Revealing Politics http://revealingpolitics.com Tue, 21 May 2013 15:33:20 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Liberals Lash Out At Conservatives During Oklahoma Tornado http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/05/liberals-lash-out-at-conservatives-during-oklahoma-tornado/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/05/liberals-lash-out-at-conservatives-during-oklahoma-tornado/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 15:31:37 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=2118 The massive tornado that ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday has left over 200 injured and 51 people dead, including 20 children.  While emergency crews and volunteers worked through the night to search for more survivors, many took to Twitter to get the latest updates on the enormous disaster as the events [...]

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]]> The massive tornado that ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday has left over 200 injured and 51 people dead, including 20 children.  While emergency crews and volunteers worked through the night to search for more survivors, many took to Twitter to get the latest updates on the enormous disaster as the events unfolded.  Unfortunately, while Twitter is known for it’s raw, user-generated news coverage, it is also home to those who will use any excuse to disparage their political foes.  Monday evening was no exception, with liberals using the tragedy to attack conservatives for a wide variety of perceived offenses.  Language warning.

One of the first to attack conservatives, Daily Show Co-Creator Lizz Winstead tweeted:

After receiving backlash for her complete lack of sensitivity, Winstead apologized and deleted the offensive tweet.  That didn’t stop others from joining in though.  Kurt Eichenwald, Contributing editor at Vanity Fair, argued with anyone that partake about the GOP response to Hurricane Sandy which devastated the East Coast last year.

And again, I ask the question: Will tea partiers call for offsets to pay for relief to tornado states? Or do they now understand tragedy?

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) May 20, 2013

Never mind that Democrats in Congress used proposed Hurricane Sandy relief to loot as much money as they could for their pet projects, the lesson that should have been learned in the aftermath of that tragedy was lost on Eichenwald and many others on Twitter.

The Huffington Post even got in on the act:

There were also the inevitable climate-change tweeters:

Perhaps the worst liberal responses on Twitter were those that didn’t even try to pretend the tornado had anything to do with their hate.

As Twitter is representative of at least some of the national dialogue, for better or worse, we can expect more vitriol to continue as Oklahoma begins the long recovery from the tornado.  However in times that try the spirit, Americans have a long history of embracing those in need.  So while some focused on hate, many others got to work with donations to help.

To make a donation to the disaster relief for Oklahoma, check out the following -

American Red Cross

The Salvation Army

Mercury One

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/05/liberals-lash-out-at-conservatives-during-oklahoma-tornado/feed/ 0 Legislating Gun Mags Without Knowing How They Work http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/04/legislating-mags-without-knowing-how-they-work/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/04/legislating-mags-without-knowing-how-they-work/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:00:23 +0000 Kelly Maher http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1979 A public meeting of the Denver Post Editorial Board exposed the deep ignorance of Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), the prime Co-Sponsor of a federal bill to ban “high” capacity magazines, on the very issue she’s attempting to legislate. During the meeting Rep. DeGette offered some comments about her bill: (29:13) . . . I’m the [...]

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]]> A public meeting of the Denver Post Editorial Board exposed the deep ignorance of Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), the prime Co-Sponsor of a federal bill to ban “high” capacity magazines, on the very issue she’s attempting to legislate. During the meeting Rep. DeGette offered some comments about her bill:

(29:13) . . . I’m the Prime House Co-Sponsor on the ban on the high capacity magazines and I believe that as this bill works through it has an excellent chance of passing. Like the background checks, the magazine ban has a very solid national support around the country and it only makes sense. For most purposes having these, these magazine clips that have, that have more than 15 rounds in them, there’s really no purpose for those except for shooting targets or shooting people.”

DeGette, while answering a question posed by Denver Post editorial board member  Alicia Caldwell about the effectiveness of such a ban said:

(31:22) “To your last question: ‘What’s the efficacy of banning these magazine clips?’ I will tell you, these are ammunition, they’re bullets, so the people who have those now, they’re going to shoot them. So if you ban, if you ban them in the future, the number of these high capacity magazines is going to decrease dramatically over time because the bullets will be shot and there won’t be any more available.”

