Any Crypto-Fanatics With Some Free Time?

Do you make a hobby of writing and breaking codes? If so, the FBI needs your help decoding two notes found on the victim of a murder. They've tried and failed to break the code, and now they're turning to the public for help.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42348642/

The article linked above contains scanned images of the notes. In the comments below that article you can find transcriptions of the notes to work with, not to mention higher-resoltion scans. So, if you are good at this stuff and want to help the FBI, here's your chance to shine. Good luck.

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Do You Want To See "Atlas Shrugged," The Movie?

If you do, then there's something you need to do. First, you must understand that this is an independent movie that is being distributed independently. It's being released to a small number of theaters in a handful of states, and won't be released here in Montgomery (or anywhere else in Alabama, for that matter) unless they perceive a demand for it.

So, let's create that demand! Go to this website and ask for it to be brought to your town. If you live in Montgomery, now is the time to ask for it.
http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/demand

Also, see that list of theaters on the right of that page? Contact your local cinema and ask them to bring it to Montgomery... or wherever you live. You won't get a chance to watch it in the theaters unless we all make it clear that WE WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!! Read the rest...

Raise A Parting Glass With Me To Don Markwell

As I posted earlier today, Don Markwell passed away last night. Now that it is evening, I would like you all to join me in raising a parting glass to our fallen comrade.

"But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise while you should not,
I will gently rise and I'll softly call, 'Goodnight and joy be with you all!'"





If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhJp0W0ku2w

Farewell, Don. You will be missed.


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Farewell, Dauntless Don...

This is a sad day, friends. Don Markwell, known as Dauntless Don, host of the Viewpoint show on WACV 1170 and a friend of mine, passed away last night from a long-time illness.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I used to listen and call in to talk radio. Don's show, yes, as well as Joe Marcus' show... Teddy Bear and the Broad. The handle I used back then was "Iceman." After quite a while, I was invited on the air as a guest host.

I only guest hosted for Marcus once or twice, and I pitched in with Matt Murphy a few times, as well. But Markwell asked me repeatedly to not only co-host with him, but also to guest host for him while he was on vacation.

I counted him as a friend, and I am saddened that he is gone.

Today is a sad day, friends... so bow your heads with me and remember Dauntless Don Markwell.


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Friday Humor - Presidential Announcement

I decided to end the week with a little political humor. So here is a video clip showing a candidate announcing his intention to run for President way back in 2007. Leads me to wonder if Walter will run again this time...





If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8--lrON9yzs&feature=related

Oh, this lcip is DEFINITELY not safe for work...


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Should "Maternity Tourism" Be Legal?

Here's the skinny. Authorities in San Gabriel, California, shut down a home because of code violations. According to inspectors, the house was literally falling down in areas, and was unsafe to live in. But that isn't the main part of the story. The REAL story lies in what they found at the house when they arrived to shut it down.

Ever heard of "maternity tourists?" It isn't a new phenomena. Simply put, it's when pregnant women from nations such as China, Taiwan, and really any third-world country get a tourist visa and visit the US to have bouncing baby US citizens. It's been happening forever, it seems, but now there's a twist.

The house that was shut down in San Gabriel was FULL of pregnant women from China and Taiwan... not to mention newborn babies. Each woman had paid thousands of dollars to come live in this house, have their baby in a US hospital, and then recover in the house. The new part of this is the organized, profit-centered aspect.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42252780/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts

Now here's the rub: nothing about this operation is illegal. At all.

So, here's the discussion I want to open. Should organized "maternity tourism" operations be legal? Should pregnant women who give birth while in the US on a tourist Visa, who come here specifically to do that, be rewarded with a tiny US citizen?

Keep in mind, we're not talking (right now) about whether or not illegal immigrants who are LIVING in this country and give birth should have US birthright citizenship endowed upon their children. No, we're just dealing with tourists who come here for that purpose.

Should it be legal?


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Breaking: AL House Rejects Health Care Freedom Act

As you may know, HB60 was aimed opting Alabama out of ObamaCare by affirming every citizens right NOT to be forced into a health care system by government mandate. It came up for a vote yesterday, and failed in a 59-28 vote. Eight Republicans did not vote on the bill, one because he was in the hospital, and several more because they were not present.

If you'd like to see how your legislator voted, use the link below to find your legislator, click on his (or her) name, and a voting history will be visible underneath the Legislator's name.
http://alabamaeagle.org/find-your-legislator

For those of you who believed things would not only be different but also be BETTER, have you learned your lesson? This measure was one of the simple, common sense things that the GOP-controlled Legislators could do to affirm our rights in the continuing health care battle, and they didn't even do THAT.

Now that the GOP has control of the Legislature, they don't care about YOU. They don't care about ME. All they care about are themselves and their precious little party. So, vote for Republicans, secure in the fantasy that they are somehow different from Democrats. The rest of us know the truth.


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Portugal Government Collapses,Over Debt Issues

Remember Greece, whose financial collapse started the whole EU debt crisis? Ireland also accepted EU help last year. Now we go to Portugal, who may be the next member of the EU looking for a hand up from the fiscal hole they dug for themselves.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,752857,00.html

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates resigned on Wednesday evening shortly after an austerity package proposed by his minority government was rejected by the Portuguese parliament. President Anibal Cavaco Silva announced in Lisbon late on Wednesday that Socrates had stepped down, after the prime minister had formally submitted his resignation to the head of state. Socrates, who belongs to the center-left Socialist Party, said that the political crisis would have "extremely serious consequences."

All of Portugal's five opposition parties rejected the austerity package, which was the country's fourth in 11 months. The opposition claimed that the measures, which included spending cuts and tax increases, were excessive. Socrates had earlier staked his political career on getting the budget passed, saying that he would resign if it was rejected.

The crisis increases the chances that the debt-plagued country will have to ask the European Union for a bailout, following in the footsteps of Greece and Ireland, which accepted EU help last year. Investors are also likely to wonder if Spain will become the next candidate for a bailout as a result. Socrates' resignation came on the eve of a crucial EU summit to discuss the euro crisis.

This may or may not have an impact on the stock market, but the more nations that flirt with this particular demon, the worse off the world economy becomes.

Adding to the EU's fiscal problems, the credit ratings on 30 Spanish banks were downgraded yesterday.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42243770

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded its debt ratings of 30 Spanish banks on Thursday by one or more notches, and said the outlook remained weak with no major improvement seen in the foreseeable future.

With all those countries in Europe experiencing problems with too much debt, it should be clear by now that we won't be immune from consequences just because we're the United States.

The question is, will Democrats in this country wake up in time and actually recognize the similar fiscal danger we are in? Some of them are waking up, but most are not.

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Schumer's Bill Tries To Destroy Gun Rights

As current law stands, anybody who is convicted of a violent/drug crime, or is adjudicated mentally unfit cannot own a gun. That's the status quo. Schumer wants to change things so that anybody who is arrested loses their right to own a gun... because we all know that cops NEVER arrest the wrong person.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/23/new-schumer-gun-possession-bil

To clear up any confusion, Schumer’s bill would expand that “inference” to say: if you’ve ever been arrested for any kind of drug use or possession in the past five year, you can be denied the lawful possession of a firearm.

The bill’s definition of an “unlawful user” also includes anyone arrested for drug paraphernalia within the past five years if the paraphernalia is found have traces of a drug, and those who make an “admission” to using or possessing a controlled substance in the past five years. The meaning of “admission,” however, is not defined.

So, every comedian who ever joked about their drug use, and even Toby Keith (who sang "I'll never smoke weed with Willie again") can be denied permission to own a gun, based upon their "admission" of drug use.

In 2009, 1.6 million people were arrested on drug charges, more than half for simple marijuana possession. ALL of those people, regardless of their guilt or conviction status, would lose their Second Amendment rights under this bill.


The bill would also make ALL gun "sales and transfers" subject to Brady Law background checks. So, if you raised your kids so that they know how to shoot a gun, and you later want to give them the gun they learned to shoot with, your kids have to pass a background check before you can do that.

If you sell a gun to your neighbor, or a friend at the gun club, YOU are legally responsible for having that background check performed prior to the sale.

For those who thought the gun controllers would retreat at ALL after SCOTUS' ruling a few years back, think again. Their goal is to deprive as many Americans as possible of their Second Amendment rights.

