Brandon

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Conan O'Brien Unveils Obama/Biden New Campaign Slogans

Perhaps if they actually used these and admitted their leadership has been a disaster they might stand a chance in November!

It should suprise no one that a study found Republican politicians are the target of late night comedians by a whopping 3 to 1 margin over Democrats. But, from time to time they do take a dig at Obama and it's usually comedic gold. Check this one out:

Federal Court Finds Direct Interference by Obama Political Appointees in Black Panther Voter Intimidation Case

And not surprisingly, the Obama Justice Dept. LIED about it!

Imagine for a moment if members of a white supremacist group were caught on tape outside a polling place shouting racial epithets and intimidating black voters. Then, imagine if a Republican administration used political pull to get the prosecution and dismiss the charges. All hell would break loose. The usual racebaiters would be lined up in front of every network news microphone to denounce Republicans and demand an investigation.

But when the shoe is on the other foot you'd hardly know about it since few if any news outlets will cover the story.

From the Washington Examiner:
A federal court in Washington, DC, held last week that political appointees appointed by President Obama did interfere with the Department of Justice’s prosecution of the New Black Panther Party.
...
Obama’s DOJ had claimed Judicial Watch was not entitled to attorney’s fees since “none of the records produced in this litigation evidenced any political interference whatsoever in” how the DOJ handled the New Black Panther Party case. But United States District Court Judge Reggie Walton disagreed. Citing a “series of emails” between Obama political appointees and career Justice lawyers, Walton writes:
The documents reveal that political appointees within DOJ were conferring about the status and resolution of the New Black Panther Party case in the days preceding the DOJ’s dismissal of claims in that case, which would appear to contradict Assistant Attorney General Perez’s testimony that political leadership was not involved in that decision. Surely the public has an interest in documents that cast doubt on the accuracy of government officials’ representations regarding the possible politicization of agency decision-making.
In case you forgot, the case stemmed from this incident [video]outside a polling place in Philadelphia in 2008. In 2010 we learned from career lawyers inside the Department of Justice that there was a decision by political appointees that no blacks would be charged with violations of the Voting Rights Act.

Now we have the confirmation of that earlier testimony.

It's a sad day for Justice and for the voting rights of every American regardless of skin color. It's also a black day for the Obama Justice Department which has become more corrupt than any in recent memory!

Monday, July 30, 2012

Exactly Four Years Ago Obama Promised Fiscal Responsiblity

He delivered exactly the opposite!

On July 30, 2008 then Senator Barack H. Obama hosted a townhall meeting in Springfield, Illinois. The topic was Economic Security. Here's a clip:

OBAMA: "We can choose another four years of reckless fiscal policies that George Bush has implemented; taken our national debt from $5 trillion to over $9 trillion in the span of ten, uh eight years, mortgaging our children's future on a mountain of debt or we can restore some fiscal responsibility in Washington."

How odd that we don't find this speech on the Obama Speech downloads page! This is also the same speech in which he promises that families who make less than $250,000 will not see any tax increase. I guess this is history they want to forget.

But we also remember how Obama attacked President Bush as "unpatriotic" and "irresponsible" for increasing the national debt $4 trillion in eight years. He's run the debt up $5 trillion in under four.

Democrats have trotted out the laughable excuse that the debt in Obama's early years is Bush's fault. That ignores the fact that it was Obama who signed the legislation authorizing the spending. No one except the willfully ignorant will be misled by the fiscal irresponsibility of the Obama Administration. By Obama's standards for Bush, his own fiscal conduct is UNPATRIOTIC!

Countdown: 99 Days 'til VICTORY for America Day

Begin tracking the path to victory now with these online resources!

Monday marks the 99 day countdown to the November 2, 2012 presidential election. A contest which many consider the most important of their lifetime. That's a tough call for me since I still recall the feeling of victory the night Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter and how important that election was.

But however you rank it, the importance of this election cannot be underrated. The decision boils down to this: will we continue down the road to enabling a massive federal government to run every aspect of our lives or will we free the American people to once again use their God-given rights to make a better, more prosperous and peaceful world?

A Draw Thus Far

Since the GOP nominating contest came to an end in late winter the contest between Obama and Romney has basically been a tie with Obama holding a slight edge in the Real Clear Politics average:



Real Clear Politics is a valuable resource for following the election. It provides links to the latest national as well as state polls. But keep in mind that poll averages are an imperfect measure. They take all the latest polls, no matter what standards or methodology and lump them together. It's like combining apples and oranges to make cider/juice. And with some polls oversampling Democrats and operating under the false assumption that turnout among various Democrat groups will be as high as it was in 2008 there are a lot of flawed polls affecting these averages. Garbage in, garbage out.
Better to follow the trends within a few reliable national polls. Both Gallup and Rasmussen confirm the RCP average and show the race to be basically a tie between Obama and Romney.

