Speak Up on D.C. Schools, Mr. President

WSJ  "That deafening roar you hear—that's the sound of Barack Obama's silence on the future of school reform in the District of Columbia. And if he doesn't break it soon, he may become the first president in two decades to have left Washington's children with fewer chances for a good school than when he started."

Congress takes a recess

Lisa Benson, Townhall

California, There It Went

Jennifer Rubin  "As promised, Prop 13 drastically reduced property taxes and permitted residential homes to be re-assessed only at the time of sale, fixes that relieved homeowners of the heavy tax burden that had fueled the revolt. But Prop 13 had other effects as well. Local governments lost nearly a quarter of their revenue, and the state, which was then flush with cash, stepped in to take over school and social-welfare funding. This centralized spending in Sacramento and made the state capital an unparalleled target of opportunity for special-interest groups, which became expert in navigating the unwieldy bureaucracy and convoluted budgeting apparatus."
 California legislatures had a preponderance of liberals whose policies then ruled the entire state. I see California as a true example of a government ruled by leftists.

Pelosi Endorses ‘Global’ Tax on Stocks, Bonds, and other Financial Transactions

CNS News  "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed the idea of a “global” tax on stock trades and other financial transactions, saying the estimated $150 billion in annual revenue from such a tax could be used to help fund more stimulus spending."  Now the left can't back away from this because in their twisted logic, that would be giving away money the government can't afford.

FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TAX?  "A financial transaction tax would most likely start out at around 1%. If you made a $500 deposit into your savings account, $5 would go to Washington. If your employer automatically deposited you $1,845 paycheck into your account every two weeks, $18.45 would go to the federal government. That's what happens when your money goes INTO your account? But what about when it comes OUT? Well, that's another financial transaction, isn't it? Charge a $80 dinner for two to your Visa card, 80 cents to the government. Let's say your car payment is $390 per month. Every time you make that payment $3.90 goes to the government. Over 36 months this would amount to $140. Now remember .. you already paid income tax on this money ... and here comes another 1% going in, and 1% coming out."
 Neal Boortz

Obamacare’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan ‘Isn’t Living up to Expectations’

National Review It’s a centerpiece of President Obama’s health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable. But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn’t living up to expectations.

Federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) Premiums  "People living in states with a federally-run Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan can now find out their premium costs. What will HHS PCIP coverage cost?"

Blagojevich issue casts shadow on Emanuel

Chicago Tribune   "Much will be made of Rahm Emanuel's ties to President Barack Obama as Emanuel returns to Chicago in preparation for a mayoral run, but he also will have to deal with his connections to the state's most toxic politician — former Gov. Rod Blagojevich."

‘Saturday Night Live’ Takes On Rahm Emanuel  "Mr. Emanuel’s exit was also a topic of the “Weekend Update” segment on “SNL,” with Seth Meyers joking, “On Friday the White House released Rahm Emanuel back into the wild.” "

Pelosi's Vote to Adjourn Could Be Her Last Hurrah

Michael Barone   "It happened late Wednesday night, so it didn't get much coverage: Speaker Nancy Pelosi cast the deciding vote when the House voted, 210-209, to adjourn.
"That's significant because, by custom, the speaker ordinarily doesn't vote except on issues of special importance. And because Pelosi, who has shown impressive ability to deliver Democratic majorities on one tough roll call after another for four years, was scrambling to prevail on what is ordinarily a routine vote."

Just Swastikas

Prof. Mike Adams  "City officials in Indianapolis are investigating a bakery that refused to take an order from an IUPUI student group seeking rainbow-colored cupcakes for their National Coming Out Day. A spokesman for Mayor Greg Ballard said city officials are conducting an investigation into a bakery, Just Cookies, which declined to take the order.

"After the so-called diversity group ordered the rainbow cupcakes Just Cookies co-owner David Stockton told them theirs was a family-run business. He also explained that he has two young, impressionable daughters and, therefore, thought it was best not to make the cupcakes.

