Note – this article has been ‘stickied” to the top of the front page. Newer posts from today 6/25/2009 appear below.

While we’ve all been preoccupied with the looming healthcare reform legislation, the push for a national energy tax in the form of “cap and trade” has been steadily advancing. The latest word as of this writing is that it may be voted on in the house as early as this Friday, June 26 2009.

H.R. 2464: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, otherwise known as the “cap and trade” bill, will further harm an already deeply troubled economy in the form of higher energy prices (gasoline, electricity, natural gas, etc…), higher prices across the board for goods and services, higher unemployment due to the increased economic burden on businesses large and small. This increased burden will undoubtedly cause businesses already on the edge to fail, and others to simply close up shop and relocate to more business-friendly parts of the world like India, Ireland and China.

The job loss estimates are in the millions. The estimated direct costs to Americans, working or not, range anywhere from $1000 to $3000+ per year per household.

The Tax Foundation has provided a Household Cap And Trade Burden Calculator to help you determine how much Cap and Trade might cost you and your family on a yearly basis

Here’s Barack Obama in his own words describing how ‘cap and trade’ will cause electric rates to ‘necessarily skyrocket’:

From heritage.org: Cap-and-Tax is a Jobs Destroyer:

Many Americans find the debate in Washington over adopting a cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide a bit confusing. It works like this: Policymakers set a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that can be omitted into the atmosphere. Each power plant, factory, refinery, and other regulated entity will be allocated allowances (rights to emit) six greenhouse gases. However, only a certain percentage of the allowances will be allocated to these entities. The remaining percentage will be auctioned off or distributed to other emitting entities. Most emitters will need to purchase at least some allowances at auction. Emitters who reduce their emissions below their annual allotment can sell their excess allowances to those who do not–the trade part of cap-and-trade. Over time, the cap would be ratcheted down, requiring greater cuts in emissions

Put simply, it’s a tax on energy consumption. In fact, it would act as a huge tax. If enacted, cap-and-trade will be one of the government’s largest revenue sources within the next decade. Since 85 percent of our energy demand is met through fossil fuels, increasing the costs of energy will have significant economic consequences.

From republicanleader.house.gov:

Speaker Pelosi’s national energy tax is a massive job-killer.  According to a National Black Chamber of Commerce study, the devastating plan will cost 2.5 million American jobs thanks to the higher energy costs it will force consumers, small businesses, and other employers to pay.  The impact will be felt from coast to coast – literally.  The following chart shows the projected job loss in every single region, with especially large job losses in areas of the country already hit hard by the recession:

It is time to pick up the phone and tell your congressman in no uncertain terms to vote NO on HR 2464 !

To find your representative, go here and enter your zip code +4

Here is a complete list of congressmen/women along with their Washington, DC phone numbers. The area code for all is 202 .

Here are some tips for communicating with congress.

Further reading:

Heritage.org: CBO Grossly Underestimates Costs of Cap and Trade

NBCC Study Finds Waxman-Markey Reduces GDP by $350 Billion: New study finds Waxman-Markey could cost 2.5 million U.S. jobs by 2030 and reduce earnings

NRO: Cap and Trade vs. the American Dream

Weekly Standard: Fuzzy Math – According to an MIT study, cap and trade could cost the average household more than $3,900 per year.

Tax Foundation: Who Pays for Climate Policy? New Estimates of the Household Burden and Economic Impact of a U.S. Cap-and-Trade System

-Cnation

First, the chart. Yes, that chart..

The Obama Deficit

In case you just got off a slow boat from china, the gray graph on the left represent the Bush deficit from 2000 – 2008. The pink bars on the right represent the Obama deficit from ’09 to ’19, while the red bard represent the Congressional Budget Office’s projections for the same time period.

In 2008, the Bush deficit was just over $400 billion, and the left was absolutely rabid in their attacks on Bush for his ‘out of control spending’. Yet, Barack Obama has quadrupled the deficit in just a few short months, to the tune if 1.85 TRILLION dollars, and the left is somehow fine with it.

