The American Conservative Union Foundation is pleased to invite you to participate in the nation's largest annual gathering of conservative activists, policymakers and students. The 37th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will be held on February 18-20, 2010, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.
CPAC will feature book signings by the nation's leading conservative authors, live broadcasts of national and local radio talk shows, hands-on training sessions from grassroots activism to media strategy, and much, much more!
Confirmed Speakers Include: Hon. John Ashcroft, Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, Hon John Bolton, Andrew Breitbart, Herman Cain, Tucker Carlson, Liz Cheney, Ann Coulter, Monica Crowley, Sen. Jim DeMint, Erick Erickson, Newt Gingrich, David A. Keene, Wayne LaPierre, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Mike Pence, Hon. Mitt Romney, Hon. Marco Rubio, Hon. Rick Santorum, Phyllis Schlafly, Col. Allen West, and many, many more!
Please visit our website to register today. Online Registration Ends on February 11! Hotel Information
Rooms are available for CPAC attendees at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, located at 2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington, D.C.
The CPAC discounted room rate has passed, but the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel still has rooms available. For Reservations, call 1.800.228.9290. Click here for more hotel and travel options.
American Conservative Union Foundation
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Phone 703.836.8602 | Fax 703.836.8606
Don't miss your opportunity to meet and hear from the conservative movement's
most prominent leaders and grassroots activists!
Stuart Schwartz writing for American Thinker has a must read article called “The Fat Lady Sings For Keith Olbermann”.Schwartz is merciless in his telling of how and why Keith Olbermann (and MSNBC too) on their way out the door.
Here is a sample of what Schwartz delivers to Olbermann:
"It ain't over until the fat lady sings."
The fat lady is doing more than singing for Keith Olbermann. And, like most of the other women in the life of MS-NBC's premiere leftist sexist, she's not interested in dating him. Rather, she merely wishes to see his well-padded bottom fade into the distance.
In sports broadcasting, where Olbermann worked for twenty years, the phrase -- picked up from opera -- signifies the end of the game, the last minutes when hope of revival is past and fans head for the exits. The viewers of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" have been heading for the exits for the past year as part of a general exodus from MS-NBC.
WatchGlenn Beckweekdays at 5p & 2a ET on Fox News Channel
I want to have an open debate about our debt. I would like to hear from all sides of the issue. This is a big issue for the future of America and we need to look at our debt from every angle. Please take the time to inform the readers of things that we might not be thinking about. Thank you for helping mold this blog.
Job seekers line up for a career fair in Oak Brook, Ill., on July 2, 2009 Many of us have been saying it for a while. The White House intended that the stimulus money, which the White House intended to use to save or create jobs, would not really be spent in 2009 as unemployment soared to over 10%.
On page 9 of Obama’s budget proposal, we find that, in fact, the White House is now admitting this fact. You are still unemployed by government design.
Barack Obama writes,
All told, as of the end of November 2009, about 50 percent of Recovery Act funds—or $395 billion—has been either obligated or is providing assistance directly to Americans in the form of tax relief. By design, the bulk of the remaining 50 percent of Recovery Act funds will be deployed in the coming months of 2010 and during the beginning of 2011 to support additional job creation when our economy continues to need a boost. Many of the programs slated to receive additional funding in the near future are those with significant promise of job creation. These include more than $7 billion in broadband expansion, approximately $8 billion in funds to lay the foundation for a high-speed rail network, and continued funding for other transportation projects. All told, the Recovery Act is on track to meet the goal of disbursing 70 percent of its funds in the first 18 months of its life.
(Budget at p.9)
So wait? Even after 18 months all the money won’t be spent?
To put this in perspective, consider what the President said in his State of the Union address:
One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. So we acted – immediately and aggressively. And one year later, the worst of the storm has passed.
But the devastation remains. One in ten Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder.
This recession has also compounded the burdens that America’s families have been dealing with for decades – the burden of working harder and longer for less; of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college.
So I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They’re not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for President. . . . For these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough. Some are frustrated; some are angry. They don’t understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded but hard work on Main Street isn’t; or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.
What the hell? This man says last week that “we acted — immediately and aggressively” and this week says “by design, the bulk of the remaining 50 percent of Recovery Act funds will be deployed in the coming months of 2010.”
That is not immediately and aggressively. He says “one in ten Americans still cannot find work” but also says in his budget, “the Administration moved rapidly to sign into law, just 28 days after taking office, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act) to create and save jobs, as well as transform the economy to compete in the 21st Century.”
Obama is trying to have it both ways. He admits his stimulus money is dragging out and that even after 18 months it won’t all be spent. At the same time, he tells the public at the State of the Union that the reasons there is still 10% unemployment is “bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded but hard work on Main Street isn’t” and “Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems.”
Well, he has the last bit right. Washington was “unwilling to solve” the problems because 2009 was not an election year and 2010 is. The President of the United States refused to help get unemployment down in 2009 by design so he could get credit in the 2010 election year instead.
