Madison Co. Supervisor Asks For Audit Of Engineer's Contracts . . . Again.

Current efforts to further examine Madison County's books continue to be embroiled in politics.

Madison County residents turned activists Frank Halford and Billy Redd were on the Gallo Radio Show Thursday morning to discuss the lack of answers coming from the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor DI Smith continues to take his calls for a procedural audit to the airwaves as often as possible. Meanwhile State Auditor Stacy Pickering is trying to steer as clear as possible as he positions himself for a run for higher office.

County Engineer Rudy Warnock, in true Democrat fashion, continues his non-answer answers and to play the "poor me" victim. Back in June he was quoted as saying he is the victim of politics.

"Everything that D.I. is alleging is totally false and slanderous,” Warnock said in June. “Every contract and invoice that I have submitted to Madison County has been reviewed by the administration and then approved by the Madison County Board of Supervisors."

Boo Hoo!

WAPT is reporting that a recent investigation begun by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler has only served to bring up more troubling questions about Warnock's practices.

Hawkins-Butler said a six-month investigation has revealed that Warnock has been paying other contractors to perform his projects, which she said is not allowed without county permission. Butler said the subcontracting issue has been raised for months now, and it was most recently talked about at a board of supervisors meeting.

“Two member of the board of supervisors voted for Rudy Warnock to produce those subcontracts,” the mayor said. “Three voted ‘no,’ that he didn't have to produce it. If there's nothing wrong with them, produce the subcontracts and all of this will go away.”

In addition to the issue of subcontracting, Hawkins-Butler said the investigation notes $2 million in tax dollars was spent without question or concern from the board of supervisors.

There was no quote in the story from Warnock. "Why?" you may ask. Because he's in the Bahamas on vacation.

Bad timing Rudy!

The investigation cited a conflict of interest where Warnock, serving as county engineer, designs and approves his own work - something the report says flies in the face of the Mississippi Board of Licensure's code of professional conduct.

Warnock, holding true to form, blamed it all on "political theater" orchestrated by Hawkins-Butler.

In a statement released by his attorney--did I mention Warnock was in the Bahamas--Dorsey R. Carson, Jr., of Jackson and reported by the Madison County Journal,

Warnock railed against Hawkins-Butler, calling McAfee no more than a "hired gun" and questioning the integrity of the report.

The report's author, Richard J. McAfee of Detroit-based PMA Consultants, said with limited documentation he found no illegal acts, but pointed to over $2 million in questionable spending by the county.

"This bears further investigation," McAfee said. "Any government in the business of serving the people need to have better checks and balances. There are so many inconsistencies it would make sense to perform a thorough audit."

When Pickering was running for Auditor he said,

“State and local governments in Mississippi spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money each year. As a fiscal conservative, I want to make sure that our tax dollars are spent with the integrity the taxpayers expect and deserve.”

We're waiting sir.

JPD Recovers $40,000 Worth Of Stolen Merchandise

Tips Lead Police To Storage Facility

The Jackson Police Department said found more than $40,000 in stolen merchandise Thursday.

JPD received a tip that led to the search of a storage facility on Northside Drive, where officers found baseball gear, china sets, a set of rims and tires and a number of other items.

Some of the merchandise was reclaimed by a business owner but, JPD did not release the name of the business.

“We need help (from the public) as far as identifying some of the other stolen merchandise that we have not been able to put with the owner,” JPD spokesman Officer Joseph Daughtry said.

Residents who believe some of the recovered items may belong to them are asked to call JPD at 601-960-2710.

Daughtry said JPD expects to make arrests soon in connection with the stolen merchandise.

WAPT

Spokane Father Puts Son for Sale on Craiglist

My kids better keep me happy if this guy gets away with this.

"Boy for sale!"

​Gavin is four-years-old. He loves basketball, hates vegetables and can be yours for the low, low price of $5,000.

Last month, a Spokane woman saw a Craigslist ad from the boy's father offering him for sale. "It is going to kill me to do this but as I stated before I cannot afford to keep him," it read. "His Motherr is out of the picture and my parents no longer talk to me since I've had Gavin. So I don't know what else to do other than find a good family with kids or a couple that wants a son."

Attached to the post was a picture of boy in a yellow fireman's hat and a t-shirt with the word "Adventure" written on the front. The woman contacted police, who have since collected records from Craigslist in an attempt to find out if some dad really is trying to hawk his son or if it's all just a hoax.

The name left on the ad, Rick Obelophy, doesn't appear to belong to anyone locally. But considering the item being offered for sale, it's likely anyone trying to pawn off their kid would at least try to establish an alias.

Real or fake, our let's-make-a-deal dad is nothing if not caring. He wrote that he wouldn't give up his kid to just anyone. Instead, he'd have to meet the buyer's first to make sure Gavin ended up with "fit parents."

Seattle Weekly

Sunday Bloody Sunday

House Democratic leaders unveiled their budget reconciliation package Thursday afternoon and announced plans for Saturday and Sunday votes.


The Rules Committee posted the 153-page bill — which includes fixes to the Senate health care package and attaches student loan legislation — on its Web site, a move that starts the 72-hour clock toward a final vote that leaders expect to hold Sunday afternoon.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced that the House will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday and hold votes as early as 10 a.m. The House will also meet Sunday at 1 p.m. On Monday, Hoyer said votes are possible before 6:30 p.m.

The Hill

Wal-Mart customer: 'I can't go back in'

Victoria Arter was outraged when she heard the announcement over the Wal-Mart loudspeaker.

"Attention, Wal-Mart shoppers," she said a male voice announced. "All blacks need to leave the store."

"We waited and waited. Some people just left their carts in disgust and said they couldn't believe it," Arter told Philly.com, a CNN affiliate.

It was busy shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday at the Turnersville, New Jersey, Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Arter, a 29-year-old assistant bank manager who is black, didn't know what was going on, but she was not happy. Neither were other customers, who began dialing their cell phones and demanding answers from managers. Some were just quiet, still in shock at what they'd heard.

A few moments later, a store manager got on the public address system and began apologizing and contacted the local police.

This week, authorities have said they're investigating the episode as "a suspected bias intimidation crime."

CNN

CBO: Health Bill Would Force Families to Buy Insurance Costing a Minimum of $12,000 Per Year--Whether Government or Employer Helps Them or Not

Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf testifies before the Senate Budget Committee on Jan. 28, 2009. (AP File Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)(CNSNews.com) – If Congress passes the Senate health-care plan, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, American families will be required by federal law to buy a federally approved health insurance plan that will cost a minimum of $12,000 per year--and, on average, will cost $15,000 per year -- whether their employer or the government helps them with the premium or not.

