Friday, January 23, 2009
ReadTheStimulus.org
"$850 Billion, 334 pages, and counting ... somebody needs to read it!"
The fine print in Barack Obama's "American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009" are staggering.
Before we pour more money down a rat hole (remember the $750 Billion Bailout bill that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid foisted on us last year?), send a message to your representatives in Congress to put the brakes on the ill-conceived government expansion that will increase the national debt by nearly $1 trillion.
Read more at ReadTheStimulus.org
H/T POLICY BLOG
The fine print in Barack Obama's "American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009" are staggering.
Before we pour more money down a rat hole (remember the $750 Billion Bailout bill that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid foisted on us last year?), send a message to your representatives in Congress to put the brakes on the ill-conceived government expansion that will increase the national debt by nearly $1 trillion.
Read more at ReadTheStimulus.org
H/T POLICY BLOG
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Catch Tony Phyrillas on radio
Tune in to "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas & Mike Pincus" at 5 p.m. Thursday on WPAZ 1370 AM.
If you can't receive the radio signal, the one-hour program is simulcast online at www.1370wpaz.com and www.pottsmerc.com
If you can't receive the radio signal, the one-hour program is simulcast online at www.1370wpaz.com and www.pottsmerc.com
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
What will Obama do with Gitmo prisoners?
In an obvious concession to the far-left, President Barack Obama has taken the first step to closing the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay.Closing Gitmo "would further the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and the interests of justice," read the draft executive order, a copy of which was leaked to The Associated Press.
The most obvious question is what will happen to the 245 al-Qaida and Taliban members capture on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan?
Will Obama release them so they can kill more Americans? Will he bring them back to the continental United States? Where will they be housed?
And the broader question Obama has failed to answer: How does the closing make America safer?
"Guantanamo and the incarceration and interrogation of its inhabitants have saved thousands of American lives and untold tragedy," Investor's Business Daily wrote in a recent editorial. "While it has existed, America's enemies have had a harder time plying their trade."
I haven't heard too many members of Congress volunteer to accept the terrorists in their home states once Gitmo is closed.
I have a couple of suggestions for where to move the 245 terrorists, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.
My first option would be the Yucca Mountain salt mines the government spent billions of dollars tunneling out to store spent nuclear fuel rods. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has blocked the use of Yucca Mountain for its intended purposes. How could Reid object to housing terrorists in Nevada? It's safer than nuclear waste, right Harry?
Another possibility is California, preferably the home district of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who owns vast vineyards. Pelosi could sponsor a work-release program putting the terrorists to work picking grapes.
As for housing them, I'm sure the Hollywood community would embrace their al-Qaida and Taliban brethren. Sean Penn, Barbra Steisand, Tim Robbins and the rest of the Hollywood left could take in the Gitmo prisoners.
If those two options don't suit Obama and the Democrats, how about turning the terrorists loose in the Chicago area? Obama spoke of shared sacrifice in his inaugural address. He can do his part.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Europeans cheer closing of Gitmo
The European Commission is pleased with President Barack Obama's decision to close the terrorist prison camp at Guantanamo in Cuba. And we all know how much Europe has done to support the War on Terror, don't we?
European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot, responsible for Freedom, Justice and Security, issued the following statement on Guantanamo:
European Commission Vice President Jacques Barrot, responsible for Freedom, Justice and Security, issued the following statement on Guantanamo:
"I strongly welcome that one of the first actions taken by President Obama has been to turn the page on the sad episode of the Guantanamo prison. As European Commissioner for Justice, this is a strong symbol for me. I have confidence in the United States and light will now be rapidly shed on the situation of prisoners at Guantanamo. These persons must be subject to a lawful and just process to finally establish the true nature of their actions. Of course, the fight against terrorism must remain a major priority for the United States and Europe. We must be united in this fight, but always in the absolute respect of human rights. To establish contact with the new American administration, I plan to visit the United States in the near future."
Not enough to do in Harrisburg?