Obama Negative Attack Failed

With Obama remaining below 50% in nearly every poll his campaign attempted to break out with a massive negative ad attack on Romney. Obama spent more than twice as much as Romney in June, with much of it going to negative ads. His campaign has run a deficit for two months in a row as his fundraising has not kept pace with his spending (unlike his spending in government, his campaign cannot keep this up for long). Obama has outspent Romney almost 2 to 1 in negative ads yet an analyst of the polling numbers over this period finds insignificant change in Obama's favor. More disturbing for the Obama campaign was the recent finding in the Gallup Poll which shows that despite Obama's attacks more people think Romney's business experience would be a valuable asset in a president.

Obama's negative attacks also undermine the already tarnished image of him as a new kind of leader. That theme, the centerpiece of his 2008 campaign, will come back to haunt him. Some of Mitt Romney's most effective ads remind voters of just how far we have come from hopenchange. Here's a Romney ad featuring an excerpt from Obama's 2008 speech accepting the Democrat nomination for President:


OBAMA: "If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent  as someone people should run from."

There is recent polling evidence that suggests Obama's negative attacks are already undermining his personal favorability rating.

Election a Referendum on Obama

Unlike 2008 where the Obama campaign was able to create a phony narrative suggesting Obama was some kind of new politician who would rise above the usual partisan noise and bring some sort of vague change, Obama now has a record. And second term elections ARE a referendum on the incumbent, no matter how desperately that incumbent tries to change the subject by attacking his rival.

Two separate polls for The Hill newspaper illustrate Obama's problem. In the first, a majority has changed the country for the worse. In the second, a plurality blame Obama for the slow economic recovery over Bush and Congress.

In February 2009 Obama sat down with NBC's Matt Lauer and declared "I will be held accountable. I've got four years...if I don't have this done in three years there's going to be a one term proposition." Time's up and Obama's record of failure speaks for itself.

Danger Signs for Obama Campaign

In 2008 Obama pulled off an impressive win over McCain with a margin of nearly 7% (Obama 52.9, McCain 45.7). He did so by a record turnout of new voters particularly among the young, Hispanic and blacks.

The same discontent we see with Obama in general polls on his record are also mirrored in those groups of new voters from 2008 that he needs to vote again in 2012. A recent Gallup poll finds that the youth vote which was pivotal to Obama's 2008 win may not bother voting this time around. Even black voters are discouraged that unemployment in their community is 6% higher than the national average. Gallup finds that Jewish support has dropped ten points since 2008. Across the board enthusiasm among Democrat voters is down sharply from 2008. Obama has been working feverishly these past months to shore up his weakened coalition. One downside from that is the continued erosion of support from independent and middle class white voters who view his pandering to the extreme left of the Democrat Party with distaste.

While the micro metrics above are troubling for Obama so are the macro. The Real Clear Politics average for Obama's Job Approval continues to give a slight edge to disapprove. And Direction of the Country continues to be strongly negative. Again, look to the separate trends of reliable individual polling firms like Gallup and Rasmussen to confirm.

In short, all the headwinds that propelled Obama to victory in 2008 have turned the other direction and favor Romney. That being said, Romney's victory is anything but assured.

The Electoral College: Winning State by State

Obama won the 2008 election with 365 votes. It was a huge swing from the 2004 Bush vs. Kerry result. Here's a chart which illustrates the swing by state:

Election-state-04-08

But in the 2010 Congressional mid term elections the pendulum swung back sharply giving the GOP one it's best historic wins. This is particularly true in the Great Lakes states. Signs from the failure of the effort by Democrats to recall Republicans in Wisconsin show that this trend is still active.

What Romney must do to win is pick off 96 or more electoral votes that Obama won in 2008. I put together the following chart showing the low hanging fruit. I have added Michigan to the chart since it's Romney's home state and also demonstrated a Great Lakes effect in 2010 with a huge win for Republican Rick Snyder in the Governor's race.


Data Sources:
  • Electoral Vote.Com. Run your mouse pointer over the various states for the latest information. Click on a state for the latest polling trends.
  • Real Clear Politics has state by state polling averages.
  • 538 has a wealth of statistics and analysis. It's a New York Times site so beware!
It's a safe assumption that Obama's high water mark was in 2008. The only question remaining is how much his vote in key states will fall off from 2008. It's also a safe bet that he's already lost Indiana, North Carolina and most likely Florida. That's a total of 53 electoral votes. Romney would need another 43 to win. Combine either Ohio or Pennsylvania with a combination of Virginia with either Wisconsin or Minnesota and it's over. There are plenty of possibilities which leaves abundant room for optimism for Romney voters.

Draw Your Own Election Scenario

270 to Win.Com has an interactive map on which readers can do their own 2012 electoral college forecasts. After you do your map there is a button to share the link to your forecast. Feel free to drop that link in the comments section of this post.

