IRS to Enforce Health Reform

The Internal Revenue Service will function as the government’s chief enforcer for health care reform, monitoring both businesses and individuals to certify whether they have the insurance coverage the government requires.

The tax collection agency will be responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the individual and employer insurance mandates which form the backbone of the Democrats’ hard-won reforms.

The bill states that the purpose of the mandates is to regulate “economic and financial decisions about how and when health care is paid for, and when health insurance is purchased.”

The mandates require that all Americans carry a minimum level of health insurance or pay a separate tax for every month they are without such coverage. All employers with 50 employers or more will also be required to provide their employees with that same minimum level of coverage.

While that minimum level of coverage will be defined at a later date by the Department of Health and Human Services, it will be the responsibility of the IRS to monitor individuals and employers and to punish those who do not comply.

Under the bill, which passed despite bipartisan opposition March 21, starting in 2014 the IRS would be responsible for monitoring which employers are complying with the mandate and which ones are not. The IRS would begin such monitoring of individuals’ health insurance status in 2014 as well.

The IRS would monitor individuals and businesses’ health insurance statuses through the mandatory reporting the bill requires. Under the law, every individual and most businesses are required to report to the IRS, on their tax returns, whether they have purchased or provided the required level of coverage and disclose to the IRS which months, if any, in which they failed to do so.

Using this information, the IRS would then determine whether an employer or individual falls under the mandate, which contains exceptions for religious conscience, hardship, incarcerated persons, and members of Indian tribes.

If either an individual or a business has failed to comply with this mandate for any month out of the year, they are required to pay a separate tax to the IRS. For individuals this is a maximum of $750 per person (up to $2,250 per household) and $750 per uncovered employee for businesses.

Because these penalties would each apply on a monthly basis, individuals and employers would have to pay 1/12th of the maximum penalties for each month they failed to comply with the mandates.

In order to carry out its new monitoring and enforcement duties, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the IRS will need $10 billion in additional funds, funds which were not made available under the health reform bill.

An analysis done by Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee estimated that this $10 billion could go to fund an additional 16,500 new IRS agents and other personnel to monitor and enforce the new mandates.

“[T]he IRS could add more than 16,500 additional agents, auditors, examiners, and administrative support personnel to enforce large portions of the nation’s health insurance system,” the report said.

The IRS will also be in charge of collecting the new taxes on high cost insurance plans and on so-called unearned income from couples making over $250,000 per year and single filers making over $200,000 per year.

Both of these provisions could be modified should the Senate approve a budget reconciliation measure the House also passed March 21. Whichever final form they take, they are both direct taxes and thus will be directly administered by the IRS.

Because these new mandates and taxes are under the purview of the IRS, taxpayers and businesses could incur additional penalties normally reserved for normal income tax cheats, paying fees over and above those for not complying with Congress’ new mandates.

The IRS currently charges potentially hefty penalties for, among other things, filing false or fraudulent returns, filing late returns, and failure to pay a tax on time.

Taxpayers and businesses could be hit with these extra penalties because they are required to use their tax returns to prove to the IRS that they are complying with the mandates and because they will have to pay any tax penalties to that agency as well.

CNS News

The question is in what form and under what name will they resurface?

Victor David Hanson: We’ve Crossed the Rubicon

We've Crossed the Rubicon

President Obama has crossed the Rubicon with the health care vote. The bill was not really about medicine; after all, a moderately priced, relatively small federal program could offer the poorer not now insured, presently not on Medicare or state programs like Medicaid or Medical, a basic medical plan.

We have no interest in stopping trial lawyers from milking the system for billions. And we don’t want to address in any meaningful way the individual’s responsibility in some cases (drink, drugs, violence, dangerous sex, bad diet, sloth, etc.) for costly and chronic health procedures.

No, instead, the bill was about assuming a massive portion of the private sector, hiring tens of thousands of loyal, compliant new employees, staffing new departments with new technocrats, and feeling wonderful that we “are leveling the playing field” and have achieved another Civil Rights landmark law. (NB: do the math: add higher state income taxes in most states; the new Clinton-era federal income tax rates to come; the proposed lifting of limits on income exposed to FICA taxes; and now new health care charges — and I think you can reach in some cases a bite of 65%to 70% of one’s income.)

