This and That or Matt Checks In

I've been off the grid for a bit, but still keeping up on the news and other goings on as I moved TIB Central Command to its new super secret location. I wanted to take a few minutes of your precious time to comment on a few things that have been thrust upon my radar...

BUTLER COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS:

It is no secret that Butler County's government is in no danger of running short of shenanigans, but this latest episode demonstrates just how very little progress has been made in reforming local government. Once again, we learn of backroom deals that benefit politicians and their families and the people whom we have placed our public trust are screwing us. Still. After all these years and after all the examples of what happens when politicians finally get caught, there are still clowns who insist on playing these same old games.

Sure...it happens everywhere. I'm no fool, no matter what the establishment will try to get you to believe. But I took some measure of pride in shining a candle's worth of light in to the dark recesses of Butler County's tomfoolery and it pains me that even after expending so many pixels here on the subject, we really haven't made that much progress in rooting out the disease that plagues the county.

So, yeah, put me down in the column of favoring a ray or three of sunshine on to the dark space that is the Butler County Board of Elections. I can only hope that a few more politicians learn that nepotism and chicanery is no way to run government.

And if, by some strange coincidence, you have been living under a rock (like I have the last few weeks) and have no idea what this is about, go over to the Journal-News site and run a search on Board of Elections.

SIDEBAR: Mike Gmoser is En Fuego. Go get 'em!

"Thingamabobs Have Consequences" by Jonah Goldberg:

...the minimum wage is a boon to robots. If you make human labor more expensive, non-human labor becomes more attractive. If you tell car-wash owners that they have to pay their employees $100 an hour, the owner will most likely search his desk for that business card from that salesman from Acme Robots.

The above is a short excerpt from the opening paragraph from Jonah's G-File "e-newsletter" that hit my inbox today. Since POTUS is trying to divert attention from his crummy website for his even more diabolical signature legislation with more prattle on increasing the minimum wage, I thought it relevant to let someone else say what I've been telling you all for years: Increasing the minimum wage is the best way to increase unemployment amongst the already hardest hit segments of our population...but don't let the truth stop liberals from distracting us from more important stuff with even more promises of "free" stuff. Because that's never been done before...

APOCALYPTIC CONSERVATISM?

My immediate reaction to a National Review (dead tree edition or I'd link to it) piece by Lowery and Ponnuru is to point out that there is a difference between grassroots activists and the "elite" few engaged in party politics. That's why there are so many squabbles between the "Republican Party" and the "Tea Party" people. The GOP has an agenda to win elections. The TP's agenda is all about ideology. As a guy who straddled both worlds, I can say that neither position is necessarily right at any given time. Instead of treating the TP like some doody left on the front yard, maybe the GOP ought to find better ways of explaining their pragmatism to the TP. I've always said that the TP has a problem with patience and their inexperience with politics has been their worst enemy.

The piece was about the defunding Obamacare fight and as usual you can count on National Review to wag their finger at any conservative who dares to stand on principle and fight the good fight for the sake of fighting a good fight against an administration hellbent on destroying our way of life with an agenda so far left it makes Stalin look like a righty. I could appreciate their position more if they would actually promote an alternative strategy other than "Roll over and take it." but they don't.

Say what you want about the new guys with the R at the end of their names (and I have); but, for the most part, they aren't in DC to gain new friends and attend parties. We're in serious trouble in this country and if we don't stop messing around, we're going to lose everything. So while I can understand the thought process behind picking your battles for a political win, I also firmly back ANY fight that stands in opposition to the further destruction of our values and freedom.

A point made in the article is that conservatives alone are not sufficiently strong enough in numbers to win on their own. And that is true. But let me point out that there are more conservatives in this country than any other ideology. That has to count for something. When the establishment continually evaluates their losses as excuses to turn left, somebody needs to remind the establishment that by drawing in more "moderates" you turn off that base of support that makes the party viable in the first place. Democrats don't do this. They don't look at a loss and say, "We need to get more conservative." No. They double down on their principles and give us Obama. Twice. Heck, that Nancy Pelosi still holds a leadership position ought to tell you all you need to know about that.

My advice to both sides is to stop hurting each other and find ways to work on the things that we agree on while we talk about the things that we don't. Rome wasn't built in a day. Show some patience. Politics is a marathon, not a sprint.

BOEHNER ON IMMIGRATION:

Seriously?

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

It's all I got on that... I have no idea what he's doing.

I am not at all pleased with what I've seen so far. Hiring a McCainite Shamnesty Cheerleader isn't encouraging.

Still kinda hoping this is all some sort of grand strategery intended to bluff Obama on the issue, but I know better...

Thursday Nov 21 WMD Scattershot Blasts

Democrats Choose Tyranny Over Liberty....Progressives decide debate is just too hard and so therefore they must stifle it....Folks, these people are dictators....They don't believe in the rule of law, law that has been just fine since 1789...I mean, and hypocrites also.... Today President Obama lauded the Nuclear Option, But When he was a Senator....


Durbin voted for the nuclear option today, but back in 2005....





Even Harry Reid, little dictator of the Senate, Was Against the Nuclear Option...Until Today...
 


Illinois Community Ravaged by Tornado Tells FEMA to Go Home...My friends, this is what America should look like....this is what the Real America is, folks.  

The White House Shared Concerns Over Obamacare Long Ago-  Is this video a smoking gun?  If not, then these emails mount a chain of evidence toward deceiving the American people....


S is for Stupid, and Sebelius....This woman makes Homer Simpson seem like Albert Einstein....Oops! Indeed!

While We are Talking about HHS, How Do You Spend More to Spend Less?  Department spends loads to find out how to....save money????

Hey! Leave Our Healthcare Alone!!!!  93% want Obamacare changed or repealed.  Yes, Please!


Breakin' Healthcare Wave II, the You Can't Keep Your Doc Bugaloo....It keeps getting worse and worse as more cancellations go out....

Obamacare Creates Alcoholics....Businessman says Obama driving him to drink....Will he get treatment for this condition?

Better Invest in Lifelock if Obamacare is Allowed to Stay Around....Navigators already plotting to sell your info down the river....

So Much for Ryan Being a Tough Budget Hawk....CandyArse admits he will deal rather than take a stand on principle if budget deadline looms again....

In Well, Duh! News, Chris Christie Hearts Obamacare....Thanks Rand Paul, the embrace and the love letters didn't clue us in already that Christie is left of John McCain....

More Scientists Questioning Global Warming/Hurricane Increase Hypothesis...People are trying to get to the truth....but prince Charles still spouts nonsense 

Thanks Loose Immigration Policy!  Al Qaeda in Kentucky!!!!  Patrick Poole, call yer office.....

If you want your baby killed, you'll have to speak up, my insurance doesn't cover hearing aids....Yes, this craziness is true.  Read it here....

