Source: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008808240421
August 24, 2008
Courier-Post Staff
Two days after watching former Delran High School soccer star Carli Lloyd being awarded an Olympic gold medal, Mayor Ken Paris unveiled details of the Labor Day parade to celebrate Lloyd's accomplishments in Beijing.
According to Paris, the parade will begin Sept. 1 at 10 a.m at Vermes Field on Tenby Chase Drive in Delran. The route will turn left onto Haines Mill Road before proceeding onto Conrow Road. It will then turn left on Hartford Road before ending with a ceremony attended by local officials and members of the state Assembly on the Delran High School football field.
"I am amazed at how much Carli's gold medal has brought this town together," Paris said Saturday. "The business association, the athletic association, the police and firemen, contractors -- everyone wants to help. I've never seen so many people offer to do so much."
The parade is expected to include string bands, marching bands, color guards, fire engines and, of course, Lloyd, a 2000 graduate of Delran High School, who scored the lone goal in the U.S. women's soccer team's 1-0 win over Brazil on Thursday to capture the gold medal.
Paris invited the entire Delran community to join in the celebration but acknowledged that soccer enthusiasts from the tri-county region may want to show their appreciation as well.
Asked how many people he expects to attend the event, he said. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Reach Chuck Gormley at cgormley@courierpostonline.com.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Lloyd to be honored at Delran parade By Chuck Gormley
BARACK'S FAVORS FOR CORRUPT CRONY By DAVID FREDDOSO
Source: http://www.nypost.com/seven/08212008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/baracks_favors_for_corrupt_crony_125390.htm?page=0
August 21, 2008
Barack Obama has ad mitted it was "boneheaded" to get involved in a land deal with Tony Rezko, his friend and fund-raiser. But the media's focus on that deal has distracted from the bigger question: Why would Obama become involved in any deal with a man like Rezko, who made his living sponging off taxpayers and corrupting public officials? Because, by the time of the deal, the two already had a long relationship of mutual benefit.
The deal's details are well-known: On June 15, 2005, Obama bought a gorgeous house in Hyde Park for $1.65 million - $300,000 below the list price. Rezko bought the empty but attractive lot next door from the same seller at the same time; Obama would later buy part of Rezko's lot, overpaying him.
The transaction was shady, but not obviously corrupt. The overall Obama-Rezko relationship looks worse.
After Rezko's 2006 indictment on unrelated federal corruption charges, Obama denied unequivocally that he'd ever helped the man: "I've never done any favors for him."
That's simply false. Rezko was a genius of corporate welfare who enriched himself at taxpayers' expense, both legally and illegally, via his multiple political connections. Yes, he went to others for the illegal deals that landed him in prison. But Rezko depended on Obama when he wanted legal access to the state treasury. The arrangement was a far cry from Obama's image of "change and hope."
It's impossible to know Obama's motives. But several of his official acts benefited Rezko, who in turn raised some $250,000 for Obama's campaigns.
In October 1998, Obama wrote city and state officials, urging them to give Rezko $14 million to build an apartment complex outside of Obama's state Senate district. The Chicago Sun-Times noted last year that Obama's request included $855,000 in "development fees" for Rezko and for another developer, Allison Davis, who happened to be Obama's old law-firm boss. Obama's spokesman said it was just a coincidence that the state senator wrote letters to obtain millions of dollars for his two longtime friends.
In fact, Obama was a dependable ally of subsidized developers in the Legislature, giving Rezko and others broader help as well. In "The Case Against Barack Obama," I identify and parse six housing bills with which Obama was closely involved. A few examples:
* In 2001, Obama cosponsored a bill allowing developers to sell state tax credits to others and pocket half of the proceeds.
* In 2002 and 2004, he was chief cosponsor of a bill to authorize a rent-subsidy fund giving "grants . . . directly to developers" of low-income housing. Seventy percent of the money was earmarked for the Chicago area.
* Obama cosponsored the Illinois Housing Initiative Act of 2003, which required the governor to develop a plan for more low-income housing and "provide[d] for funding for housing construction and rehabilitation and supportive services."
* In 2003, Obama voted for the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act, which required Illinois municipalities to make 10 percent of their housing units "affordable" (by definition, this included subsidized housing). This forced 46 communities just outside of Chicago to create more than 7,000 new "affordable" units - a huge boost in demand for area developers. The bill also provided loopholes for developers to circumvent local ordinances and regulations.
