Not as Many New Jobs as White House Claims

The White House claims the stimulus plan has created or saved 150,000 jobs since it was enacted 100 days ago.

Jared Bernstein, chief economic adviser to VP Joe Biden, admits that the figures are not a hard count of new hires, but are instead derived from a projection of what the White House believes the unemployment rate would have been if the stimulus had not been enacted.

Essentially we're relying on the White House's optimistic estimate of its accomplishments minus the White House's pessimistic picture of what life would be like without their benevolent and wise leadership.

In contrast:

[T]he House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked states to count "direct, on-project jobs created or sustained" through stimulus funding for water, highway and public transit -- programs intended to bring the most employment relief. It reported last week it found a total of less than 7,700 jobs.

Taxpayers Getting Squeezed Ever Tighter

From USA Today: Leap in U.S. debt hits taxpayers with 12% more red ink

An excerpt:

The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That's quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.

The current rate of government spending is simply unsustainable. It must change or we're doomed.

Stop the Energy Tax

American Solutions has posted an online petition to call on Congress to reject legislation that will establish energy taxes and a cap-and-trade system that will lead to crushing utility bills for all Americans.

Sign the petition here.

It Depends on Your Definition of "Voter Intimidation"

Charges Against 'New Black Panthers' Dropped by Obama Justice Dept.

Here’s a case of two black men caught on videotape standing in front of a polling place on Election Day 2008 in Black Panther garb, one of whom is holding a nightstick. It’s an open-and-shut case of voter intimidation. The same type of voter intimidation that took place throughout the South for generations against blacks. It was wrong then. Why isn’t it wrong now?

Calling for an End to "Birthright Citizenship"

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) is proposing an end to "birthright citizenship," the practice that allows any child born on U.S. soil to automatically become a citizen, regardless of their parents' status.

Supporters of Deal's measure note that this practice has been abused in recent years by illegal immigrants looking to gain a legal foothold in the U.S.

Deal's plan would allow babies born in the U.S. to be granted automatic citizenship if at least one of their parents is a U.S. citizen or national, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., or actively serving in the U.S. military.

Seems reasonable enough, unless of course you support illegal immigration.

Jim Gilmore to the Rescue

James Gilmore, former governor of Virginia and chairman of the Republican National Committee, wrote a great op-ed in today's Washington Times that calls for conservatives to unite around a common message. He contends, and rightly so, that the several fractured arguments within the Republican Party do not serve the GOP. And they surely will not save us from Barack Obama's "new socialism."

An excerpt:

Other lines of conservative thought should be free to develop, but they must be subordinated to the main theme of domestic liberty and limited government.

Whatever political action is necessary must be done to achieve this unity of message and program.

The only hope for the United States is the conservative movement. Now is the time when conservatives must subordinate their different goals in favor of a unified economic message. If we do, we will allow an American majority to come back to us.

Read more here.

Albany County Takes a Shot at the 2nd Amendment

The Albany County Legislature has proposed a law that would require local gun dealers to register sales of ammunition. Proponents of Local Law A claim that they are only trying to reduce gun crime, but it's difficult to see how you do that by forcing law abiding citizens to register when they buy ammunition for their legal firearms. What the law is really trying to do is get on record everyone who purchases ammo and what type of ammo they purchase.

A public meeting held last night in Albany drew a large crowd of opponents to the bill. Hopefully they will prevail.

Babe step aside...here's true Bronx Bomber!

It would seem that President Obama's selection for Supreme Court Justice has all the potential of setting a brush fire the likes only California has experience with. However, I wanted to issue a few words of caution to all those critics and supporters, please step back and look at the facts. This is one of those rare instances in which you witness the demographic evolution of this great country in real time.

Aside from being an accomplished justice who allegedly instills the fear of god in every lawyer with the unfortunate fate of deliberating in her court room, she is a self made woman who has developed into a force to be reckoned with which we, as Americans, should all be proud of.