Just two weeks after being sworn in to a four-year term in the Pennsylvania Senate, Lawrence M. Farnese Jr. has landed another job.Either the $78,315 starting salary for a state Senator isn't enough for Farnese to make ends meet or he doesn't anticipate having enough to do in what many critics say is a part-time job in the Legislature. (With benefits, the typical compensation package for each of Pennsylvania's 253 lawmakers is $150,000 a year.)
The Philadelphia Business Journal reports today that Farnese has joined the Philadelphia law firm of Archer & Greiner as "of counsel."
From Philadelphia Business Journal:
Archer & Greiner said Farnese's new position will allow him the flexibility he needs to devote his full-time attention to representing the 1st District in Philadelphia.Read the full story at the Journal's Web site.
His practice revolves around complex commercial litigation, including copyright/trademark infringement, protection of corporate trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty disputes and construction-related litigation.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
So much for hope, so much for change
The Obama Media kept telling us to expect 5 million people to attend the inauguration of "The Chosen One."
Those estimates were downgraded in the week leading up to Jan. 20. First it was 4 million, then 3.5 million, then 2 million.
The most optimistic estimate of the crowds that gathered in Washington, D.C., was 1 million.
Once again, the hype did not match the reality. Kinda sums up Obama, doesn't it?
***
Not everyone is happy with the swearing in of President Barack Obama.
The Dow Jones industrial average greeted the inauguration of the new Democratic president by dropping 332.13 points or more than 4 percent on Tuesday.
It was the worst inauguration showing by the blue chip index since the Eisenhower administration.
So much for hope. So much for change.
***
Now that he's been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, it's OK to use his full name. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to "Barack Hussein Obama" Tuesday.
Barack Hussein Obama repeated his full name during the oath, including the Muslim middle name of Hussein that was forbidden to be used by the liberal media over the past two years as Barack Hussein Obama sought the White House.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Those estimates were downgraded in the week leading up to Jan. 20. First it was 4 million, then 3.5 million, then 2 million.
The most optimistic estimate of the crowds that gathered in Washington, D.C., was 1 million.
Once again, the hype did not match the reality. Kinda sums up Obama, doesn't it?
***
Not everyone is happy with the swearing in of President Barack Obama.
The Dow Jones industrial average greeted the inauguration of the new Democratic president by dropping 332.13 points or more than 4 percent on Tuesday.
It was the worst inauguration showing by the blue chip index since the Eisenhower administration.
So much for hope. So much for change.
***
Now that he's been sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, it's OK to use his full name. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to "Barack Hussein Obama" Tuesday.
Barack Hussein Obama repeated his full name during the oath, including the Muslim middle name of Hussein that was forbidden to be used by the liberal media over the past two years as Barack Hussein Obama sought the White House.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Actuaries Laud Obama Medicare and Social Security Message, Call for Bipartisan Solution
Obama talks a good game, but what are the chances of getting Social Security and Medicare reforms through a Democratic Congress?
How about slim and none and slim just left town.
Actuaries Laud New President's Medicare and Social Security Message, Call for Bipartisan Solution
How about slim and none and slim just left town.
Actuaries Laud New President's Medicare and Social Security Message, Call for Bipartisan Solution
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Bush frees U.S. border agents who shot Mexican drug dealer
On his last full day in the White House, President George W. Bush has corrected one of the biggest travesties of justice ever by granting clemency to two former U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting a Mexican drug dealer.
Bush commuted the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were made scapegoats by open boarder advocates who want to encourage illegal immigration.
The two agents were serving 10-year prison terms for the 2005 shooting.
From The Associated Press:
"FAIR, and all Americans who value justice and the sacrifice of the men and women who protect our nation, are gratified by President Bush's decision, on his final day in office, to commute the sentences of former Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean," stated Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
"President Bush certainly saved the best for last," said Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly, who has consistently worked for the past two years to disclose little-known facts about this case through her weekly columns. "We are overjoyed and relieved that these two brave men will be freed from prison and finally returned home to their families."
President George W. Bush Grants Commutations
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Bush commuted the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were made scapegoats by open boarder advocates who want to encourage illegal immigration.