After voting for this measure (it passed narrowly), Obama then cosponsored a new bill that moved up its implementation by more than a year.
These and the other Obama-backed bills helped make millionaires of Rezko and other slum developers at taxpayers' expense. The developers - including his former law boss and an adviser to his current campaign - reciprocated, together giving and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's campaigns.
To sum up: Obama got them subsidies to build. He secured them a steady income of government rent subsidies. He arranged special tax credits and abatements for them. He backed measures that increased demand for their services, and helped them legally circumvent local laws.
Perhaps Obama acted with only the poor in mind. Yet some of his developer friends weren't so conscientious - especially Rezko.
Notably, Rezko's company claimed that it lacked the funds to heat one of its 11 buildings in Obama's state Senate district from December 1996 to February 1997. But Rezko still managed to write a $1,000 check to Obama's campaign fund on Jan. 14. That month, his tenants shivered as 19 inches of snow fell on northern Illinois.
With his early and large investments in Obama, Rezko helped the Democratic nominee get to where he is today. Obama, meanwhile, helped Rezko with his legislative work and his letter-writing. Given this close working relationship, the Obama-Rezko land deal is far less surprising.
David Freddoso, a political reporter for National Review, is the author of "The Case Against Barack Obama: The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate."
CHANGE ??? Barack Obama and his Judgement … Tony Rezko played Bigger Fundraising Role & Raised More Money than Previously Known
Source: http://scaredmonkeys.com/2008/03/15/change-barack-obama-and-his-judgement-tony-rezko-played-bigger-fundraising-role-raised-more-money-than-previously-known/
March 15, 2008 by Scared Monkeys
Change, or same old same old? The longer the Democratic primary campaign 
Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for President who has based his entire campaign on hope and change has once again stepped in a pile of change. First, Obama was linked to Tony Rezko, then it was Michelle Obama’s comments about not being proud of America. Most recently, it was the controversial comments from his long spiritual adviser Reverend Wright. Now the specter of Tony Rezko and his political fund raising for Barack Obama has reared its ugly head again.
It appears that Tony Rezko has raised more campaign funds for Barack Obama than previously known. Woops, he did it again … an error in judgement. According to Obama, that should not matter to voters.
But in a 90-minute interview with Tribune reporters and editors, Obama disclosed that Rezko had raised more for Obama’s earlier political campaigns than previously known, gathering as much as $250,000 for the first three offices he sought.
Obama also elaborated on previous statements about his private real estate transactions with Rezko, saying they were not simply mistakes of judgement because Rezko was under grand jury investigation at the time of their 2005 and 2006 dealings. “The mistake, by the way, was not just engaging in a transaction with Tony because he was having legal problems. The mistake was because he was a contributor and somebody who was involved in politics.”
Faced with intensifying scrutiny as the Democratic primary season grinds on, Obama said voters should view his Rezko dealings as “a mistake in not seeing the potential conflicts of interest.” But he added that voters should also “see somebody who is not engaged in any wrongdoing . . . and who they can trust.” (Chicago Tribune)
8 things you need to know about Obama and Rezko
- Hot Air: The Tony Rezko trial just produced a new nugget that makes Obama look more dishonest.
- Rezko Watch: Follow the Money: Obama attempts to “quell” Rezko controversy
- Spin Cycle: Obama: Wright and Rezko, in one day
UPDATE I: Barack Obama Beginning to Sound Like a Typical Politician … Obama tells Sun-Times it’s hard to keep track of about $250,000 from tainted donor
Barack Obama, what is that sound? Its the sound of inevitability and your campaign crashing to the ground. The longer that the Democratic Primary goes on … the more that the public sees Obama for what he really is … Just another politician.
The candidate of so-called “Change” is beginning to sound like the very thing that he claims to be the champion against. Barack Obama sounds like Hillary Clinton, not being able to recall when asked in the past about improprieties with White Water. Now Obama … the so called candidate of political change looks just like one in a long line of lying, spinning and unable to recall politicians.
This is the breakdown Obama provided for Rezko’s fund-raising:
- About $160,000 for Obama’s 2004 U.S. Senate election. Obama has given that money to charity.
- From $50,000 to $60,000 for Obama’s failed attempt to unseat U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush in 2000.