So we are in revolutionary times in which the government will grow to assume everything from energy use to student loans, while abroad we are a revolutionary sort of power, eager to mend fences with Syria and Iran, more eager still to distance ourselves from old Western allies like Israel and Britain.

There won’t be any more soaring rhetoric from Obama about purple-state America, “reaching across the aisle,” or healing our wounds. That was so 2008. Instead, we are in the most partisan age since Vietnam, ushered into it by the self-acclaimed “non-partisan.” But how could it be anything else?

Partisanship all the time, everywhere

No, Obama has thrown down the gauntlet, and is trying to reify the sloganeering of the 1960s. He apparently reasons along the following lines: that centrist talk was campaign fluff; the voters fell for it, and now it’s his turn to remake America with 51% of the House and 44% of the people. Think Sweden, or, better, Greece as our model at home, and something like America as Brazil in matters of foreign policy. Apparently, Obama figures that people now may not like the present partisanship, but they didn’t like FDR at the time either. Yet whom do they associate their Social Security checks with? Hoover? Coolidge? Harding?

I don’t see why the ram-it-through, health care formula won’t be followed by similar strategies for blanket amnesty, cap and trade, and expansions of the state takeover of cars, banks, student loans, and energy.

Remember, all these will be packaged as “comprehensive” reform — comprehensive health care, comprehensive immigration, comprehensive energy, comprehensive monitoring of even the banal decisions we make. So what does comprehensive really mean, other than all of us are going to get even more official looking letters in the mail, advising us to fill out a form, pay a fine, and be warned that a new regulation or tax is on the way — followed by the usual state/federal representative’s newsletter bragging about some new entitlement that he “won” for us with our borrowed money?

The Logic of Statism

I expect a lot of the following in the next three years.

1) Them!: More Obama soaring speeches about some “historic” crisis that needs “comprehensive” solutions (e.g., more of “this is our moment” banalities). Those introductions will be followed by alternate praise of some heroic individual who lost her health care, struggled to unionize, breathed some sooty air, was deported while cooking the evening meal, etc. These gripping narratives will be mixed in with ‘Them!’ demagoguery (e.g., the health care industry, the big corporations, the polluters, the nativists and racists — all of “Them” are standing in the way of hope and change, and, together, yes, we can! defeat them. Oh yes, there is going to being even more sermonizing, and shriller human interest portraits about “Them” smashing poor five-year-old Billy Jones from Topeka who flew up to DC to find Harry Reid for “help”; or “Them” denying Herlinda Lopez from Fresno her college dreams, who then wrote a letter pleading to Michelle for assistance; or “Them” absolutely crushing the mother of Bobby Smith for no other reason than sheer greed, who then took the Greyhound to Nancy Pelosi’s office!

2) The Fedopus has far more than eight tentacles: More letters in the mail from more state and federal bureaucracies (both broke, and searching for billions of dollars for millions of workers who need to be paid). The official looking stationary letters will be advising us that there is a new fee, surcharge, rule, regulation, etc. — mostly in the context that we have already in some way violated something. (Expect in such writs to see your name misspelled, your address garbled, one letter canceling out the one of the prior month, and semi-threatening language demanding compliance. [Don’t dare call the government number since the U.S. can’t hire more competent answerers from India]). This last month, to name a few, I got IRS friendly reminders, State Board of Equalization new rules, federal agricultural surveys, county assessment questionnaires, and the Census. All in all, about 12 official letters came, and I expect more this month. (My favorites are all the county, state, and federal agricultural questionnaires that usually have a warning like, “Do not write ‘no change from last year!’”—meaning that, even though your vineyard hasn’t gone anywhere in the last twelve months, you must go through a zillion questions, marking “No” to things like “Do you have a billboard on your property?” or “Do you raise gaming horses?”

