Global Warming Hot Air Exposed: The CO2 Lie

The Global Warming Hoax was going so well ... until people started looking at the facts.

From Investor's Business Daily:

A new study shows that Earth's ability to absorb carbon dioxide from all sources, including man, has remained unchanged for 160 years. As it turns out, there may be no carbon to offset.

A major tenet of the global warming religion, straight from the Book of Gore, has been that the ability of the earth to handle increasing CO2 emissions is finite and that once the "tipping point" is reached, the earth will warm uncontrollably. Well, another climate domino has fallen — the myth that man-made CO2 is leading to climate catastrophe.

This "settled science" has been upended by an unsettling (for warm-mongers) new study out of the University of Bristol in England. Unlike the Climate-gate charlatans at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, Wolfgang Knorr of Bristol's Earth Sciences Department followed the data where it led instead of trying to manipulate it to "hide the decline" in global temperatures the earth has experienced in the last decade.

Read the full editorial at the link below:

Investors.com - The CO2 Lie

Obama Makes Jimmy Carter Look Good

Investors.com - Comparisons Of Obama To Carter Are Inapt And Unfair (To Carter)

Newspaper: Shed light on Democrats' shady backroom deal

Here's some of what Investor's Business Daily has to say about the Democrats' intention to negotiate the final version of Obamacare behind closed doors:

Bypassing a conference committee also cuts out a public that will suffer losses from whatever monstrosity is produced by the cover of darkness. Americans stand to lose their power of choice over health care decisions and be stripped of a significant portion of their earnings to pay for a plan most don't want. They deserve to see in an open forum what is being done to them. Instead, they're likely to get whatever the Democrats want to force on them.

Without sunlight to disinfect the sordid mess, the public option could be quietly slipped into the final bill. Committee members could set the taxes on high-end insurance plans at an excessively punitive rate. The mandates placed on private insurance companies could drive many out of business and make premiums unaffordable to millions.

A long list of harmful ideas exists that could be tacked onto the bill, and few of us would know about them. Without a conference committee, the rule that requires the conference report to be publicly available for at least 48 hours before a vote would not apply.

In the 2006 and 2008 elections, Democrats gave their word that under their care, government would have superior transparency. In August 2008, while campaigning for the presidency, Barack Obama made a similar pledge, saying he would hold health care legislation talks in the open "around a big table."

"We'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN," Obama said, as he was "going to allow people to stay involved in this process."

Earlier in the year, the president repudiated "negotiating behind closed doors" and vowed to bring "all parties together" and broadcast "those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process."

Despite those promises, C-SPAN's offer to televise the negotiations in their entirety has not been accepted.

Read the full editorial, Let The Sun Shine," at the newspaper's Web site.

Politicizing the 2010 Census

I like this Letter to the Editor originally published in The Pottstown Mercury from a Chester County resident who is concerned about how the Obama Administration is planning to conduct the 2010 Census.

Why is the Census counting illegals within the U.S.?

Are you aware that undocumented aliens will be included in the 2010 census? The primary beneficiaries of this "count" will be border states whose seats in Congress and shares of federal grants will increase. Pennsylvania is likely to come out the poorer. For these reasons and so many others, yet another hot button issue is heading our way. Should undocumented aliens be afforded a 'path to citizenship'?

What advocates of the citizenship option fail to appreciate is that we are a nation of laws. If that is ever forgotten, we become the less for it.

Rather than a path to citizenship, the debate must be refocused on a path to guest worker status. As a cattle ranch manager in Canada, I learned that it was common to supplement labor shortages through the Canadian guest worker program. Upon completion of employment contracts, guest workers returned to their countries of origin. It was a win/win proposition for all parties from many perspectives.

The question then becomes one of how we get to a controlled guest worker system from where we are now. Obvious elements would include enhanced border security, universal adoption of the E-verify program and crippling penalties for all who would subvert the lawful immigration process. Resident undocumented and document-expired aliens should be given one opportunity to come in from the shadows and be registered as temporary contracted guest workers. This would require a mechanism of sufficient scale, funded by guest worker employers, to manage the registration of millions within a predetermined timetable.

Given the inability of our government to efficiently process "clunker" rebates, it would be necessary to contract this short-lived program out to more capable private sector interests with albeit, federal oversight. Concurrently, a mirror image and successor to the temporary U.S. model for large scale guest worker contracting would be established outside our borders in a multitude of venues.

With a natural population growth rate of barely 1 percent, a robust and well-reasoned immigration policy is necessary to sustain our domestic economy. The violation of our immigration laws and disregard for our institutions however, must never be co-mingled with a path to citizenship. Such advocacy is not just un-American, it is anti-American. Elected officials who fail to grasp this point should be welcomed back to the private sector post haste.

MARK FURLONG
North Coventry

Man admits he took video of woman, teenage daughter in bathroom

Look for this guy's picture in the dictionary under the word "scum."

From a story by Carl Hessler Jr. in The Pottstown Mercury:

NORRISTOWN — A Limerick man has admitted to using hidden cameras to secretly record the private moments of a Lower Pottsgrove woman and her teenage daughter in their home.

John Edward "Jack" Klein, 47, of Reformed Road, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday to charges of invasion of privacy and intercept communications in connection with incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2009.

The open plea means Klein, who is represented by defense lawyer Michael John, has no deals with prosecutors regarding his potential sentence.

Judge Thomas C. Branca deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Klein.

The judge will use that report to assist him in sentencing Klein later this year.

