politics: Shutting Down the Government to De-Fund ObamaCare - 09/20/13 03:51 AM
There are alot of folks calling for a government shutdown in order to de-fund the Affordable Health-care Act (ACA), also known as ObamaCare. But what would happen during a government shutdown? Well , for one the housing recovery would experience a slowdown. During a shutdown, the Federal Housing Administration, “which insures and guarantees a large number of single-family mortgages and even more rental and multifamily properties,” would cease operations, blocking home loan and insurance applications. Not good for us in the Real Estate Business.
So, for everyone out there demanding that House Republicans shut down the government to de-fund ObamaCare, you need to know … (25 comments)

politics: Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers - 10/03/12 11:58 PM
This looks interesting....
In her lively refutation of modern claims about America's religious origins, Brooke Allen looks back at the late eighteenth century and shows decisively that the United States was founded not on Christian principles at all but on Enlightenment ideas. Moral Minority presents a powerful case that the unique legal framework the Founding Fathers created was designed according to the humanist ideals of Enlightenment thinkers: God entered the picture only as a very minor player, and Jesus Christ was conspicuous by his absence. The guiding spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, Ms. Allen explains, was … (17 comments)

politics: The Party is Over - 08/16/12 09:49 AM
The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted
The ultimate Republican insider’s caustic exposé of what passes for business as usual in Washington todayThere was a time, not so very long ago, when perfectly rational people ran the Republican Party. So how did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? That is what this book aims to answer. Fear not, the Dems come in for their share of tough talk— they are zombies, a party of the living dead.Mike Lofgren came to Washington in the early eighties—those halcyon, post–Nixonian glory … (11 comments)

politics: New Tax Plan Will Raise Taxes on the Middle Class - 08/01/12 09:48 PM
Mitt Romney's proposal to slash income taxes by 20 percent across the board would boost income for the wealthiest taxpayers while reducing it for the middle class, according to a nonpartisan analysis from the Tax Policy Center.
95% of Americans will have a $500.00 average tax increase while millionaires will see an average of $87,000.00 tax cut.
The report by the centrist Tax Policy Center found that Romney's tax cuts would boost after-tax income by an average of 4.1 percent for those earning more than $1 million a year, while reducing by an average of 1.2 percent the after-tax income of individuals … (45 comments)

politics: The Right to Vote is Under Attack - 07/31/12 11:35 PM
The right to vote is under attack in this country as state legislatures, mostly controlled by Republicans, pass voter I.D. laws under the pretext of preventing voter fraud. These voter suppression laws lead to significant burdens for eligible voters trying to exercise their most fundamental constitutional right.
Over thirty states have considered laws that would require voters to present government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Studies suggest that up to 11 percent of American citizens lack such ID, and would be required to navigate the administrative burdens to obtain it or forego the right to vote entirely.
The new voter ID law in Pennsylvania is a good example; there … (29 comments)

politics: Affordable Health Care Act aka "Obamacare" - 06/28/12 09:09 PM
While we are all wrapped up in the individual mandate discussion that was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, let's not forget what else the Affordable Health Care Act also provides.
Here are the Key Provisions:
1) PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: No child will be denied insurance based on pre-existing health conditions.
2) COVERAGE FOR YOUNG ADULTS: Young adults can now remain insured through their parents' health insurance plan until the age of 26.
3) PREVENTIVE CARE SERVICES: Insurers must cover preventative care for children--well-child visits, vision and hearing tests, development screenings--without requiring co-payments, deductibles or co-insurance.
4) SPENDING LIMITS: Insurance companies cannot … (26 comments)

politics: Agenda 21 - The Houston Chronicle Comes to the Rescue - 06/16/12 12:36 AM
There has been some talk lately about "Agenda 21" and even legislation in Alabama over it's supposed plan of destroying private property rights of Americans.  I think the Houston Chronicle answers these conspiracy theorists correctly.
Excerpt:
"We'll call this campaign against Agenda 21 exactly what it is: a misguided conspiracy theory that lowers the level of dialogue and distracts from real issues. Texas deserves better. In reality, Agenda 21 is a creature with no teeth, only policy recommendations. It falls upon local voters and governments to decide whether they want to implement any of its points. Concerns about Agenda 21 should be up … (15 comments)

