Carolina Politics Online

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is a taxpayer watchdog group that for years has been tracking and monitoring the wasteful spending being undertaken by our members of Congress. When I say waste I mean real waste, things that most all of us regardless of political ideology and views could likely agree on. Wasted spending like $1,454,000 for mosquito trapping research or $2,573,000 for potato research. Better yet, right here in our own backyard, UNC Charlotte received $762,000 for interactive dance software.

CAGW has a searchable database containing the 9,129 pork-barrel projects in the 2010 Congressional Pig Book. They also do a ranking of every member of Congress with a score of 100 indicating a taxpayer superhero and a score of 0 being a wasteful taxpayer abuser. Unfortunately, here in the Carolinas we have several big fat zeros. That list is below:

In her letter to Napolitano, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., called on Homeland Security to find out and report more on the extent of the problem. She cited several troubling developments that would point to Hezbollah creeping closer to and inside the United States, with the help of Mexican drug gangs.

“It is vital we know what is happening on our border, especially as crime and violence continue to rise there and as terrorist plots and threats are increasing inside the U.S.,” she wrote.

Myrick outlined a complex set of potential threats and evidence of their existence. She said “Iranian agents and members of Hezbollah” are thought to be learning Spanish in Hugo Chavez-run Venezuela before trying to obtain false documents to enter the United States as purported Mexicans. She said Hezbollah, known for its tunnel-digging skill, could be receiving drug money from cartel operations in exchange for help forging better tunnels across the U.S. border for trafficking.

She said gang members in prisons in the American southwest are starting to show up with tattoos in Farsi, implying a “Persian influence that can likely be traced back to Iran and its proxy army, Hezbollah.”

Fox News

This is the most important reason why our southern border needs to be secured and this is something that many people following 9-11  have speculated could happen.  With as porous as the southern border is, how hard would it be for a terrorist group to sneak across with a bomb or some other kind of weapon and smuggle it into one of the U.S.’s cities?  Hundreds if not thousands of people run across that border every single day.

This is a clear and present danger and it just flies in the face of logic that the Congress and this administration are just sitting on their hands for political reasons.  We don’t need a comprehensive immigration reform bill passed in order to secure our border.  That is part of the Constitutional duty of both the President and the Congress.  Their game of political football may cost us the lives of innocent Americans.

Do you remember a month ago when I warned you about a piece of legislation called the Disclose Act?  Well, it passed the U.S.  House about an hour and a half ago.  Just to recap the dangers this bill presents:

The point of the legislation would be to force corporations sponsoring a political ad to disclose their identity, even to the extreme of the CEO having to appear at the end of the ad in a disclaimer.  However, it’s the more ominous language in the bill that has raised the eyebrows of those in the blogosphere and questioning if this legislation could unconstitutionally impact us as well.  The issue is with the language.

Under the bill, the F.E.C. would have the authority to require disclosures regarding the funding of “coordinated communications,” defined in the bill as “a publicly distributed or disseminated communication that refers to a clearly identified candidate for Federal office” and is publicly distributed or disseminated within four months prior to an election. In other words, political ads. And this bill would specifically target those paid for by someone or some entity other than the candidates.

The bill specifically exempts certain forms of media from being considered “coordinated communications” and regulated by it, but blogs aren’t specifically listed.

OpenCongress

And that is what is sounding the alarm.  Here is the language of the bill stating who exceptions apply to.

‘(4) EXCEPTION- The term ‘covered communication’ does not include—

‘(A) a communication appearing in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication, unless such facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, or candidate;

There is no mention of blogs in the list of communication and there is no language specifically exempting the communication of a private individual like myself and others who write Web sites like this.

It’s uncertain if this bill will make it through the Senate. After all, as the saying goes the Senate is the place where legislation goes to die. If they do pass it then we have an open door to Stalinism right here in the United States.  Think it’s out of the question that the Federal government couldn’t abuse this law to shut down Web sites like this one and others that they feel are a threat to their power just like they do in countries like Iran, China, and Singapore?  Think again.

