Dismantling America; Legal tax deductions disallowed on basis of "motive"; GMAC to be owned by gov.

"In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." --Thomas Jefferson 1) Dismantling America Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many "czars" appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent? Did you think that another "czar" would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers-- that is, to create a situation where some newspapers' survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?   Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called "experts" deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments? Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones? …Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to "change the United States of America," the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country. Jeremiah Wright said it with words: "God damn America!" Bill Ayers said it with bombs that he planted. Community activist goons have said it with their contempt for the rights of other people. Among the people appointed as czars by President Obama have been people who have praised enemy dictators like Mao, who have seen the public schools as places to promote sexual practices contrary to the values of most Americans, to a captive audience of children. Those who say that the Obama administration should have investigated those people more thoroughly before appointing them are missing the point completely. Why should we assume that Barack Obama didn't know what such people were like, when he has been associating with precisely these kinds of people for decades before he reached the White House? …Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year-- each bill more than a thousand pages long-- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question-- and the biggest question for this generation (emphasis mine). See: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/10/27/dismantling_america_98883.html 2) Excerpts: Pelosi's Debacle RUSH: How is that hope and change working out for you? Now, there's another passage, I'm not going to read nearly as much of it. There is a tax on those without insurance. Section 59(b), page 297 out of 1,990 pages, by the way, "Tax on Individuals Without Acceptable Health Coverage. '(a) Tax Imposed- In the case of any individual who does not meet the requirements of subsection (d) at any time during the taxable year, there is hereby imposed a tax equal to 2.5 percent of the excess of-- '(1) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income for the taxable year, over '(2) the amount of gross income specified in section 6012(a)(1) with respect to the taxpayer. (b) limitations -- tax limited to average premium. In general, the tax imposed under subsection (a) with respect to any taxpayer for any taxable year shall not exceed the applicable national average premium for such taxable year." What it all adds up to here is there's going to be a tax if you don't go out and get insurance, two-and-a-half percent. You want to hear some of the other taxes in this? The Americans for Tax Reform has gone through the bill and they got a comprehensive list of taxes in Pelosi's debacle. "Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages. Individual Mandate Surtax (Page 296): If an individual fails to obtain qualifying coverage, he must pay an income surtax equal to the lesser of 2.5 percent of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) or the average premium. Medicine Cabinet Tax (Page 324): Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Insulin excepted. Increased Additional Tax on Non-Qualified HSA Distributions (Page 326): Non-qualified distributions from HSAs would face an additional tax of 20 percent (current law is 10 percent). This disadvantages HSAs relative to other tax-free accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401(k)s, 529 plans, etc.)" …"Codification of the 'Economic Substance Doctrine' (Page 349): Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related." Want me to read that to you again? Page 349, "Economic Substance Doctrine empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related." Welcome to the Soviet Union (emphasis mine).   See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_102909/content/01125112.guest.html 2a) It's alive! End-of-life counseling in health bill WASHINGTON – It's alive. The Medicare end-of-life planning provision that 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said was tantamount to "death panels" for seniors is staying in the latest Democratic health care bill unveiled Thursday. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091030/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_death_panels 2b) Pelosi Bill: Get Ready to Grow that Enemies List The White House seems fond of making enemies lists these days, so it seems worthwhile to look at the just-released House health package to determine who non-partisan journalists think might be joining the enemies list in the near future: 1. States — The House bill will be increasing the threshold for Medicaid eligibility from 133 percent of poverty to 150 percent. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The Medicaid expansion is likely to prompt protests from the states, who share the program's costs with the federal government.” 2. Employers — The Journal notes that the legislation will impose a payroll tax on employers with over 500,000 in payroll who do not offer health insurance. Per the Journal, “The penalty gradually rises, and firms with payroll greater than $750,000 would pay a penalty of 8% of payroll. Senate versions of the bill have weaker penalties.” …4. Budget hawks — Per Politico: “The legislation is projected to create deficits over the second five years, a fact that should give budget hawks plenty to worry about.” 5. Conservatives, specifically pro-lifers and those worried about illegal immigration — As the Washington Post notes, “sticking points involving abortion and immigration remain unresolved.” …10. Insurers — “Health insurers, who have already agreed to end many of the practices banned by the bill, would have to compete with a government-run insurance vehicle that would put pressure on them to lower premiums.” All told, the Pelosi approach is an impressive demonstration of coalition building . . . if you’re trying to build a coalition of opponents. See: http://healthcare.