Summarizing Obama's Iraq Address

BREAKING:

Miraculously, I was able to get my hands on Mr. Soetoro's typed notes for his "Iraq" speech tonight. This is strictly exclusive and no other news outlets have obtained this. Enjoy!

Theme:
Act like you care

Attitude:
Boring and tired (possibly stay up all night to come across as overworked)

Talking points:
I love our soldiers. Yawn. Iraq. Thank George for throwing money at the war. Are people still watching? Jobs. Jobs. Economy. Blame George W. Bush for the economy. Jobs. Jobs. Economy. Latest golf score. Yawn. Should I say something about Muslims (too soon?).

Reflection:
Did I mention Iraq at least once?
Did I throw Bush under the bus?
Did I mention I singlehandedly won the war?
Do they know I have the Nobel Peace Prize under this suit?
Should I tell them I plan to run this country into the ground? (next speech?)
Has Minute to Win It come back on yet?

Washington Funds Palestinian Campaign

My tax dollars pay for a lot of worthless things, but Washington has hit a new low. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Obama Administration has invested nearly $250,000 (paid for with United States taxes...of course) for the creation of billboards featuring Palestinian officials (including the faces of senior Palestinian Authority officials Saeb Erekat, Jibril Rajoub, Yasser Abed Rabo, and Riad Malki) that read, "We are partners...what about you?"

Seriously?

The American government is funding a Palestinian Authority campaign movement IN Israel?

Is this how you win a Nobel Peace Prize? Crap...I was waaay off.

Thank God For Barack Obama?

Editorial from the Aspen Times by Gary Hubbell:

Barack Obama is the best thing that has happened to America in the last 100 years. Truly, he is the savior of America's future.

Despite the fact that he has some of the lowest approval ratings among recent presidents, history will see Barack Obama as the source of America 's resurrection. Barack Obama has plunged the country into levels of debt that we could not have previously imagined; his efforts to nationalize health care have been met with fierce resistance nationwide; TARP bailouts and stimulus spending have shown little positive effect on the national economy; unemployment is unacceptably high and looks to remain that way for most of a decade; legacy entitlement programs have ballooned to unsustainable levels, and there is a seething anger in the populace.

That's why Barack Obama is such a good thing for America. Here's why.

Obama is the symbol of a creeping liberalism that has infected our society like a cancer for the last 100 years. Just as Hitler is the face of fascism, Obama will go down in history as the face of unchecked liberalism. The cancer metastasized to the point where it could no longer be ignored.

Average Americans who have quietly gone about their lives, earning a paycheck, contributing to their favorite charities, going to high school football games on Friday night, spending their weekends at the beach or on hunting trips - they've gotten off the fence. They've woken up. There is a level of political activism in this country that we haven't seen since the American Revolution, and Barack Obama has been the catalyst that has sparked a restructuring of the American political and social consciousness.

Think of the crap we've slowly learned to tolerate over the past 50 years as liberalism sought to re-structure the America that was the symbol of freedom and liberty to all the people of the world. Immigration laws were ignored on the basis of compassion. Welfare policies encouraged irresponsibility, the fracturing of families, and a cycle of generations of dependency. Debt was regarded as a tonic to lubricate the economy. Our children left school having been taught that they are exceptional and special, while great numbers of them cannot perform basic functions of mathematics and literacy. Legislators decided that people could not be trusted to defend their own homes, and stripped citizens of their rights to own firearms. Productive members of society have been penalized with a heavy burden of taxes in order to support legions of do-nothings who loll around, reveling in their addictions, obesity, indolence, ignorance and "disabilities." Criminals have been arrested and re-arrested, coddled and set free to pillage the citizenry yet again. Lawyers routinely extort fortunes from doctors, contractors and business people with dubious torts.

We slowly learned to tolerate these outrages, shaking our heads in disbelief, and we went on with our lives.

But Barack Obama has ripped the lid off a seething cauldron of dissatisfaction and unrest.

A former Communist is given a paid government position in the White House as an advisor to the president. Auto companies are taken over by the government, and the auto workers' union - whose contracts are completely insupportable in any economic sense - is rewarded with a stake in the company. Government bails out Wall Street investment bankers and insurance companies, who pay their executives outrageous bonuses as thanks for the public support. Terrorists are read their Miranda rights and given free lawyers. And, despite overwhelming public disapproval, Barack Obama has pushed forward with a health care plan that would re-structure one-sixth of the American economy.