Oregon?  Anyone there? No one is registering for health exchange in one of America's most liberal states...

He Didn't Feed the Lie So He was Fired....Official axed for not backing Obama's so called "Keep your doctor" fix...

YES YOU CAN ....get your insurance cancelled, too, college kids....

Even A Dem Is Questioning Obama's Authority....Better watch out, he'll do a Benghazi on you!

Cher is an Expert on Being One, But When Has She Ever Been Right?  I mean, she couldn't get naming her kid right, ahem....She called Sarah Palin a dumb C word....

Possible Solution to Obamacare:  National Health Charter??  I know, sounds dubious...but check out the article and decide....


Obama is so 2009 man...Why Youth Are Turning on the Big O (no, not Michelle....)  

I must break obamacare to save it? Another Illogical argument from the White House of Bad Ideas....

WMD Scattershot Blasts for November 7, 2013

Obamacare by Morning...
Libtards on twitter and facebook show they can't take a joke...CMA Awards Obamacare spoof hits nail on the head...or hemorrhoids in the rear...




Facts Show White House Efforts to Blame Insurance Cos for Cancellations are Lies
From the WaPo:
We’ve noted before the tight regulations that the Department of Health and Human Services wrote while implementing the law, which affected “grandfathered plans,” those obtained before the law was signed on March 23, 2010.  That’s what Carney is referring to when he claims that insurance companies are taking away benefits — though that is just one of a myriad of provisions that could affect a plan’s grandfathered status.
But how many people actually would have kept their individual plans that long in the first place? HHS, when it drafted the interim rules, estimated that between 40 and 67 percent of policies in the individual market are in effect for less than one year. “These estimates assume that the policies that terminate are replaced by new individual policies, and that these new policies are not, by definition, grandfathered,” the rules noted. (See page 34553.)
That’s a large percentage of the plans — but it’s actually bigger than that, given the effective date. We dug into the key research that prompted this estimate, a study titled “Patterns Of Individual Health Insurance Coverage, 1996–2000.” The study noted that, for most people, buying individual insurance is a temporary condition:

“Roughly two-thirds of spells began or ended with employer-sponsored coverage. Eighty-five percent of those with such coverage before a spell of individual coverage returned to an employer-sponsored plan. Thus, more than half of all individual-coverage spells (58 percent) bridged periods of employer-based insurance.”

The study included an interesting chart, based on the experiences of more than 6,000 people, that showed how long a person had a “spell” of individual coverage. The median spell length was only 8 months. Here are the key points:
Less than 6 months:    48.2 percent
6-12 months:               16.3 percent
13-18 months:             13.7 percent
19-24 months:               4.8 percent
More than 24 months:   17  percent
Of course, the Affordable Care Act was enacted more than 44 months ago. Using the data available in the chart, we roughly calculated the Gamma distribution curve beyond 44 months. Under our model, only 4.8 percent keep the policy longer than 44 months — and that is likely an overestimate.
Translated, that means about 95 percent of people now getting cancellation notices likely purchased their plan after the effective date of the law.

Pot Meet Kettle, Obama Edition
Obama sends warning to GOP governors to stop playing politics with healthcare.  Funny, didn't he do that first?  Just sayin.

CBS, of All People, Says Obama Had Years of Warnings About Failures of Obamacare
Yeah,CBS, it is called the right wing blogosphere.....

Obamacare Will Be Judged Too Big Too Fail, Bailout of Single Payer to Come....
From the American Spectator:
Think back to the fall of 2008. Congress was asked to pass a $700 billion taxpayer bailout for Wall Street. We were told it had to be passed, or else the economy would collapse, perhaps into another Great Depression.
House conservatives voted it down. The stock market fell hundreds of points in response. In the ensuing panic, Congress went along and passed the bailout.
That bailout, and the insane, nearly $1 trillion “stimulus” bill passed just a few months later as Obama’s first act, gave birth to the Tea Party revolution that gave Republicans a 63-seat landslide in the House in the 2010 elections. Voters supported that to stop the run on taxpayer funds.
Next on the horizon is an Obamacare “death spiral” for the private health insurance industry. Taxpayers will now be told a new bailout of hundreds of billions for the private health insurers must be passed, or else private health insurance will go out of business under Obamacare. That would leave the government in complete control of American health care, especially as he who pays the piper calls the tune.
It is called “single payer” by advocates of government-run health care. In plain English, “single payer” means “government monopoly” over health care, more commonly known as “socialized medicine.” That means the government decides who gets what health care, or ultimately, who lives and who dies. For those who think the government is God, such health care socialism is long overdue.
Meaning — spiraling decline in the quality of American health care, the end of investment in new, breakthrough medicine, Sarah Palin’s death panels.
Go read the whole thing!

Former Cantor Chief of Staff Helped McAuliffe Win in VA
I am shocked, SHOCKED! to find Eric Cantor employing RINOs!  (sarcasm).  Breitbart has the story here. 

Krispy Kreme Christie Joins John Kasich Obamacare Surrender Club
Krispy Kreme Christie, governor of New Jersey and Obama's secret lover, became the latest Surrender Republican Governor to rapidly expand Medicaid in the Obamacare scheme.  So, this is what victory 2016 looks like?  Hardly.  Maybe next, like John Kasich, Krispy Kreme will say God told him to do it.....

Attention Ohio General Assembly, and especiall the Senate:  Even Kids Know Common Core is Rotten....
From EAGnews:
Emily Anderson, a ninth-grader at Owasso Mid-High School, has always been near the top of her class when it comes to academics. She was in enrolled in the TACK program for gifted and talented students throughout middle school and is currently taking Pre-AP classes.
But Anderson has some concerns with the future of her education after seeing evidence of the implementation of Common Core standards in her classrooms.
“I know I’m not stupid. I’m not dumb. I just know that whatever is going on isn’t working with the way that I learn,” Anderson said.

You Will Accept Obamacare and Medicare Patients Or Else....
A scary and likely postulation on the future here....

...We Will Give You the New Mexico Treatment....
Another sad story questions just how far our police are going nowadays. To add insult to injury, the urgent care billed the man for the "treatment" to the tune of in excess of $6000.  Of course, we come to find out now that this drug dog has had numerous false alerts in the past.  And, ANOTHER person has come out after the story linked to above came out.  This person received the same "treatment" by local police in New Mexico.  And supposedly, the same dog was used.  Time to put Rover out to stud, people. 

Speaking of Dog Doo, Obama Steps in It Again...LIAR LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!
From Fox News:
Millions of health insurance plans have been cancelled after ObamaCare went into effect, and President Obama backed away Monday from his previous oft-repeated statement that "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan."
But he may want to glance at his own website, WhiteHouse.gov, which still states: "For Americans with insurance coverage who like what they have, they can keep it. Nothing in this act or anywhere in the bill forces anyone to change the insurance they have, period."

