Heavy-Handed Politics: May 27, 2007

It'll never happen, but kudos for trying.

RSC Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Rep. John Campbell (R-CA) re-introduced the Family Budget Protection Act (H.R. 2084), an effort to put a cap on federal spending and make the federal budget simpler and enforceable.

From the Patriot Post.

“I am not robbed by people who have more money than I. I am robbed by a government that wants to penalize my industry and give increasing portions of what I earn to people who do not emulate my principles, morals and ethics... We once taught our young people the virtues of hard work, saving, personal responsibility and accountability for one’s actions, chastity before and fidelity and commitment in marriage, honesty, integrity and virtue—not to mention the Ten Commandments (especially the one about not coveting that which belongs to your neighbor). We now teach them entitlement, victimhood, class envy and rights to other people’s money.”

— Cal Thomas

Jimmy Carter: The worst President in American History

Investors Business Daily has a 10 part series (they are at part 8 right now with the 9th installment due out June 4th) on Jimma' Carta', called "Profile in Incompetence." Click on the graphic below to take you there.

President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder.

BY PEGGY NOONAN

"What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--'At this point the break became final.' That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.

The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place." Read on.

The Global Immigration Problem

By Victor Davis Hanson

"Thousands of aliens crossing our 2,000-mile border from an impoverished Mexico reflect a much larger global one-way traffic problem.

In Germany, Turkish workers - both legal and illegal - are desperate to find either permanent residence or citizenship.

'Londonstan' is slang for a new London of thousands of unassimilated Pakistani nationals.

In France, there were riots in 2005 because many children of North African immigrants are unemployed - and unhappy.

Albanians flock to Greece to do farm work, and then are regularly deported for doing so illegally.

The list could go on.

So why do millions of these ......"

NANCY PELOSI IS AIDING AND ABETTING TERRORISTS

Pelosi's Common Ground With Assad, Ahmadinejad
By Jack Kelly

"Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has stepped up his support for terror since he received a friendly visit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early April. Human rights advocates in Syria have gone into hiding.

'Many Syrian... pro-democracy activists have privately expressed dismay at Ms. Pelosi's message of friendship to the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad,' reported the New York Observer. 'They say that Ms. Pelosi's visit, no matter how well intentioned, has effectively pulled the rug out from under them.'

Ms. Pelosi's embrace of the Syrian dictator 'made the regime feel that Americans were divided on how to deal with Syria,' said a human rights advocate interviewed by reporter Katherine Zoepf. 'This sends a message to the regime that the pressure is off, that it can do what it likes.'

Shortly after Ms. Pelosi left Damascus, Syria's best known human rights lawyer, Anwar al-Bunni, was arrested on a trumped up charge. He reportedly has been tortured."

Read more at Real Clear Politics.

Border order II

About the Senate immigration bill ... I take it back; it stinks
By Jack Kelly, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Once the borders have been secured, I'm for a path to legal status for illegal immigrants already here. So in last week's column, I expressed cautious support for the advertised elements of the Senate immigration bill.

But the advertising is false. Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher asked an immigration lawyer friend what he thought of the bill. This was his reply:

'This bill has no enforcement at all. It says, in effect, that no Y (guest worker) or Z (amnesty) visas will be issued to anybody until the following steps are taken. But in the meantime, provisional Y and Z visas will be issued, with exactly the same effects and benefits except they can't be turned into green card status.'

This is madness. To grant an amnesty before the border is secure is to invite another massive influx of illegals."

It gets worse...................

Israel's Military Fears War This Summer

"Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) fear a war could break out this summer with Syria, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reports.

The IDF has decided not to conduct military operations in the Gaza Strip to clean out terrorist nests, believing 'that war might break out with Syria this summer,' military sources told Haaretz.

The paper added that 'intelligence analysts are still uncertain about whether Syrian President Bashar Assad intends to start a war or is merely trying to pressure Israel to resume peace talks.' "

Read on.

Just Wondering.

“The family of three of the men, arrested last week for allegedly plotting to kill American military personnel at Fort Dix, New Jersey, entered the U.S. illegally more than 20 years ago; filed for asylum back in 1989, but fell off the government’s radar screen when federal bureaucrats essentially lost track of the paperwork. Wonder how many times that’s been replicated?”