- Between $10,000 and $15,000 for Obama’s first election, in 1996, to the Illinois Senate.
- “Somewhat less than that” for Obama’s re-elections to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002.
Obama’s estimate exceeded his campaign staff’s previous estimates of Rezko’s fund-raising during Obama’s 12 years in politics. In November 2006, Obama’s staff estimated Rezko raised $50,000 to $60,000 over the senator’s career. In the last year, Obama’s campaign fund has given charities more than $157,600 in donations it linked to Rezko, his family, friends and business associates.
Barack Obama’s Tribune interview
Obama Admits Repeated Poor Judgement With Rezko, Listen to interview HERE
It would appear that is all that Obama has done lately is be guilty of repeated poor judgement. However, having a religious adviser in your ear for 20 years is far from poor judgement … that is just a convenient excuse.
Obama, Wright, Ayers and Judgement
Source: http://www.destructo.com/?p=84
April 25th, 2008 by Destructo
Obama and his apologists are trying to write off criticism stemming from his long-time association with Reverend Wright, and Ayers.
Criticism of these two individuals is entirely justified on its own. Both of them have a long history of bashing the country they live in, in spite of the fact that they both enjoy the benefits of our free society. Wright is building a multi-million dollar house in the Chicago ‘burbs. Ayers lives in the high-falutin Hyde Park neighborhood and enjoys a nice position as an education professor (that’s right - he’s one of the most influential individuals involved in setting the curriculum for people who are studying to become teachers. Scary. I honestly don’t understand how someone who tried to blow up the Pentagon isn’t still behind bars. But, whatever.
Obama has a long association with both of these guys, and people try to brush it off. We need to keep two things in mind:
Obama is running for a political position that will make one of the most powerful people in the world. He will be commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in history. He will have his finger on the nuclear button. Never mind the fact that he will be in a position to utterly derail the economy and eviscerate the constitution. Does the fact that he’s chummy with a former honest-to-god terrorist and avowed communist not bother you?
His pastor of 20 years, who performed his marriage and provides his family with religious guidance, believes that AIDS is a government conspiracy against black people. Obama would control the very institutions that Wright believes are at the core of his conspiracy to keep the black man down. Does that not bother you?
Obama is running for President of the United States of America. He has known he was going to run for President for years now - plenty of time to dissociate himself from these people.
Whether he secretly sympathizes with these people, or believes his association should not be an issue, or just neglected to consider the consequences, it shows an astonishing lack of smarts that should disqualify him in the mind of any sane voter.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Mark Sanford's Road Back By Brendan Miniter
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121894396159947303.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
August 17, 2008
Gov. Mark Sanford didn't actually say "dude" when we met recently at the Hyatt in New York City. But the South Carolina Republican did ask, "Have you seen my video on YouTube?"
![[Marshal (Mark) Sanford]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vb4PIrM6wWE3DMRcY0KXfttqGIb_4DwTs4ftJcBsxEScsrbjakf47cLCvuwOnzoy9pPDhBe-MrTLeUr4GEr2m2iszTCFNA_OLnrCefpPFvqaNxKugnqcUEFAD5Y9wMyM_WYZTdJiv2vJ3TrvcS4w=s0-d)
The governor was waiting at the Hyatt without a politician's usual retinue and we walked over to the hotel's restaurant, only to find it was closed. "Let's make our way inside anyway and sit until someone yells at us," he said. The YouTube video was his speech at the South Carolina GOP convention in May, in which he laid out why the Republican Party has found itself in the minority in Washington. In it, he says: "The crisis of what's happened in Washington, D.C. is born not because of the rank-and-file not knowing what they believe, but because of its political leadership, at times, being completely disconnected from the core beliefs of what the party is all about."
"An optimist would say" the party has productively used these past two years in the political wilderness to learn from its mistakes, he tells me now. "But there's not a lot of room for optimism" in the party's performance so far. One way of looking at the GOP, he adds, is as "nothing more than a brand" -- a brand that was badly eroded in the last few years through reckless spending and undisciplined politics.
