GOP Rep Offers “No Golden Parachutes For Public Service Act” To Prevent Politicians From Becoming Lobbyists

GOP Lawmaker Proposes Lifetime Lobbying Ban

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa) introduced legislation on Tuesday to prevent members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists after they leave office.

  Blum, a freshman lawmaker, argued his bill would help limit lobbyists’ influence on the legislative process so members of Congress won’t feel pressured to cater to their wishes for their own self-interest.

” This bill would finally close the revolving door between Congress and special interest groups, restoring integrity to our political system and ensuring that politicians focus on representing their constituents instead of catering to lobbying groups who offer a lucrative post-electoral career,” Blum said in a statement.

” This lifetime ban on lobbying is another step in that effort to make Congress more accountable to the people by reducing the incentive for our elected officials to use their position for their own personal gain,” Blum added.”

 

The Hill has more on this great first step in the fight for responsible government 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Obama Knows Amnesty Will Create A “Permanent Democratic Majority” , Does The GOP ?

Obama Makes It Clear That Amnesty Will Help Democrats

 

 

 

” After releasing tens of thousands of criminal aliens, President Obama urgently asks law enforcement officials to lean on Republicans to pass amnesty. Will the GOP deport itself out of victory this year?

  Congressman Lamar Smith called it “the worst prison break in American history, except it was sanctioned by the president and perpetrated by our own immigration officials.”

  According to a document obtained from the Center for Immigration Studies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released 36,007 convicted aliens last year who were being detained pending deportation. The tally includes 193 convictions for homicide, 426 for sexual assault, 303 for kidnapping, 1,075 for aggravated assault and 16,070 for drunk or drugged driving.

  Rep. Smith, a Texas Republican, reacted by calling for a hold on consideration of immigration reform.

  Why would a president let loose so many alien criminals? It might be the incompetence we’ve come to expect from this administration. But don’t forget Obama knows a lot of these criminals will vote for his party.

  Addressing law enforcement representatives on Tuesday, he emphasized there was only “a window of two to three months to get the ball rolling in the House of Representatives” on the amnesty-for-illegals-based immigration overhaul Democrats want so badly. “And your voices are going to be absolutely critical to that effort.”

 

 

The final paragraph says it all …

 

 

” Now that even Obama has stressed to supporters what a priority it is for him, will Republicans — as ever, the Stupid Party — catch on that amnesty is their electoral death warrant? You’re better off betting on a criminal alien being deported.”

 

 

 

… but read the whole piece at IBD and get mad enough to contact your representative and tell them to resist the huge push to commit party suicide .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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11 Crazy Laws That Keep You From Getting A Job

Gee, I Wonder Why Unemployment Is So High

 

 

 

 

   The list at the link is just a small collection of ridiculously regulated trades that various state governments have instituted in the name of “protecting” the public , but which are really the result of lobbying efforts by private industry to protect/restrict their businesses , one example of which we highlight below . This is the power of government , picking winners and losers . Crony capitalism at work .

 

 

 

8. Makeup Artists

 

” Teaching someone how to put on makeup without a government permission slip is illegal in 36 states. Even worse, many of these states demand makeup artists get a cosmetologist or esthetician license, which covers many skills they don’t even use. For example, in Nevada, these entrepreneurs are forced to spend “700 hours in a classroom to learn about subjects that have nothing to do with makeup artistry, like how to cut hair, wax eyebrows and manicure nails.” The state’s restrictions are so strict they triggered a lawsuit.”

 

Read more about this protectionism in the guise of “public safety” at BuzzFeed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Princeton/Northwestern Study Shows US To Be An Oligarchy … Governed By Elites , For Elites

The US Is An Oligarchy, Study Concludes

 

 

 

 

 

” The US government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country’s citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern Universities has concluded.

  The report, entitled Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, used extensive policy data collected from between the years of 1981 and 2002 to empirically determine the state of the US political system.

  After sifting through nearly 1,800 US policies enacted in that period and comparing them to the expressed preferences of average Americans (50th percentile of income), affluent Americans (90th percentile) and large special interests groups, researchers concluded that the United States is dominated by its economic elite.

  The peer-reviewed study, which will be taught at these universities in September, says: “The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence.”

  Researchers concluded that US government policies rarely align with the the preferences of the majority of Americans, but do favour special interests and lobbying organizations: “When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.”

