Saturday, February 07, 2009

Praise with Caution

As anyone who reads this blog is full aware, I'm not a fan of Pres. Obama as I think he will take this country in a very wrong direction during a very vital time for our nation. However, I've been challenged by a friend that when he does do something I agree with that I give props when they are due as I've complained for 8 years that Pres. Bush never got praise for anything good he did (for example quadrupling the money giving to foreign countries and international organizations to combat HIV which liberals claim to support very strongly), especially in the MSM.

On that note I'm glad to see that yesterday he kept his campaign promise to continue to allow faith groups to compete with other non-profits for federal funding. However, I do say that with some caution though b/c of how it was announced. During the announcement it was said concerning faith groups that prohibit members that espouse different beliefs than the organization (for example Catholic organizations not supporting giving information on abortions during teenage counseling sessions), the rules would be reviewed on a case by case basis.

So, I do give him credit for maintaining a very vital program, however I will keep an eye on the initiative to see how that plays out and whether or not groups will be forced to submit to standards they don't agree with in order to continue receiving the funds.

Friday, February 06, 2009

Only 16 Days to Break Biggest Campaign Promise

As we heard many times on the campaign trail: "I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." - Barack Obama, 9/12/08

Well, he has already broken that promise: "Today, on the sixteenth day of his presidency, Barack Obama broke one of the central promises of his candidacy: No American earning under $250,000 per year would face any form of tax increase under his administration. By signing the S-CHIP legislation today, Obama has now broken his oft-repeated promise. Obama's signature puts into effect a 156 percent increase in the federal excise tax on tobacco, a hike of 61 cents per pack." - Americans for Tax Reform, 2/4/09

So unless no one making under $250,000 a year smokes (and we all not that isn't the case, quite the opposite), he just raised taxes on millions of people as stated above by 156%! And who will this hurt the most? Oh yeah...the poor! However, I'm sure you didn't hear any of that in the MSM...just like you didn't hear about the very successful election in Iraq this past weekend...yep...that's right...they had another election...and this time all parties, Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds participated to the praises of the international community for a fair run campaign.

HapTip: Muth's Truths