If this isn't socialism I don't know what it

Actually this is borderline communism. But would any of us expect anything less from Barny Frank? Not only does he want to set the pay for top executives he wants to set the pay for all employees.

It was nearly two weeks ago that the House of Representatives, acting in a near-frenzy after the disclosure of bonuses paid to executives of AIG, passed a bill that would impose a 90 percent retroactive tax on those bonuses. Despite the overwhelming 328-93 vote, support for the measure began to collapse almost immediately. Within days, the Obama White House backed away from it, as did the Senate Democratic leadership. The bill stalled, and the populist storm that spawned it seemed to pass.

But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the "Pay for Performance Act of 2009," would impose government controls on the pay of all employees -- not just top executives -- of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

It starts here...lets limit the pay of employees from companies that take government money. of course the government shouldn't be bailing out any company in the first place, but that is a whole other argument. But how soon until he wants to set the pay for everyone in the United States? Sounds crazy? Well it is crazy, but would you put it past Barny Frank?

If Obama favors bankruptcy for GM

Why did we bail them out at all? I agree that bankruptcy would have been the best thing for GM but I don't think Obama believes the same. If he did he wouldn't have pushed for a bail out.

The Obama's administration's leading plan to fix General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC would use bankruptcy filings to purge the ailing companies of their biggest problems, including bondholder debt and retiree health-care costs, according to people familiar with the matter.

The move would in essence split both companies into their "good" and "bad" components. The government would like to see the "good" GM to be a standalone company, according to an administration official. The "good" Chrysler would be sold to Fiat SpA, assuming that deal is completed, this person said.

GM and Chrysler have had bankruptcy attorneys devising plans for such a move in recent months.

President Barack Obama's task force has told both companies that the administration prefers this route as a way to reorganize the two auto makers, rather than the prolonged out-of-court process that has thus far frustrated administration officials.

GM looks increasingly like it will be forced into filing for bankruptcy protection, sometime in mid-to-late May, in a plan where the automaker breaks into two companies, the surviving entity a "new GM" that maintains key brands such as Chevy and Cadillac and some international units, say several people familiar with the situation.

But in reality Obama forces the CEO of GM to resign and appoints his own to run it. Basically having the government take over GM. They are going to force GM to make all the "environmentally friendly" cars that no one wants. Hybrids aren't going to bring GM back from the dead. We want trucks and SUVs. Vehicles we feel safe driving. Especially up here in the North East where we need 4 wheel drive to get around in the winter.

If you happen to be from New York

And the 20th Congressional District...make sure to go out and vote for Jim Tedisco for Congress.

Take the Limbaugh Challenge

Surprisingly this was in the LA Times.

If you are reading this newspaper, the likelihood is that you agree with the Obama administration's recent attacks on conservative radio talker Rush Limbaugh. That's the likelihood; here's the certainty: You've never listened to Rush Limbaugh.

Oh no, you haven't. Whenever I interrupt a liberal's anti-Limbaugh rant to point out that the ranter has never actually listened to the man, he always says the same thing: "I've heard him!"

On further questioning, it always turns out that by "heard him," he means he's heard the selected excerpts spoon-fed him by the distortion-mongers of the mainstream media. These excerpts are specifically designed to accomplish one thing: to make sure you never actually listen to Limbaugh's show, never actually give him a fair chance to speak his piece to you directly.

By lifting some typically Rushian piece of outrageous hilarity completely out of context, the distortion gang knows full well it can get you to widen your eyes and open your mouth in the universal sign of Liberal Outrage. Your scrawny chest swelling with a warm sense of completely unearned righteousness, you will turn to your second spouse and say, "I'm not a liberal, I'm a moderate, and I'm tolerant of a wide range of differing views -- but this goes too far!"

There is more untruthfulness in that statement than in a speech by President Obama. Even the commas are self-deceiving. You're not a moderate or you wouldn't be reading this newspaper. You're not tolerant of a wide range of views; you are tolerant of a narrow spectrum of variations on your views. And, whatever you claim, you still haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh.

Which leads to a question: Why not? I mean, come on, the guy's one of the figures of the age. Aren't you even curious? I listen to all your guys: NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, The Times, the New York Times, the New Yorker -- I check out the whole left-wing hallelujah chorus. Why are you afraid to spend a couple of hours listening to Limbaugh's show and seriously considering if and why you disagree with him?

Let me guess at your answer. You don't need to listen to him. You've heard enough to know he's a) racist, b) hateful, c) stupid, d) merely an outrageous entertainer not to be taken seriously or e) all of the above.

Now let me tell you the real answer: You're a lowdown, yellow-bellied, lily-livered intellectual coward. You're terrified of finding out he makes more sense than you do.

I listen to Limbaugh every chance I get, and I have never heard the man utter a single racist, hateful or stupid word. Do I always agree with him? Of course not. I'm a conservative; I think for myself. But Limbaugh, by turns insightful, satiric, raucously funny and wise, is one of the best voices talking about first principles and policy in the country today.

Therefore, I am throwing down my gauntlet at your quivering liberal feet. I hereby issue my challenge -- the Limbaugh Challenge: Listen to the show. Not for five minutes but for several hours: an hour a day for several days. Consider what he has to say -- the real policy material under the jokes and teasing bluster. Do what your intellectual keepers do not want you to do and keep an open mind. Ask yourself: What's he getting at? Why does he say the things he says? Why do so many people of goodwill -- like that nice Mr. Klavan -- agree with him?

Why hasn't this been all over the media?

I know when ever Jenna Bush did anything wrong the media bashed the heck out of her. I personally don't care if Joe Biden's daughter does coke or not like a supposed video suggests but if this was one of the Bush's daughter you know it would have been all over the media all weekend.

A "friend" of Vice President Joseph Biden's daughter, Ashley, is attempting to hawk a videotape that he claims shows her snorting cocaine at a house party this month in Delaware.

The anonymous male acquaintance of Ashley took the video, said Thomas Dunlap, a lawyer representing the seller.

Dunlap and a man claiming to be a lawyer showed The Post about 90 seconds of 43-minute tape, saying it was legally obtained and that Ashley was aware she was being filmed. The Post refused to pay for the video.

The video, which the shooter initially hoped to sell for $2 million before scaling back his price to $400,000, shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth, bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting lines of white powder.

She then stands up and begins talking with other people in the room. A young man looks on from behind her, facing the camera. The lawyers said he was Ashley's boyfriend of a few years.

I'm more posting this to show the double standard of the media. Because I don't think politicians kids should be involved in the media like that have been with Bush or Sarah Palin.

How can we not be prepared for this?

Shouldn't the United States Armed Forces be prepared for just about anything that happens in the world? And if we aren't, should our Secretary of Defense be saying we aren't prepared? Especially something as being able to stop North Korea from a missle launch. But of course this probably comes down from Obama. Much like Clinton, I'm sure Obama doesn't want to piss anyone off in the world for his own legacy. He probably thinks if he does nothing they won't hate us as much which is the furthest thing from the truth.

The United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.

Appearing on "FOX News Sunday," Gates said North Korea "probably will" fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: "And there's nothing we can do about it?"

"No," Gates answered, adding, "I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it."

Last week, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said the U.S. is "fully prepared" to shoot down the missile. But Gates said such a response is unlikely.

"I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it," Gates said. "But I don't think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point."

