a) Bob believes the primal purpose of government is to protect its citizens. Having an extensive military background he knows a great deal about what our nation faces,
b) Like myself, Bob believes we must grow the pie rather than redistribute wealth and that debt must be paid. As interest rates rise, as inevitably they will, the cost of funding will escalate and crowd out both the private sector as well as diminish funds for necessary government obligations.
c) Furthermore, Bob believes the national debt has been allowed to reach immoral proportions and by passing this burden on to our progeny we have severely impacted their future and rightful opportunities for their place in the sun.
Democrat unwillingness to pass a budget as required by law and to run government on continuing resolutions is a travesty.
d) Bob believes government solutions are an oxymoron and in a humorous vein describes what a cell phone designed by a Congressional committee would look like. Yes, he take a few liberties to make his point but the essence of his argument comes through.
e)Bob also believes The House of Representative is not representative . He says there are only two engineers, lawyers outnumber physicians by over 7 to one and thus our nation lacks the breadth of skills and opinions necessary to meet the challenges we face.
f) Bob commends Jack Kingston for his years of constituent service and knows this is more than half the role of a Representative, ie. helping people in his District work through the maize and labyrinth of government bureaucracy.
g) As I pointed out in a previous memo, Bob understand his views are not popular with the preponderance of Potomac Politicians and elitist thinkers who have years of experience at the wheel of government. He realizes it will takes time to undo the decades of abuse and profligacy but a start is essential if there is any hope of returning our nation to its rightful place and former glory.
I have often written that any economic system that can afford the Congressional monstrosity we have allowed to be imposed on ourselves had to have been awesome and is worthy of retention.
Bob is an advocate of Capitalism and free market solutions with all their faults and challenges anyone to point to government solutions that have consistently been their equal.
So for all these reasons and more,which I will enumerate as the campaign unfolds, I again beseech you to listen to Dr. Bob Johnson's basic message. If you do you will not agree with everything he espouses and he is the last to believe he has all the solutions and answers but he has faith that if we return to our economic roots and the core premises of our Constitutional we will be a healthier and more productive nation. Our currency will become sounder and subsequent generations will have a future based on their innate abilities and character rather than dependency upon a crushing government. (See 1 below.)
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Obama plays hokm and hokum (See 2 below.)
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There is a tendency to believe history repeats itself exactly the same way and I am not sure that is correct.
I believe the current scene is different than it was when Gingrich and Clinton clashed.
Obama is not popular, his own intransigence is seen for what it is - pure and simple politics. I believe the fall out, should there be a shut down etc. will not necessarily be laid exclusively at the Republican's doorstep.
Harry Reid's management of the Senate does not go unknown. (See 3 below.)
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Dick
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1)Record Numbers in Poverty Under Obama
The median income of American households dropped by $2,627 during President Barack Obama's first term — and the number of people in poverty rose by about 6,667,000, according to a new report from the Census Bureau.
Some 46,496,000 Americans are now in poverty, the highest number ever and a 16.73 percent increase from 2008 when Obama took office.
Overall, 15 percent of Americans are considered to be living in poverty, up from 13.2 percent in 2008.
But the figures are much higher for blacks and Hispanics — 27 percent of blacks and 25.6 percent of Hispanics are living in poverty. The rate for non-Hispanic whites is 9.7 percent.
More than one-fifth of all Americans under age 18 — 21.8 percent — are in poverty, as are 9.1 percent of those 65 and older.
A single individual earning less than $11,270 last year was considered to be in poverty.
For two-person households, the threshold is $14,937; for three-person households, $18,284; for a family of four, $23,492.
Last year, the real median household income in America was $51,017, a 4.89 percent drop from 2008. Median income dropped in every year of Obama's first term.
For black households, median income last year was $33,321, according to the report "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States," released on Tuesday.
The income and poverty estimates shown in the report are based solely on money income before taxes and do not include the value of noncash benefits, such as those provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicare, Medicaid, public housing, or employer-provided fringe benefits.
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2)
Persian Hokm, Obama -- J Street Hokum
By Clarice Feldman
It's my understanding that Hokm is the most popular game in Iran. Among other things the Hokm (commander or leader) of each hand gets dealt the first card and has the privilege of deciding which suit will be the trump cards. While it looks like the English word "hokum", something untrue, false, designed to elicit a certain response from the viewer, it is pronounced otherwise. Still it rather well describes the diplomatic and domestic game being played by Rouhani and Obama: Persian-American applesauce in which Obama is giving Iran the right to call the trump card and make the first move.