That appears in a section of the WhiteHouse.gov website labeled "health reform details." The exact same language also appears in the Department of Health and Human Services' online description of the law.
But that web description is very different from what Obama said Monday to top backers of Organizing for Action, his permanent campaign arm.
"What we said was, 'You could keep it [your plan] if it hasn't changed since the law was passed,'" Obama said.
OOOPS!

Obama Takes Care of Union Buddies Quietly with More Waivers....
Remember how we thought Hoffa and the boys were coming around now that they saw that they would be screwed on insurance?  Well, Obama is fixing that.  How?  By unconstitutionally changing the ACA, aka Obamacare, just as he has been doing since the monstrosity was passed. 

Video Vault
Check out the truth o meter!

John Boehner Pulls a John Kerry on Congressional Health Subsidies

"I was actually for Congress getting bailed out of Obamacare before I was against it."  That seems to be the view of John Boehner, at least according to emails leaked by Harry Reid's staffers.

Leaked emails between Harry Reid's office and John Boehner's show that the Speaker of the House appears to be flip flopping all over the place when it comes to whether or not Congress and staff should get subsidies to help pay for their health coverage under Obamacare.  The Speaker has been the target of conservatives for a while now, and this will not help his case with the Right of Center.  From the Politico:

With the federal government nearing shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner stood on the House floor Monday and called on his colleagues to vote for a bill banning a “so-called exemption” that lawmakers and staffers receive for their health insurance.
“Why don’t we make sure that every American is treated just like we are?” Boehner asked, seeking to prohibit members of Congress and Capitol Hill aides from getting thousands of dollars in subsidies for their health insurance as they join Obamacare-mandated insurance exchanges.
Yet behind-the-scenes, Boehner and his aides worked for months with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and others, to save these very same, long-standing subsidies, according to documents and e-mails provided to POLITICO. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was also aware of these discussions, the documents show.
So, Mitch McConnell was in on it, too, eh?  This is no surprise to anyone who has followed the career of the spineless McConnell, who claimed to want to remove Obamacare "root and branch" in campaign commercials even while not supporting the efforts of Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and others to do just that. 

What is surprising is the sinister and even conspiratorial nature of the emails between Boehner's and Reid's offices:

Boehner’s aides vehemently deny that the speaker’s private efforts contradict his public statements on the issue. They insist Democrats were the ones who enacted Obamacare and it is up to them to address the problem. Boehner said the White House should correct the problem though through an administrative solution, stating that no bill to do so could pass Congress.
(WATCH: Rep. Larson's passionate floor speech)
“We always made it clear that the House would not pass any legislative ‘fix,’” said Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman, on Monday night.
“As POLITICO has previously reported, Speaker Boehner was aware that Sen. Reid and the White House were discussing this issue. He was always clear, however, that any ‘fix’ would be a Democratic ‘fix.’ His ‘fix’ is repealing” Obamacare.
But according to several sources in attendance at a mid-July meeting with Reid, Boehner wondered aloud at one point whether he and the Nevada Democrat could quietly slip some language into a bill to end the problem without it receiving any public attention.

“When I was in the state legislature, we used to stick things in [bills] and no one would notice,” Boehner said during a private meeting with Reid in July to discuss this issue, the sources said.
Boehner’s aides then told him this would not be possible, so the idea was dropped.
The speaker and his chief of staff, Mike Sommers — who was at that July 17 meeting as well — cannot “recall the Speaker making such a comment,” Boehner’s office said. 

And, even having faux immigration meetings to discuss getting congressional bailout on Obamacare:

In mid-July, as Boehner and Reid were trying to schedule a private meeting with Obama on the super-sensitive topic, the speaker’s top aide said it was okay to use a cover story to conceal the true nature of that prospective White House gathering.
“We can’t let it get out there that this is for [Boehner] and [Reid] to ask the President to carve us out of the requirement of Obamacare,” Sommers told David Krone, Reid’s top aide in a July 17 e-mail obtained by POLITICO.
“This is a little bit more difficult because it isn’t a routine meeting, as [Nancy] Pelosi and [Mitch] McConnell won’t be there. I am even ok if it is the President hauling us down to talk about the next steps on immigration.”
After Krone suggested that the White House press office might float that the Boehner-Reid-Obama meeting was on immigration, Sommers said he wasn’t concerned about what cover story was just as long as the real reason behind the meeting wasn’t disclosed.
“I really don’t care what is is about[,] it just can’t be about what we know it is about!” Sommers told Krone.
That meeting with Obama never took place.
Boehner and Reid’s offices also circulated some draft legislation to fix the problem, although none was ever introduced. They considered — briefly and “not seriously,” according to the speaker’s office — making all House staffers part of the “Committee of the Whole” in order to get around the insurance-exchange requirement. Committee staffers were not required to enroll in exchanges.
Boehner and Reid’s staffers also discussed “grandfathering” all members of Congress into the Federal Employee Benefit Health Plan, their current insurance program, so they didn’t have to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges. That idea was eventually dropped as well.
Boehner’s office said the leak of private e-mails to POLITICO shows how concerned Democrats are about the matter.

Boehner appears ready and able to screw his constituents and the American people if it benefits himself or wins favors, as this calls to mind the reports that he personally gave Obama advice on how to win Republicans over to the effort to bomb Syria back in September.

Boehner cannot be trusted to do what is right for Constitutional constructionists or conservatives.  Glenn Beck has demanded that Boehner resign from his Speakership, and I must say, the more I read about just how much Boehner wanted his own subsidy and really didn't seem too interested in killing Obamacare, the more I am inclined to agree.

Senate Dist. 14 Central Committeeman Stands Up to Bob Bennett and Squish ORP

From the Notice:

The appointment of Matt Borges
to the position of executive director of the ORP by Chairman Bennett cannot stand.

It is outrageous that a person with such a checkered past and working as a lobbyist for a Gay and Lesbian Organization promoting same sex marriage is not what the ORP needs to present to voters going into this falls election.

At the last SCC meeting I voted against Kevin Dewine being appointed to any position outside of his newly elected one on the committee itself. I felt his actions as Chairman harmed the ORP and he should simply step away quietly. I felt it was a matter of ethics. When you bend the rules and then break them publicly you must be shamed and pay the price. You are not to be given public praise and gifts and then awarded a position of influence.

It was for the fear of what is coming next that I voted "nay".

Now, since the SCC stood for nothing regarding ethical behavior before, we get this.

Will you join me on Friday, and request that Chairman Bennett withdraws the appointment of Mr. Borges? If you will not then I only ask you this.....what will come next?

