The Hollywood Liberal

GOP Lawmaker Slips Up, Says Tax Cuts Will ?Increase The Debt?
At the end of the year, President Bush’s tax cuts are set to expire. President Obama and many Democrats in Congress favor extending those tax cuts for the middle class. But Republicans — seemingly not worried about the $700 billion cost — want tax cuts for the rich included as well. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) […]

At the end of the year, President Bush’s tax cuts are set to expire. President Obama and many Democrats in Congress favor extending those tax cuts for the middle class. But Republicans — seemingly not worried about the $700 billion cost — want tax cuts for the rich included as well.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) seems to be one of those Republicans. But when C-Span host Steve Scully asked the California Republican about the tax cuts issue on Washington Journal this morning, Nunes went slightly off message:

SCULLY: Tax cuts, do they increase the debt or do they spur economic growth?

NUNES: Well, I think that they increase the debt. If you let them expire at the end of the year we’re going to have a huge, the largest tax increase in American history.

Nunes drifted back on message later, saying that the deficit is “going to grow” if all the Bush tax cuts expire. But when asked why, he couldn’t provide any specifics. “Because it’s going to throw the economy into a tailspin,” he said. Watch it:

Nunes is right about one thing: Tax cuts do increase the debt, but he’s dead wrong in claiming that they reduce the deficit. In fact, as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities pointed out, the Bush tax cuts will cause $3.4 trillion in deficits between 2009 and 2019 while the “debt-service costs caused by the Bush-era tax cuts, amount[] to more than $200 billion through 2008 and another $1.7 trillion over the 2009-2019 period — over $330 billion in 2019 alone.”

Moreover, the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein has noted just how the federal debt will skyrocket if the Bush tax cuts are extended as opposed to allowed to expire:

“If they’re willing to let the tax cuts expire,” Klein writes, “it’s good evidence that they’re serious about cutting the debt. If they’re not willing to let the cuts expire, it’s irrefutable evidence that they’re not.”

Kyl-Approved Judge Susan Bolton Blocks Key Provisions Of Arizona Immigration Law
This afternoon, in a long-awaited decision, federal district court judge Susan Bolton enjoined several major provisions of Arizona’s immigration law, SB-1070. While it was speculated that Bolton would block parts of SB-1070 relating to warrantless arrests and document requirements, the judge also ended up striking down the law’s most controversial and significant provision: the […]

This afternoon, in a long-awaited decision, federal district court judge Susan Bolton enjoined several major provisions of Arizona’s immigration law, SB-1070. While it was speculated that Bolton would block parts of SB-1070 relating to warrantless arrests and document requirements, the judge also ended up striking down the law’s most controversial and significant provision: the requirement that police check immigration status. Bolton blocked the following sections of SB-1070 arguing that “the United States is likely to succeed on the merits in showing that…[they] are preempted by federal law” and the “United States is likely to suffer irreparable harm” in the absence of an injunction:

Portion of Section 2 of S.B. 1070: Requires police to inquire about the immigration status of anyone they stop, detain, or arrest if they reasonably suspect the person is in the country illegally.

Section 3 of S.B. 1070: Criminalizes the the failure to apply for or carry immigration documents.

Portion of Section 5 of S.B. 1070: Criminalizes the solicitation, application for, or performance of work by an undocumented immigrant.

Section 6 of S.B. 1070: Authorizes the warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe the person has committed a public offense that makes the person “removable.”

Bolton also echoed the criticisms made by SB-1070 opponents over the past few months, noting that “requiring Arizona law enforcement officials and agencies to determine the immigration status of every person who is arrested burdens lawfully-present aliens because their liberty will be restricted while their status is check.” She additionally found that the burdensome verification requirement “will divert resources from the federal government’s other responsibilities and priorities.” However, a few problematic sections remain including the one which allows Arizona residents to sue local police if they believe they are not enforcing what remains of SB-1070 and the creation of a separate crime for knowingly transporting an undocumented immigrant under any circumstance, even in an emergency.

