Hat tip Red State.

‎”For today’s left, the main goal of politics is not to respond to public opinion. The goal is to impose the dream of an egalitarian entitlement state whether the public likes it or not.”

~ WSJ editorial The Liberal Reckoning of 2010 - The year voters saw the left’s unvarnished agenda and said no.

Ezra Klein, the “Lefty Boy Wonder” – or as George Orwell called fellows of his stripe, the “pansy left”- is in the news again. This time he is deprecating the US Constitution as irrelevant. See below.

It seems a fitting occasion to shine the dry, white light of scrutiny onto this operative, what he’s been up to and who are his associates. So in the best interest of the reader, allow me to bring you up to speed on who and what is Ezra Klein.

Ezra Klein: The Deceptive Strategy Underlying ObamaCare

morgenr | June 25, 2009 |

Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein, speaking at the NetRoots Nation conference in July 2008. Klein provides come insightful information regarding the backstory for the Democrats healthcare reform strategy. (Courtesy of www.verumserum.com. Follow us at: twitter.com/verumserum.)

Newsweek’s Ezra Klein Calls Voters “Schizophrenic” for Planning to Vote for GOP

FreedomsLighthouse | July 14, 2010

And now this from Gateway Pundit:

Lefty Boy Wonder & Journolist Founder Ezra Klein: “The Constitution Is Impossible to Understand Because Its Over 100 Years Old” (Video)

Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, December 30, 2010, 5:50 PM

Lefty boy wonder and Journolist founder Ezra Klein made the news again today. He thinks the US Constitution is impossible to understand and is outdated.

This makes perfect sense since Ezra Klein was one of the leading voices behind the unconstitutional Obamacare law.

Via The Blast:

More on Journolist at Big Government. and The Daily Caller.

Top 10 Conservative Successes In 2010

by Kenneth Hanner | December 31, 2010 ET | Human Events

The just-passed 2010 will be remembered as a banner year for conservatives. Here are the Top 10 successes for the conservative movement last year.

(1) GOP captures House: Republicans made historic gains in the House of Representatives, picking up 63 seats in the midterm elections and regaining control after four years in the minority. With the presidency and Senate still in Democratic hands, picking up the chamber will provide a much-needed check on the Left’s ambitious agenda. And the best news of all: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(2) Rise of the Tea Party: The Tea Party became a major force in the American political landscape. With its fiscal responsibility agenda, the amorphous Tea Partiers had a major impact on the midterm elections and breathed new life into a GOP that was still reeling after its 2008 electoral shellacking. Now if they just could do a better job in vetting some of their candidates (see Colorado, governor).

(3) States turn Right: The midterms also saw massive conservative gains in the states with Republicans picking up 680 seats in legislatures across the country and winning gubernatorial posts from Democrats in such key states as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. That means the redistricting based on the 2010 census will strongly favor the GOP, resulting in more House pickups in 2012.

(4) Judge rules against Obamacare: Federal Judge Henry Hudson ruled that Obamacare’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. With Obama holding a veto pen, the best way to stop Obamacare will be in the courts. It probably will all come down to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

(5) Omnibus spending bill defeated: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acted as if the election never happened and tried to ram a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill through the Senate during the lame-duck session. Republicans held firm, and Reid pulled back the pork-filled legislation. By flexing their muscles, Republicans made it clear that the election pushed the power pendulum in the Senate to the right.

(6) Gains in the Senate: While falling short of taking back the Senate, Republicans still gained six seats and will have plenty of solid conservatives in the freshmen class. Senate newcomers Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) are rising stars in the party. With Democrats having more than twice as many seats to defend in 2012, look for a Republican Senate takeover in the next election.

(7) DREAM Act defeated: Harry Reid also tried to sneak the DREAM Act through the Senate during the lame-duck session — a payback to Hispanic leaders for their help in his tough re-election bid. The DREAM Act, intended to give amnesty to illegal immigrants who enroll in college or enlist in the military, fell five votes short of the total needed for cloture. With the GOP House takeover, immigration policy will likely be toughened.

(8) GOP diversity: The GOP had never fielded so many winning women and minority candidates. Just look at the list: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Florida Rep. Allen West, South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. It will be hard for the Left to pin the racist/sexist label on the Republican Party when it is running so many attractive, dynamic and diverse candidates.

(9) Cap and trade dead: The midterm election put the final stake in the heart of the cap-and-trade legislation, with Harry Reid not even trying to revive it in the lame-duck session. While there is virtually no chance a similar bill could make it through the new, more conservative Congress, Republicans need to work to keep the Environmental Protection Agency from enacting the measure administratively.