Beginning in 2014, the Senate plan would require all individuals to buy health insurance. Anyone who does not obtain insurance through an employer would be forced to buy it out of their own pocket. Families of four that make up to 400 percent of poverty level--currently $88,200 per year--would receive a subsidy from the government to help pay for their premiums. That subsidy would attenuate as their income increased and would disappear when their income reached the 400 percent of poverty level.

Families earning more than $88,200 a year (or whatever 400 percent of the poverty level equals in any given year) would be entirely on their own. Under the Senate bill, employers would not be required to purchase health insurance for their workers, and if they decided not to do so, the maximum penalty they would have to pay would be $750 per year for each worker they did not insure who subsequently received a federal subsidy to buy insurance. The $750 penalty on employers who decided not to insure their workers would be far less than they would pay in premiums for the $12,000 minimum required plan.

According to the CBO analysis, the insurance plans the Senate bill would require families to purchase would cost an average of $15,200 per year in 2016.

CNS News

The GOP health care count: 209 no, 204 yes, 18 undecided

There are two ways to count votes for the Democrats' national health care plan. The first is to tally the lawmakers who are definitely yes or leaning yes. The second is to count the ones who are definitely no and leaning no.

From the Republican side, it's the second group that matters. Just like Democrats need 216 votes to pass the bill, Republicans and their Democratic allies need 216 to stop it. I just got off the phone with a well-placed House GOP source, and the Republicans' latest count is that there are 209 votes against the bill at this moment, leaving opponents seven short of being able to defeat it. By the same count, there are 204 votes for the bill, leaving the Democratic leadership 12 short of being able to pass it. There are 18 votes thought to be undecided.

This is the way it breaks down. There are 431 members of the House, 253 Democrats and 178 Republicans. All the Republicans oppose the bill. At the moment, GOP sources believe that more than 30 -- they think it's 31 -- Democrats are opposed. Those Democrats are motivated by a variety of concerns. "It's abortion, it's cost control, it's taxes, it's Medicare, and for some of them, it's just their district," says the GOP source.

Of the 18 Democrats who are undecided, Republicans will have to win seven votes to prevail, provided Republicans do in fact have 209 votes now. The Democratic leadership would have to win over 12 undecideds, if in fact Democrats are at 204 now.

"If you're trying to win a vote like this, you never want to be in the situation where you have to get virtually everybody who's still left in the pool," says the source. "That's difficult. They have to get two-thirds, and that's a lot."

Read more at the Washington Examiner

Mississippi Senators Vote To Keep Earmark Spending

If Congress gives up the responsibility to direct spending then who gets all that authority? The White House. No thanks. This is a knee jerk reaction by the GOP and they should stop and think about what they're giving up in order to be popular. READ the DAMN Constitution folks!

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran is one the most profilic users of earmark spending. The U.S. Senate has decided to vote down a proposed earmark spending ban. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports on the reaction from two of the greatest users of earmark spending, Mississippi’s own U.S. Senators.

Mississippi’s senior senator republican Thad Cochran led the senate with just under $500 million dollars in earmarks in this year’s spending bills. The proposed ban would have created a one year moratorium on earmark spending, a practice which opponents often describe as pork spending, meaning senators sending federal money back to their home states for their pet projects. But Senator Cochran says it is their constitutional responsibility to make known how federal dollars should be spent,

“To say that the Congress shouldn’t have the power to direct federal dollars to be spent in specific ways is an abrogation of congressional power that is vested in the constitution in the Congress.”

Only 15 Republicans joined the majority of Democrats in voting down the moratorium, including Senator Cochran, and Mississippi’s junior Senator Roger Wicker. Wicker said in a statement, that while he was in favor shrinking the federal budget once spending levels are determined, 'elected officials should be able to direct spending to projects with the most need and potential for economic impact.'

Last week House Republicans did impose an earmark ban, and House Democrats declared earmark spending should not longer go to for profit companies.

 

MPB

Madison aerospace firm gets NASA contract

L-3 Vertex Aerospace at Gluckstadt has received a $20 million contract from NASA.
Under the terms of the contract, L-3 Vertex will provide services for aircraft operations, maintenance and research at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., as well as operation of the Moffett Federal Airfield.

The Madison County Herald

Canton alderman's son, others arrested

The son of a Canton alderman and two others have been arrested in connection with a melee.

Eric Gilkey Jr., son of Alderman Eric Gilkey, along with Michael Jackson were arrested last week on a charge of simple assault causing bodily injury. A third person said to be involved in the incident, Candace Parker, was arrested for domestic violence.

The Madison County Herald

Madison County Journal---EDITORIAL/'I'm just a Bill' (from Capitol Hill)

A fundamental breakdown in the legislative process is occurring with the health care bill and the way Democrats are bending the rules.

A majority of Americans are repulsed by backroom deals like the Cornhusker kickback and other bribes necessary to snare votes to ensure passage.

Tax increases to pay for the new entitlements and the bureaucracy to regulate it all are all but guaranteed in what the Democrats no doubt believe is the crowning achievement of their welfare state.

School children with a basic knowledge of civics know that a bill has to pass both the House and Senate to become law.

Under the new rules Democrats have cooked up like a batch of meth, no single bill will have passed both houses in the same form as required by the U.S. Constitution.

Read the entire article at Madison County Journal Online

No CBO score Wednesday night; Saturday healthcare vote unlikely

House Democratic leaders on Wednesday night said the long-awaited Congressional Budget Office score of the reconciliation bill will not come out until Thursday, forcing an acknowledgement that a Saturday healthcare vote is likely off the table.

But leaders are still hoping for a score on Thursday, and are still preparing for a possible vote before the end of the weekend.

The release of a CBO score on Thursday – triggering the Democrats' 72-hour clock – would mean that voting on the reconciliation bill would “most likely happen on Sunday, if that scenario plays out,” Assistant to the Speaker Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters after leaving Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office Wednesday night.

Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), leaving that same meeting, said that the delay is the result of numerous technical issues involved, and stressed that, despite any rumors to the contrary, the delays are not the result of policy problems.

My understanding is this has been much more technical than substantive,” Andrews said. “It’s not like what tax has to go or what spending has to go.”

Andrews did say, though, that the CBO is also taking extra time to protect the legislation from invariable legal challenges to the reconciliation process, if not the eventual law itself.

“The reason it’s taking so long, in part, is that we want to be sure that we have a score that’s solid as a rock for procedural purposes and potentially litigation purposes down the road,” Andrews said. “We all assume that the same forces that fought this so vociferously in the Congress will fight it in the courts, and we want to be prepared for that.”