DeGette demonstrated her lack of knowledge as to what a magazine (not a clip) actually is: a reloadable container that houses ammunition, and can be used and reused. Her bill doesn’t ban the ammunition that is loaded into a magazine, and therefore her misconception that once high capacity magazines are shot they will “decrease dramatically” exposes the complete lack of understanding of the very thing she is trying to legislate.

 

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/04/legislating-mags-without-knowing-how-they-work/feed/ 0 Teachers Unions Manipulate Instead of Educate http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/teachers-unions-manipulate-instead-of-educate/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/teachers-unions-manipulate-instead-of-educate/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:36:45 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1969 As a parent, I look forward to parent-teacher conferences.  Even if the news is bad, and sometimes it is, it’s better than the information I’m getting at home. The daily school conversation with my children usually goes like this – “How was school, what did you do today?” I ask.  “It was fine, I’m hungry,” [...]

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]]> As a parent, I look forward to parent-teacher conferences.  Even if the news is bad, and sometimes it is, it’s better than the information I’m getting at home. The daily school conversation with my children usually goes like this – “How was school, what did you do today?” I ask.  “It was fine, I’m hungry,” is usually the response.  My children are typical, from what I understand, in that the only thing they will open up about are social issues; and even telling me about their social lives will sadly, most likely end during middle school. It’s difficult for me to assess their educational progress and help in areas needed until I meet with the teacher.  My children’s teachers and I work as a team, towards a common goal, which is how it should be in the public education system. Unfortunately, my situation isn’t the norm in many areas of the country.  In Chicago, for instance, the teachers’ goals appear to be focused more on self than students. If the teacher’s union strike late last year didn’t make that clear enough, union president Karen Lewis recently drove home the point as to where Chicago teachers’ loyalties lie.

During her keynote at the New York Collective of Radical Educators annual conference, Lewis relayed her history of lying to parents and purposefully frustrating the school principal to, “take ‘em out.”  Said Lewis:

I used to just love parent conferences because I would just lie to the parents. ‘He’s wonderful.’  And the parents would look at me like, ‘Are you talking about my kid?’  And the kid would sit there like, ‘When is she gunna blow the whistle on me?’  Now I have a hostage.  Guess who I never had any trouble out of ever again?  My hostage.

Lewis then continued to council teachers on what they could do if an issue wasn’t in their contract:

Do you have an insane principal? Anybody have an insane principal? Take ‘em out.  What that means is remove them, by the way, Fox News… How do you do that?  You organize to make their lives so miserable.

Lewis clearly believes that education is a responsibility of the state. Partnering with parents to help students succeed doesn’t even appear to be a consideration.  To sum up Lewis’ advice, manipulate everyone around you to achieve your goals should your lengthy contract not give you ultimate power; and those were her words in public…  

What is going on behind the scenes in our schools?  As student Benji Backer reveals, teachers are not only engaged in manipulation but indoctrination as well.  If teachers believe they can behave however they want, why even bother with contracts?  Unsurprisingly, the tactics favored by Lewis aren’t working. Wednesday saw hundreds of parents and teachers protesting plans in Chicago to close 54 public schools.  Many teachers out there will still follow Lewis’ advice, and in the meantime parents will be left in the dark about what is actually happening at school.  The bigger question, however, is how many schools must close before someone stops the out of control teacher’s unions from destroying public education from the inside?

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/teachers-unions-manipulate-instead-of-educate/feed/ 0 Concealed Carry Saves Life, Again. http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/concealed-carry-saves-life-again/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/concealed-carry-saves-life-again/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:29:09 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1941 While some Democrats in Wisconsin are still trying to stop residents from carrying guns in certain places, the state’s concealed carry law recently proved it’s importance in potentially saving one woman’s life. Early Tuesday morning while Charlie Blackmore, a Marine Corp veteran, was driving home, he came upon Kenneth Harris on the sidewalk kicking a [...]

