Voting Index

Presidential candidate Rick Perry opined in the first Republican debate that  Social Security is a “failure” and a “Ponzi scheme,” and then reiterated the charge in the second debate on Monday night. At the first debate, Perry said Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme for these young people. The idea… that the current program is going to be there for them is a lie.” When pressed by the moderator, Perry reiterated, saying Social Security is a “monstrous lie to our kids.” On Monday night Perry refused to back down: “It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you’re paying into a program that’s going to be there. Anybody that’s for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids, and it’s not right.” But in his op-ed piece in USA Today on Sunday, Perry backed off, writing instead that the system could still be salvaged somehow: “Social Security benefits for current recipients and those nearing retirement must be protected. For younger workers, we must consider reforms to make Social Security financially viable.” He failed to mention the words “Ponzi scheme” nor did he explain just what reforms would be required.

In a shocking ruling by a Canadian appeal court, a woman who strangled her son with her underwear after secretly giving birth to him will face no jail time because the judge determined that her actions were no different from an abortion. When Katrina Effert was 19-years old, she gave birth to a baby boy, and immediately strangled the child and threw his body over the fence into the neighbor’s yard on April 13, 2005. Two years ago, a jury found Effert guilty of second-degree murder, but the highest court in the province decided that the jury had made a mistake. The Alberta Court of Appeal overturned the conviction, and replaced it with a lesser charge of infanticide. The Criminal Code of Canada classifies infanticide as follows:

Analysts are warning that serious chaos could ensue as a coalition of radical activists, leftist organizations, self-described “revolutionaries” and anti-capitalist agitators — some of whom are reportedly linked to the Obama administration — plots to “occupy" Wall Street starting on September 17. Under the banner of a “Day of Rage,” critics and supporters say the protests could be just the start of something much bigger — and the list of targeted cities in the U.S. and around the world is still growing. The real goals of the effort remain murky. But despite the apparent socialist and collectivist bent of many participants, even some constitutionalists have expressed tepid sympathy after organizers released a statement blasting the American “kleptocracy” run by “banksters.” “We must stop their influence, their motives, and their tricks, from continuing to destroy our democratic republic,” concluded a “tactical plan” released last week by one of the organizations affiliated with the movement. The group, known as US Day of Rage, also called for an end to the influence of money in politics.  

Voters in New York’s Ninth Congressional District are coming out today to vote for their new congressman, who will replace disgraced former Representative Anthony Weiner, a Democrat. While the seat has been held by a Democrat consistently for the past 78 years (the last Republican to represent the district was Andrew Petersen, who represented the district from 1921-1923), political analysts and pollsters have strong reason to believe that history may be made tonight if Republican candidate Bob Turner defeats his Democratic opponent, Assemblyman David Weprin. While registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in the district by a three-to-one margin, polls suggest that the seat will turn Republican largely due to voter dissatisfaction with President Obama’s handling of the economy, as well as opposition among the district’s significant Jewish population to Obama’s Israel policy and support of a Ground Zero Mosque. The largely white, middle class district is also home to a predominately “Reagan Democrat” demographic, making it significantly less progressive than other districts, accounting for Turner’s surprising success in the polls. A Siena College poll on Friday, September 9th found Turner ahead with 50 percent of the vote, compared to Weprin’s 46 percent, and a Public Policy Polling poll from Monday puts Turner ahead of Weprin with 47 percent of the vote, to Weprin’s 41 percent. Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, said the president had emerged as a drag on Weprin. “If Republicans win this race on Tuesday it’s real world evidence of how unpopular Barack Obama is right now,” Debnam said in a release accompanying the survey results. “Approval polls are one thing but for the GOP to win in a heavily Democratic district like this would send a strong message about how unhappy voters are."