Literally millions of Americans have had enough. They're organizing, they're studying the Constitution and the Federalist Papers, they're reading history and case law, they're showing up at rallies and meetings, and a slew of conservative candidates are throwing their hats into the ring. Is there a revolution brewing? Yes, in the sense that there is a keen awareness that our priorities and sensibilities must be radically re-structured. Will it be a violent revolution? No. It will be done through the interpretation of the original document that has guided us for 220 "FANTASTIC" years--- the Constitution. Just as the pendulum swung to embrace political correctness and liberalism, there will be a backlash, a complete repudiation of a hundred years of nonsense. A hundred years from now, history will perceive the year 2010 as the time when America got back on the right track. And for that, we can thank Barack Hussein Obama.

There's No "I" in Iraq...

...Oh, wait.

Iraq does have an "I" in it doesn't it? I thought our Narcissist-in-Chief used all of them up in his weekly address earlier this week.

Here's a peak:

On Tuesday, after more than seven years, the United States of America will end its combat mission in Iraq and take an important step forward in responsibly ending the Iraq war.

As a candidate for this office, I pledged I would end this war. As president, that is what I am doing. We have brought home more than 90,000 troops since I took office. We have closed or turned over to Iraq hundreds of bases. In many parts of the country, Iraqis have already taken the lead for security.

In the months ahead, our troops will continue to support and train Iraqi forces, partner with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions, and protect our civilian and military efforts. But the bottom line is this: the war is ending. Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own course. And by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home.

Total mentions of the Bush Administration: Zero.

It's interesting. For a presidential candidate that ran on the notion of a 16-month withdraw in 2007 (BAHAHA...sorry...BAHAHA) and vehemently spoke out against the surge he sure takes a lot of credit for ending the war (like he "promised") this past August 19th.

What he fails to mention is that since being president (is it over yet...please say yes...please?) he has followed the written plan of President Bush to the line in regards to troop withdraw, funding, and timelines for Iraq.

After his weekly video address was finished being taped, it is rumored that President Soetoro had to ice his right shoulder. Yeah...apparently he threw it out from all the backpatting he did during the taping.

Do conservatives really need to continue to defend the Narcissism claims???

President Shankapotomus

Some people on the Right (isn't that word ironic?) have gotten on Barack Obama for his numerous golf outings at lavish country clubs while the economy continues to fall faster than the legendary Hindenburg (yes, fiery mess and all).

However, I'm all for Barry Soetoro (Barack Obama's former self) playing golf. In fact, I think he should be on the links everyday of the week. Maybe Barry should even try to get on the PGA Tour.

Why (I heard you think it)?

Because...at least he's out of the Oval Office.

We all benefit from his handicap (no pun intended)...

Al Sharpton: "The Dream Has Not Been Achieved."

Today, on the National Mall, thousands of patriotic, Americans (who are sick and tired of a careless and humiliating Administration) lined the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial and stretched all the way to the Washington Monument. Estimates have been refuted (by the media...who would have guessed?), but the pictures and videos don't lie.

The crowd was enormous.

Meanwhile, Al Sharpton managed to get around 3,000 people to protest the Restoring America rally. He says the rally is anti-government, a disgrace to Martin Luther King (since his "I have a Dream Speech" was on this day 47 years ago...too soon?), and anti-American.

That was my first thought when I saw the lineup of events. Standing up to a radical government who is spending my children's futures away, honoring soldiers and other everyday American heroes who make their communities and country a better place, and guest speakers who want to see our liberties restored to their rightful owners...US!

How awful and outrageous! Those racist Tea-Baggers...

On Al Sharpton's other hand, he has the first black-white-Christian-Muslim-socialist-community organizer of a President who just might be the most racially and ethnically polarizing imbecile to ever sit in the Oval Office; yet we have to hear Al "I got my Reverend degree online" Sharpton whine about everyday Americans?

Go figure...

Iraq War VICTORY

I've said before in this forum (and was opposed by a few backwards liberals who continue to...day by day...be proved wrong in their entire ideology) that the Iraq War was justified and even reasonably executed (its war...it will have its ups and downs).

Before I rant, I want to thank all of the men and women who served our country in Iraq. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you to your families. Thank you for keeping the battle abroad and for fighting the ultimate fight. There are no bigger heroes than you. I can proudly say that for the past seven years I have supported you AND your cause...our cause. May God continue to Bless you and yours.

