More broken promises from Obama

No one making under $250,000 will pay any increase in taxes...

Unless

“If your family earns less than $250,000 a year,” Obama said in his speech to a joint session of Congress, “you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.”

Unless, that is, your family pays a utility bill. Earlier from the same podium, Obama exhorted Congress to send him “legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution.” This cap-and-trade program would increase the cost of energy for everyone, regardless of income. It is a broad-based (if indirect) tax increase of the sort the casual listener would have thought Obama ruled out in categorical language.

But why should we starting believing him now?

Bush more popular than Obama in their first month in office

I wonder how the media will spin this. Actually I doubt they will even report it. Their Messiah is less liked than Bush was in their first month in office according to a gallup poll. But I'm sure some how this is all Bush's fault.

The media may be smitten with President Barack Obama, but recent Gallup poll results show Americans giving the new president lower marks after one month in the White House than former President George W. Bush earned at the same point in his administration.

Heading into this week’s address to Congress, the Gallup figures showed 59 percent of Americans approved of Obama’s efforts so far, while 25 percent disapproved, and 16 percent had no opinion. According to PollingReport.com, President Bush had a 62 percent approval rating one month into his first term, with 21 percent disapproving, and 17 percent having no opinion.

“For the first time since Gallup began tracking Barack Obama’s presidential job approval rating on Jan. 21, fewer than 60 percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing as president,” the Gallup report reads. The drop below 60 percent approval was fueled largely by a drop in satisfaction among independents, Gallup pollsters added.

Now Deval is "flexible" on the gas tax hike

How about instead of taxing us constituents and burdening the already bad economy, how about Deval lowers the gas tax to boost the economy. I guess that would make too much sense for a liberal Democrat like Deval.

Governor Deval Patrick allowed for some flexibility on his gas tax increase proposal yesterday as lawmakers began cautioning that 19 cents could be too high for their constituents.

Patrick told reporters he would be open to a smaller increase, but declined to specify a number, according to the Associated Press. When he unveiled the plan last week, he said he expected legislators to offer alternatives, but did not say how much he would be willing to yield.

He told reporters yesterday that a 4-cent increase would be enough to avert the set of toll hikes approved Tuesday but would not be enough to address all of the state's transportation problems. He also repeated his vow to veto any bill that does not make the state's transportation system more efficient.

What a good politician Deval is, start off at 29 cents. Get a backlash. Then go to 19 cents. Get another backlash. Now say we might just do a 4 cent increase. Maybe if we backlash again we can send him a message. NO NEW TAXES!

The Obama budget

Last night at bowling I over heard people talking about Obama's budget and they were happy. They actually believed Obama when he said he was going to save more money then ever before. I tried reasoning with these people but they just weren't listening.

All presidential budgets are rife with trap doors, gimmicks, and flimflammery. This annual budget exercise is like a grand, national fish story every president gets to tell: Each administration exaggerates differently, but the basic story is the same.

That said, President Obama's $3.55 trillion budget is different in at least two significant ways. First, it will be held to a higher standard—at the insistence of the administration itself. And, second, its gimmicks are designed to make the administration look as if it is saving more, not spending less.

There is more wasteful spending and more earmarks in Obama's budget and "stimulus package" than Bush could have ever dreamed of doing. And when it came to government spending Bush was a big government spending liberal.

Let's see if Obama keeps his promise to not have any earmarks in any bill he signs. Somehow I doubt that will happen.

Senate rejects fairness doctrine

I'm surprised the Senate passed a bill against the Fairness Doctrine. I figured the first thing this new party would want to do is censor Rush, Hannity, Howie Carr, and the other right wing hosts on the radio. It isn't enough that the liberals already control every other form of media but they also want to control the radio.

The Senate passed a Broadcaster Freedom Amendment to a D.C. voting rights bill on Thursday by a vote of 87-11. But Democrats countered with an amendment that seeks to promote “diversity” in media ownership.

The Broadcaster Freedom Amendment prevents the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, which would requires equal time for the expression of different political viewpoints on the public airwaves. Radio stations that run conservative talks shows, for example, would be required to allot equal time for liberal talk shows – or, more likely, stop airing the conservative shows altogether.

Critics of the Fairness Doctrine call it an assault on free speech. They say the government has no business deciding what constitutes fair political discourse.

On Thursday, Republican supporters of the Broadcaster Freedom Amendment said its passage “slammed the front door” on the Fairness Doctrine. But they admit their fight for free speech is not over.

The delusional Barny Frank

According to the great Congressman from Massachusetts the only reason the House Republicans don't applaud Obama is because they are afraid of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Because how can anybody ever disagree with the Messiah...

Mindless Republicans are heeding the iron discipline of conservative talk radio hosts Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told reporters after President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on Tuesday.

“I don’t think we found any Republican minds today,” Frank told a reporter minutes after the president had finished his speech. “[T]hey shut their minds down. That they are so afraid of being yelled at by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity that they won’t even clap for him [Obama] when they agree with him.” (Listen to audio of Rep. Frank's remarks by clicking on the photo above.)

“They are literally afraid to deal with him,” said Frank. “Outside of Arlen Specter and the Maine senators, and a handful of others, they are all terrified of the iron discipline of the radio talk show hosts.”

Make sure to check your Fast Lane bill

Up to a million users have been charged a higher fee.

The Pike has pulled a fast one on potentially thousands of FastLane users, slipping truck-sized charges onto their bills after their cars were electronically mistaken for bigger rigs.

The hefty fees - in some cases more than double what drivers were meant to pay - have been applied to as many as 1 million FastLane transactions at a time when tollpayers are already digging deep, according to a Turnpike audit.

“The reality is the technology that reads the number of axles is at least 10 years old. We recognize we need to replace a lot of our infrastructure including this technology,” said Jennifer Flagg, the Pike’s chief administrative officer.

The revelation comes a day after board members approved a $2 hike in tolls in the tunnels and a 25-cent hike at the Allston and Weston tollbooths.

Flagg said FastLane cameras are 99 percent accurate, but during bad weather the camera meant to read the number of axles on a vehicle can be covered with grime or snow and misread its target.

Don't we already have enough gun laws?

What ever happened to the 2nd Amendment? Obama is trying to re institute the assault gun ban from the Clinton years.

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.

Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

I don't remember the influx of murders and violence that the gun ban lobby promised would happen if this ban expired.

Obama's Tax plan

Almost $1 Trillion in the next 10 years.

1) On people making more than $250,000.

$338 billion - Bush tax cuts expire
$179 billlion - eliminate itemized deduction
$118 billion - capital gains tax hike

Total: $636 billion/10 years

2) Businesses:

$17 billion - Reinstate Superfund taxes
$24 billion - tax carried-interest as income
$5 billion - codify "economic substance doctrine"
$61 billion - repeal LIFO
$210 billion - international enforcement, reform deferral, other tax reform
$4 billion - information reporting for rental payments
$5.3 billion - excise tax on Gulf of Mexico oil and gas
$3.4 billion - repeal expensing of tangible drilling costs
$62 million - repeal deduction for tertiary injectants
$49 million - repeal passive loss exception for working interests in oil and natural gas properties
$13 billion - repeal manufacturing tax deduction for oil and natural gas companies
$1 billion - increase to 7 years geological and geophysical amortization period for independent producers
$882 million - eliminate advanced earned income tax credit

Total: $353 billion/10 years

Great way to stimulate our economy...

Gas Tax

If you haven't already, please go sign the petition at WHYN against Cadillac Deval's proposed gas tax.