Obama chooses tax cheat Kathleen Sebelius for HHS

If only this were an April Fool's joke, it might be funny.

Add Democrat Kathleen Sebelius' name to the ever-growing list of tax cheats hand-picked by the Obama administration.

Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius recently corrected three years of tax returns and paid more than $7,000 in back taxes after finding "unintentional errors" — the latest tax troubles for an Obama administration nominee.

There was no comment from the White House.

This makes the 9th "ethically challenged" Democrat that Obama has chosen for his Cabinet. The list is getting pretty long, including Hilda Solis, Ron Kirk, Nancy Killefer, Tom Daschle, as well as Rahm Emanuel, Timothy Geithner, Adolfo Carrión, and Bill Richardson .

You're doing a heckuva job, Barry!

Obama repeats Clintonesque tax hike

Do you remember President Clinton breaking his promise about tax cuts? And how he subsequently raised them instead? (h/t: Grek Mankiw)

Seeking to explain why he is backtracking on a campaign promise to cut taxes for the middle class, President-elect Bill Clinton said Thursday that the plan was never a major theme in his race for the White House.

Mr. Clinton, speaking at a news conference a day after saying he would have to "revisit" his tax-cut plan, said Americans voted for him because of the "big things" he wanted to do.

The middle-class tax cut, he said, was not among them.

He said he was "absolutely mystified" that the news media had perceived it as a major pledge.

Behold, The Obamessiah makes old things new again: change only Clinton could believe in. Namely, a change in President Obama's oft-repeated promise of a tax cut for 95% of workers and their families.

President Obama’s budget chief hinted Wednesday that the president’s signature campaign issue — a middle-class tax cut — will not likely survive a budget battle with Democrats on Capitol Hill.

The president stresses that despite tough times, things will improve.

On a conference call with reporters in advance of the president’s trip to the Hill to speak before the Senate Democratic caucus, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag indicated that, while 98 percent of the budget mark-ups in the House and Senate are on par with the administration’s budget blueprint, some campaign trail promises, like middle-class tax cuts, may get left on the cutting room floor.

I smell a bad cop/good cop routine here between President Obama and Congressional Democrats. And we're all about to get a pantload of more old-fashioned, big-government, tax-and-spend liberalism.

By the way, please notice that Obama's website specifies "95% of workers and their families." It does NOT specify Americans, a fact which I find troubling. We've often heard the saying "the devil is in the details." Anybody wanna bet that Obama will find a way to give a "tax cut" (read: welfare handout) to illegal immigrants while sticking it to the American citizens who foolishly believed him?

BOHICA.

Analyzing the Obama & TOTUS press conference

Last night's press conference was about what I expected. While there were no major gaffes on the part of our Uhhhmander in Chief, I lost track of the times he passed the buck, saying he "inherited" this mess or "it's not just me" or "that's not just my opinion." (full transcript here)

I must admit that I smiled a few times when the press actually asked him some real questions that made him visibly irritated and uncomfortable. I wonder if the media realizes that since they've been in the tank for Obama so long that they've lost credibility, or if they're simply waking up to what they've unleashed on America and are having some "buyer's remorse" over their foolish choice. In either case, it's good to see the number of softballs decreasing, despite the fact that President Obama chose to take questions from Ebony Magazine, Univision, and Agence France-Presse rather than the The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal when discussing the American economy.

One thing that really stuck out to me was when President Obama said, "The last 64 days has been dominated by me trying to figure out how we're going to fix the economy."

He's still trying to figure this out? Then why has he squandered trillions of dollars in his first 50 days? Throwing taxpayer dollars at a problem does not solve it! And he certainly shouldn't go off half-cocked with the American people's money.


This clip was too good not to post. In it, President Obama gets snippy when CNN's Ed Henry asked why it took several days for him to publicly express outrage over the $165 million in bonuses given to employees of AIG. His excuse was, "It took us a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." Is he kidding? Obama has no trouble moving "boldly and swiftly" when it comes to spending our money. But even after waiting several days to respond, he still got it wrong. Tim Geithner discussed the bonuses with Congress on March 3rd. And Geithner explicitly directed Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D) to make changes which enabled the bonuses. Sorry, Mr. President. You can't have it both ways.