The judge also ordered Klein, at the request of prosecutors, to undergo a mental health evaluation prior to the sentencing hearing.

Klein, who remains free on $5,000 unsecured bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of 4½- to-nine-years in prison on the charges.

"People expect complete privacy in their own homes, especially in their bathrooms. It was a complete invasion of privacy," alleged Assistant District Attorney Abby Silverman, referring to Klein's conduct and the victims' reactions to it. "They were appalled and felt completely violated."

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.

Video: The National Debt Road Trip

Global Warming Fanatic: Ignore the Damn Cold

Who you gonna believe? Al Gore and his climate change disciples or you lying senses? Just because the U.S. is experiencing record cold doesn't mean the Earth isn't heating up. Drink more of that hot-buttered Kool Aid and you, too, will believe.

Environment Writer: Ignore the Record Cold; Global Warming Is Happening | NewsBusters.org

PA Farm Show Visitors Invited to Donate to Food Drive

PA Farm Show Visitors Invited to Donate to Food Drive

National Archives Nixon Presidential Library to Open Nixon-Era Materials

National Archives Nixon Presidential Library to Open Nixon-Era Materials

Report: National health spending reached $2.3 trillion in 2008

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), which provide health benefits for 200 million Americans reports that national health spending reached a record high in 2008, or $7,681 per person.

It's a shame Obamacare will do nothing to bring down the cost of health care.

AHIP Statement on National Health Expenditure Data

So much for global warming

Have you been outside lately? It's freezing.

Have you picked up a newspaper?

Here's a sampling of headlines:

Cold grips much of US, Fla. races to save crops

South chilled by Arctic winds, record snow in East

US in Grips of Long-Lasting Cold Spell

Cold weather holds nation in icy grip

Where's Al Gore and his climate change disciples? We're headed for another Ice Age, you idiots!!!

The Debt Limit: Made Simple

Tips on How to Stay Warm During Frigid Temperatures

Red Cross Offers Tips on How to Stay Warm During Frigid Temperatures

U.S. Job Satisfaction Level Drops

I'm a bit surprised by new survey results about job satisfaction considering the alternative: More than 16 million Americans are looking for work as the Obama recession continues into a second year.

A new survey released today by The Conference Board shows Americans of all ages and income brackets are increasingly unhappy at work.

The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, finds only 45 percent of workers say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year the survey was conducted.

"While one in 10 Americans is now unemployed, their working compatriots of all ages and incomes continue to grow increasingly unhappy," says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board. "Through both economic boom and bust during the past two decades, our job satisfaction numbers have shown a consistent downward trend."

Read more survey results at the link below:

U.S. Job Satisfaction At Lowest Level In Two Decades

Isolated Extremist

'Serfdom vs. liberty in 2010'

A terrific column by Colin McNickle of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about what's at stake for Pennsylvania and the nation in 2010. The column was published in the newspaper over the holidays so if you missed it, please take a few minutes to read it.

We've seen how much damage Obama has done in one year. We won't recognize this country unless his socialist agenda is stopped in 2010.

As for Pennsylvania, we're stuck with Ed Rendell for one more year, but Keystone State residents will elect a new governor in 2010 and voters could dramatically change the face of the most expensive and most corrupt state legislatures in the country. The time to act is now.

From McNickle's column:

Pennsylvania, the State of Independence, now is the State of Corruption. Grand jury allegations more than suggest the state Legislature operates as a corrupt, criminal enterprise. And the words of the Pennsylvania Declaration of Rights from 1776 never have tolled more clearly: "The community hath an indubitable, inalienable and indefeasible right to reform, alter or abolish government, in such a manner as shall be by that community, judged most conducive to the public weal."

"Suckling at the public teat," you'll notice, is missing.

Americans and Pennsylvanians faces a crucial test in 2010. They can either continue traveling down the road to serfdom or return to liberty's boulevard. The republic's future hangs in the balance.

Read the full column at the link below:

Serfdom vs. liberty in 2010 - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Obama's Top 10 Disasters of 2009

America's third-largest political party has compiled a list of the 10 biggest blunders of Barack Obama's first year in office.

From the Libertarian Party, which also asks readers to note similarities to the Bush administration:

Top 10 disasters of the 2009 Obama administration (in no particular order):

1. Cash for Clunkers
2. War escalation in Afghanistan
3. Giant government health care expansion bill
4. Post office loses money hand over fist
5. Stimulus package
6. Expansion of "state secrets" doctrine
7. Big increase in unemployment
8. "Bailout" Geithner as Treasury Secretary
9. Skyrocketing federal spending
10. Huge federal deficits

Top 10 disasters of the 2001-2008 Bush administration:

1. Cash for Car Companies
2. War in Iraq
3. Giant Medicare expansion bill
4. Post office loses money hand over fist
5. Stimulus "rebate" checks
6. PATRIOT Act
7. Big increase in unemployment
8. "Bailout" Paulson as Treasury Secretary
9. Skyrocketing federal spending
10. Huge federal deficits

Wes Benedict, Libertarian Party executive director, commented, "Republicans and Democrats keep expanding government and creating more and more problems. We're encouraging as many Libertarians as possible to run for Congress in 2010. In Texas, the state with the earliest filing deadline, Libertarians have already filed for 31 of 32 Congressional seats."

