No We Are NOT Making This Up!

San Jose City Council During a Break

From MSNBC - San Jose is to become the largest city in the U.S. to ban plastic carry-out bags, according to a report. The city council voted 10-1 to introduce the ban on Jan. 1, 2012, in the hope of encouraging customers to bring their own bags, The San Jose Mercury News said. The newspaper said the ordinance would outlaw disposable plastic bags being given out at checkouts. Paper bags will be available, but only with a charge. San Jose has a population of more than a million people. "This is a great step," Councilman Sam Liccardo told the Mercury News. "It's an opportunity to lead on an important environmental issue." Read full story here:

No We Are NOT Making This Up!

Progressives: Comparing Obama's Afghanistan Strategies to LBJ's Viet Nam Tactcs

Matthew Rothschild

NewsNM note - Still steaming over the fact two years of anti-business socialism has killed all job creation inertia and caused President Obama to revert to pro-growth strategies, the progressives are ripping the White House over its War on Terror tactics in Afghanistan.

From Progressive - When President Obama spoke on Thursday about Afghanistan, it was like being in a Vietnam time warp. “This continues to be a very difficult endeavor. But I can report that thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals.” Flashback to November 1967, when President Johnson had ordered a Pentagon review.

Pentagon on 9-11-01

“The President took control of the campaign to dramatize progress to the American people but in ways that grossly exaggerated future military prospects,” writes Larry Berman in his book, Lyndon Johnson’s War: The Road to Stalemate in Vietnam. Johnson, November 17, 1967: “We are making progress. We are pleased with the results we are getting.” Obama, December 16, 2010: “We are making considerable gains toward our military objectives.” Even when Obama was discussing the “core goal” of those military objectives, he was muddled. He defined that goal not as defeating “every last threat to the security of Afghanistan” but as “disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al Qaeda.” Read full column here:

Progressives: Comparing Obama's Afghanistan Strategies to LBJ's Viet Nam Tactcs

Kudlow: Back to Reaganomics 2.0 (elections matter)

Larry Kudlow

From Townhall.com - On a historic night this past Thursday, a new Tea Party Republican Congress completely transformed U.S. economic policy. Elections matter, and so do their ideas. Smaller government, low taxes, and less spending were key election themes in the Republican landslide. And those themes triumphed this week as a large tax-cut bill finally passed the House and a monstrosity of a spending bill was defeated in the Senate. In one fell swoop, Obamanomics is out the window. Reaganomics 2.0 is now in the driver’s seat. Perhaps the most amazing part of the story was the work of Mitch McConnell and John McCain (among others) to kill the 2,000-page, $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill in the Senate, along with its 6,600 earmarks totaling $8 billion. This budget monster dripped with contempt for voters and taxpayers. But business as usual was overturned. I had an inkling of this when Sen. McCain told me in a CNBC interview earlier that night that, if need be, he would favor a government shutdown over passage of the spending bill. And now, under a short-term continuing resolution, the whole current-services budget baseline can be lowered by anchoring it to 2008 spending. Read full column here:

Kudlow: Back to Reaganomics 2.0 (elections matter)

Lopez: Stay at Home Moms

Kathryn Lopez

From Townhall.com - Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be stay-at-home mommas. That seemed to be the underlying bias from a popular daytime TV show. It's not a new message, but it's one that may be changing. "She almost made it," is how Barbara Walters introduced Rachel Campos-Duffy and her husband, Sean Duffy, a congressman-elect, to the set of ABC's "The View." Campos-Duffy, a former reality-TV cast member and now author and mother of six, had auditioned for, and come close to joining, the women of "The View," years before. Walters went on to ask, "Did you ever think, 'I wish I had a career and I didn't have six kids?'" Without hesitation, Rachel happily responded: "Well, being a mom is the best job in the world." She said this, by the way, while her youngest, 8-month-old Maria Victoria, sat on her lap. Read full column here:

Lopez: Stay at Home Moms

Harbison: It’s Free, It’s from the Federal Government

Jim Harbison

Often we hear local elected officials say “it doesn’t cost us anything because it’s Obama Stimulus money or some other Federal grant. There is no such thing as free government money because governments only have the money they confiscate from their citizens. Our City Council has the impression that the Federal government has free money that enables them to pursue projects without any cost to the local citizens. These are projects that could not fit into the City budget, be approved by bond initiatives or without increases in local taxes. The Council has no objections to projects being “government” funded. Local government officials everywhere have lost sight of the fact that “government funded” means TAXPAYER FUNDED. We should all be cognizant of the remarks of American patriot Patrick Henry who said “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrict the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrict the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests”. Unfortunately, taxes have become an instrument of our government to dominate our lives and interests. As long as local governments fail to recognize that government dollars are actually taken from their constituents our taxes will continue to increase.

We have been so overwhelmed by excessive government spending that we no longer make any connection between government funded programs and our individual tax liabilities. It is easy to accept government funding for a project when both the City Council and the citizens believe it is free. We have become so jaded about receiving (spending) government funds that we developed a “too bad for you, we’ve got ours” attitude without consideration of the tax implications and consequences. Our City Council needs to recognize that their acceptance of “government” money increases the national debt and the tax burden on each of us. This free (taxpayer provided) money is addictive to all local and state governments and they can’t constrain their quest for “someone else” to pay for projects they were unable to include in their budgets.

