S.J.Res.21 - Term Limits for Congress

S.J.Res.21 - A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve to 3 in the House of Representatives and 2 in the Senate. Senator Jim DeMint R-SC

Comment: I oppose this resolution because it limits the right of the citizen to vote for the candidate of their choosing. A term limit is a measure for lazy voters. Term limits will not fix the problems in Congress, only good citizens and restoration of the states place in the federal government.

S.J.Res.18 - Agreement for nuclear cooperation between the US and the UAE

S.J.Res.18 - A joint resolution relating to the approval of the proposed agreement for nuclear cooperation between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Senator John Kerry D-MA

States that Congress favors the proposed agreement for U.S.-United Arab Emirates (UAE) cooperation pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 transmitted to Congress by the President on May 21, 2009.

Comment: Why are we cooperating with the UAE to develop a nuclear capability? Is Kerry mad? Does any one in our country, no matter the political ideology, believe we should be bring a nuclear capability to a middle eastern country.

Write your Senator today and tell them to vote NO to this lunacy.

Quis Custodiet Ipsos Climate Scientists?

When those who deem themselves our betters can't persuade people to support their ideas, they will lie, cheat, and manipulate in any way they can. When we allow others to make our decisions for us, who oversees them?

The furor over these documents is not about tone, colloquialisms or whether climatologists are nice people. The real issue is what the messages say about the way the much-ballyhooed scientific consensus on global warming was arrived at, and how a single view of warming and its causes is being enforced. The impression left by the correspondence among Messrs. Mann and Jones and others is that the climate-tracking game has been rigged from the start.

According to this privileged group, only those whose work has been published in select scientific journals, after having gone through the "peer-review" process, can be relied on to critique the science. And sure enough, any challenges from critics outside this clique are dismissed and disparaged.

Chris Booker calls this "the worst scientific scandal of our generation."

James Taranto calls it a "corruption of the peer-review process."

Ed Morrissey says that "The AGW movement has been exposed as a religious belief and a political cash cow, not science."

The inevitable parodies are showing up too.

And now we find out that some of the raw data used to make their calculations has been destroyed. Welcome to ClimateGate:

The admission follows the leaking of a thousand private emails sent and received by Professor Phil Jones, the CRU’s director. In them he discusses thwarting climate sceptics seeking access to such data.

In a statement on its website, the CRU said: “We do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (quality controlled and homogenised) data.”

The CRU is the world’s leading centre for reconstructing past climate and temperatures. Climate change sceptics have long been keen to examine exactly how its data were compiled. That is now impossible.

Roger Pielke, professor of environmental studies at Colorado University, discovered data had been lost when he asked for original records. “The CRU is basically saying, ‘Trust us’. So much for settling questions and resolving debates with science,” he said.

If the science is so settled, measuring the data again shouldn't be a problem. Science is all about testing and retesting. The whole point of peer review is to allow others to make their own measurements and run their own experiments.

However, a peer-review process which excludes those who can't be trusted to arrive at the appropriate conclusion doesn't satisfy that purpose. Real scientific advances have been made chiefly by those who were willing to buck the consensus.

The fact that they have so much faith in their own good intentions is why they think it's okay for them to lie, cheat, and manipulate in order to get their way. But as Daniel Webster said, "Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions."

Ronald Reagan said it even better, "Trust, but verify."

This is why we do not allow unaccountable groups of people to wield great political power. Setting up watchmen to shoulder the responsibility that properly belongs to the people of controlling the government will always corrupt them into using the government for their own purposes. And who watches over them?

Decentralizing power is the only way to keep it accountable. Repealing the 17th Amendment is the best way to do that.

Here's John Stossel debunking the myths about climate science:

Which Party Is Worse?

Arguing about which party is worse is beside the point. Decentralization is a good idea which deserves support regardless of what party anyone prefers:



Repealing the 17th Amendment is a nonpartisan issue which would be a great step toward decentralizing power. When you're discussing the issue with someone who really likes one party, feel free to agree about how much worse the other party is. That way maybe you can approach the issue of restoring the Senate in a friendly way.

Hat tip: Tenth Amendment Center

Also, check out this interview with Kevin Gutzman on Freedom vs the Courts

S.1619 - Livable Communities Act of 2009

S.1619 - Livable Communities Act of 2009: Senator Christopher Dodd D-CT

Introduced.Livable Communities Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC). Establishes in the executive branch an independent Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities. Requires the OSHC Director to establish a program to make comprehensive planning grants and sustainability challenge grants to eligible entities (partnerships between a consortium of units of general local government and an eligible partner, which may be a metropolitan planning organization, a rural planning organization, a regional council, or a state). Requires the use of a comprehensive planning grant to carry out a project to:

(1) coordinate land use, housing, transportation, and infrastructure planning processes across jurisdictions and agencies;
(2) identify potential regional partnerships for developing and implementing a comprehensive regional plan;
(3) conduct or update housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy, and environmental assessments to determine regional needs and promote sustainable development;
(4) develop or update a comprehensive regional plan or goals and strategies to implement an existing comprehensive regional plan; and
(5) implement local zoning and other code changes necessary to implement a comprehensive regional plan and promote sustainable development.Requires the use of a sustainability challenge grant to:

(1) promote integrated transportation, housing, energy, and economic development activities carried out across policy and governmental jurisdictions;
(2) promote sustainable and location-efficient development; and
(3) implement projects identified in a comprehensive regional plan. Directs the OSHC Director to study and report to specified congressional committees on incentives for encouraging lenders to make, and homebuyers and homeowners to participate in, energy-efficient mortgages and location-efficient mortgages.

Comment: Dodd's bill is a huge assault on the remaining sovereignty of the states. Word must get out to every state legislator so opposition from the states can begin. If passed, this needs to be nullified straight away.

Dodd's bill furthers the UN Agenda 21; more information about Agenda 21 can be found here.

S.773 - Cybersecurity Act of 2009

S.773 - Cybersecurity Act of 2009: Senator John Rockefeller D-WV

A bill to ensure the continued free flow of commerce within the United States and with its global trading partners through secure cyber communications, to provide for the continued development and exploitation of the Internet and intranet communications for such purposes, to provide for the development of a cadre of information technology specialists to improve and maintain effective cybersecurity defenses against disruption, and for other purposes.

Comment: This bill gives the Federal Government unequaled power over the Internet and would do nothing to improve security.

Sen. Dodd: U.N. facilitator of 'Marxist utopia'

Sen. Dodd: U.N. facilitator of 'Marxist utopia;' WorldNetDaily

When the term “Sustainable Development
” first entered the world, it was defined to be:

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The term and the definition are the creation of the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland, then vice-chair of the International Socialist Party.

To give meaning to this grandiose definition, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development adopted Agenda 21, signed by 179 nations, including the United States. This document is a 40-chapter laundry list of recommendations to create "Sustainable Communities."

