Friday, July 15, 2011

Petulant Obama storms out; Moody's doesn't like McConnell's plan; Another vote on lightbulbs today; Government accidenatlly turns over classified document to ACLU; Pelosi "almost too busy" for debt limit meetings; Congressman Walsh tells Obama to quit lying; Krauthammer on Obama's debt ceiling; Regulation w/o Congressional approval

RedState opines: The President engaged in off Broadway theatrics trying to scare the Republicans into folding on debt ceiling negotiations. Playing the role of Hollywood President, not the real President, the President said he didn’t care if this brought down his Presidency and he would not yield. He then dared Eric Cantor to call his bluff.
Mr. Speaker, this is a man giving away the game. This is the poker player smiling and shifting in his seat trying to fake you into thinking he has an awesome hand. The dramatics are a Hollywood production — a facade hiding a bitter reality for Barack Obama.
You see Mr. Speaker, we know Barack Obama is thin skinned and we know he is mindful of his legacy. This is why Barack Obama stormed out of a meeting with Republicans last night when they confronted him with the fact that his supposed spending cuts are accounting gimmicks.
Barack Obama, for the sake of his legacy, cannot afford to be the President under whom America’s credit tanks and under whom America defaults on its debts.  History will not blame Congress. History will blame Barack Obama for not doing what it takes to lead and for failing to do what it takes, no matter the cost, to keep the U.S. solvent. http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/14/dear-mr-speaker/
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RedState writes: Moody’s Investor Services is sending out a pretty clear rejection of Mitch McConnell’s “Pontius Pilate Pass the Buck Act of 2011.”
Republicans and Democrats who are spinning it in favor of folding like a cheap suit and just raising the debt ceiling should pay attention.
According to Moody’s,
“the outlook assigned at that time to the government bond rating would very likely be changed to negative at the conclusion of the review unless substantial and credible agreement is achieved on a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction. To retain a stable outlook, such an agreement should include a deficit trajectory that leads to stabilization and then decline in the ratios of federal government debt to GDP and debt to revenue beginning within the next few years.”
That is directly opposite of the McConnell plan, which would let President Obama raise the debt ceiling by $2 trillion automatically over the next year. http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/07/13/moodys-rejects-mcconnells-pontius-pilate-act/
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The Hill reports: The House appears likely on Friday to accept an amendment to the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Act that would deny funding for the implementation of funds to implement a 2007 law that Republicans say will ban incandescent light bulbs.
The House on Tuesday rejected a bill to repeal parts of the 2007 law that set bulb efficiency standards. However, a majority of members favored the bill by a 233-193 vote, and the only reason it failed is because a two-thirds majority was needed.
On Thursday evening, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) proposed an amendment to the energy and water spending bill that would prohibit funds in the bill for use in enforcing the 2007 law.
"The federal government has no right to tell me or any other citizen what type of light bulb to use at home," Burgess said. "It is our right to choose." http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/171635-gop-light-bulb-amendment-likely-to-pass-friday-after-earlier-defeat
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The Washington Post writes: The U.S. government said it accidentally turned over a classified document about how it determines who are the most dangerous detainees in Afghanistan to the American Civil Liberties Union, and wants a federal judge to order the group to return it and not release it to the public, according to court papers. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/checkpoint-washington/post/classified-detention-data-inadvertently-given-to-aclu/2011/07/14/gIQAOpkSEI_blog.html
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CNS News reports: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she is “almost too busy” to continue listening to what is going on in the debt limit meetings at the White House with congressional leaders. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/pelosi-says-she-s-almost-too-busy-contin
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(CBS) – North suburban Republican Congressman Joe Walsh has a new YouTube video on his website – where he tells President Barack Obama to “quit lying” about the impact of not raising the national debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
In a nearly three-minute video released Wednesday, Walsh says, “President Obama, quit lying.” He claims there is plenty of money to pay federal debts and cover the costs of Social Security benefits, even if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by the deadline.  “Have you no shame, sir?” Walsh asks in the video, telling Obama to “show some leadership for once.” http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/07/13/rep-walsh-tells-obama-quit-lying-about-debt-ceiling/
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The Washington Post writes: Charles Krauthammer writes: President Obama is demanding a big long-term budget deal. He won’t sign anything less, he warns, asking, “If not now, when?”
How about last December, when he ignored his own debt commission’s recommendations? How about February, when he presented a budget that increases debt by $10 trillion over the next decade? How about April, when he sought a debt-ceiling increase with zero debt reduction attached?
Say it, Mr. President. Give us one single structural change in entitlements. In public. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/call-his-bluff/2011/07/14/gIQAfzFyEI_story.html
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American Thinker opines: Currently there are literally hundreds of government agencies that have the power to "regulate" almost any aspect of our lives, from the food we ingest to the way we educate our children.  Those agencies have created nearly 200,000 pages of regulations that have the power to deprive the citizens of property and liberty.  Yet these regulations are not called law because laws, of course, have to be passed by Congress.  Regulations are agreed upon by a small group of regulators that are out of the reach of the election process.  All of this happens despite the fact that there is no constitutional basis for Congress being able to delegate the authority to make laws to a third party and the founders probably never conceived they would try to do such a thing.  However these agencies have been passing "regulations" in direct violation of the Constitution for decades.  For example, apparently Congress cannot pass laws to restrict the Second Amendment but the ATF can pass regulations that have the same effect.
One agency of the federal government in particular has been in direct violation of the Constitution for its entire existence.  The IRS has the power to force citizens to incriminate themselves, violating the Fifth Amendment, and prosecutes trials under the premise that taxpayers are guilty until proven innocent, violating the Sixth Amendment.  Finally the IRS can seize property and businesses and sell the property and business without a court order, again violating the Fifth Amendment. http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/07/the_soft_dictatorship.html
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