For more information about the Libertarian Party, visit its Web site, http://www.lp.org/

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Election year could motivate 'dysfunctional' General Assembly

Voters will have an opportunity to fire most of the members of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 2010. All 203 House seats and 25 of the 50 Senate seats are up for re-election. Will the most expensive but least productive state legislature in the country turn around years of dysfunction and corruption? Veteran Harrisburg reporter Brad Bumsted has some thoughts on the matter.

Bumsted writes:

Pennsylvania's $327 million General Assembly returns to session today, facing a question of whether it can become a functional Legislature again, political analysts say.

The Legislature was 101 days late in approving a state budget in 2009, when it approved fewer laws than in any year during the past 10. Fifty-five bills of general interest won final approval last year, compared with an average 135 per year during the decade, records show.

"With the Legislature, the question is whether it will become functional," said longtime political analyst G. Terry Madonna. "Over the past year, it has become dysfunctional."

Sharply drawn ideological lines, partisanship, inexperienced leaders, lack of trust between chambers, instability in the House Democratic caucus and an ongoing criminal investigation are among reasons for the impairment, said Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

Check out Bumsted's full analysis at the link below:

Election year could motivate 'dysfunctional' General Assembly - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Newspaper: Teen crash deaths point to need for stricter state laws

Two recent fatal accidents in the Pottstown area involving teenagers that left four young people dead has prompted The Pottstown Mercury to call for tougher new laws involving inexperienced drivers.

From an editorial in today's edition of The Mercury:

The two tragedies have brought back into focus a state legislative effort to limit the number of passengers allowed to ride with a teen driver.

House Bill 67 was first introduced to the Transportation Committee of the state House of Representatives back in January 2007 by Rep. Katharine Watson, a Republican from Bucks County.

The bill would limit the number of passengers under the age of 18 who are allowed to drive with a driver who has a junior license. Other provisions of HB 67 would strengthen the teen driving law requirements on hours of driving experience required before licensing.

HB 67 has been called "Lacey's Law" in memory of Lacey Gallagher. She was an 18-year-old Philadelphia high school student killed in April 2007 while riding in an SUV with six other teenagers on the way to a post-prom party.

Despite reforms in recent years, Pennsylvania continues to have some of the least restrictive laws regarding teen drivers. And, our young people are paying the price.

Read the full editorial at the newspaper's Web site.

PA DCED Report Guides Local Officials on Earned Income Tax Consolidation

PA DCED Report Guides Local Officials on Earned Income Tax Consolidation

Late Night TV Funnies

Pennsylvania casinos take in $155M in December

Pennsylvania Slots Revenue Shows December Increase Despite Multi-Day Closure of Eastern Casino

Resolve to Vote the Bums Out

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope Discovers Five Exoplanets

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope Discovers Five Exoplanets

Reform activist Russ Diamond running for PA Lieutenant Governor

The man who led the fight to overturn the infamous Pay Raise in 2005 and helped launch a reform movement that shook up the Pennsylvania Legislature in 2006 has announced he is running for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor in 2010.

Russ Diamond is running on a platform of calling for a for a Constitutional convention, elimination of the property tax elimination, and state sovereignty.

Diamond, 46, of Annville, previously launched unsuccessful campaigns for Pennsylvania Governor and the state Legislature. A former Libertarian Party candidate for state and national office, Diamond, is seeking the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.

From his campaign announcement:

"Pennsylvania needs a strong advocate for reform in the executive branch," Diamond said. "It's easy to talk about reform but there's really only one way to get it - a constitutional convention. But if we want to hold a convention, we need a specific plan to make it happen. I am the only statewide candidate with a legitimate, workable plan in hand."

In 2007, Diamond authored legislation calling for a citizens' constitutional convention and submitted it to the Senate State Government Committee. It was introduced as SB1290 and HB2723 in 2008. The bill was re-introduced with bipartisan support during the current legislative session as SB340 and HB1929.

In response to a recent study published by the Commonwealth Foundation, Common Cause/Pennsylvania, DemocracyRisingPA, and the League of Women Voters, Diamond has improved the plan and is asking the co-sponsors of SB340 and HB1929 to amend them accordingly or introduce it as a new bill.

"This is the only way to attack the roots of corruption, fraud, and budget debacles which have plagued Pennsylvania of late. We need to rebuild the Commonwealth's institutions of government and restore the faith of the people in them," he added.

On eliminating property taxes, Diamond favors a permanent constitutional prohibition that sets a future deadline and gives the legislature ample time to debate the revenue replacement mechanism.

"Some problems are too complex to tackle in one fell swoop," he said. "In order to be as effective as possible, we must separate the question of property tax elimination from the revenue replacement method. If we agreed today to prohibit property taxes as of June 30, 2015, there would be plenty of time for the legislature to weigh competing options for how to best replace this archaic system that drives citizens from their homes and imposes an intolerable burden on taxpayers and local government."

Diamond's focus on defending Pennsylvania from federal intrusion is centered on the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution.

"The 10th Amendment draws a distinct line between state and federal authority, but we also need to consider the practical ramifications of federal intrusion," Diamond said. "For instance, if we weighed the burden of federal regulations on Pennsylvania's public education system against the percentage of education funding Washington provides, would it really be worth it? Every state department and agency receiving federal funds should be tasked with publicizing the two sides of this equation."

Read the full announcement at Diamond's new campaign Web site, http://www.russdiamond.org

Rendell Melting Before Our Eyes

Where's the transparency Obama promised?

Where's the transparency candidate Barack Obama promised on health care reform? Just another broken promise by the most secretive, most corrupt administration ever.

