White House, Congress poised for battle over tax breaks in lame-duck session

WaPo  "If President Obama, his weakened Democratic allies and a resurgent Republican Party cannot find a way to work together, taxes will rise sharply in January for virtually every American taxpayer, and more than 3 million people will lose their unemployment checks - which together could suck more than $300 billion out of the pockets of consumers and business owners next year.
"Economists across the political spectrum say such a blow would be devastating to the economy and has the potential to halt the fragile recovery in its tracks.
""Businesses and households would run for the bunker, and we'd be back in recession. I don't see how we could avoid it," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "

California dreaming

Thomas Lifson  "The state legislature will no longer require a 2/3 majority to pass a budget, thanks to Prop. 25. A simple majority will suffice, which could unleash a torrent of spending and taxation under the Democrats. Jerry Brown has promised to take any tax increases to the voters, but he also admitted that a previous campaign for governor was based on "lies."
"Even worse, in my eyes, Prop 23, which would have suspended that state's draconian carbon emissions regulations, was voted down by a large margin, based on a campaign slogan, "Say no to Texas oil." The coming regulations will strangle the local economy. Small businesses will face huge expenses, not to mention larger scale industrial facilities, which will simply have to downsize or close. "

The Question Everyone is Asking: Who gets the first subpoena?

Ed Lasky "There are many reasons to celebrate the Republican takeover of the People's House this morning. One of them will be the ability of Republicans to pull away the curtain and see what the Obama team has really been up to as it bullied Americans over the last two years."

Obama's Midterm Loss May be Netanyahu's MidEast Win

Infidel Bloggers Alliance "Several Israeli political sources said on Wednesday members of Netanyahu's inner circle were cheered by the blow dealt to a Democratic president who is sharply at odds with the right-wing prime minister over Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank."

Regulations under Democrats

Red Tape Rising: Obama’s Torrent of New Regulation  "The burden of regulation on Americans increased at an alarming rate in fiscal year 2010. Based on data from the Government Accountability Office, an unprecedented 43 major new regulations were imposed by Washington. And based on reports from government regulators themselves, the total cost of these rules topped $26.5 billion, far more than any other year for which records are available. These costs will affect Americans in many ways, raising the price of the cars they buy and the food they eat, while destroying an untold number of jobs. With the enactment of new health care laws, financial regulations, and plans for rulemaking in other areas, the regulatory burden on Americans is set to increase even further in the coming year."

Under new federal regulations in Obama’s America a commissar will decide if you are too fat
"The nervy Marxists who run our lives have given themselves the power to decide who is and who is not too fat to receive government healthcare benefits. Under a new law signed by Obama our medical records will include our height and weight and our Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if we are obese by government standards."

Doctors: Get ready to buckle under Obamacare    "Obamacare does not substantially change the general pattern of the government’s systems of physician payment but instead expands their reach and adds new regulatory restrictions. For example, beginning in 2010, the new law, with few exceptions, will prohibit physicians from referring Medicare patients to hospitals in which they have ownership."

Laws and Regulations  Laws & Regulations Quick Finder at epa.gov

Republican Victories Boost Effort to Block EPA's Climate Rules "Once the power shifts on Capitol Hill, experts say, the agency will face intense pressure as Republicans wield their newfound power and seek to set the tone for President Obama's re-election bid in 2012. The Obama administration will need to make tough choices once it is faced with hostile oversight hearings in the Republican-controlled House and efforts to block controversial regulations, experts say."

 Slim Down the Federal Bureaucracy "It actually takes a long time and a lot of hard work to conceive, write and legally enact a new regulation. If there were only half as many bureaucrats at EPA, for example, they simply wouldn't have the time to pass as many oppressive regulations as they do.
"That would both slow down new regulations and make it harder for the regulators to enforce regulations already on the book.
"Then, if the tea party Congress and the public had the stomach for it, they could start rolling back existing regulations."

Iowa Voters Reject All State Supreme Court Justices Over Same-Sex Marriage

Liberty Counsel "Normally justices are retained without controversy, but because these justices legislated from the bench by inventing a so-called right to same-sex marriage, all three lost their jobs. Their decision was a gross overreach of their power, a misinterpretation of the Constitution, and a disregard for hundreds of years of precedent."

We're All Bigots Now

Ann Coulter: "The most important outcome of this week's election is that Republicans clobbered the Democrats in the state gubernatorial and legislative races. Next year, state lawmakers draw new congressional districts, determining the congressional map for the next decade. In the past, Democrats have had a 2-1 advantage in congressional redistricting. Not anymore."

ABOUT LAST NIGHT ........

Neal Boortz  "Rather was heard complaining that the Republicans had "demonized" Nancy Pelosi. Oh ... so that's the way it worked! This was all the fault of the evil Republicans!

"•It was the Republicans who made Pelosi say that they had to pass ObamaCare so the people could find out what's in it.

"•It was the Republicans who made Pelosi block Republican amendments to any important legislation.

"•It was the Republicans who forced Nancy to endorse the idea of a financial transaction tax.

"•The evil Republicans made Nancy Pelosi tell America that the Value Added Tax was "on the table."

"•The Republicans passed cap and tax and then magically made it look as if Nancy Pelosi's Democrats actually did that.

"Yup ... the Republicans did all of this just to make Nancy Pelosi look bad..."

The World of Obama — A Glossary

Victor Davis Hanson  ..."progressive: Alternative to liberal, used when the latter polls badly

"prolonged detention: Acceptable, as opposed to indeterminate detention

"radical Islam: A construct of the paranoid Right

"redistributive change: What the Supreme Court needs to work toward

"renditions: Ongoing Bush felonies now impossible to stop"...

Does Hillary lurk beyond impending Dem defeat?

WatchBlog 

(From Monday, Nov 1) If the Democratic establishment (still divided under the surface along the Clinton/Obama fault line) is convinced that another Obama run means the person taking the oath in January, 2013, will be a Republican (God forbid, they must be thinking, Sarah Palin!), I can see them easily jettisoning Obama and getting behind another concensus candidate. Who would be better than Hillary?

New Black Panthers Commit Outrageous Violations of Texas Voting Law

Pajamas Media  "They spoke with election officials inside polling places. After these discussions, white poll watchers were either denied admittance or ejected. White election judges were also removed, under threat of calling the police for trumped-up complaints."

Jan Brewer wins her first election to governor

KGUN Tucson "A swell of approval from voters who support Arizona's new immigration law and feel that most illegal immigrants should be deported helped Republican Jan Brewer win the governor's race."

Cher Calls Jan Brewer “Worse Than Sarah Palin” Now she tells me after I've already voted.