Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will not seek re-election next year and will resign her post effective July 25th:
The move, coming nearly a year before she would be forced to reveal her plans by filing deadlines, is sure to lead to widespread speculation that Palin will devote herself full-time to a presidential bid in 2012.Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who nearly beat Rep. Don Young in the GOP primary for Alaska's lone House seat, will assume the office.
A new CBO report on the health proposal coming out of Washington shows a significant reduced cost while magically insuring more people. Anthony Randazzo from the Reason Foundation lays out the problems with what Democrats are pushing, even if Washington managed a smaller price tag for the proposal:
Whew, health care will only cost $611 billion! That's the line in Washington right now. An estimate from the CBO on the draft legislation from the Senate health committee is $1 trillion less than its estimate of a previous draft version. Of course the massive cut has the effect of making $611 billion seem like a small number, as the massive numbers coming out of Washington increasing dull away the enormity of the spending numbers. What's another billion or so? is now common thought. And a million dollars... well, that's just candy money.Randazzo also points out that even if the cost is less than previously reported, we still have a massive national debt to contend with. We just don't have the money. I'd point out that if they raise taxes to "pay" for this, they're putting economic growth at risk.Yesterday, I tried to argue that from an economic theory perspective, the health care costs don't make much sense. The analysis is largely apart from the debate of the effectiveness of a government plan, though it is worth noting that the CBO also suggests that $611 billion would only cover 39 percent of the uninsured. And that likely means more spending in the future, so don't get too comfortable with the $611 billion.
There is no talk of the long-term funding issues with Medicare, which has unfunded liabilities of $31.8 trillion (p.28). So while we hear a lot about these supposed savings, the long-term is still in question. And don't forget, taxpayers were told that Medicare expansion in 2003 would cost $400 billion over the first 10 years. In 2005, the cost was reassessed at $1.2 trillion in the same span. The second decade of the program was even more costly at $2 trillion.
Also, if you don't have or don't want health insurance coverage, you face a $1,000 fine. Of course they don't call them fines, they call them "shared responsibility payments." That has a nice collectivist ring to it, doesn't it?
After 233 years, Americans still believe in the principles of liberty laid out in the Declaration of Independence:
Americans are celebrating the nation's 233rd birthday, and the words of the Declaration of Independence will be heard at countless patriotic ceremonies across the land. The core ideals articulated by those words are still embraced by solid majorities of the American public.Despite President Barack Obama and Congress attempts to create a culture of dependency, Americans still believe in the basic premise of human liberty.A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 89% of American adults agree that "we are all endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Only seven percent (7%) disagree on that founding premise.
Seventy-four percent (74%) agree with the assertion that “all men are created equal” while just 23% disagree.
[...]
Fifty-six percent (56%) agree with the view that governments derive their only just authority from the “consent of the governed.” Interestingly, one-in-four Americans (25%) disagree.Other survey data shows that voters nationwide overwhelming trust the American people to make key decisions more than they trust political leaders. Those who disagree and hold a Political Class perspective represent a small minority of the population.
"Habeas corpus secures every man here, alien or citizen, against everything which is not law, whatever shape it may assume." - Thomas Jefferson (1798)
With Jim Wooten's coming retirement, Grift Drift has to re-think My Morning Wooten and come up for a new series for Kyle Wingfield, the new "conservative" columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Drop by his blog and leave some suggestions.
Stephen Gordon is pointing out some recent comments from Sam Webb, the chairman of Communist Party USA, who recently apparently approves of Barack Obama:
"In this legislative session, we can envision winning a Medicare-like public option and then going further in the years ahead," writes Sam Webb, Chair of the Communist Party USA.The collectivists like Obama. Color me surprised."The core of this struggle, whether we like it or not, turns on the inclusion of a public option in a health care bill," continues Webb on government takeover of health care issue. "President Obama reaffirmed his support for such an option and the Congressional Progressive Caucus recently expressed its full support for a public option that is government run, covers everyone, and goes into effect right away."
The conversation isn't limited to health care issues, either.
"The new conditions of struggle are possible only – and I want to emphasize only – because we elected President Obama and a Congress with pronounced progressive and center currents," adds Webb.
"Mr. Jefferson had been now about a Year a Member of Congress, but had attended his Duty in the House but a very small part of the time and when there had never spoken in public: and during the whole Time I satt with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three Sentences together. The most of a Speech he ever made in my hearing was a gross insult on Religion, in one or two Sentences, for which I gave him immediately the Reprehension, which he richly merited. It will naturally be inquired, how it happened that he was appointed on a Committee of such importance. There were more reasons than one. Mr. Jefferson had the Reputation of a masterly Pen. He had been chosen a Delegate in Virginia, in consequence of a very handsome public Paper which he had written for the House of Burgesses, which had given him the Character of a fine Writer. Another reason was that Mr. Richard Henry Lee was not beloved by the most of his Colleagues from Virginia and Mr. Jefferson was set up to rival and supplant him. This could be done only by the Pen, for Mr. Jefferson could stand no competition with him or any one else in Elocution and public debate...The Committee had several meetings, in which were proposed the Articles of which the Declaration was to consist, and minutes made of them. The Committee then appointed Mr. Jefferson and me, to draw them up in form, and clothe them in a proper Dress. The Sub Committee met, and considered the Minutes, making such Observations on them as then occurred: when Mr. Jefferson desired me to take them to my Lodgings and make the Draft. This I declined and gave several reasons for declining. 1. That he was a Virginian and I a Massachusettensian. 2. that he was a southern Man and I a northern one. 3. That I had been so obnoxious for my early and constant Zeal in promoting the Measure, that any draught of mine, would undergo a more severe Scrutiny and Criticism in Congress, than one of his composition. 4thly and lastly and that would be reason enough if there were no other, I had a great Opinion of the Elegance of his pen and none at all of my own. I therefore insisted that no hesitation should be made on his part. He accordingly took the Minutes and in a day or two produced to me his Draft. Whether I made or suggested any corrections I remember not. The Report was made to the Committee of five, by them examined, but whether altered or corrected in any thing I cannot recollect. But in substance at least it was reported to Congress where, after a severe Criticism, and striking out several of the most oratorical Paragraphs it was adopted on the fourth of July 1776, and published to the World." - John Adams on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence (1802)
The nine candidates to replace Leah Ward Sears on the Georgia Supreme Court have been released. There are a couple recognizable names, but word is William Ray is the favorite.
Here are the candidates:
In case you haven't heard, Carol Hunstein was sworn in yesterday as the new Chief Justice to the state's highest court.
Both the left and right can agree on one thing, the dismantling of the basic liberties that are supposed to be protected in the Bill of Rights:
Too bad Rep. Nathan Deal decided to take a partisan shot here, but it's understandable considering the Fred Thompson-like campaign he is running in the GOP primary for Governor:
“I had voted for the previous farm bill that was drafted by Republicans, Saxby Chambliss being chairman of the ag committee at that time.I hate to break it to Rep. Deal, but all the farm bill is a welfare program, both social and corporate, and it hurts consumers by driving up prices. The 2002 and 2008 farm bill are no different from one another. Deal apparently prefers the Republican agenda of expanding already unfunded entitlement programs by $9 trillion.“The last farm bill, though, was heavily laden with social programs — in fact, about 73 to 76 percent of the farm bill [is] basically social welfare-type programs. I just didn’t think it was right to expect the American farmer to carry those programs on their backs, and that’s what the Democrat agenda called for.”
And before Deal goes on rants about Democrats, he need look no further than Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who not only defended and voted for the 2008 farm bill, he led the opposition to override one of the few spending bill George W. Bush vetoed.
John Stossel tears down the Medicare efficiency myth:
[L]ast month on "20/20" producer Miguel Sancho and I reported on Medicare’s $34 trillion in unfunded liabilities, on how Medicare is a prime example of government promising MUCH more -- that it is prepared to deliver. But the Obama administration has succeeded in promoting the fiction that Medicare is a shining example of government working well. Statists suggests that because Medicare only spends two or three percent of its budget on overhead, that means it's a smoothly running machine. Bevan cites recent columns by Jonathan Alter and Paul Krugman, and “West Wing” fans will remember Jimmy Smits’ Matt Santos making the same argument in the famous “live debate” episode.Over at QandO, McQ points out a recent warning from the CBO on entitlement spending: "Almost all of the projected growth in federal spending other than interest payments on the debt comes from growth in spending on the three largest entitlement programs–Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security."Bevan argues persuasively that Medicare’s low overhead is the product of government accounting sleight-of-hand. But there’s a bigger point – the connection between “low” administrative costs and staggeringly HIGH levels of fraud and waste. As Michael Cannon at the Cato Institute and Regina Herzlinger at Harvard Business School have pointed out, much of the 10 to 20 percent of private insurance administrative costs goes to preventing fraud. Private insurers, you see, care about whether or not they lose money. Medicare, with its unlimited claim on the public purse, does not. It's only taxpayer money, after all.
The results are predictable, but breathtaking nonetheless: an estimated $68 billion (with a B) in outright Medicare fraud every year (About $3 billion in Miami-Dade county ALONE.) On top of that, according to well-respected Dartmouth researchers, roughly a third of Medicare's total $400 billion annual spending goes to procedures which were medically unnecessary.
Also, an audit of Social Security shows that millions in benefits are being paid out dead people. Gotta love government.
"Nothing could so completely divest us of that liberty as the establishment of the opinion that the state has a perpetual; right to the services of all its members." - Thomas Jefferson to James Monroe (1782)
For the first time since the 1994 mid-terms, the Democratic Party is seen as too liberal:
A new study measures the tax burden of 30 OECD countries. The results are not good for the United States, as we are ranked with the 12th most oppressive tax burden (p. 5). Italy has the most oppressive tax burden, while Switzerland has the least oppressive.
Joining us in the top 12 is Hungary, but they have apparently caught wind of how harmful an oppressive tax burden can be as they have cut taxes just this week. Here in the United States, our government is doing things to make the tax burden more oppressive.
H/T: Cato @ Liberty
Karen Bass, the Speaker of the California legislature, isn't all that fond of talk show hosts (emphasis mine):
How do you think conservative talk radio has affected the Legislature's work?Say what? Neither Republicans or Democrats are what I would call defenders of free speech, as evidenced by McCain-Feingold and the Fairness Doctrine, but I've never read or heard where talk radio hosts have been equated with terrorists.The Republicans were essentially threatened and terrorized against voting for revenue. Now [some] are facing recalls. They operate under a terrorist threat: "You vote for revenue and your career is over." I don't know why we allow that kind of terrorism to exist. I guess it's about free speech, but it's extremely unfair.
This is the mindset of the progressive. Rights protected from government intrusion, like free speech, are really just privileges granted by government. It's the basic doctrine of progressivism. Nevermind the fact that the Founders believed these rights existed before the creation of any government.
In his majority opinion in Abrams v. United States, Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "Persecution for the expression of opinions seems to me perfectly logical." He further added that dissent and unpopular speech is something that is merely allowed or tolerated, not necessarily protected.
What Holmes wrote is apparently a view held by Ms. Bass. It's startling, absurd and completely contrary to what beliefs of the Founding Fathers.
H/T: Reason
Campaigns are feeling the recession:
The candidate for governor looks at the list of people to call that morning and ask for campaign contributions.As noted, the deadline for campaign disclosures is looming. I hope to have a breakdown available over at Georgia Legislative Watch later when the information is available.Hmmm. Well, Mary just got laid off. Scratch Mary.
I hear John’s house is in foreclosure. So much for John.
Oh, Mark. Let’s try him. No, Mark just had to close one of his restaurants. Can’t call Mark.
What is a candidate starving for campaign cash to do? Especially with a midnight Tuesday deadline looming to report how much money he or she has raised? And, make no mistake, while the 2010 primaries are more than a year away, the finance reports candidates issue in the next few weeks will be pored over and used to prove momentum and legitimacy.
[...]
Tough times or not, that deadline is coming. At this point in a campaign — more than a year from an actual vote, the hot, humid days of summer when voters are focused on other things — there are few benchmarks for candidates to crow about. Sure, there is some polling being done, but those surveys at this point are little more than name identification.That makes this reporting period, the only one of 2009 — the next reports won’t be filed until January — appear much more important than it might actually be. A candidate who comes in with a huge influx of cash can tout it as proof that his or her campaign is the one with momentum, the one that can be counted on to be there in the end. A candidate comes in too low and … well, it’s going to be a longer and hotter summer. If that seems like an unfair barometer of a candidate’s strength, well, politics has never been for the weak of heart.
Troy Davis will get a reprieve until the fall because the United States Supreme Court is sitting on his case until the next term.
"Believe me, dear Sir: there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose; and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America." - Thomas Jefferson (1775)
Using CBO data, the Minority Report has put together this map showing how states are hurt by the cap-and-trade bill passed by the House of Representatives on Friday. According to the date, the red states have considerably less allowances than the green states:
Greg Mankiw explains why a "public option" doesn't make sense and will give an competitive advantage to the government:
Even if one accepts the president’s broader goals of wider access to health care and cost containment, his economic logic regarding the public option is hard to follow. Consumer choice and honest competition are indeed the foundation of a successful market system, but they are usually achieved without a public provider. We don’t need government-run grocery stores or government-run gas stations to ensure that Americans can buy food and fuel at reasonable prices.Make sure you read this column. In the public debate over health care, I'd put it in my top five of articles to read.
[...]
[I]f such a plan were desirable and feasible, nothing would stop someone from setting it up right now. In essence, a public plan without taxpayer support would be yet another nonprofit company offering health insurance. The fundamental viability of the enterprise does not depend on whether the employees are called “nonprofit administrators” or “civil servants.”In practice, however, if a public option is available, it will probably enjoy taxpayer subsidies. Indeed, even if the initial legislation rejected them, such subsidies would be hard to avoid in the long run. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants created by federal law, were once private companies. Yet many investors believed — correctly, as it turned out — that the federal government would stand behind Fannie’s and Freddie’s debts, and this perception gave these companies access to cheap credit. Similarly, a public health insurance plan would enjoy the presumption of a government backstop.
Also, the scholars from Cato have put together a video breaking down some of President Obama's claims from his ABC townhall.
RomneyCare, often used by Democrats as the model for health care and insurance reform, isn't so popular in Massachusetts:
Twenty-six percent (26%) of Massachusetts voters say their state’s health care reform effort has been a success. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds that 37% say the reform effort has been a failure, while another 37% are not sure.You can read more about the state's problems with RomneyCare here. In my opinion, this is the one reason Mitt Romney should never be the Republican Party nominee for President.Only 10% of Bay State voters say the quality of health care has gotten better as a result of the reform plan while 29% say it has gotten worse. Most (53%) say the quality of care has not changed.
As for cost, 21% say the reform has made health care more affordable in Massachusetts. Twenty-seven percent (27%) say health care is now less affordable while 44% see no change.
H/T: Club for Growth
Sorry, I don't like the headline, Court rules for white firefighters over promotions. It sounds so...1950. I'll admit that I've never been a fan of affirmative action. I believe in individual rights for all, not group rights. The men, regardless of race, were given ample opportunity to study and prepare for this test. If they didn't perform well enough on the test to warrant promotion, the people who did shouldn't be punished (isn't that sort of the basis for No Child Left Behind?).
Race should never, absolutely never have been brought to the forefront in this case. The City of New Haven owes an apology to all sides. It is a matter of merit, nothing more.
You can read the opinion here.
Court rules for white firefighters over promotions
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge.
New Haven was wrong to scrap a promotion exam because no African-Americans and only two Hispanic firefighters were likely to be made lieutenants or captains based on the results, the court said Monday in a 5-4 decision. The city said that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.
A Google search quickly reveals the advertising value of the Independence Day Festival largely funded by Henry County taxpayers. Do not allow anyone to tell you about the great benefit to the local economy. This event is no more advantageous than the AMS drink-fest on race day! Vendors are not paying for business licenses or sharing sales tax receipts. In fact county residents must pay twice – first with your taxes and then at the gate!
This is a quality of life event. It is a good thing. We are all proud Americans and we love to congregate and share fellowship with each other. But do not overlook the reasons local politicians cater and pander, with our tax dollars, to promote this event: Real Estate sales and public relations.
New Homes For Sale - Hampton, Georgia 30228 ...The City of McDonough is advertising the Independence Day Festival and fireworks at Nash Farm with a link to http://www.henrycountybattlefield.com/. This domain name is registered through GoDaddy.com. Inc. It is a private domain and website not hosted by Henry County or McDonough government. This is interesting since the website provides Historical context for the Nash Farm, Military Operations 1864, and Reports of Kilpatrick’s Calvary Positions – all contrived to perpetuate the false accounts foisted on the taxpayers of Henry County.