The bottom line is that turnout will decide who wins. Obama is facing multiple headwinds and GOP voters enthusiasm is high. If these trends continue it's hard to see how Obama wins. The 2010 big win for the GOP might just have been a warm up act!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

If Ann Romney is Rich and Out of Touch What is Michelle Obama?

Michelle wears $7,000 outfit to Buckingham Palace!

Gateway Pundit points out that when Ann Romney wore a $900 top for an interview on a morning television program the press pounced (2). When Michelle Obama shows up at Buckingham Palace wearing a $7,000 outfit the press oohs and aahs about her fashion sense.

A trivial, yet undeniable example of media bias you say? Perhaps. But in a campaign where the so-called people's watchdogs in the "news" media continue to cover up the failing of Obama and concentrate on the trivial when it comes to Mitt Romney the bias goes beyond glaring and approaches corrupt collaboration with the Obama regime.

This is the same media that focused on Ann Romney's hobby of horseback riding and yet sweeps Michele Obama's private use of Air Force 2 under the rug. Do the Occupy Wall Street crowd look the other way at Michelle Obama's display of opulence as they criticize the rich like Romney?

Would it be too much to ask for so-called journalists to ask Obama why his economic polices have failed and why he has no new ideas for his re-election campaign other than to attack Romney and his wife?

Friday, July 27, 2012

2nd Quarter GDP Report: U.S. Economy Slowing to a Crawl

Obama can't blame this on Bush!

If you want to know how well Obama's economic program is working, here's a hint. The economy slowed to 1.5% in the second quarter after already anemic growth of 2% in the first quarter.

Want to know the reason why? The Obama Administration, which has demonstrated their antipathy to small business with Obama's comment "You didn't build that" is drowning business in a sea of read tape. Here's a graphic to illustrate the point:
Full size image here.

Thousands of pages of new regulations put into effect by the Obama Administration cost businesses billions and limit hiring. A new study shows that even a modest 5% reduction in the regulatory burden could create over a million new jobs.

Want a good example of the kind of regulatory overreach that is typical of the Obama Administration? Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) was in his district in Erie Pennsylvania when he got the call that a local ballpark on opening day was being prevented from opening by a bureaucrat who said the mirrors in the men's room were 1/4" too low. Cue the player to the 2:07 mark:

Rep Kelly: "Take the heavy boot off the throat of jobs creators!"
 
Republicans in the House got it. They gave him a standing ovation and chanted "USA, USA" when he was finished. The House GOP is set to pass new legislation to cut red tape. But you can bet that Democrats in the Senate will block the measure along with the 30 other bills the House has passed to foster job creation.

You would almost think that it was Obama's "plan" to constrict economic growth and job creation. Everything he does has had that effect!

Obama Claims His Plan for Economic Recovery "Worked?"

WHAT?

Obama used to get criticized for being overreliant on a teleprompter. He even brought one to an elemenatry school to address kids in a classroom. Apparently his handlers think he will appear less robotic and scripted if he left the teleprompter at home in some of his campaign swings. They may be regretting that decision. First there was Obama's claim that "the private sector is doing fine." Next came the insult to successful businesses when Obama claimed they didn't get their success with hard work. "You didn't build that" will be a staple in ads this campaign.

And he's at it again. This time he was speaking at another fundraiser (how many is that now?) in Oakland, California where he said “Just like we’ve tried their plan, we tried our plan. And it worked.” He was talking about tax policy in which he totally ignored the success of the Reagan tax cuts in another bid to stall the economy with a whopping tax increase on the rich. More class warfare!

But the quote invites a comparison between "plans" for the economy and clearly Obama's plan has not worked. This is the same guy who promised unemployment would not go above 8% if Congress passed the Stimulus Bill. Unemployment went above 10% and it's 2.5% above where Obama's so-called plan forecasted it would be. Add to that five trillions in new debt, lowering of our credit rating, record foreclosures and more Americans in poverty and requiring federal assistance. What is there about that plan that works?

Once again, Obama's own words invite the criticism which was quick to follow:


OBAMA: “We tried our plan—and it worked. That’s the difference. That’s the choice in this election. That’s why I’m running for a second term.”

BY EVERY MEASURE OBAMANOMICS HAS FAILED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

Jobs: Since President Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 473,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained Above Eight Percent For 41 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/25/12)

Unemployment: 23.4 Million Americans Are Either Unemployed, Underemployed Or Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/25/12)

Long-Term Unemployment: Since Obama Took Office, The Average Duration Of Unemployment Has Doubled From 19.8 Weeks To 39.9 Weeks. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 7/25/12)

Government Assistance: “49.1%: Percent Of The Population That Lives In A Household Where At Least One Member Received Some Type Of Government Benefit In The First Quarter Of 2011.” (Phil Izzo, “Number Of The Week: Half Of U.S. Lives In Household Getting Benefits,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 5/26/12)

Food Stamps: Since President Obama Took Office, The Number Of Americans Receiving Food Stamps Has Increased From 31.9 Million To 46.2 Million, A 45 Percent Increase. (Department Of Agriculture, 6/29/12)

