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Monday, November 16, 2009

"Forget Jobs Summit. Turn On California's Water."

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 9:57 AM

My Washington Examiner column focuses on all the real jobs President Obama could save or recreate by ordering the resumption of year-round water deliveries stopped by his Department of the Interior.

The Obama Administration is actively killing jobs across the United States. I am familiar with job losses resulting because of the operation of the Endangered Species Act, the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act and the FDA's assault on commercial speech because I or one of my law partners practice in those areas, but the regulatory zeal of the Obama appointees is operating to strangle businesses across the land. If you know of other job-killing policies of the president and his team, send me a link or an explanation via hugh@hughhewitt.com. Together we can help suggest an agenda for the jobs summit.

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Monday, November 16, 2009

In A Sane World, This Report Would Kill Obamacare

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 12:34 AM

The chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services --a non-partisan oversight agency of the federal government-- has analyzed the Obamacare bill passed by the House. The Hill links to the full report and you should wade through it.

Key takeaways from the auditor's report:

*After 10 years under the new regime, 23 million Americans would still be without insurance;

*The bill cuts $570 billion from Medicare; and

*The bill does not stop the exploding cost of health care.

In a nutshell, Obamacare uses massive new tax hikes and massive cuts to Medicare to give health benefits to some of the currently uninsured, but does nothing to contain health costs. The Democrats spin on this devastating report cannot conceal that Obamacare fails every test of genuine "reform." It is being pushed solely for political reasons, primarily to expand the size and reach of government and with it the public sector employee unions that power so much of the Democratic Party machinery.

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Fresno and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 9:48 PM

Yesterday's broadcast from Fresno was wrenching. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and thousands of farmers are in deep financial distress because of absurd interpretations of a 1971 law, the Endangered Species Act, that was never intended to cause such havoc. Cowardice combines with fanaticism to result in unbelievable waste and unnecessary suffering --the cowardice of officials who could order the water turned back on but fear to do so because of the fanatical zealotry of the environmental lobby that is simply indifferent to the suffering they are applauding.

When I got back to the hotel and began to watch the coverage of another astonishing bit of governmental stupidity --recall Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has wanted to enter a guilty plea for the mass murder of 9/11-- the juxtaposition of the government refusing to lift a finger to help tens of thousands of its citizens while simultaneously adopting extreme interpretations of law to justify a New York City trial for the terrorists left me with the through-the-looking-glass sense of concern that the damage being done by the ideologues who have taken control of the federal government may be far worse than anyone had imagined just a year ago.

Bill Kristol suspects that the decision to give KSM and his co-killers a giant stage on which to rant will result in even more political damage for Democrats. He's right, of course, because Americans of all but the far left side of the Democratic Party know the difference between enemies in war and common criminals, just as they know that it is terribly unjust to destroy the agricultural communities of the Central Valley in the name of the Delta smelt and just as they know that Obamacare is one vast disaster that shouldn't be on the table for discussion much less close to passing and that the president's "economic policy" doesn't deserve the title "policy."

All of this is adding up to a giant electoral shudder in 51 weeks. We just have to hope that the damage the left can do in the next year can be contained.

I have opened a thread at the Hughniverse for comments on the man-made drought in the Central Valley, and if you missed yesterday's show on the smelt and its impact on California farm workers and agriculture, you can listen to it there. Many people from around the country who had not heard of the story e-mailed me to express their disbelief, but it isn't a hoax and the hardships are all too real. Yesterday a federal judge ruled that the federal government had violated NEPA when it implemented the water cut-off. A hearing on remedies is set for November 24. Say a prayer that the judge acts to end the wholly avoidable-but-unfolding creation of a new Dust Bowl. (And consider a donation to the Pacific Legal Foundation which is leading the fight to turn the water back on.)

