It's Friday, right?

Okay, maybe one of them is an actual reading assignment. The rest are entertainment. If you don't like that, you know where to find townhall.com, right?

Living pictures formed by thousands of US soldiers.
 
A Rasmussen Reports survey finds that 75% of Americans are in favor of auditing the Fed.
 
Finally, your leg will see some relief now that this new product for dogs is on the market.
 
How happy do you think this little girl is going to be with this portrait?
 
The snake, it has flavor.
 
Just in case you thought wishes don't come true.
 
A case of false advertising.

Remember the best wedding entrance ever? Hey, there was at least a 50% of this happening, right?

I'm not sure if any real notes are coming. It may be the webwench show on here today. If so, I apologize in advance.

Our Washington correspondent Jamie Dupree is going through the health care bill page by page and bringing you information you won't get anywhere else.

• "Limitations on Review" is popping up all over the bill. What does it mean?
• What is this "magical expenditure" in Section 2002?
• Republicans and Democrats interpret the Medicare wording differently
• Hear Jamie live on the Neal Boortz show weekdays at 12:06pm ET

This is just too good. Seriously, folks. These people make it so easy to continue doing what I do. Try this one on for size ..

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (a moonbat Democrat) is going to introduce a constitutional amendment that would establish healthcare as a "right" for all Americans.

See what I mean?

He says, "We need a real serious bill and, by the way, the fundamental question, 'Is health care a constitutional right? I mean, do you have a right to health care in the American system of government or not?" He goes on to say, "Well, we believe that people do and we're introducing a constitutional amendment just to make it real clear so that you don't have to infer or assume that that's a given and all that."

This is par for the course for Conyers. He's a fool .. a big government fool. You, however, probably see through this.

Look ... it's this simple. In order for you to receive health care someone else has to either expend time or property. To claim a "right" to health care is to claim a "right" to someone else's time .. that is, a right to a portion of their life: whatever portion of their life it takes for them to either render the health service or produce the medical implement or drug that is being used. Hate to break this to you ... but who in the hell do you think you are to claim a portion of someone else's life as YOURS?

There ... that should settle this "healthcare is a right" thing. Would love to hear Conyer's response.

I have a message for Slobbering Barney Frank: stay out of the housing crisis. You've already caused enough damage for this country. Please butt out ... if I can use the phrase "butt out" with you.

Who am I kidding? Yesterday Barney Frank threatened the banks. Yep he says that if the banks do not volunteer to save more homeowners from foreclosure, Congress is going to force them. All hail the imperial federal government!

Barney Frank is going to revive the legislation that I told you about earlier in the year. This is the bill that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify home loans. He also says that his committee will not consider any legislation to help banks with lending unless there is a "significant increase" in mortgage modifications.

Promise you this ... as soon as bankruptcy judges are allowed to modify the provisions of home loans, including the principal balance due, mortgage interest rates will be on the way up. Way up.

You know ... maybe the real goal here on the part of Slobbering Barney and his Democrat fellow travelers is to nationalize the home mortgage business. Only by making the government the one and only mortgage lender can you make sure that Barney stays happy.

The media is starting to catch on to Barack Obama's latest sales pitch when it comes to government healthcare: ensure stability and demonize the insurance industry.

Pretty clever, eh?

The Politico writes, "Adding a populist punch to the pitch he first took on the road last week in Cleveland - that for the insured, reform means 'more stability and security' - the president detailed a list of consumer protections that he promised would be in any bill that reaches his desk. In so doing, he cast insurance industry as public enemy-in-chief." There are those words again: stability and security. Americans love the idea of security. They think that they love the idea of freedom. That's a bunch of horsesqueeze. What they really want is for the evil rich to pay their "fair share" so that they can enjoy the "freedom" of "free" government healthcare. That's another one of Obama's buzz words: fairness. At a recent healthcare townhall meeting Obama said, "So what we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable ... Whether or not you have health insurance right now, the reforms we seek will bring stability and security that you don't have today."

Maybe, just maybe, the people of this country are starting to figure this guy out. They are starting to realize that his administration is dictated more by focus groups and buzz words than actual sound policy.

Make no mistake ... this little White House beer party tonight between Obama, the whiney Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley is all about rehabilitating the image of Barack Obama. He stepped in it big time ... and now he's going to use Gates and Crowley to wash that stuff off his shoes .. .with beer.

Oh .. and the woman who made the 911 call because she saw someone she thought was breaking into a house? Well now she's being called a racist. Yeah ... a racist. So ... here are the new rules. If you think you see someone committing a crime your first task is to determine whether or not that person's color. If they are white, you call 911. If they're black, you simply turn and walk away. Whatever you do, do not call 911. That, of course, would make you a racist. Hard to believe (or maybe it isn't), but this woman is actually getting death threats ... death threats from people who are legally entitled to vote.

We have heard a lot about obesity this week, thanks to the revelation that almost 10% of Americans' healthcare spending is due to blubberbutts. Then the Democrats promise that their healthcare bill will fund "the fight" against obesity. Then I read a story like this, from the UK, and I can't help but think, "Coming soon to the United States."

A 25-year-old woman by the name of Laura Ripley was such a lardass that the government considered her disabled. So the taxpayers fork over $15,000 so she can have a weight loss surgery. She loses enough weight to the point where the government no longer considers her disabled. Now Laura Ripley is throwing a fit. Do you know why? Because the government reduced her welfare checks because she is no longer disabled. Now she says that she can't afford healthy food and she is starting to gain weight.

Consider this ... this woman has never held a job in her life. She is a mooch. She is a looter. She is a welfare broodmare. She gets paid by the taxpayers to sit on her fat ass and contribute NOTHING to society. With that, she goes to the National Health Service to get this weight loss surgery. Then after she loses the weight, she complains because now she has less moocher money to pay for her bon bons and tea biscuits. She says, 'I can't afford to buy Weight Watchers crisps and cereal bars any more so I eat Tesco's chocolate bars and packets of Space Invaders crisps, sometimes four of each a day ... People ask why I don't snack on an apple - they're cheap, but emotionally I don't always feel like an apple.'

Not only that, but she blames the government for treating her unfairly and causing her to gain weight again. 'It's heartbreaking that after all my hard work losing this weight someone's come along and ruined it.' That's right. It's not her personal responsibility. It is the government's fault.

Name: John Smith

Subject: Definitions

Get Real Neal, you probably are down with it on the definitions on racism and bigotism, but you are the poster child for elitism. You have been running your mouth for soooo long, you started believing your own BS a long time ago. How else can one explain the Lame Tax you've come up with. Get Real Neal!

The Talkmaster, Neal Boortz has been nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame! And you can vote to help him win!  Voting takes only a couple of minutes.  Find out how to vote here. Voting is open to everybody - so post an appeal to your Facebook friends and Tweet and re-Tweet.

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If the embeded video isn't showing up for you, here's a link.

I don't know where this originated .. but it's fun. Had to do a little editing.

The Blue Dog Democrats struck a deal yesterday .. there will not be a vote on the healthcare bill before the August recess.

Did you know that Charlie Rangel is leading the charge for a 5.4% income tax surcharge because it is the "the moral thing to do"?

House Republicans are ready to reveal their healthcare bill today.

Barack Obama is in defense mode when it comes to his economic stimulus packages. Did you know that if it wasn't for him, our country would have plunged into a deep depression?

John Stossel points out that the media are never better at displaying their economic illiteracy than when they report on the minimum wage.

States are scrambling to revamp their tax codes in order to bring in more revenue.

For example, take a look at how Hawaii is going to tax its residents on gross winnings from trips to Vegas rather than just net winnings.

Janet Napolitano is considering the idea of scrapping our color-coded terror alert levels.

Limiting broadcasting rights for radio and television will lead to a significant "democratization" of the media according to ..........

This is a good way to put it: Global warming is the new religion of First World urban elites.

What does the federal government have to do with a state's role in declaring English its official language?

New York City is buying one-way tickets for its homeless people and sending them to ... Georgia!

Lawmakers in Arizona are considering selling their capitol buildings in order to generate revenue.

A sign spelling out "United States" on the Canadian border is being stripped because the government believes it to be an unacceptable security risk.

Could homeschooling eventually be made illegal in the United States like it is in other countries? The teachers unions would just love that.

Nanny state alert. Swimmers at a pool in Great Britain have been told they may only swim across the width of the pool (rather than length-wise) because it makes it easier for lifeguards to ensure their safety.

Resting up .. so I'll be with you at 10:00 Eastern. Herman Cain will take good care of you until then.

Oh .. and I would like to open the Nuze by welcoming to this world one Sarah Jacklynn _________. That would be my brand new 8 lb. 3 oz. 21 inch granddaughter. She was delivered at 3:37 yesterday afternoon and she and her mother (my daughter) are in wonderful shape ... though her father looked a little frazzled when I left the hospital last night.

Pictures? Yup, you bet. But they don't get posted here without the parent's permission. So stay tuned. And a big happy actual Happy Birthday to Sarah!

This Friday the House is going to vote to ban corporate pay practices at financial firms. What kind of pay practices? Anything that the government deems to be an "inappropriate risk." What exactly is considered an "inappropriate risk." Well that is for the government - that means bureaucrats -- to decide. People like Barney Frank or other government hacks will suddenly be in charge of determining what pay practices are appropriate for financial firms in this country. This is a prime example of our imperial federal government run amuck. We are talking about unprecedented power in the hands of the federal government. This is power that would have our Founding Fathers spinning around like they were on a rotisserie.

Slobbering Barney says, "If the risk pays off, you make money .. and if the risk doesn't, you suffer no penalties. Heads you win, tails you break even. It's like selling lottery tickets that only cost you money if they pay off." Yep. That's the man who is going to be in charge of regulating corporate pay for our financial system. His bill would ban any "risky" compensation that could threaten the "safety and soundness" of our economy.

Also, I think that Barney also managed to include in the bill a provision that would require financial companies to disclose to federal regulators any details on "incentive-based" compensation. Any details on ALL incentive-based compensation? We are talking about any and all bonuses paid out by the financial sector.

Oh and you will love this comment. This comes from one of my favorite Representatives. You people in Central Florida should be ashamed. Rep. Alan Grayson says that any attempts to water down this bill would only help "irresponsible managers who loot their companies.". Yep, because that is exactly what these financial institutions are all about.

Here's what this all boils down to: Government hacks who probably would have a tough time making it in the private sector are going to be telling business owners and managers what they can and what they cannot do in the operations of their businesses. This is a wholesale attack on economic liberty and free enterprise, and it is exactly what you would expect of the Democrat party and a president who, in writing, professed his affinity for Communism and Marxism.

You folks with the Obama bumper stickers? Thanks a pantload.

Why is the Republican Party losing voters? Why is the Republican Party lacking in popularity while polls show that more Americans consider themselves conservative? Well according to Republican Senator George Voinovich of Ohio, it has nothing to do with the fact that the Republicans lack any original ideas. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are completely impotent. It has nothing to do with their general obsession with a woman's womb. According to George Voinovich, it has everything to do with Southerners. Yep .. Southerners are to blame for the Republicans' lagging popularity.

Voinovich told the Columbus dispatch that the Senate is filled with too many Jim DeMints and Tom Coburns. He says, It's the Southerners ... They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr ... People hear them and say, 'These people, they're Southerners. The party's being taken over by Southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?'"

Anti-South bias. Nothing new to me. There are radio stations out there who refuse to run my program for no other reason than that it originates in Atlanta, Georgia. The bias is real ... but I'll just say that I'm damned glad I don't live in Ohio or New Jersey. I'll just take Atlanta and Naples and be more than thrilled.

This lovely bible carrying case was spotted by a friend of the show. Oh, for those of you that think this is photoshopped, you can get your own here.

A blogger by the name of Keith Hennessey has done a great analysis of how the Congressional Budget Office has virtually destroyed the House Democrat healthcare plan. Take a look at the first conclusion and then explain to me why there are still people in this country who buy into this government healthcare scam.

Conclusion: CBO says that because the proposed new health spending would grow faster than the proposed new income tax increases, the House health bill would increase the long-term deficit. Since the President has said he would not sign a bill that increases the long-term deficit, the bill is dead in its current form. Any tax increase that would grow more slowly than the proposed new spending faces the same irreconcilable problem. The only way to solve this problem and meet the President's long-term goal is to cut health spending or tax employer-provided health insurance.

The whole thing is worth a read.

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Sonia Sotomayor officially cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Obama administration will "require" health insurance plans to cover some weight loss programs to help fight obesity. I still like my idea better .. a FAT tax.

This is not good news for Barack Obama. A majority of Americans believe exactly the opposite of what he is preaching about healthcare: it is going to increase costs and hurt the quality of care.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed says that the Senate Finance Committee would wrap up its work on the health care reform bill before the end of next week.

Okay, so Republican representatives may know more about the Democrat healthcare bill than Democrat representatives. Here's an idea. Why don't the Republicans come up with some darn ideas for themselves. Hell, I could write a better bill in ten minutes.

Politicians are trying really hard to convince you that this economic stimulus plan is working. For example, they will count a job as being created by the economic stimulus ... even if it only 3 hours worth of work.

The Government Accountability Office is expected to add the Postal Service to its list of "high risk" government operations.

The government can't properly decide what cars would qualify for its own stimulus program.

Now that George Bush is out of office, who are the Democrats going to blame when things don't go their way?

Rep. Jeff Flake isn't making any friends in the House Rules Committee right now. Good for him.

Chicago is experiencing the coldest July in 67 years. Must be all that global warming.

The British government published a 20-page report on how to Twitter. Wait, 20 pages?

Can you be sued for a Tweet? Apparently the answer is yes.

This story out of Atlanta is getting national attention. An Atlanta police officer shot and killed a family dog while investigating a house call.

The traffic at the official White House Web site--whitehouse.gov--has fallen from a post-Inauguration peak to nearly the same level it was toward the end of the Bush administration.

Which conservative commentators are NOT on the birther bandwagon?

There's no other way to say this, and it's not as if you haven't already noticed. American is becoming a nation of fat, disgusting lardasses. We are a nation of overindulgent blubberbutts. One third of American adults are obese. Visual observations would point you to a higher number.

But it didn't always used to be this way. The obesity rate in America has risen 37% from 1998 to 2006, this according to a study published by the journal Health Affairs. Along with expanding waste lines comes .. you guessed it .. expanded healthcare costs. Obesity-related health spending has doubled in one decade to $147 billion. That's because being a lardass has its consequences: diabetes, heart disease, scooters. All of these things cost money. In fact, obese people can expect to pay an average of $1,400 more every year than a normal person on medical expenses. I don't have a problem with that. They chose to gorge and live an unhealthy lifestyle, and they should be made to pay for the consequences.

Now the Democrats have whined and moaned about the increased cost of healthcare. This is one of the main reasons why they say they want healthcare reform - to control the 'sky-rocketing' costs of healthcare. Even though their plans will not lower or control the price of healthcare one bit. But that is beside the point. Why they've also failed to tell you in that 9.1% of medical spending in this country is spent on obesity-related conditions. Just one decade ago, that number was only 6.5%.

OK ... so here's a suggestion. Senator Looser (John Kerry) is proposing a tax on what he calls "gold-plated" health care plans. Well, these plans aren't the problem. If some people work harder than others and can thereby afford more comprehensive healthcare plans ... why should they be punished? If Kerry and the rest of his Democrat sycophants think they can lower healthcare costs through taxation, how about a fat tax? The VAT seems popular with these people .. why not a FAT? The Fat Accumulation Tax. The heavier you are the more taxes you pay to cover the cost of your extra medical care.

You get more of the behavior you reward. Lower taxes on the productive Americans who are powering our economy. You get less of the behavior you punish .. a FAT tax. Make these people pay for their slovenly habits and watch them thin down. And don't give me this poverty nonsense either ... if you can afford the FAT, don't eat the fat.

The location is Santa Cruz, California. The event is a meeting of the city council. The format is, apparently, citizen comments. The citizens of Santa Cruz get to walk up to the podium during a city council meeting and have their say. So ... the crowd is hushed. The council members are in their places, pencils in hand, ready to take notes. And there ... approaching the podium ... is a young brunette; probably in her teens. She clears her throat, looks at the members of the city council ---- and then proceeds to validate pretty much every evil thing I've ever said about government education.

My Lord! Is this woman gainfully employed? Notice, please, that she said food is free. That would explain her appearance. DANGER! Your IQ will drop 40 points just watching this idiot.

The Democrats are still scrounging to figure out more ways to tax the tar out of Americans in order to fund their government healthcare scheme. The latest idea they are said to be considering is a 10% excise tax on cosmetic surgery .. face-lifts, tummy tucks, hair transplants, etc. It would use the tax code as a means of enforcement. Not only would procedures prohibited under Section 213 of the tax code not be deductible, but they would be subject to a new tax.

Well .. here we go again. This is more of the same from the Democrats - go after those evil, disgusting high-achieving rich people by taxing the stuff that they do with their money. That ought to bring them down to size. The middle class isn't out there getting face lifts ... so they won't complain about the new tax.

I told you yesterday that sooner or later the Democrats will find a way to tax pretty much anything that high-achievers can do by virtue of their higher earnings. That will include special taxes on nicer homes, better cars and more exciting vacations. Think I'm kidding? Just wait ... and you have a chance to put more of these dangerous people in office next year, go for it.

Yesterday I told you about the Congressional Budget Office estimate that said the House Democrat healthcare plan would save virtually nothing in terms of healthcare costs over the next ten years, yet it would cost about $1 trillion. Now that's some serious money. The Democrats have finally figure out how they are going to spin this one. The Hill writes, "Following a blow from the Congressional Budget Office, Democratic leaders in Congress likely will make the case this week that the healthcare reform plan has multiple benefits and cost savings that cannot be scored by independent congressional accountants."