Sincerely,

Scott A. Nichols
Senate District 14



**If you are not part of SCC, but a precinct committee person in Senate District 14, I ask you to contact Chairman Bennett and join me in asking for Matt Borges appointment to be withdrawn.

Chairman Bennett contact info:
216-961-8400 bennett@ohiogop.org

Mr. Nichols is the gentleman who took over for my Senate District, formerly occupied by Dr. No himself, John Becker. Mr. Becker is running for a statehouse seat, so he could no longer serve on the Central Committee.

Matt Borges is a lobbyist based in Columbus. The Dispatch has more:

Matt Borges is a lobbyist for Equality Ohio, founded in 2005 by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists after Ohio voters’ passage of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

He’s also the new executive director of the Ohio Republican Party.

Borges, recently named to his role by Ohio GOP Chairman Robert T. Bennett, said he will take a leave of absence from the Columbus lobbying firm Roetzel & Andress through the end of the year and will resign as a lobbyist registered with the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.

His leave will begin soon — there’s one little-known bill in the legislature of interest to a client he’d like to see through — and will include a hiatus from lobbying for his 16 clients currently registered with the state. They include the MetroHealth System of Cleveland and Akron public schools.

As the executive director for Gov. John Kasich’s inauguration committee, Borges said he’s a member of the “Kasich gang” and is aware of Kasich’s repeated, public denunciations of the influence lobbyists have on state government.

“I understand the appearance part of that, and I am a guy who has to be very concerned about appearances,” said Borges, also referring in part to a 2004 misdemeanor conviction related to soliciting illicit campaign contributions that was later expunged from his record.

“I don’t want to leave anybody with a wrong impression.”

Bennett, who returned to his longtime post as GOP chairman in April after the Kasich camp’s victory over then-Chairman Kevin DeWine in a bitter fight for party control, said he’s already resigned as a lobbyist. It’s not illegal for someone to be a registered lobbyist and work for the state party.

This is stupid all the way around. First, the gay and lesbian issue is a non starter in Ohio. We have that whole defense of marriage thing. Also, it is a non-starter nationally. Once again, Bob Bennett has put his fingers to the political winds only to find them stuck to focusing on squish moderates. Ohio has spoken on the issue of gay marriage. Having someone who was hired to change that does not speak well of the Republican image for respecting law and order, especailly since it was Republicans who put that law into place. Also, we have seen how just making a move to get a splash for political correctness has fared: Obama has lost points not necessarily because he supports gay marriage but because most people view his little quip for what it is: taking advantage of an issue for political gain.

A second reason this appointment is stupid is that it rails against everything Kasich is griping about when it comes to lobbyists. The Dispatch story talks about Kasich's position about not liking lobbyists jumping into government or having influence. What the hell do you think this is? It makes Kasich and the Republicans look as hypocritical as Obama when Obama said he wouldn't have a White House filled with lobbyists and then went out and, well...hired a bunch of lobbyists.

A third reason this appointment is a bad idea is that Borges comes not only with the homosexuality lobbying tag, but also with scandal. Even though, as the Dispatch pointed out, the offense was expunged from his record, he still has the smell of scandal.

So we are in effect pulling an Obama. Obama told religious people to screw off with the contraception mandate and the gay marriage thing. We are telling CCV we don't need your vast organization efforts anymore, essentially. Also, we are telling people that past offenses don't mean anything. What next? We welcome Tom Noe and others back to the fold with open arms?

I thought Kevin DeWine was bad and needed to go. However, Bob Bennett is worse. He is an old crook from the past who, despite letting Tom Noe and others run wild with party money, was let back into the castle after being thrown out. Bad idea all around. If Obama didn't suck so bad, I would daresay this Bennett regime and this whole Borges appointment might be a game changer. It certainly doesn't bode well for "unity" or "having the grassroots fired up" unless you mean p**sed off at leadership.

I stand with Scott Nichols and the majority of not just Ohio Republicans, but Ohioans. Matt Borges needs to go.

Whoever Wrote Jeb Bush's Editorial is Right, He is Not

Jeb Bush, much like the Bush family, is a bunch of tools. Yes, I know, GHWBush served his country in WWII as well as the Presidency, and W43 was a President I voted twice for. However, let's face it...these clowns are the Republican version of the Kennedys. And they never know when to go away. Jeb Bush is listening to all those squish moderates out there and all the disaffected conservatives who say, if only we had someone else....and he is dipping his toe in the water....Tom Blumer, my good friend and fellow blogger, fell for it hook, line, and sinker on the following editorial, which I believe was excellently written by someone...just not Jeb Bush. Or, if it was, he doesn't mean it:

Congressman Paul Ryan recently coined a smart phrase to describe the core concept of economic freedom: "The right to rise."

Think about it. We talk about the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to assembly. The right to rise doesn't seem like something we should have to protect.

But we do. We have to make it easier for people to do the things that allow them to rise. We have to let them compete. We need to let people fight for business. We need to let people take risks. We need to let people fail. We need to let people suffer the consequences of bad decisions. And we need to let people enjoy the fruits of good decisions, even good luck.

That is what economic freedom looks like. Freedom to succeed as well as to fail, freedom to do something or nothing. People understand this. Freedom of speech, for example, means that we put up with a lot of verbal and visual garbage in order to make sure that individuals have the right to say what needs to be said, even when it is inconvenient or unpopular. We forgive the sacrifices of free speech because we value its blessings.

But when it comes to economic freedom, we are less forgiving of the cycles of growth and loss, of trial and error, and of failure and success that are part of the realities of the marketplace and life itself.

Increasingly, we have let our elected officials abridge our own economic freedoms through the annual passage of thousands of laws and their associated regulations. We see human tragedy and we demand a regulation to prevent it. We see a criminal fraud and we demand more laws. We see an industry dying and we demand it be saved. Each time, we demand "Do something . . . anything."

Have we lost faith in the free-market system of entrepreneurial capitalism? Are we no longer willing to place our trust in the creative chaos unleashed by millions of people pursuing their own best economic interests?

The right to rise does not require a libertarian utopia to exist. Rather, it requires fewer, simpler and more outcome-oriented rules. Rules for which an honest cost-benefit analysis is done before their imposition. Rules that sunset so they can be eliminated or adjusted as conditions change. Rules that have disputes resolved faster and less expensively through arbitration than litigation.

In Washington, D.C., rules are going in the opposite direction. They are exploding in reach and complexity. They are created under a cloud of uncertainty, and years after their passage nobody really knows how they will work.

We either can go down the road we are on, a road where the individual is allowed to succeed only so much before being punished with ruinous taxation, where commerce ignores government action at its own peril, and where the state decides how a massive share of the economy's resources should be spent.