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More On "Government Is Our Friend"

For part II of our discussion on government as our friend, I take you to the fair city of Los Angeles. Yes, all the way over to the west coast of the nation. So, what has the friendly government of Los Angeles done in an effort to help their citizens?

They've banned new fast food restaurants.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/23/reasontv-la-food-police-ban-bu

First Lady Michelle Obama hopes to curb childhood obesity by teaching children about nutrition and exercise.

But local government officials around the country have already adopted a more forceful tack, whether it's New York's salt assault, San Francisco's frown at Happy Meals or, most recently, South LA's all-out ban on new fast-food restaurants.

Reason.tv spoke with Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, one of the architects behind the ban [on new burger joints], who argues that "in order to force choice into the market, we have to limit one that is overconcentrated and attract others that provide other options."

Did you catch that? Their logic is that by limiting our food options, we can have more food options, and thus eat healthier.

I guess Councilman Parks followed Alice through that looking glass, where nonsensical things are commonplace.

"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."

You can't expand choices by reducing them, and government intervention in cases like this doesn't work.

Here's a video on the subject:





If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14kwY2dkfPY

The city of Montgomery learned quite a few years ago that they they can't refuse to issue a business permit just because they don't like what kind of business it is. They didn't like the idea of an "adult store" opening up and tried to simply stop it, and paid out the nose for their efforts.

I think South LA will find out something similar in the not too distant future.

So I ask again, is government really "our friend," or do the elected officials merely follow their own agendas?

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Does Government "Look Out For Us?"

A lot of people I know have the idea that our government cares about us, and takes actions that are in our best interests. Personally, I believe our government doesn't give a flip about us until election time, and works for the benefit of whatever pet causes our elected officials have.

For example, here we are in hard economic times. We have high unemployment, coupled with rising food and energy prices. It's not pretty.

And what does the city of Montgomery do? They want to increase property taxes, for starters. They also submitted numerous requests to our Legislative delegation for legislation authorizing many fee and fine increases. They are expanding their "red-light camera" program to increase revenue, and they want to install SPEED cameras. All of these measures remove money from our pockets, remove money from the local economy, and give it to the City government to play with.

And Montgomery isn't alone. The City of Prattville has increased their sales tax by a penny. Think what THAT will do to their economy.

Elmore County wants to impose an additional 4% lodging tax. "Yeah, as long as those clueless morons are stupid enough to stay overnight in the county, tax the **** out of them!"

The town of Pike Road wants to levy an additional 25 mills of property tax. That almost doubles their property taxes.

Do you see? Cities across the State, across the NATION, are levying new taxes on their citizens in a time of economic malaise. The Federal government has increased several taxes. There are bills in the legislature to increase STATE taxes. ObamaCare is driving up the cost of health insurance.

So, do these governments seem to care about what's really good for us? No, not really. They want what they want, and we're supposed to shut up and fork over the dough.

I'm supposed to put my trust in THAT???


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Mission Creep In Libya

I don't know if the administration lied to us or if they're just succumbing to mission creep, but the mission in Libya has already begun to creep.

What that means is that the mission changes over time. Do you remember Obama's original statement on Libya? He said our goal was NOT to oust Qadhafi, only to "protect civilians." He also said our commitment would be both time- and materials-limited.

That just changed.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51780.html

“As long as Qadhafi remains in power — unless he changes his approach provides the Libyan people the opportunity to express themselves freely and there are significant reforms by the Libyan government, and he steps down — there’s still going to be a potential threat to the Libyan people,” Obama told reporters at a news conference here, his final stop on a five-day tour of Latin America. “We will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people, but we will not be in the lead.”

So, if Qadhafi remains in power another decade, we will have military forces committed there for that duration. Sounds like an open-ended time commitment, not a limited one.


Another thing to see in this is that Obama will keep American forces there as long as Qadhafi is in power.

Which is in direct contradiction to his claims that his goal isn't to force Qadhafi from power.

And if the forces we put into the area aren't enough to topple Qadhafi? Well, he's already changed the objective and time commitment from his original claims, so why not the force commitment as well?

Unless something happens quickly to force Qadhafi from power, we're in this for the long haul. And that will be bad for the nation.

Look, how many other dictators are doing EXACTLY what Qadhafi has done? Enough that if we tried to do this to all of them, we'd be involved in another half-dozen or so "military actions." Why this one?

If Obama isn't careful, Libya could become another Vietnam... thus giving the lie to our claim to learn from our past mistakes.

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How To Balance The National Budget In Five Years

Democrats are in complete denial about the fiscal health of our nation. They think they can keep spending money like water without having any negative consequences. Unfortunately, Republicans are almost as bad. Besides a few new Congressmen, most believe fiscal responsibility and "reducing the deficit" are good issues to help their party win big in the next election, and they want to do the minimum amount of cutting possible. Neither party is accepting the real gravity of our fiscal situation.

We do have some isolated instances of difference. For example, Rand Paul has a detailed plan to balance the budget in five years.
http://tinyurl.com/4am36no

While Obama intends to continue spending at a historically high level, Paul would reduce spending as a share of the economy. Paul takes the scalpel to all areas of federal spending, including discretionary, defense, and mandatory. However, it is not a radical plan. In fact, it’s a practical, common sense budget that recognizes that the federal government’s growth has become unsustainable, and thus a threat to our economic well-being and future living standards.

You can find Paul's full budget proposal online:
http://campaignforliberty.com/materials/RandBudget.pdf

If either of the two major parties really wants to solve this problem, this looks like a good way to get there.


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US "Approaching Insolvency"

If I were to tell you that someone is saying that the US is "approaching insolvency," and that the results will be "painful," would you think that statement came from a right-wing politician or talk radio host? What if I told you it came from one of the Federal Reserve Bank Presidents?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42209447

"If we continue down on the path on which the fiscal authorities put us, we will become insolvent, the question is when," Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher said in a question and answer session after delivering a speech at the University of Frankfurt. "The short-term negotiations are very important, I look at this as a tipping point."

But he added he was confident in the Americans' ability to take the right decisions and said the country would avoid insolvency.

I do not share his confidence. Why? Because of who occupies the White House and who controls the Senate. Democrats in general and Obama in particular are absolutely refusing to accept the reality that we MUST reduce spending dramatically or face eventual bankruptcy. And with them in charge, how are we going to start fixing the problems?



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First Offshore Drilling Permission Granted

As you know, the Obama administration issued a ban on deepwater drilling that was thrown out by courts. They responded by just refusing to issue any deepwater drilling permits, which eventually prompted the judge to hold them in contempt of court and order them to start approving permits so drilling can re-commence.

Well, they've finally done it. Yesterday, the administration approved the first "drilling plan" since Obama unilaterally shut down all deepwater drilling in the Gulf. No permit yet, mind, but the "plan" was approved.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0311/into_the_water_701de6b2-54a6-48cf-b0a8-c01e227cf4c1.html

The Obama administration has approved the first new deep-water exploration plan since the BP oil leak, submitted by Shell Offshore Inc.

While Shell still needs to get a permit to start drilling, Monday’s approval brings the company closer than any other since the Deepwater Horizon disaster to creating new oil wells.

The Interior Department hailed the announcement as one in a series of “important milestones” in the return to “safe drilling in deep water.”

First, watch for the actual PERMIT to take a while to issue. Second, don't look for a lot of action to follow... "drilling plans" will be slow to approve, and permits even slower to issue.

You see, the drilling ban failed, so they switched to a simple plan of not issuing permits... a drilling ban by another name. Now that that has failed, watch for the Obama administration to "go slow" on approving plans and permits. This allows them to say, "we're doing it, we're not refusing to issue permits," while still maintaining most of the effects of a drilling ban.

Obama, obey a court order? Please.



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Islamic Law In A Florida Court!

Believe it or not, a Florida court judge announced he will use Islamic Shariah law in determining the outcome of a civil suit.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/article1158818.ece

But Hillsborough Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen is being attacked by conservative bloggers after he ruled in a lawsuit March 3 that, to resolve one crucial issue in the case, he will consult a different source.

"This case," the judge wrote, "will proceed under Ecclesiastical Islamic Law."

The lawsuit is between a mosque and four former trustees who claim they were "improperly ousted" as trustees. The remaining points in the suit are not legal in nature, but they do involve fine points in religious law.

A US court should not attempt to apply religious law in a legal proceeding. It's a clear violation of the Constitution.

NOW do you understand why different states (Alabama included) have bills under consideration to forbid exactly this from occurring?



