A group of Democratic fundraisers is offering a dinner with the president for $35,000.00. Unfortunately, the only person in America who can afford it is Mitt Romney....Conan
- Well, if anyone is looking for that benchmark on how the Obama administration has been performing these last three years, you don't have to search far and wide. It's right in front of all of us. Amber Ettinger, the original 2008" Obama Girl," admitted her crush on Pres. Obama has faded. In her latest release, "Glease"---borrowed from "Grease"---she tells the president he has "step-up." (Note: Don't be fooled. This is a publicity stunt that has knuckleheads like me and others writing and talking about her. She's still going to vote for him).
- And The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that one of the largest campaign contributors to the Democrat Party has decided to keep her check book closed for Obama. Susie Tompkins Buell has given millions over the years to the likes of Bill Clinton, Al Gore and even that fake, phony and back-stabbing fraud, John F. Kerry. She said she's disappointed with Obama's environmental track-record, especially on climate change. She made no mention of the millions out of work due directly to this administration's policies. No, she's only concerned about the weather.
- Of all publications, The Washington Post reported this week that "federal funds flow to clean-energy firms with Obama administration ties." Now, to many of us who have known this for some time, it is interesting that the report is coming from a suck-up progressive rag like the Washington Post. They report on a Sanjay Wagle who as a 2008 Obama supporter and venture capitalist (here that Occupy Wall Street?). After Obama got elected, Wagle got a nice appointment with the---now hold your breath; this will probably surprise you---the Energy Department. But the story gets even more delicious. This guy was appointed just as the administration "embarked on a massive" energy program to try to stimulate the economy. Wagle was one of a group of venture capitalists, who provided start-up capital to green companies, who was "moved" into the Energy Department. But you ask, how did Wagle benefit? Well, the Energy Department provided almost $2.5 billion in public funding (code for taxpayer money) to those clean-energy companies in which Wagle's former firms had invested. In all, WaPo reports they found almost $4 billion was given to 21 companies backed by firms with connections to five Obama administration staffers and adviser. Vulture Capitolists or just another example of Obama's "Hope and Change?"
- A political cartoon in USA TODAY shows Pres. Obama standing in front of a front porch with a donkey and elephant (symbolizing Congress). A family of three including their dog is is standing on the porch. The bubble above the president's head says, "We did it! Here's another payroll tax-cut extension." The bubble over the husband's head reads, "Ok. We got mortgage help. Tuition help. Tax cuts. What else?" And the bubble over his wife's head, "How about giving us a free vacation?" And whose paying for all these freebies folks: look into the mirror.
In The Onion's "Science and Technology" section this week: New Biography Reveals Einstein Devised Theory Of Relativity On Paper Because He Wasn't Smart Enough To Invent Microsoft Word."
- I read the report yesterday that Pres. Obama's polling on his performance has bumped up to 50% in some polls (according to CNN). It's difficult for me to put my hands around the fact that 50% of Americans actually believe he's doing a good job? So this next question raced through my mind: Is half the nation delusional, in denial or just plain stupid? Just today, USA TODAY reported that the poverty rate for children under 18 is now 19.2%. For working age Americans, it's now at almost 13%. The poverty level for African Americans is now at 25.3% (that's 1-4). In other words, in the first three years of this administration---the poor became even poorer. Over 46 million Americans are now in poverty. One in two people in America are now classified as "low income." (this means the "Middle Class" is shrinking). Median household income fell almost 7% from June of 2009. Under just 3 years of this presidency the national debt has skyrocketed (now approaching $16 trillion and his budget proposal has it rising to $26 trillion in the next 10 years). We were promised that once ObamaCare was passed, health care costs (that infamous "cost curve") would decrease. Instead the average premium for a family rose 9% in 2011. And just this morning, MSN reported that Sears, Macy's, J.C. Penney, Gap and Talbots are barely hanging on. Or, as I reported last week, counting 22 vacant store fronts in a South Jersey town. And all of the above does not even include the Solyndra type scandals and corruption, the Fast and Furious scandal, severe budget cut proposals to military retiree health insurance, severe reductions in our military in a time of war and as China, Russia and Iran continue to militarize (Marine Corps cuts of 20,000, Army to cut over 70,000 and cuts to our Naval forces as well as six squadrons in the Air Force), proposed tax increases, eliminating the Keystone pipeline, the government over-reach on faith and even what our children eat at lunch in school. So I return to my initial question: Is half the nation delusional, in denial or just plain stupid?
- And even if the economy improves somewhat, don't Americans see the damage that's been caused to both the country and Americans in just the last three years? There are millions of Americans who will never recover from this mess, never.
- I have a question for the administration regarding the imposition of providing contraception in the workplace and in health care plans: If an employer does not want to provide a contraception benefit to its employees, how is that putting at risk the health of the employee when contraceptive methods and options are readily available elsewhere? In fact, the decision to engage in sexual activity and the use of contraceptives is a personal choice or one of conscience. Or as one person wrote recently, since the administration shifted the costs of contraceptives to health insurance agencies, that means non-Catholics will have to cover the cost. And it also means atheists will have to pay for Catholics who sin (Marc Perkel)
An Obit from The Onion: "Rosa Maria Torres, 81, died peacefully in bed surrounded by fat grandkids."