From a post by Terry Hurlbut at Essex County Conservative Examiner:

Brian P. Lamb, Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN, sent the letter December 30, addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-8), House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH-8), and Senate Democratic and Republican Leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). This letter read in part:

"President Obama, Senate and House leaders, many of your rank-and-file members, and the nation's editorial pages[,] have all talked about the value of transparent discussions on reforming the nation's health care system. Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the Chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."

Read the full post at the link below:

C-SPAN challenges Congress to televise HCR debate

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Rendell rings in new year with layoff threats

New year, same old Ed Rendell.

I like what Kevin Cramsey has to say about the 2010 version of Ed Rendell:

As predicted, the governor's strategy with the legislature from here onward appears to be this: Give me what I want or employees and their families suffer the consequences.

Anyone looking for a kinder, gentler state capitol in 2010 has come to the wrong place.

Read the full column at the link below:

Rendell rings in new year with layoff threats

Posted using ShareThis

Tea Party Movie Trailer 2010

'Avatar' earns $1 billion worldwide

The records keep falling every day "Avatar" plays on screen.

In less than three weeks, "Avatar" has earned more than $1 billion worldwide and is already the No. 4 top-grossing film of all-time, behind only "Titanic," "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

From Brandon Gray's weekly report at BoxOfficeMojo.com:

This New Year's weekend was the biggest-grossing ever, fueled by the highest gross ever posted by a single movie on the holiday. Easing nine percent, Avatar generated a whopping $68.5 million, claiming the New Year's record from Meet the Fockers' $41.7 million. More importantly, it delivered the highest-grossing third weekend ever, surpassing the first Spider-Man's $45 million, and it raced past the $350 million mark in just 17 days, second only to The Dark Knight's two-week sprint.

Among 2009 releases, Avatar already ranks second to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' $402.1 million, which it will soon eclipse. Avatar's performance is so monumental that picture has shot up to the 15th spot on the all time chart, and it's likely to give The Dark Knight and Titanic a run for their money. Avatar's costlier 3D tickets help its cause but do not diminish its achievements, and it has blown the roof off the format's previous highs. 3D presentations again accounted for 75 percent of the gross (including another $8.8 million from IMAX).

On the foreign front, Avatar grossed an enormous $136.3 million, down ten percent from last weekend, and its total soared to $673.3 million in just 21 days, which is the fourth biggest haul ever. Throw in domestic's $352.1 million, and the picture's worldwide take crested the billion dollar mark. With $1.025 billion, it's the fourth highest-grossing picture ever worldwide, surpassing The Dark Knight, and, in a matter of days, it will leap frog over The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to claim second place behind Titanic's $1.84 billion.

Top 10 Ramirez Cartoons of 2009

Michael Ramirez is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for Investor's Business Daily. Some of his best work has been compiled at the newspaper's Web site for your viewing pleasure.

Check out the best Ramirez cartoons from the past year at the IBD Web site.

Video: How Obama Will Balance The Federal Budget

Slow News Day

The NY Times Publicizes a Four-Person March in Support of Illegal Immigrants | NewsBusters.org

Survey Reveals Roadways Increasingly Filled With Unsafe Drivers Distracted By Their Cell Phones

Survey Reveals Roadways Increasingly Filled With Unsafe Drivers Distracted By Their Cell Phones

CAIR: New TSA Screening Rules Amount to Profiling

Until Muslim fanatics stop trying to blow up airplanes or hijack them to use as projectiles into buildings, get used to the profiling.

CAIR: New TSA Screening Rules Amount to Profiling

2010 Stamp Program Unveiled

2010 Stamp Program Unveiled

Capitol South - Sobering Thought

Rendell threatens to furlough 1,000 state workers

Gov. Ed Rendell is taking hostages again.

The governor has informed the state Legislature he will furlough nearly 1,000 state workers unless the Legislature approves the legalization of table games at Pennsylvania slot parlors by the end of this week.

The list of furloughs includes 112 positions with the State Police and 299 workers from the state Corrections Department. (You know Rendell is blowing smoke when he puts public safety at risk to get his way on expanded gambling).

The problem is that when the Legislature and Rendell agreed to a budget deal after a 101-day impasse, the agreement included the expansion of gambling, which would bring in $250 million needed to "balance" the 2009-10 General Fund budget. I put "balance" in quotes because the state has already run up a $254 million deficit after six months and there's no way the current budget will balance by June 30.

The Democratic-controlled state House has been debating expanded gambling for months, but Democratic leaders do not have enough vote to pass the controversial expansion bill.

Below is a copy of the memo the Rendell Administration has released, outlining the number of jobs to be cut from each department:

TO: Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads

FROM: Naomi Wyatt, Secretary of Administration
DATE: January 5, 2010
RE: Furlough information

This memo is a follow-up to Steve Crawford's December 22, 2009, memo regarding furlough planning.

To be prepared in the event a gaming bill is not enacted, enclosed is a list that provides each of you with a furlough target for your agency. The list was developed by spreading 1,000 furloughs proportionally across all agencies' general fund complement as of December 11, 2009. (Federal, restricted, billed, and special fund complement was excluded; split-funded complement was included.)

Please begin developing a plan to implement the furloughs associated with your agency. Your plan should anticipate that furloughs could occur before the end of January. We will schedule a meeting in early January to provide additional details and information.

