California, there she goes!

Stockton Bankrupt; Unions Pension Death Trap for Cities to Blame  

1. The immediate solution is bankruptcy. Expect to see more cities file. However, longer-term structural problems must also be addressed.

1. Untenable pension contracts need to be tossed out by the courts and benefits reduced. Every taxpayer not on the public dole should cheer bankruptcy, not resist it.

1. End defined benefit pension plans for public union workers.

1. End collective bargaining for public union workers. Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin has proven that can be done.

1. Scrap Davis-Bacon and all state prevailing wage laws.

1. Institute national right-to-work laws. 

1. Merit pay for teachers

1. More competition from accredited online schools to drive education costs way down

1. Scrap student loan programs that only benefit administrators and educators, not the kids.

California’s Fiscal Woes  ..."There are three major problems:  (Watch for the word "fairness")

(1) Stringent real estate development restrictions,
(2) High tax and regulatory burden, and
(3) The power of the public employees’ unions  

...."Whenever you raise taxes, you decrease investment. It’s that simple. It’s been spun as an issue of “fairness”, but that’s a flawed prism to examine the issue under. It’s not about “fairness”; it’s about the fact that you can’t create growth without investment and high taxes take money away from investment."

Arizona decision leaves U.S. naked to our enemies

Alan Keyes  "As I pointed out in 2010, in a related article posted on my blog, the concept of invasion need not involve armed violence. Unarmed incursions can threaten the life, livelihood, or moral identity of a people in ways more pervasive and damaging than armed forces. From the perspective of the Native American experience with settlers from Europe, our own history illustrates this truth in a host of ways and instances. So does ancient Rome's experience with the so-called barbarian tribes driven by the conquest of their homelands to push into territory within the jurisdiction of its Empire."

After fleeting Supreme Court victory, Obama remains the amateur

Edward Klein, author of The Amateur  "Only a rank amateur could levy a series of new taxes on America’s small businesses, under the guise of ObamaCare, that will raise unemployment and stall an already anemic recover.

"Only a rank amateur could hand his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, an electoral game changer.

"Yes, Barack Obama is still The Amateur"

Read excerpts of "The Amateur" here.
 See an interview with Edward Klein here:

A doctor comments on his taxes and FLOTUS's vacations

Posted by Tom Williams, Merced, CA.

So...what about those Chevy Volts in the region?

From Hot Air; DC, mid-Atlantic region could be without power several more days
"Last week, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu insisted that the government needed to subsidize electric vehicles to make them cheap enough to transform personal transportation away from fossil fuels.  This week, people in Washington DC, Virginia, and several other states may beg to differ:"
....Thus we see the wisdom of energy diversity.  Light rail and subways run on electricity, which is only stable and plentiful enough to supply that kind of power because of the use of coal and natural gas.   (Emphasis gleefully added.)

http://cfif.org/v/freedom_line_blog/13164/ramirez-cartoon-how-electric-cars-work/

"....On the other hand, those who have no other transportation options except electric are stuck inside the emergency area.  Their vehicles don’t have the range to get them out of the disaster area, which means they have to be dependent on rationed supplies if their food supplies run low.  They can’t easily get to distribution centers for that, either, at least not more than a couple of times, which means that emergency response teams eventually have to bring in gasoline-powered vehicles to reach them in a disaster."

POTUS and the SCOTUS

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Rick Moran: Support for Obamacare ticks up after SCOTUS decision  "Frankly, I'm surprised the jump in support wasn't larger. Many Americans respect the Supreme Court and even with a decision like the one last Thursday, tend to see SCOTUS as the final judge in matters Constitutional. The fact that sentiment to repeal the law has actually gotten stronger at the same time support has also grown, would seem to indicate that some voters actually favor repeal but respect the Court's decision."


Althouse; Is Roberts a genius or just a politician?  Commenting on the Wall Street Journal column posted above:
"They're disturbed that Congress can configure a tax that shapes behavior that it could not simply command, and yet they admit — as they must — that tax law does that all the time. Congress can't compel you to go into debt to buy a house, but you'll pay less taxes if you have a mortgage interest deduction. Congress can't require you to get married, but single taxpayers get stuck with higher tax rates. Why is this new area of taxing so shocking?"

http://www.solidprinciples.com/blog/political-cartoons-michael-ramirez-70/

Neal Boortz; Four days after  "No … sorry.  I can’t figure out just what Chief Justice John Roberts was trying to accomplish with his ruling on ObamaCare last week.  And no … I don’t pretend to know how this is going to work itself out in the election and for future court decisions.  I can, though, just throw out some random thoughts on the subject … see what you think."....

http://hopenchangecartoons.blogspot.com/

Michael Barone: Obamacare survives, but political playing field has changed   "But the fact remains that a majority of five justices, including Roberts, also declared that Congress' power to regulate commerce does not authorize a mandate to buy a commercial product. This will tend to bar further expansion of the size and scope of the federal government.
"Moreover, the Constitution's limits on congressional power have now become, for the first time in seven decades, a political issue. They're likely to remain one for years to come."
As far as the Democrats claiming the mandate was not a tax, Barone writes:

Roberts' decision undercuts such arguments, now and in the future. Members of Congress supporting such legislation will be held responsible, this year and for years to come, for increasing taxes.