Well, I’m not, and neither should you be.

Obama’s deficit does include the failed (as of this writing) Stimulus and TARP programs but does not include healthcare reform, estimated to add at minimum another trillion dollars to the federal budget over the next ten years.

The misuse of TARP funds alone should have every single one of us demanding the discontinuation of the TARP program; both it and the equally failed stimulus program can still be stopped.

In an article at heritage.org, Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska has this to say about TARP:

TARP has become a license for government to experiment with private business. How do you think the original TARP vote would have gone back in September if members knew then what they know now? Remember, TARP was first presented as a toxic asset purchasing program to revive financial markets and to get credit flowing to consumers. That is what Congress approved. That’s all Congress approved. Then it became a blank check for failing banks; and the struggling insurance giant AIG; and the floundering housing market.

Despite a December vote by Congress that rejected a bailout of the auto industry, TARP is now being used to bankroll the auto industry. How could anyone have predicted that an original plan to buy up toxic assets would be warped and twisted into the revolving slush fund it is today? People would have looked at me in disbelief if I had said – just a few months ago – that TARP funds would be used to buy General Motors. All this is happening without Congressional approval.

Or, how about this from Judicial Watch:

A few months ago TARP Inspector General Neil Barofsky published a scathing report revealing that the financial bailout has little oversight, is severely mismanaged and “inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse.” That preliminary probe led to at least 20 criminal investigations—for securities fraud, tax law violations and mortgage modification fraud—and Barofsky predicted the risk would only grow.

Now the Obama Administration is blocking Barofsky, a former federal prosecutor in New York, from further investigating what he has determined to be a troubling experiment of U.S. tax dollars. The president’s Treasury Secretary delayed at least one recent inquiry and has evidently determined that the agency (Treasury Department) Barofsky is charged with watching has legal authority over his office, which clearly threatens its independence.

The most transparent administration ever.

This president is a disgrace; his reckless fiscal policies will – by incompetence or by design, you make the call – bring our country to a state of ruin that we may never be able to undo.

People are waking up though. Congress is choking on the real-life costs and implications of this insane healthcare reform scam that O is trying to shove down our throats in that Obama Rush we all know so well. People are pissed and senators and congressmen alike are starting to see their job security slipping away. More encouraging though, just today I spoke with a staunch Obama supporter who now acknowledges and understands – at least to a degree – what this administration’s real agenda is. Two major factors in this person’s ‘awakening’, aside from the obvious problems of the deficit, rapidly rising unemployment, ACORN, and Obama’s brazen doubletalk on practically every single issue he confronts, were

1. a burgeoning knowledge of the cloward-piven strategy which, when overlaid on this administration’s actions to date and stated goals, pulls back the curtain like nothing else, and
2. this simple speech by Ronald Reagan, which I’ll post again now because it’s -just- -that- -good- and applies to the current situation perfectly. Perfectly.

Also today, Obama’s Rasmussen approval numbers dipped into negative territory for the first time ever.

Obama Approval Index Goes Negative For The First Time

While this hardly makes Obama toxic, the more negatives he can generate – and he will generate the negatives because he simply can’t hide who he really is from the masses for very much longer – the less chance he will have of ramming destructive policy after destructive policy through, and the less chance he will have of imposing his radical socialist agenda on, and thereby destroying,  the greatest country in the world.

God bless America, and save us from this president.

-Cnation

Jim Geraghty: Optional Support for the Public Option
On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee concluded it won’t begin marking up legislation to overhaul the health-care system until after the July 4 recess. Senate Democrats and the Obama administration tried to put a brave face on the decision, but speed had been a key component of the administration’s strategy; nothing makes an important and potentially risky vote harder than a lengthy stretch of public scrutiny. Obama had added to the ticking-clock mentality last month when he declared, “If we don’t get it done this year, we’re not going to get it done.” more…..

