Out and About on a Thursday Morning

That stolen War Memorial Cross in the Mojave Desert – seems there may be a definite political point to it.

Richard Nixon’s grandson seeks elective office. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter’s grandson obtains elective office. In a lot of ways, lets hope the acorn has fallen far from the tree.

Los Angeles boycotts Arizona. I’m going to boycott Los Angeles. Hope everyone else will, too – and I was actually planning on going out there soon. Not a chance I will, now – until this idiotic ordinance is repealed, not another dime for Los Angeles.

April 2010 deficit four times higher than April 2009 deficit. And keep in mind that most of the time, the government runs a surplus in April. Meaning: there is no recovery. Not even slightly. If there were, revenues would at least be stable. We’re being sold a line of fiscal and economic bull by the banksters and bureaucrats – hoping that (a) we’ll go on another debt-induced spending binge (fat chance) and (b) that we’ll forgive Obama and his Democrats by November (fat chance II).

Raquel Welch: Welch opens her column by noting that, after Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger opened America’s first “family-planning clinic” in 1916,” “nothing would be the same again.”…says the former Playboy covergirl: “I’m ashamed to admit that I myself have been married four times, and yet I still feel that it is the cornerstone of civilization, an essential institution that stabilizes society, provides a sanctuary for children and saves us from anarchy. Smart and beautiful is a formidable combination.

Study: Adult stem cells work. Embryonic stem cells don’t. We already know this, of course. Why, then, do some insist upon butchering unborn children for “research”? Because the Culture of Death likes a high body count. No, there is no other reason.

YouCut

Cool idea from Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA):

Today, we are launching YouCut – a first-of-its-kind project designed to defeat the permissive culture of runaway spending in Congress. It allows YOU to vote, both online and on your cell phone, on spending cuts that you want to see the House – YOUR HOUSE – enact. That’s right, instead of Washington telling YOU how THEY will spend YOUR money, YOU can tell THEM how to save it. After several days of voting, on Monday, May 17th, we will announce the first winner and later that week House Republicans will call for an up-or-down vote on the spending cut. We will repeat this cycle every week for the rest of the year.

You go here to see the menu of possible cuts and cast your vote. I like this. This is a useful tool to engage people in thinking about what can be cut – and allowing what we hope will be much more powerful GOP caucus in January to know where we, the people stand.

As for me, I cast my first vote for eliminating taxpayer subsidized union activities. Public sector unions are bankrupting our States and cities, and I see no reason for them to get a dime of federal money.

Have at it – and lets keep it up week after week.

Now, if we could just get our liberals to be a bit honest and put out a “YouWaste” website so that liberals can vote on what they want money spent on, we’d get a nice contrast for the Fall.

About That Mollohan Defeat

From NRO’s The Corner:

No one else seems to have noticed yet, but Alan Mollohan (D., W. Va.), who twice voted no on a federal marriage amendment and earned a 63 percent approval rating from Human Rights Campaign, was just ousted by a man (Michael Oliverio) who strongly endorses “traditional” marriage.

Conservatism is surging, it would seem – even in some quarters of the Democrat party.

People are furious with government – tired, that is, of government officials routinely ignoring the clearly expressed, popular will. Mollohan fell afoul of this. So did Bennett in Utah – I’ll bet that Specter does in Pennsylvania, and its 50/50 that McCain will survive his challenge in Arizona.

Throw away all the books about politics – get ready for a very wild ride in 2010.

RNC '12 to be Held in Tampa

The news:

The Republican National Committee’s Site Selection Committee is recommending the party hold its presidential nominating convention in Tampa-St.Petersburg in 2012, the RNC announced this afternoon.

Tampa beat out Phoenix and Salt Lake City for the event. Minneapolis-St. Paul hosted the 2008 event.

I was hoping for Phoenix just to really stick it to the left – but Tampa will be fine because we’re going to mop the floor with Obama in that State in 2012.

More Bankruptcy Via Liberalism

Illinois, destroyed:

Illinois lawmakers were in disarray Thursday as they groped for stopgap measures to address a $13 billion deficit equaling nearly half of the state’s general-fund revenue.

The state faces one of the nation’s worst budget crises, spilled over in part from the broader national economic crunch, and its current bond ratings lag only California’s. But the confusion in the legislature indicates that serious steps to fix state finances won’t be taken until after the November elections—if then…

…Any hopes that the national economic recovery would help the budget discussions were dashed this week when Illinois disclosed that revenue for April —when most citizens pay taxes—fell more than 15% from the same month a year ago, or $501 million, in part because of a $345 million drop in federal aid. Gross personal income-tax receipts, a major revenue source, dropped $103 million, or 8.1%.

And that last bit, by the way, puts to rest any notion that we are in a recovery. If we were recovering, then State tax revenues would at least be stabilizing, but they are still falling. They might not be falling as precipitously as they were last year, but they are still falling. Which means that less people are working; working people are earning less; people are spending less…the economy is contracting.

Illinois – like California, New York and New Jersey – just illustrate in the most stark terms where liberalism brings you: to bankruptcy. Liberals have just spent and spent and when revenues didn’t keep up with political promises, they borrowed. And now the bill has come due – and there simply isn’t enough money to pay for liberalism.