(10) Obama tanks: Obama fell hard from his messianic pedestal as even the Left soured on him. His drop in the polls was a result of his own failures: his tepid response to the Gulf oil spill, his economic policies not creating jobs, his crusade to enact an unpopular Obamacare. And his ineffective and gaffe-filled campaigning for the Democrats in the midterms was a gift to Republicans eager to nationalize the elections.

Source.

Editor’s Note: Check out yesterday’s Top 10 Political Gaffes Of 2010!

Photo by Elise Hu, Texas Tribune

Fiscal Index 2011

Preparing for the start of the legislative session, we last week sent lawmakers a letter outlining our priorities and reminding them how our scorecard, the Fiscal Responsibility Index, works. Of more immediate significance, we noted that House members’ first vote could be graded.

As we have done in the past, scores on the Fiscal Responsibility Index will be based on votes related to identified issues. We then calculate individual members’ scores only on the votes actually taken, including any clarifying statements they make in the Journal (such as when the electronic voting system mis-registers their vote). Sponsoring and co-sponsoring targeted legislation is likewise included in the scoring.

We only include on the Index those votes that we notify House and Senate offices of in advance. Given the complexity of the legislative process, and the sheer number of votes they take in a relatively short amount of time, we believe it is important that they know in advance what measuring stick we will use to judge them at the end of the Session.

Broadly speaking, here are our issue priorities going into the Session:

• Balance the budget without increasing taxes or creating new revenue sources.
• Oppose the creation of new taxes, granting of additional taxing authority, or creating any new taxing entities.
• Strengthen the constitutional expenditure limit, such as by requiring that the Legislature choose the lower of the change in the sum of population-plus-inflation or the current measure.
• Apply the same limitation to all political subdivisions and entities, while providing the option for an election to exceed the spending limit.
• Protect the state’s Rainy Day Fund; RDF dollars should not be used for new or expanded programs and services. If RDF dollars are used to balance the budget, those funds should be applied only to non-recurring expenses.
• Reform the gross margins tax to limit its negative impact on all businesses.
• Expand 2007’s transparency legislation, HB 3430, to all taxpayer funded entities in Texas, including cities, counties, transit authorities and school districts – requiring the posting of expenditures online in a searchable format for public review.
• Reduce property taxes, and pursue policies to phase out the school M&O tax.
• Eliminate the burdensome and costly rollback petition gathering process by requiring an election if a local entity seeks to exceed the effective tax rate.
• Ensure fees and dedicated funds are used only for their statutory (constitutional) purposes.
• Enhance parental options in public education, and uncap the number of charter schools that can exist in Texas.
• Work against federal overreach by limiting Texas’ reliance on federal grants and other funds, resist encroachment of federal regulations, and circumvent or overturn ObamaCare.
• Strengthen the integrity of the state’s elections through voter ID and by securing voter registration and ballot-by-mail programs.

Why? Consider just how much priority legislation died last session not on the House floor, but because of the committee chairmen selected by the incumbent House Speaker, Joe Straus. The House speaker alone decides who chairs which committees, and they have broad power to kill legislation.

For House members, we noted in a Dec. 20th hard-copy letter (mailed to their Capitol offices) that their first major vote of the 82nd Session could well be the first vote on theIndex. That is, their vote for the House Speaker.

For example, Speaker Straus said he opposed placing caps on property taxes. Lo and behold, the chairman he appointed to preside over the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee dutifully killed all taxpayer protection legislation.

Losing a floor vote is never fun, but what bugs taxpayers even more is not being allowed to have the vote in the first place. We saw incumbent speaker Joe Straus’ committee chairs last session kill priority legislation through calendar delays and inaction, and downright maliciousness. So, yes, the speakership matters, and matters a lot.

Things are heating up about the Speaker’s race and the brushfires are burning among the grassroots. A December 16 announcement of the newly declared Tea Party Caucus of Texas, posted yesterday on this blog, is drawing howls from dedicated conservative activists. Here’s one:

TEA PARTY CAUCUS OF TEXAS in NAME ONLY

Ya’ll might have heard of Texas Senator Dan Patrick’s new TEA PARTY CAUCUS OF TEXAS that will meet with SELECT Tea Party groups and individuals to get feedback on what the so called “Tea Party of Texas” has on it’s agenda. Turns out that one of the leaders of this so called Tea Party Caucus is a big time Joe Straus supporter. Check out her statement. Feel free to leave a comment. I’m sure Mrs. Woolley, co-chair of the TPCT, would like to hear from you, OUTSIDERS. Or maybe not, as it seems she considers herself a much better judge of conservative leadership and character than you or me. After all, she is a Texas State Representative. We do serve at her pleasure, right?

What is Mr. Partick’s agenda with this caucus? Some in the leadership are backing and promoting RINO Joe? Wow, not a good start, Dan. I would suggest Mr. Patrick change the name of his little group to TEA PARTY CAUCUS OF TEXAS in NAME ONLY! Better yet, how about, RINO CAUCUS.

