Saturday, August 25, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Full List of Obamacare Tax Hikes
June 28, 2012
Obamacare law contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses
Taxpayers are reminded that the President’s healthcare law is one of the largest tax increases in American history.
Obamacare contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses.
Arranged by their respective effective dates, below is the total list of all $500 billion-plus in tax hikes (over the next ten years) in Obamacare, where to find them in the bill, and how much your taxes are scheduled to go up as of today:
Taxes that took effect in 2010:
1. Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,961-1,971
2. Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113
3. “Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105
4. Tax on Innovator Drug Companies ($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,971-1,980
5. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike ($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,004
6. Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399
Taxes that took effect in 2011:
7. Medicine Cabinet Tax ($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957-1,959
8. HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959
Tax that took effect in 2012:
9. Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Min$/Jan 2012): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957
Taxes that take effect in 2013:
10. Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013): Creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income: Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 87-93
Capital Gains Dividends Other*
2012 15% 15% 35%
2013+ 23.8% 43.4% 43.4%
*Other unearned income includes (for surtax purposes) gross income from interest, annuities, royalties, net rents, and passive income in partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations. It does not include municipal bond interest or life insurance proceeds, since those do not add to gross income. It does not include active trade or business income, fair market value sales of ownership in pass-through entities, or distributions from retirement plans. The 3.8% surtax does not apply to non-resident aliens.
11. Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax ($86.8 bil/Jan 2013): Current law and changes:
First $200,000
($250,000 Married)
Employer/Employee All Remaining Wages
Employer/Employee
Current Law 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed
Obamacare Tax Hike 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed 1.45%/2.35%
3.8% self-employed
Bill: PPACA, Reconciliation Act; Page: 2000-2003; 87-93
12. Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers ($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax. Exempts items retailing for <$100. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,980-1,986
June 28, 2012
Obamacare law contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses
Taxpayers are reminded that the President’s healthcare law is one of the largest tax increases in American history.
Obamacare contains 20 new or higher taxes on American families and small businesses.
Arranged by their respective effective dates, below is the total list of all $500 billion-plus in tax hikes (over the next ten years) in Obamacare, where to find them in the bill, and how much your taxes are scheduled to go up as of today:
Taxes that took effect in 2010:
1. Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals (Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,961-1,971
2. Codification of the “economic substance doctrine” (Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 108-113
3. “Black liquor” tax hike (Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel. Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 105
4. Tax on Innovator Drug Companies ($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,971-1,980
5. Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike ($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,004
6. Tax on Indoor Tanning Services ($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons. Bill: PPACA; Page: 2,397-2,399
Taxes that took effect in 2011:
7. Medicine Cabinet Tax ($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin). Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957-1,959
8. HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike ($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,959
Tax that took effect in 2012:
9. Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2 (Min$/Jan 2012): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,957
Taxes that take effect in 2013:
10. Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013): Creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income: Bill: Reconciliation Act; Page: 87-93
Capital Gains Dividends Other*
2012 15% 15% 35%
2013+ 23.8% 43.4% 43.4%
*Other unearned income includes (for surtax purposes) gross income from interest, annuities, royalties, net rents, and passive income in partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations. It does not include municipal bond interest or life insurance proceeds, since those do not add to gross income. It does not include active trade or business income, fair market value sales of ownership in pass-through entities, or distributions from retirement plans. The 3.8% surtax does not apply to non-resident aliens.
11. Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax ($86.8 bil/Jan 2013): Current law and changes:
First $200,000
($250,000 Married)
Employer/Employee All Remaining Wages
Employer/Employee
Current Law 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed
Obamacare Tax Hike 1.45%/1.45%
2.9% self-employed 1.45%/2.35%
3.8% self-employed
Bill: PPACA, Reconciliation Act; Page: 2000-2003; 87-93
12. Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers ($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax. Exempts items retailing for <$100. Bill: PPACA; Page: 1,980-1,986
Friday, June 29, 2012
ObamaCare becomes ObamaTax
ObamaCare becomes ObamaTax
President Barack Obama speaks during the news briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Supreme Court handed a courthouse victory to President Barack Obama on Thursday, but also gave him another campaign-trail problem.
The already unpopular 2010 health care reform law has been converted by the court into a $1.76 trillion tax increase funded by escalating taxes to be paid the vast majority of taxpayers.
GOP officials are pushing this Obamacare-to-Obamatax pitch, and are suggesting that the tax will further stall the economy.
“Do we think [the Obamacare tax] is going to help economic growth? … it is one more piece of evidence that the Obama administration is hurting our economic growth,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told Fox News.
Recent polls show the law is supported by roughly 40 percent of the population, but is opposed by roughly 55 percent.
The vast majority of the law’s existing supporters likely will vote for Obama in November, regardless of the court’s decision.
But opponents of the law include a critical slice of the critical swing-voting bloc.
Polls show the swing-voters are already leaning against Obama because of the stalled economy, high unemployment and record deficits.
However, many of these swing-voters are not ready to back Republican candidate Mitt Romney, partly because of their cool attitude to Romeny’s stiff personality and their worries about his hard-nosed but profitable business practices.
By formally converting “Obamcare” into “Obamatax,” the court allows Republicans to argue that Obama violated his 2008 pledge to not raise taxes on middle-class Americans.
“I can make a firm pledge — under my plan, no family making less that $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase,” he said in a September 2008 campaign speech in New Hampshire.
He spoke at a podium carrying a placard saying “Tax Relief for the Middle Class.”
Prior to the law’s passage in 2010, Obama also denied it was a tax. In September 2009, Obama told ABC that the law “is absolutely not a tax increase.”
In a midday statement, Romney called on voters to help him replace the tax.
“Obamacare raises taxes on the American people by approximately $500 billion dollars [and] cuts Medicare by approximately $500 billion dollars,” he said in a TV statement with Congress in the background.
“Obamacare [adds] billions to our national debt and pushes obligations to oncoming generations… [it] means for up to 20 million Americans they will lose the insurance they currently have,” he said.
“Obamacare is a job killer… and perhaps most troubling of all, Obamacare puts you between the federal government and your doctor,” he said.
Romney pledge to replace Obama’s law with one that protects Americans’ freedom and health.
“We have to make sure people who want to keep their current insurance will be able to do so… we’ve got to make sure that those people who have preexisting conditions know that they will be able to be insured… We also have to assure that we do our very best to help each state in their efforts to assure that every American has access to affordable health care,” he said.
“If we want good jobs and bright economic future for ourselves and for our kids, we must replace Obamacare… Help us defeat Obamacare. Help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive and is killing jobs across this country,” he said.
“ObamaCare is the president’s signature legislative ‘achievement’ [but] The Obama campaign knows it’s a losing issue, and the polls show it,” said a midday statement from the Republican National Committee.
Voters in the critical state of Ohio voted against the law in 2010, while polls show the law is unpopular in other swing-states, said the RNC.
Majorities in Florida, Ohio and Iowa disapprove of the law, said the memo. Pluralities in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania oppose the law, the memo said.
Only small minorities in Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada believed the law to be constitutional, said the memo.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/28/obamacare-becomes-obamatax/#ixzz1zFHRm2d2
HOLDER CONTEMPT RESOLUTION PASSES IN HOUSE
Holder Contempt Resolution Passes In House
June 28, 2012 by Sam Rolley
During a House vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his refusal to full cooperate in an investigation regarding the fatally flawed Fast and Furious “gun-walking” operation, several Democratic lawmakers walked out.
Despite many Democrats’ unwillingness to participate, by a vote of 255-67 the House passed the resolution to hold Holder in Contempt of Congress.
The Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement explaining why its members walked out:
We adamantly oppose this partisan attack and refuse to participate in any vote that would tarnish the image of Congress or of an attorney general who has done nothing but work tirelessly to protect the rights of the American people. We must reflect upon why we are elected to this body and choose now to stand up for justice. We call upon all members of Congress to stand with us during a press conference on the Capitol Building steps during this appalling series of votes to discuss our nation’s most significant priority—creating jobs. At this critically important time in our nation, we must work as colleagues rather than political enemies.
The White House also released a statement echoing similar sentiments.
Currently, heated debate about the veracity of this unprecedented contempt vote is under way on the House floor. Republican lawmakers are making appeals for the power to move further with legal actions that would allow them to obtain the Fast and Furious documents that have been requested.
Holder has released a statement regarding the vote:
Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided – and politically motivated – investigation during an election year. By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome.
…When concerns about Operation Fast and Furious first came to light, I took action – and ordered an independent investigation into what happened. We learned that the flawed tactics used in this operation began in the previous administration – but I made sure that they ended under this one. I also made sure that agents and prosecutors around the country knew that such tactics must never be used again. I put in place new policies, new safeguards, and new leadership to make certain of this – and took extraordinary steps to facilitate robust congressional oversight. Let me be very clear – that was my response to Operation Fast and Furious. Any suggestion to the contrary simply ignores the facts.
UPDATE:
The House also voted 258-95 to hold Holder in civil contempt, giving lawmakers the ability to seek counsel and appeal to a Federal court for a subpoena for the documents that have not yet been turned over to the House Oversight Committee.
