Author: Matt Margolis

Another Victim of Bullying Lady Gaga Doesn’t Care About

Matt Margolis11 Comments

This story of a 14-year-old girl who committed suicide last week hasn’t received the same traction in the national media as other similar stories.

A 14-year-old girl whose Facebook page says she loves ” all my haterz” has committed suicide after enduring two years of bullying by her female classmates, her family claims.

Eden Wormer, an eighth grader at Cascade Middle School in Vancouver, Wash., hanged herself Wednesday.

The girl’s family told ABC News affiliate KATU that she committed suicide after two years of being bullied by girls in her class. Wormer’s older sister, Audri, told the station that Eden changed her appearance several times in an effort to fit in, and begged her older sister not to report the bullying because she thought it would only make the problem worse.

Lady Gaga isn’t renewing her calls to make bullying a hate crime, as she did in the wake of Jamey Rodemeyer’s suicide last year. The difference? Do you really need more than one guess? Rodemeyer was apparently bullied for being gay. The girl in the story linked above, was, as far as is known based on report, not gay, just had problems fitting in.

Of course, I’m not saying I think bullying is an issue for the federal government, it’s not. I don’t care what the motivation is. Kids throughout our country’s history have been bullied, and perhaps modern culture exasperates the problem, and the internet gives more avenues for bullying to occur, but this is an issue for parents, teachers, and school administrators, not our members of Congress.

Rest In Peace, Andrew Breitbart

Matt Margolis143 Comments

When I saw the news, I was giving a quick look on Twitter before starting work. My first thought was, Nah, probably just a bad joke.

I’ve never met Andrew Breitbart, but I know plenty who have worked with him, and while I can certainly recognize his contributions to our movement, there are other people who are more qualified to talk about the man himself. I’ll post links here in due time.

Andrew RIP – Jonah Goldberg

Andrew Breitbart: R.I.P. Happy Warrior – Melissa Clouthier

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012) – Larry Solov

The Inspiring Life of Andrew Breitbart – Rob Bluey

Obama is Wrong, He Could Bring Gas Prices Down If He Wanted To

Matt Margolis85 Comments

So, Obama’s response to Republican candidates promising cheaper gas is absolving himself of any responsibility for the current high prices.

As [Barack Obama] traveled to the battleground state of Florida, Obama outlined his “all  of the above” approach aimed at boosting and diversifying domestic energy  production. He also made clear that as energy prices rise, there isn’t much he  or his administration can do to cut them.

“Now, some politicians always see this as a political  opportunity. You’re shocked, I know. Last week, the lede of one news story said, ‘Gasoline prices are on the rise, and Republicans are licking their chops.’ That’s a quote, that was the lede,” Obama said, quoting the first line from a  POLITICO story published last week.

“Because it’s an election year, they’re already dusting off their plan for $2  gas,” Obama said, and it’s a three-point plan to keep drilling. But “the  American people aren’t stupid … that’s a bumper sticker, it’s not a strategy to  solve our energy challenges.”

Correct, the American people aren’t stupid. They know that a president can’t sign an executive order to make gas prices lower. That said, Obama and the American people know there is plenty a president can do to bring gas prices down.

Let’s look at the facts.

1) Obama has already tried to bring gas prices down. Last year Obama tapped into the Strategic Petroleum Reserves. If he felt totally powerless to impact gas prices, he wouldn’t have bothered. That said, tapping the reserves was not even a great approach to bringing prices down.

Quite frankly, it was a dumb idea.

2) President Bush brought $4+/gal gas down to roughly $1.60/gal in 2008. You don’t have to take my word for that either. Look at this chart.

Now you might ask, “Why did gas prices plummet in the second half of 2008?” The answer is simple. President Bush lifted the offshore drilling ban in mid July. Without any new drilling, that act resonated with other oil producing countries, and our gas prices went down sharply.

3) When Obama banned offshore drilling, prices started back up even faster. Yup, soon after Obama banned drilling in Atlantic waters, gas prices went up even faster. There ought to be at least one White Intern who could figure that out.

Now, the real question here is “Why is Obama not doing anything about high gas prices?” Clearly, he has the power to impact prices. President Bush successfully did it. Obama, however, ignores his options, or refuses them. So, what gives? I have two theories. Either this has to do with benefiting his friends his the green energy business, or he’s waiting until closer to the election to quietly get gas prices moving sharply down in order to get as much political advantage out of it.

The question is, how much higher will gas prices get before you can no longer afford to drive? Gas prices impact the prices of many things, and filling up your tank won’t be your only problem. Food and commodity prices will go up even more. Gas prices, if they get much higher, will most likely bring about a double dip recession.

Gay Judge Refuses to Perform Straight Marriages

Matt Margolis25 Comments

You know being a judge is not a position to make political statements

Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker says she won’t perform marriage ceremonies until homosexuals can be wed.

During a Feb. 21 meeting, Parker told the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas that while she has the power to perform legal marriage ceremonies in her court, she will not.

“I use it as my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state because I feel like I have to tell them why I’m turning them away,” Parker said. “So I usually will offer them something along the lines of, ‘I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people.’ And it’s kind of oxymoronic for me to perform ceremonies that can’t be performed for me, so I’m not going to do it

Seriously? Is this what a judge is supposed to do? No. We don’t want judges making rulings base on personal politics. We expect them to interpret the law objectively. Just as we don’t expect or want law enforcement to subjectively enforce the law, based on personal biases.

Of course, this isn’t very surprising… given the example set by the Obama Administration of selectively not enforcing laws it doesn’t agree with.

Can’t Get No Satisfaction

Matt Margolis72 Comments

Yet another indicator that shows things don’t look good for Obama…

It’s February, nine months before a presidential election, and only 22 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going. Voters haven’t been this unhappy with the country since George H.W. Bush’s presidency, when only 21 percent of Americans reported being happy with the country’s direction. And before that, the lowest approval rating was 19 percent during Jimmy Carter’s first term.What do the two presidencies have in common? Neither of them won re-election. And, if the trends holds true, Obama looks to be in an equally precarious situation.

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research released its 2012 campaign outlook, and it’s clear Obama’s sitting in the same position George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter were in during the February before their election losses—voters don’t feel good about the country.

Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush—presidents who won re-election—all had at least 41 percent of voters optimistic with the state of the union.

Just goes to show you that when you put an incompetent teleprompter reader in the White House eventually people realize that the ability to give a speech doesn’t equal leadership.