Or we can return to the road we once knew and which has served us well: a road where individuals acting freely and with little restraint are able to pursue fortune and prosperity as they see fit, a road where the government's role is not to shape the marketplace but to help prepare its citizens to prosper from it.

In short, we must choose between the straight line promised by the statists and the jagged line of economic freedom. The straight line of gradual and controlled growth is what the statists promise but can never deliver. The jagged line offers no guarantees but has a powerful record of delivering the most prosperity and the most opportunity to the most people. We cannot possibly know in advance what freedom promises for 312 million individuals. But unless we are willing to explore the jagged line of freedom, we will be stuck with the straight line. And the straight line, it turns out, is a flat line.

Sorry, I have read too much about the Bushes and their beliefs in statist tendencies to believe Jeb espouses this. And Jeb acts like he and Paul Ryan are hitting on a new theme. Yeah, the guys like Newt and others who said "the era of Reagan is over" and "quit romanticizing for the past" are using things said and articulated by Ronald Reagan, and for the last two and a half decades, by Rush Limbaugh.

Why do I think Jeb Bush didn't write this stuff, or if he did, he is only feeding red meat and not a true believer? Look what he said in May 2009 in the Washington Times:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday that it's time for the Republican Party to give up its "nostalgia" for the heyday of the Reagan era and look forward, even if it means stealing the winning strategy deployed by Democrats in the 2008 election.

"You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it, and we have to be respectful and mindful of that," Mr. Bush said.

The former president's brother, often mentioned as a potential candidate in 2012, said President Obama's message of hope and change during the 2008 campaign clearly resonated with Americans.

"So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it's great, but it doesn't draw people toward your cause," Mr. Bush said. "From the conservative side, it's time for us to listen first, to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit, to not be nostalgic about the past because, you know, things do ebb and flow."

The Florida governor joined former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor on Saturday at a small pizza parlor in Arlington for the inaugural event of the National Council for a New America (NCNA).

Mr. Cantor said meeting with ordinary folks is the key way "to begin a conversation with the American people" and explain Republican principles to anyone who will listen.

This is why Mitt, Jeb, and Eric Cantor are not conservatives. Conservatism is not a flash in the pan, good time johnny come lately bunch of stuff that changes. Conservatism is timeless. It is a way of life. You don't change it or anything. It changes you. It changes the world and has changed the world.

It shows they fundamentally lack the full understanding of conservatism to waffle in such a way. Conservatism may compromise at times, but overall you don't throw it out and then bring it back and recycle. It is a set of guide post principles, not temporary markers. The problem is that these clowns can't articulate it themselves or don't fully live it. So, they try to say, Reagan is over, but all it shows is their lack of understanding again.

These clowns just are egomaniacs. They want it all about them, and now they know that anti-Reagan/Reagan is passe talk is a nonstarter. So now Jeb goes out and has someone write him a piece Reagan himself could have written. This is why we are in the mess we are in.

The editorial is right. Jeb Bush, the alleged author, is most assuredly not.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (RINO-KY), Wants to Defy the Constitution by Giving Obama Power to Raise Ceiling

Mitch McConnell is no conservative. I am not sure he is a higher order life form. I mean, the man has no backbone, so how can he be an evolved lifeform. He is so afraid of standing on principle that he seeks to defy the Constitution's Article I by giving President Obama authority to raise the debt limit on his own three times a year. From Erick Erickson:

In a nutshell, the President would get to raise the debt ceiling three times in the next year at several billion bucks a pop without making any spending cuts unless two-thirds of both houses of Congress disagree. In his press conference, McConnell says he would not give the President “unilateral authority to make spending cuts on his own,” but this plan would allow the President to raise the debt ceiling pretty much automatically.As the Politico notes,

Senate Republicans are actively pursuing a new plan under which the debt ceiling would grow in three increments over the remainder of this Congress unless lawmakers approve a veto-proof resolution of disapproval.

In effect lawmakers would be surrendering the very power of approval that the GOP has used to force the debt crisis now. But by taking the disapproval route, Republicans can shift the onus more onto the White House and Democrats since a two-thirds majority will be needed to stop any increase that President Barack Obama requests.

Yes, instead of putting the burden on the White House, McConnell would make it damn near impossible to block a debt ceiling increase. We’ve seen this before. The House once had the Gephardt rule that required the debt ceiling vote be attached to a more popular measure so members of Congress could escape a tough vote.

Consequently, the debt ceiling has gone up to $14 trillion without Congress ever having to make a tough choice about debt.

And now Mitch McConnell wants to make it even easier by allowing Congress to go through a dog and pony show of feigned cuts that never get cut while allowing escalation of our national debt. So much for accusing Barack Obama of smoke and mirrors.

Typical Spineless RINO. Rather than take any heat and actually stand for something, B*tch McConnell (RINO, KY) decides he wants to cut a deal so he can look like a hero to the lamestream driveby media. Who cares if it subverts the very framework of our government and destroy the division of powers, it will get B**** a lifetime invite to all the cool Sunday talk shows and all the cool DC parties?

Our government is one of separated powers so the executive cannot run roughshod. Congresses over the past few decades have ceded more and more power to the executive, without engaging in next to any oversight. The threat of the purse is one of the last refuges Congress has. Doing this deal will basically create an unfettered executive branch that has little to answer to Congress. But, it does mean that B**** McConnell won't have to hurt his itty bitty brain and make a decision.

Flood the lines to DC and tell the GOP Senators that this proposal doesn't just suck, it blows.

DICK Lugar: Moron

Dick Lugar thinks we should bring back the assault weapons ban, in light of the Tucson shooting. HEY DICK, GUESS WHAT? The ammo could still have been bought. You would not have stopped a bloody thing! Moron! Check out the article over at Hot Air.

The List of Traitorous GOP Senators who Sided with Putin and Russia over US

Here is the list:

The 11 Republican senators who voted in favor of moving ahead with the treaty Tuesday were Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Robert F. Bennett (Utah), Scott Brown (Mass.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), Bob Corker (Tenn.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia J. Snowe (Maine) and George V. Voinovich (Ohio).

All also voted in favor of ratification Wednesday, as did Gregg. In addition, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) voted for the treaty, pushing the total yes votes to 71.

Some of these were people who got beat or who are leaving the Senate (like the Crying Man Voinovich). Others are pieces of Moderate Garbage who just vote because they think they are making history (like that dumb piece of garbage Snowe). Shocking is that Scott Brown has lived up to the liberal caricature of him as an empty headed male model who can't think three feet in front of him. Other names are familiar moderates who want to trade security for pork, like DICK Lugar and Susan Collins, and of course the Pork Queen Lisa Murkowski.

Disgusting. Like the Ohio Senate Republicans, it appears the US Senate republicans are froth with libs who need constant watching and serious pruning. They cannot be trusted.