June 28, 2012 by Sam Rolley
During a House vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his refusal to full cooperate in an investigation regarding the fatally flawed Fast and Furious “gun-walking” operation, several Democratic lawmakers walked out.
Despite many Democrats’ unwillingness to participate, by a vote of 255-67 the House passed the resolution to hold Holder in Contempt of Congress.
The Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement explaining why its members walked out:
We adamantly oppose this partisan attack and refuse to participate in any vote that would tarnish the image of Congress or of an attorney general who has done nothing but work tirelessly to protect the rights of the American people. We must reflect upon why we are elected to this body and choose now to stand up for justice. We call upon all members of Congress to stand with us during a press conference on the Capitol Building steps during this appalling series of votes to discuss our nation’s most significant priority—creating jobs. At this critically important time in our nation, we must work as colleagues rather than political enemies.
The White House also released a statement echoing similar sentiments.
Currently, heated debate about the veracity of this unprecedented contempt vote is under way on the House floor. Republican lawmakers are making appeals for the power to move further with legal actions that would allow them to obtain the Fast and Furious documents that have been requested.
Holder has released a statement regarding the vote:
Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided – and politically motivated – investigation during an election year. By advancing it over the past year and a half, Congressman Issa and others have focused on politics over public safety. Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations, and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome.
…When concerns about Operation Fast and Furious first came to light, I took action – and ordered an independent investigation into what happened. We learned that the flawed tactics used in this operation began in the previous administration – but I made sure that they ended under this one. I also made sure that agents and prosecutors around the country knew that such tactics must never be used again. I put in place new policies, new safeguards, and new leadership to make certain of this – and took extraordinary steps to facilitate robust congressional oversight. Let me be very clear – that was my response to Operation Fast and Furious. Any suggestion to the contrary simply ignores the facts.
UPDATE:
The House also voted 258-95 to hold Holder in civil contempt, giving lawmakers the ability to seek counsel and appeal to a Federal court for a subpoena for the documents that have not yet been turned over to the House Oversight Committee.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
April 4th, 2012 Things I learned while reading.... In a column published March 23rd in the Champaign News-Gazette, George Will dissects the individual mandate so central to Obamacare.
He writes: "Throughout the life of this nation it has been understood that for a contract to be valid, the parties to it must mutually assent to its terms - without duress....To be meaningful, consent must be informed- and must not be coerced. Under Obamacare, the government will compel individuals to enter into contractual relations with insurance companies under threat of penalty"... Will notes that if the Supreme Court approves Obamacare, "we have taken the last exit ramp on the road to unlimited government." - bill milan
He writes: "Throughout the life of this nation it has been understood that for a contract to be valid, the parties to it must mutually assent to its terms - without duress....To be meaningful, consent must be informed- and must not be coerced. Under Obamacare, the government will compel individuals to enter into contractual relations with insurance companies under threat of penalty"... Will notes that if the Supreme Court approves Obamacare, "we have taken the last exit ramp on the road to unlimited government." - bill milan
Sunday, April 1, 2012
April 2, 2012
Things I've learned while reading...For the week of 3/5/12, an article in Human Events bearing the headline: The Debunker: Obama really is the non-energy present, President Obama is quoted as saying: "Under my administration, America is producing more oil today than any time in the last eight years." But Human Events notes that "While it's true that U.S. oil and natural gas production is up, this is not thanks to, but in spite of Obama. All the increased production has come from state and private lands, where the president has little power. On federal lands controlled by Obama, production has actually fallen."....According to Human Events, on private or state lands, oil production for 2011 rose 14 % and natural gas rose 12 %. On federal lands, where Obama makes the call, oil production for 2011 fell 11 % and natural gas fell 6 %. ...What Mr. Obama has done in the Gulf of Mexico reinforces the point. Again, I quote Human Events...
"Following the Gulf Oil spill, Obama asked an expert panel for recommendations. Although that panel strongly opposed a drilling moratorium, the White House misrepresented the panel's views to justify a six-month moratorium. After a U.S. District Court overturned the moratorium as
"arbitrary and capricious" (a ruling upheld on appeal), Obama defied the court, issuing a second moratorium - which he then expanded to five years (for which the administration was held in contempt). As a result of Obama's moratorium, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, crude oil production on federal lands in the the Gulf of Mexico fell 15 % in 2011." ...Did you know that the Obama administration used an expert panel to make recommendations and then lied about what the panel recommended concerning energy? Probably not. Nor were the vast majority of us aware that a federal judge has held the Obama administration in contempt for its Gulf moratorium... Meanwhile, gasoline rises above $4 a gallon, and the media assures us the president has no role in energy prices.... We have here an unrivalled pattern of deceit and disregard for the law and our intelligence by the Obama administration... This contempt is facilitated by a news media, which each day establishes a new low in journalistic ethics... Drill, baby, drill - bill milan
Things I've learned while reading...For the week of 3/5/12, an article in Human Events bearing the headline: The Debunker: Obama really is the non-energy present, President Obama is quoted as saying: "Under my administration, America is producing more oil today than any time in the last eight years." But Human Events notes that "While it's true that U.S. oil and natural gas production is up, this is not thanks to, but in spite of Obama. All the increased production has come from state and private lands, where the president has little power. On federal lands controlled by Obama, production has actually fallen."....According to Human Events, on private or state lands, oil production for 2011 rose 14 % and natural gas rose 12 %. On federal lands, where Obama makes the call, oil production for 2011 fell 11 % and natural gas fell 6 %. ...What Mr. Obama has done in the Gulf of Mexico reinforces the point. Again, I quote Human Events...
"Following the Gulf Oil spill, Obama asked an expert panel for recommendations. Although that panel strongly opposed a drilling moratorium, the White House misrepresented the panel's views to justify a six-month moratorium. After a U.S. District Court overturned the moratorium as
"arbitrary and capricious" (a ruling upheld on appeal), Obama defied the court, issuing a second moratorium - which he then expanded to five years (for which the administration was held in contempt). As a result of Obama's moratorium, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, crude oil production on federal lands in the the Gulf of Mexico fell 15 % in 2011." ...Did you know that the Obama administration used an expert panel to make recommendations and then lied about what the panel recommended concerning energy? Probably not. Nor were the vast majority of us aware that a federal judge has held the Obama administration in contempt for its Gulf moratorium... Meanwhile, gasoline rises above $4 a gallon, and the media assures us the president has no role in energy prices.... We have here an unrivalled pattern of deceit and disregard for the law and our intelligence by the Obama administration... This contempt is facilitated by a news media, which each day establishes a new low in journalistic ethics... Drill, baby, drill - bill milan
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
12-28-11
Barak Obama, with the modesty we've come to cherish, recently declared himself the "fourth greatest president" in U.S. history. With boundless charity, he's willing, for now at least, to acknowledge the contributions of Washington, Lincoln, and F.D.R. If only his critics were so charitable...Let's examine the record, beginning first with the Obama stimulus. This $800 billion package was hailed as a massive "get Americans to work on shovel-ready projects." Unfortunately some Americans noted that after Obama promised a nationwide program of road and bridge repair, there was really very little evidence of road and bridge repair. In fact, these cynics termed the stimulus "porkulus" - an unprecedented bait-and-switch scam that transferred most of the $800 billion to Obama's bankrupt friends in state and local government and the public sector unions that led these governments into bankruptcy. A bad lot, those cynics. Faced with the grandeur of the "Great Obama," they prefer tangible evidence...
The depravity of these cynics recognizes no restrictions. For instance, the debt-rating agency Standard and Poors downgraded - and this was a first- the credit rating of the United States. These unimaginative green-eyeshade types were fixated on the Obama administration's accumulation of $4 trillion in debt in three years- and projected annual deficits of $1 trillion until 2025- resulting in a national debt beyond the calculation of Einstein. Or even someone really smart, like Bill Maher...These cynics have truly outdone themselves - shamed themselves, really- with respect to Obamacare. Where is their vision, their anticipation of a progessive holyland? Lo, these people are a vast intellectual desert. Armed only with a basic acquaintance with arithmetic, an acquaintance with the unhappy state of Canadian and European healthcare, and a weird distrust of a 2,000 page legislative grab-bag no one read, these cynics rendered a negative verdict on the fourth greatest president's greatest achievement. Remarkable!....Read on, Americans, if you dare... Our crisis deepens... The cynics maintain that we're headed toward a fiscal abyss such as Europe is currently facing... or not facing, as European cynics maintain.... Our home-grown cynics contend that most of Obama's enthusiasms - green renewable energy and bullet trains- have no chance of working, even with massive subsidies. They can only add to our debt, and increase energy costs for working Americans....The cynics cite the solar-panel maker Solyndra and it's $500 million loss to the taxpayer... Some of the lowest of these cynics note that Soyndra's main shareholders pulled their investments out in the nick of time, and Eric Holder has shown no interst in this malfeasance... The cynics have also charged Mr. Obama, the liberal genius behind the curtain, with being the 1) the food-stamp president (over 40 million of us, a record), 2) levels of unemployment not seen since the brilliance of the Rev. Carter and 3)
thirty-four consecutive months of blaming his predecessor, Mr. Bush- another egregious spendor, but not nearly so creative as the genius behind the curtain.... Go figure, my friends. You may trust this page to refute these cynics. Yes we can, and damn the logic!
