What Percent of your Income Goes to Taxes?

Fifty-seven percent (57%) say no American should have to pay more than 25% of their total income for taxes. That view is shared by 68% of Republicans, 50% of Democrats and 54% of those not affiliated with either party. Overall, just 23% oppose such a cap.

Support for the tax cap is higher among lower-income Americans than among those who earn more. Just 47% of those in the $100,000 plus range favor the cap, along with 64% of those who earn less than $20,000 a year.

However, that data may suggest that Americans significantly underestimate how much they currently pay in taxes. The average taxpayer has paid more than 25% of their income in taxes for decades. Imposing a limit so that nobody paid more than 25% of their income in taxes would lead to massive tax cuts across the nation. - Rasmussen Story

57% Feel that no American should pay more than 25% of their Income in Taxes. That is more than support Obama in the Same Poll. (He is at 56%)

That just totally blows me away. If they truly feel that way how did Obama Win? How did he win so big? A Majority already pay more than that in taxes and if the Democrats and Obama have their way we will be paying more than that.

World Leaders Sound Like Republicans - Don't Back Obama's Plan

The last time President Obama went to Europe, he was greeted with raucous applause and 200,000 Europeans choking a Berlin square, chanting "Obama" and "Yes We Can."

This time, as the president heads to London this week to press the Group of 20 nations for a global economic stimulus plan, he's likely to get a warm reception but cold comfort from many European leaders.

European Union chief Mirek Topolanek, the recently ousted leader of the Czech Republic, calls the plan the Obama administration has been pushing "a way to hell."

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel is also a skeptic.

"We must look at the causes of this crisis," she said. "It happened because we were living beyond our means. ... We cannot repeat this mistake."

That sounds a lot like Obama's Republican critics at home.

In the weekly Republican address, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., repeated what has become an old Republican saw: "This plan spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much." - ABC News Story

So it might not be Partisan Politics after all. Maybe the Republicans have a more credibility than the Democrats, Obama or the Media are willing to give. Even many World Leaders agree that Obama's Stimulus plans and Beyond Our Means Spending is what got us into this mess in the first place.

Makes you stop and think, Don't it!

Top Democrats Strong Ties to Bailed Out Companies

House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) initially spoke out against the plan to tax AIG bonuses at 90 percent.

But he's waving the pitchfork now -- right at Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Rangel, speaking on NY1 (our favorite station) on Friday night, was in a feisty populist mood:

"Because someone screwed up, period. With all due respect to [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner and [former Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson, they come out of Wall Street and Goldman Sachs. They don't know what pain is," said Rangel. "So getting a $6 million bonus is just natural to them. They don't know shame, they don't know how to apologize. They never feel the awkwardness of seeing the people who've lost their lives economically as a result of their greed."

One has to wonder if Rangel delivered the same lecture to Wall Street execs as he was taking their cash.

Much of the chairman's $5 million-plus 2008 campaign war chest came from financial firms -- and the Times recently reported that he solicited -- and got -- a $5 million contribution to the public service school named in his honor from a foundation run by former AIG CEO Maurice Greenberg.

Moreover, Rangel's five top five donors were all big financial/insurance firms: AXA ($62,100), TARP-gobbling Citigroup ($61,950), Credit Suisse ($56,800), MetLife ($50,500) and JPMorgan Chase ($50,200), according to CRP. - Politico

VP's Daughter on Video Doing Drugs?

A video purporting to show Ashley Biden -- daughter of Vice President Joe Biden -- snorting cocaine reportedly is being offered for sale.

The New York Post reports that it was shown a 90-second clip of a 42-minute video by a lawyer claiming to represent an anonymous "friend" of the vice president's daughter. The lawyer, Thomas Dunlap, and another man say the video shows Biden's daughter using the drug at a house party this month in Delaware.

Dunlap reportedly told the Post that the video was legally obtained, and that Ashley Biden was aware that she was being filmed. The Post reports that it refused to pay for the video, though Dunlap told the newspaper that one news organization had offered $250 thousand for the rights to the tape.

The Post reported that the video shows a 20-something woman with light skin and long brown hair taking a red straw from her mouth and bending over a desk, inserting the straw into her nostril and snorting from lines of white powder.

The woman appears to resemble the 27-year-old Biden, a social worker who was a visible presence during her father's campaign for the White House.

Dunlap refused to name the person who shot the video, but told the Post that he knew Ashley Biden well and had attended other parties with her at which there were illegal drugs. The lawyers said the person who shot the video used a camera with a hard-drive that he later destroyed, drilling into the device and tossing it into a lake. - FOX News

Spain to Try Bush Administration Officials on Torture Claims

A Spanish court has agreed to consider opening a criminal case against six former Bush administration officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, over allegations they gave legal cover for torture at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer in the case said Saturday.

Human rights lawyers brought the case before leading anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who agreed to send it on to prosecutors to decide whether it had merit, Gonzalo Boye, one of the lawyers who brought the charges, told The Associated Press.

The ex-Bush officials are Gonzales; former undersecretary of defense for policy Douglas Feith; former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff David Addington; Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay S. Bybee; and Pentagon lawyer William Haynes.

Yoo declined to comment. A request for comment left with Feith through his Hudson Institute e-mail address was not immediately returned. - ABC News

This is about as ridiculous of a thing as I had heard. President Obama needs to send a clear signal that the US will not support or cooperate in such an event. If we allow this to go forward then it opens the door for other Courts in other Countries to decide to prosecute anybody in the US for a crime that did not occur within their jurisdiction or boundaries.

Spain does not make the decisions of what the US does and does not do. I know that their are a lot of the "Hate Bush" crowd that will welcome this, but they are as short sighted as the President has been in some of his decisions. You have to look at the big picture. If you set a precident then what is stop them from prosecuting Obama for his attacks on Pakistan or something else as stupid? Think things through.

How to Tell if your Computer is Infected with the Conflicker C Virus

It's the Economy Stupid

Sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton surged to an improbable presidential victory over incumbent George H.W. Bush, primarily on the strength of a snarky campaign phrase: "It's the economy, stupid."

Now, Republicans appear to be crafting their own version in an effort to recapture both chambers in Congress next year.

Their message: President Obama's fiscal policy "spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much."

While that phrase lacks the same zing as Clinton's, Republicans have persistently wielded it every chance they get.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour unleashed the phrase in the last two weekly Republican addresses. Other GOP leaders to hurl it include House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Obama is providing us with a message by definition of the trillions of dollars in spending for the stimulus and spending packages," said Bill Lee, a GOP consultant who once defeated Clinton in a gubernatorial race. "Obama is the best messenger the Republicans have at this juncture. He's ably assisted in this regard by [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid."

Lee said he doesn't know which slogan will help restore power to Republicans.

"But it certainly is going to center around that subject," he said.

Richard Goodstein, a Democratic consultant and former adviser to President Clinton, told FOXNews.com that he is amazed some of the same critics who argued the economy was strong under Clinton because of steps George H.W. Bush took, are blaming Obama for a crisis he inherited from George W. Bush.