Did you get that? So now the Democrats are relying on you to trust them and believe that somehow their bill will save money that just can't currently be predicted. Savings out of the blue ... how convenient.

Downplaying the CBO's estimates will be another tactic used by Democrats. For example, a leadership aide says, "At CBO, they are accountants, but we still have our case to make." Oh, so now I get it. The CBO is just filled with a bunch of pencil-pushing accountants ... but the almighty politicians have yet to have their say! Politicians are elected by the people! Accountants are not! Besides, accountants are boring.. so just ignore them.

Don't remember where this came from ... possibly from Twitter, maybe from an email. But someone has come up with a name. This is a new name for the people who think that they have a right to make someone else pay for their health care - and the politicians who support them. This name is for the people who think that it is the government's role to take care of their basic needs - and the politicians who pander for their votes. Ready? Here you go ....

Entitlement Mobsters

Gotta love it.

Man do I get the hate mail when I bring up the subject of Barack Obama's birth certificate. Apparently White House press secretary Robert Gibbs is just as frustrated as I am about this 'birther' crowd. Yesterday he was asked what he thinks it will take to make the birthers go away.

He says, "I almost hate to indulge in such an august setting as the White House -- and I mean this in seriousness -- the White House briefing room, discussing the made-up fictional nonsense of whether the president was born in this country ... If I had some DNA, it wouldn't assuage those that don't believe he was born here. But I have news for them and for all of us: The president was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 50th state of the greatest country on the face of the earth. He's a citizen."

Can you believe that we are six months into this presidency and there are still people out there who wake up every morning and worry about the fact that they believe Barack Obama is not a US citizen.

Just a few months ago someone published a book slamming the FairTax. I checked Amazon.com today and that book is currently No. 193,091 in book sales. The FairTax Book was published what ... five years ago? It is number 9,961. Oh yeah ... I would like to see it doing better, but at least we're damned near number 200,000.

By the way ... I was thinking of doing an entire hour sometime next week, during the congressional recess, re-explaining and discussing the FairTax. Any comments?

I hope you got the chance to read more of the things that Jamie Dupree is uncovering in this healthcare bill. For example, sections that are spending money but then claiming that that money shouldn't be counted in the overall cost of the bill.

There are basically two things wrong with the Democrat's health care bill: Everything, and everything else. Better read some of this stuff my friends. It's your health care that is going to end up being rationed.

Here are 10 Questions for supporters of Obamacare

So .. in 2004 Barack Obama was complaining that President Bush was rushing legislation through the congress without giving legislators time to read it. Funny how things change, isn't it? Here's your story.

John Hawkins: Seven things that would have been different if McCain had beaten Obama last November. Read this ... it's not all good.

What do you think .. is Barack Obama suffering from the "Rahm Emanuel factor"?

How about this one for government waste: $8.7 million for a "cultural exchange program" to connect whalers in Massachusetts with their whaling ancestors in Alaska and Hawaii.

But wait! There's more! How about millions of dollars in stimulus money for toilets and crapper repairs!

Barney Frank wants foreign banks to be certified by the Treasury Department to ensure that foreign governments are cooperating with the stiffer U.S. regulations, otherwise they will be denied access to the US system.

Democrat Congressman John Conyers says that there is no point in trying to read the 1,000 page healthcare bill without lawyers to help you decipher it.

Did you know that the Republicans still haven't revealed the details of their own healthcare proposal? C'mon boys .. it took me 90 seconds to come up with a viable healthcare plan.

Mona Charen calls President Obama "Mr. Oblivious to Evidence."

Stimulus money is going toward repairing toilets. Oh yeah, that one is going to turn the tide.

Obama's promises on healthcare "reform" are nothing but self-serving exaggerations and political fantasies that aren't even "reforms" at all.

Bad news for Barack Obama: healthcare is bad for the ratings.

.... Because when I think of good healthcare, I think of Rwanda.

Senate Democrats are considering "pulling the plug" on bipartisan healthcare negotiations.

21 Things you can't say to President Obama after a press conference.

Not really fond of this: There's a new law in Texas that allows the use of force to make people evacuate for hurricanes.

GM and Chrysler's directors, presiding over companies propped up with federal aid, will operate without government restrictions.

You want some more "birther" news? What's the matter with you? Well, always willing to please. Hell, I'll do anything for a vote for the National Radio Hall of Fame. So .. here you go.

A Republican representative is upset that the UAW refused to testify at a recent hearing about the auto bailout.

Joe Biden's comments about Russia really seem to have stirred things up.

Taxes make places less desirable for businesses, so they up and leave. Take a look at what is currently happening in London.

Nebraska is one of many states that is seeking to reassert its sovereignty under the 10th Amendment.

In order to comply with federal law, Iowa is forcing cities to spend thousands of taxpayer dollars to determine whether sewers should be considered historic and indefinitely preserved.

If you have a firearms permit, should you be allowed to carry anywhere? No really, anywhere?

This email from a listener over the weekend:

"I just read your book (Somebody's Gotta Say It) during a vacation across the upper Midwest of America and I have decided I would make a terrible caller! I would be one to agree on mostly any subject you bring up. It truly stirred me. The last half of the trip became a political discussion because of your book. After the humor died down though, the truth came like a brick to the face. Our love for America must spur us up to save it before this grandest of experiments in human history fails. I have faith in mankind, but it is tested more and more each day. Keep feeding the flame until the horsesqueeze is gone!"

Isn't that what they're saying in the aftermath of Obama's little slam against the Cambridge, MA police? I'm getting a bit tired of hearing so many self-described experts telling us how this whole Henry Gates incident should bring us all to the table so we can have a dialogue on race.

Do we need such a dialogue? Oh hell yes we do. But it just ain't going to happen. In this age of political correctness the only possible direction such a dialogue could take would be a forum on all of the terrible things whites have done to blacks and all the things that whites need to do to make things right.

Do white wrongs have a place in the discussion? Absolutely. Racism, bigotry and prejudice ... all part of the equation. But that's not the entire picture ...

Let me share just a few of the things that would be taboo in such a dialogue. First, insofar as Henry Gates is concerned; I doubt very seriously that the dialogue would include any information as to what percentage of home break-ins in and around Boston and Cambridge are committed by blacks. There is no way you might be able to suggest that the police were acting on experience given the fact that blacks are more likely to be involved in criminal activity in the Boston area than whites or other minorities. And you damned sure wouldn't be able to bring the idea that much of the problems experienced by the black community are due to culturalism rather than racism.

Don't even begin to suggest that it might be black culture, rather than poverty and discrimination, which lead to high incidences of black crime. And for God's sake, don't mention the anti-education, anti-learning mentality that suffocates so many young black boys and girls. You know ---- the culture in which a young black teenager is accused of trying to "act white" if he or she so much as raises a hand to ask a question in class.

Yeah ... we need a dialogue. Let' me know when we can get that started. Every time I've ever even brushed those topics lightly on the air it has unleashed charges of racism --- the one sure way to discussing what really might be going on. So ... y'all just get your dialogue going and let me know how it works out for you.

Barack Obama has much of the country convinced right now that the only way we are going to turn our economy around is if we get the price of healthcare under control. Right? Was that not his message the other night during his presser? This all comes under the "never let a good crisis go to waste" dogma. Government spending is in crisis; so, whether it's valid or not, just tell the dumb masses that all we need to do in order to get government spending under control is to nationalize health care.

The Congressional Budget Office says that the proposal to give an independent panel the power to keep Medicare spending in check would actually save almost no money over 10 years. Let's compare. The total cost of this healthcare package is $1 trillion. That's according to the White House, but of course you know that is just the beginning. No government program since WWII has cost what original estimates predict. So the price tag is $1 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office says that this Medicare panel will save a whopping $2 billion over the next 10 years. Folks, that is a 0.2% savings.

But that's okay. Just continue thinking that the Democrats are doing this in order to cut your costs and provide you better care. The truth is that they are doing it in order to make you more dependent on government and to gain more power over you.

So how does the White House react to this news? The White House Budget Director Peter Orszag gets on one of the Sunday talk shows and says that this analysis "could feed the perception of the office's bias toward 'exaggerating costs and underestimating savings.'" Oh, so now the CBO suddenly has a bias. Then he goes on to say that, "The point of the proposal ... was never to generate savings over the next decade ... Instead the goal is to provide a mechanism for improving quality of care for beneficiaries and reducing costs over the long term." Are you buying this, folks?

While the White House is not so crazy about the idea of taxing employee benefits, what it now considering is a plan to tax "gold-plated, Cadillac" insurance policies. A top White House official told the POLITICO, "A premium charge on top of the most expensive packages is one of the ways to ensure that there's a lid on health-care costs ... The president believes this is an intriguing idea."

Even Barack Obama himself says, "What's being talked about now, I understand, is the possibility of penalizing insurance companies who are offering super, gold-plated Cadillac plans."

What an idea here! Once they get this in place they why not spread it to other areas of the market place? I have one great idea already! How about taxing "gold-plated" housing! Now there's an idea that any Democrat could fall in love with in a heartbeat. Here's how it would work. While there are so many Americans who cannot afford a basic one bedroom, one bath house of their own, how can it be fair that some Americans can go out there and buy a five-bedroom, five-bath mansion? The obvious solution here would be to pass a special tax on "gold-plated" mansions and then use the money to help the poor, poor, pitiful poor buy a home of their own! Hey! And once we get this in place for homes we can go after expensive automobiles! Yeah! I can see it now! A tax on "gold-plated" automobiles to help the great unwashed be able to afford transportation.

What a wonderful new Democrat idea we have here. I just can't wait to see it expanded.

In case you were worried about the United Auto Workers union lately, you needn't be. It looks like they will be taken care of just fine. As for other workers in the auto industry, they may not be so lucky. Take a look at the latest from the Wall Street Journal.

It's hard to keep up, but this week the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation took over the pension liabilities of Delphi, the auto-parts spinoff of GM that has been working its way through Chapter 11 since 2005. As with the previous taxpayer rescues, this one includes a special favor for the United Auto Workers.

Under the agreement, the PBGC will assume some $6.2 billion in pension liabilities from Delphi, including both hourly and salaried employees ... As Delphi's former parent, GM had agreed to take responsibility for billions of dollars of Delphi's pension obligations to its hourly employees.

It will be months before Delphi employees know what percentage of their expected pension they'll receive, but not all pensioners are created equal in this arrangement. UAW employees will have their pensions made whole by GM, which insists it is merely fulfilling its end of a deal made with the UAW in 1999 (when it spun off Delphi) to cover any future pension shortfall ... Less fortunate are smaller unions and Delphi's salaried employees, whose pensions may see drastic reductions and who already lost their health care and life insurance plans on April 1.

There are two groups that Obama and the Democrats are sure to protect as their big-government agenda progresses: Unions and trial lawyers. You didn't happen to see any medical malpractice reform in the government health plans, did you?

Last week we got some news about the federal Franking Commission. Basically this is a Congressional entity that regulates official Congressional mailings. The news from last week was that the Franking Commission was blocking the Republicans from sending a flier about the Democrats' healthcare plan. That was bad enough. But this could possibly be even worse.

Rep. John Carter, a Republican from Texas, says that the Franking Commission is censuring the messages that Congressmen are allowed to send to their constituents. In this case, the Republicans wanted to use the phrase "government run health care" in order to describe the Democrat healthcare plan. But the Franking Commission took a look at this and said, "No way." They aren't dumb. They know that the people of this country have a growing mistrust in the government so any attempts to link more government to this healthcare plan could be bad news for the Democrats. So the solution is for the Franking Commission to change the language to something a bit more appropriate. Rather than "government run health care" you must use "public option health care plan."

Today comes news that said Franking Commission will not be allowing Republicans to refer to the Obama/Democrat plans for a government-run health care plan as a government-run health care plan. Instead, they must use the Democrat euphemism for their government-run health care plan.

Did you get that? Let's keep the whole "government" thing to a minimum and push the false notion that the great unwashed will have "options" under this plan! Looks like someone in the Franking Commission is sticking pretty darn close to the Democrat talking points.

Here's a must-read from Peggy Noonan: Common Sense May Sink ObamaCare.

Nancy Pelosi says, "When I take this bill to the floor, it will win." Ok, Princess Nancy.

Thomas Sowell explains how Barack Obama can't trick the public into believing that he can implement a government-healthcare program without raisings costs. Then again, most people are government educated ...

That's it. This healthcare bill is not going to pass .. because it refers to mentally disabled people as "retarded."

CNNMoney outlines five freedoms that you would lose if the Democrats pass their healthcare bill.

Let's gear up for a showdown between government pay czar Kenneth Feinberg and a Citigroup executive over his pay package.

The Obama administration will now allow lobbyists to meet and have telephonic discussions with government officials regarding economic recovery projects. Well that promise was broken quickly.

Now that the economy may be slowing recovering, the next issue to tackle is inflation.

Hillary Clinton is back in the news. She says that she has no interest in running for President again.

Also, Hillary says that Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is "futile."

The governor of Arizona questions the effectiveness of the stimulus package. Then he gets a letter from Obama's transportation secretary threatening to cut off some of his projects funded by stimulus dollars.

According to a Washington Post Poll, conservatives now outnumber liberals almost two to one in America.

Looks like these teenagers are learning about the inefficiencies of government the hard way. All I can say is ... get used to it.

Want an example of government stupidity? This is an oldie but a goodie.

Who paid for Sheila Jackson Lee's visit to Michael Jackson's funeral? I bet you already know the answer to that one.

The important issue of the day ... will Joe Biden apologize for using the Lord's name in vain.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is at it again. First it was "athletes," now it is "cheerleaders."

Some Muslims in Great Britain are refusing to use alcohol-based hand gels to combat the spread of swine flu because they claim it is against their religion.

Lou Dobbs is on the birther bandwagon. Since Neal just brought this up, here's America's Most Trusted News Source(TM) on the issue.

What would Friday be without a little something fun?

As this debate over the nationalization of health care grows more intense you can expect the Democrats to turn to their usual tactic of demonizing the opposition. This will not be a normal argument over whether or not our system of health care should be run by the private sector or by government. It will turn into a debate over who wants folks to get medical care, and who doesn't. I'm told that Obama sycophant Montel Williams has weighed in now with his theories on Republican health care. He says that Republicans would "just shoot" people who need emergency room care.

So .. that's how the left wants to argue this? Instead of a debate over the benefits and efficiency of private vs. public sector health care initiatives, let's just say that Republicans want poor people to be shot when they need emergency medical care. Before too long you'll be hearing this from more and more statists. They'll be telling you that conservatives don't want poor people to get medical care so that they'll just die and go away. Watch. Let's see if I'm right.

Here's a read for all of you, few though you may be, who have come to recognize, or even to suspect that the purpose of our government schools is not so much to educate as it is to prepare for servitude. It's called "You Don't Have to go to School."

Tell you what; the way things are with our educational system I'm beginning to think that the many of our spawn would be better off if you just told them "Hey ... no school. Figure out this thing for yourself, pal." Now think about it. We send our chilluns to these government "schools" and tell them that if they pay attention and do what is asked of them they'll be all ready to earn a living and forge a path to success in our society. We tell them this, when we should know its horse crap, and they believe it. They when they finally "graduate" from these hideous institutions they find that, at best, they're ready to start their "would you like french fries with that" career at a local fast food joint.

Now I'm wondering ... what if your kid had to start worrying about preparing himself to earn a living from the moment he managed to put together his first rational thought? No more of this "just go to school and do what they tell you" nonsense. Just tell the hid that he has some choices to make, and that he'd better man up and make the right ones, or else he'll be throwing garbage into the back of a truck for the rest of his life. Just a guess ... but that might be a way to put some motivation into these spoiled brats. Tell them that all is NOT going to be taken care of for them .. and that if they're not prepared life is going to be pretty damned miserable, and they'll only have themselves to blame.

Have you been following this story out of Massachusetts?

Here's the basic set up. A woman sees a man who looks like he is breaking into a house. She calls the cops. The cops arrive to investigate the report of a burglary. The homeowner is inside and insists it is a misunderstanding and that this is his house .. no one was trying to break in. The cop demands identification. The homeowner refuses and gets upset.

Oh I guess I forgot to tell you one part of the story. The homeowner is black. The cop is white.

So the homeowner accuses this cop of racism. The only reason that the cop doesn't believe that he is the homeowner is because he is black. The cop arrests him and he is charged with disorderly conduct. The charges have since been dropped.

Then, Barack Obama holds a news conference. He is asked about the situation. Our wonderful president said during his press conference Wednesday that he was only "vaguely" familiar with what went on during the arrest of Professor Gates ... and then, being only vaguely familiar, PrezBO went on to say that the police acted "stupidly." The White House has since tried to explain what the president meant by that statement. Guess this is why the guy likes teleprompters.

Well ...thanks a pantload, Mr. President. Thank you so much for condemning the actions of the police in an incident that you were only "vaguely" familiar with. That ought to do wonders for the relationship between the police and residents of minority communities around the country. Nice move.

During the information overload hour today I'm going to read the entire police report of the incident. That's more than Obama did. You listen to the police report and then see if you agree that it was the police who acted stupidly, or did Professor Gates let that racial chip on his shoulder get a bit out of hand.

.... especially those who live in Cambridge, Mass., the home of Harvard University and, not coincidentally, Professor Henry Louis (You do realize I'm important and black, don't you?) Gates. Now I really don't think that it's cool to make your living breaking into folks houses and stealing their stuff. But, if that's the way it's going to be, you might as well choose your targets wisely.

Man ... do I have the house for you. The house is on Ware Street in Cambridge, Mass. The owner and presumably sole occupant of the house is none other than esteemed Harvard Professor Henry ("you don't know who you're messin' with) Gates. I can almost promise you that if you decide to burglarize Mr. Gates' home there isn't a Cambridge police officer who would respond to the call. You'll have pretty much a free shot at all of the professor's stuff until he gets home. At that time you'll have to endure a screaming tirade about "this is what happens to a black man in America" and that you are a "racist burglar."

