7 pounds, 2 onces — 19-1/2 inches — Mom’s doin’ fine!
Congratulations, son!
Actually, congratulations, son’s wife!!!!
Gotta give credit to the one that has done all the work. 
What better reason for a fine seeeegaaar?
Over at Hot Air Ed Morrissey tells us about a federal law suit lead plaintiff Nancy Baird, who as a small business owner was paid by the great state of California in currently worthless IOUs. Our wonderful state government then declared that those receiving these useless pieces of paper owed taxes on that income, but refuse to let folks pay those taxes with the very same IOUs. WTF?
Small businesses that received $682 million in IOUs from the state say California expects them to pay taxes on the worthless scraps of paper, but refuses to accept its own IOUs to pay debts or taxes. The vendors’ federal class action claims the state is trying to balance its budget on their backs.
Lead plaintiff Nancy Baird filled her contract with California to provide embroidered polo shirts to a youth camp run by the National Guard, but never was paid the $27,000 she was owed. She says California “paid” her with an IOU that two banks refused to accept – yet she had to pay California sales tax on the so-called “sale” of the uniforms.
The class consists mostly of small business owners, many of whom rely on income from government contracts to keep afloat. They say California has used them as “suckers” as it looks for a way to bankroll its operations while avoiding its own financial obligations.
Says Ed:
When governments start issuing IOUs instead of actual US currency, they are legitimizing that kind of transaction for themselves. To give Baird a pile of literally worthless paper and then object to Baird responding in kind is the worst kind of hypocrisy. Either California’s government deals in scrip, or it doesn’t, but the rules should be the same in either direction.
It’s difficult to think of a more breathtakingly stupid series of actions in government than what we’ve seen in California over the last few months. This one is practically pathological.
“[P]ractically pathological” — that pretty much sums up California. Oh, ya betcha!
And, our Governator signed the new state budget last month that automatically implements an “optional” 10% increase in state withholding on wages, with no advance notice. To opt-out one needs to change their number of deductions on their W4s. Gee, an interest-free loan to the state, that likes to pay its debts with worthless IOUs.
Boggles the mind . . .
Sphere It
In yesterday’s strip, Chris Muir NAILS the Obama administration to the proverbial wall. No other commentary necessary . . .
Sphere ItDemocratic Congressman David Scott (D-13th District, Georgia) had a bit o’ trouble when asked a simple question about the Obama health care plan being jammed through Nancy Pelosi’s House. Seems that a mild-mannered, well-spoken doctor, who had repeatedly tried to get a meeting with the Congressman but couldn’t, finally decided that he would have to corral Scott at an open meeting. The doc wasn’t out of line, as questioning had been open to all subjects . . . however, the Congressman can’t quite rise to the occasion when asked, “Do you support a government run option?”
With all the YouTube action over this past week of concerned conservatives and independents getting VOCAL to the max at these types of meetings, it is refreshing to see one where the opposition is all calm, cool and collected while the elected official has a fit. Ace says it well:
Videos of angry protesters shouting are dime a dozen. Yes, people are angry. We know that. Adds very little to the debate, except the very incremental information that yes, these particular people are angry too.
On the other hand, catch an idiot melting down over a perfectly fair question from one of his constituents, and you’ve really got something. Priceless:
Make one wonder what the good Congressman would have said if the doc had asked him about the deficit, which grew by $181 billion in July!
Bailouts for financial firms and billions in tax revenue lost because of the recession drove the deficit to a record $1.3 trillion in July, according to the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Tax receipts that have fallen due to the poor economy and increased spending to save car companies, banks and mortgage firms were major contributors to the federal deficit, according to CBO, which provides official budget numbers for Congress. The federal deficit grew by another $181 billion in July.
Falling tax receipts and increased spending on bailouts for auto companies and the financial sector and for the economic stimulus package added to the deficit, according to CBO.
That’s 181 billion, with a “B”! Sure sounds like a great time to spend more of the people’s money, right? Like, let’s see . . . Nancy Pelosi and the Dem Wit House need some new private jets to fly around in, the Obama administration agrees on getting four, and voilà — the House votes to buy not the four, but eight!
$550 MILLION for Eight. Private. Jets.
The funding for new planes is “a classic example of Congress being out of touch with the realities of deficit spending,” said Mr. Thune.
The Obama administration had sought $220 million to buy four passenger jets, including two that are currently being leased by the Air Force, to replace a fleet of older planes. Before leaving town for the August break, House lawmakers doubled the aircraft order to eight, at a total cost of $550 million.
Hmmm, if Congressman Scott had been asked about this private-jet-buy his head probably would have done a Linda Blair spinaround!
Let’s recap:
All this madness can end, by the way; 2010 is just around the corner.
Sphere ItSEIU doth protest too much on their blog as the organization claims that one of their own was assaulted at a St. Louis Town Hall meeting to discuss the health care crisis and Obama health care plan.
Last night in St. Louis, a Reverend and SEIU member was assaulted at a town hall dedicated to discussing our national healthcare crisis. The incident is being spun by GOP operatives as SEIU thug violence–which couldn’t be further from the truth.
As you can see from the video, it’s an SEIU thuggery that slaps the crap out of the woman operating the camera. Ace comments on the SEIU’s blog statement and the reality one can see from the video itself:
So — was the “reverend” attacked? Or did he merely get hurt in a scuffle the SEIU began?
One would imagine that if one of their own were attacked, they’d mention that fact after the fight when they’re accused of beating someone. One would imagine they’d say, “We attacked you? You just attacked us?”
They don’t say that. Oh, after the fact, casting about for a legal defense, they say that.
But at the time? One minute after the scuffle? Let’s see what their legal pretext for the beat-down was at the time of the fight, before they’d had time to lawyer up.
{…}
Even if one accepts the SEIU has the right to send goons to these things, they ought to be sending cool-headed folks, not people who use “He attacked America!” as a legal pretext to beat people on the street.
Oh: It’s also looks kinda bad for the “we were attacked first defense” that the union douchebags shout out “It’s the Union Way!”
Yeah, buddy, we know about the “union way.”
Check out the real Obama astroturfers working the Nancy Pelosi preshow in Denver last week. That oughta get your blood pressure up a bit — remember to take your meds first.
You know folks, it’s gonna be a hot, Hot, HOT August!
Sphere It