Sen. Christopher Dodd is facilitating these U.N. recommendations through his "Livable Communities Act" (S. 1619), which further defines the term this way:

"The term 'sustainable development' means a pattern of resource use designed to create livable communities by:

(A) providing a variety of safe and reliable transportation choices;
(B) providing affordable, energy-efficient, and location-efficient housing choices for people of all income levels, ages, races, and ethnicities;
(C) supporting, revitalizing, and encouraging the growth of communities and maximizing the cost effectiveness of existing infrastructure;
(D) promoting economic development and economic competitiveness;
(E) preserving the environment and natural resources;
(F) protecting agricultural land, rural land, and green spaces; and
(G) supporting public health and improving the quality of life for residents of and workers in a community."

Read the rest of the article here, as well as linking to all the URLs.

Senator Inhofe to travel to Copenhagen as a climate change 'truth squad'

US Senator Inhofe to travel to Copenhagen as a climate change 'truth squad' Examiner.com

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe announced on C-SPAN this morning that he would be traveling to the Copenhagen climate summit as a “on-man truth squad. ..

Comment: Well he'll have to be more than a truth squad, he'll have to be a media squad as well because the MSM is squashing this scandal. So much for a free press.

The 17th Amendment Legacy

The 17th Amendment Legacy; Banging the Drum

By now most of us have watched and listened to our popularly elected Senators as they rose up in the well of our corrupt neo-Roman Senate and huffed and puffed, pontificated, equivocated (weaseled), and positioned themselves in the earnest hope of being able to be on both sides of the current manufactured health care issue. Now that they have sanctimoniously voted to allow “debate” on the 2,000-page law, the real bribing/blackmailing can begin in earnest. If you thought the $300,000,000 bribe to Senator Landrieu to vote for debate was outrageous, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. What’s that you say? Isn’t bribery a crime? Well, bribery is a crime for dumb-butt citizens like you and me, but not for the self-anointed Potentates that occupy the 17th Amendment United States Senate. I suggest you go back and read my piece on the 17th Amendment (The 17th Amendment and the Rise of Special Interest) to gain a small understanding of how this monumental mistake has given rise to our corrupt and dysfunctional United States Senate. ...

Your Senator Is (Probably) a Millionaire

Your Senator Is (Probably) a Millionaire; The New York Times

About two-thirds of United States senators were millionaires in 2008, according to a recent analysis of politicians’ fortunes conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics.

The research organization, which also tracks political donations, recently analyzed the assets and liabilities of lawmakers based on 2008’s required annual financial disclosures. The center estimated each politician’s net worth by adding together the lawmaker’s range of assets and then subtracted the range of liabilities.

The midpoint of that resulting range was used to rank the politicians.

In the Senate, 68 legislators were estimated to be worth at least $1 million, led by Herb Kohl, a Democrat from Wisconsin, who was worth an estimated $214,570,011 in 2008. The average net worth across the Senate was $13,989,022.98.

Here is the center’s list of the 25 wealthiest senators from 2008:

Abortion in Health Plan Tests a Pennsylvania Senator

Abortion in Health Plan Tests a Pennsylvania Senator; The New York Times

Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania wants to talk about health care, Medicare, children’s insurance, a public option — anything but abortion.

But that is pretty much impossible because Mr. Casey is the country’s most prominent “pro-life” Democrat. He credits his political career in large part to the popularity of his late father, the anti-abortion firebrand Gov. Bob Casey, who challenged Roe v. Wade all the way to the Supreme Court.

The reputation that came with the Bob Casey name is now turning the senator into a pivotal if reluctant player in one of the most contentious debates in the health care overhaul: how to avoid using taxpayer money for abortion while extending insurance subsidies to millions of Americans. As the only senator committed to remaking health care and opposing abortion, he is the lone senator actively working for a compromise that might defuse the issue, a position that has made him a special target of attacks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

George Washington's first Presidential declaration of a day of Thanksgiving:

White House, AARP Seek to Build on Senate Health Vote

White House, AARP Seek to Build on Senate Health Vote; Bloomberg

The Obama administration and two major lobbying groups are seeking to spur momentum for a health- care overhaul after the U.S. Senate cleared the way for a floor debate that is likely to extend to Christmas or beyond.

The administration released a report yesterday showing how states would benefit from the legislation to expand medical insurance coverage. The American Medical Association and AARP, which support a health-care overhaul, announced a national television advertisement to highlight how they say the measure would improve Medicare and to defeat what they called “scare tactics” by opponents.

“We know opponents of health-care reform won’t rest,” Nancy LeaMond, an AARP executive vice president, said in a statement. The group, which advocates for the interests of seniors, has 40 million seniors. ...

The legislation is intended to cover 31 million uninsured people and curb costs. Like a bill passed Nov. 7 by the U.S. House, the Senate plan would require all Americans to get health coverage. It would set up insurance-purchasing exchanges and provide subsidies for those who can’t afford coverage.

Republicans argue the measure will explode the U.S. budget deficit, cause rationing of health care and fail to produce the cost savings that are a chief goal. Republican leaders estimate the plan’s true cost at about $2.5 trillion over a decade. ...

One major sticking point is the public option. The measure would let individual states choose not to offer it.

Comment: AARP is first and foremost an insurance company...can anyone say collusion.

I say forget the public option, let's start considering nullification. If the states get this rolling, repealing the 17th might be right around the corner.

Senator Inhofe Says He Will Call for Investigation on Climategate

Climate Emails Stoke Debate; Where is the Senate Debate Now?

Climate Emails Stoke Debate; The Wall Street Journal

The scientific community is buzzing over thousands of emails and documents -- posted on the Internet last week after being hacked from a prominent climate-change research center -- that some say raise ethical questions about a group of scientists who contend humans are responsible for global warming.

The correspondence between dozens of climate-change researchers, including many in the U.S., illustrates bitter feelings among those who believe human activities cause global warming toward rivals who argue that the link between humans and climate change remains uncertain.

In all, more than 1,000 emails and more than 2,000 other documents were stolen Thursday from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University in the U.K. The identity of the hackers isn't certain, but the files were posted on a Russian file-sharing server late Thursday, and university officials confirmed over the weekend that their computer had been attacked and said the documents appeared to be genuine.

Comment: The Senate is poised to pass cap and trade legislation and now we learn about the emerging scandal called Climategate, yet where is our US Senate amidst this debate? Well in the back pocket of these criminals, the special interests groups that are pushing this economic and social tyranny upon us, not to mention the savage attack against our sovereignty.

Thank goodness this news has been revealed, but each one of us should be mad as hell that our politicians in US Senate have been funding and colluding with this madness.

If the states had their rightful place within the federal government it is highly doubtful this buffoonery would have ever gained any traction here on Liberty's soil. It's time to repeal the 17th Amendment. We need to return to the structure the founders created.

