Monthly Archives: April 2009

MRIOTD, Politics

Specter Ends Charade, To Join Democrats

It was a long time coming. Way too long. But Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said he is joining the D’s. To which I say, good. It’s about time. Now Pennsylvania can elect a republican who will vote like one.

The fact that Specter is running 15% behind his republican challenger doesn’t have anything to do with it. Right. He claims the republican party has moved too far to the right and has left him.

That explanation qualifies for the winner of the Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day award. Today’s MRIOTD goes to Sen. Arlen Specter (Rino-PA)

The political consequence of this move means that, when Al Franken gets seated, Democrats would have a filibuster proof Senate and they can get everything they want without needing a single vote from the other side.

And that’s a good thing for Republicans. By the time 2012 comes around, Americans will have a better look at the change they got.

Economy, MRIOTD, Organized Labor, Politics

aSide Order

President Examines His 100 Days Himself

Tomorrow completes President Obama’s first 100 days in office. What happens on that day is that the news media focuses on his performance for those 100 days. Except for tomorrow. Tomorrow Barack is going to take care of this assessment and do it himself. He requested prime-time hours from the TV networks to put on his own campaign speech, and FOX is the only network that isn’t bending over.


President Delivers Chrysler To The UAW

GM Chairman (or is it BM Chairman?) and President of the United States Barack Obama, is engineering his fix for Chrysler. Another ‘private’ corporation. The fix is the quid pro quo for their unwavering financial support, giving majority ownership of the company, 55%, to the United Auto Workers union by putting the labor union AHEAD of secured creditors. Secured creditors are people who invested in the company. Under bankruptcy, the secured creditors are always FIRST on the list to recover what they can.

But that is not what happened.  And this is why the Obama administration doesn’t want them to declare bankruptcy. What happened is Obama publicly chastised the few creditors that did not want to go along, causing public pressure on them to play along. Obama forced them into taking less for their claim, that they paid for, and giving the remainder to the labor union, who paid nothing.

Returning the nation’s wealth to its rightful owners. It is what he campaigned on.


TOTUS Responds To POTUS

Feeling the need to respond to the tongue lashing he got yesterday from ‘Big Guy’ (the President), Barack’s teleprompter started up his own blog to discuss the incident where Barack lost his place and became speechless.

Here’s a portion of the transcript.

Big Guy: “In addition to John – sorry, the – I just noticed I jumped the gun here.”
TOTUS: “What? Why are you looking at those file cards? Who gave you those file cards? Ah crap.”
Big Guy: “Go ahead. Move it up.
TOTUS: “WT*! I am moving it up. When we get back to the office, we need to have a sit down …”

Fair Tax, Media, Pensacola

FairTax In Print And Online

Sunday’s opinion page of the Pensacola News Journal was like a page here explaining the Fair Tax. Then there’s this great video answering the question ‘What the FairTax would mean to you?’

Am hopeful the article will open some eyes and possibly attract more supporters locally. Must see, and share, this video.

They chose Paul Wizikowski and–wow!–does he know how to make a FairTax video. Paul’s an Oklahoma-based FairTax grassroots activist and his winning entry brilliantly answers our challenge question, “What the FairTax would mean to you.” As the top video in our contest, Paul’s work was shown to thousands at both “Save the Nation” FairTax rallies for Tax Day 2009.

My FairTax Story

related links:

Media, Politics, War On Terror

Dems Briefed On Waterboarding in 2002

More specifically, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was briefed on the extreme interrogation technique. Back then, it was fine. In fact, they wanted to know if there was anything more they could do to break the terrorists to give up information. Today it’s a different story. Today it is torture. Today the disposing of two tapes that supposedly show the technique in practice is called obstruction. Something we need to investigate, according to Joe Biden.

Which is exactly what they are doing today. Both Nancy Pelosi and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) had been fully briefed on what the CIA was doing in Guantanamo Bay and neither of them objected, much to the dismay of the far left. Then, doing what they felt was the proper thing to do, the CIA notified Jay Rockefeller a few years ago that there were tapes of interrogations and that they intended to destroy them. The CIA was doing a CYA in letting those in oversight responsibilities, like Jay Rockefeller, know of the steps they were taking. After all, keeping secrets secret is what they do. What did Rockefeller do with that news? Nothing. He let it happen, as would anyone else on the side of America.

Enter politics and an election, and now it’s a whole different story. In the absence of core beliefs, it makes politicizing the war and the war effort easy.

