Podcast Address: http://www.FredThompsonShow.com/podcast
Jeff Flake For Congress
Supporting OUR team even in good times
There has been some a Twitter about Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6) these last couple of days. Jeff is a great guy, the type of representation we yearn for (can we clone him 534 times?) and he is from MY congressional district. I received this in the email today and believe that we need to make sure he receives plenty of attention; why, because we want every representative to be like Jeff!
——————————————-
Dear PhxG,
As you probably know, after promising on the campaign trail to eliminate earmarks, President Obama signed the omnibus spending bill this week totaling $410 billion, including nearly 9,000 earmarks. What’s more disturbing is that forty percent of the earmark requests were from Republicans. When will we ever learn?
This week, I also introduced my third resolution asking Congress to open up an ethics investigation to look at the correlation between earmarks and campaign contributions. While we were defeated again, please know that I will continue to offer resolutions on the pay-to-play connection between earmarking and campaign contributions until my colleagues in Congress agree that we need a higher ethical standard on the issue.
The San Francisco Examiner ran an opinion piece last Friday on my efforts to eliminate earmarks. I hope you’ll take a few moments to read it and share it with your friends and family members.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Jeff
An Interesting Conversation With A Liberal
Ignorance Abounds
A couple of days ago (Thurs) I had a nice conversation with a family member. This is an unusual event as while we do converse, it’s mostly about family things and my son and you know, nothing of any importance. But he called me looking for a specific opinion on politics.
He is a VERY smart man. He is a well known and powerful big law managing partner. And he is a big liberal. Not an average liberal but one with serious connections. He threw an Obama Party during the convention. From “that side” of my family my only conclusion is that I must be adopted.
His question was one of simplicity; if Obama is so smart, so able to bring a consensus among Americans to elect him, why is he screwing over America with his socialist ideals?
This gave me pause. Not because I have some great political/social insight, heck my teaspoon of knowledge is no comparison to the Olympic size pool of knowledge that makes up the RS Directors. And really, his brain power is amazing to the point that he would make Pejmin appear just normal. No, what I see is someone who was duped into believing the emotional appeal of Hope & Change® and that politics can be what it is not.
My answer was as simple as I could muster;
Obama is a liberal, or even more accurately a socialist with adequate past performance to have determined what type of policies and directions he would impart upon the nation.
Add into the mix the ability to get pretty much anything through congress and willingness to convey a message of income redistribution by punishing success. And the result will be a protracted economic recovery, limited if even existent investment into business and the market and a general hunkering down among the people that create wealth. After all, why would you want to do anything that would increase your wealth if the confiscation of it (which he objected to the use of that term) meant that your work was punished.
At this point we discussed the potential of Obama and Co; you know, the platitudes of it takes time, Bush policies are causing all this etc. And then things got weird. He posed the question: Because people are hurting so bad from job loss, isn’t it the governments responsibility to restore those jobs?
With further clarification, I was literally beside myself. This brilliant man had conceded that jobs, in general were the result of government direction and were the “property” of government. This was a great but sad nite for me as this successful person had presented an ideological position ignorant at how society worked.
Ron Silver: RIP
Repost of Pajamas Media Blogger Roger Simon
And still other people have dead on guts that make the rest of us seem like terrified guppies in a sea of cowards.
That was Ron Silver.
Ron had been fighting terminal stomach cancer for well over two years now as if it were some minor skirmish interrupting his otherwise important dedication to the future of this country. And what a dedication that was – twenty-four hours of every day, when they didn’t drag him into Sloan Kettering for treatment… the place Ron would call to his friends with characteristic gallows humor – Sloan Spa.
We all knew Ron had cancer and most of us, I suspect, had some idea how bad it was. The summer before last (I think it was then) I remember him telling me about his recent operation. He was out for about six hours, he told me, and when he woke up he looked at the doctor and asked her how it went. She told him she couldn’t take out the cancer. It had metastasized. The six hours were for nothing. She had to sew him back up. They gave him about three to four months to live at that point.
My heart went into my toes, but Ron told me that matter-of-factly and then he went on to apologize for not writing some article or other for Pajamas Media and then asked me how I was doing. That was Ron.
We had a close relationship that came from a strange confluence of events. Perhaps the best movie that either of us worked on was the same one. – Enemies, A Love Story. But that wasn’t the real reason – it was politics. We had stayed friends after Enemies, as movie folks sometimes do when they have worked on something together that was successful, critically or commercially. We discussed other projects, but our relationship was fairly superficial then and gradually we drifted apart during the nineties.
