Did we elect royalty?

For some reason I get the feeling the Obama's are telling the country .. 'Let them eat cake'.
No matter Americans are experiencing rough times, we will pander to you all day long.. Because we really like this lifestyle!

Do as I Say, Not As I Do

Pricey New Presidential Choppers Not Made in U.S.A.
By: Nat Helms

President Barack Obama’s entreaties to “buy American” to improve the economy apparently doesn’t include the fleet of new Marine One helicopters he’ll soon be shuttled around in.
The Pentagon is spending $11.2 billion for 23 European-designed, British-built helicopters to replace the aging squadron of American aircraft used by American presidents for the past 30 years.
Critics of the Presidential purchase claim the contract for the new Lockheed Martin “US101” variant of the Italian choppers violates a decades-old law that requires weapons systems and components used by the U.S. military to be made primarily in the United States.

Read entire article here

What exactly does a dictator look like?

Stumbler in Chief

Obama Stumbles
from the London Times

Nobody who heard him addressing a joint session of the House and Senate on Tuesday could doubt that Barack Obama can speak. This is a man who was born with a dais beneath his feet. But increasingly the question being asked of the new President is: can he manage?

It is a political commonplace that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. But the sound of Mr Obama's prose has begun to jangle. “Now is the time,” he said lulling his congressional audience, “to act boldly and wisely - to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity.” The trouble is that this wasn't the first time that Mr Obama told Americans that “it's time to act”. Nobody doubts that now, in the teeth of the cruellest economic crisis in decades, it is time to act. But the world is still not clear what actions Mr Obama plans to take. What unnerves it even more is that when he has acted, his judgment has not always matched the sturdiness of his campaign rhetoric, let alone its slick, skilful execution. He has been ambushed in traps too often of his own making.

Straw Men? I just call him a liar!

Obama's Straw Men
by Karl Rove

President Barack Obama reveres Abraham Lincoln. But among the glaring differences between the two men is that Lincoln offered careful, rigorous, sustained arguments to advance his aims and, when disagreeing with political opponents, rarely relied on the lazy rhetorical device of "straw men." Mr. Obama, on the other hand, routinely ascribes to others views they don't espouse and says opposition to his policies is grounded in views no one really advocates.

On Tuesday night, Mr. Obama told Congress and the nation, "I reject the view that . . . says government has no role in laying the foundation for our common prosperity." Who exactly has that view? Certainly not congressional Republicans, who believe that through reasonable tax cuts, fiscal restraint, and prudent monetary policies government contributes to prosperity.

Mr. Obama also said that America's economic difficulties resulted when "regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market." Who gutted which regulations?
Perhaps it was President Bill Clinton who, along with then Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, removed restrictions on banks owning insurance companies in 1999. If so, were Mr. Clinton and Mr. Summers (now an Obama adviser) motivated by quick profit, or by the belief that the reform was necessary to modernize our financial industry?

Perhaps Mr. Obama was talking about George W. Bush. But Mr. Bush spent five years pushing to further regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He was blocked by Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank. Arriving in the Senate in 2005, Mr. Obama backed up Mr. Dodd's threat to filibuster Mr. Bush's needed reforms.

There's more here

Mr. Obama portrays himself as a nonideological, bipartisan voice of reason. Everyone resorts to straw men occasionally, but Mr. Obama's persistent use of the device is troubling. Continually characterizing those who disagree with you in a fundamentally dishonest way can be the sign of a person who lacks confidence in the merits of his ideas.

It was said that Lincoln crafted his arguments in "resonant words that enriched the political dialogue of his age." Mr. Obama's straw men aren't enriching the dialogue of our age. They are cheapening it. Mr. Obama should stop employing them.

(stop lying through his teeth, its a sign of a very weak mind - editor)

More Repurcussions of Obama's Rhetoric

click to enlarge

Honk - If you're paying my mortgage

Let the World Know How You Feel About The Bailout-Mad Congress

Buy your bumper sticker now!

The Obama Depression

His will be a fascinating presidency to watch, not least because of his inexperience, his intellectual agility, and the crisis in which he finds himself. But his presidency will get really interesting in a year or two, or six months -- whenever he finally realizes that everything he thought he wanted to do is irrelevant. He'll then have to adapt an agenda for the world as it is, in which many childish things no longer have a place.

And, by the way, he kids himself if he believes he will be allowed, like FDR, to preside over a depression without being politically blamed for it. The public is different now -- the world is different -- and he will own the "Obama depression" sooner than he thinks.

The Wall Street Journal

Government of the people, for the people, by the people?

Our Government is OUT OF CONTROL!!!



"Only in Florida could a business owner be targeted and fined for displaying artwork; and then in protest of the fine, display the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – and then be ticketed for that. Unfortunately, public officials disregard constitutional freedoms all the time, but punishing citizens for displaying the Constitution may be a first."

Please visit the following website, maybe this OUTRAGE can be corrected.

KeeptheFish.com

Send an email to the link provided:

Dear Mayor, et al,
After reading about the abuses that the City of Clearwater has inflicted upon Mr. Quintero, I will not be visiting Clearwater Florida for a very long time. And I have spread the word to family and friends of this outrage also. Good Grief, its a mural of fish!! Has the sun rotted your brain?!
Sincerely,

WorldNetDaily article

Just the Facts Barry

This from the AP

Buying an Army of Loyal Voters

House Bans Chimps as Pets

WASHINGTON (Feb. 24, 2009) — Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a pet attacked and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 80, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets. The bill passed by a vote of 323 to 95. The bill now moves for consideration to the U.S. Senate, where the effort to pass the legislation is being led by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La.

So what is now to become of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Helen Thomas?