Barak Obama, with the modesty we've come to cherish, recently declared himself the "fourth greatest president" in U.S. history. With boundless charity, he's willing, for now at least, to acknowledge the contributions of Washington, Lincoln, and F.D.R. If only his critics were so charitable...Let's examine the record, beginning first with the Obama stimulus. This $800 billion package was hailed as a massive "get Americans to work on shovel-ready projects." Unfortunately some Americans noted that after Obama promised a nationwide program of road and bridge repair, there was really very little evidence of road and bridge repair. In fact, these cynics termed the stimulus "porkulus" - an unprecedented bait-and-switch scam that transferred most of the $800 billion to Obama's bankrupt friends in state and local government and the public sector unions that led these governments into bankruptcy. A bad lot, those cynics. Faced with the grandeur of the "Great Obama," they prefer tangible evidence...
The depravity of these cynics recognizes no restrictions. For instance, the debt-rating agency Standard and Poors downgraded - and this was a first- the credit rating of the United States. These unimaginative green-eyeshade types were fixated on the Obama administration's accumulation of $4 trillion in debt in three years- and projected annual deficits of $1 trillion until 2025- resulting in a national debt beyond the calculation of Einstein. Or even someone really smart, like Bill Maher...These cynics have truly outdone themselves - shamed themselves, really- with respect to Obamacare. Where is their vision, their anticipation of a progessive holyland? Lo, these people are a vast intellectual desert. Armed only with a basic acquaintance with arithmetic, an acquaintance with the unhappy state of Canadian and European healthcare, and a weird distrust of a 2,000 page legislative grab-bag no one read, these cynics rendered a negative verdict on the fourth greatest president's greatest achievement. Remarkable!....Read on, Americans, if you dare... Our crisis deepens... The cynics maintain that we're headed toward a fiscal abyss such as Europe is currently facing... or not facing, as European cynics maintain.... Our home-grown cynics contend that most of Obama's enthusiasms - green renewable energy and bullet trains- have no chance of working, even with massive subsidies. They can only add to our debt, and increase energy costs for working Americans....The cynics cite the solar-panel maker Solyndra and it's $500 million loss to the taxpayer... Some of the lowest of these cynics note that Soyndra's main shareholders pulled their investments out in the nick of time, and Eric Holder has shown no interst in this malfeasance... The cynics have also charged Mr. Obama, the liberal genius behind the curtain, with being the 1) the food-stamp president (over 40 million of us, a record), 2) levels of unemployment not seen since the brilliance of the Rev. Carter and 3)
thirty-four consecutive months of blaming his predecessor, Mr. Bush- another egregious spendor, but not nearly so creative as the genius behind the curtain.... Go figure, my friends. You may trust this page to refute these cynics. Yes we can, and damn the logic!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
***MEET THE CANDIDATES***
Meet the Candidates Night was a huge success. It was held on Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at the Watseka Masonic Lodge.
The evening began at 7:00 p.m. with the introduction of Senator Shane Cultra, State Representative Jason Barickman who are running for the 53rd District
State Senate seat. Those that are running for the State Representative position in the 106th District and who attended were Josh Harms, Watseka, Scott McCoy, Pontiac, Tom Bennett, Gibson City, and Brian Gabor, Pontiac.
The event brought a large crowd of 80 - 85 Iroquois County citizens. Some of the questions and statements from the public were on their concerns for the lack of jobs, businesses moving out of Illinois, Quinn's 66% tax hike, and one concerned citizen remarked how she wanted to see God and prayer brought back into the schools of America.
Candidates for State Representative all said they would repeal the 66% state income tax hike, they support less regulation of business; reform of state pensions, welfare and Medicaid; state budget cuts; tort reform and gun rights - including concealed carry.
The tea party thanked all the candidates for taking time out of their busy schedules by allowing the public in hearing where they stand on the issues and answering their questions.
All in all....it was a good evening!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
TEA PARTY ATTENDS "IOWA STRAW POLL"
The Watseka/Iroquois County TEA Party attended the Iowa Straw Poll on Saturday, August 13th, in Ames, Iowa.
The weather was in the 70's with a light wind and the sun shown through the clouds. There were over 20,000 people that attended the event.
Mike George, founder of 'America Strong Now' had invited Illinois TEA Party and 9/12 groups. The bus trip was free with donuts and coffee. We left from Bloomington, IL. at 4:00 a.m. and returned at 12:00 a.m. that next morning.
When we arrived, we went to the 'Strong America Now' tent and picked up T-shirts. After slipping on the Strong America T-shirts, we then marched across a bridge with banners in support of Lean Six Sigma, a way to stop waste and fraud in our government.
Once we marched across the bridge we went to the coliseum to listen to the Presidential candidates speak. After that we then went to where all the candidates had an acre of land to give out free things and food. The Iowa residents also voted in the Straw Poll costing them $30.00 per person to vote. There were 17,000 people that voted. Illinois residents could not vote.
I got to see Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul walking through the area where the tents were and was able to snap their photos.
We went to Herman Cain's tent and he was serving free "Godfather's Pizza" and was it ever good! We went back for seconds. It was worth waiting in the loooonnnngggg line for another piece. LOL
Michele Bachmann won the Straw Poll with Ron Paul just 1% behind Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty third place.
The experience is one to remember and we are very happy we went. My husband and I are looking forward to our next trip to Schaumburg, IL. to the TEACon event.
20,000 people attended the Straw Poll.
Ron Paul Getting Ready to Speak to Media
Mike Huckabee at Straw Poll
Tim Pawlenty at Straw Poll
Ron Paul's Campaign Bus - LOL
Patriot walking around Straw Poll
Crowd at Straw Poll
Herman Cain's Bus at Straw Poll
Tea Party Patriots Bus at Straw Poll
Pete & Barb Offill, Coordinator
The weather was in the 70's with a light wind and the sun shown through the clouds. There were over 20,000 people that attended the event.
Mike George, founder of 'America Strong Now' had invited Illinois TEA Party and 9/12 groups. The bus trip was free with donuts and coffee. We left from Bloomington, IL. at 4:00 a.m. and returned at 12:00 a.m. that next morning.
When we arrived, we went to the 'Strong America Now' tent and picked up T-shirts. After slipping on the Strong America T-shirts, we then marched across a bridge with banners in support of Lean Six Sigma, a way to stop waste and fraud in our government.
Once we marched across the bridge we went to the coliseum to listen to the Presidential candidates speak. After that we then went to where all the candidates had an acre of land to give out free things and food. The Iowa residents also voted in the Straw Poll costing them $30.00 per person to vote. There were 17,000 people that voted. Illinois residents could not vote.
I got to see Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, and Ron Paul walking through the area where the tents were and was able to snap their photos.
We went to Herman Cain's tent and he was serving free "Godfather's Pizza" and was it ever good! We went back for seconds. It was worth waiting in the loooonnnngggg line for another piece. LOL
Michele Bachmann won the Straw Poll with Ron Paul just 1% behind Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty third place.
The experience is one to remember and we are very happy we went. My husband and I are looking forward to our next trip to Schaumburg, IL. to the TEACon event.
20,000 people attended the Straw Poll.