North Korea has moved a missile onto a launch pad and says it will be fired by April 8. Pyonyang insists the missile is designed for carrying a communications satellite, not a nuclear warhead that the secretive nation appears bent on developing.

Or we could be like Israel and just bomb the missle pad. I know that's what they would do if Iran or another one of the countries that are hell bent on destroying them.

Israel attacks Iranian convoy

Some how I doubt Obama would have done the same. At least Israel can do what's needed when it's needed.

Israel used unmanned drones to attack clandestine Iranian convoys in Sudan that were attempting to smuggle rockets into Gaza, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.

The paper said that western diplomats confirmed that Israel attacked the Iranian truck convoys in late January and the first week of February in the remote Sudan desert, just outside the Red Sea town of Port Sudan.

The convoys had been tracked by agents from Mossad, Israel's overseas intelligence agency, the report added.

I think it is a must that we support and aid Irsael as much as we can. They are the only Democracy over there and our 1st defense if another World War ever breaks out in that area. It pains me when I see a lot on the left blaming Israel for the problems over in that area. They aren't the ones stuck in the stone age stoning gays and woman just for being such.

Government run health care...

Please save us now. Nancy Pelosi is proposing Health Care legislation in the House that would have a government run option.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House this year will consider health-care legislation including an option for a government-run program that would compete with insurers.

“This is a big agenda, and I believe it should have a public option in it for it to be really substantial,” Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference in the U.S. Capitol.

President Barack Obama has said he wants Congress to produce legislation that would expand health-care coverage for the country’s 46 million uninsured and reduce medical costs. Republicans and some insurers have opposed the creation of a new program modeled on Medicare as part of the effort. The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, last week called the idea a “deal-breaker.”

I've asked this question to every person who thinks we should have a government run health care system. Name me one government run program that is run efficiently and properly? I can't think of one, can you? So why the Hell would we want the government running anything else.

I'm sure Geithner knows

The trick is getting the American people to know Geithner plan is radical. I think more and more people are starting to realize how radical the whole Obama administration is.

In testimony before the House Financial Services committee that just adjourned, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner just had to defend his institutional takeover plan against charges of radicalism.

"Do you realize how radical your proposal is?" Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.) asked.

"It's not radical. . ." Geither began, before Manzullo interrupted him.

"You're talking about seizing private businesses and you don't consider that radical?" Manzullo replied, his voice rising.

I guess it isn't radical if you want to live in a socialist/communist country. But most Americans don't want that. They were just tricked into thinking Obama was here for the working people. They can keep proposing idealistic proposals that don't and have never worked through out history. All this is going to do is making Obama a 1 term President.

Grading Deval Patrick

I think the Phoenix is being a little too generous.

If the Phoenix were grading the recent performance of Governor Deval Patrick, we'd give him somewhere between a B and a B- for pure policy, but between a C- and D+ for political skill.

This discrepancy seems to stem from Patrick's personality as much as anything. He masters those political skills he cares about: insurgent party organizing, for example, or propelling major policy initiatives onto the public agenda. But he remains an amateur at other aspects of the political game — the ones he finds dull or unnecessary.

Is there a grade below an F?

Blame America First

It's not Mexico's fault or the drug lord's fault. Nope, it is America's fault for all the violence on the Mexico/US border. The violence isn't America's fault. The only fault we have to blame is not stepping up security at the border, building a fence and putting the national guard/army down there to wipe out the uprising. Instead people like Hillary Clinton want to punish border patrol agents who kill drug dealers shooting at them.

An "insatiable" appetite in the United States for illegal drugs is to blame for much of the violence ripping through Mexico, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

Clinton acknowledged the U.S. role in Mexico's vicious drug war as she arrived in Mexico for a two-day visit where she discussed U.S. plans to ramp up security on the border with President Felipe Calderon.

A surge in drug gang killings to 6,300 last year and fears the violence could seep over the border has put Mexico's drug war high on President Barack Obama's agenda, after years of Mexico feeling that Washington was neglecting a joint problem.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians," Clinton told reporters during her flight to Mexico City.

"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."

Murder people were killed on the border last year than have been killed in Iraq. And yet Iraq is a failure according to these liberals.

I think it is time for Obama to step up and send troops down to the border. Allowing another country to come in and murder our citizens should not be tolerated. As far as I'm concerned if Mexico can't handle their problem which has become ours we will.

China wants a world currency

Much like they have with the euro. And as bad of an idea as it was in Europe it will be even worse if there is only one currency through out the world. But of course the Worlds Smartest Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, is open to this ridiculous idea.

Geithner, at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S. is "open" to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China's central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar, but which Geithner described as more modest and "evolutionary."

"I haven’t read the governor’s proposal. He’s a very thoughtful, very careful distinguished central banker. I generally find him sensible on every issue," Geithner said, saying that however his interpretation of the proposal was to increase the use of International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights -- shares in the body held by its members -- not creating a new currency in the literal sense.

"We’re actually quite open to that suggestion – you should see it as rather evolutionary rather building on the current architecture rather than moving us to global monetary union," he said.

"The only thing concrete I saw was expanding the use of the [special drawing rights]," Geithner said. "Anything he’s thinking about deserves some consideration."

The continued use of the dollar as a reserve currency, he added, "depends..on how effective we are in the United States...at getting our fiscal system back to the point where people judge it as sustainable over time."

And they say the Neo Cons were the ones who wanted the New World Order? Either that or it is Obama's plan to bankrupt the country and start fresh with a world government.

And of course everytime Geithner opens his mouth the dollar drops.

He said increased use of SDRs should be thought of as an “evolutionary” step rather than a step towards “global monetary union”.

The dollar fell 1.3 per cent against the euro as headlines saying “Geithner open to SDR currency” flashed across traders’ screens. With the currency falling, Mr Geithner’s interviewer – Roger Altman, a deputy Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration – gave Mr Geithner the chance to clarify.

Hopefully we can survive these next 4 years until we can vote in a Conservative to fix the messes these big government liberals have created.

Chris Dodd really needs to get elected out of office

Now we know why he supported AIG so much...

No wonder Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) went wobbly last week when asked about his February amendment ratifying hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at insurance giant AIG. Dodd has been one of the company's favorite recipients of campaign contributions. But it turns out that Senator Dodd's wife has also benefited from past connections to AIG as well.

From 2001-2004, Jackie Clegg Dodd served as an "outside" director of IPC Holdings, Ltd., a Bermuda-based company controlled by AIG. IPC, which provides property casualty catastrophe insurance coverage, was formed in 1993 and currently has a market cap of $1.4 billion and trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol IPCR. In 2001, in addition to a public offering of 15 million shares of stock that raised $380 million, IPC raised more than $109 million through a simultaneous private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG - giving AIG a 20% stake in IPC. (AIG sold its 13.397 million shares in IPC in August, 2006.)

I think she should be forced to give all her money back she got from AIG just like the 20 executives who were basically forced by death threats to give back their bonuses.

Our budget decidit will be worse than Cuba's

That just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy insider...

President Barack Obama's 3.55-trillion-dollar budget plan will leave the United States with a worse budget deficit than Cuba, a leading Republican critic warned Tuesday.

"This creates for us a higher deficit than Cuba's. This is not the kind of position we want to put the United States in," Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

Other Republican critics of Obama's spending policies, including his nearly 800-billion-dollar economic stimulus package, have variously warned that he risks turning the country into Argentina, France, Germany, or Zimbabwe.

