You can read my initial report of this under reported spending scheme HERE
The democrats are continuing to quietly attach another nationalization program to the corpulent national healthcare scheme. This silent scheme would replace private student loan lending institutions in favor of direct government financed (read taxpayer financed) student loans. The Hill reports thousands of jobs would be lost in this pursuit:
But the student loan industry estimates that nearly 35,000 jobs would be lost if the federal government lent directly to students and only let private companies service the loans.
Just what we need are more college graduates unable to find work and saddled with crushing student loan debt. If you believe the cost of higher education is exorbitant, imagine what it will be like when all price controls are removed with government subsidizing student loans. Colleges and Universities will no longer have any incentive to price their product competitively if the government is there to approve student loans that cover whatever tuition they demand.
A direct quote from Iowa Congressman Steve King’s remarks at CPAC.
I had the opportunity to chat with the Congressman after his speech and ask him to further explain this statement:
And after all of these months of debate and negotiations, it comes down to this: if you start out with that tainted stew, there is no part of it that Americans want. We don’t want a pot full, we don’t want a bowl full, we don’t want a spoon full, a cup full, or any kind measure of toxic stew called socialized medicine. We want it dead. Throw it out and start over.
I was impressed with his support for stand alone legislation regarding healthcare – no cornhusker kickback need apply. He also advocated a more careful and measured approach to reforming healthcare by ‘fixing the things that are wrong, let the free market do the rest and find out what the next flaw is.”
The interview lasts about 15 minutes, again I would suggest you turn up the volume when viewing the video. It was a rather busy lobby to shoot video.
While at CPAC, I had the opportunity to interview the director of “The Stoning of Soraya M.” , Cyrus Nowrasteh:
This is story that must be told, as it is a story of hope that must not be extinguished. It is the account of an ‘inconvenient wife’ accused of adultery in a rural town in Iran. The punishment for such a crime under islamic law is death by stoning. The movie was filmed near Petra, Jordan and many in the cast are of Iranian descent.
An Iranian journalist living in Paris, Freidoune Sahebjam, stumbled upon the story while on assignment in Iran, when his car broke down in this town and the aunt of Soraya shared her story with him.
In 1986, Soraya M. was stoned to death upon the accusation of adultery. This happened in the 20th century, not the dark ages. This movie takes an unflinching look at heinous human behavior driven by islamic law.
Iraq Veterans for Congress PAC, or IVC, is a federally registered political action committee supporting the congressional campaigns of conservative Republican Iraq Veterans.
We look for conservative Republican veterans who are determined to become a voice for our troops, military families, and hardworking patriotic Americans who believe that our country, our Constitution and our way of life are worth fighting for.
The drama did not end with Breitbart slamming all comers at CPAC. Susie (Medea) Benjamin was called out as she and her partner Tighe Barry snuck into the ballroom while Beck was finishing up his speech.
Towards the end of Glenn Beck’s keynote speech while I was busy tweeting on my @#$%@# netbook, Doug Welch (Stix Blog) mentioned to me that he just saw Code Pink walk through Bloggers Lounge towards steps leading to the floor of the ballroom. I immediately grabbed Doug, notified Caleb Howe and encouraged other bloggers to head out into the ballroom in search of Code Pink. With in a few minutes, I spotted Susie (Medea) Benjamin walking with Tighe and carrying a huge pink purse. Yelling her name to get the attention of her and my blogging buddies, I asked her what was the going rate of an IED. I cannot see how any real woman could rename herself after a mythological woman who exacted revenge on her husband by murdering their children. I wonder if Susie (Medea) Benjamin/ Code Pink is continuing the myth by facilitating the murder of US sons and daughters by sending cash and aid to al-queda in Iraq?
You know she did not sneak in through the bloggers lounge to satisfy her desire to listen to Glenn Beck. In order to access the lounge you had to have a credential, she had no credentials on her person when we called her out. I am absolutely certain she was planning some disruption and the actions of alert bloggers stopped her.
Doug Hoffman stopped by Red State’s Bloggers Lounge to talk with the bloggers. I was fortunate enough to work with another brilliant conservative blogger – GenMom – and snagged an interview with Doug.
The video was shot in a busy hallway, please turn up your speaker volume to better hear this interview with Doug.
I’m back from CPAC and I see Curt and Mike have been busy posting videos of choice main ballroom speeches from CPAC. I will be eternally grateful to them.
Let me tell you the most important lesson I learned covering CPAC – netbooks are terrible for blogging, video editing and photo editing. I found to my great dismay that the best I could do was Twitter and check email with this #$@^$% netbook.
That being said I’ve got loads of exclusive videos, photos and stories to share with you now that I’m back home with access to a real computer.
Finally packed for a very early morning trip to DC to attend CPAC 2010 as an Official Blogger and Panelist. In addition to my duties as an official blogger, I am scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Thursday at 4pm entitled ‘Blogger Free For All’, sponsored by Kevin McKeever (Bank of Kev). This discussion will allow conference participants to learn about blogging and new media tips from a group of up and coming bloggers. I am so excited about this dual opportunity to blog CPAC and to speak at CPAC. Alright, the speaking part has me more nervous than excited.
I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow panelists from the Bank of Kev’s ‘Blogger Free For All’: Doug Welch, Andrew Ian Dodge, Joy McCann, Larry O’Connor, and Bruce. You can catch our panel discussion this Thursday at 4 PM in Room 8212 of the Marriott Hotel.
There will be a Wednesday night pre-conference kickoff with a bar side live radio show hosted by Stage Right – Larry O’Connor. You can follow the live broadcast from Marriott bar by clicking HERE. I’ll be stopping by to chat with Larry and the other panelists. This is going to be a discussion you don’t want to miss!
For those who can’t attend the conference – I am happy to announce there is an iPhone App for that!
Stay tuned for more postcards from the Conference.
Buster is one of the few who welcome the Snowpocalypse at chez Skye:
In this dire era of global warming, I hope all Flopping Aces readers in the Northeast safely enjoy this weekend of snow. I’m hunkering in with a great lineup of movies; Dune, Garden State, Love Happens, Flyboys and a large supply of Ghiardelli chocolates.
“This is a molten blizzard. Period. End of story,” said Patel. “And while it has the appearance of cold, you must not be confused by deniers, clearly in the pay of large corporations.” Patel was emphatic as he urged the public to “throw away the evidence of your senses and trust the IPCC. I do.”
“They said it would be transparent. Why isn’t it? At times, I find the caucus is a real disappointment. We aren’t transparent, not just to the public but at times to the members.” – Democrat Rep. Joe Sestak
