Choosing The Right Lane To Follow

In pursuit of Constitutionally grounded governance, free markets and individual liberty

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Obama demands $1.6 trillion tax boost, and an unlimited credit card

Are you being taken for a fool.  Does that make you angry?  It should. No one wants or likes to be taken for a fool. Do think for one moment that the 51% win by Obama was a mandate to tax you even more?You have credit cards and you have friends with credit cards.  If so, you know one or more persons that have maxed out their credit cards.  If they came to you for advice, would you advise them to go back to the credit card company and ask them for an unlimited credit limit?  You can hear the person on the other end of the line laughing out loud, yes?  Sure you would.  Would you give them more money?  Why?  They would spend it all and come asking for more, that's why!  The issue facing this country is no more complex than running your own household.  But somehow, you want to see it differently.  You want to believe that the Obama regime and other pundits that claim "Debt" is a good thing is true?  You know it is not true!  Debt is as bad as you know it is! Because, you KNOW the consequences of NOT being able to pay the debt.  Further, you may not fully understand what happened in Britain and what is happening in France, Greece, Spain and all of Europe; it is DEBT. Do you remember Obama running on a platform to raise taxes by $1.6 Trillion?  Probably not.  You may remember something about the rich needing to pay their fair share. According to the New York Times, the president’s plan to abolish the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 is expected to bring in merely $0.7 trillion over the next decade, or about 0.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product per year. As a comparison, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the deficit over the same period is going to be $13 trillion, more than 6 percent of GDP per year. The president’s plan to abolish the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 is expected to bring in merely $0.7 trillion over the next decade, or about 0.3 percent of GDP per year. The rich in America obviously have lots of money, but there are simply not enough of them to fund the president´s preferred level of spending. For all the attention it has received, President Obama’s “taxing the rich” policy can best be described as symbolic in nature, a rounding error compared to the deficits in the president’s budget. Obama centers his speeches around tax hikes on the rich to lead voters into believing that hard choices on the economy can be avoided simply by taxing the rich at a higher rate. The recent facts are he wants Congress to levy twice as much in extra taxes from Americans as he urged during the election campaign, give up its control over the nation’s debt limit, and fund an immediate $50 billion stimulus for his political priorities.  So, don't be fooled or made to be a fool in this debate over the fiscal cliff.

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Gambling With the Nation's Future

Good news, America: Those who believe that our nation has "barbarians at the gates" are dead wrong. The bad news: The barbarians are already well inside the gates, running the federal government. The Barbarian-in-Chief himself recently served up this point by lamenting, "I cannot just impose my will on Congress ... even though sometimes I wish I could." Tyrants like to impose their will on legislative branches. Thank goodness this president would never really do that. Within that context, we consider the fiscal cliff and related debt ceiling. A little history: The cliff looms not just because of expiring tax cuts, but because of a deal to raise the debt ceiling in 2011, in which certain cuts would happen automatically if Congress couldn't hammer out better details. Naturally, Congress displayed its usual inability to come up with even puny cuts, so here we are. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner offered House Republicans the first post-election White House deal: $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over 10 years (higher rates on the wealthy will generate only $80 billion annually, if that), $180 billion in new spending and vague promises to cut entitlement spending (growth) at an indeterminate future date, all while giving the president the power to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling, perhaps permanently. Sounds to us like he might be trying to "impose his will on Congress." Obama, of course, is promising the same thing Democrats always do: Higher taxes now and mythical spending cuts later. Picture Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown and you get the idea.

