Tag Archives: Politics

2008 Election, Economy, Media, Politics

Obama: My Economic Policies Are Unsustainable

In an effort to be the Harry Houdini of Washington, after voting for the very policies that he is deriding, President Obama is pulling another one over on the media and the American people.  Speaking at a town-hall  meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque, his message was clear.

President Barack Obama, calling current deficit spending “unsustainable,” warned of skyrocketing interest rates for consumers if the U.S. continues to finance government by borrowing from other countries.

“We can’t keep on just borrowing from China,” Obama said at a town-hall meeting in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, outside Albuquerque. “We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children’s future with more and more debt.”

Becoming the greatest show (fraud?) on earth, our President is deriding the very policies that he ran on , proposed, voted for, and coerced Congress into passing, while accepting zero responsibility for any of  it. Ta da!

Mission accomplished. Meanwhile . . .

Earlier this week, the Obama administration revised its own budget estimates and raised the projected deficit for this year to a record $1.84 trillion, up 5 percent from the February estimate. The revision for the 2010 fiscal year estimated the deficit at $1.26 trillion, up 7.4 percent from the February figure. The White House Office of Management and Budget also projected next year’s budget will end up at $3.59 trillion, compared with the $3.55 trillion it estimated previously.

Rush . . .

This is the guy who has just saddled us with $11 trillion in budget deficits for the next ten years, warning that his own policies have wrecked the US economy and that they cannot be continued.  He threw himself under the bus.  We can’t continue Obamaism.  Just barely over a hundred days into his administration, Obama has condemned his own administration, and nobody in the Drive-By Media gets this.

[t]he president of the United States, after a mere 100-plus days, has just thrown his own administration, all of his policies, under the bus, just condemned them, just ripped them to shreds. I mean he has been more forcefully critical of his own policies than he ever was of George W. Bush.

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Economy, Energy, Media, Politics

Obama:Forget The Facts, Listen To Me

If it is not in the mainstream media, did it really happen? Take this week’s summit with health care CEO’s on Monday for example.

The president said Monday that six major health care organizations had pledged to “cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year — an amount that’s equal to over $2 trillion.”

But three days later, The New York Times reported that those organizations said they never committed to specific annual cuts, just to cut spending gradually, and that the president’s description has their members up in arms.

Today, President Obama’s address to the nation repeats his script from Monday, saying with a straight face that he had a $2 trillion pledge from these health care organizations. Words, just words. Even though they were lying words, he says them so well.

Today’s performance also shows two things about President Obama. He doesn’t mind lying to the American people, and he still is in campaign mode. Just like his Democrat predecessor.

I hate to sound like a broken record when it comes to Obama and what motivates him, but until the media takes on that responsibility I’ll be happy to oblige. And it is what motivates him that he is careful not to let you see.

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Politics

End Is Near For Social Security

News Flash! ‘Social Security’ is running out of money. A better example of an oxymoron cannot be made when it comes to ‘Social Security.’ And Wall Street is not to blame. The blame lies in the robber barons on Capitol Hill.

For years, the Social Security trust fund has taken in more than it spent on benefits, resulting in a cushion of billions of dollars that the government could spend on other programs while giving the trust fund an IOU.

Emphasis added. Notice the assumption that spending money from your retirement fund is OK because, hey, you’re not retired yet. You don’t need it now. In the private sector, its called a felony. Now the biggest Ponzi scheme in the world is about to collapse. The fact that the Johnson administration was taking retirement money from individual citizens didn’t seem to bother anyone.

It was in the Johnson administration in the 60’s that politicians thought it was a shame that they couldn’t use that money for things like his ‘Great Society.’ And the Great Society got us Medicare, Medicaid, and the War (without an exit plan) on Poverty.  Since then, politicians in both parties became drunk on spending from this big pot of gold which is now almost empty. It provided the seed money to greatly expand government programs and entitlement programs to levels that would, long term, be unsustainable on their own.

Warnings that this time would come have been sounded by economists and The elephant in the room.conservatives for years. Efforts to reform Social Security, to reverse the trend  to insolvency, fell on deaf ears during the 16 years of Clinton and Bush. The spineless in Washington lack the will to fix it as it was originally intended to be.

