"The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants" - Albert Camus

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Flashback: Debt Ceiling Follies - Then and Now

Then:

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. ... Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

-- Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Senate floor speech, March 2006
 
Now:

"We all want a government that lives within its means, but there are still things we need to pay for as a country -– things like new roads and bridges; weather satellites and food inspection; services to veterans and medical research."

-- President Barack Obama, Address to the nation, July 2011


Isn't it funny how it was okay not to raise the debt ceiling in 2006 under a Republican administration and now it would be downright catastrophic to fail raising it?  Furthermore, isn't it ironic that the man (and his party) that raised federal spending by a third as soon as he gained power can utter such hypocritical words without any shame whatsoever?

The impostor-in-chief has nothing to worry about. The debt ceiling will be raised thanks to class warriors, RINOs, and other politicians who lose their nerve at the last moment; and we will continue on our merry way to financial destruction. Absent a complete overhaul of our political system, there is nothing that can save us with this gang of clowns running our country.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Obama Vs. Obama (Video)

Ain't that the truth!

Simply Disgraceful...

Over my 34 years of living in the U.S., I thought I had seen it all as far as presidential disappointments go.  I witnessed President Carter let the free world down by conceding to unfriendly nations from Iran to the U.S.S.R. as well as letting the American public down with domestic policies that allowed stagflation to inflict great suffering.  I watched President Clinton lie under oath as the nation witnessed a political theater surrounding a sex scandal worthy of Italy or France play out.  I agonized over policies unworthy of a so-called conservative President - George W. Bush - such as Medicare Part D and strengthening the EPA and other governmental agencies that have a stranglehold on America; and watched as he, in his own ironic words, "destroyed the free markets in order to save it".   However, until Barack Obama became the President, I never thought we would have to live through such an unparalleled deceitful, corrupt, and arrogant presidency befitting more a delusional mental patient than the President of the U.S.A. 

Although we spent the last two and a half years witnessing one scandal after another by an executive branch that is fitting only for a banana republic, last night's (un)presidential speech was perhaps the most disgraceful event of the last 30 agonizing months for anyone who loves this country. 

Obama started his speech by, as usual, passing the buck and blaming it all on the previous Administration.  He promptly continued by scaring the most vulnerable of the society - the seniors and the poor.  To cement his well deserved unpresidential image, he called out his political opposition as unreasonable and radical and blamed them as the sole reason for the "stalemate" over spending and the national debt.  It would not be so ironic if under his presidency the deficits had not grown from a high of $400 billion in 2008 to $1.4 trillion in each of the following years; and under his Democrat party the national debt had not grown $5.2 trillion in 5 short years to $14.3 trillion.

The speech was class warfare and fear mongering at its best.  In order to justify his wishes (tax increases and a long term raising of the debt ceiling which is akin to handing him a blank check), he again compared himself to Reagan by invoking deceitfully his words. 

Obama’s class warfare rhetoric has become even more stale.   The small group of top income earners, who pay the majority of all taxes, are told once again that they’re not “paying their fair share.” How are we supposed to have some sort of rational discussion about the size and role of government, when Obama and his ilk keep peddling these tired old fairy tales? 

“Let’s seize this moment to show why the United States of America is still the greatest nation on Earth,” Obama implored. “Not just because we can still keep our word and meet our obligations, but because we can still come together as one nation.”   Except for those “wealthiest Americans” who “aren’t paying their fair share,” I suppose. They won’t be “coming together” with the rest of us, because they’re hated class enemies, and we need to seize their property by force.  Plus, whatever happened to "we can't raise taxes in the middle of a recession" as Obama uttered last year?  Back then, he seemed to comprehend that there is no economic thought - be it capitalist, socialist, Marxist, or whatever - that even remotely suggests that you can grow an economy and foster job creation by raising taxes on the producers of the society.

Obama's record-breaking, economy-crushing deficits were necessary, because they were “emergency spending” to save the middle class according to him.   Since every single prediction Obama made about the economy at the beginning of his term is verifiably false, and his unemployment rates are higher than what he said we would be facing without his massive “stimulus” boondoggle, it’s hard to believe anyone would take this worn-out excuse seriously.