The following Congressmen from North and South Carolina voted for this bill today:

• Bob Etheridge (D-NC-02)
• David Price (D-NC-04)
• Larry Kissell (D-NC-08)
• Heath Shuler (D-NC-11)
• Brad Miller (D-NC-13)
• John Spratt (D-SC-05)
• Jim Clyburn (D-SC-06)

The following members voted against the act to preserve freedom of speech:

• G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-01)
• Walter Jones (R-NC-03)
• Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05)
• Howard Coble (R-NC-06)
• Mike McIntyre (D-NC-07)
• Sue Myrick (R-NC-09)
• Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10)
• Mel Watt (D-NC-12)
• Joe Wilson (R-SC-02)
• Bob Inglis (R-SC-04)

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, has penned the foreword for a new book, “Muslim Mafia,” warning of a Muslim conspiracy to support Islamic terrorism in the United States. The authors, former Air Force investigator P. David Gaubatz and journalist Paul Sperry, lay out their investigation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Observer’s Mark Johnson reports.

They charge that the group portrays itself as a civil rights advocate for Muslims but in reality has planted spies inside law enforcement agencies, placed staffers on Capitol Hill, arranged for its executives to meet with presidents, conspired with terrorists and placed jihadists in American mosques to preach hate.

Charlotte Observer – Paper Trail

I haven’t read the book and don’t know what “evidence” Myrick is referring to so I shall withhold any judgment, but on the surface I have a hard time getting alarmed over this.  I don’t doubt there are Muslim extremists and terrorists in this country.  I know they’re here.  The U.S. government knows they’re here, but I am not convinced at this point they have the ingenuity to overthrow our nation right under our noses.  Furthermore, we’ve dealt with radical Christians in this country for 200 years and we’ve weathered that storm just fine.  As long as our Constitution is upheld in regards to the state’s proper role involving religion I see nothing to get xenophobic about.

On Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives voted on whether or not to debate a resolution to remove tax cheating Charlie Rangel (D-NY) from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee.  Naturally, the Democrats voted almost in lock step to kill the debate.  Partisan politics at its finest.  They then voted on a resolution to refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee which has no obligation to hear the complaint.

All Democrat representatives in North and South Carolina voted yea on both.  Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC-03) voted in the affirmative to send the matter to the committee which is unlikely to take it up, thus helping Rangel.  As for Congresswoman Sue Myrick (R-NC-09), she took the coward’s way out on both by voting present, which is basically saying, “I was here for the vote, but I am not taking a position on it.”  Yeah, cause I bet being on record fighting against corruption in the Federal government will really piss off all of those McMansion dwellers in Ballantyne.

Rep. Sue Myrick of North Carolina issued the latest warning against a Democratic-backed health care overhaul as she recalled her fight with breast cancer. She said in the GOP’s weekly radio and Internet address that her diagnosis “took six doctors, three mammograms and one ultrasound before they finally they found my cancer. This process took only a few weeks.”

“Under the government-run health care system they have in Canada and the United Kingdom, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get those tests so quickly,” she said. “One international study found that three times as many citizens in those countries wait longer than a month to see a specialist. When it comes to life-threatening diseases like cancer, delay could mean death.”

The AP

There is a lot of truth to what Myrick says.  An report from CBC news shows that despite pumping billions more into the Canadian public health care system, the average wait time for surgeries and other treatments average 18 weeks from the time the doctor is visited to the time the surgery takes place.  In 2005, the Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court wrote that “access to a waiting list is not access to health care.”

In Britain, patients are being made to die prematurely under a new NHS initiative to save costs on public health care.  Roughly 900,000 people in the UK are awaiting admission to a public hospital at any given time and 50,000 surgeries get canceled each year due to a shortage of doctors.  They are also pulling out their own teeth.