Poverty: 97.3 Million Americans Now Qualify As Low-Income And Another 49.1 Million Are In Poverty; Together, 146.4 Million Americans Or 48 Percent Of The Population. (Hope Yen, “Census Shows 1 In 2 People Are Poor Or Low-Income,” The Associated Press, 12/15/11)

Median Household Income: “Real Median Household Income In March Was Down $4,300 Since Obama Took Office In January 2009 …” (Mike Dorning, “Obama Fails To Stem Middle-Class Slide He Blamed On Bush,”Bloomberg, 4/30/12)

Food Prices: Since Obama Became President, The Monthly Price Of A Moderate-Cost Food Plan For A Family Of Four With Young Children Has Increased From $819.40 To $858.50. (“Official USDA Food Plans: Cost Of Food At Home At Four Levels, U.S. Average, January 2009,” USDA , 2/09; “Official USDA Food Plans: Cost Of Food At Home At Four Levels, U.S. Average, May 2012,” USDA, 6/12)

Gas Prices: Since Obama Took Office, The Average Price Per Gallon Of Gas Has Increased From $1.847 To $3.494. (“Gasoline And Diesel Fuel Update,” U.S. Energy And Information Administration, Accessed 7/25/12)

College Costs: Since President Obama Took Office, The Average Cost Of In-State Tuition At A Four Year College Has Risen From $6,585 To $8,244, A 25 Percent Increase. (“Trends In College Pricing 2009,” College Board, 2008; “Trends In College Pricing 2011,” College Board, 2011)

Student Loan Debt: The Federal Reserve Of New York Found That 27 Percent Of Student Loan Borrowers Have Past Due Balances And 21 Percent Are Delinquent. (Meta Brown, Andrew Haughwout, Donghoon Lee, Maricar Mabutas, And Wilbert van der Klaauw, “Grading Student Loans,” Federal Reserve Bank Of New York, 3/5/12)

Health Care Premiums: Under Obama, The Cost Of Family Health Care Premiums Has Increased From $13,375 To $15,073. (Phil Galewitz And Andrew Villegas, “Workers Face Higher Costs For Employer-Sponsored Insurance,” Kaiser Health News, 9/15/09; Julie Appleby, “Cost Of Employer Insurance Plans Surge In 2011,” Kaiser Health News , 9/27/11)


Foreclosures:
Currently 5.7 Million Residential Mortgages Are Either 30 Days Delinquent Or In Foreclosure. (Press Release, “LPS ‘First Look’ Mortgage Report: June Month-End Data Shows Increase In Delinquencies,” Lender Processing Services, 7/25/12)


Negative Equity:
31.4 Percent, Nearly One-Third Of All Residential Mortgages, Were Underwater In The First Quarter Of 2012. (Press Release, “Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More Than Homes’ Worth,” Zillow, 5/24/12)
The Bottom Line: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? For millions of Americans the answer is not just NO, but HELL NO!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Massive Waste and Few Jobs from $18 Billion Jobs Training Programs

Another example of why government intervention is NOT the answer to jobs creation!

President Obama continues to insist that government plays a key role in creating jobs. Yet, a new study by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) shows that $18 billion for jobs training programs created few jobs but did greenlight massive waste and overspending by bureaucrats. Coburn's study found incredible duplication of effort in Oklahoma. For example, a small town of around 16,000 had 17 different jobs training programs. Good you say? Not so fast. Most of the money didn't go to help the unemployed. Most of it went to bureaucrats:
In August of 2011, Oklahoma’s Southeast Workforce Investment Board (SEWIB) passed a multi-million dollar budget which allocated only 14 cents of every dollar for actual job training services. The SEWIB’s budget allocated more for “administrative travel” than “dislocated worker services.”
...
Job Corp, Oklahoma’s largest recipient of federal training dollars, spent over $36,000, during a 6 month timeframe, on flowers and billboards.
...
In another case, Job Corp spent around $76,000 per person to help youth obtain minimum wage jobs.
And the few people who did find jobs were placed in menial jobs totally unrelated to the training they undertook.

Mitt Romney insists that the better alternative is to turn the money over to the states and let them design more accountable programs better tailored to meet the needs of their citizens and the state's economy.

But Obama continues to demand that more big government is the answer. He might be all in for creating and protecting unnecessary and expensive jobs for bureaucrats but when it comes to jobs for the Middle Class he's in over his head!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Proving Obama's Point: Colorado Shooter Had $26,000 Federal Grant

One case where Obama's claim that you can't succeed on your own was proved correct!

Obama  might have been on to something when he insulted successful small businesses by saying "if you've been successful you didn't get their on your own." Obama insisted that without government success is not possible.