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Connie Hair: Obama Financial Proposal Contains Sub-Prime Loan Shocker
The Obama administration’s latest financial regulatory reform proposal contains a stunning surprise hidden on page 67: “Rigorous application of the Community Reinvestment Act should be a core function of the CFPA.”
The Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA, should be a core function of the CFPA or the Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at the very epicenter of the financial meltdown last year, the CRA is one of the vehicles used to inveigle, incent or threaten banks into lowering their lending standards to provide home loans to those who simply cannot afford them. more…..

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Associated Press: Mayor caught up in Americorp mess investigated by the FBI

Senators have questioned President Barack Obama’s firing of the AmeriCorps internal watchdog over the Johnson investigation. The mayor was an Obama supporter during the presidential campaign.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The FBI is investigating allegations that an executive at a nonprofit founded by Mayor Kevin Johnson obstructed a federal inquiry into the group’s spending. Two months ago, Johnson and the St. HOPE Academy agreed to repay nearly $424,000 in federal grants to settle an investigation into whether the nonprofit misused AmeriCorps money. more…..

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Charles Krauthammer: Obama Clueless on Iran
WASHINGTON — Millions of Iranians take to the streets to defy a theocratic dictatorship that, among its other finer qualities, is a self-declared enemy of America and the tolerance and liberties it represents. The demonstrators are fighting on their own, but they await just a word that America is on their side. And what do they hear from the president of the United States? Silence. Then, worse. Three days in, the president makes clear his policy: continued “dialogue” with their clerical masters. Dialogue with a regime that is breaking heads, shooting demonstrators, expelling journalists, arresting activists. Engagement with — which inevitably confers legitimacy upon — leaders elected in a process that begins as a sham (only four handpicked candidates permitted out of 476) and ends in overt rigging. more…..

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Richard Baehr: Explaining Obama: Our First Islamist President?
One might think that Barack Obama’s obsession with Jewish settlements in the West Bank would wane a bit, given the events in Iran. But to think this would be wrong. The President has applauded the vigorous election debate in Iran (the one between protestors and those who arrest and shoot them?), and ridiculed the cause of the protestors by arguing that Ahmadinejad and Mousavi are really not too far apart in their views.  If that is the case, the Administration is in a sense arguing that the protestors need not be on the street, since if the choice were tweedledee and tweedledum, who cares whom the ruling mullahs select as the winner?  more…..

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-Cnation

Fox news: Critics Attack ABC News for Refusing to Air Opposing Ads During Obama’s Health Care Special
Opponents of President Obama’s proposed health care reform are blasting ABC News for refusing to air opposing ads during a prime time special next Wednesday, just as a new study finds ABC News coverage of the president’s health care plan is favorable by a ratio of 3 to 1.

The prime time special — called “Questions for the President: Prescription for America” — will be a nationally televised event during which Obama will answer questions presented by audience members selected by ABC News. The network has refused to accept advocacy ads during the hourlong show.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accused ABC News and anchor Charles Gibson of making Obama’s case for “nationalized” health care “without any opportunity for opposing views to be aired.

In a fundraising e-mail aimed at raising nearly $100,000 to buy air time for a counterprogram, Steele said the RNC’s request to add its views to the debate during the special was “flatly rejected” by ABC News.

“What are the Democrats and their media allies afraid of? The truth?” he asked in a fundraising letter to supporters. “That is outrageous! And we will not take it!”

But ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider told FOXNews.com that it has been a “longstanding” policy not to accept “advocacy” ads.

Schneider explained that the policy was established decades ago and only local ABC affiliates air issue ads.

“Local stations have different standards,” he said, adding that ABC News refused to air Obama’s infomercial the week before the presidential election in November because it did not meet the station’s standards.

Since the president’s inauguration in January, ABC’s “World News” and “Good Morning America” have aired stories that feature Obama or supporters of his health care plan 55 times compared to 18 appearances by critics of his plan, according to a Business & Media Institute (BMI) analysis released Wednesday. more…..

