President Obama has said that both political parties must compromise for the greater good.  But what he means by compromise is for Republicans to agree to raise the debt ceiling and raise taxes.  Once again Democrats are playing the class warfare card claiming that Republicans want to give tax cuts to the rich and screw the poor.

This is a classic bait and switch tactic by the liberal left that unfortunately has worked effectively for decades.  Republicans tend to get defensive and mutter comments like “I don’t think we should raise taxes on anyone during a down economy.”  It is pathetic.  What Republicans should do is start telling people the truth.  There is a good reason all those rich Democrats are so willing to support increasing tax rates on the rich. It is because they know they won’t pay them.  Really rich people hire professionals to find ways to avoid tax.

 Republicans need to point out the obvious difference between raising tax rates on the rich and raising the amount of tax actually paid by the rich.  This is an easy argument to win. 

 The following charts shows what percentage of total income tax was actually “paid” by income groups for the period 1980 – 2008

 George W. Bush cut the top tax rate and almost immediately the top wage earners began to pay a higher percentage of total tax revenue.  Even more significantly, the lower tax brackets paid a significantly lower percentage of total tax revenue.  If Bush is to be criticized, it is for allowing half of the population to pay nothing at all.

With regard to raising the debt limit, Republicans can win this debate, if they grow a spine.  They should just refuse to raise the debt limit.  They should tell Obama he cannot borrow any more money, period! 

 The 14^th Amendment says the U.S cannot default on its debt.  It does not authorize the President to borrow more money. If Obama refuses to pay our debt and spends money on anything else, he will be violating the constitution.  Obama is pretending that Republicans will be responsible for any default, but that is untrue.  There is more than enough money to pay the cost of our debt.

 Some things are predictable.  Obama will begin, as Democratic Presidents usually do, by cutting the military.  He may use this as an excuse to just order an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and blame the resulting mess on Republicans. This is the only cut that Obama can make that will not infuriate his base. 

 Obama is unlikely to cut Social Security or Medicare.  His plan is to intimidate Republicans into doing that, so he can campaign against them on the subject.  He wants the Republicans to propose cuts.  Then Obama will ride in on his white horse and save the day.  But that is only possible if Republicans are dumb enough to play the game.  Republicans can call his bluff by refusing to raise the debt limit and dumping the ball fully in his court.  That way Obama, not Republicans will have to propose cutting entitlements.  Obama is very good at shifting leadership responsibility to everyone else.  Republicans need to call his bluff.

 I don’t expect it, but I would sure like to see Boehner say:  “enough is enough.”  We aren’t going to increase the debt limit.  We are not going to raise taxes on anyone.  The American people are already taxed too much.  Increasing taxes will only destroy what is left of our economy resulting in even less tax revenue.

 Mr. President, it is time for you to provide the leadership required to cut spending in a responsible manner. It is time for you to stop shifting responsibility to everyone else and do your job.

 TDM

The House Judiciary Committee is conducting a probe with regard to Elana Kagan’s testimony in front of congress during her confirmation hearings.  So far Ms. Kagan has refused to recluse herself from Supreme Court hearings regarding Obamacare:

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/judiciary-committee-launches-probe-kagan

The stated goal of the probe is to determine whether or not she should recluse herself.  But a more important issue may be whether or not Ms. Kagan committed perjury.  If Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds were put on trial for lying to congress, why should Ms. Kagan get a free pass?

Note the following sentence in the letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee:

“Contradictory to her 2010 confirmation testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently released Department of Justice (DOJ) documents indicate that Justice Kagan actively participated with her Obama Administration colleagues in formulating a defense of PPACA.”

 In other words, Kagan lied.  Lying before congress is a felony.  (See Clemens & Bonds above)  Should a nominee for the Supreme Court be held to a lower standard than a baseball player?

 TDM

The following article is absolutely stunning.  For a long time there has been a lot of evidence of an out of control Justice Department.  Yet no one seemed ready, willing or able to tell the truth.  That all changed with Kenneth Melson.  The Obama administration made a huge mistake.  They left an honest man in a position of power.  Then they made an even bigger mistake.  They tried to throw him under the bus assuming he would just take one for the team.  The problem for the Obama administration is that Melson did take one for the team, just not their team.  This is going to blow up like a powder keg:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/07/fast-and-furious-blows-sky-high.php

Although this will start with the Fast & Furious fiasco, it won’t end there.  The camel’s nose is under the tent and the lid is coming off.  If 10% of the rumors about this administration are true, the biggest challenge will be deciding where to look next.

Watch for the Obama administration try to destroy this man.  They have no choice, because if they don’t destroy him, he has the potential to take them all down.

Enjoy!