(Note: the number of proposed furloughs is followed by the number of full-time equivalent of General Fund positions):

Corrections: 299 (out of 15,436 positions)
Labor & Industry: 6 (out of 288 positions)
Military & Veterans Affairs: 38 (out of 1,914 positions)
General Services: 20 (out of 1,060 positions)
Education: 6 (out of 305 positions)
Revenue: 31 (out of 1,620 positions)
Dept. of State: 2 (out of 93 positions)
State Police: 112 (out of 5,772 positions)
Public Welfare: 333 (out of 17,244 positions)
Community & Economic Development: 5 (out of 299 positions)
Probation & Parole: 22 (out of 1,090 positions)
Historical & Museum Commission: 4 (out of 186 positions)
PA Emergency Management Agency: 2 (out of 111 positions)
Environmental Protection: 31 (out of 1,647 positions)
Conservation & Natural Resources: 24 (out of 1,281 positions)
PA Securities Commission: 1 (out of 76 positions)
Health: 19 (out of 992 positions)
Agriculture: 7 (out of 368 positions)
Insurance: 4 (out of 246 positions)
Executive Offices: 28 (out of 1,463 positions)
Governor's Office: 1 (out of 58 positions)

Total: 995 (out of 51,577 positions)

Governor's Office Directs Agencies to Prepare for Furloughs

Pennsylvania Budget Deficit Tops $254 Million

Half-way through the 2009-10 fiscal year, Pennsylvania has recorded a $254.2 million budget deficit.

While the red ink isn't flowing as much as it did for the 2008-09 fiscal year, in which the state ran up a $3.25 billion deficit, it appears Gov. Ed Rendell and the Pennsylvania Legislature will be dealing with another deficit when the current fiscal year ends on June 30.

You might be wondering how Gov. Rendell and the Legislature manage to circumvent the Pennsylvania Constitution, which mandates a balanced budget (Article VIII, Section 13 (a) Operating budget appropriations made by the General Assembly shall not exceed the actual and estimated revenues and surplus available in the same fiscal year.) It appears the Constitution is optional with the current leadership in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on Monday released the December tax collection numbers, showing a deficit for the sixth consecutive month of the current fiscal year.

Pennsylvania collected $2 billion in General Fund revenue in December, which was $37.2 million, or 1.8 percent, less than anticipated, according to Acting Secretary of Revenue C. Daniel Hassell.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $12.4 billion, which is $254.2 million, or 2 percent, below estimate, Hassell said.

More from the December revenue report

Sales tax receipts totaled $627.3 million for December, $39.1 million below estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $4 billion, which is $181.1 million, or 4.4 percent, less than anticipated.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in December was $707.3 million, $6.2 million below estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $4.3 billion, which is $111.7 million, or 2.5 percent, below estimate.

December corporation tax revenue of $377.1 million was $28.7 million below estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $1.1 billion, which is $900,000, or 0.1 percent, below estimate.

Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $74.2 million in inheritance tax, $11.3 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $375.3 million, which is $6.6 million above estimate.

Realty transfer tax was $29.1 million for December, $7.8 million above estimate, bringing the total to $161.8 million for the year, which is $10 million more than anticipated.

Other General Fund tax revenue, including cigarette, malt beverage and liquor taxes totaled $132.3 million for the month, $13.3 million above estimate and bringing the year-to-date total to $594.7 million, which is $30.2 million above estimate.

Non-tax revenue totaled $36.3 million for the month, $4.5 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $1.9 billion, which is $7.2 million below estimate.

For more revenue figures, click on the link below:

Pennsylvania Revenue Department Releases December 2009 Collections

Obama as the Mad Hatter

PA State Police: 6 Killed in New Year's Crashes

Six people were killed in crashes investigated by Pennsylvania State Police during the four-day New Year's holiday travel period, which ran from Dec. 31 through Jan. 3, Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski announced Monday.

Five of those killed were not wearing seatbelts and four of the deaths resulted from alcohol-related crashes, he said.

"Too many lives are lost because people drive after they've been drinking or because they do not buckle up when they travel," Pawlowski said in a written statement.

He said that in addition to the six fatalities, 288 other people were injured in the 1,131 crashes to which troopers responded during the holiday driving period. He said 95 of the crashes were alcohol-related.

Read the full release at the link below:

PA State Police: Six Killed in New Year's Driving Period Crashes

Psychic Source Forecasts 2010's Biggest Headlines

Splitsville for Brad and Angelina ... Oprah Enters the Political Arena: Psychic Source Forecasts 2010's Biggest Headlines

Leaving Pennsylvania

Allied Van Lines has released its 42nd Annual Magnet States Report, which tracks where people are moving to and from across the United States.

Texas is the No. 1 destination spot in U.S. for fifth year in a row, followed by Arizona and North Carolina.

Pennsylvania is No. 3 on the list of "outbound" states. In other words, more people leave Pennsylvania than move into the state. This is not a new trend. It's been occurring ever since Gov. Ed Rendell and his allies in Harrisburg started raising taxes and running up huge deficits.

From the Allied Van Lines report:

Michigan experienced the highest net relocation losses (more outbound than inbound shipments), followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. A troubled auto industry and housing market most likely continued to negatively affect relocations to Michigan, as Allied Van Lines' outbound shipments of 2,210 were about double its inbound shipments of 1,019 for the state. Illinois experienced the second largest net relocation loss with 942 more outbound than inbound moves, closely followed by Pennsylvania with a net relocation loss of 854, and California with a loss of 459.