Does this mean that this is what Americans can look forward to under a public health care system?  Not necessarily.  Other nations that have universal health care seem to do a better job of administering it, but your odds of survival of most major illnesses are still greater in the USA than anywhere else.  Even if the gloom and doom of Canada and Britain aren’t a foregone conclusion, do we really want to open Pandora’s Box when we’ve already seen what’s inside?

WEDDINGTON – More that 1,200 people crowded into Weddington High School Tuesday night for a boisterous town hall meeting that evoked passionate sentiments not only about health care, but also immigration and the Obama administration.

“It’s not about covering the uninsured in this country, it seems to me it’s all about control,” Union County businessman Tony Mangum said, voice breaking. “I get emotional because I fear we’re losing this country.”

Charlotte Observer

And that’s the bottom line.  It’s not about providing everyone with health insurance.  It’s about the government controlling everyone’s health care.  There are plenty of ways they can provide insurance for the non-insured if that was truly the government’s motivation.  They don’t need a mandate forcing everyone to get insurance.  They don’t need to create health insurance exchanges and force all employers to go through them when providing employee insurance coverage.  This whole thing is nothing but a ruse for the biggest expansion of government in American  history.

The Club for Growth has released their annual RePORK card that gauges how responsible our Congressional representatives have been with our tax dollars.  The result is usually pretty atrocious and this year is no different, but we do have a few responsible representatives in our states’ delegations.  The ratings are based on 68 amendments introduced in the House that would have stripped wasteful earmarks out of 12 annual spending bills.  Representatives who voted for all of the amendments received a score of 100%.  Those that voted for none received a zero.  So how did our guys and girls stack up?

Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05) was the only member to receive a perfect score of 100%.  However, there were a few others who weren’t far behind her.  Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) received a 99%, voting against only one of the amendments.  Gresham Barrett (R-SC-03) and Sue Myrick (R-NC-09) both received a 97%.  Bob Inglis (R-SC-04) a 96%.  All others were below 90% which means the rest have some work to do, some a little and some are completely worthless.

Two more Congressmen that stood out to me were our two Blue Dog Democrats in North Carolina:  Heath Shuler (NC-11) and Mike McIntyre (NC-07).  Bear in mind that the Blue Dogs are supposed to be fiscal conservatives.  Apparently, these two didn’t get the memo.  Shuler supported only one amendment out of the 68 and McIntyre found the only way to top his poor showing by voting for none of them.

Also on the wall of shame for frivolously throwing your tax dollars away are the following pigs who received a zero score:

• G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-01)
• Jim Clyburn (D-SC-06)
• Bob Etheridge (D-NC-02)
• Larry Kissell (D-NC-08)
• Brad Miller (D-NC-13)
• David Price (D-NC-04)
• Jack Spratt (D-SC-05)
• Mel Watt (D-NC-11)

It’s interesting to note that all the high scoring members of Congress are Republicans and all the ones with the shitty scores are Democrats.  That really illustrates the differing views the two parties have on the role of the Federal Government.

By a vote of 219 to 212, the House narrowly passed the Cap and Trade bill that will cost us millions of jobs and devastate the American economy even more as it starts going into affect. Just ask Spain how well it went for them?

This still has to pass the U.S. Senate of course and that is nowhere near certain. They need 60 ayes just to be able to vote for it and I imagine there will be Democrat defectors there just as there were in the House.

Those who voted to raise your energy bills by about $1500 a year to “save the planet” are as follows:

• G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-01)
• Bob Etheridge (D-NC-02)
• David Price (D-NC-04)
• Heath Shuler (D-NC-11)
• Mel Watt (D-NC-12)
• Brad Miller (D-NC-13)
• Jack Spratt (D-SC-05)
• Jim Clyburn (D-SC-06)

Those who voted to protect your liberty, labor, and livelihood were:

• Walter Jones (R-NC-03)
• Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05)
• Howard Coble (R-NC-06)
• Mike McIntyre (D-NC-07)
• Larry Kissell (D-NC-08)
• Sue Myrick (R-NC-09)
• Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10)
• Henry Brown (R-SC-01)
• Joe Wilson (R-SC-02)
• Gresham Barrett (R-SC-03)
• Bob Inglis (R-SC-04)

North Carolina’s congressional delegation served up $228 million in pork barrel spending for fiscal 2009, a 5 percent jump from the previous year, according to the latest report from the government watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste.

