A Democrat We Can Live With?
Jan 23, 2009 Political
David Paterson of New York has selected Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand of New York’s 20th Congressional District to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate. Clinton resigned her seat on 21 January to assume duties as Secretary of State.
Gillibrand is a Blue Dog Democrat and her positions are generally conservative. Her Wikipedia (FWIW) entry states:
Gillibrand is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. She opposes gun control. She supports extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for middle class families; stem cell research; and the Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act. Gillibrand opposes attempts to partially privatize Social Security. She strongly supported passage of the 2008 Farm Bill. Gillibrand broke with former Governor Eliot Spitzer on the issue of illegal immigration, opposing his plan to issue New York State drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. She supports same-sex marriage.
Not all of these are ideal positions but she is a Democrat. Considering the people who Paterson could have appointed, this is not a bad choice. Some of her negatives include opposition to Social Security privatization and support for gay marriage but she is against gun control (and endorsed by the NRA), in favor of tax cuts, and opposes issuing licenses to illegals.
She also opposed the financial bailout.
Paterson selected her in order to attempt to garner votes from upstate New York in his 2010 election bid (he was appointed so it is not a reelection). Regardless, he has done us a favor. Gillibrand might be the antidote for McCain as she might oppose the things he would favor.
Additionally, the seat she holds in the House is in a heavily Republican area of New York. This provides Republicans the chance to pick up a seat in the House.
Liberals are howling mad about her selection so it must be, at least partly, good for Republicans. Interestingly, the liberals claim she is not qualified because she has only been in the House for a short time. These would be the same people who want Caroline Kennedy who has no political experience and who supported Barack Obama who has very little experience.
We will have to wait and see how she works out but something tells me she will not be pushed around by the likes of Harry Reid.
I hope she provides some sense of balance to the Senate. Conservatives can use another voice.
Source:
New York Post
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Tags: conservative, gillibrand, New York, paterson, Senate
Fat Tax, Mileage Tax, What Next?
Dec 30, 2008 Political
The state of Oregon is looking at using GPS systems to track the number of miles people drive and then tax them accordingly. Those who are taxed by the mile will have their gasoline taxes rebated at the pump, or so says the Governor of the state.
Privacy advocates worry that the system will be used to track people though the government says it cannot and will not do that. However, if it involves a GPS then they can track people so the capability is there. Will they? One can most assuredly believe they will the first time a child is abducted or some other emergency exists. They will justify their acts based on public safety or “its for the children.”
The move is designed to improve revenue for the roads (though they never use the taxes for that exclusively). Revenue is down since people are driving fewer miles and using fuel efficient vehicles, what they wanted us to do in the first place. Now they want to tax per mile which means it will be easier for them to generate revenue by simply increasing the amount per mile drivers are taxed. There is no word on how the state will handle vehicles that drive primarily on roads that are not maintained by the state such as roads on private property.
I think this is a bad idea and it will lead to invasion of privacy. It will also lead to people paying more in taxes. I would not be surprised if people who are mobile move out of the state to avoid it.
Put Down That Sugary Drink
In New York, Governor Paterson has proposed 88 new taxes in an effort to shrink the state’s growing deficit. Seems to me that cutting waste would be the first step but Paterson is a Democrat and they never met a tax they didn’t hike.
One of the most controversial taxes is the tax that will be levied on sugary drinks like non diet colas. The state is using its power to levy taxes in order to force behavior on people. This will only lead to people going to other states to buy sugary drinks. Look at how they already avoid paying taxes on tobacco. Pretty soon, the Indian reservations will be selling mail order cola.
The interesting thing is that they want to curb obesity by taxing sugary drinks when artificial sweeteners have been linked to obesity. The artificial sweeteners might actually cause the body to crave more sugar leading to people eating more.
Regardless, this is a bad idea. First of all it is not the state’s job to decide what people should or should not drink or eat. This is an individual choice and if people become obese then that is their concern. The fact of the matter is everyone is going to die and depriving people of what they enjoy (or taxing it so they cannot afford it) only delays the inevitable. Life is a sexually transmitted terminal condition.
The state claims that people’s health is its only concern but the fact is the state wants to make money and taxing sugary drinks is how they are going about it. I can guarantee that if everyone decided to stop drinking sugary beverages and stuck to diet drinks, water or milk then the state would either tax them or find something else to tax. The state will find a way to increase revenue when the flow of money slows or stops because of behavior they wanted. See above about Oregon.
When will this insanity end? What next? Will they tax red meat or fatty foods because they increase the risk for high blood pressure and heart disease? Will they tax people with emphysema (or other COPDs) more because they use oxygen less efficiently?
