Obamanation on sequestration: He can’t have it both ways

BHO manufactured this crisis he now calls “a meat cleaver approach”

In the midst of the blame game and threats emanating from the White House regarding sequestration — or automatic spending cuts — set to kick in March 1, 2013, let’s remember one thing: The idea originated with Barack Obama. 

He used the issue as a political hammer to force Republican agreement as part of The Budget Control Act of 2011, establishing the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction of 12 House and Senate members to deal with cuts of approximately $1.5 trillion dollars over 10 years. The bi-partisan committee, on which former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl was a member, failed in its mission of writing deficit-reduction legislation.

Obama vowed to trim the budget Nov. 21, 2011, when he said this regarding Congress and automatic spending cuts:

“My message to them is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts to domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.”

This is Obama this past Saturday, February 23, blaming Republicans:

NewsMax’ Bradley Blakeman provides up-to-date, cogent analysis here.

“Gang of 8” amnesty hawks attack effective voices

McCain-led coalition aims to discredit knowledgeable immigration control organizations

The birthdays of Presidents Washington and Lincoln have morphed into a single day that has lost any semblance of the original commemorations. Sales have replaced tributes. There are minor inconveniences of no trash pick-up or mail delivery.  Libraries and government offices are closed. But the sharp mind of former U. S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) continues to perform and inform.

Townhall carries Tancredo’s excellent column, “Immigration and the Pro-Life Movement.”

His commentary opens with “There has not even been an amnesty bill introduced yet in the U.S. Senate, and key Republican members of the “Gang of Eight” are panicking.”  This piqued our interest since two of the gangsters are Arizona senators — the deceptive John McCain and his open-borders protégé Jeff Flake.

Tancredo concludes with this pithy thought: “Just as any Republican with half a brain should be skeptical when someone like Senator John McCain (as in McCain/Kennedy Amnesty Bill) lectures us on immigration issues, they should be just as suspicious when the likes of Grover Norquist, the Catholic Council of Bishops or La Raza put targets on the backs of Numbers USA, FAIR and the Center for Immigration Studies* and gets front page coverage in The Washington Post. I can assure you that none of the aforementioned band of brothers are out to protect conservatives.”

Tom Tancredo’s credentials on the subject are impeccable.  He represented Colorado’s 6th Congressional District from 1999 until 2009 where he chaired the 100+ member bipartisan Immigration Reform Caucus. He currently serves as co-chairman of Team America PAC and president of the Rocky Mountain Foundation. He authored “In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America’s Border and Security.

Get up to speed. Refresh your memory with this Feb. 2, post.

*Seeing Red AZ has taken the liberty of inserting the links to these three organizations. We urge our readers to acquaint themselves with their efforts.

Does the DC delegation represent you?

Powerbrokers aren’t broke

If you’ve had an inkling that lawmakers are out of touch with the average American taxpayer, you could be right.

Of the ninety-four freshman U.S. Senate and House members who have joined the 113th Congress, their median estimated net worth is about $1 million more than the typical American household. Them: $1,066,515, Us: $66,740 — according to the most recent figures available for the U.S. Census showing the median net worth of the average American Household.

The 535 members of Congress — 435 members in the House of Representatives and 100 members in the Senate — have a median estimated net worth of about $966,000, according to Center for Responsive Politics data, collected from personal financial disclosure forms filed by all members of Congress and candidates who were victorious at the polls.

Some have earned it, some inherited it and a good number married it.

According to Open Secrets blog, Democrat members of Congress are wealthier overall. Their  median net worth is $990,508 compared to the $907,014 for their Republican counterparts. In the House, where the median net worth is estimated to be $856,009, Democrats are wealthier than Republicans, with Democrat members’ median estimated net worth at $910,505, compared with that of the Republicans at just $789,008. In the Senate, though, where the median estimated net worth for all members is $2.5 million, the Republicans have a slight edge — $2.56 million to $2.47 million — over their Democrat colleagues.

The Democrats’ decline in the Senate has much to do with the retirement of Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), one of the wealthiest members of Congress, and the departures of Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. James Webb (D-Va.), each of whom had an estimated net worth of more than $6 million in 2010. On the House side, 13 members averaging at least $5 million each, did not return.

