on a bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling. It has to do so by tomorrow, before lawmakers leave for the year. Democrats have taken hits for wanting to raise the limit by about $1.8 trillion; raising it by that amount would allow them to avoid another vote on raising the debt ceiling before next year's elections. They also hoped to hide the measure inside a conference report so that lawmakers would vote on a larger package of measures and would not have to cast a vote specifically in favor of such a huge increase. When they couldn't reach agreement on that, they came up with a plan for a two-month debt-ceiling agreement, which would at least mean they would not have to come up with a longer-term agreement until February.

That is important because Democrats want to hold the debt-ceiling vote after the president's State of the Union address, in which Obama is expected to emphasize fiscal responsibility and deficit control. Given Democratic spending in the last year, Obama will have a difficult time making the argument with a straight face, and Senate Democrats had hoped that pushing the debt ceiling vote until well beyond the speech would make the president's task a little easier. Thus the plan to pass a two-month debt ceiling bill before leaving for Christmas.

Let's make a deal

When even the mainstream media is showcasing the legislation used to buy the vote or support of certain special interest groups, you know this is a real problem.

The AP:

SEN. BEN NELSON, D-NEB., who provided the critical 60th vote that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needed, received numerous benefits for Nebraska, along with tighter curbs on abortion. Among the Nebraska-specific provisions:

_The federal government will pick up the full cost of a proposed expansion of Medicaid, at an estimated cost of $100 million over 10 years.

_Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will be exempted from an annual fee on insurers; the exemption could also apply to nonprofit insurers in other states, possibly including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

_Supplemental "Medigap" policies such as those sold by Mutual of Omaha are exempted from the annual fee on insurers, something that would help other companies selling such policies.

_A physician-owned hospital being built in Bellevue, Neb., could get referrals from doctors who own it, avoiding a new ban in the Senate bill that will apply to hospitals built in the future. Without mentioning Nebraska or other states by name, the Senate bill pushes back some legal deadlines by several months, in effect making a few hospitals near completion eligible to continue receiving referrals from the doctors who own them.

Financial Times

Mr Nelson wanted tougher restrictions on abortion funding in the bill, but after days of wrangling, agreed to support the bill in return for the federal government permanently funding Nebraska’s bill for Medicaid, the insurance plan for the poor, worth about $45m in its first 10 years.

Mary Landrieu of Louisiana also won about $300m in support for Medicaid for her state, and Vermont and Massachusetts will also receive additional funding.

Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont and the most liberal of senators, obtained $10bn for community health centres after failing to get a government-backed public health insurance scheme in the bill.

Dana Milbanks at the Washington Post

First there was the "Louisiana Purchase," $100 million in extra Medicaid money for the Bayou State, requested by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

Then came the "Cornhusker Kickback," another $100 million in extra Medicaid money, this time for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).

This was followed by word that Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) had written into the legislation $100 million meant for a medical center in his state. This one was quickly dubbed the "U Con."

Earlier, when GOP staff member mistakenly thought the medical center was destined for Indiana rather than Connecticut, they named it the "Bayh Off" for Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.).

For Democratic leaders, this created an appearance problem. Fortunately, they had removed from the bill the tax on cosmetic procedures (the "Botax") and replaced it with a tax on tanning (which would primarily impact House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio).

...

Gator Aid: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) inserted a grandfather clause that would allow Floridians to preserve their pricey Medicare Advantage program.

Handout Montana: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) secured Medicare coverage for anybody exposed to asbestos -- as long as they worked in a mine in Libby, Mont.

and on and on...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wall Street Journal

For Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and President Obama to not recognize that Americans are watching and Americans are furious, is political suicide.

I do not understand why one of these three do not have the common sense to stand up and say "stop, let's do this right", is just staggering.

Even New Yorkers saying "no" to Obamacare?

Very interesting, less than 24 hours after President Obama and the liberal pinheads were celebrating their "victory" in healthcare "reform", New Yorkers are calling to have this bill killed.

From the Buffalo News.

Now you would think after reading the following statements, that this was a conservative editorial board writing these things:

...Americans are likely to get a bill that drives unsustainable costs even higher, does not completely solve the problem of the uninsured and does little to improve the quality of medicine. And it won't kick in until as late as 2014. But taxes, mainly on the wealthy, would go up pronto.

and this:

While the Congressional Budget Office has projected that new revenues and cuts in spending would reduce future federal budget deficits by $132 billion between 2010 and 2019, no conscious person believes Congress will follow through with spending cuts.

This must be a conservative, right?

how about this:

In the weakest economy in decades, with unemployment around 10 percent, Washington can't make matters worse for American businesses, who pay the lion's share of health coverage.

Now tell me only a conservative writer would actually call the following real reform, right?

Where is the effort to combat the $210 billion annual cost of defensive medicine? Malpractice suits drive up the costs of doctors' insurance, but far worse on the economy and the soaring cost of care are the unnecessary tests doctors order to protect themselves. The bill does nothing to combat this insidious problem.

These must be conservative New Yorkers, right?

Not true.

The editorial board had this to say about conservatives:

No one likes this bill. Not Republicans — who, it must be said, would vote against Christmas if they thought supporting it would benefit Obama — and some Democrats.

These are no right wingers writing this op-ed.

The Democrats and this President are so desperate to throw anything down and call it healthcare reform, they have lost any sense of common decency.