GOP US Senate: You Know You Are In Trouble When....

Even a spineless pro amnesty hack like Lindsey Graham call you spineless! From the Hill:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) lashed out at fellow Republicans Tuesday for a "capitulation ... of dramatic proportions" to Democrats and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the lame-duck Congress.

Graham said Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for allowing ratification of the New START Treaty and other legislation in the period before new lawmakers are sworn in in January.

"When it's all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has eaten our lunch," Graham said on Fox News radio. "This has been a capitulation in two weeks of dramatic proportions of policies that wouldn't have passed in the new Congress."

Gosh Lindsey, you appear to be growing a spine as you are going to be up for election in two years or so. Hmmm....He does make some good points though:

"I can understand the Democrats being afraid of the new Republicans; I can't understand Republicans being afraid of the new Republicans," Graham lamented on WTMA radio. "They're not opportunities to take everything you couldn't do for two years and jam it. It's literally what they're doing, across the board. And after a while, I stop blaming them, and I blame us."

Graham blamed outgoing Republican senators in particular.

"They have used the power of the Senate against the minority, and we have, quite frankly, a handful of us have been letting them do it. And a lot of the people who are doing this got beat. And that's what makes me so upset," he said. "It makes me disappointed that, with a new group of Republicans coming in, we could get a better deal on almost everything."

Yeah, people like the maggot sucking infested with pork and waste in his veins, joke of a Republican George Voinovich. I wish he would leave Ohio and never come back. He makes me ill to consider myself a Republican. The big tent should not include such a self serving, spineless, no conscience maggot like Crying George.
George Voinovich has betrayed the present and future security of this country, along with mindless male model Scott Brown in doing stupid things like voting for the repeal of Dont Ask Dont Tell and the START Treaty. Morons!

POTUS 2012: Rudy Wasn't Serious in 2008, not Serious Now

From someone associated with the campaign in 2008, over at Legal Insurrection:

Today there was an interesting article in the Hill about Rudy Giuliani being a possible "dark horse" in 2012. Apparently, "It’s not because Giuliani has shifted; it’s because the Republican Party has. The 2010 election was less about social conservatism than it was fiscal conservatism, and that aligns with Giuliani’s socially moderate and fiscally conservative ideology."

As someone who worked on that campaign in 2007-2008, my answer is an overwhelming NO.

OK, now why wouldn't Rudy be serious about running. The shift away from social issues seems to be playing to his strengths. Well, according to Legal Insurrection, Rudy may not have been very serious about winning even in 2008, and should not consider running now:

I was on the ground with the campaign in New Hampshire and throughout NY/NJ, it was virtually run by a group of "yes men" who never told Rudy that it was a bad idea to run down to Florida for several weeks at a time "campaigning." The election wasn't a total loss for Rudy, after all, he got higher speaking fees and I'm sure his wink towards a possible 2012 bid is exactly what will keep those engagements in demand. If he really wanted the presidency, and didn't bother vesting in the time in it during 2008 - when the "America's Mayor" image was ripe in the minds of millions, I doubt he would bother putting in the will in 2012.

Interesting points all around. I tend to agree with the blogger. As America chooses to forget 9/11, Rudy's excellent work that day and in the days that follow is not on the minds of Americans anymore. That is sad, but a reality.

Michael Steele Playing Race Card--Classless

Michael Steele is running an Obama like campaign to keep his job as RNC chair. He is hinting that failure to re-elect him will indicate that the GOP is racist:

Mr. Steele announced his decision in a conference call with supporters and officials of the 168-member RNC on Monday evening.

Mr. Steele ended the 40-minute call by playing what Mr. Bopp described as the "race card."

"Who you elect as our next Chairman will speak volumes about our willingness to truly be the party of Lincoln," Mr. Steele said.

Steele's decision shows not only his ignorance but his hubris.

Many were surprised by Mr. Steele's decision to run again.

"Most members think he doesn't have the votes to win, and it would not be healthy for the RNC either to run or be re-elected," said Tennessee RNC member John Ryder. "While he has done some positive things, the overall consequences of his chairmanship has been to reduce the effectiveness of the RNC."

Mr. Steele was elected to the position in January 2009 after one term as the lieutenant governor of Maryland and an unsuccessful 2006 run for the U.S. Senate.

A number of potential replacements have been emerged as challengers or potential challengers to Mr. Steele, including former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, Wisconsin GOP Chairman Reince Priebus, former George W. Bush administration official Maria Cino, former Michigan GOP chairman Saul Anuzis, former Missouri GOP chairwoman Ann Wagner and former RNC Political Director Gentry Collins.

Mr. Collins' very public resignation last month, complete with a parting shot at Mr. Steele's management, was one of a number of personnel clashes that occurred under Mr. Steele's watch.

Ms. Cino, the latest candidate to enter the race, took at shot at Mr. Steele's leadership in a letter to RNC members over the weekend, writing, "We need to turn our party around to reach its full potential."

Remember, Steele didn't think we could take back the House. He has led the RNC into situations of dubious nature with some of the expenditures. But, this is typical of the Republican Party. It seems snatching defeat or humiliation from the jaws of victory is something not only the Ohio GOP does.

Michael Steele, in arrogant liberal fashion, calls names:

Well, Mr. Bopp is an idiot. If he took that away from, and I don’t want to be crass and I don’t want to throw stones at him, but I just think that’s an idiotic statement to make. I refer to myself as a Lincoln Republican, that’s who I am. I define myself through the party origins, the party that spoke to and about the freedom and emancipation of all people, not just black folks. ...

Food Police Act Passes Senate, Faces Reconciliation with House

Sadly, there was huge Republican support for this monstrosity. The “FDA Modernization Act” (aka The Food Police Bill) - Big Nanny/Big Gov/Big Chef is back with legislation to expand the FDA’s powers. From the Seattle Times:

A far-reaching food safety bill that could give the government more power to prevent foodborne illnesses has become a target of advocates for buying food produced locally. They worry the legislation’s safety requirements could force small farms out of business. The opposition of these “locavores” – advocates for buying food directly from the farm or closer to home – and owners of small farms has become a sticking point in the Senate, which was to vote Wednesday on whether to consider the bill. Supporters will need 60 votes to proceed on the bill because Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has objected, saying the legislation’s $1.4 billion cost isn’t paid for.

While the bill is designed to give the Food and Drug Administration greater authority over the nation’s food supply, opponents say it could bankrupt some small farms that don’t have the means to comply with new standards the bill would impose. Those standards could include registering food safety plans with the FDA and documenting efforts to show food is not contaminated as it is produced. “It’s going to put a nail in the coffin of our family food producers,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who is planning an amendment to exempt some small farms who market food close to their operations. He says many small farms already comply with state and local regulations to keep food safe.

