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Review Just say I dont to Bride Wars
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Meltdown 101 The importance of same-store sales
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Broadcasts to mobile devices to start in 22 cities
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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New TV trends Internet movies, 3-D, power saving
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN halts Gaza aid, truce resolution deal approved
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN Security Council calls for Gaza cease-fire
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN Security Council calls for immediate Gaza truce
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN calls for immediate cease-fire in Gaza
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Pope Benedict jokes about hoarse voice
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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THE SCHIP FUNDING FRAUD EXPOSED.
November 4, 2007 -
November 7, 2007
Last week the SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program) $35 billion expansion legislation passed again in both houses of Congress. President Bush has again vowed to veto the bill, and it received fewer votes than needed for an override of that veto in both the Senate and the House.
Despite claims that the bill had been “revised” in response to concerns expressed by opponents it still provides health insurance coverage for millions of adults under the guise of a “children’s” health insurance program, still provides loopholes for access to taxpayer paid insurance coverage by illegal aliens, and still allows families with incomes up to $80,000 to be defined as “poor.” In fact, although proponents say these issues have all been addressed, the “new and improved” legislation will cost half a billion dollars more than one previously vetoed by President Bush.
The problem with the SCHIP expansion plan is not just the fatally flawed policy implications of covering well-off adults from foreign countries under the guise of helping “the children.” The bigger issue is the outrageously deceptive funding mechanism that seems to escape the scrutiny, or understanding, of so many of our elected officials.
The SCHIP expansion is supposedly funded with dramatic increases in taxes on cigarettes and cigars. But the plan relies upon ten years of revenue from these sources to fund just five years of the program. In other words, the plan is to collect money for ten years, but go ahead and spend it all in five. In most states, writing a check without sufficient funds but with the hope of making a deposit to cover it the next week is illegal. In Congress it is apparently “business as usual.”
The dollars involved in this Congressional check kiting scheme are huge. In 2012 the country will be faced with the choice of eliminating millions of kids from SCHIP coverage or coming up with another $59 billion to keep the program afloat. This is a ticking tax time bomb, and it is certainly not “pay as you go,” yet many so-called fiscal conservatives are silently playing along with the scam.
The revenue estimates for covering the bogus Congressional checks may also be a bit short. Proponents claim that increasing the tobacco taxes will have the side benefit of putting the cost of cigarettes out of reach for many teenagers and thereby reduce teen smoking. Really? Won’t that also reduce the amount of taxes collected and cause a shortfall?
The Heritage Foundation calculates that 22 million new smokers will have to light up over the next ten years in order to meet the revenue estimates. There is something fundamentally irresponsible about financing a health plan on the hope that more people will engage in destructive, unhealthy behavior. It does create the potential of a whole new ad campaign for the cigarette companies: “Hack away with a pack a day…it’s for the children!” Do we really want to encourage more people to enjoy the deadly health effects of smoking in order to pay for health insurance for well-heeled, adult illegals?
The SCHIP funding plan is a ponzi scheme crafted by those who put a higher priority on their political careers and the expansion of government programs than on the well-being of the American taxpayer. The only difference in this funding fraud and the Nigerian e-mail schemes that promise payments from money held in foreign countries is that smart people generally don’t fall for those spam scams. Unfortunately, a majority of those in both the House and Senate are happy to invest in just such a fraudulent scheme with taxpayer money.
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WILL FRED POUNCE ON HILLARY'S ILLEGAL ALIEN MISSTEP? -
October 31, 2007 -
November 4, 2007
As Hillary Clinton continues to stretch her lead in national polls among likely Democratic Party primary voters it is becoming increasingly clear that the nomination is hers to lose – unless she makes a major mistake. In the most recent debate she may have done just that on an issue that resonates strongly with the voters: illegal immigration.
When asked about her position on a controversial proposal by New York Governor and fellow Democrat Elliot Spitzer to grant drivers’ licenses to... |
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CLEARING THE AIR ON SCHIP? -
October 20, 2007 -
October 27, 2007
Last week the U.S. House failed to override President Bush’s veto of legislation that would have reauthorized and expanded health insurance coverage under the SCHIP program by $35 billion over the next five years. The Senate had the votes to override the veto, but the Senate leadership opted to wait for the House to act before scheduling their own vote on the matter. Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both voted for the legislation and would have voted to overturn the President’s... |
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THOMPSON STEPS UP FOR FIRST DEBATE. -
October 7, 2007 -
October 14, 2007
In the roughly four weeks since Fred Thompson made his campaign for the Republican nomination for President official there have already been a lot of significant moments. His first visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, his first quarterly fundraising report, several major media interviews have all been among the big steps that Thompson has taken. None, however, is bigger than a Tuesday night date in Detroit, Michigan with his fellow Republican candidates for his first major debate.
The othe... |
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CHEAP LABOR IS PROVING TO BE VERY COSTLY. -
October 1, 2007 -
October 7, 2007
Those who favor continuing to allow illegal aliens to flood into the U.S. regularly tout our supposed need for “cheap labor” as the primary justification for ignoring our immigration laws. Unfortunately, for U.S. taxpayers this “cheap labor” is proving to be incredibly expensive.
Earlier this year, Robert Rector and his colleagues at the Heritage Foundation sought to quantify the burden that is being imposed on American taxpayers by the 12 to 17 million illegals that currently reside in... |
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DOBSON'S CHOICE -
September 21, 2007 -
September 28, 2007
For the second time in six months Focus on the Family Founder James Dobson has launched an ambush-style attack on Fred Thompson – before ducking for cover behind his “spokesmen.”
In late March Dobson told a senior editor at U.S. News & World Report that he did not believe Thompson, who was then beginning to consider a race for the Republican nomination for President, to be a “Christian.” When the quote was published Dobson claimed, through a spokesman, that he meant that he didn’t thin... |
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