The Hill

Ole Miss handles Troy 84-65, advances in NIT

OXFORD — Using a high-flying offense to power through the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, Ole Miss beat Troy 84-65 on Wednesday night at Tad Smith Coliseum.

Terrico White led the Rebels with 27 points — his highest point total in more than two months.

Ole Miss (22-10) advances to face the winner of the Memphis/St. John’s game in the NIT second round. A date and time haven’t yet been determined.

White was aggressive from the start, slicing his way to the basket for layups, catching alley-oop passes for dunks, and hitting a few 3-pointers.

Clarion Ledger

Madison County Journal-Report questions engineering fees

Excessive fees and a lack of checks and balances were questioned in a report on the county's engineering services commissioned privately last year by the mayor of Madison.

The report is the latest in an ongoing political fight between Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and certain members of the Board of Supervisors and County Engineer Rudy Warnock.

The report finds, among other things, that the county's expense reimbursements to Warnock and Associates were extremely high, including in one instance fees of nearly $19,000 over a nine-month period for use of a vehicle on a single project.

It also cites a conflict of interest where Warnock, serving as county engineer, designs and approves his own work - something the report says flies in the face of the Mississippi Board of Licensure's code of professional conduct.

Warnock has discounted the report as nothing more than political theater orchestrated by Hawkins-Butler.

The report's author, Richard J. McAfee of Detroit-based PMA Consultants, was in town Wednesday when he spoke on the Paul Gallo radio show and met with members of the media.

Overall, McAfee said with limited documentation he found no illegal acts, but pointed to over $2 million in questionable spending by the county.

Read the rest of the story at Madison County Journal Online

Hi kids! Not very good at math? Then someday you may be President too!

Is there any doubt now that the President is totally in over his head? You hire an amateur, you get an amateur. Great actor, poor mathematician.





Is it his calculator that is broken, or is it his teleprompter? Have you ever known anything to decrease 3,000 percent?

Math has never been kind to me, so forgive me if this is just getting past my feeble attempts to understand Obama math. But, as I understand it, a 100% reduction would be to go, for example, from paying $4000 a year to paying $0.

A 3000% reduction would mean that for a person paying $4000 a year now, the government would, under Obamacare, be paying this person $120,000 a year.

Ole Miss Limits Colonel Reb Image

Colonel Reb could soon become a collector's item as the University of Mississippi moves to further reduce its old mascot's visibility by limiting its image on merchandise.
The university has asked Collegiate Licensing Company to place Colonel Reb in its College Vault Program. There, he'll join other university emblems, mascots and images from around the country that are regarded as historical trademarks that are only produced for special or commemorative events.

Ole Miss holds the trademark for Colonel Reb, the caricature of an Old South gentleman who was the school's mascot for decades before he was dropped in 2003.

The school's director of contractual services, Clay Jones, said the move helps make way for the new mascot that will be chosen by students in coming months.

Fox 40

Governor Barbour releases video urging "NO" vote on Health Care Bill

HARPER CALLS RECONCILIATION USE “TRICKERY”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Gregg Harper (R–Miss.) delivered the following remarks today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in opposition to a Democratic health care plan that the majority plans to advance through vague procedural tactics.




“Late last night the House Budget Committee approved the reconciliation shell bill with two Democratic Members joining all Republicans in opposing this enormous entitlement expansion – and we still do not know what changes the Speaker will bring forward.

“The President has asked Congress to hold an up-or-down vote on the Senate’s so-called health care reform proposal. Let’s have that vote! The President has argued that Democrats ‘need courage’ to pass his one-size-fits-all government takeover of health care. But where’s the courage in hiding behind procedural chaos like the ‘Slaughter Solution?’

“No matter what anyone says a yes vote on the reconciliation bill is a vote for the Senate’s flawed trillion dollar bill containing kickbacks like the ‘Cornhusker Kickback’ and the ‘Louisiana Purchase’ and allows for federal funding of abortion.

“The bottom line is this health care bill is so bad that the Democrats have to resort to trickery. I will not support a bill that will increase family’s insurance premiums and force hundreds of millions of dollars in unfunded mandates to my home State of Mississippi.”

Border Control Program is caught in bureacratic hellhole while Mexican border towns turn into a war zone.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that she will immediately redeploy $50 million of Recovery Act (stimulus) funding originally allocated for the SBInet.

SBInet is a program initiated in 2006 for a new integrated system of personnel, infrastructure, technology, and rapid response to secure the northern and southern land borders. It is part of Secure Border Initiative (SBI), an overarching program of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to organize the four operating components of border security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States Coast Guard.

In August 2008, DHS ordered Boeing to stop SBI work along the border between Arizona and Mexico because CBP had not received the necessary permissions from the Department of the Interior. Boeing told a subcontractor that the suspension of work could last until January 1, 2009.

On January 22, 2010, Napolitano ordered a reassessment of the $8 billion SBInet virtual border fence program in Arizona after another round of delays in the program.


SBInet is an electronic surveillance system composed of cameras, radars and other sensors strung on towers and coordinated with other sensor systems, communications and command and control networks. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently has been deploying a 23-mile segment of the system near Tucson, Ariz.

In announcing the transfer of funds, Napolitano said, “Not only do we have an obligation to secure our borders, we have a responsibility to do so in the most cost effective way possible. The system of sensors and cameras along the Southwest border known as SBInet has been plagued with cost overruns and missed deadlines."

She added, "Additionally, we are freezing all SBInet funding beyond SBInet Block 1’s initial deployment to the Tucson and Ajo regions until the assessment I ordered in January is completed.”

Pence Calls on Pelosi to Reveal Special Deals in Health Care Bill

Washington, DC - U.S. Congressman Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement today in response to a recent report, citing unnamed Democrat sources, which says Democrat leaders are no longer accepting changes to their plan for a government takeover of health care:

"A recent report alerts Members of Congress that the ‘trading post' for health care deal making has closed. For weeks now Democrat leaders have traded special deals for votes and in the process have traded away any hope of passing meaningful health care reform that the public can support. The American people don't want a government takeover of health care and they certainly don't want one full of special breaks for some states at the expense of every other state.

"The American people are right to wonder what kind of backroom deals have been made to bring this plan for a government takeover of health care to the president's desk. More than three years ago Speaker Pelosi promised the American people a new direction and its time she made good on her promise. House Republicans have offered the American people a fresh start on spending by imposing a unilateral ban on all earmarks. I renew my call on Speaker Pelosi to renounce all earmarks and I further request that all special deals in the health care bill be made public immediately."