Ron Paul Getting Ready to Speak to Media
Mike Huckabee at Straw Poll
Tim Pawlenty at Straw Poll
Ron Paul's Campaign Bus - LOL
Patriot walking around Straw Poll
Crowd at Straw Poll
Herman Cain's Bus at Straw Poll
Tea Party Patriots Bus at Straw Poll
Pete & Barb Offill, Coordinator
Thursday, August 4, 2011
debt-ceiling fall-out
8/5/2011
The 8/3 edition of the Chicago Tribune reprinted this opinion piece from Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times (you may genuflect if so inclined): "Alas, that is the tea party. It is so lacking in any aspiration for American greatness, so dominated by the narrowest visions for our country and so ignorant of the fact that it was not tax cuts that made America great but our unique public-private partnerships across generations. If sane Republicans do not stand up to this Hezbollah faction in their midst, the tea party will take the GOP on a suicide mission. No American politician was more allergic to debt or taxes than Thomas Jefferson, but he also appreciated the need to have the resources to make the Louisiana Purchase and insisted that on his tombstone it be written that he founded the University of Virginia." ... Alas, Mr. Friedman, you epitomize the absurd self-regard liberalism has for itself despite the damage it leaves in its wake. When President Obama took office, our national debt was 40 % of GDP, a disturbing number. Today, our national debt is 70% of GDP. Economists tell us that as that debt percentage nears the 90 to 100 % level, we will be in dire straits. Mr. Friedman cares not a whit that so many Americans reject his reasoning; liberalism has always been been a minority-directing-the-majority operation. But he is appalled that the unwashed- people not steeped in liberal fallacies, people who have looked at the numbers and become alarmed- now have a vehicle to express their discontent. They know in their bones that American greatness and prosperity was not the result again and again of an alchemy between public-private partnerships. Governments at the state and federal levels have dug canals, dredged rivers, built airports, and operated schools. These are laudable things, and there was once a time when public schools were something to be admired and not regretted, as they are today. But American prosperity and greatness is so much more the result of free enterprise and the energies unleashed by freedom. Risk-takers built this country, men and women willing to put in 18-hour days to build a business. They wanted to be their own bosses. They built our farms and ranches, our factories, our retail empires, our investment houses. They needed no help from arrogant twits such as Pelosi, Reed, or Obama- people who have no knowlege whatever of basic economics, who nontheless believe they have a moral right to relieve the productive of their income to redistribute it to advance hare-brained schemes.... This debt crisis has unhinged the left. The Tea Party is their worst nightmare. With a compliant media as their shield, liberals usually managed to outmanuever Republicans. The Tea Party, however, won't settle for crumbs. We're in this fight to reclaim a great country based on freedom from a minority that has long preferred an elitist top-down system. Obama was to be their vehicle to achieve this transformation. But as that vehicle stalls, we see the true face of socialism as reality backs it into a corner, and it is not compassionate. Liberals such as Mr. Friedman, Mr. Obama(who always advocates civility after a vicious moment- see the Paul Ryan moment), Mr. Biden, Mz. Pelosi, and Citizen Reed have described their opponents, who worry about a Greece-style disaster for America, as " extremists, hostage-takers, the American Taliban, jihadists, Hezbollah, terrorists, knuckle-draggers, autistic-haters, and ... hell, you supply the intemperate adjective. As for myself, I've been accused of a delusional dislike of Barbra Streisand ... In defense of myself, I've noted that liberals have a delusional dislike of arithmetic and reality. See the recent Euro crisis with Italy and Spain... and coming soon to a bankrupt American state - bill milan
The 8/3 edition of the Chicago Tribune reprinted this opinion piece from Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times (you may genuflect if so inclined): "Alas, that is the tea party. It is so lacking in any aspiration for American greatness, so dominated by the narrowest visions for our country and so ignorant of the fact that it was not tax cuts that made America great but our unique public-private partnerships across generations. If sane Republicans do not stand up to this Hezbollah faction in their midst, the tea party will take the GOP on a suicide mission. No American politician was more allergic to debt or taxes than Thomas Jefferson, but he also appreciated the need to have the resources to make the Louisiana Purchase and insisted that on his tombstone it be written that he founded the University of Virginia." ... Alas, Mr. Friedman, you epitomize the absurd self-regard liberalism has for itself despite the damage it leaves in its wake. When President Obama took office, our national debt was 40 % of GDP, a disturbing number. Today, our national debt is 70% of GDP. Economists tell us that as that debt percentage nears the 90 to 100 % level, we will be in dire straits. Mr. Friedman cares not a whit that so many Americans reject his reasoning; liberalism has always been been a minority-directing-the-majority operation. But he is appalled that the unwashed- people not steeped in liberal fallacies, people who have looked at the numbers and become alarmed- now have a vehicle to express their discontent. They know in their bones that American greatness and prosperity was not the result again and again of an alchemy between public-private partnerships. Governments at the state and federal levels have dug canals, dredged rivers, built airports, and operated schools. These are laudable things, and there was once a time when public schools were something to be admired and not regretted, as they are today. But American prosperity and greatness is so much more the result of free enterprise and the energies unleashed by freedom. Risk-takers built this country, men and women willing to put in 18-hour days to build a business. They wanted to be their own bosses. They built our farms and ranches, our factories, our retail empires, our investment houses. They needed no help from arrogant twits such as Pelosi, Reed, or Obama- people who have no knowlege whatever of basic economics, who nontheless believe they have a moral right to relieve the productive of their income to redistribute it to advance hare-brained schemes.... This debt crisis has unhinged the left. The Tea Party is their worst nightmare. With a compliant media as their shield, liberals usually managed to outmanuever Republicans. The Tea Party, however, won't settle for crumbs. We're in this fight to reclaim a great country based on freedom from a minority that has long preferred an elitist top-down system. Obama was to be their vehicle to achieve this transformation. But as that vehicle stalls, we see the true face of socialism as reality backs it into a corner, and it is not compassionate. Liberals such as Mr. Friedman, Mr. Obama(who always advocates civility after a vicious moment- see the Paul Ryan moment), Mr. Biden, Mz. Pelosi, and Citizen Reed have described their opponents, who worry about a Greece-style disaster for America, as " extremists, hostage-takers, the American Taliban, jihadists, Hezbollah, terrorists, knuckle-draggers, autistic-haters, and ... hell, you supply the intemperate adjective. As for myself, I've been accused of a delusional dislike of Barbra Streisand ... In defense of myself, I've noted that liberals have a delusional dislike of arithmetic and reality. See the recent Euro crisis with Italy and Spain... and coming soon to a bankrupt American state - bill milan
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
IROQUOIS COUNTY FAIR - 2011
Tea Party Member Ken Blanck & Barb Offill, Coordinator
Bill Milan, John Burger, Pete Offill, & Loni Burger
Bill Milan, John & Loni Burger, Pete Offill, & Tea Party Fan
Joanne Kissack & Pete Offill
Barbara Offill, Coordinator handing out free balloonsThe Watseka/Iroquois County TEA Party set a booth up at the Iroquois County Fair from July 20th - 25th, 2011. The week was a smoldering 100+ degrees for all of the fair, except for the last day on Sunday. The temperature was a cool upper 70's. Actually felt like we were in air conditioning that day. The attendance was down due to the heat, but for those that weathered the heat came to our booth.
We had many people sign up for newsletter from our TEA Party and that were interested and concerned for the direction our country, state, and county are headed.
There was a sing that read, "Illinoyed by High Taxes" and on top listed "all" the taxes that Illinois residents pay. Many people stopped by read and commented on this sign.
We offered a 50/50 raffle and a "guess the amount of tea bags in the jar" game. The one that came the closest to the actual amount won a brand new $30.00 value "American Flag." Second winner won the jar with the tea bags in it. The winner of the flag was, Brooke Peters from Texas. Her guess was 145 and the actual amount was 144. The winner of the jar and tea bags guessed 148 and that was Reagan Miller from Clifton, IL.
The Tea Party handed out free informational pamphlets, pocket U.S. Constitutions, candy, balloons, and free "cold" iced tea.
Even though the weather was hot, we still had a good following and enjoyed the week.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
more media browsing
5/31/2011
Okay, I left you dangling and twisting yesterday in the high winds when I closed with a cryptic reference to the Internal Revenue Service's (to quote Michael Barone from realclearpolitics.com)
"Attempt to levy a gift tax on donors to certain 501(c)(4) organizations that just happen to to have spent money to elect Republicans. A gift tax is normally assessed on transfers to children and other heirs that are designed to avoid estate taxes. It has been applied to political donations 'rarely if ever' according to New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom... 'The timing of this agency's moves, as the 2012 election cycle gets under way' continues Strom, 'is prompting some tax law and campaign finance experts to question whether the IRS could be sending a signal in an effort to curtail big donations.' ".....The Watseka Tea Party analysis of this story: We're well advanced on the road to serfdom, if we don't resist to the utmost these leftists who don't care- in fact mock- expressions of majority thinking. George Orwell, call our office... The good news abounds: A Chicago Tribune editorial of 5/26/11 provides us with the analysis of Illinois treasurer Dan Rutherford, a benighted resident of central Illinois, a curious place where fiscal sanity and- can you imagine, even basic arithmetic?- are somehow relevant! Quoting the Tribune story: "Rutherford first calculated that the pols who run Illinois have amassed nearly $200 billion in debt. That includes some $45 billion in bond debt, $8billion in unpaid bills, and $140 billion in unpaid pension and health care benefits for public employees. Every household in Illinois owes $42,000. Don't get us started on your share of the debts run up by your prolifigate local and federal governments. "
.... Any reason for despair? No, residents of Illinois! The fiscal future is looking so bright, we're advising you to wear shades - sun glasses. Your governor, over the course of the Memorial Day weekend, was hoping to add more borrowing and spending to the Illinois budget.
Okay, I left you dangling and twisting yesterday in the high winds when I closed with a cryptic reference to the Internal Revenue Service's (to quote Michael Barone from realclearpolitics.com)
"Attempt to levy a gift tax on donors to certain 501(c)(4) organizations that just happen to to have spent money to elect Republicans. A gift tax is normally assessed on transfers to children and other heirs that are designed to avoid estate taxes. It has been applied to political donations 'rarely if ever' according to New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom... 'The timing of this agency's moves, as the 2012 election cycle gets under way' continues Strom, 'is prompting some tax law and campaign finance experts to question whether the IRS could be sending a signal in an effort to curtail big donations.' ".....The Watseka Tea Party analysis of this story: We're well advanced on the road to serfdom, if we don't resist to the utmost these leftists who don't care- in fact mock- expressions of majority thinking. George Orwell, call our office... The good news abounds: A Chicago Tribune editorial of 5/26/11 provides us with the analysis of Illinois treasurer Dan Rutherford, a benighted resident of central Illinois, a curious place where fiscal sanity and- can you imagine, even basic arithmetic?- are somehow relevant! Quoting the Tribune story: "Rutherford first calculated that the pols who run Illinois have amassed nearly $200 billion in debt. That includes some $45 billion in bond debt, $8billion in unpaid bills, and $140 billion in unpaid pension and health care benefits for public employees. Every household in Illinois owes $42,000. Don't get us started on your share of the debts run up by your prolifigate local and federal governments. "
.... Any reason for despair? No, residents of Illinois! The fiscal future is looking so bright, we're advising you to wear shades - sun glasses. Your governor, over the course of the Memorial Day weekend, was hoping to add more borrowing and spending to the Illinois budget.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Searching the Media on Memorial Day
5/30/2011
In an article published by Townhall.com, The Washington Examiner's Byron York notes that
"the last time the Senate passed a budget was April 29th, 2009, which was, is- more than 760 days ago."
