GOP Flinches at Budget Cuts? Of Course They Do

Rep. Paul Ryan

In the campaign season for an election that Republican leaders hope will be a referendum on President Obama, a broad plan for spending cuts proposed by the top Republican on the House Budget Committee has injected serious policy heft into the conversation - and given Democrats a target to return fire. Rep. Paul D. Ryan's "Roadmap for America's Future" - which proposes major changes to taxes, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid - has attracted support from some of the GOP's most conservative members, but top leaders have kept their distance. One of them is House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, who this week ducked a question on the specifics of the plan even as he blasted the Obama administration for ballooning spending. Mr. Ryan's plan has gained staying power in the political discussion, though, if for no other reason than the Obama administration and Democratic campaign operatives are intent on making it stick. Read more here:

GOP Flinches at Budget Cuts? Of Course They Do

Progressive Agenda: High Unemployment Is Worth It

Jim Powell

Why is it that one government report after another "unexpectedly" bears more bad news about jobs? Last week, according to Bloomberg, "The number of unemployment claims unexpectedly shot up." Before that, Reuters reported, "Employers unexpectedly cut jobs." This "unexpectedly" bit has been going on for quite a while, suggesting that journalists continue to be surprised that President Obama's progressive agenda has failed to revive private-sector job creation. One might as well say, "Monday unexpectedly will come next week." There's no secret about how to create private-sector jobs. Plenty of experience has shown how to do it, and a great deal has been written about it. The literature on the subject goes back a couple of hundred years, so Mr. Obama can't say he just missed a tweet. The first step is to make private-sector job creation a top priority. That's vital, because the private sector pays all the bills. Government doesn't have any money other than what it extracts from the private sector. Well, Mr. Obama never made the recovery of private-sector job creation a top priority because he was busy pushing his progressive agenda, including a big "stimulus" bill for government employees, government-run health care, more compulsory unionism, carbon taxes and other policies that have a negative impact on private-sector employment. Read more here:

Progressive Agenda: High Unemployment Is Worth It

Faith, Hope, Charity, & Other Political Stuff

Restoring Honor Rally August 28, 2010

The overnight rains soaked the tennis courts and washed away my Saturday morning game. So I started pouring over the news shows from Friday night and early Saturday morning on my DVR. This is a task I normally save for Sunday afternoon. Much to my surprise, the main topic of discussion on both MSNBC and CNN on Friday night was Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor Rally” in Washington D.C. C.N.N.’s John King led with the Beck rally story. King and his main guest Roland Martin could not hide their disdain for Beck. Hints of racist accusations tinged the dialogue.

CNN's John King

For the most part there was eye-rolling and sarcasm steered in Beck’s direction in response to Beck’s claim that the rally would NOT be political in nature. One had to wonder why his detractors couldn’t have at least waited until after the rally to refute Becks’ assertions and show all the visual examples of why his claims were false.

With our handyman back in town, my wife Kristi off to New York, most of the urgent chores done, and no dry courts available, I started looking for coverage of the rally on television. Much to my surprise the hated FOX News Network did not broadcast the rally. It was only on C-SPAN.

Dr. Alveda King

What I saw surprised me. The theme of the rally was Faith, Hope, and Charity. It actually was not a political rally. It was a spiritual rally. Gospel singers with magnificent voices moved the huge throng of people in attendance to sway, clap, and wave. Medals were given to people like baseball player and public servant Albert Pujols and philanthropist Jon Huntsman for their generous contributions to the betterment of others.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s niece, Dr. Alveda King, was one of the final speakers. Dr. King reminded those in attendance and viewers on C-Span that first and foremost, her uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christian man with Christian values.
Finally, it was Beck’s turn. What Beck did not do is tell anyone how to vote or who to vote for. What he did do was remind Americans that the poorest among us are far better off than the average human being living outside our borders. He also reminded attendees and viewers of where our place in the great scheme of things is. The Beck message was one of restoring honor on a personal level first. It was also a reminder that the best two places to look for help in times of trouble was above to almighty God and inward to the vast personal energy and resources God has given us. He pointed to the giants in American history, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and King and cited them as proof that one person can make a difference.

Glenn Beck

At the end of the rally Beck brought several hundred members of the clergy up on the stage with him. There were men and women from all faiths including Islam. He closed the rally by saying that while the people on the stage could not and would not agree on everything, everyone who stood with him did agree that ultimate faith in God was the one value they all shared. And it was perhaps in his closing remarks that the greatest sin Beck has yet committed was done in the eyes of his many detractors. Nowhere in the entire faith-based rally was the “worship” of the institution of “big government” ever mentioned.

Faith, Hope, Charity, & Other Political Stuff

War in Mexico: The Need for Law Enforcement Flexibility

From the El Paso Times - When shooting started in Juárez across from the University of Texas at El Paso last week, all it took was one call to shut down Paisano Drive. City, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies have the unique ability to communicate with each other during a crisis along the border. They have radios that allow them to patch into a special channel used by all the agencies to collaborate and respond directly to emergencies. That channel helped U.S. authorities react quickly when a gunbattle between Mexican federal police and criminals erupted near the border Aug. 21.

Border Patrol agents and police worked together to shut down a U.S. highway next to the area. The agents alerted police of the danger through a dispatch operator, who explained that gunfire had broken out in a Northwest Juárez neighborhood, directly across from UTEP and the Sunset Heights neighborhood in El Paso.

The agents rushed to Paisano Drive and blocked the road with their vehicles. About five minutes later, police joined them. Police roped off the area with red tape, redirected traffic and used their public-address system to warn onlookers of potential danger.

"If they can see you, then they can shoot you," police warned. Read more here:

War in Mexico: The Need for Law Enforcement Flexibility