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to host “Shooting for the Cure”

The Mississippi Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is hosting its “inaugural” Skeet Shoot, “Shooting for the Cure”, on Saturday, April 17th 2010. The Shoot will take place at Luckett Lodge, 214 Clark Creek Road Brandon, MS., registration at 7:15am, and the shoot commencing at 8:00am with VIP catering lunch. The main event will consist of 50 targets and teams of four shooters.

Sponsorships for this event are available at three different donor levels for merchants and businesses. Donations are currently being accepted for shooter bags, raffle, beverages, or door prize drawings. Every donation helps raise money for a great cause, by providing monies for research, support and services for individuals and families of leukemia or lymphoma.

Tickets are limited to the first 75 shooters at $125 and include lunch and 50 targets for 14 stations in a beautiful serene setting, “Shooting for the Cure” t-shirts and camouflage military hats.

For information on tickets, donations, or sponsorship opportunities call Ann at 601-956-7447.

An unconstitutional solution--Powerline

Michael McConnell, a law professor at Stanford and a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argues that the "Slaughter solution" for enacting Obamacare is unconstitutional. The argument, which appears in the Wall Street Journal, is straightforward:

The Slaughter solution cannot be squared with Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution.

Senate rules protect against majoritarian overreach by allowing a determined minority to filibuster most types of legislation. The majority needs 60 votes to override a filibuster. One exception, adopted in 1974, is legislation that makes adjustments to spending or revenues to reconcile current law to a budget resolution that has passed Congress. These are called reconciliation bills, and they require only a majority vote.

Last Christmas Eve, the Senate approved a health-care bill by 60 votes, overcoming a Republican filibuster. This is the bill that contains the so-called Cornhusker kickback, the Louisiana purchase, taxes on high-cost health insurance plans and coverage for abortions. Virtually no one now supports that version of the bill, but Senate Democrats no longer have enough votes to pass an alternative bill under ordinary procedures.

That is where reconciliation fits in. If the House passes the Senate bill and the president then signs it into law, reconciliation would permit Congress to pass new legislation making changes to that law. Reconciliation might not solve the abortion coverage problem or other nonbudgetary issues, but it would allow Democrats to correct most of the Senate bill's offensive features.

The rub is that, according to the Senate parliamentarian, reconciliation is permitted only for bills that amend existing law, not for amendments to bills that have yet to be enacted. This means that, for the Senate to be able to avoid a filibuster, House Democrats first have to vote for the identical bill that passed the Senate last Christmas Eve. That means voting aye on the special deals, aye on abortion coverage, and aye on high taxes on expensive health-insurance plans. Challengers are salivating at the prospect of running against incumbents who vote for these provisions.

Enter the Slaughter solution. It may be clever, but it is not constitutional. To become law--hence eligible for amendment via reconciliation--the Senate health-care bill must actually be signed into law. The Constitution speaks directly to how that is done. According to Article I, Section 7, in order for a "Bill" to "become a Law," it "shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate" and be "presented to the President of the United States" for signature or veto. Unless a bill actually has "passed" both Houses, it cannot be presented to the president and cannot become a law.

To be sure, each House of Congress has power to "determine the Rules of its Proceedings." Each house can thus determine how much debate to permit, whether to allow amendments from the floor, and even to require supermajority votes for some types of proceeding. But House and Senate rules cannot dispense with the bare-bones requirements of the Constitution. Under Article I, Section 7, passage of one bill cannot be deemed to be enactment of another.

The Slaughter solution attempts to allow the House to pass the Senate bill, plus a bill amending it, with a single vote. The senators would then vote only on the amendatory bill. But this means that no single bill will have passed both houses in the same form. As the Supreme Court wrote in Clinton v. City of New York (1998), a bill containing the "exact text" must be approved by one house; the other house must approve "precisely the same text."

These constitutional rules set forth in Article I are not mere exercises in formalism. They ensure the democratic accountability of our representatives. Under Section 7, no bill can become law unless it is put up for public vote by both houses of Congress, and under Section 5 "the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question . . . shall be entered on the Journal." These requirements enable the people to evaluate whether their representatives are promoting their interests and the public good. Democratic leaders have not announced whether they will pursue the Slaughter solution. But the very purpose of it is to enable members of the House to vote for something without appearing to do so. The Constitution was drafted to prevent that.

McConnell's argument seems unassailable. A legal challenge, including a petition to the Supreme Court if necessary, represents another obstacle to Obamacare in the event that the House employs the Slaughter solution.

The Big Wind-Power Cover-Up--Investors Business Daily

Spain exposed the boondoggle of wind power in 2009, discrediting an idea touted by the Obama administration. In response, U.S. officials banded with trade lobbyists to hide the facts.
It was a cold day at the Energy Department when researchers at King Juan Carlos University in Spain released a study showing that every "green job" created by the wind industry killed off 4.27 other jobs elsewhere in the Spanish economy.

Research director Gabriel Calzada Alvarez didn't object to wind power itself, but found that when a government artificially props up this industry with subsidies, higher electrical costs (31%), tax hikes (5%) and government debt follow. Fact is, these subsidies have the same "Cuisinart" effect on jobs as wind-generating propeller blades have on birds. Every green job costs $800,000 to create and 90% of them are temporary, he found.

Alvarez made no bones about the lessons of Spain for the Obama administration, which has big plans for "green jobs." His report warned of "considerable employment consequences" from "self-inflicted economic wounds." It forecast that the U.S. could lose 6.6 million jobs if it followed Spain, and it "should certainly expect its results to follow such a tendency."

Investors Business Daily

WSJ: How Democrats may 'deem' ObamaCare into law, without voting.

We're not sure American schools teach civics any more, but once upon a time they taught that under the U.S. Constitution a bill had to pass both the House and Senate to become law. Until this week, that is, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi is moving to merely "deem" that the House has passed the Senate health-care bill and then send it to President Obama to sign anyway.

Under the "reconciliation" process that began yesterday afternoon, the House is supposed to approve the Senate's Christmas Eve bill and then use "sidecar" amendments to fix the things it doesn't like. Those amendments would then go to the Senate under rules that would let Democrats pass them while avoiding the ordinary 60-vote threshold for passing major legislation. This alone is an abuse of traditional Senate process.

But Mrs. Pelosi & Co. fear they lack the votes in the House to pass an identical Senate bill, even with the promise of these reconciliation fixes. House Members hate the thought of going on record voting for the Cornhusker kickback and other special-interest bribes that were added to get this mess through the Senate, as well as the new tax on high-cost insurance plans that Big Labor hates.