Really, though, you'll probably be able to get away because you'll hear Professor Gates coming a mile away. They say he's somewhat loud.

Now go knock yourselves out!

Today, the federal minimum wage is set to increase to $7.25. Just what our economy needs to get things moving again, right? Wrong. Even people educated in government schools can figure out how this one is going to turn out.

Wages increase. Employers have to figure out ways to get the extra funds. The first way would be to increase the amount of cash coming in. That's easier said than done .. especially considering this economy. Another way could be to scale back employee hours. Suddenly that increase doesn't seem to matter much, because your employer needs you less. Or you could simply fire people. Get rid of them. Less employees in the work force means longer lines at the unemployed office. More people suckling off the government teat until the next burger-flipping job comes along.

I'm not just blowing smoke here. When I was in high school I got a job bagging groceries at the A&P on 9th Ave. in Pensacola, Florida. I was being paid the minimum wage. After a few months on the job the minimum wage went up by 25 cents. The manager of the store fired me. He said that the increase in the minimum wage increased his bag boy budget over the limit, and since I was the last hired I would be the one who had to go. My first real brush with the idiocy of government intervention in the marketplace. I was willing to work for the hourly rate I was getting, and the manager was willing to pay me that rate ... but the government said no. Back then I just couldn't understand what role the government had in the wage negotiations between me and my employer. I thought that the government's responsibility would be to provide the means of forcing compliance with whatever agreement we made .... But did I ever have a lot to learn.

Basically what you can expect is for this to prolong the economic recovery. But it could get even worse. Did you know that one of Barack Obama's campaign promises was to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011? Yeah, that'll really work wonders for our economy.

But advocates for the minimum wage increases love to use this phrase "the working poor." I'm sorry, folks but nobody in their right mind should expect for you to raise a family earning minimum wage. If you do, you are a low-life. You are a failure. "The working poor" is just a fancy way of masking that reality. But with this minimum wage increase, it looks like we are going to have less "working poor" people to worry about and more plain 'po people.

Probably good news for the Democrats.

This story takes place in Baltimore, Maryland. It actually involves a charter school. You see, the law in Maryland requires that charter school teachers be part of the union in their school district. That was their first mistake.

So this charter school, the KIPP Ujima Village Academy starts doing really well. Students at the school are outperforming students at the local government schools. One reason may be that the teachers at the KIPP Ujima Village Academy put in longer hours than their government school counterparts. KIPP teachers work nine hours and 15 minutes a day, as well as every other Saturday. Local government school teachers are only required to work seven hours and five minutes a day. And you can forget about weekends.

This is where the local union steps in and says "Hey, wait a minute. Teachers at this charter school are working longer hours than other unionized teachers at the government schools." The solution? The Baltimore Teachers Union says that this charter school must pay its teachers 33% more than other government school teachers. The charter school says ... screw you, we have a budget to meet (there's a concept no government hack would understand). So now, one of Baltimore's most successful schools is laying off staff and shortening its school day. They are doing this in order to please the teachers unions.

Oh wait ... you thought that teachers unions are there to enhance the education of your child? And just what planet did you say you are from?

Fine, I blurred the license plate, but it is posted elsewhere on the intarwebs without blurring. -ww

The Wall Street Journal on "How Obama Stumbled on Health Care."

Looks like Obama's presser the other night wasn't as effective as the Democrats would have hoped. Healthcare reform is months away from being voted on in the Senate.

"The Police and the President," from The Wall Street Journal

The Blue Dog Democrats are risking union support by resisting Princess Nancy's healthcare reform bill.

Republican Governor Bobby Jindal outlines a plan for bipartisan healthcare reform.

The climate industry is costing taxpayers $79 billion and counting. What a scam.

The other day Hillary Clinton apologized on behalf of the United States for our contribution to global warming. Gee thanks, Hillary. Anyway ... here's an article on why we should stop the apologizing.

George Will explores why the urgency to "fight" climate change is wearing off.

When calling Barack Obama a socialist, what exactly does that mean? According to a socialist.

If the Democrats get their cap-and-tax legislation passed, what group of people is going to bring in the big bucks?

Behind the scenes, some Democrats are worried that Barbara Boxer is not up to the task of getting global warming legislation passed.

A new study revealed that 91% of terrorism trials since 9/11 led to convictions.

Thought you may enjoy this column from the UK: Barack Obama discovers socialist projects at home and a pro-Marxist foreign policy are making him unpopular.

The Venezuelan government decides to fix the price of coffee. What eventually happens? People start smuggling it out of the country to make more money. Now Venezuela has to IMPORT coffee because of these government regulations.

A study has found that the average adult forgets three key facts, chores or events every day.

Maybe Republicans should vet their numbers crunchers a bit better, eh?

Hey, it's Friday in Australia. I'm justified.

No, I did not watch it. Partly because I am lazy -- but mainly because I am going to do my own version of the press conference during the show today and I didn't want to hear any of the questions. No doubt I once again will outshine PrezBO when it comes to answering these questions ... and that would be because my answers will be straight; no BS. Tell what's really going on and let the chips fall where they may. If you want to hear my version, tune in today at 11AM EST for another infamous Boortz Press Conference, then we'll replay it during the Information Overload Hour.

I did, however, happen to catch some of the prepared remarks from Barack Obama. I just love how the AP describes it: "President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to cast the intensifying health care debate in terms that matter to ordinary people, promising to offer more savings, security and treatment to millions." Oh there you go ... using the word "security." We'll give Obama credit for that. He knows that the word "security" is much more important to the majority of Americans than the word "freedom." That would be why Hillary's attempted takeover of health care in 1993 was called the "Health Security Act." Much of governance today revolves around finding the right trigger word that resonates with the government-educated dumb masses. Get the right trigger word; like "change" for instance, and you can sell crap in a bag to most people.

If you're a bit more advanced in your ability to engage in rational thought - a disappearing trait - you will understand that Obama really gives a flying Krispy Kreme about the healthcare of "ordinary people." What Barack Obama wants to do is promise people "security" so that they will buy his takeover of almost 20% of our econmy and, thereby, become even more dependent on government. That's what this debate is about .. not about healthcare!

But back to the prepared remarks .. Obama wanted to remind Americans that "This debate is not a game." Pretty clever. He says, "This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to wait for reform any longer .. They are looking to us for leadership. And we must not let them down." Looks like PrezBO is consulting his team of behavioral scientists again. Obama is trying to paint a picture that he and the Democrats are the only ones who are taking things seriously in Washington. His opponents aren't really serious, they're just playing games. They're just screwing with him because they lost, and the people need to realize this or our country is doomed. For months now Barack Obama has made a point of telling the government-educated dumb-masses that the fate of our economic future is tied to healthcare reform. Not a bad tactic, actually. He knows that not many people are really feeling the pain of a broken system of health care, but the pain of our economic downtown has been spread pretty widely. So .... It's simple! Tie his takeover of health care to the economy, and the people will get on board!

Barack Obama and the Democrats keep reminding us that the healthcare industry comprises about 16% to 18% of our economy. Question .. is this necessarily a bad thing? David Gratzer, a physician and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, says that regulation is in fact our biggest problem with healthcare. Here's a peak:

Take two very different states: Wisconsin and New York. In Wisconsin, a family can buy a health-insurance plan for as little as $3,000 a year. The price for a basic family plan in the Empire State: $12,000.

The stark difference has nothing to do with each state's health sector as a share of its economy (14.8 percent in Wisconsin as of 2004, the most recent year for which data are available, and 13.9 percent in New York). Rather, the difference has to do with how each state's insurance pools are regulated.

In New York State, politicians have tried to run the health-insurance system from Albany, forcing insurers to deliver complex Cadillac plans to every subscriber for political reasons, driving up costs. Wisconsin's insurers are far freer to sell plans at prices consumers want.

The gulf in insurance-premium prices among American states is a sign that too much government intervention--not too little--is what's distorting prices from one market to the next.

So.... Just thinking out loud here ... but what if the people who live in New York were allowed to buy their health insurance from a company in Wisconsin? Do you think the competitive pressures from the Wisconsin insurers just might drive the cost of insurance in New York down? Now that's a free market solution .. and if there's anything missing from the Democrat side of this health care debate, it's free market solutions. By now you should know why. This isn't about delivering health care. This isn't about making health insurance more affordable. This is about making people dependent on government for their health care. You don't do that by making it easier for them to buy their health insurance in the free marketplace.

What's the number we hear tossed around? Let's settle on 47 million. OK, a few questions:

How many of the uninsured are illegal aliens. Answer ... about 25% of them. They came here illegally, they stay here illegally, they work here illegally ... and we're supposed to be upset that they can't afford health insurance? If they get hurt patch them up and send them home.

How many of the uninsured are young and just not buying health insurance because they think they're pretty much bulletproof right now? I've seen estimates as high as 20 million .. almost one-half of the uninsured. Hey, they made their choice ... let them suffer the consequences. Why do I have to sacrifice my health care freedom because some nimrods decide it is more important to pay for that new BMW and the flat screen TV than it is to take care of their health needs.

How many of the uninsured are eligible for Medicaid or Medicare and just haven't signed up for it? Millions. So ... sign them up? Instead of taking over our health care, get these people signed up and take care of them under the programs we already have.

And how many of the uninsured are in a transitional state ... moving from one job to another and waiting for the new policy to kick in. Millions more. We're going to turn out health care system over the government because of people changing jobs? How about just passing some laws that make health care insurance more portable?

Remember .. there are solutions out there. The only solution acceptable to the Democrats is one that makes government more powerful.

In January, the Congressional Budget Office reported that healthcare legislation drafted by the Senate would add $1 trillion to the federal deficit and only reduce the number of uninsured Americans by 16 million. Then in July, the CBO reported that healthcare legislation drafted by the House would add $239 billion to the federal deficit and actually increase healthcare costs.

Now, Barack Obama wants a meeting with the director of the Congressional Budget Office. After these CBO numbers .. which some Democrats have described as "devastating" .. it's time to pull out the big guns. Get this guy a meeting with the President. So the director of the CBO Doug Elmendorf went and had his sit-down with Barack Obama.

The Republicans smell something fishy. They believe that the Obama administration is trying to influence the CBO in order to get a more favorable cost projection on healthcare reform proposals. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says, "It strikes me as somewhat akin to an owner of a team asking the umpire to come up to the owner's box." Finally ... something compelling from Mitch McConnell. A GOP aide says, "In all of CBO's 35 years, this is the first time a CBO director has ever been called into the White House to meet with a president in this way."

Do the Republicans have a point? Do you think that the Obama administration would be willing to use their influence and star power to cajole this guy into giving his proposals more favorable reviews?

Do a hog love slop?

General Motors just emerged from bankruptcy after receiving billions of dollars in bailout funds. What does it want to do now? Sell perfume. GM will launch the Cadillac fragrance for men this fall to mark its 100th anniversary. The fragrance license is held by a cosmetics company based in Dubai. Retail price will cost you $73 a bottle. Now apparently this isn't the first time GM has licensed fragrances. There are also smells for Hummer, Chevrolet and Corvette. A Beauty Contact director says, "Cadillac, the new fragrance for men is part of the recent Cadillac renaissance: Hot new products and redesigns that capture the mantra of life, liberty and the pursuit."

We're in an economic crisis, and GM is going to sell smelly for $73 a bottle? You let AIG entertain top sales agents and all hell breaks loose. Let some one pay a bonus to an executive for a job well done ... Armageddon. But the government-owned auto company is going to stink up Cadillac drivers and all is fine.

Just for fun, describe what you think the scents for Cadillac, Hummer, Chevrolet and Corvette should be like.Try to keep it clean, mmmkay? --ww 

Gun control: this guy clearly does not have it.

Gun Recoil Knockout - Watch more Funny Videos

Karl Rove says that ObamaCare is in trouble. Only if the American people don't go to sleep on this one.

All I have to say is ... your tax dollars at work. These are the type of people we're electing to be stewards of the taxpayer's money. From Leland, Mississippi. Oh yeah, and here's the video. Please excuse the expletive.

Yes, I've heard about the conservative kiosk that was banned from a mall in North Carolina. Yes ... it's a Simon property. You will remember that this same company shut down a tax tea party here in Atlanta on the 4th of July.

Here's a must-read from John Stossel. The arrogance of Barack Obama and the Democrats to believe that they can re-design 15% of our economy by August.

Nancy Pelosi is assuring Americans that she has the House votes to pass this healthcare legislation.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin says that it's no longer possible for the Senate to pass their healthcare bill before leaving for the August recess.

Could the trail lawyers make a huge power grab thanks to this Democrat healthcare legislation?

Sen. Orrin Hatch has removed himself from a bipartisan group of seven lawmakers trying to hash out a health care reform compromise because he says the thing is too expensive and the Democrats are unwilling to be flexible.

Hillary Clinton has declared that "the United States is back." Back from what? Her husband's presidency?

Hillary also says that the US may deal with a nuclear Iran by arming its allies in the Gulf and extending a "defense umbrella" over the region.

The PR war is on between Barney Frank and the banking industry over consumer protection laws.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was back on Capitol Hill yesterday explaining why the Federal Reserve deserves more authority.

The House passed pay-as-you-go legislation in attempts to reduce the deficit. Don't worry .. if they want to spend money, they will find a way to take from the producers. That's the equation. Looters take from producers for the benefit of the moochers who vote for the looters.

A majority of Americans believe that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Sadly, the Republicans aren't offering them a better direction to head in. Remember the words of Senator Jim Inhofe on my show: "We're doing the best that we can." Sorry, it isn't good enough.

The federal government is warning its departments to stay away from trips to "fun" cities when hosting meetings.

Are we really experiencing a "healthcare crisis"? That's what the Democrats want you to believe. After all, we can never let a good crisis go to waste!

Rep. Jeff Flake is set to file 540 amendment requests to strike every earmark in the defense-spending bill directed to for-profit companies.

The Michigan Democratic Party is considering asking voters to raise the state's minimum wage to $10 an hour. That'll work out real well for their economy. My God. Are these people really that stupid?

A new study found that more than 40% of doctors have a "negative reaction" to obese patients.

British couple with deteriorating health married 54 years decided to end their life, together.

If it were up to the Democrats, financial institutions receiving bailout money should be chastised for making a profit. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't we be rooting and cheering for companies like Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan to succeed? Barack Obama's National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers wants to make real sure that these financial institutions know who to thank for making a profit. He says, "Prudent financial institutions will recognize that the profits they're enjoying are in part a reflection of the commitment government and the broader society have made to the financial system that has enabled them to enjoy those profits." That's right .. you companies better enjoy those profits and remember that if it wasn't for the government you would be nothing!

All hail the Imperial Federal Government of the United States! Whatever you become in life you own to your beneficent government!

But he's not the only one commenting on the evil profits of these financial companies. The lamestream media is doing a pretty darn good job of it as well. Even our own president! Meredith Vieira on the "Today" Show interviewed Barack Obama. She asked him about these profits: "You know I wanted to ask you about Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan reporting these big profits in the second quarter ... And they're talking about bonuses for their employees. People hear that, taxpayers, and they're very frustrated." Oh yeah .. there's nothing quite so frustrating to the taxpayers than the thought of a company making a profit. Just pisses me off no end. Talk about playing up the wealth envy, Meredith. If these employees were able to turn these companies from the verge of bankruptcy to turning a profit, why shouldn't they receive bonuses? What is so terrible about rewarding people for hard work? Then Meredith Vieira asks, "Should taxpayers get a cut of those bonuses? Yeah ... here's an idea. Let's remove all the financial incentives from the executives and employees of any company that received bailout money or any help from the government. No matter how successful those companies may become, the people who brought them back to profitability should not be allowed to benefit.

Hey Meredith, you twit. I'll tell you what the taxpayers deserve. They deserve to get paid back. Trouble is, when they DO pay the government back that money will not be used to reduce the national debt, nor will it be returned to taxpayers. It will simply be spent on more vote-buying.

That leads to her follow up question ... have these financial institutions learned their lesson? Read Barack Obama's response very carefully. He says, "That's the point. That's the point, is what you haven't seen, I think, is a change in culture, a certain humility, where they kind of step back and they say, 'gosh, you know, we really messed things up. And so maybe we should be more focused on the products that we're providing consumers, let's make sure that we're operating in a more secure, safe fashion.'"

Humility? What in the hell does Obama know about humility? How about some humility from Barney Frank, from Christopher Dodd - from the people who protected Fannie and Freddie while this mess was unfolding? How about some humility from Bill Clinton over his grand scheme to make sure that every person in this country who wants one could get a home loan? The blame is shared. But don't expect our hyper-arrogant president to ever drop even the slightest suggestion that government may have been part of the problem.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

There is an amendment coming to the House floor that is dividing some Democrats. It has to do with gun control. I believe the amendment is sponsored by John Thune and it is to be included on the Defense authorization bill. The amendment would allow licensed gun owners to transport their concealed weapons across state lines.

Listen to some of these Democrats. Here is some of the reasoning as to why they oppose it.

Rep. Robert Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, asks, "Why would we want to walk the streets wondering, 'Who has a gun in their pockets?'" Yes, folks. This is really why Robert Menendez opposes this amendment .. because he is worried that people will walk the streets and wonder who has a gun. Tell you what .. in certain parts of Atlanta you just ASSUME that the other person is carrying a gun ... most illegally.

Diane Feinstein of California says that the amendment is "reckless," "irresponsible" and ... get this .. "a major violation of state rights." Wow, did we just have a Democrat express concern for states' rights? But .. you know what? Feinstein has a point. There is an argument that states should be able to enforce their own carry permit laws. Perhaps the Republicans ought to just focus on carry rights while transiting a state.