The two agents were serving 10-year prison terms for the 2005 shooting.
From The Associated Press:
(Ramos and Compean) were convicted of shooting admitted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks as he fled across the Rio Grande, away from an abandoned van load of marijuana.The Bush decision has drawn widespread praise.
The border agents argued during their trials that they believed the smuggler was armed and that they shot him in self defense. The prosecutor in the case said there was no evidence linking the smuggler to the van of marijuana.
The prosecutor also said the border agents didn't report the shooting and tampered with evidence by picking up several spent shell casings.
The agents were fired after their convictions on several charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon and with serious bodily injury, violation of civil rights and obstruction of justice. All their convictions, except obstruction of justice, were upheld on appeal
"FAIR, and all Americans who value justice and the sacrifice of the men and women who protect our nation, are gratified by President Bush's decision, on his final day in office, to commute the sentences of former Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean," stated Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
"President Bush certainly saved the best for last," said Eagle Forum President Phyllis Schlafly, who has consistently worked for the past two years to disclose little-known facts about this case through her weekly columns. "We are overjoyed and relieved that these two brave men will be freed from prison and finally returned home to their families."
President George W. Bush Grants Commutations
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Rendell scheme to cut taxes with gambling is a bust
Daniel R. Reynolds, writing in The Philadelphia Inquirer, says that after five years in operation, Pennsylvania's much-ballyhooed gambling venture has turned out to be a bust.
"Expanding gaming in Pennsylvania is simply an additional de facto tax - on top of the state lottery implemented many years ago," Reynolds writes.
Gov. Ed Rendell's promises of substantial property tax relief have never materialized, Reynolds says.
From Reynold's column:
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
"Expanding gaming in Pennsylvania is simply an additional de facto tax - on top of the state lottery implemented many years ago," Reynolds writes.
Gov. Ed Rendell's promises of substantial property tax relief have never materialized, Reynolds says.
From Reynold's column:
There is work to be done on the issue of taxation in Pennsylvania, but it is not the work that Rendell, Fumo, and their brethren in Harrisburg have done - and that, in the end, can benefit only casino operators. Lawmakers must lead for the good of the entire public, not just a segment of it, and abolish the property tax as a means of funding public education in Pennsylvania.Read the full column at the newspaper's Web site.
The residential property tax is a regressive tax - that is, it taxes poor people at higher rates than it does rich people. Because of their lower property values, poor communities are forced to implement higher property taxes to raise enough money to fund their schools. And communities with high property values can afford to keep their property taxes lower.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
How smart is Obama?
Jason A. Trommetter, a libertarian blogger from the Harrisburg area, wonders why the mainstream media takes everything Barack Obama says at face value and doesn't question his qualifications or ability to handle the job he will inherit in just a few days."The media elite think George W. Bush is dumb as a tack, Dick Cheney was the brains of the operation for the last 8 years," Trommetter writes about the double standard imposed by the liberal media. "They view their Messiah, Barack Obama, as a genius without demanding any proof of how smart he is."
Think about it. What has been the consensus of the intelligence of some of our recent presidents from the mainstream medial perspective? Gerald Ford, Republican, was dumb. Jimmy Carter, Democrat was smart. Bill Clinton was really smart. George W. Bush is a moron.
As Trommetter points out in his blog post, Bush released his college transcripts showing he was an excellent student. What about Obama? What do we know about his academic performance? Nothing. He won't share that with us and the lap dog liberal media won't ask. (Bush even had better grades than Al Gore and John Kerry, the intellectual giants the Democrats ran against W. in 2000 and 2004.)
Trommetter also compares Bush leadership skills (and John McCain's) against Obama's and finds "The Chosen One" lacking in that area, too.
Trommetter ends his post with some pointed questions to the Obama-maniacs:
1) You've demanded that Republican candidates release their college transcripts to prove how smart they are. Why haven't you demanded to see Obama's college transcripts?Read the full post, "Double Standard" at New Trommetter Times blog.
2) Obama has not shown me any leadership qualities. He gives a good speech, but that doesn't make him a leader. Why do you think he's qualified to lead?