"It's hypocritical to a degree that even most people find a bit much," Goodstein said, adding that he believes the Republican strategy "is fairly bankrupt and that's pretty much the only card they have to play. Do I think that's a winning strategy? We'll see."

One Republican lawmaker has even borrowed Clinton's legendary phrase to attack the Democrats' handling of the economy.

"Bill Clinton, back in 1992, when he was running for office, you know, their campaign coined the phrase, 'It's the economy, stupid,'" said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., "Well, that was when we were in a very minor recession. Today we are in a severe recession, with no end in sight." - FOX News Story

Obama and AIG Shaping Tax Reform

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the people named this week to President Obama's new Task Force on Tax Reform is a member of the AIG board of directors.

Martin Feldstein, a professor of economics at Harvard University, has been on the board of American International Group since 1988. He also was a prominent economic adviser to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Asked about the AIG connection, a senior administration official said Friday that the White House declined to comment on the story.

Like the others named to the tax reform task force, Feldstein also serves on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Joining Feldstein on the task force are Laura Tyson of the University of California at Berkeley and a former chairman of President Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers; Roger Ferguson, CEO of TIAA-CREF; and Bill Donaldson, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a teleconference briefing Wednesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said Obama believes the "prospective members of the board would be especially well-suited to carry out the mission of tax reform."

The task force's job description is to propose ways to simplify the tax code, reduce tax evasion, close loopholes and make changes in corporate tax breaks. It is to provide recommendations to the president by December 4. - CNN Story

I may not be an Economist or a Tax Expert, but I don't think that I would be involved with anyone at AIG at this point. It is funny how there are so many AIG personel involved with the Obama Administration though? Makes you wonder how closely he is intertwined with the fledgling company and all the billions he is investing in them?

Dodd on the Ropes in Political Problems

Just two years ago, Christopher Dodd was a popular U.S. senator from Connecticut doing what ambitious lawmakers with long and distinguished careers in Congress have always done -- run for president.

But now, with his political career on the rocks after numerous controversies, Dodd has become the poster boy for critics who say the inevitable ties between longtime members of Congress and special interests are undermining efforts to revive the economy.

"He literally thinks he's going to play a critical role from saving us from ourselves," Christopher Healy, the Republican Party chairman in Connecticut, said of the Democratic senator.

"It's like putting the arsonist in charge of the volunteer fire department. He knows where the fire is because he set it. But beyond that, he can't offer much help."

Dodd is now flailing to save his 35-year congressional career in the swirling wake of an amendment he authored in the $787 billion stimulus package. That amendment, signed into law by President Obama, grandfathered in bonuses that would have been cut off by the bill but had already been promised to employees of companies that received government bailout money.

The issue exploded when it became known that the American International Group had given $165 million in bonuses to its executives after being bailed out by the U.S. government.

Dodd initially denied last week that he had any role in crafting the exemption language, then changed his tune a day later, saying that Treasury officials pressured him to make the change to protect the government from potential lawsuits.

Dodd is closely linked with AIG, whose employees and political funds have donated $300,000 to his campaign fund over the last decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. - FOX News Story

It is funny how you don't here a whole lot about his ties and the political problems he is having unless you check out FOX News. The other Networks are keeping it buried.

Confirmed Tornadoes Hit North Carolina

Raleigh, N.C. — Tornado warnings were issued Friday evening for seven counties, and forecasters said that severe weather could hit North Carolina again starting Saturday afternoon.

At one point, tornado warnings were issued for Wake, Johnston, Cumberland, Sampson, Wayne, Pitt and Greene counties.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down between 4:30 p.m. and 5:11 p.m. near Parkton and Lumberton.

An EF-2 tornado – packing winds up to 130 mph – touched down about 3 miles east of Parkton between just after 5 p.m., the NWS confirmed. The tornado first touched down along Parkton-Tobemory Road halfway between U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95. The tornado went north-northeast and intensified to an EF-2. - CNN Story

Obama's Fuzzy Math Budget

With the introduction of President Barack Obama's first budget proposal, supporters and opponents alike are sharpening their pencils — and their rhetoric.

Fresh ammunition arrived March 20 when the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, put out its long-term analysis of Obama's budget, as well as its growing-gloomier-every-day update on the economic outlook.

With so many numbers flying around, we decided to look into some of the more popular talking points from both sides to see whose numbers add up and who is using fuzzy math.

Obama said at a prime-time news conference that his budget plan would halve the deficit in five years, a claim we found to be technically true, but also somewhat misleading because the initial number is so big. We gave it a Mostly True .

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg claimed Obama's budget would double the national debt in five years. We gave that one a Mostly True. - Politifact Story

For those of you who haven't found this website Politifact.com is excellent for getting the unbiased truth about rhetoric in the press. Check them out to find out who is full of it and who is right on target.

Republicans Ready to Make Move

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite crushing defeats in the last two elections, Senate Republicans have new "energy and enthusiasm" for winning back the majority, according to their leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

A top GOP leader says George W. Bush, politically, was a "millstone" around the GOP's neck.

"President Bush had become extremely unpopular, and politically he was sort of a millstone around our necks in both '06 and '08," McConnell told reporters Friday. "We now have the opportunity to be on offense, offer our own ideas and we will win some."

Many of those ideas get presented as amendments to Democratic bills, and even though they're usually defeated, they can draw attention to GOP policy alternatives and force Democrats to take difficult votes.

"They become the way you chart the course for a comeback, which, in this country, always happens at some point," McConnell said. "The pendulum swings."

McConnell said many of the ideas for amendments come from conservative think tanks and other Republican thinkers off Capitol Hill.

"Newt Gingrich, for example, has an idea a minute. Many of those are quite good. Many of those become amendments," he said.

McConnell also said he doesn't mind the "party of no" label Congressional Democrats and the White House give Republicans.

"I don't feel anyone should be apologetic for opposing a bad idea," McConnell said. "I'm not fearful of an effort to demonize dissent."

After being labeled by Democrats the "party of no" for criticizing the budget without offering solutions, House Republicans said Thursday that they have come up with a plan B -- though were later criticized for a lack of details.

"Two nights ago, the president said, 'We haven't seen a budget yet out of Republicans.' Well, it's just not true, because here it is, Mr. President," House Minority leader Rep. John Boehner said Wednesday as he held up a booklet that he said was a "blueprint for where we're going." Watch GOP leaders unveil their 'leaner' budget »

The details of the GOP budget will be presented on the House floor next week, said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.

"We're going to show a leaner budget, a budget with lower taxes, lower spending and lower borrowing," Ryan said.

The blueprint includes familiar Republican proposals to limit "wasteful" government spending, cut the size of government and provide incentives to private entities to expand access to health care. It also includes a major overhaul of the tax code, proposing a marginal tax rate of 10 percent for income up to $100,000 and 25 percent for any income above that level.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs laughed off the Republicans' proposal Thursday, joking that their blueprint has more pictures of windmills than charts.

"It's interesting to have a budget that doesn't contain any numbers. I think the 'party of no' has become the 'party of no new ideas,' " he said at the daily briefing.

