Presidential Actions, Week 1
I’m going to keep saying this so that I remember; “Obama is my President.” It’s important to remember we are called to be good citizens.
But that doesn’t mean we check our beliefs and feelings at the door and blindly follow our new Dear Leader. In one week -
He reestablished federal funding for overseas abortions. Why in the heck are we paying for that, anyway? Are we trying to control the population of future enemies? Is our top priority in economic uncertainty to abort unborn children of foreigners?
He reestablished embryonic stem cell research. Might as well start planning ahead for harvesting fetuses if we need unborn children for medical purposes.
He stopped military tribunals in Guantanamo and ordered the facility closed in a year. Nobody knows what to do with the 250+ terrorists held there. Send them to other countries? They end up back on the battlefield. Bring them to US soil? A writ of “habeas corpus” will have them released as they have not been charged with violating US criminal law.
He’s urging nearly a trillion dollars of spending to stimulate the economy. Who gets this money? Some of it goes to taxpayers. Where did they get this money? Er, taxpayers. And there are some hideous things in the bill, like spending on contraceptives, polishing tombstones, educating Americans about the benefits of government-sponsored healthcare. How in the heck will that stimulate the economy?
Obama’s bipartisan approach so far seems to consist of, “I won.”
Go help us all.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Bailouts and Earmarks
As we all know by now, Congress failed to pass the Bailout Bill on Monday for $700 billion (a number, apparently, the US Treasury just made up). If they pass it, they saddle taxpayers with the debt and socialize the banking system. If they don’t pass it, they tell us civilization will end as we know it and we enter the Next Great Depression.
Are those the only two options? Great Depression versus Socialism?
So what was wrong with version of the bailout that didn’t pass? Tonight, Congress will attempt to pass a revised version, so let’s see what they added (via)-
New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill
- Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)Tax earmark “extenders†in the bailout bill.
- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)
Ah. Obviously, Socialized Banking will be much more palatable if we buy more Puerto Rican rum. American Samoans and Indian Tribes who will be receiving earmarks will be happy to know that Puerto Rican rum will be cheaper. And Nascar, while they didn’t get beer subsidies, got some help with auto racing tracks.
I think, though, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that there are now earmarks for wooden arrows designed for use by children. I assume that the children from Indian tribes will be provided with wooden arrows and Puerto Rican rum, then told to drive around a race track and shoot each other while drunk. There’s money in there, too, for Film and Television to make it into a movie.
That alone justifies eliminating capitalism and socializing the western banking world. The bill should pass now.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=fb22daaa-aa94-44bd-bd5a-b6b0bc4bffb7)
Killing Immigration Reform
It’s almost dead. Let’s hope it keeps dying.
The immigration “reform” bill which basically opens the door to a flood of illegal immigration is hitting some roadblocks. If it passes, US taxpayers will essentially be footing the healthcare and school bill for anybody that can get into the US by any means, and strip the ability to enforce US sovereignty.
Most of the details I care not one whit about. Before any solutions is presented, though, border control must be addresses. Then we can decide what to do with those already here. Legalizing all those here without an effective border control simply encourages more to come illegally.
Look at one of the goofier amendments defeated on -
The Senate voted 51-46 to reject a proposal by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to bar criminals – including those ordered by judges to be deported – from gaining legal status. Democrats siphoned support from Cornyn’s proposal by winning adoption, 66-32, of a rival version that would bar a more limited set of criminals, including certain gang members and sex offenders, from gaining legalization.
How many criminal illegal immigrants (by definition, criminal already since they’re already here illegally) do we want to gain legal status? I’m pretty sure the answer for me is -zero-.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )A Win for Texas Taxpayers
Goodness. I never thought I’d see taxpayers win this one.
One of my biggest complaints about promoting a cap on home appraisals was about my opposition, like the Texas Association of Counties or the Texas Municipal League. They use *my* tax dollars to keep *my* taxes high. It was absolutely unfair.
A judge this week saw it the same way. It’s illegal to use tax dollars to lobby the state legislature.
A Williamson County judge has ruled that the Texas Association of Counties cannot organize lobbying campaigns funded by taxpayer dollars.