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Breaking: Jeffco Occupational Tax Updates

Three major things happened today in the Jefferson County occupational tax case.
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=14298952

1) The County decided NOT to appeal to the State Supreme Court.

2) The Revenue director was directed to stop collecting the occupational tax and must now inform employers.

3) County attorneys want to ask Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Charles Price to return money collected from the tax in February.

And a fourth thing... Though County Commissioners have yet to meet with their Legislative delegation in Montgomery, they plan to do so next week. Look out, this means possibly ANOTHER attempt to saddle those who work in JeffCo with an occupational tax.


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Should We Defund NPR?

My political views are libertarian in nature, and that means I think we should defund NPR. The government should not be funding organizations that compete with private companies... period.

Some believe that a "politically neutral" NPR is fine and should receive public money. I don't believe that, but let's look at it from this viewpoint. IS NPR "politically neutral?" I'm sorry, liberals, but the answer has to be no.

And to be honest, even LIBERALS don't believe that NPR is unbiased. Here is an excerpt from a fund raising letter sent out by Rep Steve Israel (D-NY), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/150925-williams-now-i-want-them-to-defund-npr

“They [Republicans] know NPR plays a vital role in providing quality news programming — from rural radio stations to in-depth coverage of foreign affairs. If the Republicans had their way, we’d only be left with the likes of Glenn Beck, Limbaugh and Sarah Palin to dominate the airwaves.”

With that statement, Congressman Israel made the case better than any Republican critic that NPR is radio by and for liberal Democrats. He is openly asking liberal Democrats to give money to liberal Democrats in Congress so they can funnel federal dollars into news radio programs designed to counter and defeat conservative Republican voices. Rep. Israel has unintentionally endorsed every conservative complaint about NPR as a liberal mouthpiece.

So you see, even those who campaign for liberal politicians believe the NPR helps liberals more than conservatives. Can you think of a better reason to stop funneling taxpayer dollars their way?


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Anniston Throwing Away Free Speech Rights

Here's the central core of the issue being addressed in Anniston. Can a city government pass a "social networking policy" that prohibits city employees from saying anything negative on Facebook (and similar sites) about that city ON THEIR OWN TIME? The City of Anniston believes they can... I believe they would lose a court challenge.
http://annistonstar.com/view/full_story/12444605/article-Anniston-council-to-poke-Facebook-issue-again?instance=home_news

City Manager Don Hoyt introduced a policy in January stating that employees should not list their employer online and if they do, they must present the city in a positive light. The policy specifically mentions police officers' postings on Facebook, a reference to Anniston police Officer Roy Bennett’s post that showed a picture of [City Councilman Ben] Little with the title “moron of the year.” Bennett's post led to a July 2010 disciplinary hearing that found Bennett did not violate any police department or city policies with the post.

The policy suggests that employees not list the city as their employer, but also goes further, saying that employees who post pictures or anything else that might allow someone to identify them as a city employee “are obligated to present the city of Anniston, its officials, employees and citizens in a positive light.”

Those employees who post anything “inappropriate or embarrassing to the city or its citizens” would be subject to discipline.

Okay, how clear cut do things have to be? The city is trying to claim that speech can be "free" and still have consequences, something that I agree with, but their argument is specious.

“I have some deep, deep, deep concerns about that,” Little said. “You have your right for freedom of speech. That’s right. Say it. But there can be consequences, and it’s not retaliation or anything like that.”

Here's the problem. The First Amendment protections for free speech were written to protect us from GOVERNMENT limitation of our speech. If we're talking about a private company or group, then they absolutely can fire you for calling your boss a "poo poo head." But the City of Anniston isn't a private company, it's a city government.

If we change the meaning of the First Amendment to ALLOW discipline or firings for speech critical of the government, then there IS no First Amendment left. I understand Councilman Little is irritated because he was the target of the original incident, but he's (supposedly) a big boy now. Suck it up, man! Put on your big-boy shorts and stop being a baby. If you're THAT thin-skinned, you have no business being in politics in the first place.

What the city of Anniston is attempting to do is dangerous and should NOT be allowed. At least the Mayor is against it, but the Council can still override a veto if they have enough votes.

Do you SEE why we must remain vigilant? One Councilman gets his boxers in a bunch over something a city employee says on his own free time, and now we have a draconian and unconstitutional proposal to restrict free speech.

I'm sorry, Little man, but you have no right to NOT have hurt feelings. If you don't want to be called a moron, stop acting like one.

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No, Really... Obama Knows What He's Doing

There has been a lot of criticism of the Obama administration's involvement with military actions in Libya. He didn't consult Congress, he has no clear objective, no strategy, no definition of "victory," and a host of other concerns top the list.

Obama, however, insists that he knows what he is doing.

There is a commercial I've seen a few times for CCS medical, a company that distributes supplies for diabetics. The spokesman for the company is Alan Thicke, and underneath his face when he first appears is the caption "Famous TV Dad." My reaction to that was immediate... If CCS has to tell us he was a "famous TV dad," then he wasn't that famous. Does anybody have to tell you that John Wayne was a "famous movie cowboy?"

This situation is similar. If Obama has to tell us that he knows what he is doing, then the opposite is probably true. We should judge by his actions and their results, not by his frustrated assertions that he is TOO smart!
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/51701.html

President Barack Obama insisted Monday that the U.S. military’s mission in Libya is not confused, even though the aerial attacks unleashed against Col. Muammar Qadhafi’s regime two days ago aren’t intended to force him out of power.

Do you see the contradiction? Our military actions are not intended to force Qadhafi out of power, but it is the official position of the US government that Qadhafi "must go." Really? Then what IS our goal? How can we destroy his military forces and claim that our intent isn't really to kick him out? Somebody is engaging in a bit of sophistry here... or is just plain confused.

“Our military action is in support of an international mandate from the [United Nations] Security Council that specifically focuses on the humanitarian threat posed by Colonel Qadhafi to his people,” the American president said. “Not only was he carrying out murders of civilians, but he threatened more.”

“I also have stated that it is U.S. policy that Qadhafi needs to go,” Obama said, noting that a United Nations resolution last week authorizing force against Libya is based on humanitarian concerns, not regime change. “When it comes to our military action…we are going to make sure that we stick to that mandate.”

Only in Obamaland can the US "make sure that we stick to that mandate" without trying to oust the dictator whom we've sworn must be ousted. Crazy.

This war, however, is Obama's war. Completely, totally, and with no way to blame Bush. He owns this war, and whatever credit or blame goes along with it.

So, the candidate who complained about Bush getting us involved in two wars hasn't managed to shut either one down, yet, and now has started a THIRD war... just because we didn't have enough military action on our plate.

Gee, thanks.

If you ask me, a confused mission with no clear goals is one that is likely to cause harm to the men and women in our military. And let's be clear, a military mission aimed at carrying out our nation's policy of "Qadhafi must go" WITHOUT ousting Qadhafi from power is a confused mission with no clear goals.

UPDATE: Did you know that then-Senator Obama said that Bush had no right to start lobbing missiles without talking to Congress first?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/dem-rep-kucinich-throws-obamas-own-anti-war-words-back-at-him/

Turns out VP Biden said much the same thing when HE was a Senator.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/flashback-joe-biden-framers-intended-gra

But I guess things are different now that THEY are the ones who get to act without consulting Congress. No matter what these two men think, they are NOT God.

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ALL States In Debt

Yes, we have a looming debt crisis at the federal level, but that's not the only debt we have. EVERY state in the nation is in debt, to one extent or another. Would you like to see this data? No problem.

I posted this video for the first portion. The second half is a pro-Governor Walker message... I'm only interested in the debt picture, here.





If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eyhnw6TBfI


So, add a little more than $2 TRILLION to our nation's debt problem, at the very least. Keep in mind, this doesn't include debt incurred by CITIES... both Montgomery and Birmingham are carrying millions of dollars in debt, for example.

When you add the national debt of $14.2 trillion to the states' debts, we have a minimum of $16.3 trillion in debt, plus whatever the individual cities around the nation have managed to pile up.

It's bad, people.


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Obama "Weakest President" In Our History

One of the major things Obama said he'd do is improve our image throughout the world. So, how's that coming? According to this article from the UK, not so good: Obama is our weakest President ever.
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/235196/Barack-Obama-The-Weakest-President-in-history

INEFFECTUAL, invisible, unable to honour pledges and now blamed for letting Gaddafi off the hook. Why Obama’s gone from ‘Yes we can’ to ‘Er, maybe we shouldn’t’...