Harry


Nancy


Helen

FBI Director Warns of Mumbai-Style Attacks in U.S.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III issued a new warning Monday that terrorists are prepared to conduct Mumbai-style attacks on U.S. soil.

In a speech before the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., Mueller said that small terror networks "with large agendas and little money can use rudimentary weapons to maximize their impact."

The FBI director then added ominously: "And it again raises the question of whether a similar attack could happen in Seattle or San Diego, Miami, or Manhattan."

Newsmax

WE ARE HAVING A CHICAGO TEA PARTY! But Here in Seattle

Official Tea Party
PJTV Tea Party

On Friday, February 27th, 2009, Americans will once again throw a tea party to revolt against her government's excessive taxation, not only without representation, but also without deliberation.

When: Friday, February 27th, 2009
Time: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Where: Seattle -- Westlake Park, 410 Pine St. by the big arch.

Bring signs with economic messages.

Politicians of both major parties seem to have forgotten that they work for us, and that their duty is to use our tax dollars honestly and efficiently.

Obama's trillions dwarf Bush's 'dangerous' spending

From the DC Examiner

Back in 2006, when Democrats were hoping to win control of the House and Senate, party leaders worked themselves into a righteous outrage over the issue of out-of-control federal spending. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the Republican budget “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic” because it increased the amount of U.S. debt held by foreign countries. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Republicans of going on “an unprecedented and dangerous borrowing spree” and declared GOP leadership “the most fiscally irresponsible in the history of our country... no other president or Congress even comes close.”

You won’t find too many defenders of George W. Bush’s record on spending these days, even among Republicans. But a check of historical tables compiled by the Office of Management and Budget shows that the spending that so distressed Pelosi and Reid seems downright modest today. After beginning with a Clinton-era surplus of $128 billion in fiscal year 2001, the Bush administration racked up deficits of $158 billion in 2002, $378 billion in 2003, $413 billion in 2004, $318 billion in 2005, $248 billion in 2006, $162 billion in 2007, and $410 billion in 2008.

The current administration would kill to have such small numbers. President Barack Obama is unveiling his budget this week, and, in addition to the inherited Bush deficit, he’s adding his own spending at an astonishing pace, projecting annual deficits well beyond $1 trillion in the near future, and, in the rosiest possible scenario, a $533 billion deficit in fiscal year 2013, the last year of Obama’s first term.

Play O-Bingo Tuesday Night

KEY:

“Since the Great Depression” – The economic one, not the feeling you’ve had since he signed the “stimulus” bill.

“Save or create” jobs – Obama’s new metric whereby he can claim credit for the outcome no matter what happens (how exactly does one determine the number of "saved" jobs?)

“Crisis” - Excuse to hike taxes and grow the government per Rahm Emanuel’s theory: “Never let a crisis go to waste."

“Stimulus” – The 1,000 page Pelosi-Reid-Obama pork bill rushed through in the dead of night with no transparency and that not a single member of Congress who voted for it actually read.

“Hope” – The optimistic expectation, against all evidence that this government will be the first in the history of time to succeed in spending its way out of economic problems.

“Change” – Take-home pay of future generations due to massive spending increases and government expansion.

“Bipartisan” – "Pelosi and Reid get to decide what we'll do, but I'll have you over for tea first."

“Children and grandchildren” – The people picking up the tab.

“Shovel-ready” – Vital projects that somehow are not important enough to receive funding through the regular appropriations process at the local, state, or federal level.

“Toxic assets”- Now the responsibility of those who followed the rules and made wise decisions.

“Failed policies of the past” – An overspending problem by George W. Bush to be expanded by Obama

“Investment” – Government spending.

“Sacrifice” – Tax hikes.

“As I’ve said before” – Prepare for a poll tested line from stump speeches.

“Make work pay” – Writing welfare checks through the tax code (and then calling it a tax cut).

“Climate change” – (Formerly known as Global Warming) The natural cycles of the sun and the four seasons.

“FDR” – The last President to attempt and fail to spend the country’s way out of a hole.

“Let me be clear” – Warning to “have your shovel ready.”

“Executive pay” – A serious problem because large cash awards are only appropriate when politicians dole out taxpayer money to the pet projects of their sons, brothers, wives, or campaign contributors.

“Protecting responsible homeowners” – Forcing you to pay your neighbor’s mortgage.

“Trillion-dollar deficit that we've inherited” – Bush overspending – which Obama just doubled.

“Essential services” – Government programs that employ unionized bureaucrats.

“Vulnerable Americans” – People that Obama wants to make dependent on the government.

“Tax cuts to 95 percent of working families” – See “Make Work Pay”

“Alternative energy”– Energy that is either too expensive or hasn't succeeded in the free market on its own (if it worked, it would just be called “energy”)

Americans For Tax Reform

Mortgage Strike

The 92 Percent Group

To send a strong message to President Obama and Congress, we propose a nationwide mortgage strike in April 2009. By witholding their April mortgage payments, homeowners across the country will demonstrate the absurdity of rewarding those who do not meet their financial obligations.

“Under a government which imprisons unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.… where the State places those who are not with her, but against her, – the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honor.… Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence. A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution, if any such is possible.”
-Henery David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

Thoreau protested slavery and taxes the same way we propose to protest paying for our neighbor's mortgages. Withholding payment will send a message that we, the silent majority, will not take injustice sitting down. Too long have we let policies like Obama's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan take advantage of us. We let the government take our money and give it to someone else because we are afraid of being cast as the Mr. Scrooges and Potters of today. We are not bad people for wanting the money we earn. We are not bad people for staying current on our mortgages. We are not bad people for holding jobs, staying out of debt, and saving towards our children's future. President Obama we are not bad people so why punish us?