But he's also quick to add that the solution is not some charismatic Obama-like newcomer to buff up the party's image. A salesman who knows his product and believes in his product, he says, is always more effective than one who is all flash and no substance. Though Mr. Sanford annoyed some in the McCain camp by standing by a pledge to remain neutral in the South Carolina primary, his name was still touted as a veep possibility. The South Carolina press once again played taps for his hopes after he was widely seen flubbing a question from CNN's Wolf Blitzer about differences between Mr. McCain and President Bush on economics -- though we met him not long before his CNN performance and noticed that he seemed exhausted. (Maybe the lesson is that he should just get more sleep.)
In any case, the popular governor -- a strong supporter of school choice, low taxes, spending restraint and economic growth -- is an attractive up-and-comer who understands what the modern GOP stands for. You can see his video here. Mr. McCain would do well to check it out too before making his choice.
-- Brendan Miniter
Joe Hallett: Portman will be McCain's running mate -- or I'll eat my hat
Sunday, August 10, 2008 3:15 AM
The best part of being a sports commentator would be that people expect you to be full of it at least half the time.
Think about all the times Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso have picked the wrong team to win on ESPN's College GameDay. Or when radio's Mike & Mike -- as in Greenberg and Golic -- screw up their NFL Sunday picks. After some gentle razzing, fans of their shows still like them and everybody moves on. No grudges.
That's not how it works in politics. People really get mad at political pundits and even come to loathe them (think MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Fox's Bill O'Reilly). I know this, too, by reading my e-mail on Mondays.
By now, readers of this column realize that some of the predictions published here must have been drawn from informed sources and some from uninformed souses. When they've been right, few readers say attaboy; when they've been wrong, many say I'm an idiot.
So send a little love when the following turns out to be true: Republican John McCain will select Rob Portman as his running mate.
Rob who? That question underpins a dichotomous aspect of a Portman veep candidacy. Portman is from Ohio and McCain needs to win Ohio to become president. But not many people outside the Cincinnati area know Portman, so his ability to deliver the state for McCain is questionable.
Then again, 30 minutes after McCain picks Portman, every Buckeye will know that there could be an Ohioan in the White House, enhancing McCain's chances of winning the state. Portman, a five-term former congressman, is especially popular in Republican-rich southwestern Ohio, where McCain will need to maximize his vote against Democrat Barack Obama.
Working against Portman is his closeness to the Bush family. He served in various capacities in President Bush 41's administration and remains close to the patriarch and his wife, Barbara. Bush 43 plucked Portman out of Congress to be his budget director and then U.S. trade representative. Given 43's profound unpopularity, Portman's closeness to the president could be a liability for McCain.
But I think the damage would be negligible. Certainly, having Portman on the ticket would provide a bit more fodder for Obama's portrayal of a McCain presidency as a Bush third term. That attack will continue, however, regardless of whether Portman is the running mate, and voters will either buy it or not.
Portman's productivity and reputation for bipartisanship in the House made him popular with members from both parties. His impressive resume (don't hold the University of Michigan law degree against him) qualifies him for veep consideration. His economic expertise would supplement a McCain weakness.
"The first test for vice president is, could he be president? And Rob Portman passes that test with flying colors," said former Sen. Mike DeWine, McCain's Ohio chairman. "He is very strong on domestic issues due to his experience and the different positions he's held and it certainly would help in Ohio having an Ohio vice president on the ticket."
Republican Gov. John Bricker in 1944 was the last Ohioan to run for vice president. He helped Thomas E. Dewey carry the state, although Franklin D. Roosevelt went on to be re-elected.
If successful, McCain would be 72 when inaugurated, the nation's oldest elected president. Portman is 52, handsome, has an attractive family and is untainted by misbehavior. He is a less-than-inspiring orator but exudes trustworthiness.
McCain needs help with the Republican conservative base of voters, and Portman is one of their darlings. He also is a prolific fundraiser, close to the national GOP's Cincinnati political sugar daddies, especially businessman Mercer Reynolds and the Lind-ner family.
More than anything, McCain will choose a running mate he likes to be around. His comfort with Portman was evident last month when I rode the campaign bus with them from Downtown to a fundraiser at the New Albany home of Leslie H. Wexner.
Remember where you read it: Portman will be McCain's running mate.
If that prediction is wrong, pretend I'm Kirk Herbstreit.
Joe Hallett is senior editor at The Dispatch.