Justice Sotomayor is an educated woman (who by the way are dramatically underrepresented on the Supreme Court) with nearly 30 years of experience both in and out of court proceedings. Out of the 30 years she spent 6 as a lower court judge in New York City and 11 years as a Federal appeals court judge.

As a Latina (who are also dramatically underrepresented in the supreme court,) Sotomayor represents the potential and possibility this country can and should continue to offer anyone with the courage and determination to alter their current circumstances for the better. Sotomayor is a textbook example of the United States that we, for the past 9 years have been attempting to remind the world of. A country where odds and obstacles can be overcome and were a child from simple beginnings can rise to the highest level of Justice based on determination and character.

Justice Sotomayor, deserves a thorough and expeditious confirmation process, in which she further confirms to us her qualifications and is also given a fair chance to explain any prior blunders, gaffes, or mistakes.

California Voters Tell Arnold to Go Pound Sand

#tcot

Hooray for the voters of California. They voted down the tax-hike referendums that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed so that the tax-and-spend government in Sacramento could continue pillaging the state's economy.

Liberals said that turnout was dismal, therefore the outcome didn't mean anything. That's a pretty poor attempt to explain away the results. In politics and voting, an outcome is an outcome whether it is a landslide or 50 percent plus one. So take your sour grapes someplace else, kids.

Schwarzenegger hasn't quite learned his lesson, though. Now he wants to borrow from the municipal governments to keep the state running. Needless to say, the cities aren't happy with this idea.

What we have here is the result of liberal governing ideals that have run a state into the ground. Now, the proponents of that same failed ideology want to extend more of the burden they created onto the taxpayers. And the taxpayers said no. Let this be a lesson to citizens across America. It's time we put a stop to a way of governing that simply does not work.

What We've Learned from the Recently Foiled NYC Terror Plot

#tcot

• Terror threats are increasingly homegrown
  
• Some level of domestic surveillance is necessary to the security of American citizens
  
• Radicalization of Muslims doesn't just happen overseas
  
• The Gitmo detainees cannot be brought to the U.S. mainland because they will establish a homegrown terror network among people like those recently caught in New York
  

Read Judith Miller's article "Watch Out, America, Our Biggest Terror Threats Are Increasingly Homegrown" to find out more.

Cheney vs. Obama - You be the Judge

#tcot

The mainstream media say Obama is winning the debate with former Vice President Dick Cheney over how best to tackle our national security issues. Many in the conservative camp believe that Cheney has come out ahead.

One thing is certainly clear, though. The liberals are worried about Cheney's public statements and the fact that he doesn't seem to be going away. Otherwise, why go so far out of their way to attack him with such vigor? If he were truly a crank spinning tales as they so readily insist, why give him the satisfaction of even recognizing his pronouncements?

I stand clearly in Cheney's camp on this one. Feel free to debate me on this blog if you disagree.

For the two or three people out there who still have not formed an opinion on this issue, here are links to Obama's and Cheney's opposing speeches from this past week:

Obama

Cheney

Learn about The Cartel

You have to see the new documentary The Cartel, by writer and reporter Bob Bowdon.

The documentary explores the dismal state of affairs of the New Jersey public school system and Bowdon gave a snapshot of some of the scary facts he uncovered during his research in making this film at the May monthly YR meeting.

You can learn more at the Web site. You can also purchase tickets to the premiere at the Hoboken International Film Festival on May 30.

Don't miss this film. It advances the education debate in this country like never before.

Dick Cheney "NYTimes Damn Sure Didn't Serve The Interests Of Our Country"

Dick Cheney rails against the NY Times for printing the Bush Administration's Terrorist Surveillance Program in his speech at the American Enterprise Institute today. He keeps up his role as the main critic of the Obama Administration and is warning Obama not to go to far from the Bush playbook. This is a smart political move as it prevents the Obama Administration and the media from blaming Bush for Obama's foreign policy failings. It also puts pressure on Obama to keep Americans safe at all costs. This is why Obama and Congress haven't strayed too much from the Bush Administration on foreign policy and why the far left is starting to turn on them.