“The American people are judging me just as I should be judged,” said Mr. Obama.

Exactly. You're doing a heckuva job, Barry!

Thomas Paine's "We The People" stimulus package

If Thomas Paine, author of Common Sense, were alive today, this is what he might say about the scoundrels in Washinton repeatedly forcing irresponsible spending and ever-increasing taxation upon We The People. (By the way, Paine is portrayed by actor Bob Bosso)

I will now likely be placed on a "domestic terrorist watch list" because I love America and dare to identify with our Founding Fathers as I peacefully express my desire for my government to remain true to its heritage. And for our elected officials to ethically perform the jobs to which we elected them.

Truly, "these are the times that try men's souls."

President Obama's misplaced priorities

From President Obama's weekly address, Mar 7, 2009:

While ending this crisis will not be quick or easy, the President’s plans will take the swift, bold, and responsible actions needed for the United States to emerge stronger and more prosperous than before. And that is why reforming healthcare, jumpstarting job creation, restoring lending, relieving responsible homeowners, and making hard choices are all so critically important right now.

While we're in the midst of what President Obama has repeatedly called "the worst economy since the Great Depression," Dear Leader has made time this week for such urgent national priorities as appearing on ESPN to fill out his NCAA basketball bracket and disparaging the Special Olympics on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Gravitas. You're doin' it wrong.

A contrast in military response

The U.S. Marines' give two very different responses to two very different Commanders-In-Chief.

Congressional "super tax" on AIG bonuses is unconstitutional

All this week, the media has been buzzing with news of people who are angry about the bonuses AIG paid out to their employees after receiving $170 billion in federal bailout money. While I agree that bonuses seem distasteful, especially given how tight the market is right now, I object to the class warfare mentality that has erupted over what is essentially AIG fulfilling its contractual obligations. The fact that we don't like it has no merit. Congress is way out of line by suggesting a 100% "super tax" on those bonuses.

"Recipients of these bonuses will not be able to keep all of their money," declared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in an unusually strong threat delivered on the Senate floor.

"If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you," echoed Chuck Schumer of New York.
[...]
At least three Democratic bills and one Republican measure were introduced to crack down on the Treasury Department and stiffen rules for recipients of bailout funds. Two bills in the House aimed to impose a 100 percent tax on the bonuses.

Before our legislators get ahead of themselves, perhaps they need to re-read Article 1, section 9, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution:

"No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."

Outlawing something after the fact is illegal. Targeting a person or group of persons with the U.S. tax code is illegal, especially when our legislators are declaring these AIG execs guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. As a supposed Constitutional scholar, President Obama should be the first one calling down this ridiculous rush to judgment.

As someone who's been laid off twice in the past two years (and am still struggling to find a job), I can identify with the frustration against those who are receiving vast sums of money while others have it rough. But things will always be that way. There will always be someone who makes less than someone else, and could make an argument that the government should take from those with more and give to those with less. But that's NOT how our country was founded. We are NOT a socialist nation and we should not be fooled into abandoning our laws and our history by penalizing wealth, no matter how some may feel about it.

If AIG's board of directors wants to contravene their contracts with their executives, that's their decision. Let these execs sue for their bonuses and see how far that gets them. But regardless of how much the U.S. government is now involved with these banks, there are Constitutional limits on Congress. Which is precisely why the government has no business bailing out these businesses to begin with.

Tea Party protests gaining momentum

Here's a clip from yesterday's Tea Party protest against government spending. This one was in Cincinnati and had upwards of 5,000 angry taxpayers who came out to say "ENOUGH!"

Thousands of Tri-State residents gathered Sunday on Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati to voice their opposition to government spending bills recently signed by President Barack Obama.

The group called itself the Cincinnati Tea Party, modeled after the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

Many of the demonstrators carried signs with slogans that said "Honk if I'm paying your mortgage" or "Stop spending my allowance." Some even wore tea bags on their hats to make their point.

Cincinnati police estimated the crowd at 4,000 people. Many who spoke with News 5 Sunday afternoon said they're angry, including Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.

"I bet there's 5,000 people here and they're mad, just as I'm mad. They have a right to be mad at the unbridled spending that's happening in Washington," said Schmidt.

This movement is getting too big for the media to ignore, as they did when we had similar protests here in Dallas and Fort Worth.