The Congessional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan organization, estimated that the Iraq War cost 709 billion dollars over EIGHT calendar years. Barack Obama has blown through MUCH more money at an alarming and irresponsible pace in LESS THAN TWO years in office. As I said in a previous post, everything Mr. Obama touches turns for the worse. Everything. Consider the following:

- Obama's stimulus, passed in his first month in office, will cost more than the entire Iraq War -- more than $100 billion (15%) more.

- Just the first two years of Obama's stimulus cost more than the entire cost of the Iraq War under President Bush, or six years of that war.

- Iraq War spending accounted for just 3.2% of all federal spending while it lasted.

-Iraq War spending was not even one quarter of what we spent on Medicare in the same time frame.

-Iraq War spending was not even 15% of the total deficit spending in that time frame. The cumulative deficit, 2003-2010, would have been four-point-something trillion dollars with or without the Iraq War.

-The Iraq War accounts for less than 8% of the federal debt held by the public at the end of 2010 ($9.031 trillion).

-During Bush's Iraq years, 2003-2008, the federal government spent more on education that it did on the Iraq War. (State and local governments spent about ten times more.) ~ Hoven 8/22/2010

We might only have two more years to suffer this atrocious excuse of a presidency, but will we still be "us" in two years? At this pace, Barack Obama will ruin the Republic far beyond anything recognizable of our former selves.

It's time to pray...

Iraq War Cost < Obama Stimulus Act

Rewriting History???

Oxymoron

'Devout' Muslims in U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)? Is that an oxymoron?

Maybe...

In April of 2009 (this is the first I've heard of this), Arif Alikhan (top) was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary for Policy Development in the U.S. DHS. Kareem Shora, in June 2009, was appointed to Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Now, are Alikhan and Shora terrorists lurking in the shadows waiting to unleash a stash of anthrax or was this the Obama Administrations continuation of their "Hug a Muslim" policy? Upon review of these two individuals, I'll lean toward the latter (however, Shora gets under my skin a little bit with his views on immigration and foreign policy). Alikhan is very accomplished in judicial law and has been instrumental in stopping cyber crime and supporting California police, fire, and other emergency departments (his efforts helped to hire 1,000 LAPD and secured over $400 million for Homeland Security and public safety grants).

Although I feel that these newly appointed officials are nothing to sweat over, I want to caution the vetting process for such positions. In any elected office, I think it is imperative that we (U.S.) conduct full and thorough investigations of foreign born candidates (including assessments of ideologies). With terrorism taking on a new face, the United States must keep close the influences that promote a global decrease of radicalism and jihad.

At any rate, I think this is just another attempt from the Obama Administration to appeal to the Muslim world...whatever that means.

Everything Obama endorses turns to...

...well, use your imagination. Not even two years into his presidency, Barack Obama is failing. Miserably. With midterm elections approaching in November, Democratic candidates across the country are doing anything they can to hide from Obama's endorsement.

Here's a running list of things that Obama has ruined or further ruined:

1. All foreign policy (maybe Comedy Central is news after all)
2. Iranian nuclear situation (BOOM!)
3. Relationship with Israel (Those silly Jews and their needless democracy)
4. The credibility of the Nobel Peace Prize (I'm winning next year)
5. The economy (flush)
6. The national debt (up, up, and away!)
7. Healthcare ($$$)
8. Race and ethnicity relations (Hug a Muslim today)
9. Immigration/Border control (Hide and Se...OK, maybe just Hide)
10. Democratic candidates seeking political office (run, Run, RUN!)
11. The word "change" (Just typing the word gives me chills...BOO!)
12. The Constitution (minor detail)
13. The Supreme Court (Interview Question: Can you help destroy the Constitution?)
14. Taxes (he's just a fibber)
15. The Middle Class (who needs us anyway?)
16. Job creation (smooth move)
17. The stimulus and bailouts (even the ones we didn't know about)
18. Pro-Life (you can devalue anything now a days)
19. Charitable giving (screw charity...where's mine?)

Anything to add?

Maybe he should endorse AIDS? It might ruin that, too...

Three Things About Islam

Just scratching the surface...

Mosque at 'Ground Zero'

If you haven't heard about this issue, you can check it out here from Al Jazeera itself.

I haven't wrote on this topic for a reason. In writing this blog, I try to keep my content as civil as possible. Some issues that infuriate my soul are better left for others to comment/debate on.

