Four Corners Media

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tea Party Movement Gains Momentum

Of course, what’s interesting about the Tea Party movement, whatever its success, is that it is pretty much about what it says it is - lower taxes and less government spending. A lot of people, Republican and Democrat, are concerned about our escalating debt and what this might mean for future generations. This is clearly a serious subject for serious discussion from whatever side of the issue you fall out on, but… no matter… the moment something gains momentum out comes the derangement crowd. In a certain way, it’s a sign of success. Roger Simon http://pajamasmedia.com

Taxed Enough Already (TEA) information can be found at http://taxdayteaparty.com (Be patient with URL, as the server is getting double duty on US Tax deadline day!) The web site has a state-by-state “find a tea party in your state” list of cities that the grassroots movement has sprung up in, and where the Tea Party (round 2) will be held. In this blog, we posted about the original Rick Santelli (CNBC business reporter) on his ‘rant and rave’ about higher gov’t spending and too much government, and his call for a Chicago Tea Party (March 3^rd post). On February 27^th, a number of 1^st round Tea Party protests and rallies were held. Now the second round is planned for US Tax day: the April 15^th deadline to pay your 2008 income taxes.

In Colorado, Tea Party events are to be held in Colorado Springs, Craig, Delta, Denver, Durango, Loveland, Montrose, Grand Junction, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Steamboat Springs, Walsenburg and Woodland Park. (Blogger note: Boulder and Aspen are absent from list. Do the fine residents of these towns really think all is well, and taxes are too low?)

In New Mexico, Tea Party events are to be held on April 15^th in Artesia, Albuquerque, Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis, Farmington, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Roswell, Ruidoso, Santa Fe, Silver City and Taos.

Meanwhile the political left is trying their level best to discount, diminish and dumb down the Tea Party political movement. In fact at the Huffington Post, “citizen journalists” can sign up to cover the Tea Parties: “The Huffington Post wants to have citizen journalists at as many of these events as possible. If you think you'd be interested in attending one of the Tea Parties and reporting back to us with dispatches, photos, or video, click here to sign up. We'll contact you shortly with further instructions.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com

We’ll contact you shortly with further instructions? From whom? To really cover the Tea Party events, or just try to discount this grass roots American movement?

Back to the Tea Party movement. Many Americans, from the political left and right, Republican & Democrat, independent and other political parties are alarmed as the massive US Government spending, expansion of Federal programs coming from Washington DC and the Congressional appetite for more spending, more taxes and more government “top down” solutions. Thus the Tea Party movement.

On April 14^th, at the National Press Club http://npc.press.org the Citizens Against Government Waste http://www.cagw.org gave their annual press conference on the 2009 Pig (pork) Book. This well researched document (available from the web site) details wasteful US government spending and pork. While it is disappointing for taxpayers to read, the annual Pig Book details the members of Congress and their pork spending ways. You can find the “Porker of the Year” and the other details on the big spenders in the Congress.

Let’s look at what the wasteful government spending leads to: Higher taxes at the local, state and Federal level. In 2008, the “Cost of Government Day” was July 16^th. According to Citizens Against Government Waste, “Cost of Government Day for 2008 is July 16. Americans now work more than half of the year 197 days to pay their share of the cost of government with 84 of those days due to federal spending alone. This year, the average American will need to work an additional 16 days out of the year to pay off his or her cost of government compared to 2000 and four days compared to last year.”

Will the massive spending in 2009 push the “Cost of Government Day” into August?

If you are tired of more government programs, irresponsible spending and inevitable tax increases, we’ll see you tomorrow at the Tea Party event near you.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Other (GOP) Federal Budget

The Democrat Majority in the US House and US Senate passed the US Federal FY2010 budget, without one Republican member voting for it, and 20 “blue dog Democrats” voting against it. $3.6 Trillion of largess, earmarks (8,500 of them), increased social spending and decreased military spending. And a structural deficit in the US budget due to overspending by Congress of will be laid at the feet of our children and their children. And, despite promises of only “taxing the rich”, over time the Congress will raise taxes on all American’s, just to cover the new government programs, spending and interest on debt.

So what was alternative budget to the massive Democrat Federal budget, as put forth by the Republicans?