But have no fear. The good news is President Obama doesn’t think it is a problem. Have you heard him or his teleprompter say that the Social Security system needs fixing yet? In fact, the bad news coming out today about Social Security is playing right into his hands.

There is no need to try to save Social Security. Individualism, the very concept of saving for your own future, is so last century. President Obama’s fix for Social Security is to simply continue nationalizing those industries that the country depends on. Soon, the news of collapse will be so intense that America will look to him to save us from peril. Enter Barack Obama and his teleprompter, and Americans will succumb to Obama’s new and improved socialist America. Of course he won’t call it that. But that’s what we’ll get.

Trying to save the Constitution and this country as we know it is just too much work when half the population, Washington, and the media no longer take it seriously.  That’s the way it seems after continuing barrages of bad economic news.  It is Rahm Emanual’s ‘rule one‘ on steroids. Taking advantage of a crisis is one thing. Prolonging chaos to keep the crisis going to advance an agenda is quite another.

link: Annual report due for Social Security and Medicare

Media, Politics, War On Terror

Democrat Leaders On Waterboarding, Is It Enough?

More specifically, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) were 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. Something we need to investigate.

For more than an hour, the bipartisan group, which included current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), was given a virtual tour of the CIA’s overseas detention sites and the harsh techniques interrogators had devised to try to make their prisoners talk.

Among the techniques described, said two officials present, was waterboarding, a practice that years later would be condemned as torture by Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. But on that day, no objections were raised. Instead, at least two lawmakers in the room asked the CIA to push harder, two U.S. officials said.

“The briefer was specifically asked if the methods were tough enough,” said a U.S. official who witnessed the exchange.

Now, the Obama administration is in a quandary. Their far left base is still calling for the heads of Bush and Cheney.  How to investigate the Bush administration over waterboarding at GITMO without including leaders of his own party?

The media didn’t make much of it then either.

Organized Labor, Politics

Chicago Politics Spreads To Washington

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President of the United States Barack Obama, is engineering his fix for Chrysler, another ‘private’ corporation. The ‘fix’ is giving a 55% majority ownership of the company to the United Auto Workers union by putting the labor union AHEAD of secured creditors in a ‘White House’ recovery plan. Secured creditors are people and companies who invested in Chrysler, and likely part of someone’s 401k. Under bankruptcy, the secured creditors are always FIRST on the list to recover what they can.

But that is not what happened.  What happened is Obama publicly chastised the few creditors that did not want to go along, and used his Chicago-style political tactics on them to play along with his bankruptcy plan.

A leading bankruptcy attorney representing hedge funds and money managers told ABC News Saturday that Steve Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration’s Auto Industry Task Force, threatened one of the firms, an investment bank, that if it continued to oppose the administration’s Chrysler bankruptcy plan, the White House would use the White House press corps to destroy its reputation.

Obama did prevail, ending up with them settling for 29 cents on the dollar out of $6.8 billion owned by Chrysler. The labor union that invested zero dollars into the company gets 55% ownership, and the investors get 29%.

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

Update 5/7/09: I’m just dying to call this The Lunch Counter effect, but I won’t. Rush’s podcast from yesterday echos the point.

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Media, Pensacola, Politics

Media Doesn't Care About The Constitution Either

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I had a discussion with a local columnist, Reginald T. Dogan, over my amazement at the silence from the media in how our President is running roughshod over the U.S. Constitution.

Here’s the premise. The election is over, and 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.

My question to him was simple. How can the administration be doing all of this with NOT ONE question from the media as to whether it is constitutional?

His answer was just as simple. He said, ‘nobody cares about the Constitution.’ To which I said, EXACTLY. After 233 years of constitutional government, this shift to expand government control by this administration isn’t news?

Surely the media sees this, likes it, and thinks nothing else of it. It’s Journalistic malpractice to watch this happen while half the country is either unaware or does not care. Whether they’re all idiots doesn’t matter. What should matter to the media, which has special protection under the Constitution, is to inform the people what this administration is doing, and to put it in the context of the last 233 years of our history. Not the last 100 days. Unfortunately for America, this shift to socialism isn’t Obama’s fix for our economic troubles. It is his plan.

Since ‘nobody cares about the Constitution’ any more, do you think the media would mind losing the constitutional protections given it?

related links: Obama’s First 100 Days | No Conflict Of Interest For Obama

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 …”

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

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