NYYRC Mtg. Covered in the Examiner

Dacia Marshall, the NY Young Republican Examiner was in attendance at our meeting last night and she gave a great synopsis of our guest speaker Bob Bowdon, journalist and film-maker of "The Cartel." This film takes an in-depth look at America's School system with NJ's schools as his template.

A group of us will head out to see the film, come join us! May 30th, 2PM, Teaneck, NJ. Email President@nyyrc.com to join us.

http://www.TheCartelMovie.com

Dick Cheney Critiques The Obama Administration

Dick Cheney rails against the NY Times for printing the Bush Administration's Terrorist Surveillance Program in his speech at the American Enterprise Institute today. He keeps up his role as the main critic of the Obama Administration and is warning Obama not to go to far from the Bush playbook. This is a smart political move as it prevents the Obama Administration and the media from blaming Bush for Obama's foreign policy failings. It also puts pressure on Obama to keep Americans safe at all costs. This is why Obama and Congress haven't strayed too much from the Bush Administration on foreign policy and why the far left is starting to turn on them.

A lesson in accountability

I wanted to write a short piece about the public school fiasco that is unfolding downtown between the (Mayor's) office and several prominent power brokers here in the city. In what is again turning into an absolute embarrassment of comical proportions, the teachers union and a few other notable members of our elected officials want to strip Mayor Bloomberg's control over the board of education in New York City.
They all claim the Mayor has too much power and influence over our children's education, their teachers, and the school's administrators. Nevermind that overall school performance during Bloomberg's tenure has been revolutionized and dramatically outperformed previous administrations/policies.
Lastly, and probably most laughable of all, is the opposition's desire to strip the Mayor of his ability to appoint board members while still making him accountable for their performance.
Mayor Bloomberg is an individual who understands the value of actionable data (the man built a behemoth by monetizing the value of data, at Bloomberg LP.) Most of the statistics pouring out of our schools encourage our continued support of Mayor Bloombergs control of the school system.
Let it be so, and allow the man to focus his attention back on other departments that need dramatic improvement in the bureaucracy that is New York City.

Lazio for Governor - 2010

Former Congressman and NYYRC Award Recipient (2008) WILL NOT be waiting on Rudy Giuliani and WILL likely be running for Governor...

Who will we face? Probably Cuomo...

YRs, give us your thoughts. I know I'm excited.

Trashing the Latest and Greatest

It doesn’t seem to occur to Libs, or the modern Democrat Party for that matter, that they are taking applied politics’ latest breakthrough and smashing it to smithereens before our very eyes. Bit by bit, piece by piece, they are working to dismantle a constitutional democracy with a healthy respect for private property and a (generally) sober temper; one that has nurtured capitalism, good will among men, and a maintained a real reverence for tradition and the Almighty. And yet the Party guts our moral and legal undergirding without seeming concern, all while approaching foreign policy like sandbox play.

We’ve worked hard to keep our private property rights in tact over the generations. They survived the New Deal, though barely, and have weathered the environmental movement well so far. It took a financial crisis – created by government - and a frenzied party, drunk with the power they’ve pined for so long, to put banks, car companies, insurance companies, home mortgages, and likely soon healthcare and newspapers in the hands of politicians. Into full socialism we gallop under a banner of Hope and Change.

If you ask the Democrats, they might call this progress. But it certainly isn’t progress by historical standards. Limited government that secures rights of conscience for all individuals is undoubtedly the latest and greatest technology in governance. It fosters free thought, and provides plenty for those willing to work. Socialism in any form, naked or cloaked, necessarily translates to servitude. Furthermore, subservience to a violent power, in this case the state, is as old as humanity. (Question: What happens in a real crisis scenario, such as a terrorist attack or a currency crisis? What does a society do after it destroyed so many rights during the lead up?)

The Democrat Party might use our words, talk to our traditions, or even praise the private sector to steal some gullible voters. Regardless of these self-serving habits, they are speaking of foreign ideas that America literally was born rejecting. It is our responsibility to counter them, expose their real motives, and create a genuine American alternative.

