So, the Oregonian is reporting that Oregon's unemployment rate is pretty much unchanged at about 12%, among the highest in the nation.
Wow, I sure am glad we've got Obama...imagine where we'd be if he hadn't spent $700 billion to "save" all those jobs? (Extreme sarcasm)
' [...]So, first HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (among others) intimates that the public option isn't essential to reform in Obama's eyes:
Then, this morning, Press Secreatary Robert Gibbs says Sebelius "misspoke".
Translation: She accidentally told the truth, as Matt Lewis at Townhall indicates.
Interesting factoid: Obama wrote a 1200 word editorial on' [...]
Reagan talks on health care...he talks about national health insurance, socialized medicine, "sticking a foot in the door"...
Here is a snippet, talking about the dangers of the "slippery slope" inherent in government control of healthcare:
But let's also look from the other side, at the freedom the doctor loses. A doctor [...]
The Oregonian is reporting that State Rep. Larry Galizio is stepping down to take an education position working for the Governor. As he's my representative, I am fairly familiar with him.
He was a strong campaigner, and the Tigard district is fairly conservative (by Oregon standards). We should start right [...]
Check out this blog post over at Townhall. I'm reluctant to throw stones at crazies, because both sides have them. BUT, since the left has played the "crazy card" with such glee, here goes:
Woman asks Sheila Jackson Lee softball question at a townhall. Claims she is a "pediatric primary'" [...]At What Cost, Cutting Off A Leg? - The Atlantic Politics Channel
This is a great post by The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder. Basically, the American College of Surgeons is coming down hard on Obama for misstating facts, sowing distrust in patients for their Doctors and basically attempting to give [...]
Look at the homepage of The Huffington Post...it's titled "Obama Rhetoric vs. Obama Deal-making". The left is starting to become unhinged about Obama's "deal with the devil" (in the minds of liberals) with pharmaceutical companies.
I think one of Obama's biggest problems going forward is trying to keep all the [...]
Newt has a great column in Human Events about the possibility of nationalizing turning into rationing, and rationing turning into an Orwellian world where a government agency decides what amount of health care you are worth. Here's a snippet:
Supporters of government-run health care dismiss these worries as alarmist. They [...]
This is the kind of thing that isn't a big deal by itself...but is part of a drip, drip, drip that's serving to discredit Obama's effort to get this passed...
Politico 44: "Department of Corrections"
' [...]Wow...more scary stuff...
Chuck Norris : Dirty Secret No. 1 in Obamacare - Townhall.com
[...]Well, David Wu’s Portland town hall meeting at Good Samaritan Hospital is over. I didn’t make it, but from the report in the Oregonian, it sounds like it went much like the meeting last night in McMinnville. Clearly, Wu wasn’t about to risk meeting with all his constituents, as [...]
Here's an article in the New York Post about Doctor Ezekiel Emanuel. Who is he, you ask? He has already been appointed to two key positions: health-policy adviser at the Office of Management and Budget and a member of Federal Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research. He's also the brother [...]
From Amanda Carpenter in The Washington Times...
EXCLUSIVE: Legal Services' decorative costs 'excessive' - Washington Times
' [...]Sometimes liberals will describe health care as a "right" or a "freedom". It isn't.
Rights are given to you by God, and the Government simply protects them...for instance, the Government doesn't tell you what church to join or where to go, or when services are...it simply protects your right to [...]
So, I was listening...and I was tuned in long enough to hear him berating a SIXTEEN year old, asking him if he'd been paid, bused in, etc....wow.
Just wow.
' [...]I'm going to Congressman David Wu's townhall meeting today in Portland at noon. Here is the info:
August 11, 12:00-1:00
Good Samaritan Hospital, Building 2 Auditorium; 1040 NW 22nd Avenue,
Portland
Be there to ask the tough questions! Be respectful and not disruptive, but defintiely make your voice heard!
' [...]Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, in USA Today, are calling protestors “Un-American”:
Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American.
We agree…and so would:
Ann Coulter, who had a pie thrown at her at the University of Arizona Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minutemen project, pushed off the [...]Watch this video of Newt Gingrich on 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos'. Newt is on fire, strongly defending criticism of the Obamacare plan. He also makes a great point of why, even if euthanasia isn't specficially in the bill, the concerns about it are still understandable:
“Communal standards historically is' [...]
First, a statistic: studies show that between 5-10% of the population is gay/lesbian.
Now, a quote. From the national GOP platform for 2008:
Because our children’s future is best preserved within the traditional understanding of marriage, we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a [...]