politics: Romney Made the Olympics? - 06/12/12 09:24 PM
Ann Romney’s dressage horse, Rafalca, came in third this weekend at the United States Equestrian Federation National Dressage Championships in Gladstone, N.J. This competition, which will continue next weekend, also serves as an Olympics qualifying event for the U.S. Dressage Team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Romney is avidly involved in the world of dressage, sometimes known as “horse ballet.”
Does anyone remember 2004 when Kerry was crucified for being "elitist" for windsurfing? Hmmmm.......(BTW, those of us that live on the coast and have windsurfed never really understood the charge.)
Anyway, congratulations to the Romney's for owning a horse that will likely qualify for the 2012 … (11 comments)

politics: It's Even Worse Than it Looks - 06/05/12 11:43 PM
American Enterprise Institute (conservative) and Brookings Institute (moderate) team-up on a new book about the current political climate in America...and yes, it IS worse than it looks.
"Acrimony and hyperpartisanship have seeped into every part of the political process. Congress is deadlocked and its approval ratings are at record lows. America’s two main political parties have given up their traditions of compromise, endangering our very system of constitutional democracy. And one of these parties has taken on the role of insurgent outlier; the Republicans have become ideologically extreme, scornful of compromise, and ardently opposed to the established social and economic policy regime.
In … (19 comments)

politics: Is Obama a Moderate? - 05/11/12 06:14 AM
My Republican friends keep calling Obama a socialist.  I keep asking them to provide proof of these socialist policies. And I keep saying that the Obama Administration is very moderate and in some cases, right of center.  Thanks to Ezra Klien for writing story about the moderation of the current presidency.
Political scientist Keith Poole released a study that probably cheered the White House. According to Poole’s highly respected classification system, Obama is the most moderate Democratic president since World War II. Which raises a question: How can Obama simultaneously be one of the most divisive and most moderate presidents of the past … (8 comments)

politics: Is the Conservative-GOP Marriage Over? - 05/07/12 10:50 PM
Pretty good opinion piece on Romney, the Republican Party and Conservatism by Craig Shirley who is an author and conservative public affairs consultant. He is best-known as the author of two critically praised bestselling books on Reagan. Though I think Shirley glosses over some of Reagan's shortcomings, he does make a compelling case that the Republican Party is not a "conservative" party they are simply a 'political' party and nothing more.
Excerpt:
"It should come as no surprise that the Republican National Committee has been “covertly” supporting Mitt Romney throughout the primaries, as POLITICO recently “revealed.” It was the worst-kept secret in … (19 comments)

politics: "Gentlemen, we have run out of money. It is time to start thinking." - 05/03/12 10:25 PM
There is no debate that America needs to get it's financial house in order. The debate starts on what parts of the budget should  we cut and on whom we should raise taxes, if it all. Should we cut Medicare? Medicaid? Education? Social Security? Infrastructure? Defense? Should we raise taxes on the super-wealthy? The middle class? The poor?
"Gentlemen, we have run out of money. It is time to start thinking." is a quote from Sir Ernest Rutherford, winner of the Nobel Prize in Nuclear Physics; nothing could be more true and is the essence of this new book on an America in … (17 comments)

politics: Unequal Democracy - 04/14/12 11:25 PM
Using a vast swath of data spanning the past six decades, Unequal Democracy debunks many myths about politics in contemporary America, using the widening gap between the rich and the poor to shed disturbing light on the workings of American democracy. Larry Bartels shows the gap between the rich and poor has increased greatly under Republican administrations and decreased slightly under Democrats, leaving America grossly unequal. This is not simply the result of economic forces, but the product of broad-reaching policy choices in a political system dominated by partisan ideologies and the interests of the wealthy.
Bartels demonstrates that elected officials … (10 comments)

politics: Romney Urged Obama to Embrace Individual Mandate - 03/04/12 09:24 PM
From Erick Erickson at RedState:
"In July 2009, Mitt Romney wrote an op-ed in USA Today urging Barack Obama to use an individual mandate at the national level to control healthcare costs.
On the campaign trail now, Mitt Romney says the individual mandate is appropriate for Massachusetts, but not the nation. Repeatedly in debates, Romney has said he opposes a national individual mandate.
But back in 2009, as Barack Obama was formulating his healthcare vision for the country, Mitt Romney encouraged him publicly to use an individual mandate. In his op-ed, Governor Romney suggested that the federal government learn from Massachusetts … (9 comments)

