Archive for October, 2011

A Halloween Fright Song….

T’was the night before elections

And all through the town

Tempers were flaring

Emotions all up and down

I, in my bathrobe

With a cat in my lap

Had cut off the TV

tired of political clap-trap

When all of a sudden

There arose such a noise

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) this month issued the latest edition of its annual Congressional Ratings, identifying those members of Congress whose stellar voting records earned them the moniker “Taxpayer Hero” or “Super Hero” and those who consistently voted against the fiscal interests of taxpayers.  CCAGW also launched a new, interactive website, www.ccagwratings.org, so constituents can not only see how their elected officials stack up, but also contact them regarding their ratings.  The latest edition of the Ratings covers 46 votes in the House of Representatives and 62 votes in the Senate during the second session of the 111th Congress in 2010.  The average rating for the entire House was 40 percent, up 9 percentage points from 2009, while the Senate averaged 42 percent, a 3 percentage point increase from the prior year.  Six representatives achieved “Taxpayer Super Hero” status with a rating of 100 percent, while 144 House members, 62 percent more than in 2009, were “Taxpayer Heroes” with a grade of 80 percent or above.  The number of representatives – all Democrats – posting a perfectly abysmal score of zero dropped from 105 to 30.  However, that list still includes Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and House Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-Mich.).  The Senate boasted four “Taxpayer Super Heroes” and 35 “Taxpayer Heroes,” up from 29 the prior year, but 19 Senators scored zero, compared to none in 2009.  Find out how your members of Congress stack up in CCAGW’s 2010 Ratings.

A GREAT ARTICLE

From Personal Liberty Alerts:

October 28, 2011 by Chip Wood

MONEY.CNN.COM

A new group has launched a website to counter the Occupy Wall Street message: We Are The 53%.

I don’t know which I’m more tired of hearing: Barack Obama gloating that one of the richest men in America supports his tax-the-rich efforts, or Warren Buffett whining that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does.

Let me state for the record that both men are playing fast and loose with the truth, and they both know it.

Jesus, Even The Mention of Your Name….

by L. J. Martin

Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in a majority opinion has ruled:  legislative invocations offered in Jesus’ name are inherently “sectarian” and thus should be censored lest they make some attendees feel “uncomfortable, unwelcome and unwilling to participate in…public affairs.”

This a victory of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State in a lawsuit against a board of county commissioners in North Carolina, whose members don’t believe they should have to forbid volunteers from mentioning the name of Jesus in prayers offered before their meetings.