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-Cnation

Fox News: Fired IG Calls White House Explanation ‘Baseless,’ Says He’s Being Targeted
The government watchdog President Obama canned for allegedly being “confused” and “disoriented” fired back sharply Wednesday, saying the White House explanation for removing him was “insufficient,” “baseless” and “absolutely wild.”
Gerald Walpin, who until last week was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, told FOXNews.com that part of Obama’s explanation was a “total lie” and that he feels he’s got a target on his back for political reasons.
“I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country, with an army of aides whose major responsibility today seems to be to attack me and get rid of me,” Walpin said. more…..

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Michelle Malkin: Obama’s AmeriCrooks and cronies scandal Updated
My syndicated column today digs further into Obama’s AmeriCorruption. We now have the White House in full Chicago thug mode — maligning fired AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin as “confused” and “disoriented.” Yep, that was the response after Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill weighed in and pronounced herself unsatistifed with Obama’s “loss of confidence” rationale.
Implying that Walpin has lost his marbles is desperate and lame. Walpin has been consistenly lucid and laser-sharp in every TV and radio interview I’ve seen or heard — including on the Laura Ingraham show yesterday, where he noted that evidence in the Sacramento mayor/NBA star/Obama crony Kevin Johnson case was destroyed.
Far from being “confused” and “disoriented,” Walpin is clear as day. Anyone who actually reads through his audits and investigative reports knows that. You can, should, and must read Walpin’s reports both on CUNY funding abuse and on the Johnson scandal here. more…..

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Gateway Pundit: Gerald Walpin Slams Obama For “Most Incredible Smear” (Video)
Fired inspector general Gerald Walpin slammed Barack Obama today for the “most incredible smear.” Last week, Dear Leader fired inspector general Gerald Walpin after he identified millions of dollars in AmeriCorps funds that were wasted or misspent. The man in charge of Americorps is a top Obama supporter and friend. Mayor Kevin Johnson used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car. more…..

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ABC News: White House Plays Hardball; Says Fired IG Walpin Was “Confused, Disoriented” Engaged in “Inappropriate Conduct”
[Note: I've added this article mainly for the comments that accompany it. They simply cannot be missed, as the sheer outrage of the commentors about the actions of this president is something that is becoming more common by the day, as people slowly start to realize how dangerous, dishonest and dirty the Obama administration is. Remember while reading them that you are reading them not on a conservative political blog, but on the ABC News website. -Cnation ]
In a letter to Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Chairman and Ranking Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Norm Eisen, the Special Counsel to the President, outlined a number of reasons why President Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin. more…

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-Cnation

Where is the transparency? The ‘robust debate’? The bipartisanship?

As usual with this president, nowhere to be found.

On Wednesday 6/24/2009, ABC News will essentially belong to Barack Obama for a day so that he may attempt to sell his health care plan to the American people.

Here is the schedule:

• First, Wednesday morning’s “Good Morning America” will originate from the South Lawn of the White House and will include an exclusive interview with President Obama. He sits down with Diane Sawyer to discuss healthcare and other issues on the nation’s agenda.
• Next, Charles Gibson will anchor “World News” from the Blue Room of the White House.
• Then, a special edition of “Primetime” will air from the White House at 10pm ET
• Finally, “Questions for the President: Prescription for America” will continue on “Nightline” at 11:35pm ET.

Conspicuous by its absence is any sort of opposing viewpoint. ABC News refused the RNC’s request for an opportunity to present its opposing view of Obama’s health care plan during the broadcast (the exchange  between the RNC and ABC News is posted below). This will allow Obama to paint, as you can bet your last dollar he will, a sunshine-and-daffodils picture of his health care plan that will go completely unchallenged in front of a prime-time audience.

