Capitol Notebook

Yesterday, Christian Coalition of America (CCA) sent out an Action Alert to its supporters all over America and urged them to contact both of their United States Senators regarding the most important vote of their congressional careers.  The vote on the Democrats' socialized medicine scheme, commonly called ObamaCare, will come up for a vote on the Senate floor Saturday night at 8 p.m. 

Because the Senate's ObamaCare bill pushed back implementation of the major provisions until 2014, it is important that you, your family and your friends understand the true cost of 10 years of implementation- a whopping $2.5 trillion. 

The question is simply this: Will America leave its roots and give up much of the freedom bestowed on Americans by our Founders by turning to socialism?  That is exactly what the United States Senate will be voting on tomorrow night at 8 p.m. when the Democrats attempt to begin debate on ObamaCare.

What the left-wing Democratic leadership is trying to do with its vote on Saturday night is to bring to the Senate floor the Obamacare bill which had no Republican participation and no transparency.  The Democrats cooked up this 2,074 page bill behind closed doors during the past few weeks with only a handful of elitists making decisions for ALL Americans.  read more »

Super Boots

Just how many jobs has the "stimulus" created?  Today's Wall Street Joural points to an interesting claim by the Obama administration...

"...how many Americans does it take to make nine pairs of work boots? According to the White House's recovery.gov site, an $890 shoe order for the Army Corps of Engineers, courtesy of the stimulus package, created nine new jobs at Moore's Shoes & Services in Campbellsville, Kentucky. ..."

Yep.  Super Boots.  Able to create multiple jobs in a single laceup.

Guess who's not arresting illegal aliens...

Well, I'll give you three guesses, and the last two don't count.

(Via the WashTimes) It seems that arrests, indictments and/or convictions of illegal immigrants have fallen by over 50% since this time last year.  And we all know what happened about a year ago.

GOP Representative Lamar Smith points out that lax enforcement on illegal alien workers means less jobs for Americans - in a time when (ahem) jobs are getting harder to come by. 

CNN forced to admit the truth  read more »

It is hard to believe but Senate Democrats are trying to vote this week on President Barack Obama's extremely anti-family judicial nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals named David Hamilton.  He is so radical that he ruled against the mention of "Jesus Christ" in prayers before the Indiana state legislature.  On the other hand, he allowed prayers to "Allah", the god of the Muslim religion. 

Judge Hamilton is so anti-family that he has blocked for seven long years the state legislature's "informed consent" abortion law, so that women seeking to have an abortion will know the facts about the unborn baby which will be killed in an abortion and about the dangers to themselves.

Thankfully, a courageous Senator from the state of Alabama, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, has said that he will filibuster the nomination of Judge Hamilton and will try to prevent the Senate from voting on this radical nominee.   

Democrats frequently filibustered many of President George W. Bush's outstanding nominees for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, never giving them an opportunity to be voted on on the Senate floor.  Indeed, during seven separate votes on a wonderful Hispanic nominee, Miguel Estrada, he was repeatedly denied a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003.     read more »

To add insult to injury, the prosecutors in the United States Army, have thus far refused to charge the Islamic terrorist with a 14th murder charge in the Ft. Hood massacre by ignoring the death of an unborn baby.  This mass murder, by a deranged Muslim terrorist, probably would not have occurred at all, if the leadership of the Army, led by Army Chief of Staff, General George Casey, had gotten rid of this Army Major jihadist in the first place.  The U.S. Army  --  infested with political correctness for the past several decades  --  had plenty of warnings that the terrorist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was about to explode.   

The left-wing news media has been intent on ignoring the death of a 14th victim, besides the 12 soldiers and Army civilian, assassinated by terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan.  Indeed, the one word on this week's cover of "Time" magazine was "terrorist" with a question mark behind "terrorist?" and a picture of the Islamic terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan in the background.  

The United States Army  --  which has succumbed to left-wing political correctness for far too long  --  needs to immediately recognize the death of the 6-week-year-old child of assassinated Army Private Francheska Velez, a 21-year old native of Barack Hussein Obama's hometown of Chicago.     read more »

Unfortunately, in recent decades, many of the Army officers promoted to the top general ranks have been politically-correct bureaucrats dedicated more to "diversity" and other politically-correct clap trap rather than being dedicated to the military personnel they command.  If any more proof is required, the remarks by the Army's top general, Chief of Staff George Casey, following the Islamic terrorist's slaughter of 13 innocent human beings at Ft. Hood last week is all the proof that is needed.  

General Casey said on NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday  --  after 12 of his soldiers and an Army civilian were slaughtered by Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a devout Muslim, along with another 30 or so wounded, with 8 still in intensive care  --  "Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse."  

