$ 44 million for repairs at the Agriculture Department headquarters in Washington.
$200 million to rehabilitate the National Mall.
$360 million for new child care centers at military bases.
$1.8 billion to repair National Park Service facilities.
$276 million to update technology at the State Department.
$500 million for the Transportation Security Administration to install bomb detectors at airports.
$600 million for General Services Administration to replace older vehicles with alternative fuel vehicles.
$2.5 billion to upgrade low-income housing.
$400 million for NASA scientists to conduct climate change research.
$426 million to construct facilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
$800 million to clean up Superfund sites.
$150 million for the Coast Guard to repair or remove bridges deemed a hazard to navigation.
$6.7 billion to renovate and improve energy efficiency at federal buildings.
$400 million to replace the Social Security Administration's 30-year-old National Computer Center.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Stimulus(?) Package
What a week so far! Today we saw the Master of Disguise at his best. On January 9 our President spoke at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia about the economy and said: "only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe... Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy". Today, at a session with 13 CEO's at the White House, he addressed the press and said: "In the end, the answer to our economic troubles rests less in my hands, or in the hands of our legislators, than it does with America's workers and the businesses that employ them. They are the ones whose efforts and ideas will determine our economic destiny, just as they always have." Wait, is he changing his tune? Is he tacking right?
Mr. Obama does not need the Republican votes to pass this bill. But why do the Democrats want this vote to be bipartisan? Could it be, as Rush Limbaugh has suggested, that the Democrats know that this package won't work? That their purpose is to garner votes from the people that are benefiting and not to stimulate the economy and create jobs? So, knowing that the package won't work they want the Republicans in it so that they can all share in the travesty.
As I write this post the bill passed with no Republican votes. Way to go, Republicans! Now the Republican Senators must hold their own. They must hold firm and demand that the bill be changed. That's the only way they can derail this train. For our part we must contact our Senators and let them know that we do not accept this package the way it is. The country is going to incur a huge debt. Let's put the money where it will do the job.
Conservatives are gaining momentum and they must maintain it. They need to get this bill changed.
You can see a summary spreadsheet of this bill, but the devil is in the details. Subsequent posts will break down each category into smaller items that show where this money is really going and that these projects are just run-of-the-mill Congress earmarks. This is a spending, not a stimulus bill: $102 billion for unemployment benefits with $20 billion increase in food stamps? And how about $41 billion for school modernization, $39 billion for school "services", whatever that is, $25 billion for other "high-priority" school needs and $87 billion increase in Medicaid, most of it probably going to illegal aliens? Are these projects job-creating? Will they stimulate the economy? I doubt it...
Mr. Obama does not need the Republican votes to pass this bill. But why do the Democrats want this vote to be bipartisan? Could it be, as Rush Limbaugh has suggested, that the Democrats know that this package won't work? That their purpose is to garner votes from the people that are benefiting and not to stimulate the economy and create jobs? So, knowing that the package won't work they want the Republicans in it so that they can all share in the travesty.
As I write this post the bill passed with no Republican votes. Way to go, Republicans! Now the Republican Senators must hold their own. They must hold firm and demand that the bill be changed. That's the only way they can derail this train. For our part we must contact our Senators and let them know that we do not accept this package the way it is. The country is going to incur a huge debt. Let's put the money where it will do the job.
Conservatives are gaining momentum and they must maintain it. They need to get this bill changed.
You can see a summary spreadsheet of this bill, but the devil is in the details. Subsequent posts will break down each category into smaller items that show where this money is really going and that these projects are just run-of-the-mill Congress earmarks. This is a spending, not a stimulus bill: $102 billion for unemployment benefits with $20 billion increase in food stamps? And how about $41 billion for school modernization, $39 billion for school "services", whatever that is, $25 billion for other "high-priority" school needs and $87 billion increase in Medicaid, most of it probably going to illegal aliens? Are these projects job-creating? Will they stimulate the economy? I doubt it...
Monday, January 26, 2009
A Parallel
Havana, Cuba, January, 1959 - Washington, D.C., January, 2009. Fifty years have elapsed, but last Tuesday brought me back to that time in January, 1959 when Fidel stood in front of the adoring, cheering crowds and made promises of true democracy, adherence to the Constitution, and prompt elections. His words were full of inspiration, as when he said: ".... The people of Cuba are wholly united today as never before in defense of their rights, above partisan considerations, because here the parties are finished, here only the fatherland counts..." And the people chanted: Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!... And it is true. That first week he had everyone with him. Everyone was ready to give all their support to this new leader that was offering a bright future. But he betrayed the Cuban people. He took advantage of their faith and commitment, their cooperation, their trust and gradually changed everything. The Cuban people wanted a law-abiding government that would respect the people and the Constitution. The change they got was not what they fought for.
The regime gradually became the communist regime that it always had intended to be and gradually appropriated all the means of production. Private businesses ended up managed by government bureaucrats, who not only worked for a salary and did not care, but who did not know how to run the businesses they were managing. Eventually Cuban businesses, crops, industries were destroyed. From having one of the highest ranks in social and economic indicators in Latin America in 1959 (Cuba's Builders of Wealth Prior to 1959 ) Cuba today has lost most of its agricultural production, and public and industrial infrastructure. For years the Cuban people have been under food rationing and living in the worst of conditions. That is what the Castro regime has to show for their years of communist bureaucracy.