I smell elitism among the conservative ranks and I don’t like it!

Let all the members of this caucus know how you feel about RINO Joe.

Here’s another calling Beverly Woolley a fraud:

THIS MORNING I SENT OUT AN EMAIL ABOUT THE NEW TEXAS TEA PARTY CAUCUS.  SORRY…. NOW WE HAVE THIS FRAUD

Rep. Beverly Woolley was listed as the Co-chair.
I THINK THE TEA PARTY SHOULD HAVE A SAY ABOUT WHO SERVES ON THE TEA PARTY CAUCUS AND WHO SERVES AS IT’S CO-CHAIR.
WHAT DID STRAUS PROMISE YOU MS WOOLLEY?

“… Woolley served as chairman of the powerful Calendars Committee under then-Speaker Tom Craddick.”

OH!!!! DO YOU GET YOUR CHAIR BACK BEV?

Straus Gains Woolley Support in Speaker’s Race

Holy cow! Calendars Committee Chair has tremendous power! She can stack the agenda just the way Straus wants it, and if she doesn’t schedule something it doesn’t see the light of day. (Think Voter Photo ID.)

The listing is here:

Initial board members are:
Sen. Dan Patrick chair
Rep. Wayne Christian co-chair
Rep. Beverly Woolley co-chair (for Straus)
Rep. Brandon Creighton
Rep. Allen Fletcher
Rep. Dan Flynn
Rep. Todd Hunter
Rep. Phil King
Rep. Lois Kolkhorst
Rep. Jodie Laubenberg
Rep. Elect George Lavender
Rep. Sid Miller
Rep. Geanie Morrison
Rep. Ken Paxton
Rep. Elect Raul Torres

Members:
Sen. Brian Birdwell
Rep. Elect Jose Aliseda
Rep. Elect Marva Beck (for Straus)
Rep. Leo Berman
Rep. Dwayne Bohac
Rep. Elect Erwin Cain
Rep. Bill Callegari
Rep. Angie Chen-Button
Rep. Warren Chisum
Rep. Byron Cook
Rep. Rob Eissler
Rep. Gary Elkins
Rep. Mike Hamilton
Rep. Harvey Hilderbran
Rep. Charlie Howard
Rep. Patricia Harless
Rep. Kelly Hancock
Rep. Elect Dan Huberty
Rep. Bryan Hughes
Rep. Elect Jason Isaac (“undecided”)
Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt
Rep. Ken Legler
Rep. Tryon Lewis
Rep. Jerry Madden
Rep. Jim Murphy
Rep. Tan Parker
Rep. Larry Phillips
Rep. Elect Four Price
Rep. Debbie Riddle
Rep. Elect Connie Scott
Rep. Larry Taylor
Rep. Randy Weber
Rep. Elect Charles White
Rep. John Zerwas

A Speaker Mandate

- Michael Quinn Sullivan, Empower Texans

More than 7,500 Texans have now signed the letter calling on members of the Texas House to elect a conservative House Speaker. The signatories include 138 tea party organizers, Republican leaders and conservative movement activists, and nearly 7,400 individuals!

Need to know where your legislator stands in the Speaker race? Visit SpeakerMandate.com to find out, and take action.

This interview is very nearly two years old. See how Straus was touted and compare that to his actual record.

texasmonthly | January 28, 2009 |
Evan Smith sits down with the newly elected speaker Joe Straus, and previews the 81st legislative session.

Hat tip Karen L.

by Ken Mercer | San Antonio, Texas – December 28, 2010 | Press Release

The Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) will provide over $3.0 billion of increased funding over the next two years for textbooks and the education programs of our public schools.

The “$3 Billion Christmas Gift” will not cost taxpayers one red cent. This payout to the Legislature is possible because of the strong investment performance of the Permanent School Fund and assistance from the General Land Office.

The SBOE manages the Permanent School Fund (PSF) and is affectionately referred to as the “Children’s Textbook Fund.”

The PSF, an endowment created in 1854 to support the state’s public schools, now has a fair market value of $22.6 billion and is ranked as one of the top performing endowments in the entire nation.

SBOE Chair Gail Lowe (R – Lampasas) and PSF Chair David Bradley (R – Beaumont) worked closely with the Office of Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson to find a method to increase funding for public school children in light of the state’s expected budget deficit.

In September and November, the SBOE voted for a “catch up” payment of $1.15 billion and an additional payout of $1.58 billion from the Permanent School Fund for the legislature’s biennial funding of public education.

Then in November, Jerry Patterson, Commissioner of the General Land Office, notified the SBOE that he will ask the School Land Board to transfer $500 million to the Permanent School Fund. The GLO manages the Permanent School Funds’ land and mineral holdings.

