Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Web Sites for the Gov Race:

A few weeks back I took a shot at Pirro for having her website state that it’s “under construction”, which I will point out still is. This just mind boggles me since I can pull any 12-year-old off the street who could at a minimum get her photo up there.

This time around though, I thought I would checkout the website of those running for Governor and give my impressions.

Bill Weld: I was impressed with this site. The coloring was good with four well placed photos of the great state, with Weld’s photo overlapping. I like the fact that the web master didn’t try and overwhelm me early with every piece of information possible. I felt welcomed as it had the feel of a brochure that you would find in the office of a Boston travel agent.

The links were inviting with his “volunteer center” being very user-friendly. He also had a link that opens up another box that allows visitors to register to vote.
I rate it an 8 out of 10.

John Faso: The home page has no main focus point when you first get in making it all very confusing. Unlike Weld’s site where the first thing you see is “Bill Weld for New York” standing out in the middle, Faso’s site has your eye trying to stand still as there is things jumping out all over. I first thought I was at a CBS 2 news site instead of Faso for Gov, because that was the biggest thing my eye caught. The CBS 2 link is in the middle, while Faso for Gov is in the top left being consumed by links to every news station imaginable.

Additionally the text choice is horrible and not very appealing. Next he has “What’s New” with today’s date yet all the news is old. A link to latest news would have done just as well.

I have to say I wasn’t very impressed and hope that he got that site donated because he definitely shouldn’t have paid for it.

I rate it a 5 out of 10

Pat Manning: Again another site like Faso that has just too much going on for a homepage. At least Manning’s site does have some central focus when you go in, with them being photo’s. He also has a “message from Pat Manning” on his homepage that should have been cut off with a link to the rest of it on another page.

Like Faso the font and text is a poor choice with the color blue so rampant that it makes you want to leave before your eyes go blind. My biggest complaint is the “check out our endorsements” section on the left hand side, where he has everyone with a pulse in the Conservative party listed. I could have sworn reading through that I saw Steuben County dogcatcher at one point.

I rate it a 6 out of 10

Randy Daniels: By far the most impressive. Randy is the main focus, with a nice pace of ever changing photos and comments. You can see whoever put this site together really new what they were doing and has a flair for design. Another interesting thing is he has a link that translates his message into four other languages, Korean, Chinese, Creole and Spanish. He also has a link informing you how to register to vote like Weld.

What I liked best though is that his site invites you to explore. The links up top are rollovers that invite you to choose other options and explore his record and vision all within a comfortable setting.

Besides a dead link of photos on his Creole page, the site was just beautiful.

I rate it a 9.5 out of 10

The Deconstructing of America?

The book currently latched to the side of my hip is "Who Are We” by Samuel Huntington. You may recall that I recently mentioned Mr. Huntington because of his book “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order”, which was written in the late 1990’s and predicted much of what is happening today. Based on that amazing bestseller, I had to read his most recent book, “Who Are We”, which focuses on the challenges facing America’s historical identity.

I bring it up because once again his opinions are playing out in real life just as he wrote them. In one part of his book, he writes about the “Americanization” of our country, which took place from its founding up until about the 1960’s. The idea behind “Americanization” was to get new immigrants like my Italian and Hungarian descendants to assimilate to the “Anglo-American Protestant traditions and values” that shaped our nation. He goes on to mention how after the 1960’s our country went from one of “Americanization” to one of “Deconstructing”, where certain groups started recommending, “immigrants maintain their birth country cultures”.

I bring up this subject because coincidently I opened up today’s New York Sun to learn that New York City’s education department has approved to spend over $2 million a year to translate school documents for non-English speaking parents. This coincides with the over $10 million spent on other bilingual services. It’s relevant to Mr. Huntington’s book because he talks about how during “Americanization”, the central institution behind it was our public school system whose “creation and expansion in the mid-nineteenth century was, indeed, in part dictated by and shaped by the perceived need for Americanization”. For me his comments make perfect sense listening to stories from my parents about their experiences in the public school system. The move today to create these bilingual services also ties into Mr. Huntington’s “Deconstruction” idea where he talks about how public schools and the liberal school boards attached to them have been the driving force behind it.

Maybe everyone else finds this stuff boring but I find it interesting to stop and see how things are changing for the better or worse. More importantly I respect guys like Huntington who see it happening before anyone else.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Dead Last:

The Tax Foundation has released a report that puts New York State last when it comes to creating a business friendly environment. The Foundations opinion is based on the States triple play of high business taxes, high income taxes and high sales taxes.

Of course most of the problem has been thanks to an out of control Albany, which the Gov. has had the unfortunate pleasure of battling every year with over the budget.

With this report though, it’s comforting to know that Elliot Spitzer might be our next Gov. since he has said part of his plan is to invest in transportation and education. When a Democrat uses the word “invest”, it usually means they plan on investing your money through higher taxes.

I can’t wait.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Here’s one to get people excited

If Saddam was good for anything in Iraq, it was to keep three completely different groups under control. Ever since his removal, despite several successful elections, the Shia and Sunni that make up most of Iraq have been hard at work trying to kill each other while the Kurds, the third party in the group, have been quite bystanders thanks to the autonomous region they call home in the north.

These daily killings have raised the talk of an imminent civil war to the horror of most of the world and glee to most of the Democratic Party. I’ll raise the question though, being the gutsy guy in the group, would a civil war be all that bad? Now before those who have a hard time having a lively debate start calling me a warmonger, recognize I’m simply bringing up the topic for the sake of discussion.

If we look at past civil wars, which there have been several dozen, some have been disasters or beginnings of much larger conflicts like the Spanish Civil War was to World War II. However there have been others like the American Civil War that has unified a nation. Prior to the American Civil War, the United States was just that, a group of states that didn’t consider themselves a nation but instead a union of states who felt no allegiance to the constitution or underlying country. It wasn’t until after the North’s decisive victory did the idea of the U.S. being a nation come to be, with the Spanish American War acting as the event that finally glued all the states together.

I see the biggest problem with Iraq currently being that the parties involved have no allegiance to the country itself, the way the South had no allegiance to America. A civil war could be the event that brings these groups together because it appears elections haven’t been working. The way things have been progressing it appears that someone is going to have to beat these groups into submission, whether it be by each other or us. If we don’t let them fight it out and we can’t get things under control, then maybe letting each group secede to form their own country might be the only other option.

Someone has to dissent

It’s obvious by now that most people here feel that I’m a buffoon when it comes to my support of the President and the Dubai port deal. I have given a number of reasons why this dispute is just politicians taking advantage of an ignorant public for political gain with the pile on getting higher and higher. Since my word obviously doesn’t mean much, I though I would reprint a copy of a Wall St. Journal Op Ed. I look forward to the hearing some responses on this rag tag paper.