- If there's one voter block that drives me nuts---yes, even more than progressives---it's moderates. Even though I disagree with most progressive values, at least they have some. And I believe progressives would say the same of conservatives. But moderates, in my opinion, have no guts. They have no "core" values. They really can't be defined by any set of principles. They put their finger up to the wind, and go in its direction. And they love the attention they get every time voting season comes around, because---well---most are also insecure. Politicians like to pander to this group because they don't want to be perceived as belonging to the "fringes." Politicians also know how pliable moderates can be. After all, if you have no core values---no foundation---it doesn't take much to convince you one way or another. Politicians know exactly what moderates want to hear. And, as a moderate, that's just fine because it's all about the attention anyway. Moderates find comfort in that bubble. They are like the person suffering from agoraphobia. As long as the moderate stays in that bubble at home, everything is fine. Breach that safety net and the world suddenly becomes a difficult place to cope with. In other words, moderates are pussies.
- The polling by Public Policy still shows that the president can beat all four current Republican contenders. However, as of this week, their poll also shows Santorum has the best shot (again, for Secret Service personnel, I'm using "shot" only in political terms) at beating Obama. They have Obama at 49% and Santorum at 44%. They also report Romney at 42 to the president's 49%. Newt gets hammered by the president, 40 to Obama's 52%. And Ron Paul trails Obama by 8.
- Parents, you need to watch out for the food police. Talk about government over-reach, this story should get your goat (what does that phrase mean anyway? It reminds me of, "you can't see the forest through the trees." I still don't get that one. Anyway, back to more important stuff). At West Hoke Elementary School in North Carolina, a preschooler made the mistake of coming to school with a packed lunch that included a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, some potato chips, and apple juice. Unfortunately for this student, Michelle Obama's Food Police from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the child's lunch failed to meet government guidelines (the lunatic guidelines say lunches MUST consist of one serving of meat, one serving milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of veggies or fruit, even if the lunches are brought from home. And when home-packed lunches do not include the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing one. The Food Police gave the child three chicken nuggets. They've also attempted to charge the parents a buck and a quarter for the nuggets). The school's principal is now looking into this travesty. Yo, memo to Food Police: if I had any kids in school and you stuck your dirty, filthy hands into my kid's lunchbox to see what's in, I'd break your friggin thumbs. Carolina Journal
Have you noticed Romney doesn't even blow dry his hair anymore? He dries it naturally from Rick Santorum breathing down his neck. Leno
- I'm not going to re-hash my commentary on the death of Whitney Houston. If you're interested, you can read the piece I posted yesterday about her. But I do want to just make one additional comment about her passing: And that's simply this: what about some perspective? What do I mean by that? Just check out the images above. Need I say more?
- Almost everyone agrees that the budget Pres. Obama submitted yesterday is dead-on-arrival (And remember, while the administration will hammer the Republicans for being obstructionist with regard to this budget, his own party has not passed a budget in the Senate now for more than 3 years. In fact, last year, the president's budget was voted down 97-0. Even his own party didn't support it. Keep that in the back of your mind when he throws those darts at the Republicans).
- There are a plethora of reasons why this budget is DOA and just really, really bad. For one, it includes almost $1.6 trillion in tax increases, including eliminating Bush's tax cuts. When projected, the budget will increase the national debt from about $15 trillion and some change to over $26 trillion in the next 10 years (since these are government estimates, know they usually "underestimate" projections). And just as disturbing, military retiree benefits will take a major hit if this budget were passed. For example, with TRICARE alone (TRICARE is military health care), the cost to retirees will quadruple from about $520 per year to just under $2,500 a year. As retired Vice Admiral Norb Ryan stated, "...{this proposed budget} is a significant breach of faith with those who have already completed arduous careers of 20-30 years." (And just now over the Bloomberg Wires, in order to meet Obama's budget mandates, the Pentagon is reporting it might have to force military personnel out of the Service). In addition, this budget also eliminates tax breaks for oil, gas and coal companies (Real nice. So put the kibosh to any new exploration by making it that more expensive. And who does the White House think will have to pick up the extra cost?) Tax deductions and tax breaks would be limited to 28%. Taxes will increase in big banks (you think you have large fees now, you ain't seen nothin' yet if this budget ever sees the light of day).
"Politics is suppose to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Ronald Reagan
- It's undeniable Whitney Houston was a great musical artist. And she will forever be known for her outstanding voice. As it's been often repeated in the last 3 days, no one has sung a more beautiful" Star-Spangled Banner." And who can forget the extended lyrics of "I Will Always Love You" from the "Bodyguard." I still get chills down my spine when I hear both songs. And it appears perhaps her "demons" did her in. Her overall body of work speaks for itself. Let's leave judgements about how she led her life to the man she met after she died.