Reaction to Senate healthcare vote offers a preview of 2010 campaigns

Reaction to Senate healthcare vote offers a preview of 2010 campaigns; The Los Angeles Times

Next year's congressional elections weigh heavily in partisan comments. Republicans say healthcare vote shows Democrats' devotion to big government; Democrats say the GOP is merely the 'party of no.'

With the Senate's 60-39 vote to proceed to debate, after Thanksgiving, on a healthcare bill that the president is seeking by year's end, the debate of the 2010 midterm elections has been joined.

Democrats, in control of the White House and Congress, will present the congressional elections as a question of fulfilling an agenda of progress and change and keeping "the party of no," the intransigent GOP, in check.

Republicans will frame the midterms as a chance to reclaim at least part of Congress from a party trying to take over not just healthcare and imposing big government, big spending and taxation on every aspect of life -- "socialization," a leading Republican senator calls it.

If President Barack Obama is unable to sign a healthcare overhaul into law by the midterm vote, the GOP will be painting a picture of a president unable to work his will with his own party in control. If there is healthcare reform and more to present at the polls in 2010, the GOP will be cast by the people in power as an obstructionist, no-solution party. ...

Comment: Let's face it, both labels could be applied to either party. How about a party of "freedom and liberty," or a party of "state's rights."

When one considers repealing the 17th Amendment, serious consideration must be given to removing the power that has been created, through legislation, for the two main parties. Having power consolidated in Washington benefits not only the statists and special interest groups, but the two main political parties.

This is the very reason our state legislators haven't moved toward affirming the 10th Amendment, repealing of the 17th, nullification, or even secession; they are beholden first to their political party. Many prefer to say they are beholden to the contributors first, but the reality is above all the party comes first. And it's because the vast majority of people that get involved in politics have aspirations for national office, and the only way to get to national office is through the two main political parties. Simplistic...sure, but tell me otherwise if you disagree. But I haven't met one politician yet that was only concerned with their community and didn't actually think about going to Washington. I'm sure there are some out there, but politics, as the say, is the candy store of the narcissist and DC is the prize in the Cracker Jacks' box.

Break the bonds of the two political parties and the 17th might be a thing of the past.

Explaining cost savings in the Senate bill: Really?

Explaining cost savings in the Senate bill; Los Angeles Times

Note: This piece confirms media collusion with the government health care plan being forced on the nation.

If the Senate bill is estimated to cost $848 billion over the next decade, how can Democrats say it will cut the federal budget deficit by $130 billion?

The Congressional Budget Office says that the government will take in more in revenues from taxes and fees -- and save money by trimming the fat out of Medicare -- than it will spend extending health coverage to more Americans.

Under the Senate plan, a tax on high-cost insurance plans is expected to generate about $150 billion over the next decade. Fees on drug companies, medical device makers and insurers are expected to bring in about $100 billion. The bill also raises the payroll tax on high-income workers who receive Medicare.

At the same time, it projects extracting about $436 billion in cost savings in Medicare over the next 10 years, mainly by changing the way doctors and hospitals are paid.

Read the rest of the propaganda piece here.

Comment: Saving the taxpayer money has never been something the Federal Government has done or will ever.

S. 604: Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009

S.604: Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009

A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

Will a S604 failure jump start the Repeal The 17th Amendment movement?

Will a S604 failure jump start the Repeal The 17th Amendment movement? Daily Paul

While Dr. Paul's bill HR1207 enjoys the support of 72% (314/435) of the House, the companion bill in the Senate, S604, has been mired for quite some time at only 31% (31/100). To make matters worse, Judd Gregg (R-NH) recently stated that he would filibuster against the bill in the Senate. Why the disconnect? Well, it all goes back to that dreadful year of 1913. That was the year that the Federal Income Tax and the Federal Reserve were created, and the 17th Amendment adopted (maybe). The Founding Fathers had it right when they set up the House (People's House) and the Senate (State's House). Representatives were elected by the people and Senators were elected/appointed by state legislatures. Senators represented the wishes of their state and were a check on any wild ideas that may come out of the House. The 17th Amendment took the power of appointing Senators away from the states and allowed them to be voted on by the people. That Amendment created the perfect storm for corruption. Now Senators are really "super Representatives" with 4.35x more voting clout than Representatives (100 vs 435), and they are around for 6 years rather than 2. So if you have big bucks and have an agenda, where are you going to get more bang for your buck than by buying a Senator? That is exactly what has happened. Senator Durbin (D-IL) confirmed it a few months ago when he publicly stated that "The banks own the Senate"! And it is not just the banks. It is also the military-industrial complex, big pharma, corporate agriculture and the big buck list goes on and on.

So, in my few short years in following this stuff closely (thanks to RP and the DP), I have not seen such a great disconnect between what the people (House) want and what big money/corruption (Senate) wants. We need this example to go viral and wake the sheep up. We need to Repeal the 17th Amendment. Then we can tackle the Federal Income Tax and the Federal Reserve, hopefully before it is too late for America, which I personally fear it may be.

Senator Giuliani?

Senator Giuliani? The Fix;The Washington Post

After months of relative quiet regarding the political future of former mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), the New York newspapers have exploded this afternoon with reports that not only has he decided not to run for governor in 2010 but that he plans to enter the Senate race against Kirsten Gillibrand instead.

Senate Healthcare Bill has giant loopholes for illegal aliens

Senate Healthcare Bill has giant loopholes for illegal aliens; Examiner.com

H.R. 3590. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Written by a bunch of failed lawyers turned politicians, the Senate Healthcare Bill makes obfuscation an art form as it provides giant loopholes for benefits for illegal aliens.

The new legislation, constructed by Harry Reid and company certainly one-ups the Pelosi team when it comes to legal mumbo jumbo (a technical term) and vague attempts at appearing tough on illegal immigration.

Rand Paul on Health Care Reform

Rand Paul is running for Senate in Kentucky.

Senator Buttars Is a Joke

How do morons like this get elected? Sen. Buttars is one more of a hundred reasons to repeal the 17th Amendment.

Senate Moves to Nationalize Health Care

Today, the Senate votes to open debate on Sen. Reid's health care reform proposal. The House has already passed a version, so the only way for the Senate to block it is to filibuster it. If the Senate passes its version, the two bills will be reconciled and re-voted on by both houses, with the biggest difference being that the Senate won't be able to filibuster that vote. That vote will pass with a simple majority, which will be easy for them.

Here's the schedule for today:

10 am-6pm: Each party controling alternating hours, with Democrats controlling the first hour.

6-6:30 p.m. Democrats' time.

6:30-7:15 p.m. Republicans' time.

7:15-7:30 p.m. Democrats' time.

7:30-8 p.m. Time controlled by leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell.

8 p.m. Roll call vote on the motion to proceed.