Ports of Politics
How to sound like a hawk without being one.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 12:01 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is the latest Republican to broadcast his "independence" from President Bush on homeland security, yesterday joining Senator Lindsey Graham, Representative Peter King and numerous state politicians in calling on the Administration to stop a deal that would allow a United Arab Emirates company to manage six major U.S. ports.
The Democrats are also piling on, and we'll speak to that in a moment, but this behavior of Republicans strikes us as peculiar coming from people who claim to support the war on terror. Mr. Graham told Fox News that the Administration's decision allowing the state-owned Dubai Ports World to run commercial operations at U.S. ports was "tone deaf politically." The voluble Senator said this is no time "to outsource major port security to a foreign-based company" and that "most Americans are scratching their heads wondering, 'Why this company, from this region, now?' "

Some of us are scratching our heads all right, but we're wondering why Mr. Graham and others believe Dubai Ports World has been insufficiently vetted for the task at hand. So far, none of the critics have provided any evidence that the Administration hasn't done its due diligence. The deal has been blessed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a multiagency panel that includes representatives from the departments of Treasury, Defense and Homeland Security.

Yes, some of the 9/11 hijackers were UAE citizens. But then the London subway bombings last year were perpetrated by citizens of Britain, home to the company (P&O) that currently manages the ports that Dubai Ports World would take over. Which tells us three things: First, this work is already being outsourced to "a foreign-based company"; second, discriminating against a Mideast company offers no security guarantees because attacks are sometimes homegrown; and third, Mr. Graham likes to talk first and ask questions later.

Besides, the notion that the Bush Administration is farming out port "security" to hostile Arab nations is alarmist nonsense. Dubai Ports World would be managing the commercial activities of these U.S. ports, not securing them. There's a difference. Port security falls to Coast Guard and U.S. Customs officials. "Nothing changes with respect to security under the contract," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday. "The Coast Guard is in charge of security, not the corporation."

In a telephone interview yesterday, Kristie Clemens of U.S. Customs and Border Protection elaborated that "Customs and Border Protection has the sole responsibility for the cargo processing and cargo security, incoming and outgoing. The port authority sets the guidelines for the entire port, and port operators have to follow those guidelines." Again, nothing in the pending deal would affect that arrangement.

The timing of this sudden uproar is also a tad suspicious. A bidding war for the British-owned P&O has been going on since last autumn, and the P&O board accepted Dubai's latest offer last month. The story only blew up last week, as a Florida firm that is a partner with P&O in Miami, Continental Stevedoring and Terminals Inc., filed a suit to block the purchase. Miami's mayor also sent a letter of protest to Mr. Bush. It wouldn't be the first time if certain politicians were acting here on behalf of private American commercial interests.
Critics also forget, or conveniently ignore, that the UAE government has been among the most helpful Arab countries in the war on terror. It was one of the first countries to join the U.S. container security initiative, which seeks to inspect cargo in foreign ports. The UAE has assisted in training security forces in Iraq, and at home it has worked hard to stem terrorist financing and WMD proliferation. UAE leaders are as much an al Qaeda target as Tony Blair.

As for the Democrats, we suppose this is a two-fer: They have a rare opportunity to get to the right of the GOP on national security, and they can play to their union, anti-foreign investment base as well. At a news conference in front of New York harbor, Senator Chuck Schumer said allowing the Arab company to manage ports "is a homeland security accident waiting to happen." Hillary Clinton is also along for this political ride.
So the same Democrats who lecture that the war on terror is really a battle for "hearts and minds" now apparently favor bald discrimination against even friendly Arabs investing in the U.S.? Guantanamo must be closed because it's terrible PR, wiretapping al Qaeda in the U.S. is illegal, and the U.S. needs to withdraw from Iraq, but these Democratic superhawks simply will not allow Arabs to be put in charge of American longshoremen. That's all sure to play well on al Jazeera.

Yesterday Mr. Bush defended his decision to allow the investment to go ahead, and he threatened what would be his first veto if Congress tries to block it. We hope this time he means it.


Copyright © 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

NYYRC Supports Call to Block Port Deal

For Immediate Release, February 22, 2006
Contact: Jen Saunders
Email: pr@nyyrc.com

THE NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, INC.
SUPPORTS CALL TO BLOCK PORT DEAL


New York, NY: The New York Young Republican Club, Inc. supports Governor George Pataki, Senator Bill Frist, Representatives Peter King and Vito Fosella, and many other members of Congress, Governors and Mayors who have opposed the sale of American port security to the United Arab Emirates Company Dubai Ports World, a state-owned company.

After the proposed sale of operations of six American ports became public last week, a number of public officials have come out in opposition to the sale. Yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist called upon the White House to stop the deal. NYYRC President Dennis Cariello stated "Even though the United Arab Emirates may be an official ally, we cannot ignore the fact that many of the hijackers on Sept. 11 trained there and the country has many terrorist sympathizers." President Cariello continued, "We cannot risk the possibility that this company may hire workers who harbor hostility towards the United States."

Governor Pataki and Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich suggested they may pursue legal maneuvers, including canceling leases to run the ports, if the sale goes through. New Jersey has filed a lawsuit this morning. President Cariello remarked "I commend Governor Pataki for doing whatever he can to make sure our ports are in good hands. Our ports are vulnerable; we cannot ignore a blatant security risk." President Cariello continued, "If this company was going to be responsible for operating security at one of our airports, this deal never would have been permitted, and it should not be permitted at our ports either."

The New York Young Republican Club would also like to wish Governor Pataki well after yesterday's surgery.

The New York Young Republican Club, Inc., is a not-for-profit political organization that exists to bring Republicans aged 18-40 together to discuss the Republican Party platform and aid the Republican Party in the education of the public about the Republican agenda and the promotion of Republican candidates for office. To find out more about the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. please visit the Website at http://www.nyyrc.com.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Bush is right about the ports:

Looks like we have a good old fight on our hands by a surprisingly united Dem and Rep House and Senate versus President Bush. Looking at the two sides it’s interesting how the one side, President Bush who is not up for reelection, has nothing to loose and who can do the right thing is calling for the deal to pass. The other side that conveniently now has an issue is against the deal despite the ports being owned by the British and every other port in this country being owned by a foreign entity from Hong Kong to the Singapore government. These politicians have conveniently found an issue that they can get America to sweat over giving them a chance to appear strong on terrorism when the ownership of the ports is irrelevant to the issue.

I think it is summed up best by comments from a Homeland Security official who stated in today’s FT, “do you know how much influence the owner has over what happens at US ports? Zero. Since September 11, security at US ports has been legislated, its been regulated and the question of who owns the company is irrelevant.”

The reason it’s “irrelevant” is because as I commented yesterday, the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs control what comes in and out of the ports.

Does anyone know how many foreign government owned airlines fly into the U.S. everyday? Nobody complains about that considering those countries from Saudi Arabia and the like can plant anything in its cargo hold. They don’t complain because like the ports, those planes and what’s on them is checked by Customs.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Parents Beware of Spitzer:

Has Elliot Spitzer given Republicans an opening? Spitzer in his drive for Governor yesterday claimed that he would sign legislation that would force pharmacists to let women and young girls buy the “morning after” pill without a prescription. If we recall Governor Pataki had vetoed the bill previously because he wanted young girls to get parental notification before purchasing it. Spitzer in his comments, said that “politics” should not decide, yet his support of the bill is completely based on politics.