The reason for this abdication of a basic responsibility is a cynical attempt by Democratic leaders to conceal from the public the true state of the fiscal mess in Washington. The last "continuing resolution" - the Democrats' substitute for an actual budget- had an annual expenditure of $3.8 trillion and $1.6 of that was deficit spending - or 43%. Harry Reed, Chuck Shumer, etc; would prefer to snipe at the Paul Ryan plan rather than provide a coherent response to Mr. Ryan, or a budget, or anything resembling leadership- unless you count that grandma-in-the-wheelchair-over-the-cliff video. And our lamestream media say nothing... On the health-care front, Michelle Malkin on National Review Online reports that "To date, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has granted federal-health-care-law [Obamacare] exemptions to more than 3 million Americans covered by more than 1,300 unions, companies, and insurers who had volutarily offered low cost health plans with annual benefits limits. "... These unions and businesses campaigned hard for Obama in 2008 and lobbied just as hard for Obamacare, yet they would rather be excluded from Obama's signature domestic accomplishment. Ms. Malkin's list of those seeking waivers reads like a who's who of a labor movement that clearly has become a conspiracy against limited, constitutional government: Teamsters Local 485 Brooklyn,NY, Communications Workers of America, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO(Welfare Fund of Operating Engineers), Teamsters Local 734, Teamsters Local 617, United Steelworkers Local1-0318... Well, you get the idea. Obama care, with its rationing, higher costs, suppression of innovation, and arbitrary rules, well that's something that the progressive advance guard would rather see you and I contend with, rather than themselves. And isn't that the essence of progressivism? ...And have you seen any of these waivers noted, much less analyzed with any rigor on CNN or other stalwarts of the lamestream media? ... Offering more analysis on the labor/Obamacare front, Michael Barone reports that "Unions contributed $400 million to Democrats in the 2008 campaign cycle."
Speaking of the Obama administration's blatant attempt to tilt the playing field in favor of labor unions, Barone says: "One example is the National Labor Relations Board general cousel's action to prevent Boeing from building a $2 billion assembly plant for the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, which has a right-to-work law barring compulsory union membership. The NLRB says Boeing has to assemble the planes in non-right -to-work Washington state."... Mr. Barone closes his column by noting: "Punishing enemies and rewarding friends- politics Chicago style- seems to be the unifying principle that helps explain the Obamacare waivers, the NLRB action against Boeing and I.RS.'s gift tax assault on 501(c)(4) donors[to Republicans]. They look like examples of crony capitalism, bailout favortism and gangster government. One thing they don't look like is the rule of law."
Wolf Blitzer is currently producing an expose` of these abuses... If you believe that, you've had too much bbq today... Happy Memorial Day - bill milan
In an article published by Townhall.com, The Washington Examiner's Byron York notes that
"the last time the Senate passed a budget was April 29th, 2009, which was, is- more than 760 days ago."
The reason for this abdication of a basic responsibility is a cynical attempt by Democratic leaders to conceal from the public the true state of the fiscal mess in Washington. The last "continuing resolution" - the Democrats' substitute for an actual budget- had an annual expenditure of $3.8 trillion and $1.6 of that was deficit spending - or 43%. Harry Reed, Chuck Shumer, etc; would prefer to snipe at the Paul Ryan plan rather than provide a coherent response to Mr. Ryan, or a budget, or anything resembling leadership- unless you count that grandma-in-the-wheelchair-over-the-cliff video. And our lamestream media say nothing... On the health-care front, Michelle Malkin on National Review Online reports that "To date, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has granted federal-health-care-law [Obamacare] exemptions to more than 3 million Americans covered by more than 1,300 unions, companies, and insurers who had volutarily offered low cost health plans with annual benefits limits. "... These unions and businesses campaigned hard for Obama in 2008 and lobbied just as hard for Obamacare, yet they would rather be excluded from Obama's signature domestic accomplishment. Ms. Malkin's list of those seeking waivers reads like a who's who of a labor movement that clearly has become a conspiracy against limited, constitutional government: Teamsters Local 485 Brooklyn,NY, Communications Workers of America, Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO(Welfare Fund of Operating Engineers), Teamsters Local 734, Teamsters Local 617, United Steelworkers Local1-0318... Well, you get the idea. Obama care, with its rationing, higher costs, suppression of innovation, and arbitrary rules, well that's something that the progressive advance guard would rather see you and I contend with, rather than themselves. And isn't that the essence of progressivism? ...And have you seen any of these waivers noted, much less analyzed with any rigor on CNN or other stalwarts of the lamestream media? ... Offering more analysis on the labor/Obamacare front, Michael Barone reports that "Unions contributed $400 million to Democrats in the 2008 campaign cycle."
Speaking of the Obama administration's blatant attempt to tilt the playing field in favor of labor unions, Barone says: "One example is the National Labor Relations Board general cousel's action to prevent Boeing from building a $2 billion assembly plant for the 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, which has a right-to-work law barring compulsory union membership. The NLRB says Boeing has to assemble the planes in non-right -to-work Washington state."... Mr. Barone closes his column by noting: "Punishing enemies and rewarding friends- politics Chicago style- seems to be the unifying principle that helps explain the Obamacare waivers, the NLRB action against Boeing and I.RS.'s gift tax assault on 501(c)(4) donors[to Republicans]. They look like examples of crony capitalism, bailout favortism and gangster government. One thing they don't look like is the rule of law."
Wolf Blitzer is currently producing an expose` of these abuses... If you believe that, you've had too much bbq today... Happy Memorial Day - bill milan
Monday, May 16, 2011
TOP 12 REASONS A DEMOCRAT VOTED FOR "CHANGE"
A Short Quiz for All Who Voted for “Change”
By Editor-in-Chief on May 16, 2011
When your friends cannot explain why they voted for a Democrat, give them this list. They can then pick their reasons from this “TOP 12″. If they voted for “Change” they will probably pick all 12.
1. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4%on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon ofgas at 15% isn’t.
2. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do abetter job of spending the money I earn than I would.
3. I voted Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long asnobody is offended by it.
4. I voted Democrat because I’m way too irresponsible to own a gun,and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderersand thieves.
5. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can’t tell usif it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt awayin ten years if I don’t start driving an electric car.
6. I voted Democrat because I’m not concerned about millions ofbabies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
7. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right tofree health care, education, and Social Security benefits.
8. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Democrats see fit.
9. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would neverget their agendas past the voters.
10. I voted Democrat because I think that it’s better to paybillions to people who hate us for their oil, but not drill our own becauseit might upset some endangered beetle or gopher.
11. I voted Democrat because while we live in the greatest, mostwonderful country in the world, I was promised “HOPE AND CHANGE”.
12. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my tushieit’s unlikely that I’ll ever have another point of view.
By Editor-in-Chief on May 16, 2011
When your friends cannot explain why they voted for a Democrat, give them this list. They can then pick their reasons from this “TOP 12″. If they voted for “Change” they will probably pick all 12.
1. I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4%on a gallon of gas are obscene, but the government taxing the same gallon ofgas at 15% isn’t.
2. I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do abetter job of spending the money I earn than I would.
3. I voted Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long asnobody is offended by it.
4. I voted Democrat because I’m way too irresponsible to own a gun,and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderersand thieves.
5. I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can’t tell usif it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt awayin ten years if I don’t start driving an electric car.
6. I voted Democrat because I’m not concerned about millions ofbabies being aborted so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.
7. I voted Democrat because I think illegal aliens have a right tofree health care, education, and Social Security benefits.
8. I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as the Democrats see fit.
9. I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would neverget their agendas past the voters.
10. I voted Democrat because I think that it’s better to paybillions to people who hate us for their oil, but not drill our own becauseit might upset some endangered beetle or gopher.
11. I voted Democrat because while we live in the greatest, mostwonderful country in the world, I was promised “HOPE AND CHANGE”.
12. I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my tushieit’s unlikely that I’ll ever have another point of view.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
As We Near The Fiscal Iceberg
There's some frightening U.S. budgetary data available to anyone who cares to analyze the numbers. And it's beyond frightening to consider that the folks manning the bridge of the good ship America refuse to acknowledge the danger.
"Oh, we're not broke," Obama administration staffers and supporters tell us with a blithe air. "We don't have a debt problem;we have a revenue problem. We don't tax the rich as hard as we should."
According to Hoover Institution fellow and National Review columnist Victor Davis Hanson, the top 5% of American taxpayers provide about 60% of all federal income-tax revenue, "a higher percentage than anywhere else in the Western world," he notes. If we push that 5% to 20% of all earners/taxpayers, a stark fact emerges: The productive and successful workers in our economy pay 70% of federal taxes. We are, in essence, already soaking the rich. As Mr. Hanson writes, "nearly half of all American households pay absolutely nothing in federal income tax."