What is the Obama administration’s position on the protests in the Gulf island state of Bahrain, which the authorities there are savagely suppressing with the help of troops shipped in from Saudi Arabia? What is the White House view on the alarming prospect of the unrest spreading to Saudi Arabia itself? Who knows? Certainly not the American people, nor the leaders of nations which would consider themselves allies of America.

It is also true that the President is constantly stymied by a hostile, Republican-ruled Congress. But Obama’s apparent reluctance to engage with momentous events is starting to look like more than aloofness. Some tempering of America’s role as the world’s No1 busybody may be no bad thing but under Obama the US appears to be heading towards isolationism. He is hardly doing much better at home. Economically, the US is in big trouble but the national debt is not shrinking.

On the other hand, this author doesn't know enough about our politics to understand that Obama is NOT facing a "hostile, Republican-ruled Congress."

Democrats had super-majorities for two years, and constantly ignored the GOP members of Congress. Even after the 2010 election, Republicans only have a majority in one House of Congress, leaving Democrats with the Senate and the Presidency. Hardly a "hostile, Republican-ruled Congress."


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Obma To Bypass Congress, Strengthen Gun Laws

Apparently, the White House is considering ways they can tighten up gun laws without having to work through Congress.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/obama-gun-laws-congress_n_836138.html

Faced with a Congress hostile to even slight restrictions of Second Amendment rights, the Obama administration is exploring potential changes to gun laws that can be secured strictly through executive action, administration officials say.

Administration officials said talk of executive orders or agency action are among a host of options that President Barack Obama and his advisers are considering. “The purpose of these discussions is to be a productive exchange of good ideas from folks across the spectrum,” one official said. “We think that’s a good place to start.”

There are limits to what he can do, but this sort of answers the questions, doesn't it? Does Obama support our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms? And the answer is, not really. He prefers to support the right of government to regulate that right as much as possible.

He hasn't pushed strongly for new gun control laws, that's true, but until recently he hasn't really had an "event" that the left could use to rally public support. As for Congress, he doesn't have a super-majority anymore, and when he DID have one he was too busy pushing for ObamaCare, bailouts, and "stimulus" bills.

So, this is the best he can do, all things considered. We'll have to wait and see what he does with it. However...

Does anybody except me find it telling that Obama is seeking ways to "get around Congress?"


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Montgomery Pushes For Bills... And Cash

So, Montgomery city "leaders" met with our local Legislators to push for a series of bills that they would like to see... and every one of those bills will result in more cash going into the city's pockets. The fact that the "speeding cameras" are being proposed now goes a long way to showing what their real motivations are.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110301/NEWS01/103010332/Montgomery-officials-pitch-bills-fees-fines-local-legislators?odyssey=navhead

Montgomery city, county and school officials are plying state legislators as they propose new bills, all of which involve a fee or fine, for the legislative session that starts today.

Members of the local legislation asked several preliminary questions during the meeting, but some of the legislators voiced concerns about them getting stuck with the blame for the fees and fines if they support the enabling legislation.

I understand the city is being hit hard, but they're raising taxes, fees, and fines to accomplish... what? They're not being fiscally conservative and cutting back, not when they're funding a brand new, unneeded soccer stadium. No, they're trying to generate more revenue so they can keep reaching for more pie-in-the-sky projects.

The fact that they have cut city services, committed to finance the construction of a soccer stadium, and are pushing for bills that will increase city revenue should tell us a lot.


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Are All Union Agitators This Clueless?

Did you know that, if you work for a boss who tells you what time to arrive and what to do, that your workplace is "basically a dictatorship?" And the solution is to form a union so that you "have power," and if the owner doesn't want to cooperate with the new "employee-run" workplace where everybody shares in the decision making, then he's "against you."

Silly me, I always thought that the guy who owns the business (in the case of the video below, a restaurant) had a RESPONSIBILITY to instruct the workers so that they could do their jobs properly. I didn't know that the workers should seize power and run the business collectively.





If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtonKfWw2JY

It's people like THIS who set the "union cause" back a hundred years...


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Thursday News Roundup

Here are some article and opinion pieces that I thought were important enough to point out to you. I hope you give each one at least a glance.

Party-time in DC
If you were wondering what your Congressman might be doing in DC these days, the answer is that he's probably going to parties. This week alone, there are 150 fund raising parties scheduled for our wonderful elected "leaders" in Congress to run for re-election. Marvelous. Just marvelous.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/16/face-government-shutdown-its-still-party-time/?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d820300760f2a08%2C0

Too Late To Stop Fiscal Meltdown?
Senator Mark Kirk makes the case that it may already be too late to avert catastrophe, as our debt has already grown too large. It's a good read, even if you may come away from it unconvinced. He makes his case...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/16/already-too-late-to-stop-debt-crisis/


Montgomery leaders want speeding camera revenue
Montgomery is licking its chops at the prospect that our Legislature may pass a new law allowing cities to use cameras to give speeding tickets. Remember, folks, they don't REALLY care about safety, it's all about the revenue.
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110222/COMMUNITIES010302/102220305/1001/NEWS/New-red-light-cameras-may-help-speed?odyssey=navhead

Food prices soaring
Food prices jumped almost 4% in February, the largest monthly increase in food prices in the past 36 years. This doesn't bode well for our economy. Inflation is already hitting us, no matter what the feds say.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/16/business/main20043737.shtml

Japan may endanger our economy
In response to the massive damage by the earthquakes, tsunami, and the nuclear plant situation, a logical move would be for Japanese investors to repatriate... that is, to remove their money from global investments and invest them locally in repairing the significant damage they suffered. And if they do this, our economy could stumble to its knees... or worse.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/us-markets-japan-investment-idUSTRE72E6ZM20110317

Inflation is here and getting worse
Here's an excellent article on why inflation is coming.
http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article/566286/201103161918/Inflations-Siren.htm

Bull market is here
If you're happy the market is running strong in spite of the many problems in our economy, don't be. It just turned south.
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/stock-markets/the-bull-market-is-over-were-in-a-bear-market-now-52902

Feds to police students' evening activities
Yup, the Obama administration is trying to force schools to keep track of what their students do and say on social networking sites like facebook and twitter. There are a lot of legal and constitutional issues raised by this... definitely NOT a good development.

Education Department officials are threatening school principals with lawsuits if they fail to monitor and curb students’ lunchtime chat and evening Facebook time for expressing ideas and words that are deemed by Washington special-interest groups to be harassment of some students.

There has only been muted opposition to this far-reaching policy among the professionals and advocates in the education sector, most of whom are heavily reliant on funding and support from top-level education officials. The normally government-averse tech-sector is also playing along, and on Mar. 11, Facebook declared that it was “thrilled” to work with White House officials to foster government oversight of teens’ online activities.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/16/fed-instructs-teachers-to-facebook-creep-students/#ixzz1GlZ28spJ

Well, that's the lot. I hope you found them entertaining and informative.

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GOP "Budget Cuts" Nowhere Large Enough

Look, the Democrats are fooling themselves and lying to us. They call $61 billion a devastating budget cut that will reduce our nation to rubble and stop our economy in its tracks... but it's just not true.

Recently, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government running for three more weeks, and it contained a total of $6 billion in spending cuts. On the same day that Congress "slashed spending" by $6 billion, our national debt increased by $76 billion. That's right, spending $76 billion in borrowed money is just fine, but trying to reduce spending by $6 billion will be catastrophic.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/debt-jumped-72-billion-same-day-house-vo

The national debt jumped by $72 billion on Tuesday even as the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to fund the government for just three weeks that will cut $6 billion from government spending.

If Congress were to cut $6 billion every three weeks for the next 36 weeks, it would manage to save between now and late November as much money as the Treasury added to the nation’s net debt during just the business hours of Tuesday, March 15.

If things are bad with our national finances, and they are, then the fault can be laid squarely at the feet of Congress. Thanks, children.


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Economic Troubles Getting Worse

In these economically strapped times, the only bright spot has been the stock market. Despite a bad situation, the markets kept going up. Until lately. The markets have been down all week, the final straw being the nuclear disaster in Japan. But if we look around, surely we can find brighter news?

Unfortunately, no.