It was one of many tea party protests around the country — inspired by the Revolutionary War era Boston Tea Party protesting British taxation. Protesters had signs reading "Give us liberty, not debt" and "Where's my bailout?"

One report states there are more than 150 tea parties scheduled across the nation in the upcoming months. The events so far have been largely ignored by the mainstream media, but several blogs are tracking them.

Noel Sheppard, associate editor for the conservative NewsBusters.org writes on the coverage so far: "Compare that to how these networks practically fell all over themselves to report war protests after the public's opinion changed concerning Iraq in late 2003."

If you're fed up with our government's irresponsible spending, there's still time to plan on attending the upcoming Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th.

John Stossel’s "Bailouts & Bull"

John Stossel aired an excellent report entitled Bailouts & Bull on last Friday's 20/20 which focused on the increasing irresponsible spending in Washington. This is part one, the entire special is well worth the time to watch. (h/t: Hot Air)

You now owe $111,164.40

Have you already done your taxes this year? If you were expecting a return, you might be in for a bit of a surprise.

In just 50 days, President Obama and our Democrat-led Congress have spent $1 billion dollars PER HOUR.

That figure is staggering. And it's admirable that Sen. McConnell has tried to put this immense spending in a way the average American can better comprehend. But since we keep hearing about how many billions and trillions our elected officials are spending in our names, I thought it might be better to break down this figure on a more individual basis.

The IRS reported 78,792,000 individual returns filed in 2008. If you take Congress' $1 billion per hour and "redistribute" that spending across each taxpaying American, that will require $12.69 from each taxpayer every hour.

$12.69 x 24 hours = $304.56 per day.

$304.56 per day x 365 days = $111,164.40 per person.

So if you'll kindly break out your checkbook, we can get all this taken care of.

What's that? You don't have $111,164.40 available to give Uncle Sam this year? Well, don't worry. The government will be happy to work out a payment plan with your children. And your grandchildren. And your great-grandchildren...

Obama refuses to sign new $410 billion spending bill in public

(Debt Star pic h/t: Vocal Minority)
More equivocation from The One. I suppose he "inherited" these 9,000 earmarks, too?

WASHINGTON – Acknowledging it's an "imperfect" bill, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he will accept a $410 billion spending package that includes billions in earmarks like those he promised to curb in last year's campaign. But he insisted the bill must signal an "end to the old way of doing business."
[...]
In a sign of his discomfort with the bill, Obama planned to sign the bill quietly rather than in public. He declined to answer a shouted reporters' question about why.

One word, Mr. President: VETO.

Another Obama campaign promise bites the dust.

"And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."

Listing the bailouts, stimulus, and other wasteful spending

I've had difficulty keeping track of our government's out of control spending over the past few years. And if it seems like it's gotten worse in the past 18 months, that's because it has. In an attempt to make it easier to see just how bad things have gotten, I've taken figures compiled by separate sources and listed them all together, sorted by approximate date. I've also linked news stories for each separate item.

As you can see, it's no wonder we taxpayers are having trouble keeping track of it all. Between the extravagant "stimulus" plan and the numerous bailouts to which American taxpayers have been subjected, the total amount recently squandered by our government has now reached $9 TRILLION DOLLARS!

2008

$29 billion — Bear Stearns bailout

Mar. 2008 - The Federal Reserve bought distressed assets from Bear Stearns to facilitate its sale to JPMorgan Chase.

$236 billion — Other loans

Mar. 2008 - These loans from the Federal Reserve's discount window used to be confined to commercial banks and were only overnight. Now, terms have been extended, in some cases up to 90 days, and investment banks have access to them. The total amount on loan has significantly expanded.

$200 billion — Debt swaps (Term Securities Lending Facility)

Mar. 2008 - The Federal Reserve is lending liquid United States Treasuries for 28 days in exchange for less liquid agency debt, debt backed by mortgage-backed securities and investment-grade corporate debt.

$400 billion — Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Bailout

Sept. 2008 - The companies were put into conservatorship and the Treasury initally pledged up to $200 billion to cover their losses. Freddie Mac has now received a $14 billion infusion.

$25 billion — Auto Industry bailout

Sept. 2008 - These low-interest loans are intended to aid the industry in its push to build more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly vehicles. The Detroit 3 — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — will be the primary beneficiaries.