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The Fiscal Cliff About To Expose Another Medicare Scam  by Mark Horne

Why would the fiscal cliff mean that doctors would suddenly take a thirty percent cut in their billing? Nothing was said about that last year when the deal was made. Part of the problem is that deal wasn’t made last year. It was made fifteen years ago and then hidden under fig leaves. Those leaves are going to fall away on January 1. Back to 1997, the basic bankruptcy of Medicare was too obvious for Congress to deny. They felt they had to do something about it. Basically, seniors were demanding using the program more and more, as is likely to happen when you give away free money. So Congress determined by law that every year that expenses went up above a certain amount, the Medicare reimbursements would go down to compensate. Basically, they tried to impose price controls on medicine in order to counterbalance the inherent price inflation and expansion that such “free money” programs naturally produce. Imagine if, when Congress raised the debt ceiling they claimed they were going to bring it back down next year, and pay off all the extra debt, so that they really didn’t need to project that debt into the future. Basically, that is what has been happening with Medicare. Congress has not only refused to cut reimbursements, but has also calculated the projected deficit on the assumption that those cuts will be made next year. Every year they are not made and every year out official deficit hides yet another liability from public perception. It is amazing to hear the liberal media admit all this, like all it means is that we must somehow invent antigravity in time for the fiscal cliff. They don’t even show curiosity about learning any lesson about economics or why the welfare state might be something that destroys the general welfare. Conclusion: But there is no such thing antigravity. The only alternative to the fiscal cliff is a higher cliff downstream. We either cut spending or we cut more spending when we have fewer of our own resources. We either start reducing the deficit or we suddenly run out of money. Our political leaders and their elite cheerleaders are plainly idiots, assuming some among them have not been actively planning to bankrupt the nation.

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White House: Obama 'Will Not Sign' a Deal Unless It Increases Taxes By Terence P. Jeffrey

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said today that no matter what else happens President Barack Obama--who is the only modern president other than Franklin Roosevelt to serve in four years when federal spending topped 24 percent of GDP--will not sign a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff that will arrive at the end of this year unless that deal increases taxes. "So the President made clear that he is not wedded to every detail of his plan," said Carney. "The President has also made categorically and abundantly clear that he will not sign an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for top earners. It’s bad economic policy and we cannot afford it.  He will not sign that." According to official calculations made by the White House Office of Management and Budget that go back to 1930, Barack Obama and Franklin Roosevelt are the only two presidents who have served in four fiscal years when federal spending exceeded 24 percent of GDP. Roosevelt did so in 1942, 1943, 1944, and 1945 (when he died in office). Obama did so in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.  If the Bush tax rates expire and federal law snaps back to the Clinton rates, income up to $17,000 will get a 50 percent tax increase, going from 10 percent taxation to 15 percent taxation. Income between $17,800 and $60,350 will stay at the 15 percent tax rate. Income between $60,350 and $145,900 will get a 12 percent tax hike, with the rate jumping from 25 percent to 28 percent. Income in the $145,000 to $222,300 range will get an 11 percent tax hike, with the rate jumping from 28 percent to 31 percent. Income in the $222,300 to $397,000 range will get a 9 percent tax hike, with the rate climbing from 33 percent to 36 percent. And income above $397,000 will get a 13 percent tax hike, with the rate climbing from 35 percent to 39.6 percent.   Sound fair to you?

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Bozell to GOP: Raise Taxes and Conservatives Will Close Their Checkbooks By Michael Conservative leader L.

Brent Bozell III sent a letter to the Republican National Committee (RNC) this week stating that if Republicans in Congress  agree to raise taxes as part of a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff,” he will make it his mission to ensure that conservatives close their checkbooks to the GOP or to any member of Congress who backs a tax increase. “[I]f Republicans break their promise to the American people and vote for tax increases, the only thing going off the cliff will be the Grand Old Party itself,” said Bozell in his letter to RNC Chairman Reince Preibus. “[I]t pains me to say this, but if the Republican Party breaks its word to the American people and goes along with President Obama with tax increases, it will have betrayed conservatives for the final time.”