If you value our Freedom, please take 20 minutes and read these articles

State governors -- looking down the gun barrel of long-term spending forced on them by the Obama “stimulus” plan -- are saying they will refuse to take the money. This is a Constitutional confrontation between the federal government and the states unlike any in our time.

In the first five weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama has acted so rashly that at least 11 states have decided that his brand of “hope” equates to an intolerable expansion of the federal government’s authority over the states. These states -- "Washington, New Hampshire, Arizona, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, California...Georgia," South Carolina, and Texas -- "have all introduced bills and resolutions" reminding Obama that the 10th Amendment protects the rights of the states, which are the rights of the people, by limting the power of the federal government. These resolutions call on Obama to “cease and desist” from his reckless government expansion and also indicate that federal laws and regulations implemented in violation of the 10th Amendment can be nullified by the states.

Entire Article here


There is hope!,, (not of the Hope and Change kind)

The Little Red Hen in the Age of Obama

Ethel C. Fenig
The classic children's fable has been updated for the times but the moral remains the same.

Once upon a time a little red hen called all of her Obama stimulus supporting neighbors together and said, "If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?"

"Not I," said the cow.
"Not I," said the duck.
"Not I," said the pig.
"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did. The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.
"Out of my classification," said the pig.
"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.
"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did.

At last it came time to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.
"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.
"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.
"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen. She baked five loaves and after they were finished she held them up for all of her neighbors to see.

"Who shall help me eat this bread?" asked the little red hen.

"I will," said the cow. "I need to eat to make good milk and I don't have the time."
"I will," said the duck. "My welfare benefits don't provide bread."
"I will," said the pig. "I learned to eat in school."
"I will," said the goose. "If you don't give me any bread, that's discrimination."

But the little red hen said, "No, I made the bread I shall eat all five loaves." And she did.

"Excess profits!" cried the cow. (Nancy Pelosi)
"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck. (Barbara Boxer)
"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose. (Jesse Jackson)
The pig just grunted in disdain. (Ted Kennedy)
And they all painted 'Unfair!' picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then Farmer Obama came. He said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I worked hard and earned the bread," protested the little red hen.

"Exactly," said Barack the farmer. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government system, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who who are not productive. It is only fair.

"The little red hen smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand."

The little red hen never again baked bread but signed up for all the free stimulus bread joining her friends the cow, the duck, the pig and the goose. And one by one all the bread bakers stopped baking bread, following the example of their friend, the little red hen. And soon there was no more bread and everyone was hungry.

And all the Democrats smiled. Fairness and equality had been established and ruled the land.

hat tip: Evie Pearlman

Leave it to a New Yorker to tell the truth

Watch video here

Dear Mr. President

by Victor Davis Hanson Read Entire Article here

“I’m sorry Mr. President, but we are just not dictatorial in the Middle East. You said the Saudis, not America, showed courage over there. But, Mr. President, the Saudis, they live under Sharia law! And my God!—they once engineered crippling oil boycotts against our nation. And wasn’t it they who produced 15 of the 19 killers on 9/11? So no, Mr. President, those Saudis—they simply are not courageous. Now Mr. Biden, there is no reason to set the reset button on foreign policy, as you promised all those Europeans. None at all. Tell that resetting stuff instead to Ahmadinejad, Chavez, that Korean nut, Putin, and all the other thugs who kill and cause misery, but not to our America that saves and feeds and helps. Mrs. Clinton, it’s now your turn. We are not impulsive as you told the world. So you can stop apologizing for America’s recent behavior—unless you think the world would be a better place with the Taliban, and Saddam and his two boys in power. Or maybe Europe should have Schroeder and Chirac back, or Libya with nuclear weapons, or Khalid Sheik Mohammed freed from Guantanamo. Or maybe America shouldn’t have given that $15 billion for AIDs relief in Africa, or helped with earthquakes in Pakistan and tsunamis in Indonesia. Now all that was sorta impulsive.”
“And another thing. Mr. Holder, I’ve never said or done a racist thing in my life, not one. Always supported equal opportunity, always will. So don’t call me a “coward” or my countrymen “cowards,” not when you’re my Attorney General. You are The Attorney General of the United States of America, so please, no more playing Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, leveling the latest shake-down charge on television. That’s not really in your job description to call your own countrymen “cowards.” When I was in high school I was taught that name-calling like that might be what they said was “projection.” So maybe, just maybe, you have been cowardly—and arrogant too—but not those whom you accused of all that. At least if someone asked me to help pardon a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list, I would have said “no.” Always, no exceptions, period! Anything else? That would be cowardly.”
“And Mr. President, When I add up my federal income tax, my state income tax, my Medicare, and my Social Security taxes, I am paying half my income to the government. Wait— far more than half my income, when I figure in my sales and property and car taxes. My accountant, when I can afford one, tells me to pay, not dodge, what I owe. And, oh, Mr. President I am so tired of all those taxes, so tired, but I am so lawful as well. And so I pay the bill, all of it. Every dime. Unlike your Treasury Secretary, who runs the IRS, I never cheat. I don’t write off my kid’s camp as a business expense—hell, I don’t even send him to camp in the first place. And unlike your cabinet nominee Mr. Daschle, I don’t have a limousine. And if I got a free one, I would think someone had to pay for it. If used it every day, why shouldn’t I pay taxes on it? And unlike your Labor Secretary nominee, I have no liens on my property, Mr. President. But if I did, I’d pay them off before you nominated me—or bow out if I didn’t.”

The Real Racism in America

Please read this!

Obama's 10 Commandments

Remember the Daze of Malaise?

Here we go again.

Have you looked at your paycheck?

What did I get for my $25,000 that I sent to the government in 2008?

www.gadsden.info

Mahmoud, Is that a missle in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?... More tea?