3) More cynicism: The more Obama talks about the greedy and selfish in society who “take” from others, the more the public will understand that they are in fact the greedy in these crosshairs. Costly health problems that originate with obesity, smoking, alcoholism, unsafe sex, violence, law-breaking, etc. are really due to lack of scheduled office visits. One missed colonoscopy — not 50 extra pounds or 1000 Big Macs over the years — causes cancer. People always ache due to a dearth of medical advisors and outreach counselors — or the diet and prescription drugs pushed on the victim by the profit-mongering corporation. In other words, the old days of a kindly, but tiny government politely advising us about what not to do have now transmogrified into a brave new world in which there is no individual. Instead, there exists only collective responsibility — a creed that assumes those in rehab or on parole or fighting weight-induced diabetes were victims of a system in which those who did not engage in that sort of behavior were culpable in some way and should pony up. Best of all, the system assumes we are greedy, cruel, and selfish for writing things like the above.

4) Pelosism: In our brave new world, expect more of the lurid stories about the secretary of the Treasury not paying his FICA taxes. The multimillionaire Madame Speaker will spend more of the state’s millions on private jet travel as she lectures on carbon footprints and a culture of corruption. We will hear more about the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee hiding his income, or a member of the House Rules Committee bragging that, given the historic importance of health care, they are just making up the rules as they go along — and proud of it. Our guardian class has become the new French aristocracy at Versailles. They will rail about Citation jets for the CEO, and then fly federally-owned Gulfstreams; they will put us in Smart cars but limo in Yukons and Tahoes on “official business.” Our lifestyles will be as monitored as much as those who do the monitoring will not be at all.

5) Greedy and Not-So-Greedy Capitalists: And there are “bad” and “not so bad” capitalists too. The CEOs for GM are trying to help America out with green designs and fair wages — so unlike those at Ford and Toyota. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are the model execs, quite unlike the yokels who run Caterpillar and whine about health care. George Soros is not really a money speculator that ruins banks, but a transferer of capital to progressive causes. In every statist society, large corporations either resist or join. For the latter, the machinery of government reinvents them as part of the solution rather than the problem — in the way that Al Gore really doesn’t really guzzle electricity, or John Edwards never really lived in a mansion. The transition to a Ministry of Industry requires a Ministry of Truth. With the Obama media we are already half there.

6) The Race/Class/Gender Cult: This federal caring creed trumps all religion. We will hear thousands of homophobic, racist, sexist anecdotes (but not those from a Ruth Ginsberg, or Harry Reid, or Joe Biden) that remind us why the government must enforce diversity set-asides and affirmative actions, and fund new sociological studies proving why group X hates group Y, and why government bureau Z is fighting X on behalf of Y for all our benefit. We are in perpetual war with perpetual ologies and –isms and we need far more Van Joneses to win them!

I understand the reasoning behind Obamism and am familiar with the feel-good, this-is-our-moment rhetoric of egalitarianism. But please at least spare us the fictions and simply be honest: Obama wants a state-run America, somewhere to the left of France or Denmark, a United States unexceptional and merely one of many nations at the UN. This vision follows an existing, decades-long encroachment of government. And it requires all sorts of highly credentialed overseers monitoring and at times justifiably attacking the upper middle class for its deplorable treatment of those below it.

This new America is ultimately predicated on the notion that we were born equal and must die absolutely equal as well. And this is entirely within our grasp, if we just understand that individual responsibility, talent, natural endowment, chance, merit, luck, tragedy, and a dozen other variables far too complex for government to imagine, much less solve, in fact, are not the real obstacles to ensuring equality.

Instead, it is simpler than that: greed, selfishness, racism, sexism, classism, and not niceness on the part of a few really are the culprits. Thank God that a few rare souls like Obama fathom that. And thank God, again, that it will take a singular humanitarian and genius like Obama to make us denser folks see it and do something about it.

That’s about where we are.

Subscript: Do Democrats realize that we really have crossed the Rubicon? In the future when the Republicans gain majorities (and they will), the liberal modus operandi will be the model—bare 51% majorities, reconciliation, the nuclear option, talk of deem and pass, not a single Democrat vote—all ends justifying the means in order to radically restructure vast swaths of American economic and social life. Is someone unhinged at the DNC? They just blew up any shred of bipartisan consensus when their President polls below 50%, the Democratically-controlled Congress below 20%, and health care reform less than 50%. Usually unpopular leaders and their unpopular ideas seek the shelter of minority rights and prerogatives. What will they do when they are in the minority—since they’ve entered the arena, boasted “let the games begin” and shouted “by any means necessary”?

