Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Constituting America

Constituting America "The very first part of the First Amendment to our Constitution reads as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…” What does this text (commonly known as the Establishment Clause) mean? Does it mean the same thing today as it did when it was enacted? Today’s post will focus on this topic. The first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution were adopted because many of the Founders feared that the new federal government they were setting up would become tyrannical."  Michael Krauss, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law

Janine Turner: “It’s affected my career, too”

Hot Air "Why speak out, then? Turner says she’s tired of people in her industry who meet in secret and “won’t take a stand.” She’s taking her case public, offering video podcasts of her thoughts on the Constitution, very informal segments that entertain as well as enlighten. The site also offers more serious analysis by Constitutional scholars such as Professor Michael Krauss of George Mason School of Law’s essay  on the amendments today. Be sure to check it out and keep checking back for more."

Our 'Insulter-in-Chief' about to go into overdrive

American Thinker  "The derision that greets Republicans or tea partiers is meant to chill free speech..while the praise heaped on Barack Obama is meant to energize the troops." Ed Lasky .Then this: Insulter-In-Chief:  "By now he's insulted just about everything and everyone. I list some of his insults below, in alphabetical order by insultee. Let the healing begin."




Obama is a Bully

CNBC "Hmm, now that I think about it, nor can I recall any other modern President who has spent so much effort lambasting his immediate predecessor. Reagan didn’t do it to Carter. Clinton didn’t do it to the first George Bush. And the worst part is, we’re barely calling out Obama the Bully on this behavior at all. We are becoming entirely too accustomed to it, failing to see it for what it really is: a striking lack of civility, and an overflow of divisiveness, from a President who had promised to give us precisely the opposite."

Demonizing Goldman Sachs

Powerline "I'm not a particular fan of either Goldman Sachs or Congress, but today's hearing confirms that, given a choice, I'd rather have Goldman Sachs regulating Congress than Congress regulating Goldman Sachs. Goldman's employees are much smarter, considerably more honest, and far more likely to have my interests at heart."  Maybe Goldman can write that $900k donation to the Obama campaign as a  loss.

The Contract from America; in case you missed it last time

The Contract from America "...8. Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy.Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation, lowering prices and creating competition and jobs."

America's enemies testing our resolve

American Thinker "Example number one. North Korea torpedoes a South Korean warship in international waters, killing 46 South Korean naval personnel. This should have triggered an immediate, decisive, military response by the United States as guarantor of South Korea's security but no response has been forthcoming despite the event having taken place over a month ago. North Korea has certainly taken notice. Attacks by the North Koreans on South Korea will increase in frequency and severity because North Korea now knows that the U.S. will not use it's military to stop them or allow the South Koreans to respond in kind." This is what those people with "peace" bumper stickers all wanted the US to be like.

Steele's latest goof

American Thinker "Apparently, the creation of a dependency state in which misery trickles down is a winning platform for Democrats; whereas, limited government, low taxes, free markets and self-reliance is a loser for Republicans."

About those lower insurance costs we promised . . .

WSJ   "In fact, the real choice with medical care, as with any good or service, is between rationing via politics and bureaucratic lines or via a competitive market and prices. As Democrats are showing by trying to pass a new insurance bill, they want all U.S. health care to function like price-controlled Medicare. Dr. Berwick's job as the country's largest purchaser of health care will be to find ways to offset the higher insurance and medical costs that ObamaCare's subsidies and mandates will cause, which will inevitably mean political rationing of care."

Costly IRS Mandate Slipped into Health Bill

CATO "Basically, businesses will have to issue 1099s whenever they do more than $600 of business with another entity in a year. For the $14 trillion U.S. economy, that’s a hell of a lot of 1099s. When a business buys a $1,000 used car, it will have to gather information on the seller and mail 1099s to the seller and the IRS. When a small shop owner pays her rent, she will have to send a 1099 to the landlord and IRS. Recipients of the vast flood of these forms will have to match them with existing accounting records. There will be huge numbers of errors and mismatches, which will probably generate many costly battles with the IRS."

No More Beer Summits: Tea Party ‘N-Word’ Incident Didn’t Happen, And the Congressional Black Caucus Owes America an Apology

Andrew Breitbart "When I offered a reward of $100,000 to be donated to the United Negro College Fund if anyone produced video and audio evidence that this occurred, I was accused of a publicity stunt (because everyone knows that the best way to get publicity in America is to accuse a civil rights icon of lying about racism). Rep. Carson himself suggested that my challenge was “a veiled attempt to justify actions that are simply unjustifiable.” Get it? He calls protesters racist and if you ask him to prove it, you’re a racist, too.
Needless to say, no one has claimed the $100,000."

TODAY'S GOLDMAN HEARING

Boortz   "In everything the left does there is always the quest for more power. They cannot see why they should not be controlling something as large as the U.S. economy; but to do that they must first demonize and then destroy the major private aspects of that economy. One of those battles will be fought today in a hearing room on Capitol Hill."