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ODM2MTEzMTkwZmNjMTNkY2FmMWRhNzY5NWFhY2Y4MmE 3) Big Lender GMAC Asks for More U.S. Aid GMAC, the troubled consumer finance company, is seeking billions of dollars in additional federal aid, a move that would be its third taxpayer bailout and could give the government a majority stake in the company, according to people briefed on the situation.  GMAC and Treasury Department officials have been locked in negotiations over how to structure the third bailout as it approaches a crucial deadline in early November for shoring up its finances. The government has injected $12.5 billion into the company and already owns about a 35 percent stake from a broader restructuring of General Motors, its onetime parent.  Any fresh injection of government money, or the conversion of its existing preferred shares into common stock, would give taxpayers a much larger — perhaps even a majority stake — in the company. The government’s investment in GMAC would vastly surpass its nearly 34 percent stake in Citigroup, and could reignite the public debate over the Obama administration’s role as a major investor in corporations. …GMAC was selected by the Obama administration earlier this year as a key source of buyer and dealer financing to G.M. and Chrysler. Many of its problems, however, stem from now-soured sub-prime mortgages and other real estate loans it made at the height of the housing bubble.  GMAC’s financial issues are not new. Following a government-mandated stress test last spring, GMAC was found to need another $11.5 billion of capital — and given six months to raise it. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/business/28gmac.html?ref=todayspaper 4) Obama's GDP Grew Because the "G" Now Stands for "Government" RUSH: They're not. Look, you can try to cover up 10% unemployment all you want with a phony GDP number of 3.5%, you can go out there and say you saved the economy, but there are no jobs. Obama is gratified, but by his own benchmark his economy is still failing. Now, let me see if I can put this GDP number into context for you, 'cause it's phony. It is a fake number. Gross domestic product needs to be understood as the sum of three things: consumption by consumers, investment by business, and spending by government, CIG. Consumption, investment, spending by government. So they say the total GDP went up 3.5%. But was there any new consumption by consumers? No. Was there any new investment by business? No. Was there spending by government? Yes. That's the G. The increase is in G, spending by government.  See: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_102909/content/01125108.guest.html 5) Stimulus dollars going to accused contractors More than $1.2 billion awarded to firms on watchdog's list President Obama and members of Congress told federal agencies earlier this year to avoid awarding funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to contractors with troubled histories of work for the federal government.  But that isn't happening at numerous agencies, a Washington Post analysis shows. So far, 33 federal departments and agencies have awarded more than $1.2 billion in stimulus contracts to at least 30 companies that are ranked by one watchdog group as among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102804540.html 6) Obama signs 'hate-crimes' bill into law 'It's a very sad day for America and for religious liberties' A "hate crimes" bill opponents claim will be used to crack down on Christian speech, even the reading of the Bible, was signed into law today by President Obama.  The Senate approved the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by a vote of 68-29 on Oct. 22 after Democrats strategically attached it to a "must-pass" $680 billion defense appropriations plan.  Most Republicans, although normally strong supporters of the U.S. military, opposed the bill because it hands out federal money to states and local governments in pursuit of "preventing" hate crimes. The bill creates federal protections and privileges for homosexuals and other alternative lifestyles but denies those protections to other groups of citizens.  Obama signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act at a White House ceremony today. Prior to signing the act into law, Obama spoke briefly of the hate crimes bill. American Family Association President Tim Wildmon warned that the new law "creates a kind of caste system in law enforcement, where the perverse thing is that people who engage in non-normative sexual behavior will have more legal protection than heterosexuals. This kind of inequality before the law is simply un-American."  Wildmon said the legislation creates possible situations where pastors may be arrested if their sermons on sexuality can be linked in even the remotest way to acts of violence (emphasis mine).  "It threatens free speech and freedom of religion and is totally unacceptable," he said.  As WND reported, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister's sermon about homosexuality would be protected by the proposed federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn't be. See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114305 7) How the FCC and Liberal Churches Are Scheming To Shut You Up The apostate church is alive and well… Creators Syndicate – The war on conservative speech has moved from the White House to your neighborhood pews. Left-wing church leaders want the Federal Communications Commission to crack down on "hate speech" over cable TV and right-leaning talk-radio airwaves. President Obama's speech-stifling bureaucrats seem all too happy to oblige. Over the last week, an outfit called "So We Might See" has conducted a nationwide fast to protest "media violence" — specifically, "anti-immigrant hate speech, which employs flawed arguments to appeal to fears rather than facts." Their ire is currently aimed at Fox News and conservative talk-show giants. But how long before they target ordinary citizens who call in to complain about the government's systemic refusal to enforce federal sanctions against illegal alien employers or the bloody consequences of lax deportation policies? The "interfaith coalition for media justice" is led by the United Church of Christ. Yes, that's the same church of Obama's race-baiting, Jew-bashing ex-pastor Jeremiah Wright. Other members include the Presbyterian News Service, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the National Council of Churches. These religious