Iran holds enough uranium for bomb

Analysis: Democrats self-destructing over ethics

Associated Press

By LARRY MARGASAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration and the new Congress are quickly handing over to Republicans the same "culture of corruption" issue that Democrats used so effectively against the GOP before coming to power.

Freshman Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., is only the latest embarrassment.

Senate Democrats accepted Burris because they believed what he told them: He was clean. Burris now admits he tried to raise money for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who authorities say sought to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat

Obama Stimulus Saves Microsoft Billionaire Hundreds Of Millions

Bend over, you're about to get stimulated!

New York Times Stock Now Costs Less Than Sunday Paper

Not worth the paper its printed on, might as well print it on stock certificates.

Does this sound stupid now?

If not now, maybe in another year. Can you imagine what kind of change will be dumped on our heads by then?

Chicago Tea Party?

watch the video

even high school students know this stimulus is a scam

OKC officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle

“An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.” Plus this: “”When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren’t going to ransack my house or anything … they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn’t a part of any hate groups.” Since when do government officials search homes to ensure the absence of impure political thoughts?

Instapundit.com

Behind the Scenes With a Special Ops Gunboat Crew

Don't read if you're an anti-military, milk-toast, squishy-rotten-banana, freak-a-zoid.

Just go home and cry to your mommy.

h/t Instapundit

Larry, Moe and Curly?

Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner.

CNSNews.com

Obama’s Stimulus Will Cause 'Lower Wages' for American Workers, Says Congressional Budget Office

The huge economic stimulus package that President Obama signed into law Tuesday will result in “lower wages” for American workers, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Hallelujah!

Obama is going to pay my mortgage!

(Actually, its you, and you, and you that are going to pay; but His Holiness will take the credit).

I want to thank all my nieces and nephews for their generosity. By the way, I'm driving a 15 year old car, so I'm trying to get my hands on the new car provision in the Pork-Fest... Thanks again!

Happy Birthday Nora!

We Love You Very Much

Yet Another Tax Cheat!

Amateur Hour, round 2

The Audacity of Irony

by Victor Davis Hanson

One can make many criticisms of the Bush administration — occasional hubris, an inability to communicate its ideas, excessive federal spending, unnecessary bellicose rhetoric not matched always by commensurate action — but corruption is not really one of them. While the Republican Congress gave us Duke Cunningham, Larry Craig, and Mark Foley, the Bush administration itself was one of the most corruption-free in recent memory — no Monicas, no serial Clintongates, no pay-to-play presidential pardons, no shaking down donors for a library and a spousal Senate campaign.

Now we are witnessing one of the most scandal-plagued incipient administrations of the last half-century. And these ethical embarrassments are doubly ironic. The Treasury secretary and nominal head of the IRS is a tax dodger. The egalitarian liberal Tom Daschle, who was going to make health care accessible for the masses, was caught hiding from the tax man tens of thousands of dollars in free limousine service. Reformist cabinet nominees like Bill Richardson (who has already withdrawn) and Hilda Solis cannot themselves follow the laws they were asked to enforce. The would-be performance czar, Nancy Killefer, did not perform on her taxes. We are now awaiting a third try for commerce secretary. The more Obama railed about his new no-lobbyist policies, the more he issued exemptions for the dozen or more insider lobbyists he hired.

Read Victor Davis Hanson here

Regrettably

Barack - dictionary results

–adjective Slang.
not working; completely messed up; bungled; confused.
-synonym
fubar

What happens without a free market economy

My own personal protest

A Salute to Canadian Healthcare

watch here

Another Global Warming skeptic

SANTA FE, N.M. - Former astronaut Harrison Schmitt, who walked on the moon and once served New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, doesn’t believe that humans are causing global warming.

"I don’t think the human effect is significant compared to the natural effect," said Schmitt, who is among 70 skeptics scheduled to speak next month at the International Conference on Climate Change in New York.

Schmitt contends that scientists "are being intimidated" if they disagree with the idea that burning fossil fuels has increased carbon dioxide levels, temperatures and sea levels.

"They’ve seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven’t gone along with the so-called political consensus that we’re in a human-caused global warming," Schmitt said.

Schmitt resigned after the group blamed global warming on human activity. In his resignation letter, the 74-year-old geologist argued that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making."

Obama's Rhetoric Is the Real 'Catastrophe'

President Barack Obama has turned fearmongering into an art form. He has repeatedly raised the specter of another Great Depression. First, he did so to win votes in the November election. He has done so again recently to sway congressional votes for his stimulus package.

Mr. Obama's analogies to the Great Depression are not only historically inaccurate, they're also dangerous. Repeated warnings from the White House about a coming economic apocalypse aren't likely to raise consumer and investor expectations for the future. In fact, they have contributed to the continuing decline in consumer confidence that is restraining a spending pickup. Beyond that, fearmongering can trigger a political stampede to embrace a "recovery" package that delivers a lot less than it promises. A more cool-headed assessment of the economy's woes might produce better policies.

Wall Street Journal editorial

President Obama and the Politics of Fear

In case you haven't noticed, the market is scared to death of Barack Obama and his central-control economic plans. On Jan. 20, 2009, the stock market saw its worst Inauguration Day drop in U.S. history -- losing 332 points, sliding the Dow to 7949. On Feb. 10, the day the Senate passed its version of Obama's $838 billion spending plan, the Dow plunged 382 points.

President Obama speaks well of capitalism, correctly noting that the creation of jobs and economic growth "is the role of the private sector." Obama has a way of saying what most people want to hear while doing the exact opposite (like his rhetoric of tax cuts for 95% of Americans). At this point, it should be no surprise that Obama believes "the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life."

