Sales taxes or similar levies have always been in place on most online purchases in most states. But they are almost never paid. And with their budgets in crisis, states are more determined than ever to get their share.

This is so typical of government in thinking that your money, your tax dollars are theirs. What they fail to understand is that the lack of sales tax is one of the main reasons why consumers look to the internet for purchases. When the government discourages that, you will see a drop in the activity online and the smaller, independent businesses will be the first to feel the effects.

I would suggest that rather than looking at taxing to close and budgetary gaps in the state governments, they should first look at how they can trim down size and reduce the cost of government. But hey, that is just a little too much common sense for the government.

CITY CONTROLLER RELEASES AUDITS OF HOW LOS ANGELES HAS USED FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEY

$111 Million in ARRA Funds Has Only Created 55 Jobs So Far

Continuing her efforts to ensure that taxpayer money is spent efficiently and effectively, City Controller Wendy Greuel released two audits today of how the City of Los Angeles has used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The audits looked at the how the two departments that have received the largest amount of ARRA funding so far – the Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the Department of Public Works (DPW) – have used those funds and how many jobs were created. Los Angeles becomes the largest City in America to conduct an audit of how ARRA funds have been expended.

DPW has received $70.65 million and created or retained 45.46 jobs, though they are expected to create 238 jobs overall (the fraction of a job created or retained correlates to the number of actual hours works). LADOT has been awarded $40.8 million and created or retained 9 jobs, though they are expected to create 26 jobs overall. Overall, the Departments have received $111 million in federal stimulus funds out of the $594 million the City has been awarded so far and created or retained 54.46 jobs.

Turn on the printing presses at the Treasury, we’re going to need it at this pace!  55 jobs! Nice job Obama.

The only way to ensure that we emerge from the depression in which we find ourselves is to restore confidence in the market.  Restore confidence in small business.  Restore confidence in the very people that can save us; the producers.  Unleashing the brilliance and ingenuity of man will allow the God given talents and abilities shine.  Confidence in the future is door we must open; liberty is the key that will unlock it.

The choice this November couldn’t be any clearer

However, in Anchorage, Alaska, the local fish wrap would have you believe the trend the sky is falling.

From the ADN.com:

“A report shows this summer’s Arctic sea ice melted to the third-lowest level since satellite monitoring began in 1979, continuing a trend of habitat loss for walrus, polar bears and other ice-dependent marine mammals.”
…
“Brendan Cummings, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the announcement illustrated a trend for summer Arctic sea ice and means bad news for walrus.
‘We’re on a clear path to a seasonal ice-free Arctic,” he said. “There may be year-to-year fluctuations, but the clear path is unidirectional.’”

Yes, the overall trend for the past 30 years shows a downward trajectory. However, the temperature in the arctic is already below freezing (below) and this sure looks like we survived this summer with a greater amount of sea ice than the year before. I see that as a positive sign and remain optimistic that we are headed for recovery!

For a fantastic resource on Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, check out Anthony Watts blog: Watts Up With That? and visit the “Sea Ice Reference Page”

The Washington GOP and establishment just don’t seem to get it yet. They don’t seem to understand what is transpiring outside the bubble that surrounds Washington. Yet the people know and refuse to back down. The American people are no longer on the sidelines and the sleeping giant has awaken. The GOP better get a clue, or they will be left behind when the train leaves the station.

You can donate below to O’Donnell’s campaign

From the Financial Post (emphasis mine):

Why does neither the U.S. government nor U.S. energy companies have on hand the cleanup technology available in Europe? Ironically, the superior European technology runs afoul of U.S. environmental rules. The voracious Dutch vessels, for example, continuously suck up vast quantities of oily water, extract most of the oil and then spit overboard vast quantities of nearly oil-free water. Nearly oil-free isn’t good enough for the U.S. regulators, who have a standard of 15 parts per million — if water isn’t at least 99.9985% pure, it may not be returned to the Gulf of Mexico.

Enjoy the read!

The Pew Center on the States compiled its list by scoring all 50 states according to six measurable factors that contributed to California’s ongoing fiscal woes, using the best available data as of July 31, 2009.

Click here to see where your state ranks.

Generic Congressional Ballot

2012 is going to be an interesting year. It is my belief that the producers, the true foundation of this country, will rise up and, speaking with one voice, will declare that the theft of their liberty by the government will be tolerated no more. The intrusion of government into the everyday life of American citizens has been extraordinary, however the recent moves on the health care front have gone too far.

The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.”

Mind boggling, but reading this makes me understand why the House speaker is rushing this through congress and doesn’t want the American people to have time to read it.

And Scozzafava is a mainstream conservative by New York standards; one statistical measure found her voting record slightly to the right of her fellow Republicans in the Assembly. But she has occasionally strayed from orthodoxy on social issues (abortion, same-sex marriage) and endorsed the Obama stimulus package.

Moderate? Not in the least. The Left in this country continues to move farther to the left which allows them to say that the middle keeps moving left as well. Dede Scozzafava and her ridiculous voting record would have been classified as a democrat a decade ago. From the National Review:

In spite of its having gone for Obama in 2008, the district’s history suggests that it is basically conservative; Ms. Scozzafava is basically not. Boy, is she not: Not only pro-choice and in favor of homosexual marriage — common if distasteful concessions to the secular liberals’ agenda — she also supports some of the most odious items on the Left’s wish-list, including the “card check” initiative that would put a big cudgel in the hands of Big Labor while effectively disenfranchising millions of American workers who may not desire to become Teamsters, SEIU members, or similar. She signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose tax hikes but immediately declared that she was not bound by having done so. It is no surprise that she is supported by the public-employees unions, ACORN — and Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga.

Frank Rich and the New York Times either don’t understand what the conservative movement is all about or they do and are scared to death of it. I would argue that most of Washington just doesn’t get it, however, there are those who do and have been making every attempt possible to deflect any attention from it. The 9/12 march on Washington proves that the American public is tired of the way the government (under both democrat and Republican watch) has been accumulating power and spending more and more of our money.

We need to bring this country back to the values that built the foundation of this great nation. We need to revisit the constitution and ensure others understand how and why it was established. This can be summed up in The Federalist No. 45:

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

In Tarrant Country near Dallas, TX, they are getting a first look at what Obamacare is going to look like. From the Dallas Morning News:

Tarrant County health officials began turning away people who did not meet the high-risk qualification to receive the swine flu vaccine at the W.G. Thomas Coliseum in Haltom City.

More than 1,000 people had waited in line, some as early as 10 p.m. Thursday, for the doors to open at 10 a.m. this morning. Officials were asking people who were not pregnant or a child with a chronic illness to leave. This swine flu clinic is Tarrant County’s first offering of vaccines to the public for free.

Screening started outside before 10 a.m., with people wearing vests emblazoned with “greeter” and asking each person about why they were there. A child with chronic illness got a yellow piece of paper. A pregnant woman got a white piece of paper. Someone who was neither got a sheet with instructions to leave and wait for another clinic.

Welcome to the world of rationing. The government began working with vaccine manufacturers to develop a vaccine in May, yet they find themselves ill prepared this fall when President Obama announced a National Emergency regarding H1N1.

Just think what will happen when there is a shortage of life saving drugs, blood, or even worse…doctors. Will the government begin rationing these as well?