He may have a point. Here's a report from USA Today:
AURORA, Colo. – University of Colorado officials disclosed Monday that mass shooting suspect James Holmes was being paid $26,000 a year for his studies — money that could have financed the cache of firearms, ammunition and explosive devices found in his apartment.
...
Doctoral students receive free tuition, and most get federally sponsored 12-month grants of $26,000, about $500 a week. Holmes, who was not employed, bought an assault rifle, shotgun, two semiautomatic handguns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the months leading up to what police called a methodically planned shooting spree.
...
Over the weeks before Holmes left, 90 packages containing ammunition and other items were shipped to the campus. Elliman said there was no way of knowing the volume or content of the shipments, which went directly to Holmes or to a campus mailroom. "We have thousands of packages that come here every day," he said.
CNN has a similar report [video].

Rush Limbaugh had an interesting addition to this story when he pointed out that the owner of the Gun Club rejected Holme's membership but the Federal government made it possible for the shooter to purchase his weapons. Yet the left wants to blame gun owners for the crime.

The message is clear: if you want to succeed as a mass murderer, make sure to get a government grant to pay for your killing spree!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

43 Years Ago: Neil Armstrong First Set Foot on the Moon

Today, the great American hero warns we are in danger of becoming a second or third rate power under Obama!

On July 12, 1969 Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon.
ht_neil_armstrong_jm_110421_wg
Neil Armstrong aboard the Eagle lunar module on the surface of the moon July 12, 1969

Photobucket
Buzz Aldrin photographed by Neil Armstrong visible in the reflection from Aldrin's sun visor.

In a recent rare public interview for Australian television, Armstrong said he was "substantially concerned about the policy directions of the Space Agency which are in fact directed by the [Obama]Administration." The statement matches earlier public concerns Armstrong raised in 2010 when the Obama Administration canceled the rocket program that would have maintained our ability to put astronauts into space. We now rely on the Russians to do that at tremendous cost to the taxpayer and the loss of thousands of highly skilled aerospace jobs in this country.

In that earlier letter, also signed by two other Apollo astronauts, Armstrong said this:
When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding, substantial research and technology development, an extension of the International Space Station operation until 2020, long range planning for a new but undefined heavy lift rocket and significant funding for the development of commercial access to low earth orbit.

Although some of these proposals have merit, the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating.

America’s only path to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station will now be subject to an agreement with Russia to purchase space on their Soyuz (at a price of over 50 million dollars per seat with significant increases expected in the near future) until we have the capacity to provide transportation for ourselves.
...
It appears that we will have wasted our current ten plus billion dollar investment in Constellation and, equally importantly, we will have lost the many years required to recreate the equivalent of what we will have discarded.

For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. While the President's plan envisages humans traveling away from Earth and perhaps toward Mars at some time in the future, the lack of developed rockets and spacecraft will assure that ability will not be available for many years.

Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space. If it does, we should institute a program which will give us the very best chance of achieving that goal.

Neil Armstrong
Commander, Apollo 11
James Lovell
Commander, Apollo 13
Eugene Cernan
Commander, Apollo 17
At a time when Democrats like Obama consider maintaining America's edge in space technology a luxury we cannot afford (but we can flush billions down a green energy rat hole) the Chinese are going full steam ahead on plans to plant their flag on the moon. Once that happens it may be too late for the U.S. to restore the edge we are so carelessly tossing away today!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Obama Too Busy to Meet w/ Jobs Council

But he has plenty of time for golf and fundraisers!
Obama's teleprompter often gets stuck on the phrase "I won't rest" until every American who wants a job finds one. Well, Obama may not be resting, but he's certainly not, as DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz described, "focused like a laser on jobs." Yet in the last six months he has not met with his Jobs Council. When asked about that, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said "he's got a lot on his plate." Like golf and fundraising....


When Obama set up his Jobs Council he claimed it wasn't just a "show committee" merely for P.R. More empty words!

missingjobscouncil

Obama's priorities are clear. Keeping his job and keeping up his golf game are more important than helping Americans find work. But not to worry. He can "rest" and golf all he wants after November!

ABC News Apologizes After Rushing to Suggest that Colorado Killer May be Tea Party Member

Media bias anyone? The instant presumption that someone on the right must be responsible!

Two things struck me upon learning of the massacre in Aurora Colorado Friday. First, revulsion and horror at the crime and second, how long will it be before someone suggests a right wing political motive for the shooter?

It didn't take long. As expected, the bottom feeders on the Internet got into the action trying to blame Rush Limbaugh (what bad things don't they blame on Rush?) Rush had earlier expressed concern that the Batman movie at which the shooting took place would be a vehicle for attacking Mitt Romney because the villain in the film is named "Bane" similar to Bain Capital, Romney's investment firm.

Internet hate speech is one thing. Journalist in the so-called "mainstream" media putting out a false story suggesting a possible connection between the shooter and the Tea Party is something entirely different. On ABC's Good Morning America Investigative Reporter (he gets paid for this) found that a man named Jim Holmes was connected with a Colorado Tea Party and speculated it might be the shooter. But the Jim Holmes in the Colorado Tea Party is 52 years old and formerly worked in law enforcement.