- But I want to speak ill of the living. The hypocrisy in the entertainment industry in their reaction to her death is breathtaking. This is the industry that vilified her for the last 10 years. Stories and magazine and tabloid covers constantly portrayed her as a drunk or doper or both. And the absurd statements made by many of these same nitwits is almost comical. LL Cool Jay said, "This night (about the Grammys) is about something that is universally healing." Universally healing? From what? LL added later, "We've been blessed to have been touched by {Whitney's} musical talent." And Oprah tweeted, "We got to hear part of God every time she sang." (No Oprah, she's singing with God now) Give me a break. I and millions liked her music; but I doubt any felt "blessed." Or for that matter thought they heard God (if they did, they need to see a therapist like right now). I'll tell you what I feel blessed about--- I feel blessed to know there are young men and women enlisting in our Armed Forces every day to defend our country.
- I lost count of how many times I heard the way to over-used term "role model" was thrown out there to describe Houston. Again, as an artist, she once was extraordinary. If I had children, I doubt I would have held her up as a role model considering what happened in her personal life in the last 15 or more years. Many others also proclaimed she had the "the greatest voice of all time." Interesting considering these people said same of Michael Jackson just last year. And I would think Celine, Adele, Streisand and many others might take exception to that. Once again, the entertainment industry exposes it's unique brand of hypocrisy and stupidity. I'm just comforted in the fact that Whitney Houston, no matter what trials and tribulations she experienced, left us a legacy of outstanding and beautiful music. Let's remember her for that. I think we can leave canonization for someone else to make that call.
- But I have to give kudos to one honest celebrity in Hollywood. In an interview in Ebony, Samuel L. Jackson said he voted for Obama because he's black. And he admitted Obama's message didn't mean a thing to him.
- For whatever it's worth, here's some advice for the four Republican presidential wannabees. Stop with bashing each other and start focusing on your real target (by the way, if any Secret Service personnel are reading this, I use the word "target" in political terms. Got it.): President Obama. Republican voters know as much about you guys as can be known. You've all peeled each other's onions back enough. Redirect your focus on an administration that made the economic recovery (if there is one) worse. Focus on the corruption in green-energy contracts (like Solyndra and countless others). Focus on the assault on the Constitution as evidenced by ObamaCare and the issue of contraception. In other words, start focusing on failed policies not on each other. Focus on the fact that now one in five Americans or 67 million rely on some type of federal aid in obtaining housing, food, income and health care. Focusing on the fact that the number of people receiving food stamps has DOUBLED in the last 3 years. Focus on the fact that it appears our foreign policy is in shambles, especially in the Middle East. And start offering solutions to the problems created by these misguided policies.
The Onion's "News In Brief." Time Traveler From The Year 1998 Warns Nation Not To Elect Newt Gingrich.
- OK, Republican voters must be schizophrenic. It was just announced that Mitt Romney won in Maine and won the CPAC's Straw Poll. What's going on with these people? First it was Bachmann on top (no pun intended). Then Perry takes the lead. Even Trump managed to squeeze in a few good rounds. Then Herman Cain was the talk of the town. Newt jumped on the train for several stops. Romney managed a win in Florida. Suddenly Santorum takes 3 states from Romney and now Romney is back in the huddle running the next play. This has to be driving Republicans and Conservatives nuts. I don't know. Perhaps the image above says it all.
- And does this mean Santorum's surge is over already? I didn't even finish my pint of Guinness and this guy comes in third (Newt barely showed and Ron Paul came in a second).
Headline on The Onion this week: "New Photos Reveal Stress Of Obama's First Term In Office Has Rapidly Aged Americans." (then it shows a strip of 4 average looking Americans before Obama took office and what they look like now. They all appear to have aged about 20 years---hilarious).
- I'm thinking this morning of this report I'm about to share with you: I might be in a world of sh!t. According to news reports this week, advocacy groups are getting increasingly alarmed over our government's monitoring of the Internet for "threats" and "hazards" as well as "any media reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government and The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ability to prevent, protect and respond, to recovery efforts and activities related to any crisis or events which impact national planning scenarios." Say friggin what? What does that mean? Those were the instructions given to the independent contractor by DHS. Reuters News reported the contractors monitored Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, Wikileaks, as well as the Huffington Post and Drudge. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) declared, "This is entirely outside the bounds of the agency's statutory duties." Congressional hearings have been scheduled to review this government policy. As Americans, we have to keep a close eye on this development.
VS.
- ABC News is reporting that Pres. Obama will have a news conference regarding this Holy War he and his administration instigated with the Catholic Church and all religious groups in general. And these same reports indicate he might try to find some way out of this mess. Think about it for a moment. This was the president who promised to bring everyone together. And what did he start doing? He took on insurance companies and the health care industry. He started a war against Wall Street (even though he surrounded himself with Wall Streeters so you know that was bogus). He started a war against the wealthy (class warfare). Race card issues came up from his surrogates. He started one war after another and there was only one war left remaining: against the Catholic Church and its affiliates. But with the Church he ran into a roadblock. He also ran into another more important roadblock: The United States Constitution. Even some Progressives complained. E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post, a huge Obama administration suck-up, wrote the president threw his "progressive Catholic allies under the bus." Why is Obama probably backing down? Because he knows the 2008 and 2010 elections showed clearly that Catholics have a lot of power---especially at the ballot box.
