Georgia Workers and the State Slide Backwards

The annual State of Working Georgia examines the deteriorating status of working Georgians 20 months into the recession, outlining solutions that position Georgia to catch up. The recession pummeled Georgia and, as the 2009 edition points out, we have more catching up to do than most states.

§ Georgia lost 7.6 percent of jobs in this recession, the 5th highest of all states. Compared to other recent recessions, the current prolonged job loss is unparalleled. Georgia has less jobs today than in 2001.

§ The working age population of Georgia grew by 19 percent between January 2001 and September 2009, making Georgia a leader in population growth among states, yet with a startling job-population mismatch this decade.

§ Unemployment doubled since the beginning of the recession. Roughly 480,000 Georgia workers (10.1 percent) were unemployed. Additional workers have stopped looking for work or taken part-time jobs, making almost 1 in 6 workers underemployed.

"The task facing Georgia leaders today is to protect and preserve the quality of life of Georgians as they weather the economic downturn," said Sarah Beth Gehl, the report's author and the Institute's deputy director."

In addition to overall workforce trends, the analysis documents income, poverty, health insurance coverage, and disparities among demographics. For example:

§ African-American workers experienced 15.6 percent unemployment in the third quarter of this year, twice the level of unemployment among white workers (7.7 percent).

§ Low-income workers are much less likely to receive employer-sponsored health coverage than higher-wage workers: Twenty-seven percent of low-income, non-elderly adults had employer-sponsored coverage in 2007-2008 compared to 63 percent of all non-elderly adult Georgians.

§ In 2008, half of Hispanic part-time workers wanted full-time employment, but could only locate part-time work.

§ Education levels bookend the earnings spectrum.

"We recommend that Georgia policymakers invest more heavily in raising adult education levels and strengthening supports for low-wage workers," said Gehl, "rather than pushing tax cut legislation that further reduces Georgia's ability to meet people's needs today and make sure our economy is positioned for when prosperity returns."

There is a silver lining to the dismal workforce findings. Georgia can climb itself out of the mire: there are many public policies available to boost the situation of low-income workers and increase the education levels of Georgia workers hardest hit.

To review the analysis and solutions, read State of Working Georgia 2009.

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Obamacare's nasty surprise

Fewer insured, higher costs might be the result
Obamacare could have the unintended consequence of raising health insurance premiums and causing a decline in the number of people with insurance.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/05/AR2009110504327.html

Note: This one is a must read!
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FRC Responds to Dept. of Education Request; Urges Kevin Jennings Removal

Earlier this month, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins received an invitation to participate in a discussion of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) scheduled to take place today. Perkins declined the invitation and instead sent a letter which includes detailed recommendations and specific concerns about the office, its programs, and its leadership.

Perkins made the following comments in a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan:

"The drug prevention program you now administer was created by Congress to
combat the illegal use of drugs. Since this was its original purpose, it should remain the principal one. Unfortunately, the life and writings of Kevin Jennings, whom you appointed as Assistant Deputy Secretary to direct OSDFS, have contradicted this Congressionally mandated message. In his memoir, Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son, he wrote several times about his own use of alcohol and marijuana as a high school and college student...

"While many people may experiment with drugs and alcohol in their youth and later come to regret it when they have reached a higher level of maturity, the light-hearted tone of these excerpts-written only three years ago-does not suggest any regret whatsoever...

"Surely we can agree that all students deserve to attend 'safe schools' that are free of violence. Therefore, I urge you to reject initiatives such as the model legislation proposed under Mr. Jennings' leadership at GLSEN-namely, to create special categories of protection...We should extend protection to all students based on the nature of the victimizing conduct, rather than the characteristics of the victim.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Jennings' own behavior in an incident when he was a teacher, which he has recounted on a number of occasions, draws into sharp question his willingness and ability to fulfill [these] recommendations. By his own (conflicting) accounts, it appears that when he met with a male student (aged 15 or 16) who admitted to finding a same-sex sexual partner in the bus station in Boston, Mr. Jennings'only advice to him was, 'I hope you knew to use a condom.'