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Join the Resistance
350,000 American citizens so far have pledge to resist Obama's "Post-American Agenda."
To learn more or join the resistance, follow the link below:
In a Sea of Obama Love, There's a Voice of Patriotic Resistance
To learn more or join the resistance, follow the link below:
In a Sea of Obama Love, There's a Voice of Patriotic Resistance
Something familiar about Todd Eachus
Reform advocate Eric Epstein, a veteran observer of the Harrisburg scene, is not impressed with the "new" Democratic House leadership in the state Legislature.Epstein is very familiar with Rep. Todd Eachus, the new House majority leader.
From Epstein's Capitol Domes blog:
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Legislature's "new" majority leader, Todd Eachus, announced that the House of Representatives was under "new management." The same day, the "new" majority whip, Bill DeWeese, introduced HB 21 to promote table games at Pennsylvania casinos. The next day, Dan Surra, former majority caucus administrator, landed a "new" job during a hiring freeze.As that great British philosopher Pete Townshend once said, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Alakazamm! Whoosh! Everything is fine.
Wait a minute. I think we've seen this magic act before.
Who is the new magician?
Eachus voted to increase his salary 22 percent from $69,648 to $85,102, defended the pay grab and kept the money. Mr. New Management never paid back the unconstitutional pay raise.
Eachus is a protégée of indicted former Whip Mike Veon. In fact, it was Mr. New Management who retired Veon's campaign debt. "Mike's contribution as a leader to our collective effort meant a lot to us," said House Majority Policy Chairman Eachus of Luzerne County, who chairs the campaign committee. But the committee's other three leaders -- Reps. Joe Preston, Dan Frankel and Jennifer Mann -- apparently had no knowledge of the two payments
Read Epstein's full blog posting, "Todd Eachus: New boss, same magic tricks," at Capitol Domes.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Rendell keeps digging deeper hole
And you wonder why Pennsylvania is facing a potential $2 billion budget shortfall?Gov. Ed Rendell continues to defend the hiring of political crony Dan Surra to a $95,000 patronage job despite a hiring freeze that has left 5,000 other state jobs unfilled.
Rendell himself admitted that the state's General Fund deficit will likely reach $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion by the the end of the fiscal year in June. Republican lawmakers say the deficit could top $2.1 billion.
"Everyone has to understand that what has happened leaves us no option," Rendell said this week. "We're going to have to cut virtually every program that there is."
But giving a $95,000-a-year-job to an ousted state lawmaker is not among the cuts Rendell is willing to make.
Reporter Brad Bumstead has more on Rendell's hypocrisy and "Go to hell" attitude toward Pennsylvania taxpayers in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
From Bumstead's article:
"Let me stress, I reserved the right when I announced the hiring freeze to make exceptions," Rendell told reporters while visiting the Pennsylvania Farm Show. During a speech at the farm show, he boosted his predicted budget deficit for 2008-09 from $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion.The Democratic governor's decision to hire Surra, a Democrat who failed to win re-election to the state House of Representatives in November, has been universally panned by the state's newspapers.
Rendell said he did not create a special job for Surra, but he acknowledged the DCNR job was not posted and others weren't considered.
From The Pottstown Mercury:
THORNS to Gov. Ed Rendell for creating a job for a former state legislator, violating a hiring freeze imposed during the current state budget crisis ... Rendell also has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget to help offset a projected $1.7 billion shortfall this fiscal year. Creating a job for an ousted legislator in this fiscally-stressed environment was a slap in the face to state taxpayers. The governor should know better.Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Let's pray for atheists
Gil Spencer, who writes for the Delaware County Daily & Sunday Times in Primos, Pa., is troubled by atheists who are demanding that Barack Obama not say the words "So help me God" when he takes the oath of office Tuesday.
From Spencer's column:
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
From Spencer's column:
It is very important that when Barack Obama takes the oath of office next week, he doesn't say, "So help me God!"Read more of Spencer's ruminations at the newspaper's Web site.
At least it is very important to a couple-dozen anti-religion activists, including our very own "freethinker" Margaret Downey.