Personally I think any Republican candidate can have a field day with this. There are millions of parents in this state who can have their stomachs turned by the thought of their 13-year-old daughter walking into CVS to buy a “morning after" pill without them knowing, which is what would happen if Spitzer signed the bill. Some well-placed commercials showing young girls abusing the drug, with the tag line “don’t you want to know what your daughter is doing”, should work wonders.

The pro-abortion groups love the bill and the idea of a “morning after” pill is ok with FDA approval for grown women if deemed legal to sell. This however is about people like Elliot Spitzer trying to remove my right and responsibility as a parent to monitor my child.

I find it absolutely hysterical that if a teenager wants to buy a pack of smokes they have to show ID that they’re 18, beer 21, an R rated movie 17 and even Hillary Clinton is trying to get a law passed that would make it illegal to sell a video game to a minor if the rating is M for mature. Yet some 14-year-old girl who wants to buy a powerful drug like the “morning after” pill, no problem.

The contraceptive bill that Elliot Spitzer wants to pass in its current state is nothing more then an attack on parenthood. Elliot for the first time has fumbled the ball and guys like Faso, Manning and Weld should pick it up and run with it.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Welcome to the Port of New York -- Gateway to the United Arab Emirates

Reading today's headlines, you probably know that the "Cheney victim" has given a press conference. You'll know that there is question as to whether a man who allegedly shot and killed his wife and child will get a fair trial. You'll know that the dog that won the Westminster Kennel competition is missing. You'll know that there is a $1 million bounty on the head of a cartoonist. You'll know that you can easily find out about the people who have been shot, robbed, were injured or are sick in this country in the last 24 hours.

I went to the US pages of Yahoo News, Google News, Fox News and CNN, just to see what the big domestic headlines were. These are the news stories that should inform people on the issues that are critical to this nation. One shouldn't have to dig for them; you should be able to see these headlines with one or two clicks. I find it odd, then, that one news story has been swept under the so-called prayer rug.

So, in case you missed it, shipping terminals in NY, NJ, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia, were sold to Dubai Ports World -- a company owned by the United Arab Emirates. I don't know about you, but I don't really want or need to know more to be a bit dubious about this deal. Only Drudge has a link to it up on his page, right up top.

(As I was writing this, it looked like maybe CNN was about to do a story on it. The President was giving a speech in Miami, but I guess they got too bored with him yammering on about how we need to continue to fight terrorism...since the President didn't mention anything about the port sale in the 30 seconds they aired, why should they?)


But it gets even better, because according to Reuters, guess who's introducing legislation to block this deal? Our very own junior senator from NY! (Actually, there is a whole list of lawmakers involved in this from both sides of the aisle, as there should be -- this is not a partisan matter.)

Look, I don't care who looks into this -- this has that same uneasy feeling that the CNOOC purchase of Unocal had (which was ultimately blocked). What's next, a sale of mining companies to an Iranian company? Come on.

Update: No sooner do I hit "publish" than do CNN and CNBC both mention this story. Still, this should be top news. This should be ALL OVER the business pages, political pages, etc.

It’s not about winning the battle; it’s about winning the war.

Using commonsense, it’s not being out of line as Republicans, to say that the chance of someone defeating Hillary Clinton for New York Senate is unlikely. Though we have the pleasure of having a Republican governor, his election resulted from having a former governor that more than overstayed his welcome at a time when even Democrats could recognize a state in decline and a shakeup was needed. Even in New York City, a liberal stronghold, Giuliani won (not on his first try remember) because the prior mayor was a disaster who did more to separate the city than unite it. The city was such a mess that again, even Democrats new some toughness had to be brought back in.

Fortunately for the state and unfortunately for the Republican Party, New York State is currently not in that same situation and Hillary has definitely not overstayed her welcome in the eyes of most voters. This does not mean that as Republicans we should throw in the towel or that there is no purpose in spending money to run against her. Though the small battle that can be waged against her for New York Senate will most likely end up in a loss, the battle itself should have a positive effect for a Republican victory in the overall war for the 2008 Presidency.

If you notice when nobody is looking Hillary makes sure to try and lay a foundation where she can represent herself as a moderate come 2008 so she can appeal to southern voters. Yesterday was a perfect example when she agreed by a yea vote with other senators to allow the extension of the Patriot Act (one of the most hated policies by the left) to come to a vote in the Senate where it will most likely pass. What candidates like John Spence and whoever will get the Republican nod should do, is force Senator Clinton to constantly take positions that are extreme left throughout the campaign. Making her take these positions will create great sound bites and quotes that can be used against her in 2008 when she has to appeal to a national audience that leans more to the right if anything. Forcing her to take stances on things like gun control, abortion, immigration, and the like that won't win New York but do matter to someone down south in states like Kentucky where electoral votes have been shifting and the presidency won, will end up hurting her in the long run and screw up her plan of trying to appeal as a moderate.

Though the skirmish Republicans will wage against Hillary for Senate will most likely go down as a short-term defeat, when the smoke clears enough damage should have been done for Republicans to win the war of 08.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

At least he admits it.

Today it was the Senates turn to question our new Fed Governor Bernanke and use the opportunity to try and get him to trash the President and his economic policy. Bernanke on that note did a great job of making sure not to get sucked into their tricks.

The best part of the day though came from Senator Schumer. Many have read my complaints about the Senator and his call for Smoot Hawley type tariffs on China. When it was his time to speak, he actually said to Bernanke that as the Fed Gov was aware I (Schumer) have tried to float the tariff idea in the senate despite, and here’s the great part, he knowing it’s the wrong thing to do and every economist he has spoken too, telling him it’s the wrong thing to do. Schumer than says he brought up the idea because he doesn’t know what else to do.

That’s great, you don’t know what to do, so you try and do the one thing you know is the wrong thing to do.

Why is this guy on the Senate Finance Committee?

Hey Chuck, just because you come from the economic capital of the world, doesn’t mean you know anything about economics.

Quote of the day

Today’s “The American Spectator” has a great article by R. Emmett Tyrell Jr., who is its Editor in Chief. His article, “Our Angry Left”, is an entertaining read while making some interesting points, like how “Carter was also careful not to mention that early in his political career he had courted the Georgia Ku Klux Klan”.

My favorite quote though and the one of the day is:

“Possibly when the mullahs and potentates of Araby see the incomparable wrathfulness of America's left-wing women, they will revise their thinking on male-only street demonstrations.”

Thank you for calling 311, alternate siding parking is in effect. Huh?

Coming out of my house this morning, I was walking down the block and passed my car when I realized that it was parked on the Thursday side. My first reaction, knowing alternate side has been canceled every day so far and that the whole side of the street still had its cars parked on it, that there was no way the city would have alternate side parking in effect. Then I stopped and thought to myself that I know this city to well to trust it, so I grabbed my cell and dialed good old 311. Sure enough within a few seconds it said, “alternate side parking was in effect”.