Terry

For weeks the only thing on television has been the dreadful Casey Anthony murder trial.  Fox News seemed to devote half their broadcast schedule to covering this disgusting travesty.  Wasn’t there SOMETHING else they could have covered.  If anyone needs more evidence on why trials should not be televisioned, look no further.  Now,  after the prosecution argued for six weeks that Casey Anthony was worthy of execution, the jury decided she wasn’t guilty of anything other than lying to the cops.  Really?  Try to connect those dots!

Odds are that Casey Anthony will now make millions of dollars, solely because of her high name recognition.  She has already been offered a job by a major Porn studio.  A lot of lawyers are saying this is ok because the system worked.  That is why we should really resist electing so many lawyers to political office.  They have a warped sense of value.  In my personal opinion the system only works when the guilty are convicted and the innocent go free.  It is small solace to have someone explain that the trial was fair and balanced when a guilty person goes free.  It is even less solace to hear the same argument when someone has spent years behind bars for a crime they didn’t committ.  I understand why lawyers support the rule of law.  It is one of the cornerstones of our society.  But, is not the same thing as justice.  As for me, I would prefer more focus on justice rather than process.

This is a sad commentary on our society.   This has been a problem for a long time.  Far too often we pay more attention to someone being notorious rather than being note worthy.  I guess that explains how Barack Obama became President of the United States. 

TDM

Barack Obama may be seriously considering ignoring the debt ceiling and just continue to spend money. 

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/breaking-49-house-members-call-investiga

The pattern is becoming all too familiar.  Obama does what he wants, without regard to congress.  He started by appointing all those Czars.  The whole point of the Czars was that they did not require congressional approval.  Then, more recently, he decided to go to war with Libya. Now, it appears that he is prepared to ignore congress with regard to the debt ceiling.

I can almost hear him now. He will declare a financial emergency and say that since congress refused to do the necessary, he is taking action.  The man is fully capable of doing this.  Of course the only action he will consider is continuing to spend money he doesn’t have.  He may also refuse to pay our military, or Social Security, or Medicare.  This is a standard Democratic ploy.  The first things they cut during a time of crisis are the things that really matter.  That is why every time a Democratic leader is confronted with a financial challenge they threaten to cut funds for schools, police officers and fire fighters. 

Congress should call Obama’s bluff.  They should refuse to raise the debt ceiling and demand that Obama spend the available money with the following non-negotiable priorities:  Pay our troops, pay Social Security, pay Medicare, and pay the interest on the debt.  There is more than enough revenue to meet these priorities.  If Obama does that, there is no risk of the U.S. defaulting.  There will be painful cuts, but no financial crisis.  It is extremely important for the Republicans to refuse to raise the debt limit and to also to make sure the American people understand that the decision to default on our debt will be solely the responsibility of President Barack Hussein Obama. 

Obama has not sought or received congressional authority for a lot of things he has done.  George Bush challenged the UN and told them that if they were unwilling to back up their resolutions, they risked becoming irrelevant.  In my personal opinion, the same is true for congress.  If the leaders in the House and the Senate are unwilling to stand up for congressional authority when a President is openly ignoring the constitution, when will they stand up?  Leadership is not standing by meekly while Obama mucks things up beyond repair.

The 4^th of July is an important reminder of the courage it took for our founding fathers to stand up to King George.  It is easy to forget that a significant portion of the population at the time thought this was a major mistake.  They were wrong.  As Barry Goldwater once said: 

extremism in defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in resisting tyranny is no virtue.

TDM

Re-read my post:  HUMA DINGER.  Then read the following article:

 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/58094.html

Coincidence?  

TDM

If we as a country are incapable of discerning the difference between a man of character and honor, like George Bush, and man who demonstrates only arrogance and incompetence, like Barack Obama, we are doomed.  Following is a video clip of George Bush riding with the wounded warriers on a bike ride:

I will include no clip from Barack Obama, because there is none available.  He has never done anything remotely similar to this.  We had a man of courage and honor as President.  He personally visited the families of soldiers killed in action.  He never allowed the media to cover this.  Note how he instantly remembers some of these guys.  Contrast that with Obama who couldn’t even remember a Medal of Honor recipient.

In my opinion, we failed to appreciate what we had.  A lot of people are longing for another Ronald Reagan.  I frankly would be thrilled to find another George Bush.  He was not the best public speaker, but this was and is a real leader.  We would do well to find another one just like him.

TDM

Blagojevich was convicted of virtually every account.  That is understandable, since it was pretty obvious that he was guilty.  But the real question is whether it ends here.  Unfortunately, the main stream media is likely to just move on, ignoring the obvious and repeated connections with Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel and even Jesse Jackson, Jr.

It is hard to predict what Blagojevich will do.  Personally, he has little left to lose, but that is not true of his family.  He will almost certainly be encouraged to keep his mouth shut and do his time.  Since there is a tradition in Illinois of Governors being convicted of felonies, we already know what to expect.  Governor Ryan was sentenced to six-and-a-half years.  He has already served three years of his sentence.  He is trying to get an early release because his wife is terminally ill.  Ryan is a guest of the Federal Correction Institute in Terra Haute, Indiana.  My guess is that Rod Blagojevich will be his new neighbor.