politics: Who REALLY Wants to Reduce the Federal Debt and Deficit? - 02/24/12 03:43 AM
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB is a centrist, bipartisan group) has scored Obama's, Romney's and Santorum's budget proposals.  In a nutshell:
Revenue Impact:
Obama would increase revenues by 1.4 trillion (increase taxes on the wealthy) Romney would decrease revenues by 1.1 to 3.7 trillion (across the board tax cuts) Santorum would decrease revenues by 6.1 trillion. (across the board tax cuts) Spending Impact:
Obama would decrease spending by .2 trillion Romney would decrease spending by 1.1 trillion Santorum would decrease spending by  1.5 trillion Deficit Impact (combining the two):
Obama would decrease the deficit by 1.6 trillion Romney's budget would increase … (10 comments)

politics: Obama, Explained - 02/19/12 09:30 PM
This is a very good, and critical, look at the Obama Presidency.
As Barack Obama contends for a second term in office, two conflicting narratives of his presidency have emerged. Is he a skillful political player and policy visionary—a chess master who always sees several moves ahead of his opponents (and of the punditocracy)? Or is he politically clumsy and out of his depth—a pawn overwhelmed by events, at the mercy of a second-rate staff and of the Republicans? Here, a longtime analyst of the presidency takes the measure of our 44th president, with a view to history.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/obama-explained/8874/
 
 
(7 comments)

politics: Democrats or Republicans: Which Party is Responsible for the Debt Crisis? - 01/09/12 02:15 AM
Americans may be wondering how we rang up a $14.5 trillion federal debt. In 2001, the national debt stood at just $5.5 trillion. Why did the government have to borrow so much more in such a short time? Here are five factors that caused the current debt crises:
1. The Bush Tax CutsThe 2001 and 2003 tax cuts under George W. Bush added an estimated $1.6 trillion to the national debt. Those tax cuts did not coincide with spending cuts...as a matter of fact, spending increased. And since Obama has extended the tax cuts in a deal with Congress, they're ongoing, so the tab for them builds … (28 comments)

politics: The Continuing War On Our Civil Liberties - 12/17/11 12:27 AM
The 2011 National Defense Authorization Act passed the Senate with an overwhelming majority yesterday. The bill funds the DoD but there is also a subsection that grants the president broad discretion in determining who will be classified as an ally of a terrorist group, and whether any such person can or should be granted a waiver. In short, the language constitutes a verbal and legal thicket that could snag citizens who disagree with U.S. policy. The legislation’s flaws appear to us to be the product of confusion and indecision on the part of Congress and the administration, not a deliberate effort to curtail liberties … (12 comments)

politics: Glen Beck Calls Tea Party 'Racists' - 12/12/11 07:00 AM
In an interview with Fox Business host Andrew Napolitano, Beck said Obama and GOP front-runner Newt Gingrich are both “big government progressive[s],” so he doesn't understand why Tea Party members are supporting Gingrich. “If you’re against [Obama] but you’re for [Gingrich], it must be about race.”
BECK: "And I issued a challenge to Tea Party members. … [Gingrich] is a progressive. … If you have a big government progressive, or a big government progressive in Obama, one in Newt Gingrich, one in Obama, ask yourself this, Tea Party: is it about Obama’s race? Because that’s what it appears to be to … (3 comments)

politics: Barack Obama and Richard Nixon, Two Sides of the Same Coin? - 12/08/11 06:24 AM
Is Obama the Democrats Richard Nixon? Obama is moderately conservative in the same way that Nixon was moderately liberal.
Liberals hoped that Obama would overturn conservative policies and launch a new era of activism, like making the tax structure more fair (in our eyes) and reversing 'trickle down' economics which has never worked. Although Republicans routinely accuse him of being a socialist, an honest examination of his presidency must conclude that he has in fact been moderately conservative to exactly the same degree that Nixon was moderately liberal.
Here are a few examples of why Obama is a moderate:
His stimulus bill was half the … (5 comments)

 
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