Journalists love to stick their nose up in the air and tell us why the quality of their news gathering is superior to that of the citizen journalists found on the Internet. But as we see once again, when the information matches their prejudices and assumptions, journalist standards for veracity go out the window. ABC as since apologized but the seeds of the "Tea Party to blame" theme have been planted nonetheless.

What do you bet that if we find the shooter is a member of some left wing group supporting Obama the same media that rushed to put out a false connection with the Tea Party will bury the story and sell the story that the shooting was act of some deranged lunatic (which was the case in the Arizona shooting of Gabrielle Giffords).

Meanwhile, President Obama canceled a campaign event in Florida today saying "There are going to be other days for politics." Yet supporters chanted "four more years" anyway. Expect the Mourner in Chief to milk this for all it's worth. As his former Chief of Staff said "never let a crisis go to waste!"

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Obama More Interested in Payoffs to Campaign Contributors than Middle Class Jobs

Your tax dollars enriched his friends while Americans struggled to find work!

Look what kind of the deal the 1%ers get in return for their campaign contributions to Obama:

Full size image here.

Obama: Too busy giving his friends your green to care about your job!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Debunking Obama: If Government was the key to success, Greece would be an economic marvel!

Obama's war on business and jobs creators!


Obama's comment reveals how little he understands job creation or America!

Some are calling it the Roanoke Incident. It happened last Friday at a campaign event in Roanoke Virgina. President Obama went off teleprompter and told the crowd that "if you have been successful you didn't get that on your own...If you've got a business you didn't build that!" [video]

 It was another Joe the Plumber moment and a revealing glimpse into Obama's thinking that nothing is possible without big government and the bigger the better.

It was also a smack in the face of small business who struggle every day to survive in the Obama era whose big government policies and over regulation have made success so much harder to achieve.

If Obama's big government philosophy was correct the Soviet Union would never have collapsed and Greece wouldn't be on life support. This remark is just further proof that Obama is out of touch with what made America great. He's not the man to lead America's economic recovery!

I will credit Obama's remark in the sense that it drew a perfect contrast for the choice voters face in November. On the one hand you have Obama who is very open in his belief that government is the answer to all our needs and Romney who believes as Ronald Reagan did that government is not the answer. Obama loves to pretend he has his Reaganesque side, so let him reflect on these words from Reagan's first Inaugural Address:

REAGAN: "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government IS the problem!"

Monday, July 16, 2012

Obama's Outsourcing Hypocrisy

Under Obama, we've outsourced our manned space program to the Russians and sent billions more for overseas jobs!

RAMclr-071412-liarliar-IBDjpgcms_

An interesting confluence of events over the past few days exposed the depths of hypocrisy to which Obama will sink in search of his re-election. First, since Obama terminated the manned space program, a U.S. astronaut bound for the International Space Station had to hitch a ride on a Russian rocket. The same Russians who are thumbing their nose at Obama and the U.S. in foreign affairs are only too happy to take over a billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars for space rides. Meanwhile, Obama's decision to terminate NASA's manned space program has devastated the economy of Florida's Space Coast where highly skilled workers are now without work.

That makes Obama's statement on Monday, a new low for hypocrisy. He was in Ohio and said this:
"We don’t need a President who plans to ship more jobs overseas." It's part of a repeated attack on Romney for his experience at Bain Capital which Fact Check groups repeatedly point out is a false attack.

But outsourcing the manned space flight program isn't the only example. Obama has spent $29 billion for projects that created jobs overseas. And when he's not giving money away, his energy policy is forcing American workers to seek jobs in Canada where that sector of the economy is booming. 34,185 Americans applied for work permits in Canada last year since they could find no work at home. That's nearly ties the record from 2010.

Once again, we've seen a disconnect between Obama's words and reality. Surely by now the voters know who the real job killer is!

In Egypt, Protesters Pelt Hillary Clinton's Car with Tomotes, Shoes Chanting "Monica"

How long before they shout "death to America" like they do in Iran?

This wasn't supposed to happen. It's only been three years since Obama went to Cairo and poured out a litany of apologies to the Arab world. At that time Hillary Clinton and Obama were able to walk unfettered through the mosques (though Hillary did have to don Muslim hair covering so as not to incite the men). Then the Arab Spring came along and Obama went to the microphones on an almost daily basis demanding that our Egyptian ally Mubarak step down. Apparently that appeasement to the mob merely invited the mob to view us with contempt.

In little more than three years Obama has destroyed the sound foreign policy upon which our national security rests. And while the election will be decided on economic issues it won't be long before the consequences of Obama's weakness force the issue to the top of our concerns!

Friday, July 13, 2012

More People Know About Tom Cruise's Divorce Than Supreme Court Ruling on ObamaCare

And you wondered why it was so difficult to get the truth about Obama out to the American people?