During the speech, he alluded to "compromise" time and time again.  Excuse me?  The President seems to have a case of amnesia, but we remember well him sneering “I won” when Republicans wanted some input into that stimulus bill, or telling audiences that “the people who got us into this mess” shouldn’t “do a lot of talking right now.”

In short, this was a campaign speech dressed up as an address to the public despite having no solutions to offer.  Through the complexity of the debt limit and budget issue the President has revealed very little understanding or competence appearing to only be interested in getting the matter behind him so he can have a second term.

Obama realizes that he and his party are headed for a memorable defeat in 2012.  As such, he must vilify the opposition and make them a party to the disaster he and his party has brought on by getting them to compromise on further economy wrecking policies.  Will the Republicans fall for it?  My bet is, yes as there are only about a hundred Tea Party Republicans in the Congress.  I hope I am wrong!

Try as he did, Obama fooled only a few people on Monday.  At this point in his presidency and in this debt ceiling debate, he is irrelevant and marginalized despite his pathetic attempts.  The danger is that as this Administration becomes more marginalized it will take more desperate measures to try to prove its status, value and relevance as demonstrated by the scare tactics they are currently resorting to. Don’t be surprised if the Administration delays checks being sent out to get the public upset, after all it was Rahm Emanuel who said “never fail to take advantage of a good crisis.”

Friday, July 22, 2011

You Are No Reagan, Mr. Obama!

Isn't it sort of funny - in a sick, twisted way of course - how the left and the President has been invoking President Reagan's name in the debate about raising the debt limit?!  The same president they love to impune!  Reagan knew the art of compromise, they say.  Congressional Republicans should learn from him, they shamelessly add. 

You are no Reagan, Mr. Obama, thus it would be a waste of time and effort to try to sway your staunchly collectivist ideology and Alinskyite tactics of lying about and ridiculing your enemies.  You lie, lie, and lie some more; and with the help of your media whore pals paint a picture that is as removed from reality as your pathetic collectivist ideology.

You lie that President Reagan believed in the proper role of government as it pertains to intervening in the economy; that he was not a small government advocate.  He was and fought for it as hard as he could against a Congress dominated by staunch progressives. 

You lie that he raised taxes more than any other modern day president.  On the balance, he did not.  When he came in to office, the top marginal tax rate was 70%; when he left office eight years later, the top rate was 28%!  Yes, he signed the 1983 bill raising social security withholding and did away with certain corporate and individual tax preferences in order to rescue social security and level the playing field, leading to freer competition.  Even at that, the revenues to the treasury, which nearly doubled during his tenure, were spent and then some by the progressive do-gooders in the Congress.

You lie that his support for debt limit increases were unwavering.  It was not.  He was for a balanced budget amendment which he could not force the Democrat congress to even vote on.  You are not.



President Reagan was a fiscal conservative who thoroughly understood the evils of progressive liberalism.  You, sir, make European socialists blush with envy.  And, contrary to your claim, FDR was no fiscal conservative - quite to the contrary, he was the first socialist president of the U.S.; possibly only to be outdone by you.

No, you are not even remotely Reaganesque, Mr President!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Republican Establishment Vs. The TEA Party

Rick Santelli's rant might have gone a long way toward igniting the fuse that launched the TEA Party movement in earnest, but in reality small, constitutional government conservatives from all political persuasions including some Democrats who are obviously delusional about their party and many Independents had been boiling inside ever since the G. W. Bush days of reckless spending.  It goes without saying that G.W.B. had a lot of help from Democrats who were swept in to power in 2006.  However, it is also wise to remember that one must fear the enemy he doesn't know more than the one he does.

Whether it was G.W.B. or, as is now, establishmentarian Republicans like Senators McConnell, McCain, or Snowe among too many others to mention by name, big government RINOs who are anything but fiscal conservatives are just as guilty as Democrats and other progressives in bringing the U.S. to the brink of insolvency.