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]]> While some Democrats in Wisconsin are still trying to stop residents from carrying guns in certain places, the state’s concealed carry law recently proved it’s importance in potentially saving one woman’s life.

Early Tuesday morning while Charlie Blackmore, a Marine Corp veteran, was driving home, he came upon Kenneth Harris on the sidewalk kicking a woman, Kathy, in her head and stomach as she laid on the ground.  Blackmore immediately pulled over and approached Harris, telling him to stop.  When Harris started towards him, Blackmore withdrew his gun and directed him to get on the ground.  While waiting for the police to arrive, Blackmore said Harris attempted more than once to move towards him but he kept his gun on him and warned him that he would shoot if necessary.  When police arrived, they arrested Harris and checked Blackmore’s concealed carry permit before interviewing him about the incident.

In speaking later, Blackmore noted that, “Not all of us are crazy gun nuts. There are good people out there.”  The victim, Kathy, was grateful for Blackmore coming to her rescue; Harris was her ex-boyfriend, who apparently knew she would be on her way to work.  Blackmore has since set up an online fund, “Help Kathy Heal,” to help pay for her extensive medical bills.

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/concealed-carry-saves-life-again/feed/ 0 **Warning graphic** Guest OpEd: “Don’t disarm me with your vote” http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/warning-graphic-guest-oped-dont-disarm-me-with-your-vote/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/warning-graphic-guest-oped-dont-disarm-me-with-your-vote/#comments Sat, 09 Mar 2013 01:37:37 +0000 Kelly Maher http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1843 By Kimberly Weeks Gun control. It’s pretty broad topic and no matter who you are, you’ve probably heard a lot about it lately, especially if you live in Colorado, the epicenter of the national gun control debate. Fear of firearms keeps most of my college-aged peers from owning or carrying a gun. Going into my [...]

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]]> By Kimberly Weeks

Gun control. It’s pretty broad topic and no matter who you are, you’ve probably heard a lot about it lately, especially if you live in Colorado, the epicenter of the national gun control debate.

Fear of firearms keeps most of my college-aged peers from owning or carrying a gun. Going into my junior year at the University of Northern Colorado, I was one of them. I had grown up around my dad and brother’s shotguns and hunting rifles, but I didn’t believe I needed a weapon to defend myself. The very idea of carrying a handgun made me uncomfortable. Nothing would ever happen to me in Greeley, Colorado.

Then, everything changed in the early hours of a mid-May morning. I was sleeping in my college-area apartment when a stranger broke in through a closed window. He snuck into my bedroom. I awoke to a man covering my face with a shirt and didn’t stop for the next two hours as he raped me.  I had no choice. I didn’t scream, I didn’t cry, I just prepared for this man to kill me.

During the unbearable hours of my attack, I was painfully aware of what was happening. I wish I could have shut down – but I didn’t. I started doing whatever I could do to survive. I was fighting for my life.

During the assault, I lied and told my attacker I had herpes, which did not nothing to deter him. I told him I was claustrophobic, hoping he would move the shirt just enough so I could identify him later – if I survived. I asked to use the restroom saying I might wet myself, but he repeatedly denied my requests.

I was doing everything I could to escape – doing everything I could to stop the horrific violence that was being forced upon me. I did everything I could – and I prayed it would be enough.

Time was running out, so despite the pain, anger, and fear that was coursing through my body, I tried one more thing: I started talking and kept him engaged in conversation for the next hour as I watched the sun rise through my bedroom window.

Others that could help were so close, yet so very far away. No one else knew what was happening to me. It was lonely and terrifying.

I convinced my rapist that I would not report his actions, that I was too embarrassed, and I even told him that I forgave him. I told him everyone makes mistakes. When he asked if he could get a drink of water from my kitchen, I directed him to the wrong cabinet, hoping he would leave fingerprints behind. When he left to get a drink, I was alone in my bedroom. I frantically glanced around and saw my cell phone, a knife, a hammer, and other various tools sitting on my bookcase headboard from unpacking the night before. I knew I could not physically overpower him with any of those objects if he came back.