That is $300 million more than originally expected from the GLO and allows the SBOE to send additional funding to the Legislature.

Combined with the September and November SBOE actions, this investment payout totals over $3.05 billion for the Available School Fund, which by law is required to be spent on new textbooks and education programs.

Lt. Governor Dewhurst issued this statement:

I want to thank Commissioner Jerry Patterson and the State Board of Education for working with us to develop a solution that will help the Legislature fund our education priorities this session.

A Texas Education Agency press release noted that all 15 SBOE Members (10 Republicans and 5 Democrats):

…signed a letter to legislators today notifying them that the board had fulfilled its duty to provide funding for the public school system. They asked the legislature now do its duty and appropriate a portion of this money for the purchase of new English language arts textbooks and supplemental science materials. These instructional materials are expected to cost about $550 million over the next two years.

Ken Mercer (R -San Antonio) reminds Texans that the SBOE is the only government entity in Texas that: “Sends a bill, provides the cash money to pay that bill, and then provides billions in additional funding!”

“With this $3 billion Christmas gift, the SBOE sends a bill of $550 million to purchase crucial textbooks for the children of Texas, provides the cash money to pay that bill, and then pays out over $2.4 billion in additional funding for public school education!”

-*-*-

Honorable Ken Mercer
Member: State Board of Education
Representing 1.5 million Texans in twelve counties

Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Llano and parts of Bell, Bexar and Travis Counties.

Texas Alliance for Life Endorses Ken Paxton for Texas House Speaker

Incumbent Joe Straus not considered pro-life

AUSTIN — Today Texas Alliance for Life publicly endorses Rep. Ken Paxton (R-McKinney) for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and urges all incumbent and newly-elected Representatives to support him in that race. Texas Alliance for Life also encourages pro-life Texans to contact their state representatives and urge them to support Rep. Paxton.

“We enthusiastically endorse pro-life Representative Ken Paxton for Speaker of the Texas House,” said Joe Pojman, Ph.D., executive director of Texas Alliance for Life. “Texas deserves a committed, pro-life Speaker like Ken Paxton who will work to protect our most vulnerable Texans: the more than 80,000 innocent unborn children who die each year in Texas’ abortion facilities. Ken has great integrity, and we believe he will allow the House to vote on greatly-needed, highly popular, pro-life bills that were passed last session by the Texas Senate but failed to pass the Texas House.”

Pojman also announced that the vote for speaker will be used in Texas Alliance for Life’s determination of the pro-life rating for each State Representative. He stated, “We intend to score the vote for speaker because we believe it will likely be among the most important votes in the 82nd Session.”

Pojman said, “Texas Alliance for Life joins the large chorus of pro-life organizations and individuals who are asking House members not to support incumbent Speaker Joe Straus. Two years ago, Texas Alliance for Life voiced concern that under Speaker Straus, pro-life legislation would not pass the House. Unfortunately, our fears were realized.”

Pojman continued, “Speaker Straus cannot be called pro-life. He has failed to pledge to oppose public funding for Planned Parenthood, received a $1,000 campaign contribution from a Planned Parenthood PAC, and has been given high praise by Planned Parenthood for his ‘tireless efforts’ during the last legislative session.”[1],[2] In fact, Mr. Straus has praised Planned Parenthood, saying “they do so much good on the family planning and the women’s health issues.”[3]

In 2009 two pro-life bills that passed the Senate — Senate Bill 182, the sonogram bill, and Senate Bill 1098, the “Choose Life” license plate bill to promote infant adoption — died in the House without a floor vote. Both of these bills were strongly supported by Texas Alliance for Life.[4]

Rep. Ken Paxton is demonstrably pro-life and unequivocally opposes public funding for Planned Parenthood. On Monday, November 16, Texas Alliance for Life’s standard candidate questionnaires were delivered, by email and by hand, to the offices of all announced candidates for speaker. Rep. Paxton responded within hours and answered all the questions[5] in agreement with Texas Alliance for Life’s position, indicating that he supports the reversal of Roe v. Wade; supports a law banning partial-birth abortion; opposes public funding for Planned Parenthood; supports the current state law that recognizes the personhood of an unborn child beginning at conception and legally protects that child against violent crimes like of homicide and assault, performed against the mother’s wishes; supports a ban on human cloning; and supports a sonogram law.

Speaker Straus has failed to answer the questionnaire.

Rep. Paxton has a strong history of authoring and supporting pro-life legislation supported by Texas Alliance for Life. For example, in 2007, Paxton authored House Bill 225, with the bipartisan support of 50 House members, to prevent state public funding of embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of human embryos. In 2007 Paxton authored the “Choose Life” license plate bill, House Bill 224. In 2009, Paxton co-authored the sonogram bill, House Bill 36, as well as the “Choose Life” license plate bill, House Bill 109.

By contrast, in 2007, Representative Straus co-authored House Bill 2704, a phony ban on human cloning. House Bill 2704 would allow the creation of living, human embryos by any “method other than fertilization” (i.e., human cloning) and would require the destruction of those embryos before implantation.

aka The Red Moon Fairy | December 29, 2010 | Divination

I’m no Jonah Goldberg or John Derbyshire – you can find their predictions here – but I do have my sources and techniques. And I am full of opinions.

Here is my I Ching reading at the time of the Lunar Eclipse on December 21, 2010. It is a reading of the change of the times, of patterns and influences. I make a few specific connections but leave further realizations to the reader. Please note the archaic and politically incorrect language of “good and evil” and “superior and inferior men” are from a 1950 edition of the text by Richard Wilhelm. Those were the days…

Current conditions: Obstruction

“Here an individual is confronted by obstacles that cannot be overcome directly. In such a situation it is wise to pause in view of the danger and to retreat. However, this is merely a preparation for overcoming the obstructions. One must join forces with friends of like mind and put himself under the leadership of a man equal to the situation: then one will succeed in removing the obstacles. This requires the will to persevere just when one apparently must do something that leads away from his goal. This unswerving inner purpose brings good fortune in the end.

“An obstruction that lasts only for a time is useful for self-development. This is the value of adversity.”

A man who lacks character seeks to put the blame on others. The man of good character seeks the error within himself, and through introspection the outer obstacle becomes an occasion for inner enrichment and education.

“Retreat for the time being is not for giving up the struggle but to await the right moment for action; to gather together trustworthy companions who can be counted upon for help in eventually overcoming the obstructions.”

So the Tea Party and 912 groups organized, networked, got out the vote, patrolled the polling places and stood together. The 2010 midterms – despite the union-Democrat-illegal alien voter fraud machinations – were the people taking back their government.

The journey of 10,000 miles began with one step.

The Change: Break-through

“..The time when inferior people gradually begin to disappear. Their influence is on the wane; as a result of resolute action, a change in conditions occurs…”

Translation: The uncontrolled, needlessly rebellious, morally corrupt people got voted out. The left does not know how to govern because they refuse to accept the way the world is. They only imagine a world “as it should be” but which actually never was (and wouldn’t work even if it did). They are the untalented malcontents who mistake contrariness for creativity. Good riddance 111th Congress.

Resolute action refers to the election, to the rallies, the seminars, the networking and outreach of the conservative underground majority.

“Even if only one inferior man is occupying a ruling position in a city, he is able to oppress superior men.”

This rather old fashioned language refers to someone like Joe Straus who, as Speaker of the Texas house, masked himself in conservative rhetoric but whose actions in effectively killing important legislation speak louder than any ad on Drudge ever could.

In the resolute struggle of the good against evil, the I Ching mentions definite rules that must not be disregarded, if it is to succeed.

1. Resolution must be based on a union of strength and friendliness.
2. A compromise with evil is not possible; evil must under all circumstances be openly discredited. (Our own passions and shortcomings must also be reviewed in the same manner.)
3. The struggle must not be carried on directly by force. If evil is branded it thinks of weapons.
4. We must be on guard in ourselves against the faults we see in others.

The best way to fight evil is to make energetic progress in the good. Endlessly analysing the insanity of the left seems to me a truly humongous waste of time. How about some more positive messaging, more exemplary activity, more historical perspective and less regurgitation of Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and the other back benchers with no ratings? If Rush and Sean didn’t quote them I wouldn’t even know they existed.

And maybe there should be more conservative restaurants, coffee shops, clubs and service personnel in Washington D.C. Maybe then the Republicans would quit acting like they are on tourist visas staying in a foreign country. But that’s another story.

“In developing his character the superior man takes care not to become hardened in obstinacy but to remain receptive to impressions by help of strict and continuous self-examination.”

The GOP establishment needs to listen to the input of Tea Party leadership and to act like public servants for a change.

Numerology for USA

Year 5 (July 4, 2010 – July 4, 2011)

This is the year for contest, struggle and choosing a CHANGE OF DIRECTION. It was also the tumultuous Year of the Tiger in Chinese astrology, which we have written about here.

• January Month 6 – Congeniality (new congress convenes)
• February Month 7 – Analysis
• March Month 8 – ACTION, success
• April Month 9 – Endings, trimming the dead wood
• May Month 1 – New Beginnings, planting seeds
• June Month 11 – Launching the invention
• July Month 3 / 4 – Restriction, limitation, difficulty (Year 6 begins)
• August Month 5 – CHANGE of direction or emphasis
• September Month 6 (the cycle repeats)
• October Month 7
• November Month 8
• December Month 9

Year of the Golden Rabbit

February 3, 2011 – January 22, 2012

The danger of this good year is that apathy and complacency will be easy to fall into again. (New Republican majority, are you listening? You guyz are on probabtion!)

“A congenial time in which diplomacy, international relations and politics will be given a front seat again. We will act with discretion and make reasonable concessions without too much difficulty.”

Please note, GOP leaders: Concessions are what the LOSERS make. NOT the winners.

“A time to watch out that we do not become too indulgent. The influence of the Rabbit tends to spoil those who like too much comfort and thus impair their effectiveness and sense of duty.

“Law and order will be lax; rules and regulations will not be rigidly enforced. No one seems very inclined to bother with these unpleasant realities. They are busy enjoying themselves… We will all have a tendency to put off disagreeable tasks as long as possible.”

Ahem. And the year after in 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon. The people will boot anybody who didn’t measure up. They have long memories and now they have networks.

Posted 12/28/2010 06:43 PM ET | IBD Editorials

Environmentalism: Fresno, Calif., stands as the de facto capital of California’s mighty Central Valley, the breadbasket of America. So why is that city preoccupied with winning a $1 million prize to stave off hunger?

Local newspapers and Fresno County officials are trying to rally Facebook users to vote for Fresno in a corporate contest sponsored by Wal-Mart for $1 million in charity food donations for the hungry. Fresno, a city of 505,000, has taken the national lead because 24.1% of Fresno’s families are going hungry.

Civic spirit is good, but something big is wrong here. Fresno is the agricultural capital of America. More food per acre in more variety can be grown in the fertile Central Valley surrounding this community than on any other land in America — perhaps in the world.

Yet far from being a paradise, Fresno is starting to resemble Zimbabwe or 1930s Ukraine, a victim of a famine machine that is entirely man-made, not by red communists this time, but by greens.

More…

Hat tip LW.

RELATED: How to Cultivate a Food Crisis

by Donna Garner | December 28, 2010

Will Hartnett

Today Rep. Joe Straus appointed Rep. Will Hartnett as Master of Discovery in the matter of the contested election in District 46 between Dan Neil (Republican) and Rep. Donna Howard (Democrat).

Young Conservatives of Texas has scored Rep. Hartnett with a 22% negative change in the 81st Session under Straus, and Hartnett was listed as one of the lowest scoring Republicans in that session.

Rep. Donna Howard supposedly has 12 more votes than does Dan Neil, but many irregularities have been identified by Neil.

Rep. Howard is an ultra-liberal who is a Texas Freedom Network board member. This puts her in direct alignment with Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign (largest homosexual organization in the U. S.), the ACLU Texas, Alliance for Clean Texas, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Equality Texas, NARAL Pro-Choice, Sierra Club, Stand Down Texas, TAPPA, Texas Impact, The Texas Observer, and MECha (who wants to eliminate the border with Mexico entirely and honor Mexican revolutionary war hero Ernesto Zapata and Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara).

Let’s hope that the truth comes out and that Republican conservative Dan Neil ends up as Texas’ new House member.

==========================================

Today it was reported to me that Rep. Larry Taylor notified all the Republican Representatives that they are to be in Austin for a Republican caucus on Jan. 11.  However, someone else reported to me that the caucus is actually to be on Jan. 10 at 1:00 P. M.

The pressure from the conservatives around the state is beginning to show some results.  Let’s continue to demand that the Texas House elect a conservative Speaker of the House.  Joe Straus is not a conservative.

===========================================

RELATED:  Joe Straus on the Ropes in Texas by Michael Kinzie

Many other articles and action items about the Texas House Speaker’s race are also posted on the above-mentioned page.

Previous reporting on Texas Freedom Network is here.

Senator Dan Patrick joins 48 legislators to start new grassroots caucus

Published 12/16/2010 – 10:21 a.m. CST | CypressTimes.com

AUSTIN, TX – “The Tea Party movement is the most important political movement of our life time. The voice of this group must be heard like never before inside the walls of the capitol. This last election proved that real political power is not found in Austin. It’s found in the homes, farms, and businesses across our great state,” said Senator Dan Patrick.

Immediately after the election, Senator Patrick announced his intention to form the Tea Party Caucus. Over the past six weeks he has been in contact with both legislators and Tea Party organizers across the state, asking them to help shape a vision and an action plan for the new group.

“I’m most appreciative of the work of Greg Holloway and other Tea Party organizers across the state who have helped develop this concept,” stated Patrick. Tea Party organizers will form an advisory board that will meet with the caucus board. “This is not a top down legislator to voter caucus,” added Patrick. “This is a grassroots up to legislator movement.”

The goal for the Tea Party Advisory Board is to lead in this endeavor. The vision is to have the Tea Party board members develop their own legislative agenda and for the caucus to help them move it forward wherever possible. The goal of the legislative caucus is to help Tea Party organizers take the success that they have achieved at the ballot box and pass conservative legislation.

Read the rest and see the list of members.

The closest thing to retributive justice you may ever see for Fat Al Not-so-Sharpton. (Do NOT eat or drink while watching this one.) Hat tip The Right Scoop. Heh.

Fartingbellybutton | December 28, 2010
1988.

Detroit, Michigan

Poor Richard:  I’m sure you’ve seen this story headlining Yahoo! News a few days ago.  What you may not have noticed is that every city listed is deep blue, where power has been mismanaged for decades by Democrats and the unions.  It doesn’t mean Republicans are saints either.

Orange County was the biggest municipality a few years ago after a series of bad investments.  However, if these cities are bailed out under Chapter 9, expect many more to follow.  Despite a new Congress in January, you can expect Big Government Republicans and RINOs to be no different.  They’ll push hard for “too big to fail” bail out schemes for these cities and for the state of California as a whole, unless the People say different.

Here’s something that may matter to you… from a 2008 NPR article, no less.

What is life like in a “bankrupt” city or town?

In one sense, life goes on as usual. Police and fire departments still respond to 911 calls; the garbage is still collected. But don’t expect that new bridge or school to be built. For a bankrupt city, all new projects must be approved by a majority of creditors. The biggest hit, though, is to the city’s image. Bankruptcy carries a much greater stigma for a city than for a corporation, which is why officials go to great lengths to avoid Chapter Nine.

This is NYC’s 2nd go round.  In 1975, Ford told them no but the Democrats in Congress said yes, and NYC got it’s bailout, just before the axe fell.  When is enough, enough?

16 U.S. Cities That Could Face Bankruptcy in 2011

by Gus Lubin and Leah Goldman | Dec 21, 2010 06:06pm EST | Business Insider

The next default could be a major city like Detroit, or it could be one of hundreds of small cities that are on the brink.

1.  San Diego, Ca.                    Deficit through June 2012 : $73 million

2.  New York, NY                      Deficit through June 2012: $2 billion

3.  San Jose, Ca.                      Deficit through June 2012: $90 million

4.  Cincinnati, Oh.                    Deficit through December 2012: $60 million

5.  Honolulu, Hi.                       Deficit through June 2012: $100 million

6.  San Francisco, Ca.              Deficit through June 2012: $380 million

7.  Los Angeles, Ca.                 Deficit through June 2012: $438 million

8.  Washington, D.C.                Deficit through September 2012: $688 million

9.  Newark, NJ                          Deficit through December 2011: $30.5 million

10. Detroit, Mi                           Deficit through June 2011: $85 million

11. Reading, Pa                        Deficit through December 2011: $7.5 million

12. Joliet, Il                              Deficit through December 2011: $21 million

13. Camden, NJ                        Deficit through December 2011: $26.5 million

14. Hamtramck, Mi                   Deficit through June 2012: $4.7 million

15. Central Falls, RI                  Deficit through June 2012: $7 million

16. Paterson, N.J.                     Deficit through December 2011: $54 million

17. BONUS: Chicago, Il            Deficit through December 2011: $654 million

Total:                             over – $4.2 Billion Dollars

The gory details…

Here is an honest man, Walid Shoebat, a Muslim turned Christian – which carries a penalty of death in the Dar al Islam – telling about the indoctrination of his childhood and giving us a glimpse of reality without the hype. One of the many glimpses that the Oministration does not want you to see and is working hard through the state run media and the FCC to conceal. But because of alternative media we can see it today. They haven’t succeeded, not yet.

Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT! for America and refugee from the Muslim anti-Christian aggression in Lebanon, is on the podium behind him. This event probably took place around 2004. Hat tip The Right Scoop.

ThisHouseOfCards | December 27, 2010
Visit the Walid Shoebat Foundation

I never used to pay attention to the seemingly perennial Arab Israeli conflicts. Then came 9/11. Then came Ariel Sharon’s 2003 unilateral disengagement plan to hand over land to the Palestinians and their subsequent continuation of attacks against Israel despite this largesse. That was my real wake up call which prompted me to study and discover that, after you decipher the different names, nearly every war on this planet is really between radical (pure) Muslims and everybody else. As of this morning there have been 16,568 Islamic attacks in the world since 9/11.

Radical Muslims call anything that is not yet their territory Dar al Harb, the house of war. And that is what America is now.

Forewarned is forearmed. Make time to watch this.

Leave it to the great Dr. Andrew G. Bostom to articulate and prove with references what I have suspected for too long. Bill O’Reilly was good for some things once upon a time but his annoying habit of moral equivocating finally put me off to the point that I haven’t watched or listened to him for the past two years. BUT on the issue of shariah and problems with middle eastern liberals I think he is a pinhead of the first degree. I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it except that millions of people listen to him and he is putting them all to sleep about the problem.