"...However, for America to have confidence in his commitment to the 'safety' of our children, it is vital for him to enumerate in greater detail what he should have done...

"Unless Mr. Jennings is willing to admit that he should have taken most or all of the steps listed...I would submit that he is unfit to protect the 'safety' of American school children, and he should resign or you should remove him from office."

To read the full letter, click here.
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Restoration Weekend Nov. 19 - 22

The David Horowitz Freedom Center will be holding its Restoration Weekend November 19 - 22, 2009 at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. Prominent authorities and political figures will enlighten audiences at this important annual event. The Center will be celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of this event. Its theme will be "Defending Our Country and Our Culture."

The Weekend activities begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday the 19th and conclude at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday the 22nd.

We are excited to announce that among the confirmed speakers are: Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, Fred Thompson, Geert Wilders, Phyllis Schlafly, Andrew Klavan, George Gilder, Jonah Goldberg, Robert Spencer, Frank Gaffney, Steve Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Bruce Bawer, Congressmen Ed Royce and Thaddeus McCotter, General Paul Vallely, Liz Cheney and Senator Jim DeMint.

We will also be hosting the Citizens United Productions Film Festival on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

For more information, please contact Michael Finch at (818) 849-3470 x212 or e-mail mfinch@horowitzfreedomcenter.org.
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Isakson: Senate Needs to ‘Go Back to the Drawing Board’ on Health Care Reform

In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today criticized the health care reform proposal currently under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee and urged his colleagues to start the process over.

“There is common ground, but you've got to be willing to find it and so far that hasn't been the case. Ramming through something we can't read, we can't quantify and we can't score isn't the right way to go about this debate,” Isakson said. “This is too important for us to take a guess, too important for us to take a chance. It's imperative that Congress knows precisely what it's doing. We need to go back to the drawing board and have a bill we can read and a bill we can afford.”

In addition to criticizing the Democrats’ proposed tax increases and expansion of government into our health care, Isakson also said it’s difficult for the public to judge the merits of the Finance Committee plan when the Democrats refuse to make available the text of the legislation to members of Congress and the public.

Isakson also criticized Democrats for rejecting efforts to reduce frivolous medical lawsuits, which drive up costs and force doctors to order wasteful tests and treatments to cover liabilities. The Finance Committee proposal calls for only a non-binding ‘Sense of the Senate’ on medical liability.

On July 15, Isakson voted against the health care reform legislation that passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on a 13-to-10 vote. Isakson argued the legislation would cost more than $1 trillion, would put the federal government in an unfair competition with private health insurers and managed care providers and would place a massive financial burden on Georgia and other states to pay for a proposed expansion of Medicaid.

Isakson is a co-sponsor of S.1099, Patients' Choice Act of 2009, which seeks to strengthen the relationship between the patient and the doctor by using choice and competition, rather than rationing and restrictions, to contain costs and ensure affordable health care for all Americans.
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Obama, United Nations, Israel News Round Up

Bolton: Obama Speech Puts Israel on 'Chopping Block'
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said President Barack Obama's address to the U.N. was "unprecedented" and "unpresidential" as he sought to distance himself from the previous administration.

In an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly immediately following Obama’s speech, Kelly cited Obama's statement that Iran and North Korea must be "held accountable" and “the world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise and that treaties will be enforced. We must insist that the future does not belong to fear."