$700 billion — Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)

Oct. 2008 - Also known as The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In return for bailout cash, the Treasury now owns stock in hundreds of banks, General Motors, Chrysler and the insurer A.I.G. Two of the largest recipients are Bank of America ($45 billion) and Citigroup ($45 billion cash and $5 billion in support of a loan guarantee). View a timeline of the bailouts.

$900 billion — Term auction facility

Oct. 2008 - The Federal Reserve is making these low-interest loans of either 28 or 84 days to financial institutions, allowing them to pledge a variety of collateral, including asset-backed securities.

$60 billion — A.I.G. bailout #2

Oct. 2008 - A line of credit offered by the Federal Reserve that the insurance company has partly tapped. The Treasury announced on March 2 that the line of credit will be reduced to about $25 billion. And instead of paying back the outstanding debt, A.I.G. will give the government a preferred stake in two of its international subsidiaries.

$9 billion — Morgan Stanley bailout

Oct. 2008 - The Treasury guaranteed a capital infusion by a Japanese bank.

$684 billion — Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program

Nov. 2008 - The F.D.I.C. is insuring these accounts, which are mainly used by businesses to run day-to-day operations.

$600 billion — Money market funds

Oct. 2008 - The Treasury originally guaranteed these accounts up to $50 billion, but the program has been extended by the Federal Reserve, which has, in a few cases, had to step in and buy some illiquid assets of some funds to help them meet their obligations.

$249 billion — Citigroup bailout #2

Nov. 2008 - The government is backing the bulk of $306 billion in loans and securities. This amount does not include direct investment through the TARP program.

$600 billion — Federal Home Loan Bank securities

Nov. 2008 - The Treasury and the Federal Reserve have begun buying debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

$17.4 billion — Chrysler/GM bailout #2

Dec. 2008 - Chrysler, General Motors and the Treasury Department have agreed upon terms for a bailout package to rescue the drowning automakers. The package consists of $13.4 billion in emergency loans; another $4 billion will be made available if needed.

2009

$128 billion — Bank of America bailout #2

Jan. 2009 - The government agreed to supply Bank of America with a fresh $20 billion capital injection and absorb "toxic" loans and securities worth $98 billion.

$700 billion — Bank debt (Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program)

Jan. 2009 - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has begun insuring senior subordinated debt issued by banks and poorly performing assets owned by banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The program is now slated to run through June 2009.

$787 billion — U.S. Stimulus Package

Feb. 2009 - Also known as The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About $267 billion is devoted to tax relief. The so-called discretionary spending portion of the bill amounts to $308 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of that money, $48 billion goes to the Department of Transportation for various rail and road projects to repair and expand infrastructure. That leaves about $260 billion of discretionary spending (read: pork) that goes to various federal agencies, as well as to state and local governments.

$53 billion — A.I.G. bailout #3

Feb. 2009 - The Federal Reserve has provided seed money to create investment vehicles to buy, hold and possibly dispose of bad securities held or insured by A.I.G.

$1 trillion — Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF)

Mar. 2009 - This program, launched on March 3, will provide loans and accept securities backed by consumer and small-business loans as collateral. Note: $100 billion of the total amount committed comes from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

$410 billion — Omnibus Spending Bill

In Progress - Despite President Obama's promise to reform the earmark process, the newest spending bill is laden with over 9,000 surreptitious pet projects, totalling $7.7 billion dollars.

$800 billion — Obama's Stimulus II: Son of Stimulus

In Progress - This one is still currently in the works, but the figure being floated just boggles the mind, especially in light of all the reckless spending that's preceded it.

$1 trillion — Obama's plan for socialized medicine

In Progress - President Obama's budget calls for a 10-year, $634 billion "down payment" to create a new health care entitlement program for approximately 48 million uninsured Americans. Not surprisingly, the Communist Party USA loves this.

If all this sickens you as much as it does me, join the growing number of taxpayers who will take a stand at the next round of Tea Party protests on April 15th to say "NO MORE!"

Sources: Treasury; Federal Reserve; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (h/t: leahita)

Cheering for failure?