Asked for the figures underpinning the charge, a McConnell aide pointed to a report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that warned the US budget deficit for fiscal year 2009, ending September 30, would swell to 13.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product.

Weren't the liberals bashing Bush over deficit spending over the last 8 years? Thought so.

Even the bank of England gets it

They are imploring England to stop spending as they can't afford it anymore.

The Governor of the Bank of England stunned Downing Street yesterday by warning against a giveaway Budget next month.

Mervyn King said public finance deficits were too high for big tax cuts or bumper spending increases on April 22.

The extraordinary warning to Gordon Brown not to blow billions on a second 'fiscal stimulus' came perilously close to breaching the convention that the head of the Bank does not question Government policy.

Tories said it blew a hole in Mr Brown's plans for next week's G20 summit in London.

At least someone gets it in England too. Hopefully more people here and around the world start to get it to. The more we spend and print money the more our currencies are going to be devalued and that will just lead to more inflation. I know this has been a common theme here lately, but I just can't help it. We need to start up to these tax and spend politicians and tell them to stop devaluing our money.

I knew this was only a matter of time

Since we are handing out everything why not bail out newspapers too while we are at it? There is a reason no one reads the newspapers anymore and it isn't all just the internet. It is the same reason CNN, MSNBC, and the other news outlets are losing viewers too. They have a liberal agenda. They won't admit it, but it is very true. And the Obama election was just the icing on the cake proving the fact.

With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.

A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.

Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Here is a bright idea how about they change from being spokesman for the Obama administration to being actual news reporters. There is a reason Fox News is so popular. It is pretty much the only news outlet that is actually fair and balanced. And if the newspapers want to rise back to glory they will have to do the same.

Hello Socialism here we come.

Now Obama wants the right take control of any financial firm. This is the problem with our economy now. The government shouldn't be bailing out any company that is failing and they definitely shouldn't be taking control and running any such firm. That is called socialism when the government runs business.

The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document.

The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.

Giving the Treasury secretary authority over a broader range of companies would mark a significant shift from the existing model of financial regulation, which relies on independent agencies that are shielded from the political process. The Treasury secretary, a member of the president's Cabinet, would exercise the new powers in consultation with the White House, the Federal Reserve and other regulators, according to the document.

The administration plans to send legislation to Capitol Hill this week. Sources cautioned that the details, including the Treasury's role, are still in flux.

And the government just can't keep printing money to take over companies. Enough is enough. Our dollar is going to be so under valued soon and we are going to get hyper inflation.

Deval Patrick is making everyone angry now

Hopefully the Republicans can capitalize on Deval's stupidity over the past few years since he was elected. Now parents are mad at him for proposing cuts to school districts. But yet he has the money to hire hacks to $175,000/year jobs.

“Patrick to Boston: Drop dead!”

That’s the message that will appear on a banner to be hoisted in the State House Thursday as hundreds of furious Boston parents rally to protest Gov. Deval Patrick’s move to cut the Hub out of $168 million in state stabilization funds to school districts.

“People are so angry. The Patrick administration, by these decisions, is crippling the Boston public schools system,” said Karina Meiri, a Tufts cell biology professor who is one of the founding organizers of BPS Parents, a volunteer advocacy group that is taking on the governor.

I'm sure if we actually went through the budget there would be plenty to cut. In reality Deval is just proposing cuts to the schools as a scare tactic. In his mind he thinks if he scares enough people we won't be mad at him for raising the gas tax, the tolls, and raising other ridiculous taxes that will only continue to stiffle our economy.

Rep Frank at it again

Open mouth and insert foot. Seems to be the only thing Barny Frank is good at. Now he is calling Antonin Scalia, who is one of the smartest and best Supreme Court Justices, a homophobe.

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe" in a recent interview with the gay news Web site 365gay.com.

The Democratic lawmaker, who is gay, was discussing gay marriage and his expectation that the high court would some day be called upon to decide whether the Constitution allows the federal government to deny recognition to same-sex marriages.

"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank. The video of the interview is available online.

Frank's office did not respond to a request Monday to expand on his remark. Scalia also had no comment.

Scalia dissented from the court's ruling in 2003 that struck down state laws banning consensual sodomy. He has complained about judges, rather than elected officials, deciding questions of morality about which the Constitution is silent.

Controversial topics like gay rights and abortion should not be in the hands of judges, he has said, calling on people to persuade their legislatures or amend the Constitution.

Scalia is 100% right. People like Barny Frank want to push there extreme homosexual agenda down our throats. But they know they can't keep on getting re-elected, well he probably could, but the majority of elected officials couldn't if they supported his ideas. So the only way to get his agenda through is with the court system. But judges shouldn't have political agendas.

More judges should idiolize Scalia. He doesn't have an agenda, he bases his decisions on the Constitution. And last time I checked that is how Judges are supposed to rule.

Judges shouldn't have lifetime appointments

And if this bill passes they will only be appointed for 6 year terms and would have to be elected by the people to continue serving.

Judges statewide would be appointed to a six-year term and then have to be reappointed by residents on an election ballot if a bill filed Monday with the state Senate becomes law.

"The only people who are not accountable to we the people of Massachusetts are the judges," Holyoke Police Chief Anthony R. Scott said Monday.

But the president of the Massachusetts Judges Conference denounced the proposed legislation, saying it would politicize the judicial process.

"The inevitable outcome is going to be a popularity contest," Conference president and Superior Court Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. said Monday.

State Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield, filed the legislation Monday on behalf of Scott. The proposed bill calls for the governor to appoint judges to a six-year term. After the six-year term expires, the judge's name would be placed on an election ballot for residents to reappoint to another six-year term.

Currently, judges are appointed to lifetime terms by the sitting governor after being recommended by a nominating committee and then recommended by the Governor's Council. Once they take the bench, judges are allowed to serve until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The problem with judges now a days is they don't follow the law they follow their own political ideology. Judges shouldn't take their own believes and force it down peoples throats. They should take the rule of law and base their decisions on that. And when they don't do that they should be thrown out of office, whether is local judges or federal ones.

Deval Patrick turning into Dukakis II

According to the great Howie Carr.

Deval Patrick has become Michael Dukakis - shrimp wrapped in baloney.

That’s how we used to describe the Duke - and the description surely fits Deval. The only difference is, at least Pee Wee (another of our fond monikers) had that one first term where he was somewhat honorable, if clueless.

Deval has gone directly to Dukakis II - when he was lying down with dogs like Billy Bulger and getting up with more fleas than I have space to mention.

Deval has been drifting south in the polls for months, but he really jumped the shark when he appointed Sen. Marian Walsh to that $175,000 hack sinecure. Marian Walsh! He doesn’t even know how to reward the right hacks - ones who’ll back you up in an alley fight, or at least hold a sign for you. If they ever name a street after Marian, it’ll have to be a one-way.

Read the rest of the post at the link too.

Mass GOP launches road trip to rebuild

Here is hoping this works and we can rebuild the party from the ground up.

The beleaguered Massachusetts Republican Party is heading out on the road as it tries to rebuild itself from the bottom up.

The party is launching a series of six "MassGOP Grassroots Forums," which it hopes will draw people from different regions of the state with ideas on ways to elect more Republicans and to organize the party at the local level.