Some things which cannot be denied by thinking people:
Clearly, there have been individuals opposed to the President's health-care ideas (I can't call it a proposal, since he hasn't actually proposed anything specific yet) who have tried to disrupt meetings and prevent others from speaking. This is simply wrong, and should [...]I have two thoughts about the town hall meetings...
Democrats keep claiming that interest groups are busing in paid instigators...where is their proof? I haven't seen a single shred of proof anywhere that anyone is being bused into a district they don't live in. I haven't seen a single actual individual' [...]So, in looking at the torture issue, I have a question...
Even if you assume everything the Democrats are claiming is true, and even if you accept as fact that all the way up to President Bush believed in and endorsed actions that constituted torture (I don't believe that, but this' [...]
Matthew Dallek writes an excellent piece in Politico on the diminishing influence of the moderate/centrist voice in the GOP. He (correctly) points out that for Republicans, they must expand beyond down-the-line conservatives if they’re going to be successful, because there simply aren’t enough conservatives to win elections. He recounts [...]
I'm shocked...shocked I tell you...Fidel Castro is backing off talk of compromise by his brother Raul...here is the story as the Los Angeles Times reported it:
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro said President Obama misinterpreted remarks by his brother and successor, Raul, and bristled at the suggestion that the island' [...]
Janeane Garofalo made comments the other night on Keith Olbermann’s show that have raised a stir…here’s what she said:
"And you know, you can tell these type of right wingers anything and they'll believe it, except the truth. You tell them the truth and they become -- it's like showing'" [...]
Obama and AG Eric Holder announced they are not going to charge CIA interrogators, even though documents revealed seem to show the actions were, well, questionable.
Obama explained things thus:
In his statement, Obama suggested that a full public accounting of U.S. actions in the post 9/11 era [...]
So, all the tea parties are today...I've been watching on TV (working from home today) and it's been fascinating.
In watching, I'm struck by a thought...why are we as conservatives suspicious of big government? The answer, I think, is that money and power concentrated in some far-off entity inevitably leads [...]
It seems to me that one of the problems of our party is that there is an almost mythological reverence to Ronald Reagan, such that any idea that Reagan himself didn’t approve (which would include ideas he didn’t even speak on) is immediately suspect.
I think the nature of [...]
Here’s a graph that shows George W. Bush’s approval ratings over eight years (from the Wall Street Journal):
Bottom line: Pretty interesting that his approval was in the high 50s, low 60s around February 2001…not a lot different from where Obama is now. [...]
Joe Scarborough said the other day that “Rush Limbaugh has Michael Steele’s manhood in a lockbox”.
Ouch.
Here are some other quotes from this morning’s show:
“You know who we should put in charge of the economy? Michael Steele — if Rush Limbaugh gives him permission.” After asking Matt Lauer [...]It’s been reported in the Oregonian that Gordon Smith has taken a position with powerhouse D.C. law firm Covington & Burling, where he will consult on international trade and other issues.
This seems to make a run for the Governor’s seat unlikely, as the article states:
Though Smith did [...]
Here’s the story from Politico…
Nothing like a well-publicized soap opera to make the country trust you again… :-S.
[...]Here’s the article…wow. Now it’s ON.
My take: I basically agree with the thrust of what Michael Steele is saying…the problem right now is that there is a division in the Republican Party, between the more moderate, good-government, strong-on-defense Republicans (like David Brooks, Ross Douthat, McCain, etc) and [...]
Newt spoke at CPAC yesterday and offered to debate Eric Holder “anytime, anywhere” on the issue of whether America is a nation of cowards. Always good at stagecraft, Newt had ‘em going.
Speaking of Newt, I’ve been reading his book, Real Change. It’s a GREAT book (all caps, bold [...]
Some quotes (not exact):
“Let the attorney general know that America has never been, is not now and never will be a nation of cowards!” (big applause line)
and:
“Let’s all remember that success in Iraq occurred despite President Obama’s position and votes, not because of them.”
He’s looking [...]
National Review’s John Derbyshire calls out talk radio in a cover story for The American Conservative, says that basically they are responsible for at least some of the problems conservatism is having right now. Here’s one body blow (among the several in the article):
Much as their blind loyalty [...]
President Obama addressed troops in North Carolina and announced the end of combat operations by August 2010 (much later than many Democrats wanted). Here’s a quote (this part is spoken to the people of Iraq):
Our nations have known difficult times together. But ours is a bond forged by [...]