When, exactly, did ABC News go from being a news organization to a propaganda organization? This health care plan is a HUGE deal that will affect each and every last one of us in very major ways if passed. A responsible news organization would recognize its duty to treat such an important issue with respect, and to present ALL sides – the pros, cons and everything in between – so that the American people could decide from an informed perspective. Instead, we get yet another supposed news organization casting aside any pretense of journalistic integrity and ethics and actively participating in the promotion of one party’s political agenda.

Here’s the thing – If Barack Obama had to debate his health care proposal on its merits, he’d be steamrolled. The numbers are simply unworkable. He knows this; there’s no way he can’t know it. But then this isn’t about health care. It’s never been about health care.

Never in the history of the United States has the media given itself so completely to one man and one administration, at least not to one so dangerous but whose facade could be so easily penetrated….one whose B.S. lies so close to the surface that it could be exposed almost effortlessly.

Please, take a few minutes and listen to this clip of a Ronald Reagan delivering a speech on nationalized/socialized medicine. It is from 1961, but is eerily timely and on-topic, and sounds as though it could have been given just this morning. If you don’t have ten minutes to listen to the whole thing, then at least listen to the first three.

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Here is the full letter of RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay to ABC Senior Vice President Kerry Smith, followed by Mr. Smith’s response:

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC’s astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party’s views to those of the President’s to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party’s opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff

June 16, 2009

Mr. Ken McKay
Chief of Staff
Republican National Committee
310 First Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Mr. McKay:

I am in receipt of your letter of June 15, 2009 and wanted to respond to a number of false premises you raise regarding our ongoing and upcoming coverage of health care.
I hope we can all agree that a robust debate of health care issues and potential policies is in order.

To that end, ABC News announced plans to broadcast a primetime hour from the White House devoted to exploring and probing the President’s position and the giving voice to questions and criticisms of that position. We hope that any American concerned about health care will find our efforts to be informative, fair and civil.

Second, ABC News prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers — of all political persuasions — even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABC News is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue. ABC News alone will select those who will be in the audience asking questions of the president. Like any programs we broadcast, ABC News will have complete editorial control. To suggest otherwise is quite unfair to both our journalists and our audience.

Third, there already has been extensive coverage of the upcoming health care debates, on ABC and elsewhere, and there will be much, much more. Indeed, we’ve already had many critics of the President’s health care proposals on the air – and that’s before a real plan has even been put before the country.
In the end, no one watching, listening to, or reading ABC News will lack for an understanding of all sides of these important questions.

Thank you for your interest.

Kerry Smith
SVP, ABC News

More from The Drudge Report

Michelle Malkin: ABC: The All Barack Channel

Fox News: ABC News Teams Up With Obama White House to Present President’s Health Care Plan

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-Cnation

Rosslyn Smith: Comedy, Bullies, and American Politics
Saul Alinsky taught two generations of American leftists to use ridicule as a potent political weapon. When the left infiltrated America’s entertainment outlets, the practice achieved industrial scale. As I read about the ongoing controversy about David Letterman’s vicious attack on Sarah Palin’s 14 year old daughter, my first thought was that I wasn’t surprised.  I have always found Letterman to be a bit of a misogynist.  In recent years he has also been increasingly unfunny.  more…..

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Cal Thomas: Barack Obama Is Not a Christian
Religion is a topic that makes most journalists uncomfortable, unless they can expose hypocrisy — as in preachers who speak of virtue while carrying on an affair — or outrage such as Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the doings at Barack Obama’s now former church in Chicago. Most journalists think taking religion seriously might require them to study the claims of various faiths and too many of them have already decided this might lead them to a faith higher than themselves or politics and they don’t wish to take such a journey of personal discovery. That is too bad, because such an attitude exposes one of the main gaps between most Americans — who believe in God — and most journalists, who don’t. more…..