Read complete American Thinker article here

How Democracies become Tyrannies

Those of us who are incapable of self-mastery will always shamefully prostrate ourselves before messianic political leaders. The progressive left in America has spent countless generations destroying the guardians of our inner citadel: religion, family, parents, and tradition - in short, conservatism and limits. When we exhaust the financial and moral capital of previous generations (and future ones, as with the current stimulus bill) we will dutifully line up at the public trough, on our knees. Citizens capable of self-mastery will always choose to be left alone. In other words, they'll always choose limited government.

Read complete American Thinker article

Obama’s Broken Promises Were Entirely Predictable

We’ve seen our new leader act more like the teacher’s pet that finally gets detention, or the all-state quarterback who is finally benched for missing practice: self-righteous, arrogant, indignant, shocked, and incredibly thin-skinned. Martha Zoller and Jennifer Rubin each hit the nail on the head: if President Obama were as good at explaining the stimulus package as he is complaining to others about the stresses of the job, he wouldn’t feel the need to resort to testy pompousness. Obama has thus far proven to be better at displaying his obsession with talk radio personality Sean Hannity — he mentions him every chance he gets — than explaining, in a rational and coherent manner, how the Democratic pork-pet projects in his spending bill will save our economy. That’s the reality, and that’s sad.

President Obama seems to think that just because he wasn’t vetted by the national media prior to his election, his administration doesn’t have to vet its cabinet nominees. Individually, these missteps wouldn’t be news. But the sum total of their parts leads one to believe there is a pattern — just as there was in Chicago with Wright, Ayers, Rezko, Pfleger, Mansour, etc. — and if it weren’t our country, it’d almost be comical. Hardly anyone today, and certainly nobody a year from now, will be able to listen to President Obama’s campaign pledges about transparency, ethics, and change and keep a straight face.

February 14, 2009 - by Nicholas Guariglia

An excellent read!

Looks like a scene from a horror movie

Can you envision our future?

Government run airlines. You think the airlines stink now, wait until the postal workers are stamping your boarding pass.. Today we have the equivalent of Fed-Ex and we are going to trade that in for waiting in line at the post office.

Government produced automobiles. Remember the Yugo? We are going to see it again, only its going to get 50 mpg and you're going to have to do a Fred Flintstone to get it to stop. Not to mention pushing it up hills.

Government run healthcare. If you like the DMV, you'll love government run healthcare. Take an asprin and call me next week.

How about government housing? Think Soviet Union. Good grief, I'm sorry, but liberals are idiots.

Iraq: Good News Is No News

By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- Preoccupied as it was poring through Tom Daschle's tax returns, Washington hardly noticed a near-miracle abroad. Iraq held provincial elections. There was no Election Day violence. Security was handled by Iraqi forces with little U.S. involvement. A fabulous bazaar of 14,400 candidates representing 400 parties participated, yielding results highly favorable to both Iraq and the United States.

When you become president of the United States you inherit its history, even the parts you would have done differently. Obama might argue that American sacrifices in Iraq were not worth what we achieved. But for the purposes of current and future policy, that is entirely moot. Despite Obama's opposition, America went on to create a small miracle in the heart of the Arab Middle East. President Obama is now the custodian of that miracle. It is his duty as leader of the nation that gave birth to this fledgling democracy to ensure that he does nothing to undermine it.

Read entire article here

Stimulus: Bring It On!

I’m going to be losing my job in July. I’m one of those people that according to BO who is hurting for no fault of my own. I worked for the company that was the largest bank failure in US history. No TARP money here.. seems like every other financial institution was either acquired or given TARP money, but not my employer, who has been around since 1890. Not once have I heard from any of my co-workers, ‘If only that damn capitalism hadn’t done us all in!’ However, I do hear how our management was STUPID and greedy, and how our incompetent CEO managed to bankrupt a 100+ year old company.

But back to the stimulus package now being voted on, of which no one has even read. How can they? It being written as we speak. BO promised transparency, legislation posted on Whitehouse.gov. That has not happened. Just one more broken campaign promise, and what are we in,,, the third week of The One's administration? But I welcome the passage of this legislation. With it I won’t have to find a new job. BO is going to take care of me. I have already sent him a letter with my address and details of my monthly expenses.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the young people who are going to fund my mortgage and living expenses. Especially my nieces and nephews, your good ol uncle really appreciates it. I would also like to emphasize how this is just what our country needs. The more our government fosters a culture of dependency, the better. Why Work?, Vote Democrat! The American people need a government that will care for them. Why strive for success, wealth and prosperity? Why be self-reliant and free? The more dependent we become as a society, the more indentured we become to the government. So our elected masters can depend on us to continue their reign, so they can have their limos, private aircraft, caviar and champagne. We will just continue to pay the bill!

Ignorance is bliss, and very expensive.

But I'm sure there are those in congress that need a new limo!

Do you think you can spend your money more wisely than the government?
Watch here

Thou Shalt Not Mock 'The Holy One'!

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Iowa State trooper who was investigated after it was shown that he forwarded an e-mail showing mug shots of people wearing Obama t-shirts has been suspended for 30 days.
Sgt. Rodney Hicok was at home and off-duty when he forwarded the e-mails, said an official with the Iowa Department of Public Safety Bureau and Professional Standards.
The e-mail made disparaging remarks about 15 people in the photos and referred to Obama as having "quite a fan base."
He violated the department's policy and his permanent file will reflect the suspension, the official said.
The 27-year veteran, who has no prior offense on his record, will also attend DPS training on policies and procedures.

Has anyone seen a copy of the Pork Fest?

We’re receiving E-mails from Capitol Hill staffers expressing frustration that they can’t get a copy of the stimulus bill agreed to last night at a price of $789 billion. What’s more, staffers are complaining about who does have a copy: K Street lobbyists.