I have to ask, has the Mayor, Department of Sanitation, Transportation or whoever is in charge, seen neighborhoods like Queens? I don’t know about anyone else but my neighborhood got dumped on with over two feet of snow and despite the warm weather those five feet high piles of snow that people made digging out has still not completely melted. Some cars that the owners have not dugout still have a good foot of snow along their car where the city plow blocked them in.

What I want to know is where does the city think people are going to find a spot considering snow mounds have taken up most spots? With both sides of the street available there’s barely enough spots because of the snow still present, let alone having only one side.

Fortunately my car is a gas guzzling SUV and I busted out of my plowed in truck and found a spot around the block after driving over another mound. My sympathy is for those people who just assumed the city wouldn’t have been that greedy in wanting to write tickets and didn’t bother to check who will probably come home to find a nice orange note on their windshield.

The best though is when I stayed on the line of 311 to voice a complaint; the woman first didn’t know who to reference the complaint too. When I suggested the Department of Sanitation since they clean the streets she put me on hold for several minutes before coming back to give me an address to the Department of Transportation. What they have to do with the issue is beyond me. That’s like writing a letter to Wal-Mart to complain about Target. I just told her to have a nice day and told myself I’m crazy if I thought calling would get me anything but a missed bus.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Under Construction?

With all the talk of Republicans loosing the state, one spot that Republicans could steal is the seat for Attorney General. Jeanine Pirro’s move to forget about running for Senate and go after a seat she has a thousand times better chance of winning was a good move. My mother in-law who is the most bipartisan person I know when it comes to voting, said of Pirro’s move to run for AG, “now I can vote for her”.

My confusion though is on her website www.jeaninepirro.com which when you go there claims to be under construction. With ten months before the election, somebody please get something up! Anything! At least a homepage with her picture. Especially since she’s sending out announcements with her website on it.

For the Teachers Union, it’s all about the students. Riiiiiiight

Governor Pataki’s plan to have New York join a growing number of states that offer tax credits to parents who want to send their children to private school is gaining momentum. Yesterday the Governor, parents, children and even Cardinal Egan stood on the steps of the state capitol to push the issue.

The constant pounding of the issue seems to be starting to work as the plans biggest opponent, the teachers union and its leader Randi Weingarten, have signaled that they might finally give in on the issue.

Of course though in the spirit of the union they won’t give in without getting something in return. Ms. Weingarten said she would possibly support the credits if the state promised to follow through with a court request to spend an additional $23 billion over five years to the school system.

As I said yesterday, money is not the problem. Catholic schools currently have a higher graduation rate among student while spending considerably less per student then public schools do. It currently costs a parent a little over $4,000 to send their child to a Catholic grammar school compared to the almost $18,000 it costs the city for a public student.

Looking at the numbers it is no wonder the Gov. would rather pay tax credits for private school then continue to shell out money for public school. The state would save millions of dollars that could be used elsewhere, like if I dare say it, healthcare.

The teacher’s union opposition continues to be about one thing, their interests not the students. Numbers don’t lie and the numbers show that a large number of students in the public system can get just as good if not better of an education in private school at much less the cost to the taxpayer. The teachers like any business is concerned about the competition and know they can’t compete and are afraid it will start to lead to a decline in their ranks. This is the reason Democrats are fighting the plan because the teachers union is a big voting base and they need to continue to keep them in their back pocket.

Ms. Weingarten request for the $23 billion is just a way to keep the union fed and she in charge. My opinion is the Governor should take a page out of Bloomberg’s book and give into Weingarten’s shortsighted request to give the state a long-term benefit. If we recall Bloomberg agreed to give Weingarten and the union a raise when he first took office but at the cost that the union give up control of the school board. It cost the city money but the Mayor took control and the students have benefited ever since, while the union now wonders what they did. The Gov should give them the extra $4 billion a year for the next five years just to get the tax credit system started. By the time the five years are up, the tax credit system will be in full force and people will realize that it’s a much better deal leading to a public school system that will need less money to insure a “sound basic education” that the state constitution calls for, saving money for the taxpayer in the long run.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

A Reminder That We Are Actually Doing Good Things in Iraq

Just in case you seem to think that we are losing the war in Iraq and that no good can come of what we're doing, read this letter from the Mayor of Tall'Afar, Iraq at the Mudville Gazette. And while you're reading the part about what these animals do to the bodies of dead children, think of the idiots who have nothing better to do with their lives than to be "outraged" by a stupid cartoon. Then ask yourself to which issue would the outrage be better directed.

Spencer gets conservative nod:

John Spencer’s website is claiming it has received a unanimous endorsement by the Conservative Party’s Executive Committee to run for Senate against Hillary Clinton.

At the same time the former Mayor of Yonkers is ready to test out a new TV ad that attacks Clinton on her terrorism record. The ad focuses on the known Al-Qaeda terrorist Iyman Faris who was found guilty in May 1, 2003 of plotting to blow of up the Brooklyn Bridge, who was discovered through the Presidents NSA wire taps. The ad claims that by Hillary fighting against the wiretaps she is leaving our city vulnerable.

For you Spencer fans, you can see the ad here.

Disturbing numbers? I say disturbing parents.

Yesterday the Department of Education released numbers that showed only 64% of students who started high school in 2001 graduated in four years. For New York City the number was even worse, with only 44% graduating. This number was less then Mayor Bloomberg’s figure of 53% but that’s because the states numbers didn’t take into account students who graduated a month later or those that got GED’s instead.

Whether the number is 44% or 53% they’re both unacceptable but should we really be pointing blame at our elected officials, board of education and its teachers? Now people who know me know I’m not a fan of the teachers union and I always make sure to get in a nice debate with my teacher friends when contract time rolls around but one thing we do agree on is that the failures of the students in the system is not their fault.

When it comes to schoolwork we all know that as a young adult it’s easy to cast it aside for one of the many distractions present. It’s a time in your life when friends and your popularity are more important than what you want to be when you’re 30. It always amazes me how our politicians and the media discuss the public school system as if it is failing the students. One of the greatest comments I ever heard about the system came from our former Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, who during a dinner said, “you can throw another billion dollars into the system but it’s not going to fix the problem”.

I agree that at this point, with the billions that are spent on it already, more money isn’t going to make it better. What I believe is that we have to not look at the ones who don’t graduate on time but at the ones that do. I will argue that if you look at that group you will find students whose parents take an active roll in their children’s schooling, making sure their work is complete before their social activities. As someone who had the pleasure of going to Catholic School, I will argue that the teachers in Catholic School aren’t any better than those in public. The difference is that as a parent who pays money to send their child to school, that vested interest causes them to get involved leading to the almost 100% graduation rate that Catholic Schools have.

Long Island is no different. It is said that Long Island has some of the best school districts in the country but why is that? For me it would only make sense that a parent who is paying over $10,000 in taxes because of the school system would, like catholic school parents, feel they have a vested interest and make sure their children do well and at a minimum graduate on time.