 

The Telegraph has the story

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Meet The Special Interests Driving The War On Drugs

A Public Service Announcement From The Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition

 

 

The Top Five Special Interest Groups That Lobby Against Medical Marijuana

 

 

 

 

For some simple facts to back up the assertion on the poster above the reader is invited to check out this link .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sen Mike Lee Speaks The Truth About The Farm Bill … MUST SEE VIDEO

The Farm Bill vs. America

Published on Feb 4, 2014

” Opening Line: “This Farm Bill is a monument to every dysfunction Washington indulges to bend our politics and twist our economy to benefit itself at the expense of the American people.” “

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mike Lee Has It Right … First , Secure The Border

Sen. Mike Lee: Secure The Border Before Discussing Legalization

 

 

 

” Sen. Lee appeared on Fox News on Thursday to stress that the GOP should not be looking to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes border security but should, instead, be focusing on revamping the nation’s border security before addressing the legalization process.

“In order to reform our immigration code, and I agree that we need to reform it, we need to undertake this in a step-by-step fashion, and the very first thing we need to do is secure the border,” Lee stated. “And we also need to reform our antiquated, outdated visa system – our legal immigration processes.” “

 

Read on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Sell-Out Begins … Boehner Pitches Amnesty Plan

House Leaders Sell Immigration Blueprint

 

 

” The House Republican leadership is trying to sell their colleagues on a series of broad immigration principles, including a path to legal status for those here illegally.

  Speaker John Boehner’s leadership team introduced the principles at their annual policy retreat here. Top Republicans circulated a tightly held one-page memo titled “standards for immigration reform” toward the tail-end of a day that include strategy conversations about Obamacare, the economy and the national debt.

  In the private meeting where the language was introduced, Boehner (R-Ohio) told Republicans that the standards are “as far as we are willing to go.” “

Politico has lots more on the sellout of working Americans

    If you , like us , have had enough of the House “republican leadership” pandering to their cronies in the corporate world and volunteering to wipe Dear Leader’s backside sign the petition to Fire Boehner and do not forget that our former vice-presidential nominee , Mr Ryan is also an amnesty backer . SECURE THE DAMN BORDER . That is your job Congress .

 

   Contact your so-called  “representative” today: United States House of Representatives – Official Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Chamber Of Cronyism Doesn’t Represent The Small Businessman

The US Chamber Of Commerce Versus America

 

 

 

 

” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a politically entrenched synod of special interests. These fat cats do not represent the best interests of American entrepreneurs, American workers, American parents and students, or Americans of any race, class or age who believe in low taxes and limited government. The chamber’s business is the big business of the Beltway, not the business of mainstream America.

  Last year, the chamber poured more than $52 million into K Street lobbying efforts on behalf of illegal alien amnesty, Fed Ed Common Core programs and increased federal spending. This year, chamber bigwigs are paving the perilous pathway to GOP capitulation. The left hardly needs to lift a finger against tea party candidates and activists who are bravely challenging the big government status quo. The chamber has already volunteered to spend $50 million subsidizing the Republican incumbency protection racket and attacking anti-establishment conservatives.

  The chamber is one of the staunchest promoters of mass illegal immigration, and joined with the AFL-CIO and American Civil Liberties Union to oppose immigration enforcement measures.

  The chamber opposed E-verify and sued Arizona over its employer sanctions law.”

 

 

Read Michelle Malkin’s entire piece at Rightwing News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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City Residents Receiving Millions In “Farm” Subsidies … Guess Which Cities Got Most … DC , NYC & Chicago

Millions In Farm Subsidies Flow Freely To DC Residents Who Don’t Actually Farm

 

 

 

 

” Washington, D.C., doesn’t have many farms, or farmers. Yet thousands of residents in and around the nation’s capital receive millions of dollars every year in federal farm subsidies, including working-class residents in Southeast, wealthy lobbyists on K Street and well-connected lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

  In neighboring Chevy Chase, Md., one of the nation’s wealthiest communities, lawyers, lobbyists and at least one psychologist collected nearly $342,000 in taxpayer farm subsidies between 2008 and 2011, according to the watchdog group Open the Books.

  Taxpayer subsidies were also paid out to Gerald Cassidy, the founder of one of Washington’s most powerful lobbying firms, Cassidy & Associates; Charlie Stenholm, a former congressman; and Chuck Grassley, a Republican senator from Iowa. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack continues to receive subsides even though he has overseen the agency that pays them since 2009.

” All of it is entirely legal,” said Adam Andrzejewski, founder of Open the Books, a group that created an online database and mobile app to track the subsidies.