First, the Producer Price Index (PPI) jumped 1.6% in February... the largest jump since back in 2009, in the middle of that li'l ol' financial crisis, ya'll. This jump was fueled by a 3.9% increase in food prices, the largest monthly increase in 30 years. The Feds say this doesn't matter because the Core Index, which doesn't include food and energy costs, increased by a more modest 0.2%... and we really don't pay those increased food and fuel prices anyway, right?
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/03/16/great-inflation-debate-ppi-rises-sharply-cpi-tomorrow/

The February PPI rose a stronger-than-expected 1.6% in February, the biggest jump since June 2009. On an annualized basis, the PPI is now clocking in at 5.6%.

But the fabled core, which excludes food and energy prices, rose just 0.2% and the core measure is up only 1.8% over the past year. In other words, food and energy prices – which people tend to notice – are the main drivers of wholesale price gains.

The Federal Reserve prefers the core reading.

I bet they do. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is due out today, but don't expect a major jump... it uses the core inflation value. And who cares about food and energy? If inflation WITHOUT those is low, then we don't have to worry about inflation, right?

But wait, there's more.


You see, one good measure of the economy is housing. Earlier this year we heard how housing was poised on the verge of recovery. Yeah, right. This month, new housing construction plummeted 22.5%, with no indication that it will be picking up any time soon.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jsv5K1IXJjzX4vwciBa0UZFJpD2g?docId=CNG.e2d1536e4041ed907cea5acb3d01b7a9.b1

Construction of new homes in the United States plunged in February to near record lows and building permits hit bottom, official data showed Wednesday in a dismal report on the ailing housing market.

Housing starts fell to an annual rate of 479,000, down 22.5 percent from January, the Commerce Department said.

That number was the lowest since April 2009, when the economy was still mired in the worst recession since the 1930s Great Depression.

In April 2009, housing starts were a rate of 477,000, the weakest pace since tracking of the data began in 1959. Economists at the time had estimated that it was the slowest pace in new housing construction since the 1940s.

Housing activity was not expected to pick up any time soon, according to the new data.

And with politicians panicking at normal corrections for overvalued assets (re: home prices), and reacting by substituting political control for the normal free market process, the chances of reversing this into a true recovery drop considerably.

Folks, this isn't rocket science. The bottom line is that we are in a deep hole, and things aren't getting better. And the more that the government tries to intervene to "save" us, the worse things will get. Centralized control doesn't work... didn't the fall of the Soviet Union teach us ANYTHING?

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Government Wants Control Of Your Browser!

We all know that the feds want more control over the Internet, including the ability to shut it down completely if we're faced with a national emergency... such as most bloggers opining that Obama's newest policy initiative sucks raw oysters.

No, I'm talking today about something worse. Yes, the federal government of the United States of America, otherwise known as the "free world," wants control over your browser. Why? Because they're smarter than the companies involved in making your browser and providing your Internet access.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/14/big-government-in-your-browser/

Administration officials are determined to grab hold of the Internet - for your protection. The latest scheme will be the subject of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday on “The State of Online Consumer Privacy.” Regulators claim various online nuisances such as spam, identity theft and other privacy invasions cry out for government intervention. It’s a classic Washington power grab for the digital era.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Commerce kicked off the latest push in December with reports that suggest Internet commerce is doomed unless Uncle Sam steps in to “coordinate” the private sector’s efforts. “While recent announcements of privacy innovations by a range of companies are encouraging, many companies - both online and offline - do not adequately address consumer privacy interests,” the FTC report stated. The Commerce Department report called for adoption of enhanced “Fair Information Practice Principles.”

You see, the private sector isn't handling privacy well enough, so the government wants step in and "help" them. They want to do this, despite what happened LAST time they tried this.

Over a decade ago, the FTC came close to convincing lawmakers to legislate a similar set of “Fair Information Principles” giving the agency authority to enforce its bureaucratic rules. The regulatory plot was torpedoed when members of the House Republican leadership tasked the Government Accountability Office to measure whether federal government websites abided by the same fair information principles it wanted to impose on the private sector. Ninety-seven percent of official websites - including www.ftc.gov and various Commerce Department websites - failed to meet the standards.

The new standards they proposed are so tough that they themselves cannot meet them. And since they cannot meet those standards, we should accept their "help" in... meeting those standards? *raises hand* I'm lost, teacher.

Make no mistake, here, this is an incredibly bad idea. The Internet has prospered and flourished precisely BECAUSE it was free of "help" from the federal government. This needs to stay the same.

The Transportation Security Administration pulls out the “it’s for your protection” line to justify the most outrageous privacy invasion of all in subjecting millions of innocent travelers - young and old - to nude photography sessions and groping.

The blue-gloved hands of government must be kept off the Internet. Market forces have proved up to the task of keeping bad actors in line. Facebook, for example, updated its policies to better protect privacy in light of widespread complaints. Those unsatisfied with the changes are under no obligation to use the social networking website. That wouldn’t be the case if the bureaucracy had the authority to promulgate rules and regulation. The Internet has thrived precisely because it has been free of such red tape. It needs to stay that way.

Is there no limit to power grabs from our federal government? I don't think there is, but would love to be convinced otherwise...

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Montgomery To Waste Money On Soccer Stadium

Okay, so Montgomery city leaders have decided to go deeper into debt AGAIN to build a sports stadium. This time it's a SOCCER stadium. Now, I have nothing against soccer. I used to coach my daughter's team, and I enjoy watching it upon occasion. But a $2 million stadium? Please...
http://tinyurl.com/4mjjd9m

City officials are still working out details on the construction timetable for a new soccer stadium, but that hasn't deterred them in their quest of seeking regional and national tournaments to fill the facility.

The $2 million soccer complex will feature two soccer stadium fields built over what is currently three fields at the complex, placing permanent grandstands, a press box and concession stands in between two lighted fields.

Is there REALLY such a demand for soccer stadiums, here? This is one of my problems with our city "leaders." I'd object if they had to cut services to spend money from the budget to build something like this, but they didn't even do that. They used a bond issue (read: more debt) to get the money they need to build this stadium.

How fiscally irresponsible can you get?

So, now we'll have more money taken out of our economy to build something that, as far as I can see, Montgomerians just weren't demanding.

Do you SEE why I dislike the way our government works?


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Breaking: Al Supremes Uphold B'Ham Job Tax Ruling

If you will recall, a lower-court judge struck down Jefferson county's occupational tax, and they appealed it to the Supreme Court of Alabama (SCOAL, funnily enough). Well, the Supremes have now ruled, and they upheld the lower court's ruling. Jefferson County's occupational tax is HISTORY.
http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/story.asp?S=14262879

Wednesday, The Alabama Supreme Court in a 6-0 ruling upheld Montgomery Circuit Judge Charles Price's decision to strike down the occupational tax for Jefferson County.

Commissioners say this will lead to a financial crisis for the county which could mean the loss of county services and jobs.

The County says they may ask the Legislature to approve ANOTHER occupational tax. Geeze, how many times does it have to be struck down before the county AND the Legislature understand that a DIFFERENT solution must be found?


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Federal Judge Not Ready To Rule On AEA Lawsuit

As you'll recall, the GOP passed a law having the effect that AEA members can no longer have their dues auto-deducted from their paychecks. This means that they will have to ask their members to write checks for those dues. Fearing that they will lose members because of this (it's easier to part with money you never see than get a bigger paycheck and then send in the same amount as dues), the AEA filed suit in Federal court to challenge the new law. A hearing was held yesterday, but the judge has not yet filed a ruling.
http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/03/federal_judge_not_ready_to_rul.html

Following four hours of testimony, U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith chose not to rule on the latest skirmish between public school teachers and Republican lawmakers.

Attorneys for the state teachers' organization, the Alabama Education Association, spent the day in federal court in Huntsville, seeking to block a new law set to take effect Sunday.

On Tuesday, Dr. Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of AEA was the only witness called by either side. Hubbert said 83 percent of AEA's 105,000 employed and retired members so far have signed up to have their dues collected via bank draft. If that percentage holds, AEA will lose between $2.3 million and $2.4 million in annual dues under the new system, he said.

If you ask me, the AEA's complaints are a bunch of hooey. Let's look at what the issue is.

State law now reads that no government employee may arrange for the automatic deduction of dues "to a membership organization which uses any portion of the dues for political activity."

AEA's initial complaint argues the ban violates the free speech and equal protection provisions of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and that AEA was discriminated against based on its political beliefs.

The new law doesn't specify AEA, it covers ANY membership organization that engages in political activity. As to violating free speech and equal protection, that's bunk. Nobody is saying that AEA cannot continue to pursue political activities, just that the state won't act as a dues collector if they do. And all such organizations are treated equally under the new law, as far as I know.

