Don't Let Political Correctness Get in the Way

"The regime [Obama Administration] versus the state of Arizona; the regime taking the side of the lawless; the regime taking the side of drug coyotes; the regime taking the side of smugglers."

 - Rush Limbaugh, 04.27.2010

I just love some of the quotes from Rush today:

"San Francisco says that they are going to boycott Arizona, and I'm sure the people of Arizona are happy as hell about that."

"Now, notice how the Democrats, the regime, the media, the left are calling Arizona's new immigration bill an outrageous usurpation of power.  Meanwhile, that same regime is moving to take away our salt, our lightbulbs, reaching down into every nook and cranny of our lives, and they don't bat an eye." 

"What is so hard to understand that the problem here with illegal immigration is ILLEGAL and do they not know that 'illegal' means 'against the law'? Do they not know there's already a law? You can't be illegal unless there's a law proscribing the activity." 

"But all of you people who want to boycott Arizona, you're not going to have to boycott.  People aren't going to go there if it isn't safe -- it's just that simple -- and that's the primary job of the US government: The protection and safety of the citizens, and they have failed, big time."

Quoting Leo Banks, "The farther you get from the line, the more people want to make this problem about race. It's the ground the left wants to fight on because it's so effective. Political correctness shuts people up and keeps the border open."  

Do any of my Arizona readers wish to comment?

Do I have any Arizona readers?

Hello? (tap, tap)  Is this thing on?

Aunt A.? You there?  (I think you're my only AZ reader)

Well, if anyone knows anyone...like the best friend of your uncle's brother-in-law, ask 'em what they think. Email me. I'll post it. I'm curious for a first-hand account if anyone wants to share.

Source:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_042710/content/01125108.guest.html

Arizona Taking a Stand

"The law represents another tool for our state to use as we work to solve a crisis we did not create and the federal government has refused to fix."

 - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer

Arizona is under fire today.  I know it's super hot there already, but this new bill signed on Friday has sparked some serious fires. Members of the state's congress are dodging the flames, even those coming from our President. Did you know U.S. President's rarely weigh in on state legislation?  I wonder why Obama feels the need to bully Arizona...

In a nutshell, the new legislation makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and would give police officers power to question individuals and require proof of their legal status.

My first thought? THIS IS REASONABLE. Doesn't it make sense when you are in a foreign country that you might have to prove you are there legally in order to stay? It has nothing to do with race, it's just a simple verification process. Being here illegally is just that: ILLEGAL. So kudos to AZ for working to enforce the law. What's the use of a law if it's not enforced?

Obama came out and said, the "recent efforts in Arizona...threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans."

What I'm trying to figure out is why this undermines fairness when this bill has had overwhelming support by Arizona voters. "70% of Arizona voters support this law, and that number includes 51% of Arizona Democrats."

One writer stated, "After 30 years of lawlessness and criminal chaos, Arizona citizens stood up and voted: no more violence, crime, rapes, drunk driving killings, overrun schools, anchor babies, overwhelmed hospitals and bursting prisons."

Heritage sums it up perfectly:

"In terms of resources and...political will, it has become abundantly clear that the federal government refuses to make the right decisions in terms of enforcing the law and making the critical reforms necessary to drive down illegal immigration. Sadly, efforts in Congress have been more about gaining political votes through an unnecessary amnesty than on honest and effective reforms.

"Americans shouldn't have to wait on Congress to start enforcing the laws on the books. Governor Brewer should be applauded for preserving the rule of law and taking power out of Washington to direct the debate on immigration reform."

Sources:
Heritage Foundation: New Arizona Immigration Law Makes Sense
Before It's News: Letter from Arizona Resident That Begs The Question
NY Times - Arizona Enacts Stringent Law on Immigration

We Must Remain a Superpower

"None of these enemies is 10 feet tall. All of them can be beaten. But all will become more dangerous if we ignore them. Or if we allow our security assets to be distracted."