The decision, handed down by state District Judge Ken Anderson was the result of a lawsuit filed against Williamson County and the association by three members of the Americans for Prosperity of Texas. The suit claims that state law prohibits counties from using tax revenue to join organizations that lobby the Legislature.
Peggy Venable, the Texas director of Americans for Prosperity said “This is an enormous victory for taxpayersâ€. “The judge read the law like we did, and (the association) was in flagrant violation of that law over a long period of time.â€
Goodness. Taxpayers win one? What a nice change.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Danger Train Hotel
Why is Houston Metro using our tax dollars to build hotels?
If they’ve run out of transportation projects, shouldn’t we taxpayers get our money back instead?
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Appraisal Cap Progress, HB 1984
Dwayne Bohac, Texas state representative and Appraisalcap.com supporter is making progress in capping appraisals. He introduced Texas House Bill HB 1984 that will show each homeowner how their property taxes have risen in the last 5 years. It’s the first step to making this “taxation creep” apparent to taxpayers.
It’s a good first step. By this time next year, expect homeowners across the state to be pitching a fit when they get their notices.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 2 so far )Tax-n-Spend Defeated by CLOUT
Heh. The election this weekend in Friendswood is over. Mayor Kim Brizendine endorsed his wife Kitten Brizendine and Lonnie Moffit. They were soundly defeated by nobodies John LeCour and Chris Peden, who entered the race solely on the appraisal cap issue. The nobodies, endorsed by C.L.O.U.T., handily won by a 2:1 margin. Trounced the tax-n-spenders, they did.
Details are at Lonestartimes.com. The funny thing is the losers are blaming their losses on “dirty politics.” Listen up, losers: you lost because your taxpayers want lower taxes and you want higher taxes. That’s it. Period. The end.
Fred Hill, District 112, is up for election in November 2006. After that, he’ll be looking for a new job.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Texas Senate Squeezes More Turnips
Fresh off killing any kind of appraisal cap reform, the Texas state senate is going to raise sales tax to offset any temporary cut in the property tax.
If you haven’t been paying attention to this blatant ripoff of Texas taxpayers with the help of the 36 Texas R.I.N.O.s led by Fred Hill, the Senate is about to cut property taxes, use that as an excuse to raise sales taxes, and then appraisal cap creep will return property taxes back to current levels within 2-3 years.
And we’ll all be paying higher taxes.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Stealth Tax
The Houston Chronicle did a terrible job discussing the appraisal cap issue which came up on the Texas Senate floor yesterday:
Cities and counties would be the hardest hit by a lower appraisal cap because it would hamper their ability to raise revenues to pay for local services.
This is absolutely false. Revenue can go up automatically by 10% a year under the current system. That’s a 10% tax increase every year. Wouldn’t you like a 10% raise every year? I know I would.
Revenue wouldn’t be cut one bit; raises would be limited to 3% a year instead of 10%. If cities and counties need additional revenue, then they can change the tax rate instead and raise taxes. Cities and counties don’t like this method because then the citizens would see that their elected representatives are raising taxes. The cities and counties like this hidden, behind the scenes sneaky tax increase instead.
Palo Pinto County Judge Mickey West, president of the Texas Association of Counties, said reducing the appraisal cap would force local governments to tap into their cash reserves to make up for lost revenues. He said that would cause bond ratings to be downgraded, costing taxpayers more money in the long run.
Ha. There’s a lifetime government official for you. Let me rephrase what he said: “We raise taxes every year and the citizens haven’t caught on yet. We’re going to get the money out of the taxpayers, anyway, so just let us continue to be sneaky about it.
Ron Cox, city manager of Friendswood, said a 5 percent appraisal cap would cost the city $640,000 a year in lost revenue. “That represents our street maintenance budget,” Cox said.
I’d be furious if I lived in friendswood and the city manager, paid by my tax dollars, was campaigning against me. This $640,000 figure is bogus – remember, lowering the appraisal cap does not cost Friendswood one thin dime. It just means that instead of getting a $640,000 raise next year off of the taxpayers back, they’ll only get a $192,000 raise. It’s still a raise!
This Texas Municipal League irks me. They ought to be illegal. They’re paid for by my tax dollars to campaign for raising my taxes
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )« Previous Entries