You can have an impact, especially if you live in Louisiana, Nebraska, Arkansas, or Indiana. Call your Senators, even if you don't live in those states. Get all your friends to call your Senators. It can make a difference, so please do everything you can to stop them from voting "yes" on this bill:

Mary Landrieu of Louisiana
202-224-5824

Ben Nelson of Nebraska
202-224-6551

Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas
202-224-4843

Evan Bayh of Indiana
202-224-5623

Yes, this bill really is that bad.

There are not many times when we truly can say that we are at a turning point. If anything close to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi plans passes, there will be one last chance in November 2010 to stem the tide of government control. It is not too much to say that several more years of Democratic control will result in an almost irreversible economic and political disaster, at least for people who prefer capitalism and individual liberty.

Tonight's vote is procedural, on whether to open debate. In a few weeks there likely will be a vote on some bill. That vote needs to be fought with every lawful means, recognizing that our tax dollars will be used to bribe Senators with pork projects to win their votes.

But the real battle comes in November 2010.

I believe Barack Obama when he says that he would rather get his way on health care legislation even if it meant he were a one-term President.

Obama knows what is at stake. Do we?

They're putting everything they have into this, including requiring states to include abortion coverage.

There's nothing redeemable in this bill. It must be stopped. Melt the phones. Tell your friends. Use whatever legal means possible to prevent this legislation from passing.

And then repeal the 17th Amendment so that the socialists in this country can learn how bad their ideas are before forcing them on the rest of us.

Update: Here's a great video to help demonstrate the point.



Update: You can watch the debate live here.

Senator Vows to Block Removal of Fed’s Audit Shield

Senator Vows to Block Removal of Fed’s Audit Shield; Bloomberg

A U.S. senator said he would seek to block any legislation containing a measure to remove the Federal Reserve’s shield from congressional audits of the central bank’s interest-rate decisions.

The House Financial Services Committee yesterday advanced a proposal requiring audits of the Fed that was introduced by Representative Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas. Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican and Banking Committee member, said in an interview today that the measure “would do fundamental damage to the strength of our financial structure as a nation.”

“I would not vote for any bill and I would filibuster any bill that had this language in it,” Gregg said, referring to the legislative delaying tactic that requires 60 Senate votes to break.

Gregg’s comments indicate that legislation similar to Paul’s bill, which has more than 300 House co-sponsors, would face resistance in the Senate. That would help the Fed, which opposes the bill on the grounds that it could reduce the central bank’s independence in setting interest rates. ...

Gregg, 62, who was elected in 1992 and plans to retire from the Senate next year, attributed the Paul legislation’s success to “populist fervor” and lawmakers “pandering” to the public.

Comment: I'm not sure how much damage can be done that hasn't already been done in the last two years.

Who is Mr. Gregg beholden to; the voters in New Hampshire, the US Constitution - might I even throw in there, his conscience - or special interest?

Ron Paul's legislation is anything but "populist;" it's constitutional!

Senate health bill would cut $130B in federal deficits over a decade, budget office says

Senate health bill would cut $130B in federal deficits over a decade, budget office says; AP

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that Majority Leader Harry Reid's 10-year, $848-billion bill would produce a net reduction of $130 billion in federal deficits in its first decade. Perhaps more significantly, the legislation would continue to give back over the next 10 years and beyond, the budget umpires said, because "added revenues and cost savings would probably be greater" than the cost of covering uninsured Americans.

The budget office put a big asterisk on its forecast, using words like "imprecision" and "uncertainty" to describe the long-range projection. It noted that, overall, health care spending remains on an unsustainable path.

Comment: I love that word "nonpartisan." Sure, a nonpartisan group of any kind is impossible in Washington. Anyway, I had to laugh when I read this headline.

Poll: McCain Could Lose Primary in Arizona

Poll: McCain Could Lose Primary in Arizona; The Washington Independent

Rasmussen Reports finds Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) clinging to a 2-point lead over a possible challenger, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.). Chris Simcox, the Minuteman Project leader who’s already in the race, scores 4 percent. All of this puts McCain, who has never been seriously challenged since he came to the Senate in 1986, below the 50 percent mark with Republicans.

Comment: My visibility on this race is limited, so if you are from Arizona I welcome your perspectives, but my take is that McCain has gone so far over to the left, Arizona's right is fed up with him, much like Ohio's right was with DeWine.

Senate Confirms Hamilton to Court of Appeals

Senate Confirms Hamilton to Court of Appeals; The Washington Independent

The Senate this afternoon confirmed Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals by a vote of 59 – 39, despite Republican efforts to filibuster his nomination. Republicans had criticized Hamilton for his rulings in a couple of cases involving abortion and religion during his 15-year tenure as a judge on the federal district court in Indiana. Although the Senate Judiciary Committee reported his nomination on June 4, it took five months for senators to bring it to a vote.

Reid Buys Sen. Landrieu's Vote for $100M

On page 432 of the Reid bill, there is a section increasing federal Medicaid subsidies for “certain states recovering from a major disaster.”

The section spends two pages defining which “states” would qualify, saying, among other things, that it would be states that “during the preceding 7 fiscal years” have been declared a “major disaster area.”

I am told the section applies to exactly one state: Louisiana, the home of moderate Democrat Mary Landrieu, who has been playing hard to get on the health care bill.

In other words, the bill spends two pages describing would could be written with a single world: Louisiana. (This may also help explain why the bill is long.)

Senator Harry Reid, who drafted the bill, cannot pass it without the support of Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu.

How much does it cost? According to the Congressional Budget Office: $100 million.

If Senators were accountable to state legislatures, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. State legislatures wouldn't give up their power for any amount of money, nor would they allow Senators to vote for pork-laden bills that they'd have to pay for.

With such blatant vote-buying, our politicians have shown that they'll do whatever it takes to pass this freedom-stealing bill. REAL ID? Patriot Act? They have nothing on a bill putting your health in the government's hands.

This is the last nail in our freedom's coffin. The bright side? You're not hit for taxes for expatriation if you make less than $139K/year.

I know the saying is not to trust the government, but I gotta tell ya, I don't trust the electorate that put these tyrants in power. As bad as this government is, when people start freaking out as the dollar crashes, there's no telling what these lunatics will do.

‘Big Daddy’ Bob Byrd

From the folks at Cato:

As of today, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) becomes the longest-serving member in the history of the U.S. Senate.

To celebrate this milestone, we offer the following video, which pretty well summarizes Byrd’s extremely long tenure in the Senate. If you ever wanted to know what corruption looks like, here’s your chance. Be sure to catch what Byrd says at the very end.

Senator Roberts Supports Food Safety Reform Bill

Senator Roberts Supports Food Safety Reform Bill; CattleNetwork

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today announced the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved a bipartisan food safety reform bill to modernize the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ability to protect consumers.

The bill, S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, would improve FDA’s authorities and resources regarding food-borne illness prevention, food-borne illness detection and response, food defense capabilities, and overall resources.