The party has been battered for more than a decade, dwindling to just 16 members in the Massachusetts House and five in the Senate.

The first forum is scheduled for Wednesday in West Springfield at the Municipal Office Building.

Other forums are planned for Plymouth, Fall River, Dedham, Andover and Worcester.

Everyone reading this should attend.

Obama will bankrupt our country

That according to Senator Gregg will happen if Obama gets his budget passed.

But Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire also says President Barack Obama's massive budget proposal will bankrupt the country.

Gregg says he has no regrets in withdrawing his nomination to become commerce secretary. He pulled out after deciding he could not fully back the administration's economic policies.

The senator said Obama's spending plan in the midst of a prolonged recession would leave the next generation with a country too expensive to live in.

While this might be a little over exaggerated I don't think he is far off. If Obama keeps on spending like Ted Kennedy after a drunken all night and continues to print money like it is Monopoly we will face an even worse financial mess. What he is doing now will lead to double digit inflation and unemployment. I'm not sure if Obama just doesn't understand economics but at some point the market will have to correct itself and when it does we will be in a world of hurt.

Romney keeping himself in the spot light

I'm sure Romney will be one of many vying for the Republican Presidential nomination for 2012.

Mitt Romney’s political action committee has raised $571,000 this year, according to a report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.

The stated mission of the committee, Free and Strong America PAC, is to support “officeholders and candidates who are dedicated to promoting public policies that will strengthen America.”

But the group also helps keep Romney – a former Massachusetts governor believed to be positioning himself for a run at the 2012 Republican presidential nomination – in the spotlight, paying for his travel and to maintain a political staff.

I wasn't the biggest of Romney fans but he was the best out of the crop last year. Especially compared to McCain and Huckabee. But in 2012 I think the Republicans will have a far better crop to chose from starting with Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Mark Sanford.

A little dissapointing

With Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Mark Sanford both rejecting all of the federal stimulus money I was expecting Sarah Palin to do the same. But she has decided to only reject 30% of the money allotted for Alaska.

It's up to the Alaska Legislature to request hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds from the federal government.

Gov. Sarah Palin said Thursday that she would accept only 69 percent of the estimated $930 million dollars that could flow to the state, including $514 million for capital projects and $128 million for a hike in Medicaid reimbursement.

Palin said she would accept money that is "timely, targeted and temporary" and does not create strings that will bind the state in the future.

"I can't attest to every fund that's being offered the state in the stimulus package will be used to create jobs and stimulate the economy, so I'm requesting only those things that I know will," Palin said at a news conference at the Capitol. "Public discussion will have to ensue on all those other dollars that some will say 'you left on the table.'"

There shouldn't be any Republican Governor in this country that accepts these funds. Sarah Palin, as one of the leading conservatives, should set an example as the 3 other Republican Governors have and rejected all the funds.

Obama on Leno

Someone must be lying. Obama said last night that he didn't know anything about the AIG bonuses but yet Chris Dodd is saying the the administration was the one who told him to put the amendment in the bill so they can keep the bonuses. Of course I don't trust either of them so I'm just going to assume they are both lying.

President Barack Obama has told Jay Leno he was stunned when he learned of the bonuses that bailed-out insurance giant AIG was paying its employees.

Obama told "The Tonight Show" host the payments raise moral end ethical problems — and the administration's going to do everything it can to get them back.

But Obama added the bigger problem is the culture that allowed traders to claim them. He says that's got to change if the economy is to recover.

My big question is, will Obama give back his $100,000 he got from AIG? Some how I doubt it.

Also on Leno, Obama took a swipe at the Special Olympics. I know if Bush made fun of the Special Olympics they would be calling for impeachment.

owards the end of his approximately 40-minute appearance, the president talked about how he's gotten better at bowling and has been practicing in the White House bowling alley.

He bowled a 129, the president said.

"That's very good, Mr. President," Leno said sarcastically.

It's "like the Special Olympics or something," the president said.

Joke of the day

John Kerry is now a Saint....CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS ?
On a Saturday afternoon, in Washington, D. C., Senator John Kerry's
campaign manager visited the Cardinal of the Catholic cathedral.

He told the Cardinal that John Kerry would be attending the next day's
sermon, and he asked if the Cardinal would kindly point out Kerry to the congregation and say a few words that would include calling Kerry a saint.

The Cardinal replied, "No. I don't really like the man, and there are
issues of conflict with the Catholic Church over certain of Kerry's
views." Kerry's manager then said, "Look. I'll write a check here and
now for a donation of $100,000 to your church if you'll just tell the
congregation you see Kerry as a saint."


The Cardinal thought about it and said, "Well, the church can use the
money, so I'll work your request into tomorrow's sermon." As Kerry's
campaign manager promised, Senator Kerry appeared for the Sunday sermon and seated himself prominently at the edge of the main isle.

And, during the sermon, as promised, the Cardinal pointed out that
Senator Kerry was present.

Then the Cardinal went on to explain to the congregation -- "While
Senator Kerry's presence is probably an honor to some, he is not my
favorite person. Some of his views are contrary to those of the church,
and he tends to flip-flop on many other views. John Kerry is a petty,
self-absorbed hypocrite, a thumb sucker, and a nit-wit. John Kerry is
also a serial liar, a cheat, and a thief.

John Kerry is the worst example of a Catholic I have ever personally
witnessed. He turned on his buddies in Vietnam . He wrote a book and
portrayed himself in the best light when he was a traitor to his fellow
servicemen. He has lied about his military record and had the gall to
put himself in for a medal (including one that does not even exist).

He married for money and is using it to lie to the American people. He
also has a reputation for shirking his senatorial obligations both here,
in Washington , and in Massachusetts . He simply is not to be trusted."

The Cardinal completed his view of Kerry with,

"But, when compared to Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Kerry is a saint."

I'd like to know more about these 3 lawyers

Deval Patrick has nominated 3 lawyers judgeship's to superior courts. I'm sure these nominees are fine strict Constitutionalists that will hold up the Constitution. Now that we all had a good laugh about that...we should find out just how liberal these nominees are.

Gov. Deval Patrick has nominated three Massachusetts lawyers to superior court judgeships.

Patrick announced Tuesday he nominated Mitchell Kaplan, Janet Kenton-Walker and Thomas McGuire to fill posts left by retiring judges.

Kaplan has directed his firm’s pro bono program for 15 years and serves as a director of Greater Boston Legal Services.

Kenton-Walker is an attorney with the Boston Law Collaborative and was a secretary and vice president of the Massachusetts Bar Association.

McGuire is a 25-year veteran Bristol County lawyer who helped establish Hope House, a facility for AIDS patients, and has created charitable trusts in memory of police officers killed in the line of duty.

Well at least he didn't nominate Tom Finnerman.

Patrick ripped over hiring

But Deval has to raise our taxes to make up for our budget deficit. Maybe he should be a little more fiscally responsible and not give out $175,000/year jobs that aren't needed. At least someone is standing up to him and bashing him when he is wrong.

A member of the board that hired a state senator to fill a long-empty executive job ripped Gov. Deval Patrick and his colleagues for the appointment and said the state should not be spending $175,000 per year on a glorified lobbyist.

Marvin Gordon told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he was on vacation in the Caribbean last week and had no notice that the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority was going to vote on hiring Sen. Marian Walsh, D-Boston.