(Oh, as much as I like him, does anyone else feel unnerved by the fact that our political leader of the moment is Dick Cheney?)

Who is Lying? CIA or Pelosi?

They cannot both be telling the truth. Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference that the CIA lied to her about the enhanced interrogation techniques being used in 2002 and 2003 and that she was powerless to stop the program from going forward.

The CIA responded that they do not mislead Congress.

Any reasonable person could agree that either side has a reason to protect its interests to the fullest extent possible. However, if you watch video of Pelosi's performance today, you will witness a collection of "tells" that would make Bill Clinton blush. As far as the truth is concerned, my money is on the CIA on this one.

Government Still Manages to Win in Recession

The Heritage Foundation's Morning Bell took note of this interesting information today:

[t]he Department of Labor reported that employers shed a net 539,000 jobs in the month of April, bringing the nation’s unemployment rate to 8.9%. The manufacturing sector lost 149,000 jobs, business services lost 122,000 jobs, and construction lost 110,000 jobs. All told, the private sector lost 611,000 jobs. So how was the total job loss only 539,000? Because one sector of the economy has proven impervious to economic realities: the public sector. Government actually added 72,000 jobs.

Driven by the powerful public sector unions, the federal government made sure to steer vast amounts of the stimulus funds to states and municipalities who used the money to hire more government workers.

The larger government gets, the more your freedom shrinks. That's not just a cool saying. That is fact. I dare you to disprove it.

Young Republicans Face-Off With Young Democrats for Charity Fundraiser

For Immediate Release
Contact: Kristine Nalbone
NYYRC PR Committee
Email: pr@nyyrc.com

Young Republicans Face-Off With Young Democrats for Charity Fundraiser

NEW YORK, NY – The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) and the Manhattan Young Democrats (MYD) will be kicking off this Saturday, May 16, in the name of fundraising with a game of ultimate kickball. The event, if you’re brave enough to join, will take place from 2-5pm on Central Park’s Great Lawn. The cost is $10 to play, and all proceeds will go to each organizations respective charity. All of the NYYRC’s winnings will be donated to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and the MYD’s winnings will go to the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.

NYYRC members are ramping up to repeat last year’s victory. Lynn Krogh, NYYRC President says, “It felt good to see last year’s MYD President wear our shirt, but at the end of the day the most important thing is to raise money for a good cause, and have a blast doing it.” After the game commences, everyone will gather at George Keeley, located on 485 Amsterdam Ave.

ZogSports, a local charity-focused social sports organization, has stepped up in a big way to help out. They will provide both organizations with equipment, referees, and will officiate the game. Both clubs hope to have a good turn-out, and non-members are welcome to participate as well. So come out, break out those dusty kickball skills, and give back to a greater cause.

About the NYYRC:
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.

#tcot

Scary Thoughts From High School Students

#tcot

In an article entitled "Students Confusion About Capitalism" on the American Spectator website where Ralph R. Reiland asked 50 high school students to "Define capitalism in 10-20 words?" These answers sound a lot like "socialism" to me. I've included some of the most outrageous responses below:

"Capitalism is making the most money for the government and having the government control the people."

"Capitalism is the money that is in the government. It is when the government controls all the money."

"Capitalism is when an economy is based on the needs of the people."

"Capitalism is when the government takes a bigger role in the economy and controls more things."

"Capitalism is when the government is the only one deciding laws and regulations."

"Capitalism is when the government has complete control over the decisions that the country makes."

New York Ranks Last in Freedom Index

It should really come as no surprise, but New York State gets bagged in George Mason University's Freedom in the 50 States index.

Dead last in the ranking on fiscal policy, 44th on regulatory policy, 48th on personal freedom, and dead last for economic freedom.