So at the Speaker's command, New York Democrat Louise Slaughter, who chairs the House Rules Committee, may insert what's known as a "self-executing rule," also known as a "hereby rule." Under this amazing procedural ruse, the House would then vote only once on the reconciliation corrections, but not on the underlying Senate bill. If those reconciliation corrections pass, the self-executing rule would say that the Senate bill is presumptively approved by the House—even without a formal up-or-down vote on the actual words of the Senate bill.

Wall Street Journal

JSU Takes On MSU In NIT 1st Round

Game Tuesday In Starkville

It's not the tournament either team had planned to play in, but Jackson State University and Mississippi State University will face off Tuesday night in Starkville in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.

Both the Tigers and Bulldogs had hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament this year. JSU went 17-1 in the SWAC regular season, and MSU lived on the bubble for two weeks leading up to selection Sunday.

WAPT

Obama to Dem fencesitters: "Time to Pick"

The backscratching has begun and the Chicago politics is in full force in DC according to Greg Sargent. Looks like the Dems have painted themselves into a corner here. A "YES" vote will get them axed in some of the more moderate districts, a "NO" vote means they will be cannabilized by there own party. If "all is fair in love and war" then Democrats just need to decide which they prefer.

Late last week, a source says, President Obama summoned a key undecided House Democrat, New York Rep Scott Murphy, for a one-on-one meeting at the White House — a sign that he’s beginning to lavish direct personal attention on individual members of Congress to persuade them to vote for the Senate bill.


According to a source familiar with the meeting, the President asked Murphy what he needed in the bill in order to support it. Murphy is being closely watched right now because he voted No last time, and flipping him to Yes would be a key get for Dem vote-counters.

“It was, `What are you looking for in the bill?’” the source says, describing the President’s request. “Scott was pressing him on the need for cost control. Medicare fraud came up. Scott said we need to step up — what we did in the House last time was not enough.”

The meeting is interesting because it suggests that on-the-fence Dems such as Murphy are seriously in the hunt for something to give them the cover they need to support the bill. That’s because the pressure on them to vote Yes is excrutiatingly intense.

Health Care Reconciliation Bill Markup live on CSPAN now

Watch it live.

Reconciliation Bill Markup now going on in Budget Committee

CQ Political News: House Faces Pivotal Votes on Health Care

Democrats are entering a critical week in the health care debate, as party leaders close in on the 216-vote threshold they need for the House to clear a Senate-passed overhaul bill.

But they still are trying to resolve at least two important issues: making Medicaid funding equitable to all states and addressing Hispanic lawmakers’ concerns about immigration. A third issue, abortion, has been set aside, Democrats say.

Despite holdouts in different quarters of her caucus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded confident on March 12 that she would have the votes to finish the health care overhaul.

“We stand ready to stay as long as it takes to pass the bill,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. “I think members are eager to pass the bill. . . . It won’t be long before we’ll be making a real difference in the lives of the American people.”

Democrats will use an elaborate series of parliamentary procedures to try to accomplish the task. House Democratic leaders are preparing to clear the Senate-passed bill by the end of the week or soon thereafter. It will be considered with a companion bill, to be sent to the Senate, that would amend the Senate measure with changes demanded by House Democrats.

The companion bill will probably be combined with a student loan proposal that some Democrats believe could attract additional votes in the House. The proposal would make the federal government the sole originator of the student loans, which Democrats contend is less costly to taxpayers than subsidizing banks to loan money to students.

The House passed such legislation last year, but proponents say it would be easier to pass the bill in the Senate using expedited reconciliation rules to avoid a Republican filibuster.

The House Budget Committee is scheduled to start the process Monday by marking up a reconciliation bill containing proposals previously submitted by three panels with jurisdiction over health care issues — Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor. The bill will also contain the student loan measure.

Later in the week, the House Rules Committee is expected to replace the health care language in the reconciliation bill with the bill the House wants to use to amend the Senate-passed health care bill. The Rules Committee is scheduled to meet March 17.

Congressional Quarterly

Are You Watching The Shell Game?

Next Steps: How The Health Bill Could Move Forward


Democrats are still wrangling support for the health bill in the House, but leading Democrats say it could pass the House as soon as this coming weekend. Here's a look at the steps needed to move the bill forward:





Monday, March 15: House Budget Committee Meets

• — This meeting is largely a formality.
• — House Budget Committee marks up a "shell" health bill (which will be replaced by the real reconciliation bill) and sends it to the House Rules Committee.
• — Budget Committee may not make substantive changes to the bill, but it can make recommendations to the Rules Committee, which will develop the reconciliation bill.
• — At least 48 hours must pass between the Budget Committee's completing its markup and the Rules Committee's taking up a bill.
• — Monday afternoon or Tuesday, the CBO may release the cost estimates for the real reconciliation bill.

 Wednesday, March 17: House Committee On Rules Meets

• — The Rules Committee writes a reconciliation bill, possibly incorporating the ideas recommended by the Budget Committee, and replacing the shell bill the Budget Committee is expected to have approved Monday.
•  — House Dems will attempt to pass the Senate health bill at the same time the House approves the rule for debate on the reconciliation bill. 

 End Of The Week/Weekend: House Could Vote

•   When the House leadership thinks it has the votes together, it will schedule the reconciliation vote on the House floor. This may be as early as Thursday, more likely Friday or Saturday.

 Possibly Next Week

• — If the House succeeds in passing the reconciliation bill, it goes to the Senate. The Senate parliamentarian may require the reconciliation bill to go through committee markups.

Then What?

• — If the Senate passes the House reconciliation bill with no changes, it goes to the president for signature. If the Senate makes any changes, the bill must go back to the House again for approval. The Senate is likely to vote on the bill late next week.

NPR

Morocco Rejects Criticism for Expelling Christians Accused of Proselytizing Abandoned Muslim Children

The government of Morocco has launched a public relations effort to fend off criticism about its decision to expel 20 foreign Christian aid workers it accuses of trying to convert Muslims.

The expulsion order affected Christians who ran a center that has been taking in and fostering abandoned Moroccan children for 10 years.

The group issued a statement denying the accusations, and describing the wrench of 33 children being forced to say goodbye, with no prior warning, to the only parents they had known

CNS News

Ryan knows his stuff, and he knows how to articulate it.

What happened to the Tenth Amendment?

The New York Times is reporting 

The Obama administration on Saturday called for a broad overhaul of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, proposing to reshape divisive provisions that encouraged instructors to teach to tests, narrowed the curriculum, and labeled one in three American schools as failing.

Announcing that he would send his education blueprint to Congress on Monday, President Obama returned to a campaign promise to repair the sprawling federal law, which affects each of the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools. His plan strikes a careful balance, retaining some key features of the Bush-era law, including its requirement for annual reading and math tests, while proposing far-reaching changes.