“While I have concerns regarding a few sections of this bill, and I hope to continue working with my colleagues on those provisions,” Senator Roberts said, “I am pleased that this bill takes a targeted, risk-based approach to food safety.”

Following the bill’s introduction, Senator Roberts expressed concerns with its impact on trade agreements due to several provisions directly interacting with U.S. trade partners.

Roberts negotiated changes incorporated into the manager’s amendment to ensure nothing in the bill shall be inconsistent with World Trade Organization obligations. ...

Senate Says Health Plan Will Cover Another 31 Million

Senate Says Health Plan Will Cover Another 31 Million; The New York Times

Democratic leaders in the Senate on Wednesday unveiled their proposal for overhauling the health care system, outlining legislation that they said would cover most of the uninsured while reducing the federal budget deficit.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said at an evening news conference that the legislation, embodying President Obama’s signature domestic initiative, would impose new regulations on insurers, extend coverage to 31 million people who currently do not have any and add new benefits to Medicare.

Mr. Reid said the bill, despite a price tag of $848 billion over 10 years, would reduce projected budget deficits by $130 billion over a decade because the costs would be more than offset by new taxes and fees and by reductions in the growth of Medicare.

Democrats expressed confidence that they would have the votes needed to move forward when the legislation hits its first test in the Senate, probably later this week. To get past that first procedural hurdle, Mr. Reid will need the votes of all 58 Democratic senators and the two independents aligned with them.

That vote would clear the way for what is sure to be an unpredictable roller-coaster ride of a debate on the Senate floor through much of December. Earlier this month the House passed its version of the health care legislation.

Republicans have vowed to fight the legislation at every turn, saying it represents a dangerous expansion in the role of government that would increase taxes and insurance costs for millions of people. “It’s going to be a holy war,” said Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah.

Under Mr. Reid’s bill, the government would establish a new public insurance plan, which would compete with private insurers. States could opt out of the public plan by passing legislation. ...

Mr. Reid’s bill would also raise revenue by levying annual fees on health insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The Finance Committee would have imposed fees of $4 billion a year on manufacturers of medical devices, but Mr. Reid decided to cut those fees by half.

Under the bill, most people would be required to carry insurance. A person without insurance could be required to pay a financial penalty, starting at $95 in 2014 and rising to $750 in 2016, with a maximum of $2,250 for a family.

The Senate bill would not explicitly require employers to offer health insurance coverage. But if an employer with more than 50 employees does not offer coverage and if any worker qualifies for a federal subsidy, the employer would have to pay a penalty, typically $750 for each of its employees.

Read the rest here.

Holder Defends Decision to Use U.S. Court for 9/11 Trial

Holder Defends Decision to Use U.S. Court for 9/11 Trial: The New York Times

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday defended his decision to prosecute five men accused as co-conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks in federal court in Manhattan, declaring that while he believes “we are at war,” that the venue was the best place to pursue the case against them.

Despite criticism that holding such a trial presented greater risks than a military commission, Mr. Holder argued that there were fewer differences between the rules for federal court and the military panels than some critics realize. And, he argued, the Southern District of New York has a long history of successfully prosecuting terrorism suspects.

“We need not cower in the face of this enemy,” Mr. Holder said, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Our institutions are strong, our infrastructure is ready, our resolve is firm, and our people are ready.”

But Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the ranking Republican, objected to characterization of opposition as cowardice. He argued that there were strong reasons to prosecute the accused, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, before a military court.

“It’s not cowering in fear of terrorists to decide the best way for this case to be tried is to be tried by a military commission,” Mr. Sessions said, adding: “I think there are clear advantages to trying cases by military as opposed to what can become a spectacle of a trial, with high-paid defense lawyers and others focused on using that as a forum.”

Read the rest here.

Perry says Hutchison took his advice on staying in Senate

Perry says Hutchison took his advice on staying in Senate; Dallas News

Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that Kay Bailey Hutchison's decision to stay in the Senate until after their primary fight in March was a good one – since it was his idea.

"If there was ever a time to have full-time representation in the United States Senate, it would be right now," Perry said during a visit to Emmett J. Conrad High School in Dallas. "So I really appreciate her taking my advice and staying on the job full time."

Hutchison had considered resigning by the end of the year to focus on running for governor but said last week she would delay that to fight against Democratic health care and environmental legislation. Perry, who has questioned whether she would take him on for the Republican nomination for governor, has said that such a run would weaken the Texas GOP.

Comment: Deals were made...

Senator Byrd becomes longest-serving lawmaker in US history

Senator Byrd becomes longest-serving lawmaker in US history; Monsters and Critics

Robert Byrd, the West Virginia senator, is set to become the longest serving member of the US Congress in history on Wednesday.

Byrd, who will celebrate his 92nd birthday on Friday, began his legislative career in the House of Representatives on January 3, 1953, before moving to the Senate in 1959.

The Senate was expected to commemorate the milestone with a resolution honouring Byrd on Wednesday. Byrd passes former Arizona senator Carl Hayden, who was in Congress from 1912-69.

Senator Goes After Web Membership Clubs

Senator Goes After Web Membership Clubs; PCWorld

A U.S. senator calls for new regulations on Web membership club offers.

The U.S. Congress needs to take action to protect consumers tricked into signing up for membership clubs that charge a monthly fee when they buy products or services from other Web sites, the chairman of a U.S. Senate committee said Tuesday.

Many legitimate Web sites selling items such as flowers or airline tickets have partnered with companies that lure consumers into signing up for monthly payments after being promised cash-back rewards, said Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat and chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Rockefeller called the practice of membership clubs "darned disturbing." In many cases, a coupon or other offer is presented during the checkout process on a legitimate Web site, and if a customer agrees to the offer, they have a couple of days to cancel before being charged a monthly fee.

"What's happening is that many online merchants have decided to betray their customers' trust," Rockefeller said. "For a few extra bucks in profit, these merchants pass their consumers' personal billing information onto mysterious companies."

The Commerce Committee on Tuesday released the results of an investigation into these membership clubs. Three Internet companies, Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty, have generated more than US$1.4 billion in revenue through "misleading" tactics, the committee report said.

The three companies have enrolled more than 30 million consumers in their programs, and more than 450 Web sites and retailers have partnered with the three companies and received about 50 percent of the revenue from the membership clubs, the committee said.

Comment: Rockefeller, the man who said, and I'm paraphrasing, the US Government would have been better off if the Internet was never invented; meaning there is a means of communication Congress hasn't yet taken control of and it ticks him off. And he wants to do just that, take over the Internet. That's what it really means when the oligarchs call for new regulations, taking over some facet of our lives.

Top Republican senator slams Dodd's regulation bill

UPDATE 1-Top Republican senator slams Dodd's regulation bill; Reuters

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that a Democratic bill to revamp regulation of the financial industry must be revised to win support from his side of the political aisle.