 - Heritage Foundation

I love this short article from The Heritage Foundation. Want to know which terrorist groups we should really be worried about? Check here (it's really short). 

"As the worlds' No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism, Iran routinely uses terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy. Tehran's mullahs believe in the old adage 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"

I sure hope this administration can hold the line. Our President makes me nervous when he says things like, 

"Whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower."

Does our President honestly believe we are somehow crippled by our military prowess? It's a hallmark of this great nation and not one we should apologize for. Come on, Obama. Step it up, man...otherwise you are sending a nice little invitation to the terrorists...

And they will certainly RSVP. 

Source:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Commentary/2010/04/Terrorist-Short-List-is-Getting-Longer

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/15/obama-america-superpower-like/

Financial "Reform"

"The real solution is to forbid any bailouts in the future, and stop propping up failure. Then financial markets will treat risk appropriately."

 - John Stossel

Am I the only one that's nervous about a slew of government regulations on Wall Street? Regulations mean more cost, less efficiency, and few benefits to the "little guys". And how on earth does our President think he's qualified to regulate this entire industry when he hasn't run ANY business in his entire life! Our government is wallowing in debt, so what makes them capable of taking this on?

Love this from Stossel: "But the more (and the more loudly) the government devotes efforts to protecting ordinary investors from Wall Street, the less incentive ordinary investors have to protect themselves. Pretend to remove the risk (or severely dilute the risk) of personally suffering financial losses, and ordinary, non-professional investors lose their incentives to personally exercise prudence, caution, and good judgment."

I absolutely despise a government that acts so "Big Brotherly".  Don't they want the citizens of this country to be accountable and take care of themselves?! Let us manage our own risk by making prudent decisions. Like Stossel says, Obama's not bringing reform, it's "reform". 

Source:

http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2010/04/20/o’reilly-tonight-financial-“reform”/

Transparency...Bah!

"This is the most transparent administration in the history of our country,"  

 - Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary

Gibbs is killing me.  He can't honestly believe what he's spewing out, can he?! 

Has Gibbs even been awake during the past 15 months?!

The press was upset about a recent incident where the President left the White House without his press motorcade. Yesterday's press conference was "arranged in order to air grievances about breaking from protocol."

The press corps wasn't pleased, and the meeting with Gibbs was arranged in order to air grievances about breaking from protocol. Gibbs went on to convey he "was proud of the administration's willingness to share details with the public."

First, I don't believe Gibbs can truly back his claim about sharing details with the public. And second, how can you claim there is sharing going on when everyone on the Hill completely disregards public opinion? Especially to the degree this administration has actually ruled against the people. 

Source:

http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/19/gibbs-proud-of-white-house-transparency/
Press Conference 04.19.2010

You Squeeze Wall Street...You Squeeze Me

"Banks and other financial services companies generate one quarter of all taxes collected here [NYC], so anything that hurts their revenue really puts the squeeze on the City's economy."

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC is gettin' mad.  I don't blame him one bit. His city needs the financial services industry to be profitable and keep the city afloat. But Obama has a vendetta against Wall Street and he won't let it go. The legislation is already in the works to cripple Wall Street with more red tape and regulation...which means more costs, less revenue.

This is bad for NYC, but here's the problem for you and me:

We are ALL in Wall Street.  

Do you have a 401k? Stocks? Bonds? What about an IRA? Pension?

Most people are trying to responsibly save now to achieve financial security following retirement. But in order to do so we need the help of a successful Wall Street. We need earnings, profits, and healthy businesses nationwide to push our investment along and allow our own personal wealth to grow.

Before my stay-at-home mom days, I did have a career way-back-when and paid into the Social Security system making me eligible for SS benefits. But considering my age/distance from eligibility and Social Security's inability to meet even current payouts, I'm not counting on it. My chances at SS checks dwindle with each year. But...Obama wants me to count on it. He wants me to NEED it. He wants a middle class dependent on the government. And by crippling Wall Street, Obama will have his way. 