A poll by the Hollywood Reporter (second item here) found that 84% of those polled had heard of the Supreme Court decision on ObamaCare but 91% had heard of the Tom Cruise Katie Holmes divorce.

The Supreme Court's decision will have an impact on every single American living today in one way or another. Tom Cruise's divorce is nothing more than a curiosity. Yet it is troubling that more people would be aware of marital split of Hollywood actors than the Supreme Court's landmark decision.

The difference in awareness highlights how difficult it is to inform the American people when so many of them are more interested in entertainment or sports [ratings] than political events which do have a direct impact on their lives. Is it any wonder that there is not more outrage about the monstrous federal debt or the looming development of Iranian nuclear weapons?

I read recently that the entire Talk Radio listening audience was approximately 50 million people. The total viewership for all of broadcast news is less than 22 million. Fox News' top rated program, The O'Reilly Factor tops out at 3 million viewers.

Despite the Pew Poll in 2010 which claimed that news consumption was increasing, it's hard to square that with the blissful ignorance we see demonstrated on a daily basis. For example, Jesse Waters did interviews at the beach on July 4th about Independence Day and you'd be surprised how many people were not aware we got our independence from the British. Finally, let's not forget the glittering ignorance of Obama voters interviewed in 2008.

What this poll demonstrating more awareness of the Cruise divorce than Supreme Court's decision shows is that we must find new ways to reach out to voters to inform them before they vote this November. That burden falls on each one of us who can contact family, friends and associates and ask them to put aside their entertainment and sports viewing for a moment and consider issues that have a direct impact on their lives. In the end, it won't matter what team wins which game. But who wins the presidential election will have a direct and lasting impact on our lives!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

For a president good intentions are not good enough

Sent as a Letter to the Editor of my local newspaper:

The day after the November presidential election we may look back on one day in particular that signaled defeat for President Obama. It was the day when the June unemployment news came out and Obama was in Ohio talking to a local reporter who asked why voters should vote for him again after he had failed to live up to the promise of his 2008 campaign to change the tone of politics and work with Republicans to solve problems. Obama’s response boiled down to this quote: “I’ve tried real hard.”

Was Obama trying “real hard” when he invited Republican leaders to the White House after his inauguration to discuss ideas for the upcoming Stimulus Bill but dismissed their ideas with the arrogant affront “I won” do it my way? Like other pieces of legislation Obama’s party rammed that bill through the House of Representatives without a single Republican vote. The result was legislation that ran up the debt with billions in payoffs to Obama’s big labor and big government allies but failed to lay the necessary foundation for economic recovery and job growth.

That was followed with billions wasted on green jobs that enriched Obama campaign donors but left thousands jobless when firms went bankrupt as the promise of alternative energy failed to meet the easily identifiable demands of a free market.

If good intentions were enough Obama would be re-elected. But for a President, trying “real hard” isn’t good enough. Results matter and Obama isn’t up to the job.

Sunday, July 08, 2012

States That Elected GOP Governors in 2010 Have Lower Unemployment Than Dem States

Proof that GOP economic policy works and that Dem policy retards job growth!

Here's a little tidbit of news that you won't hear on your "mainstream" news broadcast:
In 2010, influenced by the Tea Party and its focus on fiscal issues, 17 states elected Republican governors. And, according to an Examiner.com analysis , every one of those states saw a drop in their unemployment rates since January of 2011. Furthermore, the average drop in the unemployment rate in these states was 1.35%, compared to the national decline of .9%, which means, according to the analysis, that the job market in these Republican states is improving 50% faster than the national rate.
The Examiner has the list of states. It's important to note also that in states which elected Democrat governors in 2010 their improvement in unemployment matched the pitiful national average.

The message is clear: elect Democrats and you get more of the same. Elect Republicans and job growth with economic recovery follows.

Imagine what we could do for the entire country by electing a GOP President!

Friday, July 06, 2012

Unemployment Stuck at 8.2%

No way this is Bush's fault!

The Drudge Report had the headline: "O No: 8.2%" describing the latest bad employment report. Along with it a series of links which show how much worse that news is. Here are the sub links:
Just 80,000 jobs added in June...
One-third at temp agencies...
85,000 WENT ON DISABILITY IN JUNE!
Unemployment rate for blacks jumps to 14.4%...
Rate stuck at 11% for Hispanics...
780,000 Fewer Women Employed Under Obama...
WHITE HOUSE: 'NO QUICK FIXES'...
Romney: 'It Doesn't Have To Be This Way'...
Anxiety mounts as economy limps into 2nd half...
DOW PLUNGES...
Team Obama predicted 5.6% today with stimulus...
IMF to cut global growth forecast...
'Tilted to the downside'...
Meanwhile Obama is in Ohio trying to appeal to the Middle Class. But it's the Middle Class which has been hit hardest by the failures of Obamanomics. Will they buy another round of hopey-changey hoaxes? I doubt it!

