The House today passed the Republican 2013 budget, 228-191.

The House today passed the Republican 2013 budget, 228-191.

Ten Republicans voted no. All Democrats voted no.

Though this budget might not be perfect, at least it makes an effort to face the budget situation. Note also that the Democrats have now rejected their own President’s budget as well as the Republican budget. In addition, the Democratic leadership in the Democratically-controlled Senate has already said they won’t pass a budget this year, the fourth year in a row.

The country is sinking in debt caused by the federal government. It behooves these elected officials to deal with it. That the Democrats won’t tells us much about their lack of qualifications for office.

“a train wreck for the Obama administration.”

“A train wreck for the Obama administration.”

Trying to determine what the Supreme Court will rule on any issue by analyzing the questions they ask beforehand has generally been a poor predictor of their final decision. Sadly, we really won’t know what the Supreme Court will do until they do it.

Moreover, from my perspective it would be far better for Congress to repeal the law rather than have the court rule it unconstitutional. In the former it will be done by legislative action, backed by the voters. In the latter it would be the decision of nine unelected individuals, essentially expressing their personal opinions. In a true democracy the former is definitely preferred.

Pick a destination already!

A report issued today illustrates once again to me that those running our space program in both Congress and the Obama administration have a profound lack of common sense or basic intelligence:

The NASA Advisory Council (NAC) – a body that provides the NASA Administrator with counsel and advice on programs and issues of importance to the Agency – has insisted a human exploration plan, or at least a destination, should be selected as soon as possible.

This request specifically applies to the Space Launch System (SLS), the heavy-lift rocket mandated by Congress that will use the Orion capsule. SLS is also the same rocket system that is costing the taxpayers $3 billion per year, and is expected to cost between $18 to $60 billion total by the time it flies its first operational mission in about nine years. The advisory council also noted that

While the vehicle hardware development is now moving forward at full speed, specific destinations – or a roadmap – is still lacking from NASA’s exploration plan.

It took nine different committees plus a central committee formed from the original nine committees to come to this Earth-shattering conclusion.

To put it in plain English, Congress and the Obama administration have committed billions of taxpayer dollars to the construction of a rocket and manned capsule without ever putting much thought into the specific mission they want to send that rocket and capsule on.
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The four best legal arguments against Obamacare.

The four best legal arguments against Obamacare.

The fourth is probably the most devastating to Obamacare. No contract can be enforced if you are forced to sign it.

American contract law rests on the principle of mutual assent. If I hold a gun to your head and force you to sign a contract, no court of law will honor that document since I coerced you into signing it. Mutual assent must be present in order for a contract to be valid and binding.

Once again, we are skirting around that forgotten word called freedom. Obamacare has nothing to do with freedom. It requires participation, something that is fundamentally hostile to this country’s culture and law.

Now we know: Jon Corzine gave “direct instructions” to illegally transfer customer funds to pay off MF Global’s debt.

Now we know: Jon Corzine gave “direct instructions” to illegally transfer customer funds to pay off MF Global’s debt.

In a different world behavior like this was called embezzlement. But Corzine is a Democrat and the go-to guy on economic matters for the Obama administration, which is why he still remains free with no criminal charges against him. Moreover, because he is so closely tied to the Obama administration we all know that any accusations or evidence against him must be racist.

The reckoning

The reckoning.

Today, it’s the Catholic Church whose free-exercise powers are under assault from this cascade of diktats sanctioned by — indeed required by — Obamacare. Tomorrow it will be the turn of other institutions of civil society that dare stand between unfettered state and atomized citizen.

Rarely has one law so exemplified the worst of the Leviathan state — grotesque cost, questionable constitutionality and arbitrary bureaucratic coerciveness. Little wonder the president barely mentioned it in his latest State of the Union address. He wants to be reelected. He’d rather talk about other things.

Remember, the power of the state is not always wielded by those you agree with. From the right or the left, fear that power, because it will come after you both when it finally has the ability to do so.

A business in Missouri has become the first secular and private company to bring a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.

Bring it on! A business in Missouri has become the first secular and private company to bring a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.

Most of the discussion about the Obama administration’s mandate has revolved around whether specific religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, should be exempted from it. To me, that misses the point. In a free society, anyone who objects to this mandate on the basis of personal belief should have the freedom to ignore it. Or to put it another way, the government has no right to order free citizens to buy contraceptives for others.

Environmentalist organizations have once again petitioned the EPA to ban ammunition using lead.

Environmentalist organizations have once again petitioned the EPA to ban ammunition using lead.

The ban sought by environmental groups would not apply to ammunition used by law enforcement and the military. In addition to bullets and pellets used in hunting and recreational activity like range shooting, the petition seeks to limit the use of the metal in fishing tackle and weights.

Government agencies get a pass, but not private gun ranges, eh? These petty dictators have really only one goal, and it has nothing to do with protecting wildlife. They want to prevent private citizens from having access to ammunition, which in turn will prevent them from having access to guns.

The three big network nightly news shows all failed to mention the Congressional Budget Office report that says the cost of Obamacare will be twice what was predicted, and that millions will lose their healthplans because of it.

News you can’t use: All three network nightly news shows last night failed to mention the Congressional Budget Office report that says the cost of Obamacare will be twice what was predicted, and that millions will lose their health plans because of it.

This is a good example of why I’ve said for years that if you depend on television for your news, you are not only uninformed, you are misinformed.

It appears that the reason the head of Russia’s space agency was hospitalized last week was because he got into a fight at a party over a woman.

You can’t make this stuff up: It appears that the reason Vladimir Popovkin, the head of Russia’s space agency, was hospitalized last week was because he got into a fight at a party over a woman.

The woman in question was apparently General Popovkin’s press secretary, Anna Vedischeva, 28. Vedischeva was appointed despite criticism when it was revealed that she was an ex-glamour model who, by her own admission, knew nothing about space or public relations. The party where the incident allegedly took place was to celebrate International Woman’s Day on 8 March.

The judge in the JPL intelligent design lawsuit has ruled against JPL and that the press will be allowed to observe and report on the testimony.

The judge in the JPL intelligent design lawsuit has ruled against JPL. The press will be allowed to observe and report on the testimony.

David Coppedge, the man JPL fired, testified yesterday, outlining his belief in intelligent design. From the quotes included in the article, he certainly didn’t put forth a convincing case. He also didn’t say anything that justified firing him.

ObamaCare: If Possible, The News Is Getting Worse

“Obamacare: If possible, the news Is getting worse.”

Here’s a new little tidbit:

When the House of Representatives votes next week on repealing Obamacare’s unaccountable, unelected IPAB board, at least some Democrats are likely to support repeal. The IPAB repeal bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), received bi-partisan support as it made its way through House committees, showing that Democrats are equally worried about the power of the board to usurp the job of the people’s elected representatives.

Maybe these idiotic Democrats should have read the bill before they passed it. That they obviously didn’t is further proof that they should be fired.

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from various environmental groups that was trying to overturn Congressional legislation that removed the wolf from the endangered species list.

A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit from various environmental groups that was trying to overturn Congressional legislation that removed the wolf from the endangered species list.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. [emphasis mine]

I emphasis the last sentence because it once again illustrates how completely irrelevant reality is to these environmental laws and to those who defend them.

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