"It's a long way from being ready to go forward on any bipartisan basis," McConnell told reporters after Senate Republicans were briefed on the massive measure drafted by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd.

McConnell denounced the Dodd bill, saying like pending healthcare legislation, it is another proposal that "seeks to re-work a major part of our country." ...

Dodd last week unveiled a bill that would create a super-cop to police banks and new agencies to oversee systemic risk agency and financial consumer protection. It also raises the stakes in a struggle to prevent a repeat of the capital market crisis that last year pushed the global financial system to the brink of disaster.

Citing public opinion polls, McConnell said: "The public is saying to all of us: 'Quit passing 1,000-page bills (and) concentrate on trying to improve the economy.'"

Comment: Super cops to police the banks; what about super cops to police Congress...oh yeah that's suppose to be the states.

US wealthy should pay for health care overhaul, poll finds

US wealthy should pay for health care overhaul, poll finds; AP

Americans don’t want to shoulder the cost of President Obama’s health care overhaul themselves. They think the rich should pay for it.

That’s the finding from a new Associated Press poll, and it could be a boost for House Democrats, whose plan approved this month proposed taxing upper-income people to fund their sweeping remake of the medical system.

The survey, conducted by Stanford University with the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found survey participants sour on other ways of paying for the health overhaul. The options they don’t like include taxing insurers on the high-value coverage packages known as “Cadillac plans.’’

The Senate Finance Committee bill would tax health insurance plans costing more than $8,000 annually for individuals and $21,000 for families, although those numbers are expected to end up higher in majority leader Harry Reid’s bill. Union members are lined up against that approach because they fear their benefits could be hurt, and the poll found 56 percent of the public opposed and only 29 percent in favor.

Lawmakers also are looking at levying new taxes on insurance companies, drug companies, and medical device makers. But the only approach that drew majority support in the poll was a tax on upper-income Americans.

Comment: The basic approach is to tax the rich taking badly needed capital out of the economy, then taxing the insurance, medical and pharmaceutical companies, who will certainly pass on the costs to users (citizens) and the government (citizens again), so in the end every one becomes poorer.

Well not everyone. So who benefits? Well the Congress has more control over our lives as do the faceless bureaucrats in Washington. And of course the entire medical industry will benefit through the happy little fascist oligopoly. Yep, the few benefit on the backs of the many.

We'll see if the states grow a backbone as the oligarchs continue to wreck this country. Hey, who knows, they might even consider nullification on their way to repealing the 17th.

Judge Napolitano: Kiss Your Freedom Goodbye

If this healthcare bill becomes law:

Congress recognizes no limits on its power. It doesn't care about the Constitution, it doesn't care about your inalienable rights. If this health care bill becomes law, America, life as you have known it, freedom as you have exercised it, and privacy as you have enjoyed it will cease to be.

...

In the Constitution, the Founders built in checks and balances. If the Congress got out of hand, the states would restrain it. If the states stole liberty or property, the Congress would cure it. If the president tried to become a king, the courts would prevent it.

In the next few weeks, I will be giving a public class on Constitutional Law here on the Fox News Channel, on the Fox Business Network, on Foxnews.com, and on Fox Nation. In anticipation of that, many of you have asked: What can we do now about the loss of freedom? For starters, we can vote the bums out of their cushy federal offices! We can persuade our state governments to defy the Feds in areas like health care—where the Constitution gives the Feds zero authority. We can petition our state legislatures to threaten to amend the Constitution to abolish the income tax, return the selection of U.S. senators to state legislatures, and nullify all the laws the Congress has written that are not based in the Constitution.

One thing we can’t do is just sit back and take it.

Emphasis mine.

That's as much as I could fairly quote, but I recommend reading the whole thing. The Judge does a great job communicating positive steps that we the people can take to fight such infringements on our freedom.

Since the 17th Amendment was enacted, the States cannot check the legislature, and the Senate cannot check the President's judicial appointments. And with the Senate's compliance in the President's judicial appointments, the judiciary cannot be trusted to check the President either. The Senate played a vital role in protecting and defending the Constitution. The only way to restore the Senate to its Constitutional role is to repeal the 17th Amendment.

Comparing PATRIOT Act Bills

Comparing PATRIOT Act Bills; Open Congress.Com

Via Wired’s Threat Level blog, here’s a handy chart (.pdf) prepared by the Center for Democracy and Technology comparing the two bills in Congress to reauthorize and amend the expiring PATRIOT Act, and how they compare to current law.

You can also learn more about the bills on OpenCongress:

• Senate version: S. 1692 – USA PATRIOT Act Sunset and Extension Act of 2009.
• House version: H.R. 3856 – National Security Letter Reform Act of 2009.

Comment: Good information, but not completely off topic Tom.

Senate Bill Would Create Civilian ROTC

U.S. would benefit from civilian ROTC; by E.J. Dionne; The Columbus Dispatch

...But inspiration is not enough. The military, after all, does not rely solely on patriotic feelings to build its force, and neither should the civilian parts of government. One of the most powerful incentives the military has is the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, which offers assistance to those seeking higher education. It's time for a civilian ROTC.

That's the idea of a bipartisan group of senators and House members who are proposing to create the Roosevelt Scholars program, named after Teddy Roosevelt. Reps. David Price, D-N.C., and Mike Castle, R-Del., have introduced a bill in the House, and a similar measure is expected in the Senate this week from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio.

Although there is sentiment to include undergraduates in the program, the House bill is aimed at graduate students, because the federal government has a special demand for highly qualified employees who are otherwise attracted (and heavily recruited) by the private sector. In exchange for generous scholarships in fields such as engineering, information technology, foreign languages and public health, the scholars would commit to three to five years of service in an agency of the federal government. ...

In the small and underappreciated world of those who care passionately about improving government's performance and prestige, there are competing visions of how to achieve this. One group of activists and legislators has been pushing to create a Public Service Academy, modeled after the military academies, to prepare a new generation of leaders in government. ...

Comment: This isn't bipartisan, it's one bloody party in Washington and it's called the Statist Party.

My word, this has all the makings of mandatory government service. Here's the scenario, the government drives up the cost for a college education. The average person then will not be able to afford the cost so there are two options; join the armed services or public services. Wonderful, total government indoctrination.

Here's an idea; let's repeal the 17th Amendment, and save the nation.

Why Do People Call You a Socialist?

I think that says it all.

Hat tip: The People's Cube

The Constitution Is Still the Law

Great speech from Catherine Bleish in St. Charles, Missouri:



The Constitution is still the law of the land, even if the government refuses to follow it.