Seems like more Federal power grabbing to me. Bush was wrong in assuming the authority and so is Obama. 

Scrambling for votes, Dems face uphill climb to pass health reform

By Bob Cusack

House Democratic leaders don’t have the votes to pass healthcare reform. At least not yet.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has expressed confidence that when push comes to shove, healthcare reform will pass Congress. But there will be plenty of pushing in the days ahead.

Pelosi is clearly down in the vote count. Thirty-four House Democrats are either firm no votes or leaning no, according to The Hill’s whip list. Dozens more are undecided.

The list of Democratic members who haven't committed ranges widely, from liberal Reps. Michael Capuano (Mass.) and Anthony Weiner (N.Y.) to centrist Reps. Jason Altmire (Pa.) and Chris Carney (Pa.).

Two committee chairmen -- Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) -- say they are firm nos and three others, Reps. John Spratt (D-S.C.), Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), are undecided.

If every House member votes and all Republicans reject the bill as expected, Pelosi can only afford 37 Democratic defections. That breakdown of the votes would lead to a 216-215 tally.

Of the 34 no votes/leaning no votes, eight of them backed the House-backed bill in November. Meanwhile, nine Democrats who voted no last fall are publicly on the fence.

Friday’s decision by Democratic leaders to forge ahead without the backing of anti-abortion rights Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has dealt a blow to the chances the lower chamber can pass a health bill.

Lacking votes last November, Pelosi struck a deal with Stupak and the House measure subsequently passed, 220-215.

On Tuesday, Stupak told the Associated Press that he was “more optimistic” that a deal on the health bill’s provisions on abortion would be reached.

But after days of discussions, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Friday such a compromise is unlikely.

Like Pelosi, Hoyer expressed confidence that the votes will be there when the bill hits the floor, which could be within a week.

Stupak has long said he and 11 other members who voted yes the first time will reject the final bill if it does not include strong anti-abortion language.

The Hill

Pelosi says Health Care Reform will be Historic

New BZP Drug looks like candy

Mississippi can use Medicaid money to reimburse Memphis hospital

The Associated Press

Mississippi can use supplemental Medicaid payments to reimburse the Regional Medical Center at Memphis for the cost of treating Mississippi residents.

The Commercial Appeal reports Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen about the decision in a letter on Thursday.

As a regional trauma center on the border of three states, The Med receives many patients from Mississippi and Arkansas. It has been in financial distress for years.

The supplement Medicaid payments are for hospitals that serve disproportionate numbers of charity cases. Arkansas was approved to send some of its Medicaid money to The Med last May.

The Med’s vice president for government relations, Letisha Towns, said figures for how much Mississippi will actually pay will be released Wednesday.

Repaving under way

Highland Colony's potholes targeted

Improvements to Highland Colony Parkway have been a year in the making but are expected to be finished quickly.

Madison and Ridgeland started planning last April to use federal stimulus funds to make improvements to portions of the roadway. By late April or early May, officials in the two cities expect to see work crews putting a smooth riding surface down by repairing the roadway base and adding new top coats.

"We were ready for them to start, like, yesterday," said Denson Robinson, public works director for Madison. "It took a long time, longer than anticipated. With federal money, sometimes is takes longer."

The money for the Highland Colony rehabilitation work comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The two cities, along with Madison County, Canton and Flora equally split the $2.2 million in federal money last April. Each local government got $451,699 but the Mississippi Department of Transportation is getting 15 percent from each for oversight of the projects.

"With ARRA money, there are various rules and regulations," Ridgeland public works director Mike McCollum said about the start-to-finish time. "There is a lot of paperwork, a lot of approvals to get."

Once the work starts, though, McCollum said drivers won't have to wait long for the job, stretching a little over half a mile, to be finished. "Ten days tops," he said.

Madison County Herald

Judge orders Washington to resume funding ACORN

Associated Press


NEW YORK - A federal judge who found it unconstitutional that Congress tried to cut funding to the activist group ACORN has rejected a government request to change her mind and has ordered government agencies to make it clear the funding isn't blocked.

In a written ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon made permanent her conclusion last year that the cutoff of funding was unconstitutional. She ordered all federal agencies to put the word out about it.

The Brooklyn judge said ACORN was punished by Congress without the enactment of administrative processes to decide if money had been handled inappropriately. She said the harm to ACORN's reputation continues because the government never rescinded its advice to withhold funding after it was distributed to "hundreds, if not thousands, of recipients."

ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, describes itself as an advocate for low-income and minority home buyers and residents. Critics of the group say it has engaged in voter registration fraud and embezzlement and has violated the tax-exempt status of some of its affiliates by engaging in partisan political activities.

Last year, a series of videos filmed at ACORN offices around the country sparked a national scandal and helped drive the organization to near ruin. In one video, ACORN employees were shown apparently advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her earnings; Brooklyn prosecutors said they did not commit a crime.

In this One News Now report Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), who voted for the amendment, says the vote to cut off federal funding to ACORN is a win for taxpayers who do not want their hard-earned money funneled to organizations who have no respect for the rule of law. (Listen to audio)


"We've tried this in the past, [in] both the House and Senate, and we haven't been quite so successful," he admits. "But in the past we didn't have the videotape, which just screamed out about the tax evasion that they were scheming [along] with the criminal activity including prostitution, the human trafficking.

"Every time the person doing the investigation ratcheted up the criminality that he was supposedly proposing, the ACORN employee didn't bat an eye," the senator remarks. "They had an answer for everything."

Wicker says as more and more Americans realize what ACORN is up to, more and more Americans are demanding that Congress not appropriate anymore money for this organization.

The Associated Press reports that in asking the judge to reconsider her December ruling, the government cited a Dec. 7 report written by Scott Harshbarger, former attorney general for Massachusetts. It said the report "reinforces Congress' purpose in preventing fraud, waste and abuse" by describing ACORN's long-standing management problems.

The report concluded that ACORN leadership at every level was thin, the government noted.

The judge, however, wrote that it was "unmistakable that Congress determined ACORN's guilt before defunding it." She said Congress is entitled to investigate ACORN but cannot "rely on the negative results of a congressional or executive report as a rationale to impose a broad, punitive funding ban on a specific, named organization."

She said the Code of Federal Regulations establishes a formal process for deciding when federal contractors can be suspended or debarred. She added that "the existence of these regulations militates against the need for draconian, emergency action by Congress."

The government planned to review the judge's ruling and consider whether to appeal, spokesman Robert Nardoza said.
The legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which says it's dedicated to protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, welcomed Wednesday's decision.