CNN contributor Paul Begala says that Republicans are simply out of ideas -- and have no one to blame but themselves. - CNN Story

It is almost funny to read some of this. I have seen and heard plenty of alternative ideas, but the White House and the Democrats just toss them aside and pretend like they don't exist. The CNN contributor Paul Begala is another example of the Media bias from that network. How can you honestly say that if you were a nonbiased member of the media reporting the news. You can't.

Paul Begala is just another Idiot in a sea of Idiots that are not real journalist but yes men. They don't report the news and they are not Journalist. They are just people who forward on talking points for their party.

Democratics Drive Rush's Numbers Through the Roof

(CNN) – A conservative media watchdog group says recent Democratic attacks on Rush Limbaugh may have given a big boost to the talk radio host's ratings.

According to the Media Research Center, stations that carry Limbaugh's day time talk show experienced a "dramatic surge" of listeners in February — the month when congressional Democrats and even President Obama publicly took swipes at the conservative talker.

"President Obama declared war on Rush Limbaugh and his ratings went through the roof," said Media Research Center's Brent Bozell. "If that's not a magnificent backfire, I'm not sure what is."

Democrats have been eager to paint the divisive Limbaugh as the de facto Republican leader, especially after the radio host's controversial statement that he hoped the president's economic policies would fail.

Obama himself warned congressional Democrats in late January that they need to "can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done." - CNN

Just another Gaff by the President and his team. Instead of hurting the Republcians they gave a huge rallying cry to the Right. They also gave Limbaugh more of voice in Politics than he had before.

Meet the Mayor of the Most Dangerous Town in The Western Hemisphere

Jose Reyes Ferriz, mayor of the Mexican border city of Juarez, presides over what may be the western hemisphere's most dangerous town, certainly the hardest hit by Mexico's drug-war terror. Since the start of last year, Juarez has seen almost 2,000 drug-related murders. Reyes this month requested thousands of federal army soldiers to rein in the violence, which has subsided for the moment — giving him a chance to rebuild Juarez's corrupt police force. He talked with TIME's Tim Padgett this week about his police reform, drug-cartel death threats against him and comparisons of Juarez to Baghdad. - Time Story

For those of you that are following the War on Drugs going on in Mexico this is a great story to read.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann - Republican

She called for an expose to root out members of Congress who are "anti-America." She gave President George W. Bush a public hug and a kiss so famously awkward one paper called it the "death grip." She claimed to know of a secret plan to partition Iraq and carve out a "terrorist safe haven zone," and then backed off the statement.

And then she won re-election.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has shown an uncanny knack for infuriating critics with sometimes off-the-wall behavior and comments, all the while advancing her own political career.

Minnesota politicos say the Republican congresswoman, having fended off perhaps her toughest challenge last year, could hold on to her seat indefinitely -- thanks in part to the conservative makeup of her district.

But Bachmann, a lightning rod of the left, also may be poised to run for governor or senator, according to the political chatter. Either way, the longer Bachmann stays in office, the more she seems to rile her opponents nationwide with a style some call genuine, but others call clueless.

"For what pisses off the Democrats, it really energizes that conservative base she has," said Lawrence Jacobs, a political professor at the University of Minnesota. "This is not a strategic politician. This is a movement conservative. She's a true believer."

Bachmann, 52, is a born-again Christian -- she has said God called her to go to law school and to run for Congress -- who cut her political teeth in the Minnesota Legislature pushing for an amendment to ban same-sex marriage. She won election to the U.S. Congress in 2006, going against the wave of Republicans forced out of office that year. Since then, she's concentrated more on tax and spending issues. She was in the spotlight this week as she questioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke during a hearing about federal intervention in the financial system.

Bachmann told FOXNews.com her ultimate goal in Congress is to overhaul and simplify the tax code, while fighting the efforts of the Obama administration to expand government and increase the tax burden. She said President Obama has gone on a spending "blitzkrieg," and she argued that the recent flap over AIG bonuses is just another sign that Washington needs an exit strategy for its financial intervention.

As for her re-election last year, she said it was just proof of her appeal. - FOX News Story

Go get em! We need people who don't play politics, they go to Washington and do what is right for the people the represent. They don't go there to solve all the problems in the world. Just the ones that need solved.

Pelosi Has 60% Unfavorable Rating

Sixty percent (60%) of U.S. voters now have an unfavorable opinion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including 42% Very Unfavorable, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. A growing number of her doubters seem to be fellow Democrats. - Rasmussen

This is no shocker. The sad part is that she is still the undisputed leader of the Democratic Party.

Poll Shows Majority Believe Lower Taxes help Economy

Democrats in the Senate are talking of cutting back President Obama's pledge of tax cuts for most Americans in the face of record deficits. But 63% of U.S. voters now say tax cuts would help the economy, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

That’s up from 56% in February and marks the highest level found in years of tracking this question. Scott Rasmussen has posed this polling question regularly since the mid-nineties and Rasmussen Reports now tracks it on a monthly basis.

Only 13% say tax cuts would hurt the economy, down from 16% a month ago.

Most voters (51%) believe increasing taxes would hurt the economy, the highest reading on this question since early January. Just under a quarter (23%) of voters say tax increases would help the country's economic situation. - Rasmussen Story

Imagine that. Lowering taxes would be good for the economy? I think I have heard that more than once over the last year. I don't recall hearing it from Obama, Pelosi, Reid though. I wonder who could have been saying that?

Pelosi to Fast Track Health Care

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she's still committed to using a procedural trick to fast-track health care reforms this year — despite opposition from Sen. Max Baucus, the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

"I believe it's absolutely essential that we come out of this year with a substantial health care reform," Pelosi said during her weekly press conference. "I believe that is best served by having reconciliation in the package."

On Thursday, Baucus (D-Mont.) told POLITICO that the House was making a big mistake by going that route, saying putting health care through the budget process would prompt a partisan battle that will undermine health care policy. And he said a health care law would end up as “Swiss cheese” since it would be watered down from budget rules that can be used to block provisions that do not directly affect mandatory spending or revenues.

“The fact of the matter is that I don’t think the House is really thinking through the affect that reconciliation is going to have on the end game,” Baucus said. “And the end game is much more in jeopardy under reconciliation.” Baucus added that “many, many Democrats” in the Senate do not think it’s a wise move.

This argument over procedure has pit Democratic leaders against committee chairmen from their party, who, along with Republicans, are warning against using the fast-track budget process to enact one of Barack Obama’s signature initiatives.

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a conservative Democrat who is skeptical of the proposed spending increases, said adding reconciliation provisions would cost Democrats his vote. - Politico Story

What is going on? Every time there is a debate as to how to do something these Politicians find ways around the standard rules to get their way.

Wouldn't it be better for the American People to have the proper processes followed and have a resolution that represents all of us?

Reid - Liberals need to Back off

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that liberal groups targeting moderate Democrats with ads should back off, saying pressure from the left wing of his party won't be helpful to enacting legislation.

"I think it's very unwise and not helpful," Reid said Friday morning. "These groups should leave them alone. It’s not helpful to me. It’s not helpful to the Democratic Caucus.”