Hat tip: Tenth Amendment Center

How to Brainwash a Nation

When government is decentralized, "The influence of factious leaders may kindle a flame within their particular States, but will be unable to spread a general conflagration through the other States. A religious sect may degenerate into a political faction in a part of the Confederacy; but the variety of sects dispersed over the entire face of it must secure the national councils against any danger from that source. A rage for paper money, for an abolition of debts, for an equal division of property, or for any other improper or wicked project, will be less apt to pervade the whole body of the Union than a particular member of it; in the same proportion as such a malady is more likely to taint a particular county or district, than an entire State."

Centralize power and political factions will tear the country apart in their hunger for control. The Senate kept federal power in check before the 17th Amendment was passed, which, in the words of Dr. Lawrence A. Hunter,, "was perhaps the single biggest step away from federalism and the original constitutional design toward mass democracy and a consolidated national government. With the Tenth Amendment well on its way to becoming a dead constitutional letter, with an open-ended Commerce Clause in place to fuel unlimited growth of the national government’s reach, with a revenue-generating and behavior-regulating national income tax in place, and hard currency now able to be replaced by freely printed paper money at the Fed, direct election of Senators completed the necessary and sufficient conditions for a complete consolidation of political power in the hands of a unified national government."

Hat tip: Campaign for Liberty

U.S. Senate debates earmarks in defense bill

U.S. Senate debates earmarks in defense bill; Reuters

The U.S. Senate began debate on Tuesday on a $636 billion defense spending bill that critics say is too laden with special-interest projects and other unnecessary measures the Pentagon does not want.

The debate highlights the difficulty of keeping spending in check as the federal government racks up record budget deficits.

Lawmakers have fought to continue weapons systems that the Pentagon has tried to cancel and earmarked $2.7 billion for projects in their home districts -- everything from a World War Two museum to a civic-education center named for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. ...

Comment: Special interest influence has increased exponentially since the 17th Amendment was passed in 1913. Only by repealing the 17th and returning the rightful power to the states can we stop this maddening exploding growth of the federal government.

Sen. Burr Bill Protects Veterans' Rights

Sen. Burr Bill Protects Veterans' Rights; Gun Owners of America

...S. 669, sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), simply requires that a veteran cannot lose his or her gun rights “without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.”

In other words, the bill would put an end to the practice of psychiatrists subjecting veterans to a lifetime gun ban. Helmke and the Brady Bunch apparently have as much respect for the Fifth Amendment (No person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”) as they do for the Second. ...

John Stossel - There's No Rule of Law

When the law is so complex that no one knows what it is, there is no rule of law. The Senate kept the federal government in check before the 17th Amendment. The only way to re-establish the rule of law is to repeal the 17th Amendment.

And make sure to catch Stossel at 8:00 on Thursdays!

Hat tip: Minnesota Chris

Bonus video: Stossel on unemployment and what worries him the most.



Learn from the failures of others? That's change I wish I could believe in.

Thomas Jefferson and the Principles of '98 - Segment 3 Part 1

Check out the complete lecture, it's well worth the time.

In this third segment, Prof. Woods explains why Jefferson rejected the notion that the federal government gets to be the exclusive judge as to the scope of its powers. States existed before and were not created by the federal government. He reads directly from the Kentucky Resolution of 1798. Thomas Jefferson and the Principles of '98. The third segment in the first series of ten lectures, presented at "The Truth About American History: An Austro-Jeffersonian Perspective" seminar, hosted by the Mises Institute. Recorded 06/20/2005.

Lieberman Suggests Army Shooter Was 'Home-Grown Terrorist'

Lieberman Suggests Army Shooter Was 'Home-Grown Terrorist;' Wall Street Journal

A senior U.S. senator on Sunday said the shootings at Fort Hood could have been a terrorist attack, and that he would launch a congressional investigation into whether the U.S. military could have prevented it.

Comment: Yesterday I asked if Lieberman was for real, and today I read that he certainly is. So instead of calling this what it is, a nutcase gone wild, Lieberman's going to milk the tragedy in order to get the momentum back into the police state crusade.

Yep, the United States is going down the toilet so let's pull out the old Governing By Crisis Playbook and divert everyone's attention on the fiction, just long enough until Hollywood can get another season of American Idol on the tube. But until then, be on the look out for the moooselums!

Senate will investigate Army shootings

Senator: Senate will investigate Army shootings; AP

The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee says he plans to begin a congressional investigation of the shootings at Fort Hood.

An Army major, Nidal Malik Hasan (nih-DAHL' mah-LEEK' hah-SAHN'), is suspected of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at the Army post in Texas.

Sen. Joe Lieberman says he wants to determine whether the shootings constitute a terrorist attack. He says he also wants to find out whether the Army missed warning signs that Hasan was becoming extreme in his Islamist views.

The Connecticut independent says if Hasan was showing signs of becoming an Islamist radical, the Army should have shown "zero tolerance" and discharged him.

Comment: Geeze, come on; is Lieberman for real?

Graham: House Bill "D.O.A." in the Senate

Graham: House Bill "D.O.A." in the Senate; CBS.com

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said the health care bill passed last night by the House of Representatives is "dead on arrival to the Senate."

Graham argued that the House bill was "written for liberals, by liberals.

"Just look at how it passed; it passed 220 to 215. It passed by two votes. You had [39] Democrats vote against the bill," Graham told "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer Sunday.

He also admitted that if it were to come down to it, he would join his independent colleague Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., in filibustering a bill including the so-called public option should it come to the Senate floor.

"The House bill is a non-starter in the Senate," he added. "I just think the construct out of the House and what exists in the Senate is not going to pass, and I hope and pray it doesn't because it would be a disaster for the economy and health care," Graham concluded.

Graham believed a public option would "destroy" private health care, saying that insurance companies could not compete against the lower premiums of a government-backed plan. "It will be a death blow to private choice," he said.

Read the rest here.

CNBC: The Dollar Will Get Utterly Destroyed

Hat tip: Educational rEVOLution

House Passes Legislation with Public Option

While the House strained out new health care regulations, Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham say that it won't pass the Senate:



I think this shows how ridiculous it is to have a divided legislature where both houses are elected. The original intent of the Senate was to put a restraint on the democratic House. Since the 17th Amendment, it has clearly failed that role. The only way to begin to restore Constitutional limits is to restore the Senate.

Stossel and Schiff: Change Is Easy; Progress Is Hard

John Stossel:

Yesterday the AP reported that productivity gains may be "bad for workers". More productivity is BAD for workers? Seriously?

What nonsense. Reporters once said automation would kill jobs. Then they say computers would kill jobs. They did take jobs from secretaries. But total employment kept rising.

The AP reporter said "as long as companies can get their workers to produce more, they have little reason to hire."

When workers are more productive, profit margins rise. That gives companies even MORE reason to hire.

...

From 1993 to to 2002, 309 million jobs were lost. I'd say that was a terrible thing, except during the same period 327 million jobs were created. A net gain of 18 million jobs. That's creative destruction.

The mindset that higher productivity will cost people jobs has led to foolish attacks on progress.