I would like to see our Mayor, City Council and the rest do what they should and finally start publicly calling parents out on how they’re failing their children and the future of this country. The city can give the teachers 100% raises and have the best written textbooks in the world but if that child goes home to a house where the parents don’t say “what did you learn today” or make sure they do their work before anything else and help them when needed, then it will be all for nothing. The ones failing the children are the ones that should be caring the most.

Monday, February 13, 2006

And they say the U.S. is a dictatorship:

The term dictatorship has been thrown around allot lately in regards to the President and his attempts to protect our nation.

Today I came across an article on MSNBC that helps put in perspective what it’s like to live in a country with limited freedom and lack of justice for the average person. In a country where you can sue a Fortune 500 company for spilling hot coffee on yourself while driving, it’s easy to exaggerate about policies that we find obtrusive.

The article is about Russia and the sentencing of a railway worker to four years in a labor colony for a car accident that killed a high ranking Russian politician, besides the fact that the politician’s car was speeding and slammed into the back of the Toyota the Russian railway worker was driving while he was slowing to make a turn with his directional on.

The President’s American Competitiveness Initiative

In President Bush’s recent State of the Union Address he called on America to continue its lead over the world in scientific advancement and research. His comments correspond with those of some of America’s top CEO’s from Intel to General Electric who have called on America to start graduating more engineers, with General Electric’s CEO going as far as to complain that America currently graduates more physical therapists then engineers. Stating, “if America wants to be the massage capital of the world, they’re well on their way”.

For President Bush, this call to continue our competitive edge is nothing new and is something he’s had his eye on from day one. When we hear about the Presidents No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), it’s usually because some Democrat has made a wisecrack. The truth though is the NCLB, besides being passed with a bipartisan majority, has seen unprecedented funding increases for a number of education programs with a 45% increase from 2001 to 2006. (The chart to the left shows the increase over the last ten years. You will notice the flat line during President Clinton and the incline under President Bush.)

With the Presidents new American Competitiveness Initiative, he looks to follow the recommendation of America’s top CEO’s by building on the success of the NCLB. In the Presidents own conclusions to his plan he states:

“In the years to come, the United States will face increased economic competition from a number of countries around the world. We will have to work harder to maintain our competitive edge. By laying the foundation today for expanded scientific and technological excellence, we will continue to lead the world tomorrow in inquiry, invention, and innovation. The greatest asset of our Nation is the potential of the American people. America is founded on the belief that every life is precious and holds unique promise. By investing in people, helping them reach their full potential, and rewarding their creativity, we will unleash the natural creativity and ingenuity of the human mind, create new jobs, train workers to fill them, and make our Nation and the world a safer, cleaner, and better place to live. The American Competitiveness Initiative provides our Nation with the tools to better educate our children, to train our workforce, and to push the boundaries of our scientific and technological capabilities now and in the future.”

You can checkout the full plan with all its supporting data here.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Now that’s what life’s about!

It’s so easy to get caught up with life’s daily events that it’s easy to forget why we’re here. Every once and awhile life gives us those precious moments like today’s snow that put it all into perspective.

I just came back inside from shoveling the snow in front of the house with my little guy and we had so much fun. There we were father and son, my big shovel his little Home Depot shovel for kids as we spent quality time making a memory out of something I usually dread. It was so funny how he tried to copy every move I made, picking up snow and trying to throw it over the fence. As I watched him it reminded me of when I was little, spending time with my dad in the snow.

This is what the purpose of life is. Not to get the best job, not to be the most popular, not to have the latest electronic gadget but to continue the miracle of the family and its special bonds since the beginning of time.

Hamas, the New Saddam for Europe?

Back in early 2001 Henry Kissinger in his best seller, “Does America Need a Foreign Policy”, wrote in regards to Iraq how “there is no serious effort to restore the U.N. Inspection system” with “several nations, led by Russia, China and France, are in open noncompliance with them”. He also state how “Iraq seems to have become a test case for another French effort to define a European identity distinct from and in opposition to the United States”.

Well after seeing those countries attempts to block the Iraq War and the revelation that those countries were deep in the oil for food scandal, it appears Henry Kissinger might have been onto something.

With Saddam and the sanctions finished have those countries started to look for another front to act in opposition to the U.S.? Several days ago Russia, to the dismay of most the world, announced that it would invite Hamas to Moscow for talks, despite their refusal to remove their claim for extinction of Israel. The undercutting didn’t end there as France over the weekend has endorsed Russia’s move.

The U.S. thought it had an agreement that no nation would unilaterally talk to Hamas but based on passed experiences with Iraq it would only make sense. With the clash of civilizations escalating we can’t be surprised that some nations would attempt to exploit the moment.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Some observations about trade deficits:

With today’s whopping trade deficit number that brought our 2005 trade deficit to over $700 billion, it’s only a matter of time for Democrats to start screaming.

How about though we make some observation about trade deficits?

First let me be clear that trade deficits don’t matter. Now I’m not talking about budget deficits, which is different than trade deficits that can become a problem. I’m talking about trade deficits, which is when a country imports more than it exports.

The interesting point about trade deficits is that there is no point in history that anyone can point too that shows where trade deficits wrecked an economy. However there are points in history that show when a country tried to slow the flow of goods into the country it hurt growth and led to a slowdown in the economy. This idea is the idea of Mercantilism, where you want to export as much as possible. One point in American history that showed stopping the importation of cheap goods was a disaster is the Great Depression. Every economist agrees that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised tariffs on thousands of imported goods, started and extended the depression. Interesting note is that because of today’s current trade deficit we have Senators like Chuck Schumer calling for tariffs on goods from countries like China. I guess he missed that day in school when they went over Smoot-Hawley.

If we take a moment to dig into the numbers we see some interesting correlations. Currently the countries with the biggest trade deficits are the U.S., Britain, Spain, and Greece. Now if we look at their GDP growth rates we see that they are also currently some of the fastest growing developed nations. Now if we look at the two developed countries with the largest trade surpluses, Germany and Japan, we notice two countries that are barely growing. One has to ask if trade deficits are bad and surpluses good, then why with Germany’s $200 billion trade surplus (the largest in the world) are they not the world’s economic superpower? Another interesting correlation is that in the last year Japan has seen their growth rates increase and economy start to inflate again. During this time their trade surplus has actually started to shrink.

These are just my own observations and despite the lack of historical proof that trade deficits are bad democrats will still try to play politics, like Chuck Schumer and call for ridiculous policies. I think though they should look back at their pal Bill Clinton. When Clinton came into office our trade deficit was almost zero. If we recall Bill Clinton and his team put in place a strong dollar policy that they adamantly defended throughout his administration. That strong dollar policy allowed us to import cheaper goods from overseas that started the trend toward our record deficits today. So Democrats can’t blame Bush for today’s trade deficits without also pointing too Clinton. I personally wouldn’t be blaming either one of them.

Oh Hillary…Say it isn’t so!

I don’t know how we missed this last week but while reading my FT this morning they had an article on Hillary Clinton and the 2008 election. They mentioned how earlier in the week she had to defend a “$10,000 contribution made by her political action committee to Bob Casey, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania who opposes abortion”.