"The judge's ruling is a complete rebuke to the right wing's smear tactics that unfortunately Congress fell for," legal director Bill Quigley said. "This is why we have a system of checks and balances."

Flora Resident Sees Jesus In Pecan Tree

I've looked at that picture a few times now and Jesus is still not coming into view. Maybe I can't see Jesus because I'm such a pitiful sinner, or maybe it's because I don't particularly like pecans.

He Says Image Appeared Weeks Ago

A Flora resident said he can see the image of Jesus in his pecan tree.

Timothy Vincent said the image miraculously appeared a few weeks ago in his backyard. He said one day he saw an odd woodpecker on his tree and when the bird few away, the face of Jesus was there.

WAPT

Potential Slaughter Rule has Congress in an uproar. Will moderate Dems really dare go along with this?

Dems are trying to push through Obamacare by any means necessary. Are they really this out of touch? They will lose big in November anyway. Surely they know that now, and are willing to try passage of the controversial legislation by using the kamikaze effort now being touted as the Slaughter Solution.

As some obviously still believe Health Care Legislation will never be overturned, and will be widely accepted once enacted, you might say they are willing to become martyrs for the cause.

The Slaughter Solution is explained briefly in this Washington Examiner article published on 3/10/10:

Would House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democratic leaders try to cram the Senate version of Obamacare through the House without actually having a recorded vote on the bill?

Not only is the answer yes, they would, they have figured out a way to do it, according to National Journal's Congress Daily:

"House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.

"Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.

"Slaughter has not taken the plan to Speaker Pelosi as Democrats await CBO scores on the corrections bill. 'Once the CBO gives us the score, we'll spring right on it,' she said."

Each bill that comes before the House for a vote on final passage must be given a rule that determines things like whether the minority would be able to offer amendments to it from the floor.

In the Slaughter Solution, the rule would declare that the House "deems" the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself.

Now comes Republican Senator's, including Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker to warn House Democrats that reconciliation in the Senate will be fought tooth and nail.

President Obama's Final March is in full effect, and Republican Congressman's switchboards are lighting up after Obama and the DNC put out an email this week asking supporters who have signed up to the Democrat's Organizing For America emails to call their Congressman, even going so far as to provide phone numbers.


As Thomas Paine said, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Or as my grandfather used to say, "stand for something, or fall for anything."

Mississippi Open Meetings bill dies at hands of Blackmon

The Associated Press is reporting that Canton Attorney and Chairman of Judiciary A Committee in the State House has killed a bill that would have strengthened Open Meetings laws. No doubt Blackmon was hoping to protect his fellow Cantonians on the Board of Alderman who could care less about open meetings. Recent attempts by the group Canton Quality of Life to publicize proceedings in City Hall have Mayor William Truly publicly worried about ridicule in this Madison County Herald report.

Truly said the camera caught city officials off guard, especially since they did not know Cockrell.


"We walk in, and the video camera is already running," he said. "There was an individual who had no badge of identification. This is a gentleman who no one knew. We had no idea of his intent.

"His intent could have been to put us of Facebook for the purpose of ridicule.

"We welcome transparency. We would just like to know who you are."

Apparently Truly wants to be transparent to only a select few. Mayor, let's face it, Cockrell's video couldn't make the proceedings any more ridiculous than they already are.

The amendment that Blackmon didn't like and decided was worth killing the bill said when a public meeting is improperly closed, a fine would be paid by an individual officeholder rather than with tax dollars.


Thanks to Blackmon, Mayor Truly and his band of happy aldermen can be as secretive as they want without losing any of their own money.
 
So, the taxpayers don't get to listen in AND they get to pay the fine. Fine, fine job!

Canton worker suspended amid nepotism probe

A Canton city employee has been suspended without pay in light of a possible nepotism law violation.

Transferring Angela Johnson to a different city department after the election of Alderman Eric Gilkey may have been illegal, according to city legal officials. The two are related by marriage.

Several other employees with relatives on the Board of Aldermen — including Gail Brown, the mother of Alderman Rodriquez Brown -- have been the target of nepotism probes by the city recently, but they have been cleared.

Speaking about Johnson's case, city attorney Barbara Blackmon said a city employee cannot lawfully be promoted or transferred after a relative is elected as mayor or alderman.

"After that person has been elected, if they have a relative that is already working with the city, that person can remain in whatever position they had. But if you try to promote them or transfer them, that’s a violation of the nepotism law," Blackmon said.

Madison County Herald

JSU announces plans to denigrate the memories of Civil Rights Veterans by bringing in Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee

Jackson State University has announced that Rev. Jeremiah "goddamn America" Wright and Congresswoman Sheila "race pimp" Jackson-Lee will be guest speakers at the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement Conference. According to the press release the 3-day conference is "designed to inspire and empower today’s youth through social activism education."

Inspire and empower to do what? 

The good Congresswoman famously ignored a white cancer survivor during an August town hall meeting in 2009 by answering her cell phone from behind the podium. Wright has made a living out of some black Americans desire to remain oppressed, while milking his fifteen minutes of fame for being Barack Obama's pastor.

Just when recent moves suggests JSU wants to become a socially acceptable choice for all Mississippi students, they pull this crap!

The fifth annual conference, themed The Loss of Civil & Human Rights in a Time of Economic Crisis: Creating a Blueprint for the Future!, will be held March 25-27 at the Mississippi e-Center @JSU, 1230 Raymond Road in Jackson.
Now one of the largest annual gatherings of civil rights veterans in the country, this event brings together civil rights activists with today’s youth to discuss ways to continue positive change in society.

Among the special guests this year are the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill; U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), civil rights leader and Algebra Project founder Bob Moses; University of Maryland government and politics professor Ronald Walters; and Greenville, Miss., Mayor Heather McTeer Hudson.

Wright will be the keynote speaker for the Veterans Freedom Gathering at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at the JSU Student Center Ballroom, which is located at the corner of John R. Lynch & Dalton streets in Jackson. Wright also will sign copies of his book, SANKOFA MOMENT-The History of Trinity United Church of Christ. Congresswoman Jackson-Lee will be the keynote speaker for the JSU Presidential Banquet at 7 p.m. Friday, March 26, at the JSU Student Center Ballroom. Moses, Walters and Hudson will speak throughout the three-day conference.

Having begun in 2004 with small gatherings, the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement became an official arm of Jackson State in 2008. In addition to collecting and archiving stories of some 200 participants in the movement across the country, the group supports people actively using those stories to continue the pursuit of freedom, justice and equality.

“We are trying to be true to our reason for being,” said Owen Brooks, executive director. “This conference, like others, will allow an exchange of ideas and engage participants in discussions regarding issues that are important to them.”