CAGW’s 2009 “Congressional Pig Book,” released one day before hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to protest wasteful government spending in a series of “tea parties,” catalogued 10,160 total pork projects, also called earmarks, amounting to $19.6 billion. Although the number of earmarks was down this year, the amount spent on those projects rose by 14 percent compared to fiscal 2008.

The Carolina Journal

I guess while the rest of us cut back, Congress felt the need to make up for it by spending more. But hey, what’s another $19.6 billion compared to the trillions we’re tossing around?

Despite a pledge to reform the earmark system, President Obama last month signed a $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill laced with pork barrel spending. “I am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it’s necessary for the ongoing functions of government, and we have a lot more work to do,” Obama said.

Hope and change. Change and hope. Just click your ruby slippers together and maybe it’ll come true.

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-4th, helped score the most earmarks among North Carolina representatives, followed by former Rep. Robin Hayes, R-8th. Price and Hayes secured a combined 34 earmarks totaling over $11 million in the omnibus spending bill alone, according to a report by Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, and Patrick McHenry, R-10th, were the only Tar Heel lawmakers to pass on the pork. Rep. Walter Jones, R-3rd, was responsible for only one earmark: $2.4 million for a U.S. Navy cancer vaccine program in California.

Foxx, Jones, and McHenry have promised to abstain from earmarks. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., made the same pledge, but the CAGW report shows that Burr played a role in securing 52 earmarks in appropriations bills this fiscal year.

I’m interested to know what Burr’s earmarks were, and what excuse he had. Last week Bane took some S.C. lawmakers to task for breaking their no-tax pledge. Well, I’m not to pleased to see my U.S. Senator break a no-earmarks pledge. That and his support for Bush’s bailout plan last year are causing me to sour on this guy real quick.

UPDATE: Butterfield tries to explain himself -kinda- in the N&O:

As it turns out, U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield doesn’t like to call them earmarks either.

The Wilson Democrat was the only member of the North Carolina delegation to actually label his requests for special appropriations in the federal budget “earmarks.”

But he told Dome he doesn’t like the term.

“I don’t like to call them earmarks because they have such a bad reputation around the country,” he said. “I call them Congressionally-directed funds.” 

Oh, well as long as we have some sort of innocuous pseudo-Orwellian term for these money-wasting travesties, I guess that makes it OK.

Jeeez, do we ever need a revolution.

Here’s the list:

Rep. G.K. Butterfield: 98, $7.3 billion

Rep. Larry Kissell: 103, $530.1 million

Rep. Bob Etheridge: 59, $312.2 million

Rep. Mike McIntyre: 67, $302 million

Rep. David Price: 89, $264.6 million

Rep. Brad Miller: 59, $185.5 million

Rep. Mel Watt: 66, $179.7 million

Rep. Howard Coble: 29, $90.3 million

Rep. Heath Shuler: 79, $81.5 million

Rep. Walter Jones: 11, $43.8 million

Rep. Sue Myrick: No earmark requests

Rep. Virginia Foxx: No earmark requests

Rep. Patrick McHenry: No earmark requests

The N&O

At least three of our congresscritters are trying to be responsible with our tax dollars. I won’t say that I expect better from Coble and Jones, because I don’t. We do deserve better though.

But let’s take a look at the top of that list, shall we?  G.K. Butterfield got $7.3 billion. BILLION! A “B” and 9 zeros! Now, I understand that G.K. represents the cradle of Eastern N.C. BBQ, but this goes a little too far.

So what did ol’ G.K. get with other peoples’ tax money?

The Wilson Democrat released his list of 98 requested appropriations for the federal budget on his Web site.

The largest request is $2 billion for Virginia-class submarines from the Northrop Grumman Corp. The smallest is $150,000 to upgrade lecture halls at Halifax Community College.

