Michelle Malkin: The truth about ObamACORN

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=48818

At a closed-door powwow hosted Thursday at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, activists discussed how to combat a relentless stream of corruption charges from ACORN/Project Vote whistleblowers. But it’s too late for a reputation bailout. Former Project Vote official and whistleblower Anita MonCrief has harnessed the Internet to crowd-source a massive cache of documents showing ties between Obama staff members and the supposedly “nonpartisan” ACORN operations.

Could Sotomayer be Obama's Souter? Probably not, but we can hope

Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated outgoing Justice David Souter to the Supreme Court. Counter to his nominating President, Souter subsequently took his place on the bench and became a solidly and reliably liberal voice on the court.

Now liberal Democrat President Barack Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayer to take Souter's seat. Blogs and columns are aflutter with the potential irony that Sotomayer may turn out to be a conservative surprise, the mirror image of the justice she is replacing. They quote the following statement from LifeNews:

"Despite 17 years on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has never directly decided whether a law regulating abortion was constitutional," the pro-life group Americans United for Life noted in a recent analysis of potential Supreme Court candidates. Sotomayor participated in a decision concerning the Mexico City Policy, which President Obama recently overturned and which prohibits sending taxpayer dollars to groups that promote and perform abortions in other nations.

Writing for the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor upheld the Mexico City Policy, but AUL says the significance of the decision "may be minimal because the issue was largely controlled by the Second Circuit's earlier opinion in a similar challenge to the policy." AUL notes that Judge Sotomayor also upheld the pro-life policy by rejecting claims from a pro-abortion legal group that it violated the Equal Protection Clause.

Sounds pretty good, huh? Not so fast, my friend. Unlike David Souter, Sotomayer has a well established liberal track record. She has sung the praises of legislating from the bench. In 2005 she is quoted,

"All of the legal defense funds out there, they are looking for people with court of appeals experience because the court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don't make law. I know. Okay, I know. I'm not promoting it. I'm not advocating it. I know."

Also problematic is her record of opinions being overturned by the Supreme Court. Of the five majority opinions written by Judge Sotomayor and later appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, three of them have been reversed. There is a sixth case involving minority preferences in career advancement currently being considered by the high court. If the Supreme Court sides with the New Haven firemen in this case, as many believes it will, her reversal record will be four out of six.

Why is this problematic? If she is seated on the Supreme Court, there is no higher authority to overturn her. Once she's there, she becomes a deliberating member of the body that reversed her so many times.

Is Sotomayer the conservative version of Souter? I don't see it. Should Republican Senators filibuster? Probably not, as her appointment is a liberal for liberal replacement and doesn't represent a net change on the court. Should the minority party roll over and give her a free pass? No. GOP members of the Senate need to ask the tough questions about her view of judicial activism and expressed role of racial and cultural bias in the law.

Raise the objections. Articulate the concerns. Live to fight another day.

Remember those evil GM bondholders who President Obama said were looking for a free handout? You may be one of them

One of Obama's class warfare straw men speaks out. From the Wall Street Journal opinion page:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338330278956585.html

First, let's set the record straight about who owns GM's bonds. We are hardworking families, individual investors and retirees who purchased billions of these bonds in $25, $50 and $100 increments. Many bonds were bought directly and others are held in our pension funds, 401(k) plans and other retirement programs.

I am a retired dye-making trade worker and even worked in the auto industry during my career. I don't understand why the government is penalizing people like me just for having funded my retirement with GM bonds. Bondholders, especially small bondholders, are being ignored in negotiations and singled out to bear the greatest share of the cost of restructuring GM.

Catholic News Service: Cardinal calls on Obama to make good on his "conscience clause" promise

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0902381.htm

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. bishops' conference and two members of Congress have called on President Barack Obama to make good on something he said in his May 17 speech to University of Notre Dame graduates, namely that he wished to "honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion."In a May 22 statement, Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago said he was grateful for Obama's promise to support conscience clauses.