How did we get here? The study points out pretty succinctly:

New York has the highest taxes in the country. Property, selective sales, individual income, and corporate income taxes are particularly high. Spending on social services and “other” is well above national norms…. Government employment is higher than average. On personal freedoms, gun laws are extremely restrictive…tobacco laws are extremely strict. Motorists are highly regulated…. Home school regulations are burdensome…. Eminent domain is totally unreformed.

Government Strong-armed Chrysler lenders to Give In

From the Washington Times:

The hold-out lenders charged that Mr. Obama, who had called them "speculators" and questioned their patriotism as well as blamed them for the bankruptcy, used undue political pressure, even though they were pursuing their legal rights in bankruptcy court, where the claims of such secured lenders normally prevail.

"After a great deal of soul-searching and quite frankly agony, they concluded they just don't have critical mass to withstand the enormous pressure and machinery of the U.S. government," said Thomas Lauria, the group's lead attorney.

Don't expect it to end here. With this "victory," the Obama administration will be emboldened to go on a grand tour of our economy, bullying any industry whenever it feels like it.

Change, indeed. Hope? Fugettaboutit.

2010 Budget Breakdown

The Washington Post put up a neat little graphic that breaks down spending across federal departments for 2010. It's a view from 20,000 feet, but there are some interesting things worth noting.

The Defense budget is technically larger than last year, but when figured for inflation, our defense is actually taking a cut. During wartime that is a bad idea. But liberals are running the show. What did you think was going to happen? Other priority faults include the EPA, which is getting a 35 percent increase. HUD is getting an additional 18 percent.

Spend, baby, spend.

Obama Plays Politics with Terror Victims' Families

President Obama is playing fast and loose and acting less than honorably when dealing with the families of the victims of terrorist attacks. But don't take my word for it. Read it from a much more informed source - Debra Burlingame, sister of American Airlines pilot Charles Burlingame, who died on September 11, 2001, in the attack on the Pentagon.

Burlingame wrote a must-read bit in the Wall Street Journal this week about how the president misled her and other families who have pleaded for justice against those who planned the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole and other known terrorists now at Guantanamo Bay.

Burlingame openly and rightfully questions the president's sincerity about pursuing justice against the perpetrators of these attacks. And she does it with good reason. This has to be read to be believed.

Meditating on Republicans and Conservatives

There was a great piece in the Weekly Standard recently by Noemie Emery about Republican and conservative reactions to the defection of Arlen Specter and what it says about the GOP and those elements that make it up.

I think my favorites takeaway was this:

A movement exists to express and promote a coherent set of principles in the world of ideas and of values. A party...is something quite different: a gathering of diverse political forces around a large and loosely held set of interests and values, that exists to give all of its factions access to power in the practical world of events.

The Republican party is the vehicle for the center-right of the American polity, a group that includes the conservative movement, but is not quite of it, and includes many people who touch the conservative movement with different degrees of intensity, or only lightly, or on only a limited number of points.

So Specter is gone. I had no trouble with it myself, but it is worth reflecting after reading Emery's article:

Are all Republicans supposed to be conservative? Or are all conservatives supposed to be Republican? Both? Neither? Think long and hard before responding.

Pelosi Was Briefed on Interrogation Tactics

A recently released intelligence report unequivocally states that congressional leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were briefed on "enhanced interrogation techniques" of terrorist detainees.

Pelosi and her staffers have been working overtime to parse the language they have been using to explain what they knew and when they knew it regarding the interrogations. She was in fact one of the first Congressional members to be briefed on tactics in 2002, and she had little to say about the issue at the time. It wasn't until after she became Speaker and led the Bush vendetta crowd that Pelosi became so sanctimonious about her stance on the issue.

The Right Leader

Republicans are in need of a political leader. Informative and entertaining as many Republicans find Rush Limbaugh, he will not suffice as a political leader for the simple reason that he is not a politician.

Lately the debate has centered around whether to bring the party back to its roots, conservatism, or create a so-called “bigger tent” and “moderate” on a number of issues. I write the rest of this from the perspective of a conservative. Conservatives disagree among themselves, though I believe I am representing the “conservative” explanation on a number of big issues that we’re being asked to jettison from a two minority groups within the party.

