CCAGW Praises GOP for All-Out Earmark Moratorium
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) commended House Republicans this month for enacting a unilateral ban on congressional earmarks, including those that are tariff- and tax-related, for fiscal year (FY) 2011. The GOP’s move came one day after House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and Defense Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) announced that the committee would no longer accept earmark requests directed to for-profit entities. “House Republicans have finally stepped up to rein in wasteful and corruptive earmarked spending,” declared CCAGW President Tom Schatz. “This move has been a long time coming and tens of thousands of wasteful earmarks worth hundreds of billions of dollars have been enacted while taxpayers waited for authentic leadership from members of Congress.” Due to the efforts of waste watchdogs, earmarks have been on a downward trajectory over the last four years, as documented by CAGW’s Pork Database. In FY 2006, Congress stuffed the appropriations bills with 9,963 earmarks totaling $29 billion. In FY 2009, the appropriations bills contained 10,160 earmarks costing $19.6 billion, a 32 percent reduction in dollar terms. During that same period, Congress began requiring that all earmarks be accompanied by the name of their congressional sponsor, a significant improvement in transparency.
Archive for March, 2010
CCAGW Praises GOP for All-Out Earmark Moratorium
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010ONLY Republican Cantor faced REAL violence
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010Read the news and ask if this makes sense or is spin? ONLY Republican Cantor faced REAL violence!
The arrest is the most serious in a string of threats of violence against lawmakers in wake of the divisive health care vote. At least 10 Democrats along with a handful of Republicans, including Cantor, reported threats of violence during the past week.
“At this time, the congressman will have no further comment on this threat or the investigation, and asks that inquiries be directed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said. “The congressman is deeply grateful for, and would like to dearly thank all local and federal law enforcement involved, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Attorney’s Office[s] in Virginia and Philadelphia, U.S. Capitol Police and the Henrico Police Department in Virginia.”
Where are the video’s of Spitting and racial slurs Democrats claim????
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35152.html#ixzz0jipv2L54
Obama, President or developing dictator?
Sunday, March 28th, 2010Clearly when you control both houses and the Presidency is very weak and dishonest to blame the party with no control or input for your failing and incompetence.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Fed up with waiting, President Barack Obama announced Saturday he would bypass a vacationing Senate and name 15 people to key administration jobs, wielding for the first time the blunt political tool known as the recess appointment.
The move immediately deepened the divide between the Democratic president and Republicans in the Senate following a long, bruising fight over health care. Obama revealed his decision by blistering Republicans, accusing them of holding up nominees for months solely to try to score a political advantage on him.
“I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government,” Obama said in a statement.
The 15 appointees to boards and agencies include the contentious choice of union lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Republicans had blocked his nomination on grounds he would bring a radical pro-union agenda to the job, and they called on Obama not to appoint Becker over the recess.
Obama went ahead anyway, while also choosing a second member for the labor board so that four of its five slots will be filled. The labor board, which referees labor-management disputes, has had a majority of its seats vacant for more than two years, raising questions about the legality of its rulings.
Overall, the appointments will take place through next week, allowing people to make the transition to their new jobs, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. said. The news of Becker’s appointment drew the quickest ire from Republicans.
“Once again the administration showed that it had little respect for the time honored constitutional roles and procedures of Congress,” said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama’s foe in the 2008 presidential election. “This is clear payback by the administration to organized labor.”
Both Republican and Democratic presidents have made recess appointments, which circumvents the Senate’s authority to confirm nominees, when they could not overcome delays. President George W. Bush made more than 170 such appointments in his two-term presidency. President Bill Clinton made nearly 140.
Obama had been on record as warning of recess appointments if the Senate didn’t act. He followed through at the end of a week in which his political standing was significantly bolstered by the party-line passage of a historic health care bill, a student loan overhaul and a hard-fought nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
The White House dropped the news in a press release on a quiet Saturday, with Obama at Camp David and lawmakers home in their districts.
The recess appointments mean the 15 people could serve in their jobs through the end of 2011, when the next Senate finishes its term. A recess appointment ends at the completion of the next Senate session or when a person is nominated and confirmed to the job, whichever comes first.
Obama filled two posts at the Treasury Department: Jeffrey Goldstein as under secretary for domestic finance and Michael Mundaca as assistant secretary for tax policy. He singled them out: “At a time of economic emergency, two top appointees to the Department of Treasury have been held up for nearly six months.”
On Becker, Republicans have held up his confirmation for months, saying they fear he would circumvent Congress to make labor laws more union-friendly. Democrats had failed to overcome Republican delaying tactics on Becker’s nomination, and all 41 GOP senators wrote to Obama on Thursday urging him not to appoint Becker over the break – to no avail.