So this just looks like sour grapes to me. The AEA knows this will hurt them and doesn't want to be hurt. Sorry, guys, but this law isn't that unreasonable. If you can't manually collect the same dues you're getting now, either there is something wrong with your organization, or you have members who don't really want to be members.

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Montgomery Bus System In Trouble

I remember a time when Montgomery had no bus system. In fact, I recall attending the early planning sessions and arguing against trying to reinstate a publicly funded, citywide bus system. My argument was that the system was far too expensive and that, in order to actually attract riders, taxpayers would have to pick up the rest.

Now we find out that I was right. In fact, bus riders only provide about $700k into the system from fares, while taxpayers have to provide the rest of the $6.7 million. You got that, right? Bus riders only pay $1 per ride, but that ride actually costs close to $10. If that's not reason enough to ditch the system, population growth in the city means we may lose a federal subsidy, and thus have to raise local taxes to compensate.
http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=14251471

While taking the bus may be inexpensive, running the system is not. Mayor Todd Strange says it costs $6.7 million to run the system, but it brings in only $700,000 in revenue. Strange said that means MATS is running a deficit of $6 million. Strange said the system is limited in its efforts to raise revenue.

And the mayor is concerned that the city's growth could actually hurt when it comes to transit funding. Since the city now has more than 200,000 residents, it could lose a $3 million subsidy that helps pay for transit in smaller cities.

The system isn't cost effective, and it forces non-riders to pay far too much... while riders scoot by almost free.

But city leaders at the time were blinded by the concept of a citywide bus service, and ignored the harsh realities. They COULD have pursued private-sector options, but they didn't even try. So now we have a bus system that we can't afford to run.


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State Republicans Are Worse Than Democrats

Four years ago, Democrats used rules to shut the minority party out of debate, and the Republicans hated it. They complained bitterly about the "unfair" rules, while Democrats said the rules are fine. Now, fast forward four years and one majority-changing election. Not only do Republicans now like those once-detested rules, they are using them to shut off debate far more than Democrats ever did. And Democrats, who once defended the rules as perfectly okay, are now complaining bitterly that they are unfair.

Is this what you wanted when you put the snot-nosed Republican brats in charge of the playground?
http://tinyurl.com/67rlxa5

Sometimes with little debate, the Republicans with their newfound supermajority are cutting off discussion and mov­ing forward with votes. And ironically, they are doing it with rules they detested four years ago that were passed by the then-Democratic majority, who thought they were fair then.

During the special session on ethics in December, if there was a hint that a bill would be controversial, Senate Republi­cans were waiting to cut off de­bate.
On Tuesday, when voting on a bill that would kill a "luxury" retirement program for teach­ers and state employees, Senate Republicans cut off debate after well under two hours and after only one amendment had been offered.

On Thursday, Republicans allowed Democrats to propose several amendments to a bill that would overhaul how law­makers craft the state's educa­tion budget. Democrats' effort, however, were again interrupt­ed by a cloture petition, which senators sign and hand over to the presiding officer to call for a vote on whether to shut off de­bate in 20 minutes.

Republicans have had the necessary 21 votes to shut off debate every time.
The Republicans have been using it so much the Democrats began joking about it.

I don't care if the Democrats are in the majority party or if the Republicans are, the rules governing amendments and discussions should be fair and allow the free exchange of ideas. What the rules should NOT do is shut out the minority party just because they are the minority party.

Republicans had a chance to show us they were better than Democrats, and they blew it. Now we know that the old saying is essentially true, there ISN'T a dime's worth of difference between the two.



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Time To Get Out Of Stock Market?

Is it time to get out of the stock market before it corrects downwards? At least one analyst thinks so, yes.
http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/stock-market-quantitative-easing-qe1-qe2/3/14/2011/id/33328

This is for all you folks out there with retirement accounts in the general stock market. I've been warning for many months that the cyclical bull we've been in for almost two years is still just a countertrend rally in an ongoing secular bear market. I made that same warning about the last cyclical bull market from 2002 to 2007. Many people ignored me in November '07 when I said the second leg down in the secular bear had begun. I suspect many people wish they hadn't.

There are now warning signs that this countertrend rally may have topped, and even if it hasn't the potential upside is so small that it's not worth the risk of getting caught in the next bear leg to catch a few more percentage points.

If you want details, head over to the link provided above and sneak a peek.


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Obama: "Easier To Be President Of China"

Apparently, according to "anonymous aides," PresBo has uttered what has to be the topper of all toppers... at least for those of us who care about freedom and liberty.

What is it he said? He purportedly said that it would be so much easier to be the president of China. Isn't it wonderful that our President would rather have totalitarian control of our nation so he wouldn't have to tolerate dissent?
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/sayings_of_chairman_maobama_FSOKC0BqmCpXK1ozBxXlrM

First I did a double take. He said what? I read it again and the shock waves followed.

A beleaguered President Obama has told aides it would be so much easier to be the president of China, The New York Times reports.

There are two ways to read the remark, which is attributed to anonymous aides. One is that Obama resents the burden of global leadership that comes with the American presidency. The other is that he longs for an authoritarian system, where he need tolerate no dissent.

Under either or both interpretations, his confession carries a dose of self-pity that means Obama has hit a wall.

He is in over his head, and he knows it.

Yeah, Obama is out of league, knows it, and is struggling not to show it. That's why he is "distancing himself" from major issues like debt reduction. But nothing he can do is "working," in the sense that people hate his initiatives and problems he can't fix keep cropping up.

His responses range from halfhearted to wrongheaded. Nothing is working. Unhappy voters already repudiated his first two years and might fire him when they get the chance. It is a moment that brings home the truth of the sign on Harry Truman's desk: "The buck stops here."

Yet my suspicion is that it's not the problems per se that have Obama envying a lower rung on the global ladder. It's that he regards them as endless distractions that keep getting in the way of his transformative agenda.

He is a man of the faculty lounge who wants a blank slate so he can remake the nation into a more perfect place, as he sees it. Remember, he greeted his election with the messiah-like claim that future generations would say, "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

Remember this in 2012, okay? Do we REALLY want to re-elect a President who would rather have totalitarian control over the nation?

I don't...




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Bad News For Debit Card Users

Do you own and use a debit card? Did you support the "financial overhaul" bill? If you answered "yes" to both questions, then you did this to yourself, and you only have yourself to blame.
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/03/14/durbin-and-federal-reserve-plot-to-fix-prices-and-harm-consumers/

Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) amendment to the Financial Overhaul Bill is set to go into effect in April that will allow Obama and the Federal Reserve to set the prices of debit card interchange fees.

That may sound like a boring topic, but consider this: because of Dick Durbin’s amendment, banks are about to restrict the number of and amount of daily debit card purchases you can make. That’s right. JP Morgan is considering capping your debit card purchases at $50.00 to $100.00 per purchase.

Basically, by limiting the transaction fees that banks can charge on debit card services, they are severely limiting the profit that banks can make on these transactions. In response, banks are considering limiting how much you can spend per transaction, not to mention limiting how often you can use your debit card.

Basic logic here, guys. In the private sector, if you eliminate profit from something, you won't keep that something for long. In other words, the banks are going to set limits that essentially force us to use CREDIT CARDS more often. And retailers couldn't be happier.

The Fed has been talking about capping the interchange fee at 12 cents per transaction, barely ¼ of the current average fee of 44 cents. That means that local banks and credit unions will have to find other ways to make up revenues that will be lost. The banks’ loss, however, is the big box retailers’ gain.

The CEOs, working in cahoots with Durbin and the then filibuster proof Democrat Senate, are thrilled with the extra profits they will make once the rule goes into effect. Home Depot Exec, Carol Tome has said, “Based on the Fed’s draft regulations, we think the benefit to The Home Depot could be $35 million a year,” an amount they are willing to fight for. The lobbying efforts of these merchants have killed any attempts to codify passing savings along to the consumers, guaranteeing that retailers will get all of the profits for themselves.

So, the Feds are going to be allowed to set up this price fixing scheme that benefits retailers at the expense of banks... and their customers. Want to see "free checking" disappear? Doesn't matter, it might anyway.

Don't you just LOVE new regulations out of our omniscient and politically-driven federal government?