liberals have partnered with the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which filed a petition in January demanding that the FCC collect data, seek public comment and "explore options" for combating "hate speech" from staunch critics of illegal immigration. …Unsurprisingly, far-left billionaire George Soros' money is backing the So We Might See/National Hispanic Media Coalition effort. And remember that the Soros-funded Center for American Progress has provided the Obama White House with its Fairness Doctrine-embracing "diversity czar," Mark Lloyd. …Jeffrey Lord, who happens to belong to the United Church of Christ, reported in The American Spectator that not long after that speech, the UCC sent out a mass e-mail to its millions of members urging them to join the nationwide fast and regulatory drive. The church-state alliance missive directed its followers: "As a participant, you will be asked to sign a petition to the Federal Communications Commission asking that it open a notice of inquiry into hate speech in the media." No word on when they'll be launching an inquiry into the fear-based, fact-free "hate speech" from the mouth of Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, who accused Republicans of wanting sick patients to "die quickly," likened health care problems to the "Holocaust" and attacked an adviser to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as a "K Street whore." Or when they'll be going after MSNBC and Air America radio hate-mongers who have openly wished on their airwaves for the deaths of George W. Bush, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck. But I digress. In the age of Obama, the targets of left-wing hate speech don't have a prayer. See: http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20091028/cm_uc_crmmax/op_1911774 8) CNN's Lou Dobbs: Shot fired into my home 'We'd had threatening phone calls ... it's now become a way of life' CNN and talk radio host Lou Dobbs, a strong proponent of U.S. border enforcement, told his radio audience a gunshot was fired into his home after a series of threatening phone calls.  "Three weeks ago this morning a shot was fired into my house, my wife was standing there," he said on his nationally syndicated radio show Monday. "This follows weeks and weeks of threatening phone calls."  "This shot was fired with my wife not 15 feet away." Dobbs said advocacy groups that support illegal aliens and have pressed for him to be fired "have created an atmosphere and have been unrelenting in their propaganda."  Outspoken opponents of Dobbs include the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Council of La Raza, Internet media watchdog Media Matters and Geraldo Rivera of Fox News.  Last week, in a speech to Hispanics sponsored by New York City's largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, El Diario La Prensa, Rivera singled out Dobbs for what he called "the defamatory tone of the immigration debate" which has "slandered an entire race of people." …More from Dobbs' Monday broadcast:  "If anybody thinks that we're not engaged in a battle for the soul of this country right now, you're sorely mistaken. And the more you stay on the sidelines and the more you don't make your voice heard, the more likely it is that we're going to lose this battle for the soul of the nation."  "My wife and I have been shot at, our driver, my house has been shot and hit. The investigation continues. I've had bodyguards now, you know, I'm not in the mood to put up with little fools like Geraldo Rivera."  "It's time we really awaken to what is happening in this country, it is ugly, it has to stop, and we have to find the courage to elect congressmen and senators, and yes, presidents who will speak truth. Not pander and not play politically correct games."  "We need to get real about what is happening in this country, and understand that if this battle for the soul of the country is lost, so much is lost that follows. Respect for our laws, respect for our borders, our ports, our national sovereignty." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114393 9) Iran Hints at Uranium Plan Changes BEIRUT, Lebanon — A high-ranking Iranian official said Tuesday that even if the country agreed to a United Nations-sponsored plan to ship its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, it would not ship it all at once, Iranian news media reported. That position, if maintained, could undermine the entire plan. The French government, a party to the deal, has made it clear that the uranium must be shipped all at once before the end of the year.  Iran has said it will formally respond on Friday to the proposal, which is intended to delay the country’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon for about a year and buy time for a broader diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?ref=todayspaper 10) Confirmed: Skin cream contains fetal proteins Company's anti-aging products built on cells harvested from aborted baby A pro-life organization is blasting a Switzerland-based cosmetics manufacturer whose website openly admits some of its products were developed from the tissues of an aborted baby.  Children of God for Life is a non-profit organization focused on the bioethics of embryonic tissue use in medicine and manufacturing. One of its current campaigns includes petitioning pharmaceutical companies to produce safe, effective alternatives to vaccines derived or cultivated from aborted fetal tissue. But the organization's attention has now turned Neocutis, a company with offices in San Francisco which has developed a line of anti-aging products that include an ingredient the company has trademarked as Processed Skin Cell Protein, or PSP, developed from skin cells harvested from an abortion. …But this is the first time, the organization says, that any company was bold enough to put the information right on its own website and in product literature.  In fact, the Neocutis website openly explains the history of its PSP ingredient:  "A small biopsy of fetal skin was donated following a one-time medical termination," the website states, "and a dedicated cell bank was established for developing new skin treatments. Originally established for wound healing and burn treatments, today this same cell bank also provides a lasting supply of cells for producing Neocutis' proprietary skin care ingredient Processed Skin Cell Proteins." See: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=114251