This President is out of control and a total failure. He is a danger to the American people and way of life. This is no longer a question but a developing story. The truth is becoming clearer every time he acts against the people of America.
The Obama joke machine.
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Barack Obama on Budget & Economy
Make government fiscally responsible & live within budget. (Oct 2008)
When Bush came in, we had a surplus; now we have a deficit. (Oct 2008)
Middle class needs a rescue package with tax cuts. (Oct 2008)
Bailout will unfreeze credit & allow businesses to function. (Oct 2008)
Every citizen should save energy & resources. (Oct 2008)
FactCheck: National debt up from $6T to $10T under Bush. (Oct 2008)
Bottom-up economics instead of trickle-down economics. (Jul 2008)
Focus on economic justice instead of macroeconomic policy. (Jul 2008)
We need both bottom-up politics and bottom-up economics. (Jul 2008)
OpEd: “Hope” translates into economic opportunity. (Jul 2008)
Clinton left behind a surplus; Bush squandered it. (Jun 2008)
A different economic approach vs. McCain’s 4 more years. (May 2008)
Can’t do anything at home with $12 billion a month on Iraq. (Feb 2008)
Protect consumers with Credit Card Bill of Rights. (Feb 2008)
Bush stimulus plan leaves out seniors & unemployed. (Jan 2008)
Account for every single dollar for new proposed programs. (Jan 2008)
Bankruptcy bill pushed by banks & financial institutions. (Jan 2008)
Lack of an energy policy is a financial burden. (Jan 2008)
Release people in bankruptcy due to health care problems. (Jan 2008)
Bush & GOP dug budget hole; need years to dig out. (Dec 2007)
Save $150 billion in tax cuts for people who don’t need them. (Dec 2007)
Take China “to the mat” about currency manipulation. (Dec 2007)
Rejects free market vision of government. (Oct 2007)
Return to PayGo: compensate for all new spending. (Oct 2006)
Bush’s economic policies are not working. (May 2004)
Supports federal programs to protect rural economy. (May 2004)
To Fritz Henderson from The Obama, we were just kidding!!
Thursday, March 25th, 2010GM CEO Whitacre receives $9M pay. packageGeneral Motors CEO Whitacre to get $9M pay package; ex-CEO Henderson rehired as a consultant.
NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre will receive a salary of $1.7 million this year, plus stock awards that will bring his total pay package to $9 million at a later date, the automaker said Friday.
In a surprise announcement, GM also said former CEO Fritz Henderson has been rehired as a consultant. Henderson, who was forced out of the job in December, will work 20 hours a month and will be paid $59,090 a month, the company said.
Whitacre’s total compensation is larger than Henderson’s when he was CEO. Henderson received a total pay package worth nearly $5.5 million.
Whitacre’s pay package includes a cash salary of $1.7 million that took effect Jan. 1. It also includes $5.3 million in stock awarded in increments starting in 2012, plus another stock award worth $2 million. The details, including the timing, of the $2 million stock award still need to be worked out, a GM spokeswoman said.
GM (Government Motors) is 60 percent owned by the federal government and has received $52 billion in federal aid. The company plans to repay as much of the money as possible by issuing stock to the public, possibly as early as this year.
This is The Obama response to a failing company that the government took over and proceded to reward management that supports the government view. Clearly Obam is willing to pay off those that give into the government why not doing anything for small to midsize business.
WHERE are the programs to help creat JOBS!!!
These are the people The Obama won’t deal with.
Thursday, March 25th, 2010(Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the September 11 attacks on the United States a “big fabrication” that was used to justify the U.S. war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported.
World
Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West and Israel, made the comment in a meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel.
It came amid escalating tension in the long-running dispute between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program, with the United States pushing for new U.N. sanctions against the major oil producer.
Ahmadinejad described the destruction of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001 as a “complicated intelligence scenario and act,” IRNA reported.
He added: “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan.” He did not elaborate.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, which were carried out by al Qaeda operatives.
In January, Ahmadinejad termed the September 11 attacks “suspicious” and accused the West of seeking to dominate the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, was re-elected in a disputed presidential vote last June that stirred the largest display of internal unrest in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Will The Obama follow the lead of Hugo Chavez?
Thursday, March 25th, 2010UPDATE 2-Venezuela punishes 80 firms for power use.
Sun Mar 21, 2010 3:27pm EDTRelated NewsVenezuela punishes 80 firms for big power use * Sanctions against Caracas companies planned for Monday.
