Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Cost of Romney's Mass. Health-care Plan Skyrocketing
According to recent reports, the cost of Massachusetts' health insurance mandate will rise 85 percent, or $400 million, in 2009. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), meanwhile, has been on the presidential campaign trail praising the program he put into place.According to The Boston Globe, the cost increase is largely due to an increase in the number of people signing up for state-subsidized health insurance. State and federal taxpayers are likely to shoulder the cost increase.
"Essentially, the people who signed up under the mandate were the people who were getting subsidies," said Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.
Carmen Balber, a consumer advocate at Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, added, "What we've seen happen in Massachusetts is that lots of people are signing up for subsidized care," although "just 7 to 8 percent of the people who have newly signed up for health insurance have enrolled in a program they must pay full price for."
Tanner told Cybercast News Service that the state will likely need to raise taxes to cover the additional costs.
Romney, however, has been campaigning on the health insurance plan as a success.
"We put in place a plan that gets every citizen in our state health insurance, and it didn't cost us new money," he said during the Republican debate in New Hampshire on Jan. 5. "It didn't require us to raise taxes."
Mitt Romney likes to brag that he got universal coverage in Massachusetts without a tax increase," said Tanner. "I don't think that's going to be true for long."
Click here for full story...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
The Truth About The Economic Stimulus Package
What a way to buy votes.With the threat of a recession looming in the near future, President Bush and Congress agreed to an economic stimulus package of "tax rebates" for lower to middle class households.
People eligible would get anywhere from $300-$1200 in the hope that they will spend the money and restore the lost momentum in the U.S. economy.
The $150 billion package would also give businesses $50 billion in tax incentives.
The normally super-slow federal government displayed tremendous speed in developing this package, which proves that when it comes to buying votes, both parties can spend recklessly and without regard for sound economic principles.
Many of the recipients do not pay taxes, so to call it a "tax rebate" is foolish. It is really a welfare check.
No word yet on where the money for this package comes from.
It would have been better to just tell everyone that does pay taxes to deduct the allotted rebate from their next payment to the IRS, but that wouldn't buy as many votes for either party.
Better yet, the best way to stimulate the economy would be to pass H.R. 25, also known as the FairTax. The FairTax would unleash the economic power of individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.
With the FairTax, every person with a job or business pays no income tax, so they get a full paycheck instead of having deductions taken from their pay and sent to the government agencies like the IRS and Social Security Administration.
The income tax is then replaced with a national sales tax of about 23%, which replaces the embedded taxes that are found in every product or service.
The result is that the prices of products and services remains virtually unchanged while reducing the size of government, getting the IRS out of our lives, and giving the poorest of Americans a real economic boost.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Do we need another Reagan?
The folly of the Republican establishment in looking for a Ronald Reagan clone borders on cultism.Reagan was a fine man who led the conservative movement to prominence, not a Reagan movement.
But the Republican establishment and elitists have determined that the only way for the conservative movement to make progress is to have a Reagan clone as the presidential nominee.
Would we want a Reagan clone today? No way!
Reagan turned tail and ran when the terrorists struck in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, killing 241 American soldiers. His lack of backbone in this situation became the default policy on terrorism until we were struck on 9/11.
In 1986, Reagan signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act, also known as Simpson-Mizzoli. This law gave amnesty to millions of illegal aliens and laid the groundwork for the invasion of our country by millions more that has happened since.
Reagan was great at battling liberalism and Communism, but his national security policies made America a soft target, and we are paying a heavy price for that today.
The Reagan purists of today slam Mike Huckabee because he's not Reaganesque. I say that's fine with me.
We need a conservative leader who can bring solutions for the problems we face in 2008, not 1980.
That leader is Mike Huckabee.
ConservativeKids.net
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Florida teen's story touched Huckabee
from the Union Leader
Connie and Sarah Davis are with the bandwagon.
In town for a whirlwind weekend with their candidate of choice, the mother-daughter duo from Ormond Beach, Fla., found themselves screaming like a pair of political primary groupies Friday, watching as Republican Mike Huckabee rocked the campaign trail in Henniker.
"It was really cool," said Connie Davis. "I think they were playing 'Freebird,' or some Journey song. Anyway, at the end, Governor Huckabee was playing with the band and people were rushing the stage, and he looked over at us and nodded. He thanked us for coming."
Then the two tourists were whisked backstage to hang out with Huckabee and his roundhouse of roadies - most notably Chuck Norris and his wife, Gena.
"Oh, and a crew from 'Nightline' was interviewing him, too," said Davis, a conservative Christian who home-schools her four kids, including the oldest, 15-year-old Sarah.
She said their journey to New Hampshire for this pivotal moment in political history was an unexpected blessing.