The House of Representatives did its part to change direction in this financial fiasco by passing Cut, Cap, and Balance yesterday - a plan that clearly cuts spending in the immediate future, caps the government spending at just under 20% of the GDP, and seeks congressional approval for a Balanced Budget Amendment to be sent to the states.  As expected the plan promptly got demagogued by the left, which accused it of cutting off seniors from Medicare which it clearly does not.  The competing Republican/Democrat plans,  whether it is the McConnell plan or the Gang of Six plan , do absolutely nothing to alter the disastrous course we have embarked on.

Regardless of Cut, Cap, and Balance's chances of passing the Senate - not to mention Obama's promise to veto it - the Senate Republicans owe America an up or down vote.  This worthy plan is not only perhaps our last best chance for salvation, but a necessity to show up our disgraceful president for who he is: A demagogue.  The same guy who last year said we could not raise taxes in the middle of a recession is now using class warfare as a weapon although we are in just as precarious a situation as were then.

What will play out over the next two weeks in this debate well may be the ultimate show-down between the establishment and the Tea Party, and who wins will also determine whether America wins or loses.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Op. Fast and Furious: The Scandal and the Complicit Whorish Media

In the scandal ridden Obama Administration, not a week passes by that a new shocker is not added to the long list of misdeeds by this gangster administration with complete disregard for citizens' will or constitutionally established separation of powers. 

The latest scandal - and the gravest so far - is the ATF's bungled (and mind bogglingly stupid) gun running sting operation code named Operation Fast and Furious.  Several law enforcement agencies of the federal government, including the FBI, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, got together to hatch a plan to sell guns to Mexican drug cartel members – at least one (and quite possibly two) of which was later used to murder a Border Patrol agent.  As Canada Free Press reported last week, this is a scandal that is exponentially bigger than Watergate should it be tied directly to the President.  Despite the Attorney General and the President's claims of ignorance, congressional Republicans have been digging hard and it seems they have hit paydirt.

This is a scandal involving murdered law enforcement officers, cover ups at the highest levels of the government, scapegoating whistle blowing low level operatives, witness tampering, and lies to the congress as well as the American people. 

It was quite obvious from the beginning that such an operation could not be conducted without approval from the highest levels of the DOJ and, at least, the knowledge of the President.
Sure enough, Rep. Darrell Issa uncovered at least twelve high level DOJ officials who have been heavily involved with the operation.  Further investigation also uncovered video evidence that not only Attorney General Eric Holder, but also the President knew about and presumably approved the foolhardy sting operation. 

As bad as this is, the most outrageous part of this scandal is the apparent devious motive behind it: banning semi-automatic assault rifles in the U.S.

Obama made no secret of his desire to unleash war on the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution from the very beginning of his Administration.  The opening the Administration needed was a 2008 report that 80% of the guns used by drug smugglers in Mexico were smuggled in to Mexico from the U.S.A.  Using that report as an excuse, various agencies of the DOJ planned a sting operation, results of which would later be used to garner political support for just such a ban on sale of semi-auto assault weapons in the U.S.  Sure enough, DOJ is "now requiring gun stores in Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico to report individual purchases of multiple rifles of greater than .22 caliber to the ATF. To quality for special reporting, the rifles also have to have a detachable magazine and be semi-automatic".
The outrageous nature of this move in the light of the revelations that put the culpability surrounding this scandal squarely on the Administration is simply astonishing.

Any one of the Obama scandals under a Republican administration would have been treated by the media and the left in general as a reason to impeach the president - whether you are talking about Pigford, the DOJ Black Panther case, falsifying expert testimony in justifying the oil and gas drilling moratorium, wilfully ignoring the separation of powers by ignoring the congress and courts on multiple occasions from the unconstitutionality of Obamacare to DISCLOSE Act to DREAM Act to net neutrality, or any one of dozens of other scandals.

Can we expect the main stream media to publicize this outrageous scandal to the general public anytime before they are forced to by alternative media?  I am willing to bet no!

Welcome to a new era - the era of the left wing media whores covering up for the Obama Administration!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Folly of Declaring War on Yourself

"California, once a business friendly state, continues to conduct a war on its own economy," says the Chief Executive Magazine. 