Other notable earmarks:

* Refueling overhauls for Navy aircraft carriers, $1.6 billion.

* Construction of new aircraft carriers, $807 million.

* Funding a National Textile Center at N.C. State University, $16.5 million. 

* Starting a rural business incubator in Scotland Neck, $10 million. 

The N&O

Hey, G.K., you know we’re in a recession, right?

A lot of hay has been made about the $160 million AIG handed out in bonus money to its employees after they were given near $100 billion in taxpayer dollars to keep them afloat.  If that is what makes your blood boil, so be it.  Of course, the real outrage should be over the $75 billion of taxpayer money that AIG used the vast majority of to pay debt it held with several foreign banks.  If you didn’t already know that, which isn’t surprising because the media has only been harping over “Bonusgate,” yes, the Federal government gave AIG tens of billions of dollars to send right out of our economy while it is in the crapper.  Brilliant, huh?

Anyway, this is just a reminder to you to not forget which of our Carolina representatives voted to make all of this possible:

Voting for the bill:

• Bob Etheridge (D-NC-02)
• David Price (D-NC-04)
• Howard Coble (R-NC-06)
• Sue Myrick (R-NC-09)
• Mel Watt (D-NC-12)
• Brad Miller (D-NC-13)
• Henry Brown (R-SC-01)
• Joe Wilson (R-SC-02)
• Gresham Barrett (R-SC-03)
• Bob Inglis (R-SC-04)
• John Spratt (D-SC-05)
• Jim Clyburn (D-SC-06)

U.S. House- N.C. Delegation

2009 BUDGET, CONGRESSIONAL PAY: Voting 245 for and 178 against, the House on Wednesday sent the Senate a $410 billion appropriations bill (HR 1105) to fund agencies now on stopgap budgets. The bill denies a congressional pay raise in 2009.
Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Larry Kissell, D-8; Heath Shuler, D-11; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13
Voting no: Walter Jones, R-3; Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10

EARMARKS, ETHICS PROBE: Voting 226 for and 182 against, the House on Wednesday killed a motion (H Res 189) to open an Ethics Committee probe of suspected links between House members’ receipt of campaign contributions and their sponsorship of earmarks that benefit the contributor. A yes vote was to kill the motion.
Voting yes: Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Shuler, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Kissell, Myrick, McHenry
Not voting: Butterfield
Hope and change… hope and change. And something about the most ethical Congress in history. Yeah, anyone else remember any of that? Didn’t think so.

BANKRUPTCY, MORTGAGES: Voting 224 for and 198 against, the House on Thursday set debate rules for a bill (HR 1106) that gives bankruptcy courts authority to ease the terms of mortgages on principal residences in Chapter 13 proceedings. Final action on this part of President Obama’s anti-foreclosure plan was then delayed for several days. A yes vote was to advance the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Jones, Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler
Because it’s so obviously the government’s job to step in and protect people who bought property they can’t afford from all those big bad banks. Whatever happened to contracts being, I don’t know… binding? Or the government staying out private business?

PRIMATES AS PETS: Voting 323 for and 95 against, the House on Tuesday sent the Senate a bill (HR 80) to ban interstate commerce in nonhuman primates such as chimpanzees. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller.
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry
And now the government does what it does best- react to problems in all due haste… after the ape sh-t’s already hit the fan. I don’t think I have a problem with this, and I’d go further. As Libertarian as I am, there are too many irresponsible pet owners out there who are hurting other people by having these crazy animals. I think states should start licensing these things, charge a big fee, and make sure only a responsible person is allowed to own a chimp, or a 25-foot Burmese Python.