Because Council members and citizens don’t see these costs directly, they fail to acknowledge the true tax burdens imposed upon them. One of the shortcomings in our current legislative process, at all levels, is that there is very little evidence of the much touted “transparency”. The taxpayers of this nation have no concept of what tax burdens each piece of legislation has placed upon them. Unfortunately, most of our legislators do not know either or do not want to disclose it until their pet legislation has passed. Following Nancy Pelosi’s infamous quote “we have to pass the bill to know what’s in it” is no longer acceptable. Elected officials at all levels should have a fiduciary responsibility to each of us and should know the cost implications of each bill they propose? I would suggest we contact our elected officials at all levels and demand that they be required to calculate and disclose the tax burden on each individual for any proposed project, program or legislation.

 Wouldn’t this be a much better form of transparency? This requirement would have certainly influenced many individuals and groups during the recent health care debates. It would have created a clearer national understanding of the financial (tax) implications and burdens for each component of this massive legislation. It could have reflected the one time implementation taxpayer costs as well as the ongoing long-term or perpetual costs for each individual taxpayer. We need elected officials including Council members who are cognizant of the tax implications of government spending at all levels and who take their fiduciary responsibilities seriously.

Harbison: It’s Free, It’s from the Federal Government

Pearce: "A Better Deal in January"

Steve Pearce

From NMPolitics.net - If this week’s House and Senate votes on the Obama-GOP tax compromise had taken place next month, the entire New Mexico delegation would have opposed the deal. U.S. Rep.-elect Steve Pearce, R-N.M., says he would have voted against the deal if he had the chance. Of course, Pearce’s opposition isn’t for the same reason that the majority of the New Mexico delegation voted against the bill this week.

 “While I agree with portions of this bill, I believe the American people could get a better deal in January,” Pearce said. “I support the tax portions of the plan. No American should experience a tax increase in these troubled economic times.” “However, spending by the Washington politicians continues to build a debt that the American people cannot pay,” he said. “This bill and some of the others moving through the lame-duck Congress are too costly. After I take office in January, this is the kind of spending I hope to rein in so we can focus on getting our economy moving again to create jobs in southern New Mexico.” Read full story here:

Pearce: "A Better Deal in January"

Sowards to Run for U.S. Senate

Greg Sowards

From NMPolitics.net - Former congressional candidate Greg Sowards of Las Cruces announced today that he’s running in 2012 for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jeff Bingaman. Here’s the statement Sowards released about why he’s running: “The most pressing fight of our time involves the question: What will be the national atmosphere that our children’s children will live under? Will they have the liberty to experience and learn from those endearing lessons that freedom affords? Or, will they be deprived of that opportunity through governmental intervention and the squandering of their resources by shortsighted politicians? “It is those questions that compel me to step forward and offer myself, my values and the conservative principles on which I will base any action in Washington.” Read full story here:

Sowards to Run for U.S. Senate

Let the Sun Shine

From Capitol Report New Mexico - Want to know who makes the most money of all the members of Bill Richardson’s staff? (It’s Chief of Staff Brian Condit, $140,492.64) Or how much Advantage Asphalt made in state purchase contracts? ($157,345.36 since September of ‘09) How ’bout how many contracts the state has with the potash industry? (That would be 21, worth $548,207.52) Questions like these — from the significant to the trivial – are now available in a matter of seconds, thanks to the debut of the state’s so-called “sunshine portal,” an invaluable online resource that debuted Dec. 16. Read full story here:

Let the Sun Shine

Compromise Prevails in Midnight House Vote

From the Washington Times - Staving off the largest tax increase in history, lawmakers Friday morning passed President Obama's tax-cut deal with Republicans through the House after fending off a last-minute effort to increase the estate tax beyond what was proposed. The House voted 277-148 to send the plan to Mr. Obama for his signature - all-but ending one of the longest running stalemates on Capitol Hill.

The result followed a long day in which Democrats struggled to overcome the anger of their most liberal members and where both parties griped about the plan's shortcomings, including its impact on the soaring national debt. But enough lawmakers eventually agreed that allowing tax cuts to expire was simply too risky for the economy and would possibly jeopardize the nation's climb out of the recession. "I will vote for this bill because I don't want to see middle-income working people in America get a tax increase because I think that will be a depressant on an economy that needs to be lifted up," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, told his colleagues. "I believe that folks need certainty." Read full story here:

Compromise Prevails in Midnight House Vote

Earmark Laden Ominbus Bill is Dead

From the Atlanta Constitution - Two days after unveiling a 1,924 page earmark-filled Omnibus Budget plan, Democrats last night pulled the plug on the massive budget bill, sparking an hour of bitter exchanges on the Senate floor. What most people probably don't realize is that the Omnibus bill was the product of months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee, all of which had the backing of Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In other words - it was Business As Usual in the Congress. "It was a Democratic and Republican bill," complained Sen. Reid. But after the results of the November elections were in - where a dominant message was that Congress was spending too much money - McConnell pulled a 180 degree turn and declared his opposition to the bill, ultimately bringing other GOP Senators along with him.

"There's only one reason why cloture is not being filed," McConnell said just a few feet away from Reid on the Senate floor last night, "He doesn't have the votes." A number of GOP Senators - "Nine" according to Reid - had been ready to back the bill and overcome any filibuster. But in the past 48 hours, they came under huge pressure from McConnell, other Republicans and conservative groups, and were forced to drop their support. "We just saw a rather extraordinary event on the floor of the Senate," said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who for years fought a lonely, losing battle against leaders in both parties over spending and earmarks. "Huge defeat for the big spenders, and a great victory for the American people," McCain said. Read full story here:

Earmark Laden Ominbus Bill is Dead