Governor Barbour to add Mississippi to list of states challenging Health Care Bill.

Barbour to AG: File health care suit or I will

The Associated Press

 Mississippi's Republican governor and lieutenant governor are asking the state's Democratic attorney general to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a sweeping federal health care bill.

 The legislation passed Sunday, and President Barack Obama plans to sign it into law Tuesday.

Gov. Haley Barbour said he will file a lawsuit himself if Attorney General Jim Hood does not make a decision by noon Thursday.

"A physician's creed is to 'First, do no harm,"' Barbour, who's head of the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement Monday. "The health care legislation passed Sunday infects the economy with harmful tax increases, strips benefits from senior citizens and robs each citizen of their basic freedom to choose their own health care."

Hood made no commitment Monday, saying only that once the bill is signed, "we will review the law to determine if there are any viable causes of action for the state of Mississippi."

Clarion Ledger

The Mississippi Business Journal also reported on the story saying

Lt. Governor Phil Bryant joined the Governor by sending a letter to Attorney General Jim Hood Monday, asking the Democrat to file a lawsuit on behalf of the state. See the press release and entire letter here.

Bryant says Mississippi should assert its rights under the 10th Amendment, which “protects states from an overbearing federal government.”

Mississippi is not the only state mulling a challenge to the healthcare bill. Washington, Utah and Nebraska are also thinking of suing, according to The Associated Press.

Conservative Voters to Democrats: "We're coming, and hell is coming with us"

The Monday morning quarterbacking is in full stride as politicos look to explain the answers to the "what happens now" questions with Health Care legislation.

Mark Steyn of the National Review is playing the defeatist, but he seems to be in the minority among conservative political analysts. He says, "Dems wouldn't be doing what they're doing. Their bet is that it can't be undone, and that over time, as I've been saying for years now, governmentalized health care not only changes the relationship of the citizen to the state but the very character of the people."

But, does he underestimate the "character of the people"? And does he jump the gun on the "woe is me" talk? Is he wrong that voters will be inundated and then, once again, stop caring?

Yes.

The first thing to understand is that the fight has merely shifted from DC to the states as Attorneys General line up to challenge the constitutionality of the bill's mandate that requires everyone to buy health insurance.

FoxNews.com reports:

Health Care Reform Fight Shifts From Congress to the Courts


Now that the House, in a historic vote, has passed the Senate's health care bill and sent it to the president's desk, state lawmakers and attorneys general already are lining up to challenge its constitutionality and wage an outside-the-Beltway war against it in the courts.


Now that the House, in a historic vote, has passed the Senate's bill and sent it to the president's desk, state lawmakers and attorneys general already are lining up to challenge its constitutionality and wage an outside-the-Beltway war against it in the courts.


Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli was the first to announce Monday that he will file a legal challenge -- as soon as Obama signs the bill.


Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum also plans to announce Monday morning that he and top prosecutors from nine other states are filing a lawsuit to "protect the rights" of the American people from the bill.


While some Republicans have threatened to pursue repealing the legislation down the road, the most immediate challenge will take place in the courts.


At least three dozen state legislatures are considering proposals to challenge the federal legislation. Some are pursuing amendments to their constitutions by ballot question; others are looking to change state law.


Constitutional lawyers have questioned whether such a lawsuit could be successful, since federal law trumps state law. But opponents are looking to get around that by questioning the law's constitutionality.

There are a few other reasons to believe that Sunday's vote was not the Armageddon many thought it would be. The main one being that it has awaken the conservative voters, and ruined the future chances of the Democrats getting much of anything else done. If that is the case, then all this celebratory hoo ha will be much ado about nothing, and Democrats will find that they are celebrating their parties banishment into the wilderness.

Powerline:

"repealing this disaster of a bill will be a rallying cry for the American people for years to come. Moreover, even if the Republicans only take over the House in November, and not the Senate, won't it be possible to throw roadblocks in the way of the bill's implementation? Won't budget appropriations be necessary to sustain the various federal tentacles the bill seeks to establish? What will happen if the House simply refuses to fund them?"