Answering President Obama's challenge for critics to present alternatives, the House Republicans have offered a responsible budget blueprint that:

+Borrows $3.6 trillion less than the President's budget;

+Would create $23,000 less debt per household than the President's budget;

+Keeps federal spending just above 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP)—the same level as before the recession;

+Avoids all tax increases and even simplifies the overly complex tax code;

+Includes a temporary moratorium on earmarks; and

+Begins reforming the unsustainable costs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wm2377.cfm

The House Republican alternative rejects all tax increases. It would permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, as well as the AMT patch. It would also finally reform the complex income tax code by allowing individuals the choice of opting into a simplified tax system with a 10 percent marginal tax rate on incomes below $100,000 and a 25 percent marginal tax rate on incomes above $100,000. It would also encourage economic growth by reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and suspending capital gains taxes through 2010. From the Heritage Foundation www.heritage.org

Let’s compare the sensible Republican alternative (that unfortunately was defeated by the Democrat majority in the US House in early April 2009) to what is being predicted by the Heritage Foundation of the US tax system in heading higher and by 2050 will be like the high tax countries in Europe:

According to the CBO’s long-run forecast in December 2005, federal taxes under current law will rise from 18.3 percent of GDP to nearly 19 percent within five years and reach almost 24 percent of GDP by 2050. This means that the federal tax burden on Americans, as a proportion of income, will increase by almost one-fourth. When state and local taxes are included, the U.S. tax burden will be comparable to the burden in today’s slow-growth Europe.

From the Heritage Foundation: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Taxes/bg1957.cfm

So while the Dems in Congress are claming to be moving to Pay-Go (paying for government programs as you go), what is really happening with a $3.6 Trillion budget and projected $1 Trillion deficits per year is this:

Expand US Government programs by spending money we don’t have, so we’ll borrow it from the rest of the world, to spend it on programs that expand the cost, scope and reach of government, which in turn will raise the public debt and desperate politicians in Congress looking to increase taxes on all Americans to pay for it.

Thus, we are heading towards being more like the country of Greece, whose debt as a country is forecast to exceed 100% of its Gross Domestic Product (the US public debt is $6.4 Trillion, which is about 42% of the US GDP). Greece’s financial problem is that their biggest economic burden is interest on their public debt. And Greece has been remanded by the European Commission to keep their continued deficit spending below 3% of GDP. The US budget deficit (just from the official FY 2010 budget) is 1.2 Trillion, or 8% of the US GDP. However, it is now projected at $1.8 Trillion, which is 12% of US GDP. No wonder France and Germany are lecturing the US on overspending, deficits and reining in government spending.

So where is Greece today? At a standstill, as a nationwide public strike over public sector pay and job losses has brought the country to a standstill Wall Street Journal, Page A11, April 3, 2009 As for a public stimulus by the Greek government? They can’t, as they ran out of money and the EU mandated “3% of GDP budget deficit spending cap” precludes the government from spending money.

Does the US want to become a permanent debtor nation, weakened by financial irresponsibility in Congress due to overspending, overreaching government programs and higher taxes? Under Obama and the Democrats in Congress, the US becoming subject to those countries, banks and individuals who hold US debt and leverage over us. Is that what a free, financially responsible and independent America should be doing? For more and more Americans, the answer is No!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Devalued Prime Minister of Britain

The devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government was a three (3) minute speech given in late March 2009 at the EU chambers in Brussels. Daniel Hannan, is a conservative Member of the Parliament in Great Britain, and Mr. Hannan is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who formally addressed his fellow EU representatives, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His brief comments on the state of the UK financial conditions and overspending by the British Labor government have resonated throughout the democratic world, as many citizens are questioning the US and UK governments and their massive increases in government programs, spending and (soon to be raised) taxes.

Here is the blog excerpt from Daniel Hannans’ blog www.hannan.co.uk posted March 25, 2009, following his speech at the European Union (EU) parliament entitled, “The Devalued Prime Minister of a Devalued Government” (in which the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was in the EU chambers):

“The Internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever. Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown. I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly, they ignored me: I am, after all, simply a backbench MEP.

When I woke up this morning, my phone was clogged with texts, my email inbox with messages. Overnight, the YouTube clip www.youtube.com of my remarks had attracted over 36,000 hits. By today, it was the most watched video in Britain. (As of 3/31/09, over 1.8 million views).

How did it happen, in the absence of any media coverage? The answer is that political reporters no longer get to decide what's news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, you're news.” Daniel Hannan, UK blogger & MP.

DANIEL HANNAN is a writer and journalist. He has authored seven books on the EU, contributes regularly to a number of European newspapers, and has served as Conservative MEP for South East England since 1999. He has also written a book called the Plan, which is a blueprint for citizens to shift power from the professional politicians back to the people at the local level.

“Britain is heading in the wrong direction. The Plan shows how to put our country on the right track. Daniel Hannan and Douglas Carswell show how a future government could actually shift powers back, from Brussels to Westminster, from Whitehall to town halls, from the state to the citizens. Their plan aims to restore honour and meaning to the ballot box. It would disperse power among communities, through localism and through referendums. Things do not have to be as they are. The Plan shows how we can change our country for the better.” Book review on in the UK Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Obama Doubles Down on US Debt

Doubling Down on Government Debt

What does a $3.6 Trillion dollar budget buy? Well first you have to pay for it with increased taxes, increased debt and less charitable giving. For what? More government programs, oversight and overreaching from Washington, DC. President Obama is determined to double down on Government debt. In fact, at this rate, his budget proposals over the next 5 years will double the US Government debt, that took 200 years to accumulate.

From the www.weeklystandard.com “Well, it's about time. The Beltway is waking up to the realities of President Obama's budget plan, which taxes, spends, and borrows as far as the eye can see. The president's vast new commitments in the areas of health care, energy, and education have already spooked small-government Republicans and the foreign investors who help finance America's public debt. Now even some Democrats are beginning to realize that the president's fiscal policies are unsustainable in the long--and maybe medium--run. What took them so long?” Lead paragraph: A Big, Fat Failure Obama's budget makes a bad situation worse. by Matthew Continetti

US Senator Judd Greg (R-New Hampshire) is leading the loyal opposition as the US Senate is debating the FY2010 US Federal budget. http://budget.senate.gov/republican/

Here are the comments of Senator Greg (ranking Republican on the US Senate budget committee) regarding the proposed Obama FY2010 budget on March 28, 2009:

“But what concerns many of us are his proposals in the budget he recently sent to the Congress that dramatically grow the size and cost of government and move it to the left. It is our opinion that this plan spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.”

Senator Greg continues: “In the next five years, President Obama’s budget will double the national debt, in the next ten years it will triple the national debt. To say this another way, if you take all the debt of our country run up by all of our presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush, the total debt over all those 200 plus years since we started as a nation, it is President Obama’s plan to double that debt in just the first five years that he is in office. He is also planning to spend more on the government as a percentage of our economy than at any time since World War II.

“His budget assumes the deficit will average $1 trillion dollars every year for the next ten years and will add well over $9 trillion dollars in new debts to our children’s backs.

He also is proposing the largest tax increase in history, much of it aimed at taxing small business people who have been, over the years, the best job creators in our economy. And further, he is proposing a massive new national sales tax on your electric bill, so that every time you turn on a light switch in your house you will be hit with a new tax, and it averages over $3,000 per household.” US Senator Judd Greg, R-New Hampshire

President Obama and his Democrat supporters in Congress are preparing to double down on spending and government programs, thereby doubling the US debt. Now is the time to write or call your Congressman. And tell you friends that the overspending is out of control at the Federal level.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Red Ink Forever

It’s official. The proposed Obama Federal budget will generate red ink and the US Government deficit will increase every year during the new President’s term. In fact the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts US Federal deficits of $1 Trillion per year over the next decade. The complete CBO report is linked here

http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/100xx/doc10014/03-20-PresidentBudget.pdf

The national debt is now $11 Trillion and counting. With another decade of spend and tax being proposed by Obama Administration and being supported by the majority Democrats in the Congress, the colossal national debt could double in 10 years to over $20,000,000,000,000! Here is a direct link for more on the deficit:

http://www.federalbudget.com/

According to the CBO, as report by the Associated Press www.ap.org President Barack Obama's budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion a year over the next decade, according to the latest congressional estimates, significantly worse than predicted by the White House just last month. The Congressional Budget Office figures, obtained by The Associated Press Friday, predict Obama's budget will produce $9.3 trillion worth of red ink over 2010-2019. That's $2.3 trillion worse than the White House predicted in its budget. Worst of all, CBO says the deficit under Obama's policies would never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy; figures that economists agree are unsustainable. By the end of the decade, the deficit would exceed 5 percent of gross domestic product, a dangerously high level.

The AP also reports that conservative “Blue Dog Democrats” are questioning the larger that life spending proposed by President Obama:

WASHINGTON (www.ap.org ) — “Conservative and moderate Democrats are flexing their muscles on Capitol Hill, demanding significantly lower spending for domestic programs as well as automatic budget cuts if tax cuts and new programs would increase the deficit.

A group of 51 so-called "Blue Dog" House Democrats released their roster of budget demands Thursday, calling for cutting more than $40 billion from domestic programs funded by Congress each year.”

In the Hill on-line version www.thehill.com concerns about the ballooning deficit all even alarming the Democrat majority, “The deficit level, which Obama expected to be 12 percent of gross domestic product this year, would fall to approximately 3 percent of GDP in 2013 and beyond under the president's policies. But the CBO estimated deficits in those years to be much larger, between 4 percent and 6 percent of economic growth. The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) director Orszag said that a deficit that amounted to 5 percent of GDP would be "unsustainable."

The top Republican on the House budget committee Rep. Paul Ryan (Wis.), said that the new projections show that Obama's budget "will lead our nation into a far worse fiscal catastrophe" than the White House's own numbers suggested.

Janet Hook, in the March 20^th LA Times www.latimes.com reports: “That bad (deficit) news, combined with other recent developments, portends a rocky road for the Obama budget, which was initially hailed by congressional Democrats for promoting such liberal priorities as expanded access to health insurance and curbs on global warming.

In the three weeks since the budget was unveiled, fiscally conservative Democrats have raised concerns about proposed spending increases. Leaders of the House and Senate tax-writing committees have criticized some of Obama's proposed tax increases on wealthier Americans. And influential Democrats are backing away from using a legislative shortcut that may be Obama's best hope for passing his far-reaching health and energy policies.

An additional multibillion-dollar bailout for banks and other financial institutions, which the administration will soon propose, is expected to add more pressure to the federal government's finances. Into that tinderbox, a lit match has come from new deficit estimates. Where Obama's budget foresees rolling up $7 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next 10 years, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) on Thursday pegged the deficits at $1.6 trillion higher over that period.” www.latimes.com

As the FY 2010 budget debate begins on Capitol Hill, the majority Democrats in Congress are faced with the reality that the Obama budget is overspending and over committing the Federal government to programs that cannot be sustained, even if taxes on all of Americans are dramatically raised. And while the President is only beginning his term, a number of US Senators and all the House members face an increasingly skeptical and angry electorate in November 2010. It is becoming increasingly clear that for the majority in Congress to continue to blaming others, each other and past Administrations, will not fly with the US taxpayers. The November 2010 election may be the last chance to vote out the big spenders in Washington. In the meantime, it is clear that the big spender in the White House, who doesn’t stand for election until 2012, won’t use the Obama veto pen on earmarks, pork, overspending or tax increases.

For more details on the US Federal budget, click through to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget

Friday, March 20, 2009

Teleprompters & the President's Script

Teleprompters & the President’s Script

What happens to the President and his invited VIP head of state, when the teleprompter is working right, and the readers (the President and his distinguished Irish guest) read the other person’s speech? Here is what Fox News reported on March 18th:

“But (when Irish Prime Minister) Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter. Prime Minister Cowen stopped and looked back at the president to say, "That's your speech." Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over.” www.foxnews.com/politics

A teleprompter at a White House dinner party, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? Have you even been to a dinner party where the hosts used a teleprompter? Oh, that’s right, our humble dwellings are not the White House, which has access to these speechmaking aids. But really, using a teleprompter for every public appearance?

So where did the Teleprompter start being used by politicians? Actually, the television industry began using these devices in the 1950’s. As the technology improved, politicians began using the devices, with President Obama depending on his teleprompter in every public appearance. According to http://en.wikipedia.org Teleprompters are often used for speeches as well. In this application, they are called Conference Teleprompter Systems. In this case, the reflector is usually a piece of glass with a special partially reflective coating. It is mostly transparent so as to not block the view of the speaker by the audience or cameras. Usually, two of these are set up, one on either side of the lectern (if there is one), so that the speaker can look around at the audience and always be able to see one. Key word: teleprompter

“This in part is why the teleprompter trope is taking off. Mr. Obama uses it more than previous presidents. No one would care about this or much notice it as long as he showed competence, and the promise of success. Reagan, if memory serves, once took his cards out of his suit and began to read them at a welcoming ceremony, only to realize a minute or so in that they were last week's cards from last week's ceremony. He caught himself and made a joke of it. One was reminded of this the other day when Mr. Obama's speech got mixed up with the Irish prime minister's. Things happen. But the teleprompter trope has taken off: Why does he always have to depend on that thing?” Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com Editorial Page “Declarations Column”

Never to miss an Obama misstep, Rush Limbaugh www.rushlimbaugh.com weighed in, “I have some questions for the teleprompter, since it engaged in behavior last night that embarrassed both the Irish prime minister and the president of the United States. I mean, when a teleprompter can get somebody who is as great an orator as the president to thank himself for having this party, you gotta love this prompter. So, "Teleprompter, do you have a name?"

In the American political humor tradition, there is now a web page on the Obama teleprompter, complete with video tapes (actually YouTube clips), transcripts and merchandise http://www.teleprompterobama.com/

Oh, if you’d like to have a teleprompter for your every presentation and pubic speech, just go on-line and word search “buy a teleprompter”. From a price range of several hundred to several thousand dollars, even you can never miss a word in your next presentation! That is if you actually read the right speech.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Is Barack Obama Competent to Govern?