  To illustrate just how far the subsidy program has strayed from its original purpose, Open the Books calculated payments going to three major cities with few, if any, modern ties to farming: Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago. Taxpayers sent $30 million to those residents over the past four years to compensate them for converting farmland to conservation areas and for growing soybeans, cotton, corn, rice and other crops.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Incandescent Ban Is Result Of Crony Capitalism Not Greenies

Industry, Not Environmentalists, Killed Traditional Bulbs

 

 

 

” The 2007 Energy Bill, a stew of regulations and subsidies, set mandatory efficiency standards for most light bulbs. Any bulbs that couldn’t produce a given brightness at the specified energy input would be illegal. That meant the 25-cent bulbs most Americans used in nearly every socket of their home would be outlawed.

  People often assume green regulations like this represent the triumph of environmental activists trying to save the planet. That’s rarely the case, and it wasn’t here. Light bulb manufacturers whole-heartedly supported the efficiency standards. General Electric, Sylvania and Philips — the three companies that dominated the bulb industry — all backed the 2007 rule, while opposing proposals to explicitly outlaw incandescent technology (thus leaving the door open for high-efficiency incandescents).

  This wasn’t a case of an industry getting on board with an inevitable regulation in order to tweak it. The lighting industry was the main reason the legislation was moving. As the New York Times reported in 2011, “Philips formed a coalition with environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council to push for higher standards.” “

 

Continued …

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Government Is A Racket That Benefits The D.C. Political Elite By Taking Money From Average People “

It’s A Very Merry Christmas For Washington Insiders

 

 

 

 

 

” I realize this is an unhappy topic to be discussing during the Christmas season, but the American people need to realize that they are being pillaged by the insiders that controlWashington and live fat and easy lives at our expense.

  If you don’t believe me, check out this map showing that 10 of the 15 richest counties in America are the ones surrounding our nation’s imperial capital.

  Who would have guessed that the wages of sin are so high?

  D.C., itself, isn’t on the list. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of people living large inside the District.

  Here are some interesting nuggets from a report in the Washington Business Journal:

D.C. residents are enjoying a personal income boom. The District’s total personal income in 2012 was $47.28 billion, or $74,733 for each of its 632,323 residents, according to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer’s Economic and Revenue Trends report for November. The U.S. average per capita personal income was $43,725.”

 

 

 

” Want some other examples of profitable Washington sleaze? Here are some excerpts fromRich Tucker’s column for Real Clear Policy:

The real place to park your money is in Washington, D.C. That’s because the way to get ahead isn’t to work hard or make things; it’s to lobby Washington for special privileges. Look no further than the sweet deal the sugar industry gets. It’s spent about $50 million on federal campaign donations over the last five years. So that would average out to $10 million per year. Last year alone, the federal government spent $278 million on direct expenditures to sugar companies. That’s a great return on investment.”

 

 

Read the whole piece on our Imperial Capital .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Terry McAuliffe And The Party Of The Elites

Terry McAuliffe Establishes Democrats As Party Of The Elites

 

 

 

” Democrat Terry McAuliffe beat Republican Ken Cuccinelli in Virginia’s governor race, outraising Cuccinelli nearly two-to-one and dominating in the richest part of the state.

First, upper-middle class, white suburbs have marched steadily toward the Democrats for several decades. Montgomery County, Md., and Arlington, Va., switched sides. So did the wealthy New York suburbs in Westchester County, N.Y., and Fairfield County, Conn. Philadelphia’s “collar counties,” once Republican bastions, are now Democratic bellwethers.

Why are the white-collar suburbs moving to the Dems? “I think it’s the social issues,” Bill DuBose tells me at Greenberry’s coffee shop in McLean.

The McLean Greenberry’s is the type of place where everyone knows the name of his state delegate. When I pulled into Greenberry’s, I parked between a Mercedes and a BMW.

Most families in McLean earn more than $200,000, according to the Census Bureau.

McLean has no use for Tea Partiers. If the Tea Party was about grabbing pitchforks and storming the castle, McLean is the castle.

McLean is the home to the ruling class. And Terry McAuliffe is the candidate of the ruling class.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Special Interests Take One On The Chin In Rare Defeat Of “Farm” Bill

K Street Stunned At Farm Bill Defeat

 

 

” The angst among farm lobbyists contrasts to the glee expressed by opponents on the left and the right who opposed the bill.

Citizens Against Government Waste sent out a press release exclaiming “holy manure!”