My thanks to Len Frank, George Kimball, the team at KYNO 1300, John Harris of Harris Ranch and Pastor Jim Franklin of Cornerstone Church for helping Duane and me to get Friday's show organized, and to all the guests who contributed their stories to the broadcast.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

"We Knew We Were Going To Put Obama In"

Posted by: Jude at 2:30 PM

Media-culture warrior Andrew Breitbart continues to amaze with his willingness to get in the middle of a story. Read about his experience yesterday crashing an ACORN "protest" on the west side of Los Angeles. While they chanted schoolyard taunts and marxist lyrics to drown him out, Andrew tried to engage them by asking, “What do you think about Dale Rathke embezzling millions from your organization?” “How much are you getting paid?” “Are you aware that ACORN has been caught paying less than the minimum wage for protesters fighting for a minimum wage increase?” He was not made to feel comfortable or particularly safe.

Yesterday, came the news that "Dollar" Bill Jefferson has been convicted of soliciting bribes, money laundering, racketeering and more. "(T)he most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress," according to the lead prosecutor, garnered the stiffest sentence yet for a Congressman, 13 years. Of course, Rep. Jefferson (D-LA) is also notable as one of the all-time most evasive answers of the 'name-that-party' game citizens often have to play when a Democrat is involved in corruption. His arrest was inconvenient for a party denouncing the Republicans as having a 'culture of corruption' during an election cycle. So was his conviction, and now his sentencing provides a few more opportunities to search for the answer to the historical question: 'Was Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson an Independent or something?'

No, he's a Democrat. That's right, Virginia (and Pennsylvania, and Illinois, and OH, and AL, etc...)Democrats can be corrupt - technically, the most corrupt, judging by Jefferson's sentence... (although you'll have to scroll to the 7th paragraph in the linked article to find the D-word).

I saw Karl Rove speak this year, and he stressed the importance of the GOP shedding its image of corruption by rooting it out where it actually existed. He was right, of course. Whining never helped a Republican get a fair shake from the press, which holds one party to a higher standard because of what Mr. Breitbart likes to call the Democrat-Media Complex. Still, one wonders what it will take for the public to see that the party of our President is as dirty and corrupt as, oh, ACORN. Michelle Malkin could write a book about it... oh wait, she already did.

What's the point of the post? A non-profit has been exposed as the king nut of corruption, and still the MSM won't dig any deeper. Breitbart, a couple of kids and a few bloggers are doing all the work on what should be a pulitzer-worthy, coveted investigation. Heck, there are even whistle-blowers looking for an honest reporter in the MSM. Now, listen to the audio of a California ~~ACORN~~ - you know what, I'm sick of capitalizing their whole acronym. For now let's just call them "Ack!", since that's the reaction any thinking citizen should have to the audio tape of this California "organizer" telling us what we already know all those tax dollars and donations go toward. Here's the tape from Thursday afternoon. Check out this quote: "We never declared because we have to be non-partisan - our national organization - but, it was sort of like under the grapevine that we were going to put Obama in."

And they'll do it again, if they're not fully exposed.

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Friday, November 13, 2009

On Fresno and Fred Astaire

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 1:06 AM

I will broadcast Friday from Fresno and devote the show to the judge-ordered drought in California's Central Valley. More than 40,000 people have lost their jobs because of water delivery restrictions imposed by a federal judge's interpretation of the federal Endangered Species Act. I'll be joined by key leaders in the region and lawyers from the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is fighting for the farmers, as we explore the absurd and devastating consequences of this law. I have practiced ESA law for twenty years, and have often seen the law impose enormous hardships on individuals, companies, and communities, but have never seen anything like this, but the Obama Administration and Congress refuse to act to end the misapplication of the law.

My conversation on Thursday with Mark Steyn began with a reference to Joseph Epstein's wonderful book about Fred Astaire. The transcript of our conversation is here, and you can order Epstein's essay on the grace and style of Astaire here:

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

"The Senate's Big Cloture Vote" The senate Switchboard Is 202-224-3121.

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 11:42 AM

My new Townhall.com column focuses on next week's big vote in the Senate and the ability of any one of Indiana's Evan Bayh, Colorado's Michael Bennet, North Dakota's Byron Dorgan, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, Connecticut's Joe Lieberman, Arkansas' Blanche Lincoln, or Nebraska's Ben Nelson to just say no to Obamacare and block the the bill.