They have gone to court to ask a judge to ban the mention of "God" from the inaugural ceremony.
"When an invocation of 'So help me God' is uttered, it empowers the religious community to demean atheists," Downey said in an interview. "It ... reinforces the notion that America is only comprised of God believers."
And it's not, you know. Shocking as it may seem, there are actually some people in this country who don't believe there is a God. And hearing the president of the United States profess his belief that there is (or pretending to) is very hurtful to the feelings of the un-superstitious.
Atheists, as a group, are very sensitive. Or at least they pretend to be.
Today, Downey remains a career atheist who hires herself out for what she bills as "fun-filled presentations which always include visuals, door prizes, props ..." etc. (I’ve heard of "prop comics" but not "prop atheists.")
Her goal has always been publicity. And by joining the cult of losers who pretend the very mention of the word "God" is an affront to our Constitution and demeaning to them personally, she's gotten it.
God bless her.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Rendell slaps taxpayers in the face
There was a time, not very long ago, when Ed Rendell could do no wrong in the eyes of The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board.
Despite breaking most of his campaign promises and plunging the state into a fiscal crisis, glowing editorials about Fast Eddie routinely graced the newspaper's opinion page.
Recent changes in personnel appear to have brought even the die-hard liberals at the Inky to their senses. The newspaper is beginning to acknowledge what a disaster Rendell has been for Pennsylvania.
And his hypocrisy is no longer being excused.
A perfect example is an editorial about Rendell hiring longtime political crony Dan Surra, a former state representative bounced from office by his constituents, to a lucrative patronage job that pays $95,000.
Patronage is nothing new in Harrisburg, but when the state budget is hemorrhaging red ink and the governor has imposed a hiring freeze, handing out do-nothing jobs to career politicians will get noticed.
From the Inky editorial:
"At a time when the governor is demanding sacrifice from everyone else, he should follow his own advice," the newspaper says. "Creating dubious jobs for out-of-work pols in the middle of a budget crisis is a slap to taxpayers."
Read the full editorial at the newspaper's Web site.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Despite breaking most of his campaign promises and plunging the state into a fiscal crisis, glowing editorials about Fast Eddie routinely graced the newspaper's opinion page.
Recent changes in personnel appear to have brought even the die-hard liberals at the Inky to their senses. The newspaper is beginning to acknowledge what a disaster Rendell has been for Pennsylvania.
And his hypocrisy is no longer being excused.
A perfect example is an editorial about Rendell hiring longtime political crony Dan Surra, a former state representative bounced from office by his constituents, to a lucrative patronage job that pays $95,000.
Patronage is nothing new in Harrisburg, but when the state budget is hemorrhaging red ink and the governor has imposed a hiring freeze, handing out do-nothing jobs to career politicians will get noticed.
From the Inky editorial:
In September, faced with a worsening budget deficit, Rendell ordered state agencies not to fill about 5,000 vacant jobs. He also told department heads to cut their budgets by 4.25 percent.The newspaper wants Rendell to reverse his decision and send Surra packing.
In December, as the recession took hold, Rendell froze wages for more than 13,000 nonunion state employees.
"I am asking all commonwealth employees to pull together during this difficult time," the governor said.
But times were not too tough for Rendell to create a $95,000-a-year state job out of thin air for a fellow Democrat.
"At a time when the governor is demanding sacrifice from everyone else, he should follow his own advice," the newspaper says. "Creating dubious jobs for out-of-work pols in the middle of a budget crisis is a slap to taxpayers."
Read the full editorial at the newspaper's Web site.
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
Check out www.breakthebailout.com
Check out this Web site to learn how the politicians (Democrats and Republicans) and Wall Street types are screwing the American taxpayer again: http://www.breakthebailout.com/
Pennsylvania National Guard at Presidential Inauguration
Some 1,300 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen will join a team of 10,000 National Guard members to provide security, traffic and crowd control and crises response during the 56th presidential inauguration.
Pennsylvania National Guard to Support Presidential Inauguration
Pennsylvania National Guard to Support Presidential Inauguration
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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