U.S. Senate

SECRETARY OF LABOR SOLIS: Voting 80 for and 17 against, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed Hilda L. Solis, 51, a member of Congress from California, as the 25th U.S. secretary of labor. A yes vote was to confirm Solis.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R

D.C. CONGRESSIONAL SEAT: The Senate on Thursday passed, 61 for and 37 against, a bill (S 160) expanding the House of Representatives from 435 to 437 seats by establishing the District of Columbia as a congressional district and awarding Utah a fourth congressional district. D.C. presumably would elect a Democratic representative and Utah a Republican. The new members would take office in 2011. The bill is now before the House. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Hagan
Voting no: Burr
How telling is it that the U.S. Senate can do something blatantly unconstitutional, and no one bats an eye? The Constitution clearly says that only states get representatives. D.C. is NOT a state. Hopefully this will be overturned. Kay Hagan and her 60 comrades should be ashamed of themselves for violating their oath to uphold the Constitution.

RETROCESSION TO MARYLAND: Voting 30 for and 67 against, the Senate on Thursday rejected a plan to give the District of Columbia full representation in Congress by ceding nearly all of its 69 square miles back to Maryland, from which it was created in 1790. The amendment was offered to S 160 (above). A yes vote backed retrocession.
Voting yes: Burr
Voting no: Hagan
What the hell does Richard Burr have against Maryland?

D.C. GUN LAWS: Voting 62 for and 36 against, the Senate on Thursday amended S 160 (above) to deny the District of Columbia government authority to enact laws restricting private ownership or use of firearms. In part, the amendment would negate laws such as D.C.’s prohibition on gun ownership by persons voluntarily committed to mental institutions and its bans on armor-piercing sniper rifles and military-style semiautomatic weapons. A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Burr

FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: Voting 87 for and 11 against, the Senate on Thursday amended S 160 (above) to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating its Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to air competing viewpoints on hotly contested issues. The doctrine’s repeal in 1987 cleared the way for the rise of talk radio. A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Hagan, Burr
It’s official- Kay Hagan has finally done something I agree with. Good job Kay!

U.S. House- N.C. Delegation

$787 BILLION STIMULUS: Voting 286 for and 183 against, the House on Friday approved the conference report on a $787 billion economic stimulus bill (HR 1). A yes vote was to approve the conference report.
Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Larry Kissell, D-8; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13
Voting no: Walter Jones, R-3; Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10
When your grandchildren ask you why their taxes are so high, and why government is so big, and what economic freedom was like, I hope you’re able to tell them.

REP. CHARLES RANGEL: Voting 242 for and 157 against, the House on Tuesday tabled a Republican bid to remove Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee because of conduct now being investigated. Rangel is under scrutiny for dealings concerning rent-controlled apartment units in his district, his admitted failure to pay taxes on rental income on resort property, and his use of his committee post to help the City College of New York raise funds for an academic facility in his name. A yes vote opposed the motion to strip Rangel of his committee post.
Voting yes: Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry
Not voting: Butterfield
Well, that’s it. I’m not paying my taxes anymore. If don’t get appointed to a cabinet post, at the very least I can enjoy a comfy job as a House committee chairman. The Ways and Means Committee, by the way, is the committee in charge of tax policy. That means the Ways and Means Chair and the Treasury Secretary are both tax cheats. Hope and change… hope and change…

ABUSE OF THE ELDERLY: Voting 397 for and 25 against, the House on Wednesday sent the Senate a bill (HR 448) authorizing $9 million over three years for state programs to prevent abuse of the elderly and provide emergency services to abuse victims. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, Coble, McIntyre, Kissell, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx
So what could possibly be wrong with this? Nothing, if it was done at the state and local level. Apparently Congresswoman Foxx is the only person on this list who understands the concept of Federalism.