Then 9/11 came and Ron and I were thrown together once again. We were 9/11 Democrats. We talked on the phone about our journey and the alienation we were feeling from some our friends, but we didn’t come face-to-face until the Republican Convention of 2004. I was a blogger there and feeling rather weird – an old leftie gone right – but there was Ron, far more out than I was, speaking to the entire convention. And he was brilliant. The man could speak in public as well as almost any politician and he had more intellectual background than almost all of them too. He swept the convention audience off their feet.
Ron and I renewed our friendship in the corridors of Madison Square Garden that year and that friendship became faster than it ever was. I think I knew better than most what he was going through in the political sphere, had some sense of his feelings when confronting his peers in the entertainment industry. He gave me tremendous strength. I hope I give him back even a hundredth of what he gave me.
I am writing this in a hurry because of the recent announcement of his death at the age of 62 – and I will undoubtedly write more about Ron – but I would like to share one other moment in recent years.
Somewhere around a year ago we were having breakfast in New York. He wasn’t looking good, hair thin from chemo, sallow complexion, etc. His energy, however, as always, was spectacularly high and he was filled with plans for his new Sirius radio show. But something was wrong. It wasn’t just the cancer, but it was related to the cancer. Ron was, above all things, an actor, a fantastic actor. And the cancer made him unable to do that work. He told me he had just been offered the lead in Coriolanus at the Long Wharf, but didn’t think he could do it. He would be too tired with his illness to play a Shakespeare lead. His artistic work was all over for him. It was the one time in all the recent years I saw him on the edge of tears.
Obama Says No to Troops at US-Mexico Border
"We’ve got a very big border with Mexico," he said. "I’m not interested in militarizing the border."
[The Mexican drug violence] he said Wednesday that so far it hasn’t spilled into this country enough to justify sending troops to the border.– Barack Obama
Yes, you read that right, Mexican inspired drug violence hasn’t spilled into this country enough to justify sending troops to the border. Now being an average Joe I certainly am not privy to Presidential Briefings, but one would think that such news reports like: Mexico Drug Violence May Be Reaching Peak: More Than 1,000 People Have Died In Two Months, But Attorney General Says Cartels Are "Melting Down"
Perhaps currently known drug activity perpetrated by Mexican gangs already in the US is not enough to spur closing the US-Mexico border. After all, they are already here, what difference will it make now. Besides, we already know Obama’s position on legalizing certain drugs.
On Wednesday, Obama named a national drug czar, Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. Bush had given the post Cabinet rank. Obama removed that designation but said that’s no reflection of how seriously he takes the effort to curtail drug use.
And in the announcement of Mr. Kerlikowske to the position, Vice President Biden affirmed that the policies of drug interdiction supported by former President Bush will go by the wayside opting instead for:
The White House will push for treatment, rather than jail, for people arrested for drug-related crimes…The choice, announced by the Vice-President, Joe Biden, signal a sharp departure from Bush administration policies, away from cutting the supply of illicit drugs from foreign countries and toward curbing drug use across the United States.
Now, you may ask what does the initial point about Mexican drug violence, an open US-Mexico border and lax prosecution on illicit drugs have in common? Just one thing, increased crime. Look for more great headlines across the fruited pain like these:
Violent spillover from Mexico is focus of House hearing -CNN
Atlanta Reeling Under Mexican Drug Cartel Violence -Newsmax
The Mexican Drug War is Hitting Very Close to Home –KBMT
Cocaine production surge unleashes wave of violence in Latin America -The Guardian
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Fred Thompson Radio Show 3/12/09
Podcast Address: http://www.FredThompsonShow.com/podcast
Book Suggestion: Ric Edelman, Author of "Rescue Your Money"
The Obama Rosetta Stone
What better way to see in to the mind of a madman then through his writings
Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal brings us this insightful idea of understanding Obama. Of course we already know Obama, and this is just reinforcement, but more proof is always a better argument.
Let me introduce his third, a book that will touch everyone’s life: "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America’s Promise. The President’s Budget and Fiscal Preview" (Government Printing Office, 141 pages, $26; free on the Web). This is the U.S. budget for laymen, and it’s a must read. Turn immediately to page 11. There sits a chart called Figure 9. This is the Rosetta Stone to the presidential mind of Barack Obama. Memorize Figure 9, and you will never be confused.
The one on page 11 is attributed to "Piketty and Saez."
Either you know instantly what "Piketty and Saez" means, or you don’t. If you do, you spent the past two years working to get Barack Obama into the White House. If you don’t, their posse has a six-week head start on you.
Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, French economists, are rock stars of the intellectual left. Their specialty is "earnings inequality" and "wealth concentration."
Thanks to Pej, we are now well aware of the Laffer Curve as it is an economic argument for lowering tax rates for everyone. Piketty-Saez is a moral argument for raising taxes on the rich.
