From Bloomberg:

Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, said he is “not very” optimistic that the Bush-era tax cuts will be extended at this point.

Durbin said a preliminary discussion yesterday between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the chamber’s top Republican, “did not go well.” …

We’ll have to see how this plays out – refusal to extend the tax cuts will be an economic disaster for the United States. It would ensure that American business remains gun shy about expansion as well as eating up a great of American wealth and shoving it in to the black hole of government spending.

On the political side, Democrats’ refusal to extend will be a boon to the Republican party – come January, the new GOP House can send up a tax cut bill once a week and allow Democrats to either kill it, or agree to a popular, GOP proposal.

Allahpundit has a good bit about the issue of McCain vs Rand Paul on the matter of defense cuts and notes that no less than Allen West, retired Lt. Colonel and now Representative-elect, is also on board with defense cuts. So, too, will be any veteran who honestly remembers his military service. There is plenty of fat to cut in the Department of Defense.

That said, we should lay down a few markers. What can’t be cut is:

1. Military pay.

2. Supplies and other readiness items (spare parts, reserve ammunition, etc; the troops must have everything they need instantly ready for major combat operations).

3. Training budgets (the troops must be regularly exercised for combat).

4. No reduction in the number of aircraft carriers and attendant ships.

5. No reduction in the number of attack submarines.

6. No reduction in the number of first line fighter and bomber strength (we must maintain absolute aerial supremacy, regardless of cost – and this means staying a generation ahead of the competition).

With that, we can look to base closings, withdrawal of US forces from peaceful areas of the globe (Europe, save that which is necessary to support on-going operations; Japan, save ditto), reductions in civilian personnel; putting off new ship construction; and a general scrubbing of the military for any duplication and waste.

We need to get our budget balanced, and we’re not going to get to even step one on that with a liberal President and a Democrat Senate without offering up at least some substantial military spending. And, truth be told, all departments of government must be cut – without affecting readiness, the military must be made to work for less. It can be done – early in the 20th century, “Jackie” Fisher revolutionized the British Navy making it more powerful than ever at less cost than before. Big defense budgets don’t necessarily equal strong military forces.

Care will have to be taken, of course, to ensure that our liberals don’t gut defense – and for each dollar of defense cuts, we should insist upon two dollars of non-defense, discretionary spending cuts. The people, I believe, will be on our side in this – understanding the need for cuts, and willing to go far in such cuts, as long as they see that everyone is under the knife. If the Democrats try to play screw around on this, we’ll be able to hammer them in 2012 over it.

Now, to work.

A victory for law and common sense:

It’s a “victory for plain old common sense,” says a legal group in describing a court decision to keep the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The case before the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would have stopped recitation of the Pledge in New Hampshire’s schools. But Eric Rassbach with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty tells OneNewsNow the court gave a solid ruling late last week.

“They rejected what is the latest in a series of attacks on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance — and specifically [targeting] the words ‘under God,'” the attorney explains…

As per usual, a group of anti-religious nit wits had brought suit holding that saying “under God” in the pledge violates the “separation of Church and State” – a thing which exists nowhere in the United States Constitution. Liberals, naturally, don’t care what is actually in there – and all too often find judges willing to agree. Here, fortunately, they ran up against some judges who, quite simply, refused to be stupid.

Still, we do need a Religious Liberty Restoration Act which would permit people to engage in religious practices – essentially, a law to enforce the First Amendments assurance of the right to freely exercise religion. We need to shut down the bigoted, anti-religious fanatics who would leave our public square naked of all that is decent…of all, that is, which makes our civilization worthy and vibrant.

The Revolution advances – from Politico:

Seeking to move past an intra-party squabble over earmarks, Senate Republicans on Tuesday night showed a united front and called on Democrats to join them in opposing the long-standing practice.

During a closed-door caucus meeting, Republicans passed by voice vote a two-year moratorium on earmarks, identical to one approved by the House GOP earlier this year. They also approved a resolution sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky challenging their Democratic colleagues to enact an earmark ban of their own.

A good step, but just a baby step – now the ball is in the court of Harry Reid and his corrupt Democrat Party. Be interesting to see how this plays out…

The good news:

Republican Joe Walsh has defeated incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean for Congress in Illinois’ 8th District with all absentee and provisional votes now counted.

County clerks in McHenry, Cook and Lake counties tallied up the remaining provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots today. Unofficial results indicate Walsh won by 290 votes out of more than 200,000 cast…

Makes for a total of 84 new Republicans and a net gain of 62. Still a couple more outstanding races which we have a chance of winning.

GOProud and some TEA Party leaders write a letter:

Dear Senator McConnell and Representative Boehner,

On behalf of limited government conservatives everywhere we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement.

Poll after poll confirms that the Tea Party’s laser focus on issues of economic freedom and limited government resonated with the American people on Election Day. The Tea Party movement galvanized around a desire to return to constitutional government and against excessive spending, taxation and government intrusion into the lives of the American people…

…Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues. We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C…

Well, how’s about we social conservatives go form a Christian Democrat Party, split the vote and then you more libertarian types can watch as Obama, Pelosi and Reid steal your money and bankrupt the United States in to oblivion. You can then argue all you want in favor of “laser focus” on the issue of economic freedom. Does that suit you?

