Third Colorado State Senator May Face Recall

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Photo Credit: Evie Hudak/FacebookEnergized by historic recalls of two Colorado state senators last month, activists have begun collecting signatures to oust state Democratic Sen. Evie Hudak from office.

Hudak, who represents Westminster, a suburb northwest of Denver, is a favorite target of the GOP for her liberal voting record and a propensity to attract bad PR for herself.

Under Colorado election law, those wishing to prompt a recall election must collect 18,900 signatures from district residents – 25 percent of the total votes cast in the last election. Hudak was initially elected to the state Senate in 2008 after two terms on the state Board of Education.

In both senate elections, Hudak has won by narrow margins; in 2008 she topped Republican Libby Szabo with 51 percent of the vote. In 2012, she won with only 47 percent, narrowly edging out Republican Lang Sias by 0.7 percent. Sias’ defeat was blamed in Republican circles on the presence of Libertarian Lloyd A. Sweeny, who garnered nearly 7 percent of the vote. GOP analysts believe a majority of those Libertarian votes would have otherwise gone to Sias.

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WSJ Economist Stephen Moore: The US Will Not Default, Constitution Explains Why

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Wall Street Journal economist Stephen Moore stated the United States will not default. He told Pat Robertson in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club on Monday, “There will be no default. In fact, anyone who is watching this show, who owns a government bond, the chances that we will have a default on that debt and you won’t get paid is very, very close to zero.” He added, “The real danger to our credit rating and our status as a world economic superpower is if we are going to continue to borrow a trillion dollars a year.”

Moore went on to further explain why he believes the government will not default stating, “The Constitution guarantees that the full faith and credit of the United States government will be assured. That means that if we had a shut down, that doesn’t mean the government can’t spend money, it means it can’t borrow more. So I would make the case and most constitutional scholars would agree with me that the first people who would get paid [from incoming revenues] are the people who own the bonds…I think it’s highly irresponsible for this President to be running around saying we are going to have to default on the debt. Telling people to sell their stocks. Can you imagine, Pat, if a CEO of a company started talking down their stocks and their bonds?”

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Reid Blasts Media For Being Too Conservative

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Photo Credit: Western JournalismIf anyone still needs proof Harry Reid is completely disconnected with reality, recent comments he made about the state of mainstream media should suffice. The Senate majority leader and bitterly partisan Democrat unbelievably complained today’s press is not leftist enough.

Speaking to Politico recently, he identified a “real shortcoming” within the media, saying journalists “are trying so hard to be fair that [they] are unfair.”

With countless newspapers, networks, websites, and other outlets dedicated to carrying the Obama administration’s water on a daily basis, Reid’s argument falls flat in the face of facts. The mainstream leftist media are, for the most part, not interested in presenting a balanced reportage of the news. While Reid accurately describes the press as “unfair,” most Americans understand that bias is in favor of the leftist cause.

Nevertheless, he sticks to his irrational diatribe by placing the blame for our current federal government shutdown squarely on the shoulders of his political adversaries.

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Get your Fiscal House in Order: China Warns US as Superpower Expresses Concern for $1.3tn of Investments

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Photo Credit: Glyn Lowe PhotoworksChina, the biggest foreign creditor of the United States, has waded into the American budget crisis, warning Congress that it must resolve the political impasse over the debt ceiling without further delay.

The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Zhu Guangyao, told America’s deadlocked politicians on Monday that “the clock is ticking” and called on them to approve an extension of the national borrowing limit before the federal government is projected to run out of cash on 17 October.

“We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way the political issues around the debt ceiling and prevent a US debt default to ensure the safety of Chinese investments in the United States,” Mr Zhu told reporters in Beijing. “This is the United States’ responsibility,” he added.

The American government entered its seventh day of shutdown on Monday, following the failure of Congress to approve the national budget a week ago. And there was little sign of progress on the still more crucial issue of the fast-approaching “debt ceiling” deadline. Yet rather than indicating a willingness to negotiate, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, stated on Sunday that it was “time for us to stand and fight” over the budget. He added that a default was “the path we’re on”. American stock markets opened down in response to the belligerent comments yesterday, with the S&P 500 Index of leading shares shedding 0.5 per cent.

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Wall Street Shrugs off President, Focuses on Congress

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Photo Credit: APWhen it comes to worrying over a possible debt default, Wall Street is brushing off President Barack Obama’s warnings and focusing its attention instead on Congress.

Investors say they currently view the words and deeds of Congress as having more power to move markets because the president is not viewed as being intimately involved in the ongoing fiscal negotiations — more of a spectator in chief as the House and Senate fight over how to break their impasse.

“The financial markets seem to believe at this point it’s really in the hands of the House and the Senate,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist with Deutsche Bank. “In other words, I think the market’s focused more on what might be happening between [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid and [Speaker] John Boehner than the president.”

This dynamic was on display in recent days as Wall Street tried to parse Washington’s jawboning.

Last week, Obama cautioned that Wall Street should be seriously worried that Congress may fail to raise the debt ceiling, saying in an interview with CNBC that markets “should be concerned” and that “this time it’s different.”

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Government “Shutdown” a Boon for Americans, the War on Energy Has a Lull

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Photo Credit: Irish CentralFrom the emotional headlines, you would think America is in dire straights from a government “shutdown.” But as usual the truth is masked by the headlines and can be found in the print of the details.

In reality only 18% of the government is “shutdown” and the rest of it is humming along as usual, getting automatic funding by rules in place to safeguard our system.

Entitlement checks are on schedule, our armed forces are funded, coasts are guarded and all other critical services essential to running our government are functioning, including the White House chef and dog walker. See White House in shutdown.