First of all, there is a little debate brewing right now over Barack Obama's pick for surgeon general. The woman is Regina Benjamin, and Dr. Benjamin is not what you would describe as a "flatbelly." In fact, some people are choosing to describe her as a blubberbutt ... which is a big deal only because she is supposed to be the "public face" of healthcare initiatives in this country. Well .. they have a point. Obesity is a huge problem in this country. I wonder how many Medicare and Medicaid dollars are spent every year to handle obesity-related diseases. Now we have a fat Surgeon General? There is a way through this one. Dr. Benjamin should immediately go on a diet. She should make a public show of admitting her slovenly and self-indulgent eating habits, and pledge to drop about 50 or so big ones. Then she could invite the fleshier part of America to join in. Could turn a negative into a plus and do something about the lardassification of America.

Also, one other little goodie. Looks like some Democrats are feeling the heat for their support of this government-run healthcare scheme. Maryland Senator Ben Cardin hosted a townhall meeting the other night on healthcare. When one particular audience member got upset about this healthcare bill stepping on our ... freedoms ... Senator Cardin's response was, "I just think the overriding public interest is to require you and everyone in this country to have health insurance." So there you go. Now our Senator's are voting based on what they believe would be best for the "public's interest."

Don't you just love it when some political hack uses the word "require?" I'll tell you what the federal government ought to require. It ought to require that every person respect the rights of every other person, and to desist from the use of force or fraud in any attempt to violate another person's right to life, liberty or property. Beyond that, butt out.

Truthers take over Congressman Castle's town hall on heath care.

Victor Davis Hanson says it like it is: We have never had such massive taxation simultaneously with such massive and growing deficits. It's not going to work out all that well for us.

Republicans blocked the consideration of Sonia Sotomayor, saying that they needed another week to review her record.

Ben Bernake says that economy is starting to show signs of stabilization .... oh except for the housing and labor markets.

The Senate voted to strip the funding for the F-22s. Sorry ... but they got this one right.

Newt Gingrich says that this country is on the edge of catastrophe. Sadly, I might have to agree with him. This hopey-changey thingy isn't working out so well.

Thomas Sowell asks: Is there a coherent argument for government-controlled medical care or are slogans and hysteria considered sufficient?

A blogger asks Barack Obama about the House healthcare bill. Obama's response is that he is "not familiar" with parts of the bill like those that would make new private insurance enrollment illegal over time.

Harry Reid says that the reason Republicans won't support the Democrat healthcare reforms is because the Republicans aren't interested in working together. Working with who? Democrats? "Oh, you're here to burglarize my home? Here, let me help you."

Barney Frank and the Democrats are postponing until September their markup of legislation on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency .

David Obey and Barney Frank are upset with Barack Obama for declaring he has the right to ignore legislation on constitutional grounds after having criticized George Bush for doing the same thing.

Did our Commerce Secretary really say that Americans "need to pay for" Chinese emissions?

The Obama administration is urging Congress not to intervene in the closings of hundreds of General Motors and Chrysler dealerships.

How do Barack Obama's approval ratings rank among the presidents who have served since WWII. I'll give you a hint .. by his sixth month in office, Jimmy Carter had a higher approval rating than Barack Obama.

Scientists have figured out a way to build wind turbines that use radar signals in order to avoid killing bats.

Neal mentioned this on the air. Can't leave you guys out.

Let's start off with a little fun for today. I know you may be reading this before you've had your morning coffee, but even the government-educated could tell me what is wrong with this statement about government healthcare from Barack Obama.

"The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies to our health care system."

Well ... at least he got one thing right. Inefficiencies are just the beginning of our worries for a government healthcare system. Competition? Choice? Savings? Do you think that Barack Obama genuinely believes this line of dribble? The statistics are simply untrue. Don't believe me, believe the statistics. Are you ready? Here we go ....

Have you noticed something rather odd about Obama's seizure of America's health care system? This odd little fact has been hiding, as they say, in plain sight. The only people who are really pushing this government takeover of health care are "activists" or politicians. There is absolutely no public pressure to get this done.

Why so fast? It's depressing that Americans either don't care or are unable to connect some simple dots. Remember Rahm Emmanuel's proclamation that the Obama administration should not "let a good crisis go to waste"? It doesn't matter, you see, that the American people aren't clamoring for government health care. What matters is that the Democrats have the opportunity to seize control of one-sixth of the American economy, and they're going to do whatever they can to get it done. The biggest thing that the fascist Democrats have going for them right now is our economic downturn. There's your crisis. Now you take advantage of it ... you don't let it go to waste.

Come on now ... how many of you believe Obama when he says that the key to solving our economic crisis is to reform health care? Who is he kidding? The key to our crisis is to somehow cleanse our financial institutions of these toxic assets they're carrying (courtesy of the federal government) and get the banks lending and the people spending again. Health care plays no role here, but the Democrats want this power - this control - so they're using your economic angst to talk you into supporting their takeover of almost 20% of our economy.

We had better wake up, my friends. There are at least three inevitable results of this Democrat grab for power:

1. Higher taxes and costs for everyone,
2. Rationing of health care
3. A decrease in the quality of our health care

Better fight this now - once they get the power you won't have a prayer.

Why do I refer to the Democrat attempt to take over our health care system as "fascist?" Just being picky with words, I guess.

Republican National Chairman Michael Steele yesterday called Obama's medical plan "socialism." Steele is wrong. He probably doesn't know it, but he's wrong. Under a socialist economic system the government both owns and controls industry, financial institutions and business. General Motors is now a socialist enterprise, as is Citibank. But when the government merely controls private businesses without actually taking ownership the proper definition is "fascist." Obama, it seems, is all-too comfortable with fascism; that is, until he can turn it into socialism.

A report from a federal inspector general says that the new tab to bail out banks .. could be as much as $24 trillion. Now that's a doomsday estimate ... the figure for the worst possible scenario. But it sure is way above the $4.7 trillion that has been spent so far.

Solution? Well .. here's one for you. Nationalization. I absolutely believe that Barack Obama would love to nationalize America's major banks and financial institutions. We were talking to Dick Morris about this yesterday, and he concurs. Just think of the power Obama would have if he controlled banking. He would get to determine who gets loans, and who doesn't. What businesses receive startup financing, and what businesses don't. Control of financial institutions would give Obama and the Democrats the control the direction and operation of our economy in ways you cannot imagine. They don't have to seize control of the means of production. Private industrial concerns, businesses, transportation companies .. all can remain under private ownership. Give politicians power over their financing arrangements and government becomes omnipotent.

Here's another statistic for you. By the end of this fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2009, our federal government will have spent $11 billion every day.

... and you wonder why I am worried about the future of this country.

Let's watch. By the end of the year maybe you'll be able to tell me just how off base I was about all this.

Here's a little cheat sheet for you .. a Boortz cheat sheet on the latest facts about this government healthcare scheme that you need to know! Don't think for a second that these Democrats actually care about your health or your access to clinics or your freedom to choose doctors. They don't. They care about one thing, and that is power. I know, we've covered that before. There is, though, only one real way these people stay in power: you vote for them and keep them there. So the only way these people are going to vote against this healthcare boondoggle is if you tell them that you don't support it. So here are just a few reasons to ponder ...

- Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf said "The health care overhauls released to date would increase, not reduce, the burgeoning long-term health costs facing the government,"

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"According to that assessment [from the CBO], enacting the proposal would result in a net increase in federal budget deficits of about $1.0 trillion over the 2010-2019 period."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A new report by the Lewin Group (commissioned by the Heritage Foundation) finds that the House Democrats' health care bill would shift more than 83.4 million Americans from private health care coverage to the government plan. To put that in perspective, that would mean that nearly half (48.4 percent) would lose their private health coverage."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"Currently, the top rate is 35 percent. But in his budget President Obama proposed raising the top two income tax rates from 33 and 35 percent to 36 and 39.6 percent. Families in the top 20 percent of income earners already pay 94% percent more income taxes than middle-income families. The new surtaxes would extend progressivity at the top of the income spectrum and raise the disparity in taxes paid between middle- and low-income families and high-earning families."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"In the six highest-taxed states, Oregon (11 percent top income tax rate), Hawaii (11 percent), New Jersey (10.75 percent), New York (8.97 percent), California (10.55 percent), and Rhode Island (9.9 percent), the top rates would be higher than all but Denmark among OECD countries if the Obama plan and surtax become law."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"Under these higher taxes, families and small businesses making over $350,000 in every state would face higher top rates than 21 OECD countries--including France, Italy, and Spain. Even the nine states with no state income tax at all would have higher rates than these social democracies that are typically regarded as countries with punitively high taxes. Taxpayers in all 41 states that do levy an income tax would pay a top rate that is higher than all but seven of the 30 OECD countries."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"The Senate version of President Obama's government health care overhaul contains a mandate that all businesses provide their employees with health insurance or pay a fine, unless the business employs fewer than 25 people. Critics say the 25-employee benchmark could stifle small business growth by prompting companies to limit themselves to 24 employees."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee's health care legislation will give the Health and Human Services secretary the authority to develop "standards of measuring gender" -- as opposed tousing the traditional "male" and "female" categories -- ina database of allwho apply or participate in government-run or government-supported health care plans."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"More than a million small business owners and about two-thirds of the profits earned byU.S. small businesses would behitbythe income taxincrease onthe "rich"that House Democratic leaders want to enact to pay for the health-care reform plan President Obama wants passed this summer, a taxpayer watchdog says."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that 20 percent of its respondents would simply shut down if they were faced with this choice of being forced to offer health insurance. They couldn't afford it. One out of four said they would replace full-time workers with part-time workers in order to avoid having to pay anything."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"According to the National Tax Foundation, the top total tax rate on Americans -- that is, state, local and federal taxes -- will top 50% in 39 states" if the Democrats pass their healthcare legislation.

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"So we can all keep our coverage, just as promised -- with, of course, exceptions: Those who currently have private individual coverage won't be able to change it. Nor will those who leave a company to work for themselves be free to buy individual plans from private carriers."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

-"A quick review of the legislation shows that it calls for two new government agencies, three trust funds, three advisory panels, two task forces, a research center, a medical device registry, an ombudsman and many pilot and demonstration programs."

Don't believe me? Here's the link.

All this sounds so wonderful, doesn't it? The same political party that brought us Social Security and Medicare is on the march again. Watch the carnage.

Let's go International ... to Honduras. You know that the government of Honduras threw out their president. It seems that he wanted to conduct an illegal referendum that would have allowed him to avoid constitutional term limits. You probably don't know, but under the Honduran constitution, Zelaya's actions constituted treason. Oddly enough, or perhaps not so oddly, our own Barack Obama is solidly behind the deposed president. So are Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Rather good company, don't you think?

Anyway .. there are reports that the results of that illegal referendum are now known! How could the results be known when the referendum never took place? Well, that would be because the results of the non-existent referendum were found on Zelaya's computer! And guess what? It was a landslide for Zelaya's idea of eliminating term limits? That's right! On the deposed president's computer were the results of an election that never took place. Obama is real good at choosing friends, don't you think?

Who woulda thunk it?

Before we get to the serious stuff ... sit back and enjoy.

Do you need any more evidence that Whoopi Goldberg is a demented moonbat? Well, here you go.

According to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing TARP, banks misused some of the federal stimulus money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks.

The TARP inspector general also said that the federal government could spend as much as $23.7 trillion in order to fix the financial system.

While the Democrats are currently focusing on healthcare reform, don't forget that they still have this cap-and-trade scheme on the back burner. The Heritage Foundation explains how this bill would devastate our economy.

The unions are just itching for the Congress to pass "green" legislation so that they can get started on all of their government-funded "green" union projects.

Speaking of unions .. the teachers unions in New York City want parents to stop hiring private assistants to help with their child's education. You can guess why ....

Barack Obama addressed Republicans yesterday saying, "We can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care." Oh and he didn't much appreciate Senator DeMint's "waterloo" comment.

Republican Chairman Michael Steele called the Democrat healthcare plan "socialism."

To date, only a third of the so-called "shovel-ready" transportation projects approved by Washington under Obama's stimulus plan have been given the go-ahead for construction.

The President and his task force still can't figure out what to do with Gitmo and the terrorist detainees. Senator James Inhofe has some ideas ... he'll be on with us at 11:35AM to discuss.

Michael Barone has an interesting column about the differing direction of American and European politics.

Will illegal aliens have access to government health insurance if the Democrats get their way?

You know it's bad when the word "earmark" is officially added to the English dictionary.

If you had to launch a government campaign to encourage all Americans to read with young children, it is imperative that you somehow incorporate the word "change" into the name. You see, because Americans like the word change. It makes them feel all warm and fuzzy.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, here's Buzz Aldrin punching a moon landing denier from a while ago. If that doesn't float your boat, head over to nasa.gov for all kinds of interesting features.

Well, let's call it slightly promising. It seems that with every day that passes more and more people start to express doubts over the Democrat's plan for a nationalization of our health care system. Now some of the nation's governors are weighing in with their concerns over the possibility of increased Medicaid costs.

Is it possible that the people of this country are going to catch on? A huge portion of American citizens - perhaps a majority - care about only one thing; shedding yet another personal responsibility. They don't care who runs our health care system as long as they don't have to take personal responsibility for their own health needs. Just look around you at the ever-increasing proportion of lardasses in our society. These people don't care enough about their own health to push back from the table or to drive by a fast food joint without turning in. Do you think they have one desire in the world to take responsibility for their own health needs? If someone else wants to do it, that's just fine with them ... especially if the evil rich can be forced to foot the bill. That just leaves these gargantuan hulks more money for Whoppers and Quarter Pounders.

Perhaps, though, the people who will end up paying the bills - the achievers - are starting to take note of the terrible costs to be paid for what will surely be a sub-standard health care system. Who knows? Maybe the slovenly caucus will actually start wondering just how they're going to like it when the government tells them they can't have a particular medical procedure because they're too old ... or too fat.

No Private Sector Options on the table

There has never, in the history of civilization, been an economic system devised by man that did a better and more efficient job of delivering need and desired goods to the population than our system of free enterprise. How many of you think that you would have those iPhones in your pockets if the government was still closely regulating the phone companies? Yet the Democrats' plans for health care completely ignore the private sector. It's all government. There are some very easy private sector options that could be tried before the government takes the whole ball of wax over ... and if you want just a few easy examples, here you go:

Allow insurance companies to tailor health care policies to the specific needs of the customers. I, for instance, do not need maternity protection or coverage for alcohol rehab.

• Allow consumers to purchase health insurance companies across state lines.
• Widen the availability of medical savings accounts.
• Allow consumers to deduct the cost of insurance from their taxable income.
• Allow doctors, nurses and medical suppliers to take a credit against any income taxes due for the market value of services provided free to those living at or below the poverty level.

There .. that took about 30 seconds. All viable private-sector options, yet none are on the table for the Democrats in Washington.

This isn't about improving our health care. This is all about taking OVER your health care and making you that much more dependent on government.

Come on, folks. You NEED to wake up here.

Las Vegas can be a bit exhausting, so all I wanted to do on the AirTran flight home yesterday was saw some logs. I cranked up the Kindle, though, and started reading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An AJC editorial presented some ways the Atlanta area might crawl out of the economic doldrums. Here was one suggestion:

"We believe, though, that Atlantans in the right tax brackets should shake off a bit of their investing conservatism and put more dollars behind our hometown startups and young companies.

"If the prospect of triple-digit investment returns aren't enough, consider the civic good of helping the region grow high-paying jobs.

"Surely Atlanta investors can step up more, even during hard times, and seize potentially lucrative, if risky, opportunities.

Say what?

This jewel of an editorial was written by one Andre Jackson representing the AJC editorial board.

Well, Andre ... have a seat. I have a few things to say to you. First ... I haven't seen your name before, so I have no idea how long you've been hanging around the AJC. You should know, though, that your paper has excelled in promoting wealth envy since I stepped off that Greyhound here 42 years ago. Your editorial board has never missed a chance to throw the word "greed" at high-achievers. In reading years worth of AJC editorials you would scarcely know that Atlantans with money to invest actually worked for their wealth. They earned it. To the editors of the AJC they were either "lucky" or they exploited some poor, downtrodden, pitiful poor people. AJC editorial word processors have a two-key macro for inserting the phrase "pay their fair share" into commentaries. I dare say that there is not one person on the editorial board that could come close to telling you (a) what percentage of total income is earned by the top 1% of income earners; and, (b) what percentage of total income taxes the disgusting top 1% pay.

So .. here you come suggesting that the very people your paper has made a cause out of vilifying for decades step forward and, if necessary, sacrifice a goodly portion of their wealth in Atlanta startups.

As it turns out, I have a bit of money I could invest, but I'm holding those funds very close. Let me tell you why, sport. I would bet five dollars to a donut hole that you voted for Obama. Good for you. Hope you're enjoying all of this wonderful change while you're telling me how you want me to invest my money. While you're getting your jollies from the hopey-changy thing I am working overtime trying to figure out how to save as much of my future income and retirement nest egg from this guy as I possibly can; and I suspect I'm not alone.

Have you taken stock of how your man wants to raise our taxes? Or, I should say, have you seen his plan of attack on the very people whom you think ought to be pouring money into Atlanta startups? Let's start with a guaranteed 4.6% tax increase in about 17 months. Then we have surtaxes ranging from 1% to 3% to cover his health care dreams, plus taxes on our health care plans. Charlie Rangel has an even higher surtax - this one over 5% -- waiting for the super achievers, the ones with real money to invest. Then let's add to all of this a reduction in allowable tax deductions (really another tax increase) and the removal of the Social Security earnings cap. You total these goodies up and the tax rate will be around 50% for the people you think have all this money to invest. And Andre ... we're just talking federal taxes. You might want to remember that our esteemed city council just raised property taxes by 45%, and then there's the Georgia income tax on top of it all. To make things even worse, Obama thinks that Christine Kirchner, the President of Argentina, is one of the hottest things going in this hemisphere. She nationalized all pension plans in Argentina. Retired Argentineans will now get their checks from the government. Do you, Andre, want to convince me that your president isn't thinking the same thoughts here?