The vote was not itemized on the board’s public agenda and came up at the end of the meeting, during a section described generically as the "Chairman’s Report." The hiring was approved unanimously.

Patrick has appointed or reappointed the majority of the seven-member board and has been roundly criticized for Walsh’s hiring — and $100,000 raise — while the state is facing a $1 billion budget deficit. In addition, Walsh was an early political supporter, and both the governor and Legislature have faced a public outcry over recent patronage appointments within state government.

Government Health Care at its finest

I guess this is what we can expect if Obama pushes through a National Health Care.

The British government apologised Wednesday after a damning official report into a hospital likened by one patient's relative to "a Third World" health centre.

Stafford Hospital in central England was found to have appalling standards of care, putting patients at risk and leading to some dying, according to a report on Tuesday.

Between 400 and 1,200 more people died than would have been expected in a three-year period at the National Health Service (NHS) hospital, according to an investigation by the Healthcare Commission watchdog.

"We do apologise to all those people who have suffered from the mistakes that have been made in the Stafford Hospital," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown, questioned on the matter at his weekly grilling in the House of Commons.

Receptionists with no medical training were left to to assess patients arriving at the hospital's accident and emergency department, the report found.

Julie Bailey, whose 86-year-old mother Bella died in the hospital in November 2007, said she and other family members slept in a chair at her bedside for eight weeks because they were so concerned about poor care.

"What we saw in those eight weeks will haunt us for the rest of our lives," said the 47-year-old. "We saw patients drinking out of flower vases they were so thirsty.

"There were patients wandering around the hospital and patients fighting. It was continuous through the night. Patients were screaming out in pain because you just could not get pain relief.

"It was like a Third World country hospital. It was an absolute disgrace.

Inflation here we come

If the Government keeps on printing money and putting it into the economy that is the only thing that can happen. The more Obama prints the more inflation we will have to suffer. So when the Feds decide to put in $1 trillion into the economy by buying Treasury bonds where do you think that money comes from?

The Federal Reserve sharply stepped up its efforts to bolster the economy on Wednesday, announcing that it would pump an extra $1 trillion into the financial system by purchasing Treasury bonds and mortgage securities.

Having already reduced the key interest rate it controls nearly to zero, the central bank has increasingly turned to alternatives like buying securities as a way of getting more dollars into the economy, a tactic that amounts to creating vast new sums of money out of thin air. But the moves on Wednesday were its biggest yet, almost doubling all of the Fed's measures in the last year.

The action makes the Fed a buyer of long-term government bonds rather than the short-term debt that it typically buys and sells to help control the money supply.

The idea was to encourage more economic activity by lowering interest rates, including those on home loans, and to help the financial system as it struggles under the crushing weight of bad loans and poor investments.

This will have an initial positive reaction in the economy but will only lead to inflation in the end when the market starts correcting itself. We are already starting to see some of the negative effects of this too.

Oil rose to $50 a barrel for the first time since January on Thursday after a move by the Federal Reserve to buy government bonds hit the dollar and revived hopes the U.S. economy could soon begin its recovery.

The Fed announced on Wednesday it would pump another $1 trillion into the U.S. economy by buying long-term government debt for the first time since the 1960s and by expanding purchases of mortgage bonds.

"It's a combination of a drop in the U.S. dollar and the Fed's move that has pushed up oil prices," said David Moore, a commodity strategist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Add this with Obama raising taxes and we are really screwed this summer.

Us Mass residents have it even worse. Gas is going to start going up and Deval is still going to try and raise our gas tax. Although I haven't heard much news about it lately.

Dodd finally admits responsibility for the AIG bonus loophole

He had been denying if for the last few days even though he was the one who put the amendment in the bail out bill. Hopefully the media will actually report this and bash him like they would if a Republican had done this. But I know that is wishful thinking.

Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN’s Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer Wednesday that he was responsible for adding the bonus loophole into the stimulus package that permitted AIG and other companies that received bailout funds to pay bonuses.

Hopefully Rob Simmons can use this against Dodd when he runs against him.

Obama has a change of heart on the troops

Probably from all out cry of the American Legion leaders and the criticism on the right Obama has decided to shelve his idea to not take care of the troops.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on Wednesday afternoon that President Barack Obama is shelving a controversial proposal that would have forced the private health insurance of veterans to pay for their war- and service-related injuries.

“President Obama listened to the genuine concerns expressed by the veteran service organizations regarding the option of billing service-connected injuries to veterans’ insurance companies,” said Pelosi. “Based on the respect President Obama has for veterans and the principle concerns of our veteran leaders, the president made the decision that combat wounds should not be billed through their insurance policies.”

Pelosi made her comments at a meeting with veterans’ service organizations at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. After her announcement, the group gave her a standing ovation.

The proposal, which was discussed in recent hearings of the Veterans Affairs committees in the House and Senate and in the House Budget Committee, would have shifted more of the cost for service-related injuries from the government--through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)--to the private, third-party insurance plans held by many veterans

It isn't that he changed his mind. He would still go through with this if he could get away with it. He is just afraid of losing any more political capital that he has already lost. He has already took a huge hit from the AIG mess. And he would have taken an even bigger hit from this.

Trickle-down economics rebuttal

Stolen from Right Wing News.

Well, below I have outlined a guaranteed way to destroy any Democrat in a debate on this issue.

Step #1) When your Democratic friend tells you that "Trickle-Down" economics failed, ask your friend to quote one Republican politician in history who ran on "Trickle-Down" economics, or argued for an economic policy where wealth "Trickled-Down" from the rich to the poor;

Step #2) When your friend responds with "Ronald Reagan," ask again for a quote where Reagan ran on "Trickle-Down" economics. When your friend concedes that Reagan supported supply-side tax cuts and no Republican ever advocated "Trickle-Down" economics, proceed to Step #3;

Step #3) Your friend will now claim that supply-side tax cuts are the equivalent to "Trickle-Down" economics. Proceed by asking him to cite one business in the history of Capitalism where the owner takes his or her profits before the employee. Explain to your friend that all employees are a business expense, and therefore get paid before the owner makes a single penny. Moreover, this does not even guarantee that the owner makes a profit at all;

Step #4) Explain to your friend that all profits trickle up from the employees to the owner, and therefore large profits are simply evidence that all workers have received their agreed upon paycheck. The absence of, or decrease in, profits means that some workers are likely to get laid off;

Step #5) Then explain to your friend that since the bottom 40% of Americans pay zero income taxes because they get all their deductions back, it is impossible to give anyone other than "the rich" an income tax cut;

Step #6) Your friend at this point will argue that the bottom 40% pay payroll taxes, to which you respond that the Republican Party advocated a payroll tax holiday to get out of this economic crisis and the Democrats rejected that idea;

Step #7) After declaring victory, ask your friend why he supports the Party that is against profits and cutting payroll taxes?

One of the major problems with the United States

40% of births are born out of wedlock. And that is a serious problem. To solve the problem you have to find out how it began. When you do that, you will see it is liberal policies and ideas that promotes this. With all the welfare and hands outs, they reward single parents. All these hand outs tell woman they don't need a husband in their lives to help raise their child. They don't need a man because they have big government as the daddy.

The birth rate rose slightly for women of all ages, and births to unwed mothers reached an all-time high of about 40 percent, continuing a trend begun years ago. More than three-quarters of these women were 20 or older.

For a variety of reasons, it's become more acceptable for women to have babies without a husband, said Duke University's S. Philip Morgan, a leading fertility researcher.

