How to listen to the State of the Union speech

State of the Union this evening

 

If you don’t want to watch it live, you can always check in at VodkaPundit (Stephen Green), who, as usual, will be drunkblogging the speech. 9 PM.

 

Another waiver – this one from the NFL

Lawless government? No respect for NFL rules and mandates, either. From nj.com’s report “HowMetLife Stadium scored Super Bowl 2014, bringing the big game to N.J.”:

It took four votes and more than 10 years.

Kickoff for the 2014 Super Bowl is now [less than] two weeks away, and the NFL has already taken possession of MetLife Stadium. 

. . .

It’s been a long march up the field already, marked by quiet, behind-the-scenes lobbying and phone calls, getting the enthusiastic support of the state’s governor, and raising millions from sponsors for what will be the most expensive Super Bowl in history.

The bidding specifications for this year’s Super Bowl, obtained by The Star-Ledger, mandated tens of millions in expenses that would be borne by whoever won the honor of hosting the game. The 127-page document outlined everything from the minimum size of the stadium (the NFL mandates a seating capacity of at least 70,000, after an allowance of 3,000 seats for camera and production locations), to power and lighting needs.

Keep all those “NFL mandates in mind. Here’s another mandate [emphasis added].

And it required a climate-controlled domed stadium "if the historical average daily temperature over a 10-year period in the host city on the week of the game is below 50 degrees" — a mandate that needed agreement from the owners to at least a one-time exception before a cold-weather Super Bowl with a view of the New York skyline was even possible.

Obviously, as with Obamacare, some mandates are more equal than others.

[Jets owner Woody Johnson] said the only real negative he heard about was the weather.

"If you embrace the weather as we have, it doesn’t sound so bad. We’ve had bad weather at previous Super Bowls," Johnson said he argued. The message was drilled home repeatedly. "New York knows how to do this," he said he told other owners. "We’re experts at it."

Tell that to residents on Manhattan’s upper east side.  Brrrr. 

One Month Left To Comment On IRS Rule

From NumbersUSA, a 501(c)(4) organization committed to legal and reduced immigration:

One Month Left To Comment On IRS Rule

There's a little more than one month left for anyone to submit a comment to the IRS's proposed rule that would silence certain non-profit organizations, including NumbersUSA. Thanks to those who have already joined the more than 10,000 concerned citizens who have left a comment!

The proposed rule presents a real threat to our grade cards and faxing in the months leading up to federal elections. If enacted, certain non-profit organizations would not be able to even mention a candidate's name within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of the general election - even if the mention has nothing to do with the election itself. Nor, would we be able to tell you when a Member of Congress who is also running for office is pushing an amnesty.

This rule would require us to take down our grade cards and non-partisan candidate comparison pages and shut down most of our activism efforts during the election window.

If you want to learn more about the proposed rule and leave a public comment on the federal register's website, please visit http://www.ProtectC4FreeSpeech.com.

 # # #

According to examiner.com, as of January 21:

At the time of this writing, not one public comment on a proposed IRS rule for 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups is positive.

 # # #

Article V Symposium webinar announcement

Photo credit: whichway.com

Announcement from Tea Party Patriots:

Last week, the third webinar in Tea Party Patriots' Article V Symposium highlighted some of the most popular amendments being discussed in conservative circles. The final webinar is scheduled for next Tuesday and will continue to discuss possible amendments in an Article V Amending Convention.

WHAT: A continuation of proposed amendments

WHEN: Tues Jan-28 at 7:30 pm

Register for the Article V Symposium Webinars HERE
 

Obamacare does include a death panel

Photo credit: thespeechatimeforchoosing.wordpress.com

Kevin O’Brien’s opinion columns are always worth reading; here are a few excerpts from yesterday’s Plain Dealer online, Obamacaredoes include a death panel, and the separation of powers is its first target:

As the months have ticked by and the ludicrously misnamed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has wobbled into reality, Americans have seen one promise after another come crashing down.

. . .

But the people still have some recourse — at least eventually. They can raise hell with Congress, which is still at least occasionally responsive. They can appeal for help from the courts.

Unless something that the forces of dictatorship want is purposely put out of reach of Congress and the courts.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the  Independent Payment Advisory Board — the relatively tiny, incredibly powerful item in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that is designed, on purpose, to have dictatorial powers.

Some people call it the death panel, and it is, but there’s more to it than that. If it’s allowed to work, it certainly will kill a lot of Americans — any sick person who is deemed to be too great a drain on the federal government, an entity already deep in debt.

Worse than that, though, it’s a potential Constitution killer. There’s no way a nation like ours can abide a monstrosity like the IPAB. If we end up being forced to abide it, we will cease to be a nation like ours.

The IPAB is designed to centralize the powers that this nation’s founders worked so hard to separate.

The IPAB will legislate, setting all policy related to Medicare. It will be in a position to declare what will be acceptable regarding health care costs, patient access and quality.

. . .

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act says IPAB decisions are not subject to judicial review.

So, let’s recap. Here we have a 15-member board appointed by the president that will make life-and-death decisions about which treatments will be allowed to which kinds of patients and what the people involved will pay and be paid, and the board is a law unto itself. Congress has no practical way of stopping it and the courts can’t intervene in what it does.

The time to stop the IPAB is now, before it becomes invincible. Fortunately, a lawsuit that takes aim directly at its consolidation of executive power, usurpation of legislative power and denial of judicial power is working its way through the federal court system.

The law that created the IPAB is so blatantly unconstitutional, even the reliably wacky 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should get this call right on Coons v. Geithner.

Read the rest here. 

Update: pros and cons of the Article V Symposium Webinars

Photo credit: whichway.com

Following up on Tea Party Patriots’ webinar series to explore the pros and cons of the Article V Symposium, please note that the next one is on Tuesday evening:

Announcements:

The second webinar for the Article V Symposium brought both sides of the debate to a large audience. Please see below for the remaining webinar dates.

• 01/21/14 – Proposed Amendments Part 1: What are some of the amendments being promoted by various groups? From a Balanced Budget Amendment to Term Limits to Repeal 16, learn about them on this webinar.
• 01/28/14 – Proposed Amendments Part 2: A continuation of proposed amendments.

Register for the Article V Symposium Webinars HERE

Link of the Day: Jenny Beth Martin on the FBI "investigation" of IRS targeting

LINK OF THE DAY

Photo credit: www.officialpsds.com

Fay Voshell at American Thinker takes a look at the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the phony-baloney FBI “investigation” and whitewash of the IRS’s harassment activities:

According to the Justice Department, an FBI investigation has found the IRS innocent of criminal activity concerning the targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups.

Predictably, conservative non-profits caught in the crosshairs of the IRS are angry. Fox News reports that Jenny Beth Martin, the cofounder of the Tea Party Patriots, called the news "absolutely outrageous," adding, "It only leads us to the point where we can make guesses about their motives. Why are they protecting the IRS?"

Martin asks a good question.

Frankly, it is difficult for Tea Party and other conservatives to see the Justice Department's waiver of culpability by means of a cursory FBI investigation as anything other than a coverup.

Read the rest here.