The New York Times covered the concept of Congress swearing off collecting paychecks until it passes a budget, saying in principle it sounds self-sacrificing, even noble. But behind the “no budget, no pay” proposal, which the House recently passed when it voted to extend the debt limit, is also a basic reality: many of those who support the idea are so wealthy that their Congressional paychecks represent little more than a rounding error.

Rank-and-file members of the House and Senate earn a base salary (excluding benefits and perks) of $174,000 a year.  The Speaker of the House is paid $223,500, while the Majority and Minority Leaders receive $193,400.

Roll Call provides a detailed list of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress as of the last filing.

We’ve all heard of the old line, “My wife doesn’t understand me.” The real question is, “Does your member of Congress?”

Illegal immigration: The missing components

It’s time to acknowledge that violating our laws reaps rewards

The supporters of amnesty for those who have entered our country illegally are once again attempting to shove this ill-conceived and costly notion down the throats of American citizens. And once again the impact and the numbers are underestimated. For the better part of a decade we have been fed a stagnate 10+ million.

Through his pre-election political posturing and executive orders, Barack Obama authorized “deferred action” for illegals up to the age of 30 — who allege they were brought here as children — allowing them to remain in the U.S. for two years, with indefinite renewals. They can also apply for work authorization, adding an estimated 2 million job-seekers to the workforce at a time of record unemployment. There is no possible way to refute their claims or enforce restrictions.

U.S.-born children of illegal aliens are not only eligible for instant citizenship, but are the key to sponsoring extended family members legally into the country once they turn 21, through the insidious practice of chain migration. As we have previously reported, a thriving industry known as birth tourism caters to pregnant women from China, the Middle East, and various other nations who want to ensure their children have U.S. citizenship.

The United States (along with Canada) is the remaining developed nation to grant automatic citizenship to children born within its borders, regardless of the parents’ status.

These nations repealed Birthright Citizenship in recent years:  Australia (2007), New Zealand (2005), Ireland (2005), France (1993), India (1987), Malta (1989), United Kingdom (1983), and Portugal (1981). Numbers USA has the complete list with notes and citations regarding birthright citizenship laws in the countries listed — along with those counties with and without these provisions.

In 2011, H.R.140, the Birthright Citizenship Bill — with 90 co-sponsors — was introduced in Congress. Its intent was to end the practice of granting automatic citizenship to all children born in the U.S., by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act, not the Constitution. 

The 14^th Amendment to the Constitution, which rightly applied to American-born children of freed African-born slaves, was enacted in 1868 after the Civil War. Many legal scholars believe it has been misinterpreted.

The exact and brief wording of H.R. 140 can be read here. Upon being referred to the sub-committee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, it appears to have died. Among the Republicans in the Arizona congressional delegation, just one name is missing: Jeff Flake.

You know the rest of the story.  He is now in the U.S. Senate, where he is part of the Gang of Eight pushing Shamnesty under the guise of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, with his new buddy John McCain.

We’ve been down this path before.  In 1986 Ronald Reagan signed what came to be known as the Simpson/Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). It promised to be a one-time arrangement to fix “a broken immigration system,” by granting 3 to 5 million illegal aliens legal status. The bill included “employer sanctions” and “border security.”

Sound familiar?

The Center for Immigration Studies has this excellent article titled “Before Considering Another Amnesty, Look at IRCA’s Lessons” by David North. We highly recommend it to you.

Illogical coalition shills for illegal immigration

 Why would blacks join Hispanics on amnesty, increased job protections for illegals, as they suffer massive unemployment?

The headline blares: “Coalition floats migrant-reform tenets.”  Count on the Arizona República’s Daniel Gonzalez to crank out another bit of blather advocating for the legalization of illegal aliens for the pro-amnesty newspaper.

In the same edition that inanely asks readers what Obama should say in his inauguration speech, Gonzalez writes about a local “Black/Brown coalition of influential Latino and African-American leaders” endorsing a set of nine “principles” urging Congress to use a “humane approach” to reforming the nation’s immigration system.

Among the so-called “principles” are labor protections for illegal workers, the fallacy of reuniting families they have broken themselves, Dream Act/Amnesty, and a catchy one called civic integration of immigrants. The coalition “opposes making unlawful presence in the U.S. a crime and opposes local and state police agencies enforcing federal immigration laws.” There is also a demand that our tax dollars “provide economic development to countries” which encourage what Gonzalez slyly calls “migrants” and we term “illegal aliens who invade the USA.”