Tell you what, Andre. When we get a president and a controlling party in Washington that exhibits even a faint affection for capitalism and economic liberty, you can drop us another note. When we have a governing --- or "ruling," as Obama likes to day --- party that doesn't see tax increases as the answer to every problem plaguing mankind; when the leaders of this nation respect private property ... then you can talk to me about investing in your pet startup projects. While this menace is in the White House, and while the corrupt Charlie Rangel is writing our tax laws, I'm sitting tight.

There is no way that Democrats could be ignorant enough not to understand that their proposed tax increases are going to hit businesses. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a 5.4% surtax on income over $1 million along with other smaller surtaxes on the evil, filthy, disgusting rich people earning more than $250,000.

The Tax Foundation has done an excellent job of figuring out exactly how this is going to affect the achievers - the business owners who write paychecks and provide a source of income for millions of Americans. The charts are worth a peak, but here are some of their findings ....

- 70.1% of returns facing a tax increase have some form of business income.

- 26.0% of all income earned by those returns facing a tax increase is business income.

- The total tax increase on business income would be $51.3 billion, a 24.5% increase, assuming business income is the last dollar of income earned.

- 36.7% of the total tax increase is attributable to tax increases on business income, assuming business income is the last dollar of income earned.

- The average return with business income would face a total tax increase of $3,246.

- The average return facing a tax increase would face a total tax increase of $54,716.

- The average return with business income that is facing a tax increase would pay an extra $66,979.

There's a lot more .. and it will be easier to understand if you read the chart.

And speaking of businesses .. the House Democrat plan also plans to impose a penalty of 8% of payroll if employers do not offer health insurance. This will be the case for all but the smallest of businesses. According to this editorial in the Miami Herald, a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that 20 percent of its respondents would simply shut down if they were faced with this choice. They couldn't afford it. One out of four said they would replace full-time workers with part-time workers in order to avoid having to pay anything.

Now this is change you can believe in! Remember, folks. Elections have consequences.

... these tax increases still aren't going to be enough. Late Friday night, the Congressional Budget Office released an estimate: the House Democrats' healthcare bill would increase the federal deficit by $239 billion over the next 10 years.

So now what? The Democrats are going to cut existing programs even more in order to meet their goal of paying for the bill? Yeah .. sure they are. Those programs represent votes. Each program has a voting constituency. No cuts. No, they are going to increase taxes even more on the filthy, disgusting, evil rich. Based on what you have already read above, you know how well that is going to turn out.

Let me know if the lamestream media covered any these little goodies we are starting to find in the 1,000+ page healthcare bill. For example, here's an exchange between Congressman Paul Ryan and House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Staff Director Cybele Bjorklund. Just watch it folks ... and then tell me that the Democrats aren't trying to pull a fast one on you.

How hard is this to understand? Barack Obama and the Democrats don't care about your health. They don't care about your access to health insurance. All they care about is expanding the size of government making sure that you are dependent on it.

Take this short, seemingly innocuous article from the Associate Press.

The White House is asking Congress to give the executive branch more power to limit Medicare's rising costs.

A White House letter to top lawmakers on Friday said the move would be "a critical step forward" in controlling health care costs and providing better care.

This type of language should scare you, folks ... "give the executive branch more power" or the government "controlling healthcare costs." I want to know where in the Constitution these powers and duties are written.

White House economic advisor Larry Summers has made a very convincing argument that the economic crisis is over. Are you ready for this? He says that the number of people searching the term "economic depression" on Google is back to normal levels.

Yep. That's one of the White House's indicating factors that their stimulus plans have turned the tide for Americans ... they aren't googling "economic depression" as much. Are you buying this, folks?

The future of healthcare in America thanks to Barack Obama and the Democrats.  You've gotta see this video.

Another must-read from Victor David Hanson ... Obama's record budget deficits could sink his presidency.

Now we're apologizing for global warming. We saved the world from Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire; we defeated the Soviet Union in the cold war and turned back (until now) the communist threat ... and Hillary Clinton decides to apologize to the world for global warming.

You are going to enjoy this .. from Robert Reich: Tax the wealthy to keep everyone healthy. No, he is not being sarcastic.

Obama's plan to turn our economy around: let's tax small businesses at a 58% tax rate.

As if this was possible .. Barack Obama is well on his way to making the United States an even more undesirable place to do business. How surprising ... a socialist making the country undesirable for business.

Now Obama says that healthcare reform is not just about providing healthcare, it is about restoring economic stability. There's that word again .. stability.

The Democrats have been pressed to pass their healthcare bill by the August recess, but it looks like Obama is backing off on that deadline.

The Obama administration is considering creating a special unit of professional interrogators to handle terrorist suspects. That's fine, so long as Jack Bauer is in charge.

Chuck Schumer says that the CBO estimate on the Democrat's healthcare bill is "wacky." That's an easy way to dismiss reality.

What do these "wacky" CBO estimates say? That the health care overhauls released to date would increase, not reduce, the burgeoning long-term health costs facing the government.

Remember that according to Barack Obama, these terrorist bombings in Jakarta are just "man-caused disasters."

What does the government define as a "clunker" for their "cash-for-clunkers" federal program?

The Obama administration may be considering rent-to-own plans in help aid the housing crisis.

The UK's Times Online says that "America's white men are back and raging." Who are these "white men"? Why that would be "America's most ferocious right-wing broadcasters."

Authorities in Honduras seized computers of former president Zelaya which contained "official" election results for his constitutional referendum that was never held. In other words, he was going to change the law no matter what. THAT'S the democracy Barack Obama believes in.

Fox News analyzed the distribution of federal stimulus money and found that the states hardest hit by the recession received the least money.

Are the American people waking up and starting to realize that Barack Obama's plans for our economic recovery are not working?

On that same note, even some Democrats in Congress are starting to grow leery of Barack Obama and his agenda.

Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson threatened to remove management and the board of Bank of America if CEO Ken Lewis pulled the plug on the Merrill Lynch merger last fall.

Have we become a country of politicized capitalism?

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is spending $60,000 of its stimulus money to post road signs stating that these projects were funded by the federal stimulus money.

Listeners to our flagship station News/Talk 750 WSB can catch Herman's show weeknights 7-10pm ET.

Former cutest little communist in Congress, Cynthia McKinney, apparently crossed into Gaza yesterday. Looks like she'll have company on a future trip: Hugo Chavez!

Folks in Alabama are getting bent out of shape over a billboard put up by the Alabama Freethought Association, like the one below. This is part of a national campaign by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Y'all seem to like this topic, so here's your chance to continue the debate.

Folks, you have got to watch this one. It's guaranteed to make your jaw hit your desk. You may even let loose with a few profanities yourself.

The Talkmaster has been twittering from vacation. Just in case you don't follow him and don't check the boortz.com home page, here are his latest updates. This is also the place you can make fun of him for using twitter.

The folks over at fairtax.org have another way you can advance the cause of the FairTax. Download the FairTax toolbar and it will provide financial assistance to the FairTax cause, at no cost to you! Find out more here.

The Democrats are scrambling to fund their government dreams and schemes. As if taxing the achievers isn't enough, now they are threatening to impose new fees on the private insurance industry.

Remember last week when we talked about the House plan to force GM and Chrysler to reinstate dealerships slated to close? Barack Obama says that he opposes the plan. Got one right.

Barack Obama can give one helluva speech .. but that's not enough now that he is president.

One thing is for certain .. this government healthcare bill proposed by House Democrats promises to increase the size of government. Big time.

The Republicans have drawn up a chart to help the average government-educated American understand how the Democrat healthcare plan would work.

The federal government and all of these stimulus packages are really creating a lot of jobs in this economy ..... or not.

Here comes the flood of government money to turn our economy around. How is it going to do that? By weathering homes and paying the utility bills for poor people. Yeah .. that's economic stimulus all right.

A South Carolina judge has ruled that state law barring underage drinking is unconstitutional.

Just what poor people need .. cellphones provided by people who can afford to buy their own cellphones.

To find an auto plant that is hiring workers and earning a profit, you may have to go to ... Poland?

Parents ... the name you choose for your son may determine whether or not he leads a law-abiding life.

Time waster: 10 Odd Things you can buy from Amazon.

If you want to talk about the health care reform bill, the Sonia Sotomayor hearings or whatever is on your mind, Herman Cain is your man this morning. Herman will be filling in for Neal today. Find out more about Herman here. If you have a question for Herman, email him here.

Listeners to our flagship station News/Talk 750 WSB can catch Herman's show weeknights 7-10pm ET.

It's the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. I used to be a member. I no longer am. Let me tell you about their convention in New York City and you'll see why.

At their convention the NAACP announced what they call a "rapid response system." The idea is to get people with cell phones to capture videos and pictures of police "misconduct" and send those videos to the NAACP. The NAACP will then send back a form to be filled out giving details of the bad po-po.

The NAACP does NOT, however, have a program whereby citizens can take cell phone videos of gang activity or people committing crimes and forward them to any one for any action.

Go figure.

Did you catch this bit during yesterday's questioning of Sonja Sotomayor? Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (may God have mercy on us) intentionally misquoted Sotomayor during his opening comments. Leahy said: "You said that, quote, you 'would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would reach wise decisions.'"

Sorry, Senator. That's not quite accurate. What Sotomayor actually said was: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

But hey ... you're a hot shot Senator, aren't you? You're a powerful guy! So I guess its OK for you to intentionally misquote those whom you wish to protect.

Par for the course.

Now get this: For every hour the F22 Raptor flies it needs an average of 30 hours of maintenance. Now come on folks, can you believe this one? Why in the hell would you want to own and operate anything that takes 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of use?

Well ... that's just it. The Pentagon has made it clear that they don't want any more of these airplanes.

That brings us to Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss. He is pushing for funding for a number of additional F22s. The Pentagon doesn't want them, but Georgia jobs are at stake.

Look .. if this is about jobs let's just pay the workers at Lockheed whatever they're earning to rake leaves on Kennesaw Mountain without building the airplanes. Get them out there picking up trash along roadsides or painting over graffiti. Anything ... just pay them for the length of time it would take to build the additional Raptors. This would work two ways for the taxpayers. First, the would get some service out of these fine folks that we actually need, and they would save money in the bargain.

How about it, Senator? Isn't that a better idea? You're welcome.

And now, a special message from Talkmaster, Neal Boortz:

Spread it around!

TROUBLE VOTING? Email support@votenet.com or call 202.737.2277 option 2

Are you keeping up with the Democrats plan to institute government healthcare? Here are a few reading assignments to make sure they don't pull the wool over your eyes on this one .........

Jamie Dupree is taking a good look at all the details of the health care reform bill for you.

So ... the Democrats officially unveiled their healthcare plan. Are you planning on making something of yourself or becoming successful or filthy rich? BOHICA.

And if you are planning on becoming disgustingly rich, the House plan includes a surtax on millionaires of 5.4%. They are banking on wealth envy to ram this thing through.

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent explanation of how the Democrats are managing to increase taxes and redistribute the wealth, all in the name of "healthcare reform."

So now that the Democrats have their plans to tax the filthy, evil, disgusting rich ... here's how these tax increases are going to affect over 1 million small businesses in America.

So what does the Congressional Budget Office have to say about this Democrat scheme to implement government healthcare?

You want to know the future of government healthcare in this country? Take a look at England where they are considering forcing people to pay over $30,000 when they retire in order to pay for government healthcare for poor people.

Now that you feel all warm and fuzzy about the future of this country ... here are a few more goodies ...

Get this ... liberal Democrats are increasingly concerned that White House economists are too centrist and "theoretical" to fix the economy. Too centrist?

Just damn.

The Red Cross wants government schools to teach about the Geneva Conventions in a program they've designed called Exploring Humanitarian Law.

Talk about a government hack with a typical ego.

Barack Obama has succeeded marvelously in many things including growing the size of government and "making government cool again."

Sheeple.

Our good friend Herman Cain is filling in for Neal today. See, we listen. Find out more about Herman here. If you have a question for Herman, email him here.

Listeners to our flagship station News/Talk 750 WSB can catch Herman's show weeknights 7-10pm ET.

Look what fell off of YouTube: an interview with Ayn Rand by Mike Wallace from 1959. Discuss.

The Democrats are now saying that their economic stimulus bill didn't work as planned because ... they cut too much in taxes. Give me a freakin' break.

The government's annual budget deficit has topped $1 trillion. Your grandchildren will thank you one day.

Today we can look forward to the House Democrats introducing their healthcare bill. Convenient .. during a week when everyone is focused on the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor. Don't let it slip passed you, folks!

Minority-owned broadcasters are now asking for a government bailout .

Congressional Democrats want to increase income taxes on the filthy rich by$540 billion to pay for their government healthcare scheme. The White House will not say whether or not Obama supports it.

Barack Obama is trying to figure out how the government can delay foreclosures on people who have lost their jobs.

According to the Government Accountability Office, determining how many jobs federal stimulus money will create or save, and even tracking how the money is being spent will be difficult under current conditions. That's government for ya.

Supporters of Sonia Sotomayor are encouraging the press to target the firefighter at the center of the case that was recently overturned by the Supreme Court.

The next goal for the White House: combat urban sprawl that "hurts city residents and damaged the environment."

Apparently tax cheat Timothy Geithner said that the economy "is going through is a very necessary and healthy adjustment as [Americans] go back to living within their means."

Only in government schools does it make sense for the taxpayers to pay a teacher to stay out of the classroom.

New Hampshire received over $400 million in stimulus money to create 50 jobs. You do the math on how much each of those jobs is costing the taxpayers.

Maybe this is the real reason why Barack Obama always has two teleprompters on hand.

A teenage girl falls into a manhole because she was .......

A WHAT a day keeps the doctor away???

OK ... so I'm on a much deserved vacation. Doing a lot of reading. Wanted to share a quote from a book with you:

"For the Statist, liberty is not a blessing but the enemy. It is not possible to achieve utopia if individuals are free to go their own way. The individual must be dehumanized and his nature delegitimized. Through persuasion, deception, and coercion, the individual must be subordinated to the state. He must abandon his own ambitions for the ambitions of the state. He must become reliant on and fearful of the state. His first duty must be to the state - not family, community and faith, all of which have the potential of threatening the state. Once dispirited, the individual can be molded by the state."

Who, you ask, is the person who wrote that? Well, there is a reason why this writer's book spent so much time in the No. 1 spot on the New York Times

Bestsellers list. It's fellow talk show host Mark Levin, and the book is "Liberty and Tyranny." I'll describe the book in one word: BRILLIANT.

Not all that well, huh?

Have you gone from recognizing that the stimulus isn't working to actually trying to figure out why? Allow me to help.

Economists will tell you that the economy will really start to recover when people start spending money. Thus far, that isn't happening. The only stimulus money was actually put into the hands of the people was that pitiful $400 for individuals and $800 for families. Most of these people used the extra money not to buy something, but to either save or pay down some bills. They're scared, remain scared, and aren't in a buying mood right now. A one-time check doesn't really do it. They need to see a long-term and permanent increase in their take-home income, and thus a long-term increase in their ability to spend. How do you do that? Simple - tax cuts. Not just a one-time check, but a real tax cut. And not just a tax cut for the poor (who don't pay taxes anyway) and the middle class; but a tax cut for everyone, businesses included. Let the people who create the jobs keep more of the money they earn - and what happens? Do you think that somehow more jobs might be created?

President Hopenchange went the opposite way. Instead of a promise that people will be able to keep more of what they earn, his administration (and the entire Democrat party, for that matter) delivers a cacophony of rhetoric about increasing taxes on the very people we need to start the economic recovery. How smart his that? In the meantime they dump billions of dollars into idiotic government pork projects and call it economic stimulus.

It's the old Bill Clinton "You won't spend your money the right way" bit revisited. Just how long are we going to sit around and let these so-called "leaders" in Washington play us for such fools? When do the majority of Americans wake up and see this as the government power play it is? With so many Americans being government educated, there's not much real hope out there. Let's face it, the Republican Party sure isn't doing anything worth mentioning. They can't even come up with a counter-offer to Obama's socialized medicine.

Now ... Cristina has chosen some reading assignments.

The big news story this week will be the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor. Republicans say they will not filibuster her nomination.

It's official .. the Democrats announced that they want to raise income tax rates on the evil, filthy, stinking rich in order to pay for their government healthcare scheme. BOHICA.

OwlGore finally admits what I have been telling you for years ... climate change has nothing to do with the environment; it has everything to do with power. Gore says that the Congressional climate bill will help bring about "global governance."

Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation practices.

Have we really reached the end of Obamania?

Obama wrote a piece in the Washington Post adjusting the expectations for his economic stimulus plan.

The Democrats fearmongerers want you to believe that if they don't pass their tax-and-cap bill, "there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more."

AIG is working with our new special master on compensation (or pay czar) on its plans to pay out more bonuses.

Government officials in Washington State want to regulate the runoff from car wash soap.

The city of Austin wants to be a "green city" so it set up a clean energy program that residents can sign up for .. but the program seems to be selling less and costing more.

A city in California wants to use cameras to record the license plate number of every vehicle that crosses city limits.

I pride myself on the disgusting amount of CO2 created by Nealz Nuze and Boortz.com every day.

Scientists have determined that if you lose your wallet, it is more likely to be returned if you have a picture of a baby, an old couple, a puppy or a family?

Police in New Hampshire took a dog into police custody because it had been barking all day long and annoyed the neighbors.