CARACAS, March 21 (Reuters) – Venezuela announced on Sunday 24-hour power cutoffs for dozens of companies that have failed to reduce usage in the first punitive measures of a nationwide drive to save energy amid an electricity crisis.
Restaurants, liquor stores, hotels, gyms, car dealerships and a yacht club were on the list of 80 firms in the capital Caracas due to have their power cut on Monday for failing to bring consumption down 20 percent, the state utility said.
The local unit of Japanese firm Sony Corp (6758.T) will also be among those sanctioned.
President Hugo Chavez’s government has introduced rationing, and demanded power cuts across the South American OPEC member, to cope with an electricity shortage that is jeopardizing Venezuela’s ability to pull out of a recession.
Drought has hit the hydroelectric sector that produces more than 70 percent of Venezuela’s electricity. Rains are due in weeks, with some showers already starting in recent days, and the government says fears of a “collapse” are unfounded.
The opposition, preparing for a September legislative election being cast as a referendum on Chavez and a curtain-raiser for the 2012 presidential vote, says he is to blame for incompetent management of the power sector.
Polls show Chavez’s traditionally high popularity, especially among the poor, is suffering from the power crisis.
The latest survey, by Alfredo Keller and Associates, which is perceived by many to favor the opposition, gave Chavez a 43 percent approval rating, saying it was his lowest since 2003.
Only 26 percent thought the government was taking the right measures in the electricity campaign, according to the poll, made public on Sunday by private TV network Globovision.
“This (opposition) campaign has, of course, one single aim: declare Hugo Chavez guilty of everything, even the drought,” the leftist leader wrote in a regular Sunday column he pens.
“Indeed, I would love to have the powers I’m accused of by the opposition to defeat this situation which not only hurts Venezuela but the whole world as a result of the destructive voracity of the capitalist system.”
Chavez said Venezuela’s planned addition of nearly 6 gigawatts of thermoelectric energy this year, taking national capacity to around 30 gigawatts, would help solve the crisis.
In a carrot-and-stick approach to businesses, state power firm Electricidad de Caracas also published a list of 81 companies that had surpassed the 20 percent reduction target.
If the companies to be sanctioned on Monday do not improve their energy-saving performance in the future, they face a three-day cutoff then possible indefinite power suspension.
Most attention in the energy crisis has centered on the Guri reservoir, which normally supplies more than half of Venezuela’s electricity but has been drying up at the rate of about 6 inches (15 cm) a day in recent months.
Media have been showing pictures daily of lowering waters, and counting down to a danger-level of about 240 yards (metres) — from 252 now — when output would drop drastically.
But Environment Minister Alejandro Hitcher said imminent rains, energy-saving measures, and extra thermo-electric capacity would prevent the disaster some were predicting.
“Guri is not going to collapse,” he said. “To the disappointment of those generating this campaign, ignoring the environmental disaster we are suffering and subjecting the population to a sort of state of terror.”
Florida, SEND them a message and send them home retired in NOV.
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Who voted to screw the American Middle class while keeping private health care for themselves?? Look for the Y under Voted to see who Sold you OUT.
Reconciliation Act of 2010
03/21/2010
House Roll Call No. 167
111th Congress, 2nd Session
Passed: 220-211 (see complete tally)
How the U.S. House from Florida voted: voted
• Rep. F. Allen Boyd, Jr. (D-2) Y
• Rep. Corrine Brown (D-3) Y
• Rep. Kathy Castor (D-11) Y
• Rep. Alan Grayson (D-8) Y
• Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-23) Y
• Rep. Ron Klein (D-22) Y
• Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-24) Y
• Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-17) Y
• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-20) Y
SEND them a message and send them home retired in NOV.
Obama, Pelosi and Reid to screw the American Middle class.
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Never before has the will of the people been so completely
ignored and marginalized. Americans nationwide are expressing
OUTRAGE at the overt manipulation and total lack of integrity
that characterized the final vote on ObamaCare. Reid,
Pelosi and Obama proved they were willing to do ANYTHING
to get this control of our medical system.
With your help, Liberty Counsel will fight in court on
behalf of Americans like you who know that Obama Care is
an outrageous, unconstitutional infringement on our personal
liberties!
Please, take a moment to listen to my audio message
highlighting the events of the past few days. I have also
appended a copy of Liberty Counsel’s official News Release
and the text of the actual lawsuit next to your Statement
of Support. Access it all by clicking here:
http://www.grassfire.net/r.asp?u=26505&RID=19554406
Also, please join thousands of other like-minded Americans
who will be putting the plotters on notice that we will
SEE THEM IN COURT and thwart this power grab once and for all.