"Sarah has been taking a government class this year and she has become more and more passionate about Huckabee," said Davis.
So much so, that the teen asked family members to contribute to Huckabee's campaign as her Christmas gift this year - a small request that triggered an unexpected chain of events
read the rest of the story...
Monday, January 14, 2008
Why They Serve: Maj. Carter's Story
Army Maj. Lisa L. Carter, a two-time Iraq veteran, wants to share her life’s success story with the American public.
Carter recalled her days as a single mother working at a post office in Atlanta while caring for her 2-year-old daughter a few years after her 1984 graduation from Fulton High School there.
“I met a lot of retired military personnel” at the post office, Carter said, noting the veterans encouraged her to join the Army Reserve as a way to improve her life.
Today, Carter is an active-duty Army officer. She also is among 12 servicemembers participating in the sixth quarterly iteration of the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public-outreach program. Carter will tell her story to community, business and veterans group audiences, and at other gatherings.
Carter said she enjoys her career as an Army officer and wants the public to know military people have the same dreams and aspirations as their civilian counterparts. “We are human beings just as they are,” Carter observed.
And although wartime deployments may be hard on servicemembers’ personal lives, military members remain dedicated to their pledge to defend the nation, she said.
“It is stressful to be deployed. It is stressful to be away from your family. But servicemembers know that this is their job and responsibility -- to serve,” Carter said.
Following the advice of her post office co-workers, Carter enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1987 as an administrative specialist. During her initial training at Fort Jackson, S.C., she said, she experienced a revelation that jolted her mind.
“I saw a black female officer,” Carter recalled. “I looked at her and thought: ‘If she can do it, surely I can do it.’”
Then and there, Carter set a personal goal to obtain a college degree and a commission. In 1996, she graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and earned an Army lieutenant’s gold bars through the school’s ROTC program.
read the rest of her story on conservativekids.net
|
“I met a lot of retired military personnel” at the post office, Carter said, noting the veterans encouraged her to join the Army Reserve as a way to improve her life.
Today, Carter is an active-duty Army officer. She also is among 12 servicemembers participating in the sixth quarterly iteration of the Defense Department’s “Why We Serve” public-outreach program. Carter will tell her story to community, business and veterans group audiences, and at other gatherings.
Carter said she enjoys her career as an Army officer and wants the public to know military people have the same dreams and aspirations as their civilian counterparts. “We are human beings just as they are,” Carter observed.
And although wartime deployments may be hard on servicemembers’ personal lives, military members remain dedicated to their pledge to defend the nation, she said.
“It is stressful to be deployed. It is stressful to be away from your family. But servicemembers know that this is their job and responsibility -- to serve,” Carter said.
Following the advice of her post office co-workers, Carter enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1987 as an administrative specialist. During her initial training at Fort Jackson, S.C., she said, she experienced a revelation that jolted her mind.
“I saw a black female officer,” Carter recalled. “I looked at her and thought: ‘If she can do it, surely I can do it.’”
Then and there, Carter set a personal goal to obtain a college degree and a commission. In 1996, she graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and earned an Army lieutenant’s gold bars through the school’s ROTC program.
read the rest of her story on conservativekids.net
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Truth About Income Taxes
One thing you will constantly hear from liberals is that the rich people in America don't pay their fair share of income taxes while the middle class and "working poor" shoulder a larger share of the tax burden in our country.
In the 2008 presidential race, the Democrats are promising to repeal the "Bush tax cuts for the rich". What they are referring to are the cuts in the rate of income taxes that occurred during President Bush's first administration, which appeared to reduce the amount of tax paid by the richest Americans.
But how much do the richest of Americans pay in taxes compared to the average person? Are the liberals and Democrats right, or are they using class envy to gain political power?
The truth is that the richest 1% of Americans pay more than 39.38% of the total income taxes, even though they only earn 18% of the income. Since President Bush took office, the top 1% of earners have gone from paying 37.42% to 39.38%, carrying more of the tax burden than ever.
In fact, the top 50% of income earners actually pay 96.93% of the total income tax burden in our country. (Click here to see the charts from the IRS)
That means that the bottom 50% pay only 3.7% of the total income tax burden.
Since the poor pay no income taxes*, why do liberals lie about it to the people?
First of all, they know that it's human nature for people who have less to be jealous of those who have more. Whether it's a nicer skateboard or a bigger house or a new car, children and adults usually want bigger or better things and can become jealous of people who have those bigger and better things.
The same thing happens with money. People with less money are often jealous of people with more money. Because they make less money, they feel that people who they consider rich should pay more money than them in taxes.
After all, if the rich have so much money, they can afford to give more of it to the government, right?