Just what you need for a Monday ... an update on the gay penguin couple in San Francisco.

It's Friday, so how about an anything goes thread? We'll get you started with this: All men are pigs, no exceptions.

Now this is really incredible.

You do know, don't you, that this cap-and-trade monstrosity which passed through the house like ___ thru a goose two weeks ago, is the largest tax increase on the American people in the history of this Republic? Well, what are we going to get from this massive increase in the cost of living for Americans?

This comes from Republican Senator James Inhofe's office. Earlier this week there was a hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Sounds dull. But don't count on the media to bring you any of the highlights. Here's something you probably haven't heard. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson - that's right, the official Obama-appointed environmental boss of us -- said that US cap-and-trade schemes would have zero effect on global emissions levels. Just great.

Yes, you read that correctly. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said, "I believe the central parts of the [EPA] chart are that U.S. action alone will not impact world CO2 levels." Well, someone had to toe the administration line, so when Obama's Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, was shown the EPA charts he simply said that he disagrees. Good. That settles it now, doesn't it? The EPA Administrator says that our wonderful cap-and-tax bill won't make any difference in global temperatures, and the Energy Secretary disagrees. So everything is just fine. Let the tax increase roll on.

An FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, has an internal report which examines the state of media journalism. The report discusses, "ways to address issues such as the rise of media conglomerates and the prevalence of opinion journalism." Known as the Notification of Inquiry, this is the first step the FCC usually takes when making new rules to regulate media.

As you can imagine, the report talks about the decline of traditional media and the rise of others such as blogging. But there are a few ideas that I want to point out. These are ideas that are circulating in the FCC and could have potential impact on yours truly, not to mention the basic concept of freedom of the press.

One idea presented in the report is using the tax code as an incentive to help struggling news outlets. We are talking about either tax breaks or government handouts. See politicians love to do that .. use the tax code to punish or entice. That is why they are so resistant to ideas like the FairTax - because it would remove this powerful weapon from their arsenal. Consider this ... if the government creates a system of government tax breaks or handouts for various elements of the media, don't you just know that media outlets that are more friendly to Obama will get the goodies? After all, that's the way its working with stimulus funding. If your area voted Obama you're more likely to get help. Here we will have government bureaucrats picking media winners and losers. Some Americans see the danger in that.

Another issue floated in the report is the possibility of "behavior rules" for broadcasters. I love this one. All we know as of right now is that "behavioral rules" might include guidelines that broadcasts serve the public interest - as defined by government.

Look ... despots know they need to control the dissemination of information to their people. They already have their control over our education processes .. now control over information is next.

You can see the despot's desire to control broadcasting in his words. Copps says, "Since we still need broadcasters to contribute to the democratic dialogue, we need clear standards that can be fairly but vigorously enforced ... It is time to say 'Good-bye' to post-card renewal every eight years and 'Hello' to license renewals every three years with some public interest teeth."

Talk radio is shaping up to be the primary gathering point for opposition to Obama's grand government schemes. This is not going to go unchallenged. Obama will most certainly shut us down if he can find a way to do so.

Here's how the story goes ... Chrysler and GM are forced to the brink of collapse due to declining sales and increased union influence on wages and benefits. The federal government decides that these companies are "too big to fail" and decides to give them billions of taxpayer dollars to keep them afloat. They go bankrupt anyway. They are forced to restructure their business plans. Part of that restructuring includes closing down thousands of dealerships across the country.

This is where politics gets involved. Lawmakers in Congress start to get calls from their constituents. These voters are upset that their local dealership is being closed down. So politicians start to go up to bat to save dealerships in their districts or states from closing. Some politicians, like Rep. Steve LaTourette, a Republican from Ohio, go as far as to propose an amendment forcing the auto companies to reinstate these dealerships and franchise agreements. Chrysler and GM get upset, saying that this would "jeopardize the viability" of their new companies and complicate the emergence from bankruptcy.

This is what you get when politics gets involved in the operation of private businesses. The people charged with the responsibility for the survival of these businesses have to do battle with political hacks who have no business experience. These politicians have one interest: POWER. Their power depends on staying in office. That depends on votes. If their constituents get upset because of a bona fide business decision to shut down a dealership, then the politician steps in. Votes over business sense.

Your government at work, folks.

The government has some money left over from the $700 billion bank bailout. There is something like $259 billion in the fund plus another $70 billion that has been repaid by the banks. So now the debate remains ... what should be done with the "extra" money?

Tax cheat Tim Geithner wants to keep money in the program to provide "headroom" for "additional flexibility to Treasury in its efforts to stabilize the economy and build the foundation for long-term economic growth." Politicians, like Barney Frank, are just itching to get their hands on the money to be used for entitlement program. Slobbering Barney, for example, wants to use the dividends earned through interest owed by banks to go toward affordable housing programs .. read: welfare.

But the answer here should be really simple, folks. Give the money back to the taxpayers. This is not the government's money. It is not money that was willingly donated to Timothy Geithner's piggy bank. This is money that has been seized by the government from you, the taxpayers. How hard is this?

This great and wonderful health care plan the Democrats are dreaming up? Can you tell me how spending taxpayer funds on a jungle gym constitutes health care spending? Business as usual.

This report from USA Today says that stimulus money is being directed to districts that heavily favored Obama in the election. I'm trying to hide my surprise here.

The Democrats have hit a little snag with their cap-and-tax bill. They are not going to complete work on it until after the August break.

Meanwhile, the healthcare bill suffered another setback yesterday as some Democrats are expressing reservations.

Openness and transparency: Obama's climate czar instructed auto industry execs "to put nothing in writing, ever" regarding secret negotiations on a deal to increase federal CAFE standards. That's Obama's open government initiative.

Barack Obama has been missing something when he visits foreign countries. Any guesses?

Rep. Darrell Issa wants lawmakers who receive classified CIA briefings to submit to polygraph tests.

Independent voters are beginning to realize the heaping mistake they made back in November and are slowly drawing away from Barack Obama. Notice the dwindling number of Obama bumper stickers lately?

You'll get a kick out of this ... a report from Reuters explaining the hardships of people who are staying in jobs that provide health benefits just because they don't want to pay for healthcare.

Maybe Joe Biden can explain to the people of Ohio where their stimulus money is going.

John Kerry wants to hold oversight hearings on the US involvement in Afghanistan.

Are new restrictive rules on US airstrikes in Afghanistan making things more difficult for Marines in the field?

Republicans plan to call a white firefighter whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Sonia Sotomayor to testify against her next week.

The Congressional Black Caucus is taking the time to study the racial makeup of House committee staffs.

The number of US companies listed as a top 500 company fell to its lowest level ever, while Chinese companies appeared more than ever.

Tax increases in California are causing employers to lay off workers? Gee, ya don't say. How about we increase their taxes even more and give more government handouts to the "poor." That will definitely create more jobs.

Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders wants sex education to start in kindergarten.

I still cannot be at peace .. Michael Jackson's body has yet to be buried.

French tourists are the worst in the world, coming across as bad at foreign languages, tight-fisted and arrogant.

Spotted this gem on W. Peachtree at Peachtree in Atlanta on the way in to work this morning. Who knew colored duct tape could be so handy?

Barack Obama knew that there would be a small window of time where he could get away with virtually anything, and still enjoy high approval ratings. Blame this honeymoon on the American Idol generation of voters who like the guy because he has a great bod and promised to raise taxes on the evil rich. Barack Obama knew that he had to get his big tickets agenda items - healthcare reform, global warming - passed while he still had popular support. There's that "never let a good crisis go to waste" bit from PrezBO's lead dog-washer, Rahm Emmanuel.

Warning Will Robinson! Warning! Warning! I now seems Barack's window of opportunity has closed - or is closing pretty quickly. The latest Rasmussen polls show that 32% of voters strongly approve of Barack Obama however 37% of voters strongly disapprove of his handling of the presidency. For those of you who are government educated, that means that more people think he is doing a lousy job compared to people who are still engaged in idol worship. Clearly some folk's subscriptions to People Magazine have expired.

Hmmm. I wonder if this conversion to digital television might have anything to do with this. Let's face it, the people who were unprepared and lost their analog TV signals several weeks ago were not exactly living at the top of the mountain. Could it be that these people, suffering from their inability to watch Entertainment Tonight or their soaps, have suddenly discovered other forms of entertainment? Like talk radio?

World leaders are preparing themselves for upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen. Yesterday they all got together in Italy to work out some of the kinks. The result? The countries agreed that we shouldn't allow global temperatures increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius.

Wow. Considering climate history, that is one impossible goal. There is nothing any politician on earth can do to set a limit on the increase or decrease in global temperatures. The forces of nature are going to have their way, and there's not much we're going to be able to do about it.

OK .. back to the Italian political cluster-thingy. As you suspect, there is not any plan on just how to accomplish their stated goal. That would be because they're not really interested in accomplishing a goal. They're interested in the method, not the results. And you can bet your last ounce of gold that, for these politicians, wealth seizure and redistribution will be the method of choice. That's why they're in this game in the first place

Remember, just last week we had a plan to come up with a standard amount of carbon emissions regulated for every human on the planet. Then, if some people pollute more than they have to pay for using more than their "fair share" of carbon. Admittedly, this was another way of saying - tax the rich. You do realize, don't you, that a rich CEO flying his private jet to a business meeting is going to expel more CO2 than an aboriginal in Australia who goes to work with a spear in his hand.

The Senate is currently working on its version of a cap-and-tax bill. This should scare the tar out of you ... John Kerry is helping write it. One thing that Kerry is trying to ooch out is a provision in the House's version of the bill that could spark a global trade war. How is that? Simple. The House wants to impose carbon taxes on imports to the United States. The reason: to protect American competitiveness against imports from countries without similar emissions regulations.

Gary Horlick, a prominent trade attorney in Washington, says, "If we re-interpret WTO rules to allow trade barriers based on how things are made, we open up a can of worms and might permit other countries to block our biotech exports, including major items such as corn, soybeans, and other crops." Not to mention the logical headache of trying to determine the carbon content of imports, particularly those that have passed through multiple countries.

Are you starting to get the picture here, folks? Did you even know that this provision was included in the House version of this cap-and-trade scam?

In case you don't know, Brinks security is now Broadview security. I saw their latest ad on television this morning. You have some guy stalking a winsome young mother and her daughter. Finally he tries to break into her home. The security alarm goes off and Broadview saves the day. As usual - as is the case in every single television ad ever put on television by Brinks - the perp is white. In the wonderful world of Brinks/Broadview only white guys try to break into houses to rob and rape. Political correctness to the extreme.

This is how your federal government believes we are going to get this economy back on track. It wants to spend stimulus money on preventing homelessness. Yes, seriously. That would be another $1.5 billion of your tax dollars to be distributed to communities around the country for the purpose of preventing homelessness. Here are some examples of projects that are being funded. You take a look and tell me if you think these are the people that you are going to be looking for when you need your next pay check.

• Fresno, California will be given $1 million to dismantle tent cities and move resident's into privately owned apartments.
• A nonprofit in eastern Idaho hopes to apply its stimulus funds toward one-time payments for rent or mortgages to those on the verge of losing their homes.
• Stockton, California plans to buy foreclosed houses and renovate them as affordable housing.
• Franklin County, Pa., will use stimulus money to help families with back rent and utilities, moving costs, short-term storage and credit repair.
• In Reading, Pa., a coalition for the homeless plans to provide short-term rent aid and landlord-tenant mediation to prevent evictions.

Now ... do you have any questions as to why this wonderful Obama generated stimulus program isn't working? How in the world does tearing down a tent city stimulate our economy?

You're starting to get a clue as to why Barack's approval rating is heading steadily down, aren't you?

Do you think Brian Kilmeade is going to get in trouble over this one?

Remember the brouhaha with Nancy Pelosi lying to Congress about al Queda interrogation briefings? Well it seems that her fellow Democrats are lining up to protect the information from public disclosure.

From Daniel Henniger at The Wall Street Journal. "The Dumbing Down of Democracy." By whom? By Barack Obama, of course.

A nice little 4th of July story from Ohio.

When it comes to healthcare, Barack Obama is dead set on bringing the federal cost down to $1 trillion. What he doesn't tell you is that he will do this by shifting the cost burden from the federal government to state governments.

Wow .. I can't believe this came out of the Associated Press: Obama's tax promises were unrealistic. Gee, what was your first clue?

Speaking of healthcare reform ... yesterday the White House announced a plan for hospitals to "give up" $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments in order to offset the cost of Obama's healthcare plans.

John Boehner says that the biggest fabrication he has heard in all his years in Washington is that the administration didn't realize how bad things were for the economy.

The Democrats are trying to figure out how to pass a second stimulus .. this one would supposedly be a package aimed at creating jobs. Wait, wasn't that what the first stimulus package was supposed to do? Oh well.

Wait until you see what the chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley has to say about our economic "train wreck."

While most Americans can probably tell you every celebrity that attended Michael Jackson's memorial, I'm sure that few can tell you what Barack Obama pledged to do the other day in Russia.

Speaking of Michael Jackson, the mayor of Los Angeles is asking for Michael Jackson fans to donate money to help offset the government's taxpayer's cost for the memorial service, which was more than $3.5 million.

Here's an exchange between the Assistant Attorney General and John McCain over the supposed Constitutional rights of terrorists.

Hollywood would like you to believe that the reason California is experiencing its current budget crisis is because of previous tax cuts. If you are a Nealz Nuze reader, you know better.

Apparently it is humorous to believe that lawmakers actually read bills before they vote on them.

The Pentagon has denied a request from a local Idaho festival for an Air Force flyover because the event is too focused on Christianity. The kicker ... the Air Force has been doing flyovers at this same event for 42 years, but suddenly it has a problem with it.

I know I'm not the best at proofreading ... but the guy is the freakin' president of the United States. You would think you could spell his name right.

Along the Gaza beach, a man was detained, beaten and ordered to sign a statement promising not to engage in immoral activities. Why? Because he was walking along the beach with a young woman, and that is a no-no according to the peaceful religion of Islam.

New York City government schools may be closing to celebrate Islamic holy days ... which happen to fall on September 11th.

I guess this is the down side of a loser pays system.

Let's talk for a bit about Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee. She decided that for some reason, she was going to play a prominent role in the memorial service of Michael Jackson. Well .. it was a spectacle, and what better place to make a spectacle out of yourself.

Back to the hyphenated Congresswoman in a moment. I made a few ... and just a few ... of my Twitter followers mad yesterday with some of my tweets about this memorial service thing out in La La land. I made clear my belief that Michael Jackson was a pedophile and that the world was now a better place. There was much agreement, but there were also some strong rebukes. I looked at the tweets of some of the people who took me to task. Really sad stuff. "Oh Michael, why did you leave me?" "The world will never be the same without this great man." "Michael was the most important person in my life." "I'm crying again, I just can't help it."

Yesterday we showed the world the worst face of the mindless culture of celebrity worship. We elevate these people to the position of Gods. Our bibles are People Magazine and US Weekly. Our services are held nightly on Entertainment Tonight.

Back to the esteemed Congresswoman from Houston. Sheila Jackson-Lee decided that she wanted to defend Michael Jackson against any charges of child molestation. Here's what she had to say: "We understand the Constitution, we understand laws, and we know that people are innocent until proven otherwise ... That is what the Constitution stands for." In case you missed it, here's the video:

OK ...here's a little civics lesson for you. This "innocent until proven guilty" thing ONLY applies to government. The idea that a person is innocent of a crime until he has been convicted is a complete absurdity. Once you've murdered someone, you are a murderer. You don't become a murderer when the jury says "guilty." You become a murderer when you pull the trigger. You've taken a life. Jury deliberations don't change that.

The purpose of the "innocent until proven guilty" concept is to hold a tight rein on government. Government, you see, is the only entity out there that can legally take your life, your property or your freedom. Our founding fathers saw fit to require that the government prove you're your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before these actions are taken. So ... the ONLY place where this "innocent until proven guilty" standard applies is to government attempts to punish you for a crime. It doesn't apply to me or to you because we aren't empowered to carry out punishment.

So, Mrs. Jackson-Lee; only the government is forbidden from assigning guilt without due process, and there are plenty of exceptions to that rule, by the way. As for me .. as for the people ... we are perfectly free to assign guilt based on our beliefs, knowledge of the facts and understandings of the circumstances. We believe that O.J. Simpson butchered his wife. He's a murderer. And we believe that Michael Jackson was a child molester. Having millions of dollars you can use to pay off families and victims does NOT make you innocent.

Oh and while we are on the topic of Jacko's memorial service. Barack Obama apparently owes his presidency to Michael Jackson. That one is according to Al Sharpton.

During his visit to Russia this week President Obama had something rather interesting to say about our armed forces. He said that "the future does not belong to those who gather armies." Really? Well, I have this question for our Commander in Chief. Which country do you think is more in control of its future ... the country that keeps an army, or the country that does not?

Too easy. Much too easy.

The Democrats are hammering home their new favorite talking point on climate change: if you are against climate change, then you want our country to fail. The latest comes from our own Henry Waxman, whom is largely responsible for the latest cap-and-tax scheme in Congress. He said, "It appears that the Republican Party leadership in the Congress has made a decision that they want to deny President Obama success-- which means, in my mind, they are rooting against the country as well." So basically, anyone who does not support Barack Obama's agenda or policies is someone who is "rooting against" America. Now I get it.

