Skip

From the UL a couple of days ago (reformatted, emphasis):

<snip>

As for his personal efforts, Guinta discussed his newly introduced Operation TAXPAYER (To Ax Persistent Abuse of Your Earned Revenue) initiative, which includes legislation designed to reduce federal offices, initiatives and programs.

…Guinta said the initiative would change House rules to require any bill that comes to the floor to be reviewed by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, which would review the bill to make sure it is not redundant of an existing federal program, initiative or office. “The bill would have a score on it that says, ‘This bill duplicates X amount of resources or dollars,’” Guinta said following the event. For example, many existing jobs programs serve the same purpose, he said.

Read more

Yes, a side effect of the Stupid Party when they try to out Democrat the Democrats and grow Government using other peoples’ money – and may run out in 1 year.  Why am I not surprised that Ohio Governor John Kasich (and rumored Prez Wannabee):

Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s Obamacare expansion blew past projections in its first year, putting 471,452 Ohioans on Medicaid and costing taxpayers $2.1 billion.

Because enrollment has so dramatically exceeded Kasich administration estimates—the governor expected 366,00 to enroll by July 2015—the Obamacare money appropriated to pay for program benefits will be exhausted months early.  If recent enrollment and cost trends persist, Kasich’s Obamacare expansion will be more than $1 billion over budget by the time Ohio’s 2015 fiscal year ends on June 30. Actual Obamacare expansion claim expenditures reported by the Ohio Department of Medicaid are shown in the chart below.

NH is having the same problem:

Read more

An adaption from that old saw of “If you are going to kill the King, KILL THE KING!” – do the deed and do it quick or the King WILL retaliate and will do it at the price of your life (and those that helped, and perhaps with a few others thrown in a la “will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?“).  Here we see the country of Jordon, whose 26 year old pilot was captured by ISIS, waging war – no pattycake in the future of the ISIS prisoners they hold:

‘Kill our pilot and we’ll execute ALL your prisoners’: Jordan ‘says it will hang its ISIS captives’ if airman hostage is dead

Jordan has threatened to fast-track the execution of a would-be suicide bomber the Islamic State is trying to free if the terror group kills its captured pilot, it was reported today. The government has apparently warned that Sajida al-Rishawi and other jailed ISIS commanders would be ‘quickly judged and sentenced’ in revenge for Muath al-Kaseasbeh’s death.

Read more

Steve put up the video of Ted Cruz interviewing Obama’s nominee to replace Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch.  I listened to it and was amazed at how much “no answer’ answers the nominee can get away with.  And as the commenters to his post agher here. Paul Mirengoff of Powerline was live-blogging the Loretta Lynch hearing today and wrote this on Senator Vitter’s questions – and it caught my eye (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Vitter asks for the statutory basis for having the decisions on deportation made by DHS when the statute says its to be made by DoJ. Lynch won’t answer.  Vitter turns to mandatory minimums. They are in the statute, so why shouldn’t they be enforced whether we agree with them or not? Lynch cites limited resources and the need to prioritize.  But, as Vitter says, this makes the mandatory minimums non-mandatory and allows bureaucrats to override Congress.

This is the defining characteristic of Holder’s lawless reign at DoJ. And in no instance today has Lynch shown any discomfort with it. Indeed, as just occurred in response to Vitter, she has embraced it.

How many Republican Senators will accept this lawlessness by voting to confirm Lynch? The answer, it appears, is more than enough to confirm Lynch.

As a former NH AG, Kelly Ayotte was appointed twice to enforce The Law.

Read more

Like all good Progressives, the fronts for former NYC mayor (and billionaire) Bloomberg called Everytown and Moms Demand Action have no compunction about screaming for Government to take everyone’s guns away – the quintessential Progressive tactic of punishing everyone for the sins of the few.  They go after Joe Six-pack – the guys and gals that are law abiding that simply wish to use their Second Amendment Right.  For the former, it is only about guns, for the latter, it IS about the Constitution.  Thus, there is no compromise for truth be told, the Bloomberg astro-turf groups will always find one more reason to not stop and say “this is enough” for like most Progressives (re: taxes), there is never enough in and for their demands.  We know the ideology reigns supreme because we HARDLY here them speak about this kind of gun violence.  From the LA Times piece talking about violence – gang violence:

Violence tied to gangs remained the leading motive for homicides in L.A., at 160 killings, or about 62% of the city’s total — up from 145 such killings in 2013. The LAPD’s 77^th Street Division saw a 59% increase in gang-related homicides (16 more killings) compared with 2013, which Beck attributed to a couple of “strong gang conflicts.”

Street killings are linked to gang violence, Beck said, which can help explain why more than half (about 53%) of the city’s homicides occurred on a street or sidewalk.