Texas, never forget the massacre at Fort Hood. Want to avoid further trouble? Keep reading and learn.

Bill O’Reilly’s Mindslaughter

By Andrew G. Bostom | December 28, 2010 | American Thinker

It is somewhat ironic that immensely popular Fox News host Bill O’Reilly epitomizes willful blindness to Sharia, or Islamic Law, encroachment in the US.  Mr. O’Reilly has been pilloried by the left for both his undeniably accurate statements that the cataclysmic acts of jihad terrorism on 9/11/2001 were committed by Muslims and, more broadly, his commonsensical recognition of the global plethora of jihad-related “Muslim problems” outside the U.S.

Nonetheless, Mr. O’Reilly is in lockstep with his media and political antagonists when it comes to glib, ignorant denial regarding the pervasive support for Sharia by mainstream Islamic religious organizations, and Muslim religious leaders, in America.

Read it all at American Thinker.

Republicans Aim to Block FCC’s New Internet Rules Before They Go Into Effect

The Federal Communications Commission this week adopted a plan to police the web, but it will take at least a couple of months to implement the new rules – a procedural delay that could benefit Republican critics in Congress who are determined to erect a blockade.

[...]

While blocking the FCC’s Internet rules appear to be a longshot, Republicans aren’t backing down.

Sens. John Ensign and Kay Bailey Hutchison plan to introduce a resolution of disapproval to stop the ruling from going into effect.

“This vote is an unprecedented power-grab by the unelected members of the Federal Communications Commission, spearheaded by Chairman Genachowski,” Hutchison said in a statement, referring to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi. “The FCC is attempting to push excessive government regulation of the Internet through without congressional authority and these actions threaten the very future of the technology.”

“Individuals and businesses alike are rightfully concerned about government attempts to seize control of the Internet, and I will introduce a resolution of disapproval in an effort to overturn this troubling regulatory overreach by the FCC,” she added.

Read more at Fox News.

An Open Letter to Senator Hutchison

by James R. Clements | December 27, 2010 | Kyle-Buda Republicans

The camel is in the tent and he is destroying our country one regulation at a time.

Be bold Senator. As you finish your illustrious career in the Senate it is time to stand up for the Constitution, stand up for the Republic and the principles that made our country great.  A “resolution of disapproval” is not bold enough! I applaud you for standing up and making this small effort but it’s not enough Senator.

You must lead the efforts to de-fund the FCC, the DOE, and the EPA etc; de-fund these agencies and force the President to get rid of his unelected Czars.  These Czars and the agencies are writing rules and regulations that will rob America and all Americans, of all of our freedoms without Congress passing any laws.  They’re called President Obama’s “czars,” special advisers with sweeping powers, and Obama has gone far beyond his predecessors in naming nearly 40 of them to high-level positions.

From health reform czar, border czar, counterterrorism czar, urban czar, and global-warming czar to faith-based czar, domestic violence czar, stimulus accountability czar, Eurasian energy czar, Great Lakes czar, and safe-schools czar, they almost all have several things in common: They were never elected, they were never confirmed by the Senate, they are all being paid six figure incomes, and they have immense power over our government and our lives.  This month the administration czars flouted the will of Congress by issuing a new Medicare regulation that “includes advance directives to forego aggressive life-sustaining treatment” – in other words, “The Death Panel.”

The EPA on Thursday declared Texas unfit to regulate its own greenhouse gas emissions and took over carbon dioxide permitting of any new or expanding industrial facilities starting Jan. 2.

Senator, we all see it for what it is and it must be stopped. The camel is in the tent and he is destroying our country one regulation at a time.

The Federal Budget can be cut tomorrow by 25%, that would be bold! The IRS can be eliminated and we can go to a national sales tax which is the only fair and equitable solution.  That would be bold Senator. Senator de-fund these agencies, stop this madness, repeal Obama Care and save America the billions of dollars it will cost the states to fight it in the courts.  We Free Americans are being forced to waste our limited funds to fight our own Government.

Help us Senator, help America regain its rightful place as the Free Leader of the World, (not merely the Leader of the Free World) not only monetarily, but with morals and ethics and the right values.  Get out of the United Nations and tell all of those criminals and thugs that they can find another sacred cow to milk dry.  Kick the UN out of New York!

Senator, we are trying to rally the troops in Texas and in every state in the nation, but your job is to protect America, to protect Texas, to protect all Americans from this criminal impostor that has taken over our government with his czars.

Now go and do the right thing, Senator.

James R. Clements, President
Kyle-Buda Republicans
GOP Precinct 223 Chair, Hays County