Now it is certainly true that some of our super-rich game the tax system to pay little or nothing in federal taxes. And we have recently learned that General Electric, led by Obama chum Jeff Immelt, paid no taxes whatever for 2010 revenue. But rather than soak the rich, we'd be better off eliminating loopholes and reforming the tax code. Let's ensure that rates are reasonably low to stimulate our economy, and fair in the sense that taxes are paid across the spectrum of incomes. It's not fair, after all, for those who pay no federal taxes to ask for federal benefits, such as Obamacare, that they won't pay for.
Now, about that disturbing data. In February of 2011, the federal government ran a deficit of over $200 billion dollars. Yes, in one month!... Our federal government, under the inspired leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn't dare pass a budget in October of 2010, with a mid-term election looming... So they passed something called a continuing resolution. The lamestream media wouldn't break this down for the public, but here are the numbers: $3.7 trillion in expenditures and a deficit of $1.6 trillion...Uh-huh. 43% of this resolution for fiscal 2010 was pure deficit, to be added to our $14 trillion in national debt... This debt amounts to about $50,000 in obligations to every American household... The debt rating agency Standard and Poors is warning that they will downgrade our debt liabilities from positive to negative.... The Peoples' Republic of China has warned us to rein in our spending....Meanwhile, the Obama administration calls for more investments... high-speed rail... renewable energy hoaxes...Oh, by all means give me a quicker route to Detroit, where I may see our dismal future if the Obama administration is not sent to its room in Nov. 2012 - bill milan
"Oh, we're not broke," Obama administration staffers and supporters tell us with a blithe air. "We don't have a debt problem;we have a revenue problem. We don't tax the rich as hard as we should."
According to Hoover Institution fellow and National Review columnist Victor Davis Hanson, the top 5% of American taxpayers provide about 60% of all federal income-tax revenue, "a higher percentage than anywhere else in the Western world," he notes. If we push that 5% to 20% of all earners/taxpayers, a stark fact emerges: The productive and successful workers in our economy pay 70% of federal taxes. We are, in essence, already soaking the rich. As Mr. Hanson writes, "nearly half of all American households pay absolutely nothing in federal income tax."
Now it is certainly true that some of our super-rich game the tax system to pay little or nothing in federal taxes. And we have recently learned that General Electric, led by Obama chum Jeff Immelt, paid no taxes whatever for 2010 revenue. But rather than soak the rich, we'd be better off eliminating loopholes and reforming the tax code. Let's ensure that rates are reasonably low to stimulate our economy, and fair in the sense that taxes are paid across the spectrum of incomes. It's not fair, after all, for those who pay no federal taxes to ask for federal benefits, such as Obamacare, that they won't pay for.
Now, about that disturbing data. In February of 2011, the federal government ran a deficit of over $200 billion dollars. Yes, in one month!... Our federal government, under the inspired leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, didn't dare pass a budget in October of 2010, with a mid-term election looming... So they passed something called a continuing resolution. The lamestream media wouldn't break this down for the public, but here are the numbers: $3.7 trillion in expenditures and a deficit of $1.6 trillion...Uh-huh. 43% of this resolution for fiscal 2010 was pure deficit, to be added to our $14 trillion in national debt... This debt amounts to about $50,000 in obligations to every American household... The debt rating agency Standard and Poors is warning that they will downgrade our debt liabilities from positive to negative.... The Peoples' Republic of China has warned us to rein in our spending....Meanwhile, the Obama administration calls for more investments... high-speed rail... renewable energy hoaxes...Oh, by all means give me a quicker route to Detroit, where I may see our dismal future if the Obama administration is not sent to its room in Nov. 2012 - bill milan
Monday, April 18, 2011
TEA PARTY "TAX DAY" RALLY - April 15th, 2011
The Iroquois County Tea Party held a Tax Day rally the evening of April 15th at the Masonic Lodge in Watseka. Over sixty people attended. The rally began with a prayer from Pastor Ron Bogenschneider. Our first speaker was state representative Jason Barickman (R-105th district). His remarks focused on the state's fiscal health. "Illinois is $4.14 billion in debt according to State Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka," said Rep Barickman. "We have $2.5 billion in debts unpaid for more than sixty days. We have to stop spending money we don't have." Representative Barickman listed two things he has done recently to reduce spending. He won't grant legislative university scholarships, and he is sponsoring a bill that reduces spending for lawmakers' offices. He also asserted in his remarks to the rally that our public pension system is unsustainable. "We have $87 billion in unfunded pension obligations," he said. He also noted that business people in east-central Illinois have told him, "Jason, I moved my business twenty miles to the east." In Indiana, said Rep. Barickman, worker's comp is four times less than in Illinois. He also noted that Medicaid reform in Illinois is critical. Our next speaker was Rae Ann McNeilly of Taxpayers United Of Illinois. "We should be having a discussion on the proper scope of government," she said. "Our government wasn't created by the founders to be as huge as it currently is. We have to decide what agencies and benefits we can live without." Ms. McNeilly went on to observe that before the creation of the Department of Education by President Carter, The United States was ranked tenth in the world educationally; now we're ranked twenty-fifth. Her support for a national sales tax was enthusiastically endorsed by the audience. The focus of our rally shifted when Anne Irhke of Buckley, Illinois spoke about wind energy in Iroquois County. "There is a pending house bill that would allow Ameren to raise its rates every year without a vote by legislators to help Ameren cover the enormous cost of this conversion to wind technology," she said. Mrs. Irkhe believes that wind energy is a part of a larger elitist project to reshape America. "If we don't stay angry, focused and informed, the America we know will be gone." Our last speaker also addressed wind energy. Rich Porter of Paxton, Illinois is a former writer for radio and television in Champaign. Since his retirement, he has researched energy policy in this country, and he believes that government and some business allies are stacking the deck in favor of "renewable" forms of energy such as wind and solar, whose benefits have been greatly hyped. "We have a president who says no to mining and no to drilling, and he's on record for hoping to bankrupt coal companies. The EPA would like to declare coal a hazardous material and close coal-fired electrical generating plants.Our electrical bills could double," said Mr.Porter. Mr. Porter also addressed the use of so-called "smart meters," currently in use in Texas and the source of considerable controversy because they limit a home's use of power. These meters "are a crucial component to integrate wind and other renewables into the grid and greatly reduce our energy use. The public is being manipulated and misled. We need to ensure that better people serve on our county boards- people responsive to our needs and not government or coporate money." Mr. Adrian Calhoun, a student at Oliver Nazarene University, sang our national anthem and "America My Home" after the opening prayer. Jayne Henrichs of Cissna Park and Kena Clark of Milford sang a duet of "America the Beautiful" to conclude our evening. Refreshments were served, and a fifty-fifty raffle was held, with a portion to be donated to a wounded veterans' fund.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
FOREVER YOUNG
April 18th 2011 In light of the Democratic leadership's refusal to credibly address America's crushing debt, many commentators have, with a depressing lack of originality, ascribed this evasion to the leadership's socialist theories of governance. I, however, disagree. I've researched this matter, and I confidently assert that ideology is only one reason for this lack of a credible response to our debt. The sadder truth is that the Obama administration is populated almost solely by teenagers. Only teenagers would fail to pass a budget and cobble together a continuing resolution for 2011 that calls for nearly $4 trillion in spending and has a deficit of $ 1.6 trillion, or nearly 43% of the spending! You doubt me? Consider, first, the president. Known to the other kids at the mall as B. Prez, this amusing scamp loves pick-up basketball, his Xbox, and those Slurpies you fix for yourself at the mall. He also thinks that those cheese fries are the bomb. Let's also consider the former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Sent to her room by voters in the 2010 election, she spends her time listening to Lady Gaga on her ipad, texting middle school friends, and hoping Justin Bieber will finally visit her site on Facebook. And then there's the sad story of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. When Congress is not in session, I'm getting reports that this young fellow is keeping company in Las Vegas with SEIU toughs, casino owners, global-warming theorists, and other riffraff. It can't come to any good, but I digress. When that awful Paul Ryan introduced his awful budget cuts, these kids got really, really mad. As one of the kids at the mall put it, "You get so tired of being told what to do by parents, teachers, and now those bogus voters. There was some way cool stuff in that resolution." Nancy Pelosi flung open her bedroom window and shrieked that "Republicans are destroying the social compact" as they seek to reform Medicare and Medicaid. (Curious. The president's own debt commission called these progams imperiled.) Pelosi also threatened to ring John Boehner's door bell and run away. The FBI looked into the matter and discounted the threat, since Pelosi isn't tall enough yet to reach the door bell, even if she stood on every one of her Hanna Montana DVD's. A relieved Boehner shed tears and asked for a Kleenex. Harry Reid was like, really mad too. He stepped off his skateboard and issued a blistering and somewhat insane response that sent logicians scurrying for an explanation. The best anyone could say of these remarks is that the senator believes that all the women in the Reid family could forget healthcare for the remainder of their lives if so much as a dollar was denied in Ryan's budget to Planned Parenthood, an organization dedicated to denying life to the unborn, especially if they're dark. They, too, are powerless, voiceless, etc; but teenagers, God love them, are inconsistent. They have those raging hormones. And what of B. Prez? "Well, you've seen him scowl," said a kid at the mall. "Especially when you disagree with him, he is like how dare you. Now, he was also really mad. 'Who is this Paul Ryan to question all that cool stuff? Just raise taxes, dude.' " B.Prez announced that he was preparing a response to our debt crisis and Paul Ryan. In his address to the nation hoping for some employment of logic, some acknowledgement that financial reality has a place at the bargaining table, B. Prez accused the Republicans of making war on the ... autistic. Wow! The moment I heard this marvelous piece of teenage logic, I jotted down the date and time. When a future Gibbon chronicles the demise of America, I hope to leave this moment as a milestone in our downward spiral. Now to be fair, I contacted my friends in the vast right-wing conspiracy. I have street cred with these horrible people because I wrote that memo urging that the federal government reduce the elderly to eating cat food, and not the high-end stuff like Fancy Feast, either. "What's up with our war against the autistic?" I asked. No one I spoke to in this nefarious network could remember such a plot. So why would the Democratic leadership talk such juvenile slander? I am led back to my original premise: We are governed, until 2012, by teenagers. And teenagers, God love them, are inconsistent. They have those raging hormones.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
obamacare meeting 3/10/2011
News Release from the Watseka/Iroquois County Tea Party March 13, 2011:
The Watseka/Iroquois County Tea Party was pleased to hold a forum concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (known as Obamacare) at the Masonic Lodge in Watseka the evening of March 10th. Our principal speakers were Dr. Arie Friedman, a pediatrician from Highland Park, Il and Mr. Bruno Behrend, a researcher for the Heartland Institute in Chicago.