This is a slippery slope because once this camel gets its nose under the tent there will be no stopping it. Government can decide what it thinks is healthy and what it thinks is not and increase taxes according to its own arbitrary standards all in the name of looking out for the people and their health.
It is not government’s job to decide for us how we manage our health. This is a matter of personal responsibility (something government knows nothing about) and it is up to each person to decide what is best.
Taxes are nothing more than a form of involuntary servitude where the fruits of our labor are confiscated. We work and our money is taken but we have little say in how it is spent, spending that usually involves a huge amount of waste.
I propose a fathead tax. Then people like Paterson would be required to pay more in taxes.
Come to think of it, so would all politicians.
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Tags: behavior, big brother, New York, oregon, paterson, taxes
Political Pressure To Disinvite Palin Succeeds
Sep 20, 2008 Political
Hillary Clinton was invited to speak at a stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons rally but backed out when she learned that Sarah Palin was also an invited speaker. Was Hillary upset that she would have to share the spotlight, was she worried about how it would affect Obama, was she concerned Palin would be better received or give a better speech or was she afraid?
No matter what the reason, Hillary played partisan politics on an issue that should unite and not divide. The organizers tried to get Joe Biden but he was unable to attend so, under pressure from external sources, the organizers “disinvited” (this is not a word) Palin.
We collected over 20,000 signatures in 24 hours asking Iran Unity rally organizer Malcolm Hoenlein to take Sarah Palin off the schedule for Monday’s rally, and he caved to our pressure on Thursday afternoon citing the fact that the rally had become too partisan.
This is the right decision. A unity rally to express communal solidarity is no place for partisan politics. And to give such prominence to Sarah Palin alone would have spoken neither to, nor for, the American Jewish community. J Street
There was no petition or concern about the rally becoming partisan when it was believed that Clinton was the only invited political speaker. Once she withdrew the issue suddenly became partisan and Palin had to go. I wonder if this group would have felt it was the right decision had Hillary been the lone speaker and subsequently petitioned and “disinvited.”
No matter. Palin will speak at a rally sponsored by Women United. The Israeli Project has withdrawn from the original event over the removal of Palin. The following is a statement from Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America:
“The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) strongly opposes the disinvitation of Vice-Presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin to be one of many speakers at a “stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons rally.” This rally will also protest the presence of Iran’s president Ahmadinejad at the United Nations on Monday, September 22. This is an anti-Iran rally, not a partisan political rally, as Democratic Senator Hilary Clinton was invited as was vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden and later Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida. Clinton withdrew and Biden apparently couldn’t attend.
“Under tremendous pressure from Jewish Democrats and liberal Jewish groups, Palin’s invitation was withdrawn with a decision made not to include any politicians. Why are we excluding political leaders who have the real power to act on this critical issue? The ZOA believes this was a serious mistake.
“This was not a political rally for any party or individual. All Democrats and Republicans are united against Ahmadinejad developing nuclear weapons which he indicated he would use “to wipe Israel and America off the map.” We thought that one of the themes of Democrats this year was “promoting unity” and “bringing people together.” Well, here was an opportunity to do just that on an issue we can all support and certain groups and interests have caused us to fail. The ZOA is so disappointed by this unnecessary and harmful outcome.
“At this rally, there would be no implied or explicit endorsement of any candidate or party, only a unified condemnation of Ahmadinejad. No one was going to speak about politics, only about loving America and Israel, and fighting Iran, and standing up to evil.
“The ZOA deeply regrets that certain Jewish groups and individuals believed the inadvertent benefit that would accrue to Sarah Palin outweighed the enormous benefit that Israel and the United States would receive when a Vice-Presidential candidate and others give visibility and power to this life and death issue.
“It seems for these people politics and their personal political agenda were more important than Israel and America’s security. This wrong-headed action of cancelling the appearance of major political leaders hurt Israel and the United States. Ahmadinejad must be delighted that those who oppose his policies are so divided they can’t even stand on the same stage to condemn him. I assure you, if we were holding a rally to condemn an internationally-known racist, anti-Black leader, no one would dare disinvite a speaker and no speaker would dare back out.
“The ZOA strongly urges that Sarah Palin be reinvited along with any other key Democratic or Republican leaders.
“Otherwise, this will become a day of shame and humiliation for the Jewish people instead of a day of Jewish pride, strength, courage, and will. On this day, we should have put aside all other political interests and together fight against this existential threat against Israel and major threat to the United States and the entire western world.” Atlas Shrugs
There is no doubt that the president of Iran desires the elimination of Israel and there is no doubt his country is working on obtaining the means to do just that. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in New York and will be hosted by Obama’s campaign finance committee’s chairwoman.