—Fred Thompson

Quote of the week

Rep. John Boehner on compromise and the immigration bill:

“I promised the President today that I wouldn’t say anything bad about... this piece of s**t bill.”

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.
-- Thomas Paine

“Those gentlemen, who will be elected senators, will fix themselves in the federal town, and become citizens of that town more than of your state.”

—George Mason, 1788

A New Drug

Oxyclinton for those suffering from H.A.S.

Israeli general: 'We've lost our fighting instinct'
TEL AVIV — A leading Israeli general blamed his country's withdrawal from Gaza for the 2006 war with Hizbullah and warned that government inaction against continuing missile strikes will encourage expanded attacks. "We may have no choice but to take Gaza again," former Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon said. "I'm not talking about ruling the city, but if we don't go in now, when they're firing at Sderot, we'll find ourselves with rockets in Ashdod."

Democrats will be known for Iraq surrender; Time now for homeland defense

World Tribune
Hillary’s hit man targets any news outlet daring to raise uncomfortable questions

By Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Media

Ben Smith of Politico.com reports that the first attack on a new book on Hillary Clinton came from Media Matters for America, “a Democratic-leaning group whose founders are close to the New York Democrat senator’s presidential campaign . . . ” Bingo. It looks like the media may finally be coming to grips with how the Clinton machine operates. The Media Matters attack on a reporter for daring to co-author a book that is somewhat critical of the New York senator is provoking interest in the group’s ties to the Democratic presidential frontrunner. But there is far more to the story.

Read on.

Pentagon: China spending big for weapons to check U.S. defense of Taiwan

World Tribune

China is investing vast sums of money in fielding weapons designed to strike U.S. aircraft carriers and ships at great distances, according to the Pentagon’s latest assessment of Chinese military power.

The objective is the capability to attack U.S. ships responding to any Chinese attack on Taiwan.

China’s military is engaged in ............"

Why Bin Laden Wants Us To Fail In Iraq

By Dinesh D'Souza

"The best way for America to win the war on terror is to make alliances with traditional Muslims to stem the influence of the radical Muslims. Traditional Muslims are the majority group in the Islamic world. They make up perhaps 65-70 percent of the population. But traditional Islam is also the recruiting pool for radical Islam. What this means is that ......"

Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007
By Tom Fitton

The Bush White House and a select group of senators have reached a prospective deal on immigration that could mean amnesty for millions of illegal aliens. This week, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff stumped for the legislation. While acknowledging that there is a “fundamental unfairness” in a bill that allows illegal aliens to stay, Chertoff says he is unwilling to call for mass deportations. “We are bowing to reality,” Chertoff said. More like ignoring reality, I would say…

Border Security: Accept No Substitutes
By Christopher G. Adamo

Heartland America breathed a premature sigh of relief when the Senate’s ill conceived “immigration reform” (read: amnesty for illegals) bill was not ramrodded through the legislative process as quickly as its proponents originally intended. Yet the most dangerous time for America is still ahead. The only remaining option for Americans who want to have a nation to pass on to future generations is to make whatever noise is necessary to stop the amnesty bill, and then systematically replace every politician who betrayed the country by supporting it in the first place…

Why Fred Thompson?
By Robert D. Novak

Fred Thompson sat at the end of a long table in The Monocle restaurant on Capitol Hill Tuesday night for dinner with some 20 fellow conservatives, mostly journalists. He sent two signals. First, he sounded like a man who has decided to run for president. Second, his candidacy will be something different from other Republicans, in both substance and style. Thompson’s performance Tuesday night, with his remarks off the record, helped show why many Republican insiders are ready to support him…

House conservatives ready to stop the Senate immigration bill

From The Hill.

ACLU files lawsuit against county for treatment of TB patient

From the Arizona Republic.

Chavez Takes on Opponents in Streets of Caracas -- 05/30/2007

"Facing one of its most serious crises, the government of Venezuela continues to use tear gas and rubber bullets against tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in the streets of Caracas.