Reid, who said he hadn’t seen or heard the ads, added that "most of [the groups] run very few ads — they only to do it to get a little press on it."

MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, the labor-backed organization that serves as the White House’s chief third-party operation, have started separate ad campaigns targeting moderate House and Senate Democrats to back Obama’s budget. A number of liberal activists have expressed concerns about a group of 16 Senate Democratic moderates who have been meeting in an attempt to bolster their influence.

Reid has no qualms about the group, and said that “any public statements” Senate moderates have made have been helpful as the chamber takes up a budget next week that would cost more than $3 trillion. And he added: “Some people of course go to those meetings so they can issue a press release back home that'll make them appear more moderate.” - Politico Story

These groups are empowered by your own Caucus. Without your support they wouldn't even exist. If you truly want them to cease their actions than as a group you can do so. This is just a political ploy to try to take the high road, unfortunately the high road right now doesn't even get you out of the gutter.

Missouri Tigers Beat Memphis Head to Elite 8

OK so this isn't anything political, but what the heck. It was an outstanding game and the Tigers from Missouri put up the points against a very good Memphis team. Good Job Missouri and Good Luck against UConn. Play your game and you have a shot at the final 4.

By the way, did you know that there is a town in Missouri called Memphis, MO? Who knew? I wonder who they were rooting for?

Congress Pushing for College Football Playoff?

Honestly, we didn't think this one would come up so soon, certainly not in the middle of March Madness, not to mention the ongoing economic recession.

But on March 25, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, D-Wis., Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, and Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, ranking minority member of the subcommittee, announced their agenda of hearings and legislation for the new session of Congress. And among the 18 items on that list: College football's Bowl Championship Series.

Here's what the news release said: "The Bowl Championship Series ("BCS") generates revenue for participating schools at a level that is unmatched in the history of collegiate sports. Even teams that never play in a BCS game are able to reap the financial benefits simply by virtue of their membership in one of the six original BCS conferences. Though the BCS claims to represent all of college football – even going so far as to call the winner of the BCS Championship Game the "National Champion" – the BCS system leaves nearly half of all the teams in college football at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to qualifying for the millions of dollars paid out every year. This system’s critics allege that the system is not only unfair to the football fans throughout the country, but also to the colleges and universities nationwide that depend on revenues from their football teams to fund their other athletic programs. They further argue that, at the very least, a fair system would provide equal opportunity, regardless of conference, for all teams to play their way into one of the BCS’s bowl games and, if they’re good enough, to compete for the national championship."

The announcement notes that the subcommittee "will hold hearings to investigate these issues" and that Sen. Hatch will introduce legislation to "rectify this situation." - Politifact Story

This is definitely something that will garner a lot of attention from football fanatics around the country. I hope that they don't screw this up too. I am all for a playoff, but with the Government who knows what you will end up with.

Obama is HollywObama

CBS News’ Bob Schieffer will interview President Obama on ‘Face the Nation’ This Sunday.

After a whirlwind month of selling his stimulus and budget plans and his announcement on Afghanistan Friday, the president leaves for a week in Europe for the G-20 Summit and NATO Summit on Tuesday.

“We’re fortunate that the president has agreed to do an interview this Sunday,” Bob Schieffer told CBSNews.com before giving some hints on his questioning.
“The economic crisis continues to dominate the news, but there are so many other issues which are getting less attention,” he explained, noting Afghanistan and Iraq. “We’ll ask the president to weigh in on those issues he has not discussed as much in addition to the economy.”

Schieffer has interviewed every sitting president since Nixon and serves as the moderator of ‘Face The Nation’ and CBS’ Chief Washington Correspondent. Check your local listings to find out when and where “Face the Nation” airs in your area Sunday morning. - CBS News

It sure would be nice if this President would spend more time doing his job instead of getting face time on every possible TV show out there. It isn't like the economy is in the can, people are losing their jobs, North Korea is ready to fire a rocket, Afghanistan needs a plan, Mexico is becoming a war right on our own border, the national deficit is growing by leaps and bounds, the dollar is about to be replace as the world currency, but hey what the hell. I want to do Jay Leno, Let's have a Prime Time Snooze Conference, What about face the Nation, I am sure that we can do Hannah Montana and probably Sponge Bob when you get back from Europe.

The Conflicker Worm or April Fool's Virus

The Conficker worm is scheduled to activate on April 1, and the unanswered question is: Will it prove to be the world’s biggest April Fool’s joke or is it the information age equivalent of Herman Kahn’s legendary 1962 treatise about nuclear war, “Thinking About the Unthinkable”?

Conficker is a program that is spread by exploiting several weaknesses in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Various versions of the software have spread widely around the globe since October, mostly outside the United States because there are more computers overseas running unpatched, pirated Windows. (The program does not infect Macintosh or Linux-based computers.)

An estimated 12 million or more machines have been infected. However, many have also been disinfected, so a precise census is difficult to obtain.

It is possible to detect and remove Conficker using commercial antivirus tools offered by many companies. However, the most recent version of the program has a significantly improved capacity to remove commercial antivirus software and to turn off Microsoft’s security update service. It can also block communications with Web services provided by security companies to update their products. It even systematically opens holes in firewalls in an effort to improve its communication with other infected computers. - NY Times Blog

I received several inquiries about this virus. This story was of great help in understanding more about the virus and some helpful hints to protect yourself.

I would recommend that you read the story and run all of the updates on your system.

More Information CLICK HERE

Obama & The Free Market

President Obama insists he's a free-market guy. But you have to wonder whether he understands how a free economy really works. His policies and his words--especially what he said at his press conference this week--suggest his sense of what makes economies grow and how people are affected by government policies is surprisingly weak.

Some of what Obama says is just pablum and isn't supposed to be taken as serious economic thought. At least I hope not. Rather, it might be called economic morale-boosting. Nothing wrong with that, unless he actually believes what he's saying.

He said at his press conference, for example, that prosperity won't return unless we're all working together for a higher purpose than ourselves. Adam Smith, the guru of free markets, would disagree heartily with this, since he believed a strong economy grew out of individuals acting in their own behalf. But Obama talks as if he knows better. Pablum.

"Our economy only works if we recognize that we're all in this together, that we all have responsibilities to each other and to our country," he said at his press conference. Yes, we do have responsibilities to others and to our country, but are they the key to an economic recovery?

Smith didn't think so, nor does any free market economist I'm aware of. But the president seems to. He elaborated: "We'll recover from this recession, but it will take time, it will take patience, and it will take an understanding that, when we all work together, when each of us

looks beyond our own short-term interest to a wider set of obligations we have towards each other, that's when we succeed, that's when we prosper, and that's what we need right now."

That wasn't a snap answer to a surprise question. It was the closing thought in his opening statement, read by Obama from a prepared text on a large screen behind the press corps gathered at the White House. A nice thought, for sure, but hardly a time-tested recipe for economic growth.

Obama also seems misinformed about America's economic record in recent decades. Prosperity was "fleeting," he said, but "our strategy is to ensure that we do not return to an economic cycle of bubble and bust." Again, this was in his text.