With the Syria imbroglio Obama demonstrated that he has no plan, no resolve, no domestic support, no international support, and is desperate for something he can spin as a win. Of course people want to negotiate with him now.
He's referring to reports that Rouhani, Iran's leader, and Obama have agreed to speed up talks. The Times, long a prime member of the appease the Islamists and dump Israel school, reports excitedly:
In a hurriedly arranged telephone call, Mr. Obama reached Mr. Rouhani as the Iranian leader was headed to the airport to leave New York after a whirlwind news media and diplomatic blitz. The two agreed to accelerate talks aimed at defusing the dispute over Iran's nuclear program and afterward expressed optimism at the prospect of a rapprochement that would transform the Middle East."Resolving this issue, obviously, could also serve as a major step forward in a new relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, one based on mutual interests and mutual respect," Mr. Obama, referring to Tehran's nuclear program, told reporters at the White House after the 15-minute phone call. "It would also help facilitate a better relationship between Iran and the international community, as well as others in the region."
NBC revealed what purports to be Rouhani's tweeted recollection of the discussion, an account far less sunny that the Times' version. Like me, the folks at Lucianne found in the exchange less to be optimistic about than the Times:
● "Obama's call to departing Iranian big the
diplomatic equal of running after his limo
screaming, "But, I didn't kiss you goodbye."
If the climate was so congenial to discussions, why did Obama have to wait until Rouhanwas driving to the airport -- when his aides could not intercept the call and provide an excuse for his not taking it? It's like a swain who fails to perceive he's been rejected, cornering you and going through the entire year's calendar to see if you're free at any time in the year for a dat
But the song and dance game is being played by Iran, too. The Times of Israel reports that Rouhani received a vicious response at home for this "outreach":
Iranian protesters threw shoes, eggs and stones on Saturday at the car of President Hasan Rouhani, back from a five-day trip to New York to speak at the UN General Assembly.The president got a mixed reception at the airport, as several dozen hardline Islamists chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as his motorcade drew away. Others attempted to obstruct the road by praying on the pavement, the New York Times reported.New York Times reporter Thomas Erdbrink, who is based in Tehran, described the airport scene as chaotic, with one person almost being run over by the convoy.The hardline protesters were outnumbered by several hundred supporters of the president who shouted: "Thank you Rouhani," AFP reported Saturday.
I don't believe for a second that Iran, home these days of assembly-line hangings of regime opponents, was unable to stop this. I don't believe for one second this was a spontaneous outpouring. It was designed to show Rouhani as a man under pressure from hardliners to resist Obama's peace initiative. It's the Gulf version of good cop-bad cop.
As for where Obama and his allies stand on the issue of peace with Iran at the expense of Israeli security, the answer is clear from the doings of the odious J Street gang, left-wing Jews more in love with Obama and the Democrat crazies than they are with the survival of their own co-religionists.
The self-described "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobbying group J Street has spent the majority of its recent time on Capitol Hill lobbying in favor of pro-Iran and pro-Palestinian measures, according to the liberal group's lobbying disclosure forms.[snip]The group spent $100,000 lobbying lawmakers to tone down their rhetoric on Iran and pushed for greater ties with the "Palestinian Diplomatic Mission to the United States," according to the latest 2012 disclosure forms filed with the House of Representatives.[snip]"Because Congress is an obstacle to presidential pressure [on Israel], J-Street wants to neutralize AIPAC's influence, to free the president to impose Palestinian concessions on Israel," Rosen said. "At root, J-Street is profoundly hostile to the core principle of Zionism, which is the right of the Jewish people to decide their own destiny in a state of their own."[snip]J Street and the pro-Iran National Iranian American Council (NIAC) launched a full court press in Congress earlier this year in a failed effort to convince lawmakers that Iran is a friendly nation that can be negotiated with.While Iran and its newly installed president, Hassan Rowhani, have continued to promote violence against America and Israel, J Street and NIAC urged lawmakers and President Obama to stop "engaging in actions that delegitimize the newly elected [Iranian] president and weaken his standing," according to the congressional letter they lobbied on.NIAC has been scolded by at least one member of Congress for pushing Iranian "propaganda." It often finds itself at odds with AIPAC and large swaths of the organized Jewish community.[snip]"On the single issue that impacts Israel's security the most -- a nuclear-armed Iran -- their advocacy efforts and lobbying is virtually non existent," said the aide. "And when they do speak up or lobby it's to weaken sanctions on Iran."[snip]NIAC and J Street also receive money from the progressive anti-nuke group Ploughshares Fund, which has awarded the groups thousands of dollars to lobby against sanctions and a credible military threat on Iran.Ploughshares enlisted NIAC and J Street to lobby on behalf of controversial Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during his contested nomination, which was opposed by many pro-Israel organizations.