Oh yes, the Golden State - once the fifth largest economy of the world - is reaping what it has been sowing for the past couple of decades. The magazine has ranked California dead last in business friendly environment for seventh year in a row.  As CNN Money puts it, "buffeted by high taxes, strict regulations and uncertain state budgets, a growing number of California companies are seeking friendlier business environments outside of the Golden State".  How fast?  Companies are "disinvesting" in California at a rate five times greater than just two years ago. This includes leaving altogether, establishing divisions elsewhere or opting not to set up shop in California.  And which are the states benefitting the most from this exodus?  Texas, Utah, Arizona, North Carolina, and Virginia - all right-to-work red states!


Sacramento can't get its act together...and that includes the governor, legislators and regulatory agencies that are running wild.  A state where higher and higher tax revenues are required to support a welfare state where every special interest group from the LGBT crowd to illegal aliens routinely get special rights that have costs attached to them is bound, sooner or later, to pay the price for their folly. 

The arrogance of thinking that the producers of the society will endlessly support the non-producers is a hallmark of progressive thought that has failed in every social democracy tried.  As bad as California's failure is, as a nation we are on the same disastrous course.  I can only hope that the American electorate will heed the clear warning California is sending rest of the country.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The AGW Swindle: NAS Inadvertently Admits To Coal's Non-Warming Effect

Not every conspiracy is a well orchestrated effort on the part of its participants.  Some simply snowball because of the opportunities they present unscrupulous actors with.  One such case is the AGW (Anthropogenic Global Warming) movement that appeals not only to collectivists of all sorts (Marxists, Socialists, and everything in between) but also to crony capitalists who are ever-ready to capitalize on any opportunity to make money.

Man made global warming, or AGW, is potentially the swindle of the millenia that stands to cost the tax payers trillions of dollars through higher costs (of everything from utilities to every day items we consume) and taxes.  Though its main true aim is global redistribution of wealth, its masterminds stand to make literally trillions of dollars collectively.

The masterminds behind AGW are an odd consortium of shady people like Maurice Strong, former politicians like Al Gore, and entities from small green energy related companies to some of the largest corporations in the world like G.E. and the Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs

The tool these masterminds use to actuate their swindle is statist progressive politicians advancing their not-so-secret agenda, and bureaucrats (like Van Jones, Ray LaHood, and John Holdren), aided by an all-too-willing scientific community that is funded to the tune of billions of dollars world wide to carry out their misdeeds masqueraded as scientific research. 

The biggest culprit of man made global warming according to the charlatan warmists at IPCC as well as the scientific community at large is fossil fuels, led by coal.  This line of argument has been adopted by the religion that is environmentalism and become a hot button issue for Democrat party which is beholden to the green lobby (or a wholly owned subsidiary of the radical environmentalists as I like to refer to them).  Worse yet, it is precisely the current crop of Democrats who stand to benefit from their own crony green capitalist policy initiatives.

In the latest news, last week the NAS (National Academy of Sciences) published a report that explains why there has been no increases in global temperatures over the past decade or so.  The culprit, according to the NAS, is the massive amounts of coal that China has been burning thanks to its economy's explosive growth.

Coal, like other fossil fuels, puts out CO2 (carbon dioxide) which is a greenhouse gas.  However, coal also emits sulphate aerosol particles that more than counteract the greenhouse effects of its CO2 emissions. 
In other words, NAS has inadvertently admitted that fossil fuels, and coal in particular, do not cause man made global warming (as burning coal has kept temperatures lower than they would otherwise be over the past decade). 

We all know the sordid background of the man made global warming crowd that includes falsifying (temperature, ice extent and sea level) data, circulating incriminating e-mails, making dubious predictions that do not come true, using climate models that do not work, etc., etc....
Enough scandal for a prominent scientist to resign from the presidency of American Physical Society last year, along with dozens more who have reached the realization that this is a fraud to abandon the AGW movement.

Two questions come to mind as a result of this news.  First, will the Obama Administration change its mind and leave the coal industry alone now in the light of this study? 

The other question is: will the AGW proponents have the integrity to admit they are wrong about the greenhouse effects of burning coal?  Naaah, that would be too much to expect from this group of misfits.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Guess Who Asked Koch Brothers For Campaign Donation...

You can file this one under "nerves of steel", or perhaps even "the dumbest political move ever".