If he's talking about the past quarter-century, most Americans would love to return to that era. From late 1982 well into 2007, we experienced one of the greatest economic booms in the history of the world, interrupted only by two shallow and brief recessions. Prosperity wasn't fleeting. It was practically non-stop--until the housing bust and credit crisis hit last year. - Weekly Standard Story

Nice article. Too bad most people don't stop and think and reflect on what has happened, is happening and will happen based on the events taking place right now in the halls of good ole Washington DC.

Letter to the President

Dear President Obama,

Thank you for helping my neighbors with their mortgage payments. You know the one's down the street who in the good times refinanced their house several times and bought SUV's, ATV's, RV"s, a pool, a big screen, two Wave Runners and a Harley. But I was wondering, since I am paying my mortgage and theirs, could you arrange for me to borrow the Harley now and then?

Richard Ford
Queen Creek AZ

P.S. They also need help with their credit cards, when do you want me to start making those payments?

P.P.S. I almost forgot - they didn't file their income tax return this year. Should I go ahead and file for them or will you be appointing them to cabinet posts?

I got this in my email and had to share. Isn't this the truth? See my economic plan - save everyone not just the deadbeats.

The new Department of Homeland Security

The Obama administration has made great changes in the way we handle national security. And judging by its actions so far, it seems that the most important failing of the previous administration has been in semantics.

The changes started with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano deciding that the word “terrorism” was too harsh. She has made a point of not using it, opting instead for “man-caused disasters.”

That was merely phase one. The next logical step was to find a new term for the “War On Terror.” The proffered substitute? “Overseas Contingency Operation.”

I was never in love with the term “War On Terror.” Terrorism isn’t the enemy, it’s a tactic of an enemy. Referring to the War onTerror is like referring to World War II as the “War on Blitzkrieg” or “War on Kamikazes.” “War Against Islamist Extremists” seemed a bit more accurate — if a bit on the nose.

But “Overseas Contingency Operation”? Let’s break it down.

“Overseas.” That’s intended to make us feel safe — it’s happening Over There, across the oceans, and isn’t really a problem for us here.

“Contingency.” According to one dictionary, it has the following meanings:

1. dependence on chance or on the fulfillment of a condition; uncertainty; fortuitousness: Nothing was left to contingency.
2. a contingent event; a chance, accident, or possibility conditional on something uncertain: He was prepared for every contingency.
3. something incidental to a thing.

In other words: a state wherein something might or might not happen. This is an utterly empty word in this context.

“Operation.” A singular thing, something considerably smaller than a war or even a campaign.

Let’s nor forget that Napolitano’s “man-caused disasters” has its own implications. “Man-caused disasters” makes one think of things like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, or global warming global cooling climate change, or mine collapses, or dam failures, or Chernobyl — not things like the 9/11 attacks.

In both cases, the effect is to diminish the magnitude of the problem and remove the key element that differentiates terrorist attacks from the above-mentioned examples: intent.

The major difference between Chernobyl and 9/11 was intent. At Chernobyl, it was gross negligence at every stage of the process that led to the biggest nuclear accident in history. The 9/11 attacks, on the other hand, were carried out in with malice and a desire to maximize damage.

It’s almost laughable. The Obama administration thinks the best way to fight terrorists is to change the way we talk about them — and for most Islamic terrorists, English isn’t their native language.

It would be truly laughable — but the focus on language will most likely come at the expense of action. - Commentary Magazine

This is the new tone from the Department of Homeland Security. I wonder how this will all play out in the event that something were to happen.

Juarez, Mexico - A War Zone

Anderson Cooper

Driving through the streets of Juarez. It was once a bustling city, but now seems largely deserted. Boarded up nightclubs. Empty stores.

The American visitors are mostly gone, scared off by the escalating drug war which has turned Juarez into a battleground. A handful of factions have been fighting for control of lucrative drug routes into the US. There have been gun battles in the streets, bodies left in gutters.

The drug cartels pay off police, kill those they can’t corrupt. Now 9,500 Mexican military personnel have flooded into Juarez.

“Our deployment here’s open-ended,” the captain of the unit says,”no one’s told us how long we’ll be here or how long this will take.”

One of the more shocking aspects of this battle is the number of unknown victims. There are hundreds of people likely working for the cartels - low level runners or informants. Many are often found dead, their identities unknown. There are so many that they take their bodies to mass graves and simply dump them in. There simply isn’t enough time to do anything else.

A convoy of soldiers just passed me by. They are in full combat mode, helmets on, kevlar vests, rifles
locked and loaded. They have made a difference. The violence has dropped off dramatically the last couple of days, but the cartels are still here, the war goes on, and the drugs continue to cross. - CNN

The scariest part is that this is right across the border of the USA. You cross the border and you are in El Paso, TX.

The Obama White House - Smalley

Call it your daily affirmation.

The Obama administration over the past several weeks has developed a certain conciliatory style of diplomacy, striking a hard contrast between this White House and its predecessors.

While George W. Bush drew charges of "cowboy diplomacy" for his unilateral style of doing things, the Obama team might just be the Stuart Smalley counterpart to Bush's John Wayne.

Smalley, you may recall, was Al Franken's lovable alter-ego on Saturday Night Live -- an uncertified gusher of self-help advice who often needed that advice more than his guests.

"I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness," he used to recite to himself. "I refuse to beat myself up. I am an attractive person. I am fun to be with."

Maybe President Obama's daily sessions with senior advisers don't begin with a daily affirmation, but the similarities are there.

Smalley often had his guests repeat his mantras.

"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and, doggone it, people like me." It's a line many Americans surely still say to themselves every morning when they brush their teeth.

The Obama administration, likewise, has invited a list of nations to join him on the couch, put down their guard and share in that sense of satisfaction.

"We know that you are a great civilization, and your accomplishments have earned the respect of the United States and the world," Obama said in a Web video message to Iran in celebration of Nowruz, the country's new year, last week, praising the country's art, music and literature that have "made the world a better and more beautiful place."

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Russia's foreign minister to pursue what she called a "fresh start."

She presented Sergei Lavrov with a toy red button that, despite a typo, was supposed to say "Reset" in English.

"We want to reset our relationship. And so we will do it together," Clinton said. - FOX News Story

Bailout the NewsPapers?

Call it the opening salvo of the broadsheet bailout. Castaway columnists and struggling stringers might be America's next charity case if Sen. Benjamin Cardin has his way.

The Maryland Democrat proposed a bill Tuesday that would rewrite tax law to allow newspapers to operate as tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, just as long as they don't make official endorsements of political candidates.

But some media analysts say that could create government control of the news.

Click here to see the bill.

Cardin says his bill is a needed step to make sure that small newspapers across the country stay afloat, as scores are expected to close their doors and stop their presses for good.

"We are losing our newspaper industry," said Cardin. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy."

But critics warn that if papers become tax-exempt nonprofits, they will be ponying up more than the money's worth: they'll be giving up their independence to stay in the government's good graces.