Kelly asked: "Does that advance the ball?"



http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/bolton_obama_israel_un/2009/09/23/263709.html?s=al&promo_code=8A39-1

Obama Criticizes Israel In First U.N. Speech
Sen. Schumer Takes Issue, Calls President's New Policy "Counter Productive"; Jewish Groups Mobilize
It was President Barack Obama's maiden speech, one intended to seek a new era of global cooperation, but it was not without controversy. Obama shrugged off the go-it-alone brand of diplomacy espoused by former President George W. Bush and called on world nations to join him in solving global crises. But his harsh demands on Israel touched off a furor. "We continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israel settlements," Obama said.
http://wcbstv.com/local/obama.united.nations.2.1203733.html

Cantor: Obama not ‘true friend’ of Israel
September 23, 2009
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- The only Jewish Republican in Congress said President Obama does not seem to be a "true friend" of Israel.
In an interview with Politico, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said he was opposed to Obama's "disproportionate focus" on a settlement freeze instead of dealing with the "existential threat" to Israel from Iran.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/23/1008083/cantor-obama-doesnt-seem-to-be-true-friend-of-israel

Obama calls to 'End the Occupation'
(IsraelNN.com) United States President Barack Obama issued a stinging condemnation of the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. The U.S. “does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements,” Obama announced.
Using unusually harsh terminology, Obama called to "end the occupation that began in 1967" - referring to Israel's control of Judea and Samaria.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133564

Israel's left, right both mock Obama-Netanyahu-Abbas summit as farce
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's critics on the left and right criticized his tripartite summit on Tuesday in New York with U.S. President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6765930.html

Israel satisfied despite lacklustre Obama meeting

Israel plays down Mideast breakthrough hopes at Obama summit

Former Ambassador: Obama Clipping Israel's Wings
Follow Israel news on and . (IsraelNN.com) Yoram Ettinger, the former Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, charged Tuesday that U.S. President Barack Obama is holding the Netanyahu-Abbas-Obama summit in order to continue “clipping the wings of the State of Israel.”

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Obama --- A Charming Liar?

President Barack Obama is a charming liar. That assertion was made by a liberal talk show host on Air America, a far left-wing radio station. Where is the caterwauling about racism or a lack of “civility” from Democrats and liberals in the mainstream media or else where? When ardent Obama supporters start calling him a liar, it’s a sure sign that the wool has been pulled off of the Obama wolf.

In a laughable attempt to keep the Obama fig leaf of truthfulness in place, Democrats and their media allies are now castigating Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina for spontaneously and truthfully calling Obama a liar during Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress. There was no such hand wringing when Democrats booed President George W. Bush when he addressed Congress. Ignored is the fact that Obama during his speech trashed as liars average Americans, Republican leaders and all who do not agree with Obama’s radical government-run, rationed health care agenda. Lost in the media coverage is the fact that laughter erupted in Congress during Obama’s speech when he readily admitted that details of his healthcare plan still need to be worked out. Sadly, Obama’s duplicitous speech was an insulting campaign ploy to further deceive Americans and divide our nation.

From the moment he stepped onto the national stage to campaign for the presidency, Obama has consistently lied to the American people in order to convince us to trust him with our economic and national security. Since becoming our president, he has betrayed that trust.

During his first eight months in office, Obama has exhibited his admiration for dictators and disdain for our allies. He offended the Queen of England and bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. He praised the Marxist Daniel Ortega, kissed Socialist Hugo Chavez on the cheek and endorsed the Socialist Evo Morales of Bolivia. He sided with Hugo Chavez and Communist Fidel Castro against Honduras, a country that followed its constitution and stopped its president from illegally turning himself into that country’s dictator. Obama announced that he would meet with Iranians with no pre-conditions, while they're building their nuclear weapons.

Obama displayed a blatant lack of concern for what is in the best interest of America when he circled the globe and publicly apologized for America's world leadership. He told the Mexican president that Americans are responsible for the violence in Mexico. He announced a cut in funding for our new missile defense system the day after an ICBM was launched by North Korea. He released information on U.S. intelligence gathering despite contrary urgings of his own CIA director and the four prior CIA directors. He ordered that the word "terrorism" be stricken from our discourse and replaced with the innocuous words "man made disasters." He appointed a Homeland Security Chief who identified military veterans and abortion opponents as "dangers to the nation." In a scary bid to increase the political power of the Democratic Party, Obama politicized the census by moving it out of the Department of Commerce and into the White House.