Republicans propose real choice and quality-based healthcare reform without gouging taxpayers or providers

http://spectator.org/archives/2009/05/20/the-republican-health-care-alt

Today, the leading Republican health care reform alternative, The Patients' Choice Act, will be introduced in the Senate by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC), and in the House by Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Devin Nunes (R-CA). The bill would assure essential health coverage and health care to every U.S. citizen, without increased federal spending and taxes, and without the federal government taking over your health care. For precisely those reasons, today's left wing Democrats will not support it.

NY Times admits to spiking "game changing" Obama-Acorn story, but is the real issue being buried?

From Michelle Malkin's column in the NY Post today:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05202009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/times_election_gift_to_team_o_170070.htm

The Times acknowledged this weekend that it had spiked a story on possible illegal coordination between left-wing activist groups ACORN and Project Vote and the Obama campaign just before Election Day. The charges involved Team Obama sharing top campaign-donor lists with ACORN's supposedly nonpartisan canvassing arm, Project Vote (the same group Obama worked for as a community organizer).

New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt tried to spin it as a "tip that didn't pan out." He airily dismissed the charges by ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief as "nonsense" and quoted Times national editor Suzanne Daley, who shrugged, "You have to cut bait after a while." It was an all-too-convenient judgment that just happened to be made as Election Day loomed. (Contrast this with the doggedness of the Times' editors in pursuing insinuations that GOP presidential candidate John McCain had carried on an affair with lobbyist Vicki Iseman.)

Outrage is running rampant from the PR arm of the Obama left (the NY Times) and their refusal to print the story. That is correctly placed, but shouldn't the real outrage lie with the hand-in-hand relationship between our current president and the corruption-plagued community action group ACORN?

Let's not be distracted by the quarter being pulled from our ear, while our wallets are being pilfered with the other hand.

And just in case you haven't seen it yet, here's the Heritage Foundation's analysis of the Bush and Obama budget deficits:

WSJ: When state tax policy loots the rich, the rich hit the road

Great read on the real effect of soaking the rich in the name of "fairness." From the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260067214828295.html

Updating some research from Richard Vedder of Ohio University, we found that from 1998 to 2007, more than 1,100 people every day including Sundays and holidays moved from the nine highest income-tax states such as California, New Jersey, New York and Ohio and relocated mostly to the nine tax-haven states with no income tax, including Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and Texas. We also found that over these same years the no-income tax states created 89% more jobs and had 32% faster personal income growth than their high-tax counterparts.

Perhaps more governors need to add Atlas Shrugged to their summer reading list.

And just for good measure, here is the Heritage Foundation's analysis of recent and projected federal budget deficits:

Whoops. Democrats' interrogation hearing backfires

http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/05/15/top_stories/doc4a0d50c77ab25804345330.txt

Wednesday’s Senate hearing about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques
(EIT) by the Bush administration on terrorists backfired. Democrats attempted to
impugn the Bush administration. But their own witnesses did not cooperate. One
witness actually validated Republicans’ claims.

At least they had a good exit strategy.

Sen. Graham concluded the hearing by saying it was time to move on.

And just for good measure, here is the Heritage Foundation's analysis of recent and projected federal budget deficits:

Michelle Malkin: Big labor's investment in Obama is paying off

http://jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin051308.php3

Within two weeks of moving into the White House, Obama signed a series of executive orders championed by union bosses. The new rules authorized sweeping powers for the labor secretary that essentially blackball nonunion contractors targeted by labor organizers and blacklist nonunion employees in the private sector from working on taxpayer-funded projects. Such regulatory favoritism limits freedom in the workplace and raises the cost of doing business.

And just for good measure: The Heritage Foundation budget deficit analysis:

The disingenuous national healthcare debate: $2 trillion savings?

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/05/11/the-mystery-of-the-2-trillion

But when it came time for questions, she could offer little in the way of details about the so-called savings.

One reporter wanted to know what the pharmaceutical industry would do to contain the rising cost of prescription drugs.

"Well actually today was not an opportunity to talk to each of the groups in the room about their specific plans, but what I can tell you is that they were all urged to and made a commitment to put together a very specific list and to report back," Sebelius said. "We didn’t have time at this morning's meeting to go around and get the top three or four things they're each going to do."

And just for good measure: The Heritage Foundation budget deficit analysis: