Another Obama nomination with a “mistake” with taxes

March 2, 2009 by 5 Comments

Here we go again. I say again. Another Obama nomination for a job in the Obama administration owes back taxes. I am starting to wonder if this “mistake” is a common for D.C types, elites, and just anyone who knows the ropes to not fork up what they owe.

In the portions of the article I share what bothers me most is the “few minor issues” uncovered and to get the “nomination moved through quickly.”

It is obvious to me that those in power in D.C. think that Americans who DO pay their taxes will become accustomed to hearing the news of important people (?) not paying their taxes just as they want us to become numb to the billions/trillions being spent of our money. Pushing something through “quickly” does not make it right, does not make it acceptable.

Where are the leaders with character? It’s not just the tax cheaters. It’s also the people that nominate candidates for government jobs who lack character as much as those who move “quickly” to get tax cheaters confirmed. There is a huge lack of character all the way around.

I would say that many in Washington, D.C. need lessons from Character Counts. Let me name some.

TRUSTWORTHINESS: Be honorable and upright, live by your principles, do what is right even when it is hard, costly. Have integrity.

RESPONSIBILITY: Acknowledge and meet your legal and moral obligations. Accept responsibility for the consequences of your choices, not only for what you do but what you don’t do. Set a good example.

CITIZENSHIP: Observe the laws, honor and respect the principles of democracy.

From the article about Ron Kirk:

Ron Kirk, nominated as U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to make his payments, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said Kirk was working to clear up “a few minor issues” uncovered by the committee and expressed confidence he would be confirmed.
Despite the error, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a statement calling Kirk “the right person for this job,” and said he would attempt to have the nomination moved through the panel quickly.

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Governor Culver Succumbs to Pressure on Private Email Accounts

March 2, 2009 by 2 Comments

After two years of thumbing his nose at open records advocates Iowa Governor Chet Culver has finally succumbed to the pressure. For the first two years of his term Culver and his lieutenant governor Patty Judge refused to use their state provided email accounts for government business. Instead the terrible twosome opted to use private email accounts for all of their business, both state and personal. Finally Culver and Judge are going to start regularly using their state provided email accounts to conduct official business.

According to the Des Moines Register Iowa law forbids state computers and email to be use for political and personal. Supposedly this is the law that Culver and Judge were using their private email account to avoid violating. Apparently it had not crossed the dynamic duo’s minds to use the state provided email account for state business and their personal email accounts for private and political matters. It is hard to buy Culver’s excuse for using a private email account instead of his state provided account. After all it is a simple matter to manage more than one email account at a time. I myself manage four of them on a daily basis. Two personal accounts, one for IDA, and one for school use.

If the leader of the State of Iowa cannot manage two such accounts there is something wrong. I don’t think that this is the case however. I think that Culver is perfectly capable of managing multiple accounts over the course of a business day, so there obviously had to be some other motivation behind this action. This administrations use of private email accounts belittles their supposed commitment to openness and transparency in Iowa’s government. In the end one has to wonder what did Governor Culver hide over the previous two years? The answer is one that we will probably never know.

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Steele on Limbaugh, Malkin on Steele

March 2, 2009 by 5 Comments

I will admit to being a fan and daily reader of Michelle Malkin. I admit to being a new listener to Rush Limbaugh. I also admit that I don’t know much about Michael Steele to really form an opinion about him, but one may be forming because of Steele’s publicized comments about Rush.

I consider Limbaugh more than an “entertainer.” He is an American with an opinion that gets sent out via the airwaves and through the internet. Much of what he says speaks to me, especially now with my grave concerns about where America is headed under the direction of President Obama.

While Limbaugh’s opinion of Mike Huckabee is a disappointment, even an irritant, I still like to hear Rush’s take on the world of politics. It made some Republicans happy to hear that Steele had made public comments about Rush Limbaugh. With my post I offer up what Michelle Malkin had to say in her article “A note to Michael Steele.” I share it here.

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HuckPAC House Party-Plano

March 2, 2009 by 9 Comments

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend one of the hundreds of HuckPAC house party’s hosted by volunteers nationwide. The particular party that I attended was hosted by Kathy and Norm Wenig of Plano, IA. This couple wholeheartedly believes in conservative values which led them to volunteer as hosts. The party was a wonderful experience that I wholeheartedly hope that we can repeat sometime in the future. It provided an informal venue at which conservative activists could discuss what they felt would be the most valued method to advocate our conservative values.

Many issues were discussed, but the predominant idea discussed was working with Republican Party leadership across the state and nation to educate our youth on what conservatism means. This was seen as a means of counteracting the misconceptions that are being spread by the media and liberal politicians. It is this area that the group saw as the best opportunity to preserve our nation’s freedom along with individual opportunity. Another idea that was heavily discussed was the fact that we need to educate ourselves on current issues. It was recognized that a lot of people don’t really know what is occurring politically at the state level. This was seen as an opportunity to combat misconceptions and myths about current and future legislation such as the National Popular Vote. When this group was made aware of this legislation one could see the stunned disbelief on their faces.

All in all I think this HuckPAC house party was a success. Now we need to build off of this success in order to build a more informed conservative electorate. I look forward to working with this group of like minded individuals to find solutions to the problems facing the state and the country.

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