Dr. Friedman and Mr. Behrend acknowledge that our health care system needed reform, but they contend that Obamacare is a push to expand the scope of government rather than provide better medical services at a reduced price. Both men, armed with studies produced by the Heartland Institute and the Heritage Foundation, predict that Obamacare will increase spending and taxes, cause higher deficits, and lead to rationing.
President Obama has pointed again and again to a Congressional Budget Office analysis that states that Obamacare will reduce government spending in the coming decade. That analysis, however is based on the administration cutting $500 billion in Medicare spending in the coming decade. Dr. Friedman and Mr. Behrend consider it highly unlikely that the president or Congress will ever execute these cuts and brave the wrath of senior voters. They expect Obamacare to increase our deficit by $2 trillion dollars by 2024. In Illinois, alone, 800,000 more citizens will be placed on Medicaid's rolls. Basic logic informs us that you can't increase Medicaid clients by such a magnitude and save money.
Our speakers noted that Obamacare is based on Mitt Romney's health care "reform" in Massachusetts. That plan, in turn, is based on a European model that has contributed to western Europe's fiscal implosion. Frequently praised and rarely analyzed, European-style health care has led to a spiral of higher spending, higher taxes, and increased rationing of medical services in order to get some control over costs.
In addition to his fiscal concerns, Dr. Friedman believes that Obamacare will give government, rather than the doctors and patients, the final say over treatment. He spoke of doctors asking permission to use a certain procedure and being denied - and not by a panel of doctors but by a computer program that crunches a patients age and medical condition, the cost of the procedure, and the available funds. Any savings achieved by European-style health care are accomplished through rationing. Canadians have such a system, and Dr. Friedman noted that Canadians can wait many months longer than Americans for procedures we consider almost routine, such as knee replacements and heart bypasses. He also noted that rationing will mean an end to the innovation and advancement in treatments that have made American health care the best in the world.
It's regrettable that we've chosen to go down a path Europeans are admitting is no longer sustainable. We didn't need to socialize our health care to cover the 15% of us who don't have medical coverage. We could issue vouchers to these people or enroll them in HMO's. But,instead, we're throwing the entire population into what will soon be a a single-payer system. Mr. Behrend observed that "Obamacare is not about medical care. It's about expanding the role of governnment in our lives." He also observed that in his discussions with liberals about health care, they invariably note that most Americans "are not capable of making major decisions about their health care."
About fifty people attended this event, and refreshments and lively discussion were enjoyed after our speakers' remarks. In the face of "elite" opinion, we continued to believe the government is not capable of making decisions about our health care.
bill milan: teaparty p.r. 815-429-3772
The Watseka/Iroquois County Tea Party was pleased to hold a forum concerning the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (known as Obamacare) at the Masonic Lodge in Watseka the evening of March 10th. Our principal speakers were Dr. Arie Friedman, a pediatrician from Highland Park, Il and Mr. Bruno Behrend, a researcher for the Heartland Institute in Chicago.
Dr. Friedman and Mr. Behrend acknowledge that our health care system needed reform, but they contend that Obamacare is a push to expand the scope of government rather than provide better medical services at a reduced price. Both men, armed with studies produced by the Heartland Institute and the Heritage Foundation, predict that Obamacare will increase spending and taxes, cause higher deficits, and lead to rationing.
President Obama has pointed again and again to a Congressional Budget Office analysis that states that Obamacare will reduce government spending in the coming decade. That analysis, however is based on the administration cutting $500 billion in Medicare spending in the coming decade. Dr. Friedman and Mr. Behrend consider it highly unlikely that the president or Congress will ever execute these cuts and brave the wrath of senior voters. They expect Obamacare to increase our deficit by $2 trillion dollars by 2024. In Illinois, alone, 800,000 more citizens will be placed on Medicaid's rolls. Basic logic informs us that you can't increase Medicaid clients by such a magnitude and save money.
Our speakers noted that Obamacare is based on Mitt Romney's health care "reform" in Massachusetts. That plan, in turn, is based on a European model that has contributed to western Europe's fiscal implosion. Frequently praised and rarely analyzed, European-style health care has led to a spiral of higher spending, higher taxes, and increased rationing of medical services in order to get some control over costs.
In addition to his fiscal concerns, Dr. Friedman believes that Obamacare will give government, rather than the doctors and patients, the final say over treatment. He spoke of doctors asking permission to use a certain procedure and being denied - and not by a panel of doctors but by a computer program that crunches a patients age and medical condition, the cost of the procedure, and the available funds. Any savings achieved by European-style health care are accomplished through rationing. Canadians have such a system, and Dr. Friedman noted that Canadians can wait many months longer than Americans for procedures we consider almost routine, such as knee replacements and heart bypasses. He also noted that rationing will mean an end to the innovation and advancement in treatments that have made American health care the best in the world.
It's regrettable that we've chosen to go down a path Europeans are admitting is no longer sustainable. We didn't need to socialize our health care to cover the 15% of us who don't have medical coverage. We could issue vouchers to these people or enroll them in HMO's. But,instead, we're throwing the entire population into what will soon be a a single-payer system. Mr. Behrend observed that "Obamacare is not about medical care. It's about expanding the role of governnment in our lives." He also observed that in his discussions with liberals about health care, they invariably note that most Americans "are not capable of making major decisions about their health care."
About fifty people attended this event, and refreshments and lively discussion were enjoyed after our speakers' remarks. In the face of "elite" opinion, we continued to believe the government is not capable of making decisions about our health care.
bill milan: teaparty p.r. 815-429-3772
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Negating the 2010 election
3/9/11
I noted in my Feb. 19th blog that liberals exhibit a childlike faith in government linked to a hateful disregard for those Americans who dare to oppose them. Let's take a brief look at what liberals have done to render the voters' decision in the mid-term 2010 elections null and void.
Exhibit A: The votes were just spinning out of CNN's computers when Wolf Blitzer, et al, were telling viewers that this huge repudiation (a Democrat loss in the House of 63 seats) represented the voters' desire for Republicans to find consensus with a president whose Scandanavian take on government inflamed so much of the electorate. Right on, Wolfman! We're fortunate beyond comprehension to have a guide of your rare vision.
Exhibit B: The revolt of public employee unions against ... the public. Who are these pesky voters to regulate a public servant's compensation?
Exhibit C: The $105 billion concealed in the 3,oo0 page monstrosity known as Obamacare to begin implementation of socialized medicine, even if the political landscape changed dramatically. Obama, Pelosi, Reed read the polls in 2009. They knew from the onset of the health care debate that the majority of Americans distrusted Obamacare. Again, those pesky voters. What to do? Ignore them. This from the administration that promised us transparency.
Exhibit D: The stunning, wonderful liberal revelation that "We are not broke!" Oh, happy days. That huge national debt of $14 trillion-plus? The staggering unfunded pension and health-care debts accrued by our states for their employees. Hey, be careful of your adjectives, conservatives. We're awash in cash. Liberals weren't too ambitious in their goals, and too heedless of arithmetic. No, if only we had taxed the wealthy even more...I knew a man who declared bankruptcy. If only he had closed that deal on a new Lexus ... and that condo in Bimini... and passed that bill to the evil plutocracy.... The top ten percent of our earners pay about forty percent of our income taxes... We have, of course, a moral right on their income ... Even as airheads such as Reed and Pelosi squander it ... See you at the Cowboy Poetry Contest this summer in northern Nevada ... The society that would deny funding for this cultural landmark is beyond saving! bill milan
I noted in my Feb. 19th blog that liberals exhibit a childlike faith in government linked to a hateful disregard for those Americans who dare to oppose them. Let's take a brief look at what liberals have done to render the voters' decision in the mid-term 2010 elections null and void.