This past weekend, I had a little "discussion" on Twitter with a liberal troll who feebly attempted to tar me as a traitor because I want President Obama's socialist plans to fail. Under his fuzzy thinking, I was "unpatriotic" because I wasn't cheering for our economy to be dismantled and rebuilt as a replica of Cuba or Venezuela.

First, I take exception to the notion that it's unpatriotic to want to preserve and defend my nation from the Marxist ideology which has tried to undermine it for nearly a century.

Second, let's take a look at presidential support. Here's blast from the past: a 2006 poll showed that 51% of Democrats wanted President Bush to fail.



Keep in mind, these folks didn't want President Bush to fail because he was changing the country's foundations, like President Obama is attempting. It was because they hated Bush personally and wanted our soldiers to be defeated in battle (check out my post from Jan 22, 2007 where 49% of Democrats either wanted us to lose in Iraq or "didn't know" if they wanted us to succeed. 34% were intent on wanting actual failure for the U.S. military)

That's unpatriotic. That's treason.

Need more of a refresher about the "patriotism" of our leftist brethren?


How about when "progressives" carry signs that say "F*** the troops"?


Or when a leftist asshat craps on the American flag while other Dems look on and cheer?


Or when Democrat protesters burn the flag and effigies of American soldiers?


What about when liberals carry banners openly advocating revolution which would overthrow our current form of government in favor of the abject failure which is communism?

Do you see Republicans acting that way? No, I didn't think so. Opposing Obama's radical plan to implement socialism in America is not even remotely close to the kind of anti-American activities engaged by far left over the past several years.

Patterico:

Have this poll handy the next time some Democrat gets snooty about Rush wanting Obama to fail. It’s proof that the Democrats didn’t want Bush to succeed. They have no standing to claim the moral high ground. None.

Democrats have no moral high ground? No news there.

Quote of the day

“All politicians, including President Obama, are temporary stewards of this nation. It is not their task to remake the founding of this country. It is not their task to tear it apart and rebuild it in their image.” ~ Rush Limbaugh

via "Don’t Lecture Us, Mr. President" — The Daily Beast (h/t: DPGI)

ObamaPrompter

(graphic via John Pszeniczny)
Now we all know The One's secret to his "great" speeches.

President Barack Obama doesn’t go anywhere without his TelePrompter.

The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president’s prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks.

Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches in the White House’s stately parlors. They stood next to him on the floor of a manufacturing plant in Indiana as he pitched his economic stimulus plan. They traveled to the Department of Transportation this week and were in the Capitol Rotunda last month when he paid tribute to Abraham Lincoln in six-minute prepared remarks.

Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual — not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events, large and small.

After the teleprompter malfunctioned a few times last summer and Obama delivered some less-than-soaring speeches, reports surfaced that he was training to wean himself off of the device while on vacation in Hawaii. But no such luck.

His use of the teleprompter makes work tricky for the television crews and photographers trying to capture an image of the president announcing a new Cabinet secretary or housing plan without a pane of glass blocking his face. And it is a startling sight to see such sleek, modern technology set against the mahogany doors and Bohemian crystal chandeliers in the East Room or the marble columns of the Grand Foyer.

“It’s just something presidents haven’t done,” said Martha Joynt Kumar, a presidential historian who has held court in the White House since December 1975. “It’s jarring to the eye. In a way, it stands in the middle between the audience and the president because his eye is on the teleprompter.”

Divorcing liberalism

Here's a letter making the rounds with a great suggestion on healing America's ideological rift, since the Obamessiah certainly isn't up to the task: (h/t: Neal Boortz)

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters,

We've stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know that we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and just will not ever agree on what's right. So let's just end it right now while we can do it on friendly terms. We can smile, shake hands, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and each go our own way.

So here's a model separation agreement.

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by land mass, each taking a portion. That's going to be the difficult part, but I'm sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy. Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate taste. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can have those. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. And since you hate guns and you hate war, we'll take the firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. But you are going to be responsible for finding a biodiesel vehicle big enough to haul them around.

We'll keep the capitalism, the greedy corporations, the pharmaceutical companies; we will keep Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have the homeless, the homeboys, the hippies and illegal aliens. We will keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, the greedy CEOS and all of the rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and we'll let you have NBC and Hollywood.