Bob Casey Jr.!!! The guy that the Washington Times back in March of 2005 said whose decision to run showed the “deepening divide within the Democratic Party, with some thinking that in order to reverse its current losing streak, the party must compromise on certain values issues that go to the heart of the party”.

I’m soooo surprised that the darling on the left Hillary would want to have someone in the Senate who is against abortion. Especially since this is the same Casey who’s father was a former Democrat Governor and pro lifer who was denied a speaking engagement at the 1992 Democratic convention because of his views.

As usual though, NOW and the rest of the left will surely find some good excuse why the tools of the party shouldn’t worry about it.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

The great exploiters:

With the passing of Coretta Scott King, Democrats have been hot to play the race card again going as far as Mrs. King's funeral to take shots at the President and Republican Party.

How about we just take a little look at the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that her husband helped get passed that Democrats have used year in and year out to exploit these same groups for political gains.

Interesting many Democrats were actually against the bill, including Albert Gore Sr., Al Gore (the darling of the left) father who voted against the bill. Funny how Democrats like to keep that one quite.

Another interesting point is if you look at the voting on the 1964 Act, Democrats voted for it 153-96 and Republicans voted for it 138-43.

That means Democrats passed it by 61% and Republicans by 76%! Hmm looks like Republicans were more in favor of the bill then Democrats.

Not that we should be surprised since it was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who developed the Emancipation Proclamation that banned slavery. Could you imagine if Democrat passed that? We would never hear the end of it.

Keeping us safe:

In a speech today at the National Guard Memorial Building, President Bush spoke about ten occasions where the U.S. had successfully foiled a terrorist plot. I know Democrats will be quick to say they’re made up and are only conveniently being released now because of the wiretapping issue. That has to be expected. The rest of us though who are not in denial that terrorists want to exterminate us and have the common sense to realize that almost 5 years after 9/11, the terrorists must have tried something against us, think that the President must being doing a good job at keeping us safe. At what point does someone give him some credit?

You can check out the ten-foiled plots at cnn.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Hillary and her low expectations for America

Today in front of the UAW, Hillary Clinton claimed President Bush was the reason manufacturing was moving offshore because it has nothing to do with 200 years of economic thought. Has Hillary ever read Adam Smith or David Ricardo?

She went on to say that the only way for manufacturing workers to protect their jobs was to elect Democrats.

I guess that might be true if you want America to be the capital of t-shirt manufacturing. Yeah, the hell with following the recommendation of CEO’s and now the president with getting kids to become engineers to fill all the high-tech, high paying jobs in this country that we currently have to give out visas to foreigners to fill. We want to make sweat socks!

How's Your Government Agency Doing?

If you're into tracking the efficiency of government programs like the rest of us political masochists, then this may very well be the coolest Web site you've ever seen.

ExpectMore.Gov is an offshoot of the Office of Management and Budget that measures the performance of a gaggle of government programs based on a formula that compares budget, agenda, performance goals, and management. You can get a raw list of the federal government projects that are performing or not performing, or you can look up any program at will.

Hours of fun!

The Rudy Giuliani Show - 2008 Edition

If you can't spend idle time speculating about the 2008 presidential race, then you're not really doing much with that idle time.

I caught this conglomeration of recent "What-if" presidential polls that puts Giuliani at or near the top of a number of them, competing with John McCain and, to a lesser extent, Newt Gingrich.

Sure it's over two years away, which is an eternity in politics. And these exercises are little more than popularity contests at this point. But it is fun to speculate and see how everyone else is speculating in return.

Standing up for job creation:

You may recall back on Jan 23, I wrote a post on New York’s ridiculous idea in joining Maryland by forcing large retailers to pay a $3 an hour tax for each employee to cover healthcare costs. As I said then, such policies are disastrous for not only the company but also the state that implements it. Price floors as they are known in economics, only lower the demand for workers, which leads to higher unemployment. Wage flexibility that moves with current labor demand is the only way to keep unemployment low and is why we have currently 4.7% unemployment in this country compared to the 11% unemployment rate in Germany.

It looks like now I’m not the only one complaining. Yesterday a national retail trade association filed a lawsuit against both Maryland and New York for coming up this job killer. As the CEO of Best Buy, Brad Anderson said in his statement, which was reported in the New York Sun by Tom Stuckey, “We all agree that access to health care is vital, but these spending mandates will drive away business and discourage job creation”.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

R.I.P. - Rest In Politics

It can never be said that liberals would let good taste get in the way of their politics. At yesterday's funeral service for Coretta Scott King, Jimmy Carter and Rev. Joseph Lowery used their speaking opportunities to berate President Bush for the response to Hurricane Katrina and the war in Iraq. Topics worthy of national debate, I guess, but definitely not in the context of this woman's funeral.

Much like the memorial service held for Paul Wellstone after his untimely death in 2002, liberals have taken this event entirely out of context to serve their own partisan purposes. It's grotesque, it's absurd, and I personally would be ashamed to have been associated with this crew. But, I shouldn't be too hard on Jimmy and Joe. Scruples are a hard thing to come by these days. Those of us who do have them should be thankful.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

It’s that time of year again:

Yesterday President Bush released his 2006 budget, which is projecting to have a $423 billion dollar deficit. Immediately the Presidents critics cried about how this would be a “record” deficit should we hit that $423 billion dollar number. They are correct that it would be a “record” but when basing it on today’s dollars anything is an eventual record, even the cost of a slice of pizza.

The way to truly compare these things is as a percentage of GDP, which is what economists use. Basing the projected deficit against GDP we would see that it should end up being around 3.2%, below the 5% mark economists consider as a point of concern. Some may recall I wrote about this same topic back in September for our monthly Record, when the government revised down its deficit projection for 2005. We should recall that the 2005 deficit projection was originally $427 billion before it ended up coming in well under $400 billion thanks to higher tax receipts due to the President successful economic policy muting critics then as it will again later this year.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Senate hearings on NSA surveillance authority

At this moment Senate hearings are going on in regards to the Presidents Authority to monitor certain communication in this country without a warrant. Without a doubt, the articles this morning on the topic are a plenty.

There is one however that I found really enjoyable that can be found at the Council on Foreign Relations that when you get a chance, should be checked out.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the greatest president of the 20th century.


Today would have been Ronald Reagan's 95th birthday.

You are loved and missed.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Well here’s a good reason to keep Guantanamo Bay Open:

It’s currently being reported that the mastermind behind the USS Cole bombing, that killed 17 American soldiers in a Yemeni port in 2000 during the Clinton Administration and before 9/11 (I thought I would throw that in there for the people who still think what is going on is because of Bush and the Iraq War) has escaped prison using a tunnel. Because of the escape, Interpol has issued an “urgent global security alert”.

Well that just made me feel a whole lot better. I’m sure if this enemy combatant were at Guantanamo we wouldn’t be worried about him escaping.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Relax, It Was a Freakin' Joke!