Well, why not? Porkulus has to pass muster with the people really running the Democratic Party. The only reason for this bill’s existence is to pay off traditional Democratic Party interest groups, and they had to vet the final product to make sure they all got their fair share.

I seem to recall a Democrat who claimed that lobbyists would play no role in his administration, and then appointed more than a dozen of them to key administration positions in the first two weeks.

Words. Just words.

posted on HotAir.com February 12, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

Had to go to work for a couple of days..

I'll be back to posting BO's audacities tomorrow...

The New Obama Note

Pork-O-Rama: 61-37

Pork-a-palooza

February 9, 2009 Posted by John at PowerLine.com

Barack Obama gave a press conference tonight; the key topic, of course, was the Democrats' trillion-dollar pork bill. My guess is that the widely-televised event helped the Democrats' cause some. Those who weren't paying close attention probably thought Obama made a decent case.

Substantively, though, it was a weak effort. Obama repeatedly characterized his opponents (the Republicans) as people who want to do nothing about the current economic crisis:

As I said, the one concern I've got on the stimulus package, in terms of the debate and listening to some of what's been said in Congress, is that there seems to be a set of folks who -- I don't doubt their sincerity -- who just believe that we should do nothing.

This is not just disingenuous; frankly, it's an outright lie. The question is whether it's an effective one. Don't most people who would bother to watch a televised press conference know that the Republicans have made all kinds of alternative proposals? One would think.

Obama's attacks on the Bush administration were equally silly:

First of all, when I hear that from folks who presided over a doubling of the national debt, then, you know, I just want them to not engage in some revisionist history. I inherited the deficit that we have right now and the economic crisis that we have right now.

Right. And that's why his first act as President is to double or triple the deficit? Why, then, doesn't he say that the Bush administration was following the right policies, only needed to go farther? Likewise with his claim that the "failed" policy of the past was to rely only on tax cuts. Actually, the Bush administration also increased spending greatly, just as Obama now proposes. And since, as Obama told us a couple of days ago, all spending equals stimulus, isn't he once again emulating the policies of his predecessor, only carrying them to a new level?

Have you noticed, too, that as Obama tries ever more desperately to sell his porkapalooza, his claims for it expand? Originally he said it would save or create 3 million jobs. Then for a while it was 3-4 million. Tonight Obama's consistent claim was that the porkfest will create 4 million jobs.

When reporters asked him about issues other than the economy, Obama often responded in a weaselly style. For example, one reporter quoted Joe Biden--from 2004!--attacking the Bush administration for not allowing the return of caskets of dead soldiers to be turned into a media frenzy. Surely, given Biden's criticism, and having had more than four years to think about it, The One intends to reverse that Bush-era policy? Not so fast!

Now, with respect to the policy of opening up media to loved ones being brought back home, we are in the process of reviewing those policies in conversations with the Department of Defense, so I don't want to give you an answer now before I've evaluated that review and understand all the implications involved.

Add that to the long list of issues that have suddenly gotten a lot more complicated now that the election is over.

The thoroughly insane Helen Thomas had her moment in the sun:

QUESTION: Mr. President, do you think that Pakistan and -- are maintaining the safe havens in Afghanistan for these so-called terrorists? And, also, do you know of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?

I think she meant Israel, but what her point was, I'm not sure. Obama didn't take the bait on the "so-called terrorists," but mildly told her that he was pretty sure there were some hanging out in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It helped Obama, as usual, that he was among friends. This question near the end of the press conference, from Mara Liasson, was a stunner:

QUESTION: If it's this hard to get more than a handful of Republican votes on what is relatively easy -- spending tons of money and cutting people's taxes -- when you look down the road at health care, and entitlement reform, and energy reform, those are really tough choices.

That's the pass we've arrived at, folks: spending a trillion dollars we don't have is "relatively easy;" whatever possesses those Republicans not to go along?

On the whole, it was a slippery and dishonest performance but probably a reasonably effective one, as least for those in the audience who haven't followed the stimulus debate with any care.

Our President has no more clue about this stimulus package..

than he did about the surge in Iraq.

He derided President Bush and Sen McCain for the surge strategy... and what has been the result? Iraq is off the front page because the surge was such a success.

President BO is just as clueless about this Pork-Fest. We have a damn good speech giver, but a real amateur in the White House.

Barack Obama is a novice - and it shows (This from the UK)

How many times am I going to hear about the deficiencies of the last eight years? And the deficit he has inherited.... What a whiner.

During last year's epic election campaign, Hillary Clinton said that in the White House "there is no time for on-the-job training". Joe Biden, too, remarked that the presidency was "not something that lends itself to on-the-job training". Both were aiming barbs at their then primary opponent. Mrs Clinton has since brought what she would refer to as her "lifetime of experience" to the role of Secretary of State, while Mr Biden has traded 36 years in the Senate for the vice-presidency. And the rookie they derided is President.

Governing, as Mr Obama is finding out, is not like an election campaign. Mr Bush's failures will give him some leeway and his transformative appeal remains potent. But making decisions and operating the levers of power is something completely new to him. And it shows.


This from Telegraph.co.uk

Venezuela heading for collapse

posted at 10:01 am on February 9, 2009 by Ed Morrissey on HotAir.com

The collapse in oil prices has hit OPEC nations hard, but perhaps none more so than Venezuela. Hugo Chavez apparently put more of his profits into his socialization programs than in paying contractors for their work. Now they have stopped working altogether as Chavez has no money to pay their past-due notices, which will curtail production just when Chavez needs it most:

Venezuela’s state oil company is behind on billions in payments to private oil contractors from Oklahoma to Belarus, some of which have now stopped work, even as President Hugo Chavez funnels more oil revenue to social programs.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, says unpaid invoices jumped 39 percent in the first nine months of last year — reaching $7.86 billion in September. And that was when world oil was selling for $100 a barrel.