“If we could eliminate gang homicides, 

Read more

In today’s Granite Status was this piece about what the Warren B. Rudman Center wants: Bringing campaigning back to the living room (reformatted, emphasis mine):

The executive director of the Warren B. Rudman Center is working to crystallize some of what makes the New Hampshire Primary so special in a series of public forums.
The ingredients: Ideas, access and engaging, close conversations with leaders.  “People are craving facts and some sense of civil discourse,” Broderick says.

I don’t see this as a big surprise.  What did surprise me was near the end of the article was this piece of pablum pie-in-the-sky:

Snowe, the author of “Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix The Stalemate in Congress,” said at the Rudman Center that Republicans and Democrats need to spend more time working across the aisle and less time working the donor phonebanks.

Snowe, the author of “Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix The Stalemate in Congress,” said at the Rudman Center that Republicans and Democrats need to spend more time working across the aisle and less time working the donor phonebanks.  “I think we have to jettison the red and blue state approach and unite under the red, white and blue because that’s what it’s about,” Snowe said. “It’s about the entire country.”

I have the same thing to say here that I said to someone in active in NH politics tonite concerning

Read more

When David Corn, a far Left Progressive writing at  Mother Jones, said that Mitt Romney was (in so many words) a closet Progressive, it left me rather unenthused. After all, a Progressive wanting Mitt – this is what I as a “base” Conservatarian, wants to hear about a guy that I resignedly voted for in the last election (more an anti-vote against Obama versus a throat rendering roar of approval for Mitt).  Extremely nice guy, successful guy, but one who leans more towards Big Government than what I’m comfortable at all with (the epitome of the “Big Government but just slower than the Democrats” kind of Establishment Republican).  And now, Nancy Pelosi???

Pelosi: I hope Romney is the GOP nominee

Mitt Romney has attracted an unlikely supporter in his possible 2016 White House bid: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).  Asked if Romney has any shot at defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016, Pelosi told The Hill, “No, no. I mean, he might be a nice person — no offense, no offense — [but] let’s save you time.”. A smiling Pelosi added, “Let me put it this way — I hope he’s their nominee.”

Now obviously this could be a Brer Rabbit / briar patch moment – after all, the Democrats beat him the last time (and frankly, I think he beat himself the first time in the Primary).  Do they think

Read more

Big Chill indeed – no power during a major blizzard?

“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is putting out word that 17 nuclear power stations, with a total of 26 reactor units, could shut down if the historic blizzard smashing into the East Coast carries high winds, as expected.  “If wind speeds are in excess of specified limits, a plant would have to shut down,” said the NRC, without specifying those limits for the 17 plants.

The agency called the storm “the most potent” of the year that “could produce prodigious amounts of snow, hurricane-force winds and dangerous travel conditions.” Many are in the direct path of the storm. In New York, for example, the two Indian Point units are just 24 miles north of New York City. In Massachusetts, Pilgrim 1 is in Plymouth, 38 miles southeast of Boston.

And of course, just north of Boston is Seabrook Station here in NH.  That’s a whole lotta megawatts that will go

Read more

This won’t make House Speaker John Boehner’s life any easier.

Nine of the most conservative House Republicans are forming a caucus to push policy further to the right, the group announced Monday.  The birth of the House Freedom Caucus reflects frustration among some that the Republican Study Committee, once the concentrated nerve center of the House GOP’s right wing, has ballooned in size and taken a less confrontational approach with GOP leaders than some of its members would like.

…The new Freedom Caucus is likely to take a more in-your-face stance with GOP leaders. Its aim is to promote “an agenda of limited, constitutional government in Congress,” the group said in a joint statement Monday.

This, too – what a concept! 

Read more

Shot: they will normalize you downward because you are excellent:

Chaser: they will normalize you upward simply because…er, I’m just shaking my head:

A Tennessee school district has voted to set the minimum failing grade in its high schools at 60 percent, making it easier for students to pass.

Read more

And we will LOSE every time that we ditch our principles and adopt them – even if it is just to show different shaped faces and skin colors.  From the UL (reformatted, emphasis mine):

During the fever pitch of last year’s elections, one of Renee Plummer’s friends made an off-the-cuff comment about Republicans being a bunch of “old, white guys. “It was an “ah, hello” moment for this Republican businesswoman from Portsmouth.”Ah, you’re talking to me here,” she recalls responding. The exchange inspired Plummer to come up with her image of Republicans. Off the top of her head, she named a handful of Republicans who do not fit into that “old, white guy” stereotype.The project escalated quickly: Capture the five in a portrait photograph, and attire them each in jeans and a white shirt.

Each of the five, she said, understood her vision…”I think she hit the nail on the head,” said Stiles. “She shared the diversity within the party and the importance of diversity.

Sure, diversity is important – backgrounds, history et al.  But

Read more