NFLPA head Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of cancer
NFLPA head Gene Upshaw dead at 63 of cancer
By DAVE GOLDBERG, AP Football Writer
1 hour, 24 minutes ago
AP - Aug 21, 9:51 am EDT NFL Gallery NEW YORK (AP)—Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.
Upshaw died Wednesday night at his home in Lake Tahoe, Calif., of pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed only last Sunday, the NFL Players Association said Thursday. His wife Terri and sons Eugene Jr., Justin and Daniel were by his side.
“Gene Upshaw did everything with great dignity, pride, and conviction,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said.
“He was the rare individual who earned his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame both for his accomplishments on the field and for his leadership of the players off the field. He fought hard for the players and always kept his focus on what was best for the game. His leadership played a crucial role in taking the NFL and its players to new heights.”
News of Upshaw’s death first came through a Clear Channel Online report that appeared on several radio Web sites.
Upshaw died only two days after the union announced he would hold a briefing on labor negotiations before the Sept. 4 season opener between Washington and the New York Giants.
His outstanding 15-season playing career was entirely with the Oakland Raiders and included two Super Bowl wins and seven Pro Bowl appearances. Upshaw’s biography was posted on the front page of the Hall of Fame Web site Thursday along with his enshrinement speech from 1987.
In 1983, he became executive director of the players’ association and guided it through the 1987 strike that led to replacement football. By 1989, the players had a limited form of freedom, called Plan B, and in 1993, free agency and a salary cap were instituted.
Since then, the players have prospered so much that NFL owners recently opted out of the latest labor contract, which was negotiated two years ago by Upshaw and then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Upshaw was criticized by some for not being tough enough in talks with Tagliabue, a close friend of the union head. He also was blamed by many older veterans for not dealing sufficiently with their health concerns.
But the salary cap for this season is $116 million and the players are making close to 60 percent of the 32 teams’ total revenues, as specified in the 2006 agreement. In all, the players will be paid $4.5 billion this year, according to owners.
Upshaw recently became more aggressive in his dealings with the owners and Tagliabue’s successor, Roger Goodell. Owners opted out of the collective bargaining agreement, which means a season without a salary cap in 2010. Upshaw declared the cap would disappear for good should there be no new deal by March 2010.
“I’m not going to sell the players on a cap again,” Upshaw said. “Once we go through the cap, why should we agree to it again?”
NFL officials claimed players are getting a disproportionate amount of the revenue. Upshaw’s supporters said management’s viewpoint indicates he did his job well.
The players called a strike in 1987—leading to games with replacements— and it wasn’t until 1993 that labor peace was reached with a breakthrough seven-year contract. It included free agency and a salary cap. Almost ever since, player salaries have spiraled up along with revenue from television and marketing deals made by the league.
The NFLPA also has its own marketing arm, Players Inc., established in 1994, that has grown into a multimillion dollar operation.
Upshaw also negotiated the first-ever union agreement for Arena Football League players.
“He was a tough negotiator but always reasonable and respectful with the ultimate goal of growing the game,” said the league’s acting commissioner, Ed Policy.
Frequently listed as one of the most powerful men in U.S. sports, Upshaw was drafted in the first round by Oakland in 1967 out of Texas A&I—hardly a football factory. He was an NAIA All-American at center, tackle and end, but was switched to left guard by the Raiders.
And that’s where he stayed through a magnificent career that included 10 conference championship games as well as the Super Bowl victories.
AP Football Writer Barry Wilner contributed to this report.
As U.S. Economic Problems Loom, House, Senate Sweat the Small Stuff
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121910897089651793.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone
Watermelons and Undertakers Fit the Bill
August 19, 2008; Page A1
WASHINGTON -- The 110th Congress, whose term officially ends in January, hasn't passed any spending bills or attacked high gasoline prices. But it has used its powers to celebrate watermelons and to decree the origins of the word "baseball."
![[ Watermelon]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sl8DbYV9aYD13vQVlE39chkRu0c-lpF_tMV7oUA_L9OXEJ-LQ-gepZuQj1qTlWR0DuvaoDpbki7UFTQMdZ5aLmNRHnHdU6bgPmkaVkRZ6b6EcgcVnRG3CP5Ejv2Y19mQJyXUK-GK_D4rlN7rpf6A=s0-d)
Barring a burst of legislative activity after Labor Day, this group of 535 men and women will have accomplished a rare feat. In two decades of record keeping, no sitting Congress has passed fewer public laws at this point in the session -- 294 so far -- than this one. That's not to say they've been idle. On the flip side, no Congress in the same 20 years has been so prolific when it comes to proposing resolutions -- more than 1,900, according to a tally by the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense.