No General, losing 12 of your Army soldiers and an Army civilian is far far worse than you keeping your politically-correct schemes, including your perverse ideas of "diversity".  It is outrageous that you think "diversity" is more important than the soldiers brutally assassinated and wounded by this Islamic terrorist and more important than the families and friends of the murdered victims left behind.     read more »

Monday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  As one would expect, the left-wing "mainstream" or "elite" news media got it wrong.  Indeed, the account sent around the world by the Associated Press, made no mention at all of the key individual who made it all possible:  President Ronald Reagan with his "peace through strength" massive military build-up including his Strategic Defense Initiative (missile defense program.)   

This was the headline from the Associated Press' account written by a Kirsten Grieshaber, of the events on Monday in Berlin, Germany, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall:  "Grateful to 'Gorby'"; Germans, world leaders remember fall of the wall."  The AP reporter all throughout her account slobbers all over how the former communist dictator, Mikhail Gorbachev  --  ruler of the country which murdered countless millions of innocent civilians during the communist empire's 70-year-plus long reign  --  was the hero of Monday's 20th year celebration.  

She reports that "a throng of grateful Germans recalled the night 20 years ago that the Berlin Wall gave way to their desire for freedom and unity" and that German Chancellor Angela Merkel "lauded Mr. Gorbachev, with whom she shared an umbrella amid a crush of hundreds of people eager for a glimpse of the man  whom many still consider a hero for his role."     read more »

On this day  --  exactly three years from the day on which Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee or Tim Pawlenty or some other Reaganite Republican will probably be elected president  --  many Americans were shocked (but not Reaganites,) that Barack Obama's unemployment rate has now reached a massive 10.2% of the American people unemployed.   

Yet, Obama and his acolytes were promising (and threatening) Blue Dog Democrats that if they did not vote for Obama's  TRILLION dollar (with interest) so-called stimulus bill, the unemployment rate would go above 8%.  So many of the Blue Dog Democrats and other Democrats occupying the 80-plus congressional seats won by President George W. Bush or by Senator John McCain were intimidated and actually voted for the Obama stimulus bill last February.   

And what do they have to show for their vote?  Massive unemployment and some additional 3 million Americans who have lost their jobs since the passage of the Obama stimulus bill.  This week, to make fiscal matters worse, the Democrats in the United States Senate even voted to extend the unemployment benefits of $300 each week for a total of 99 weeks (almost 2 years) to further increase the gargantuan national debt, now approaching $12 TRILLION dollars.    read more »

Interesting tid-bits in the wake of Tuesday's election...

Election already having consequences for Obamacare?

Maybe.  The Hill reports that Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) on Wednesday indicated that he was opposed to the House version of Obamacare: "I oppose the creation of a new government-run public option and continue to have serious concerns about its unintended consequences for Missourians who have private insurance plans they like. I remain concerned about the bill's impact on rural hospitals and doctors."   The dominoes may be starting to fall.

Super stimulus...saves more jobs than actually exist!

Beware all ye who doubt the power of the super stimulus.  The Associated Press documents the proof. 

President Barack Obama's economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan. Trouble is, only 508 people work there.  read more »

Given all the attention paid to the election results in Virginia and New Jersey, it was easy to miss if you weren't paying attention, but voters in Maine comfortably passed a referendum overturning their state legislature's recent enactment of a gay marriage law in that state.

After the law legalizing gay marriage was passed and signed by their governor this past summer, conservatives got organized and initiated a petition to get what amounts to a "citizen's veto" put on the ballot, which allows the public to overrule laws passed by the legislature.  (Imagine have that option on things passed in DC!)

After being outspent almost two to one, to say nothing of having to fight against the mainstream media as well, traditional marriage supporters came out on top and passed the referendum by approximately 53% to 47%.

This was special for a few reasons.

First, it was the first time that voters have been able to overturn gay marriage in a state where it was put in place by a state legislature, (as opposed to the usual suspects of liberal judges).

Second, it continues the unbroken string of thirty-one victories in a row where traditional marriage has been on the ballot.  In fact, voters in no state whatsoever have ever approved gay marriage when they were given the option.

Which should give a little pause to the liberal Democrats in Washington with designs on overturning the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.

***  read more »

After Tuesday night's crushing defeat of all the Democrat candidates in the major races -- in Virginia (a 3-race sweep) and in New Jersey (in a huge upset) -  and a tremendous defeat in Maine for the radical homosexual movement and their left-wing allies (including the media) all over the nation, the big question now is will the Blue Dog Democrats listen to the American people?  Their record of listening to their voters is not good so far this year.    

Just last year, the president won both New Jersey and Virginia by large margins, but Republican Governor-elect Robert McDonnell won a gigantic 20-point margin victory over the Democrat candidate and Republican Governor-elect Chris Christie defeated the sitting Democrat Governor, Jon Corzine (who put over $100 million of his own money into his past three races).  

Even the Conservative Republican candidate in the 23rd congressional district special election in New York, Doug Hoffman -- who was hardly known two months ago and who was in the single digits in the polls, but actually pulled ahead in the last hours of the election -- made a reasonable showing after forcing the radically liberal Republican from the race who then endorsed Democrat Bill Owens which put the Democrat over the top.    read more »