“In a city known for catering to the whims of well-heeled special interest groups, the farm bill consistently manages to stand out for its parochialism, log-rolling, and corporate welfare,” it said. “That alliance broke down this afternoon, resulting in an extremely rare Farm Bill failure, one that represents a major victory for taxpayers and consumers.”

Heritage Action and Club for Growth, which both urged no votes, said they want food stamp funding severed from farm subsidies, a solution that sends shivers down the spine of farm lobbyists who have seen farm bills pass with the support of urban lawmakers backing the food stamp program.

“Now that the House has defeated the farm bill, we should finally discuss real reform,” said Club for Growth President Chris Chocola. “We need to put farm subsidies on a path to elimination and we need to devolve food stamps to the state level where they belong.” “

 

 

     We have to side with the Dems on this one and while we doubt that their motives match ours , a defeat for the agri-businesses is a defeat nevertheless . The voting lines give some truth to the progressive mantra that the GOP is in the pocket of special interests . Bravo to the sixty republican reps that voted against this special interest pork-fest .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Medicaid Expansion Is About Money And Control , Not Health

 

Medicaid Expansion: Déjà Vu All Over Again

 

 

 

” Republican governors are following the script of Obama and Clinton in their campaign strategy for the Medicaid expansion that is needed to implement ObamaCare: The cast of earnest white coats and tearful upstanding, hard-working patients with hard-luck stories. Statements that sound as though they were written by the same PR firm. The same dire consequences of inaction.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” is a favorite concluding sentence.

What “it” basically means is to get the “free” federal money before somebody else does. Since it doesn’t cost “us” anything, at least not at first, it’s a “no brainer” to just grab it. It means billions of dollars, and thousands of jobs, for “us.

But if we exercise our brains for a minute, we see that in reality the billions go to “them,” not “us.” They are the ones in the expensive suits lurking in the background and attending the closed-door meetings. They are the million-dollar-a-year executives of managed-care companies or administrators in big hospital chains. They get the billions and trickle a portion down to people in scrubs and white coats who do real work, for the care of approved patients. They are the real players; the visible ones are props, shills, or camouflage. They are the decision-makers, who decide who is eligible for what.

They don’t think like doctors. Doctors ask, “What is the best way to help this patient with hepatitis c?” Rather, they ask, “Is this person with a certain set of social characteristics worth spending some of ‘our’ resources?” ”

 

Related articles

• Obama’s Promises Unravel on Obama Care (forbes.com)
• State Legislature to take on revamp of Medicaid (enewscourier.com)
• Ala Legislature to take on revamp of Medicaid (sfgate.com)
• Sebelius: Yep, ObamaCare is raising insurance costs (humanevents.com)
• Study: Obama-Care Will Increase Premiums 32% (sweetness-light.com)
• Obama’s Next Health Care Expansion – Dick Morris TV: Lunch Alert! (dickmorris.com)
• GOP’s ‘no’ on Medicaid becomes “Let’s make a deal’ (conservativeread.com)
• Florida Lawmakers Reject Obama Medicaid Program Sought by Scott (bloomberg.com)
• Jeb Bush opposed to Florida Medicaid expansion (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Gov. Brewer surrenders to ObamaCare expansion (seeingredaz.wordpress.com)

 

 

 

 

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A “Work From Home Congress” … An Idea Whose Time Has Come

GOP INTRODUCES ‘VIRTUAL CONGRESS’ RESOLUTION WHEREBY LAWMAKERS WOULD WORK FROM HOME DISTRICTS, NOT D.C.

 

 

” Excerpted from The Hill: Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) wants to create a “virtual Congress,” where lawmakers would leverage videoconferencing and other remote work technology to conduct their daily duties in Washington from their home districts.

Under a resolution Pearce introduced on Thursday, lawmakers would be able to hold hearings, debate and vote on legislation virtually from their district offices.

While Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have recently nixed the Web company’s work-from-home policy to boost its performance, Pearce believes a remote work arrangement may benefit Congress and make lawmakers more accountable to folks in their home districts.

Pearce says the resolution would eradicate the need for members to jet back and forth from their districts to Washington each weekend. This would allow lawmakers to spend more time with their constituents rather than the armies of lobbyists from K St., he argues.”

 

 

 

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Something Smells Like Low “Tides”

Why Do The Koch Brothers Get All The Sunshine?