Topics include: “The Impact of the Financial Crisis on HBCU’s,” “The Political Economy During the Obama Presidency,” “Advancing the Civil Rights Agenda” and “Creating a Blueprint for the Future: Interracial, International, Intergenerational.”

A special tribute to the late Jimmie Travis will be given by long-time activist Bob Moses. Travis passed away in July 2009 and was the chairman of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement at the time of his death.

Admission to the conference is $100 for adults, which includes admission to all events. College student registration is $25 and high school registration is $10. The registration fee includes one-year membership to the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.

If your into charts and analysis then try this

I'm a chart and graph kind of fellow. I'm a visual rememberer, guess I like the pretty colors. This Heritage Foundation analysis has plenty. But, it is also good if you look at books for more than pretty pictures.

Obama Budget Raises Taxes and Doubles the National Debt

by Brian M. Riedl

Abstract: President Obama declared: "I didn't come here to pass our problems on to the next president or the next generation--I'm here to solve them." Yet rather than "solve" the runaway spending that is projected to cause historic deficits, the President's budget doubles down on it with trillions of dollars in new spending and taxes, culminating in a doubling of the national debt. Heritage Foundation economic policy expert Brian Riedl lays out how a $3 trillion tax hike and an additional $74,000 debt burden on every U.S. household will affect the country--and why Congress should reject President Obama's budget proposal.

When he released his new budget proposal on February 1, President Barack Obama asserted that the government "simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences; as if waste doesn't matter; as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money; as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation."[1]

Yet the President's new budget does exactly that-- raising taxes by $3 trillion and federal spending by $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. If enacted, this budget would increase the 2010 deficit to more than $1.5 trillion, and leave a deficit of more than $1 trillion even after an assumed return to peace and prosperity. Overall, the President's budget would double the national debt over the next decade.[2]

President Obama's Budget

•Would permanently expand the federal government by 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over 2007 pre-recession levels;

•Would raise taxes onall Americans by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade;

•Would raise taxes for 3.2 million small businesses and upper-income taxpayers by an average of $300,000 over the next decade;

•Would borrow 42 cents for each dollar spent in 2010;

•Would run a $1.6 trillion deficit in 2010--$143 billion higher than the recession-driven 2009 deficit;

•Would leave permanent deficits that top $1 trillion as late as 2020;

•Would dump an additional $74,000 per household of debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren; and

•Would double the publicly held national debt to over $18 trillion.

Source: Heritage Foundation calculations based on U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), pp. 146-179, Tables S-1 through S-14. Also includes the cost of House-passed cap-and-trade bill, which President Obama endorsed yet excluded from his budget tables.

Before the recession began, annual federal spending totaled $24,000 per household. President Obama would hike that spending above $36,000 per household by 2020--an inflation-adjusted $12,000-per-household expansion of government. (See Chart 1.) But even these steep tax increases would not finance all of this new spending: The President's budget would lead to trillions in new debt over the next decade. Read the rest of the article and see the graphs and charts at The Heritage Foundation.

November can't get here quick enough.




 

Schools may have to cut teachers

By STEVEN G. WATSON

Teachers and programs will have to be cut due to an anticipated $8 million shortfall in the upcoming budget year, Madison County school officials are saying.

Superintendent of Education Mike Kent this week called the district's budget situation "grim" and prepared county School Board members for some hard decisions as they prepare the 2010-2011 school year budget.

State revenues continue to plunge this fiscal year and projections are not good for 2010-2011. The state Tax Commission recently reported that February collections continued a pattern of decline for the 18th straight month, $33 million, or 12.39 percent below estimates.

So far this year state revenues are down about $458.5 million and expected to be even worse next year.

The School Board heard a preliminary budget proposal from Kent Monday which included cutting at least 20 teaching positions district wide, possible furloughs on days when students aren't attending school and a variety of cuts to current programs.

Kent said they've faced shortfalls over the last three years, but nothing like what is anticipated in the upcoming year.

Madison County Journal

Hair stylists to raise funds to help cancer patients

Hair stylists from as far away as Louisiana will converge at a Ridgeland hair salon Friday for a "Cut-A-Thon" to raise money for cancer patients.

The stylists will volunteer their time from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Colorize Hair Studio at 105 N. Central Ave., off Jackson Street in Ridgeland, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Hope House of Hospitality in Jackson.

Hope House is a Christian ministry that provides a place to stay and transportation at no cost for patients receiving treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses.

No appointments are taken for the Cut-A-Thon. It will be walk-in customers only. For a minimum donation of $30, each customer receives a cut and style.

Madison County Herald

Republicans double down on Democrats earmark move

House Democrat David Obey must feel a little sick to his stomach about right now. A day after he announced a ban on earmarks for private companies, Republicans will up the ante calling for a prohibition on all targeted spending projects.


Roll Call reports

House Republican leaders plan to call for an immediate, across-the-board earmark ban during a special meeting of the GOP Conference on Thursday, according to a draft of a joint leadership statement obtained by Roll Call.

Their proposed moratorium would include tax and tariff-related earmarks.

“We will support changing the official rules of the House Republican Conference to incorporate such a moratorium when a special conference meeting on the matter takes place Thursday,” the release said.

A majority of the Republican Conference must vote in favor of the proposal in order to change their internal rules. Republicans are scheduled to discuss the possibility of implementing the earmark ban at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Nicely played, gentlemen. Nicely played.

The Real Health-Care Plan

There is something poetic about the Democrats’ plan to combine the health-care reconciliation bill with legislation that would make the government the “single payer” in the market for student loans. From subsidies to a “public option” to an outright government takeover, the history of American college-loan policy offers an instructive illustration of how the government can absorb an activity incrementally, claiming to cherish the benefits the private sector provides — until it becomes inconvenient. At that point, the private sector is cast as the enemy of sound reform. If the Democrats’ plan succeeds, then their health-care reconciliation bill will include a foreshadowing of its final act. And we can look to the case of student loans for a preview.

Democrats argue that the government should not be paying private lenders large subsidies to make low fixed-rate loans to college students when it could simply turn this activity over to the Department of Education, save itself billions of dollars, and redirect that money into other education projects. “The banking industry has had a free ride from taxpayers for too long,” declared Education Secretary Arne Duncan. But the bankers did not pull these subsidies out of thin air. The government provided them in exchange for a service: lending money to students at low fixed rates, so that more may attend college. It is similar, though not identical, to the way the Democrats’ health-care bill would succor the insurance industry by subsidizing its product while forcing people to buy it.

National Review