Together they could be the Gang of Seven that saves American medicine and the American economy from deficits so large as to crush the dollar. Call each of them at 202-224-3121 and urge a no vote on all motions to begin debate.

And stop by TalkPac.com and contribute to the fund that will be used to defeat 2010's most vulnerable Democrats who support cloture.

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

TalkPac.com Raising Money To Defeat Democrats Supporting Cloture On Obamacare

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:12 AM

TalkPac.com gets it.

Still waiting on the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

With the Senate's first key vote looming on Obamacare next week, the GOP should be busy sending a message to Senate Democrats facing election in 2010 --Indiana's Bayh, Colorado's Bennet, North Dakota's Dorgan, and Arkansas' Lincoln to name four-- that the vote next week on opening debate will mark them as a supporter of Obamacare for the entire cycle. Subsequent votes won't camouflage their support.

And the best way to send that message is by asking opponents of Obamacare to signal the depth of their opposition with a contribution. Nothing speaks louder than money, and the sound of contributions flowing into the campaign to unseat them will be heard loud and clear as the first vote approaches.

Be sure to call the offices of these four senators via the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121 and urge a "no" vote on the motion to begin debate.

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Harry Reid In The Spotlight

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:08 AM

Sue Lowden pounds away at Harry Reid.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day 2009, and the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 8:56 AM

Thanks to all veterans, active duty and retired.

The annual Veterans Day show will feature wounded Marines (and a soldier and a sailor) who are in the courses of their recoveries. Each year the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund facilitates this show, and each year I receive a great deal of e-mail about the inspiration these wounded warriors provide.

The Semper Fi Fund operates with almost no overhead, does no advertising, and doesn't engage in direct mail or other solicitations of any kind. They rely on volunteers to assist the wounded and their families and to raise funds for the effort. Please consider a gift to this extraordinary organization and the extraordinary men and women it supports.

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

As The World Burns

Posted by: Jude at 7:00 AM

On every Veterans Day I wonder how our living veterans feel about the state of world affairs and our place in them. The Commander-In-Chief of our armed forces seems to have spent the past months in a kind of war college, cram course on Afghanistan and military tactics. Let's call it the University of Dithering. If, after all these Hamletonian pretensions, Obama ends up essentially following what Generals McChrystal and Petraeus have been recommending all along, will it only be because he, personally, has checked all their homework? What does that say about his regard for our military, and what do veterans think about what they see? One Marine wife thinks Obama just doesn't "get" the very military he commands.

Beyond Afghanistan, Obama will have to soon address or ignore the crisis posed by a nuclear Iran and an Israel preparing to defend itself. Here's hoping that whatever master-class sessions POTUS takes on Iran and Israel include both professors Victor Davis Hanson and Robert Baer. He could start by watching this short clip from Peter Robinson's "Uncommon Knowledge". Scott Johnson already posted this at Powerline, and as I said to him, the parts where VDH and Baer agree are unsettling, to say the least. The video is here, and extended segments can be found at the Hoover Institute online, or archived at NRO.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Attacking the Catholic Church

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 7:18 PM

So what do President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid think about Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's idea of stripping the tax exempt status from Catholic bishops with opinions on abortion contrary to those of the Democratic Party?

Politico has an enormous scoop here as the Democrats declare war on the Catholics. It should be gathering reactions from every corner of the Democratic Party, but especially such high profile pro-life Democrats as PA Senator Bob Casey and DNC Chair Tim Kaine.