His dogged determination to turn our country into a failed socialist nation was in full evidence when Obama nationalized General Motors and Chrysler. He gave to the unions control over the two giant automobile manufacturers, while freezing out retired investors and allocating billions of taxpayer dollars to this socialist power grab. As a further slap in our economic face, he expanded the corporate bailouts, including giving billions to AIG without pre-conditions. Then, to add insult to injury, Obama doubled our national debt with his out-of-control spending.

Obama is spending so brazenly because he is counting on Americans being lulled into complacency by the time of the 2010 elections. By design, the bulk of the "stimulus" funds will be spent, just in time, to spur a false recovery. The "recovery" will be hailed as proof of Obama's wisdom by the liberal media. It will not matter that the so-called recovery will not be real, or that it won't last – as long as Obama and liberal Democrats stay in control of our government.

Demonstrating his willingness to operate without regard for our laws, Obama fired two inspector generals (IG’s) who were investigating illegal activities by Obama cronies. Obama fired the IG’s even though, by law, inspector generals are authorized to conduct investigations without interference from government officials. Blatantly, Obama refused to prosecute Black Panthers caught on video intimidating voters at a polling place in Philadelphia during the 2008 election. Further, Obama filled his cabinet with five people who have cheated on their taxes, and two of his other nominees withdrew after they were exposed as tax cheats.

The lack of any check on Obama’s power, due to a veto-proof Democrat-controlled Congress and a lap dog liberal media, has caused Obama to boldly assert his radical agenda and surround himself with a stable of over 30 advisors called “Czars”. These unaccountable Obama-appointees are beholden only to Obama. They are not unanswerable to Congress or the American people, as was intended by our Constitution which requires congressional confirmation hearings and oversight of political appointees. Among those Czars are Communists, Marxists and other characters with troubling backgrounds and questionable credentials who should not be allowed anywhere near the White House. Gone is media outrage over abuse of power or an imperial presidency, as well as any angst about the shredding of our Constitution.

Truly disturbing is White House advisor Mark Lloyd, the “Diversity” Czar at the FCC, who was inspired by Marxist Saul Alinsky. He is pushing a “confrontational movement” designed to give a dominant role to public broadcasting and silence voices in alternative and conservative media outlets.

Most troubling of Obama’s unaccountable appointees is the recently resigned “Green Job” Czar Van Jones, a self-described Communist. Van Jones indicated his belief that America deserved to be attacked on September 11th and signed a petition that claimed the attacks were orchestrated by our own government. He stated in a video that white environmentalists deliberately steer poisons into minority communities. Just as chilling is Jones’ desire to destroy our free enterprise system and replace it with Marxist-inspired socialism. Van Jones made it into the White House because Obama shares Jones’ radical views, as is demonstrated by Obama’s past associations with Marxists and anti-American characters, such as unrepentant domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and black theologian Rev. Jeremiah Wright who spewed out anti-America rhetoric.

The Marxism embraced by Lloyd, Jones and Obama is anchored on the strong-armed tactics of tyrants. A prime ploy is scapegoating the rich and all “enemies” of the ruling regime. The latest Obama administration’s “enemy” is the insurance industry.

Other Marxist methods include controlling the media, exploiting ethnic hatreds and demonizing the opposition, as has been done to average Americans protesting Obama’s disastrous public option, rationed-health care scheme. Obama and his supporters scoffed at parents and called them racist for not wanting their children indoctrinated by Obama with his K-12 speech.

Obama’s talking about the value of education was not the problem. What rankled citizens was the lesson plan from the Department of Education – before it was changed under pressure from the public – that required children to write papers about how to help Obama achieve his radical agenda.