Read the full report at the link below:

Allied Van Lines Announces 42nd Annual Magnet States Report

The Worst Decade Ever

Michelle Malkin: Underreported Stories of 2009

"Journalistic sins of omission are often far more damning and more telling than sins of commission," Michelle Malkin writes in her latest column, exposing another way the Mainstream Media controls the flow of information.

You've heard about Van Jones, the self-avowed communist who was forced to resign as Barack Obama's "green jobs czar," but what about some of the other far-left radicals Obama has brough into his administration without Senate conformation in dozens of "czar" positions?

One of the worst examples Malkin focuses on is Kevin Jennings.

From Malkin's column:

The "safe schools czar," Kevin Jennings, is a far-left activist whose organization, GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) is infamous among parents' groups for promoting explicit, outrageously age-inappropriate sexual lessons in the classroom. GLSEN's recommended reading for teens includes pamphlets promoting leather bars and public sex in parks and lurid books describing incest, rape, adult-child fantasies and essay collections in which one author recounted playing "sex therapist" at the age of 6 with a 5-year-old friend, and exploring "our sexuality to its fullest."

Read the full column at the link below:

Michelle Malkin : Underreported Stories of 2009 - Townhall.com

'Avatar' continues to set records

Because of the holiday weekend, box-office receipts won't be released until Monday, but BoxOfficeMojo.com has compiled a list of films that were the fastest to reach $300 million.

"Avatar" is No. 3 on the list, reaching $300M in 15 days. ("Avatar" will probably top the weekend box-office for the third weekend in a row when the numbers are leased.)

Here's the Top 10 list of films that reached $300M the fastest:

1 The Dark Knight - 10 days to reach $313,781,677 (Final domestic gross: $533,345,358)
2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 14 days to reach $305,522,774 (Final Domestic gross: $402,111,870)
3 Avatar - 15 days to reach $309,011,000 (Still playing in theaters)
4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 16 days to reach $311,341,880 (Final domestic gross: $423,315,812)
5 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - 17 days to reach $300 million (Final domestic gross: $380,270,577)
6 Shrek 2 - 18 days to reach $302 million (Final domestic gross: $441,226,247)
7 Spider-Man 2 - 19 days to reach $302 million (Final domestic gross: $373,585,825)
8 Spider-Man - 22 days to reach $305 million (Final domestic gross: $403,706,375)
9 Spider-Man 3 - 24 days to reach $303 million (Final domestic gross: $336,530,303)
10 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - 24 days to reach $301 million (Final domestic gross: $377,027,325)

Notice that all-time box-office champ "Titanic" is not on the list? "Titanic" is way down at No. 18, taking 44 days to reach $300 million. It would eventually gross $600,788,188 in the U.S. Worldwide, "Titanic" ended up making $1,842,879,955 at the box-office. So what if James Cameron takes 10 years to make a film? You know it's going to make a ton of money.

Some ominous signs in Berks police disputes

Interesting story in today's edition of the Reading Eagle about neighboring police departments who are planning to charge for their services.

So much for regional cooperation.

Some see ominous signs in Berks police disputes

Business consultant to run for 6th Congressional District seat

Honestly, I've lost track of how many people are running for Jim Gerlach's Congressional seat. I think state Rep. Curt Schroder has the inside track on the GOP side. I'm not sure how many people are running for the Democratic nomination, but there's no clear favorite.

Montgomery County business consultant to run for 6th Congressional District seat

Wake-up Call

The Who to Perform at Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show

Don't expect any wardrobe malfunctions at this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The Who (Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and some backup musicians) will perform in the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show on CBS Sports at Dolphin Stadium in the South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 7.

The Who to Perform February 7 During the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show

Liberal Twit Alert (And I Don't Mean Twitter)

Maddow Gamely Spins Napolitano's 'System Worked' Absurdity About Flight 253 | NewsBusters.org

GOP Video: Better Days Are Ahead

25 politicians to watch in 2010

Interesting list compiled by POLITICO, but where's Pat Toomey?

He's going to be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and has already ended Arlen Specter's political career. That alone should merit mention.

25 politicians to watch in 2010 - Charles Mahtesian - POLITICO.com

The 30 top-grossing films of 2009

A total of 30 films released in 2009 grossed $100 million or more, helping Hollywood set a new record for box-office receipts.

While "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" will go down as the top-grossing film of the year, that's only because "Avatar" wasn't released until Dec. 18.

The James Cameron sci-fi epic has earned more than $309 million in a little over two weeks of release, catapulting all the way to second place for the year.

Here are the 30 top-grossing films of 2009, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com:

1 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $402,111,870
2 Avatar - $309,011,000
3 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $301,959,197
4 Up - $293,004,164
5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $285,858,000
6 The Hangover - $277,322,503
7 Star Trek - $257,730,019
8 The Blind Side - $200,938,000
9 Monsters Vs. Aliens - $198,351,526
10 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs - $196,573,705
11 X-Men Origins: Wolverine - $179,883,157
12 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - $177,243,721
13 The Proposal - $163,958,031
14 2012 - $161,490,680
15 Fast and Furious - $155,064,265
16 G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra - $150,201,498
17 Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $146,336,178
18 Taken - $145,000,989
19 A Christmas Carol (2009) - $136,686,871
20 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - $133,395,000
21 Angels & Demons - $133,375,846
22 Terminator Salvation - $125,322,469
23 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - $122,650,135
24 Inglourious Basterds - $120,540,719
25 G-Force - $119,436,770
26 Sherlock Holmes - $117,205,000
27 District 9 - $115,646,235
28 Couples Retreat - $108,261,815
29 Paranormal Activity - $107,783,000
30 Watchmen - $107,509,799

Looking for work already

For more Mike Lester cartoons, click here.