And a quote from Bishop Thomas Tobin who penned the impressive open letter to Congressman Kennedy would be interesting, as would Congressman Kennedy's reaction to the Woolsey demand and the bishop's letter.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A Different Review of the President's Euology

Posted by: Jude at 7:01 PM

Andy McCarthy did not hear what he wanted from President Obama.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Mayor Daley Blames Guns, Not "Groups"

Posted by: Jude at 6:04 PM

The Fort Hood massacre/terrorist attack is best seen through the looking glass of what has become our crippling adherence to political correctness, rather than the prism of a 2nd Amendment debate. Still, when Chicago's second most powerful citizen makes a stretch so purposefully off-target, it's hard not to point out. As they say over at Big Government, they blame guns because guns don't vote:

"With no pogrom backlash after 9/11, no pogrom backlash after Bali, no pogrom backlash after Madrid, no pogrom backlash after London, no pogrom backlash after Mumbai, no backlash after countless other Jihad attacks, why would there be any reason to believe the reaction would be any different in this case? As we have written before, the West has already passed this particular civility test."

I understand that those more familiar with military procedure have explained the absence of guns at the particular location of the shooting on base, but every time we see a massacre in a "gun-free zone", I think it's at least worth a look at why that zone exists, and then making sure it's worth the cost going forward. Last week, Stephanie Gutmann, author of The Kinder, Gentler Military: How Political Correctness Affects Our Ability To Win Wars , pointed her finger at the cost of taboo, recalling the Cole (via the Corner):

"When asked if ordinary soldiers nearby had been carrying their service weapons, Fort Hood spokesman Lt. Gen Robert Cone said piously, "We do not carry weapons. This is our home." Defense is out-sourced to military police, or even — oh the indignity! — to civilian policemen.
"This is not the first time American soldiers have been victims of politically correct policies. In 2000, Navy brass were so concerned about appearing to be "sensitive guests" in Yemen's Port of Aden, that sailors patrolling the deck of the U.S.S. Cole were not allowed to carry loaded weapons. The ship did not deploy "picket boats" and establish a perimeter. In other words, the destroyer was totally unprotected when a small motorized skiff packed with explosives steered by two men, now believed to have been al-Qaeda, plowed into it's hull, killing 17."
Even two hours after the attack, as the wounded ship listed in the harbor, sentries spotted yet another small skiff motoring deliberately toward the them. One of them raised his rifle and aimed, not to shoot them — he couldn't have — but in the spirit (as he told Navy Times) of "Nobody's getting near this ship." Almost immediately, his superior told him, "Let me tell you something about the rules of engagement. You can't point a loaded weapon at these people. That's an act of aggression."

"The U.S. military would like to pretend it's not about defense and aggression, and it's sacrificed many young men and women to maintain this fiction. How many more victims of political correctness can we afford?"

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

"Dear Congressman Kennedy"

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:36 AM

Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence writes an open letter to Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The NRCC Is Blowing It

Posted by: Hugh Hewitt at 10:17 AM

The Washington Examiner's lead editorial today calls on the National Republican Congressional Committee to get going with a campaign to target the 16 Democrats who voted for Obamacare on Saturday night who hail from Congressional districts that voted for McCain in 2008.

Yesterday I wrote that the NRCC should target the most vulnerable 20 Democrats, which would include four whose districts barely went for Obama. I like the math of asking opponents of Obamacare for $1 a race equalling $20, or $10 a race equalling a $200 contribution etc., but these are details.

What both appeals are seeking is some action by the NRCC that pivots off of the specific votes cast Saturday night --some indication that the Committee gets it, understands that the country is ready to send an enormous and very focused message that it will defeat the people who push Obamacare forward. Ordinary citizens are willing to travel all the way to DC to stop Obamacare and they will give generously to funds specifically dedicated to the defeat of House members who voted yes on Saturday night and to funds that will target vulnerable Democratic senators who vote yes on cloture. They don't want to give to "business-as-usual" incumbent protection committees or to committees that will meddle in primaries. Collect the money know and give it to GOP nominees when they are selected next year. All that is needed is a website that makes those simple promises.

The NRCC's website doesn't even have a discussion up of the Saturday night vote! Chairman Pete Sessions is a great conservative, but he's got to give his staff and consultants a big kick in the rear to wake them up.

The Washington Post details, by the way, how the left is busy sending thank yous to the most endangered Democrats and threats to those democrats who voted no. This is just the latest in a long line of examples of the DC GOP getting lapped in the first minute of a race.