To Libertarians, while socialism is conducive to war making, we are not engaged in wars of empire. The two wars being waged represent a direct response to the growing threat of Islamic terrorism. Their ideology is extremely dangerous, suicidal, and supported by a number of regimes with connections to Russia and North Korea. We cannot ignore these threats and hope not to be assaulted with powerful, modern weapons in our own cities. Economics is important to consider, but it cannot explain, much less stop, religious extremism. Instead of focusing on criticizing Republican foreign policy, why not focus on limited government and monetary reform?«Read More»

To “social issue” moderates, let’s be frank, the only two issues on the table here are gay marriage and abortion. Starting with abortion, the party is fractured along a pro-choice, speak life attitude of Rudy Giuliani and those who are against abortion in nearly all cases. Few Republicans are actually advocates of abortion like Democrats. We can both rally along overturning Roe vs. Wade, which would turn the issue back to the states. It would be legal in some states and illegal in others. This is a good compromise based on Federalism. Gay marriage can be compromised similarly. If either of these are turned into civil rights issues by Republicans, there will almost surely be a fracture in the party.

To the global warming Republicans, no compromise. Your position is suicidal to our economy and based on garbage science.

To illegal immigrant Republicans, more years of unrestrained immigration over the southern border will destroy our party by overwhelming the country with new Democrats. Because there are so many at once, it will rip at our culture. Also, last time I checked I was willing to pay more for lettuce and to get my lawn cut if it meant ending the migration of dangerous drug cartels into our country. We need border security and controlled immigration, period.

Let us find a leader who takes these things into consideration, creates consensus, and moves us forward. This is truly a big tent.

P.S. To Arlen Specter, hey, this is really quite a loss. I’m sorry we no longer have you, a back stabbing opportunist, in our party. Now go screw over some Democrats on your way to losing to Pat Toomey.

May Social: "1985 Called and They Want to Party!"

Pull out the Polos and Pop the Collars cause we're going to shred it up at Joshua Tree

Here's the 411:

Wednesday, May 6, 2009
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Joshua Tree
366 W. 46th Street b/w 8th & 9th Aves

NOT THE EASTSIDE LOCATION

We have the Whole bar!

Drink Specials:

$4 bud, bud light, coors light, dos equis drafts

$5 apple, lemondrop martini's, cosmopolitans

$5 chardonnay and Merlot

$20 pitchers of Sangria and Margaritas.

No Funds to Close Gitmo

House Democrats struck funds from the war spending bill for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay because they claim that the Obama administration has not provided a clear plan for actually closing it.

They're right. So far, all we've heard is the typical Obama rhetoric about what should be done, but not a single detail has been etched out about how he will actually do it. This is a pattern of his I spotted during the campaign season. It's nice to see that some folks in his own party are finally catching on.

MIsguided Faith in Renewable Energy

Robert Samuelson tackles the Obama administration's misguided energy policy in his Washington Post column today.

Taking aim at the president's overconfidence in the wonders of wind and solar energy, Samuelson points out that the overt bias against domestic oil production simply does not make sense. Here's an excerpt:

In 2007, wind and solar generated less than 1 percent of U.S. electricity. Even a tenfold expansion will leave their contribution small. By contrast, oil and natural gas now provide two-thirds of Americans' energy....

Encouraging more U.S. [oil] production would also aid economic recovery, because the promise of "green jobs" is wildly exaggerated. Consider: In 2008, the oil and gas industries employed 1.8 million people. Jobs in the solar and wind industries are reckoned (by their trade associations) to be 35,000 and 85,000, respectively.

Read Samuelson's column and pass it on. We need to inject some reality into Obama's pipe dream energy policy.

Time For Republicans To Fight For INDIVIDUALISM

Nearly a week after Sen. Arlen Specter changed parties to become a "DINO" or Democrat In Name Only, the mainstream media has attempted to go for the knockout punch against the GOP.