This kind of taxation, where the more you earn, the higher percentage you pay in taxes, is called progressive taxation. Progressive taxation is one of the foundations of communism, socialism and Marxism.
Unfortunately, our American economic system has been infected with this kind of Marxism: progressive taxation, the welfare system, food stamp programs, Social Security and Medicare; and now the liberals are proposing some form of universal health care, which is socialized medicine.
People who are successful through hard work and smart money management are punished by having more of their money confiscated by the government (taxes), while those who don't work and don't achieve are rewarded with government freebies at the expense of those who do.
The true power of government is it's ability to take people's money away from them and give it to someone who will vote for them. Liberals use this power to buy the votes of the poor, who are essentially voting themselves government benefits when they put liberals and Democrats in public office.
Only by educating the public and using the power of the vote can we reverse this trend.
First, people need to learn that by hard work, smart money management, and better education, they can achieve financial success without the help of government.
Next, we need to make sure that conservative political candidates who understand and promote the free market, individual liberty and responsibility, and smaller, less intrusive government get our support and votes.
* Even though the poorest people may have income tax deductions from their paychecks during the year, the Earned Income Credit and other credits gives them that money and more back during tax season, which amounts to welfare.
If you liked this article, there are more like it on conservativekids.net
In the 2008 presidential race, the Democrats are promising to repeal the "Bush tax cuts for the rich". What they are referring to are the cuts in the rate of income taxes that occurred during President Bush's first administration, which appeared to reduce the amount of tax paid by the richest Americans.
| Income taxes are taxes that individuals pay to the government based on the money (income) that they earn, whether from a job or from the profits of their business. It may also include income from pensions, social security, interest earned on investments, and other income sources. |
But how much do the richest of Americans pay in taxes compared to the average person? Are the liberals and Democrats right, or are they using class envy to gain political power?
The truth is that the richest 1% of Americans pay more than 39.38% of the total income taxes, even though they only earn 18% of the income. Since President Bush took office, the top 1% of earners have gone from paying 37.42% to 39.38%, carrying more of the tax burden than ever.
In fact, the top 50% of income earners actually pay 96.93% of the total income tax burden in our country. (Click here to see the charts from the IRS)
That means that the bottom 50% pay only 3.7% of the total income tax burden.
Since the poor pay no income taxes*, why do liberals lie about it to the people?
First of all, they know that it's human nature for people who have less to be jealous of those who have more. Whether it's a nicer skateboard or a bigger house or a new car, children and adults usually want bigger or better things and can become jealous of people who have those bigger and better things.
The same thing happens with money. People with less money are often jealous of people with more money. Because they make less money, they feel that people who they consider rich should pay more money than them in taxes.
After all, if the rich have so much money, they can afford to give more of it to the government, right?
This kind of taxation, where the more you earn, the higher percentage you pay in taxes, is called progressive taxation. Progressive taxation is one of the foundations of communism, socialism and Marxism.
Unfortunately, our American economic system has been infected with this kind of Marxism: progressive taxation, the welfare system, food stamp programs, Social Security and Medicare; and now the liberals are proposing some form of universal health care, which is socialized medicine.
People who are successful through hard work and smart money management are punished by having more of their money confiscated by the government (taxes), while those who don't work and don't achieve are rewarded with government freebies at the expense of those who do.
The true power of government is it's ability to take people's money away from them and give it to someone who will vote for them. Liberals use this power to buy the votes of the poor, who are essentially voting themselves government benefits when they put liberals and Democrats in public office.
Only by educating the public and using the power of the vote can we reverse this trend.
First, people need to learn that by hard work, smart money management, and better education, they can achieve financial success without the help of government.
Next, we need to make sure that conservative political candidates who understand and promote the free market, individual liberty and responsibility, and smaller, less intrusive government get our support and votes.
* Even though the poorest people may have income tax deductions from their paychecks during the year, the Earned Income Credit and other credits gives them that money and more back during tax season, which amounts to welfare.
If you liked this article, there are more like it on conservativekids.net
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
SWAT Team Invades Home, Seizes Boy for Medical Treatment
Comment: The story below is a good example of what happens when government violates it's constitutional limits. In most states, child welfare agencies have authority that is unconstitutional. Child welfare agencies do not have to meet the constitutional requirements of "probable cause" and are allowed to violate the "unreasonable searches and seizures" clause of the 4th Amendment. You'll also notice that the father of the family is described as a "self-proclaimed constitutionalist" by the Sheriff, as if that's a bad thing.
original story on World Net Daily
Nearly a dozen members of a police SWAT team in western Colorado punched a hole in the front door and invaded a family's home with guns drawn, demanding that an 11-year-old boy who had had an accidental fall accompany them to the hospital, on the order of Garfield County Magistrate Lain Leoniak.