"Barack Obama has used his political capital--pretty much all of it--on unpopular legislation that will continue to rile the voters for years to come. As a result, Obama is a remarkably unpopular second-year President. And he hasn't even experienced any bad luck yet. It is hard to see how he will be able to regain his footing."

Powerline also makes one more "silverlining" observation that I think is good news for conservatives in general and the Republican Party specifically. That is that:

Paul Ryan has emerged as one of the conservative movement's strongest spokesmen. In the years to come, I think we will hear the words "I'm a Paul Ryan Republican" with increasing frequency.

Paul Ryan is simply one of the brightest young minds in the country right now. He understands that conservative principles are more than just talking points. I've been a big fan for over a year now. It's really good to see his star rising.

So, if you like references to bible verses then be ye of good cheer, and worry not. Proverbs 18:2 says "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions." But verse 13 adds, "He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame."

The folly and shame part is yet to come.

 If you're a little more hardcore then try the classic line from Tombstone:

I just can't wait to see!

Pelosi is giddy with excitement last week telling the National Association of Counties why Health Care legislation must pass.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

With Health Care on the brink of passage, Dems will quickly turn to Immigration to take advantage of the momentum.

Reuter's is reporting that anti-abortion Democrats have reached a deal with the White House meaning it is highly likely that they now have the votes needed to pass Health Care legislation.

The White House said on Sunday President Barack Obama would issue an order reaffirming a ban on using federal funds for abortion in a deal with holdout Democrats that could clear the way for passage of a healthcare overhaul.

"We have an agreement," said Representative Bart Stupak, who has led the group of a handful of holdout Democrats. His support could give House of Representative Democrats the 216 votes they need to pass the bill.

Thursday statements by the President indicated Democrat leaders will now shift quickly to another liberal plank and try to use the momentum to pass immigration "reform." The timing comes as 50,000 supporters plan a march on DC Sunday in support of amnesty. DC has been the scene of some ugly protesting over Health Care. Add thousands of immigration amnesty supporters to that mix and it's a recipe for disaster. Legislators may decide to rethink recent funding cuts to Capitol Police after today.

Washington Times report said:

President Obama gave a thumbs up Thursday to the outline of a plan to legalize illegal immigrants and create a flow of low-skilled foreign workers for the future, saying the immigration bill being worked on by a Republican and a Democrat is "promising."

In their broad blueprint, Sens. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, and Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, call for illegal immigrants to be put on a path to citizenship, offer green cards to keep high-skilled foreign university graduates and would create a temporary program for low-skilled workers, with some also getting the chance to become citizens.

The senators also proposed to turn all Social Security cards into tamper-proof IDs to be checked by employers when they are about to hire a worker. The cards would include biometric information designed to prevent counterfeiting -- but the senators said the information would not be stored in a government database.

"I congratulate Senators Schumer and Graham for their leadership, and pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue so we can continue to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform," Mr. Obama said in a statement soon after the two senators published their blueprint in a column submitted to The Washington Post.

The carefully orchestrated rollout came just three days before immigrant-rights advocates expect at least 50,000 supporters to rally and march in Washington, D.C., calling for Congress to act. The organizers of the rally had met with Mr. Obama last week and told him he needed to embrace a bill or else the thousands of marchers would be told that he had failed to live up to his promises on this issue.

"Whip it good!" and a chance to toot my own horn.

Analysts and political pundits are in a frenzy trying to read the current efforts of Democrats and Republicans to whip up votes on Health Care legislation. And, the prevailing sentiment is that it is a toss up.

I said in 2009 it would hinge on abortion. I so seldom get a chance to say "I told you so," so I'll take this opportunity while I have it. It looks like it still comes down to Michigan Representative Stupak and his band of pro-lifers.

House GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor reports in his latest memo that Republicans need to find six other Democrats to vote no in order to defeat the bill. Cantor points to one original yes vote that has switched to no -- Arcuri -- and suggests there might be five others who could switch: Berry, Costa, Giffords, Lynch, and Space.