Even happy couples may be living together without getting married, experts say. And more women—especially those in their 30s and 40s—are choosing to have children despite their single status

And let's not forgive radical feminism either. For years they have been telling woman they can do anything they want and they don't need any man in their lives. Which is ok, if you are talking about school, career, or something else. But it is not ok to raise a child with out both parents.

I think it is time to start telling woman that this behavior is not going to be rewarded anymore and is not acceptable. The liberal media and liberal Hollywood like to promote and celebrate single mothers, dating back to Murphy Brown having a kid with no father by her side. But the problem is, most criminals and broken homes come from single parents. Sure there are exceptions to every rule, but if we could erase single parenthood we could wipe out the majority of our problems in the United States.

Even some Democrats think Obama is too big government

Of course we on the right have been saying this since 2006 and before. I don't know why everyone, well not everyone, but a lot of people thought he was going to govern as a moderate. He is and has always been a big government socialist. I don't know what part of his voting record or even what he says would make anyone think otherwise?

Barack Obama’s Big Bang Theory of Governance is starting to face its first big test among the new president’s fellow Democrats.

At the White House Tuesday morning, Obama began the day with a sharp push-back against the idea that his uncommonly ambitious agenda on health care, energy and other initiatives is too much, too soon.

As Obama’s remarks echoed on Capitol Hill, it soon became clear that the skeptics are not just Republicans.

There is rising doubt among Democrats — particularly moderates already concerned about the big costs and deficits called for in Obama’s budget — that either Obama or Washington have enough bandwidth this year to stimulate the economy, overhaul the failed financial sector and move on to a far-reaching domestic agenda.

“From the standpoint of the Congress, there’s only so much that we can absorb and do at one time,” Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, told POLITICO Tuesday. “To maintain a schedule like the one we’ve got at this moment, throughout the year, I don’t know if it will be healthy.”

I hate polls...

Especially generic ones like this this...

Support for the Democratic Congressional candidates fell to a new low over the past week, allowing the GOP to move slightly head for the first time in recent years in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 41% said they would vote for their district’s Republican candidate while 39% would choose the Democrat.

Investors now favor Republicans by a 46% to 36% margin, while non-investors would vote Democratic by a 45% to 33% margin.

Democrats began the year holding a six or seven point lead over the GOP for the first several weeks of 2009. Over the past month, the gap has been smaller, with Democrats holding a two-to-four point lead. It remains to be seen whether the current results reflect lasting change or statistical noise.

But hopefully we are headed in the right direction. And if this is true it is sad Republicans are so stupid. It is a proven fact that conservatism wins elections. Every time Republicans run liberal or moderate candidates like McCain they lose or start acting more like Democrats in the House and Senate they lose. If the Republicans could actual legislate as they campaign, as conservatives, we might wouldn't constantly have to reshape our party.

Biden really is an idiot

Sure we might be in a recession right now. But things are no where near as bad as the Great Depression. Things aren't even as bad as the late 70's early 80's under Carter. Biden is just trying to make excuse why Obama's policies aren't working and won't work.

Vice President Joe Biden’s discussed the economy in stark terms at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser Monday night, in contrast with the upbeat tone coming from the White House over the past few days.

In a 20-minute speech in the lobby of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Biden said President Obama "has inherited the most difficult first 100 days of any president, I would argue, including Franklin Roosevelt."

“Let me explain what I mean by that," he added. "It was clear the problem Roosevelt inherited. This is a more complicated economic [problem]. We’ve never ever been here before – here or in the world. Never ever been here before."

Turning to the budget, Biden said the White House is willing to bargain with Congress on the specifics of the president's grand programs.

But just like FDR, Obama's solutions to get us out of this mess won't work and will just make things worse. Government spending does not create prosperity. If that were the case Russia and eastern Europe would be the super powers today.

There is a proven track record to getting us out of these financial messes. It's called tax cuts. Tax cuts and less regulation. These bail outs didn't work and won't work. The government should have just let business's like AIG fail. Then I wouldn't have to hear about their bonus's anymore on the radio.

When left alone the market will correct itself and roar back stronger than before.

How high can it go

I bashed Bush when he let our debt soar higher and higher...but Obama is in a whole different league to himself. Our national debt has hit a record of $11 trillion. And this is only the beginning. Obama wants to keep on spending and spending. Just wait and see what happens to our debt if they pass cap and trade or national health care.

The eye-popping national debt surpassed $11 trillion Monday, the largest in U.S. history.

The new Treasury Department figures on the national debt were released as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is expected to project that the annual budget deficit will be higher than previously estimated by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. The debt, which refers to the cumulative amount of money the government owes, hit $10.9 trillion on Friday.

The whopping number has major ramifications for President Barack Obama, who is trying to push through a raft of big-ticket bills on health care, energy, education and climate change — while also attempting to stabilize the swooning economy.

Bush remains classy to a fault

Like always, Bush shows that he has far more class than some other ex-presidents that shall remain nameless.

Former President George W. Bush says he won't criticize President Barack Obama because Obama "deserves my silence," and says he plans to write a book about the 12 toughest decisions he made in office. Bush's speech Tuesday at a luncheon in Calgary, Alberta was his first since leaving office.

He declined to comment about the Obama administration like former Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney said Sunday that Obama's decisions are threatening the nation's safety.

Bush says he doesn't know what he'll do in the long term but says he'll write a book that will let people determine what they would have done if their most important job was to protect the country.

This is how ex-Presidents should act. They shouldn't go around running their mouths criticizing the current or other ex-Presidents.

Like all things liberal

We should just take what they say as gospel and not debate global warming in the Senate.

Eight Senate Democrats are opposing speedy action on President Barack Obama's bill to combat global warming, complicating prospects for the legislation and creating problems for their party's leaders.

The eight Democrats disapprove of using the annual budget debate to pass Obama's "cap and trade" bill to fight greenhouse gas emissions, a measure that divides lawmakers, environmentalists and businesses. The lawmakers' opposition makes it more difficult for Democratic leaders to move the bill without a threat of a Republican filibuster.

The budget debate is the only way to circumvent Senate rules that allow a unified GOP to stop a bill through filibusters.

"Enactment of a cap-and-trade regime is likely to influence nearly every feature of the U.S. economy," wrote the Democratic senators, mostly moderates. They were joined by 25 Republicans. "Legislation so far-reaching should be fully vetted and given appropriate time for debate."

It takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, but Democrats and allied independents currently control 58 seats.

Under a cap and trade system, the government would auction off permits to emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The auctions would raise almost $650 billion over the next decade, with the cost passed on to consumers as higher energy prices.

The cap and trade proposal is highly controversial, especially in heavily industrialized states and regions where people get their electricity from coal-fired power plants. Obama's promise to use most of the revenue to award $400 tax credits to most workers hasn't quelled the controversy since the increases in utility bills could easily exceed the amount of the tax cut.

I really don't think all these liberals even care or believe in global warming. I think they are just pushing it on us to get their agenda passed. No one in their right mind could support "cap and trade". They are just Hell bent on crippling our economy and moving even closer to socialism on the false premise than man is called global warming.

If we are causing global warming can someone please explain to me the ice ages. The Earth froze and melted with out an SUV ever polluting the Earth. Like everything in the world, the weather cycles. Depending on how close the sun is to the Earth basically depends if we are going through a warming or cooling cycle.