The sales tax rate in Henry County, Georgia is 7.00%. ... Hampton hosts the largest fireworks display in Georgia during the Georgia Independence Day ...City of Hampton
... including the counties largest fireworks display at Nash Farms and the Georgia Independence Day ... hotels and places to visit in Henry County, Georgia ...
Contact information posted at this website includes:
For more information on the Nash Farm Battlefield or to set up an appointment for a Group Battlefield Tour, please contact the Henry County Civil War Historian Mark Pollard.It is of little apparent meaning that the Henry board of commissioners, on April 9, 2008, voted to remove the battlefield designation from this county park. Or, that volumes have been produced refuting the Mark Pollard and Daniel Elliott revisionist accounts of Summer 1864.Are you a teacher who wants a Living History Historian in your classroom who will teach Antebellum Dances or discuss other topics dealing with The War Between the States? You can contact Cassie Barrow.
If you have comments or concerns about this website please contact Craig Anderson.
By Mail:
Nash Farm Battlefield
100 Babbs Mill Road
Hampton, GA 30228
Of course, truth in advertising is a minor issue.
Look around the metro area to locate alternate venues: Lenox Square fireworks, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra “All-American Celebration", Newnan's Fourth of July parade, Mall of Georgia Music and Activities, Centennial Park, Atlantic Station, Centennial Olympic Park, Marietta Independence Day parade, The city of Stone Mountain and Stone Mountain Park…… to name a few.
The house is paid-off. An equity line has been in place for many years and is currently based on the appraised value three years ago. Wachovia notifies the customer the house is worth about half its appraised value.
Wachovia has reason to believe that the equity in the property securing your line of credit has decreased 50 percent because of the decline in the property value. Originally, the information we used to grant your line of credit showed the property value was $320,000. Our current information indicates the property value is $161,000. In the interest of protecting you and your credit, effective as of the date of this letter, we are reducing your total line of credit.
The Henry County tax assessor determined the current value of the home to be only three (3%) percent less than last year. Either the folks who actually view the market value and assign a credit line are wrong, or the tax assessor is gouging!
Another similar situation regards another home in Henry County. After filing the Taxpayer’s Return of Real Property, supported by three current market ratings for similar properties, this homeowner asked for a fifteen (15%) percent reduction in the assessed value. The actual assessment was mailed showing a seven (7%) reduction in assessment. Instead of the requested $280,000 assessment, the property came in at $305,000.
The second example house has a mortgage and equity line that far exceeds any realistic price in today’s housing market. But the tax assessment is lower than the actual cost and the most recent appraisal.
The question arises about the methods used by the Henry tax assessor. In fact both houses are “worth” less in the fair market, and many comparable properties stand empty and have little hope of sale in the coming year.
We must remember that the tax revenue generated by a $300,000 house nearly pays for associated county services, while a lower cost house does not. It is interesting that neither house was assessed below the magic threshold of $300,000 regardless of current market ratings NOR the findings by the actual credit lender.
"We surely cannot deny to any nation that right whereon our own government is founded, that every one may govern itself according to whatever form it pleases and change these forms at its own will... The will of the nation is the only thing essential to be regarded." - Thomas Jefferson to Gouverneur Morris (1792)
Rep. Ron Paul visited the Cato Institute last week to discuss the Federal Reserve Transparency Act (HR 1207), which currently sits in the House Financial Services Committee with 245 co-sponsors (218 votes are needed to pass the House).
Eric Von Haessler will not run for United States Senate against Johnny Isakson in 2010, largely due to regulations that would force him off the air during his campaign. He made it clear to those of us who had been working with him that he isn't ruling out a run as a Libertarian in the future and he added that he will work on behalf of the party during the upcoming election.
Haessler spoke at both tea parties in Atlanta (video here and here) and gave a speech at the Georgia Libertarian Party convention explaining his journey from the Republican Party.
There are other people that have expressed interest in running for the seat within the party. No word on pending announcements.
C/P: Peach Pundit
John Boehner says what most people are thinking:
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) had a few choice words about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) landmark climate-change bill after its passage Friday.President Barack Obama spent his Saturday address to the nation urging passage of the bill by the Senate.When asked why he read portions of the cap-and-trade bill on the floor Friday night, Boehner told The Hill, "Hey, people deserve to know what's in this pile of s--t."
The Supreme Court will decide the last three cases of the term tomorrow, including the Ricci case, which was heard by Sonia Sotomayor and two other judges in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