"Then the government got involved. "Whatever this gentleman's personal views are, it cannot interfere with the providing of a service or allowing someone to buy their goods," said an official of the local government."

Useful Idiots And Usual Suspects

Photo: Pat Dollard.com

 Townhall  "Though the ideologies are vastly different and even the methodologies used in propagation don’t always resemble each other, the Communist threat of the Cold War and before, as well as the current conflict with Islamism, have one clear and sad thing in common.
"Our enemies have been aided and abetted by liberal dupes.
"That’s right, the names and faces change over time, but the gullibility and culpability of the ever-present usual suspects of American liberalism continue to provide cover for our enemies, as was the case—now completely documented—from 1917 to 1989."

'Code Pink' rethinks its call for Afghanistan pullout   "In Afghanistan, the US women's activist group finds that their Afghan counterparts want US troop presence – as well as more reconstruction."  But this doesn't mean they are not still useful idiots.

Peace Doesn't Keep Itself

WSJ   "Furthermore, military spending is not a net drain on our economy. It is unrealistic to imagine a return to long-term prosperity if we face instability around the globe because of a hollowed-out U.S. military lacking the size and strength to defend American interests around the world."
By ARTHUR C. BROOKS, EDWIN J. FEULNER AND WILLIAM KRISTOL

An Orienting Principle for Foreign Policy "The principal security threat of the last several centuries — war among the major powers — is gone. The destruction that would result from nuclear war among countries with secure second-strike capability has eliminated any ambiguity about the cost of war. Poorly governed and weak states now present the greatest threat to the national security of the United States, the stability of the existing global order, and the vitality of the domestic orders of the major industrialized democracies."

No Silver Bullet for Thwarting Terrorists Aboard Small Boats    "The 9/11 attacks proved that terrorists can use virtually any vehicle to strike.
"Small boats are no exception. And experts agree they will remain a weapon of choice in the maritime environment, given their low cost, ease of deployment and success record."  More here and here

The Obama Experts vs. the Rule of Law

The Foundry  "The Founders understood that there are two fundamental ways in which government can exercise its authority. The first is a system of arbitrary rule, where the government decides how to act on an ad hoc basis, leaving decisions up to the whim of whatever official or officials happen to be in charge; the second way is to implement a system grounded in the rule of law, where legal rules are made in advance and published, binding both government and citizens and allowing the latter to know exactly what they have to do or not to do in order to avoid the coercive authority of the former."

Elizabeth Warren  My mother the czar :  "Current Position: Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ."

 President Obama picks Elizabeth Warren ... and thumbs his nose at the Senate  "Senate confirmation of the bureau's director was one of the few checks Congress built into an office that otherwise will be very powerful and independent."

Elizabeth Warren's profitable conflict of interest  "So we get one more unvetted Obama official to follow in the trail of tax cheats, shady government contractors and 9/11 truthers whom Obama has pushed into positions of public trust."

Iran is bent on avenging cyber attack, raising military tensions

DEBKAfile  "The timeline of this attack revolves around the state visit to Lebanon President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has scheduled for Oct. 13-14, during which he will tour the Israeli border. Preying heavily on Iran too are the personal sanctions the United States has just imposed on its top military brass and ministers."

ANALYSIS / How Israel's war with Iran will be fought  from Haaretz "Vered argues further that only the fear the Iranian regime being toppled could bring such a war to an end. But, it seems unlikely that Israel will be able to pose a real threat to the Iranian regime, and "in the absence of a way out, acceptable to both sides, the war could continue for a very long time." "

Al Qaeda Already Gaming Out War Between Israel and Iran from The Daily Beast "Shehri expects the Iranian Shia regime to try to take advantage of an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities to seize the holy cities of Mecca and Medina by blaming Saudi Arabia for helping Israel attack. In turn, the Israelis will seize territory in the Levant to establish “the greater state of Israel.” The Sunni Arab population of the Middle East will be caught between the “Jews in the Middle East and Iran in the Peninsula.”