Then we get to OwlGore. His piggy bank must be running low, because he has really ramped up the push lately for global warming legislation. Yesterday he tried to compare the fight against global warming to that of WWII, Winston Churchill and the Nazis. He said, "Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilization in World War II ... We have everything we need except political will but political will is a renewable resource ... The level of awareness and concern among populations has not crossed the threshold where political leaders feel that they must change." In other words, you the voters aren't buying into his scheme. And if you don't buy into it, then politicians will have little reason to support it. Why is that? Because we all know that politicians have one goal in mind and that is maintaining power. They are not going to put their careers and their state limos and their taxpayer funded drapery on the line for an issue that isn't going to help them get re-elected. Polls have been sliding for months now ... people aren't buying the hype. OwlGore did get one thing right though. He said that a lack of awareness among voters allowed the government to avoid making tough decisions. That's what you get when you have the government educating your voters.

Republicans on the House Oversight panel are finally getting down to business on what caused the initial housing crisis that led to the collapse of the economy. A new 26-page report highlight's the government's role in trying to increase sub-prime home ownership. Michelle Malkin has some details:

* Political pressure led to the erosion of responsible lending practices: In the early 1990s, Fannie and Freddie began to come under considerable political pressure to lower their underwriting standards, particularly on the size of down payments and the credit quality of borrowers. (p.6)

* Lower down payments led to housing prices that outpaced income growth: Once government-sponsored efforts to decrease down payments spread to the wider market, home prices became increasingly untethered from any kind of demand limited by borrowers' ability to pay. Instead, borrowers could just make smaller down payments and take on higher debt, allowing home prices to continue their unrestrained rise. Some statistics help illustrate how this occurred. Between 2001 and 2006, median home prices increased by an inflation-adjusted 50 percent, yet at the same time Americans' income failed to keep up. (p. 11)

* Members of an "affordable housing" coalition shared profits with political allies to help legitimize their business practices: Fannie Mae created and used The Fannie Mae Foundation to spread millions of dollars around to politically-connected organizations like the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. It also hired well-known academics to give an aura of academic rigor to policy positions favorable to Fannie Mae. One paper coauthored by now-Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag, concluded that the chance was minimal that the GSEs were not holding sufficient capital to cover their losses in the event of a severe economic shock. The authors suggested that "the risk to the government from a potential default on GSE debt is effectively zero," and that "the expected cost to the government of providing an explicit government guarantee on $1 trillion in GSE debt is just $2 million." (p.7)

* The Government Sponsored Enterprises led the way into the housing crisis: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were leaders in risky mortgage lending. According to an analysis presented to the Committee, between 2002 and 2007, Fannie and Freddie purchased $1.9 trillion of mortgages made to borrowers with credit scores below 660, one of the definitions of "subprime" used by federal banking regulators. This represents over 54% of all such mortgages purchased during those years. (p.24)

Dr. Anne Wortham is the author of "The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness". She is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University 's Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. Pretty strong credentials, don't you think?

In researching Anne Wortham I also found that she is a follower of Ayn Rand. That's why I haven't heard of her before. A black university professor who is a Rand fan?

Why bring her up? Because I've just come across a letter she wrote to her fellow Americans on November 6th of last year. I thought you might enjoy it ... so here goes:

There. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Leading off the assignments ... This column from National Review Online garnered a lot of attention yesterday. Well worth the read. "I Still Hate You, Sarah Palin."

Things are heating up for Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings next week. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell is already saying that Sotomayor "lets racial bias cloud her rulings."

Folks, Jamie Dupree is a stud. He is plowing through the Senate version of this cap-and-trade scam and look at what he has found buried in this thing.

Small businesses around the country are expressing their frustration over this cap-and-trade scam, which they see as a direct tax on their businesses.

Democrats can't decide whether or not a second stimulus is necessary. I'll make this one real easy for you, boys: NO.

When it comes to government health insurance, is the Senate going to follow the House's lead on the need for a federal health insurance czar?

Rahm Emanuel and Barack Obama need to get their stories straight on their goals for government healthcare.

Doing his best to give thanks and praise for getting him elected, Obama is meeting with union leaders next week to discuss healthcare reform and the card check bill.

Get this ... the UN Security Council condemned North Korea's weekend missile launches as a violation of UN resolutions. Oh yeah, that'll show 'em.

Oops .. Barack Obama referred to Vladimir Putin as Russia's president.

Investor's Business Daily points out, "Never has the U.S. bent over so far backwards to accommodate a tyrant" ... except when it comes to Honduras' Mel Zelaya.

Busy tackling the important issues of the country, the Senate's Antitrust Subcommittee had a hearing yesterday on college football's Bowl Championship Series.

Have you been keeping track of what is going on with John Murtha and defense contractors in his home state? It's looking pretty fishy.

U.S. regulators are working on ways to clamp down on oil and gas price speculators.

Fortune Magazine says that government healthcare will never happen because people will realize how much money it will cost them. Unfortunately I don't think people even give a flyin' flip.

Other countries spend less on healthcare than we do in the United States but .........

Moonbat in the news ... a judge has ruled that the University of Colorado doesn't have to give Ward Churchill his job back.

This one is for all you WHIO Dayton listeners ... someone in your city council wants to use taxpayer money to replace swans in Xenia park.

Michael Jackson is a shovel-ready project.

Gotta love it.

With international climate talks set to start this week, politicians around the world are looking for ways to get their hands on two things - power and money - all in the name of global warming. It just so happens that a new study has been released by the National Academy of Sciences which suggests that emissions targets should not be set for countries. They should be set for people!

Now here is how that would work. First you figure out how much carbon dioxide our atmosphere can handle. To do this, of course, you would use the same worthless phony computer models these hack scientists and the anti-capitalist crowd have been using for years to develop their fraudulent global warming narrative. You then take the total amount of CO2 our atmosphere can handle and divide it by the number of people in the world. You then have the carbon footprint that every person should be allowed to leave. You then find a way to either seize or extort money from the people who produce more than their fair share of greenhouse gasses.

You do see where this is going, don't you? Since the fall of the Soviet Union and world communism the anti-capitalist crowd has been looking for another platform from which they could carry on their attacks against economic liberty and the free enterprise system. They found that platform in the environmental movement. The platform was environmentalism; the tactic was the global warming hoax and the weapon was, and is attacks on the world's achievers. The thought process here is that evil rich people use more CO2 because all of their fancy yachts and private jets, big houses and fossil-fueled cars ... therefore they would probably emit more than their "fair share" of CO2 and be forced to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions. It doesn't matter what country you are from, only that you are richer than the average citizen of the world.

One of the study's authors, Shoibal Chakravarty of the Princeton Environment Institute, says that this isn't necessarily a limousine-and-yacht tax on the rich, but he did not rule it out: "We are not by any means proposing that. If some country finds a way of doing that, it's great."

This is a direct attack to the heart of America. It's a way for the left to bring America down to the level of the rest of the world. Don't laugh this off. Would you have thought one year ago that our government would now own General Motors and Citigroup, and that nationalization of our banks was imminent? Besides ... and I say this with the highest level of love for my fellow Americans ... we are now a country of government-educated idiots that can't see the dangers facing us. We're going to lose this great 200-year-plus experiment in economic liberty and freedom based on the rule of law rather than the rule of man because too many Americans got lazy and started looking for the easy way out. I suppose there will be someone around to write a final history of the great American experience when this grand adventure is over. I just hope they have the guts or the understanding to place the blame where it lies ... the idiotic idea of turning our most precious assets, our children, over to the government - the political class - to be educated. The government education establishment in this country has delivered to us exactly what it proposed ... generations of government educated myrmidons who are fit to be good employees and government subjects, and not much more.

Something else for you to think about: When you take the world's population as a whole, pretty much anyone living in the United States is considered to be "rich." Remember, the average American defined as living in poverty has a standard of living that exceeds the average European. This new "get the rich" global warming idea is aimed at accomplishing one thing ... bringing the hated United States down.

We've known for a while that Democrats love to appeal to emotion, rather than logic. This would be because liberalism is a philosophy based on emotion rather than fact rationality. We particularly discovered this during the last presidential campaign. That's why they have developed a particular fondness for focus groups ... and they are ecstatic when they discover words like "change" that can fit brilliantly on campaign signs.

So now the Democrats are trying to use the same tactic to pass their precious healthcare reform. Their goal: to dupe middle-class Americans into believing it will help them achieve a better level of healthcare then they presently receive.

Third Way, a think tank, is circulating a memo on Capitol Hill and through the administration explaining how Americans "need to be convinced of the value of what they are buying." Now here is the dangerous line, folks. The memo says, "Stability can offer that."

Now haven't I been saying this for years? The American people are no longer in love with freedom. What the American people want is security ... another way of saying "stability" ... and that is exactly what the current Democrat Party plans to give 'em.

Now, back to this memo. Jim Kessler, who co-authored this memo, says "Most of the current words used to describe and sell reform are computational words -- cost, access, quality ... They are Mr. Spock words, not Dr. Spock words. ... You need to use terms that are warm, evocative and emotional." Here we go with this "emotional" versus "logical" argument again. Yeah ... terms like "change you can believe in."

The memo also offers Obama some suggestions on how to frame his message: "Stable coverage that cannot be taken away from you through life's ups and downs. Stable costs that won't eat away an increasing share of your paycheck. Stable quality so you can get the treatment you need, when you need it, and from the doctor you choose."

Apparently Democrats are catching on to this idea of stability. According to a June 23rd memo distributed to House Democrat Caucus members, "stability and peace of mind" are to be included its daily talking points. So there are now four buzz words for Obama's healthcare plan: cost, choice, quality -- and stability.

OK ... so let me play with this idea of a "stable" lifestyle for a moment. How would one define a stable lifestyle? Let's see ... you are guaranteed a place to live. That's stability, right? So, you have a place to live, what more could you want? How about a guarantee of three meals a day! Getting more stable all the time. Now let's throw in a guaranteed job, and just to top things off we'll include health care! Sound good? Well .. this wonderful "stable" lifestyle is available to you right now! Just commit a crime heinous enough to get you sent to prison.

That's what we're building for ourselves in America, folks. We're all going to have a life of security and stability in a gilded prison.

This has to be a joke. I mean, I know that the average voter out there is government educated, but there is no way that the people of California could be ignorant enough to vote this twit into office. Here is a quote from Santa Rosa Democrat Noreen Evans about "living within our means."

Well, there is this mantra out there - "live within our means" - and while that sounds really nice . . . and it sounds really responsible, it's meaningless. Our means are completely within our control . . . We have just given away huge corporate subsidies in February; we have given away other tax reductions over many, many years; we've created tax loopholes; in good times, we routinely give away taxes, and then in lean times we never replace those tax deductions or close those loopholes. . . . So "live within our means" doesn't mean anything. The fact is, we have a state with a population that have [sic] needs that we have a moral obligation to provide.

And you wonder why California is in such trouble? I really didn't need to tell you that this barking moonbat was a Democrat, did I?

Taken in Hilton Head, SC .... clearly this person has no idea what they are voting for.

The House is likely to propose a surtax on evil rich Americans in order to pay for healthcare reform. Are you surprised? It was only a matter of time.

This is not good for the Obama administration ... unemployment is worse with the economic stimulus than it would be without. Now THAT'S change you can believe in.

You knew that this was coming .... a congressional resolution honoring Michael Jackson, written by none other than Rep. Sheila Jackson.

Hillary Clinton's is planning to meet with Honduras' Manuel Zelaya this week.

Want a definite way to lose jobs in this country? Increase the federal minimum wage. Oh wait, that's exactly what we are doing on July 24th.

So NOW an article surfaces from Obama's formative years about his vision of a nuclear-free world.

Colin Powell is concerned that Obama's "ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much." Golly, Colin? What was your first clue?

Later this week, the Democrats are going to reveal just how they plan to pay for this massive government health scheme. Actually, they can't tell us how they're going to pay for it because they have no idea how much its going to cost.

Here are all the questions and answers you will ever need to know about this climate change legislation that already passed through the House.

I love it ... Education Secretary Arne Duncan challenged members of the NEA to stop resisting the idea of linking teacher pay to student achievement.

A Gallup Poll shows that Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal. Now THAT'S change I can believe in.

Openness and transparency ... the White House won't say how much Michelle's European vacation cost the taxpayers. Let's just say it was more than you will spend to show your family a good time.

The Senate may soon require members to have their office expenditures posted online for the public to access.

Sarah Palin's attorney has threatened to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish "defamatory" stories about whether Palin is under federal investigation. I'm liking this lady less and less every day.

The government closed seven more banks last week, bringing the total number of failed banks for this year to 52.

Here's an exposition into the "symbiotic relationship" between Barack Obama and the lamestream TV networks. In other words .. sucking up to Obama is a good thing.

This sounds about right ... the Organization of American States kicks out Honduras for trying to maintain the integrity of its constitution, and yet it lifts a ban on Cuba after 47 years.

Government at its best .. a woman in California may go to jail for feeding feral cats. Catch a real criminal.

Little people are calling on the FCC to ban the use of the word "midget" on broadcast TV. When the FCC votes on this the resolution will probably come up short.

I love gadgets ... but some of them just don't meet up to my expectations. The KindleDX did. A tremendous way to take several books and a few newspapers to the pool.

Anyway ... for you Kindle owners out there. Nealz Nuze will soon be available on a subscription basis on your Kindle! Yup ... it's gonna cost you. About 99 cents a month. I'll get some of that. IRS, are you listening?

Well now. Our economy is really lunging forward, isn't it? What a ride! Are you holding on?

We're billions of dollars further in debt (trillions?) and the economy is still stagnant. TARP, the stimulus bill, massive debts our children and grandchildren will have to pay .. and what has this all brought us? Banks aren't lending, businesses aren't hiring - let along expanding - and consumers aren't buying. Oh, to be sure, the malls are crowded. Turn up the thermostats and see how long that lasts. Those aren't shoppers, they're just your neighbors trying to stay cool while watching the latest absurd teen fashion and freak shows.

Do what the initials SNAFU mean? That word was created to define government action, or inaction as the case may be. In 1942 Time magazine carried this revelation: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu." Well .. if there was ever a SNAFU, our economy would fit the description. To fully understand this, you have to know what the acronym stands for. Go ahead ... Google it

So ... after hundreds of billions of dollars, government seizures of GM, Citigroup and others, imminent bank nationalization, massive favors handed to unions at the expense of private investors, and a pantload of new czars in the White House ... all done to kick start our economy ... what do we have. SNAFU, that's what. Or TAUFU, if you like.

Look ... I'm just a talk show host. What the hell do I know? I've been sitting behind a microphone for 40 years now sparring with hundreds of thousands of callers who generally knew a helluva lot more than the hundreds of politicians I've interviewed over that time. Having said that ... I'm betting that this particular talk show host can, in just a few hundred words, give you some better ideas for kick starting our economy than you've heard from Obama and his Democrat sycophants over the past four months. Oh, and throw in most of the Republicans as well.

It's not all that hard, really. All you have to do is recognize and acknowledge the true goal of the political class. It's summed up in one word: POWER. You think they actually give a flying Krispy Kreme about you? What? I know you were born at night, but was it last night? They may care about your vote .. but that's it. It's power, my friends. Power and little else. Politicians will spout some lofty rhetoric about public service and wanting to leave this country a better place when they leave office; but, with few exceptions, that changes rather quickly. Once they get used to the privileges and the perks that go with their exalted positions their mindset changes. These people don't name research centers, bridges, parks, sports stadiums, university buildings, highways and office buildings after themselves because of their dedication to public service.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us in a situation where the people in power, the people who make the rules and decide how our economy is going to be fixed, are going to worry first about preserving and expanding their power and secondly (if they have time) about putting us back on a track to prosperity.

The basics: What does it take to get our economy moving again? Spending. If nobody is spending nobody needs to produce. You aren't going to gather the raw materials and personnel together to spend time and money creating a product or service unless you have some degree of confidence that there are people out there who either have or can borrow the money to buy it. Our economy is a constant day-by-day election process. The products and services put into the marketplace are the candidates. Consumers are the voters. Dollars are the ballots. If a candidate gets no votes, the candidate either reinvents himself or just simply goes away. The whole process slows down or grinds to a halt if the voters don't have ballots to cast.

Clearly, to stimulate our economy money had to be spent. That's basic. The question, then, was who gets to spend the money? If the American public gets to make the choices as to when and where the money is spent, that equates to power for the people. If, on the other hands, those decisions are made by the political class, it means no power to the people - the power goes to the elected elite. Now would someone please try to explain to me why these politicians, as completely immersed as they are in building their individual power bases, would ever want to turn over the power that goes with spending these huge sums of money to the great unwashed? How in the world is that going to benefit a politician? How do you generate a campaign ad for radio telling the voters that you deserve reelection because the private consumers in your district kept the local hardware store and a few clothing shops in business with their spending? Better you should be able to lay claim to a few road widenings and resurfacings and a new rehearsal hall for the local high school band.

Do you remember how much that stimulus bills was? Let's just call it $750 billion. For the sake of argument let's accept that this $750 billion had to be borrowed and spent to get our economy cranking again. Once you've accepted the $750 billion figure we're going to borrow, you then have to decide just who gets to spend that money and what they get to spend it on.

Here's an idea from Texas congressman Louis Gohmert (R 1st Dist.). Gohmert wanted a tax holiday. I've taken his idea and expanded it a bit. Last year Gohmert was floating an idea of allowing the American people to go one full month without paying any federal income or payroll taxes. The idea was that they would then spend this money and stimulate the economy. When Obama started talking about the $750 billion dollar stimulus price tag I did some quick calculations. It seems that $750 billion is almost exactly equal to the amount of federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from American paychecks over a six-month period.

Are you following me? How about not a one-month tax holiday, but six months? How about letting people keep almost their entire paychecks for one-half of a year?

So -- here are the two possible scenarios our politicians had to work with:

1. Borrow the $750 billion and let the politicians (the looters) decide how it is going to be spent to stimulate our economy.
    
2. Give the producers a six month period in which they owe no federal income or payroll taxes. For these six months they get to keep their checks. This puts $750 billion into the hands of American workers - American producers - to spend and invest.