 

 

 

 

” Here’s a couple of data points that bear serious thought this week by transparency advocates celebrating Sunshine Week and by everybody else who cares about protecting and preserving a free and independent press:

1,130 – Number of results for search term “Koch Brothers” on The New York Times web site.

64 – Number of results for search term “The Tides Foundation” on The New York Times web site.

It’s equally certain that few reading this post know anything at all about the San Francisco-based Tides Foundation, even though its roots go deep into the radical student movement of the 1960s and it has helped fund or startup virtually every significant liberal, progressive and radical cause in the years since.

Similar results appear from the same searches on The Washington Post web site, which turns up 277 links to the Koch Brothers and 11 for Tides. And on the New Yorker web site, Koch Brothers generated 35 links and none for Tides.

The contrast was even more dramatic on the Common Cause site, where the Koch Brothers were linked 4,560 times versus one for Tides.

Similar results appear from the same searches on The Washington Post web site, which turns up 277 links to the Koch Brothers and 11 for Tides. And on the New Yorker web site, Koch Brothers generated 35 links and none for Tides.

The contrast was even more dramatic on the Common Cause site, where the Koch Brothers were linked 4,560 times versus one for Tides.

 

Three Koch foundations made a total of 181 grants worth$25,405,525 in 2010 (most recent available records). The one Tides Foundation made a total of 2,627 grants worth $143,529,590 in 2010.”

 

Related articles

• George Soros-backed CPI offers a glimpse inside the left-wing news racket (watchdog.org)
• Tides uses tax dollars to turn America to the Left (watchdog.org)
• Liberal group grants over 5x as much as Koch Brothers but goes largely unnoticed by the media (humanevents.com)
• Stockman deletes tweet joking Koch brothers instigated Chavez’s cancer (chron.com)

 

 

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Chuck Todd Calls Out Obama Lies

Jaw-Dropper: NBC Says Obama’s Actions Rarely Match His Words

 

” NBC’s Chuck Todd had some unexpected criticism of Obama’s converted campaign arm Organizing for Action, which is raising $50,000 to $500,000 donations so interest groups can have special access to Obama.

Leading off the report, NBC’s Political Director Chuck Todd said the president’s actions have ‘rarely matched’ his words. It’s refreshing to see NBC concede this often-observed tendency.

Leading off the report, NBC’s Political Director Chuck Todd said the president’s actions have ‘rarely matched’ his words. It’s refreshing to see NBC concede this often-observed tendency.

A few examples of President Obama saying he will do one thing, before doing another:”

Related articles

• Chuck Todd on OFA Fundraising: ‘This Just Looks Bad’ (freebeacon.com)
• Obamaworld full of lies (powerlineblog.com)
• RB Pundit Smokes NBC’s Chuck Todd on Sequestration Nonsense (shepherdspiehole.typepad.com)
• NBC’s Chuck Todd: Woodward is Now the ‘Spokesman for the Republicans’ (pjmedia.com)
• Chuck Todd on OFA Fundraising: ‘This Just Looks Bad’ (iowntheworld.com)

 

 

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Washington DC … District Of Cronies

Harry Reid, Jon Corzine And Other Cronies That Got Away In 2012

 

 

” When businesses and big government politicians go into “business” with one another, taxpayers lose—big time. It’s called cronyism.

A “crony” is an individual or organization that colludes with politicians to gain unfair treatment, taxpyer-funded benefits, or regulations that the rest of us don’t enjoy. Cronyism occurs because politicians rely on wealthy interests to fund their campaigns, and those donors then seek government goodies or favors in return.

It’s a match made in heaven for cronies and hell for taxpayers. Just as bad, such cronyism erodes economic freedom by destroying the real competition that fuels free market capitalism.

 

In 2012, the cronies had a banner year, poaching billions of taxpayer dollars to pump up their profits and redistribute their losses.

 

In 2012, the cronies had a banner year, poaching billions of taxpayer dollars to pump up their profits and redistribute their losses. In other instances, the cronies leveraged their insider connections to evade prosecutions and skirt the laws that apply to the rest of us. Consider just a few of the cronies that got away in 2012.