As everyone knows by now, billionaire Koch brothers are ardent supporters of free markets and the Tea Party movement.  As such, they have been under constant attack by progressive groups that dominate the left wing of the political spectrum as well as the Democrat Party.  Who can forget what sounded like a thinly veiled threat by the White House which apparently somehow obtained confidential tax information on Koch Industries last year.

Well, fast forward to June, 2011 and Democrats seem to have either forgotten who Koch brothers are or in utter disarray to the point that they do not know what they are doing.  Senator Patty Murray (D - WA) who is the Chairwoman of DSCC (Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee) apparently first sent a letter and then left a voice message at Koch Companies asking for a generous campaign donation.

Here is the hilarious response from the Koch Companies:

Senator Patty Murray, Chair

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee


Dear Senator Murray:

For many months now, your colleagues in the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee leadership have engaged in a series of disparagements and ad hominem attacks about us, apparently as part of a concerted political and fundraising strategy. Just recently, Senator Reid wrote in a DSCC fundraising letter that Republicans are trying to “force through their extreme agenda faster than you can say ‘Koch Brothers.’”

So you can imagine my chagrin when I got a letter from you on June 17 asking us to make five-figure contributions to the DSCC. You followed that up with a voicemail* indicating that, if we contributed heavily enough, we would garner an invitation to join you and other Democratic leaders at a retreat in Kiawah Island this September.

I’m hoping you can help me understand the intent of your request because it’s hard not to conclude that DSCC politics have become so cynical that you actually expect people whom you routinely denounce to give DSCC money.

It is troubling that private citizens taking part in the discourse have become the targets of White House and DSCC fundraising missives, and we would certainly encourage you to rethink that approach. Ultimately, I expect voters will see through that and will weigh the issues on the merits alone. But in the meantime, if you could provide me some insight on what exactly you are asking of us and why, I would be most grateful.


Sincerely,


Philip Ellender
President, Government & Public Affairs
Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC

Now, I wonder if the desperation level at the DSCC is so high that they will even approach those whom they villify, or are all Democrats incompetent as we are reminded day in and day out by this Administration and Democrats in the Congress?!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Gems From Obama Press Conference

"Now, I've heard reports that there may be some in Congress who want to do just enough to make sure that America avoids defaulting on our debt in the short term. But then wants to kick the can down the road when it comes to solving the larger problem, our deficit"

President Obama
How typically arrogant and disingenuous of the Alinskyite who currently disgraces the White House.
It has been two years since Democrat controlled Senate passed a budget.  Let's not forget that Alinskyite-in-Chief's budget proposal was so outrageous that it could not even get a single Democrat vote and was rejected 97-0.  Paul Ryan sponsored Republican House budget was also defeated by Senate Democrats.

And he has the nerve to talk about kicking the can down the road?
Just who is ridiculing efforts to reform Medicare - the main driver of the debt?
Isn't it amazing how progressives like FDR, LBJ, and Obama create huge, inefficient entitlements and then find a way to blame everyone else for their failure?

To make matters worse, Obama said:
"It is my hope that everybody is going to leave their ultimatums at the door. That we'll all leave our political rhetoric at the door. And that we're going to do what is best for our economy and do what is best for our people"
Saul Alinsky would be proud of his disciple. He has mastered the Rules for Radicals flawlessly.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Nanny State to the Rescue

A new billion dollar federal program sponsored by HUD has reared its ugly head.  No doubt, in an attempt to buy Democrat votes before the 2012 election, HUD and a non-profit neighborhood organization have announced that homeowners who are under water and in trouble can borrow up to $50,000 to catch up with their mortgage payments and late fees.  The kicker is that the loan is not only interest free but also does not have to be paid back if the home owner stays in his house for 5 years.  HUD forgives 20% of the loan balance for every year home owner keeps his home.

At this age of spiraling debt and worsening economic malaise, this only furthers the nanny state mentality and digs our hole deeper.  Whatever happened to the traditional American self reliance - a basic ingredient of American exceptionalism?  Must the state be there at every turn, holding our hand?  Do we not have any dignity left as a nation anymore?  God help us.