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Yuval Levin and William Kristol: Dare to Defeat ObamaCare
The American public is right. ObamaCare is wrong. It should and can be defeated.
As long as the health care reform plan envisioned by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats was just a series of slogans, it was easy for the left to build support for it and difficult for the right to imagine how it could be stopped. It is hard, after all, to object to vague promises to cut health care costs and cover the uninsured and improve health outcomes. The brute fact of Democratic domination of Washington gave key health industry players an incentive to look as if they wanted to cooperate with the Obama administration. The whole affair began to assume an air of inevitability. But as general slogans give way to particular plans, reality is setting in. more…..

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Mark Steyn: Retreat Into Apathy
A society of children cannot survive
Look, by historical standards, we’re loaded: We have TVs and iPods and machines to wash our clothes and our dishes. We’re the first society in which a symptom of poverty is obesity: Every man his own William Howard Taft. Of course we’re “vulnerable”: By definition, we always are. But to demand a government organized on the principle of preemptively “taking care” of potential “vulnerabilities” is to make all of us, in the long run, far more vulnerable. A society of children cannot survive, no matter how all-embracing the government nanny. more…..

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Scott Wilson: Obama’s Spending Plans May Pose Political Risks
Concern Mounts in White House as 2010 Elections Loom
After enjoying months of towering poll numbers, legislative victories and well-received foreign policy initiatives, the White House has become increasingly concerned that President Obama’s spending plans, which would require $9 trillion in government borrowing over the next decade, could become a political liability that defines the 2010 midterm elections. more…..

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Hotair: Video: Iranian thugs beat protester to death in broad daylight
There’s no official confirmation that he died but that’s the word on the street. Best-case scenario is that they “merely” beat him into unconsciousness. Rather than give you just the video of the beating, though, I’m embedding a kaleidoscope of 14 clips put together by Breitbart.com to show you how widespread and violent the protests already are. If you can’t spare a few minutes to watch them all, at least watch the first three plus the seventh, where you’ll find the Basij — essentially Iran’s answer to the Nazi SA — riding by on motorcycles with batons and taking swings at anyone wearing green to indicate support for Mousavi. more…..

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-Cnation

Earlier today, FAIR learned that in the coming days, maybe as soon as tomorrow, the Obama Administration will announce two regulations that will dramatically undermine immigration enforcement.

The first regulation would gut a Bush Administration rule that required federal contractors — paid with your tax dollars — to use the E-Verify program to ensure that their employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S. FAIR expects the Obama Administration to gut this rule so that illegal aliens who are currently working for federal contractors will be able to continue in those jobs. This would give job security to illegal aliens who work for federal contractors instead of freeing that job up so that an American worker could be hired. Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 14.5 million Americans are out of work.

The second regulation would gut another Bush Administration rule to provide “no-match” notices to employers who have reported paying wages to people whose name and Social Security number don’t match. As the Department of Homeland Security said in October: “One private study concluded that ‘most workers with unmatched SSNs are undocumented immigrants.’” The Bush Administration proposed a rule to instruct employers how to deal with the “no-match” letters to ensure that employers don’t continue to employ illegal aliens. By gutting this rule, not only would illegal aliens be allowed to continue in their jobs but the Obama Administration would also be turning a blind eye to those illegal aliens who are committing felony identity theft by using the Social Security number of an American citizen or legal immigrant!

To learn more about what FAIR expects the proposed rules to look like, check out FAIR’s blog, The Stein Report, here.

Carrie Prejean, Miss California 2009 and Runner-Up in the Miss USA Pageant, Fired

Carrie Prejean was fired today from the Miss California USA organization, reportedly for ‘breach of contract’.

My first thought was “breach of contract….sure thing. This is about the gay marriage issue”.

As you may remember, pageant officials and one very nasty little creep by the name of Perez Hilton went completely apeshit when Prejean answered a question (posed by Hilton) about her position on gay marriage by stating that she believes marriage is between a man and a woman. In the ensuing firestorm, one pageant official quit in protest, others publicly denounced Prejean’s position as outrageous, disgusting, and “totally out of touch’ with the spirit of the pageant, etc etc…, all culminating in Donald Trump’s decision on whether or not to keep her on. He did.