The article “Another Failed Presidency” by Geoffrey P. Hunt explains how and why Obama considers himself to be a Third World Socialist, like his Kenyan biological father, the inspiration for Obama’s book “Dreams From My Father”. Hunt opines that Obama’s determined adherence to failed socialism is why he is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson.

Charles Krauthammer in his article “Obama, the Mortal” recounts how Obama in his first address to Congress gave the boldest social democratic manifesto ever issued by a U.S. president. Krauthammer demonstrates how Obama is laboring under the mistaken belief that his election imbued him with the kind of “banana-republic plebiscite” to enlarge state power and increase our national debt with massive spending. Obama’s actions to implement his socialist vision for America inspired a powerful outburst of public outrage at tea parties and town hall meetings, legitimate anger that Obama and his minions derided as mob-like and “racist”. Krauthammer points out that while Obama was castigating protesting Americans, Obama’s administration was “cutting backroom deals with every manner of special interest – from drug companies to auto unions to doctors – in which favors worth billions were quietly and opaquely exchanged”.

“The Death Book for Veterans - Ex-soldiers don't need to be told they're a burden to society” by Jim Towey provides a chilling look into how government bureaucrats at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are using cost containment analysis to systematically deny health care to our veterans. ObamaCare will put our entire nation on the slippery slope to the “death panel” end-of-life decisions being made now at the VA.Author Larry Elder wrote the following on Carl Polizzi’s Patriot Post blog.

"What does it take for some to wake up? When Obama publicly asserts that some corporations, including 'Big Oil' and medical insurance companies, make 'obscene profits' (they don't compared with many other industries) and that his 'compensation czar' will look into executive compensation, what does that tell you?

“When he argues that medical insurance companies need a 'public option' (before public opinion forced him to back away from it) to keep them 'honest,' what does that say?

“When he arrogantly claims that fighting 'global warming' and tackling the 'health care crisis' are not just moral imperatives but also necessary to keep our economy robust (?!), what does that show?

“Voters last year elected a left-wing former 'community organizer' with one of the Senate's most liberal voting records. He seeks to take the country -- over the growing resistance of even those who voted for him -- to an idealized world of government-guaranteed equality of outcomes.
“He wants a government-guaranteed 'level playing field' of wealth redistribution via taxing those deemed to have too much.

“Obama's goals are open, blatant and confidently asserted, backed by a filibuster-proof, supermajority, Democratic-controlled Congress.

“There is no Big Secret, no subterfuge, no bait-and-switch. This is who and what he is."
Larry Elder is correct. During the 2008 election the liberal media helped Obama hide who he really is from the voting public. Then, when Obama took the oath of office as president, he vowed to protect and defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We now find that Obama and his appointed Czars have formed a sinister, shadowy government of domestic enemies against whom we have no defense.

Obama’s ultimate insult is that he has no remorse.

By Frances Rice

Frances Rice, a retired lawyer and Army Lieutenant Colonel, is chairman of the National Black Republican Association and may be contacted at: www.NBRA.info

WhoWhatWhy: Behind Clinton Backer's Arrest: A Bipartisan, International Affair

/PRNewswire/ -- WhoWhatWhy.com reports exclusively today on the background of Hassan Nemazee, the top Hillary Clinton fundraiser who was arrested this week and charged with forging loan documents in order to borrow $74 million from Citibank. He could face up to 30 years in prison.

Early media accounts cast the event as an embarrassment for Ms. Clinton and the Democratic Party involving the financial misdoings of one prominent backer. Actually it is much more.

As WhoWhatWhy reports:

Behind the Nemazee arrest lies a sprawling cautionary tale of presidents, would-be presidents, and the shadow world of wealthy operators who cozy up to them for their own gain. It reaches into the Bush operation as well as that of the Clintons, and is a microcosm of an influence bazaar that has gone global along with the economy.

