Blogs For Victory

From the AP:

The Wisconsin Senate voted Wednesday night to strip nearly all collective bargaining rights from public workers, approving an explosive proposal that had rocked the state and unions nationwide after Republicans discovered a way to bypass the chamber’s missing Democrats…

This was actually expected – and one wonders why the GOP didn’t do it sooner. The apparent way Wisconsin law works on this is that fiscal matters require a quorum while things like stripping out collective bargaining which don’t have a direct fiscal impact (though, long term, this is the best means of ensuring fiscal responsibility) can be passed by a simple majority. Republicans should have done this a week or two ago – rather than let these un-American clowns on the left go off on a rampage (yes, I called them un-American…because they are: an election was held, the GOP won…running away from office is un-American, as is backing such actions).

Now we’ll see what the Democrats will do – allegedly, this was the bone of contention and now refusal to return means refusal to address the fiscal issues Democrats said they were ready to move forward on. Of course, this action has stirred up the rank and file liberals and got them donating, so Democrats might try to keep this thing going for a while.

UPDATE: In response to this Democrats lie and act like thugs. So, business as usual…

UPDATE II: With liberal thugs trying by main force to prevent the Wisconsin legislature from meeting tomorrow – in other words, trying to shut down our democratic government – a comment from over at Instapundit:

I guess that this means the new civility bullshit is officially over?

Yes, it is. You want this kind of a fight liberals, we’ll give it to you.

UPDATE III: And here’s a good place to start – a National Right to Work law has been introduced by Senate Republicans.

Some thoughts on Ash Wednesday here.

A good quote from G K Chesterton on those who would have us worship Mother Nature:

The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism, and modern cosmic religion is really in this proposition: that Nature is our mother. Unfortunately, if you regard Nature as a mother, you discover that she is a stepmother. The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister. We can be proud of her beauty, since we have the same father; but she has no authority over us; we have to admire, but not to imitate.

That in response to the absurd view that becoming “green” should be part of our Lenten efforts.

Boiled down, about 1/3 of all wages are paid by government in the form of welfare and other transfer payments. Liberals like this; conservatives realize that as government doesn’t actually produce anything of value, it is really can’t work…as our impending national bankruptcy shows.

Mish has an update on the Eurozone financial crisis. Trust me, folks, it ain’t over…in fact, the very worst is yet to come.

Poll: Maine Republicans are tired of the Snowe job they’ve been getting…bet that Sen. Snowe draws a primary challenger but I’m not sure if she’ll pull an Arlen on us. You see, even if she did and won, she’d just wind up in the minority party come 2013…Arlen did his flip so that, in his hopes, he’d stay in the majority party. For Snowe, it is very tricky but I bet she stays GOP. Whether or not she’ll win the primary is another matter…

A women’s rights demonstration in Egypt comes out just as we should expect – Moslem men going bonkers and abusing the women.

How to make an Obama appearance more appealing to high schoolers.

From the PJ Tatler:

Up to 4,947 non-citizens may have voted in Colorado in November 2010

That’s the conclusion from a report issued today by the Colorado Secretary of State. Here is the money line: “For the reasons discussed above, however, it is likely that many of the 4,947 voters were not citizens when they cast their vote in 2010.”…

No surprise – voter fraud is built in to the system by Democrats because they like it. A lot. How do I know? Because they do it all the time. I bet that a full investigation of voting fraud in the United States will reveal that in every single election contested by a Democrat there is voter fraud at least at some level. They cheat “just in case” – always having some fake votes in the mix in case the vote comes out real close with a Democrat slightly behind.

But in order to build a system which allows this endemic fraud, you have to have it be a system which allows anyone to vote – including foreigners not eligible. A real voter system would carefully screen out anyone not eligible and would strictly ensure that everyone who shows up on election day is supposed to be there – there would be strict requirements for voter registration, stiff penalties for anyone committing even the mildest forms of voter fraud (such as ACORN submitting thousands of bogus registrations), a requirement for picture ID at the voting booth…Democrats, naturally, fight tooth and nail against any such things because it would prevent them from cheating.

But we really must correct this – if the people ever lose faith in voting because of fraud, then our democratic liberties will be gone. If elections become a battle of who can cheat the best, then there is no reason to vote, at all…and people will start to follow those who promise to “get things done” regardless of what laws and voting require. Freedom is not something assured – it has to be carefully tended, day by day, lest it die…Democrats are poisoning the roots with their insistence upon voter fraud, and it must be brought to a halt.