With prices plummeting by more than half, PDVSA is trying to renegotiate some contracts. But analysts say hardball tactics to reduce charges from crucial service providers could backfire by lowering Venezuela’s oil output. And foreign debt markets are reflecting jitters about Venezuela’s finances.

How badly has this already hampered operations? Two rigs run by a Tulsa contractor have shut down, cutting into Chavez’ revenues, and nine more controlled by the contractor will shut down by July unless Venezuela pays the bills — more than $100 million. PDVSA had to take over another off-shore rig when a Dallas company said “Adios” after Chavez reneged on a $35 million debt. Even Belarus, hardly unfriendly to dictatorial strong men, has had enough, ending its work on a gas pipeline and possibly two other contracts in the coming weeks.

Chavez has had PDVSA take over operations where possible, but PDVSA doesn’t have the resources or the skills to replace the contractors. If they did, Venezuela wouldn’t have outsourced the work in the first place. Unless Chavez finds a way to replace the contractors or to pay them what they’re owed, he will start losing as much as $5 million a day in lost output.

Why can’t Chavez simply pay these contractors and secure his revenue stream? He doesn’t have the money. Chavez spent like a drunken sailor on his socialization projects, assuming that the price would remain high even for his sulphuric crude. When the bottom fell out of the oil market in the recession, Chavez was already overextended, and now he’s all but broke. His nationalization of the oil fields had already cut into his output, and the low margin on what he does produce can’t maintain his political projects and the oil fields at the same time.

Chavez faces another key vote this year. If he stops spending money on his pet projects, he’ll lose the support of the poor, practically his only constituency now. If he doesn’t pay the contractors, though, his entire economy could collapse, creating a huge backlash against the man who claimed nationalization would cure all Venezuela’s ills. Chavez may soon reach the end of his rope, and as Benito Mussolini discovered when his dictatorship resulted in disaster, that’s not necessarily a figurative phrase.


This is for my friend Simon, I hope your fiends and family are ok in Caracas!

Check this out! Comment on your favorite pork project

http://www.stimuluswatch.org/

More explanation here

Ever heard of Spam?

This is for Andy in Austin, Minnesota. The Spam capital of the world, home of Hormel.

Happy 50th Birthday!

Government spending vs Unemployment

Read here how governemnt spending and the unemployment rate always stays in sync. ...
We are in for some serious trouble.

The reality is that every dollar the federal government spends must be borrowed or taxed from the private sector. And the more resources the government usurps from the private sector, the less job creation occurs.

It is also true that most government spending is less efficient than private sector spending. While there may be a few areas that government spending makes sense -- let's say defense or some R&D -- the vast majority of government spending has nothing to do with creating new wealth. It often competes against the private sector -- the postal service and Amtrak -- and much of it is pure re-distribution.

So, this raises a serious question. Why is the government trying the same old spending stimulus that the evidence clearly shows does not work? President Carter spent billions of dollars on alternative energy plans, but unemployment rose anyway. If the U.S. and the new administration are serious about "change" and "getting rid of the old ways of doing things," why not try something truly new?

With nearly $1 trillion dollars to spend, the government could do some astounding and positive things. The U.S. could rewrite its tax code and move to a flat tax that would make the U.S. much more competitive in the global economy. Or, we could rethink and rework the entire entitlement system, so that it wouldn't eat our budget and economy alive like Pac-Man in the next few decades. Charles Murray, in his 2006 book, In Our Hands, laid out a plan to give every American over 21 years old $10,000 per year for life in exchange for giving up Social Security, Medicare and every other welfare state program.

By Brian Wesbury on 2.6.09 @ 5:37P
The American Spectator

The Politics of Dope

February 06, 2009
Biden and his Overwhelming Optimism

Lauri Regan

Our Veep has done it again. He must be the most limber 66 year old around. Somehow he is able to constantly keep his foot in his mouth. Today’s pronouncement was released by Congressional Quarterly. Biden is quoted telling House Democrats that:

“"If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30 percent chance we'll get it wrong."

If only he had the same amount of confidence in the President as he does in his negative prediction that the Obama administration only has a 70% chance of success in dealing with the "constellation of crises" affecting the nation. The dichotomy of Obama’s promises to lower sea levels, and such other rhetorical nonsense, with the pessimism of Biden would be amusing if it were not so pathetic. But it does serve to prove one scientific fact -- opposites attract.

From American Thinker

Governments cling to the delusion that a crisis of excess debt can be solved by creating more debt.

Keynes can't help us now
from the LA Times
Niall Ferguson February 6, 2009

It began as a subprime surprise, became a credit crunch and then a global financial crisis. At last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Russia and China blamed America, everyone blamed the bankers, and the bankers blamed you and me. From where I sat, the majority of the attendees were stuck in the Great Repression: deeply anxious but fundamentally in denial about the nature and magnitude of the problem.

Some foretold the bottom of the recession by the middle of this year. Others claimed that India and China would be the engines of recovery. But mostly the wise and powerful had decided to trust that John Maynard Keynes would save us all.

I heard almost no criticism of the $819-billion stimulus package making its way through Congress. The general assumption seemed to be that practically any kind of government expenditure would be beneficial -- and the bigger the resulting deficit the better.

There is something desperate about the way economists are clinging to their dogeared copies of Keynes' "General Theory." Uneasily aware that their discipline almost entirely failed to anticipate the current crisis, they seem to be regressing to macroeconomic childhood, clutching the Keynesian "multiplier effect" -- which holds that a dollar spent by the government begets more than a dollar's worth of additional economic output -- like an old teddy bear.