However, I do want to say one thing:

On September 11, 2001, there were burning bodies falling from the sky. These fiery bodies smashed into the rotunda of the WTC, the street, vehicles, and other buildings. People who had to mentally decide; was it better to be burned alive by jet fuel or plunge to their death. Can you fathom this decision? Radical Islam, which is becoming more and more of an influence in the Muslim world, is behind the plummeting of those bodies. Fathers. Mothers. Brothers. Sons and Daughters. Friends. Hell was visible on that morning and now Muslim leaders want to build a mosque on the very grounds where 3,000+ people perished in an all out Holy War. No matter how "moderate" and "peaceful" these Muslims declare themselves to be, there is plenty of evidence around the world (and even within our own borders) of radical theology and militant preaching. Islam (radical and not) is not a religion. It's a degrading lifestyle full of horrid human rights violations and the disgusting rule of Sharia Law.

Could you imagine if Israel erected a statue of Hitler in the heart of Jerusalem; Israel's "Big Apple" and most recognized city?

There is no difference.

None.

Let's stop this madness...

By far the best article written in response to (and to question) this mosque and the State Depatment funded "good faith" trip by the impending(?) WTC Imam:

Will the Real Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf Please Stand Up? (MUST READ!)

President Obama to the World: "I have no spine."

Awwww, look at how smug these two despots are. Oh, what am I talking about? Get a room (or move to California).

I think we can officially say that President Obama is one of, if not the worst (he's battling Jimmy Carter and it's a close race...already), presidents when it comes to foreign policy. As most of the world has already recognized (and this could be the reason why socialists and terrorists endorsed him during his presidential run), Obama is making a mockery out of the United States foreign policy (and we'll throw in the Constitution as well...thanks immigration!).

Defying Obama's "tough" (cough, cough, choking, choking...ok...I'm good) stance on Iran, Russia has decided that it's time to help Iran at it's Bushehr Plant by providing it with nuclear fuel next weekend. This comes despite the United States' "demands" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear fuel. It's almost like a teacher threatening a student with a behavior disorder with a detention. Do you think that kid cares? Iran sure as "H-E-double hockey sticks" (Oh, Hell I can say it...Ben Quayle does) doesn't care; nor any other political entity for that matter.

However, here's the kicker. In a bold move of heroic defiance and sheer political toughness, the Obama Administration has made plans to purchase 21 Russian-made choppers. Take that Russia! Wait...am I missing something? So Russia doesn't agree with our "proposed" sanctions, provides an apocalyptic regime nuclear fuel, and continues to fund a one billion dollar nuclear plant in Iran and we buy 21 helicopters from them? Did we run out of material to build those or something?

I think Barry Obama is getting his foreign policy advice from inside a Cracker Jacks box. Either that...or Joe Biden.

Ben Quayle

Good way to start your political career, Mr. Quayle. Two thumbs up from this corner.

Vote of No Confidence

What if the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) union voted unanimously to support a statement that President Obama was not enforcing environmental laws?

That would probably be big news, right? Maybe even make the mainstream news?

Well, this past Monday the Washington Times reported that the union that represents ICE (U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcements) unanimously passed a "vote of no confidence" for the agency's leadership. "The National Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 7,000 ICE agents and employees, stated that ICE has "abandoned" its core mission of protecting the public to support a political agenda favoring amnesty. The vote, by the Union's Council, was 259-0" (Power Line).

Now, let's not forget that the Executive Branch, starting at the top with the President, is in charge of making sure that the laws of the United States are carried out. Basically, the heads at ICE (John Morton and Phyllis Coven) are following the preferences of the Obama Administration (which wants uncontrolled immigration and some sort of amnesty) and blatantly not performing its Constitutional duty.

Here's the ridiculous part: the ridiculous claim (and judicial challenge paid for by our tax dollars) that the Arizona immigration law is unconstitutional for attempting to ENFORCE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS. The United States government has failed us and it all comes down on the "Commander and Chief." Is this grounds for impeachment?

Birthright Citizenship?

Should the guarantee of birthright citizenship come to an end in the United States?

In a recent review of Census data, the Census Bureau found that (at least) 8 percent of children born in the United States were born to illegal aliens. That means that out of the 4.3 million babies that were born in the U.S., roughly 340,000 children were born to undocumented aliens and were naturally granted citizenship. "In addition, high birthrates among undocumented aliens give that population a similar share of children in the U.S. The study finds that children born to illegal immigrants account for 7 percent of the total population of people under the age of 18, or 5.1 million children. Four million, or 79 percent, of those children were born in the United States, making them U.S. citizens."