"It would de-claw participating newspapers, which couldn't endorse candidates or freely question the party in power," said Ken McIntyre, a media and public policy fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation - FOX News Story

First of all Newspapers are all but over anyways. With 24 hour News on TV and at your fingertips on the Internet is there still the need for the Old Newspaper?

Besides, wouldn't it be a very GREEN thing to do, letting the papers go away. Look at all the trees that would be saved.

McCain - Most People Voted for Sarah Palin

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has no illusions about the 2008 White House race.

"God bless them," McCain said Thursday at the Heritage Foundation when reminded of the tens of millions of people who voted for him last year.

"Over 50 million people voted for me and Sarah Palin - mostly for Sarah Palin," McCain said to an eruption of laughter. But "there was a sizable majority of the other party returned to Congress. And, elections have consequences. Elections have consequences. And these consequences we are seeing now in full display."

McCain described himself as "very nervous" about the Obama administration's proposal for FDIC-like resolution authority over non-bank financial institutions like AIG in order to prevent another near calamity in the global financial system.

"I understand that we need some of these institutions to be taken over before they are total failures but I am very nervous about that . . . about the expansion of government oversight," McCain said. "But we have to do a better job of regulation and transparency. The status quo is not acceptable either."

McCain's speech Thursday at the conservative think tank focused on the country's economic crisis and dire long-term fiscal outlook. Before he spoke, the former presidential candidate was greeted by a standing ovation in an auditorium filled with people primarily in their 20's and 30's. - CNN

Note that Country First Sign. Boy wouldn't that be nice about right now. We sure aren't living in the Country First Slogan right now.

Democrats Result to Bullying to get Votes

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner snarled at moderate Democrats Wednesday, but the real bite came from liberal groups frustrated by centrist opposition to Barack Obama’s budget priorities.

As Boehner accused Blue Dog Democrats of being “lap dogs” for Obama, MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, the labor-backed organization that serves as the White House’s chief third-party operation, began airing ads Wednesday urging moderate Democrats in both the House and the Senate to get on board with the president’s budget.

Among the targets of Americans United for Change is Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), who declared the ads “not very helpful.”

“The liberal groups need to understand that we are not elected to represent the president,” Pryor said. “We’re elected to represent our states, and we are trying to reflect the attitudes and values of the people who sent us to Washington.”

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is also unhappy with the friendly fire. Bayh announced last week that a group of centrist Democrats had come together to negotiate as a bloc with the White House and party leaders on major legislation. He promptly found himself targeted by an ad accusing him of “standing in the way of President Obama’s reforms.”

"We literally have no agenda,” Bayh shot back. “How can they be threatened by a group that has taken no policy positions?”

But liberal groups that worked hard to elect Obama are unhappy with the prospect of having moderate Democrats like Pryor, Bayh and the Blue Dogs in the House trying to slow down his agenda.

“We are going to need almost every Democratic vote to pass the budget,” said MoveOn Executive Director Justin Ruben. “Our ads ensure the voices of our 5 million members and the millions of other Americans who support this budget can be heard over the army of lobbyists.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a registered independent who leans far left, complained that “so-called moderates have the threat of voting with the Republicans” while “those of us who believe in protecting the needs of middle-income working families don’t have that luxury.”

But the Democrats under attack in the new ads claim that they, too, are watching out for working-class families. “My concern is that we have this mountain of debt,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Jason Altmire - one of the targets of the MoveOn.org advertising campaign. “We have a short-term fiscal crisis that we need to dig ourselves out from. Is this the right time to put three massive initiatives in the budget?” - CBS News Story

It is a sad day in America when our own Government has blatantly come down to bullying for votes. I know that it happens, but now it is right out there in the open.

Even if it happened in the past does not make it right. Just as the one Rep said in the article, they are sent to represent us, not the President and Not the Party.

States to Require Mandatory Random Drug Testing for Aid

(AP) Lawmakers in at least eight U.S. states want recipients of food assistance, unemployment benefits or welfare to submit to random drug testing.

The effort comes as more Americans turn to these safety nets to ride out the recession. Poverty and civil liberties advocates fear the strategy could backfire, discouraging some people from seeking financial aid and making already desperate situations worse.

Those in favor of the drug tests say they are motivated out of a concern for their constituents' health and ability to put themselves on more solid financial footing once the economy rebounds. But proponents concede they also want to send a message: you don't get something for nothing.

"Nobody's being forced into these assistance programs," said Craig Blair, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature who has created a Web site - notwithmytaxdollars.com - that bears a likeness of himself advocating this position. "If so many jobs require random drug tests these days, why not these benefits?"

Blair is proposing the most comprehensive measure in the U.S., as it would apply to anyone applying for food assistance, unemployment compensation or the federal programs usually known as welfare.

Lawmakers in other states are offering similar, but more modest proposals.

On Wednesday, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a measure mandating drug testing for the 14,000 or so people getting cash assistance from the state, which now goes before the state senate.

In February, the Oklahoma Senate unanimously passed a measure that would require drug testing as a condition of receiving welfare benefits, and similar bills have been introduced in Missouri and Hawaii.

A Florida senator has proposed a bill linking unemployment compensation to drug testing, and a member of Minnesota's House of Representatives has a bill requiring drug tests of people who get public assistance under a state program there.

A January attempt in the Arizona Senate to establish such a law failed. - CBS News Story

I don't see where the issue would be for this. If the government is giving you financial support using our tax dollars, why wouldn't it be prudent to be sure that the you are not wasting money on illegal activities. Furthermore, if you can afford to be supporting a drug habit, then we shouldn't be supporting you. If you need assistance getting off that habit, then that should be made available to you with stricter drug testing guidelines for further aid.

Is North Korea Obama's First International Test?

North Korea mounted a rocket on a launchpad on its northeast coast, American officials said, putting the country well on track for a launch the U.S. and South Korea warned Thursday would be a major provocation with serious consequences.

Pyongyang says the rocket will carry a satellite, but regional powers suspect the North will use the launch to test the delivery technology for a long-range missile capable of striking Alaska. They have said the launch — banned by the U.N. Security Council in 2006 — would trigger sanctions. - FOX News Story

It appears that this is boiling down to a real standoff. Who will blink first? Will North Korea Launch or not? What will the Obama Administration do if they do?

This appears to be the first test of several real Tests Obama will face as President. He faced many questions during the Campaign of how he would handle this, now he has to show it. The World is Watching.

We have an Alternative Mr. Obama - Repubs show their Plan

House Republicans have begun unveiling detailed alternatives to President Barack Obama’s policies — a concerted effort to push back against Democratic efforts to label them “the Party of No.”

On Wednesday, it was a housing plan. Thursday, it will be a big, TV-friendly stack of budget blueprints, “The Republican Road to Recovery.” That’s to match the president’s own platitudinous budget title, “A New Era of Responsibility.”

The House Republicans’ budget document, provided to POLITICO ahead of its release, makes sure no one can miss the point: Each chapter begins “The Republican Plan,” and each section is divided into “The President’s Budget” and “Republicans’ Solution.”