Source:

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/obama.wall.street.2.1633143.html
Rush

April 15th - Payday?

"According to the IRS, the bottom 50 percent of tax filers pay less than 3 percent of all taxes. That share is decreasing every year, and the trend shows no signs of reversing."

 - The Heritage Foundation

I come from a long (and proud) line of accountants. Accountants know firsthand how people despise the April 15th deadline. But for a growing majority, Tax Day is a godsend. More people are paying no income tax...and still others end up getting the government to pay them! 

Go with me here...some more money/tax jargon to follow...but it's important!  Stay...with...me...

Tax Cut vs. Tax Credit

The so-called "2001 and 2003 tax cuts" benefited all payers. Tax cuts do not eliminate your tax bill entirely, but instead lower it. Heritage says, "Lower tax rates cannot make a tax filer a nonpayer.  Tax filers are falling off the tax rolls at an increased rate because of tax credits."

Tax credit examples are: the home buyer tax credit, the Making Work Pay credit, energy-saving credits etc. A credit directly lowers your tax liability. It comes off the bottom line. Politicians love these because they can target one specific group of people and claim credit for the gain. And tax credits encourage certain behaviors like buying a house, or a Prius, or going green...the government loves this!

But here's the problem...

Tax Credits Create a Downward Spiral

• The government is creating MORE tax credits.
• Tax payers can use multiple credits to literally erase their bill. More tax credits means less people actually pay taxes.
• It is estimated for 2010 more than 50% of taxpayers will be NON-PAYERS. Non-payers get everything back, and some earn everything back plus extra. 
• This is when Tax Day becomes payday. How? --> If a tax credit causes your tax bill to go below zero...and it's called a "refundable" credit, the government will PAY YOU whatever that negative amount is. 

EXAMPLE: If your tax liability is $100 and you're eligible for a $150 refundable tax credit, the government pays you $50.

Are you with me? 

Now...this is where disaster looms.

What happens when you have fewer taxPAYERS?

• When you have a majority of voters NOT paying taxes, theoretically they could vote themselves "an increasing share of government benefits at no cost to themselves."
• Then all hell breaks lose. Why would a politician cut back on government spending when the majority of the voters benefit without any increased burden personally?
• This creates a growing state of dependency. "Growing dependence on the tax code for income will reduce individual initiative to achieve because [people] will be able to sustain a satisfactory standard of living without exerting any additional effort."
• And your top performers will have less incentive to work hard and earn more because "they will need to pay increasingly higher tax rates to fund the growing dependency of those that earn less."
• You have slower economic growth and a lower standard of living.

I'm not saying my family refuses to claim tax credits simply because the ultimate effect could be disastrous. But just like me, everyone takes advantage. The government wants it that way. Heritage sums it up quite nicely:

"[It's] a deadly recipe for never-ending increases in government spending that will inevitably lead to a fiscal implosion when there are no longer enough productive taxpayers to pay the bill for the expanding welfare state."

Source:

Heritage Foundation: Tax Day or Payday

A History Lesson: Reagan

"Deterrence means simply this: making sure any adversary who thinks about attacking the United States or our allies or our vital interests concludes that the risks to him outweigh any potential gains. Once he understands that, he won't attack. We maintain the peace through our strength. Weakness only invites aggression."

 - President Ronald Reagan

I was a baby when Reagan became President.  It's obvious I don't have a lot of first-hand knowledge about his presidency, so when the current administration and the media compare Obama to Reagan regarding Obama's nuclear arms strategy, my interest was piqued. I had to do some digging to see if that was really true. 

Fact: NOT TRUE.

Another fact: The liberals hated Reagan. They didn't like him one bit. But now they use him to provide validity to Obama's agenda. El Rushbo says, "...the left invokes Reagan any time they want to give credibility to one of their own in virtually anything." 