The 15 power-grabby Republicans who voted for it:

Alexander (R-TN)
Brown (R-MA)
Burr (R-NC)
Collins (R-ME)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Snowe (R-ME)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Thanks George, again, for your power grabbing, statist, elitist, spending approach that has screwed Ohio and the nation over the past 20 or so years.

This is but yet another example of how the Dems are seeking to grab power from the states and increase the intrusion of the Federal government on more aspects of your life. And it is disgusting that these "moderate" republicans went along. Will there excuse be "when history calls, history calls?" UGH!

Check out this post from CATO about the whole mess.

Senate Votes Down Earmarks, McConnell Fails to Hold GOP Line

The Senate has announced that they are all for pork. They have voted down a ban on earmarks. From the Hill:

The Senate on Tuesday morning defeated a proposal from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to ban congressional earmarks.

In a 39-56 vote, members defeated a temporary ban on the appropriations procedure. The moratorium was offered as an amendment to a food-safety bill that is scheduled for a final vote Tuesday morning.

Senate Republicans have already passed a voluntary ban on earmarks in their caucus, but several GOP senators have objected to it. Democrats have so far declined to ban earmarks from their members.

The legislation would have established an earmark moratorium for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and also would have covered the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Congress has yet to pass an appropriations bill for the current fiscal year, and in the lame-duck session lawmakers are likely to approve either an omnibus spending bill or a continuing resolution to keep the government operating.


In speeches on Monday, Coburn said the ban was the only way to rein in out-of-control spending. He did not speak on Tuesday morning, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who supports the ban, alluded to the issue in remarks about the current debate over tax cuts.

"Republicans have heard the voters loud and clear," McConnell said. "They want us to focus on preventing a tax hike on every taxpayer, on reining in Washington spending and on making it easier for employers to start hiring again."

Eight GOP Senators joined the piggies in the Democrat party in shooting down the ban on earmarks, showing that Mitch McConnell is not holding the line as the GOP leader in the Senate.

Here is the comedic front, from Senator Dick "the Turban" Durbin, Statist, Illinois, who loves terrorists and hates our troops:

"I believe I have an important responsibility to the state of Illinois and the people I represent to direct federal dollars into projects critically important for our state and our future," Durbin said.

"We have put in place the most dramatic reform of this appropriations process since I've served in Congress," said Majority Whip and Appropriations Committee member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). "There is full disclosure in my office of every single request for an appropriation. We then ask those who have made the requests to have a full disclaimer of their involvement in the appropriation, so it's there for the public record. This kind of transparency is virtually unprecedented."

Sure, Dick, (may I call you dick?), you have have put names to them, but you still allow earmarks to be put on non-germaine bills so they can be passed. You still allow pet projects to be put into defense spending bills and such so that the project has to pass or the whole bill fails. That is what we are talking about, you corrupt, appeasing gasbag!

Here are the traitorous Republicans who want more pork and earmarks:

Eight GOP senators voted to preserve earmark spending, including Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), James Inhofe (Okla.), Dick Lugar (Ind.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Richard Shelby (Ala.). Retiring Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) and defeated Sen. Bob Bennett (Utah) also voted against it.

Gosh, George, I thought you were like a deficit hawk and stuff. Guess not, you pork barrel earmark loving slug. Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out.

Sessions' Memo On Dangers of DREAM Act and How you Can Help Fight It

h/t to Michelle Malkin:

Ten Things You Need To Know About S.3827, The DREAM Act

1. The DREAM Act Is NOT Limited to Children, And It Will Be Funded On the Backs Of Hard Working, Law-Abiding Americans

Proponents of the DREAM Act frequently claim the bill offers relief only to illegal alien “kids.” Incredibly, previous versions of the DREAM Act had no age limit at all, so illegal aliens of any age who satisfied the Act’s requirements—not just children—could obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. In response to this criticism, S.3827 includes a requirement that aliens be under the age of 35 on the date of enactment to be eligible for LPR status. Even with this cap, many aliens would be at least 41 years old before obtaining full LPR status under the Act—hardly the “kids” the Act’s advocates keep talking about.
The DREAM Act requires that DHS/USCIS process all DREAM Act applications (applications that would require complex, multi-step adjudication) without being able to increase fees to handle processing. This mandate would require either additional Congressional appropriations, or for USCIS, a primarily fee-funded agency, to raise fees on other types of immigration benefit applications. This would unfairly spread the cost of administering the DREAM Act legalization program among applicants and petitioners who have abided by U.S. laws and force taxpayers to pay for amnesty. Taxpayers would also be on the hook for all Federal benefits the DREAM Act seeks to offer illegal aliens, including student loans and grants.

2. The DREAM Act PROVIDES SAFE HARBOR FOR ANY ALIEN, Including Criminals, From Being Removed or Deported If They Simply Submit An Application

Although DREAM Act proponents claim it will benefit only those who meet certain age, presence, and educational requirements, amazingly the Act protects ANY alien who simply submits an application for status no matter how frivolous. The bill forbids the Secretary of Homeland Security from removing “any alien who has a pending application for conditional status” under the DREAM Act—regardless of age or criminal record—providing a safe harbor for all illegal aliens. This loophole will open the floodgates for applications that could stay pending for many years or be litigated as a delay tactic to prevent the illegal aliens’ removal from the United States. The provision will further erode any chances of ending the rampant illegality and fraud in the existing system.

3. Certain Criminal Aliens Will Be Eligible For Amnesty Under The DREAM Act

Certain categories of criminal aliens will be eligible for the DREAM Act amnesty, including alien gang members and aliens with misdemeanor convictions, even DUIs. The DREAM Act allows illegal aliens guilty of the following offenses to be eligible for amnesty: alien absconders (aliens who failed to attend their removal proceedings), aliens who have engaged in voter fraud or unlawfully voted, aliens who have falsely claimed U.S. citizenship, aliens who have abused their student visas, and aliens who have committed marriage fraud. Additionally, illegal aliens who pose a public health risk, aliens who have been permanently barred from obtaining U.S. citizenship, and aliens who are likely to become a public charge are also eligible.

4. Estimates Suggest That At Least 2.1 Million Illegal Aliens Will Be Eligible For the DREAM Act Amnesty. In Reality, We Have No Idea How Many Illegal Aliens Will Apply

Section 4(d) of the DREAM Act waives all numerical limitations on green cards, and prohibits any numerical limitation on the number of aliens eligible for amnesty under its provisions. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that the DREAM Act will make approximately 2.1 million illegal aliens eligible for amnesty. It is highly likely that the number of illegal aliens receiving amnesty under the DREAM Act will be much higher than the estimated 2.1 million due to fraud and our inherent inability to accurately estimate the illegal alien population. Clearly, the message sent by the DREAM Act will be that if any young person can enter the country illegally, within 5 years, they will be placed on a path to citizenship.