After what felt like an eternity, I saw something that I never thought I’d live to see – he walked out the front door.

I had survived.

I immediately called 9-1-1 multiple times over a 16 minute period. The dispatcher had a hard time telling officers where to respond because my call would drop repeatedly. They did everything they could to get to me quickly, but it was not quick enough. He had already raped me and was gone.

I will never know if I would have been able to stop my rape if I had owned a firearm. I can tell you that any fear I had of guns evaporated as soon as I got a second chance at living my life. Had I been armed, I very well could have changed my circumstances and possibly prevented another attack on myself or the next victim.

This man was capable of breaking into my apartment and raping me, and in the half-second I saw into his eyes, I knew he could do much worse. My case is atypical because three weeks after my assault, my rapist was caught by police at an apartment complex just half a mile from mine, picking out his next victim. Ronnie Pieros was preparing to attack again, but to what extent?  Would the next woman have lived to report her crime?

I firmly believe in Colorado’s Victim’s Rights Amendment – a law that affords victims of crimes to be heard present, and informed throughout the entire criminal justice process. It helped me through the most difficult time of my life, and I truly feel like the Greeley Police Department and the Weld County District Attorney’s Office were on my side. They did everything in their power to make sure I had a voice.

In front of the Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday, victims and law enforcement alike plead with the legislators not to pass HB 13-1226 – a measure that will ban concealed carry on college campuses. Monday evening, I realized how quickly, and how thoughtlessly, a small group of legislators put prior victim rights groups’ and legislators’ work at risk.

Victims of sexual assault in Colorado were silenced by the committee’s vote, but that’s not all. Now, we are now one step closer to being disarmed on our college campuses – on and near the very places we were sexually assaulted.

Every election season, we see Democratic candidates tout victims and women as a priority. But what happens after the election? Are we still significant?

It seems to me that candidates use this pandering technique solely get the votes they need. After the election, sitting comfortably in their chairs at the Capitol, the voting demographic they relied so heavily on is no longer the priority they once claimed. Some may say it’s unfair for me to make this assumption. But, earlier this week I sat directly in front of the Colorado Senate Committee telling them and a gallery of strangers, as well as media, the story of my vicious rape.

I plead with them not to strip me of my rights to carry the weapon I am licensed to carry on my college campus. The three Democratic Senators chose to ignore my plea. The very people that treated me like a priority when they needed my vote, voted against me when I needed theirs.

I ask – no, I beg – each Colorado Senator to stop ignoring the voices of citizens like me. Don’t re-victimize me with your legislation.

Please, Colorado, don’t disarm me with your vote.

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/03/warning-graphic-guest-oped-dont-disarm-me-with-your-vote/feed/ 0 Leslie Marshall Too Emotional To Defend Salazar http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/leslie-marshall-too-emotional-to-defend-salazar/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/leslie-marshall-too-emotional-to-defend-salazar/#comments Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:47:30 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1804 Since Revealing Politics broke news of Democratic Colorado state Rep. Joe Salazar’s opinion on why women shouldn’t carry guns to defend themselves against rape, the left and the right have been in heated battle over the topic.  Liberal radio talk show host and Fox News Contributor Leslie Marshall has spoken more than once in defense of Salazar [...]

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]]> Since Revealing Politics broke news of Democratic Colorado state Rep. Joe Salazar’s opinion on why women shouldn’t carry guns to defend themselves against rape, the left and the right have been in heated battle over the topic.  Liberal radio talk show host and Fox News Contributor Leslie Marshall has spoken more than once in defense of Salazar claiming that, as a victim of attempted rape, she can attest that a woman does not need a gun to fight off rape.  In US News, Marshall wrote of her “rape situation”:

When I was 19 years old, a man I knew climbed in my bedroom window, climbed on top of me, and started to rape me. Now I don’t own a gun. And if I did and was a responsible gun owner, it would not have been loaded and lying under my pillow. Being that it was about 3 a.m., I was in a deep, deep REM stage of sleep. I was totally unprepared, and unprotected. Or so I thought. Being a single woman (at that time) and living in a major city (Boston), I had taken self defense classes. As a matter of fact, my dad had me start taking self defense classes at age 9. (Silver medal in Judo.) Now many years ago some would say to just give in to the rapist’s demands and you have a better chance of living; but I thought, no way. I used what many people know are some of our best weapons. Our own bodies. I screamed, kicked him in his private parts, scratched his face, punched until I had no more punch and … he gave up.  I was no longer another statistic, another victim, I was a survivor.

However, when former Senatorial Candidate Todd Akin made his career killing comment about “legitimate rape,” Marshall was out in front attacking him as a victim of (legitimate) rape.  As she wrote at that time in US News, “And I should know. I was the victim of rape at 19.”  Whether the violence against Marshall was attempted or not is really of no consequence, however, the fact that she would seek to qualify her incident now by not referring to it as simply “rape” has raised a red flag for some.  Why change the wording when the offensive remark is made by a Democrat?

According to Marshall, she was sexually assaulted on two separate occasions when she was 19.  Although in the Akin post she claimed she did not report the rape, she later stated that she reported both incidences.

the police knew of these crimes, the perpetrators know of the crimes, the rape crisis center and counselors I went to know of these crimes…

Marshall has gone on to say that she is coming at these situations as a woman and that she views them as “not a political issue,” but an issue of gender.  While speaking to Fox News’ Megyn Kelly on Salazar’s questioning of women’s judgment, she explained:

This is one of the reasons why I always say I’m a woman before I’m a Democrat because I have heard men on the left and the right make disgusting and offensive remarks when it comes to women, when it comes to our emotions, and when it comes to our ability.

So, according to Marshall, it is “disgusting and offensive” when a woman’s judgement is called into question because of her emotions.  Yet when Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for 60 Minutes Lara Logan, who was gang raped in Tharir Square while covering the fall of Hosni Mubarak, spoke out on the topic of the Obama administration’s failings in handling terrorism, Marshall had no problem exploiting her perception of Logan’s emotional state for her own gain.  In defending the administration, Marshall stated Logan was “too emotional” to be discussing foreign affairs.

Is Marshall playing politics when it comes to the issue of rape?  We may never know, but perhaps she’s too emotional for her opinion to matter anyway.

 

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/leslie-marshall-too-emotional-to-defend-salazar/feed/ 0 Pope Resigns, Hate Reigns http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/pope-resigns-hate-reigns/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/pope-resigns-hate-reigns/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:45:26 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1732 Monday morning brought surprising news that Pope Benedict has decided to retire, making him the first Pope to do so in 600 years.  Citing deteriorating health, the 85 year old pope stated he no longer has the strength to fulfill his duties and will step down on February 28. As is always the case, the haters [...]

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]]> Monday morning brought surprising news that Pope Benedict has decided to retire, making him the first Pope to do so in 600 years.  Citing deteriorating health, the 85 year old pope stated he no longer has the strength to fulfill his duties and will step down on February 28.

As is always the case, the haters were quick to take to Twitter with death threats against the pope and other vile tweets.  Twitchy captured many of the offensive tweets and The Blaze screen-capped a rant by BBC star and supposed comedian Frankie Boyle, who stated, “.@Pontifex Don’t worry, in a few months you’ll be laughing about this. With Hitler in Hell.”  Another tweet, by @MetalOllie (who’s avatar features the popular No H8 slogan), called the pope a “hate-filled, homophobic, divisive, antediluvian little Nazi.”  Of course a no attack from the left would be complete without a mention of the president; and this one did not disappoint.

Unfortunately for @Kakomyrios and others on the left, President Obama is not eligible to be the next pope.  For that, he’d have to step down from playing God.