So, Michael Steele is coming to Oregon March 12, which I think is an awesome opportunity to build interest and enthusiasm concerning the party. He’ll be doing a fundraiser dinner to raise money for the party here in Oregon, which is entirely appropriate.
However, what about some kind of [...]
He's going to be Twittering the "ten porkiest earmarks" of the omnibus spending bill...should be fun.
[...]This from the Oregonian...
SALEM -- The sponsor began the debate declaring it a "dumb bill," but the Oregon House still spent the better part of a half hour Thursday debating whether teachers should be able to buy sugary sodas or big candy bars from the vending machine in the school employee lounge.
The [...]
As a recent transplant to the Great Northwest, I'm not too familiar with him, but:
The Oregonian says he'll be good for trade and good for the NorthwestIt worked for Bill Clinton...here he is in 1988, driving Democrats to tears, not with inspiration, but with boredom...
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
[...]President Obama: It was a great speech. It was strong, serious and optimistic. Of course, it oversimplified many issues. Of course, there were straw men built to mock his opposition. Of course, the reality will be much more difficult than the speech. But as political theater, it was definitely something [...]
I’ve been reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals – The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It strikes me…we as Republicans spend a significant amount of time talking about Ronald Reagan…and I’m a great admirer of his. However, I don’t really hear much mention at [...]
I have to work tonight, so no liveblog...but will wrap up with my thoughts later tonight, and will report on Oregon comments concerning the speech (if I can find any)...
[...]Here's my list...
We agree with President Obama that we have a serious problem with the economy, and that government can do some things to help. We will work with the President where we agree...and there are several areas where we do. Where we don't agree, we have the right and the' [...]being grilled by the increasingly irritating Norah O'Donnell...
I think his response at the end to her "playbook" argument/question was pitch-perfect...assertive without being argumentative, and in invoking Theodore Roosevelt on the environment, he was able to both bring up feelings of a great Republican president admired by both parties, and speak' [...]
Here is a link to a Politico interview with Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.. Some interesting things about him:
Won second term as Governor of Utah last November with over 70% of the vote Former Ambassador to Singapore Speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese Son of billionaire Jon Huntsman Sr. Devout Mormon Interestingly, not your cookie-cutter Utah-Republican-Mormon. [...]And his appearance on MTP here...
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The big news is that he said he's focusing on re-election in 2011, but didn't rule out running for President. The smart money says he'll just watch how Obama [...]
Obama's approval ratings appear to be slipping somewhat (as was probably inevitable)...here are some numbers, gotten from RealClearPolitics:
Gallup: 1/23, 68% -- 2/18. 62% Net change: -6%
CNN: 2/8 76% -- 2/18 67% Net change: -9%
Fox News: 1/28, 65% -- 2/18 60% Net change: -5%
Bobby Jindal is going to refuse stimulus money specifically targeted at expanding state unemployment insurance coverage, according to Politico.
This is big...apparently four Republican governors are saying they'll refuse at least some stimulus money. I think to win elections, Republicans have to show that they' [...]
This from the KGW website...it looks like the budget cuts for the state are going to need to be worse than expected...here is a snippet:
They outlined likely reductions Wednesday, including $170 million -- $65 million of which has already been done -- to K-12 education, $19 million to social services and nearly [...]Here is another graph from that Gallup article in 2007...look at the slope for both Democrats and Republicans on the economy...
Bottom line:
The trend isn't good. To reverse it, we need to build trust in the Republicans as the party that will make sure the government does' [...]
I was looking at a Gallup report from December 2007 that was pretty interesting. It compared citizen impressions of Democrats vs. Republicans on a host of issues...
It's pretty clear that especially on terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy, there's been a huge swing [...]
So on Wednesday this week, the President will unveil his plan to address housing (specifically foreclosures). In the words of the great Philosopher Inigo Montoya, "let me explain - no, let me sum up":
The housing/foreclosure problems were caused by lenders making risky loans to people who either couldn't afford' [...]I am part of the Oregon GOP's Communications, Technology and Customer Service committee, and tonight we're having our first conference call on ways to use technology to build a Republican community here in Oregon. Feel free to give your ideas or input...
[...]Galen Barnett has an opinion piece in the Oregonian that is a prime example of editorials I hate. It's short, so I'll show it here:
Thomas E. Ricks, the special military correspondent for the Washington Post who wrote the best-selling book "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq," has' [...]
KGW has video of a story concerning demonstrators wanting the Oregon legislature to use it's "rainy day fund" to avoid closing schools early...