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Salaries In Alabama

Are you interested in knowing how much money folks make in our fair state?
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/03/alabama_salaries_what_people_e.html

Mo Brooks
Job: U.S. Representative
Location: Huntsville
Salary: $174,000

William Steele
Job: Chief U.S. District Judge
Location: Mobile
Salary: $174,000

Nick Saban
Job: Head Football Coach, University of Alabama
Location: Tuscaloosa
Salary: $4.7 million

Jamie Golliver
Job: Seventh-grade teacher
Location: Madison
Salary: $49,579

Paul Hubbert
Job: Executive Secretary, Alabama Education Association
Location: Montgomery
Salary: $525,948


And there are a lot more. Give a peek... you might be surprised.


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More On The ObamaCare Constitutionality Muddle

Another judge has ruled ObamaCare Constitutional, and did so with some remarkable mental gymnastics. Essentially, the judge said that the decision to not buy insurance is "mental activity" that can be regulated by Congress. Another argument she bought was that the individual mandate was Constitutional because it was necessary to make the entire law work.

In essence, though, this decision has major problems. First, if a "decision" is mental activity that can be regulated, then ANYTHING can be regulated by Congress, and our Federal government is no longer one of limited powers. Second, if an otherwise unconstitutional provision can be granted legitimacy simply by making it a central and important part of a new law, then anybody wanting to, say, reinstate slavery could do so if they crafted the law correctly. Or outlaw guns completely, merely by making that a necessary first step to some "legitimate" goal.

I put quotes around that word, legitimate, because I submit any goal that requires illegal and unconstiutional methods to attain is not a "legitimate" goal.

Anyway, here's an article on this subject:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031105815.html

Hall says that the mandate "meets a high threshold of necessity to accomplish the overall reform scheme, clearly within congressional power, to create a market structure in which no one is ever again medically uninsurable." But unless we postulate that Congress has whatever power is required to create such a market structure, this question remains: Does the fact that Congress has the constitutional power to do X - say, guarantee universal access to insurance - make Y constitutional merely because Y is necessary for doing X?

Congress has the constitutional power to combat political corruption, the "appearance" thereof and the "circumvention" of laws for this purpose. But suppose Congress, exercising this power by regulating campaign finances, decides that abridging freedom of speech is necessary for its anti-corruption measures. This necessity, defined by this preference, does not make such abridgement constitutional. The Supreme Court said as much concerning McCain-Feingold.

The mandate's defenders note that the Constitution says Congress has the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution" its enumerated powers, one of which is to regulate interstate commerce. "Necessary and proper." An unconstitutional law is improper.

This opinion piece by George Will is an absolute must-read to understand what these liberal judges are really saying when they make their pro-ObamaCare rulings.

This law is so obviously unconstitutional that, I'm afraid, SCOTUS may feel obliged to support it whole-heartedly.

When a case reaches SCOTUS, though, look for the newest justice NOT to recuse herself, despite the obvious conflict of having supported the law as a member of the Obama administration.
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Don't Forget To "Spring Forward" Tonight

Today is March 12, 2011, and that means that Daylight Savings Time kicks in tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM. Now, as most of you won't be AWAKE at 2:00 AM tomorrow morning, don't forget to set your clocks forward tonight before going to bed.

For the record, I hate daylight savings time. It's a major inconvenience and, in modern times, makes little sense. I've railed against it in the past, and I won't do so in depth right now. If you'd like to read some essays on ending DST, here are a few links.

http://www.standardtime.com/

http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/2008/03/12/repel-daylight-saving-time/

http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/03/lets_turn_off_daylight_saving_time.html

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/abolish-daylight-savings-time-in-the-usa/


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Democrats Have No Creativity

Or, at least, they have no quality control for what imagination they DO have.

Here's the scoop. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, known by those of us who have to occasionally pause for breath as the DSCC, is asking people to help them decide what slogan will be on the next car magnet that they print and offer for sale. The idea is, of course, to come up with a catchy slogan that Senate Democrats can use to ride to victory in 2012.

Well, that's USUALLY the idea with things like this. I'm not sure what they're REALLY shooting for, because there's not one decent slogan in the entire list they're letting people vote on. Here's the list of slogans.

- We’ve Got Your Back, Barack
- Had Enough Tea? Repeal Republicans in 2012!
- GOP: Not My Cup of Tea
- No Tea For Me, Thanks. I Prefer Progress.
- GOPuleeeeez

Really? Is that the best your most creative minds can come up with? If those are really the only choices the DSCC has for slogans, well... Democrats may not do so well in the Senate in 2012. These really SUCK.

Oh, if you'd like to VOTE in this little exercise in futility, feel free to do so.
https://dscc.org/sloganvote


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A Little More On Public Sector Unions

Now that the union bill in Wisconsin has been passed, maybe we can all move on a bit, right? No, probably not, as the liberals and unions are going to carry on like they've just had a limb amputated, for weeks, at least.

If you'd like a good look at public sector unions, try this piece from Andrew Klavan.




If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=su4PwZCWUdg

A touch of humor never hurts. But really, it's difficult to understand the angst and predictions of doom and gloom that we're hearing about this.


The bottom line is that Wisconsin's new law just isn't that unusual in this country. Only 26 states give collective bargaining rights to all or most of public sector workers. Another 12 give collective bargaining rights to SOME public sector employees, and the remaining 12 don't give collective bargaining rights to ANY government employees.

As for federal workers, very few have any collective bargaining rights at all. In fact, remember that salary freeze that Obama talked about? Had he been the Governor of Wisconsin, he'd have had to gather the union reps in a room and beg them to approve the freeze.

This isn't new ground, folks. Sure, the unions don't LIKE it, but it's not un-American, dictatorial, or reminiscent of the Nazis.

Those who are getting their boxers in a bunch over this are operating more from emotion than from reason, and that's no way to balance a budget. Using emotions instead of reason is why a lot of folks in Washington look at a looming debt crisis with our debt this year hitting $1.6 trillion dollars, and have the nerve to tell us $60 billion in spending cuts would be "catastrophic."

You may not LIKE what happened, but it's not so very different from what happened to the entire nation when the Democrats in Washington shoved through a poorly constructed health care law that was unwanted by the American people at large. At no time since the passage of that law has the number of people favoring repeal dropped below 50%, and the Democrats moved it through with parliamentary tricks, not to mention lots and LOTS of kickbacks and special treatments.

Those of us who recognize that ObamaCare will eventually destroy our health care system and contribute to our growing debt crisis are pursuing the two avenues open to us: challenging it in court and pushing for Congressional repeal of this disaster in doctor's clothing. Why don't all you union thugs who are threatening to break somebody's neck stop being idiots and do likewise?

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Stock Market Plunged Yesterday

The Dow plunged 228 points yesterday, losing almost 2% of its value in a single day as fears of slowing growth in China, continuation of the European debt problems, and the worsening unrest in the Middle East fueled concerns of a new energy crisis led by oil prices.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42006905

Stocks closed near session lows, and below psychologically important levels, as global worries triggered by European sovereign debt and a slowing in Chinese growth escalated after news of violence against protesters in Saudia Arabia.

At the start of the session, investors were shaken by Moody’s downgrade of Spain's rating and from news out of China of a surprise trade deficit of $7.3 billion in February—the largest gap in seven years—and its first since March 2010. The unexpected news of a deficit sparked fear of a global slowdown that affected oil as well as other commodity prices.

Those who tell you the global economy is recovering nicely must be smoking something. The market cannot simply keep rising forever, especially as inflation hits us harder and harder. With fuel and food prices rising across the nation, and with core inflation rates poised to rise as well, look for reverses in this seemingly never-ending race to the stratosphere that the market has been engaged in.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I love prosperity. But look around you... do we HAVE prosperity? With unemployment still high (despite the artificial decreases in recent months), inflation threatening, and our nation mired in an inevitable debt crisis, does that sound like a recipe for a booming stock market to you?


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Thursday News Roundup

Here are a few pieces that you need to be familiar with.

Another ObamaCare bomb discovered
You used to be able to use your flexible spending account to purchase over-the-counter medicines and other medicinal supplies with pre-tax dollars. Now, however, ObamaCare requires you to have a doctor's prescription before you can buy cold medicine or aspirin.

The result is that Americans are visiting their doctors before making a trip to the drugstore, hoping their physician will help them out by writing the prescription. The new requirements create not only an added burden for doctors, but also new complications for retailers and pharmacies.