The boy's parents and siblings were thrown to the floor at gunpoint and the parents were handcuffed in the weekend assault, and the boy's father told WND it was all because a paramedic was upset the family preferred to care for their son themselves.
Someone, apparently the unidentified paramedic, called police, the sheriff's office and social services, eventually providing Leoniak with a report that generated the magistrate's court order to the sheriff's office for the SWAT team assault on the family's home in a mobile home development outside of Glenwood Springs, the father, Tom Shiflett, told WND.
WND calls and e-mails to Garfield County Social Services were not returned, and Leoniak, who earlier served as a water court clerk/referee, also was not available.
Sheriff Lou Vallario, however, did call back, and told WND he ordered his officers to do exactly what the magistrate demanded.
"I was given a court order by the magistrate to seize the child, and arrange for medical evaluation, and that's what we did," he said.
According to friends of the family, Tom Shiflett, who has 10 children including six still at home, and served with paramedics in Vietnam, was monitoring his son's condition himself.
The paramedic and magistrate, however, ruled that that wasn't adequate, and dispatched the officers to take the boy, John, to a hospital, where a doctor evaluated him and released him immediately.
read the rest of the story here...
original story on World Net Daily
Nearly a dozen members of a police SWAT team in western Colorado punched a hole in the front door and invaded a family's home with guns drawn, demanding that an 11-year-old boy who had had an accidental fall accompany them to the hospital, on the order of Garfield County Magistrate Lain Leoniak.
The boy's parents and siblings were thrown to the floor at gunpoint and the parents were handcuffed in the weekend assault, and the boy's father told WND it was all because a paramedic was upset the family preferred to care for their son themselves.
Someone, apparently the unidentified paramedic, called police, the sheriff's office and social services, eventually providing Leoniak with a report that generated the magistrate's court order to the sheriff's office for the SWAT team assault on the family's home in a mobile home development outside of Glenwood Springs, the father, Tom Shiflett, told WND.
WND calls and e-mails to Garfield County Social Services were not returned, and Leoniak, who earlier served as a water court clerk/referee, also was not available.
Sheriff Lou Vallario, however, did call back, and told WND he ordered his officers to do exactly what the magistrate demanded.
"I was given a court order by the magistrate to seize the child, and arrange for medical evaluation, and that's what we did," he said.
According to friends of the family, Tom Shiflett, who has 10 children including six still at home, and served with paramedics in Vietnam, was monitoring his son's condition himself.
The paramedic and magistrate, however, ruled that that wasn't adequate, and dispatched the officers to take the boy, John, to a hospital, where a doctor evaluated him and released him immediately.
read the rest of the story here...
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Iraqi Soldier Deliberately Kills Two American Soldiers
An Iraqi soldier has shot and killed two American soldiers and wounded three others, it has emerged.The two American soldiers are pictured to the left, Captian Rowdy Inman to the far left, and Sergeant Bejamin Portell to the right.
The incident - thought to be the first of its kind since the US-led invasion of 2003 - happened on Dec 26 but details have only just been disclosed by US and Iraqi military officials.
The soldier was out on a joint US and Iraqi patrol in the northern city of Mosul when he opened fire. A civilian interpreter was also wounded in the attack.
The US military said it was not clear why the soldier had shot members of his own patrol.
But one Iraqi general said the soldier was "an insurgent infiltrator" with links to Sunni militant groups.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Record Snows Hit U.S.
To see how much you know about global warming, take the Global Warming TestAll across the northern United States, cities and states are reporting record snowfall.
Cities reporting record or near-record snowfall are: Detroit, Michigan; Aspen, CO; Boston, Mass; Oshkosh,Wisconsin; Laconia, NH; Rochester, NY; Salem, Mass; and Madison, Wisconsin.
The northern chill is even reaching into Florida, where the overnight low in sunny Daytona Beach is expected to be 30ºF.
Although this is all anecdotal evidence, it very clear that weather records (whether for record low temps or high temps, snowfalls, drought, or rain) are made to be broken.
Anecdotal evidence is not scientific. It's very small amounts of information based on what the observer can gain through their senses of sight, sound, feel, etc. Because our bodies and viewpoints can change minute by minute, anecdotal evidence like this is not reliable for coming to valid conclusions.
Just as being in the middle of a record snowfall does not mean there is no global warming, being in the middle of a drought or heat wave does not mean that global warming is occurring.
What's needed is reliable scientific data without any political or social biases. This is sorely lacking in the global warming debate today.
To see how much you know about global warming, take the Global Warming Test
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