Veteran leader worried about Obama

Not that I needed a news story to know this, but the leader of the American Legion doesn't particularly like Obama after the two of them met.

The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

"It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan," said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. "He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it."

The Commander, clearly angered as he emerged from the session said, "This reimbursement plan would be inconsistent with the mandate ' to care for him who shall have borne the battle' given that the United States government sent members of the armed forces into harm's way, and not private insurance companies. I say again that The American Legion does not and will not support any plan that seeks to bill a veteran for treatment of a service connected disability at the very agency that was created to treat the unique need of America's veterans!"

The few people the government should actually take care of is our vets. But Obama cares more about the crack addict living on the street than the vet that needs medical attention.

Chris Dodd will have an opponent this year

Former Rep Rob Simmons said he will be running against Chris Dodd.

Former Republican Rep. Rob Simmons said Sunday that he plans to run against Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd.

Simmons said he made the decision to join the race after talking with relatives.

"The family had a long meeting today and was unanimous that I run," he said in an e-mail message to The Associated Press. "So I am running."

Simmons is a former state representative and CIA agent who served three terms in Congress representing Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District. He also served as the state's business advocate, but state deficit problems recently eliminated that office from the budget.

In a hypothetical 2010 matchup, a recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Simmons with 43 percent of the vote and Dodd with 42 percent.

This is another candidate we should support and donate to. Chris Dodd is an embarassment to the US Senate and should be sent home by the voters.

Tedisco holding on to a 4 point lead in New York

Him winning this seat would be a good sign for Republicans in 2010. By then I think Obama's popularity won't be as high and we might see the Republicans cut into the dominance the Democrats have in Washington right now. I know Jim Tedisco isn't from Mass but we still need as many Republicans elected to Congress as possible. Any kind of support you could give him I'm sure would go a long way to getting him elected.

The results are likely to have little effect on Capitol Hill, where Democrats enjoy a 76-seat advantage in the 435-member House of Representatives.

But for Republicans, a win would help turn the page on the painful 2008 election and offer them a glimmer of hope at a time when Democratic President Barack Obama enjoys high approval ratings.

"It would be an indicator that the tide has turned, (that) when we have an equal playing field we can win on an equal playing field," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

The race features Republican State Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco against Democratic nominated venture capitalist Scott Murphy, who has no background in politics.

A Siena College poll released last Thursday showed Tedisco leading by 4 percentage points, nearly within the poll's margin of error, down from a 12-point lead at the end of February.

A win by Tedisco would help Republicans prove they can win again in the Northeast. The three New York seats currently held by New York Republicans are the only House seats that the party controls in all of New England. A decade ago, Republicans had 17 seats in the region.

Cheney bashed Obama

Here

Don't blame the Bush administration for all the country's economic problems.

That's the message from former Vice President Dick Cheney.

President Barack Obama constantly talks about the enormous economic troubles that he inherited when he took office in January. Cheney agrees that Obama did indeed came into power amid very difficult economic circumstances.

But Cheney says he doesn't think the Bush administration can be blamed for creating the economic woes. Cheney says it's a global financial problem. He says the idea that fault can assigned to the previous administration is "interesting rhetoric" but he doesn't think people care about that.

And here.

Vice President Cheney charged Sunday morning on CNN that President Obama is using the recession “to try to justify” what is probably the largest expansion of federal authority “in the history of the Republic.”

“I worry a lot that they’re using the current set of economic difficulties to try to justify a massive expansion in the government, and much more authority for the government over the private sector,” Cheney said in his first television interview since leaving office. “I don’t think that’s good. I don’t think that’s going to solve the problem.”

Speaking to host John King on “State of the Union,” Cheney said he thinks the programs Obama has proposed “in health care, in energy and so forth constitute probably the biggest – or one of the biggest – expansions of federal authority over the private economy in the history of the Republic.”

"I worry very much that what is being done here is saying, 'We've got an economic crisis, therefore, we're justified in fundamentally remaking the health program in America,'" Cheney said. "I don't think that's right."

I love hearing Obama say he "had" to sign this bill with 8000 ear marks. Even though he promised the American public he would never sign any ear marks. But after he breaks his promise he has the gall to say it is Bush's fault he did. All because the budget got started when Bush was President.

What really bothers me is, wasn't Obama in the Senate while the were voting on the bill? So either way he is still at fault. Just another hypocrisy the media won't talk about.

Just over the Western Mass Line

Is a candidate who needs our support.

Just over the Massachusetts border, there is a battle for New York's 20th Congressional District going on right now. Republican Jim Tedisco is running, and he needs your help. This Albany-based seat is being targeted by Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats, and they will need your help to fight back. If you are interested in volunteering, please call the Tedisco campaign at (518) 373-2702 or email them at info@JimTedisco.com.

Tommy Taxes to be disbarred

And this is making Howie Carr giddy like a little school girl.

The state Board of Bar Overseers has recommended that former House Speaker and WRKO radio host Thomas M. Finneran be disbarred, a decision that could prevent him from ever practicing law again in Massachusetts.

Only one member of the 12-person board, which deliberated Monday night, cast a dissenting vote. Eight of the members are lawyers.

Finneran’s license to practice law was suspended in 2007 after he pleaded guilty to giving false testimony in a federal lawsuit over his role in a 2002 legislative redistricting plan that diminished minority clout. Finneran was convicted of obstruction of justice.

With all of Massachusetts financial short comings...

Why is Deval handing out a $175,000 per year job that hasn't been needed in 12 years? But yet he wants to raise our taxes.

Outrage is sweeping Beacon Hill after Gov. Deval Patrick quietly slipped a $175,000 plum job to a political pal while squeezing taxpayers to pay more for less from the debt-ridden state government.

Asking citizens to fork over 19 cents more per gallon at the gas pump while bracing for cuts of cops and teachers, Patrick awarded supporter Marian Walsh the pricey plum as assistant executive director of the state’s Health and Educational Facilities Authority.

The job has been vacant for 12 years. The appointment of Walsh, 54, a Democratic state senator from West Roxbury, was revealed amid news of a $1 billion state deficit while Patrick continued his vacation in Jamaica

And to make matters worse, Sal Dimasi handed out raises in his final days as speaker.

Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi handed out pay increases worth a combined $65,000 to 10 House employees in the days before he resigned in January.

The Boston Globe reports that the Democrat gave raises ranging from 4 to 66 percent to staff members working for committee chairmen, two court officers, and promoted his driver to court officer. The officers maintain order in the chamber.

I don't understand how anyone can still vote for these Democrats. It should be our number 1 priority to get rid of any and all of these Democrats who want to raise our taxes especially why they are handing out pay increases or un-needed jobs to their friends.

And we wonder why the state's deficit might hit $1 billion.

As tax revenue continues to dwindle, Beacon Hill leaders are confronting an additional budget gap of as much as $1 billion this year, forcing lawmakers to choose between deep spending cuts and broad-based tax increases.

The new estimate by a Senate budget leader, which was confirmed by a state fiscal watchdog group, is the latest in a cascading series of grim revenue forecasts, which has already compelled Governor Deval Patrick to close a $1.4 billion shortfall in the state's $28 billion budget in October and an additional $1.1 billion little more than a month ago.

But Deval thinks it is a good idea to give out a $175,000/year hack job.