Progress happens when the government stays out of the way. The government's change just makes things worse.

Hat tip: Rixshep,and thanks to therightscoop for the vid.

Senate Approves More Jobless Benefits

Senate Approves More Jobless Benefits: The New York Times

The Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to offer up to 20 more weeks of unemployment benefits to those who have been out of work a long time, after weeks of delay in which hundreds of thousands of Americans exhausted their government aid.

The Democrats feel an urgency to act now because the monthly labor report that comes out Friday is expected to show that the nation’s unemployment rate in October continued to be at or above 10 percent. Also, more than 600,000 workers had run out of benefits at the end of October, according to the National Employment Law Project, a liberal advocacy group. The Senate added two unrelated provisions to extend and liberalize tax breaks that were in this year’s $787 billion economic stimulus package. ...

By this week, pressure to act was building from states with double-digit unemployment rates. One Republican senator, George V. Voinovich of Ohio, suggested impatience with his colleagues’ demands. “This is serious business, and we ought to get on with it,” Mr. Voinovich said in an interview. “We’ve got to keep these families together so they don’t fall through the cracks. I mean, this is what keeps them going so they get through this period.”

Comment: Got-a get it out before the monthly labor reports boss...got-a cook the books... no really I mean as George Voinovich tells it, keeping the families together. With the dems it's about the children; with the re-pubs it's about the families... aaahhh, that's the sound of a "sigh of relief."

I'm not sure about falling through the crack, but I am worried about some in Congress that are smoking the crack.

Plain Sight Corruption: Senator Burr and Rape Victims

Plain Sight Corruption: Senator Burr and Rape Victims; Huffington Post

Last month, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill to change this. His bill would forbid the Defense Department from entering into contracts with companies that force their employes to arbitrate claims of rape. ...

Senate Republicans boycott climate meeting

Senate Republicans boycott climate meeting; LA Times

Their move, shortly before German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Congress to act on the issue, underscores the difficulty of negotiating legislation on global warming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Congress on Tuesday to take dramatic action to stop climate change, but the political difficulties were evident as Republicans boycotted a Senate committee meeting on a global warming bill.

"We cannot afford missing the objectives in climate protection," Merkel said in a joint session of Congress. "The world will look to us, to the Europeans and to the Americans."

Before Merkel's speech, Republicans shunned a meeting of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to protest the refusal of Chair[man] Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to order a new analysis of the legislation. The walkout stalled action on the 959-page bill.

Read the rest here.

Comment: I'll echo what I have read on a couple of other sites; Merkel was telling the United States to surrender her sovereignty.

In the header of this weblog I wrote,"We should fear the oligarchs more because our Constitution cannot be spoiled by bombs, the courts, or the President; only through legislation." I wrote this during a time when many were derailing against Bush the Younger, and rightly so as he shredded the Bill of Rights and plunged us into an endless war, but too many missed the crux of the matter. The President is only as strong as the people, through Congress, allow the office to be. Unfortunately the people have relegated themselves to the position of a prole and allowed a morally bankrupt group of criminals occupy the Congress. As such Congress did Bush's bidding.

At present we are faced with something even more menacing than the Patriot Act; it is the Copenhagen Agreement. In short order President Obama will go over to Europe and will begin to restore Europe's dominance over her former colonies. And then almost certainly as he returns with said document in hand the United States Senate will ratify the treaty fully restoring governing authority of these United States to European control thus destroying the Constitution "through legislation." The face of treason may be Obama's, but the hands on the knife will be the Senate's.

Fiorina Will Challenge Boxer in Senate Race

Fiorina Will Challenge Boxer in Senate Race; The New York Times

Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard who became a campaign adviser to Senator John McCain’s presidential bid, is formally announcing on Wednesday that she plans to run for the United States Senate.

Ms. Fiorina’s bid to challenge Senator Barbara Boxer, the Democratic incumbent, has been rumored for months; in August, she formed a campaign committee. She outlined her decision in an Op-Ed piece published in The Orange County Register on Wednesday morning.

Ivy League Brownies Flunk US Government Knowledge

From The Brown Daily Herald, a student publication at Brown University.

The ratification of the 17th amendment to the federal constitution in 1913 was a critical step in America’s growth as a representative democracy. The amendment mandated that senators be elected directly by voters, rather than state legislators.

Comment: The Amendment did not provide a "critical step toward representative democracy;" in actuality it has lead to a less democratic country one in which a small group of people amass power in an oligopoly.

Put cybersecurity chief in DHS not the White House, Senator says

Put cybersecurity chief in DHS not the White House, Senator says; Computerworld.com

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, raised the issue most recently. Delivering a speech on cybersecurity issues at George Washington University on Monday, Collins rejected the idea of a White House led cybersecurity effort and insisted the leadership would have to come from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"Effectively managing government cybersecurity is going to require more than a few staff crammed into a cubicle in the depths of the White House," Collins said in her speech.

She said that while the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies have the needed cybersecurity resources, "privacy and civil liberties" issues preclude them from taking leadership.

Read the rest here.

Comment: When cyber-security (avian flu, H1N1, immigration, border security, airport security, disaster response) falls under the Fatherland's Department of Homeland Security, it isn't going to be about protecting our so-called infrastructure, it's going to be about monitoring you and me.

Real protection of any infrastructure is about freedom and growth; the more you seek to contain the less secure you are, where as the more you're open and allow for growth the stronger you become.

If this was simply a matter about protecting the federal bureaucrats' computers from the dreaded hacker I wouldn't care who manages it, but we know since LBJ this country has been heading down the police state road where the US Government repeatedly invades our privacy and has systematically wiped out our civil liberties.

I say bunk! There isn't need for a cyber-Czar or for that matter the Fatherland's Homeland Stupidity. What's need is freedom and deregulation and getting government out of lives!

Collins is one of 100 oligarchs that sits on her high throne dictating to the US citizenry and the states their every move. This has to end; we need freedom, not "aggressive oversight and continuous real-time security monitoring and analysis." I'm not sure about you, but my computer is fine with my little old anti-virus program, and I know what's left of US based businesses won't be looking for old Uncle Sam and Susan Collins to protect their computers.

Uncommon Sense: "It's The States Stupid"

This short video made by Stan Klos has a good section explaining the creation of the US Senate and the effects of the 17th Amendment.



Comment: Great points, and it is the "states stupid."

Thomas Sowell on Government-Run Health Care (video)

Walter Williams interviews Thomas Sowell:

Senator Boxer questions John Rowe, CEO of Exelon about nuclear title in Boxer-Kerry bill

Comment: Interesting, the nuclear industry is in favor of cap and trade.

Ron Paul “No One Has A Right To Medical Care!”

As the US Senate continues to move the social/fascist mandatory medical heath care plan through the legislature process, there is at least one person in Congress that understands real health care reform.