Blog entries

Link roundup: statements from the Stupak coalition

Thomas Peters — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:00:00 +0100

It appears the Democrat leadership is going to call Rep. Bart Stupak's "bluff" and go forward with their health care legislation vote in the House.

APP's James Bell has compiled a list of the on-the-record statements made by members of the Stupak coalition so far. These are Democrats who have said they are not voting for the bill unless it is amended to include Stupak-approved language:

Steve Driehaus
Marion Berry
Joe Donnelly
Dan Lipinski
Kathy Dahlkemper
Jim Oberstar
Bart StupakRead More...

Bowman: Are conservatives compassionate?

Thomas Peters — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0100

APP is happy to welcome back our favorite Friday columnist Joshua Bowman, who now writes (as the muses inspire him) at Prolix Patriot.

The greatest weakness of conservatism is the standard media trope that the GOP is filled with a bunch of heartless Ebenezer Scrooges. Even as mighty a conservative figure as SiRead More...

Reports: Dem to begin final process Monday

Thomas Peters — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:50:18 +0100

First of all, the Associated Press suggests that the Democrat leadership is attempting to ignore the requests of Rep. Stupak's pro-life Democrats:

House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.

A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for DeRead More...

Report: Senate Parliamentarian deals critical blow to Obamacare?

Thomas Peters — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:59:32 +0100

From a breaking Roll Call report:

The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that President Barack Obama must sign Congress’ original health care reform bill before the Senate can act on a companion reconciliation package, senior GOP sources said Thursday.

The Senate Parliamentarian’s Office was responding to questions posed by the Republican leadership. The answers were provided verbally, sources said.

House Democratic leaders haRead More...

Health Care: Slaughter House Rules

Thomas Peters — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:29:36 +0100

It's appearing more and more likely that the House is going to use a controversial house provision to push through Obamacare (as if the reconciliation process being invoked in the Senate was not already controversial enough).

Brian Darling at the Foundry blog has a good explanation of what is being concocted:

Kevin Jennings, a leading gay activist and President Obama's "Safe Schools" Czar, dodged a question on whether the federal government should promote homosexuality as moral in public schools earlier this week. Instead, the embattled czar, who was the founder of the Gay, LesbianRead More...

Vulnerable Senate Seat Report: Barbara Boxer

James Bell — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:37:20 +0100

The days of Ronald Reagan are gone and Democrats have transformed California into one of their greatest strongholds. Senator Barbara Boxer, the sponsor of the (unsuccessful) Freedom of Choice Act to enshrine Roe v. Wade in law, is one of the most far left Democrats in the Senate.

That was before all three of her G.O.P. challengers cut her polling advantage to less Read More...

White House met with secularist organization on national policy

Thomas Peters — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:00:00 +0100

A press release from the Secular Coalition for America:

Marking the first time in history a presidential administration has met for a policy briefing with the American nontheist community, on February 26 the Secular Coalition for America will engage with White House officials on issues of great concern to the secular movement

Some of their specific goals:

Fixing Faith-Based Initiatives: Taking all necessary steps Read More...

Chuck Donovan on Pelosi and Reid's "Piecrust Promise"

Thomas Peters — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:29:53 +0100

A memory of history should provide wisdom to help decide what should be done next in the health care debate:

A piecrust promise is one that is easily made and easily broken. The promise – more a rumor than anything else – that the U.S. Senate will use the reconciliation process to adopt a strong ban on abortion funding if the House pRead More...

Wednesday Stupak: Good and Bad

Thomas Peters — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:04:45 +0100

The Good - Stupak is not standing down:

Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak said yesterday at a townhall in his home state, "I'm more optimistic than I was a week ago" that a deal could be reached to pass a health care bill that bans public funding of abortion. Some speculated that this meant Stupak was ready to cave. "Obviously they don’t know me," Stupak said in an interview this afternoon with THE WEEKLY STANDARD. "If I didn’t" cave in November, "whRead More...

Wednesday Morning Zen: Pelosi on why we have to pass health care

Thomas Peters — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:28:31 +0100

Why?

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To 480x385]

"So that you can find out what is in it!"

Breaking: Stupak has a challenger

Thomas Peters — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:48:34 +0100

What are the wages of challenging Nancy Pelosi? Political death by a well-funded leftist challenger, as the Detroit news reports today:

A Democratic activist announced today she's challenging Rep. Bart Stupak out of her frustration that his hard line on abortion funding threatens to derail sweeping health care legislation pending in Congress.