Tags: Ahmadinejad, Iran, New York, Obama, palin, partisan politics, un
Sharpton Stirs Up Trouble in New York
Apr 28, 2008 General
In November of 2006 Sean Bell was attending his bachelor party at an establishment that was under surveillance by the police for alleged prostitution. One of Bell’s friends got into an argument and one of Bell’s friends was heard saying to get his gun and shoot the “white bitch” (the woman with whom the argument took place). They left and were followed by a police officer who had called for his back-up team. The police identified themselves and ordered Bell to put his hands up (while he was in his car). Instead of complying, Bell accelerated and struck an unmarked police car. The police opened fire and Bell was struck by four bullets and died of his injuries. The police shot fifty rounds in the incident.
Three of the officers were indicted on manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges. On April 25th the three officers were found not guilty on all counts. The judge in the case stated that the officer’s account of the evening was more credible than the accounts of Bell’s two friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, both of whom survived the shooting.
Reverend Al Sharpton has been involved in this case since just after the shooting and has paid witnesses to discuss what they saw. Their versions contradict police accounts that a fourth man ran from the scene and was believed to have a gun. After the verdict on Friday Sharpton vowed to shut down New York City. He did state that he was not calling for any violence but that he and the black community in New York intended to shut down the city. Of course, Sharpton always says he does not call for violence and then his chants of “no justice no peace” end up inciting people to commit violent acts sometimes leading to the deaths of others.
Sharpton stated:
“We strategically know how to stop the city so people stand still and realize that you do not have the right to shoot down unarmed, innocent civilians,” Sharpton told an overflow crowd of several hundred people at his National Action Network office in the historically black Manhattan neighborhood. “This city is going to deal with the blood of Sean Bell.” My Way News
I was not there and have no way of knowing what really happened any more than Sharpton does. However, Bell was intoxicated and when ordered by police to put his hands up accelerated his car and ran into theirs. His friend had been heard talking about getting a gun and killing a “white bitch” and the two friends have criminal records that involve guns. If Sean Bell had listened to the police and put his hands up he might still be alive today but instead he made an aggressive move that resulted in his death. Bell’s acts, in no way, can be seen as those of an innocent man. He might have been innocent when they ordered him to put his hands up but he lost his innocence when he accelerated and ran into their car.
Al Sharpton will incite a riot and people will probably get hurt. If we are fortunate one of the casualties will be Sharpton and he will no longer be around to incite black hatred. Whites in LA did not riot when OJ was found not guilty because the court had issued its ruling, like it or not.
The incident with Bell was tragic and though I personally think that shooting fifty times is excessive, I was not there. I do not know the neighborhood or the circumstances the officers faced. I do know that a court found them not guilty of manslaughter and that is good enough for me whether I think they are guilty or not. The only thing Sharpton can do is muddy the waters more than they are and promote hatred and racial intolerance.
Thanks to my friend Kender for this bit of humor to end this post:
The Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, while visiting a primary school class, found themselves in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.
The teacher asked both men if they would like to lead the discussion of the word ‘tragedy’. So the illustrious Rev Jackson asks the class for an example of a ‘tragedy’.
One little boy stood up and offered: ‘If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a runaway tractor comes along and knocks him dead, that would be a tragedy.’
No,’ says the Great Jesse Jackson, ‘that would be an accident.’
A little girl raised her hand: ‘If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.’
I’m afraid not,’ explains the exalted Reverend Al. ‘That’s what we would call a great loss. ‘ The room goes silent. No other children volunteered.
Reverend Al searches the room. ‘Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?’
Finally at the back of the room little Johnny raises his hand. In a stern voice he says: ‘If a plane carrying the Reverends Jackson and Sharpton were struck by a missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy.’
Fantastic!’ exclaim Jackson and Sharpton, ‘That’s right. And can you tell us why that would be a tragedy?’
‘Well,’ says little Johnny, ‘because it sure as hell wouldn’t be a great loss, and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either!”
Other Sources:
WCBSTV
Wikipedia: Sean Bell Shooting
More Proof Marijuana is Dangerous
Nov 10, 2007 General
The police in New York have arrested Natavia Lowry, the 26 year old assistant to Linda Stein, a real estate “broker to the stars”. Lowry was arrested after she confessed to murdering Stein by beating her to death. It appears that Stein was a pretty nasty and abrasive person who had been riding the assistant really hard all week.
Lowry snapped when she was retrieving Stein’s email and Stein kept yelling at her and using profane language telling her to get the emails more quickly. Stein blew marijuana smoke in Lowry’s face and she snapped. She took some type of yoga stick Stein was holding away from her and beat her with it.
This is just another example of how marijuana is dangerous and can end up killing you.
Source:
WCBSTV
Tags: death, linda stein, marijuana smoke, New York