U.S. Senate

$838 BILLION STIMULUS: Voting 61 for and 37 against, the Senate on Tuesday passed an $838 billion economic stimulus bill (HR 1) and sent it to a House-Senate conference committee.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R

WILLIAM LYNN CONFIRMATION: Voting 93 for and 4 against, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed William J. Lynn III as deputy defense secretary, the Pentagon’s second-ranking civilian post. Lynn worked most recently as a lobbyist for the defense contractor Raytheon. A yes vote was to confirm Lynn.
Voting yes: Hagan, Burr
I don’t know… he’s probably qualified. But does anyone else seem to remember a certain presidential candidate saying something about “no lobbyists in his administration”? Anyone know who that was? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

U.S. House- N.C. Delegation

CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE: Voting 290 for and 135 against, the House on Wednesday sent President Obama a bill (HR 2) expanding State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage from 6.6 million children to about 11 million children.
FOR- G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Heath Shuler, D-11; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13
Against- Walter Jones, R-3; Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10
Not voting- Larry Kissell, D-8
The seven Democrats who voted for this think it’s your job to pay for other people’s children, and that your money is best used to reward parents who can’t take care of their own families. The idea of helping poor children sounds wonderful; the reality is more socialism and wealth redistribution that helps no one.

DIGITAL TV DELAY: Voting 264 for and 158 against, the House on Wednesday sent President Obama a bill (S 352) that would delay from Feb. 17 to June 12 the deadline for converting over-the-air U.S. television signals from analog to digital.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler
Not voting: Kissell
I ask the same question I asked last week: Why the hell is this the government’s job?

U.S. Senate

ATTY. GEN. ERIC HOLDER: Voting 75 for and 21 against, senators on Monday confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the 82nd U.S. attorney general.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R
Eric Holder thought that world-class crook Marc Rich deserved to be pardoned in 2000. Then again, Rich did donate a bunch of money to the Clinton Library, so he can’t be all bad. But the biggest concern about Holder is that he will not take seriously the War on Terror, does not realize that the bad guys don’t play by our rules (or any rules), and doesn’t seem to care that coercive interrogation techniques have actually saved American lives. Looks like Kay Hagan doesn’t care much about that either.

‘BUY AMERICAN’: Voting 31 for and 65 against, the Senate on Wednesday refused to strip a $900 billion-plus economic stimulus measure (HR 1) of a “Buy American” requirement for public works projects funded by the bill. But the Senate stipulated the requirement can be waived if it violates U.S. trade treaties or pushes the cost of a given project too high. A yes vote opposed the “Buy American” provision.
Voting yes: None
Voting no: Hagan, Burr

REPUBLICAN TAX CUTS: Voting 40 for and 57 against, the Senate on Thursday defeated the main Republican alternative to the Democrats’ stimulus bill. The GOP measure was projected to cost $420 billion, including $275 billion in tax cuts.  A yes vote backed the GOP alternative.
Voting yes: Burr
Voting no: Hagan
Kay Hagan thinks you don’t pay enough taxes, or that the amount of taxes you pay is juuuuust right. Not that is really matters anyways; you won’t be paying off this Porkulus boondoggle- your grandkids will. Tax their sorry asses instead.

EARMARKS RULE: Voting 32 for and 65 against, the Senate on Thursday refused to establish a new Senate rule that 60 votes are needed to include unauthorized earmarks in appropriations bills. A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Burr
Voting no: Hagan
Will Kay give me some BBQ to go along with all the pork my tax dollars are paying for?

U.S. House of Representatives- N.C. Delegation

$816 BILLION STIMULUS: 244 for and 188 against.
For- G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Larry Kissell, D-8; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13
Against- Walter Jones, R-3; Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10; Heath Shuler, D-11

Those who voted in favor of this monstrosity just condemned your grandkids to a lifetime of government servitude to pay it off.

CANCELING AMTRAK FUNDING: 116 for and 320 against
For- Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry
Against- Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller

Everytime I have taken AMTRAK (or estimated the cost of doing so), I discovered that it is cheaper and quicker to freakin’ drive. Just sell this damn thing and stop wasting our tax dollars on it.

LILLY LEDBETTER ACT: 250 for and 177 against. The bill would permit claims to be filed within 180 days of the latest incident of pay discrimination. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Jones, Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry
Not voting: Etheridge

Behind the pleasant sounding bill is a boom for trial lawyers.