5. Illegal Aliens Will Get In-State Tuition Benefits

The DREAM Act will allow illegal aliens to qualify for in-state tuition, even when it is not being offered to U.S. citizens and legally present aliens living just across state lines. Section 3 of the DREAM Act repeals Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1623) which prohibits giving education benefits to an unlawfully present individual unless that same benefit is offered to all U.S. citizens.

6. The DREAM Act Does Not Require That An Illegal Alien Finish Any Type of Degree (Vocational, Two-Year, or Bachelor’s Degree) As A Condition of Amnesty

DREAM Act supporters would have you believe that the bill is intended to benefit illegal immigrants who have graduated from high school and are on their way to earning college degrees. However, the bill is careful to ensure that illegal alien high school drop-outs will also be put on a pathway to citizenship – they simply have to get a GED and be admitted to “an institution of higher education,” defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965.Under the Higher Education Act, an “institution of higher education” includes institutions that provide 2-year programs (community colleges) and any “school that provides not less than a 1-year program of training to prepare students for gainful employment” (a vocational school). Within 8 years of the initial grant of status, the alien must prove only that they finished 2 years of a bachelor’s degree program, not that they completed any program or earned any degree.

If the alien is unable to complete 2 years of college but can demonstrate that their removal would result in hardship to themselves or their U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, child, or parent, the education requirement can be waived altogether.

7. The DREAM Act does not require that an illegal alien serve in the military as a condition for amnesty, and There is ALREADY A Legal Process In Place For Illegal Aliens to Obtain U.S. Citizenship Through Military Service

DREAM Act supporters would have you believe that illegal aliens who don’t go to college will earn their citizenship through service in the U.S. Armed Forces. However, the bill does not require aliens to join the U.S. Armed Forces (the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard); instead it requires enlistment in the “uniformed services.” This means that aliens need only go to work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or Public Health Service for 2 years to get U.S. citizenship. If the alien is unable to complete 2 years in the “uniformed services,” and can demonstrate that their removal would result in hardship to themselves or their U.S. citizen or LPR spouse, child, or parent, the military service requirement can be waived altogether. Such claims will likely engender much litigation and place a huge burden on DHS.

Furthermore, under current law (10 USC § 504), the Secretary of Defense can authorize the enlistment of illegal aliens. Once enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces, under 8 USC § 1440, these illegal aliens can become naturalized citizens through expedited processing, often obtaining U.S. citizenship in six months.

8. Despite Their Current Illegal Status, DREAM Act Aliens Will Be Given All The Rights That Legal Immigrants Receive—Including The Legal Right To Sponsor Their Parents and Extended Family Members For Immigration

Under current federal law, U.S. citizens have the right to immigrate their “immediate relatives” to the U.S. without regard to numerical caps. Similarly, lawful permanent residents can immigrate their spouses and children to the U.S. as long as they retain their status. This means illegal aliens who receive amnesty under the DREAM Act will have the right to immigrate their family members—including the parents who sent for or brought them to the U.S. illegally in the first place—in unlimited numbers as soon as they become U.S. citizens (6 to 8 years after enactment) and are 21 years of age.

Additionally, amnestied aliens who become U.S. citizens will be able to petition for their adult siblings living abroad to immigrate to the U.S., further incentivizing chain migration and potentially illegal entry into the United States (for those who don’t want to wait for the petition process overseas). When an adult brother or sister receives a green card, the family (spouse and children) of the adult sibling receive green cards as well.

9. Current Illegal Aliens Will Get Federal Student Loans, Federal Work Study Programs, and Other Forms of Federal Financial Aid

Section 10 of the DREAM Act allows illegal aliens amnestied under the bill’s provisions to qualify for federal student assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) in the form of federal student loans (Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans), federal work-study programs, and other federal education services such as tutoring and counseling.

10. DHS Is Prohibited From Using the Information Provided By Illegal Aliens Whose DREAM Act Amnesty Applications Are Denied To Initiate Their Removal Proceedings or Investigate or Prosecute Fraud in the Application Process

When an illegal alien’s DREAM Act amnesty application is denied, the bill states that the alien will revert to their “previous immigration status,” which is likely illegal or deportable. The bill, however, prohibits using any of the information contained in the amnesty application (name, address, length of illegal presence that the alien admits to, etc) to initiate a removal proceeding or investigate or prosecute fraud in the application process. Thus, it will be extremely hard for DHS to remove aliens who they now know are illegally present in the U.S., because illegal aliens will be able to claim that the legal action is a product of the amnesty application, and DHS will have the nearly impossible task of proving a negative.

What Can You do, especially since there is an upcoming stand alone vote on this travesty? Well, you can target call and email your Senators and especially those Republican fence sitters like:

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN 202-224-2235; 480-897-6289: Staff says he “hasn’t made a public statement” and “hasn’t made up his mind.” He talked a tough border security game to get re-elected, while promising illegal alien activists he would “resolve their issues.” (Refresh your memories here.)
Arizona, you chose to re-elect him. You get what you deserve.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE 202-224-5344; 207-874-0883: Staff says she “hasn’t released a statement.”

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS 202-224-2523; 207-945-0417: Staff says she “hasn’t released a public statement.”

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI 202-224-6665; 907-271-3735: Staff says she’s “still reviewing the bill.”

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK 202-224-6521; 785-233-2503 Staff says he “hasn’t had a chance to look at it” and remains non-committal.

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON 202-224-5922; 214-361-3500: Staff says she “hasn’t released a statement,” but will probably do so later today.

SEN. GEORGE LEMIEUX 202-224-3041; 904-398-8586: Recorded message informs callers that he’s “in a meeting.” He has yet to publicly state his position as open-borders extremists step up pressure.

Thankfully, some fence sitting squishes have said they will vote against it. Let's hope these folks don't pull a Zack Space or Steve Driehaus:

SEN. SCOTT BROWN: Staff says he “does not support ANY taxpayer illegal alien amnesty bills,” including the DREAM Act.

SEN. MIKE JOHANNS: Opposed the DREAM Act. Period.

SEN. GEORGE VOINOVICH: Opposed.

SEN. ORRIN HATCH: A former DREAM Act champion, he is now opposed.

***

SEN. JUDD GREGG: Staff says he is a likely no vote.

Melt those phonelines, people. While the TSA stuff is going on, we can't lose sight of this travesty in the making.

RINO Former Candidate Donates to Rep. Fudge (D)

Just another one of them outstanding "moderate" Republicans that the establishment loves so much...

UPDATE:  Establishment hack and Victory Chairman Kent Moore was not sought out for comment, but probably should have been...heck, he's probably a contributer to Fudge too for all we know.