Exhibit A: The votes were just spinning out of CNN's computers when Wolf Blitzer, et al, were telling viewers that this huge repudiation (a Democrat loss in the House of 63 seats) represented the voters' desire for Republicans to find consensus with a president whose Scandanavian take on government inflamed so much of the electorate. Right on, Wolfman! We're fortunate beyond comprehension to have a guide of your rare vision.
Exhibit B: The revolt of public employee unions against ... the public. Who are these pesky voters to regulate a public servant's compensation?
Exhibit C: The $105 billion concealed in the 3,oo0 page monstrosity known as Obamacare to begin implementation of socialized medicine, even if the political landscape changed dramatically. Obama, Pelosi, Reed read the polls in 2009. They knew from the onset of the health care debate that the majority of Americans distrusted Obamacare. Again, those pesky voters. What to do? Ignore them. This from the administration that promised us transparency.
Exhibit D: The stunning, wonderful liberal revelation that "We are not broke!" Oh, happy days. That huge national debt of $14 trillion-plus? The staggering unfunded pension and health-care debts accrued by our states for their employees. Hey, be careful of your adjectives, conservatives. We're awash in cash. Liberals weren't too ambitious in their goals, and too heedless of arithmetic. No, if only we had taxed the wealthy even more...I knew a man who declared bankruptcy. If only he had closed that deal on a new Lexus ... and that condo in Bimini... and passed that bill to the evil plutocracy.... The top ten percent of our earners pay about forty percent of our income taxes... We have, of course, a moral right on their income ... Even as airheads such as Reed and Pelosi squander it ... See you at the Cowboy Poetry Contest this summer in northern Nevada ... The society that would deny funding for this cultural landmark is beyond saving! bill milan
Saturday, February 26, 2011
WINDFARM MEETING FACTS- 2/10/11
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The Watseka/Iroquois County Tea Party held its February meeting Thursday, February 10th at the Masonic Lodge in Watseka, Il from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sixty-plus people attended, including concerned citizens, county and school board members, and wind farm representatives.
The topic of the meeting was wind farms in Iroquois County. We learned a good deal about the reality of this renewable energy, especially the truly substantial amount of misinformation concerning the alleged benefits of wind power.
Our first speaker was Rich Porter of Paxton,Il. He showed a documentary video detailing the noise, flicker effect, taxes, and government subsidies ($1.8 million per turbine) associated with wind energy.
We learned, moreover, that wind power does not compare favorably with the efficiency of coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy. Wind power companies are also less than honest in their practices and presentations. Farmers have signed leases with these companies to supplement their incomes only to lose their homes.
Kim Schertz of Hudson, Il also spoke. Her sons and husband are crop dusters, and she described the danger the wind towers pose to small planes. She asserted that wind power companies make false claims to farmers ("You need to sign this agreement because your neighbors have."), and they insist that farmers sign gag orders, preventing farmers from comparing notes and getting a full view of the situation.
What are they concealing? In the past six years, Kim has been giving testimony at county board meetings, and she has documented these abuses.
It's no exaggeration to say that this discussion was engrossing. After the official meeting ended at 9:00 p.m, people lingered until 10:30 to discuss the ramifications of this over hyped and little understood technology.
Cookies and coffee were enjoyed afterward.
Monday, February 21, 2011
collective bargaining agreements
Are collective bargaining agreements sacred? Most of the working people you and I know- the retail worker, the waitress, the truck driver- have little say about their compensation and benefits. Their employers state the terms, and the workers accept or decline. But to hear union leaders and liberal commentators use the term, we might think that collective bargaining agreements with public service empoyees are a sacrament, a concept to be venerated. They hold the term above our heads and seem to expect us to fall to our knees and gaze upward with a look of wonder on our faces. Just the other day, my wife and worried friends found me stumbling westward on Route 24 chanting: "CBA's! CBA's! God preserve Wisconsin's CBA's."
Well, not really. Actually, there's nothing to venerate here. Collective bargaining agreements with public employee unions feature very little bargaining in the public interest. The way the process works in a state such as Wisconsin, a Democrat or RINO Republican governor takes his or her place on the same side of the bargaining table as the AFSME reps, and proceeds to give state employees a compensation package about double what the private sector can provide. The unions, in turn, finance the governor's next campaign with our tax dollars and provide the foot soldiers on election day. CBA's are the prime culprit in the debt crisis forty of our fifty states are trying to resolve.
Oh, but wait a minute, liberals counsel. That bad Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (liberals, insert your venom here: Hitler, Mussolini, Limbaugh, Linguini, whatever) is perpetrating a grave injustice by "singling" out public employees.
Well, there truly is an injustice here. Think of the retail worker, the waitress, the truck driver in Wisconsin, barely supporting their families, whose taxes support the incestuous relationship between public employee unions and our elected officials. bill milan
Well, not really. Actually, there's nothing to venerate here. Collective bargaining agreements with public employee unions feature very little bargaining in the public interest. The way the process works in a state such as Wisconsin, a Democrat or RINO Republican governor takes his or her place on the same side of the bargaining table as the AFSME reps, and proceeds to give state employees a compensation package about double what the private sector can provide. The unions, in turn, finance the governor's next campaign with our tax dollars and provide the foot soldiers on election day. CBA's are the prime culprit in the debt crisis forty of our fifty states are trying to resolve.
Oh, but wait a minute, liberals counsel. That bad Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (liberals, insert your venom here: Hitler, Mussolini, Limbaugh, Linguini, whatever) is perpetrating a grave injustice by "singling" out public employees.
Well, there truly is an injustice here. Think of the retail worker, the waitress, the truck driver in Wisconsin, barely supporting their families, whose taxes support the incestuous relationship between public employee unions and our elected officials. bill milan
Saturday, February 19, 2011
2/19/11
Some random musings about the Wisconsin public-employee temper tantrum in Madison...
We may be sure that the lamestream media, which considers itself fair, profound, and deeply nuanced will repeat almost verbatim the union narrative of this fight and display all the sophistication of an eight-year old: heroic teachers vs. hateful Republicans. Tonight on CBS Channel 2 in Chicago, their newcast began with a reference to Wisconsin's "radical" governor Walker. Apparently, when a union refuses to accept modifications to alleviate Wisconsin's $3 billion-plus deficit- when instead it scorns the state electorate and responds with a days' long tantrum that closes schools - that is in no way radical...
Our liberal brethren have a different take on this, mind you. Governor Walker is asking his public employees to make concessions for health and retirement costs that will see these employees still paying about half of what private sector workers pay. The man is clearly a beast!... And that's not all! His bill also ends collective bargaining, a right held mainly by public sector employees that has left most of our states in financial triage. The man who would seek to end that, and the incestuous relationship between public officials and public employees, is truly Satan's spawn!...
We're in for a rough ride, friends. Liberals consider themselves paragons of reason and compassion, but they exhibit a childlike belief in government linked to a hateful disregard for those who dare oppose them. But there is ground for optimism. Edmund Burke said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and women, 2011 update!) to do nothing. That's what the Tea Party is all about: fighting back for this country and its founding ideals. These next few years, we're in for an exhausting fight with misguided people deeply committed to a false set of ideals, but we have the resources to win. -bill milan
Some random musings about the Wisconsin public-employee temper tantrum in Madison...
We may be sure that the lamestream media, which considers itself fair, profound, and deeply nuanced will repeat almost verbatim the union narrative of this fight and display all the sophistication of an eight-year old: heroic teachers vs. hateful Republicans. Tonight on CBS Channel 2 in Chicago, their newcast began with a reference to Wisconsin's "radical" governor Walker. Apparently, when a union refuses to accept modifications to alleviate Wisconsin's $3 billion-plus deficit- when instead it scorns the state electorate and responds with a days' long tantrum that closes schools - that is in no way radical...
Our liberal brethren have a different take on this, mind you. Governor Walker is asking his public employees to make concessions for health and retirement costs that will see these employees still paying about half of what private sector workers pay. The man is clearly a beast!... And that's not all! His bill also ends collective bargaining, a right held mainly by public sector employees that has left most of our states in financial triage. The man who would seek to end that, and the incestuous relationship between public officials and public employees, is truly Satan's spawn!...
We're in for a rough ride, friends. Liberals consider themselves paragons of reason and compassion, but they exhibit a childlike belief in government linked to a hateful disregard for those who dare oppose them. But there is ground for optimism. Edmund Burke said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men (and women, 2011 update!) to do nothing. That's what the Tea Party is all about: fighting back for this country and its founding ideals. These next few years, we're in for an exhausting fight with misguided people deeply committed to a false set of ideals, but we have the resources to win. -bill milan
Representative Jason Barickman Meet & Greet
January, 2011
New state representative Jason Barickman at a meet and greet with Watseka Tea Party coordinator, Barbara Offill and members Pete Offill and Sharon Borchers in Gilman, Illinois.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
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