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/pope-resigns-hate-reigns/feed/ 0 Spending At Gunpoint http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/spending-at-gunpoint/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/spending-at-gunpoint/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:42:23 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1722 In the days leading up to President Obama announcing his gun control plans, and now that he has, the focus of Republicans and Conservatives has been squarely on his ever-encroaching attack on the Second Amendment.  As Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus stated on the President’s move, “He paid lip service to our fundamental constitutional [...]

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]]> In the days leading up to President Obama announcing his gun control plans, and now that he has, the focus of Republicans and Conservatives has been squarely on his ever-encroaching attack on the Second Amendment.  As Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus stated on the President’s move, “He paid lip service to our fundamental constitutional rights, but took actions that disregard the Second Amendment and the legislative process.”  While Obama’s disregard for Americans’ Constitutional rights should absolutely be a primary argument against the President’s plans, we should not forget another vastly important detail.

President Obama has a spending problem.  In his FY2013 budget, the President submitted $3.8 trillion in new spending which does not include the $500 million (or by some accounts $45 billion) he would like Congress to spend on his gun proposals.  Obama, and his fellow Democrats, would like to point to his spending cuts to deflect his out-of-control budget going forward, but in truth he has admitted to cutting (over the next ten years) only $1.7 trillion.  As Ed Morrissey notes at Hot Air, “the federal government is on track for a fifth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits under Obama.”  Many Americans may think the President’s gun control spending is the first in 2013, forgetting that the federal government started its fiscal year last October.  The government actually spent $638 billion before we even reached December.  At the current rate, the government is spending $10.45 billion per day, 435.8 million per hour and borrowing 46 cents for every dollar it spends.  The growth of the country’s spending is so much that the money it takes in, up 10% already this fiscal year, cannot keep pace.  If this is avoiding the fiscal cliff, we’re in for a nasty fall.

Like any addict though, the President places blame for his failed personal responsibility on someone else.  In Obama’s case, Congress is solely to blame for not paying down the debt.

While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they’ve already racked up through the laws that they passed. Let me repeat: We can’t not pay bills that we’ve already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic — far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff.

 It’s an interesting game Obama likes to play.  He suggests massive new spending, Congressional Democrats have to play along or they risk upsetting the public, they pass his bills and then he blames them for the new spending.  The President then uses end-of-the-world scare tactics to force Congress to raise the debt ceiling so he can spend more.  Meanwhile the subject of cutting spending in any substantial way never makes it into the conversation.  Fortunately, the timing and subject of Obama’s latest spending spree doesn’t work well with Democrats’ reelection concerns.  With a number of Democrats facing red-states, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, a battle over gun-rights isn’t a conversation they’d like to have right now.  The President’s new spending for gun bans won’t likely even make it to the House.

If we do want to talk guns though, we may want to discuss the one the President is using to shoot a hole in our chances of ever climbing out of our nation’s debt.  Even having “avoided the fiscal cliff” Fitch Ratings has advised the U.S. credit rating to be downgraded again.  Given all that we know about the likelihood of President Obama slowing his spending habits, can we really blame them?  If the only defense against Obama pressuring Congress to spend more, while blaming them for the increasing debt, is the notion of upcoming elections, perhaps our national conversation should turn to more frequent elections.

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/02/spending-at-gunpoint/feed/ 0 Fiscal Cliff Walking http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/01/fiscal-cliff-walking/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/01/fiscal-cliff-walking/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:09:05 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1648 Last night, in a last ditch effort to avoid the “fiscal cliff” the House passed a bill that sought to prevent tax hikes for all but the top 2% of American workers.  Taking a short break from his Hawaiian vacation, President Obama stopped by the White House to pat everyone on the back for bowing [...]

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]]> Last night, in a last ditch effort to avoid the “fiscal cliff” the House passed a bill that sought to prevent tax hikes for all but the top 2% of American workers.  Taking a short break from his Hawaiian vacation, President Obama stopped by the White House to pat everyone on the back for bowing to his will.  His speech should be laughable considering it followed a bill that is a joke, however, anyone that knows the details of the deal that was passed (with the help of 85 soon-to-be out of a job Republicans) certainly are not laughing.