Ordinarily, when a group that feels slighted by a bit of off-color humor gets all riled up and calls for a boycott or a formal apology on behalf of all mankind, I look askance. Some people are sensitive (read uptight) and they take some things in life very seriously (generally intangible things that ironically make for the best off-color humor). I give them their space and sometimes the benefit of a doubt, because I cannot usually relate. I'm a white anglo-saxon male raised in a relatively non-religious atmosphere, and it's pretty darn hard to offend my sensibilities unless you start going off about Mom, apple pie, and Uncle Sam.

But I've had it up to the proverbial "here" with the fundamentalist Islamics, particularly over this latest row over cartoons. Iran wants to nuke Israel, Iraq is the center of the region-wide war against Jihadistan, Palestine is now run by murderers, Somalia is starving, and Afghanistan's principle economic staple is dirt, and these people are concerned with cartoons!

An off-color newspaper cartoon about the prophet Mohammed has started printing presses in the Middle East cranking out fatwas left and right calling for the heads of editors and artists across Europe. Protestors are burning flags and chanting "Death to Denmark," the home of the artists who apparently created these blasphemous images.

Death to Denmark? Denmark? You've got to be kidding. Of all the nations in the world to get all riled about, if you pick Denmark, then you, my friend, are way too uptight.

The worst thing of it all is that just when you thought the Europeans might show some spine for a change, they are buckling like belts in the face of Danish flag burning and so forth, tripping over themselves to issue apologies and fire editors for reprinting the cartoons.

Why is it every time the Islamic world feels that they are slighted in some fashion, the civilized world has to start walking on eggshells? Perhaps it is because they are like children, and when children throw tantrums, you have to play mind games with them, let them think they will get what they want, when in the end they most definitely will not. However, these "children" have guns, and will soon have the atomic bomb.

Maybe I'm making too much light of this. Maybe there is a level of decorum that we should abide by, a level of sensitivity that we should adhere to. That never hurt. But neither did taking a deep breath and relaxing when someone gets under your skin.

Playing out by the book?

Just looking at the events of the last few days, it doesn’t take long to see there is something greater that is going on in the world when it comes to our world’s civilizations, mainly between the countries of the West and those of Islam. With Iran's UN standoff, Hamas’s election victory and now the burning of Danish flags in Islamic countries around the world some further analysis might be useful.

Anyone watching the events unfolding in front of us would be doing themselves a disservice if they do not read brilliant Harvard political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington’s book “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order”. Our friend Rich Lowery at the National Review has called Huntington “the most brilliant political scientist in America” and even the liberal New York Times calls him “one of the most eminent political scientist in the world”.

Huntington’s book first published in 1996, five years before 9/11, spends page after page describing a future world where civilizations would realign and no longer clash based on political ideology like Democracy vs. Communism but on culture. In one chapter he actually draws a map of the Ukraine speaking to the inevitable showdown that will occur within the country between the people in the west who relate to Christian Europe and those in the East who relate to Orthodox Russia. The Orange Revolution in the Ukraine last year had to be gratifying for Huntington and just one example of the many calls he made including the outbreak in France last year with its Muslim community.

Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

You know our economy is on fire when…

10. Economists consider full employment for a nation to be when unemployment is at 5% and America is at 4.7%.

9. Homeownership is at record levels across all demographics.

8. The stock market goes down on the news people’s wages are increasing faster then projected (the concern is inflation).

7. Companies from small to large are reporting higher profits and revenue today then during the Dot Com boom.

6. I have to wait 40 minutes for a table at Applebee’s.

5. So many more people would rather pay $5 for a Starbucks coffee then $1 for a deli coffee that Starbucks says they will have to open up 700 new stores in the U.S. in 2006.

4. People just assume you own a computer, Ipod, cell phone or digital camera no matter what your level of employment is.

3. Even Ford and GM say they saw an increase in sales.

2. Even New York City has a $2 billion dollar surplus.

And the number one sign,

1. You don’t hear a word out of Democrats about the economy while in the middle of a major election year.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

NYYRC Congratulates Rep. Boehner

For Immediate Release, February 2, 2006
Contact: Jen Saunders
Email: pr@nyyrc.com

THE NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, INC.
CONGRATULATES REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER

(New York, NY) The New York Young Republican Club, Inc.(NYYRC) congratulates Representative John Boehner of Ohio on being chosen to serve as the House Majority Leader.

The New York Young Republican Club congratulates Rep. Boehner and wishes him well as he takes on his new post. NYYRC President Dennis Cariello stated, "I am pleased that Rep. Boehner will be taking up the House Majority Leader post. He is a fine man and an excellent lawmaker." President Cariello continued, "I look forward to seeing Rep. Boehner implement the initiatives that President Bush outlined in his State of the Union."

The NYYRC calls on Rep. Boehner to act quickly to pass new ethics guidelines, so that Congress can get past the issue and move on to more pressing matters. President Cariello remarked, "I think that it is important that the Republicans in Congress act expediently on any ethics reforms so that the American people can remain confident in their government and thelaws that will be passed in the future."

The New York Young Republican Club, Inc., is a not-for-profit political organization that exists to bring Republicans aged 18-40 together to discuss the Republican Party platform and aid the Republican in the education of the public about the Republican agenda and the promotion of Republican candidates for office. To find out more about the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. please visit the Website at http://www.nyyrc.com.

Boehner as New House Majority Leader

John Boehner beat Roy Blunt by a relatively modest 122-109 votes to become the new Republican Majority Leader in the House today. I was pulling for John Shadegg personally, because he was a fresh face with a proven track record of fiscal conservatism.

But in retrospect, Boehner wasn't a bad choice. Blunt, for all his experience, was unapologetically and unabashedly connected to Tom DeLay. And if the Republican Congressional caucus expects to garner any respect with the electorate this November, they're going to need fresh leadership and a commitment to reform. Blunt was not offering that. Boehner offers the opportunity of it. Let's hope he delivers.

Worth every penny:

Considering you could get Newsweek for $20 a year, those less informed look at me cross-eyed when I tell them I subscribe to the Economist, which costs $120 a year. Since it could be argued that news is news, when paying 6x more for the same information it better be pretty damn good. For those that get it you know what I’m talking about when I say it is. For those that don’t check out this article in tomorrows edition on President Bush and his goal of spreading Democracy in the Middle East.

Here is a snip it:

“One reason people on the left object to Mr Bush's “freedom agenda” is that they see it as a veil for something else: an American policy of stomping about the world deposing unfriendly regimes at will. If such a policy existed, it would be wrong. But Mr Bush's agenda so far consists mainly of using the bully pulpit of superpowerdom to extol democracy's virtues.”

An ACS employee arrested for child abuse…who would have ever guessed that would happen:

It definitely hasn’t been a good month for the Administration for Children Services (ACS). First two children in their system were brutally killed and now in the past week two ACS employees have been arrested for endangering a child. The first was an ACS supervisor who was arrested on a rape charge for sexually abusing his teenage daughter and today another employees was arrested for abusing her daughter.