Thank goodness that videotapes of interrogations that happened to a couple key al Qaeda bad guys were destroyed. You know that the identities of the real covert operatives would have been splashed all over the New York Times if they still existed and if Jay Rockefeller’s staff ever got their hands on them. For purely political purposes, there seems to be no current of opinion in the media and key democrats to keep the actions secret, including the identities of the covert agents involved. Contrast that to all the fake outrage of exposing the identity of Valerie Plame, a desk clerk analyst, who, at the time, was not a covert CIA agent. Protecting the identities of CIA operatives seem to be a selective, political concept.

editor’s note: It’s funny how short the memories are in Washington. This article could have been written two years ago. The MSM made nothing of it two years ago, just like they are again today.

Energy

Fossil Fuels Out-Green Biofuels

In celebration of Earth Day, did you know that it is greener to burn our fossil fuels than to produce and burn biofuels? I think this would be a hard sell to Robert Kennedy Jr. but if it’s the environment that we’re trying to impact less, then we need to get serious about actually getting more of our own oil and gas so we can be less dependent on foreign suppliers. All in one fell swoop we could increase our national security, lower the price of gasoline at the pump, and help the environment. It’s a win win win.

Increasing production of biofuels to combat climate change will release between two and nine times more carbon gases over the next 30 years than fossil fuels, according to the first comprehensive analysis of emissions from biofuels.

Biofuels look good in climate change terms from a Western perspective, said Dr Spracklen, but globally they actually lead to higher carbon emissions.

The reason is that producing biofuel is not a “green process”. It requires tractors and fertilizers and land, all of which means burning fossil fuels to make “green” fuel. In the case of bioethanol produced from corn – an alternative to oil – “it’s essentially a zero-sums game.”

NewsBusters: New Study Recommends Against Burning Biofuels to Solve Global Warming

Will be interesting to see what play, if any, this gets in your mainstream media. And I wouldn’t hold my breath for Kennedy to get on board either. Not with BIG OIL.

h/t Amy Ridenour’s National Center Blog

editor’s note: Some things are worth repeating, especially when the MSM doesn’t adequately cover them. This post was originally posted 8/23/07.

Economy, Media, Politics, War On Terror

Obama’s First Hundred Days

Who would have thought that we would have seen this much change in under 100 days?

March 20, 2009, administration and congress pass a law taking the wages of certain private citizens via a 90% tax. This was the confiscation of bonuses paid to AIG executives that were expressly approved by (Chris Dodd) this administration in the stimulus bill. This was also the day the U.S. Constitution died.

March 31, 2009, administration takes over a private company, GM. U.S. Constitution not protected or defended.

April 2, 2009, the repeal of the Declaration of Independence by subjugating our sovereignty to a Financial Stability Board (FSB) invented by the G20 states.

April 5, 2009, North Korea successfully tested a multi-stage missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The missile went 2390 miles, 500 miles further than their last test. April 6, President Obama cuts the Pentagon’s missile defense program.

April 17, 2009, Obama administration declassifies memos detailing harsh interrogation techniques and the justification for it. Laying bare the program to our enemies. And at the same time does not release the memos showing that those techniques were successful in saving lives and preventing attacks. And at the same time announces that those techniques will be discontinued. Going forward, either Dr. Phil or Oprah will be interrogating the terrorists1. 1(terrorist: the ‘man’ part of a man-made disaster)

April 19, 2009, after pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the banking system, replacing CEO’s, confiscating salaries, trying to set maximum salaries for financial industry workers, the Obama administration is now considering converting the bailout loans into common shares, giving the government a large ownership stake. All the while refusing to let banks repay the bailout money they received.

After the longest campaign in history, and after distancing himself from his radical friends like William Ayers and Jeremiah Wright. It’s not hard to imagine the three of them giving a fist-bump to each other and Obama saying ‘How do you like me now America?’

Now that the election is over, what we are seeing is the fastest slide from freedom and free-market capitalism in history. Through legislation, this administration has trashed the very documents it is sworn to protect and defend. In less than 100 days, President Obama (the Constitutional lawyer) has managed to re-write the Constitution without laying a pen on it.


Captionfest

Media, War On Terror

Obama Recognizes 'Mistakes' Of CIA

Visiting the CIA today in Langley, Virginia, President Obama came to justify to them why he released documents relating to interrogation techniques to the media, and al-Qaeda.

If you were under the impression that those interrogation techniques played a part in keeping us safe these last eight years, then you are mistaken. According to the President, that was a mistake.

Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge that potentially we’ve made some mistakes. That’s how we learn. But the fact that we are willing to acknowledge them and then move forward, that is precisely why I am proud to be president of the United States and that’s why you should be proud to be members of the CIA.


You’re not really mistaken. They did play a role in keeping us safe. That fact is not even debatable. What the President is saying is that he will not protect us as vigorously as his predecessor did. Does that make you feel warm and fuzzy, and secure?

link: Obama reaffirms support for CIA

Economy, Energy, Organized Labor

Energy Policy Under Court's Thumb

All’s right with the world now as far as energy policy goes. To insure our dependence on foreign oil and higher energy cost at home, setting the stage for yet more government assistance programs, this country’s energy policies are now controlled by the courts and the EPA.

A program to expand oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast has been canceled by a federal appeals court because of environmental concerns. A three-judge panel in the District of Columbia says the Bush administration’s Interior Department failed to consider the offshore environmental impact and marine life before approving an oil and gas leasing program in the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi (CHOOK-chee) seas.”

Nothing new here. Just pointing out liberal tendency to put the wolves in charge of the hen house. EPA dictates energy policy, teachers unions dictate education policies, like labor unions and the EPA team up to dictate the future of the auto industry. All that, combined with a lack of business experience in the entire Obama Cabinet makes the Obama administration uniquely qualified to depress the economy even further.

link: Court Cancels Offshore Drilling

Economy, Energy, Politics

No Conflict Of Interest For Obama

With billions and billions of dollars already sunk into the auto industry to, ostensibly, save it, the EPA figures it is time to make the auto industry meet yet higher standards regarding emissions. That’s just what they need now. The ‘economist’ in Obama is showing.

Moving on down the list of contributors, it must be the EPA’s turn to raise costs, and to justify it by citing ‘man made global warming.’ But this is what President Obama said he would do. That’s what is expected of him, by me and all that voted for him.

As Chairman of the Board of General Motors, Barack Obama should be speaking against higher standards now, at a time when they need to figure out how to stay in business by dropping product lines, closing plants, and probably declaring bankruptcy in order to reorganize. Without all the legacy costs. So far, nothing from Chairman Obama. Ordinarily, a conflict of interest like this would be noticed.

U.S. automakers are in a tough bind, though. After recently being rescued by the federal government, they are hardly in a position to be dictating proposals. The fuel economy standard that was laid out in 2007 demands a fleet-wide average of 35 mpg by 2020 and is estimated to cost automakers $85 billion. Raising it beyond 35 mpg will place too heavy of a burden on the struggling auto industry, officials say.

He has done it in under 100 days. Gotta give him credit for a takeover well done. He runs the board, and The White House. Now any new laws on the auto industry will get no industry input and no opposition. And we didn’t have to vote on it for all that to happen. Or to put it another way, we were never asked to choose between free-market capitalism and socialism when he was running for President. He never said that he wouldn’t one day also run General Motors. What we got instead was ‘trust me.’

For all intents and purposes, General Motors is not General Motors any more. It is now Barack Motors. BM, change he believes in.

links: U.S. automakers unhappy about higher CAFE standards | Lawmakers Set Deal on Raising Fuel Efficiency

Fair Tax, Pensacola, Politics

Pensacola Tea Party

3 Comments

The Tea Party in front of University Mall today was a ton of fun for me. And it was good to see 1000-1300 people of all ages, and of all political parties, come out to say WHOA! No Mas.

I saw a lot of enthusiasm on their faces and in their voices. It tells me this isn’t a one-day phenomenon. As for the FairTax, there were a lot of supporters out there that brought their own signs. And it was more than just Huckabee supporters.

 

Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL) stopped by and thanked everyone there for doing what Americans can do. Exercising their freedom of speech to send a message to their government.

I’ve never seen 1000 people lining Davis Hwy in front of University Mall before for any cause. By comparison, the crowds at the courthouse for the Bush 2000 election were about 600 people, if my memory serves me. It ended up being a fun night because thanks to the chanting crowds outside and Joe Scarborough inside, they successfully stopped Gore’s lawyers from excluding the overseas military ballots which, you will recall, was what they were trying to do.

Seems to me there is more public activism, or pissed offism, now than in 2000. Of course the stakes are way higher now. Look at this event as the beginning of a peaceful transfer in power in 2010 and 2012.

Sean Dugas says it pretty well in his Pensacola News Journal article ‘Not a penny more.’