They need to grow up and face the harsh reality: The Western world is suffering a crisis of excessive indebtedness. Governments, corporations and households are groaning under unprecedented debt burdens. Average household debt has reached 141% of disposable income in the United States and 177% in Britain. Worst of all are the banks. Some of the best-known names in American and European finance have liabilities 40, 60 or even 100 times the amount of their capital.

The delusion that a crisis of excess debt can be solved by creating more debt is at the heart of the Great Repression. Yet that is precisely what most governments propose to do.

Read complete article here

Collateral Health Care Damage

By Joseph Lawler in the American Spectator

Perhaps no group is happier to see Obama's health care reform stumble and face delay than health care sharing ministries (HCSMs), whose health care system faced ruin under reform.

HCSMs work well. All members contribute the same amount. To take care of people with pre-existing conditions they simply collect what members are willing to contribute. Often the HCSMs are able to negotiate lower fees from doctors because they pay cash quickly, without having to go through red tape. They allow members to keep clear consciences, and offer a sense of community that cannot be duplicated.

HCSMs would flourish if they didn't compete with overregulation and tax breaks for employer-provided health insurance. Those problems could easily be alleviated, but they won't be. Instead, over the next few years the government will enact a reform that's bad for all Americans, but especially for those who simply want to share each other's health care costs.

Read here

Cuba's Cyber Revolutionary

By Jordan Allott & Daniel Allott on 2.5.09 @ 6:08AM

In America, 2009 has thus far been dominated by discussions about how best to alleviate a recession that began just over a year ago. But in communist Cuba, 2009 has been dominated by the commemoration of a revolution that helped induce 50 years of economic depression and instability.

But after half a century of broken promises of justice and prosperity, there is a new revolution stirring in Cuba. Not a revolution marked by murder and repression of human rights and waged with guns and explosives. It is, rather, a revolution of ideas and information undertaken with flash drives, digital cameras, memory cards and other technologies that are giving voice to a new generation of Cubans.

...

Traveling in Cuba, one is struck by the sense of hopelessness among Cuba's youth. Thousands study computer programming at Cuba's University of Information Sciences, and increased Internet access means more young Cubans are catching a glimpse of what life is like in free nations across the globe.

Yoani says, "Most young people's eyes are looking to the outside, because they see that they cannot make change in their country. They only see the status quo. Most young people desire to take a plane to Miami or Europe and in 10 hours change their lives completely. They know they cannot realize their dreams here."

But Cuba needs young Cubans like Yoani who are willing to stay and work for freedom from within.

Please read entire article here

PERSONALITY IS NOT LEADERSHIP!

Did you see BO whining about how he inherited a deficit all wrapped up in a red bow? (As soon as I can find a video of it, I wll post it here.) Here it is ..

Speaks on how this bill has been scrutinized.. Scrutinized?, you mean all the scrutiny in the last 48 hours?

And how all the economists are in agreement that this is what must be done. Who is BO listening to?
Jeez, nice campaign speech. Why the telepromter? oh, I forget, he can't speak without it.

Good Grief, did you think this was going to be easy? Just go to State dinners, ride around on Air Force One, and cruise in your new Escalade limo. You didn't see GW whining, he took the situation as it was and dealt with it. He was a leader.

And did you see where The One has created yet another panel to advise him on the economic crisis? I have some advice for you.. how about perform the job the American people elected you to do?, instead of forming a committee. Maybe Obama Girl would be willing to sit on that committee. Isn't it ironic that it was young Americans that elected BO, and they are the ones going to be stuck with the biggest portion of the coming tax bill. I guess giving a speech (which cannot be done without a telepromter no less), is not the same as being commander in chief.

"Oh, if only my good looks could solve all these problems..." (As The One looks wistfully into the distance and pretends there is some substance to the man.)

Its going to be a long four years.

Holy smoking ballpoints, you want to read some criticism, find it here.

Sweden to go nuclear. Why can't we?

If the founder of Greenpeace, Patrick Moore, can admit the error of his ways and support nuclear power, when will Democratic leaders?

Age of Obama: I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

The Fierce Urgency of Pork

By Charles KrauthammerFriday, February 6, 2009;

"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe."
-- President Obama, Feb. 4.

Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.
And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.

Read complete article from the Washington Post here


Another very interesting read.

How not to organize a government

Campaigner-In-Chief

Did you see that speech in Virginia with the Democratic caucus? You know where all the dems are getting a spa and manicure at taxpayer expense. We didn't elect a Commander-in-Chief, we elected a Campaigner-in-Chief.


By LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of Congress were quick to shame corporate executives for over-the-top extravagance during the economic crisis, flying private jets and taking luxury junkets. But some lawmakers are strolling fancy resorts spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars and mingling with lobbyists.

"We're very mindful" of perceptions, House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson told reporters Thursday camped outside of the sprawling Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va., where House Democrats spent about $100,000 on their three-day annual retreat. "It's serious and it's from morning till night. We've been dwelling, rightfully, on the economy," said Larson, D-Conn.

Sens. Graham, Boxer Spar on Senate Floor Over Stimulus

It's about time somebody is pissed off!

America's best days are behind us

Email your Senators to Vote NO on the Stimulus Boon-Doggle

Tell your Senators to Vote NO!

The only thing we have to fear is catastrophe itself

by Lee Cary

Obama the President has morphed into something different. Obama the Scolder. Here's a sample of his new tone.

"For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only bad taste -- it's bad strategy -- and I will not tolerate it as president."

He will not tolerate it.

His revised style fully surfaced in his Inaugural Address where motivating gave way to moralistic lecturing. The core message of President Obama's first address to the nation was this: Americans must grow-up and become responsible. It conveyed a tone that stands in stark contrast to FDR's 1933 Inaugural Address.
FDR uplifted; BHO chided.

Complete article here