You can be nice to Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer anybody that threatens us. You can have the peaceniks and the war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we will provide them with security. You won't have to worry about it. We will keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley Maclaine. You can also have the UN, but we will no longer pay the bill.

We will keep the SUVs, the pickup trucks and the oversize luxury cars. You can have the compacts, the subcompacts and every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everybody healthcare, if you can find any practicing doctors. We will continue to believe that healthcare is a privilege and not a right. We will keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the national anthem, and I am sure you will be happy to substitute in their place "Imagine." I'd like to teach the world to sing "Kumbaya" or "We are the world." We will practice trickle-down economics and you can give trickle-up poverty your best shot. And since it so offends you, we will keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots. And if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the friendly spirit of parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in about 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J Wall

Law student and an American

P.S. You can also have Barbara Streisand and Jane Fonda

Bank of Obama: your own personal bailout

Are you struggling financially? Never fear, Bank of Obama is here!

Bad mortgage, student loan, credit card debt, Vegas trip...you know someone who needs a personal bailout for it. Bank of Obama believes everyone should get their share of the stimulus package. We provide a novel way to bail out your friends. Just fill out the check. Send one free via email or through the mail for a small fee. It's that easy!

Furlough Congress!

With the ever-increasing torrent of layoffs we keep seeing in the news, and especially in light of Congress' inattention to the outcry of taxpayers protesting rampant government spending, it's time for Americans to implement some cost-cutting options of our own.

Did you realize our Democratic-led congress recently gave an additional $93,000 in petty cash to each lawmaker in Washington?

If that wasn't outrageous enough, our elected representatives have also given themselves a $4,700 raise. They now make $174,000 a year for their 3 day work week.

Did you get a raise this year? (that is, if you still have a job at all!)

The 2009 fiscal spending bill for Congress is $410 billion, which is an 11% increase over last year's budget.

Congress wants to boost spending on itself by nearly 11 percent this year, an increase that's part of a massive spending bill that has smaller increases for most agencies that deal with public health, education, energy, and other domestic needs.

The congressional budget, which the Senate is considering this week as part of a $410 billion fiscal 2009 spending bill, is higher than the 8 percent overall boost for most domestic programs.

As a result, Congress now appears well on track to approve spending $4.4 billion on itself, up from $3.97 billion last year.

The big increase for Congress has a number of sources: The new Capitol Visitor Center, improvements to the Capitol's aging infrastructure, and more money for agencies that oversee federal operations.

Also included is $19 million to renovate seven committee rooms in the House of Representatives, funding for staff cost-of-living pay increases and tens of thousands of dollars for special expense accounts for congressional leaders.

Not included in this budget are the salaries of members; those are part of a separate account.

In light of the fact that Congress and President Obama have already put America on the hook for TRILLIONS we can't afford, and since these federal employees work for the American taxpayers, I say let's furlough these workers in order to cut back on our operating expenses. Adjourn Congress for the rest of the year. For one thing, they won't be able to do additional damage to our economy. And it would save America $4.4 billion dollars in the process.

Just think, we'll "save or create" up to 538 jobs!

If President Obama Twittered...

John Galt files his 1040: Tax Day Tea Party

Last week's Tea Party protests won't be the last. In case you missed your chance to attend, there are plans for a Tax Day Tea Party:

The Tax Day Tea Party is a national collaborative grassroots effort organized by Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, the DontGo Movement and many other online groups/coalitions.

The Tea Party protests, in their current form, began in early 2009 when Rick Santelli, the On Air Editor for CNBC, set out on a rant to expose the bankrupt liberal agenda of the White House Administration and Congress. Specifically, the flawed “Stimulus Bill” and pork filled budget.

During Rick’s rant (see video below), he called for a “Chicago tea Party” where advocates of the free-market system could join in a protest against out of control government spending.

A few days later, grassroots activists and average Joe Americans began organizing what would soon become the Nationwide Chicago Tea Party effort.

On February 27th, an estimated 30,000 Americans took to the street in 40+ cities accross the country in the first nationwide “Tea Party” protest.

Organizers of the February 27th events pledged to continue on with an even bigger and better protest to follow the first. With April 15th being “Tax Day”, it was decided to schedule the second round of Tea Party protests to ride alongside the tax deadline.

And with that, the “Tax Day Tea Party”, the second round of the Nationwide Tea Party protests, moved into reality.