Most of the high profile government layoffs are for employees deemed “non essential,” yet even these employees will suffer no long term ill effects, as they will get full pay and benefits for staying home when government “reopens.”…Basically these non essential employees are getting paid vacations.

If American citizens thought there would be some sort of savings from having a government shutdown, on the surface it appears there is none.

But if you look at just one government agency that has a profound effect on the cost of living for all Americans, you can see there is a silver lining.

The Environmental Protection Agency has deemed that over 93% of its employees are “non essential” and have sent them home.

The EPA has been the surrogate bludgeon President Obama has used to wage war on the fossil energy sector, particularly America’s main source of fuel for its electrical energy: coal.

After President Obama was thwarted by members of his own party to impose a crippling carbon tax on the energy industry, he declared a backdoor war of regulations with the end goal of punishing all forms of fossil energy…..All being waged under the guise of his “climate action plan,” which particularly singles out the coal industry.

President Obama did declare his policies would make energy prices necessarily skyrocket and we can see where these policies are leading as Europe and UK citizens struggle under a new devastating economic condition known as “energy poverty.” See: Soaring energy costs make Europeans poor.

“Among those furloughed at the EPA would be most workers at the Office of Air and Radiation, which is in charge of writing and implementing most of the EPA’s major air pollution rules. Also facing furloughs is the unit of the EPA that enforces regulations by taking legal action against an air or water polluter. Just 182 of the enforcement unit’s 804 employees are exempted from furloughs.” See Reuters article-EPA to be hit hard in shutdown.

This brief respite might prove a welcome relief for the blanket of regulations and litigation that add untold expense every time you switch on a light bulb, or start your car to go to work.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

Truckers to Protest Obama on Beltway

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Photo Credit: kate at yr own risk/flickrA group of truck drivers are planning to protest the federal government by backing up the Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C.

The group “Truckers for the Constitution” is hoping to call attention to its frustration with regulations from the Obama administration and the overall political climate in the U.S. with an appeal that echoes the early rhetoric of the Tea Party.

“Independent Truckers of America are essentially operating on extremely low; and in most cases working below minimum wage, and all paying exorbitant fuel costs and fees,” the group said on its website, RideForTheConstitution.org.

“American truckers are also very politically astute and great patriots, they are all well aware of what is happening to our U.S. Constitution,” the website continued. “Through this campaign, they are leading the convoy of all Americans coast-to-coast who wish to restore our constitutional republic. America is calling out to our Patriots, and if any group can help lead the charge to save our nation, it’s the U.S. truckers.”

The truck drivers are complaining about their wages, gas prices and the Obama administration’s regulations of their industry. Additionally, they are unhappy with reports the U.S. government was spying on American citizens earlier this year and the amount of debt the country has.

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Obamacare showdown in Texas

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Photo Credit: APThe ground war over Obamacare — the one that will determine whether people sign up — will be won and lost in places like Texas.

If Obamacare fails in the Lone Star State — that is, if a significant portion of the 6.1 million uninsured Texans don’t or can’t enroll — then the White House could miss its national enrollment targets, the new health insurance exchanges could falter and insurance rates could spike.

Obamacare could be unsustainable.

And that’s exactly what leading Texas politicians like Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Ted Cruz would like to see happen. With the political leaders’ “hell no” approach to Obamacare, Texas may not seem like a health law battleground. But the demographics — a huge, hard-to-reach uninsured population — mean it’s a make-or-break state for making the law work.

Advocates are banking on the idea that a grass-roots push in more liberal, urban areas of Texas, plus the demand among the uninsured to get health coverage, will overcome the state’s institutional opposition and deliver on the promise of Obamacare.

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Wisconsin Professor tells Students Tea Party, Republicans at Fault for Slimdown

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Photo Credit: UWLAX.EDUA Wisconsin college professor warned her students they wouldn’t be able to get all of their homework done because of the partial government shutdown, and put a partisan spin on the bad news.

“Some of the data gathering assignment will be impossible to complete until the Republican/tea party controlled House of Representatives agrees to fund the government,” University of Wisconsin La Crosse Assistant Geography Professor Rachel Slocum told students in an e-mail.

“The Census website, for instance, is closed,” she continued. “Please do what you can on the assignment. Those parts you are unable to do because of the shutdown will have to wait until Congress decides we actually need a government. Please listen to the news and be prepared to turn in the assignment quickly once our nation re-opens.”

At least one student in the online course reported the professor’s political spin to the education blog The College Fix, which first reported the story.

Slocum could not be reached for comment, but a school official told FoxNews.com the issue was addressed.

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Least Essential? Some Agencies Have 0 Employees on Job During Slimdown

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Photo Credit: APFiscal hawks say the silver lining to the partial government shutdown, which is entering its second week of scaled-back services, could be the picture of government waste it paints for taxpayers.

A look through the shutdown contingency plans of the federal government shows some little-known commissions and agencies — like the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness — don’t have anybody reporting for work during the partial shutdown.

The ability of the government to run without any of the people from any of these agencies on the clock is prompting some watchdog groups to question why, then, do the agencies need to exist in the first place?

“Think of all the money we could save as a nation,” Judicial Watch said in an Oct. 7 post. “Besides bringing attention to these largely unheard of agencies, the shutdown – caused by Congress’s inability to agree on a funding bill – is also shedding light on just how bloated the federal government is, with an astounding workforce that’s seen nearly 800,000 furloughed this week.”

Government bodies that have exactly zero people on the job this week include the USDA Risk Management Agency, where all 430 employees are furloughed, and the Federal Maritime Commission, where all 120 workers are furloughed.

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