No? Why not – oh, yeah; you still lose all your money and freedom. Hey, maybe we can’t just have “laser focus” on just one aspect of liberty, that of the economic side? Maybe we should make a little room for that more fundamental freedom, that of people to live their lives as they see fit?

Its all well and good for the fine people at GOProud to want to leave aside the social issues because that means that those of us opposed to gay marriage will have our say. But the pragmatic facts of life are that no one gets anything unless we social conservatives get ours. We won’t just be here to provide votes and donations – we want a bit more than just to be stood in a corner, only to be called upon at election time.

And, in truth, it is absurd to have a “laser focus” on mere economic issues. Part of the reason we have such a bloated, grasping government is because of the disintegration of the family – and the primary culprits in that family disintegration are government subsidies of immoral behavior (especially government efforts which are detrimental to family formation) as well as the erosion of public decency caused by an insistence that “liberty” means “get out there and have as much sex as possible”. The restoration of strong families is the best assurance any libertarian can have that there won’t be a political constituency in favor of Big Government – and this, in turns, means we must have a focus on social issues.

Now, to be sure, while we are on the brink of economic collapse, financial issues must take front and center. We must balance our budget; we must reform our taxes; we must re-create a viable American currency; we must cut back on the way government disrupts wealth creation. But we must also address such issues as family break up, illegitimacy, rampant violence and pornography in popular culture…and, ultimately, any nation which is not in favor of Life is a nation which is doomed to Death.

Political coalitions are, by their nature, the coming together of people with many similarities, but some differences. We on our side recognize that we have allies among those who would prefer to allow gays to marry, or to keep abortion legal. We are fully ready for the debate and for a resolution based upon America’s founding principles – but we are not prepared to do nothing, most importantly because we know that doing nothing on our issues means that even if we get a temporary revival of economic liberty, it will fall anew before Big Government if our social disintegration is not reversed.

UPDATE: The American Catholic points out that you can’t be libertarian without being pro-life.

UPDATE II: Gay Patriot chimes in.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

Greek credit default swaps are going through the roof as no one really believes the Greeks have controlled their spending.

The Irish are unwilling to mortgage themselves to the European Central Bank…but this, in turn, puts all of the Eurozone at risk.

Wal Mart can’t shake off the sales doldrums.

China’s running ’round like a chicken with its head cut off as everyone tries to figure out just how high Chinese inflation is (hint: its probably a lot higher than the official government better-agree-with-them-or-we’ll-shoot-you numbers).

Interest rates are rising in spite of the Fed’s efforts.

Government employees owe billions in delinquent taxes.

Portugal goes to the brink of default.

All in all, I get the distinct impression that no one really knows what is going on, or has even the first clue of what to do – mostly because they are all trying to shore up a failed economic model based on usury and fiat money.

Will they hold the line this time as they did in the spring? Possibly – but one day it will all be done; it really can’t go on forever.

But, we already knew that:

A House ethics panel has convicted Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) on 11 of 13 counts of violating House ethics rules.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the adjudicatory subcommittee and the full House ethics committee, announced the decision late Tuesday morning following an abbreviated public trial of the 20-term lawmaker and nearly six hours of deliberations.

“We have tried to act with fairness, led only by the facts and the law,” Lofgren said. “We believe we have accomplished that mission.”…

We’ll now see if they’ve learned anything at all from November 2nd. Expulsion from the House is the proper answer to this; censure is the bare minimum…but will they end up just slapping his wrist? We shall see.

Great news, if it works out – from NRO’s The Corner:

…Without naming names, DeMint cautioned that those who continued to support the earmarking process would be help accountable by the American people at the polls. “This is just the beginning,” DeMint said. “2012 is going to make what just happened look small if we continue.”

Phil Kerpen, AFP’s vice president for policy, was more explicit. “They have to ban earmarks,” he said of Senate Republicans. “Any Republican who does not vote to ban earmarks will have a primary challenge.” Kerpen urged the fired-up crowd to “keep the heat on” senators who may be wavering; cries of “They’re next!” were shouted back in response…

…DeMint said he was “optimistic” Senate Republicans have gotten the message and told reporters on a conference call earlier today that “we probably have the edge by a vote or two.”

I’m not sure if that means DeMint figures he’s got enough to pass it through the Senate, or just enough to ensure the GOP caucus goes on record against earmarks. Either way works out fine, for us. Better, of course if we could get a ban on earmarks (or even a two year moratorium on them), but as long as the GOP shows the American people that we’re serious about cutting the waste, we’re on solid ground.

The American people spoke very loud and clear on November 2nd – Government must be reformed to reflect the will of the American people. This is not a time for politics as usual – we need to clear out the rot, and banning earmarks is vital for this. Not just for the amount of money (which is relatively small compared to total government spending), but as a signal that the message has been received, and a new game has come to town.

A bankrupt nation needs a government which clearly understands what the people want. We are probably in for some very hard times over the next few years, even if things go well for us. In order for people to have an retain faith in government – indeed, in our way of life – they must see that the people in government understand. Spending cuts, rooting out corruption, tax reform – all of these, and more, are what the American people want, and we’d better give it to them…or face a tidal wave of anger in 2012 and beyond.