Connie Saltonstall, a former Charlevoix County commissioner and retired businesswoman, acknowledged the difficulty she faces in trying to knocRead More...

Is Stupak getting his way ?

James Bell — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:21:50 +0100

Is Bart Stupak turning the tables and caving in to Democratic pressure? The Associated Press sure thinks it’s likely: Abortion Battle On Health Bill May End. That is enough to produce a panic attack on pro-life advocates across the nation, causing severe Ben Nelson flashbacks. However, he is only actually quoted as saying that he is moreRead More...

Federal employees make far more than private employees

Thomas Peters — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:49 +0100

From USA Today:

“Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available.”

“These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, whicRead More...

Prager on the difference between Leftists and the Right

Thomas Peters — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:46:17 +0100

I admire how Prager critiques Leftist values because they are different from the values of America's founding:

"I used to believe that the Left and the Right had similar goals for America, that they just differed in the means they wanted to use to get there. I was mistaken. The Left has a very different vision of America than those who hold to America’s founding values, most especially individualism and small government. Their vision is one in which a Read More...

All About Eric Massa

James Bell — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:51:27 +0100

The Chief of Staff for Rep. Eric J.J. Massa of New York has just confirmed that the Democrat will in fact be resigning his seat by the end of today. Eric Massa has come forward today with the claim that Rahm Emmanuel conspired to eliminate him because of his opposition to Obamacare. To more fully understand what could be gained by eliminating Massa, the situationRead More...

Doing the health care math in the House

James Bell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:00:17 +0100

On November 7, Nancy Pelosi threaded the House Health Care Reform Bill 220-215 with the pro-life Stupak Amendment.

The Senate passed a health care reform bill without the Stupak Amendment, thus risking the pro-life defeat of health care reform on a bill that spends taxpayer dollars on health care policies that fund abortions.

Nancy Pelosi cannot afford to lose even one vote:

Steyn on how anti-welfare is actually pro-common good

Thomas Peters — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:17:24 +0100

An important observation from Mark Steyn:

... When seeking to ingratiate himself with conservative audiences, President Ford liked to say: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." Which is true enough. But there's an intermediate stage: A government big enough to give you everything you want isn't big enough to get you to give any of it back. That's the point Greece is at. Its socialist governmRead More...

Quote of the Day

Thomas Peters — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:06:15 +0100

From Simon Heffer writing for the UK Telegraph:

"For a land without a welfare state, America starts to do an effective impersonation of a country with one."

Vulnerable Senate Seat Report: Harry Reid

James Bell — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:22:16 +0100

Harry Reid is in deep trouble in Nevada. His poll numbers are tanking. Conservative State Republican Chairwoman and former Miss America runner-up Sue Lowden (above) has pulled ahead of businessman Danny Tarkanian. Either nominee is poised to deliver a double digit demolition to Harry Reid.

Only one person can saRead More...

Video: Sen. Reid says "Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good"

Thomas Peters — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:21:20 +0100

Some words of encouragement this Monday morning from our Senate's majority leader:

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC211h9AY-4 480x385]

Way to set the bar low, Senator.

Activism for Thee, But Not for Me

Administrator — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:11:10 +0100

APP contributor Michael Fragoso returns with a judicious observation.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank trained his fire (no pun intended) at Justice Scalia’s approach to the 2nd Amendment this week. In his words:

The liberal justices tried to re-argue their losing position in the Heller case. Stevens asked about a "right to parade around the streets with guns." Breyer asked if a city can't ban guns even if the ban is "saving hundreds of lives."

Krauthammer on free health care ... and free ice cream

Thomas Peters — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:27:19 +0100

An illustrative example from this morning's Washington Post column by Charles Krauthammer:

Obama [suggested] that his health-care reform was indeed popular because when you ask people about individual items (for example, eliminating exclusions for pre-existing conditions or capping individual out-of-pocket payments), they are in favor.

Yet mystifyingly they oppose the whole package. How can that be?

Allow me to demystify. Imagine a bill granting Read More...

Gregg on Money and its Future

Thomas Peters — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:55:47 +0100

Our friend at the Acton Institute Samuel Gregg writing for the Public Discourse:

In his famous critique of the Treaty of Versailles, The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919), John Maynard Keynes observed: “Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency.” History, however, illustrates that the greatest debauchers of money have not been Communist revolutionaries or even run-of-the-mill counteRead More...