I see this as a very legitimate issue and a national concern. Personally, I would favor an amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed birthright citizenship to children that are born to U.S. citizens. That could include legal immigrants that have gained citizenship or parents that are natural-born citizens themselves.

"Such a change would require a Constitutional amendment, which two-thirds of Congress would have to approve before state legislatures consider the measure, and three-quarters of those must agree to the provision for it to become part of the Constitution."

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/08/11/illegal-immigrants-bear-8-children-born-us#ixzz0wMMvx6Dn

“You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs”

Rick Moran discusses Jeffrey Goldberg's commentary on the United States, Israeli, and Iranian relationship. A breaking point will eventually occur. The question are: When and How will the consequences be viewed around the world? Personally, I believe it will be a resounding victory for the West and influence moderate Muslim countries that have been on the fence when it comes to denouncing radical, theocratic Muslim states.

Goldberg brilliantly lays out most of the dire consequences of such a strike:

When the Israelis begin to bomb the uranium-enrichment facility at Natanz, the formerly secret enrichment site at Qom, the nuclear-research center at Esfahan, and possibly even the Bushehr reactor, along with the other main sites of the Iranian nuclear program, a short while after they depart en masse from their bases across Israel-regardless of whether they succeed in destroying Iran's centrifuges and warhead and missile plants, or whether they fail miserably to even make a dent in Iran's nuclear program-they stand a good chance of changing the Middle East forever; of sparking lethal reprisals, and even a full-blown regional war that could lead to the deaths of thousands of Israelis and Iranians, and possibly Arabs and Americans as well; of creating a crisis for Barack Obama that will dwarf Afghanistan in significance and complexity; of rupturing relations between Jerusalem and Washington, which is Israel's only meaningful ally; of inadvertently solidifying the somewhat tenuous rule of the mullahs in Tehran; of causing the price of oil to spike to cataclysmic highs, launching the world economy into a period of turbulence not experienced since the autumn of 2008, or possibly since the oil shock of 1973; of placing communities across the Jewish diaspora in mortal danger, by making them targets of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks, as they have been in the past, in a limited though already lethal way; and of accelerating Israel's conversion from a once-admired refuge for a persecuted people into a leper among nations.

Goldberg notes that with success, the Israelis will buy time (probably putting the Iranian program back 3-5 years), earn the secret thanks of most of the moderate Arab regimes in the Middle East, and will have stopped potential proliferation to terrorist groups in its tracks.

Is that worth initiating a strike that could lead to World War III?

What will the Russians do if the Israeli's hit Bushehr? It is likely they will kill Russian technicians in such a strike since they are building the facility under contract with Tehran. Will Vladmir Putin take the death of Russian scientists and technicians lying down? What if he retaliates against Israel? What would be the American response to that?

August, 1914?

Unleashing Hezb'allah against the western world, stirring up trouble in Iraq by ordering the Shia militias into the streets, not to mention a missile campaign against Israel that could kill thousands (at which point Israel may decide that to save its people, it must expand its own bombing campaign, escalating the conflict to the next level) - this alone could ratchet up tensions causing the world to start choosing up sides.

And no America with the will or the self-confidence to step in and assist the world in standing down.

Obama's foreign policy is not anti-American, unpatriotic, or designed to favor Muslims. It's just weak. The president has made the conscious decision that the US is too powerful and needs to defer to supra-national organizations like the UN, or regional line ups like NATO or the Arab League when conflict is threatened. "First among equals" is not rhetoric to Obama. He means it. He has been thoroughly indoctrinated with the idea that most of the world's troubles have been caused by a too-powerful United States and hence, only the deliberate eschewing the promotion of American interests can redress this sin.

This will be the first world crisis since the end of World War II where American power and prestige will not be used to intervene in order to prevent catastrophe. Obama is betting the farm that his worldview will be more conducive to defusing a crisis than the more realpolitik and pragmatic point of view that has dominated American foreign policy for 65 years.

We are shortly going to find out whether good intentions really matter in international affairs.

To further read Goldberg's analysis, please read his article at The Atlantic.

The Point of No Return

"A half truth is a whole lie." Yiddish Proverb

"I can make a firm pledge, under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." ~ Barack Obama

Let's play a little game. Let's call it "Did Obama Lie To You?" Read through the new tax hikes (or the expiration of current tax cuts) that will take place on January 1, 2011 under the Obama Administration (at least 20 new taxes from ObamaCare alone). To win, you must be able to read the following article and not be affected by one item on this list. My guess? A bunch of losers read this blog (not literally, I love you all). The following is written and researched by Americans for Tax Reform's Ryan Ellis.