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the housing proposal that he rolled out with eight other House Republicans on Tuesday was “in response to the administration — and the president himself, who continues to say that Republicans don’t have any ideas.”
“We’re here today to say yes we do,” Cantor said. “This is one in a series. It will not be the last. We are committed to trying to pull the agenda back to the mainstream and to respond to the problems facing America’s families today.”

The documents — and the showmanship in releasing them — are the result of frustration by GOP leaders who repeatedly hear on TV that they have no alternatives.

In fact, they had their own plans. They just didn’t get much attention, partly because Republicans sometimes disagreed about them among themselves.

So the entire House GOP elected leadership will join Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, for Thursday’s event. “It’s the old ‘I want to see it in writing,’” said a top House Republican official. “They’re going to see it in writing.”

Another official said: “We need to hold something up and say, ‘Here are our charts. Here are our graphs. It’s real.’”

The principles in the Republican budget will sound familiar: “limits the federal budget from growing faster than the family budget, ... provides universal access to health care and secures entitlements, ... lowers taxes, ... keeps energy and fuel costs low, ... ends the bailouts and reforms the financial system, ... keep the cost of living low.” - Politico Story

I don't know what everyone else thought of the President's News Conference on Tuesday Night, but I thought it was one of the most boring uninformative things that I have seen. I can not believe that Fox moved Idol for that nonsense.

I thought Obama sounded arrogant and didn't answer the hard questions. I also thought that his answer to the AIG Bonus questions was just plain ridiculous. It was a valid question that never received a valid answer.

He likes to repeat over and over that he inherited this mess. A reporter even asked if he was concerned that his kids and the next President would be inheriting his mess. He answered he was concerned, it sure doesn't look like it.

He also said that the Republicans don't have any alternatives and just keep bashing his plan. Well now they are laying out there alternatives. I am sure that they took some time to put out their plan because "they want to know what they are talking about". Now we get to watch the Dems and President bash on their plan and pretend that they want to work in a bipartisan
way to get a workable budget.

Obama's Budget - Insane?

At his press conference last night, President Obama insisted once again that he inherited the budget deficit, and “we’re doing everything we can to reduce that deficit.”

But the deficits over the next 10 years that Obama proposed in his budget are not George Bush’s deficits. They are the deficits that Obama has proposed, resulting from the $1 trillion in increased spending he adopted in the no-stimulus stimulus bill, and the $400 billion supplemental spending bill he supported and also adopted the following week, and the $275 billion housing bailout he proposed the next week, and the $1 trillion bank bailout plan his Treasury Secretary just proposed this week, and the $638 billion he has proposed as a “downpayment” on a new national health insurance entitlement. The health insurance plan will be the most expensive entitlement of all — serious estimates are that it will cost at least $1.2 trillion or more. Does this sound like he is “doing everything we can to reduce that deficit?”

Under the Obama budget, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the national debt will more than double over the next 10 years from 40% of GDP today to a shocking 82%! Ronald Reagan left office with the national debt at 42% of GDP. At the end of World War II, the national debt was just under 114% of GDP. If the economy does not recover permanently next year, as even the Congressional Budget Office (now controlled entirely by Democrats) assumes, Obama could even top that World War II record — spending mostly on welfare and entitlements rather than on fighting the Nazis and Imperial Japan.

Does this sound like we’re “moving from an era of borrow-and-spend to one where we save and invest,” as Obama also said last night?

In fact, there is not one item in Obama’s budget that promotes actual saving and investment. Quite to the contrary, the tax rate increases he proposes for the top income tax brackets, for capital gains, and for dividends will all reduce saving and investment.

The budget Obama proposes for this year increases federal spending by a fiscally insane 34% over the budget adopted for last year, with a total of $4 trillion in federal spending, the highest ever. That spending would equal 28.5% of GDP, an increase in the size of the federal government in Obama’s first year of 42% compared to the postwar average relative to GDP.

The deficit would reach a $1.845 trillion this year, according to the CBO — the highest ever except for World War II. That would be more than 4 times Reagan’s largest deficit, which caused so much howling among liberals and Democrats.

The CBO further estimates that this Obama budget deficit will total an astounding 13.1% of GDP, more than one-eighth of the entire U.S. economy, for the federal deficit alone! That is again the largest in U.S. history except for World War II and more than twice Reagan’s highest deficit as a percent of GDP.

Reagan adopted budget cuts soon after he entered office equal to close to 5% of the federal budget at the time. Even with his defense buildup — which won the Cold War without firing a shot — total federal spending declined from a high of 23.5% of GDP in 1983 to 21.3% in 1988 and 21.2% in 1989. That’s a real reduction in the size of government relative to the economy of 10%.

Obama last night also taunted Republican critics of his budget, saying, “we haven’t seen an alternative budget out of them.” But next week when Congress starts debating the budget, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, will present precisely such an alternative budget. Then we will see what we could have had if we hadn’t elected left-wing extremists to the White House and to run the Congress. - FOX Forum

Now there you have it. Cut the BS that comes from the White House and the Dems in Congress. This is unprecedented times and the keys have now been handed over to the man who is going to drive us right off the cliff.

If this doesn't make you stop and wonder just what the heck is going on in America today, then you must have lost your mind.

These are serious issues and serious problems that we need to meet head on. Just say NO sound pretty darn good right now.

If Congress Would have Read the STIMULUS Bill

The fine print in the stimulus bill authorizing the AIG bonuses, which was rushed through the U.S. Congress at lightning speed, has led to a renewed call for politicians to read legislation before they vote on it.

That kind of rule may seem like plain common sense, but it's surprisingly common for members of Congress to be handed a bill that's hundreds or thousands of pages long -- and have only a few hours to read it before a vote. In other words, legislators may approve complex and important measures even though they may not know what they're actually voting on.

Jim Babka, executive director of a non-profit, non-partisan group called Downsize DC, says the AIG-bonus flap has prompted more interest in a project he's been advocating called Read the Bills Act.

"When they were debating the stimulus bill, Republicans found that this was their most effective talking point," Babka said in an interview on Wednesday. "The way we've written the Read the Bills act, it would cause Congress to slow down and pass smaller bills."

The Read the Bills Act is as simple to describe as it will be difficult for Babka and his allies to enact. A draft they've prepared says that each bill must be read aloud before a quorum in the Senate and House of Representatives; that each legislator voting "aye" must file an affidavit saying they're familiar with the contents; and that laws that don't meet these requirements can be challenged in court.

The only hitch is that no members of the House or Senate have been willing to sponsor this legislation, which would, after all, curb their own power and result in additional duties. Babka says to check back with him in a few weeks for more news.

If momentum develops for Downsize DC's Read the Bills Act, Babka will have Sen. Chris Dodd to thank. The Democratic senator, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, admitted last week that he was responsible -- he pointed the finger at the Obama administration -- for quietly altering the portion of the stimulus bill to allow the AIG bonuses.

Because House and Senate members were given virtually no time to read the bill, nobody noticed those alterations at the time. And that has given read-the-bill proponents a potent new source of ammunition. - CBS News Story

Not only was a big talking point for Republicans, it was a big talking point for Americans. That Stimulus was run through so fast that it is no surprise that the idiots in Washington had no idea what the damn thing said.