 

OBAMACARE WILL AFFECT THOSE MAKING LESS THAN $120K A YEAR

Conservative Blogs Central  "Stephen Moore, Senior Economics Writer with the Wall Street Journal, told FOX and Friends this morning that nearly 75% of Obamacare costs will fall on the backs of those Americans making less than $120,000 a year. Whatever happen to Obama's promise that no one making $250K per year will get tax. Obama is full of crap"

Bill Whittle: How well Obamacare is going to work  via Neal Boortz

"If you want to know what to expect under ObamaCare, listen to this …"

Which is good and which is bad?

Healthcare: Liars lie; it's what they do that makes them what they are.

Alan Caruba: The Liar's Tax  ...."Among the many new taxes buried in the 2000-plus pages of Obamacare, there’s a 2.3% excise tax on U.S. sales of medical devices that observers believe would prove to be a $20 billion blow to an industry that employs an estimated 400,000. 

"There’s a 3.6% surtax on investment income from capital gains and dividends on those earning more than $250,000. "Obamacare imposes a $50,000 excise tax on charitable hospitals that fail to meet new “community health assessment needs”, whatever they are."There’s a $2.6 billion-a-year tax on drug companies. A 10% excise tax on indoor tanning salons. An $87 billion hike in Medicare payroll taxes for employees, as well as the self-employed. "Between now and November voters are going to be reminded that Obama promised to fix the economy and then spent the first two years getting Obamacare through Congress. No Republican voted for it and, in 2010, voters replaced some sixty representatives and senators with Republicans.".... More in the article.

Mr. Caruba links to this Wall Street Journal column which states:

 In upholding the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has allowed the president and Congress to put the country's health policy on a path that will restrict individual choices, stifle innovation and sharply increase health-care costs. Now the only recourse is to repeal the law through the legislative process and replace it with policies that rely on the power of the markets.

But the task will be daunting. First, Republicans must take the White House, then get sixty votes in the Senate and a simple majority in the House.
We must then get over a mountain of demagoguery in the media: entertainment TV, liberal news sources, academia, permanent- victim industries (Big Victimhood?) who claim oppression and a host of protest groups with no other commitments in their lives than to occupy and party.
And this would all have to be led by a president who passed the same program in his home state that he is now wanting to repeal nationally.

Urban Legend: Military funeral protocol

One of those forwarded emails came today telling how President Obama has changed the wording of the flag presentation from, "On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation, I wish to present you with this flag in appreciation for your husband's service ..." to the following: 'On behalf of the Secretary of Defense and a grateful nation...'
The account continues with this statement:

"Today for the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed of the current U.S. President!"
I did not serve in the military but my love of country parallels that of people like my late uncle who bled red, white and blue. As a second generation Serbian-American who's heritage produced many patriotic military men and women who fought for freedom both in the United States as well as in the former Yugoslavia (most recently in Kosovo against the slaughter of Serbs by Muslim extremists), I implore you to make the American people aware of this little-known or, at least, publicly acknowledged fact.

 Snopes refutes this account here.
The Marine Corps covers it in the MARINE CORPS DRILL AND CEREMONIES MANUAL on page 25-19, section 25006:

The escort commander will present it to the next of kin in a dignified manner with a short statement such as “On behalf of the President, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Marines everywhere, please accept this flag in memory of the honorable and faithful service performed by (relationship).”

On to other rumors: Truth or Fiction lists some of the trending e-rumors and if they are true or false.

Obamacare Mandate Survives as a Tax

RightChange.com

Even ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos challenged the president and Obama was his usual petulant, juvenile self when disagreed with.

Is this the last laugh?

Via Legal Insurrection

Newsbusters   "After the applause subsided, Leno continued, "This is a major victory for President Obama who spent three years promoting it, and of course a major setback for Mitt Romney who spent three years creating it."  

"As we won't really know for months who the political winner and loser is from this ruling, that joke seems a stretch if not typical of the liberal media view on this issue. 

"What we do know is the Romney campaign has seen a huge surge in donations following Thursday's announcement. But that didn't stop Leno's celebration."

We all share your joy.

Those who understand the economic and social impact of the Healthcare law realize how much freedom has been lost and shudder at the Great Mediocrity that is descending on this nation. Meanwhile, the shallow left can only think, "Wahoo, we beat your a**!"