Anyway, based on all that, the logical assumption about her firing today would be that it stemmed from the gay marriage thing.

Then I read this transcript of an email exchange between miss Prejean and Miss California director Keith Lewis (Transcript courtesy Fox News):

From: “Keith Lewis”Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 07:19:18 -0700To: Carrie Prejean<cprejeanXXXX>Subject: FW: Messages

Carrie,

The Style Network has asked to schedule a general meeting. Generals in the entertainment field are an opportunity for casting and producing executives to gain a better understanding of a potential talents range and demeanor in order to consider them for future projects. They are done without a specific agenda. I have had great success with my actors who have taken generals and would suggest you give it strong consideration. You never know where it may lead and sometimes they develop entire shows around you. The following days are available to meet with them here in LA. Please let me know as soon as possible if any of them work for you.

Best regards,

Keith Lewis

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:38 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

What is this for?

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: “Keith Lewis”Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 07:43:45 -0700To: <cprejeanXXXX>Subject: RE: Messages

Carrie,

It is for a general meeting – please see the explanation below.

Best regards,

Keith Lewis

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:42 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

Just as you need details for things so do I. Also nice move trying to make money off of my appearances Also.. Do not try and silence me by saying I do not have a comment about the prop 8 ruling. Maybe you don’t. I do

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: “Keith Lewis”Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 07:49:07 -0700To: <cprejeanXXXX>Subject: RE: Messages

Carrie,

I have given you the details completely. Perhaps it is not something you would like to partake in, either way, you can let me know and I will respond to them today.

Best regards,

Keith Lewis

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:40 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

I expect you to be forwarding me ALL email requests and interview requests to me. I know how you are and its not right if you are selecting things for me. Thanks for your cooperation And fyi I am a presenter of medals at the special olympics in a few weeks for the summer games. So now u know I am doing this and I expect your full support. Also I was asked to fill in for a dj on a local radio show.. Ill be reading from a show biz script monday. I am doing this

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: “Keith Lewis”Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 08:01:35 -0700To: <cprejeanXXXX>Subject: RE: Messages

Carrie,

As we have discussed, there is proper protocol and we have not waived our rights in any way to your contract. I am happy to try and facilitate the request. Please forward over the information along with the proper contact and we will try and confirm the appearance right away.

Best regards,

Keith Lewis

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From: cprejeanXXXXSent: Friday, May 29, 2009 7:57 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

You do not cooperate with me, and you pick and chose the the things YOU want me to do. That is not happening anymore. Stop speaking for me. I have MY own voice. What are u gonna do fire me for volunteering for the special olympics hahaha ur crazy No I am doing this appearance. You do not need details. Its for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS!!! You just need to know I will be doing it alright

You will not facilitate this appearance

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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From: “Keith Lewis”Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 10:10:25 -0700To: <cprejeanXXXX>Subject: RE: Messages

Carrie,

Although I do not agree with your directive nor is this letter an indication of our intent to waive our contract rights, we do not want to escalate the situation with you. In good faith, we will simply ask that you provide us all of the details so that we can block it in on our master calendar. We would also want to get the contact information should something come up – like you become missing after the event or you are in an accident before the event and need us to reach out for you. It is for your safety and our responsibility.

Best regards,

Keith Lewis

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From: cprejeanXXXX

Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 10:09 AMTo: Keith LewisSubject: Re: Messages

Ok then I expect you to provide security per my request like you agreed to provide

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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Well….look, I would say this looks bad for miss Prejean…in fact, it makes her look like exactly the type of self-centered prima donna that is the beauty queen stereotype. Judging by the “Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T” at the bottom of each of her messages though, this transcript was obviously captured and leaked/released by the recipient of her messages, which means the entire exchange may well have been a setup by Keith Lewis and the pageant people; whatever the case, you can be sure that Mr Lewis was undoubtedly on his best behavior here.