Harry Truman once said, "It's plain hokum. If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em. It's an old political trick. But this time it won't work." From Truman's mouth to God's ears.
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3)
Capitol building eerily quiet as government shutdown nears
With just a day to go before a midnight Monday deadline to avoid a federal government shutdown, the U.S. Capitol building was eerily quiet on Sunday, with meeting rooms locked and no lawmakers to be found inside.
Senate Democrats decided on Sunday not to take up a measure approved in the early hours of Sunday by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives that ties funding governmental agencies with a one-year delay of President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law.
After a day of bitter debate and finger-pointing, Republicans in the House also voted to repeal a medical device tax that would generate about $30 billion over 10 years to help fund the healthcare program. The measure attracted some Democratic support.
And in a sign that lawmakers might be resigned to a shutdown, the House unanimously approved a bill to keep paying U.S. soldiers in the event the government runs out of money October 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to run many programs.
As government agencies edge toward closing their doors, the standoff is a harbinger of the next big political battle: a far-more consequential bill to raise the federal government's borrowing authority. Failure to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by mid-October would force the United States to default on some payment obligations - an event that could cripple the U.S. economy and send shockwaves around the globe.
When the Senate next convenes at 2 p.m. on Monday, it will maneuver to strip out the amendments to delay "Obamacare" from the House bill and send back a "clean" funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, that won Senate approval last week. That bill keeps the government funded through November 15.
"There is no ping-pong. House Republicans just need to decide whether to pass our clean CR or shut the government down," said a senior Senate Democratic aide on Sunday.
And yet, neither side wants to be the last to cast the final vote that would lead to a shutdown, a concern that has turned the funding measure into a hot potato tossed between the two chambers. Polls consistently show the American public is tired of political showdowns and opposed to a shutdown.
House Speaker John Boehner accused the Senate of shirking its responsibilities by taking Sunday off, claiming that Americans want neither a government shutdown nor the president's healthcare law to go into effect.
"If the Senate stalls until Monday afternoon instead of working today, it would be an act of breathtaking arrogance by the Senate Democratic leadership," Boehner said in a statement.
On Sunday morning TV talk shows, representatives of the two parties tried to pin blame on the other side for failing to avoid a calamity.
Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Whip, told the "Fox New Sunday" program that the House simply will not pass a "clean" funding bill on Monday and will continue to try to modify Obamacare by adding new provisions to any measure the Senate passes.
"It will be additions that Senate Democrats said they can support," McCarthy said, without specifying these "other options" to rein in the healthcare reform law.
VETO THREAT
Obama has threatened to veto any bill that delays his healthcare program.
The funding impasse is the culmination of more than three years of failed conservative efforts to repeal Obamacare, a program aimed at extending health insurance to millions of those without coverage.
Republicans argue that Obamacare, key parts of which are set to launch on October 1, is a massive and unnecessary government intrusion into medicine that will cause premiums to skyrocket and damage the economy.
Under a government shutdown, more than a million federal employees would be furloughed from their jobs, with the impact depending on the duration of a shutdown.
The current timetable could leave Boehner with the most difficult decision of his career: whether to approve a clean continuing resolution the Senate will likely send it Monday afternoon or allow the government to shut down for the first time since late 1995.
In a government shutdown, spending for functions considered essential, related to national security or public safety, would continue along with benefit programs such as Medicare health insurance and Social Security retirement benefits for seniors.
But civilian federal employees - from people who process forms and handle regulatory matters to workers at national parks and museums in Washington - would be temporarily out of work.
The last government shutdown ran from December 16, 1995, to January 6, 1996, and was the product of a budget battle between Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republicans, led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Republicans suffered a public backlash when voters re-elected Clinton in a landslide the following November, a lesson never forgotten by senior Republicans, including Boehner.
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