It would appear that Governor Ryan’s corruption was much more serious than that of Blagojevich’s. 

 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192019,00.html

 Blagojevich was convicted of attempting to commit a crime while Ryan had actually done the deed.  That would seem to indicate a shorter sentence.  However, Blagojevich has been a pretty high profile case, so he may get a tougher sentence.

Perhaps I am wrong, but it just seemed like the prosecutor went out of his way to avoid involving either Obama or Emanuel.  This is the same guy who spent a fortune pursuing Gordon Libby for perjury.  No one even accused Libby of lying about Valerie Plame.  He was accused of perjury because he said that Tim Russert told him about Valerie Plame and Russert said he didn’t.  [Note: Andrea Mitchell said that everyone at NBC knew about Valerie Plame, which would have included Russert.]  Russert testified that he took no notes regarding the conversation with Libby.  Libby was the top aid to Dick Cheney.  Seems hard to believe an experienced newsman like Russert would have had a conversation with him without taking any notes.  Later, when Andrea Mitchell realized her comments made Russert look like a liar, she changed her tune. 

http://newsbusters.org/node/10771

She was not allowed to testify at the Libby trial:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeralyn-merritt/libby-trial-live-andrea-m_b_41121.html

It sure seems like Mr. Fitzgerald is quite selective on who he targets.

Blagojevich was guilty as sin, but he just wasn’t the brightest bulb in the bunch.  He must have been either really desperate or really dumb to carry on these types of conversations over the phone.  In any event, Blagojevich is now a convicted felon.  He probably deserves his fate, but it is unlikely that he was the only fish swimming in this cesspool of corruption.  My guess is that the big fish are the ones who got away. 

TDM

The following article was on Drudge.  Obviously I cannot confirm the information, but this seems very consistent with what we know from other sources:

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/24/exclusive_top_us_admiral_admits_we_are_trying_to_kill_qaddafi

The indication that the real plan is to kill Gaddafi is hardly news.  But what is alarming is the report that Obama plans to send in troops on the ground after Gaddafi is gone.  It is easy to see this fitting nicely into Obama’s delusional world.  We are currently in a war because they aren’t very good at shooting back.  We aren’t really trying to kill Gaddafi, we are just blowing up every place we consider potential hide-outs.  Then the ultimate plan unfolds.  We will send in our troops, but that also won’t be a war, because Gaddafi will already be dead.  If you can understand this logic, you must be a Democrat!

 TDM

The Obama Presidency is over.  Oh he will still remain in office, for at least a while, but his Presidency is over.  The action taken by the House of Representatives today is a public vote of no confidence.  It is an announcement to the world that Obama no long has the support of the U.S. congress.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/06/24/116459/house-defeats-libya-measure-295.html

I cannot find a single example of this ever happening to a U.S. President.  Even during his darkest hours, this did not happen to Richard Nixon.  Bill Clinton was literally impeached by the House and put on trial in the Senate, but he still had the support of congress with regard to foreign policy.  Even when he ordered bombing attacks on Iraq literally on the eve of the impeachment vote, congress supported him.  The reason is that congress knows that taking this kind of action is a fatal blow to a President’s ability to conduct foreign policy.

There were some strong voices in congress trying desperately from letting this happen.  This included people like Marco Rubio, Joseph Leiberman, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.  None of them supported Obama’s foreign policy, but all were concerned over the impact of such a public rebuke.

This is totally Obama’s fault.  The congress would have supported him on Libya, if he had only bothered to ask.  But by his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the constitutional responsibilities of congress, he forced them to confront him.  This is a sad day for Obama, but it is even a sadder say for America.  I can’t really blame congress, because Obama left them no choice.  They either let him assume dictatorial powers or they destroy him.  They chose to destroy him.

This puts us at grave risk.  Every nation on this earth and every enemy of the United States now knows that we do not have a President of the United States.  We still have a person with that title, but he no longer has the authority required to do the duty.

I really don’t know where we go from here, because this is uncharted territory.  My guess is that Obama will just go on as before, pretending nothing happened.  That, of course, would be the worst case scenario.  Ultimately it will result in even more serious constitutional confrontations.  An honorable man would resign.  Nixon did not resign because he thought he could not win, he resigned because he acknowledged that he has lost the political power to do his job.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm

Mr. Nixon said he decided he must resign when he concluded that he no longer had “a strong enough political base in the Congress” to make it possible for him to complete his term of office.

Obama has lost the political power to do his job.  But I don’t think he is capable of understanding that or admitting it.  In the meantime there is a leadership vacuum at the top of the federal government.  No matter how you feel about Barack Obama, this is a sad day for America.

TDM