"It drives up the cost of health care as opposed to reducing it," says Dr. Chung, who rejected much of a 10-item request from a mother of four that included pain relievers and children's cold medicine.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704692904576166554110739560.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Up to 80% of schools will fail "No Child Left Behind" requirements this year
Would you like to be informed that 80% or more of schools across the country are labeled as "failing schools" under NCLB? It may happen, and the most likely state response will be to LOWER standards so their rating goes up. Wonderful law, NCLB.

The Department of Education estimates the percentage of schools not meeting yearly targets for their students' proficiency in in math and reading could jump from 37 to 82 percent as states raise standards in attempts to satisfy the law's mandates.

The 2002 law requires states to set targets aimed at having all students proficient in math and reading by 2014, a standard now viewed as wildly unrealistic.

"No Child Left Behind is broken and we need to fix it now," Duncan said in a statement. "This law has created a thousand ways for schools to fail and very few ways to help them succeed."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPmjfDMN5nHOpeSIZYLwkVfKAHGQ?docId=c7dc0757afd54b5ca2836c00de44535f

Editorial: ObamaCare like prohibition, 55 MPH speed limit
An editorial in the Examiner compares ObamaCare to prohibition and the 55 MPH speed limit, i.e. laws that were passed and then so universally detested, they were eventually repealed.

Now, as we learn more about Obamacare, the odds are good that it will ultimately rank right down there with Prohibition and the double nickel in public esteem. First, there is the matter of those 1,040 waivers issued by President Obama's secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius. The waivers allow corporations, health insurance providers, nonprofits and unions to cap how much they spend on individual health insurance policyholders in a year. Obamacare makes it illegal for providers to impose such caps after 2014. The common justification among those seeking the waivers is that they cannot afford Obamacare's removal of coverage caps. Why should anybody continue to believe Obama's endlessly repeated claim that Obamacare will reduce health costs as long as his HHS chief issues hundreds of such waivers?
http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2011/03/examiner-editorial-obamacare-ranks-prohibition-and-55-mph-speed-limit

Five lies economists are telling us
Anthony Mirhaydari wrote an opinion piece about how economists are guilty of "wishful thinking," and continue to tell us things we know are nonsense.

Economists aren't exactly held in high regard these days.

The run-up to the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed were accompanied by reassurances from economists all the way up to Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke that the subprime mortgage problem was "well contained."

British economists even issued a formal apology to the Queen after she berated them for not predicting the credit crunch. Their rationale? That many were guilty of "wishful thinking combined with hubris."

Now, the same brain trust of mainstream academics and economists is offering reassurances that ring just as hollow to the person on the street. Their main arguments: Rising food and fuel prices aren't a concern and rising "core" inflation isn't a threat.
http://money.msn.com/exchange-traded-fund/5-lies-the-economists-are-feeding-us-mirhaydari.aspx

Well, those are the articles I thought were important. I hope you found them informative and entertaining.

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Harry Reid Miscalculates, Big Time

Harry Reid has been celebrated as a masterful politician who knows what he's doing and is very effective at it. Maybe... But not this time.

Reid wanted to bring both budget proposals up for a vote. His intention was to prove to Republicans that their plan had no chance of passage so they'd cave and agree to the Democrats' plan. It didn't QUITE work out that way.

Yes, both budgets failed to get 51% of the vote, but the Republican measure actually received MORE VOTES than did the Democrat plan.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jamie-dupree-washington-insider/2011/03/10/the-budget-impasse/

Republicans for the most part stuck together on a $61 billion package of budget cuts approved by the House last month, as they mustered 44 votes for that plan.

Democrats - even with a majority of Senators - only had 42 votes for their package of $4.7 billion in cuts for the rest of this fiscal year.

Will Harry Reid learn the lesson that was taught, that the DEMOCRATS' plan has no chance of passage? No, I seriously doubt it.


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Breaking: Wis GOP Passes Union Bill

Last night, the Wisconsin GOP broke the stalemate and passed the bill that strips government unions of their collective bargaining rights. With all the Democrats out of the state and unable to muster the quorum to deal with budget issues, they stripped those out of the bill and passed it. Democrats say they think it's "a trick" and aren't coming home, yet.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/50999.html

Republicans in the Wisconsin state Senate ended their weeks-old stalemate with Democrats on Wednesday night as they used a procedural move to nearly unanimously pass a standalone bill restricting collective bargaining rights for most public-sector unions.

The bill that passed Wednesday separated the union provisions from any measures that spend money, thus eliminating the necessity for a quorum. The legislation quickly moved out of committee and onto the floor of the Senate, where Republicans voted 18-1 to approve it, with just one Republican voting against it.

The standoff is over, the bill is passed and heading to the Governor's desk soon for his signature. Whether you like it or not, Wisconsin government employee unions no longer have the right to bargain collectively for benefits.

The protests will continue, of course.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41996994/ns/politics-more_politics

Within hours after the Senate passed the bill, a crowd of hundreds of protesters grew to about 7,000 in the Capitol, a crowd as large as any seen inside the building over three weeks of demonstrations.

"The whole world is watching!" protesters shouted as they pressed up against the heavily guarded entrance to the Senate chamber.

Most protesters left by midnight — many were expected back Thursday — but dozens of others spent the night in the Capitol corridors.

Good or bad, it is now a matter of state law. I admit I'm curious about two things, here.

One: When will the AWOL Democrat Senators return to the state and continue doing their jobs? They're getting paid for taking a three week vacation in another state. That's hardly appropriate, children.

Two: When the Senators return, will the GOP controlled Senate make any attempts to punish them in any way for their dereliction of duty?

I can't wait...

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Ronald Reagan Warns Us Against ObamaCare

Got ten minutes or so? I picked this up from WeaselZippers, and it's a goodie. President Reagan warned us against ObamaCare WAY back when.
http://weaselzippers.us/2011/03/08/the-prescience-of-reagan-1961-on-obamacare-one-of-the-traditional-methods-of-imposing-statismsocialism-on-a-people/



If the player doesn't work, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdLpem-AAs

Pity we didn't listen...


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Weather Alert: State Of Emergency Declared

For those who are interested, Governor Bentley today declared a state of emergency due to the severe weather impacting the state.
http://governor.alabama.gov/news/news_detail.aspx?ID=4801&t=1

Governor Robert Bentley today declared a statewide state of emergency as severe weather impacts the state.

Several counties have experienced heavy rain, flash flooding and possible tornadoes because of the severe weather that began moving across the state Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. Seventeen Alabama counties have reported some type of storm damage according to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

By declaring a state of emergency, the Governor authorizes the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to assist communities, make the appropriate assessments of damage and seek state and federal assistance for the affected areas.

So be careful out there.


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Legislature 2011: House Bills, Part I

When looking at the bills proposed in the House, I will not be bringing up any bills that mirror those I already covered in the Senate. There are several like that, but since I already covered them from the Senate, I figured you'd get the idea in the House. (grin)

HB6
This bill, introduced by Rep Merrill, would reduce the mandatory minimum age for public schooling to be six years old. The current minimum mandatory attendance age is seven years old. You know, if politicians keep rolling that age back, pretty soon a woman will give birth and just hand the infant to a teacher. I recommend a NO vote on this one.

HB60
This bill, introduced by Rep Galliher, proposes a constitutional amendment that could easily be called the health care freedom act. It says that nobody will be forced to purchase insurance or penalized for not providing it, that kind of thing. I read the bill and the wording seemed fair. I'm not certain it covers all aspects of Obamacare, so maybe it needs a little bit of revising. All in all, though, I recommend a YES vote on this bill.


HB61
This bill, introduced by Rep Weaver, allows those who "qualify" to deduct 100% of their health care premiums on the state income tax. That percentage is an increase from the currently allowed 50%. Tax breaks, especially in an economic climate like this, are good. I recommend a YES vote on this bill.

HB64
This bill, introduced by Rep Wallace, proposes a constitutional amendment to protect our right to a secret vote when voting for elected officials, public referendums, and for employee representation (i.e. unions). All this does is codify the principle that secret ballots are a good thing. I recommend a YES vote on this one.

HB86
This bill, introduced by Rep Hubbard (J), would allow Brewpubs to sell their beers in unopened containers to licensed wholesalers. In other words, their microbrews could be sold in restaurants, not to mention grocery and liquor stores. This opens up new markets for them, increases their potential profit, and makes them more economically feasible. I recommend a YES vote on this one.


That's it for part I of the House bills from the first week of the legislative session. Look for more later.

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