As I said yesterday we shouldn’t be surprised by anything that comes out of a city run, taxpayer funded social program. Just looking at the success of all these government run social programs, I just can’t wait for nationalized health care, sign me up!

Will Democrats ever be able to argue against tax cuts again?

Throughout all of 2004 leading up to the election, one of the things we constantly heard from John Kerry and other Democrats was how “tax cuts don’t work” or that they were “only for the rich”. As far as the tax cuts being mostly for the rich they would be correct because of a few simple points and misleading statements. First, in order to get a tax cut you would need to pay taxes that in itself is obvious. However if you look at the fact that the top 20% of wage earners in this country pay 80% of the income tax that goes to the IRS, it would make sense that they (the so called rich) would get the lion share of the tax cut. Since our tax code is progressive where you pay a higher percentage on a higher amount again it would make sense that someone making $100K would get dollar for dollar more than someone making $30k.

Either way what the last two and half years since the tax cuts has shown (not the first time I’ll remind you) is that tax cuts work. Since the tax cuts by President Bush, which also included tax cuts on money repatriated back to the U.S. by companies, The U.S. has seen its treasury receipts at record levels, corporate profits at record levels and 4.6 million jobs created, which is more than Japan and Europe combined. As early as this morning, initial jobless claims for week ending Jan 28 fell to its lowest level since Feb 2001.

As the old saying goes, “numbers don’t lie”, and based on the economic data from the last three years I would think democrats would finally have to of reached a point where even they can see now what the majority of economists have been saying for over a century. When an economy is weak it needs to be stimulated, the only way to do that is with an injection of capital through lower interest rates and money in the consumers hand through tax cuts.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

NYYRC Commends President Bush's State of the Union Address

For Immediate Release, February 1, 2006
Contact: Jen Saunders
Email: pr@nyyrc.com

THE NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, INC. COMMENDS
PRESIDENT BUSH’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

(New York, NY) The New York Young Republican Club, Inc. (NYYRC) commends President Bush on his 2006 State of the Union Address and praises the objectives he put forth in Tuesday’s speech.

The New York Young Republican supports the President’s call to break our dependence on foreign oil and research alternative energy sources. NYYRC President Dennis Cariello stated “President Bush is right, we are far too dependent on oil that comes from unstable areas of the world. It is a national imperative that we reduce our reliance on trade with such undemocratic regimes. In light of new technologies and the President’s commitment to alternative energy sources, I think we may one day reduce our dependence on oil from those countries that support terrorism and who reject our vision of human rights.”

The New York Young Republican Club continues to support the President’s plan for Iraq and applauds his statement to those calling for withdrawal of troops that “there is no peace in retreat.” President Cariello remarked “it is not in our best interest, or in the best interest of the Iraqi people, for us to pull out of an unstable Iraq. Do critics of this administration think Iraq would be better off if we pulled out now and al-Zarqawi found a way to take over the country?”

President Bush proposed a bipartisan commission to study the impact that aging Baby Boomers will have on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. President Cariello commented “The impact that the Baby Boomer generation will have on Federal entitlement programs is an important issue that cannot be ignored. I am appalled that the Democrats cheered their failure to enact Bush’s Social Security proposal last year when they have not offered a viable alternative for sustaining the system through future generations. While I remain hopeful that any social security reform will include personal savings accounts, Congress should immediately act on the President’s proposal to have a bipartisan commission study this crisis.”

The New York Young Republican Club looks forward to seeing President Bush take action to implement these proposals and encourages the New York Congressional delegation to support the President’s agenda.

The New York Young Republican Club, Inc., is a not-for-profit political organization that exists to bring Republicans aged 18-40 together to discuss the Republican Party platform and aid the Republican in the education of the public about the Republican agenda and the promotion of Republican candidates for office. To find out more about the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. please visit the Website at http://www.nyyrc.com.

NYYRC Congratulates Judge Samuel Alito

For Immediate Release, February 1, 2006
Contact: Jen Saunders
Email: pr@nyyrc.com


THE NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, INC. CONGRATULATES JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO & ADMONISHES SENATORS CLINTON & SCHUMER

(New York, NY) The New York Young Republican Club, Inc. (NYYRC) congratulates Judge Samuel Alito on his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, while admonishing Senators Clinton & Schumer for voting no on such a qualified candidate.

Judge Alito has received public support from many Republican Senators, as well as several Democrats. NYYRC President Dennis Cariello remarked, “While I must at least commend Senator Schumer seeing reason and not participating in the filibuster with Senator Clinton, I find it deplorable that New York’s Senators would eschew a judge with such broad support from ordinary Americans.”

President Cariello commented, “I am pleased that the Democrats’ attempts at a filibuster failed miserably and that the vote was allowed to proceed in a timely manner. I believe Judge Alito will prove himself to be a fair and honorable jurist fully deserving of a position on our nation’s highest court.”

The New York Young Republican Club, Inc., is a not-for-profit political organization that exists to bring Republicans aged 18-40 together to discuss the Republican Party platform and aid the Republican in the education of the public about the Republican agenda and the promotion of Republican candidates for office. To find out more about the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. please visit the Website at http://www.nyyrc.com.

Another taxpayer funded, social organization in trouble:

In less than one month two children have been brutally killed in NYC that at some point had been checked on by the Administration of Child Services (ACS). Though the media is really playing up the story, the truth is every year dozens of children die that were being followed by the ACS.

Should we be surprised that a social program run on the taxpayer’s dime at a cost of over $2 billion a year whose employees are covered by a union, would be inefficient?

The problem with city run social programs is that there is no accountability. There’s no investors, just clueless taxpayers. Another problem you have are the caseworkers themselves. Based on Adam Smiths law of labor demand, people take jobs whose salary reflect their education. At the salary of an ACS worker, the ACS can’t be getting the brightest bulbs on the tree. You have to believe most of these people are just going through the motions like those in the MTA and post office. Unfortunately instead of being left at the bus stop or ignored when buying stamps; children are being left to be beaten and tortured.

I’m not surprised; neither should the rest of New York.

Senate Staff Shake-up?

Somebody forgot to say to the former first lady "Uh, oh yeah, Senator Clinton?-remember: don't look like such a God-awful, humorless witch tonight."

Why I hate unions. Hate them, hate them, hate them!

This morning I was once again reminded why unions are the most waste of consumer money and human energy.

While waiting for the bus this morning I had first one bus pass by without stopping as he looked right at me and the other people waiting. Then fifteen minutes later a second bus driver decided to just keep going passing even more people by, this time as we were all in the street trying to get him to stop. These buffoons have two simple responsibilities, drive and stop, drive and stop, drive and stop. Finally five minutes after the second bus a third one came and kindly decided to go out of his way to pullover to let us on. As I got on I told him “thanks for stopping” sarcastically as he looked at me with his 250 pound rear-end.

What kills me is the fact that because they are a union there is no recourse whatsoever against these guys because they can’t be fired or disciplined unless they ran over a family of four and even then I don't know. If a real company treated a customer like this there would be hell to pay! Why is it as a customer whenever I have a bad experience without the ability for recourse, there always is a union involved?