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

Second Wave: Obamacare

There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:

The Tanning Tax. This went into effect on July 1st of this year. It imposes a new, 10% excise tax on getting a tan at a tanning salon. There is no exemption for tanners making less than $250,000 per year.

The “Medicine Cabinet Tax” Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin).

The HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike. This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.

Brand Name Drug Tax. Starting next year, there will be a multi-billion dollar tax assessment imposed on name-brand drug manufacturers. This tax, like all excise taxes, will raise the price of medicine, hurting everyone.

Economic Substance Doctrine. The IRS is now empowered to disallow perfectly-legal tax deductions and maneuvers merely because it judges that the deduction or action lacks “economic substance.” This is obviously an arbitrary empowerment of IRS agents.

Employer Reporting of Health Insurance Costs on a W-2. This will start for W-2s in the 2011 tax year. While not a tax increase in itself, it makes it very easy for Congress to tax employer-provided healthcare benefits later.

Third Wave: The Alternative Minimum Tax and Employer Tax Hikes

When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they’ll be in for a nasty surprise—the AMT won’t be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired. These major items include:

The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center, Congress’ failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families—rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.

Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or “depreciate”) equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be “depreciated.”

Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the “research and experimentation tax credit,” but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs.

Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available. Tax credits for education will be limited. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.

Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual “required minimum distribution.” This ability will no longer be there.

Read more: http://atr.org/six-months-untilbr-largest-tax-hikes-a5171##ixzz0wEbS3ql8

ObamaCare: The sum of all fears

Ed Morrissey digs deep to uncover the truth about our new health care regulations that will be implemented by the Obama Administration. Even though the post takes awhile to get through (with links and video included), the information is very eyeopening...to say the least.

When will the common citizen understand that the federal government doesn't care about the issue of health care. The government doesn't care about your plan or your neighbor's plan. It doesn't care about what's covered and what's not covered. It cares about victimhood. The more victims the government creates, the less personal responsibility.

The Constitution pronounces it a self-evident truth that human beings “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights’’ - rights that include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration’s very next sentence affirms that the purpose of government is to “secure’’ those rights against infringement. It's not, and never will be a guaranteed right. It's a commodity. You have to purchase it. A right to religious freedom? It's mine. Anywhere. Anytime. A right to freedom of speech? A right to own property? Anywhere. Anytime. It's my choice. My quality and quantity. No commodities.

Healthcare is a responsibility. It's human nature to be responsible for the well-being of our fellow man. It's not my right. It's not my privilege. It's a responsibility and that is how we should be attacking this issue. You are very passionate about others needs and the stories that go along with those needs. But, rights do not come from needs and passion. Wanting something does not entitle you or anyone else to it. The rights in the Constitution are considered negative rights...allows us to live peacefully while trying to achieve happiness without coercing others or being coerced by them.

If I have a "right" to health care, then someone else is paying for it. Someone else is paying for that care. How is that freedom? That's no more free than a man in debt is to his credit card company. A "right" to healthcare, especially government mandated, leaves a society less free...plain and simple.

It sounds great to have a passion for this issue. But, the fact of the matter is that healthcare is a commodity that is tied, forever, to the market. If you want to throw education and healthcare into the same category...why not food and clothing? Both are essential to human welfare, right? Why not nationalize food production and the clothing industry? Why? Because both are seen as commodities and their availability is left to the market....thus abundance and diversity.

But, our "help-everybody-everywhere-all-the-time" philosophy just doesn't work. It never has and it never will. People will always need help. No society has ever been classless. And we should do everything that we can to help. But, we live in the greatest system ever devised. A market that allows for people to be reached in the furthest degree (we have over 300 million people for God's sake). Healthcare is a good. It's a service. And just like any other, it needs the least government involvement, normal supply, demand, and competition to truly survive and THRIVE.

ObamaCare: The sum of all fears

Allen West

Allen West is currently running for United States Congress in Florida's 22nd District. A retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel, West is an amazing conservative politician, decorated soldier, orator, historian, and defender of the Constitution. The following speech is from February 19, 2010 at the FREEDOM DEFENSE INITIATIVE INAUGURAL EVENT at CPAC, hosted by Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller.

Personally, I hope Allen West makes a quick rise in the political realm before the 2012 presidential election. This is the type of man, with the convictions that he has, that needs to be in the Oval Office and protecting our rights and liberties. God Bless Allen West and his principled leadership.