With the mostly symbolic measures, Congress has saluted such milestones as the Idaho Potato Commission's 70th anniversary and recognized soil as an "essential natural resource." As legislation on gasoline prices, tax fixes and predatory lending languish, Congress has designated May 5-9 as National Substitute Teacher Recognition Week, and set July 28 as the Day of the American Cowboy.
The resolutions, which generally don't carry the force of law, can originate in either the House or Senate. However, some types of resolutions establish the federal budget, authorize the president to go to war, or condemn actions such as the genocide in Darfur. Even among the 294 laws passed thus far, many were symbolic in nature. Many of the post offices named by this Congress honor servicemen and -women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the 435-member House, fully one-quarter of the workweek is typically devoted to debating and passing symbolic measures.
Watermelon Month
Democratic Rep. Charlie Wilson of Ohio, a fourth-generation undertaker, sponsored a National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day. Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, whose home state of Georgia has 24,000 acres planted in watermelon, pushed a resolution establishing July as National Watermelon Month.
![[Saxby Chambliss]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vPEKcf_ar1bE35OgsGDPAiqDMsQuETHaUGtKuDLXIiEDYV61vRPGOFlyYNJjfKBzKL6D3WGZvLX-Ut4kpExjB1O0fIKHhiYMNtvRA1MC7WaL_MVVfYHLxXHddtImSNiJ_bGhElJKm6nLSnJQ6-=s0-d)
"As Mark Twain once said, 'When one has tasted watermelon he knows what the angels eat.' I encourage my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the wisdom of Mark Twain by supporting this resolution," Sen. Chambliss said on the Senate floor. The only problem: July is about 14 days late for a Watermelon Month. The crops come in in mid June.
Democrats say the 294 public laws represent a solid record of achievement. Since the party took control of Congress in 2007, they've led passage of the largest expansion in college aid in 60 years, increased the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, and extended unemployment benefits. They passed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
Congress has passed a $168 billion economic-stimulus package, a housing-rescue package providing as much as $300 billion to refinance mortgages for people in danger of losing their homes, and the most sweeping product-safety legislation in a generation.
"We also recognize that we have more to do, and we will do so, both in the remaining weeks of this year's Congress and next year when we will have expanded Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, working with President Barack Obama," says Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California.
Congress, which won't return to session until September, has yet to pass any 2009 appropriations bills, even though funding the federal budget is its official function. Before leaving town for summer break in August, lawmakers failed to establish August as Heat Stroke Awareness Month, blowing the deadline to make it official.
When Democrats won control of Congress in 2006, Republicans were eager to tar them as "do nothing," an echo of Democrat Harry Truman's successful 1948 presidential campaign during which he railed against the "Do Nothing Congress" led by Republicans.
"The Democrats in charge of this Congress have been heavy on fluff and light on substance," says Republican leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio. "Resolutions are fine but why aren't we also passing legislation to lower gas prices? What about health-care reform and runaway entitlement spending?"
In fact, the second-fewest number of public laws passed over the 20-year review was during the 104th Congress -- when Republicans were newly in control, with a Democratic president. Resolutions, however, are usually popular on both sides of the aisle.
Perpetual Motion
Critics still complain that Congress uses resolutions to pad its legislative record.
"Resolutions are a perpetual motion machine," says Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "Not only do you create Heat Stroke Awareness Month, every year after that you recognize the importance of Heat Stroke Awareness Month. You never move on to substantive legislation."
Occasionally, resolutions stir debate that veers close to substance. In late June, House members gathered on the floor to debate a resolution establishing Pittsfield, Mass., once and for all, as home to the earliest known reference to the word "baseball."
Democratic Rep. John Olver of Massachusetts, the bill's author, rose to stake Pittsfield's claim, based on the recent discovery of a 1791 Pittsfield law banning "Wicket, Cricket, Baseball, Football, Cat, Fives or any other game or games with balls" near the town's new meetinghouse.
"Even back in 1791, youths were already breaking windows playing America's favorite national pastime," Rep. Olver said. "With that, the first mention of baseball was penned into history."