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Boehner: Time for ‘Adult Leadership’ from WH on Fiscal Cliff By Elizabeth Harrington

“All eyes are on the White House,” said Boehner during a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday, contending that House Republicans have put their cards on the table by offering a combination of revenue generators -- in the form of closing tax loopholes -- and spending cuts in exchange for extending the Bush tax rates for all Americans. “The economy is on the line and this is a moment for adult leadership,” Boehner said. “Campaign-style rallies and one-sided leaks to the press are not the way to get things done here in Washington.”  Boehner maintained his position that raising tax rates is not an option, but said “revenue is on the table,” referring to his post-election press conference in which he said he was open to new revenue in the form of closing tax loopholes and deductions. “But revenue was only on the table if there were serious spending cuts as part of this agreement,” he said.  “It has to be part of the agreement.” “We have a debt crisis!” Boehner said.  “We’re spending too much.  And while we’re willing to put revenue on the table we have to recognize it’s the spending that’s out of control.”

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Quote of the Week --by Charles Krauthammer

"Obama is claiming an electoral mandate to raise taxes on the top 2 percent. Perhaps, but remember those incessant campaign ads promising a return to the economic nirvana of the Clinton years? Well, George W. Bush cut rates across the board, not just for the top 2 percent. Going back to the Clinton rates means middle-class tax hikes that yield four times the revenue that you get from just the rich. So give Obama the full Clinton. Let him live with that. And with what also lies on the other side of the cliff: 28 million Americans newly subject to the ruinous alternative minimum tax. Republicans must stop acting like supplicants. If Obama so loves those Clinton rates, Republicans should say: Then go over the cliff and have them all. And add: But if you want a Grand Bargain, then deal. If we give way on taxes, we want, in return, serious discretionary cuts, clearly spelled-out entitlement cuts and real tax reform. Otherwise, strap on your parachute, Mr. President. We'll ride down together."

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Democrat Congressman Wants Congress to Restrict Free Speech by Gary DeMar
This is the type of idiots we are sending to Washington.  How can anyone take this person seriously? In addition to being a total idiot on the subject of what corporations do, Johnson went on to say that the Bill of Rights, found in the Constitution that he took an oath to uphold, should be amended so that the government (that would be him) is given the power to restrict freedom of speech. Freedom of speech for me, but not for thee. “We need a constitutional amendment to allow the legislature to control the so-called free speech rights of corporations.” This is the same Hank Johnson who was worried that too many people on the island of Guam would tip it over:

“In a discussion regarding a planned military buildup on the Pacific island, Johnson expressed some concerns about the plans [of] Adm. Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific fleet. “My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize,’ Johnson said.”

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UK Death Panels Kill by Philip Hodges

The UK’s health system is run by the National Health Service (NHS) and is funded mostly by taxes. Different “care pathways” are used to manage each patient’s health depending on the severity of illness. If the doctor decides that the patient’s condition is beyond treatable, and death is imminent, the patient is put on the “Liverpool Care Pathway for the dying patient” (LCP). The LCP functions much like hospice care here in the U.S. Its function is to keep patients as comfortable and pain-free as possible in their last hours of life. Nourishment is provided by tube, strong sedatives such as morphine are administered, and since treatment for their illness is halted, patients usually die within about 33 hours of being placed on the LCP. Nearly 30% of people who die in the hospital every year in the UK are people on the LCP. That’s about 130,000 people. For years, people have been trying to sound the alarm that doctors are taking advantage of this particular care pathway by using it as a tool to euthanize thousands of elderly patients per year. According to Professor Pullicino, an English neurologist, many patients’ conditions are not properly analyzed prior to being placed on the LCP and are placed there simply to free up beds or to get rid of difficult-to-deal-with elderly patients. Many of these patients could have lived much longer if it weren’t for being put on the LCP prematurely. This is the future of Obamacare, and it’s one of many reasons it needs to be completely destroyed. It doesn’t need adjustment or tinkering around the edges. Obamacare needs to be euthanized and aborted.