Obama started his statement proudly proclaiming that the top 2%, who dare to make more money, will be taxed more while the other 98% of Americans will avoid tax hikes that (supposedly) could have caused another recession; telling his first lie before he even said thank you to those who helped him.  In reality, payroll taxes will be going up due to a higher Social Security rate and all Americans will pay more out of their paychecks to the federal government.  For example, a family making $50,000 a year will now pay another $1,000 a year in higher taxes.  Since the government kindly takes the money from most Americans’ paychecks before they see it, many may not notice the President’s hand deeper in their pockets.

Obama went on to assure the public that he’d keep giving them “free” money to make up for the fact that unemployment remains higher than when he took office four years ago.  Interestingly, he claimed that the 2 million unemployed who continue to “pound the pavement” looking for jobs will continue to receive unemployment during their efforts; as long as they are “actively looking.”  In reality, there are 12 million people unemployed, not counting the millions that have given up finding a job.  Over 5 million Americans are collecting unemployment and, unless Obama has a magic ball, there is no reliable way to measure whether they are actually looking for employment.

Finally the President tackled the elephant in the room: the national debt.  $620 billion in revenue will be raised and stolen from the 2% that the left so despises.  Further, Obama will not allow Congress to not pay bills “they” have already incurred.  Again, it is what the President failed to mention that Americans may have wanted to know; like the $330 billion increase in spending that was also included in the bill.  What will the new spending be put towards?  Hollywood and NASCAR.  As for the bills Congress has racked up, Obama may want to take a look in the mirror.  ObamaCare takes the cake for a check written that can’t be payed.

Overall, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the deal brokered last night to avoid the fiscal cliff will add $3.9 trillion to the deficit.  Have we avoided the cliff?  No, we are merely walking on the cliff, saving the fall for another more expensive day.

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]]> http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2013/01/fiscal-cliff-walking/feed/ 0 Inauguration 2013: Faith in Obama http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2012/12/inauguration-2013-faith-in-obama/ http://revealingpolitics.com/blog/2012/12/inauguration-2013-faith-in-obama/#comments Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:15:46 +0000 Breeanne Howe http://revealingpolitics.com/?p=1585 While discussions in Washington are focused on the fiscal cliff, the White House is looking ahead to spending a record amount of money on a three day celebration.  Inauguration day will fall on a Sunday in the new year, meaning the President’s official swearing-in will be a small, private ceremony as is tradition.  The President [...]

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]]> While discussions in Washington are focused on the fiscal cliff, the White House is looking ahead to spending a record amount of money on a three day celebration.  Inauguration day will fall on a Sunday in the new year, meaning the President’s official swearing-in will be a small, private ceremony as is tradition.  The President has called for a day of service the day before his inauguration, as he did in 2008.  The Monday after his official oath will be the public-swearing in, followed by a parade and balls.

As noted by The Weekly Standard, President Bush’s second inauguration cost $115.5 million and Obama’s first totaled over $125 million; and those numbers don’t even include the cost of the parties.  Taxpayers this go round can be sure they will be spending more than years past, considering the inaugural committee is already budgeting more for the festivities.

As if the news of more spending on parties in an economy that can’t seem to recover wasn’t enough, the inauguration theme is icing on the cake.  The theme this year will be, “Faith in America’s Future,”  indicating our faith for the future should be in President Obama; not God, who is usually paired with the term faith.  The inspiration for the inauguration theme actually comes from the statue of freedom that was placed on the Capital Dome in 1863.  According to the inaugural committee:

When the Civil War threatened to bring construction of the Dome to a halt, workers pressed onward, even without pay, until Congress approved additional funding to complete the Dome that would become a symbol of unity and democracy to the entire world.

Yes, it seems inauguration in January will be just Obama’s style: Lots of money, a hint of idol worship and a reminder of working without pay.  The next four years are going to be great!

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