22 Ways to Save Money on Your Home Energy Bill

22 Ways to Save Money on Your Home Energy Bill

Ahead of the Recovery - Top Careers to Watch in 2010

Ahead of the Recovery - Top Careers to Watch in 2010

Physician Satisfaction with Electronic Medical Records Declines

One of the goals of Obamacare is 100 percent electonic records for patients, but many doctors have concerns.

Physician Satisfaction with Electronic Medical Records Declines

Attorney General Corbett urges Congress to Strike Nebraska Provision from Health Care Legislation

Attorney General Corbett urges Congress to Strike Nebraska Provision from Health Care Legislation or Face Potential Legal Challenge

PA Preferred Culinary Connection Area to Offer Tastings, Cooking Tips at 2010 PA Farm Show

PA Preferred Culinary Connection Area to Offer Tastings, Cooking Tips at 2010 PA Farm Show

Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator: Recovery Could Be Losing Momentum

Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator Up Only Slightly to 38.7; Suggests Recovery Could Be Losing Momentum

PA Turnpike tolls up for 2010

Welcome to 2010 and another round of toll increases on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Effective Jan. 1, Turnpike tolls went up 3 percent. That follows a 25 percent toll increase in January 2009 and likely will be followed by another 3 percent increase in January 2011.

See related post: Dick Thornburgh: Abolish PA Turnpike Commission

Pennsylvania expected to lose Congressional seat

From Salena Zito of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Pennsylvania is expected to be one of 9 states to lose a congressional seat (Ohio would lose two), based on census estimates showing slower growth here. A state that in 1930 had 36 members of Congress is expected to send only 18 representatives to the House after the results of the 2010 Census are used to redraw boundaries in 2011.

"Geopolitically speaking, population is power in the United States," said Jeff Brauer, political science professor at Keystone College in Lackawanna County.

Whoever is in power in the state Legislature after next year's elections will largely determine how the lines are drawn, making state legislative races of national importance to both political parties. A new governor, who will need to sign legislation creating new districts, will take office in 2011.

Read the full story at the link below:

Census numbers point to Pennsylvania losing House seat - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Obama's Katrina Moment

Jennifer Loven, who has covered the White House for The Associated Press since 2002, wrote a news analysis a few days ago that was lost in the holiday shuffle.

In it, Loven asks if the failure of the Obama Administration to prevent the near tragedy of a likely terrorist bombing aboard a Detroit-bound passenger plane and Obama's subsequent downplaying of the incident could become Obama's Katrina.

The answer is "no" because Katrina and the Bush Administration's handling of the natural disaster was overplayed by the liberal media, which is anti-Republican and anti-Bush.

Regardless of how poorly Obama and his underlings did in response to the terrorist threat, the liberal media will cover up for one of its own.

Still, the parallels between Bush's handling of Katrina and Obama's failure to protect the nation from terrorists are there for all to see.

From Loven's analysis:

The Obama administration claim that "the system worked" after a failed aircraft bombing wasn't quite as jolting as President George W. Bush's "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" while New Orleans sank under deadly Hurricane Katrina. But both raised disturbing questions about presidential response in a time of crisis.

Bush's praise for his beleaguered FEMA director, Michael Brown, came while storm evacuees remained trapped in the Louisiana Superdome and victims' bloated bodies floated in the streets. It became a clarion call for all his administration did wrong during the 2005 calamity -- and a larger symbol of all that people disliked generally about Bush.

Loven focuses on the incredibly stupid comment by two high-ranking Obama officials that "the system worked" when it was fellow passengers who subdued the terrorist who was allowed on the plane by the same "system" Obama's people praised.

Loven writes:

Members of Congress -- Republicans, but some Democrats too -- were incredulous that "the system worked" was used in any context to describe what happened. "It is insulting that the Obama administration would make such a claim," Rep. Pete Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee -- who is running for governor in Michigan -- said in a campaign e-mail.

Republican Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl on Tuesday criticized President Barack Obama and his administration's response following the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner. McCain said Obama should have addressed the nation earlier about the botched attack. Kyl said he now doesn't feel "totally safe" with Napolitano as homeland security secretary.

Phrases do matter. Sometimes they come to take on a life of their own, with context and nuance forgotten, representing broader beliefs or fears.

For Bush, the "heckuva job" comment more than four years into his presidency fit into an already well-developed critical narrative, that he was loyal to lieutenants to a fault and hands-off on even important matters. It stuck.

For Obama, still short of one year in office, his narrative, critical or otherwise, isn't set yet.

Nonetheless, rumblings keep resurfacing about emotional distance, even coldness. Whether it's Wall Street bonuses or terrorist near-disaster, people wonder whether he feels as they do or ever acts out of passion. The comment may well stick.

Read the full story here.

Democrats' worst nightmare: Terrorism on their watch

Democrats' worst nightmare: Terrorism on their watch - Ben Smith and Carol E. Lee - POLITICO.com

The Top 10 weirdest moments of 2009

It started with Obama getting sworn in twice as president so you knew something wasn't quite right with 2009.

POLITICO recaps 10 of the weirdest moments of 2009 involving Sarah Palin, Michael Jackson, Mark Sanford and the White House Beer Summit.