Ironically, on the recommendation of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) — an ardent proponent of SB-1070 — Bolton was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona by President Bill Clinton back in 2000. During her confirmation hearing, Kyl stated:

Well, there is one person in our state who’s a real expert on this in the judiciary, and that’s Judge Bolton. And because of her expertise and fairness, all of the contending interests from Arizona have been willing to place their concerns before her to be resolved, and she is right in the middle of this important litigation right now. They will be very sorry to see her leave in Maricopa County Superior Court bench. So, I have some mixed emotions in helping to nominate or to confirm Judge Bolton, but that’s how highly thought of she is.

Prior to the announcement of her decision, Kyl speculated that “she will parse the law, that is to say she will perhaps extract certain portions of it that she think might be problematic and might enjoin those portions calling additional briefings from the parties.” Before learning of Bolton’s decision, Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) stated, “I’m confident Arizona will prevail.” Bolton has been described by her peers as an “impeccable” and “fearless” judge whose rulings are “well-reasoned and unambiguous.”

Oklahoma’s governor race: Cracks in the glass ceiling
In a week filled with a massive leak of classified documents and a change at the helm of the company that’s been disastrously spilling barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the race for governor of Oklahoma might not seem like big news.


Oklahoma – United States – Politics – Republican – Candidates and Campaigns

Unusual bunch of foes to postal rate increase unites as Affordable Mail Alliance
By the time the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to raise rates earlier this month, an unusual alliance of customers was in place to oppose it.


Mail – United States – Recreation – United States Postal Service – Stamps

Air leaks from the WikiLeaks balloon
Boy, that was quick. One day, the WikiLeaks uproar was sparking a once-in-a-generation debate about the disclosure of classified information, the audacious role of a stateless organization beyond the reach of sovereign nations, and the old media’s complicity in packaging the 91,000 pages of Afghanistan war documents.



Wikileaks – Recreation – Ballooning – Aviation – United States

2010 likely to bring more negative campaign ads than ever, analyst says
It’s getting ugly out there. In Florida, Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek unveiled his first TV ad Monday, a disco-themed portrait of primary opponent Jeff Greene as a billionaire carpetbagger and Wall Street hustler who “helped to fuel the economic meltdown.” Brad Ellsworth also rolled …



Negative campaigning – Politics – Campaigns and Elections – Election Reform – Republican

VA is stepping up its services for female veterans
About 1.8 million women have served in the U.S. military, and with 245,000 female soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s estimated that within a decade, women will make up 16 percent of all veterans.


United States – Veteran – Military – Organizations – Government

The Timeless Principles of Prosperity
Peter Ferrara, American Spectator
We know, based on economic experience, theory, and logic, how to create another economic boom that will last 25 years, or a generation into the future. We achieved that in America from the end of 1982 to the end of 2007, with only two, short, shallow recessions that barely interrupted sustained, robust, economic growth. But that was not the only instance of success. Several times in the last 100 years, whenever the nation's economic policies adhered to the timeless principles of economic growth and prosperity, our economy has boomed. When it has departed from those…

A Rhee of Hope?
David Harsanyi, Denver Post
Though I've seen evidence to the contrary, experts assure me that children are the nation's most precious natural resource. Logic, then, says that teaching is the most important profession in the country. And by extension, firing teachers who consistently fail to do their job should not be very controversial.Still, political parties come and go; teachers don't. All the while, urban school districts remain on a stable trajectory, headed from horrendous to Mississippi.Who knows? Perhaps there's hope. The country's top minds on education have cooked up a surefire…

Campaign Financing Disclose Act Stalls–for Now
Eleanor Clift, Newsweek
There wasn't any real suspense about how the Senate would vote today on a bill known as the Disclose Act, which would require a corporate or union sponsor of a campaign ad to physically appear in it so the public knows where the backing is coming from. Without a single Republican stepping forward to support the legislation and not all Democrats certain to vote for it, the expectation was that the Senate would fall short of the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster, and indeed they did, with the final tally 57 votes.Normally when defeat is certain, President Obama is not out in…

Mass. Lawmakers Approve Electoral College Bypass