Obama is doing the complete opposite of Reagan. Obama is so focused on leading the world through moral judgement, but forgets terrorists aren't moral! They could care less about morality. They just want to blow us up.

Obama is coddling our enemies, telling them how nice we are and trying to sit down and make peace with them. He protects their rights (i.e, Miranda rights for the Christmas terrorist?!). And now he's cutting missile defense spending and reducing our stockpiles, which directly weakens our defenses. We may be able to live in a country where our health care goes to the dogs, but what about our liberty and safety? We cannot survive as a nation without strong defenses and leading the world as a national security powerhouse. We must always remain a force to be reckoned with, otherwise we will be trampled. 

Source:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_041310/content/01125110.guest.html

I'm Teed Off Too

I'm back...let's not talk about where I've been...it's not that interesting. The life of a stay-at-home mom is just daily chaos, and it got the best of me last week.  But I'm back....

"[F]inally we have a governor who is as teed off as the rest of us at how government spending and taxes have skyrocketed over the past decade."

 - Reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger

Let's just say it.  I'm sick. Sick about the direction this country is going.  I'm just not happy about it. I can't see a silver lining anywhere...

Except in Jersey.  I don't watch Jersey Shore so I don't have any funny jokes about why on earth I care about New Jersey, but seriously, my eyes are on Jersey.  And it's because of THIS guy:

Governor Chris Christie. He is serious. He will not go back on his word. His state is in serious financial doom...and he's vowed to fix it without increasing the insane tax burdens his residents are already laden with.  There's a great opinion piece by William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal, chronicling some of Christie's defenses to his critics...their arguments to him and his no-nonsense responses...I LOVE them. 

Critics: The children will be the ones to suffer from your education cuts.

Christie: "The real question is, who's for the kids, and who's for their raises? This isn't about the kids. Let's dispense with that portion of the argument. Don't let them tell you that ever again while they are reaching into your pockets."

Critics: Why not renew the 'millionaire's tax'?

Christie: "The top 1% of taxpayers in New Jersey pay 40% of the income tax. In addition, we've got a situation where that tax applies to small businesses. I'm simply not going to put my foot on the back of the neck of small business while I want them to try to grow jobs by giving more revenue to New Jersey."

Critics: Budget cuts are unfair.

Christie: "The special interests have already begun to scream their favorite word—which, coincidentally, is my 9-year-old son's favorite word when we are making him do something he knows is right but does not want to do—'unfair.' . . . One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life, and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits—a total of $3.8 million on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair?"

Critics: State budget cuts only shift the pain to our towns.

Christie: "[L]et's remember this, in 2009 the private sector in New Jersey lost 121,000 jobs. In 2009, municipalities and school boards added 11,300 jobs. Now that's just outrageous. And they're going to have to start to lay some people off, not continue to hire at the pace they hired in 2009 in the middle of a recession."

I want to see this guy succeed. I want him to lead by example and buck the current trend of spend-money-we-don't-have. Buckling down, making cuts and giving the already taxed-to-death citizens a bit of a break will truly be the thing that pulls us out of this recession.

Source:
McGurn Opinion - Wall Street Journal

Guilty by Association?

"As Tea Party 'fury' has become all the rage in popular accounts of the movement's protests, some close watchers say the rallies are nothing compared to the anti-Bush frenzy at Iraq War protests in years past -- frenzied displays the press was happy to ignore."

 - FoxNews.com

I keep wondering when the media will pick up on this little discrepancy.  Is it alarming to anyone but me how much the Tea Partiers are being destroyed by the left?  I wouldn't call myself a tea partier per say...but I would suggest most of them are non-violent.  Doesn't anyone understand there are extremists on both sides?

And as pointed out in this article from FOX news...where was the media when Bush was under fire? Bush knows what it felt like to be threatened. 