Either way you are going to have to borrow $750 billion. If you give the people a six-month tax holiday the money will have to be borrowed to replace the lost revenue.

You see it, don't you? There is one huge difference between the two plans. Under the government spending scenario the politicians get to decide how the money is spent. In other words, they get the power. Remember ... power is the goal. It's everything to the political class. Politicians wanted to decide which road is built, which park is refurbished, and which research project gets additional funding. Every one of these decisions would be made based on the political capital it will generate.

Under the tax holiday plan the people, not the politicians, get to cast the ballots/dollars. Spending choices would not be made on the basis of political expediency, but on the free choices of the people. Businesses that delivered a good product and good customer service would get the votes, not politicians who delivered a pork project to their districts.

A dollar spent on a new lawnmower at the hardware store does not generate a single vote. A dollar spent on a new job mowing grass along an Interstate highway does.

So ... there was a decision to be made. Massive amounts of money were going to be borrowed and spent to stimulate our economy (or so the storyline went). But just who would get to spend the money?

Do you remember that famous Bill Clinton line? It was January of 1999. The place was Buffalo, New York. The federal government had actually collected more tax money that it needed. There was a surplus. Someone asked Clinton if, considering the surplus, there might be a tax cut. His response: "We could give it all back to you and hope you spend it right... But ... if you don't spend it right, here's what's going to happen." He then went on to describe the gloomy future of Social Security when more people are collecting benefits than paying taxes.

Sure .. it's your money. You worked for it; you earned it. That money actually represents the expenditure of a portion of your life ... and here's this politician telling you that even though he doesn't actually need that money right now, he's going to go ahead and keep it because if he returns it to its rightful owner - you - then you won't "spend it right." Now excuse me, but don't you get to decide what would be the right way and the wrong way to spend your money?

You know the rest of this story. The politicians in Washington decided that they would be doing the spending, not you. You just could not be trusted to spend it "right." So President Obama sent the word to Princess Pelosi to gather together all of the spending dreams and schemes of her Democrat members of congress and compile them into a massive spending bill. The bill would be pure pork and designed for nothing more than to secure reelections; but it would be called stimulus.

Now I could waste a few thousand words here describing all of the absurd ways this money is being spent. Vice President Biden actually told us that there would be waste. He was talking to business leaders in New York in early June when he said that waste would be inevitable in spending the stimulus money. Inevitable doesn't begin to cover it.

Certainly Sarah Palin didn't resign her seat as Alaska's governor to pursue a higher political office. Now she has the patina of a quitter and is no longer a viable candidate.

Joel Samuelson hits another one out of the park with his Independence Day cartoon:

• The House just passed a massive tax hike on virtually all of the American people, ostensibly to help fight global warming. In the meantime New York City just had its coolest June in 51 years. How can the American people be conned so successfully like this? Answer: Government schools.
   
• Do you think your friend might have cheated in the Peachtree Road Race? You can click here to check on them. If their name doesn't show up they didn't run the whole race ... and there they are wearing that t-shirt.
   
• Well, the Independence Day celebrations are over. You can go back to trying to be as completely dependent on government as possible.
   
• Will Obama and Chavez be successful in getting their buddy put back in power in Honduras?
   
• The NYT is reporting that shifting oil prices are jeopardizing global economic recovery. Nothing is hurting our recovery more than government's decision that it will get to spend all the stimulus money.
   
• New York City just had its coolest June in 51 years. This right after we passed a massive tax hike to fight global warming.
   
• Does it seem just a bit absurd to you to be celebrating freedom while the government tells you that you aren't allowed to have fireworks?

The Talkmaster, Neal Boortz has been nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame! And you can vote to help him win!  Voting takes only a couple of minutes.  Follow this link.  Register your email, wait for the confirmation and password and vote.  Ignore the other three categories if you wish, and just cast your vote for Boortz. 

Voting is open to everybody - so post an appeal to your Facebook friends and Tweet and re-Tweet.

Thanks in advance for supporting Neal!

I've already had Michael Jackson up to here. The drug addict died. Bury him and get it over with. Congressman Peter King unloads on this media circus.

Never underestimate the hunger the political class has for your money. All of these tourism taxes are starting to irritate the tourists.

Honduras is on the brink. Obama is helping push it over.

Teacher's unions rule. This enemy of education reform gets a promotion. When are we going to take the control of these schools back from the unions?

More on cap-and-trade. It will cost you a lot. It will return very little.

Our Washington correspondent Jamie Dupree is on top of the Cap & Trade bill. Check out his latest discoveries.

Crony capitalism comes to Washington. What is crony capitalism? Guess we'll have to read this to find out.

Now this one will take you all day. Fifty things wrong with Waxman/Markey. Each numbered item has its own link.

You know, if South Carolina governor Mark Sanford wants to keep his name in the spotlight, who are we to stand in the way?

I know, it's hard to admit that you were wrong, isn't it? I mean, after all, how in the world can you admit that voting for someone with absolutely no experience at all - a former ACORN street organizer - someone who gravitated to Marxist professors and communist student groups in college - someone with no record of significant accomplishment at any endeavor - and someone who ran for office on the basis of focus-group slogans - how can you ever admit that such a vote might have been a mistake?

Do you see our economy improving? Have you noticed the improving employment figures?

Are you impressed by the burgeoning national debt that your children are going to have to pay back?

Are you looking forward to seeing your health care rationed?

How about the nationalization of General Motors, Citigroup and others? That's why you put that bumper sticker on your car, isn't it? So Obama could use some of his immense business experience to run some of our major industries. You do know he will nationalize the banks soon, don't you? Is that the change you had in mind?

Don't you see how smart this "sort-of" God really is? He's raising taxes while other nations are lowering business and personal taxes to fight the economic downturn. You knew that he knew something that the other world leaders didn't know ... didn't you?

How about our shows of determination and strength to North Korea and Iran? Obama really has the Gargoyle and Shorty in a tizzy, doesn't he? And I'm sure you're very impressed by Obama's instantaneous backing of that wannabe dictator and Chavez acolyte from Honduras.

So ... still got that Obama bumper sticker on your car? It's one thing to have been so profoundly ignorant in the last election. It's quite another to advertise it.

Slobbering Barney Frank has been busy lately. Last week he proposed the idea of relaxing regulations on the sale of condos. This week he wants to use TARP money to put poor people into housing. See, banks participating in TARP have to pay dividends to the Treasury. So far those banks have paid $5 billion. So now Barney Frank comes along and says, "Hey, I know how we can spend all of this money!" Certainly not to stimulate the economy, Barney, and not to pay off some of the debt you're running up either.

So here's Barney's plan. He has introduced legislation that would use $1 billion of those dividends in order to give rental housing to the poor, poor pitiful poor and to urban outdoorsmen. Here's the plan ... the $1 billion would be put into something called a national housing trust fund. This fund has apparently already been created ... it was done when the government decided to takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So Barney has the fund .. but no funds. Now Barack Obama's 2010 budget calls for this fund to receive $1 billion, so Barney's plan is just a way to make that happen. That's just the beginning, folks. That's just "seed money." The goal would be to put $150 billion over the next decade into this housing trust for poor people. That's a "15" with a pant-load of zeroes behind it.

Stay tuned! That's not all ... another $1.5 billion of these TARP dividends will be allocated to state and local governments to help them redevelop abandoned and foreclosed properties.

It keeps going. Barney Frank also wants to use some of the TARP money itself, not just the dividends. He wants $2 billion in TARP dollars to go toward an emergency mortgage relief program. Then another $2 billion in TARP dollars would create a program to help people cope with foreclosures on multifamily properties. All of this would be run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

We're never going to pay any of this money back my friends, not while the Washington Barneys see ways to use it to buy votes.

So you want to know the truth about Barack Obama's healthcare plan? How about 118 million people switching their healthcare from the private sector to the "free" government option? Does that sound like it is going to provide much in the way of competition? No. But that's what the politicians keep claiming. Look no further than Great Britain to see what will happen when the government gets involved in healthcare. This is from the Washington Examiner.

This is precisely what happened in Britain. The state provides most health care, via the National Health Service. Patients have almost no say over which physician, surgeon or hospital they can use, while professionals have to conform to government plans and targets.

After its birth in 1948, planners soon found that "free" health care multiplied demand. NHS founder Lord Beveridge predicted free health care would cut spending as health improved.

The opposite was true. Between 1949 and 1979, it tripled in real terms. The service now costs twice as much as it did 10 years ago, with productivity down 4.5 percent.

One way government tries to limit demand is to decree which new drugs can be prescribed. Many drugs, widely available in America and continental Europe, are denied to British patients.

State mismanagement has also created waiting lines for hospitals, on average causing 8.6 weeks of waiting. Once inside, budgetary cutbacks on cleaning and maintenance mean higher rates of an antibiotic-resistant variety of staph infection. This "superbug" has turned even routine surgery into a lottery of death.

Not enough for you? Continue reading. You can hear about the wonders of government regulation in France. The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama's healthcare reforms are just the beginning. Like France, it will be a slow decline into a system of government controls, regulation and bureaucracy. A system that is not about your healthcare but about power.

By the way ... if you want the government to take over responsibility for your health care you have no business waving little American flags this Saturday.

I hope that you got the chance to see the exchange yesterday at White House press briefing. Robert Gibbs starts to get really flustered when a CBS reporter continues to hound him over the fact that Obama town hall events are completely staged. There are no "random" questions from the audience. Everything is pre-selected, every question is screened, etc. So this reporter calls him out on it, and then Helen Thomas gets involved. She says that she has never seen this level of control in the White House before. And if anyone should know, Helen Thomas would.

I just LOVE that woman!

Jamie Dupree is actually reading the Cap & Trade bill. You won't believe what he has found hiding in there.

Would you like to know why Wal-Mart got in bed with the unions on the government health care issue? No mystery. Read this.

The United States - and that means you - will suffer so Democrats can claim to have saved the planet.

The SEC is debating proposed rules that would require firms that have received government bailouts to let shareholders vote on executive pay.

What else is in the fine print of this 300 page amendment to the cap-and-trade bill? How about an entire section of the bill that is missing .. only referred to as "reserved."

Will PrezBO try to bury his government take-over of health care in a budget reconciliation bill? Won't work, says Kondracke.

One good side to the recession? The fall of the workplace jerk. Well, I dunno. I still have a job.

You'll appreciate this ... take a look at the different ways that the lamestream media covers Barack Obama's golf trips compared to George Bush's.

Speaking of lamestream media, here's the latest headline from Detail's magazine: "Can Obama Make You Better In Bed?"

Here's an excellent column from the vice president of the Cato Institute about Barack Obama's love of government.

Why do Democrats continue to insist that a government option for healthcare will "keep the private sector honest"?

A failing Hawaiian bank gets $135 million in bailout funds, only after Senator Inouye's office makes a call to the bank regulator. Oh by the way, Senator Inouye helped establish the bank and has most of his life savings invested in it.

The Obama administration is doing anything it can to shave off money from this healthcare proposal so that it will fall below the $1 trillion mark.

Obama choose Arne Duncan as his Secretary of Education, who used to be Chief of Chicago government schools. Take a look at how those schools are thriving. Or not.

The unions are upset that Citigroup has decided to increase rates on its credit cards "during a time when record unemployment and home foreclosures are forcing families to rely more and more on their credit cards just to get by."

This idea continues to resurface ... the idea of a fuel tax being replaced by-the-mile road tax.

The government taxpayers will not continue to fund GM operations if the company doesn't get approval to sell its assets to a new company within the next 10 days.

Our favorite moonbat, Cynthia McKinney, was on a boat headed to Gaza when it was taken control by the Israeli navy. Needless to say, she wasn't too happy about it.

Make of this what you will, but more Americans now see the Democrat party as "too liberal."

If California has to close state parks because of budget cuts, the federal government is likely to seize some of them.

Which state has the most blubberbutts? I'll give you a hint ... it has won this title five years in a row.

So funny-guy Al Franken has officially been declared the winner of the Minnesota Senate race. Eight months later. Why is this a big deal? Well, the Democrats finally get their coveted 60-seat filibuster proof majority. Just in time for them to pass global warming and healthcare legislation.

By the way ... two points.

First ... I know Al Franken. He is quite possibly one of the biggest world-class jerks I have ever encountered in my life. A true void surrounded by a sphincter muscle. The people of Minnesota are in for a real treat on this one. Even Cynthia McKinney doesn't come close. She's actually charming.

Second ... The election was stolen by going to counties where Franken was strong and creating extra votes from absentee and rejected ballots. How can you have confidence in an election where the rules on how to count the votes change from district to district.

You can't.

... your views are not welcome. That is the way that the global warming crowd likes to play the game: simply do not invite "deniers" to the ballpark.

That leads me to this story. Next December the UN is going to have a major climate change conference in Copenhagen. So leading up to the event, a host of smaller events are going to take place around the world. One of those events is a meeting of the Polar Bear Specialist Group. The purpose? To scare the tar out of the world into believing that the polar bears are dying off at alarming rates due to man-made global warming. We know this to be entirely untrue ... but that is beside the point for the purposes of this UN meeting.

So naturally, if you are a scientist who does not believe in man-made global warming, you are not going to be invited to this little polar bear conference ... even if you are a world-renown specialist on polar bears. That leads me to Dr. Mitchell Taylor. He has been researching polar bears in Canada and the Arctic Circle for 30 years. But there's one problem, Dr. Taylor insists that polar bear populations are actually higher than they were 30 years ago. He also does not buy into this man-made global warming scam.

So Dr. Taylor has obtained funding to attend the Polar Bear Specialist Group meeting. Then his funding was taken away by members of the group because his views on global warming don't fit into the rest grand global warming scheme.

The chairman, Dr. Andy Derocher, explained in an email that his rejection had nothing to do with his undoubted expertise on polar bears but "it was the position you've taken on global warming that brought opposition." Dr. Taylor was also told that his views running "counter to human-induced climate change are extremely unhelpful." Unhelpful? Yeah .. unhelpful to those who seek to destroy free markets with global warming scares. Are we going to wake up to this nonsense before its too late?

On a similar note, Alan Carlin - the EPA scientist whose study critical of global warming was silenced - has finally spoken up.

Just the other day we had a story about how the government in Great Britain was going to start paying cancer patients to seek treatment in the private sector. Now we have this story out of Canada where private for-profit (the horror!) clinics are becoming a booming business. While Barack Obama seeks to implement a universal healthcare system like Canada, the Canadians are trying to emulate a system closer to the United States.

This article says, "Facing long waits and substandard care, private clinics are proving that Canadians are willing to pay for treatment." Yep, that's the future of the United States. In fact, under the Canada Health Act, private facilities are not allowed to charge citizens for services that are covered by government insurance. That was until 2005, when a Supreme Court ruling in Quebec ruled that patients facing unreasonable wait times could pay out of pocket for private treatment.

Now you are going to love this. Here is the explanation from the Ontario Health Coalition as to why private clinics are bad for Canadians: "Private clinics don't produce one new doctor, nurse, or specialist. All they do it take the existing ones out of the public system, make wait times longer for everybody else while people who can pay more and more and more money jump the queue for health care services."

This, my friends, is why the left is eventually going to have to forbid you from seeking your own doctor with your own funds. That was Hillary's plan .. it will soon be Obama's.

"Our penchant for rugged individualism and laissez-faire survival of the fittest seduces us into believing that every person is entitled to every benefit society has to offer and that no individual should pay a price for the greater good of the society as a whole."

Any guesses as to who would be so distraught over the idea of individualism? I'll give you a hint ... he's a race pimp.

Enjoy!

We'll have to jump across the pond for this one ... a father has been warned by his housing association (that would be the government) that his daughter's trampoline posed as a safety risk and must be kept inside. The 3ft wide trampoline sat in the shared garden of this housing tenant. The father says he was told to remove the trampoline "in case burglars used it to jump though his neighbor's windows."

Now a spokesman for the housing association denies that the risk of burglary was a factor. After receiving a complaint from a neighbor, the association claims it was concerned that other children would use the trampoline unattended and hurt themselves.

Both excuses are lame. Nanny state government at its best.

More from The Wall Street Journal on the Honduran situation. You need to keep up with this ... the Obama crowd isn't going to give you the straight story.

National Review has some interesting info on the Honduran story as well.

Yet another European country lowering income taxes in order to spur economic growth. This time it is Germany. We're becoming more European .. Europe is becoming more American.

Here's how Senator Jerk stole the election in Minnesota.

Barack Obama wants National Guard volunteers to patrol the Mexican border. What? With water bottles and maps?

Guess who is going to be overseeing the political reconciliation process in Iraq? That would be Joe Biden.

The Obama Justice Department has determined that detainees tried by military commissions in the U.S. can claim at least some constitutional rights.

Wal-Mart says that it supports employer healthcare mandates. It sent a letter to Congress announcing its support, co-signed by labor leader and close Obama friend Andy Stern.

At least five states have considered proposals to take pre-emptive action against the pending federal mandates for healthcare.

Did you know that our government bailout plan for banks includes money for a British rum company?

A federal judge in California has issued an injunction to stop the state of California from reducing wages of home healthcare workers.

Here's a question to consider ... are we setting ourselves up for a jobless recovery? You can thank government for that one.

The ACLU is upset that our government continues to practice racial profiling of minorities. For the most part the ACLU couldn't tell its you-know-what from a hole in the ground.

Here's what ACORN has been up to lately ... protesting for mortgage companies to help homeowners --- homeowners who don't pay their mortgages.

Michael Jackson fans are now committing suicide because they are so heartbroken over his death. Somehow this doesn't strike me as a bad thing.

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are duking it out over who gets to have the spotlight at Michael Jackson's funeral. Nothing like a good race pimp fight. No hair pulling guys.

You knew these articles were coming ... complaints about the lack of fireworks shows on the Fourth of July because of the economy.