And I'm sure cutting spending has never crossed Deval's mind. Just tax, tax, tax...

Economy is not as bad as we think

Always the great optimist as Obama is, this is the best he can say about the economy. Well of course it isn't that bad yet, we are only 50+ days into his administration.

Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is "not as bad as we think" and his plans will speed recovery.

Challenged to provide encouragement as the nation's "confidence builder in chief," Obama said Americans shouldn't be whipsawed by bursts of either bad or good news and he was "highly optimistic" about the long term.

I wonder what Obama will be saying next year when we have double digit unemployment along with double digit inflation? Probably "well at least it isn't as bad as it was under Carter."

Another Governor rejects bail out moneys

I wish every Republican Governor, along with some Democratic ones, would reject the bail out. The Texas Governor followed the chorus and rejected the funds.

From the center of a Houston hardware store, Gov. Rick Perry ignited a debate about Texas job cuts, business taxes and President Barack Obama’s so-called economic stimulus program Thursday by rejecting the federal government’s offer of $555 million in aid to the unemployed.

The action now moves to the Legislature, which can bypass Perry and take the offer as long as it changes state laws and blocks Republican Perry’s potential veto. Democratic lawmakers said Thursday they will try.

Perry said the money would come with too many strings attached. Taking the half billion would require the state to assist qualified out-of-work residents seeking part-time jobs, an idea that Perry said the state has rejected before, partly because it could discourage them from seeking full-time employment.

That's the problem, once you accept the funds you are basically just a puppet for the Federal government. I hope to see more and more Governors reject the funds. In fact I think any governor who accepts them, especially the Republicans, should really not be supported for re-election. That's the only way to put any fear into any politician.

Change we can believe in

I guess this is the change Obama has been talking about. For the first time since Grover Cleveland the President will not be attending the annual Gridiron Dinner.

A Gridiron Club member tells FBDC first that President Obama will not attend this year's dinner next Saturday, March 21st. He will be the first president since Grover Cleveland not to attend the first Gridiron Club Dinner of his presidency.

This year's date coincides with the spring break of President Obama's daughters' school and club members have been informed the Obama family will be out of town, likely in Chicago.

Vice President Joe Biden will attend and speak at the dinner in his place. This member tells us the club is delighted to have Vice President Biden, but that there will be some very disappointed guests.

Well at least this is some sort of change.

Another Obama appointee in trouble

Not sure what Yusuf Acar did, but his place was raided by the FBI.

An official in the D.C. government's office of the chief technology officer has been arrested in a federal bribery sting, according to law enforcement sources.

Yusuf Acar, 40, was taken into custody this morning by FBI agents at his home in Northwest Washington, the sources said. The nature of the charges could not be determined. Channing Phillips, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to comment on the arrest, saying the case "is under seal."

Acar serves as an information systems security officer in the D.C. government. He worked for Vivek Kundra, the District's chief technology officer. Kundra recently left D.C. government to become President Obama's federal chief information officer. Kundra's deputy, Thomas Jones, is acting as the interim director, city officials said

It is sad...I'm surprised when an Obama appointee is clean.

With an update to this story...

D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Officer employee Yusuf Acar and Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation (AITC) President and CEO Sushil Bansal have been arrested, sources tell WTOP.

Acar, 40, was taken into custody Thursday morning by FBI agents at his home in Northwest D.C.

In 2008, Bansal's firm received .Net Development Support and Peoplesoft Consulting Support contracts from the D.C. Office of the Chief Technology Office totaling $350,000.

AITC has also received contracts from the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. In 2008, Bansal received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Association of Indians in America, according to AITC's Web site.

Government records show Bansal is not a U.S. citizen and holds an H-1B visa, which is given to foreign workers in specialty occupations.

Well at least his other appointments were never arrested by the FBI.

Update on South Carolina

Yesterday I posted that SC Governor Mark Sanford might be the first to reject the stimulus money. Well today it became official.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Wednesday became the first governor to reject some of his state's share of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus money, spurning $700 million that he said would harm his state's residents in the long run.

Looks like we might have a front runner for 2012.

Granted Sanford might be exaggerating a bit here, but not as much as we'd like to think.

The United States faces a Zimbabwe-style economic collapse if it keeps "spending a bunch of money we don't have," South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said Wednesday

Sanford, a Republican, has been an outspoken critic of the Obama administration's $800 billion stimulus plan. He said he'll turn down about a quarter of his state's $2.8 billion share unless Washington lets him use that money to pay down debt.

"What you're doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don't have and send it to different states, we'll create jobs," he said. "If that's the case, why isn't Zimbabwe a rich place?"

Zimbabwe has been in the throes of an economic meltdown ever since the southern African nation embarked on a chaotic land reform program. Its official inflation rate topped 11 million percent in 2008, with its treasury printing banknotes in the trillion-dollar range to keep up with the plummeting value of its currency.

But I think we will have double digit inflation in the next few years. Especially if Pelosi gets her way and they push through another bail out that this country desperately doesn't need.

Democrats hate out sourcing

Yet they are the main cause for corporations leaving the United States for more tax friendly countries. Only makes common sense, why would corporations want to pay more taxes and make less profits? Which is why I've been saying the best way to get out of the recession is to cut taxes and promote growth than that raising taxes and making it harder to grow the economy.

The tidy towns and mountain vistas of Switzerland are an unlikely setting for an oil boom.

Yet a wave of energy companies has in the last few months announced plans to move to Switzerland -- mainly for its appeal as a low-tax corporate domicile that looks relatively likely to stay out of reach of Barack Obama's tax-seeking administration.

In a country with scant crude oil production of its own, the virtual energy boom has changed the canton or state of Zug, about 30 minutes' drive from Zurich, beyond all recognition. Its economy was based on farming until it slashed tax rates to attract commerce after World War Two.

This is what happens when you threaten to raise taxes...

Troops to the Mexican border?

Obama says he is considering it, but some how I doubt he will. Bush should have sent troops down to the border when he had a chance. The border issues is one of the most important issues today. As far as I'm concerned if Mexico doesn't put an end to all the drug trafficking and murders being committed in the US by their citizens we should send the troops into Mexico to take out all the drug cartels.

President Obama weighed in Wednesday on the escalating drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that he was looking at possibly deploying National Guard troops to contain the violence but ruled out any immediate military move.

"We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense," Obama said during an interview with journalists for regional papers, including a McClatchy reporter.

"I don't have a particular tipping point in mind," he said. "I think it's unacceptable if you've got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens."

Already this year there have been 1,000 people killed in Mexico along the border, following 2008's death toll of 5,800, according to federal officials who credit Mexican President Felipe Calderon for a crackdown on drug cartels.

Where all the pork goes in Mass

Ted Kennedy has his hands all over the pork money coming to Mass. More than 1 out of 5 dollars are going towards the Kennedy legacy. I'm sure this is the best way to stimulate our economy...

More than one out of every five dollars of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks from a $410 billion federal spending package is going toward helping to preserve the legacy of the Kennedys - including a multimillion dollar center focused in part on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s own legacy.

The bill includes $5.8 million for the planning and design of a building to house a new Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate. The funding may also help support an endowment for the institute.

The spending bill also includes $22 million to expand facilities at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, and $5 million more for a new gateway to the Boston Harbor Islands on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a park system in downtown Boston named after Kennedy’s mother, on land opened up by the Big Dig highway project.