It’s important to understand who Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez are. They are economists, of course but they are, in reviewing their positions, pure socialists.
Piketty has written such wonderful position papers titled: Social mobility and redistributive politics; Can fiscal redistribution undo skill-biased technical progress; Income inequality in the United States, 1913-1998; there’s more, but you get the picture.
Not to be left out Saez has also written many papers with the focus on income and wealth concentration (read stealing from the poor). But one stands out as even more devious; "The Elasticity of Taxable Income with Respect to Marginal Tax Rates: A Critical Review" with Joel Slemrod and Seth Giertz, preliminary draft February 2009, in preparation for the Journal of Economics Literature. Elasticity is about how much you can charge for a product before consumer demand drops so Saez is implying that the government should raise taxes as high as possible until there is essentially revolt.
These are the people our president has chosen to include into the budget as reinforcement of the reasoning to raise taxes.
The "top 1%" isn’t just going to pay for these policies. Many of them would assent to that. The rancorous language used to describe these taxpayers makes it clear that as a matter of public policy they will be made to "pay for" the fact of their wealth — no matter how many of them worked honestly and honorably to produce it. No Democratic president in 60 years has been this explicit.
The White House says its goal is simple "fairness." That may be, as they understand fairness. But Figure 9 makes it clear that for the top earners, there will be blood. This presidency is going to be an act of retribution. In the words of the third book from Mr. Obama, "it is our duty to change it."
Taxation for one, taxation for all. Even people I know who are pro-Obama are opening their eyes to the anti-success, anti-business Obama policies coming out now. And they are scared just like I am.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Obama’s DVD Gift Basket to PM Brown: The List
Yes, we have heard a lot about the “I Found It on Ebay” gift that Obama gave Prime Minister Brown on his first visit with our esteemed 44th President. What has not been revealed so far is exactly which 25 DVD’s were part of the gift; until now that is.
* Citizen Kane
* The Godfather
* Casablanca
* Raging Bull
* Singin’ in the Rain
* Gone with the Wind
* Lawrence of Arabia
* Schindler’s List
* Vertigo
* The Wizard of Oz
* City Lights
* The Searchers
* Star Wars: Episode IV
* Psycho
* 2001: A Space Odyssey
* Sunset Boulevard
* The Graduate
* The General
* On the Waterfront
* It’s a Wonderful Life
* Chinatown
* Some Like It Hot
* The Grapes of Wrath
* ET: The Extra-Terrestrial
* To Kill a Mockingbird
I wonder if Weird Al was inspirational in the selection?
Also available at PhxGonline.com
The 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America [updated]
Because killing trees for newsprint should be illegal
[update 3/15/09]
After 138 years in business Tucson Citizen to close March 21st
——————————————————
The New York Daily News (#8) has replied to Time’s assertion that they are failing.
Daily News CEO Marc Kramer
"This is an irresponsible article that is totally unfounded and baseless," Kramer said. "Had this writer made one phone call to the Daily News, he would know that every so-called fact is wrong."
Kramer said The News is "in a strong position, investing heavily in what we see as a bright future as the dominant media outlet in New York."
By the end of this year, Kramer said, "We will become the most modern, high-quality newspaper in America as we bring our new presses into operation – a prospect that has thrilled advertisers and will excite the market."
Yes, I agree. Because their website is moving to mimic TMZ.com; which apparently is a pretty hot property these days. Octomom post in 3…..2……1…… NOW.
——————————————————————
From Time
24/7 Wall St. has created a list of the 10 major daily papers that are most likely to fold or shutter their print operations and only publish online…Based on this analysis, it’s possible that 8 of the nation’s 50 largest daily newspapers could cease publication in the next 18 months.
1. The Philadelphia Daily News – Current circulation 100,000
2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune – Current circulation 300,000
3. The Miami Herald – Current circulation 220,000
4. The Detroit News – Current circulation 202,000
5. The Boston Globe – Current circulation 350,000
6. The San Francisco Chronicle – Current circulation 370,000
7. The Chicago Sun-Times – Current circulation 312,000
8. The New York Daily News – Current circulation 703,000
9. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram – Current circulation 200,000
10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer – Current circulation 1,028,900 (Sunday)
I’m planning 4-6 failures personally.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Fred Thompson Radio Show: 3/10/09
Praise be the Lord: PODCASTS are here!!
Podcast Address: http://www.FredThompsonShow.com/podcast
Obama & Clinton Offend The Russians
Which one really is the chërnyi
From Politico
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened her first extended talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by giving him a present meant to symbolize the Obama administration’s vow to “press the reset button” on U.S.-Russia relations.
She handed a palm-sized box wrapped with a bow. Lavrov opened it and pulled out the gift: a red button on a black base with a Russian word peregruzka printed on top.“We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?” Clinton asked.