They have said that the party needs to go back to being a "Big Tent" party that needs to be able to attract moderates in the center. Although that is true...the mainstream media are completely wrong on how you achieve that goal.

Moderates, or "Independents" are often people who "lean" Republican or Democrat and can be easily swayed by public opinion. Kyle Smith in the New York Post makes this point by stating:

The American voter's party preference is no more fixed than a drunk frat boy's taste for girls majoring in English vs. pre-med.

«Read More»

Most Americans don't follow politics closely and often make their decision close to presidential elections. They also tend not to vote in midterm elections, like the one coming up in 2010. Those elections are often won by candidates rallying their base to turnout and vote for them. A "Big Tent" doesn't work in congressional races, but rather a strong grassroots movement.

The tea party movement began out of disdain for government intrusion into the lives of ordinary citizens. It is not just an anti-tax movement, but rather a revolt against a media & judicial activism, reckless spending, and inside-the-beltway cronyism.

Sen. Jim Demint in a piece in the Wall Street Journal makes this point crystal clear. The Republican Party should not be a party about policy or issues, but rather a party that stands for INDIVIDUALISM. That include people from all regions, races, religions, ages, sexes, sexual orientations, income levels, etc. America is not built on ideas of government...but rather of INDIVIDUALS who hold DIFFERENT ideas. The difference between Republicans and Democrats "should" be that Republicans believe you can make decisions for yourself...while Democrats believe that they can make decisions for you.

Republicans must stop fighting over ideas and turn their attention to returning the government back to the people and their communities. Stop telling us "how" to live our lives and get out of the way...otherwise you are no different then Democrats. Fight for us to fight for ourselves...and we will build you a "Big Tent". Don't have the hard earned money we make each day be stolen from us by irresponsible politicians like "Arlen Specter" who care more about their next election than the next bill we have to pay.

Jim Demint said it best in his column by stating:

Moderate and liberal Republicans who think a South Carolina conservative like me has too much influence are right! I don't want to make decisions for them. That's why I'm working to reduce Washington's grip on our lives and devolve power to the states, communities and individuals, so that Northeastern Republicans, Western Republicans, Southern Republicans, and Midwestern Republicans can define their own brands of Republicanism. It's the Democrats who want to impose a rigid, uniform agenda on all Americans. Freedom Republicanism is about choice -- in education, health care, energy and more. It's OK if those choices look different in South Carolina, Maine and California.

California - the Laboratory of Liberalism

George Will has another gem that you must read - "California as Liberalism's Laboratory".

In this article Will explains how California's self-inflicted budget crisis is killing the state - crippling taxes, a fleeing population, and a dying private sector. (Sound familiar, New Yorkers?) An excerpt:

The state's crisis has been caused by "moderation," understood as splitting the difference between extreme liberalism and hyperliberalism, a "reasonableness" that merely moderates the speed at which the ever-expanding public sector suffocates the private sector.

If California is truly the incubator of political and social ideas for the rest of the country, then we only have to look at the Golden State to see what is in store for America in the coming years. It's not a pretty sight.

New Commerce Secretary Weighs in on Census

In an interview with the Washington Post, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke says that the 2010 census "will not be politicized, and the White House assured me that it has no interest in politicizing it."

Can he be believed? If Locke is being honest, then is he placing too much faith in the White House? After all, President Obama assures us that he has no interest in being involved in the auto or finance industries, yet each week the government sinks its claws further into the private sector.

Is the New York Times Hitting the Skids?

One can only hope.

N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe

New York Times set to increase price

Farewell to Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp died today after a long fight with cancer. We sure could use a few people like him now. He will be missed.

"The Real Culture War Is Over Capitalism"

Read this great piece in the Wall Street Journal by Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute. Here's an excerpt:

Asked in a Rasmussen poll conducted this month to choose the better system between capitalism and socialism, 13% of respondents over 40 chose socialism. For those under 30, this percentage rose to 33%. (Republicans were 11 times more likely to prefer capitalism than socialism; Democrats were almost evenly split between the two systems.)

Read more here.