Millions who have lost their jobs during the failed Obama presidency know who to blame and it's not George Bush!

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Sunday, July 01, 2012

My Thoughts on the Roberts' ObamaCare Decision

UPDATE: CBS report on Roberts' decision gives credence to the suggestion his decision was based on political political considerations!

There may be a silver lining to the dark cloud but it's too early to celebrate!

Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the Supreme Court's decision (or rather, Chief Justice Roberts' decision)[PDF] to uphold ObamaCare a few thoughts come to mind.

ObamaTax Bandwagon?

First, I'm not going to join bandwagon among some conservative pundits who see the declaration that ObamaCare's mandate is actually a tax as a great positive in our favor. Most of the hoi polloi who pay scant attention to this kind of news have only heard fragments of mainstream news reports that declare this decision a great victory for Obama. They don't know, or perhaps not even care, about a new tax.

Besides, anyone who has been paying attention these past years knows Obama is all in favor of taxes and like so many other campaign promises that he has broken, his pledge not to raise "one dime" in new taxes on those earning less than $250,000 has already been broken. A good example of this was the cigarette tax, one of the very first bills Obama signed, which enacted a whopping increase in taxes on smokers. That tax is especially regressive meaning that it impacts the poor and middle income earners most of all.

Justice Roberts' Decision

What I found most odd about the decision is the twisted reasoning which led Justice Roberts to join the four liberal rubber stamp justices and declare the law Constitutional.

He claimed that the law did not violate the Commerce Clause because the mandate is a tax. Yet he also had to push aside the Anti-Injunction Act which decrees that before a suit can be brought against a tax, the tax must first be paid. Since the mandate tax won't come into effect for few years that would indicate that the court should not even consider the case if the mandate is a tax. Yet Roberts unilaterally declared that the Act should not apply.

Roberts' decision also weakens the Commerce Clause instead of upholding it. What is to stop future congresses from forcing compliance with some new socialist scheme by taxing those who do not comply?

Roberts twisted the law into a pretzel like any good lawyer would on behalf of his client who appears to be Barack Obama. The question is why?

Chicago Style Intimidation

From the very beginning of the Obama Administration the President himself, as well as Democrats on down the line have engaged in a campaign to undermine the Supreme Court. The left has never forgotten or forgiven the Court for the decision in the Bush v. Gore case which ceased Gore's selective recount in Florida during the 2000 presidential election. That distrst intensified after the Court decided the Citizens United case which gave corporations the same rights to free speech currently enjoyed by left wing labor unions. Who can forget the 2010 State of the Union address where Obama lectured the Court, with the Justices sitting right in front of him, on the case. But he got that case wrong as Justice Alito pointed out when he mouthed the words "not true" [video].

Had Roberts sided with the Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Scalia and Alito and found ObamaCare unconstitutional the left was ready for an all out assault on the court. The lines of attack were already in place. MSNBC's Chris Matthews likened Roberts to a judge upholding slavery in the civil war era in the day before the decision [video]. As soon as the decision was announced Chris Matthews could not find enough nice things to say about Roberts.

Is it possible that Roberts was so concerned for the standing of the court and not wishing to be drawn into a political attack that he was intimidated into supporting the left wing view?

To answer that consider that Roberts never was part of the conservative ideological movement. He was and is a lawyer first, second and third. He may also belong to that curious group of Washington Republicans known to go along to get along and not rock the boat by compromising with Democrats.  Republicans in that group value being part of the Washington social scene. They like being invited to play golf and attend the cocktail parties. Either way, Roberts may have sought to appease those who threatened war on the court. But like the Munich agreement failed to prevent Hitler from invading Poland, this decision won't stop Dems from demanding Roberts show equal flexibility in future cases.

I believe that Roberts may have been intimidated by political pressure. The Chicago Union Boss doesn't need to actually break your legs to make you comply. He just has to let you know that he can if he wants to.

The Silver Lining: The Mandate to Repeal

If there is a silver lining to this debacle it is in two parts. First, the anger that fueled the rise of the Town Hall protests and the Tea Parties which followed has returned. That emotive force, which swept the elections at federal, state and local levels in 2010 and gave Obama his "shellacking" is growing again. Properly channeled it will sweep Obama and Democrats in the U.S. Senate from power.

Had the Supreme Court struck down ObamaCare that  issue in the fall campaign would have been watered down. Instead the election will be in part a referendum on ObamaCare. A big win for Republicans is a mandate to repeal ObamaCare.

And now that Justice Roberts has determined that the mandate is a tax, Senate rules will allow a vote on repeal to be done with a reconciliation process which forbids a filibuster allowing bills to pass with a simple majority.

Senate Democrats in the minority will hardly be able to complain since they used reconciliation to pass portions of ObamaCare and since the court has declared that the mandate is a tax.

There is every reason to believe that a Romney win with a GOP Senate takeover would mean the end of ObamaCare! It's our best hope!
fsg053d4.txt Free xml sitemap generator