I've never been one for protests. But I can't just stand by and allow my country to be "rebuilt" into a replica of Cuba or the Soviet Union.

It's time to stand up against $850 billion in wasteful spending ($308 billion of which is pure pork).

It's time to stand up against $3.45 trillion in taxpayer-funded bailouts of private companies who deserve to fail.

It's time to end this headlong charge to expand government and create expensive new entitlement programs. Even President Obama admits the $634 billion price tag for his socialized medicine scheme is just a "down payment." But more important than the cost is the fact that this Marxist plan to take over America's health care industry will ensure more dependence on government while abridging personal liberty.

It's time to make your voice heard, too. Find out if there's a Tax Day Tea Party in your city. If there isn't, then organize one yourself! Michelle Malkin has more info on how to "Go Galt", plus lots of footage from Tea Party protests around the country.
---
Related posts:

• Today we're gonna party like it's 1773!
• Don't Tax Me, Bro!

Midweek Peek 03.04.09

Carla Gugino as Silk Spectre in Watchmen.

The growing list of Obama cabinet nominees' ethics violations

It's getting to to where you'll need a roster to keep track of all the ethics violations of President Obama's cabinet members and nominees.

• U.S. trade representative nominee, Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk — $10,000 in unpaid taxes


• White House Office on Urban Policy nominee, Adolfo Carrión – Received questionable "pay for play" contributions


• Health and Human Services nominee, Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle — $128,000 in unpaid taxes


• Chief Performance Officer nominee, Nancy Killefer — $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help


• Commerce Secretary nominee, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson — Under grand jury investigation for "pay for play" corruption


• White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel — legally questionable behavior shielding personal income in a "charitable foundation" and possibly $100,000 in unpaid property taxes


• Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis — House ethics violations/lobbying conflict of interest


• Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner — $34,000 in unpaid back taxes and interest

Aside from their obvious corruption, what else do all these people have in common? Hint: they're not Republicans.

It looks like "Peggy the Moocher" was right after all:

"I won't have to worry about putting gas in my car. I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage. You know. If I help [Obama], he's gonna help me."

Hope! Change! Judgment to lead!

Another Democrat tax dodger for Obama's cabinet

This is what happens when a man with no executive experience is put in the Oval Office by a populace ignorant of the job requirements.

Trade nominee is 4th Obama pick to owe back taxes

Another Obama administration nominee has tax troubles. This time, it's Ron Kirk, the president's choice to be U.S. trade representative. Kirk owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to pay them, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.

The committee said the taxes arise from Kirk's handling of speaking fees he donated to a scholarship fund that he set up at his alma mater, and for his deduction of the full cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team.

Kirk also agreed to make changes in his accounting of charitable deductions, including reducing the claimed value of a donated television from $3,000 to $1,500.

The former Dallas mayor is the fourth nominee by President Barack Obama to run into tax problems.

A third of the Senate voted against Tim Geithner's confirmation as treasury secretary after it was disclosed that he had to pay more than $34,000 in back taxes and interest on income he made while working for the International Monetary Fund.

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle then withdrew as a nominee to become Health and Human Services after it was disclosed that he failed to pay $128,000 in taxes. Nancy Killefer, Obama's pick for chief performance officer, also bowed out amid tax problems.

"A new era of responsibility," my ass!

You'd think by now, President Obama would have his potential nominees' taxes and backgrounds investigated before offering them the job. But then again, maybe Obama wants blatant crooks and liars in his cabinet. After 12 years of dirty Chicago politics, maybe it's all he knows how to do.

Humor: Islamic Technology Meets German Engineering

(h/t: The Jawa Report)

"Don't Tax Me, Bro"

This video is from L.A.'s Tea Party protest, courtesy of lalawag.

On Friday February 27, 2009 conservatives from all over the United States gathered together in cities across the nation to protest the bailout plan that President Barack Obama has proposed. The premise of the protest was a modern day version of the 1773 Boston tea party. The slogan “no taxation without equal representation” which was prevalent during 1763-1775, was heard throughout the day as well as a more modern version “Don’t Tax Me Bro.”

The last speaker in the video gives the money quote:

"I can remember when the leading comedians in America were the Marx Brothers. Now the leader of America is a Marxist brutha."