DIGITAL TV DELAY: 258 for and 168 against (failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed). Would delay from Feb. 17 to June 12 the deadline for converting over-the-air U.S. television signals from analog to digital. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Watt, Miller
Voting no: Foxx, Coble, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler

Why is this the government’s job?

U.S. SENATE- N.C. Delegation

SECRETARY OF TREASURY: Voting 60 for and 34 against, the Senate on Monday confirmed Timothy F. Geithner as U.S treasury secretary.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R

Kay Hagan voted to confirm a tax cheat as head of the IRS. Hope and change… hope and change…

CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE: Voting 66 for and 32 against, the Senate on Thursday sent to conference with the House a bill expanding State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) coverage from 6.6 million children to about 11 million children. The bill would renew SCHIP for five years at a cost of $60 billion, up nearly $35 billion from current levels, and raise federal tobacco taxes from 39 cents per pack to $1 per pack to pay the added costs.
Voting yes: Hagan
Voting no: Burr

“We need socialism… it’s for the children“.

The N&O

Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis is recommending to his board that he and his top executives not receive bonuses for 2008, according to an internal memo Lewis sent to BofA employees Tuesday.

A bank spokesman confirms the authenticity of the memo.

In the memo, Lewis said the decision was difficult, given that some of the company’s 2008 accomplishments — such as its recent purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. — will create value in future years. But he expects BofA’s full-year performance to fall short of expectations.

The bank’s stock price dropped 66 percent in 2008. And with its third-quarter earnings, the company said it would cut its dividend 50 percent.

Charlotte Business Journal

This is a P.R. move.  I think most people realize that.  I’m certainly not going to complain about it, though.  In the same respect, I am not going to shower Mr. Lewis with praise either.  He and his top level staff may be foregoing their millions in bonuses for this past year, but they’ve already bent over everyone in America when they accepted billions in TARP money, OUR money, from the Feds.

And always, as a reminder, your local Charlotte Congress critters Mel Watt (D-NC-12) and Sue Myrick (R-NC-9) voted to give BofA your money.

It should come to no surprise that the House of Representatives have furthered the nationalization of American industry by wasting another $15 billion of tax money that doesn’t exist to bailout the gross mismanagement of the Big Three automakers and their blood sucking unions. Here is a list of how our Carolina representatives voted:

In Favor of Socialism:

• Bob Etheridge – D-NC-02
• David Price – D-NC-04
• Mel Watt – D-NC-12
• Brad Miller – D-NC-13
• Jack Spratt – D-SC-05
• Jim Clyburn – D-SC-06

Against Socialism:

• G.K. Butterfield – D-NC-01
• Walter Jones – R-NC-03
• Virginia Foxx – R-NC-05
• Howard Coble – R-NC-06
• Mike McIntyre – D-NC-07
• Robin Hayes – R-NC-08
• Sue Myrick – R-NC-09
• Patrick McHenry – R-NC-10
• Heath Shuler – D-NC-11
• Henry Brown – R-SC-01
• Joe Wilson – R-SC-02
• Gresham Barrett – R-SC-03
• Bob Inglis – R-SC-04

Congressional candidate Harry Taylor accused Rep. Sue Myrick of doing a “disservice” to voters because she hasn’t agreed to debate him.

Taylor, a Democrat from Charlotte, said Tuesday that his campaign first asked the lawmaker in a Sept. 23 letter to make a joint appearance, and was told by Myrick’s staff that it would be considered. Additional attempts to get a debate scheduled were ignored, his campaign said.

Asked about it Tuesday, Myrick said “it’s in our schedule file” but the Charlotte Republican didn’t know if she could find time for such an event. Myrick noted that typically debates are organized by outside groups like the League of Women Voters.

Charlotte Observer

Look, there is little chance that Harry Taylor is going to defeat Sue Myrick, if any chance at all.  Myrick is in what is probably the safest Republican Congressional district in North Carolina.  That being said, the voters are entitled to a head-to-head between the two.  I can’t imagine why Myrick wouldn’t agree to at least one debate, unless they simply think it’s a waste of time.  What is she worried about?