My take:
This is a tough one...I'm not for dipping into the funds indiscriminately...but I definitely don't think closing schools early is a good thing. I'd love to' [...]
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed Florida's ex-Governor Jeb Bush, and the interview was wide-ranging and shows why Jeb is much more of an "ideas person" than his brother. He expresses thoughts on immigration, education (this is his signature issue), the Iraq War, and of course his brother. He [...]
So, there seems to be a never-ending battle raging between conservatives and liberals concerning FDR, The Great Depression, and the New Deal.
Critics of Roosevelt, such as Amity Schlaes (author of a book on the subject, The Forgotten Man) and Michael Medved (who writes about it in his new [...]
Several Republicans have been saying that President Obama's moving the census to the White House is "unconstitutional". That got me curious, so I decided to look up what the Constitution actually says about the census. It is covered in Article 1, Section 2:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among [...]
As Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds says about Obama campaign data-whiz David Plouffe wanting a speech to the National Press Club to be "off the record" (link is below too):
TRANSPARENCY: An “Off-the-Record speech” at the National Press Club? It’s a tribute to Dr. Strangelove: “You can’t do reporting here! This is the press club!”
[...]Jeff Mapes has an article in today's Oregonian about ex-Gov. Vic Atiyeh and how he handled the recession in the 80s. It describes conditions in this way (arguably worse than today:
Oregon's then-dominant timber industry crashed in the wake of sky-high interest rates. Mills closed all over Oregon, leaving behind [...]
Let's say the stimulus bill was nothing but tax cuts (no "public investment"...in other words, spending)...let's say the $250 billion or so in tax cuts was all that was in the bill...would it then be a bill conservatives could support? After all, tax cuts is what we're about right?
No way.
Tax' [...]
Governor Ted is assembling a team to ask the feds for stimulus money to rebuild a school in Vernonia, damaged by the flooding in 2007. I think this is great - schools are a good thing to spend stimulus money on. But...then his train goes off the tracks...
He [...]
Governor Ted is assembling a team to ask the feds for stimulus money to rebuild a school in Vernonia, damaged by the flooding in 2007. I think this is great - schools are a good thing to spend stimulus money on. But...then his train goes off the tracks...
He wants [...]
I'm not usually one to look backwards, but I was listening this morning, to Ronald Reagan's famous "A Time for Choosing" speech, given in 1964 in support of Barry Goldwater. In speaking about the greatly-expanding government and rapidly higher levels of taxation occuring at the time, he said:
In' [...]
I'm not usually one to look backwards, but I was listening this morning, to Ronald Reagan's famous "A Time for Choosing" speech, given in 1964 in support of Barry Goldwater. In speaking about the greatly-expanding government and rapidly higher levels of taxation occuring at the time, he said:
In' [...]
On the sidebar to the right, is a widget displaying a message from 300 leading economists taking issue with President Obama's statement that:
There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy.
In fact, this is clearly not [...]
Well, I saw the movie "Coraline" over the weekend...it's made by Portland-based animation studio Laika (owned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight). This is their first movie, so it's a big deal around here. Lots of people have been asking me what I thought, so I thought I'd put down' [...]
Well, I watched most of the press conference...most of it was pretty much what I expected, Obama re-reciting the talking points of his proposal. He is defiinitely getting good at creative distortion. Some examples:
But as we learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts [...]
The GOP is hosting a web summit on Wednesday, Feb 11th...but the very fact that this isn't a webcast (or at the very least something that interested people can call into and listen to live) shows the amount of work we have to do. Bloggers have to let the' [...]
The New York Times has the story...A.Q. Khan, Pakistani scientist and proliferator of nuclear weapons material and technology to North Korea, Libya and Iran, has been release from house arrest by the Pakistani government. Our reaction was predictably concerned:
In Washington, officials condemned the move. While it is almost [...]
At Oregon Catalyst, Lars goes off on Brandon Mayfield, the incorrectly-apprehended Portland lawyer who was subjected to surveillance, then apprehended for two weeks before being released. He won a $2 million settlement and an apology from the DOJ, but apparently Lars is not in much of an apologizing mood:
A [...]
At Oregon Catalyst, Lars goes off on Brandon Mayfield, the incorrectly-apprehended Portland lawyer who was subjected to surveillance, then apprehended for two weeks before being released. He won a $2 million settlement and an apology from the DOJ, but apparently Lars is not in much of an apologizing mood:
A [...]