It’s tough to feel sorry for a billionaire who’s also a powerful politician, but once in a rare while I almost manage it. And then my sympathies extend not just to New York City’s nanny — sorry, mayor, Michael Bloomberg, but to anyone government employs, from POTUS to the lowliest, surliest bureaucrat. Why? Because most taxpayers harbor incredibly unrealistic expectations for these mere mortals. Somehow, when a fellow citizen descends to elected or appointed office, he becomes God — or at least Superman -— to many folks. Said official is then supposed to protect us during natural or manmade disasters, soothe our fears, supply our every need, clean our air and water, keep us healthy, educate our intractable kids, and guard us from those greedy corporations despite their lavish contributions (sic for “bribes”) to election campaigns.

Another federal judge has ruled that Obamacare’s key individual mandate is unconstitutional. Judge Christopher C. Conner of the U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ruled on Tuesday that the federal government cannot mandate American citizens to purchase health care. The ruling addressed one of more than 30 lawsuits nationwide that have been filed against Obamacare since it was signed into law in March 2010. This particular lawsuit was filed by a Pennsylvania couple, Barbara Goudy-Bachman and George Bachman, who do not have health insurance, but believed they would be subject to the mandate. Conner, a George W. Bush appointee, said that the mandate, which begins in 2014, is an unconstitutional extension of federal authority under the Commerce Clause. “The nation undoubtedly faces a health care crisis,” Conner said. “Scores of individuals are uninsured and the costs to all citizens are measurable and significant.  

When Jeremy Hoven put his concealed carry permit to use for self-defense purposes during an armed robbery last May, he was fired by his employer, Walgreens. Though Hoven defended the use of his weapon by asserting he feared for his life, and while no one was injured during the encounter, Walgreens issued a pink slip, prompting Hoven to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. At a Walgreens in Benton Township, Michigan, two armed robbers wearing masks burst in at 4:30 am with weapons drawn. Pharmacist Jeremy Hoven was working behind his counter when he saw the attackers grab the Walgreens store manager as a hostage. The men also jumped behind Hoven’s counter, with their weapons drawn. While one of the masked men held a gun to the head of one of the Walgreens’ employees, the other attempted to shoot Hoven three times, but his gun would not fire.  

One of the purposes of No Child Left Behind, the education reform program promoted by President George W. Bush and Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, was to set high standards for American public schools so that American students would excel in their studies. Testing was to be used as the means to see if the schools were meeting those new standards. The theory was that if you set higher academic standards, the schools would have to revise their curricula and teach subject matter and academic skills that would help the students achieve academic success. But how was this to be done since the curricula had been deliberately devised to dumb-down the students? Were the professors of education and curriculum developers willing to give up their progressive goals to turn the students into little academically challenged socialists? If the schools could not show academic improvement, they would lose federal funds. So the schools did what they considered to be the only way to meet the federal standards: cheat. Phyllis Schlafly writes in her August 2011 report:

Pro-life leaders in Poland remain optimistic despite the narrow defeat of a bill that would have completely banned abortion in the largely Catholic nation. The historic bill, the result of a nationwide grassroots campaign that garnered 600,000 petition signatures in support of the law in two weeks, was narrowly defeated in late August in Poland’s parliament by a 191-186 vote, with five abstentions and 78 lawmakers not present for the vote, according to LifeSiteNews.com. Nonetheless, said Polish pro-life commentator Tomasz Terlikowski, in spite of the “undeniable defeat of the entire project, it was a huge success.” Terlikowski told LifeSiteNews that the victory came in “the introduction to public debate, unthinkable in other European countries, of a total ban on abortion.” He added that those in Poland who are committed to defending the unborn, “among whom I count myself, certainly will not rest. In the next Parliament we will re-submit the bill banning all abortions.”  

In an effort touted as one to reduce tensions with the rest of the world, Iran has pledged to release two Americans held hostage in the country. The announcement comes just as Iranian President Ahmadinejad plans to visit the United Nations in New York to discuss nuclear talks. The Guardian reports: The pair [Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal], both now 29, were arrested by Iranian security officials in July 2009 along with a friend, Sarah Shourd, 33, after walking across an unmarked border between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. Shourd who became engaged to Bauer while in jail, was released last September on health grounds and for the same bail sum. Both American hostages were sentenced to eight years in jail for espionage and for illegally crossing the border. A lawyer for the men submitted an appeal against the sentences and Amnesty International called the conviction a “mockery of justice.”