http://blogs.abcnews.com/…

For those concerned about stimulus spending, the General Services Administration sends word tonight that $18 million in additional funds are being spent to redesign the Recovery.gov Web site.The new Web site promises to give taxpayers more information about where their money is going than the current version of the site.

“Recovery.gov 2.0 will use innovative and interactive technologies to help taxpayers see where their dollars are being spent,” James A. Williams, commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, says in a press release announcing the contract awarded to Maryland-based Smartronix Inc. “Armed with easy access to this information, taxpayers can make government more accountable for its decisions.”

The contract calls for spending $9.5 million through January, and as much as $18 million through 2014, according to the GSA press release.

I maintain several websites in my spare time and it costs me a few hundred dollars a year. ~4 million dollars a year to run such a site seems extremely excessive… but what else would one expect? I’m sure that $18 million is better spent helping out Smartronix Inc. then however the people that money was stolen from was.

From an email I just received and a press release:

Dear Friend,

Steve Lonegan is strong advocate of free markets. I was very impressed by his record of budget restraint as Mayor of Bogota, NJ. He has been a vocal critic of runaway spending and taxpayer funded bailouts, and he understands that we must reject the nanny state and return government to its proper, restrained role. Sending Steve Lonegan to Trenton would be a tremendous victory for the people of New Jersey.

That is why I am supporting Steve Lonegan for New Jersey Governor. Steve is fighting hard in a difficult race, and he needs your help to win. Please support Steve in any way you feel appropriate. You can visit his website, Lonegan.com ( http://www.lonegan.com/ ), to donate, volunteer or receive more information.

At this time when big government forces are grabbing more and more power, we must come together and unite behind principled free market leaders like Steve Lonegan. Please join me in supporting Steve in any way you can and, most importantly, please make sure you get the polls and vote for him on June 2nd.

In Liberty,

Ron Paul

I had seen a lot of talk about this guy on the NJ Ron Paul mailing lists… looks like I should check him out. I did get an attack ad in the mail trashing him so he must appear to be a threat to someone.

Just now Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius was on CNN talking about the Obama administrations healthcare proposals. The host asks if all these programs Obama is promoting are sustainable or even appropriate given the 1.5 trillion dollar deficit the federal government is running this year and is planned to continue doing in the next few. “Isn’t that partly how we got into the current crisis? Couldn’t this continued behavior lead the country to bankruptcy?”

Her reply:

“No, I think it’s just the opposite.” … and then goes on to describe that prices in healthcare are too much and everyone knows it and the government needs to step in and help out.

Deficits will do the opposite of leading them toward bankruptcy? So spending money we don’t have makes us wealthy?! Federal government spending money is magicly not from taxes you’ve already paid or will pay or your children will pay some day or will pay through inflation?

http://www.humblelibertarian.com/…

1. Promising to “publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days… before the President signs it,” then breaking that promise over and over again.
2. Despite promising to keep lobbyists out of his administration, Obama has broken his word again and again (making 17 exceptions to this promise in his first two weeks).
3. Obama promised to eliminate income taxation for seniors making less than $50,000 a year. He has broken this promise despite numerous opportunities to keep it, including the economic stimulus package and his administration’s first budget proposal.
4. The President also boasted during his campaign that “During 2009 and 2010, existing businesses will receive a $3,000 refundable tax credit for each additional full-time employee hired,” and has failed to keep his word.
5. Obama made it part of his agenda to “allow withdrawals of 15% up to $10,000 from retirement accounts without penalty (although subject to the normal taxes). This would apply to withdrawals in 2008 (including retroactively) and 2009,” but didn’t include this measure in the stimulus package or his budget proposal.
6. Obama broke his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
7. Obama did a shameless 180 degree turn on earmarks by sharply criticizing them (and bragging that he would pass legislation without a single one) and then signing a spending bill with literally thousands of them.

I’m completely OK with 7. Better the so call representitives waste the money than the executive branch. The collection, allocation and spending of the money in the first place is the actual problem.

This list isn’t bad. It stretches to get 100 things but much of it is reasonable.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6