Now that we know none of the progressives/liberals/Democrats care that Rahm Emanuel called them "F*cking retards". Maybe that could be their new name knowing how they like to change their names so often. And if they don't like their new names, call them "F*cking retards". But since you know better then to use that kind of language lets keep it nice. And if I hear anyone use the word "negro" other then a white "F*cking retard" named Harry Reid I'll pull the post. For all of you that have no sense of humor I am joking. LOL
First, I’ve got a new video up called “What Does The Federal Budget Freeze Look Like?”
Here is the data summary of this video:
I got the budget numbers (budget, discretionary, mandatory) from the overview of the 2010 budget which includes projections for 2011. I did this because the 2011 budget is not available yet (although I understand that those projections are a bit low and the real budget will be bigger than the projection).
That gives us the following numbers:
2011 Federal Budget – $3.7 trillion
Mandatory portion of federal budget – $2.322 trillion
Discretionary portion of federal budget – $1,380 trillion
I’ve seen it consistently reported that the freeze will affect $447 billion of the budget, although I imagine that number is subject to change. The amount saved from this freeze has been consistently reported as $15 billion in the first year and $250 billion over 10 years.
The stimulus funds as reported by recovery.gov at the time of this post are:
That leaves:
$195 billion in tax cuts that have not been applied
$202 billion in contracts, grants and loans that haven’t been spent
$121 billion in entitlements (what a creepy name) that haven’t been spent
If we left the tax cuts in place, but canceled the rest of the spending, we’d save $323 billion… which is a shade less than what I said in the video. Apparently, that is the result of some rounding errors in my spreadsheet, but the $4 billion comes out to about one and a half teaspoons, which isn’t enough to make a difference in the visualization.
As for the water part of it… If we assume that the budget is 192 ounces of water that we’ve split into 4 oz cups, then all the math in the video works out. I actually under-counted the unspent stimulus (it would be 17 ounces instead of 16). I measured my ice cube tray and found that each ice cube was 1.5 ounces and I used 1 and a half tablespoons of water to measure out the .75 ounces that would be equivalent to $15 billion.
<End of Boring Math Things>
OK… now to comment on what I think about the budget freeze to anyone who cares what I actually think.
First of all, I hate the “we’re saving $250 billion over 10 years” line. It is a piece of crass political rhetoric and I’m disappointed that the administration would use it. If they actually implement a three year freeze on the portion of the budget they’re talking about (which is a big if, but let’s assume the best), why measure the effects in the space of 10 years?
The answer is “To make the freeze look bigger”. They’re basically just basing the extended savings off of projected interest payments and “savings” due to the fact that the baseline on that portion of the budget hasn’t moved. It is setting a dangerous data precedent where politicians realize that all they have to do is calculate a projection out as far as they need in order to get the numbers they want. It would be like giving an employee a $5,000 bonus, but saying that you gave them a $8,000 bonus based on a 5% return of that investment over the course of 10 years. They might as well say that they’re saving a trillion dollars over the next 25 years or a hundred trillion over the next 300 years. It is a data statement designed to trick people.
Second, I hate the “We’re saving all this money by not spending it” line because it is similarly political. If a future politician wants to play this stupid numbers game, all they have to do is “project” that they will spend like a crazy person next year and when the next year comes, they decided to spend like a half crazy person. Then they can claim that they have “saved” all this money because they “reduced” their projected spending.
As a slapdash example, a politician could project that they will increase spending by 5% next year and then decide at the last moment to increase it by 3%. They could then spin that decision to increase by a smaller amount as a decision to “cut” their spending (which wasn’t real spending, only projected spending) by 2%.
Last, my attempt to visualize the scale of the budget freeze does not mean I don’t support it. I really like to see cuts to the budget and I personally think this is not an insignificant one.I think it is worth our energy to do exactly what the Obama administration seems to be doing…freezing increases and looking around for crappy programs to cut.
Keep in mind the hypocrisy on both sides of the aisle. The Republicans are hypocrites for claiming that this is a totally inconsequential budget cut. In 2005, George W. Bush proposed a 1% cut (not a freeze, a cut) in discretionary spending that wasn’t Department of Defense or Homeland Security. Translated to today, Bush’s cuts would have “saved” $33 billion using the calculation metric for the current freeze; more than twice the amount that this freeze would save us. At the time, John McCain called it a “very austere budget” and Dick Cheney went out pushing their credentials as cost cutters. I find it strange that they were ecstatic about saving the equivalent of $33 billion but think that $15 billion is a drop in a bucket.
Of course the Democrats blasted Bush’s cuts as a gimmick too small to make a difference, but seem to have lost much of their skepticism over these new, smaller “cuts”.
Overall, it looks like both sides are more interested in political gain than in having a frank discussion about the numbers and what they mean. This should surprise no one, but I confess to finding myself somewhat dismayed that the Obama administration, for all their hype about being pro-science and pro-data, has no problem spinning the numbers in a way that decreases clear comprehension in order to increase message potency.