The Top 10 weirdest moments of 2009 - Alexander Burns - POLITICO.com

U.S. Troop Deaths Soared in Afghanistan in 2009

The number of U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan doubled in 2009 from the previous year. And with Obama escalating the war in 2010, look for those numbers to go higher.

CNSNews.com - U.S. Troop Deaths Soared in Afghanistan in 2009

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Adoration Of The Obama

This is how The Early Show's Harry Smith opens a recent segment on The Chosen One:

"Politics, and patriotism and the presidency: it is the place where the secular and the religious merge. One of the sacraments of our national religion is the inauguration. So it was that as many as two million pilgrims made their way to Washington and the Mall to witness this most sacred event."

It gets worse from there.

Early Show's Adoration Of The Obama | NewsBusters.org

Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator: Recovery Could Be Losing Momentum

Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator Up Only Slightly to 38.7; Suggests Recovery Could Be Losing Momentum

The Democrats' Dirty Dozen Debacles of 2009

The Democrats' Dirty Dozen Debacles of 2009
A Year-in-Review of Democrat-Controlled Government

The Republican Study Committee released the following list of disappointments from 2009, documenting the 12 most destructive actions, policies, and events of the past year:

1) January 22: Obama Announces Closure of Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility In one of the first actions of his presidency, President Obama declared that international appeasement trumps common sense security by signing executive orders to shutter Gitmo. The facility has been used since 2002 to detain enemy combatants who pose a national security threat. As we learned on Christmas Day, releasing those held at Gitmo, as the President seeks to do, is a significant threat to the safety of the American people.

2) January 23: President Repeals Mexico City Policy, Freeing Up Tax Dollars for Overseas Abortions In a blatant flip-flop from the campaign trail, the President continued his use of the executive order, this time to funnel U.S. tax dollars to abortion providers overseas. As a candidate the President said he sought to reduce the number of abortions; instead, he put taxpayers on the hook for abortions outside our borders.

3) February 17: President Obama Signs the So-called "Stimulus" With promises of millions of jobs "saved or created" and unemployment under 8%, the President shackled generations of Americans to reckless spending by signing a 1.1 trillion dollar package of political pet projects and misguided fiscal policy. As Republicans predicted, the so-called stimulus has done nothing but stimulate unemployment, debt, and bigger government.

4) April 2: House Passes Budget that Borrows, Taxes, and Spends Too Much Casting aside even the appearance of fiscal restraint, Democrats passed a budget resolution that proposed a record deficit in every year and would likely put a balanced budget out of touch for more than a generation. The smallest budget deficit over the next ten years is a stunning 28% higher than the previous record deficit.

5) April 17: Administration Releases Interrogation Memos Opening the U.S. counter-terrorism playbook to our enemies and the world, the Justice Department released documents detailing the methods our intelligence community uses to extract intelligence from terror suspects. This action set the stage for a year full of CIA politicization, most notably when the Speaker of the House called the CIA liars with no justification.

6) June 1: White House Buys Car Company In what represents the culmination of the new political economy, in which Washington, not markets, picks winners and losers, the administration upped its investment to $50 billion and took a 60 percent stake in auto giant GM. It's become clear that taxpayers will not be seeing their money back any time soon, if ever.

7) June 26: National Energy Tax Passes the House After twisting and perhaps breaking enough arms, Democrat leaders cobbled together the votes needed to pass a massive national energy tax that would cripple the American economy. The bill contains 397 regulations and 1,060 government mandates, is projected to cost American families more than $3,000 a year and would reduce employment by more than a million jobs.

8) October 28: Unconstitutional Thought Crimes Law Hitches Ride on Defense Bill With truly stunning cynicism for our military, the President enacted a law that puts justice for one classification of people before others by attaching it to a bill that is supposed to provide resources for our men and women in uniform. The bill was a grave abuse of both policy and procedure.

9) November 17: House Passes a Government Takeover of Health Care With more than three dozen brave Democrats joining Republicans in opposition, Democrat leaders in the House rammed through a massive government intervention into the health care system that has been completely rejected by the American people. The package is chock full of government decision-making, huge tax hikes, slashes to Medicare without real reform, limited access to care, and cost increases for American patients.

10) December 1: Obama Delays and Then Tips Our Hand on Afghanistan After his top commander said resources were needed and time is of the essence, the President "deliberated" for nearly three months on the way forward in Afghanistan. When he finally made his decision, he somehow managed to declare the beginning and the end of a new operation at the same time.

11) December 24: The Integrity of the Senate Put On the Auction Block In an historic disgrace to the great legislators who have graced the Senate before him, Majority Leader Reid engaged in a brazen operation of political bribery to pass a health care bill that is growing less popular by the day. The handouts that greased the skids to pass the government takeover of healthcare on Christmas Eve will surely haunt this Congress for decades to come.

12) All year long: Missed Opportunity to Work Together and Change the Tone Despite hollow speeches and faux sincerity, Democrats set forth one of the most partisan and opaque agendas in American history. Rejecting Republican input, and shutting the minority out of the legislative process in an unprecedented manner, Democrats jammed nearly all of their major proposals through the House on near party line votes, often only releasing legislation just hours before it came to the floor. The American people were looking for a new day, however what they saw was old Washington (and Chicago) on overdrive and a government that is not responsive to the American people.

Democrats wake up with a hangover

New Year, New Web site for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

New Year, New Website for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund

Psychic Source Forecasts 2010's Biggest Headlines

Splitsville for Brad and Angelina... Oprah Enters the Political Arena: Psychic Source Forecasts 2010's Biggest Headlines

Happy New Year!