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Hillary Clinton Says American Taxpayers Can and Should End Foreigners’ AIDS by Gary North

Lat year, taxpayers worldwide forked over $17 billion to Third World dictators, who probably pocketed most of the money. It was all done to “fight AIDS.” Of this, U.S. taxpayers contributed $5.6 billion. It’s not enough, says Mrs. Clinton. Taxpayers must do more. Lots more. She says it’s our responsibility to clean up the effects of Third World sexual maniacs. Her slogan: “They diddle. We pay.” We can do it, she says, which means you. She gets paid to spend our money. She gets free plane fare and rooms in 4-star hotels in exotic lands to promise goodies from us. The sales device is to save the children. We owe it to the children.  So get busy. Earn a little extra money, which the Feds will extract from you. All over the Third World, young men are working hard all night. You must work harder during the day. Another example of the government forcibly extracting money from citizens to spend on other than our own Nation's needs.

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GOP Rejects Obama Offer of $1.6 Trillion Tax Increase
Congressional Republicans dug in to fight President Barack Obama’s plan to skirt the fiscal cliff, rejecting his tax-and-spending proposal as the president heads out today to sell it to the American public.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner shuttled among congressional leaders yesterday with a plan to trade $1.6 trillion in tax increases for $400 billion in unspecified entitlement program cuts, Republican congressional aides said. Republicans complained that the offer was little more than a rehash of old budget proposals, setting the stage for more contentious negotiations over the next several weeks as the year-end deadline approaches for more than $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases to kick in. “If the president is going to lead on this critical issue, he has to propose a plan that can actually pass,” said Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri. “This is simply not a serious proposal.”

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McConnell 'Burst Into Laughter' as Geithner Outlined Obama's Plan By FRED BARNES

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, says he “burst into laughter” Thursday when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined the administration proposal for averting the fiscal cliff.  He wasn’t trying to embarrass Geithner, McConnell says, only responding candidly to his one-sided plan, explicit on tax increases, vague on spending cuts. Geithner’s visit to his office left McConnell discouraged about reaching a “balanced” deal on tax hikes and spending reductions designed to prevent a shock to the economy in January.  “Nothing good is happening” in the negotiations, McConnell says, because of Obama’s insistence on tax rate hikes for the wealthy but unwillingness to embrace serious spending cuts. Geithner suggested $1.6 trillion in tax increases, McConnell says, but showed “minimal or no interest” in spending cuts. When congressional leaders went to the White House three days after the election, Obama talked of possible curbs on the explosive growth of food stamps and Social Security disability payments. But since Geithner didn’t mention them, those reductions appear to be off the table now, McConnell says.

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KRAUTHAMMER: GOP SHOULD WALK AWAY FROM FISCAL CLIFF TALKS

“It’s not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal. What Geithner offered, what you showed on the screen, Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox, and he lost the Civil War. The Democrats won by three percent of the vote, and they did not hold the House. Republicans won the House. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that is what the administration is asking of the Republicans. This idea – there are not only no cuts in this, there’s an increase in spending with a new stimulus. I mean, this is almost unheard of. I mean, what do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think the Republicans ought to simply walk away. The president is the president. He’s the leader. They are demanding that the Republicans explain all the cuts that they want to make. The Republicans are going to walk on this. And I think they have leverage. Yes, for congressional Democrats, it will help them in the future if Republicans absorb the blame, because we’re going to have a recession. But Obama is not running again, unlike the congressional Democrats. He’s going to have a recession, 9 percent unemployment, 2 million more unemployed, and a second term that’s going to be a ruin. That is not a good proposition if you are Barack Obama”

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15-Year-Old Afghan Girl Beheaded For Rejecting Marriage Proposal

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (CBSDC) — Afghan police arrest two men for allegedly beheading a 15-year-old girl after her father turned down a marriage proposal. According to BBC News, the two men who proposed the arranged marriage and attacked her are relatives of the girl. “Our investigation shows those who killed her were people who wanted to marry her,” a Kunduz province police official told the BBC.

The father did not want his daughter to get married because she was “too young to be engaged.” CNN reports the girl was killed near her family’s home while bringing back water. According to The Washington Post, dozens of Afghan women kill themselves each year in order to avoid arranged marriages.

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President Obama, What is Your Plan?

Pause for 1 minute and watch

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Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings -- give us that precious jewel, and you may take every things else! Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel." --Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Convention, 1788

"It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf." --Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 1, 1776