Sarah Palin calls for Rahm Emanuel to be canned for calling a progressive group’s idea to target moderate Democrats with attack ads “f*cking retardes". This after Obama had made fun of the Special Olympics. What do the progressives have to say about being called "f*cking retards" by a Democrat of all people? This is getting comedic.We have seen racism from the left,bigotry of Christian and Jews and a genocidal war on people with Down Syndrom and other disabilities. When their is 1 out of every 150 kids born with Autism today the Obama admin better stop looking down on the least of Gods creatures.
The newly-released mind-boggling, record-smashing $3,400,000,000,000 federal budget invites plenty of opportunity to debate the merits of incurring more and more debt that will drown the next generation of Americans. Never has it been possible to spend your way out of debt. So... let the debate begin.
Included in the debate process will be opportunities for our president to deliberate internally the wisdom of this debt explosion, along with other economic, military and social issues facing our country. Our president will discuss these important issues with Democrat leaders and those within his inner circle. I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Yes, Rahm is known for his caustic, crude references about those with whom he disagrees, but his recent tirade against participants in a strategy session was such a strong slap in many American faces that our president is doing himself a disservice by seeming to condone Rahm’s recent sick and offensive tactic.
The Obama Administration’s Chief of Staff scolded participants, calling them, “F---ing retarded,” according to several participants, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language, Rahm’s slur on all God’s children with cognitive and developmental disabilities – and the people who love them – is unacceptable, and it’s heartbreaking.
A patriot in North Andover, Massachusetts, notified me of Rahm’s “retarded” slam. I join this gentleman, who is the father of a beautiful child born with Down Syndrome, in asking why the Special Olympics, National Down Syndrome Society and other groups condemning Rahm’s degrading scolding have been completely ignored by the White House. No comment from his boss, the president?
As my friend in North Andover says, “This isn’t about politics; it’s about decency. I am not speaking as a political figure but as a parent and as an everyday American wanting my child to grow up in a country free from mindless prejudice and discrimination, free from gratuitous insults of people who are ostensibly smart enough to know better... Have you no sense of decency, sir?”
Mr. President, you can do better, and our country deserves better.
A White House official emails that Rahm Emanuel has acknowledged calling liberal Democrats "retarded" and apologized for the remark.
"Rahm called Tim Shriver Wednesday to apologize and the apology was accepted," the official said.
Shriver is the Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, which has launched acampaignagainst what it calls "the R word."
The remark was firstreportedlast week in the Wall Street Journal, and drew an extendedattackfrom Sarah Palin.
Said the official, “The White House remains committed to addressing the concerns and needs of Americans living with disabilities and recognizes that derogatory remarks demean us all.”
UPDATE: A Democrat points out Rahm apologized to Shriver, but not to the liberals he called "retarded."
How can the Democrats keep blaming Bush/Republicans with this kind of data?
As Obama releases his latest budget today, here’s something to think about. We’ve heard the speeches and the promises. What are the results? From House Republicans:
Republicans “Better Solutions”
And in case you haven’t heard, Republicans do have a better idea. Their “Better Solutions” document outlines the ideas they have offered over the past year to address:
Jobs
Health Care
Fiscal Responsibility
Open Government and Transparency
Energy
Savings
National Security
Financial Reform
Get your copy of “Better Solutions” here. Don't loose "Hope" yet. As more and more Americans are feeling hopeless we need to think about the future not the past. Washington is need of real "Change". And come this Nov.2010 and 2012 we need to take back America. We need to vote for real change not the retoric that the Democrats gave us. If "Better Solutions" is the kind of change you want to see then vote for that change.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nation will deliver a harsh blow to the "global arrogance" on this year's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
"The Islamic Revolution opened a window to liberty for the human race, which was trapped in the dead ends of materialism," Ahmadinejad said during a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
"If the Islamic Revolution had not occurred, liberalism and Marxism would have crushed all human dignity in their power-seeking and money-grubbing claws. Nothing would have remained of human and spiritual principles," he added.
Ahmadinejad said that in the three decades of its history, the Islamic Revolution had inspired some great developments in the world.
The Iranian president made the remarks as the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution approaches.
Iranians are expected to pour into the streets on February 11 to celebrate the occasion in public rallies across the country, as they have done annually over the past three decades. I Know it's all Bush's fault as well as the Christians. Obama did a lot of talking about how if he bows to our enemies they will not hate us anymore. How is that working out for us now? North Korea keeps eroding and now Iran wants to play hardball with the weak Democrat. I pray Obama grows some and scares the piss out of these progressive dictators. It is becoming more and more evident that President Obama doesn't know how to handle these axis of evil. Maybe the progessives call all get together and sing or write letters to these progressive dictators. Do you feel safer knowing that Obama will do the right thing and put these idiots back in their place? Or will he fumble around like a greenhorn. Even if Obama gets tough for a change, will they believe him? It's time the President starts attacking our real enemies instead of the political ones he spends most of his time on. The world is watching and they are reacting accordingly. We can not afford to be attacked by another agressor right now. Do you remember what happened to the stock market after 9/11? And Bush was a friend of business unlike Obama. Say a prayer because I'm afraid that will be our only hope. God help us because the Democrats aren't helping us.
Republicans “Better Solutions”