Hassan Nemazee, who served as a finance director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, began raising sizable sums for the Democratic National Committee in the mid-nineties. In 1998, in the midst of the Lewinsky affair, Nemazee collected $60,000 for Bill Clinton's legal defense fund in $10,000 increments from relatives and friends.

Through their Carret Asset Management, Nemazee and his business partner Alan Quasha gave a job to Clinton confidant and former Democratic Party chairman Terry MacAuliffe, providing him with a lucrative temporary perch until the Hillary Clinton campaign formally launched with McAuliffe as its chairman.

But Nemazee has historically donated money to both political parties. Meanwhile, Quasha's Harken Energy company helped engineer George W. Bush's rescue from financial disaster and propelled Bush on the path to elective office. Harken Energy drew intense scrutiny from investigators and the media in the early 90's and again during Bush's first term because of its dubious financial practices and board members connected to the corrupt Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). Nemazee's family is tied to the Shah of Iran, and others in their circle have connections to the Saudi royal family and the former Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos.

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How Team Obama Hijacked "Change"

Two years ago, I wrote a book called Real Change. Today I want to tell you about that book's successor, how the Obama Administration hijacked "change" - and how we can take it back.

It all started in the summer of 2007 when part of one of my speeches was posted on YouTube. It was a short, three-minute clip in which I explained the difference between two Americas, one that works and one that fails, by contrasting UPS and FedEx with the federal bureaucracy.

You can see it yourself here.

The gist of the video is that UPS and FedEx are so capable and efficient they can track millions of packages in real time. The bureaucracy, on the other hand, can't locate the 10-20 million people who are in this country illegally. Perhaps, I suggested, we should send them all a package.

The book that was inspired by the tremendous public reaction to this video was Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works.

Real Change Means "the Special Interests, the Bureaucracies, and the Force of the Past Will Not Determine the Course of the Future"

Here's how I described what I wanted to accomplish with Real Change at the time:

Real change must begin at the individual level, with each person deciding that the special interests, the bureaucracies, and the forces of the past will not determine the course of the future. Real change has to start with families who don't want to see their quality of life decline even as they work harder to maintain it. Real change has to start with citizens who say to their families, friends, and neighbors that the time has come to insist that their politicians change or they will change their politicians.

We must have been on to something because the presidential campaign that was waged since I wrote Real Change was full of talk about change and promised to end business as usual in Washington; to take the nation beyond the bitter deadlock of partisan politics.

President Obama Promised to End the Influence of Special Interests in Washington, Then He Gave 55% of Chrysler to His Union Supporters

The American people clearly voted for change last November. But equally clear is that what we've gotten is more business as usual.Barack Obama campaigned as a new kind of centrist who could bring people together. But as president he's been a radical liberal, passing his stimulus bill without a single Republican vote in the House.

He campaigned to end the influence of special interests in the nation's capital. But as president he's rewarded his political supporters at the expense of economic recovery in the stimulus bill and paid back his union allies at the expense of the rule of law in the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies.

Barack Obama campaigned as a leader who would bring a new kind of politics to Washington. Then he used Chicago-style politics - twisting arms and offering payoffs - to pass one of the largest tax increases in American history in the cap and trade bill.President Obama promised change and failed to deliver. Where do we go from here?

Real Change, Expanded and Updated for the Obama Era

The new, Obama-era edition of Real Change is entitled Real Change: The Fight for America's Future.It has all the innovative ideas and practical solutions of the first Real Change, and much more.

The new forward begins with how American taxpayers were exploited with the taxpayer bailouts that began at the end of the Bush Administration. Then it describes how things got worse with the big government, big spending bacchanal that has been the first six months of the Obama Administration.

It describes how our national security has deteriorated faster than I thought it would since the last months of the Bush Administration, despite the spectacular success of the surge in Iraq.