Obama Cabinet appointees who haven’t paid their taxes. The Prime Minister of the most trusted US ally (Great Britain) is mis-handled by the White House. The pork-u-lus Federal Stimulus bill waits 4 days to be signed, as the President is out of town, even though the world is told that the bill should be urgently signed. The Dem operatives in the White House and DNC decide that Rush Limbaugh is public enemy #1. The economy continues to fade and struggle, despite the Obama administration attempts to fix it with new policies. Expanded health care, more government regulations, increased government spending, staggering Federal deficits, and questions from foreign governments on US debt. All of these actions (or inaction) seem to indicate that the new President may be in over his head when is comes to governing. Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Reid are known to be weak Congressional leaders, and combined with the rookie Obama administration, no one is quite in charge when it comes to really getting the economy back on track and for government to maintain supporting role that it has historically played.

Even the Democrats and Obama supporters appear to be worried. From the New York Daily News, in a column by Micheal Goodwin (March 15, 2009)

“Not long ago, after a string of especially bad days for the Obama administration, a veteran Democratic pol approached me with a pained look on his face and asked, "Do you think they know what they're doing?" The question caught me off guard because the man is a well-known Obama supporter. As we talked, I quickly realized his asking suggested his own considerable doubts. Yes, it's early, but an eerily familiar feeling is spreading across party lines and seeping into the national conversation. It's a nagging doubt about the competency of the White House.”

For a direct link to the NY Daily News editorial www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/03/15/2009-03-15_more_than_a_bad_day_worries_grow_that_ba.html

In an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor www.csmonitor.com , Linda Fieldmann writes on March 11, 2009:

“All the while, the nation remains gripped by its worst economic crisis in decades, and with no end in sight, the topic du jour has become: Is Obama trying to do too much? The Obama administration itself has not hidden the fact that it sees a limited window to enact its agenda, almost like a game of “beat the clock.” As long as Obama’s job approval ratings are comfortably high – currently in the 60s in major polls – he has the political capital to address the pent-up demand for change that is inevitable when the opposition party takes over from an unpopular previous administration. But, there’s only so much a White House and Congress can accomplish, given the deliberative nature of the process, and even members of Obama’s own party are raising warning flags about the magnitude of the new president’s agenda.”

For a direct link: http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/11/is-obama-taking-on-too-much/

Dave Krugman, Op-Ed columnist for the liberal NY Times www.nytimes.com writes on March 6, 2009: “Many analysts agree. But among people I talk to there's a growing sense of frustration, even panic, over Mr. Obama's failure to match his words with deeds. The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the banks, the Obama administration is dithering. Policy is stuck in a holding pattern.... Why do officials keep offering plans that nobody else finds credible? Because somehow, top officials in the Obama administration and at the Federal Reserve have convinced themselves that troubled assets, often referred to these days as "toxic waste," are really worth much more than anyone is actually willing to pay for them - and that if these assets were properly priced, all our troubles would go away.”

Finally, from the White House Press Corps web site www.whitehousepresscorps.org where the daily highlights between Mr. Gibbs (Obama press secretary) and the national press is featured daily. The question of Friday March 13, 2009:

Question (by Jake) “Just as a quick follow-up, you guys have obviously started a campaign of trying to build more confidence in the economy and in the decisions that you guys have made. Can you just walk us through a little bit how this decision was made -- for the President's new language and Larry Summers' new language, talking about the economy and the investments you guys are making?” Blogger translation: You guys in the White House keep trying to change the conversation or campaign rhetoric, in an attempt to get the economy rolling again? How did you decide? i.e. Does anyone know what they are doing at the White House?

What we are seeing is “on the job training” with an inexperienced President, confident in his public opinion polls and protected by the White House Staff, trying to get a handle on the economy, while pushing his left leaning agenda items all at the same time. And the result: mixed messages, a nervous business community, an American public that can see that their new President is in over his head, and a Congress that figures now is the time for the Majority (Democrats) to push every pet project, program and agenda they can.

The two times in recent US history a Democrat President tried to govern from the left, we experienced the policy fiascos of Jimmy Carter (gridlock, due to so many White House proposals) and a Republican resurgence in reaction to President Clinton’s health(s)care proposals and weakening of the US military. How will the American people respond to President Obama as he moves as fast as he can to the left, in terms of governance?

We are beginning to find out, as the national debt skyrockets, the US government rapidly expands and personal liberties are being infringed upon. A number of Americans are feeling uneasy and wondering just exactly what is going to happen next?

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