More importantly though, based on reports from Fox, CNN and others, it seems at this point that the ‘breach of contract’ claim is legit.

I’ve supported Carrie Prejean from day 1, and am really pretty bummed to see the situation take this kind of turn.

-Cnation

By Rush Limbaugh

If I might correct the architect of the collapse of the Soviet Union, well, the partial architect, Ronald Reagan helped as well, that would be Mikhail Gorbachev. Mr. Gorbachev, Russia was destroyed, the Soviet Union was destroyed by freedom; it was destroyed by capitalism; it was destroyed by American exceptionalism.  Socialism as an opponent to capitalism is what died with the Soviet Union.  Communism as an opponent to capitalism is what died.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Barack Obama inherited.  Barack Obama continually, childishly, immaturely blames predecessors for all of the mess that he and he alone has compounded.  If he wants to talk about what he inherited, I’d like to put it down on the record what he inherited.  The problem is he inherited it temporarily.  He’s in the process of destroying it.

Barack Obama inherited greatness in a nation.  He inherited the birthplace of the individual.  He inherited the defender of liberty at home and abroad, the United States of America.  He inherited the opportunity to lead a nation of sheer exceptionalism, a nation of equal opportunity, a nation which featured its citizens the right to fail and to try and try and try again.  He inherited the financial center and capital of the world.  Barack Obama inherited the country that has successfully championed capitalism and widespread prosperity.  He inherited a nation which liberated billions of people who lived in oppression.  He also inherited great responsibility.  He inherited the responsibility to lead this great nation, the world’s lone superpower, a nation oriented toward the good of humanity.  He inherited the responsibility to preserve and strengthen the free markets and economies that made this the greatest nation in the history of human civilization.  He inherited the responsibility to continue the philosophy and the tradition of a country founded on Judeo-Christian morals, ethics, and principles.

He inherited the Constitution of the United States.  He did not claim the right to remake it, to rewrite it, to change it.  He swore to uphold it.  And he’s in the process of wreaking as much damage to the Constitution as he can get away with, with nominations like Sonia Sotomayor, as he is wreaking damage to the US economy.  Barack Obama did not inherit a mess.  He leads a mess.  He inherited the United States of America, where anything is possible.  And greatness has been delivered to the world time after time in the form of private sector inventions, innovations, advancements in products that improve people’s lives for over 200 years.  He inherited a country of individuals energized by their liberty and strengthened by their character.  Barack Obama inherited the leadership of the greatest collection of human beings in the history of human existence.

And what has he done with this inheritance?  He has run around the world and apologized at every stop he makes for what he considers the sins, the immorality, and the unjust unfairness of the way he perceives the United States of America.  He inherited a country that liberates the oppressed, as I said.  He inherited the greatest economy in history.  He inherited that, nothing more, nothing less, plus the Constitution.  There is nothing to apologize for.  It is childish, it’s babyish, it is immature, it is unbecoming anyone who holds the office of president of the United States to run around crying like a baby while lying about the mess he inherited, because he didn’t inherit a mess.  He inherited years and decades of stewardship from the Oval Office of the greatest nation in history.  In his mind, he inherited a flawed social experiment.  He has now made the mess that is the United States economy.  He is making a mess of United States foreign policy.

There is a lot to be proud of this country, but you don’t hear much about that from the Oval Office or wherever Obama’s teleprompter happens to be planted.  We don’t hear people in his administration talk about how proud they are of this country and how proud they are of the people who make this country work.  There is a lot of work to be done, but not the way Obama is proceeding.  He is creating more work for future generations to reclaim their birthright that is the greatness of this country.  Barack Obama is destroying what others before him preserved and expanded upon.  He’s now saying, we can no longer postpone health care, just like we couldn’t postpone stimulus, we couldn’t postpone TARP, now can’t postpone health care.  If he gets what he and the Democrats want, single payer national health care, your kids and grandkids can forget the American dream as you and your grandparents knew it.