The section culminates in a powerful critique of the Obama domestic and national security policy:"The Obama-Pelosi-Reid team is the most radical group ever to hold the reigns of American power. Their vision of a high tax, big bureaucracy Washington-centered system dominated by politicians and leading to a secular-socialist future will fundamentally challenge America's role as a beacon of hope, opportunity and freedom."

Real Change Is More Than a List of Complaints About the Obama Administration. It's a Plan of Solutions for America

But Real Change: The Fight For America's Future is more than a list of grievances against the current administration.It is a guide, a set of talking points, and a blueprint for how conservative and center-right Americans can reclaim the mantle of "change" in our political debate; how we can, in fact, transcend "change" to bring about real change.

Using Ronald Reagan and the current Tea Party movement as guides, the new Real Change describes how we can't argue within the current framework of the left and the elites if we want to bring about real change.

If we accept their terms and their premises, the book explains, we "will end up being with the less destructive, less expensive, slower decay wing of a lot of really bad ideas."

When the Left Takes for Granted the Superiority of Big Government, We Must Argue Forcefully for Free Enterprise

Instead, we have to establish our own terms of debate and argue for bold solutions to the challenges we face.When the left takes for granted the superiority of big government, we must argue boldly and forcefully for free enterprise.When they play to their union base with calls for an even bigger bureaucracy, we must remind Americans that the world that works is the world of entrepreneurs.And when they assert the lowest-common-denominator fairness of government redistribution, we must counter with the moral superiority of individual initiative and success.

America is Still Waiting For Change in Washington

Real Change: The Fight for America's Future is about these ideas and much, much more. I encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself or someone you care about. America is still waiting for real change in Washington. It's time for more than change. It's time for real change. Let the battle of ideas and solutions for America's future begin.

Your friend,

Newt Gingrich

Newt's Quick Links:

Energy has been central to American Solutions' efforts recently, and we will be holding a free Tele-Townhall this Thursday night from 7-8pm EDT to discuss the Energy Tax fight in the Senate, and re-launching the Drill Here, Drill Now campaign. To join me for this special Tele-Townhall and invite your friends click here.

David Kralik - our Director of Internet Strategy at American Solutions and point man in Silicon Valley - spoke at Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters last month about bringing Silicon Valley entrepreneurial culture to Washington, D.C. You can watch it here.

(Reprinted with permission)

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Isakson Co-Sponsors Legislation to Force GM, Chrysler to Reimburse Rejected Auto Dealerships

Bill Also Gives Dealerships At Least Six Months to Sell Off Inventories

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., announced Friday that he is co-sponsoring legislation by U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., that would require Chrysler and General Motors to use any funding they receive from the U.S. Treasury while they are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy to fully reimburse their rejected dealerships for their inventories of vehicles and parts. GM and Chrysler have sent letters to hundreds of dealerships across the country announcing that their dealership contracts will not be renewed.

“When you close your dealerships, you're firing your sales force, because these dealers are not a liability. They're an asset,” Isakson said. “In some cases, these dealers were asked to make additional purchases of products in order to save these companies. It’s only right that we help ensure the promises to these dealerships are fulfilled and they are reimbursed for their inventories of vehicles and parts.”

Specifically, the Automobile Dealers Assistance Act of 2009 would require GM and Chrysler to use any funding received from the U.S. Treasury while in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to fully reimburse all GM and Chrysler rejected dealerships for the cost of all parts and inventory in the dealership's possession on the date of the bankruptcy filing, treating them the same as if the dealers chose to terminate their existing franchise agreements or dealer agreements. In addition, GM and Chrysler would be required to reimburse the dealerships for all other obligations owed by GM or Chrysler under franchise agreements or dealer agreements.

The legislation specifies that a bankruptcy court cannot allow GM or Chrysler to obtain access to debtor-in-possession funding unless the credit agreement or agreements expressly provide for this treatment of the dealerships.

The legislation would also allow rejected dealerships a minimum of 180 days to shut down their businesses and sell off their inventories.
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