From the House Majority Leader:

As we continue to identify ways to cut spending and save valuable resources, this disturbing video makes clear that taxpayer dollars should no longer be appropriated to NPR. Not only have top public broadcasting executives finally admitted that they do not need taxpayer dollars to survive, it is also clear that without federal funds, public broadcasting stations self-admittedly would become eligible for more private dollars on top of the multi-million dollar donations these organizations already receive.

At a time when our government borrows 40 cents of every dollar that it spends, we must find ways to cut spending and live within our means. This video clearly highlights the fact that public broadcasting doesn’t need taxpayer funding to thrive, and I hope that admission will lead to a bipartisan consensus to end these unnecessary federal subsidies.

The “disturbing video” is that of NPR’s Ron Schiller lambasting everyone who is not, well, more kook left than Michael Moore. It can be seen here. This sort of thing on the part of NPR is entirely unsurprising – liberals are filled with hatred for those they disagree with; the only difference here is that some citizen-journalists did what the MSM should have done ages ago – turn over the rock and see what scurries out.

It is well past time for NPR to be de-funded. And we can go through our budget and find scores of things to cut along these lines. The dirty, little secret of liberalism is that it is heavily taxpayer funded – liberalism is unpopular and cannot rely upon people voluntarily supporting them to the point where they gain a commanding position in society – that they have this commanding position is because of government subsidies.

By cutting off taxpayer funds for the left, we’ll deal a body blow to them – each dollar cut means one more less dollar being spent advancing the liberal agenda. In the end, this is just a leveling of the playing field – now liberals will have to compete for support and pay heed to the needs and desires of the people. Of course, they’ll fail miserably at it…so get ready to imagine a world with no liberals.

So much for the absurd rumors that he was ready to quit – from Sky News:

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces are reportedly using tanks and warplanes to attack the rebel-held town of Zawiyah in western Libya.

One eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, compared the town to “a city of ghosts” because of the violence and bloodshed.

He told Sky News: “Here, it is chaos. Buildings completely crumbled, mosques brought down to ashes, blood flowing through the streets.

“No human should go through this… what kind of human would do this to another human?”…

I suspected when I first heard it that the stories of Gaddafi’s imminent departure were a scam – someone trying to manipulate the oil and/or financial markets. Gaddafi has given no indication of a desire to leave – and the story earlier was that he was negotiating “safe passage” out of the country. That was just a stupid rumor – as in only a very stupid person would believe it. To get out, all Gaddafi has to do is hop on a plane to Saudi Arabia or Syria.

As I see it, only a robust, American intervention can ensure the end of the Gaddafi regime. It might be that the rebels will gain the upper hand, but I doubt it. Meanwhile, even if they do win, it will likely take weeks (and, perhaps, months) for it to be over, and all that time people are dying and the global economy is increasingly disrupted. Unfortunately, Obama seems determined to dither over this – while he is, about 10 days too late, finally saying some of the things he should, there is no indication of an imminent move by the United States.

This could get very much out of hand – and American leadership is lacking. Not a good thing.

Peace? We can, indeed, have peace – Allen West has defined the peace terms: when I can fly to Mecca, Bible in hand and cross around my neck, and celebrate Mass openly. Until such a time, there will never be true and full peace between Islam and West.

…real events continue to happen around the world – from the Jerusalem Post:

…A heavy police presence was reported in north-west Tehran on Tuesday and a video uploaded on YouTube showed Iranian security forces beating protesters in what was apparently a demonstration for International Women’s Day.

Women’s rights activists have called for demonstrations to advocate and defend the rights of both men and women in Iran, as well as more general democratic principles, BBC Farsi reported…

Meanwhile, in spite of rumors – floated by who knows whom, but which clearly manipulated stocks up and oil down – that Gaddafi is ready to call it quits (for which there isn’t a bit of evidence), the civil war in Libya continues, unrest continues to surge in Yemen and the Gulf States, while the Saudis are still trying to keep a lid on growing protests in that country.

In other news which should be getting 24/7 coverage, while Obama went on his 60th Presidential golf outing, the US clocked its highest ever monthly deficit while Democrats complain that even a $10 billion cut in spending is too much. Gas and food prices continue to surge; companies start planning more layoffs and a Chinese man was noted as complaining of a 100%+ increase in prices…

We now return you to your regularly scheduled reports on pointless, Hollywood zeros….

From the Jerusalem Post:

A student has brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley, saying the university did not protect her from being attacked because she is Jewish.

Lawyers for Jessica Felber, 20, say the case, filed in US District Court in Oakland, Calif., on March 4 against the university, the regents of the University of California and their ranking officials, is the first of its kind.

Her suit alleges that Husam Zakharia, a fellow student and the head of Students for Justice in Palestine, rammed into her with a metal cart because of the pro-Israel sign she was holding during a pro-Israel demonstration on the Berkeley campus on March 5, 2010.

The rally, organized by the student Zionist group, Tikvah, was a counter to anti-Israel events being held that same week as part of Israel Apartheid Week…

The fact that there is an “Israel Apartheid Week” indicates just how rank the anti-Semitism is. You might as well have a “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” book club – this is Der Sturmer sort of Jew-baiting…and the university allows it to happen. And make no mistake about it, Berkeley is 100% absolutely liberal from top to bottom – these are liberals encouraging and allowing the rankest sort of race hatred.

And thus the descent of liberalism completely in to the gutter. There is no decency left over there…there will be mostly silence from liberals about this, with some actually defending the anti-Jewish attacks. Not one liberal, I’ll bet, will stand up and say that such a thing as “apartheid week” is inherently wrong and slanderous. They just won’t do it – because they are so far gone that they really don’t know where right and justice are.

Not only is there a plethora of doublespeak in this administration, but apparently, an abundance of double-counting things that weren’t really there in the first place:

During a hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted to double-counting in the Obamacare budget.

In her first appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee since the health-care law passed, Kathleen Sebelius responded to a line of questioning by Republican Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois about whether $500 billion in Medicare cuts were used to sustain the program or pay for the law.

“There is an issue here on the budget because your own actuary has said you can’t double-count,” said Shimkus. “You can’t count — they’re attacking Medicare on the CR when their bill, your law, cut $500 billion from Medicare.”

He continued: “Then you’re also using the same $500 billion to what? Say your funding health care. Your own actuary says you can’t do both. […] What’s the $500 billion in cuts for? Preserving Medicare or funding the health-care law?

Sebelius’ reply? “Both.”

Why am I not surprised? That’s the whole thing about this bunch. NOTHING surprises me anymore. NOTHING. There could be a story tomorrow about monkeys flying out of the White House, with Michelle on the back balcony, screaming, “Fly, Fly!” …and it wouldn’t surprise me.

The depth and breadth of incompetence, not to mention the outright deliberate malfeasance of this administration, were it not for real, would be laughable.

From NRO’s The Corner:

…here’s a look at where Democrats stand heading into these votes.

Intransigent leadership:

* Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat, thinks anything more than the Democrats’ $6.5 billion in cuts over seven months would be literally impossible. “I think we’ve pushed this to the limit” he said on Fox News Sunday. “I’m willing to see more deficit reduction, but not out of domestic discretionary spending.”

* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), as you may recall, berated the GOP’s initial plan to cut just $32 billion over the same period — roughly half way between where the two sides are currently — as “draconian” and a “non-starter.”

Tax more, spend more:

* Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) told reporters last week that Senate Democrats were “close to believing” that they had a plan for further spending cuts. Oh, but he did have one idea: “Show me the money, show me the revenue!”

* Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) concurred: “I’m greatly disappointed so far in what [the White House has] been advocating, which is basically sort of buying into ‘we’ve got to cut everything out of discretionary.’ The White House is wrong on that… To take revenues off the table is unacceptable.”

* House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif) has an equally ingenious plan to reduce the deficit — keep on spending: “Nothing brings more to the treasury than investing in education,” she told reporters last week…

They are still, after all this time, just tax and spend liberals. It is all they know – after all, they rose to power and wealth by taxing and spending, so why change? That literal national bankruptcy stares us in the face doesn’t matter…in fact, liberal talking points are shifting away from budget cuts and towards an insistence that we’re not broke and, indeed, should go on another spending spree.

It is already too late for us to get out of this without a great deal of pain. Democrats are talking up the $61 billion in cuts in the House plan as if it is just too much…that, in effect, people will die if we dare cut that much. Of course, $61 billion is actually a minute amount to cut given the overall size of government spending. It is, at most, a symbolic gesture that we will get serious about this. Democrats really want nothing to do with it – had they not lost the House in November, they’d be busy piling on another trillion or two in spending. Their folly has become so bad as to be malevolent in effect…they threaten the very existence of our nation at this moment.

Make no mistake about it – it will already be painful; it will already require very tight budgets and a lot of hard work to dig out of the mess we’re in…and the longer we put off fixing it, the worse it will get. Its the difference between starting now and risking 12% unemployment and putting it off until we are forced in to default, and having 50% unemployment, after a bout of hyper-inflation. It really is that serious. Republicans, by and large, are doing the right thing – Democrats aren’t; and so we must beat them resoundingly in 2012 – get rid of them, before they wreck everything.