That leaves the much-discussed Stupak Group. The pro-life Democrat originally said he had 12 colleagues who originally voted yes but would now vote no. Stupak has lost some of those, but it is not clear how many.
Cantor suggests that in combining those two categories -- the yeses who have become no plus the Stupak group -- there might be another 12 votes against the bill. "If we add 12 to 32, we get 44 -- which leaves Speaker Pelosi seven votes short," Cantor concludes.

The Washington Examiner's Byron York writes:

Who is correct? It's clear the Democrats are working around the clock to create a sense of momentum and inevitability about the vote. But the fact is, there are still enough unknowns to say the outcome is entirely in doubt.

But, his colleague and online opinion editor for the same publication David Freddoso writes that Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind. is taking alot of heat at home for announcing he would vote "Yes". Even adding that a vote for Health Reform makes his announced run for Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh's seat "futile."

If Ellsworth is being pushed into voting for this, you can bet that Speaker Pelosi has no votes to spare. But by the same token, you wouldn't be hearing him commit in public if she didn't have the votes.

Votes are scheduled for Sunday afternoon. It will go down to the wire.

Ya'll Politics---U.S. Chamber Thanks Mississippi Rep. Childers for Opposing Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President of Government Affairs R. Bruce Josten issued the following statement thanking Congressman Travis Childers (MS-01) for opposing the current health care legislation which will increase taxes and risk employer-sponsored healthcare:

“We thank Congressman Childers for his opposition to the current health care legislation being rammed through the House of Representatives. Congressman Childers has stood up for the working families and small businesses in his district by saying ‘no’ to this health care bill that would raise their taxes and jeopardize employer-sponsored health coverage. We appreciate Congressman Childers standing with Mississippians, many of which are small businesses and members of the U.S. Chamber, and against a health care bill that would wipe out more jobs, raise costs and put employers and employee’s current health benefits at risk.

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents hundreds of thousands of businesses large and small, has strongly advocated for health care reform and shares the goals of Congress and the Administration to reduce health care costs, while increasing access and quality. From the start of this debate, we have supported comprehensive insurance market reforms and new consumer protections to ensure every American has guaranteed affordable coverage. However, health care reform won't work without comprehensive provisions that will bring costs under control and make health care coverage more affordable. The current legislation before Congress does little to solve the problem of escalating costs for working families and small businesses and includes many provisions that are not consistent with those shared goals.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

Yall Politics

You've heard of the Whirling Dervishes? Well, get ready for the Spinning Democrats!

Regardless of how the Health Care Reform vote goes on Sunday--and it will be a close one--Democrats know they have a hell of a fight on their hands come November. TEA Party activist, along with a push by the leftiest of the lefties to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity this year, means the normal shift back to center for Congressional elections during a year when there will be no presidential election will be more of a jolt. The ground has shifted in ways unseen in decades, and the difference between Dems heavy losses and not-so-heavy losses--notwithstanding upcoming liberal legislative possibilities like Immigration Reform--will hinge on voters remembering today's atmosphere come Election Day in the Fall.

Democrats have already begun preparing for the spin. Joe Voter will be inundated with good news from the stimulus, Health Insurance Reform (if it passes), and a variety of other left leaning legislative accomplishments and potential accomplishments.

Stuart Rothenberg's latest Political Report is on how campaigns are already attempting to change the narrative using polling memos.

Rothenberg writes:

Pollsters say that their surveys present only a “snapshot” of a race at a particular moment. That’s true. But often the snapshot presented in a memo is misleading, and the pollster knows it. Memos include numbers intended to build an argument that seems empirically based but isn’t. They don’t present the whole picture, because the whole picture isn’t in their client’s interest.

Even highly regarded, methodologically legit pollsters tell me to call them up privately if I want to get their real assessment about a race — don’t go by the memo they release. I get this from both Republican and Democratic pollsters, and I have received the same advice for years.

Actually, most pollsters hate to write these kinds of memos, but their clients want them to create a more favorable narrative, so they write them, usually using their words very carefully.

Rothenberg concludes his report:

Polling memos sometimes contain useful nuggets of data, but they often leave out other important data and stress the narrative the campaign wants to create. Don’t take them at face value.

How long is your memory?

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.