I watched only a few moments last night, and listened for a few more. It concerns me the president referenced Reagan and Bush 41 regulations and interpretations of laws* passed in Congress in comparison to his Executive Order that will completely ignore current law. But that’s not all conservatives are rightfully bitching about.
The American people have to start somewhere. I’ve said over-and-0ver until I’m blue in the face; the DISEASE is the size and scope of the federal government and the unhealthy dependency states and local governments have when it comes to getting cash from said federal government. Some in Mississippi get it, but others like self-proclaimed liberal political science professor Marty Wiseman are totally confused.
An important update to yesterday’s post on the Lois Lerner email situation. The full letter sent to the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Finance who requested documents and emails from the IRS concerning the application process for tax exempt organizations is now available. PLEASE read this post and share it with everyone … we need to take this as it is – another anecdote on how bad big government is – and move on.
It would not be illegal for Lisa Wilson-Foley to hire John Rowland, Connecticut’s former Republican governor, as a paid campaign advisor. Wilson-Foley was running as a Republican for Congress in Connecticut’s 5th district two years ago when Rowland approached Wilson-Foley – and another campaign – with a scheme to hide the fact Rowland was a paid political consultant. Was it all about perception for the campaign, and cash for Rowland?
Legal nepotism. This is another perfect story to fit in with my Symptom of the Disease series. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wanted to thank supporters during the holidays by using campaign funds to buy them gifts. Does he go off to Kohls to buy a few inexpensive fleece blankets? Nope, he asked his artist granddaughter – in both 2012 and 2013 – to produce the gifts totaling $31,000.
This is the kind of stuff that always comes up when the federal government steps in to provide funding to a local area with a bail out. New Jersey and Gov. Chris Christie is being investigated concerning how they spent federal dollars for a marketing campaign to promote the state and its shoreline.
Although the city of Bristol, Conn. will need to use $85,000 of “its own money” towards the purchase of a new generator for the police department and courts complex, FEMA – the federal government – will provide them with a $255,000 grant to cover the rest of the purchase and installation.
Symptom of the disease folks. The federal government has gotten so large they are now sending multi-page letters to owners of registered rabbits used during magic shows demanding they provide a detailed disaster plan that would let the government know how the owner is going to help get the rabbit through the disaster.
I’ve been fighting – what seems to be an ever-long battle – to limit the scope of the federal government to Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution. The state and commonwealth governments have the power – as determined by their state legislatures – to provide funding and support for all sorts of programs if the people want it. The problem with the federal government having this power is they are so far removed from the people, this kind of crap happens all the time.
Public service once meant something quite a bit different than it does today. Sure, the benefits have been very good to great for government employees for decades, but the reports we hear from agencies like the GSA and IRS sound like parties from the Internet tech boom of the 1990s.