F-22 Fighter Jet to be Cut to save money

(CBS) The old New England mill town of Amesbury, Mass., does not look like it has a stake in the battle over the Pentagon's high tech, big ticket weapons. But, as CBS News correspondent David Martin reports, it does.

The F-22 - the most expensive fighter ever built - is on the chopping block. So are the 120 employees of Amesbury's Arc Technologies which manufactures the special coating that makes the F-22 a stealth aircraft.

This is not just about whether America needs the F-22 for its security. It's about what happens to the jobs the F-22 has brought to towns like Amesbury.

Arc President Chip Madden says nearly half his workforce will have to go if funding for the F-22 is cut off.

"The thought of it turns my stomach," Madden says. "It makes me ill to think about it."

Lockheed Martin, the plane's manufacturer, says 95,000 jobs nationwide depend on keeping the F-22 production line open.

The company has deals with contractors in 44 states to produce parts - it's called political engineering, according to Pierre Sprey, who helped build an earlier generation of jets. He says that has contributed to the planes staggering price tag - $62 billion for the 183 built so far - $339 million for each one.

"A good part of that has to do with doling out tiny contracts all over the country," Sprey says.

Local jobs are a powerful political tool, Martin points out, but is spreading those contracts out effective?

"It sure keeps 'em kill proof, you'll see," Sprey says.

The F-22 is designed to be kill proof in the air. A cockpit simulator gives some idea of what it's like to fly a super-sonic stealth aircraft.

It's as high as high-tech gets, but none of the nearly 200 planes have seen combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That's why Congressman Joe Sestak, D-Pa., a retired three-star Admiral, doesn't want to buy any more.

"I think we have the right number now," Sestak says, adding that he would cut off funding for more jets if it were up to him.

That would leave Bob Frost, who programs Arc's precision drills, looking for a new job in a town whose unemployment rate has already doubled.

"The president's promising jobs but the way it's been going lately a lot of people's losing jobs," Frost says.

What started out as a fighter for the 21st Century, has turned into an economic stimulus package. - CBS News

That is the problem with American Politics. The cost is ridiculously high because the main contractor needs to hand out bits and pieces of the Contract to spread out the workforce so that the people in Washington will support it. If it was all being built in one state, the only people who would be for it is, that states Reps.

If it is an important item that needs to be purchased we should be doing whatever it takes to get it done and done for a reasonable price. I dare say $300+ Million per plane is not reasonable.

Clinton - "We share the blame" - Mexico

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Mexico in its violent struggle against drug cartels, and acknowledged the U.S. shares blame because of its demand for drugs and supply of weapons.

She said the United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with violence now spilling across the border and promised cooperation to improve security on both sides.

"The criminals and kingpins spreading violence are trying to corrode the foundations of law, order, friendship and trust between us that support our continent. They will fail," she told Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa. "We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you."

On Tuesday, the Obama administration pledged to send more money, technology and manpower to secure the border in the U.S. Southwest and help Mexico battle the cartels. Clinton also said Wednesday that the White House will seek an additional $80 million to help Mexico buy Blackhawk helicopters.

All that is in addition to a three-year, $1.4 billion Bush administration-era program to support Mexico's efforts. Congress already has approved $700 million. President Barack Obama has said he wants to revamp the initiative.

Obama said Tuesday he wanted the U.S. to do more to prevent guns and cash from illicit drug sales from flowing into Mexico. But Clinton's remarks appeared more forceful in recognizing the U.S. share of the blame. In the past, particularly under the Bush administration, Mexican officials have complained that Washington failed to acknowledge the extent that the U.S. drug demand and weapons smuggling fuels the violence.

"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," Clinton told reporters, adding: "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians." - FOX News Story

You bet we share the blame. A majority of the fighting is for the lucrative supply lines into the USA. The saddest part of it all is that we have been very lazy about helping to do anything about it. That border should be one of the most secure borders in the world. Not only is it in our best interest to lock it down, but it is Mexico's interest as well. But the do good Dems have resisted locking the border down.

Employee Free Choice Act - Bullies Non-Union Workers

The Employee Free Choice Act -- known as the "card check" bill pending in Congress -- calls for an easier system to allow employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, but some workers say that the bill is giving unions the green light to use aggressive tactics to get them to sign up.

Under the bill, employees can request blank cards from an existing unions and request signatures on the card from employees. The legislation will allow companies to hold secret ballot elections to decide on unionization if 30 percent of employees sign the cards.

Though the bill is still pending, some companies like the Dana Corporation Auto Parts plant in Albion, Ind., have already begun using the card check process.

Union organizers came to the plant two years ago to ask employees to join the United Auto Workers and sign a card -- an effort that was permitted because the company signed a neutrality agreement with the union.

But accusations about the UAW's aggressive campaign to get signatures has ignited fury among plant workers, some of whom claim they were hassled, intimidated and harassed by union organizers until they signed the card.

Some workers allege union organizers followed them to their cars -- and even showed up at their homes demanding a signature.

"We're here in a little town and we're a a plant of 50 some people -- you know the last thing you need is to have the union coming to your door saying I want your name," Dana employee Jamie Oliver told FOX News.

Some plant employees claimed the card check process created divisiveness at work, causing some employees to be threatened by coworkers who had wanted the union.

The UAW declined to give comment to FOX News on the employees' complaints.

The latest version of the Employee Free Choice Act was introduced to both chambers of Congress on March 10, 2009. - FOX News

What is your part of the National Debt?

Welcome to the world, Jada -- you owe $22,000.

And it's not gonna get better.

That figure -- about the price of a new Camaro -- represents the share of the public debt carried by anybody born in the United States today, according to the fiscal watchdog group The Concord Coalition.

Take Jada Grace Larsen. She was born Sunday at New Jersey's Hackensack Medical Center.

"I'm nervous for her and her future and what she's being born into," mother Jeanmarie Larsen, 37, told FOXNews.com Wednesday.

She and her husband Andrew, 35, said they plan to raise their newborn to know the "value of the dollar" by teaching her to live within her means and avoid frivolous spending.

But if Washington doesn't do the same, the individual burden from the national debt only gets more expensive down the road.

When Jada is 10 years old, for example, that per-person debt increases to about $51,000 -- based on the latest deficit and debt projections by the Congressional Budget Office, which looked at the impact of President Obama's budget proposal in 2019.

Josh Gordon, policy director at The Concord Coalition, said such soaring debt levels, while sometimes hard to comprehend, have myriad adverse effects down the road.

"The interest you're paying sucks up valuable resources," Gordon said. "It leads to a situation where we're more at the whims of international investors."

The total national debt, as of this week, is above $11 trillion.

Gordon arrived at a per-person figure based only on the amount of debt held by the public, or $6.7 trillion. The price tag? $22,000 a head. - Fox News Story

That is what Obama Calls redistribution of Wealth. Add more and more to all of our debt and bailout the big wigs from AIG, Citi, Fannie, Freddie, etc.......