“You got it wrong,” Lavrov said.
Instead of "reset," Lavrov said the word on the box meant “overcharge.”
Really, if Obama is so smart, how come his team gets everything wrong?
Also available at PhxGonline.com
AZ Governor Asks Legislature For $1 Billion in New Taxes
With republicans like this who needs democrats
There is no doubt that Arizona, like many other states has a financial problem. Combined with the wonton free spending spree started by then Democrat Governor Janet Napolitano (now Homeland Security Secretary) and the sudden housing bubble pop in a state that was dependant upon that income. Heck, even the popular and always in demand TAZER is having problems.
From AZ Central
Gov. Jan Brewer is asking lawmakers to approve or send to the ballot a temporary tax increase that would generate $1 billion a year for state government…Chronic overspending and a deep economic downturn have left the state with a budget shortfall totaling roughly $3 billion for fiscal 2010. At its current rate of spending, Brewer warned legislators that state government would accumulate $13 billion in combined deficit by 2014.
This is not the action of a true conservative. However, there may be a silver lining on the black cloud. Also outlined by Gov. Brewer:
• Amend the Voter Protection Act of 1998, which would allow legislators to redirect or cut funding to certain state programs that were approved via citizens initiative. This would impact everything from the First Things First early-childhood-education program to Clean Elections.
• Use spending cuts and other fiscal maneuvers to trim another $1 billion from the state general fund for fiscal 2010.
Reform the state budget process by limiting fund sweeps and revising how revenue estimates are reached.
• A series of tax cuts that would begin in 2012. The cuts would be aimed at building "a more friendly tax code that attracts investment capital and helps create high wage, sustainable jobs."
Former Governor Fife Symington and Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6) “…are warning against raising sales or other taxes to solve the state’s $3 billion and growing budget gap.
Flake and Symington sent a letter to lawmakers Tuesday asking them to oppose any sales or other tax hike push, arguing it would hurt consumers and the economy.
“Last year, 120,000 Arizonans lost their jobs,” Flake and Symington wrote. “Saddling this anemic economy with higher taxes will exacerbate job losses, slow productivity, and cast a psychological pall over an increasing number of anxious Arizona workers and employers. California has tried to solve their budget chaos by raising taxes.”
There is no excuse for asking for tax increases and I am against them completely. Bravo Jeff Flake!!
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Late Night TV: Still Hands Off Obama
I personally was wondering when late night TV was going to start in on Obama. Chris Rocks says Obama is unable to be made the butt of a joke because he is too much like Will Smith.
But seriously, Obama has stuck his foot in mouth many, many times and all we hear is crickets from Leno, Letterman, Conan et. al.
From Tim Slagle at Big Hollywood
What a bountiful two weeks of comedy material we had. Our elegant man in the White House thought the capital of Canada was Iowa and proved that they don’t teach Industrial History at Harvard. There was also this photo…
Of course we know what happens when someone uses a comic to portray Obama. A firestorm of pointing out that you are a racist.
Get in on the pool now, my date for jokes to begin is August 28, 2013.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
The REAL Commander-in-Chief
I get the impression that ol\'Barack lacks a quality held dear to Marines
From BlackFive via The Real REVO
It can be safely said that President George Bush was liked and respected by the Marine Corps. Certainly a surprise visit to serve the troops Thanksgiving dinner during the peak of insurgent activity may have worried the secret service, but he went anyway. President Bush may have rode off into the sunset, but he is remembered.
And I would like to plug the HBO original movie Taking Chance. Check the schedule here.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Fred Thompson Radio Show dot Com
Right this minute I am listening to the dulcet tones of Fred Thompson on the radio. You too can listen at http://fredthompsonshow.com/.
Today’s Program:
Hour 1
Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) Will talk about the economic stimulus package and his refusal to accept some government funds from his state.
Hour 2
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) Will talk about the top issues of the day, including President Obama’s budget, the economic stimulus bill, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The press release (PDF) says:
New York, NY – December 22, 2008 – Westwood One is pleased to announce the debut of The Fred Thompson Show
on March 2, 2009. The show will replace The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly…“When folks listen to a radio show, they make an appointment with it. It is the ideal way for me to continue my dialog
with America about the issues we all face each day,” said Thompson.
Let me be the first to welcome Fred to the airwaves and wish him great success.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Republican Celebrities; More of Them Than You Think
In honor of the EPU two sentence diary declaration
At a time when it appears every celebrity is an Obamaton. I present a great list of celebrities who are Republicans.
Also available at PhxGonline.com
Moe Lane
Dan Spencer
Dan McLaughlin
Jeff Emanuel