The Left wants every opponent of the status quo to feel like a horrible person simply because other violent radicals share the same opinion. The Left will do whatever it takes to make you run and hide. The Left fights dirty...they can't accept an opposite voice. It's all or nothing...and they will stop at nothing.  

Take motivation from Home Alone's Kevin McCallister (Macauley Culkin):

"This is it. Don't get scared now."

And even though Kevin is wielding a BB Gun when he says this, I'm in no way endorsing violence.  :)  

Source:
Fox News 04052010

Side Effects Include...

"A lot of the ideas in terms of the exchange...and improving the purchasing power of individuals in the insurance market originated from the Heritage Foundation."

 - President Obama

You better believe The Heritage Foundation feels slandered about this recent comment from our President.  Heritage will refute this from every angle.  

But they are now working on a feature of the Side Effects of Obamacare. After the bill was passed Obama said, "After I signed it, I looked around and no asteroids had hit the planet (chuckling) and no cracks had appeared in the earth."

Again with the arrogance. Of course, people didn't believe literal Armageddon would occur, but the side effects will represent a sure decrease in our liberties and freedoms.  Here are some already highlighted by Heritage:

FIRST - Higher health insurance taxes --> Remember the tax on so-called "Cadillac" health plans? Under the reconciliation bill, a provision was added to index the threshold of what is considered "Cadillac" to the general inflation rate PLUS 1%.  Do you know what that means?  "The high cost plans tax will hit the average family plan five years earlier."  Over time most plans will fall into the "Cadillac" category and be subject to the tax.  See more here.  

SECOND - The young to pay higher premiums --> A new provision in the plan makes it more difficult to charge older people more for their premiums (as is the case today). "So how will insurers make up the difference? It 'will be shouldered by young people in the form of higher premiums.'" Heritage then suggests these young adults will choose to opt out of increased premiums and pay the penalty instead, which will only "fuel a 'death spiral' of out-of-control premium price hikes." See more here.  

THIRD - Medical devices tax will cut jobs --> Obamacare puts a new tax on medical devices to generate $2.2 billion per year in revenue. The industry simply cannot stay afloat with such a tax burden. CFO at Zoll Medical Corp has said, "We could be forced to (move) manufacturing overseas if we can't pass along these costs to our customers." But either way, it's more cost to the consumer and job losses all around.  Read more here. 

FOURTH - Obamacare fatal for your HSA --> If you use a Health Savings or Flex Spending account you should check this out.  Obamacare limits these accounts as follows: (1) restricts what you can use the money for, (2) reduces the election amounts in your FSA, and (3) doubles the tax penalty for using HSA funds for non-medical expenses. "But the worst news for those using HSAs is the provision requiring all policies to cover at least 60 percent of the actuarial value of the benefits offered."  Basically, high-deductible plans which include HSAs may no longer be viable.  Read more here. 

FIFTH - Laws no longer mean what they say --> Did you hear the leaders of the House discovered a major snafu after the bill was signed?  They messed up the provision that children no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. Oops.  They've since said it was their "intent to cover these children and the health care industry has kindly opted to go along.  "But is this any way to run a country? To have lawmakers and regulators coerce the private sector into doing what they simply declare to be their "intent," rather than what is actually written in the law?"  I'm pretty sure that's not how a country is supposed to be run. Be prepared for more of this...

Read more here.

If you want to know how Heritage believes the health care crisis should really be handled, read here. And in the meantime, stay informed. Don't let the press demonize you for opposing this hostile takeover of our basic rights and freedoms. Despite what the media reports, I'm not a racist nor a homophobe nor a feminist. I just refuse to tow the progressive line.

Happy Easter, everyone! We are taking a trip to be with some family. There will be no redistribution of easter eggs going on. It's a free for all, and I like it that way!

Surces:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_040110/content/01125112.guest.html
The Heritage Foundation - Side Effects
Side Effects image from The Heritage Foundation