Many Cubans left for other countries, mainly the U.S. Today they see another leader, full of promises, who speaks of change. Let us learn from History and be very watchful of those who promise change but who do not explain what the change is about. Let's not wake up one day and say: How did I miss what was happening!? Then, it may be too late and where can we go? There may be no place else and, sadly, we will have just ourselves to blame.
The regime gradually became the communist regime that it always had intended to be and gradually appropriated all the means of production. Private businesses ended up managed by government bureaucrats, who not only worked for a salary and did not care, but who did not know how to run the businesses they were managing. Eventually Cuban businesses, crops, industries were destroyed. From having one of the highest ranks in social and economic indicators in Latin America in 1959 (Cuba's Builders of Wealth Prior to 1959 ) Cuba today has lost most of its agricultural production, and public and industrial infrastructure. For years the Cuban people have been under food rationing and living in the worst of conditions. That is what the Castro regime has to show for their years of communist bureaucracy.
Many Cubans left for other countries, mainly the U.S. Today they see another leader, full of promises, who speaks of change. Let us learn from History and be very watchful of those who promise change but who do not explain what the change is about. Let's not wake up one day and say: How did I miss what was happening!? Then, it may be too late and where can we go? There may be no place else and, sadly, we will have just ourselves to blame.
View From Across The Pond
I received this insightful and well written article from my sister via e-mail . It has appeared on many blogs and websites, so some may have read it.
Obama's Victory - A British View - (London Daily Mail - Wednesday, January 21, 2009)
A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous and fearless but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups. A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere.
A victory for the cult of the cult. A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising over reality.
A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world. Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros and Sarandon. Victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for group think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and the right to be out of step with meager political fashion.
Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already stated that media has to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television stations and newspapers are drastically liberal and anti-conservative. Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition.
A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.
A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.
Congratulations America!
Obama's Victory - A British View - (London Daily Mail - Wednesday, January 21, 2009)
A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous and fearless but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups. A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere.
A victory for the cult of the cult. A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising over reality.
A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world. Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros and Sarandon. Victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for group think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and the right to be out of step with meager political fashion.
Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already stated that media has to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television stations and newspapers are drastically liberal and anti-conservative. Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition.
A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.
A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.
Congratulations America!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Inauguration
It's a welcome coincidence that the start-up of my blog is the beginning of a new administration. I think I am going to enjoy using my soapbox. What best theme to begin with than with the inauguration?
This inauguration is a lavish, spare-no-expense inauguration. The estimated cost is $170 million. I have not heard the media object to this price tag, even though eight years ago the $45 million cost of President Bush's inauguration raised cries of shock. Previously, Bill Clinton's had an est. price tag of $25 - $30 million. So, we are talking here of a 277% increase over the most expensive inauguration, at a time when billions of dollars are being spent on bailouts by the fed. Well, what's $150 million compared to billions?
I have read that Obama's speech will center around responsibility. He is going to preach about government responsibility, Wall Street accountability and individual sacrifice. Now, that sounds really nice. But how about "teaching by example"? If we are asked to sacrifice (what this means has not been explained yet) how about the government sacrificing too? How about the government being accountable and facing up to the facts?
We all know that it was the Barney Frank's, Chris Dodd's and Chuck Schumer's who, by forcing banks to approve mortgaqes with extremely low down payments to first time buyers with questionable incomes and financing capabilities, caused this financial crisis. However they, together with the liberal media, are trying to pin the blame on President Bush who, since 2001 tried to get Congress to reverse their policy with a reform of the financial institutions. We also know that those efforts were blocked by Frank and Dodd. Now instead, their "fix" will burden the taxpayer with a bailout bill of $700 billion plus a "stimulus" (earmarks?) package of possibly over $1 trillion. Will we see transparency? Will we see responsibility, accountability and sacrifice in the spending of these funds? Well, this inauguration may be a preview of things to come?
This inauguration is a lavish, spare-no-expense inauguration. The estimated cost is $170 million. I have not heard the media object to this price tag, even though eight years ago the $45 million cost of President Bush's inauguration raised cries of shock. Previously, Bill Clinton's had an est. price tag of $25 - $30 million. So, we are talking here of a 277% increase over the most expensive inauguration, at a time when billions of dollars are being spent on bailouts by the fed. Well, what's $150 million compared to billions?
I have read that Obama's speech will center around responsibility. He is going to preach about government responsibility, Wall Street accountability and individual sacrifice. Now, that sounds really nice. But how about "teaching by example"? If we are asked to sacrifice (what this means has not been explained yet) how about the government sacrificing too? How about the government being accountable and facing up to the facts?
We all know that it was the Barney Frank's, Chris Dodd's and Chuck Schumer's who, by forcing banks to approve mortgaqes with extremely low down payments to first time buyers with questionable incomes and financing capabilities, caused this financial crisis. However they, together with the liberal media, are trying to pin the blame on President Bush who, since 2001 tried to get Congress to reverse their policy with a reform of the financial institutions. We also know that those efforts were blocked by Frank and Dodd. Now instead, their "fix" will burden the taxpayer with a bailout bill of $700 billion plus a "stimulus" (earmarks?) package of possibly over $1 trillion. Will we see transparency? Will we see responsibility, accountability and sacrifice in the spending of these funds? Well, this inauguration may be a preview of things to come?
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