“This is the first resolution we have seen that truly outlines some of the mandates our community feels is important,” says Hispanic Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, a longtime illegal advocate.

Exactly what community is she talking about?

And wouldn’t you know? Arizona’s two duplicitous GOP senators, Jeff McFlake and his mentor John McCain, have already begun aisle-crossing to Democrats in a concerted effort to develop the framework for the amnesty they call “immigration reform.”

Pre-election, McCain and Flake each sang a different tune in order to win. In fact Flake was so disappointing that the Arizona República took him to the editorial woodshed for switching his position. McCain was even going to build “the dang fence.”  Flake was far more honest when partnering with far-left liberal U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Illinois), who complimented him for helping “turn more red states blue.”

The overriding question is, why would black American citizens, who have disproportionately high rates of unemployment both locally and nationally, be among those encouraging more illegals to be given legal status — allowing them to compete for jobs these citizens need and should have?

What kind of illogical thought process would cause activists within the black community to promote an even less hospitable employment atmosphere for their own brethren struggling in a still stagnant economy?

The Business Insider reported that while the overall employment rate remains weak, job reports show that minorities are still getting hit much harder by the job crisis — with African Americans suffering the highest unemployment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics show the unemployment rate for black Americans jumped to 14.0 percent last month, from 13.2 percent the previous month. Hispanic unemployment was unchanged at 11 percent, while 184,000 more black Americans went jobless.

Even more alarming is the staggering unemployment rate among black youth, ages 16 -19, which jumped a full 2.8 points, to 39.3 percent. This BLS report shows the numbers have been as high as 49.1%. How do these young Americans benefit from the importation of foreign illegal workers?

Boehner reelected Speaker amid defections

House Speaker John Boehner, who appeared to spend more time forging a relationship with Barack Obama than representing the principles of his Republican conference and the American people, has been retained instead of getting the boot he so richly deserved.

The Hill reports that Boehner won with a bare majority in a vote in which nine Republicans voted for other GOP members, and several others abstained from voting or voted “present.” Two years ago, Boehner won all 241 available GOP votes.

Boehner needed 218 votes to win reelection assuming a full roster of 435 members voted, but only 426 voted, so he only needed 214 votes.

Courageous defectors from Boehner included Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who voted for Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID). Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and two freshmen, Reps. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) and Ted Yoho (R-FL), all voted for Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), but Cantor himself voted for Boehner.

Reps. Paul Broun (R-GA) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) voted for outgoing member Allen West (R-FL). Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) voted for former Comptroller General David Walker.

Interestingly, Speakers of the House do not have to be members of the House, although historically they all have been.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted for Amash, and Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KA) voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

This was the vote in the U.S. House today.

Who voted how on “fiscal cliff” & Update

McCain and Kyl vote with Democrats in support of Obama scheme

If you’ve been wondering which U.S. Senators voted this morning in favor of allowing income taxes to rise sharply for the first time in two decades — fulfilling Barack Obama’s class warfare/redistribution pledge to raise taxes on American achievers and job creators — you can see their names and votes here.

The bill, HR 8, previously known as the Tax Relief Extension Act, should more aptly be called the Tax Relief Extortion Act, since it included $600 billion in tax hikes. It now carries the far more politically correct title: American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

This scheme will add $3.9 trillion to the deficit, with a mere $1 in spending cuts for every $41 in tax increases. That translates to $15 billion in spending cuts while increasing tax revenues by $620 billion—a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts

As an unrestrained Obama continues to spend at breakneck speed, this deal brokered by VP Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), passed 89 to 8. It now heads to the House, where leaders have not guaranteed passage, but top officials believe it could win passage in the next few days.

In the House, political realities have repercussions at the ballot box in less than two years.   Senators are safe for six long years. They are counting on American memories getting clogged with football and lulled into submission by their favorite Hollywood celebrities, who coincidently are mostly high-dollar donors to liberal causes and candidates.

House GOP surrender to tax increases and spending increases; AZ Republican contingent stays the course

Republicans in the House of Representatives abandoned any semblance of leadership to add spending cuts to the farcical “fiscal cliff” bill and agreed last night to a undemanding yes-or-no vote on the bill that passed the Senate earlier yesterday.

The bill’s passage on a 257-167 vote in the House of Representatives, a chamber controlled by Republicans, bestows a major victory on Obama, who crafted a class warfare scenario to win re-election — campaigning on higher taxes on what he termed “the wealthiest Americans” or those who needed to “pay their fair share.”  After all, they “didn’t build that.”