President Hugo Chavez sent troops into the streets of his nation's capital to quell protests over the closure of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), one of the last major sources of media opposition to his government.

The government accuses RCTV of violating broadcasting regulations, while critics say Chavez simply wants to silence a vocal opponent of the regime. Chavez on Wednesday turned his sights on another, smaller opposition news channel, Globovision, calling it an enemy of the state and accusing it of misreporting the RCTV story.

With the closure of RCTV, Chavez directly or indirectly controls almost all ......"

Israel Preparing Civilians for Possibility of ‘All-Out War’
Jerusalem - Israel’s Home Front Command plans to launch a publicity campaign within a few weeks to prepare Israeli civilians for the possibility of full-scale war, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday...

Dean-Clinton Rift Could Impact ’08 Race
Well before it was clear that Democrats would regain both houses of Congress in 2006, the heads of two key bodies within the party were at odds over spending priorities. Some analysts believe the rift may play a role in the 2008 race if Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) emerges as the candidate...

Soldier wants fair and accurate reporting

"We, the soldiers, keep breaking the back of the enemy. You, the media, keep rejuvenating the enemy."

DesMoinesRegister.com
By John Carlson

"A tired and disgusted Iowa soldier fired off an e-mail a few days ago, telling family and friends how things are going in Iraq.

A Blackhawk helicopter pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Jim Funk has flown more than 80 combat missions since he arrived there in October.

He described his Boone-based unit's successes after 5,000 hours of flying out of LSA Anaconda, a huge American base north of Baghdad. He talked about the tragedies he and his fellow Iowans have witnessed and his worries of becoming complacent as he goes on mission after mission.

Morale?

'We're treading water,' the Ames man told the people closest to him. 'We continue to kick butt on missions and take care of each other, even though we know the American public and government DOES NOT stand behind us." Read on.

Hillary: Senate Rules Allowed Gupta Flights

"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that she followed all Senate rules when she accepted rides on a private jet from a longtime benefactor.

'Whatever I've done, I complied with Senate rules at the time. That's the way every senator operates,' the Democratic presidential contender said in an interview with The Associated Press during a campaign stop in Las Vegas.

The travel and consulting fees paid to Clinton's husband have come to light recently in a lawsuit against Vinod Gupta, a Clinton contributor and chief executive of the data company, InfoUSA Inc." Continue reading.

New York Times: Clintons Benefited from Public Company

"The New York Times is offering new details regarding Bill and Hillary Clinton's links to a businessman facing allegations that his public company not only aids scam artists who target the elderly, but has showered money on the Clintons with little to show for it.

NewsMax's most recent Insider Report disclosed that the firm infoUSA was accused of repeatedly renting marketing databases to unscrupulous persons who used the information to engage in fraud.

This weekend the New York Times reported in a page one story that the company and its chairman, Vinod Gupta, have been hit with a lawsuit from shareholders who maintain that Gupta wasted the firm's money trying 'to ingratiate himself' with high-profile persons.

The paper stated these persons included Bill and Hillary Clinton." Read on.

Hillary, Bill Clinton Linked to Elder Scam - How Much Were They Paid?

"Since he left office in 2001, former president Bill Clinton has been paid by $3.3 million by InfoUSA, an Omaha, Nebraska company that has been identified as a key provider of specially designed databases that have been sold to criminals who use the detailed information to defraud the unsuspecting elderly.

The consulting fees to the former president were only part of the largess InfoUSA showered on the former president.

Vinod Gupta, the CEO of InfoUSA, lent the Clintons the company's jet which took them to places like Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico.

The jet service was worth a staggering $900,000.

And Gupta gave the Clinton library a six-figure gift as well. Indeed, just months after he left the presidency, Bill Clinton was paid $200,000 for a speech given to InfoUSA in Omaha.

InfoUSA is not the kind of company with which a former president and the husband of a presidential candidate should associate.

According to the The New York Times, InfoUSA compiled and ...."

FBI Sees 'High Tempo of Terrorist Activity'

"The FBI increased its use of secret search warrants last year due to what a top official calls a 'high tempo of terrorist activity.”

FBI Assistant Director John Miller said that 2,176 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act search warrants were approved last year, compared with 1,754 granted in 2005. Most of the warrants involved plotters inside America.

'We're seeing a very high tempo of terrorist activity, not just based on the cases you're seeing being brought in the United States,' Miller said in an interview Wednesday with C-SPAN. Miller believes the U.S. may have underestimated top al-Qaida leaders' ability to oversee operations in recent years, the New York Daily News reports." More.

Giuliani Blasts Hillary's Tax Increase Plan

"Rudy Giuliani charged that fellow New Yorker and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s plan to reverse President Bush’s tax cuts would amount to 'an astounding, staggering tax increase” and would damage America’s economy.

Giuliani’s attack came after Clinton spoke in New Hampshire on Tuesday, grumbling about the return of 'robber barons” and vowing to increase taxes on Americans making more than $200,000 a year.

Clinton said the tax increase would help balance the federal budget and provide health care for uninsured Americans, the New York Sun reported." More...

Immigration: The Ellis Island Solution
A recent survey we conducted for a private group revealed that most Americans believe in an "Ellis Island" approach as a realistic way to deal with illegal aliens living in the United States. Policymakers might want to listen up. By Matt Towery

Russian missile 'restores balance'

Syria condemns Lebanon tribunal

UK 'behind Litvinenko poisoning'

"The man suspected of poisoning ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko has said it could not have happened without the involvement of British secret services.

Andrei Lugovoi, who denies killing Mr Litvinenko, told a Moscow news conference that he was a scapegoat.

Mr Lugovoi said MI6 had recruited Mr Litvinenko and had also tried to ......" More at BBC NEWS.

FILE THIS UNDER: GOOD HUMOR

“If it’s ‘impossible’ to deport illegal aliens, how did we come to have so much specific information about them? I keep hearing they are Catholic, pro-life, hardworking, just dying to become American citizens, and will take jobs other Americans won’t. Someone must have talked to them to gather all this information. Let’s find that guy—he must know where they are!” —Ann Coulter

OKAY. FILE THIS UNDER GOOD HUMOR TOO.
“Tony Blair was reported Friday to be the leading candidate to become the new World Bank president. He’s available soon. By tradition the post is supposed to go to an American, but Tony Blair has promised to learn Spanish if they’ll give him the job.” —Argus Hamilton

“[W]hat does the new Democratic Congressional majority plan to do? Why, of course, raise income tax rates so that they can expand the size, scope, and reach of government, never mind that tax increases will slow the economy and reduce job growth.” —Pete du Pont

“Whose problem is the immigration bill in Congress supposed to solve? The country’s problem with dangerously porous borders? The illegal immigrants’ problem? Or politicians’ problems?” —Thomas Sowell

“Entry into this country—either as an immigrant or a visitor—is a privilege, not a right. The safety of our citizens must come before the comfort and convenience of foreigners.” —Michelle Malkin

“Compromise is incessantly praised, and has produced the proposed immigration legislation. But compromise is the mother of complexity, which, regarding immigration, virtually guarantees—as the public understands—weak enforcement and noncompliance.” —George Will

Al-Qaida Makes New 9/11 Threat

"An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape.

Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said al-Qaida would not ..."

Hillary Clinton Wants a 'Village' Society

"Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a broad economic vision Tuesday, saying it's time to replace an 'on your own' society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity.

'I prefer a "we're all in it together" society,' she said. 'I believe our government can once again work for all Americans.'

[It does! - HH]

'It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none.'

'That means pairing growth with fairness, she said, to ensure that the middle-class succeeds in the global economy, not just corporate CEOs.'

'... markets work best with rules that promote our values, protect our workers and give all people a chance to succeed,' she said. 'Fairness doesn't just happen. It requires the right government policies.'

Mrs. Bill is looking for shared responsibility.. not individual responsiblity. And, let's see what else: Mrs. Bill is also looking for fairness .... and ... ummm .... fairness ... but not just the regular kind of fairness ...... but the kind only the right government policies can bring.

