Washington Post: The Fierce Urgency of Pork

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 6, 2009; A17

“A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.”

— President Obama, Feb. 4.

Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.

And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn’t understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn’t what’s illegal, but what’s legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.

He’d been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he’s not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don’t get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.

Read the rest here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/05/AR2009020502766_pf.html

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CBO: Porkulus Bill Will Depress the Economy

That’s right folks, the Democrats own Congressional Budget Office says that this bill is a net loser. It seems like the American people are figuring this out. This is government corruption in action and the special interests and partisan outfits are getting paid bigtime, at your expense.

Via Washington Times:

President Obama’s economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing.

CBO estimates that by 2019 the Senate legislation would reduce GDP by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent on net. [The House bill] would have similar long-run effects, CBO said in a letter to Sen. Judd Gregg, New Hampshire Republican, who was tapped by Mr. Obama on Tuesday to be Commerce Secretary.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/04/cbo-obama-stimulus-harmful-over-long-haul/

Unemployment. We have had the largest job losses since 1974.

Democrat Number Six With Tax Evasion Issues

In case you missed it, details on Democrat number five HERE.

 USA Today:

WASHINGTON — The confirmation of another Cabinet member stalled Thursday because of unpaid taxes after USA TODAY disclosed that the husband of Labor secretary nominee Hilda Solis paid about $6,400 this week to settle numerous tax liens against his business dating to 1993.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-05-solis-husband-taxes_N.htm

It’s a Circus: More Stimulus Bill Details Out

Senator Lindsay Graham tells it like it is, how the process is not bipartisan, how the Republicans have been locked out, how the bill is filled with payoffs for cronies and scare tactics are being used by the administration to pass it.

My description does not do this video justice, it is a must see.

Obama’s oped is HERE that Graham refers to. It is filled with platitudes could be refutted point by point with relative ease if anyone wished to take the time. It is no wonder that most of the American people are now against this bill. Click the Government Gone Wild link below for previous updates and the text of this bill.

Glenn Beck also has his say, as usual Beck lays on the satire pretty thick, but he makes some very important points so this video is a must see. Towards the end after the Rev. Petersen interview Beck starts reading off the crap that is in this bill. 

ABC News’ Jake Tapper Destroys Obama’s Press Secretary Over Lack of Transparency

Transparency was a key theme of the Obama Campaign, a theme that they reversed literally within minutes of taking office. It seems like every other day day the Washington press corps rips this guy apart. Scott McClelland call your office. This guy was picked as Press Secretary because he is affable, a guy who you can feel sorry for and right in line with “Rules for Radicals” by Saul Alinsky, he comes across as someone who is no threat at all.