Rep. Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina whose resolution recognizing America's Christmas-tree industry remains mired in committee, said that "the origins of baseball [have] been the subject of debate and controversy." Yet she agreed that the "Broken Window Bylaw" gave Pittsfield the honor.
Write to Elizabeth Williamson at elizabeth.williamson@wsj.com
Democrats Offer Lesson in Misleading on Taxes
Source: http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aJHKNW1lro9Y&refer=columnist_hassett
Commentary by Kevin Hassett
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Last week, the Government
Accountability Office released a report that revealed why
Washington is so broken: Democratic politicians too often act
like U.S. businesses are the enemy.
The report had the unassuming title of ``Comparison of the Reported Tax Liabilities of Foreign- and U.S.-Controlled Corporations, 1998-2005.'' It is hard to imagine that such a dry topic could set off a firestorm, but it did.
The problem was the first chart in the report. It showed that 60 percent to 70 percent of companies in the U.S. pay no taxes. That led to an Associated Press story with the startling headline, ``Most Companies in U.S. Avoid Federal Income Taxes,'' and to a frenzy of business bashing by leading Democrats.
Byron Dorgan, the Democratic senator from North Dakota, said in a statement, ``It's shameful that so many corporations make big profits and pay nothing to support our country.'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi piled on, arguing that the data revealed a
fundamental unfairness in the U.S. system, and called for reform.
``When two-thirds of corporations pay no taxes,'' Pelosi said, ``American workers are forced to pay too much in taxes even as they cope with rising prices and falling wages.''
The study seemed to play right into the Democratic us-against-them playbook. Evil corporations rake in the cash and then play dirty tricks to avoid taxes. That leaves the little guy with the bill for our government.
The problem is, the study showed no such thing.
No Profit, No Tax
First, while it is true that 60 percent to 70 percent of companies in the study paid no tax in a given year, there was a big qualification. The study focused on an Internal Revenue Service tax database that included millions and millions of companies. The vast majority of firms in the study were tiny mom- and-pop enterprises.
Why did the tiny mom-and-pop enterprises pay no taxes? Because they didn't make any money! The study reported that was the reason about 80 percent of the firms in the sample avoided taxes in a given year. How terrible of them.
If the GAO issued a report that added together data for nine hot dog stands and General Electric Co., and found that 90 percent of companies didn't pay any tax, it would be a harmless and silly thing to do. But if the Democrats then rush to the microphones and insinuate to the general public that 90 percent of companies are tax dodgers, the stakes change.
How can it be that so many small businesses made no money? Companies tended to have no profits because they had large deductions including wages. Hot dog vendors can pay themselves a wage, in which case they have no profits but pay wage taxes, or
they can take their money in profits, in which case they pay profits tax. The data suggest they tend to do the former.
Double Taxation
Most of them do this for a simple reason: we still have double taxation of dividends. If you are a hot dog vendor in the top tax bracket and you pay yourself $100, then you pay $35 in taxes. If you keep it as profit and then pay it to yourself as a dividend, you pay a $35 corporate tax, and then a 15 percent dividend tax on top of it. Why would anyone choose the latter? To do so would be to pay more taxes voluntarily.
For big corporations, the story is different, and utterly inconsistent with the Democratic screed. The study found that about 75 percent of large companies (those with sales above $50 million) paid taxes in 2005, about typical for recent U.S.
history. And those that didn't pay taxes in 2005 did so earlier, so almost no companies went through the sample period without paying taxes. The latter is, again, typical.
News Hole
In other words, there was virtually no news in the study. But that didn't stop the Democrats, and that's what is so disturbing. Democratic politicians misused and misrepresented the results of this modest GAO study to bash America's corporations and call for sweeping ``reforms.'' If they will do so in response to this minor document, one can only conclude that they will do
so on the flimsiest of excuses.
Leaders of the Democratic Party are so eager to portray American business as villainous that they will twist and distort facts in order justify even more punitive taxes than we already have.
The truth is, of course, that we are all in it together. Workers will have better jobs if the U.S. is a more attractive climate for corporations. That means we need to reduce corporate taxes, not increase them.
And that is why Washington is so broken. You can't split the difference when one side is so egregiously wrong.
(Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in his bid for the 2008 presidential nomination. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: Kevin Hassett at khassett@aei.org