Arizona’s resolute Republican Congressional contingent voted against the monstrosity which is the first Republican vote in favor of increased taxes in two decades. AZ Dems voted in support. The final House vote can be seen here.

Among myriad other spending, the bill extends unemployment benefits at a cost of $30.1 billion for two million Americans — who have already received 99 weeks of payments. It insured a raise of the death-tax paid on inheritances from 35% to 40%, and also extends a liberal favorite: stimulus-era tax breaks.

A report released by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office Tuesday indicates that the Senate-passed vote would add nearly $4 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years.

The clear lack of leadership evidenced by capitulating to this pork-laden behemoth, should signal the defeat of Republican House Speaker John Boehner as he faces reelection after the new House is seated on Thursday. Nancy Pelosi called it “a happy start to a new year.” That probably tells you all you need to know.

This two-month stop-gap is just the tip of the rushing-headlong-into-becoming-Greece iceberg. The debt ceiling looms.

And Obama?  He’s off to resume his Hawaiian vacation. Never one to let serious business get in the way of his good times, Obama signed the bill using an autopen, a mechanical device that copies his signature.

Fiscal Cliff? Chuck Woolery has the solution

TV legend Chuck Woolery discusses his thoughts on how to cut government spending:

Shameless Obama orders pay hikes as “cliff” looms

Our cash-strapped nation emulates Phoenix,* broke and handing out raises

The Weekly Standard tells the sordid tale of Obama’s indefensible pay hikes for federal workers, judges, members of congress and even the clownish Vice President, Joe Biden — in the wake of “fiscal cliff” negotiations.

That cliff is suddenly beginning to resemble a bona fide hoax.

Obama’s 12-page executive order showing the hefty increases is available here. Check out the Biden’s tax 1040 form here.

And take the time to read FedSmith, for the in-depth back story to this outrage.

Earlier this month, Seeing Red AZ detailed the 33% pay increase* — an extra $78,000 a year –  Phoenix City Manager, David Cavazos received, boosting him to a base salary of $315,000 a year, plus a $600 monthly car allowance, $35,000 a year in deferred compensation, and a $4,000 “longevity” bonus.

In 2010 cash-strapped Phoenix instituted a 2 % tax on food in order for the city to continue to function — or so we were told. The scare tactics and gamesmanship included threats to eliminate union firefighters, police officers and teaching positions, although they had recently been funded by a sales tax increase.  But sticking it to the citizenry is nothing new for Phoenix, which hasn’t had a fiscally responsible mayor in years, with Democrats in charge.

In December 2009, with record job losses and homes in foreclosure, $14.3 million was paid in “retention bonuses” to nearly 14,000 city employees. This, as the City Council cut $270 million, or 22 percent, from Phoenix’s general-fund budget, including $156 million from programs and services in order, they claimed, to balance the city budget.

Whether on the federal or city level, or anything in-between, think of yourself as the gullible golden goose when you look in the mirror while getting ready for work each morning. If you voted for any of these people, that’s how they view you and you can surely do no less.

More Dem hypocrisy: Obama kids’ school has 11 armed guards

Liberals exhibit double standard as they send their own children to high security school

The appalling hypocrisy of Barack Obama, his Senate Democrat cohorts and duplicitous media, as they push for tighter gun controls is nothing short of mind boggling.  They mock the NRA’s CEO Wayne LaPierre for suggesting that schools should consider having a security plan that includes armed guards, while ensuring that they and their own families are protected.

As it turns out, Sidwell Friends, the costly private Quaker school in Washington, DC, attended by the Obama’s daughters Malia and Natasha, has 11 security officers.

These armed officers are in addition to Secret Service protection provided the First Family’s girls. The guards are standard operating procedure for the school.  And this is the reason liberal parents like NBC’s double-talking David Gregory send their children to Sidwell.  They can rest assured knowing their kids will be protected from the carnage that befell children at a school where armed guards were not only not used, but are disallowed.

How typical of liberal elitists. Obama is intent on imposing stricter controls on American gun owners and preventing the parents of other school children from doing what he has clearly done for his own children — who securely sit under the protection guns afford. 

Debbie Schlussel reminds us that Israeli schoolchildren are kept safe by armed guards. Check out the photo accompanying this post.