Thursday, August 4, 2011

Obama's Lowlights (8/4/11)

Wisconsin – The cost of education in the state, with the passage of the new law, has declined over 500 dollars per student per year.

Land – Over 30% of the United States’ land mass is controlled by 4 federal agencies.

David Wu – Finally, the scandal plagued Oregon representative has decided to resign. Wu has had a history of mental illness.

Luis Gutierrez – The Illinois Democratic representative was arrested at an open borders protest in Washington. This is the group that wants our borders open to all illegal immigrants. During the protest, all of the Hispanic participants chanted in Spanish, not English. I suppose assimilation to American customs is not part of their citizenship plan.

Individual Debt – Not surprising, the people who are the most in debt are from California and Hawaii. In fact, 9 of the top 10 states having the most individual debt are liberal leaning. On the other hand, 9 of 10 states with the least individual debt come from conservative leaning states (Oklahoma and West Virginia are the top 2). This should come as no surprise since liberals want more government assistance to help them pay down their debt.

Norway Terror Attack – Apparently the terrorists who carried out the terror attacks face a tough life in the Norway prison system that is equipped with luxury furniture, a luxury kitchen, big screen TV’s, refrigerators, and other amenities that most citizens do not have.

Texas – Since the recession started Texas has added nearly three quarters of the nation’s new jobs.

National Security – Former ATF agent, William Newell, admitted he was in touch with White House National Security advisor, Kevin O’Reilly, about project Fast and Furious as early as September of 2010.

Fort Hood – Authorities arrested Naser Abdo because he was planning a second attack on the military base.

Debt Ceiling – The house narrowly passed the second plan introduced by Speaker John Boehner, but the Senate killed the bill on arrival. The Reid plan proposed raising the debt ceiling 3 dollars to every dollar in budget cuts. This plan was also blocked in the Senate. Meanwhile, Democrats urged the President to use the 14th amendment to raise the debt ceiling. It was also rumored that Obama’s own party complained privately that he had not been leading on this issue. Finally, the framework of a deal was reached when Republicans and Democrats agreed they would raise the debt limit by at least $2.1 trillion and would allow Obama to get past his target date: Election Day 2012. In return for this generous political cover, Democrats agreed to a modest $1 trillion in supposed cuts spread out over 10 years; $350 billion of those “upfront” savings come from gutting national security resources. It certainly looked very suspicious and convenient that the August 2nd deadline was just in time so Obama would not miss his 50th birthday party and fundraiser.

The Budget Control Act – Here is a summary of the new budget plan passed by Congress: More than $900 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years through discretionary spending caps. $350 billion of that comes from the Pentagon; Debt limit increased by at least $2.1 trillion -- through 2013; Bipartisan super-committee is tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by November 23 presumably through tax and entitlement reform. There will be 12 members of the super-committee. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., each get to pick three members; Congress must vote on recommendations made by the bipartisan Congressional deficit reduction committee by December 23; If Congress fails to pass the committee proposal, triggers are enacted that spur at least $1.2 trillion in cuts and those will be close to 50/50 split between domestic/defense spending. But the triggers exempt cuts to Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries, and low income programs. The cuts will take effect on January 2, 2013.

My Book: Is America Dying? (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble)

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