Naturally, liberals are refusing to face reality. New Jersey has proven lucky in getting Chris Christie as governor – the governor has the power (and Christie has the guts) to do do what is necessary to bring things under control. Elsewhere, it will actually take the votes of liberals to undue the damage of liberalism. And so it isn’t happening – as you can see, in Illinois they are just trying to find some sort of stop gap to keep things going for a little while…until after the elections, when either the GOP will be saddled with the problem, or re-elected Democrats will feel safe in hammering the Illinois taxpayer.

The States are in acute crisis because they can’t print money. The United States appears to be a going financial concern because the Federal Reserve can print money – and by printing a couple trillion over the past year, the Federal Reserve has made it seem like a recovery is ongoing. But, it isn’t – and, in fact, all the fake money has just made things worse (we’ve taken the bad debts of stupid bankers and turned them in to the bad debts of an electorate which elected Obama). But even with the magic of Federal Reserve, there is a limit – and we’re very fast approaching it (maybe by as soon as 2013).

We hit that wall, and complete collapse will greet us, just as it is greeting the great State of Illinois – not enough money to pay all the promises. We can still avert if, if we elect a Republican Congress in November – but it will be a close run thing. We might not have enough time to avert the worst sort of crash (there will be a crash – what remains to be determined is how bad it will be).

HAT TIP: Mish’s

Marco Rubio: A Wake Up Call From Greece

Our Senate candidate in Florida nails it:

The meltdown in Greece should be a wake-up call for those who wish to turn America into a high-spending, high-tax welfare state. The fact is, the global boom masked what was in fact an unsustainable situation, not only in Greece but in countries like Italy and Spain…Entire countries have become profligate, unproductive, and uncompetitive. Unfortunately, the road ahead in these countries is going to be extremely difficult.

The question Americans should be asking is, Why do President Obama and the Democrats in Congress want to take America down this path?

Why, indeed?

Because they simply don’t know what else to do. Locked in to rigid ideology, our liberal and socialist leaders simply can’t conceive of any solution which doesn’t entail more government spending and more government control. Even their response to the supposed rapacity of Wall Street is to bail out the very people they claim are causing the problem – spending is all they know.

But the spending must stop. We are now so far in debt that just a bit more will tip us over in to complete national bankruptcy. We have a small window of opportunity to avoid Greece’s fate – but while Democrats are in charge, nothing will be done to change course.

And so we simply must win in November – only by putting in an opposition Congress can we prevent Obama and his Democrats from taking us down the path of destruction.

87% Want English as Official Language

From Rasmussen:

Americans continue to overwhelmingly believe that English should be the official language of the United States and reject by sizable margins the idea that such a move is racist or a violation of free speech.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 87% of Adults favor making English the nation’s official language…

Me: I disagree with making English the official language. But I also see this for what it is: the people are tired of multi-culturalism and all the rest of the PC claptrap the liberals have been foisting on us for a generation.

The left in America had better start to tread with care – the people are fed up. Press just a bit more, and the backlash will be astounding. I’m not just talking about a good GOP year in 2010, but majorities being elected capable of amending the Constitution. The line has been drawn – the people are determined to keep their freedom, and keep their country.

David Cameron to Preside Over Britain's Collapse

Poor guy:

Tory leader David Cameron has entered Number 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister for the first time – and said: “This is going to be hard and difficult work.”

Uh, David, old buddy – its going to be impossible work. The only way to save Britain’s economy: massive spending cuts. Your coalition partners: Liberal Democrats who simply won’t go along in a serious way. What will happen: eventually double-dip for which you will get blamed. Long term result: Labour back in power, Tories disgraced and out of power for a generation.

I hope it works out differently, but I don’t see much hope.

Out and About on a Tuesday Afternoon

Socialism is evil. This video will make our liberals blow a gasket. T

Republicans retain lead in “generic” ballot – by 6 points, which is the narrowest GOP lead in 2010. Reason? Financial reform has hit us a bit – unfairly, but politics isn’t fair. But all the issues are on our side – I expect that we’ll maintain and perhaps expand our lead as we head in to the fall.

A Chinese TEA Party?

Brits still yammering on about whom shall preside over the final collapse of Britain’s economy.

Is Obamanomics Deliberate?

I’m of the opinion that Obama is a fool – a man without the requisite knowledge or character thrust in to office by a set of odd circumstances. For an alternative position, we go to Wayne Allen Root over at Nevada News and Views:

It’s time to stop mincing words. Obama is not a fool. He is not incompetent. He is not a madman. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis, and social chaos- thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within. But the bonus is brilliant…as he destroys and taxes to death business owners, he also cripples his political opposition.

Rahm Emanuel cynically said, “You never want a crisis to go to waste.” It is now becoming clear that the crisis he was referring to is Obama’s Presidency. As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Obama’s Columbia University. In 1966, they outlined a plan to socialize America by OVERWHELMING the system with government spending and entitlement demands…

Root was the Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate in 2008. I don’t subscribe to this view that Obama is deliberately wrecking things – but one doesn’t have to in order to agree that Obama’s policies are immensely destructive. If one were setting out to bankrupt America, nothing worse could be done.

The varied expedients which have been used to keep things afloat in America are going to fail. There is just no way to back up all the debt we’re piling up – we can’t tax enough to pay what we owe; taxing at that level would kill economic activity, altogether, and thus make our problem worse.

And so, we’ll slip slide down this hill until we hit bottom – and hopefully learn our lesson both about electing liberals and trying to borrow and spend our way in to wealth.