1. Jon Corzine, former MF Global Chief, New Jersey Governor, and Top Obama Bundler.”

 

 

 

Related articles

• Meet one of Barack Obama’s Richest Green Energy Cronies: Tom Steyer (gds44.wordpress.com)
• Hollywood Gets Tax Break Extension, While Payroll Extension Break Ended (economicpolicyjournal.com)
• URGENT: Word is Out The CBO Cost of Senate Bill is $4 Trillion: House Switchboard (202-224-2131) (theconservativetreehouse.com)
• Hey Liberals, School is In: Cronyism Isn’t Capitalism (americanclarion.com)
• ‘District of Corruption’ … (youviewedblog.wordpress.com)
• We can’t afford another four years of Obama’s tax cheats, crooks & cronies (michellemalkin.com)

How Did Any Of Us Over 40 Survive Childhood Without The Government And Trial Lawyers ?

Don’t Believe the Hype About “Dangerous” Christmas Toys

Welcome To The Season Of Bogus Scare Stories

 

 

 

 

” Of course, if it was just a few trial lawyers practicing the sky-is-falling business, the whole idea of super-dangerous toys wouldn’t have gone so viral. But the U.S. Public Interest Research Group also publishes an annual “Trouble in Toyland” survey—this year in its 27th iteration—making it seem like anyone who thinks toys are pretty safe is a soon-to-be-sorry sap.

Just like W.A.T.C.H., the survey warns about string: “Drawstrings on children’s clothing lead to deaths and injuries when they catch on playground equipment, bus doors or cribs.” How big a threat do drawstrings pose? “From January 1985 through June 1997, the CSPC [Consumer Product Safety Commission] received reports of 21 deaths,” says the report. That’s 21 deaths over the course of 12 years. Still, “CSPC recommends parents remove drawstrings from all children’s upper outerwear sized 2T to 12 and buy clothing with alternative closures, like snaps, buttons and Velcro.”

Let me repeat that recommendation: Remove the drawstrings on all children’s clothes up to age 12.”

Related articles

• YMI “Hoodies” Sold at dd’s Recalled For Strangulation Hazard (todayinchildsafety.com)
• Bon-Ton fined $450,000 for drawstring error (wfmz.com)
• 27th annual survey finds dangerous toys on store shelves (cnn.com)
• Playground Safety for Your Children (mylittlemr.com)
• Report warns of dangerous toys on store shelves (bangordailynews.com)
• Burlington Settles Lawsuit Over Unsafe Clothes (todayinchildsafety.com)

Lobbyists … What Lobbyists ?

Tim Carney points out the ridiculousness of Politico’s “Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Romney” lede with the greatest of ease . He reminds us of the lobbying past of over four dozen Obama Administration staff from cabinet heads on down . 

 

 

“Some of the highest-level positions in a potential Romney administration are expected be filled by former lobbyists and Washington insiders.”

 

  ” Former lobbyists in some of the highest-level positions? Shock! What would HHS Secretary — and former head of the lobbying group Kansas Trial Lawyers Association – Kathleen Sebelius say? Or former NEA lobbyist, now Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (16)? Or former Fannie Mae lobbyist and Goldman Sachs consultant Tom Donilon(17), now National Security Advisor. Or even Atty. Gen. and former registered lobbyist Eric Holder (18)?

Does Defense Secretary Leon Panetta (19) hold one of “the highest-level positions”? Because he was a registered lobbyist, too.”

He Is a Precedent Setter * …. LMAO

The figures, contained a in a new book called The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign by Brendan J. Doherty, due to be published by University Press of Kansas in July, give statistical backing to the notion that Obama is more preoccupied with being re-elected than any other commander-in-chief of modern times.

“Doherty, who has compiled statistics about presidential travel and fundraising going back to President Jimmy Carter in 1977, found that Obama had held 104 fundraisers by March 6th this year, compared to 94 held by Presidents Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Snr, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush combined.

Since then, Obama has held another 20 fundraisers, bringing his total to 124. Carter held four re-election fundraisers in 1980, Reagan zero in 1984, Bush Snr 19 in 1992, Clinton 14 in 1996 and Bush Jnr 57 in 2004. ”

 

The man is just unbelievable . It’s as I’ve been saying all along , it is All About Obama All The Time . Jeez , if we ever had a president from the right side of the aisle with these personality traits , this narcissism , this arrogance and feeling of self-importance coupled with his complete ineptness and inability to complete an off the cuff sentence ,  the media and entertainment world as well as the touchy-feely , headshrinking , I’m OK ,You’re not industry would think they had died and reached nirvana .

* More on President Wile E Coyote and his precedent setting in an upcoming post .

Influence and the Money That Buys It .

If you are interested in the corrosive influence of money in politics look no further than InfluenceExplorer . On this site you can track who gives what to whom and when . An invaluable tool in this upcoming election season .