This does not sound much like individualism, free enterprise, free markets .... the things that made this country great. Sounds more like .... socialism..... maybe communism? Take your pick. Neither works.

Congress Is Raising Our Taxes by $200 Billion – Does Anyone Care?

2010 Tax Hikes: A Ticking Time Bomb
(Center for Individual Freedom)

An economic time bomb is ticking, but the 2008 presidential candidates and media pundits are paying shamefully little attention.

Last week, both the Senate and House of Representatives approved the majority Democrats' budget proposal, which contains over $200 billion in tax hikes, the largest in American history. Under their budget, this decade's astoundingly successful tax cuts will be allowed to expire in 2010, at which time rates will surge to recession-era levels as Congress stands by and watches.

The present tax rates did nothing less than resuscitate the American economy from the Clinton/Gore recession of 2000 - 2001, which was exacerbated by the effects of 9/11 and Sarbanes-Oxley burdens imposed in 2002. Since the current tax rates were set in 2003, federal revenues have actually increased nearly $700 billion, the American economy has created over 7 million jobs, the unemployment rate has fallen to a historically tiny 4.5% (approximately half the current European unemployment rate), workers' wages have increased, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has surpassed its tech-bubble peak and the deficit has decreased by $300 billion despite increased federal spending.

In fact, April's tax receipts were $70 billion higher than April 2006, and April 24 of this year set a record $48.7 billion tax collections in one day.

This constitutes an indisputable record of supply-side economic success. It also demonstrates once again the simple fact that decreasing tax rates paradoxically increases federal revenues by spurring greater economic growth. Read on.

Media Spread Suspicion of Gas ‘Gouging’
How many investigations will it take to convince the media and politicians that gas companies aren’t conspiring to crunch consumers? At least 30 such inquiries in the past have found no wrongdoing. Yet journalists are at it again, calling gas prices “suspicious.” Read on.

'Hypocrisy' at the top

"If you want to know why the immigration bill makes people so mad, just listen to the Bush administration defend it:

'You're not going to replace 12 million people who are doing the work they're currently doing,' Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff told USA Today. 'If they don't leave, then you are going to give them silent amnesty. You're either going to let them stay or you're going to be hypocritical.'" By Maggie Gallagher

Immigration starts at the border or press two for compromise

Any debate about immigration is useless unless it begins with a commitment to secure our southern border and coastlines..... By Mark Alexander.

Obama's HillaryCare

On the heels of Hillary Clinton?s speech on universal health care last week, Barack Obama promised he would provide health insurance to every American by the end of his first term as President today. Like Hillary, Obama supports seizing the Bush tax cuts to pay for his plan and forcing insurance providers to enroll high-risk clients...... By Amanda Carpenter

Doing the Booing Americans Won't Do

"The United States government is on the verge of approving a mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens -- a plan pushed aggressively by meddling Mexican officials who reap billions of dollars in remittances (illegal aliens' earnings sent back to Mexico) without having to lift a finger to clean up their own country.

And the thanks we get? Internationally televised public humiliation.

On Monday night, the beautiful ......." By Michelle Malkin

Thomas More Law Center Files Federal Lawsuit Against Detroit Police On Behalf Of Pro-Life Demonstrator

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor Michigan, announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department, Police Chief Bully-Cummins, and other officers in order to vindicate the First Amendment rights of Monica Miller, a pro-life demonstrator who was told to go home and threatened with arrest while engaged in peaceful pro-life activities. Full story.

Surprise you? Doesn't me?

Report: Iraq forces need U.S. support, embeds 'for several years to come'
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is exaggerating progress in the training and development of Iraq's security forces under pressure from Washington to function independently. A report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that Iraq's army and police would not be capable of independent operations in 2008, when the United States was expected to begin a significant withdrawal.....

Israel emptied its smart bomb arsenal in under 2 weeks during 2006 war
TEL AVIV — The Israel Air Force will revise its policy on the use of munitions against insurgency and low-signature targets. The study was meant to learn the lessons of the war against Hizbullah in mid-2006 when the air force conducted a reported 15,500 sorties and failed to destroy the Iranian-backed militia's short-range rocket arsenal.........